springer netherlands springer netherlands dez 2005 (36 Ergebnisse)

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Computer vision and image analysis require interdisciplinary collaboration between mathematics and engineering. This book addresses the area of high-accuracy measurements of length, curvature, motion parameters and other geometrical quantities from acquired image data. It is a common problem that these measurements are incomplete or noisy, such that considerable efforts are necessary to regularise the data, to fill in missing information, and to judge the accuracy and reliability of these results. This monograph brings together contributions from researchers in computer vision, engineering and mathematics who are working in this area.The book can be read both by specialists and graduate students in computer science, electrical engineering or mathematics who take an interest in data evaluations by approximation or interpolation, in particular data obtained in an image analysis context.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 412 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Our planet exists within a space environment affected by constantly changing solar atmosphere producing cosmic particles and electromagnetic waves. This 'space weather' profoundly influences the performance of our technology because we primarily use two means for transmitting information and energy; namely, electromagnetic waves and electricity. On an everyday basis, we have developed methods to cope with the normal conditions. However, the sun remains a fiery star whose 'angry' outbursts can potentially destroy spacecrafts, kill astronauts, melt electricity transformers, stop trains, and generally wreak havoc with human activities. Space Weather is the developing field within astronomy that aims at predicting the sun¿s violent activity and minimizing the impacts on our daily lives. Space Weather, Environment, and Societies explains why our technological societies are so dependent on solar activity and how the Sun disturbs the transmission of information and energy. Footnotes expand specific points and the appendices facilitate a more thorough command of the physics involved.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 256 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Human-CenteredSoftwareEngineering: BridgingHCI,UsabilityandSoftwareEngineering From its beginning in the 1980¿s, the eld of human-computer interaction (HCI) has beende nedasamultidisciplinaryarena. BythisImeanthattherehas beenanexplicit recognition that distinct skills and perspectives are required to make the whole effort of designing usable computer systems work well. Thus people with backgrounds in Computer Science (CS) and Software Engineering (SE) joined with people with ba- grounds in various behavioral science disciplines (e. g. , cognitive and social psych- ogy, anthropology)inaneffortwhereallperspectiveswereseenasessentialtocreating usable systems. But while the eld of HCI brings individuals with many background disciplines together to discuss a common goal - the development of useful, usable, satisfying systems - the form of the collaboration remains unclear. Are we striving to coordinate the varied activities in system development, or are we seeking a richer collaborative framework In coordination, Usability and SE skills can remain quite distinct and while the activities of each group might be critical to the success of a project, we need only insure that critical results are provided at appropriate points in the development cycle. Communication by one group to the other during an activity might be seen as only minimally necessary. In collaboration, there is a sense that each group can learn something about its own methods and processes through a close pa- nership with the other. Communication during the process of gathering information from target users of a system by usability professionals would not be seen as so- thing that gets in the way of the essential work of software engineering professionals.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 424 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This volume contains the papers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Institute on 'Non-Linear Dynamics and Fundamental Interactions' held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, from Oct.10-16,2004. The main objective of the Workshop was to bring together people working in areas of Fundamental physics relating to Quantum Field Theory, Finite Temperature Field theory and their applications to problems in particle physics, phase transitions and overlap regions with the areas of Quantum Chaos. The other important area is related to aspects of Non-Linear Dynamics which has been considered with the topic of chaology. The applications of such techniques are to mesoscopic systems, nanostructures, quantum information, particle physics and cosmology. All this forms a very rich area to review critically and then find aspects that still need careful consideration with possible new developments to find appropriate solutions. There were 29 one-hour talks and a total of seven half-hour talks, mostly by the students. In addition two round table discussions were organised to bring the important topics that still need careful consideration. One was devoted to questions and unsolved problems in Chaos, in particular Quantum Chaos. The other round table discussion considered the outstanding problems in Fundamental Interactions. There were extensive discussions during the two hours devoted to each area. Applications and development of new and diverse techniques was the real focus of these discussions. The conference was ably organised by the local committee consisting of D.U.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 364 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -String Theory is our current best candidate for the unification of all fundamental forces, including gravity, in a consistent quantum framework. In this collection of lectures delivered at the Cargèse Summer School 'String Theory: from Gauge Interactions to Cosmology'', world leading experts provide an up-to-date survey of the latest developments in this topic, including the gauge/gravity correspondence, superstring cosmology and cosmic strings, topological string theory and matrix models, physics beyond the standard model and the landscape of vacua of string theory, conformal field theory and critical phenomena in statistical mechanics. Many more topics are also discussed in shorter contributions by School participants. Written with an emphasis on pedagogy, this volume will be a invaluable resource to students and experts alike.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 420 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -String Theory is our current best candidate for the unification of all fundamental forces, including gravity, in a consistent quantum framework. In this collection of lectures delivered at the Cargèse Summer School 'String Theory: from Gauge Interactions to Cosmology'', world leading experts provide an up-to-date survey of the latest developments in this topic, including the gauge/gravity correspondence, superstring cosmology and cosmic strings, topological string theory and matrix models, physics beyond the standard model and the landscape of vacua of string theory, conformal field theory and critical phenomena in statistical mechanics. Many more topics are also discussed in shorter contributions by School participants. Written with an emphasis on pedagogy, this volume will be a invaluable resource to students and experts alike.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 420 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book is the first to systematically explore the classification and function theory of complex homogeneous bounded domains. The Siegel domains are discussed in detail, and proofs are presented. Using the normal Siegel domains to realize the homogeneous bounded domains, we can obtain more property of the geometry and the function theory on homogeneous bounded domains.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 440 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This volume is intended to show how stable isotopes can be applied to understanding the palaeoenvironment. There are chapters on the interpretation of isotopes in water, tree rings, bones and teeth, lake sediments, speleothems and marine sediments. Crucial to the understanding of the environmental signal contained within the isotope composition of different materials is to gain more information about how rainfall isotope compositions are determined by climate. Chapter 1 (Darling et al. ) describes O, H and C stable isotope compositions in the modern day water and aqueous carbon cycles to provide a framework for the interpretation of these isotopes in the past. The chapter on the water cycle divides naturally into a number of sections. The starting point, precipitation, is especially important because it is the precursor to which most O and H isotope proxy studies are attempting to relate. While much is understood about the isotope systematics of precipitation, largely owing to the existence of the IAEA¿ WMO Global Network for Isotopes in Precipitation (GNIP), important questions remain to be answered in relation to the isotope-temperature gradients of past climatic conditions. The chapter describes the three reservoirs of water sustaining all terrestrial proxies; soil and vadose zone moisture, groundwater, and surface waters. In each reservoir isotope effects intervene to modify to a greater or lesser extent the isotope signature of antecedent precipitation; groundwaters are least affected and surface waters the most.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 328 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Since 1997, the AGS China cokemaking team has been examining the rapidly changing relationships among technology, energy, the environment, and health (TEEH) in one of China's most energy-intensive and highly polluting industries--cokemaking. The team has developed analytical tools and methods that can be used to examine TEEH issues in almost any industry in any country. Their findings tell a fascinating story--a story that not only teaches us how we can begin to analyze unfamiliar industries through the TEEH lens, but also reveals the often unexpected consequences of industrial management and technology decisions.Coke is unusual in that it is at the same time both particularly unglamorous and particularly important--as a result, key industrial changes occurring in China with far-reaching global economic and environmental impacts often go unnoticed. This book is a major step in closing the knowledge gap of those impacts. The editor supplements the detailed and informative text with photos illustrating the new and old technologies used in Shanxi Province from 1998 through 2004.'The TEEH approach should serve as a template for scholars, industrial and resource managers, and economic development strategists for years to come.'Adam Rose, Professor of Energy, Environmental, and Regional EconomicsThe Pennsylvania State University'Impressive. This book, the result of seven years of interdisciplinary work, proves that the China cokemaking team is contributing to the forefront of the field.'Wang Huijiong,Vice President, Academic Committee, Development Research CenterState Council, People¿s Republic of China, and Li Shantong, Vice President, Academic Committee, Development Foundation'This book is timely and relevant¿[It] describes many aspects of recent, dramatic transformations in the [coke] industry and uses new survey andplanning tools to provide descriptive and analytic information that should be useful to policy analysts.'Zmarak Shalizi, Senior Research Manager for Infrastructure and Environment Research, the World Bank'This [is a] timely, comprehensive study . . . Prof. Polenske is to be commended for a very readable analysis of cokemaking, during a period of unprecedented growth in the coke industry and the economy in China, illustrated by a large number of photographs.'Adel Sarofim, Presidential Professor, College of Engineering, University of Utah, formerly MIT Lammot du Pont Professor of Chemical EngineeringSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 224 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -At the beginning of the 1990s the world was watching with anxiety at South Africa. Would the country be able to get rid of the despicable apartheid regime without bloodshed Could a civil war be avoided And would it be possible to develop a democratic society without having to build up a whole new set of social institutions The latter concern certainly referred to the educational sector that was steered at each level by a number of separate Ministries of Education, i. e. one for each identified race group. Given the developments in other countries in the region as well as elsewhere in the world the prospects were not too hopeful. In addition, many especially white South Africans left the country the weeks before the first elections, and the stories of violence and contradictions between the various political groups in the country dominated for a while the international press¿ coverage of the pre-94-election situation. However, ten years after the first democratic elections in 1994 it is fair to say that South Africa has gone through a far-reaching transformation that is characterised by a remarkably low level of political violence. The general impression of the transformation suggests that the country has managed to change rather smoothly most of its social institutions, without dramatically affecting the continuity in the operations and performance of these institutions. This also refers to higher education.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 336 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -References 74 Part II Annotation and Analysis of Multimodal Data: Speech and Gesture 4 FORM 79 Craig H. Martell 1. Introduction 79 2. Structure of FORM 80 3. Annotation Graphs 85 4. Annotation Example 86 5. Preliminary Inter-Annotator Agreement Results 88 6. Conclusion: Applications to HLT and HCI 90 Appendix: Other Tools, Schemes and Methods of Gesture Analysis 91 References 95 5 97 On the Relationships among Speech, Gestures, and Object Manipulation in Virtual Environments: Initial Evidence Andrea Corradini and Philip R. Cohen 1. Introduction 97 2. Study 99 3. Data Analysis 101 4. Results 103 5. Discussion 106 6. Related Work 106 7. Future Work 108 8. Conclusions 108 Appendix: Questionnaire MYST III - EXILE 110 References 111 6 113 Analysing Multimodal Communication Patrick G. T. Healey, Marcus Colman and Mike Thirlwell 1. Introduction 113 2. Breakdown and Repair 117 3. Analysing Communicative Co-ordination 125 4. Discussion 126 References 127 7 131 Do Oral Messages Help Visual Search Noëlle Carbonell and Suzanne Kieffer 1. Context and Motivation 131 2. Methodology and Experimental Set-Up 134 3. Results: Presentation and Discussion 141 4. Conclusion 153 References 154 Contents vii 8 159 Geometric and Statistical Approaches to Audiovisual Segmentation Trevor Darrell, John W. Fisher III, Kevin W. Wilson, and Michael R. Siracusa 1. Introduction 159 2. Related Work 160 3. Multimodal Multisensor Domain 162 4. Results 166 5. Single Multimodal Sensor Domain 167 6.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 392 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -High-speed impact dynamics is of interest in the fundamental sciences, e.g., astrophysics and space sciences, and has a number of important applications in military technologies, homeland security and engineering. When compared with experiments or numerical simulations, analytical approaches in impact mechanics only seldom yield useful results. However, when successful, analytical approaches allow us to determine general laws that are not only important in themselves but also serve as benchmarks for subsequent numerical simulations and experiments. The main goal of this monograph is to demonstrate the potential and effectiveness of analytical methods in applied high-speed penetration mechanics for two classes of problem. The first class of problem is shape optimization of impactors penetrating into ductile, concrete and some composite media. The second class of problem comprises investigation of ballistic properties and optimization of multi-layered shields, including spaced and two-component ceramic shields. Despite the massive use of mathematical techniques, the obtained results have a clear engineering meaning and are presented in an easy-to-use form. One of the chapters is devoted solely to some common approximate models, and this is the first time that a comprehensive description of the localized impactor/medium interaction approach is given. In the monograph the authors present systematically their theoretical results in the field of high-speed impact dynamics obtained during the last decade which only partially appeared in scientific journals and conferences proceedings.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 380 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -8. 8 Boundary Layer Structure and Detached Plasma 305 8. 8. 1 Background 305 8. 8. 2 Structure inside the boundary layer 306 8. 8. 3 Observation of detached plasma 308 8. 8. 4 Summary 309 8. 9 Summary and Conclusions 310 References 312 9. CLUSTER AT THE MAGNETOSPHERIC CUSPS 321 9. 1 Introduction 321 9. 1. 1 Previous work 323 9. 1. 2 How Cluster investigates the cusp 325 9. 2 The High-Altitude Cusp 326 9. 2. 1 March 17, 2001 328 9. 2. 2 February 4, 2001 332 9. 2. 3 February 13, 2001 337 9. 2. 4 Statistical survey 340 9. 2. 5 Waves and turbulence 343 9. 3 The Mid-Altitude Cusp 352 9. 3. 1 Structure: Case study 352 9. 3. 2 Structure: Statistical survey 354 9. 3. 3 Ionospheric ions 354 9. 3. 4 Mid-altitude signatures of the LLBL 357 9. 4 Discussion 359 References 360 10. MAGNETOPAUSE PROCESSES 367 10. 1 Magnetopause Reconnection 368 10. 1. 1 Intermittent vs. quasi-steady reconnection 368 10. 1. 2 Component vs. anti-parallel reconnection 382 10. 1. 3 Tailward-of-the-cusp reconnection 385 10. 1. 4 Quantitative tests of reconnection occurrence 388 10. 1. 5 Summary 391 10. 2 Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability at the Flank Magnetopause 391 10. 3 Microphysics of Magnetopause Processes 396 10. 3. 1 Collisionless generalised Ohm¿s law 397 10. 3. 2 Ion di usion region observations 398 10. 3. 3 High-frequency waves 402 10. 3. 4 Lower-hybrid waves 405 10. 3.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 444 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Waste management can be considered as a mirror of society. In its (our) fluctuating definition, besides conserving a supply of valuable materials and resources, it acts as a fascinating expression for our throw-away mentality. Waste is inevitable, but it nevertheless provides an opportunity, a need and an incentive for society to pursue a more careful management of it. If this is successfully carried out, society may well find it possible to manage itself in an overall more careful and universal way. The management, or governance, of radioactive waste particularly is determined by a complex constellation of individuals, social aggregates, and institutions. A wealth of interconnected parts forms a complex and volatile system that is highly technical and explosively political in nature. The problems inherent in this system must be managed so as to reach a safe, acceptable, responsible, feasible, and sustainable ¿solution¿. It is a system with an objective long-term dimension, with a hazard potential of, in part, hundreds of thousands of years; and it has a long-term institutional dimension insofar as its implementation must last for decades. The very notion of risk extends from the long life of radionuclides, over the perception of dread to the decisional risk of whether, when and how to implement an agreed upon ¿solution¿.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 392 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Neutron and X-Ray Spectroscopy delivers an up-to-date account of the principles and practice of inelastic and spectroscopic methods available at neutron and synchrotron sources, including recent developments. The chapters are based on a course of lectures and practicals (the HERCULES course at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) delivered to young scientists who require these methods in their professional careers. Each chapter, written by a leading specialist in the field, introduces the basic concepts of the technique and provides an overview of recent work. This volume, which focuses on spectroscopic techniques in synchrotron radiation and inelastic neutron scattering, will be a primary source of information for physicists, chemists and materials scientists who wish to acquire a basic understanding of these techniques and to discover the possibilities offered by them. Emphasizing the complementarity of the neutron and X-ray methods, this tutorial will also be invaluable to scientists already working in neighboring fields who seek to extend their knowledge.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 592 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -An analysis of the evolution of competitive strategies within the forestry industry is presented in this book. The argument is that the chosen context serves as an illustrative setting for a discussion related to global corporate evolution. Therefore, this analytical and rigorous book contributes to better understanding of the workings of a number of manufacturing industries through discussion of the evolutionary development within the pulp and paper industry.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 328 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The Invisibility of Chemistry DAVIS BAIRD South Carolina Honors College, University of South Carolina ERIC SCERRI Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles LEE MCINTYRE Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University BUTWHATAREALLTHOSECHEMISTSDOING Recently, one of us (Davis Baird) attended a meeting of historians of science and technology spanning all of the natural sciences and engineering and all (western) periods, ancient through contemporary. In the discussion of a paper on state-of-t- art history of modern (18th century forward) chemistry, a member of the audience made the claim that there was very little left to do in contemporary chemistry and that chemistry departments in his country were having trouble attracting graduate students. Baird found this perspective on contemporary chemistry both remarkable andimplausible,andsaidasmuch. AttheUniversityofSouthCarolina(USC)¿where he teaches¿chemistry enrolls, and graduates, ve times as many graduate students as physics. In this, USC is not unique. The discipline of chemistry is, in fact, enormous and enormously productive. Joachim Schummer in this volume (Chapter 2) makes the point persuasively and concisely with data on the number of publications in various elds. With a grand total just shy of 900,000 papers indexed in chemical abstracts for the year 2000, chemistry is larger than all of the other natural sciences combined.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 384 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Identifying quickly illusion with deception, we tend to oppose it to the reality of life. However, investigating in this collection of essays illusion's functions in the Arts, which thrives upon illusion and yet maintains its existential roots and meaningfullness in the real, we might wonder about the nature of reality itself.Does not illusion open the seeming confines of factual reality into horizons of imagination which transform it Does it not, like art, belong essentially to the makeup of human reality Papers by: Lanfranco Aceti, John Baldacchino, Maria Avelina Cecilia Lafuente, Jo Ann Circosta, Madalina Diaconu, Jennifer Anna Gosetti-Ferencei, Brian Grassom, Marguerite Harris, Andrew E. Hershberger, James Carlton Hughes, Lawrence Kimmel, Jung In Kwon, Ruth Ronen, Scott A. Sherer, Joanne Snow-Smith, Max Statkiewicz, Patricia Trutty-Coohill, Daniel Unger, James Werner.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 320 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Astrophysics is facing challenging aims such as deep cosmology at redshift higher than 10 to constrain cosmology models, or the detection of exoplanets, and possibly terrestrial exoplanets, and several others. It requires unprecedented ambitious R&D programs, which have definitely to rely on a tight cooperation between astrophysics and optics communities.The book addresses most of the most critical interdisciplinary domains where they interact, or where they will do. A first need is to collect more light, i.e. telescopes still larger than the current 8-10 meter class ones. Decametric, and even hectometric, optical (from UV to IR wavelengths) telescopes are being studied. Whereas up to now the light collecting surface of new telescopes was approximately 4 times that of the previous generation, now this factor is growing to 10 to 100. This quantum leap urges to implement new methods or technologies developed in the optics community, both in academic labs and in the industry. Given the astrophysical goals and technological constraints, new generation adaptive optics with a huge number of actuators and laser guide stars devices have to be developed, from theoretical bases to experimental works.Two other newcomers in observational astrophysics are interferometric arrays of optical telescopes and gravitational wave detectors. Up-to-date reviews of detectors and of spectrographs are given, as well as forefront R&D in the field of optical coatings and of guided optics. Possible new ways to handle photons are also addressed, based on quantum physics. More and more signal processing algorithms are a part and parcel of any modern instrumentation. Thus finally the book gives two reviews about wavefront processing and about image restoration and deconvolution algorithms for ill conditioned cases. 440 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Parallel robots are closed-loop mechanisms presenting very good performances in terms of accuracy, velocity, rigidity and ability to manipulate large loads. They have been used in a large number of applications ranging from astronomy to flight simulators and are becoming increasingly popular in the field of machine-tool industry. This book presents a complete synthesis of the latest results on the possible mechanical architectures, analysis and synthesis of this type of mechanism. It is intended to be used by students (with over 150 exercises and numerous internet addresses), researchers (with over 650 references and anonymous ftp access to the code of some algorithms presented in this book) and engineers (for which practical results, mistakes to avoid, and applications are presented).Since the publication of the first edition (2000) there has been an impressive increase in terms of study and use of this kind of structure that are reported in this book. This second edition has been completely overhauled. The initial chapter on kinematics has been split into Inverse Kinematics and Direct Kinematics. A new chapter on calibration was added. The other chapters have also been rewritten to a large extent. The reference section has been updated to include around 45% new works that appeared after the first edition.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 424 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Sadly enough, war, conflicts and terrorism appear to stay with us in the 21st century. But what is our outlook on new methods for preventing and ending them Present-day hard- and software enables the development of large crisis, conflict, and conflict management databases with many variables, sometimes with automated updates, statistical analyses of a high complexity, elaborate simulation models, and even interactive uses of these databases.In this book, these methods are presented, further developed, and applied in relation to the main issue: the resolution and prevention of intra- and international conflicts. Conflicts are a worldwide phenomenon. Therefore, internationally leading researchers from the USA, Austria, Canada, Germany, New Zealand and Switzerland have contributed.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 472 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -CHRISTOPH REHMANN-SUTTER, MARCUS DÜWELL, DIETMAR MIETH When we placed ¿finitude¿, ¿limits of human existence¿ as a motto over a round of discussion on biomedicine and bioethics (which led to this collection of essays) we did not know how far this would lead us into methodological quandaries. However, we felt intuitively that an interdisciplinary approach including social and cultural sciences would have an advantage over a solely disciplinary (philosophical or theological) analysis. Bioethics, if it is to have adequate discriminatory power, should include sensitivity to the cultural contexts of biomedicine, and also to the cultural contexts of bioethics itself. Context awareness, of course, is not foreign to philosophical or theological bioethics, for the simple reason that the issues tackled in the debates (as in other fields of ethics) could not be adequately understood outside their contexts. Moral issues are always accompanied by contexts. When we try to unpack them ¿ which is necessary to make them accessible to ethical discussion ¿ we are regularly confronted with the fact that in removing too much of the context we do not clarify an issue, but make it less comprehensible. The context ¿ at least some essential parts of it ¿ is intrinsic to the issue. Unpacking in ethics is therefore a different procedure. It does not mean peeling the context off, but rather identifying which contextual elements are essential for an understanding of the key moral aspects of the issue, and explaining how they establish its particular character.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 396 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Table 1. 1 reports the world¿s largest earthquakes since 1900 with respect to number of deaths (larger than or equal to 10 000), also showing the region of occurrence and the corresponding magnitudes. Both, from Figure 1. 2 and Table 1. 1 it is interesting to note that this period of time is characterized by an annual average of 15 000 deaths with two main fluctuations (modal values), the largest in the period 1900 to 1940 and another with a larger value in the decade of 1970-80. Figure 1. 2 shows the number of total deaths from the greatest earthquakes that occurred in the XX century. Although the number of victims has a tendency to decrease with time, the economic losses are increasing significantly (see Chapter 18 of this book). Table 1. 1. World earthquakes since 1900 with number of deaths greater than 10 000 Year Region Deaths Magnitude Year Region Deaths Magnitude 1905 India 19000 8. 6 1960 Agadir, Morocco 12000 5. 9 1906 Chile 20000 8. 6 1962 Iran 12000 7. 3 1907 Central Asia 12000 8. 1 1968 Iran 10000 7. 3 1908 Italy 70000 7. 5 1970 Yunnan, China 10000 7. 5 1915 Italy 29980 7. 5 1970 Peru 67000 7. 7 1917 Indonesia 15000 - 1972 Nicaragua 10000 6. 2 1918 China 10000 7. 3 1976 Guatemala 23000 7. 5 1920 China 220000 8. 5 1976 242000 7. 8 Tangshan, China 1923 Japon 142807 7. 9 1978 25000 7.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 572 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -It is my privilege to contribute the foreword for this unique volume entitled: ¿Plant Tissue Culture Engineering,¿ edited by S. Dutta Gupta and Y. Ibaraki. While there have been a number of volumes published regarding the basic methods and applications of plant tissue and cell culture technologies, and even considerable attention provided to bioreactor design, relatively little attention has been afforded to the engineering principles that have emerged as critical contributions to the commercial applications of plant biotechnologies. This volume, ¿Plant Tissue Culture Engineering,¿ signals a turning point: the recognition that this specialized field of plant science must be integrated with engineering principles in order to develop efficient, cost effective, and large scale applications of these technologies. I am most impressed with the organization of this volume, and the extensive list of chapters contributed by expert authors from around the world who are leading the emergence of this interdisciplinary enterprise. The editors are to be commended for their skilful crafting of this important volume. The first two parts provide the basic information that is relevant to the field as a whole, the following two parts elaborate on these principles, and the last part elaborates on specific technologies or applications.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 492 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Tectonic motion of the Adria microplate exerts a first-order control on the tectonics, geology, seismology, resource distribution, and the geological hazards across a broad zone of south-central Europe and the north-central Mediterranean. Since its first application to geodynamical problems, GPS geodesy has gradually revealed the nature of motion and deformation for most active areas of deformation across the Earth. One of the last remaining regional-scale problems on the planet is the motion and associated deformation in the peri-Adriatic region. Selected local-scale studies have examined aspects of this motion, but to date no truly regional analysis or regional team has systematically attacked the full breadth of this problem. A NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) was held in Veszprém, Hungary from April 4-7, 2004. This workshop brought together a distinguished international group of scientists working in the peri-Adriatic region to: (1) review research activities and results, (2) share technical expertise, and (3) provide a springboard for future collaborative research on Adria geodynamics. Areas of agreement were identified, as well as remaining areas of debate. In addition, attention focused on important scientific questions and the potential for international and interdisciplinary research in the future.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 424 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Astrophysics is facing challenging aims such as deep cosmology at redshift higher than 10 to constrain cosmology models, or the detection of exoplanets, and possibly terrestrial exoplanets, and several others. It requires unprecedented ambitious R&D programs, which have definitely to rely on a tight cooperation between astrophysics and optics communities.The book addresses most of the most critical interdisciplinary domains where they interact, or where they will do. A first need is to collect more light, i.e. telescopes still larger than the current 8-10 meter class ones. Decametric, and even hectometric, optical (from UV to IR wavelengths) telescopes are being studied. Whereas up to now the light collecting surface of new telescopes was approximately 4 times that of the previous generation, now this factor is growing to 10 to 100. This quantum leap urges to implement new methods or technologies developed in the optics community, both in academic labs and in the industry. Given the astrophysical goals and technological constraints, new generation adaptive optics with a huge number of actuators and laser guide stars devices have to be developed, from theoretical bases to experimental works.Two other newcomers in observational astrophysics are interferometric arrays of optical telescopes and gravitational wave detectors. Up-to-date reviews of detectors and of spectrographs are given, as well as forefront R&D in the field of optical coatings and of guided optics. Possible new ways to handle photons are also addressed, based on quantum physics. More and more signal processing algorithms are a part and parcel of any modern instrumentation. Thus finally the book gives two reviews about wavefront processing and about image restoration and deconvolution algorithms for ill conditioned cases. 440 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Seagrasses are unique plants; the only group of flowering plants to recolonise the sea. They occur on every continental margin, except Antarctica, and form ecosystems which have important roles in fisheries, fish nursery grounds, prawn fisheries, habitat diversity and sediment stabilisation. Over the last two decades there has been an explosion of research and information on all aspects of seagrass biology. However the compilation of all this work into one book has not been attempted previously. In this book experts in 26 areas of seagrass biology present their work in chapters which are state-of¿the-art and designed to be useful to students and researchers alike. The book not only focuses on what has been discovered but what exciting areas are left to discover. The book is divided into sections on taxonomy, anatomy, reproduction, ecology, physiology, fisheries, management, conservation and landscape ecology. It is destined to become the chosen text on seagrasses for any marine biology course.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 708 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The halophytes are highly specialized plants, which have greater tolerance to salt. They can germinate, grow and reproduce successfully in saline areas which would cause the death of regular plants. Most halophytic species are found in salt marsh systems along seashores or around landlocked inland lakes and flat plains with high evaporation. The halophytes play very significant role in the saline areas specially in the coast by overcoming the salinity in different ways, viz. with regulating mechanisms in which excess salts are excreted and with out regulating mechanism, which may include succulents or cumulative types. Besides that they protect coast from erosion and cyclones, provide feeding ground and nursery for fish, shrimps and birds. Halophytes get increasing attention today because of the steady increase of the salinity in irrigation systems in the arid and semi-arid regions where the increasing population reaches the limits of freshwater availability. In many countries, halophytes have been successfully grown on saline wasteland to provide animal fodder and have the potential for rehabilitation and even reclamation of these sites. The value of certain salt-tolerant grass species has been recognized by their incorporation in pasture improvement programs in many salt affected regions throughout the world. There have been recent advances in selecting species with high biomass and protein levels in combination with their ability to survive a wide range of environmental conditions, including salinity.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 424 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Nano-science and nano-technology are rapidly developing scientific and technological areas that deal with physical, chemical and biological processes that occur on nano-meter scale ¿ one millionth of a millimeter. Self-organization and pattern formation play crucial role on nano-scales and promise new, effective routes to control various nano-scales processes. This book contains lecture notes written by the lecturers of the NATO Advanced Study Institute 'Self-Assembly, Pattern Formation and Growth Phenomena in Nano-Systems' that took place in St Etienne de Tinee, France, in the fall 2004. They give examples of self-organization phenomena on micro- and nano-scale as well as examples of the interplay between phenomena on nano- and macro-scales leading to complex behavior in various physical, chemical and biological systems. They discuss such fascinating nano-scale self-organization phenomena as self-assembly of quantum dots in thin solid films, pattern formation in liquid crystals caused by light, self-organization of micro-tubules and molecular motors, as well as basic physical and chemical phenomena that lead to self-assembly of the most important molecule on the basis of which most of living organisms are built ¿ DNA. A review of general features of all pattern forming systems is also given. The authors of these lecture notes are the leading experts in the field of self-organization, pattern formation and nonlinear dynamics in non-equilibrium, complex systems.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 348 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Increasing agricultural productivity to meet the demands of growing population is a challenging task. Abiotic stresses are among the major limiting factors on agriculture. The knowledge and research programmes on the physiology and molecular biology of stress tolerance are certainly helpful to counter act this negative effect to a great extent. The present literature deals in detail mostly with plant responses to different abiotic stresses. There have been extensive studies, in the past few decades, on the physiology and biochemistry of plant responses to abiotic stress conditions, in the laboratory as well as in the field. However, the interest has shifted to molecular biology of stress tolerance, modes of installing tolerance mechanisms in crop plants. Microarray technology, functional genomics, development of high throughput proteomics would benefit and guide the physiologists, molecular biologists and biotechnologists to enhance stress tolerance in plants. We therefore, felt very strongly that there is an immediate and urgent need for a textbook on this important topic. This book would be an ideal source of scientific information to the postgraduate students, research workers, faculty and scientists involved in agriculture, plant sciences, molecular biology, biochemistry, biotechnology and related areas. We would like to thank the authors for their interest and cooperation in this exciting venture. We are grateful to Jacco Flipsen and Noeline Gibson of Springer for their continuous support and technical advice in bringing out the book. K. V. Madhava Rao A. S. Raghavendra September 2005. K.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 352 pp. Englisch.