springer netherlands springer netherlands jun 1984 (9 Ergebnisse)

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -1. PROGRESS IN UTILITY AND RISK THEORY At the First International Congress of Utility and Risk Theory in Oslo 1982 (FUR-82) it appeared to be a widespread feeling among the participants that the conference signalled something like a paradigm shift in the field. This does not necessarily mean that old truths were discarded and replaced by new ones, but rather that new theories and new empirical evidence were brought forth, compelling old theories to be critically analyzed from new angels. Some of the papers presented at FUR-82 have been published by Reidel in 1983 in a volume edited by Stigum and Wenst0p. The present volume contains com mentaries on a number of the papers presented at the conference together with broader outlines of current views on the theory. The observation that utility and risk theory now appears to be in a state of rapid change has prompted us to choose the title PROGRESS IN UTILITY AND RISK THEORY for the book, in the belief that science always moves from poorer to more advanced paradigms or from weaker to more forceful theories. In other words, change is usually progress, even though intermediate stages in a para digm shift may be bewildering, to say the least.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 296 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Tran Duc Thao, a wise and learned scientist and an eminent Marxist philoso pher, begins this treatise on the origins of language and consciousness with a question: 'One of the principal difficulties of the problem of the origin of consciousness is the exact determination of its beginnings. Precisely where must one draw the line between the sensori-motor psychism of animals and the conscious psychism that we see developing in man ' And then he cites Karl Marx's famous passage about 'the bee and the architect' from Capital: . what distinguishes the worst architect from the best of bees is this, that the architect raises his structure in the imagination before he erects it in reality. At the end of every labor process, we get a result that already existed in the imagination of the laborer at its commencement. (Capital, Vol. I, p. 178, tr. Moore and Aveling) Thao follows this immediately with a second question: 'But is this the most elementary form of consciousness ' Thus the conundrum concerning the origins of consciousness is posed as a circle: if human consciousness pre supposes representation (of the external reality, of mental awareness, of actions, of what it may), and if this consciousness emerges first with the activity of production using tools, and if the production of tools itself pre supposes representation - that is, with an image of what is to be produced in the mind of the producer - then the conditions for the origins of humanSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 232 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -.excellent value since it is written in a clear terse style detailing the sound judgements of an acknowledged useful addistion to my shelf of books on catalysis, and so I would recommend it most strongly to all those who have a serious research interest in this subject.' Applied Catalysis, 23: 2 (1986)Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 218 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -With the development of lasers that can generate light 11 14 pulses ranging from 10- - 10- sec duration, and capable of 13 peak powers in excess of 10 watts scientists have been able to investigate the interactions of light with matter in a time and power domain not previously possible. These ultrashort laser pulses provide a powerful tool for the study of chemical phenomena at the most fundamental level. Many of the elementary processes of importance in chemistry including energy dissipa tion, molecular motions, structural and chemical changes occur on a very short time scale and thus require special approaches. Th~ use of ultrashort laser pulses to perturb and to probe systems of interest affords a direct approach to the time reso lution of very rapid chemical phenomena. It was recognition of the impact of these relatively new approaches to chemical phenomena that motivated NATO to sponsor a meeting on the applications of picosecond spectroscopy in chemistry. The primary aim of the NATO workshop was to gain some perspective on the status of the field in terms of present research activities, technological developments and if possible the difficult task of sensing future directions. The way we decided to approach these issues was to gather together the main contributors to the field, fortunately many of whom were able to attend, to present their work and to participate in what turned out to be lively discussions of the field.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 376 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -InhaltsangabeEditorial: Famine as a Geographical Phenomenon.- The Demographic Impact of Famine.- War and Famine: The Example of Kampuchea.- Cycles of Famine in Islands of Plenty.- Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Famine in Southern India before the Famine Codes.- The Development of the Indian Famine Code.- Women in Famine.- Famine as a Spatial Crisis.- Famine Relief: Some Unanswered Questions from Africa.- Coping with Complexity in Food Crisis Management.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 212 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book is an excellent account of the biology of the family of insects known as green lacewings. . This is one of the most interesting recent books on the biology of an insect group that I have read. It is well written, well illustrated, and thoroughly informative. I highly recommend Biology of Chrysopidae to anyone with an interest in the natural history of insects.' The Canadian Field Naturalist, 100 (1987)Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 308 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Matrix algebra has been called 'the arithmetic of higher mathematics' [Be]. We think the basis for a better arithmetic has long been available, but its versatility has hardly been appreciated, and it has not yet been integrated into the mainstream of mathematics. We refer to the system commonly called 'Clifford Algebra', though we prefer the name 'Geometric Algebm' suggested by Clifford himself. Many distinct algebraic systems have been adapted or developed to express geometric relations and describe geometric structures. Especially notable are those algebras which have been used for this purpose in physics, in particular, the system of complex numbers, the quatemions, matrix algebra, vector, tensor and spinor algebras and the algebra of differential forms. Each of these geometric algebras has some significant advantage over the others in certain applications, so no one of them provides an adequate algebraic structure for all purposes of geometry and physics. At the same time, the algebras overlap considerably, so they provide several different mathematical representations for individual geometrical or physical ideas.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 336 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 316 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 628 pp. Englisch.