Springer apr 2004 (336 résultats)

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - This book focuses on the current basic science research of hypospadias and genital development. Congenital anomalies of the genitalia are the second most common birth abnormality besides congenital heart defects. Genital anomalies come in many varieties with the most common abnormality being hypospadias. The etiology of hypospadias remains unknown and the incidence is doubling in western countries with no definable explanation. It therefore seems especially germane to study this common congenital anomaly with a baseline incidence of 1/125-250 newborn males.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - Convective flow in the liquid phase is always present in a realistic process of freezing and melting and may significantly affect the dynamics and results of the process. The study of the interplay of growth and convection flow during the solidification has been an important subject in the broad fields of materials science, condensed matter physics, fluid physics, micro-gravity science, etc. The present book is concerned with the dynamics of free dendritic growth with convective flow in the melt. It systematically presents the results obtained in terms of a unified asymptotic approach in the framework of the interfacial wave (IFW) theory. In particular, the book explores the effect of the various types ofconvection flow on the selection and pattern formation of dendritic growth based on the global stability analysis.…

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - This work is concerned with appraising the contemporary ethical impact of lifelong learning ideology and advocacy on education, through focusing on trends in educational policy and management that flow from the ideology. It has its origins in the author's concern that many of those trends are being defmed and promoted, or opposed, without an adequate understanding of their ethical dimensions. The 21 trends examined in this work are seen as defming important dimensions of the quite radical changes in educational policy and management that are flowing from the practical realisation of lifelong learning ideology and advocacy. In here evaluating those trends from an ethical perspective, the thesis is developed that they lead inevitably to distinctive ethical dilemmas or tensions in the lived experience of educational participants. The dilemmas, though, are not seen as realities that can intelligently be either avoided or resolved. They are, rather, inescapable features of the trends, although they and the experience of them may be managed intelligently to a greater or lesser extent. This analysis is premised on the belief that an understanding of the dilemmas may be of practical value in assisting educators, and policy makers and managers, to live and work more intelligently with them and to better manage the educational changes that are defmed by the trends. It may thereby contribute to moderating the excesses, sillinesses, and inanities so often evident in the directing and managing of refonns associated with the trends and to reduce the anguish and pain associated with them.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - Cryptography in Chinese consists of two characters meaning 'secret coded'. Thanks to Ch'in Chiu-Shao and his successors, the Chinese Remainder Theorem became a cornerstone of public key cryptography. Today, as we observe the constant usage of high-speed computers interconnected via the Internet, we realize that cryptography and its related applications have developed far beyond 'secret coding'. China, which is rapidly developing in all areas of technology, is also writing a new page of history in cryptography. As more and more Chinese become recognized as leading researchers in a variety of topics in cryptography, it is not surprising that many of them are Professor Xiao's former students. Progress on Cryptography: 25 Years of Cryptography in China is a compilation of papers presented at an international workshop in conjunction with the ChinaCrypt, 2004. After 20 years, the research interests of the group have extended to a variety of areas in cryptography. This edited volume includes 32 contributed chapters. The material will cover a range of topics, from mathematical results of cryptography to practical applications. This book also includes a sample of research, conducted by Professor Xiao's former and current students.Progress on Cryptography: 25 Years of Cryptography in China is designed for a professional audience, composed of researchers and practitioners in industry. This book is also suitable as a secondary text for graduate-level students in computer science, mathematics and engineering.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - Air Cargo Logistics and Information Technology.- Evolution of e-Commerce and Modern Air Cargo Logistics.- Frameworks for a 4th Party Air Cargo Logistics e-Business Platform.- A Benefit, Cost and Risk Analysis for the Stakeholders of a 4th Party Logistics e-Business Platform.- Technical Design and Implementation of the Logistics e-Platform.- E-Platform Decision Support: Optimizing Shipment Design.- Business Intelligence for Air Cargo Logistics.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - Health institutions are investing in and fielding information technology solutions at an unprecedented pace. With the recommendations from the Institute of Medicine around information technology solutions for patient safety, mandates from industry groups such as Leapfrog about using infor mation systems to improve health care, and the move toward evidence based practice, health institutions cannot afford to retain manual practices. The installation of multi-million dollar computerized health systems repre sents the very life blood of contemporary clinical operations and a crucial link to the financial viability of institutions. Yet, the implementation of health information systems is exceptionally complex, expensive and often just plain messy. The need for improvement in the art and science of systems implemen tation is clear: up to 70-80% of information technology installations fail. The reasons are multi-faceted, ranging from the complexity of the diverse workflows being computerized, the intricate nature of health organizations, the knowledge and skills of users to other reasons such as strategies for obtaining key executive support, weaving through the politics peculiar to the institution, and technical facets including the usability of systems. Thus, the art and science of successfully implementing systems remains deeply layered in elusiveness. Still, given the pervasiveness of system implementa tions and the importance of the outcomes, this is a critical topic, especially for nurses and informatics nurse specialists.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - This book, the proceedings of Falk Symposium 133 on Mechanisms of Intestinal Inflammation: Implications for Therapeutic Intervention in IBD', held in Berlin, Germany, on 10-11 June 2003, summarizes present knowledge in the area of unspecific and specific immune reactions in the gut, recording the gaps in our knowledge and, in particular, presenting the possibilities of targeted intervention. The link to inflammatory bowel diseases - Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis - is always in focus. Chapters by an international panel of basic scientists, clinical researchers and clinicians also record the problems which can originate through today's possible modulation of the immune reaction, setting the basis for review of clinical problems. This book is valuable readings for all scientists and physicians, who, from different perspectives, have an interest in research on IBD and in the clinical management of these diseases.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - Philosophy of Religion for a New Century represents the work of nineteen scholars presented at a conference in honor of Eugene T. Long at the University of South Carolina, April 5-6, 2002. This volume is a good example of philosophy in dialogue; there is both respect and genuine disagreement. First, an account of our present situation in the Philosophy of Religion is given, leading to a discussion of the very idea of a 'Christian Philosophy' and the coherence of the traditional concept of God. The implications of science and a concern for the environment in our concepts of God are carefully examined. A discussion follows on the possibility of speech about God and silence about God. Since much of modern European philosophy is concerned with the `Death of God' theme, the positions of Nietzsche and some of his twentieth-century interpreters are presented. There are presentations on Feminist Approaches to Philosophy of Religion, and Comparative Religion is examined in relation to cultures and the demands of rationality. The volume concludes with a critical dialogue on the relation of Religious Discourse to the Public Sphere. Developing global awareness has led to significant change in the Philosophy of Religion. One-dimensional approaches have given way to honest dialogue. The traditional boundaries between the secular and the religious have shifted, and new approaches to traditional problems are required. This volume presents examples of these new approaches.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - Our limited understanding of cellular regulatory signal-transduction-networks has been a barrier to progress in improving the overall cure-rate of human cancers. Delineation of the physiologic roles of the specific regulatory signaling components, with known association with metastatic phenotypes, is a highly promising area which will likely provide the next generation of targeted strategies in the future of molecular cancer medicine. These signaling components are likely to be used in diagnosis, prognosis, and as novel targets for therapeutic development. This book brings together up-to-date summaries by leading cancer researchers on the major principles of cancer cell biology: survival, apoptosis, adhesion, and cell cycle deregulation. It is directed at clinicians and scientists working in the areas of experimental and molecular therapeutics, molecular medicine, translational cancer research, and bio-medical sciences in general.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - The articles in this volume deal with the main inferential methods that can be applied to different kinds of experimental evidence. These contributions - accompanied with critical comments - by renowned scholars in the field of philosophy of science aim at removing the traditional opposition between inductivists and deductivists. They explore the different methods of explanation and justification in the sciences in different contexts and with different objectives. The volume contains contributions on methods of the sciences, especially on induction, deduction, abduction, laws, probability and explanation, ranging from logic, mathematics, natural to the social sciences. They present a highly topical pluralist re-evaluation of methodological and foundational procedures and reasoning, e.g. focusing in Bayesianism and Artificial Intelligence. They document the second international conference in Vienna on 'Induction and Deduction in the Sciences' as part of the Scientific Network on'Historical and Contemporary Perspectives of Philosophy of Science in Europe', funded by the European Science Foundation (ESF).…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - The HMM2004 International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms is the second event of a series that has been started in 2000 as main activity of the IFToMM Permanent Commission for History of MMS, Mechanism and Machine Science. The aim of the HMM Symposium is to be a forum to exchange views, opinions, and experiences on History of MMS from technical viewpoints in order to track the past but also to look at future developments in MMS. The HMM Symposium Series is devoted to the technical aspects of historical deve- pments and therefore it has been addressed mainly to the IFToMM Community. In fact, most the authors of the contributed papers are experts in MMS and related topics. This year HMM Symposium came back to Cassino, after the challenging first event in 2000. The HMM2004 International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms was held at the University of Cassino, Italy, from 12 to 15 May 2004. These Proceedings contain 29 papers by authors from all around the world. These papers cover the wide field of the History of Mechanical Engineering and particularly the History of MMS. The contributions address mainly technical aspects of historical developments of Machines and Mechanisms. History of IFToMM, the International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science is also outlined through the historical activities of some of its Commissions.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology Biotechnology is divided into two volumes. The first volume is dedicated to fundamental aspects of cell immobilisation while the second volume deals with the diverse applications of this technology. The first volume, Fundamentals of Cell Immobilisation Biotechnology, comprises 26 chapters arranged into four parts: Materials for cell immobilisation/encapsulation, Methods and technologies for cell immobilisation/encapsulation, Carrier characterisation and bioreactor design, and Physiology of immobilised cells: techniques and mathematical modelling.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - StarGuides Plus represents the most comprehensive and accurately validated collection of practical data on organizations involved in astronomy, related space sciences and other related fields. This invaluable reference source (and its companion volume, StarBriefs Plus) should be on the reference shelf of every library, organization or individual with any interest in these areas. The coverage includes relevant universities, scientific committees, institutions, associations, societies, agencies, companies, bibliographic services, data centers, museums, dealers, distributors, funding organizations, journals, manufacturers, meteorological services, national norms & standard institutes, parent associations & societies, publishers, software producers & distributors, and so on. Besides astronomy and associated space sciences, related fields such as aeronautics, aeronomy, astronautics, atmospheric sciences, chemistry, communications, computer sciences, data processing, education, electronics, engineering, energetics, environment, geodesy, geophysics, information handling, management, mathematics, meteorology, optics, physics, remote sensing, and so on, are also covered where appropriate. After some thirty years in continuous compilation, verification and updating, StarGuides Plus currently gathers together some 6,000 entries from 100 countries. The information is presented in a clear, uncluttered manner for direct and easy use. …

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Astronomie mit dem PC vermittelt dem Leser eine fundierte Einführung in die Welt der himmelsmechanischen Berechnungen, die für die astronomische Beobachtungspraxis von besonderer Bedeutung sind.Von den theoretischen Grundlagen der Astronomie und Numerik bis zur Erstellung schneller und präziser Anwendungsprogramme vermittelt das Buch die notwendigen Kenntnisse und Softwarelösungen für die Bestimmung und Vorhersage von:- Positionen der Sonne, des Mondes und der Planeten- Auf- und Untergangszeiten- physischen Ephemeriden der Sonne und der großen Planeten- Kometen- und Kleinplanetenpositionen (mit Störungen)- Mondphasen- Zentrallinie und lokalen Umständen von Sonnenfinsternissen - Sternbedeckungen durch den Mond- Bahnelementen aus drei Beobachtungen (auch mehrere Lösungen)- Koordinaten aus Himmelsaufnahmen. Die Verwendung der weitverbreiteten objektorientierten Programmiersprache CC++ ermöglicht die effiziente Realisierung eigener Anwendungen auf der Basis einer leistungsfähigen Modul-Bibliothek. Die Begleit-CD enthält neben den vollständigen, ausgiebig dokumentierten und kommentierten Quelltexten auch die ausführbaren Programme - damit können Leser ohne Programmierkenntnisse alle im Buch beschriebenen Programme ebenfalls nutzen. Zusätzlich befinden sich zwei Sternkataloge (Position und Proper Motion Katalog und Zodialkatalog) sowie die Lowell-Datenbank aktueller Kleinplaneten-Bahnelemente auf der CD, die den Nutzwert der entsprechenden Programme weiter erhöhen. Die vorliegende 4. Auflage stellt, neben einigen Überarbeitungen der Texte und Bilder, die ausführbaren Programme für die Betriebssysteme Windows 98/2000/XP und LINUX sowie die akualisierten Kataloge und Datenbanken zur Verfügung. 303 pp. Deutsch.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Astronomie mit dem PC vermittelt dem Leser eine fundierte Einführung in die Welt der himmelsmechanischen Berechnungen, die für die astronomische Beobachtungspraxis von besonderer Bedeutung sind.Von den theoretischen Grundlagen der Astronomie und Numerik bis zur Erstellung schneller und präziser Anwendungsprogramme vermittelt das Buch die notwendigen Kenntnisse und Softwarelösungen für die Bestimmung und Vorhersage von:- Positionen der Sonne, des Mondes und der Planeten- Auf- und Untergangszeiten- physischen Ephemeriden der Sonne und der großen Planeten- Kometen- und Kleinplanetenpositionen (mit Störungen)- Mondphasen- Zentrallinie und lokalen Umständen von Sonnenfinsternissen - Sternbedeckungen durch den Mond- Bahnelementen aus drei Beobachtungen (auch mehrere Lösungen)- Koordinaten aus Himmelsaufnahmen. Die Verwendung der weitverbreiteten objektorientierten Programmiersprache CC++ ermöglicht die effiziente Realisierung eigener Anwendungen auf der Basis einer leistungsfähigen Modul-Bibliothek. Die Begleit-CD enthält neben den vollständigen, ausgiebig dokumentierten und kommentierten Quelltexten auch die ausführbaren Programme - damit können Leser ohne Programmierkenntnisse alle im Buch beschriebenen Programme ebenfalls nutzen. Zusätzlich befinden sich zwei Sternkataloge (Position und Proper Motion Katalog und Zodialkatalog) sowie die Lowell-Datenbank aktueller Kleinplaneten-Bahnelemente auf der CD, die den Nutzwert der entsprechenden Programme weiter erhöhen. Die vorliegende 4. Auflage stellt, neben einigen Überarbeitungen der Texte und Bilder, die ausführbaren Programme für die Betriebssysteme Windows 98/2000/XP und LINUX sowie die akualisierten Kataloge und Datenbanken zur Verfügung. 303 pp. Deutsch.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Astronomie mit dem PC vermittelt dem Leser eine fundierte Einführung in die Welt der himmelsmechanischen Berechnungen, die für die astronomische Beobachtungspraxis von besonderer Bedeutung sind.Von den theoretischen Grundlagen der Astronomie und Numerik bis zur Erstellung schneller und präziser Anwendungsprogramme vermittelt das Buch die notwendigen Kenntnisse und Softwarelösungen für die Bestimmung und Vorhersage von:- Positionen der Sonne, des Mondes und der Planeten- Auf- und Untergangszeiten- physischen Ephemeriden der Sonne und der großen Planeten- Kometen- und Kleinplanetenpositionen (mit Störungen)- Mondphasen- Zentrallinie und lokalen Umständen von Sonnenfinsternissen - Sternbedeckungen durch den Mond- Bahnelementen aus drei Beobachtungen (auch mehrere Lösungen)- Koordinaten aus Himmelsaufnahmen. Die Verwendung der weitverbreiteten objektorientierten Programmiersprache CC++ ermöglicht die effiziente Realisierung eigener Anwendungen auf der Basis einer leistungsfähigen Modul-Bibliothek. Die Begleit-CD enthält neben den vollständigen, ausgiebig dokumentierten und kommentierten Quelltexten auch die ausführbaren Programme - damit können Leser ohne Programmierkenntnisse alle im Buch beschriebenen Programme ebenfalls nutzen. Zusätzlich befinden sich zwei Sternkataloge (Position und Proper Motion Katalog und Zodialkatalog) sowie die Lowell-Datenbank aktueller Kleinplaneten-Bahnelemente auf der CD, die den Nutzwert der entsprechenden Programme weiter erhöhen. Die vorliegende 4. Auflage stellt, neben einigen Überarbeitungen der Texte und Bilder, die ausführbaren Programme für die Betriebssysteme Windows 98/2000/XP und LINUX sowie die akualisierten Kataloge und Datenbanken zur Verfügung.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Astronomie mit dem PC vermittelt dem Leser eine fundierte Einführung in die Welt der himmelsmechanischen Berechnungen, die für die astronomische Beobachtungspraxis von besonderer Bedeutung sind.Von den theoretischen Grundlagen der Astronomie und Numerik bis zur Erstellung schneller und präziser Anwendungsprogramme vermittelt das Buch die notwendigen Kenntnisse und Softwarelösungen für die Bestimmung und Vorhersage von:- Positionen der Sonne, des Mondes und der Planeten- Auf- und Untergangszeiten- physischen Ephemeriden der Sonne und der großen Planeten- Kometen- und Kleinplanetenpositionen (mit Störungen)- Mondphasen- Zentrallinie und lokalen Umständen von Sonnenfinsternissen - Sternbedeckungen durch den Mond- Bahnelementen aus drei Beobachtungen (auch mehrere Lösungen)- Koordinaten aus Himmelsaufnahmen. Die Verwendung der weitverbreiteten objektorientierten Programmiersprache CC++ ermöglicht die effiziente Realisierung eigener Anwendungen auf der Basis einer leistungsfähigen Modul-Bibliothek. Die Begleit-CD enthält neben den vollständigen, ausgiebig dokumentierten und kommentierten Quelltexten auch die ausführbaren Programme - damit können Leser ohne Programmierkenntnisse alle im Buch beschriebenen Programme ebenfalls nutzen. Zusätzlich befinden sich zwei Sternkataloge (Position und Proper Motion Katalog und Zodialkatalog) sowie die Lowell-Datenbank aktueller Kleinplaneten-Bahnelemente auf der CD, die den Nutzwert der entsprechenden Programme weiter erhöhen. Die vorliegende 4. Auflage stellt, neben einigen Überarbeitungen der Texte und Bilder, die ausführbaren Programme für die Betriebssysteme Windows 98/2000/XP und LINUX sowie die akualisierten Kataloge und Datenbanken zur Verfügung.Springer-Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 303 pp. Deutsch.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware - Astronomie mit dem PC vermittelt dem Leser eine fundierte Einführung in die Welt der himmelsmechanischen Berechnungen, die für die astronomische Beobachtungspraxis von besonderer Bedeutung sind.Von den theoretischen Grundlagen der Astronomie und Numerik bis zur Erstellung schneller und präziser Anwendungsprogramme vermittelt das Buch die notwendigen Kenntnisse und Softwarelösungen für die Bestimmung und Vorhersage von:- Positionen der Sonne, des Mondes und der Planeten- Auf- und Untergangszeiten- physischen Ephemeriden der Sonne und der großen Planeten- Kometen- und Kleinplanetenpositionen (mit Störungen)- Mondphasen- Zentrallinie und lokalen Umständen von Sonnenfinsternissen - Sternbedeckungen durch den Mond- Bahnelementen aus drei Beobachtungen (auch mehrere Lösungen)- Koordinaten aus Himmelsaufnahmen. Die Verwendung der weitverbreiteten objektorientierten Programmiersprache CC++ ermöglicht die effiziente Realisierung eigener Anwendungen auf der Basis einer leistungsfähigen Modul-Bibliothek. Die Begleit-CD enthält neben den vollständigen, ausgiebig dokumentierten und kommentierten Quelltexten auch die ausführbaren Programme - damit können Leser ohne Programmierkenntnisse alle im Buch beschriebenen Programme ebenfalls nutzen. Zusätzlich befinden sich zwei Sternkataloge (Position und Proper Motion Katalog und Zodialkatalog) sowie die Lowell-Datenbank aktueller Kleinplaneten-Bahnelemente auf der CD, die den Nutzwert der entsprechenden Programme weiter erhöhen. Die vorliegende 4. Auflage stellt, neben einigen Überarbeitungen der Texte und Bilder, die ausführbaren Programme für die Betriebssysteme Windows 98/2000/XP und LINUX sowie die akualisierten Kataloge und Datenbanken zur Verfügung.…

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Paolo Ulivi provides a well-paced, rapidly moving, balanced, even-handed account of lunar exploration as a popular history. He covers the unmanned programmes, e.g. Ranger, and other American probes in the late '50s and in the later chapters he looks at recent lunar exploration and future plans for the same. It's a book that will be perfect for an enthusiast or someone coming to the story for the first time, as it does not include excessive technical depth. Uniquely drawing on recently declassified documents, detail of Chinese lunar exploration projects is provided, as well as nuclear lunar weapons of the '50s developed by the super powers, Soviet Russia and the United States. 384 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -'It is not the consciousness of men that defines their existence, but, on the contrary, their social existence determines their consciousness.' Karl Marx In recent years, several researchers have argued that the design of multi-agent sys tems (MAS) in complex, open environments can benefit from social abstractions in order to cope with problems in coordination, cooperation and trust among agents, problems which are also present in human societies. The agent-mediated electronic institutions (e-institutions for short) is a new and promising field which focuses in the concepts of norms and institutions in order to pro vide normative frameworks to restrict or guide the behaviour of (software) agents. The main idea is that the interactions among a group of (software) agents are ruled by a set of explicit norms expressed in a computational language representation that agents can interpret. Such norms should not be considered as a negative constraining factor but as an aid that guides the agents' choices and reduces the complexity ofthe environment making the behaviour of other agents more predictable. 274 pp. Englisch.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The English Jacobin Novel on Rights, Property and the Law is a study of the radical novel's critique of the evolving social contract in the 1790s. Focusing on selected novels by Thomas Holcroft, Charlotte Smith, Elizabeth Inchbald, Robert Bage, William Godwin, Mary Hays, Mary Wollstonecraft, and Maria Edgeworth, this book examines narrative investigations into the intricate relationships between theories of rights, the requirements of proprietorship in civil society, and the construction of the legal subject. 215 pp. Englisch. …

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Cryptology nowadays is one of the most important areas of applied mathematics, building on deep results and methods from various areas of mathematics. This text is devoted to the study of stochastic aspects of cryptology.Besides classical topics from cryptology, the author presents chapters on probabilistic prime number tests, factorization with quantum computers, random-number generators, pseudo-random-number generators, information theory, and the birthday paradox and meet-in-the-middle attack.In the light of the vast literature on stochastic results relevant for cryptology, this book is intended as an invitation and introduction for students, researchers, and practitioners to probabilistic and statistical issues in cryptology. 176 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This volume constitutes the proceedings of the 2nd Atlantic Web Intelligence Conference(AWIC2004).TheconferencewasheldinthecityofCancun,Mexico, a setting that inspired lively discussions andre ections onopen issues facing the eld of Web intelligence. TheAWICconferences havebeenmotivated by advancesinthe eld ofart- cialintelligenceandthechallengesfacingtheirapplicationtoWeb-basedsystems. With this second edition, AWIC provided a forum for specialists from di erent disciplines of computer science to exchange their experiences and ideas in this growing eld of research. The selection of papers followed a strict, double-blind refereeing process by a renowned international committee. We received 57 contributions, with rst authors from 15 di erent countries, from which 22 papers were selected to be presented and published in this proceedings volume. We thank all members of the Program Committee for their valuable reviews of the papers. In addition, we were pleased to have as invited speakers Dr. Prabhakar Raghavan, Chief Scientist and Vice President of Emerging Technologies in Verity, Inc. and Consulting Professor of Computer Science at Stanford Univ- sity, and Prof. C. Lee Giles, Davide Reese Professorof the School of Information Sciences and Technology at The Pennsylvania State University. Abstracts of their lectures are included in these proceedings. In putting together this conference, we had the pleasure of working with an outstanding group of people. We thank them all for their hard work on behalf of this conference. In particular we would like to thank Manuel Montes y Gomez, Director of the Mexico Research Centre of the Web Intelligence Consortium, Elisa Moran, Marcela Rodr guez, and Jorge Niebla. 248 pp. Englisch.…

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Written by the same team that produced Westminster and Europe [1996], this book reports and analyzes the major developments in the relationship between Britain and the European Union between the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty and the British General Election of 2001. Britain in the European Union focuses particularly on the EU's impact on parliamentary institutions in the UK and on law and policy in such controversial areas as employment and the social chapter, foreign and security policy, enlargement and governance, immigration and asylum and the single currency. 277 pp. Englisch.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In the last few years there has been a big expansion in the range of applications of mentoring in business and in the scope of particular schemes in specific organizations. This book draws upon valuable case study material and includes advice on best practice from leading companies on setting up, running and evaluating mentoring schemes. The book is an easy-access compendium of collected wisdom with a multitude of insights, ideas and shared experience from the most successful and effective mentoring schemes. 256 pp. Englisch.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This is the first sustained comparative examination of the importance of media attention on the provision of economic assistance, suggesting that the news media is an important medium for policy makers to gauge potential domestic political pressures and thus the need to be responsive and even anticipatory in addressing problems real or perceived. Particular attention is paid to the responsiveness of bureaucracies, long held to be among the most insulated institutions of government. Cross-national in scope, this book looks at the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Japan, facilitating a nuanced understanding of the interaction of international and domestic politics as mediated by the media. 179 pp. Englisch.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book is about higher education reforms in the post-socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, seen through the eyes of somebody who has spent the last decade analyzing these reforms as well as negotiating and supervising reform projects in countries from Serbia and Montenegro to Mongolia. Analyzing the reforms in a broader political, economic and social context and relating these to global higher education developments, the book addresses the complexity of the processes and contradictions among the demands on higher education systems, which in many instances impede positive changes. 241 pp. Englisch.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Many thought that the 'German question', that had shaped European history so catastrophically in the last century, had been solved for good in 1990. And the last elections seemed to confirm that Germany was on the road to 'normalcy'. However, at the beginning of the new century, many see Germany as a problem case in Europe. This raises the question about the future of Germany and the performance of the incumbent government. The book addresses these issues by examining the policies and politics of the Red-Green government and by putting recent changes and developments in this country in a long-term perspective. 292 pp. Englisch.…

Buch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Numerous studies explore immigration policies of individual receiving countries. But these studies share several weaknesses. First and foremost, they are empirically orientated and lack a general theory. Second, most examine the policy of single country during a limited period, or, in a few cases, are contributed volumes analyzing each country separately. In general, immigration policy literature tends to be a-theoretic, to focus on specific periods and particular countries, and constitutes an array of discrete bits. This book is a response to this trend, offering a theoretical approach to immigration policy. It explains how governments decide on the number of immigrants they will accept; whether to differentiate between various ethnic groups; whether to accept refugees and on what basis; and whether to favour permanent immigration over migrant workers. The book also answers such questions as: How much influence do extreme-right parties have on the determination of immigration policy Why do anti-immigration parties and initiatives enjoy greater success in local-state elections, and in the elections for the European Parliament, than in national elections And under what circumstances does immigration policy become an electoral issue Meyers draws on a wide array of sources on migration policy-making and using them derives proposed models in a way that few others have done before him. In addition, the book interrelates global and domestic factors that jointly influence government policy-making on international migration in a way that helps to clarify both spheres. Lastly, the work combines historical data with contemporary processes, in a way that draws lessons from the past while recognizing that changing circumstances usually revise governmental responses. 288 pp. Englisch. …

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This thesis summarizes most of my recent research in the field of portfolio optimization. The main topics which I have addressed are portfolio problems with stochastic interest rates and portfolio problems with defaultable assets. The starting point for my research was the paper 'A stochastic control ap proach to portfolio problems with stochastic interest rates' (jointly with Ralf Korn), in which we solved portfolio problems given a Vasicek term structure of the short rate. Having considered the Vasicek model, it was obvious that I should analyze portfolio problems where the interest rate dynamics are gov erned by other common short rate models. The relevant results are presented in Chapter 2. The second main issue concerns portfolio problems with default able assets modeled in a firm value framework. Since the assets of a firm then correspond to contingent claims on firm value, I searched for a way to easily deal with such claims in portfolio problems. For this reason, I developed the elasticity approach to portfolio optimization which is presented in Chapter 3. However, this way of tackling portfolio problems is not restricted to portfolio problems with default able assets only, but it provides a general framework allowing for a compact formulation of portfolio problems even if interest rates are stochastic. 184 pp. Englisch.…