springer nature switzerland springer international publishing jun 2023 (648 résultats)

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -'Of all the men who attacked the flying problem in the 19th century, Otto Lilienthal was easily the most important. His greatness appeared in every phase of the problem. No one equaled him in power to draw new recruits to the cause; no one equaled him in fullness and dearness of understanding of the principles of flight; no one did so much to convince the world of the advantages of curved wing surfaces; and no one did so much to transfer the problem of human flight to the open air where it belonged.'These words were spoken by Wilbur Wright, who successfully accomplished the first powered flight together with his brother Orville in 1903 on the sand dunes of the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina. Wilbur was talking about the most important of their predecessors, Otto Lilienthal.Lilienthal attracted worldwide attention due to the spectacular photographs showing him in flight, made possible by technology that had only just been developed by him. This fortuitousunion between a pioneer of aviation and the pioneers of so-called ¿instantaneous photography¿ is responsible for the immense contemporary popularity of Lilienthal¿s flights around the globe, the first ever free flights performed by man. This book traces the life of the German aviation pioneer, focusing on the designs of his many aircraft and the photographic documentation that has survived. The presentation ends with a remarkable research project conducted by one of the authors, right up to and including his own training exercises with Lilienthal¿s ¿normal soaring apparatus¿ and ¿large biplane¿. This project offered new insight into Lilienthal¿s work, and also led to a spectacular aerial meeting of Lilienthal's 1895 biplane and the Wright brothers¿ 1902 biplane at a historic location on the Outer Banks. The book provides access to video material, largely stemming from this project.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 368 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book draws on a variety of substantive examples from science, technology, medicine, literature, and popular culture to highlight how a new technoscientifically mediated and modified phase and form of technosleep is now in the making ¿ in the global north at least; and to discuss the consequences for our relationships to sleep, the values we accord sleep and the very nature and normativities of sleep itself.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 224 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Jost, Maria (illustrateur). Neuware -This book acts as a field-guide for human cells. The book¿s unique structure first separates cells by what makes them distinctive, and then examines the essential ¿tools and parts¿ needed for both the cells¿ specialized function, and also the basic mechanisms that are shared with most other cells. The chapters highlight interactions between multiple cell types, exploring areas such as immunology and cancer to exemplify the complex coordination of cells, as well as the manipulation of normal cell interactions.This book works as a companion reference for an academic text in cell and molecular science, and will be of general interest to anyone who wants to learn more about how cells work and interact.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 108 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This open-access book surveys how digital technology can contribute effectively to improving our understanding of the past, through a sensory engagement based on the evidence of material culture. In particular, it encourages specialists to consider senses and human agency as important factors in studying ancient space, while recognising the role played by digital tools in enhancing a human-centred form of analysis. Significant advances in archaeological computing, digital methods, and sensory approaches have led archaeologists to rethink strategies and methods for creating narratives of the past. Recent progress in data visualisation and implementation, as well as other nascent digital sensory methods, means that it is now easier to explore and experience ancient space from a multiscalar perspective, from the individual body or single building to the wider landscape.The chapters in Capturing the Senses: Digital Methods for Sensory Archaeologies present innovative methods for representing an embodied experience of ancient space, simulating (but not recreating) ancient behaviours and social interaction. Chapters cover topics including the potentials and pitfalls of visualising, recreating, and re-enacting/experiencing the senses in Virtual Reality environments and also digital reconstructions and auralisations of ancient spaces to study sound sensory perception. Overall, the book demonstrates that multisensory approaches can give a new perspective on how ancient spaces were intended to be used by inhabitants to fulfil a series of purposes including conveying messages and regulating movement.This is an open-access book.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 280 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This is an open access book discusses readers to various methods of modeling plans and policies that address public sector issues and problems. Written for public policy and social sciences students at the upper undergraduate and graduate level, as well as public sector decision-makers, it demonstrates and compares the development and use of various deterministic and probabilistic optimization and simulation modeling methods for analyzing planning and management issues. These modeling tools offer a means of identifying and evaluating alternative plans and policies based on their physical, economic, environmental, and social impacts. Learning how to develop and use the mathematical modeling tools introduced in this book will give students useful skills when in positions of having to make informed public policy recommendations or decisions.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 340 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This open access conference proceedings contains all the papers presented at the ICTIMT 2023, the 3rd International Conference on Thermal Issues in Machine Tools. The event takes place in Dresden, the capital of Saxony, from March 21-23 2023. The conference is organized by the Chair of Machine Tools Development and Adaptive Controls of the Technische Universität Dresden.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 376 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book delivers the present state-of-the-art of scientific characteristics of the unique Ciomadul volcano (Romania, East-Central Europe) from as many aspects as possible. Multidisciplinary research results obtained on this geologically young volcanic complex are presented to a wider audience (geologists, volcanologists, botanists, archaeologists, historians and teachers). Moreover, the book provides information at a general level for interested laypersons and decision-makers. The first part of the book, after summarizing the research history of Ciomadul, presents the details of the volcanism and related topics (volcanology, geology, landscape evolution, minerals, post-volcanic activity and spa culture) in eight chapters; the second part deals with the palaeo-environmental issues of the larger area, along with human history, in nine chapters.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 296 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book provides the essential theoretical tools for stochastic modeling. The authors address the most used models in applications such as Markov chains with discrete-time parameters, hidden Markov chains, Poisson processes, and birth and death processes. This book also presents specific examples with simulation methods that apply the topics to different areas of knowledge. These examples include practical applications, such as modeling the COVID-19 pandemic and animal movement modeling. This book is concise and rigorous, presenting the material in an easily accessible manner that allows readers to learn how to address and solve problems of a stochastic nature. 160 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This open access book presents a comprehensive collection of the European Language Equality (ELE) project¿s results, its strategic agenda and roadmap with key recommendations to the European Union on how to achieve digital language equality in Europe by 2030. The fabric of the EU linguistic landscape comprises 24 official languages and over 60 regional and minority languages. However, language barriers still hamper communication and the free flow of information. Multilingualism is a key cultural cornerstone of Europe, signifying what it means to be and to feel European. Various studies and resolutions have found a striking imbalance in the support of Europe¿s languages through technologies, issuing a call to action.Following an introduction, the book is divided into two parts. The first part describes the state of the art of language technology and language-centric AI and the definition and metrics developed to measure digital language equality. It also presents the status quo in 2022/2023, i.e., the current level of technology support for over 30 European languages. The second part describes plans and recommendations on how to bring about digital language equality in Europe by 2030. It includes chapters on the setup and results of the community consultation process, four technical deep dives, an overview of existing strategic documents and an abridged version of the strategic agenda and roadmap.The recommendations have been prepared jointly with the European community in the fields of language technology, natural language processing, and language-centric AI, as well as with representatives of relevant initiatives and associations, language communities and regional and minority language groups. Ensuring appropriate technology support for all European languages will not only create jobs, growth and opportunities in the digital single market. Overcoming language barriers in the digital environment is also essential for an inclusive society and for providing unity in diversity for many years to come.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 448 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book offers readers the methods that are necessary to apply the power of calculus to analyze real problems. While most calculus textbooks focus on formula-based calculus, this book explains how to do the analysis of calculus, rates of change, and accumulation from data. The author¿s introductory approach prepares students with the techniques to handle numerically-based problems in more advanced classes or in real-world applications. This self-contained book uses the computer algebra system Maple for computation, and the material is easily adaptable for calculators or other computer algebra systems. The author includes historical context and example exercises throughout the book in order to provide readers with a thorough understanding of the topic.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 124 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This open access book documents the use of radiogenic and stable isotopes to study mineral deposits from a global to the deposit scale. It includes data-sets that have been directly used in mineral exploration. Isotopic data have been key to developing models for the origin of many mineral deposit types. The book has four sections: (1) the use of radiogenic isotopes to date mineral deposits, (2) the use of radiogenic isotope mapping to understand metal sources and regional- to district-scale controls on metallogenesis, (3) the use of light stable isotopes to determine fluid and sulfur sources, and (4) the use of metallic stable isotopes to understand the sources of ore metals. Each section includes chapters on specific isotopic systems and/or mineral systems that provide information on theory, analytical methods, uses in deposit and metallogenic studies, examples, and traps for young players.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 492 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This open access volume contains the proceedings of the 5th Symposium on Terrestrial Gravimetry: Static and Mobile Measurements (TG-SMM2019) held in St. Petersburg, Russia, October 1 ¿ 4, 2019. The symposium was hosted by the State Research Center of the Russian Federation Concern CSRI Elektropribor, JSC and was attended by 75 participants from 15 different countries. 32 oral and 20 poster contributions were presented in four different topical sessions: Terrestrial, shipboard and airborne gravimetry, Absolute gravimetry, Relative gravimetry, gravity networks and applications of gravimetry and Cold atom and superconducting gravimeters, gravitational experiments.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 172 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This open access book bridges the divide between political science and public health, whilst simultaneously embracing the complexities and differences of both. Although public health is inherently political, the tools and insights of political science are often ignored in public health scholarship. Bringing together academics and researchers working at the intersection of both, the book demonstrates how integrating these fields can help reconcile the roles of politics and scientific evidence in policymaking. It also highlights the key conceptual, methodological and substantive implications for bridging this divide, and charts a path forward for a movement towards political science with public health. It will be of interest to academics, researchers and students interested in public health, political science, public policy, and the role of scientific evidence in policymaking.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 364 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This open access book explores the idea that corporate rhetoric can be a force for good. In developing a new framework for analysis and discussion of green marketing, the authors argue that corporate environmental rhetoric can be harnessed to contribute to climate transition and a more sustainable market economy. The work explores the transformative power inherent in green promises and sets a vision of what green marketers should strive for. Engaging with selected research on organizational theory, the authors negotiate the conflicting paradigms of rhetorical theory and their relation to the study of corporate legitimation practices. The resulting theoretical framework provides an analytical scheme that can be useful in various disciplines ¿ such as sociology, economics, law, marketing theory, and communication. It also illustrates how we can find new answers to contemporary challenges by re-imagining rhetoric.This is an open access book.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 180 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -As the world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, this book explores current migration and integration challenges. Against the background of long-term migration trends, it asks whether the pandemic has changed the patterns observed, transformed the circumstances international migrants face at destination or whether the opportunities and challenges for integration have been altered. Twenty-four researchers have contributed to this volume with research attention on how COVID-19 has affected transnationalism and identity, labour market employment, and impacted the discrimination of migrants in a variety of ways. Loyalties and tensions created by the need to include also hesitant migrant groups in vaccination programmes are explored. The role of cosmopolitanism and welfare chauvinism in narratives on inward migrations flows, the stance of trade unions on migration, the complexities of implementing return policies, and the challenges faced by unaccompanied refugee youth from Afghanistan are also discussed.Springer-Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 444 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The Lotus S¿tra is one of the most important s¿tras in Mah¿y¿na Buddhism. Translated by Kum¿raj¿va in the 5th century, its teachings have inspired many Buddhist scholars such as Chih-i and Saich¿ from the Tiantai (Tendai) tradition, D¿gen from the Zen tradition and Nichiren the 13th century Kamakura founder and reformer. There is a relative lack of scholarly works that are devoted to an examination of how its philosophical ideas were received and developed throughout history. This book remedies that lack by tracing the origin and development of Lotus S¿tra thought, and interprets the text from the perspective of the doctrine of Buddha-nature in Mah¿y¿na Buddhism.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 100 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -When it comes to branding the energy space, an exciting and largely unexplored field of research emerges. Energy companies are under the spotlight as consumers press for positive action on sustainability, CSR, and environmental issues. In light of this, this book has two objectives. First, the author explores the challenges and opportunities that experts within the field face when deciding on strategic brand direction. The results indicate that practitioners in recently liberalised markets have met the emerging branding challenges, such as differentiating commodities, meeting new consumer demands, and building strong brands. Second, the book examines, from an expert-practitioner point of view, whether branding and building brands are activities relevant to this type of market. This book, therefore, attempts to fill a literature gap, as it examines the applicability of theoretical and practical methods of branding and brand strategies in a commodity market, in this case the energy market.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book is an account of the creation of the Palestine Film Unit (PFU) and the stories of its founding members, from the initial development of a photography department in the early years of the Palestinian revolution (1967-1968) to its evolution in the mid-1970s into the Palestinian Cinema Institution. Author Khadijeh Habashneh weaves her own memories into excerpts from letters and other communications of survivors, friends and PFU members, accompanied by scholarly analysis of the work and contributions of this remarkable film movement from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. As such, this book offers a unique perspective on this aspect of Palestine film history - which ended in mid-1980s with the loss of its archive - providing details that have not been previously published in English.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 248 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This Brief provides an overview of commercially successful current applications of high pressure processing (HPP) non-thermal technology. In recent years, HPP has gained acceptance in the industry for its use in the development of nutritious clean label food products which meet modern demands from health-conscious consumers. HPP products are now commercially available in many countries, and more than 400 HPP industrial equipment installations are currently in operation.Advances in Food Applications for High Pressure Processing Technology offers an in-depth discussion of recent applications of HPP for different food commodities, including fruit juices, vegetable and fruit products, meat products, ready-to-eat meals, avocado products, dairy products, dips and condiments, wet salads and sandwich fillings, fermented products and baby and infant foods.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 88 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book focuses on natural and manmade structures which are used for drawing groundwater to the surface. Groundwater extraction structures include open dug wells (small-diameter open wells and large-diameter irrigation wells), tube wells, filter point wells, bore wells, surangams, and dug-cum-bore wells. Early abstraction structures were mainly natural but more manmade structures are now in use due to technological developments.Upto 30% of the freshwater supply in the world comes from groundwater, and among freshwater resources, groundwater plays a crucial role in the drinking water supply. Due to rapid population growth, increased urbanization, changing lifestyles, industrial growth, and agricultural methods, the demand for groundwater continues to increase.The book will be of interest to faculty and students of geology, geography and civil engineering, research scholars, hydrogeologists, planners, and professionals in the field of groundwater.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 108 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book is a comprehensive guide to the latest developments in data-driven additive manufacturing (AM). From data mining and pre-processing to signal processing, computer vision, and more, the book covers all the essential techniques for preparing AM data. Readers willl explore the key physical and synthetic sources of AM data throughout the life cycle of the process and learn about feature engineering techniques, pipelines, and resulting features, as well as their applications at each life cycle phase. With a focus on featurization efforts from reviewed literature, this book offers tabular summaries for major data sources and analyzes feature spaces at the design, process, and structure phases of AM to uncover trends and insights specific to feature engineering techniques. Finally, the book discusses current challenges and future directions, including AI/ML/DL readiness of AM data.Whether you're an expert or newcomer to the field, this book provides a broader summary ofthe status and future of data-driven AM technology.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 160 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book shows examples of basic approaches in real estate market analysis. Of value is the method of modeling the most attractive location of real estate, which is illustrated by a specific example. The authors give examples of real estate market research using GIS. The book analyzes the trends and prospects of real estate market development both in the pre-war and in the post-war period in Ukraine. It provides factors, trends, and development of the real estate market-directed investments. This book is useful to investors, real estate appraisers, real estate market researchers, GIS specialists, developers, researchers, graduate students, and students.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 156 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book explains the ideas behind one of the most well-known methods for knowledge graph embedding of transformations to compute vector representations from a graph, known as RDF2vec. The authors describe its usage in practice, from reusing pre-trained knowledge graph embeddings to training tailored vectors for a knowledge graph at hand. They also demonstrate different extensions of RDF2vec and how they affect not only the downstream performance, but also the expressivity of the resulting vector representation, and analyze the resulting vector spaces and the semantic properties they encode.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 168 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This SpringerBrief describes the development and use of a synthetic indicator to assess different degrees of sustainability adoption by economic sector and businesses size. To make this analysis a theoretical framework which involves variables common to alternative frameworks (specifically ESG, GRI and Istat) is proposed. The empirical analysis focuses on the environmental, social and economic variables of the Italian businesses. In this analysis, all three pillars of sustainability ¿ economic, environmental, and social ¿ are considered.The work begins with a review of business sustainability literature and a look into institutional frameworks for the development and measurement of the phenomena. Connections between businesses and the SDGs are examined and comparison of the classifications of sustainable activities defined by GRI and ESG international standards is used to define a framework to be adopted to analyse ISTAT Business Census. Selected indicator variables are aggregated with a synthetic indicator and the results are presented (this is a new proposal of a synthetic indicator useful for the type of data used and published by ISTAT ¿ Italian National Statistical Institute), discussing pros and cons of using it.This study provides two important innovative contributions. The first one is about how to approach the theoretical framework of businesses sustainability at firms aggregated level. The basic idea to work on a set of variables common to different approaches is interesting from the interpretative point of view. The second one, is about the specific empirical analysis, i.e. the Italian businesses sustainability situation. The investigation based on this new theoretical classification/framework and the new proposed indicator provides some interesting substantive results.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 164 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book explores poetry by Sherko Bekas, a Kurdish writer and Swedish Tucholsky award winner, providing contextualising biography (with original new information from an interview with his son) and critical stylistic analyses of two selected poems. The authors also include a section on the Kurdish language and translation of the poems into English. There are very few English translations of some of Bekas' poems and no book so far on the stylistic or even linguistic analysis of his work, with the result that Bekas is not widely known in the 'Western' world. This book aims to fill this lacuna in the literary and linguistic canon, and it will be of interest to students and scholars of Translation, Stylistics, Middle Eastern History and Literature.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 104 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book is not a research monograph about Malliavin calculus with the latest results and the most sophisticated proofs. It does not contain all the results which are known even for the basic subjects which are addressed here. The goal was to give the largest possible variety of proof techniques. For instance, we did not focus on the proof of concentration inequality for functionals of the Brownian motion, as it closely follows the lines of the analog result for Poisson functionals. This book grew from the graduate courses I gave at Paris-Sorbonne and Paris-Saclay universities, during the last few years. It is supposed to be as accessible as possible for students who have knowledge of Itö calculus and some rudiments of functional analysis.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 184 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This textbook provides nurses, allied health and social care professionals with the background knowledge necessary to support individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. It is a unique and viable resource which is particularly timely, as recent decades have seen a significant change in the demographics and associated care and support needs of this population.The textbook is laid into four sections to provide a logical structure for the content with chapters developing key topic areas relevant to the field.The introductory section sets the overall context for the book and considers the importance of developing an understanding of intellectual disability as a core concept identifying philosophies and models of service that underpin health and social care across the lifespan. Communication as a basis for caring and the overall concept of person-centred caring in a multidisciplinary context is considered. The second section explores key concepts from birth to adulthood exploring the nature of intellectual disability, the child with intellectual disability and other related neurodevelopmental conditions. The third section explores adulthood to older age and considers specific health care needs, understanding behaviour and other fundamental concepts including mental health, ageing and palliative care. The fourth and final section explores the integration of health and social care addressing such issues as supporting and enabling families, education, employment, and sexuality and relationships.Edited by experienced and widely respected professionals, this textbook is written by international practitioners, educators and researchers who all play critical roles in working with individuals with intellectual disability and their families.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 264 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Social media has become vital in Generation Z users' daily lives, as they are the most connected group through social media; however, studies have shown the negative side of using social media heavily, particularly loneliness. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the significant growth of social media use with Generation Z users, which has shown to cause negative psychological effects. This book explores the behaviors of Generation Z consumers on various social media platforms (including interaction with brands as well as persons) and, using results from a Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) analysis, explores the potential risks and causes of social media addiction in this generation. In particular, it offers an integrative model to help marketers understand social media addition and ways in which companies and associations can promote a more conscious use of social media by acknowledging that pathological use of social media has negative effects. This book isuseful for students, researchers, scholars interested in empirical research on consumer social media use and addiction.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 64 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This textbook explains Technology Roadmapping, in both its development and practice, and illustrates the underlying theory of, and empirical evidence for, technologic evolution over time afforded by this strategy. The book contains a rich set of examples and practical exercises from a wide array of domains in applied science and engineering such as transportation, energy, communications, and medicine. Professor de Weck gives a complete review of the principles, methods, and tools of technology management for organizations and technologically-enabled systems, including technology scouting, roadmapping, strategic planning, R&D project execution, intellectual property management, knowledge management, partnering and acquisition, technology transfer, innovation management, and financial technology valuation. Special topics also covered include Moore¿s law, S-curves, the singularity and fundamental limits to technology. Ideal for university courses in engineering, management, and business programs, as well as self-study or online learning for professionals in a range of industries, readers of this book will learn how to develop and deploy comprehensive technology roadmaps and R&D portfolios on diverse topics of their choice.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 672 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book, by an eminent scientist and philosopher, provides strong evidence for the claim that language is a general principle of Nature, rooted exclusively in physical and chemical laws. The author¿s radical idea inevitably leads us to view the essence, origin and evolution of life in a completely new light. It shifts the coordinates of our scientific world-view in favor of an overarching concept of language that is able to bridge the gap between matter and mind. At the same time, it removes a blind spot in the Darwinian concept of evolution.To justify this far-reaching idea, the book takes a long and deep look at our scientific and philosophical thinking, at language as such, at science¿s claim to truth, and at its methods, unity, limits and perspectives. These are the cornerstones structuring the book into six thematically self-contained chapters, rounded off by an epilogue that introduces the new topic of Nature¿s semantics. The range of issues covered is a testimony to how progress in the life sciences is transforming the whole edifice of science, from physics to biology and beyond. The book is aimed at a broad academic and general readership; it requires no mathematical expertise.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 536 pp. Englisch.