springer mär 2005 (52 Ergebnisse)

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Here is a one-volume guide to just about everything computer-related for amateur astronomers! Today's amateur astronomy is inextricably linked to personal computers. Computer-controlled 'go-to' telescopes are inexpensive. CCD and webcam imaging make intensive use of the technology for capturing and processing images. Planetarium software provides information and an easy interface for telescopes. The Internet offers links to other astronomers, information, and software. The list goes on and on. Find out here how to choose the best planetarium program: are commercial versions really better than freeware Learn how to optimise a go-to telescope, or connect it to a lap-top. Discover how to choose the best webcam and use it with your telescope. Create a mosaic of the Moon, or high-resolution images of the planets. Astronomy with a Home Computer is designed for every amateur astronomer who owns a home computer, whether it is running Microsoft Windows, Mac O/S or Linux. It doesn't matter what kind of telescope you own either - a small refractor is just as useful as a big 'go-to' SCT for most of the projects in this book.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Questo volume è dedicato all'artista Armando Pizzinato. E si parla di arte; oltre che di Pizzinato, di Pollock, grazie alla collaborazione della Guggenheim Collection di Venezia. E si parla di architettura, dalla topologia ai progetti di Ghery e di Renzo Piano. E di modelli matematici per la lotta contro il cancro, contro l'AIDS. Di come la matematica può aiutare a prevenire e intervenire. E si parla di matematica della guerra e di come la matematica possa aiutare a proteggere l'ambiente. Nel gennaio 2005, scrivendo queste parole, diventa di grande e drammatica attualità l'utilizzo dei modelli matematici per la meteorologia. Prevedere per salvare. Non poteva mancare Venezia. Il vetro, le murrine, grazie alla fantastica collezione di Giovanni Sarpellon. E di quarta dimensione, di rendere visibile l'invisibile. E alla fine, un poco di magia, grazie a Bustric. E di tante altre cose, non dimenticando l'omaggio ed il ricordo a un grande matematico: H.S.M. 'Donald' Coxeter.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This book presents the author's new method of two-stage maximization of likelihood function, which helps to solve a series of non-solving before the well-posed and ill-posed problems of pseudosolution computing systems of linear algebraic equations (or, in statistical terminology, parameters' estimators of functional relationships) and linear integral equations in the presence of deterministic and random errors in the initial data. This book, for the first time, presents a solution of the problem of reciprocal influence of passive errors of regressors and of active errors of predictors by computing point estimators of functional relationships.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This book is a self-teaching guide to the SPSS for Windows computer application. It is designed to be used with SPSS version 13.0, although many of the procedures are also applicable to earlier versions of SPSS. The step-by-step format of this manual 'walks' the reader through numerous examples, illustrating how to use the application. The results produced in SPSS are shown and discussed in most examples. Each chapter demonstrates statistical procedures and provides exercises to reinforce the text examples. This book may be used in two ways - as a stand-alone manual for a student learning to use SPSS for Windows or in a course together with a basic statistics text. As a stand-alone manual, it is assumed that the reader is familiar with the basic ideas of quantitative data and statistical analysis. Thus, statistical terminology is used without providing extensive definitions. Most of the applications in this book are self-explanatory, although the reader will need to refer to a text for extensive discussion of statistical theory and procedures.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - In recent years, the discovery of new algorithms for dealing with polynomial equations, coupled with their implementation on fast inexpensive computers, has sparked a minor revolution in the study and practice of algebraic geometry. These algorithmic methods have also given rise to some exciting new applications of algebraic geometry. This book illustrates the many uses of algebraic geometry, highlighting some of the more recent applications of Gröbner bases and resultants. In order to do this, the authors provide an introduction to some algebraic objects and techniques which are more advanced than one typically encounters in a first course, but nonetheless of great utility. The book is written for nonspecialists and for readers with a diverse range of backgrounds. It assumes knowledge of the material covered in a standard undergraduate course in abstract algebra, and it would help to have some previous exposure to Gröbner bases. The book does not assume the reader is familiar with more advanced concepts such as modules. For this new edition the authors added two new sections and a new chapter, updated the references and made numerous minor improvements throughout the text.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Employee participation is a dynamic and contested area of organisational behaviour, attracting continuing academic, practitioner and policy interest and debate. This book will bring together a fresh, critical and comparative perspective on the full range of participation practices, drawing on the work of leading scholars in the field. It is inteded to honour the work of Harvie Ramsay, who died tragically in 2001 and who was a pioneering writer on participation and democracy in this field.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - The discovery of new algorithms for dealing with polynomial equations, and their implementation on fast, inexpensive computers, has revolutionized algebraic geometry and led to exciting new applications in the field. This book details many uses of algebraic geometry and highlights recent applications of Grobner bases and resultants. This edition contains two new sections, a new chapter, updated references and many minor improvements throughout. In recent years, the discovery of new algorithms for dealing with polynomial equations, coupled with their implementation on fast inexpensive computers, has sparked a minor revolution in the study and practice of algebraic geometry. These algorithmic methods have also given rise to some exciting new applications of algebraic geometry. This book illustrates the many uses of algebraic geometry, highlighting some of the more recent applications of Gröbner bases and resultants.The book is written for nonspecialists and for readers with a diverse range of backgrounds. It assumes knowledge of the material covered in a standard undergraduate course in abstract algebra, and it would help to have some previous exposure to Gröbner bases. The book does not assume the reader is familiar with more advanced concepts such as modules.For the new edition, the authors have added a unified discussion of how matrices can be used to specify monomial orders; a revised presentation of the Mora normal form algorithm; two sections discussing the Gröbner fan of an ideal and the Gröbner Walk basis conversion algorithm; and a new chapter on the theory of order domains, associated codes, and the Berlekamp-Massey-Sakata decoding algorithm. They have also updated the references, improved some of the proofs, and corrected typographical errors.David Cox is Professor of Mathematics at Amherst College. John Little is Professor of Mathematics at College of the Holy Cross. Donal O Shea is the Elizabeth T. Kennan Professor of Mathematics and Dean of Faculty at Mt. Holyoke College. These authors also co-wrote the immensely successful book, Ideals, Varieties, and Algorithms.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - The last few decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the application of numerical computation to problems in solid and structural mechanics. The burgeoning of computational mechanics opened a pedagogical gap between traditional courses in elementary strength of materials and the finite element method that classical courses on advanced strength of materials and elasticity do not adequately fill. In the past, our ability to formulate theory exceeded our ability to compute. In those days, solid mechanics was for virtuosos. With the advent of the finite element method, our ability to compute has surpassed our ability to formulate theory. As a result, continuum mechanics is no longer the province of the specialist. What an engineer needs to know about mechanics has been forever changed by our capacity to compute. This book attempts to capitalize on the pedagogi cal opportunities implicit in this shift of perspective. It now seems more ap propriate to focus on fundamental principles and formulations than on classical solution techniques.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - It has been more than 80 years since Valasek first recognized the existence of a dielectric analogue to ferromagnetism, ferroelectricity, in Rochelle salt. Much as with semiconductor research, the initial studies of ferroelectric materials focused on homogeneous materials. Unlike semiconductor research, however, which rapidly expanded into n- homogeneous structures and devices, investigations of compositionally graded and layered ferroelectrics have been relatively recent endeavors. Indeed, many of the most significant results and analysis pertaining to polarization-graded ferroelectrics have only appeared in publication within the last ten years. Further extensions of these concepts to the general class of order-parameter graded ferroic materials, as depicted on the cover of this book, have (with one exception) been totally lacking. It was thus with a great deal of excitement that we assembled the manuscript for this book. The primary focus of this study is directed toward polarization-graded ferroelectrics and their active components, transpacitors; however, the findings presented here are quite general. The theory of graded 2 and 5; whereas, much of the ferroics is put on a solid foundation in chapters introductory material relies more heavily upon analogy. This was done so as to provide the reader with an intuitive approach to graded ferroics, thereby enabling them to see heterogeneous ferroics as clearly logical extensions of passive semiconductor junction devices such as p-n and n-p diodes and their active manifestations, transistors, to: transpacitors, transductors, translastics, and ultimately to the general active ferroic elements, transponents.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Covers these key topics: Shared-mesh protection for optical WDM networks.Survivable traffic grooming for hierarchical optical WDM networks.Survivable data over next-generation SONET/SDH with inverse multiplexing.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Corporate Spin-Off processes are very interesting phenomena for management theory and practice. In theory, Corporate Spin-Offs are both a driver and a result of organisational change, offering the possibility to investigate an area where companies are genuinely sharing experience and best practice. In practice, Corporate Spin-Off processes are frequent and highly successful, but not as well-regarded as Merger and Acquisition strategies and less understood by the decision-makers.Success Factors of Corporate Spin-Offs was designed to meet these demands by analysing the success factors of Corporate Spin-Offs, their relative contribution to the process and the role of the different actors involved. Based on an extensive literature review and a new Spin-Off typology, a broad range of success factors and success dimensions is proposed. Using a combination of multivariate models, the responses from 211 European companies to a questionnaire are analysed and typologies derived.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Edited by five leaders in the field of health informatics, Consumer Health Informatics explores all aspects of this evolving science. This comprehensive volume will be an indispensable tool for both professionals and students as it details the broad scope of consumer health informatics and its impact on today's progressive and ever-changing world of health care. The inclusion of several case studies serves to examine pertinent topics, namely computer-based information for cancer; National Library of Medicine initiatives; and web-based patient preferences and utilities. Designed for use by medical IT specialists, physicians, nurses, healthcare providers, and professors and students of medical informatics, the book's chapter highlights include patient empowerment; frameworks and models for health behavior change and patient education; patient to patient communication; patient to provider communication; privacy and confidentiality; ethical issues; evaluation methods, and more.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This volume is the conference proceedings of the NATO ARW during August 2001 at Kananaskis Village, Canada on 'New Techniques in Topological Quantum Field Theory'. This conference brought together specialists from a number of different fields all related to Topological Quantum Field Theory. The theme of this conference was to attempt to find new methods in quantum topology from the interaction with specialists in these other fields.The featured articles include papers by V. Vassiliev on combinatorial formulas for cohomology of spaces of Knots, the computation of Ohtsuki series by N. Jacoby and R. Lawrence, and a paper by M. Asaeda and J. Przytycki on the torsion conjecture for Khovanov homology by Shumakovitch. Moreover, there are articles on more classical topics related to manifolds and braid groups by such well known authors as D. Rolfsen, H. Zieschang and F. Cohen.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Architecture Description Languages is an essential reference for both academic and professional researchers inthe field of system engineering and design. The papers presented in this volumewere selected from the workshop of the same name that was held as part of the World Computer Congress 2004 Conference, held in Toulouse, France in August 2004. This collection presents significant research and innovative developments and applications from both academic researchers and industry practitioners on topics ranging from Semantics to Tool and Development Environments.The aim of an ADL is to formally describesoftware and hardware architectures. Usually, an ADL describes components, their interfaces, their structures, their interactions (structure of data flow and control flow) and the mappings to hardware systems. A major goal of such description is to allow analysis with respect to several aspects like timing, safety, reliability. The papers in this state-of-the-art volume cover such topics of interest as components, connectors, composition; semantics and formalization; verification, simulation and test; tools and development environments; standardization; industrial projects.To encourage closer interaction between academic and industrial networking research communities, the workshop welcomed academic research papers as well as industrial contributions, and both are included here. Which makes this collection important not only for ADL experts and researchers, but also for all teachers and administrators interested in ADL.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Most manufacturing systems are large, complex, and operate in an environment of uncertainty. It is common practice to manage such systems in a hierarchical fashion. This book articulates a new theory that shows that hierarchical decision making can in fact lead to a near optimization of system goals. The material in the book cuts across disciplines. It will appeal to graduate students and researchers in applied mathematics, operations management, operations research, and system and control theory.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This text is a light technical introduction to the three technical foundations for multimedia applications across the Internet: communications (principles, technologies and networking), compressive encoding of digital media, and Internet protocol and services. All the contributing systems elements are explained through descriptive text and numerous illustrative figures; the result is a book pitched toward non-specialists, preferably with technical background, who want descriptive tutorial introductions to the three foundation areas. The text discusses advances in digital audio/video coding, optical and wireless communications technologies, high-speed access networks, and IP-based media streaming, all crucial enablers of the multimedia Internet.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - In human solid cancer, the lymph node (LN) status is the most important prognostic indicator for the clinical outcome of patients. Recent developments in the sentinel lymph node (SLN) concept and technology have resulted in the application of this revolutionary approach to define the first draining or SLN to which the cancer may have metastasized. The underlying thesis in solid cancer biology is that metastasis generally starts in an orderly progression, spreading through the lymphatic channels to the SLN in the nearest LN basin. Thus, the logical approach is to harvest that specific SLN for thorough analysis. Because a tumorfree SLN is usually associated with a negative residual LN basin, a negative SLN is an excellent indication that micrometastasis has not occurred in the regional LNs. When the SLN is involved, it is unknown whether or not metastasis is limited only to the SLN or if the disease has spread to the remainder of the nodal basin. For this reason, if a SLN is positive, a complete lymph node dissection is recommended. Therefore, selective sentinel lymphadenectomy (SSL) should be considered as a staging procedure so that patients with negative SLNs (about 80%) may be spared an extensive LN dissection. Malignant melanoma has been proven to be the most ideal tumor model to study the role of SLN. Subsequently, SSL has been applied to breast cancer, colon cancer and other types of solid cancer. The multidisciplinary approach encompassing the surgeon, nuclear medicine physician, and pathologist is the key to such a successful procedure. Such a team can be formed readily with appropriate training. Beyond the technical aspects of harvesting the SLN, the implication of micrometastasis remains to be defined. Because the follow-up of melanoma and breast cancer patients after SSL is crucial, ongoing clinical trials are in progress to determine the biological and clinical significance of SLNs. Although the concept of SLN is viable in other types of cancer, such as gynecological and gastrointestinal, the technical aspects of the procedure need to be perfected and verified. The most exciting possibility of SSL is that it will lead to early diagnosis of micrometastasis in regional LNs. Early diagnosis makes it useful as a clinical staging procedure, and opens up new opportunities to study micrometastasis and its evolution within the SLNs. Examining the multifaceted aspects of micrometastasis, such as differentiation of different clones with respect to the primary tumor, acquisition of adhesion molecules, and host interaction with the microscopic tumor, will shed new light on the biology of early metastasis. New molecular and genetic tools may be used to dissect the mechanisms of lymphatic and hemo togenous routes of metastasis. If such mechanisms can be understood, new therapeutic advances may be developed to prevent the process of micrometastasis. Rather than targeting larger tumor burdens such as Stage IV disease, targeted adjuvant clinical trials can be developed for high risk patients following definit ive surgical resection. SSL is a standard staging procedure for patients with melanoma and is rapidly evolving into a standard procedure for breast cancer as well.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This volume is the conference proceedings of the NATO ARW during August 2001 at Kananaskis Village, Canada on 'New Techniques in Topological Quantum Field Theory'. This conference brought together specialists from a number of different fields all related to Topological Quantum Field Theory. The theme of this conference was to attempt to find new methods in quantum topology from the interaction with specialists in these other fields.The featured articles include papers by V. Vassiliev on combinatorial formulas for cohomology of spaces of Knots, the computation of Ohtsuki series by N. Jacoby and R. Lawrence, and a paper by M. Asaeda and J. Przytycki on the torsion conjecture for Khovanov homology by Shumakovitch. Moreover, there are articles on more classical topics related to manifolds and braid groups by such well known authors as D. Rolfsen, H. Zieschang and F. Cohen.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Contextualism has become one of the leading paradigms in contemporary epistemology. According to this view, there is no context-independent standard of knowledge, and as a result, all knowledge ascriptions are context-sensitive. Contextualists contend that their account this analysis allows us to resolve some major epistemological problems such as skeptical paradoxes and the lottery paradox, and that it helps us explain various other linguistic data about knowledge ascriptions. The apparent ease with which contextualism seems to solve numerous epistemological quandaries has inspired the burgeoning interest in it.This comprehensive anthology collects twenty original essays and critical commentaries on different aspects of contextualism, written by leading philosophers on the topic. The editors' introduction sketches the historical development of the contextualist movement and provides a survey and analysis of its arguments and major positions. The papers explore, inter alia, the central problems and prospects of semantic (or conversational) contextualism and its main alternative approaches such as inferential (or issue) contextualism, epistemic contextualism, and virtue contextualism. They also investigate the connections between contextualism and epistemic particularism, and between contextualism and stability accounts of knowledge.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - In front of you is the finished product of your work, the text of your contributions to the 2003 Dayton International Symposium on Cell Volume and Signal Transduction. As we all recall, this symposium brought together the Doyens of Cellular and Molecular Physiology as well as aspiring young investigators and students in this field. It became a memorable event in an illustrious series of International Symposia on Cell Volume and Signaling. This series, started by Professors Vladimir Strbák, Florian Lang and Monte Greer in Smolenice, Slovakia in 1997 and continued by Professors Rolf Kinne, Florian Lang and Frank Wehner in Berlin in 2000, is projected for 2005 in Copenhagen to be hosted by our colleague, Professor Else Hoffmann and her team. We dearly miss Monte Greer to whom this symposium was dedicated and addressed so eloquently by Vladimir Strbák in his Dedication to Monte. Monte and I became friends in Smolenice and had begun to discuss the 2003 meeting only a few days before his tragic accident in 2002. There are others who were not with us, and we missed them, too. We would not have been able to succeed in this event without the unflagging support of our higher administration at Wright State University, the NIDDKD of the National Institute of Health, and the Fuji Medical System (see Acknowledgments).

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - A large cross-section of the world's great and good in colorectal surgery have been enticed, inveigled, I suspect at times brow-beaten, to produce this tour de force. The editors, themselves famous for their own extensive contributions in this area, must be congratulated for their ne achievements. Every card-carrying specialist needs a reference book of this sort. My own are well worn by many years' reference, for when confronted by big problems, big issues, senior clinicians must be able to lay their hands on a well-thumbed old favourite: not a small,'where are we now' sort of book, or an exam crammer, but on one that is large, sedate and of 'traditional build. ' Rather than being a supergiant covering all of colorectal surgery, this book has focused on the broad structural investigation of the anorectum and on the focused management of largely 'functional' problems. And it has done so in style. For this is a core area of specialist practice;your more general colleagues may think twice before referring you new cases of cancer and in ammatory bowel disease (both also central areas in colorectal surgery), but they will not hesitate in referring the patients whose inves- gation and management are described here. And they will expect you to know how to deal with them. These are some of the most challenging patients to manage. Rightly have the editors covered the physiological areas,rightly the psychological issues, rightly the medicolegal aspects: here is the making of a specialist-the sword and the shield.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Integration is an important and practical matter in today's globalized commerce. This has led companies and organizations to place increasing emphasis on creating a seamless workflow environment from one business function to another. The academic research community recognizes the importance of providing problem-solving direction to the different, and sometimes conflicting, functional perspectives of marketing, engineering, logistics, and manufacturing. The research streams that characterize these issues are in the domain of business interfaces. These include the benefits of coordination, new product development, product portfolio management, supply chain coordination, and partnerships and collaboration in the internet space.Managing Business Interfaces: Marketing, Engineering, and Manufacturing Perspectives provides state-of-the-art summary as well as new thoughts in managing business interfaces. Through eleven invited chapters, it brings together the latest developments in leading edge research related to new product development, supply chain management, e-business operations, and field studies.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Quantum field theory, which started with Paul Dirac's work shortly after the discovery of quantum mechanics, has produced an impressive and important array of results. Quantum electrodynamics, with its extremely accurate and well-tested predictions, and the standard model of electroweak and chromodynamic (nuclear) forces are examples of successful theories. Field theory has also been applied to a variety of phenomena in condensed matter physics, including superconductivity, superfluidity and the quantum Hall effect. The concept of the renormalization group has given us a new perspective on field theory in general and on critical phenomena in particular. At this stage, a strong case can be made that quantum field theory is the mathematical and intellectual framework for describing and understanding all physical phenomena, except possibly for a quantum theory of gravity.Quantum Field Theory: A Modern Perspective presents Professor Nair's view of certain topics in field theory loosely knit together as it grew out of courses on field theory and particle physics taught at Columbia University and the City College of CUNY. The first few chapters, up to Chapter 12, contain material that generally goes into any course on quantum field theory, although there are a few nuances of presentation which readers may find to be different from other books. This first part of the book can be used for a general course on field theory, omitting, perhaps, the last three sections in Chapter 3, the last two in Chapter 8 and sections 6 and 7 in Chapter 10. The remaining chapters cover some of the more modern developments over the last three decades, involving topological and geometrical features. The introduction given to the mathematical basis of this part of the discussion is necessarily brief and should be accompanied by books on the relevant mathematical topics as indicated in the bibliography. Professor Nair also concentrates on developments pertinent to abetter understanding of the standard model. There is no discussion of supersymmetry, supergravity, developments in field theory inspired by string theory, etc. There is also no detailed discussion of the renormalization group. Each of these topics would require a book in its own right to do justice to the topic. Quantum Field Theory: A Modern Perspective serves as a portal to so many more topics of detailed and ongoing research, referring readers to more detailed treatments for many specific topics. The book also contains extensive references, providing readers a more comprehensive perspective on the literature and the historical development of the subject.V. Parameswaran Nair is Professor of Physics at City College of The City University of New York (CUNY). Professor Nair has held Visiting Professorships at The Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics, Rockefeller University, Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Crossroads of Entrepreneurship presents works from scholars belonging to a number of different disciplines - business history, economics, sociology and management - and addresses a cross section of issues in the entrepreneurship field. Contributions are arranged in different sections, emphasizing dialogue across disciplines and paradigms, rather than boundaries between them. The first section of the work is a compilation of papers that trace the historical roots of study in entrepreneurship in different disciplinary domains, and highlight the fundamental issues addressed by past research. A second section gathers empirical studies adopting various methods and investigating different aspects of entrepreneurial action. The third section collects contributions investigating the development of entrepreneurship in different national settings. The work reveals a convergence of issues and interests, despite paradigmatic differences, and the potential benefits of more intense conversation across disciplines.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Matching Properties of Deep Sub-Micron MOS Transistors examines this interesting phenomenon. Microscopic fluctuations cause stochastic parameter fluctuations that affect the accuracy of the MOSFET. For analog circuits this determines the trade-off between speed, power, accuracy and yield. Furthermore, due to the down-scaling of device dimensions, transistor mismatch has an increasing impact on digital circuits. The matching properties of MOSFETs are studied at several levels of abstraction:A simple and physics-based model is presented that accurately describes the mismatch in the drain current. The model is illustrated by dimensioning the unit current cell of a current-steering D/A converter.The most commonly used methods to extract the matching properties of a technology are bench-marked with respect to model accuracy, measurement accuracy and speed, and physical contents of the extracted parameters. The physical origins of microscopic fluctuations and how they affect MOSFET operation are investigated. This leads to a refinement of the generally applied 1/area law. In addition, the analysis of simple transistor models highlights the physical mechanisms that dominate the fluctuations in the drain current and transconductance. The impact of process parameters on the matching properties is discussed. The impact of gate line-edge roughness is investigated, which is considered to be one of the roadblocks to the further down-scaling of the MOS transistor. Matching Properties of Deep Sub-Micron MOS Transistors is aimed at device physicists, characterization engineers, technology designers, circuit designers, or anybody else interested in the stochastic properties of the MOSFET.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This is an academic book that explains in reahty, examines theoretically, and analyzes statistically information system investment in the banking industry with regard to the process of the information technology revolution. This kind of comprehensive research on the banking industry is the first in the world. It could be seen as an application study for Japanese financial deregulation after 1997. However, our project, the Workshop of Information System Investment, is a theoretical research venture, consisting originally, when it began in 1994, of economists and computer scientists. It aimed to measure the effect of com puter hardware and software on the modern economy, based on the microdata of each firm, and to extend the frontiers of economic science. It was, coin- dentally, the time when this project began full-scale operation, in July 1997, that the voluntary closure of Yamaichi Securities was decided. The failure of the Hokkaido Takushoku Bank was disclosed in November of the same year, and the breakdown, temporary nationalization, buying out, and mergers of several banks succeeded one another. Our research therefore suddenly got into the social spotlight on the application stage. Part I is the first history and strategic guidelines of information systems in the banking industry. Part II summarizes the economic analyses of informa tion system investment in the United States, Europe, and Japan. These parts are foundations for the statistical analyses in Part III.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - Divided into three sections for easy use, including examples from person-centered systems already in place in the USEditors have brought together contributors from varied health care sectors in the United States and elsewhere public and private, not-for-profit and for-profit.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware - This anthology originated from three conferences, which were held at Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan, on March 26-28, 1999, at the Univ- sity of Konstanz, Germany, on May 26-29, 1999 and a session at the SPHS annual meeting at the University of Oregon, USA, on October 5-7, 1999. With one exception the contributions to this volume are revised versions of papers read at these meetings. Each of these conferences took place in order to celebrate the centennial of the birthday of Alfred Schutz, who was born April 13, 1899, and died May 20, 1959. First of all we would like to thank Evelyn Schutz-Lang, the daughter of Alfred and Ilse Schutz, for her continuing support and encouragement. Moreover, Evelyn Schutz-Lang as well as Claudia Schutz, the gr- daughter of Alfred and Ilse Schutz, and the daughter of his son George, gave us the honor of visiting the Konstanz conference in 1999. Evelyn also came to the Oregon conference and sent her personal greetings to those attending the Tokyo conference. We would like to thank Waseda University, the Waseda Sociological Association, the Waseda University International Conference Center, and the Center for Research in Human Sciences in Japan for their generous financial support, as well as the German Research Council (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft), the University of Konstanz, the Alfred Schutz Memorial Archives in Konstanz, and the Sparkasse Konstanz for their considerable financial assistance in making the conferences possible.