springer springer berlin heidelberg nov 2010 (Plus de 2 400 résultats)

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This is an excellent introduction for graduate students and nonspecialists to the field of mathematical and computational neurosciences. The book approaches the subject via pulsed-coupled neural networks, which have at their core the lighthouse and integrate-and-fire models. These allow for highly flexible modeling of realistic synaptic activity, synchronization and spatio-temporal pattern formation. The more advanced pulse-averaged equations are discussed. 348 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Companies' decision-making and planning systems find themselves in a constant tug of war between strategic and financial considerations. The authors analyze these two opposing currents in business thinking, dissecting their differences and identifying their best practices. They also develop an approach that reconciles the two conflicting schools of thought ¿ without watering down their differences. Schwenker und Spremann argue that both strategic and financial perspectives can serve as a compass in management's decision-making processes: Which perspective to choose depends on the phase of business. The authors distinguish four phases in the company lifecycle ¿ phases in which the business must find the proper position, develop, grow and, ultimately, earn. In the first two phases, strategic considerations should take priority; in the latter two phases, financial considerations rule the day.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This concise treatment embraces, in four parts, all the main aspects of theoretical physics. Recent topics such as holography and quantum cryptography are included. The book summarizes what a graduate student, physicist working in industry, or a physics teacher should master during his or her degree course. It will also be useful for deepening one¿s insight and it adds new dimensions to understanding of these elemental concepts.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Terms such as 'expanding Universe', 'big bang', and 'initial singularity', are nowadays part of our common language. The idea that the Universe we observe today originated from an enormous explosion (big bang) is now well known and widely accepted, at all levels, in modern popular culture. But what happens to the Universe before the big bang And would it make any sense at all to ask such a question In fact, recent progress in theoretical physics, and in particular in String Theory, suggests answers to the above questions, providing us with mathematical tools able in principle to reconstruct the history of the Universe even for times before the big bang.In the emerging cosmological scenario the Universe, at the epoch of the big bang, instead of being a 'new born baby' was actually a rather 'aged' creature in the middle of its possibly infinitely enduring evolution. The aim of this book is to convey this picture in non-technical language accessibile also to non-specialists. The author, himself a leading cosmologist, draws attention to ongoing and future observations that might reveal relics of an era before the big bang.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 220 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -A. Blaquière: Quelques aspects géométriques des processus optimaux.- C. Castaing: Quelques problèmes de mesurabilité liés à la théorie des commandes.- L. Cesari: Existence theorems for Lagrange and Pontryagin problems of the calculus of variations and optimal control of more-dimensional extensions in Sobolev space.- H. Halkin: Optimal control as programming in infinite dimensional spaces.- C. Olech: The range of integrals of a certain class vector-valued functions.- E. Rothe: Weak topology and calculus of variations.- E.O. Roxin: Problems about the set of attainability.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 376 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Lectures: A. Jeffrey: Lectures on nonlinear wave propagation.- Y. Choquet-Bruhat: Ondes asymptotiques.- G. Boillat: Urti.- Seminars: D. Graffi: Sulla teoria dell¿ottica non-lineare.- G. Grioli: Sulla propagazione del calore nei mezzi continui.- T. Manacorda: Onde nei solidi con vincoli interni.- T. Ruggeri: 'Entropy principle' and main field for a non linear covariant system.- B. Straughan: Singular surfaces in dipolar materials and possible consequences for continuum mechanics 296 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -L. Cesari: Non-linear analysis.- J.K. Hale: Oscillations in neutral functional differential equations.- M. Jean: Eléments de la théorie des équations différentielles avec commandes.- J. Mawhin: Un aperçu des recherches belges en théorie des equations différentielles ordinaires dans le champ réel entre 1967 et 1972.- Yu A. Mitropol¿skii: Certains aspects des progrès de la methode de centrage.- Th. Vogel: Quelques problèmes non linéaires en physique mathématique.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 400 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -¿Enabling Social Europe¿ examines how the paradigm of the ¿enabling welfare state¿ might offer a new perspective for European social policy in the decades to come. The ¿enabling¿ concept is perceived as going beyond that of mere ¿activation¿, thus also embracing policies aimed at increasing personal autonomy, individual responsibility and social inclusion by endowing individuals with the resources and capabilities needed to manage and balance their life courses in a better way. The study is distinguished by a unique collaboration of social and economic policy experts coming from a wide range of disciplines: economics, law, sociology, political science, and philosophy. The authors seek to shed new light on whether European social policy ought to play a role in the future and, if so, what sort of role that could be. They convincingly argue that despite an implicit normative consensus on the ¿European social model¿, there is still room for a multifaceted world in which welfare regimes can maintain their own path-dependent ways of achieving a fair and just society with a high level of welfare for all. The empirical part of the book contains an appraisal of policies and reforms with a view to the ¿enabling welfare state¿ approach in four important policy areas: health care, old-age security, family policy, and poverty prevention. Within each sector, the authors compare the policies and practices of two countries attributable to different regime types: Germany and the United Kingdom, Poland and Germany, Finland and Estonia, and Belgium and Denmark. This book is highly recommendable not only for scholars and policymakers active in this field, but also for students of welfare and labour economics, sociology, social policy, political science and law.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 412 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Economists and political scientists have recently begun to study formally how conftict and the possibility of conftict affects resource allocation and economic performance.! For example, an extensive empiricalliterature suggests that conftict and political instability adversely affects economic development and that higher 2 inequality causes poor economic performance by inducing increased conftict. In this paper I argue that a serious ftaw in this research has taken too individu 3 alistic a view of conftict. While the approach of methodological individualism is attractive, in reality individuals act not purely in isolation, but also as part of larger social groupings and networks. I therefore try to consider how these models of conftict may be extended to this type of situation and thus attempt to place individuals within a larger social setting to see how this alters our intuitions about conftict and its economic and political determinants and implications. But what groups are relevant Individuals belong to many overlapping and cross cutting groups in society. While traditional Marxist analysis stressed dass groupings so that workers associated with workers and capitalists with capitalists, more recent literature (see Wright, 1985) has stressed the diversity of social groupings. Rather than associate along dass lines one might associate along gender, religious, or perhaps ethnic lines. Many strands of research have show how thinking of groups in this heterogeneous way can iIluminate both economic 4 and political behavior.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 208 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Achieving enterprise success necessitates addressing enterprises in ways that match the complexity and dynamics of the modern enterprise environment. However, since the majority of enterprise strategic initiatives appear to fail ¿ among which those regarding information technology ¿ the currently often practiced approaches to strategy development and implementation seem more an obstacle than an enabler for strategic enterprise success.Two themes underpin the fundamentally different views outlined in this book. First, the competence-based perspective on governance, whereby employees are viewed as the crucial core for effectively addressing the complex, dynamic and uncertain enterprise reality, as well as for successfully defining and operationalizing strategic choices. Second, enterprise engineering as the formal conceptual framework and methodology for arranging a unified and integrated enterprise design, which is a necessary condition for enterprise success.Jan Hoogervorst's presentation, which is based on both research and his professional background at Sogeti B.V., aims at professionals in management and consulting as well as students in management science and business information systems.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 456 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The book gives a comprehensive overview of modern non-life actuarial science. It starts with a verbal description (i.e. without using mathematical formulae) of the main actuarial problems to be solved in non-life practice. Then in an extensive second chapter all the mathematical tools needed to solve these problems are dealt with - now in mathematical notation. The rest of the book is devoted to the exact formulation of various problems and their possible solutions. Being a good mixture of practical problems and their actuarial solutions, the book addresses above all two types of readers: firstly students (of mathematics, probability and statistics, informatics, economics) having some mathematical knowledge, and secondly insurance practitioners who remember mathematics only from some distance. Prerequisites are basic calculus and probability theory.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 148 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Experimentation is necessary - a purely theoretical approach is not reasonable. The new experimentalism, a development in the modern philosophy of science, considers that an experiment can have a life of its own. It provides a statistical methodology to learn from experiments, where the experimenter should distinguish between statistical significance and scientific meaning.This book introduces the new experimentalism in evolutionary computation, providing tools to understand algorithms and programs and their interaction with optimization problems. The book develops and applies statistical techniques to analyze and compare modern search heuristics such as evolutionary algorithms and particle swarm optimization. Treating optimization runs as experiments, the author offers methods for solving complex real-world problems that involve optimization via simulation, and he describes successful applications in engineering and industrial control projects.The book bridges the gap between theory and experiment by providing a self-contained experimental methodology and many examples, so it is suitable for practitioners and researchers and also for lecturers and students. It summarizes results from the author's consulting to industry and his experience teaching university courses and conducting tutorials at international conferences. The book will be supported online with downloads and exercises.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 232 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Quantum mechanics is a beautiful, strange and successful theory that originated in the 1920s. The theory, which Niels Bohr regarded as finished and complete, has in the last few decades rapidly developed in unexpected directions. An intense new focus on the stranger aspects of the theory, including entanglement and nonlocality, has resulted in new perceptions of the foundations of quantum mechanics, as well as surprising new exploitations of quantum phenomena. Historians and philosophers of science have also renewed their attention to quantum mechanics, opening up its human dimensions and asking searching questions about its meaning. This volume brings together new insights from different vantage points: Historians of physics, such as J. L. Heilbron; philosophers of science, such as Abner Shimony and Michel Bitbol; and quantum physicists, such as Wolfgang Ketterle and Roland Omnès, join forces to tackle essential questions in quantum mechanics and its interpretation. All the authors have written for a broad readership, and the resulting volume will appeal to everyone wishing to keep abreast of new developments in quantum mechanics, as well as its history and philosophy.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 260 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -At a time when information systems are becoming ever more complex and quality to market and time to market are critical for many companies, a structured test process is essential. Even more important is a structured test management process to keep testing under control. Nowadays a test manager must have extensive knowledge of and experience with project management, risk assessment, team building, and, process improvement.Based on their long-term industry experience, Pinkster and her coauthors describe a holistic approach to test management that combines test methods, test management, risk assessment and stakeholder management into one integral process, giving test managers, test coordinators, IT project managers, and QA managers a competitive edge in environments where there are numerous unstructured requirements, tough testing schedules and limited resources.This book should be in every test manager's backpack!Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 392 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -ASIACRYPT 2010 was held in the Swiss¿ otel Merchant Court in Singapore, d- ing December 5¿9, 2010. The conference was sponsored by the International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) in cooperation with the Coding and Cryptography Research Group of Nanyang Technological University. It was also supported by the Singapore Tourism Board, and co-sponsored by the - tional Research Foundation of Singapore, Lee Foundation, IBM Singapore Ltd., O¿Connor¿sSingaporeLtd.,Pu ersoftLtd.,PrivylinkLtd.,Hewlett-PackardS- gaporeLtd.,JardineOneSolutionLtd.,andSingaporeMathematicalSociety.San Ling chaired the conference and I served as the Program Chair. There were 216 valid submissions. The Program Committee aided by 221 external reviewers spent 83 days on reviews and discussions. They spared no e ort to increase the quality of their reviews. Every paper received at least three independent reviews, and papers from the committee members received ve reviews. In total, there were more than 730 reviews followed by intensive discussion. This long and tough process, wrapped up with an intensive face-- facemeeting by the committeemembers convenedatUCSanta Barbara,yielded 35 accepted papers. I regret not being able to select more of such high-quality papers due to space limitations. The proceedings include the revised versions of the accepted papers. The authors are fully responsible for their contents. 648 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Firms that operate in a market economy often depend upon innovations in order to achieve competitive advantages that sustainably secure their survival. Business ethics is thus largely concerned with questions about the decisional freedoms involved in innovation processes. Innovations oftentimes raise novel questions about the role of the state or the structure of society. Business ethics needs to provide a framework for balancing the different perspectives, values, and interests at stake. This balance must be achieved at the level of the firm in order to facilitate adequate long term decisions, but it should also be sought at higher, including regulatory, levels. Achieving this balance will require an ethical framework for entrepreneurial action. The particular disciplines engaged in generating innovations as well as all relevant fields of applied ethics should be involved in the balancing process. Business Ethics of Innovation is thus necessarily an interdisciplinary endeavour. This volume assesses general questions of how business ethics can help to structure innovations and specifically discusses pharmaceutical innovations as well as innovations in the IT sector.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 128 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The significance of product lifecycle management (PLM ¿ Product Lifecycle Management, formerly referred to, in a narrower frame of reference, as PDM ¿ Product Data Management) is increasing, especially for companies in the manufacturing, high technology, and service industries. Product and component lifecycles are shortening while, at the same time, new products must be delivered to market more quickly than before. Many manufacturing and service companies are also trying to grow out of a bulk provider role. In the future they will be p- viding configurable and flexible solutions rather than just individual products. This leads companies to form networks in which each actor specializes in the planning, manufacture or integration of products in a certain field. Information concerning common products must pass quickly, faultlessly, and automatically between companies so that they can compete effectively in international markets. In today¿s industrial production, therefore, PLM is an essential tool for coping with the challenges of more demanding global competition and ever-shortening product and component lifecycles and growing customer needs. New, better and more flexible products must be introduced into markets more quickly, with more profit and less labor, and the lifecycle of each product must be better controlled, for example, from financial and environmental perspectives. Fierce competition in global markets drives companies to perform better. In order to perform well financially, companies must be able to make informed decisions concerning the lifecycle of each product in their portfolio.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 268 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -'Number Theory in Science and Communication' is a well-known introduction for non-mathematicians to this fascinating and useful branch of applied mathematics . It stresses intuitive understanding rather than abstract theory and highlights important concepts such as continued fractions, the golden ratio, quadratic residues and Chinese remainders, trapdoor functions, pseudo primes and primitive elements. Their applications to problems in the real world are one of the main themes of the book. This revised fifth edition is augmented by recent advances in coding theory, permutations and derangements and a chapter in quantum cryptography.From reviews of earlier editions ¿'I continue to find [Schroeder¿s] Number Theory a goldmine of valuable information. It is a marvelous book, in touch with the most recent applications of number theory and written with great clarity and humor.¿ Philip Morrison (Scientific American)'A light-hearted and readable volume with a wide range of applications to which the author has been a productive contributor ¿ useful mathematics outside the formalities of theorem and proof.' Martin GardnerSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 456 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -One of the major challenges in current chemistry is to nd molecules able to move charges rapidly and ef ciently from, for example, one terminus to another one under the control of an external electrical, electrochemical or photochemical stimulus. Nature has provided impressive examples of how these goals are achieved. The photosynthetic reaction center protein, for instance, rapidly moves electrons with near unity quantum ef ciency across a lipid bilayer membrane using several redox cofactors, and thus, serves as a model for developing biomimetic analogues for applications in elds such as photovoltaic devices, molecular electronics and photonic materials. In this context, p-conjugated oligomeric molecular assemblies are of particular interest because they provide ef cient electronic couplings between electroactive units - donor and acceptor termini - and display wire-like behavior. In order to make a molecule able to behave as an ideal molecular wire different requirements need to be ful lled: i) matching between the donor (acceptor) and bridge energy levels, ii) a good electronic coupling between the electron donor and acceptor units via the bridge orbitals, and iii) a small attenuation factor. Among the many different p-conjugated oligomers, oligo(p-phenylenevin- enes) (oPPV), have emerged as a particularly promising model system that helps to comprehend/rationalize the basic features of polymeric poly(p-phenyle- vinylenes) and also as a versatile building block for novel materials with che- cally tailored properties.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 196 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Addressed to both graduate students and researchers this monograph provides in-depth analyses of vortex dominated flows via matched and multiscale asymptotics, and it demonstrates how insight gained through these analyses can be exploited in the construction of robust, efficient, and accurate numerical techniques. The dynamics of slender vortex filaments is discussed in detail, including fundamental derivations, compressible core structure, weakly non-linear limit regimes, and associated numerical methods. Similarly, the volume covers asymptotic analysis and computational techniques for weakly compressible flows involving vortex generated sound and thermoacoustics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 524 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Brain Dynamics serves to introduce graduate students and nonspecialists from various backgrounds to the field of mathematical and computational neurosciences. Some of the advanced chapters will also be of interest to the specialists. The book approaches the subject through pulse-coupled neural networks, with at their core the lighthouse and integrate-and-fire models, which allow for the highly flexible modelling of realistic synaptic activity, synchronization and spatio-temporal pattern formation. Topics also include pulse-averaged equations and their application to movement coordination. The book closes with a short analysis of models versus the real neurophysiological system.The second edition has been thoroughly updated and augmented by two extensive chapters that discuss the interplay between pattern recognition and synchronization. Further, to enhance the usefulness as textbook and for self-study, the detailed solutions for all 34 exercises throughout the text have been added.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 348 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Bioinspired computation methods such as evolutionary algorithms and ant colony optimization are being applied successfully to complex engineering problems and to problems from combinatorial optimization, and with this comes the requirement to more fully understand the computational complexity of these search heuristics. This is the first textbook covering the most important results achieved in this area.The authors study the computational complexity of bioinspired computation and show how runtime behavior can be analyzed in a rigorous way using some of the best-known combinatorial optimization problems -- minimum spanning trees, shortest paths, maximum matching, covering and scheduling problems. A feature of the book is the separate treatment of single- and multiobjective problems, the latter a domain where the development of the underlying theory seems to be lagging practical successes.This book will be very valuable for teaching courses on bioinspired computation and combinatorial optimization. Researchers will also benefit as the presentation of the theory covers the most important developments in the field over the last 10 years. Finally, with a focus on well-studied combinatorial optimization problems rather than toy problems, the book will also be very valuable for practitioners in this field.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 228 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -In the light of upcoming global issues, concerning population, energy, the environment, and food, information and communication technologies are required to overcome difficulties in communication among cultures. In this context, the First International Conference on Culture and Computing, which was held in Kyoto, Japan, in February 2010, was conceived as a collection of symposia, panels, workshops, exhibitions, and guided tours intended to share issues, activities, and research results regarding culture and computing. This volume includes 17 invited and selected papers dealing with state-of-the-art topics in culturally situated agents, intercultural collaboration and support systems, culture and computing for art and heritage, as well as culture and computing within regional communities.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 240 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The world of the twenty- rst century is, more than ever, global and impersonal. Criminal and terrorist threats, both physical and on the Internet, increase by the day. The demand for better methods of identi cation is growing, not only in companies and organizations, but also in the world at large. Identity management is put under pressure, due to the growing number of frauds who want to hide their true identity. Identity management challenges the information security research community to focus on interdisciplinary and holistic approaches while retaining the bene ts of previous research e orts. As part of this tendency, surveillance and monitoring are more prominently present in society, both in the public and private domain. The original intention being to contribute to security and safety, surveillance and monitoring might, in some cases, have unintended or even contradictory e ects. Besides, the - nipresence of surveillance and monitoring systems might be at daggers drawn with public and democratic liberties. In this context, IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing) Working Group 11.6 on Identity Management organized its second working c- ferenceonPoliciesandResearchinIdentityManagement(IDMAN2010)inOslo, Norway, November 18¿19, 2010. Papers o ering research contributions focusing on identity management in general and surveillance and monitoring in parti- lar were solicited for submission. The submitted papers were in general of high quality. All papers were reviewed by two to ve members of the international ProgramCommittee. Nine of the submitted papers,whicharepublishedin these proceedings,were nally unanimously accepted for presentationby the Program Committee. WeareverygratefultotheNorwegiangovernmentforfundingthisconference.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 156 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Applied Mathematics: Body & Soul is a mathematics education reform project developed at Chalmers University of Technology and includes a series of volumes and software. The program is motivated by the computer revolution opening new possibilities of computational mathematical modeling in mathematics, science and engineering. It consists of a synthesis of Mathematical Analysis (Soul), Numerical Computation (Body) and Application. Volumes I-III present a modern version of Calculus and Linear Algebra, including constructive/numerical techniques and applications intended for undergraduate programs in engineering and science. Further volumes present topics such as Dynamical Systems, Fluid Dynamics, Solid Mechanics and Electro-Magnetics on an advanced undergraduate/graduate level.The authors are leading researchers in Computational Mathematics who have written various successful books.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 472 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Polyelectrolytes, i. e. , water-soluble polymers with a lot of dissociating functional groups, and nanoparticles, i. e. , ne particles with diameters on the nanometer scale, are two substance classes of growing interest. Both polyelectrolytes and nanoparticles can be found in many industrial applications such as in paints, - per coatings, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. For adjusting the properties of such multicomponent systems, the knowledge of the macromolecular and electroch- ical features of the polyelectrolytes on the one hand, and the size and shape of the nanoparticles on the other hand is essential. Understanding the basic principles involved in the preparation of nanoparticles and control of the interparticle interaction forces by adsorbing polyelectrolytes is therefore crucial, both from a scienti c and application oriented point of view. Over the last years, the term nanotechnology, which refers to the technology that produces nanosize particles, has been established, and a new fast-growing market has been born. The pioneers in this eld were the alchemists, who were already able in the 16th century to produce colloidal gold, however, without kno- edge of the scienti c background of the formulation process. Today, of course, we know much more about the colloidal metal nanoparticles, but still some questions are open. Therefore, especially the formation, characterization, and stabilization of gold nanoparticles as a nanoscalic model system in presence of polyelectrolytes, is discussed here in more detail.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 124 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -As individual needs have arisen in the fields of physics, electrical engineering and computational science, each has created its own theories of information to serve as conceptual instruments for advancing developments. This book provides a coherent consolidation of information theories from these different fields. The author gives a survey of current theories and then introduces the underlying notion of symmetry, showing how information is related to the capacity of a system to distinguish itself. A formal methodology using group theory is employed and leads to the application of Burnside's Lemma to count distinguishable states. This provides a versatile tool for quantifying complexity and information capacity in any physical system. Written in an informal style, the book is accessible to all researchers in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, computational science as well as many others.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 176 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The spin degree of freedom is an intrinsically quantum-mechanical phenomenon, leading to both intriguing applications and unsolved fundamental issues (such as 'where does the proton spin come from'). The present volume investigates central aspects of modern spin physics in the form of extensive lectures on semiconductor spintronics, the spin-pairing mechanism in high-temperature semiconductors, spin in quantum field theory and the nucleon spin.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 144 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The widespread interest this book has found among professors, scientists and stu dents working in a variety of fields has made a new edition necessary. I have used this opportunity to add three new chapters on recent developments. One of the most fascinating fields of modern science is cognitive science which has become a meet ing place of many disciplines ranging from mathematics over physics and computer science to psychology. Here, one of the important links between these fields is the concept of information which, however, appears in various disguises, be it as Shan non information or as semantic information (or as something still different). So far, meaning seemed to be exorcised from Shannon information, whereas meaning plays a central role in semantic (or as it is sometimes called 'pragmatic') information. In the new chapter 13 it will be shown, however, that there is an important interplay between Shannon and semantic information and that, in particular, the latter plays a decisive role in the fixation of Shannon information and, in cognitive processes, al lows a drastic reduction of that information. A second, equally fascinating and rapidly developing field for mathematicians, computer scientists and physicists is quantum information and quantum computa tion. The inclusion of these topics is a must for any modern treatise dealing with in formation. It becomes more and more evident that the abstract concept of informa tion is inseparably tied up with its realizations in the physical world.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 276 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Advances in bioinformatics and systems biology require improved computational methods for analyzing data, while progress in molecular biology is in turn influencing the development of computer science methods. This book introduces some key problems in bioinformatics, discusses the models used to formally describe these problems, and analyzes the algorithmic approaches used to solve them.After introducing the basics of molecular biology and algorithmics, Part I explains string algorithms and alignments; Part II details the field of physical mapping and DNA sequencing; and Part III examines the application of algorithmics to the analysis of biological data. Exciting application examples include predicting the spatial structure of proteins, and computing haplotypes from genotype data.This book describes topics in detail and presents formal models in a mathematically precise, yet intuitive manner, with many figures and chapter summaries, detailed derivations, and examples. It is well suited as an introduction into the field of bioinformatics, and will benefit students and lecturers in bioinformatics and algorithmics, while also offering practitioners an update on current research topics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 408 pp. Englisch.