springer netherlands mai 2011 (66 results)

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The core principles of statistical analysis are too easily forgotten in today's world of powerful computers and time-saving algorithms. This step-by-step primer takes researchers who lack the confidence to conduct their own analyses right back to basics, allowing them to scrutinize their own data through a series of rapidly executed reckonings on a simple pocket calculator. A range of easily navigable tutorials facilitate the reader's assimilation of the techniques, while a separate chapter on next generation Flash prepares them for future developments in the field. This practical volume also contains tips on how to deny hackers access to Flash internet sites. An ideal companion to the author's co-authored works on statistical analysis for Springer such as Statistics Applied to Clinical Trials, this monograph will help researchers understand the processes involved in interpreting clinical data, as well as being a necessary prerequisite to mastering more advanced statistical techniques.The principles of statistical analysis are easily forgotten in today's world of time-saving algorithms. This step-by-step primer takes researchers back to basics, enabling them to examine their own data through a series of sums on a simple pocket calculator. 68 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Large mass bolometers are used in particle physics experiments to search for rare processes, like neutrinoless double beta decay and dark matter interactions.In the next years the CUORE experiment (a 1 Ton detector composed by 1000 crystals of TeO2 operated as bolometers in a large cryostat at 10mK) will be the particle physics experiment with the highest chance of discovering the Majorana neutrino, a long standing and yet fundamental question of particle physics. The study presented in this book was performed on the bolometers of the CUORE experiment. The response function of these detectors is not linear in the energy range of interest, and it changes with the operating temperature, worsening the performances. The nonlinearity appeared to be dominated by the thermistor and the biasing circuit used to read the bolometer, and was modeled using few measurable parameters.A method to obtain a linear response is the result of this work. It allows a great improvement of the detector operation and data analysis. With a foreword by Fernando Ferroni. 120 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This work of applied mathematics focuses on the functional study of the nonlinear boundary value problems relating to water flow in porous media, a topic which has not up to now been explored in book form. The author shows that abstract theory may be sometimes easier and richer in consequences for applications than standard classical approaches are. The volume deals with diffusion type models, emphasizing the mathematical treatment of their nonlinear aspects. 336 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) have seen unprecedented levels of growth during the last decade in both military and civilian domains. It is anticipated that civilian applications will be dominant in the future,althoughthere are stillbarriers to be overcome and technical challenges to be met. Integrating UAS into, for example,civilian space, navigation, autonomy, see-detect-and-avoid systems, smart designs, system integration, vision-based navigation and training, to name but a few areas, will be of prime importance in the near future.This special volume is the outcome of research presented at the International Symposium on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, held in Orlando, Florida, USA, from June 23-25, 2008,and presentsstate-of-the-art findings on topics such as: UAS operations and integration into the national airspace system; UAS navigation and control; micro-, mini-, small UAVs;UAS simulation testbeds and frameworks; UAS research platforms and applications; UAS applications.Thisbook aims at serving as a guide tool on UAS for engineers and practitioners, academics, government agencies and industry.Previously published in the Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, 54 (1-3, 2009). 552 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -A Summary of Scientific Method is a brief description of what makes science scientific. It is written in a direct, clear style that is accessible and informative for scientists and science students. It is intended to help science teachers explain how science works, highlighting strengths without ignoring limitations, and to help scientists articulate the process and standards of their work. The book demonstrates that there are several important requirements for being scientific, and the most fundamental of these is maintaining an extensive, interconnected, coherent network of ideas. Some components in the network are empirical, others are theoretical, and they support each other. Clarifying the structure of this web of knowledge explains the role of the commonly cited aspects of scientific method, things like hypotheses, theories, testing, evidence, and the like. A Summary of Scientific Method provides a clear, intuitive, and accurate model of scientific method. 56 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This volume treats Lagrange equations for electromechanical systems, including piezoelectric transducers and selected applications. It is essentially an extension to piezoelectric systems of the work by Crandall et al.:'Dynamics of Mechanical and Electromechanical Systems', published in 1968. The first three chapters contain classical material based on this and other well known standard texts in the field. Some applications are new and include material not published in a monograph before. 224 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -At the same time that the pace of science and technology has greatly accelerated in recent decades, our legal and ethical oversight mechanisms have become bogged down and slower. This book addresses the growing gap between the pace of science and technology and the lagging responsiveness of legal and ethical oversight society relies on to govern emerging technologies. Whether it be biotechnology, genetic testing, nanotechnology, synthetic biology, computer privacy, autonomous robotics, or any of the other many emerging technologies, new approaches are needed to ensure appropriate and timely regulatory responses. This book documents the problem and offers a toolbox of potential regulatory and governance approaches that might be used to ensure more responsive oversight. 244 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -A new generation of Confucian scholars is coming of age. China is reawakening to the power and importance of its own culture. This volume provides a unique view of the emerging Confucian vision for China and the world in the 21st century. Unlike the Neo-Confucians sojourning in North America who recast Confucianism in terms of modern Western values, this new generation of Chinese scholars takes the authentic roots of Confucian thought seriously. This collection of essays offers the first critical exploration in English of the emerging Confucian, non-liberal, non-social-democratic, moral and political vision for China's future. Inspired by the life and scholarship of Jiang Qing who has emerged as China's exemplar contemporary Confucian, this volume allows the English reader access to a moral and cultural vision that seeks to direct China's political power, social governance, and moral life. For those working in Chinese studies, this collection provides the first access in English to major debates in China concerning a Confucian reconceptualization of governance, a critical Confucian assessment of feminism, Confucianism functioning again as a religion, and the possibility of a moral vision that can fill the cultural vacuum created by the collapse of Marxism. 276 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This personal, creative, critical work from a leading scholar of psychology is rooted in three novel concepts and aims to share critical pedagogy in the spirit of nascent potential found in the context of a colonial Puerto Rico. First comes the idea of 'pedagogy in (e)motion', or the emotional matrix of the teaching and learning process. Secondly, the author explores the notion of 'street pedagogy' as a genuine and powerful professional tool. And thirdly, the book underscores what Zambrana-Ortiz calls 'the interconnection of the artscience within the political and biographical act of teaching'.The purpose is to inform education teaching practice with the radical framework that, like the neurosciences, believes emotions to be a vital precursor to the planning of action, the process of decision-making and the broadening of our cognitive parameters. The chapters focus on different and yet complementary dimensions of a college teaching initiative boasting a unique interplay between a transgressive narrative, reinvented methodology and authentic samples of students' contributions to the project. Traditionally, emotional and visceral experiences have been downplayed and rejected as fundamental components of knowledge. This book makes the case for their reinstatement, and proposes that the pleasure and commitment of teaching itself can be seen as resistance given the challenging social and political context, the bureaucracy of the Puerto Rican higher education system, and the cynicism of the self-confessed cognoscenti who think that little political progress can come from within the university system. Such resistance has proved for the author a source of inspiration and has contributed to her creation and reconceptualization of approaches to critical and useful pedagogy.D edicationTo my students who inspire many stories and provoke many emotions and challenge my capacities.To Aura, Ignacio and Jaime for their unconditional love and their everyday lessons. A cknowledgmentsMany friends, mentors and colleages from the University of Puerto Rico and United States were very important pieces to my creative work. Thanks to Donaldo Macedo who encouraged the initial proposal and to Joe Kincheloe for accepting it and bringing guidance in the right moment. Colleages like Roamé Torres and Angeles Molina, from their directive positions, were extremely supportive while Sandra Macksoud, José Solís, Pedro Subirats, and Ada Prabhavat gave me guidance and constant insights in editing and translation, as well as crucial material for my narrative. Juan Vadi enhanced my graphic elements with his talent; while college mentors, current colleages, teachers, and former graduate and undergraduate students allowed me to write their stories and reflections binging fresh accents and life to the book. Thanks for ever! 324 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Wim Vandekerckhove and Stan van Hooft The philosopher, Diogenes the Cynic, in the fourth century BCE, was asked where he came from and where he felt he belonged. He answered that he was a 'citi- 1 zen of the world' (kosmopolitês) . This made him the rst person known to have described himself as a cosmopolitan. A century later, the Stoics had developed that concept further, stating that the whole cosmos was but one polis, of which the order was logos or right reason. Living according to that right reason implied showing goodness to all of human kind. Through early Christianity, cosmopolitanism was given various interpretations, sometimes quite contrary to the inclusive notion of the Stoics. Augustine's interpretation, for example, suggested that only those who love God can live in the universal and borderless 'City of God'. Later, the red- covery of Stoic writings during the European Renaissance inspired thinkers like Erasmus, Grotius and Pufendorf to draw on cosmopolitanism to advocate world peace through religious tolerance and a society of states. That same inspiration can be noted in the American and French revolutions. In the eighteenth century, enlig- enment philosophers such as Bentham (through utilitarianism) and Kant (through universal reason) developed new and very different versions of cosmopolitanism that serve today as key sources of cosmopolitan philosophy. The nineteenth century saw the development of new forms of transnational ideals, including that of Marx's critique of capitalism on behalf of an international working class. 260 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Issues in reproductive ethics, such as the capacity of parents to 'choose children', present challenges to philosophical ideas of freedom, responsibility and harm. This book responds to these challenges by proposing a new framework for thinking about the ethics of reproduction that emphasizes the ways that social norms affect decisions about who is born. The book provides clear and thorough discussions of some of the dominant problems in reproductive ethics - human enhancement and the notion of the normal, reproductive liberty and procreative beneficence, the principle of harm and discrimination against disability - while also proposing new ways of addressing these. The author draws upon the work of Michel Foucault, especially his discussions of biopolitics and norms, and later work on ethics, alongside feminist theorists of embodiment to argue for a new bioethics that is responsive to social norms, human vulnerability and the relational context of freedom and responsibility. This is done through compelling discussions of new technologies and practices, including the debate on liberal eugenics and human enhancement, the deliberate selection of disabilities, PGD and obstetric ultrasound. 144 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Does IT poison the minds of the young Must educational institutions change to serve the needs of the twenty-first century This book addresses these questions and more. It records the intellectual struggles of a group of scholars coming to grips with changes in knowledge production and research communication. Together these authors demonstrate how philosophical and historical approaches are relevant to the practice and theory of education. 236 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Christian Munthe undertakes an innovative, in-depth philosophical analysis of what the idea of a precautionary principle is and should be about. A novel theory of the ethics of imposing risks is developed and used as a foundation for defending the idea of precaution in environmental and technological policy making against its critics, while at the same time avoiding a number of identified flaws. The theory is shown to have far-reaching practical conclusions for areas such as bio-, information- and nuclear technology, and global environmental policy in areas such as climate change. The author argues that, while the price we pay for precaution must not be too high, we have to be prepared to pay it in order to act ethically defensible. A number of practical suggestions for precautionary regulation and policy making are made on the basis of this, and some challenges to basic ethical theory as well as consumerist societies, the global political order and liberal democracy are identified.Munthe's book is a well-argued contribution to the PP debate, putting neglected justificatory and methodological questions at the forefront. His many discussions of alternative accounts as well as his drawing out the consequences of his own suggestion in practical cases give the reader a thorough, holistic sense of what justification of PP amounts to. /./ Munthe's main case, his argumentation for the requirement of precaution as a moral norm, is convincing and puts a strong pressure on too narrow alternative suggestions on how it should be perceived and justified, and he launches a plausible defence of its practical usability. 204 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Ion beams have been used for decades for characterizing and analyzing materials. Now energetic ion beams are providing ways to modify the materials in unprecedented ways. This book highlights the emergence of high-energy swift heavy ions as a tool for tailoring the properties of materials with nanoscale structures. Swift heavy ions interact with materials by exciting/ionizing electrons without directly moving the atoms. This opens a new horizon towards the 'so-called' soft engineering. The book discusses the ion beam technology emerging from the non-equilibrium conditions and emphasizes the power of controlled irradiation to tailor the properties of various types of materials for specific needs. 292 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Prof. Raouf Boutaba, University of Waterloo (Canada)Since its inception in the 1970s the Internet has become larger, faster and wireless. It is the biggest machine ever built, the generative engine of our digital society. However, the software that runs the global network has not seen any substantial upgrade since the early 1990s. It is now evident that the existing mechanisms that transport data around the Internet are no longer adequate for the new breed of Web applications. This book explains why the time is ripe for a complete overhaul in view of the Future Internet. Through a series of simple examples, the authors present a wealth of network mechanisms, starting from those that sustain the Web today. Readers will become familiar with a range of advanced protocols that will make the Internet more ubiquitous, reactive, proactive, information-driven, distribution-efficient and searchable. This book presents a selection of remarkable research ideas, making them accessible to the non-specialist reader. Readers will progress from an understanding of what the Internet is now towards an understanding of the motivations and techniques that will drive its future. 180 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Autonomous sensors transmit data and power their electronics without using cables. They can be found in e.g. wireless sensor networks (WSNs) or remote acquisition systems. Although primary batteries provide a simple design for powering autonomous sensors, they present several limitations such as limited capacity and power density, and difficulty in predicting their condition and state of charge. An alternative is to extract energy from the ambient (energy harvesting). However, the reduced dimensions of most autonomous sensors lead to a low level of available power from the energy transducer. Thus, efficient methods and circuits to manage and gather the energy are a must. An integral approach for powering autonomous sensors by considering both primary batteries and energy harvesters is presented. Two rather different forms of energy harvesting are also dealt with: optical (or solar) and radiofrequency (RF). Optical energy provides high energy density, especially outdoors, whereas RF remote powering is possibly the most feasible option for autonomous sensors embedded into the soil or within structures. Throughout different chapters, devices such as primary and secondary batteries, supercapacitors, and energy transducers are extensively reviewed. Then, circuits and methods found in the literature used to efficiently extract and gather the energy are presented. Finally, new proposals based on the authors' own research are analyzed and tested. Every chapter is written to be rather independent, with each incorporating the relevant literature references. Powering Autonomous Sensors is intended for a wide audience working on or interested in the powering of autonomous sensors. Researchers and engineers can find a broad introduction to basic topics in this interesting and emerging area as well as further insights on the topics of solar and RF harvesting and of circuits and methods to maximize the power extracted from energy transducers. 164 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Titanium dioxide photocatalysis is based on the semiconducting nature of its anatase crystal type. Construction materials with titanium photocatalyst show performances of air purification, self-cleaning, water purification, antibacterial action. This book describes principles of titanium dioxide photocatalysis, its applications to cementitious and noncementitious materials, as well as an overview of standardization of testing methods. 60 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Emerging Development of Agriculture in East Africa offers case studies that find promise in many new innovations. Farmers in Uganda have quickly learned the management of NERICA rice (a new upland rice variety), which is being disseminated in a limited way in the region. Also in Uganda, farmers living in more remote areas have improved access to markets due to the expansion of mobile phones. In Kenya, improved milk marketing systems have increased efficiency and led to tangible increases in the adoption of dairy production technologies. And the adoption of intensive dairy production systems in Kenya and Uganda are providing significant amounts of manure and positively impacting yields of maize and banana. 232 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Device architecture and materials for organic light-emitting devices focuses on the design of new device and material concepts for organic light-emitting devices, thereby targeting high current densities and an improved control of the triplet concentration. A new light-emitting device architecture, the OLED with field-effect electron transport, is demonstrated. This device is a hybrid between a diode and a field-effect transistor. Compared to conventional OLEDs, the metallic cathode is displaced by one to several micrometers from the light-emitting zone, reducing optical absorption losses. The electrons injected by the cathode accumulate at an organic heterojunction and are transported to the light-emission zone by field-effect. High mobilities for charge carriers are achieved in this way, enabling a high current density and a reduced number of charge carriers in the device. Pulsed excitation experiments show that pulses down to 1 µs can be applied to this structure without affecting the light intensity, suggesting that pulsed excitation might be useful to reduce the accumulation of triplets in the device. The combination of all these properties makes the OLED with field-effect electron transport particularly interesting for waveguide devices and future electrically pumped lasers. In addition, triplet-emitter doped organic materials, as well as the use of triplet scavengers in conjugated polymers are investigated. 172 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book presents a collection of chapters describing the state of the art on computational modelling and fabrication in tissue engineering. Tissue Engineering is a multidisciplinary field involving scientists from different fields. The development of mathematical methods is quite relevant to understand cell biology and human tissues as well to model, design and fabricate optimized and smart scaffolds. The chapter authors are the distinguished keynote speakers at the first Eccomas thematic conference on Tissue Engineering where the emphasis was on mathematical and computational modeling for scaffold design and fabrication. This particular area of tissue engineering, whose goal is to obtain substitutes for hard tissues such as bone and cartilage, is growing in importance. 184 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Olefin Upgrading Catalysis by Nitrogen-based Metal Complexes II: State-of-the-art and Perspectives provides a critical review of the state-of-the-art developments in industrially relevant processes connected to efficient and selective olefin upgrading. Specific attention is devoted to catalysts containing imine- and amine-based ligands.All the chapters in this book have been designed to provide a systematic account of the vast amount of information available for this type of catalyst as well as to highlight the factors that ultimately control the catalyst's performance and productivity. A comprehensive panorama of catalyst precursors is presented, spanning from group 10 -diimine complexes and iron and cobalt 2,6-bis(imino)pyridine derivatives, to vanadium, chromium, titanium, zirconium and lanthanide complexes supported by nitrogen-containing ligands. The authors of this collective work are currently involved in the development of imine-based catalysts for efficient and selective olefin upgrading and the majority of them have dedicated most of their scientific career to this important field. In writing this book, their major goal is to transfer as many ideas and experiences as possible to the global audience of scientists engaged in this area of research. 280 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Olefin Upgrading Catalysis by Nitrogen-based Metal Complexes provides a critical review of the state-of-the-art developments in industrially relevant processes connected to efficient and selective olefin upgrading. Specific attention is devoted to catalysts containing imine- and amine-based ligands.All the chapters in this book have been designed to provide a systematic account of the vast amount of information available for this type of catalyst as well as to highlight the factors that ultimately control the catalyst s performance and productivity. A comprehensive panorama of catalyst precursors is presented, spanning from group 10 -diimine complexes and iron and cobalt 2,6-bis(imino)pyridine derivatives, to vanadium, chromium, titanium, zirconium and lanthanide complexes supported by nitrogen-containing ligands. The authors of this collective work are currently involved in the development of imine-based catalysts for efficient and selective olefin upgrading and the majority of them have dedicated most of their scientific career to this important field. In writing this book, their major goal is to transfer as many ideas and experiences as possible to the global audience of scientists engaged in this area of research. 300 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Accretionary prisms in convergent margins are natural laboratories for exploring initial orogenic processes and mountain building episodes. They are also an important component of continental growth both vertically and laterally. Accretionary prisms are seismically highly active and their internal deformation via megathrusting and out-of-sequence faulting are a big concern for earthquake and tsunami damage in many coastal cities around the Pacific Rim. The geometries and structures of modern accretionary prisms have been well imaged seismically and through deep drilling projects of the Ocean Drilling Program (and recently IODP) during the last 15 years. Better understanding of the spatial distribution and temporal progression of accretionary prism deformation, structural and hydrologic evolution of the décollement zone (tectonic interface between the subducting slab and the upper plate), chemical gradients and fluid flow paths within accretionary prisms, contrasting stratigraphic and deformational framework along-strike in accretionary prisms, and the distribution and ecosystems of biological communities in accretionary prism settings is most important in interpreting the evolution of ancient complex sedimentary terrains and orogenic belts in terms of subduction-related processes. This book is a collection of interdisciplinary papers documenting the geological, geophysical, geochemical, and paleontological features of modern accretionay prisms and trenches in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, based on many submersible dive cruises, ODP drilling projects, and geophysical surveys during the last 10 years. It also includes several papers presenting the results of systematic integrated studies of recent to ancient on-land accretionary prisms in comparison to modern analogues. The individual chapters are data and image rich, providing a major resource of information and knowledge from these critical components of convergent margins for researchers, faculty members, and graduate and undergraduate students. As such, the book will be a major and unique contribution in the broad fields of global tectonics, geodynamics, marine geology and geophysics, and structural geology and sedimentology. 300 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Despite their apparent simplicity, the behaviour of pendulums can be remarkably complicated. Historically, pendulums for specific purposes have been developed using a combination of simplified theory and trial and error. There do not appear to be any introductory books on pendulums, written at an intermediate level, and covering a wide range of topics. This book aims to fill the gap. It is written for readers with some background in elementary geometry, algebra, trigonometry and calculus. Historical information, where available and useful for the understanding of various types of pendulum and their applications, is included. Perhaps the best known use of pendulums is as the basis of clocks in which a pendulum controls the rate at which the clock runs. Interest in theoretical and practical aspects of pendulums, as applied to clocks, goes back more than four centuries. The concept of simple pendulums, which are idealised versions of real pendulums is introduced. The application of pendulums to clocks is described, with detailed discussion of the effect of inevitable differences between real pendulums and simple pendulums. In a clock, the objective is to ensure that the pendulum controls the timekeeping. However, pendulums are sometimes driven, and how this affects their behaviour is described. Pendulums are sometimes used for occult purposes. It is possible to explain some apparently occult results by using modern pendulum theory. For example, why a ring suspended inside a wine glass, by a thread from a finger, eventually strikes the glass. Pendulums have a wide range of uses in scientific instruments, engineering, and entertainment. Some examples are given as case studies. Indexed in the Book Citation Index- Science (BKCI-S) 152 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -TThe Turn analyzes the research of information seeking and retrieval (IS&R) and proposes a new direction of integrating research in these two areas: the fields should turn off their separate and narrow paths and construct a new avenue of research. An essential direction for this avenue is context as given in the subtitle Integration of Information Seeking and Retrieval in Context. Other essential themes in the book include: IS&R research models, frameworks and theories; search and works tasks and situations in context; interaction between humans and machines; information acquisition, relevance and information use; research design and methodology based on a structured set of explicit variables - all set into the holistic cognitive approach. The present monograph invites the reader into a construction project - there is much research to do for a contextual understanding of IS&R.The Turn represents a wide-ranging perspective of IS&R by providing a novel unique research framework, covering both individual and social aspects of information behavior, including the generation, searching, retrieval and use of information. Regarding traditional laboratory information retrieval research, the monograph proposes the extension of research toward actors, search and work tasks, IR interaction and utility of information. Regarding traditional information seeking research, it proposes the extension toward information access technology and work task contexts. The Turn is the first synthesis of research in the broad area of IS&R ranging from systems oriented laboratory IR research to social science oriented information seeking studies. 464 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The International Symposium on the History of Machines and Mechanisms is the main activity of the Permanent Commission (PC) for the History of Mechanism and Machine Science (HMM) of the International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanism and Machine Science (IFToMM). The first symposium, HMM2000, was initiated by Dr. Marco Ceccarelli and was held at the University of Cassino (Cassino, Italy) on May 11-13, 2000. The second symposium, HMM2004, was chaired by Dr. Marco Ceccarelli and held at the same venue on May 12-15, 2004. The third symposium, HMM2008, was chaired by Dr. Hong-Sen Yan and held at the National Cheng Kung University (Tainan, Taiwan) on November 11-14, 2008. The mission of IFToMM is to promote research and development in the field of machines and mechanisms by theoretical and experimental methods, along with their practical applications. The aim of HMM2008 is to establish an international forum for presenting and discussing historical developments in the field of Mechanism and Machine Science (MMS). The subject area covers all aspects of the development of HMM, such as machine, mechanism, kinematics, design method, etc., that are related to people, events, objects, anything that assisted in the development of the HMM, and presented in the forms of reasoning and ar- ments, demonstration and identification, and description and evaluation. 388 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -'Structural and Failure Mechanics of Sandwich Composites' by Leif A. Carlsson and George A. Kardomateas focuses on some important deformation and failure modes of sandwich panels such as global buckling, wrinkling and local instabilities, and face/core debonding. The book also provides the mechanics background necessary for understanding deformation and failure mechanisms in sandwich panels and the response of sandwich structural parts to a variety of loadings. Specifically, first-order and high-order sandwich panel theories, and three-dimensional elasticity solutions for the structural behavior outlined in some detail. Elasticity analysis can serve as a benchmark for judging the accuracy of simplified sandwich plate, shell and beam theories. Furthermore, the book reviews test methods developed for the characterization of the constituent face and core materials, and sandwich beams and plates. The characterization of face/core debonding is a major topic of this text, and analysis methods based on fracture mechanics are described and applied to several contemporary test specimens. Test methods and results documented in the literature are included and discussed. The book will benefit structural and materials engineers and researchers with the desire to learn more about structural behavior, failure mechanisms, fracture mechanics and damage tolerance of sandwich structures. 400 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The Mekong Delta of Vietnam is one of the most productive agricultural areas in the world. The Mekong River fans out over an area of about 40,000 sq kilometers and over the course of many millennia has produced a region of fertile alluvial soils and constant flows of energy. Today about a fourth of the Delta is under rice cultivation, making this area one of the premier rice granaries in the world. The Delta has always proven a difficult environment to manipulate, however, and because of population pressures, increasing acidification of soils, and changes in the Mekong's flow, environmental problems have intensified. The changing way in which the region has been linked to larger flows of commodities and capital over time has also had an impact on the region: For example, its re-emergence in recent decades as a major rice-exporting area has linked it inextricably to global markets and their vicissitudes. And most recently, the potential for sea level increases because of global warming has added a new threat. Because most of the region is on average only a few meters above sea level and because any increase of sea level will change the complex relationship between tides and down-river water flow, the Mekong Delta is one of the areas in the world most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. How governmental policy and resident populations have in the past and will in coming decades adapt to climate change as well as several other emerging or ongoing environmental and economic problems is the focus of this collection. 472 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Mitochondria are essential organelles in eukaryotic cells that control such diverse processes as energy metabolism, calcium buffering, and cell death. Recent studies have revealed that changes in mitochondrial morphology by fission and fusion, a process known as mitochondrial dynamics, is particularly important for neuronal function and survival. Defects in this process are commonly found in neurodegenerative diseases, offering a new paradigm for investigating mechanisms of neurodegeneration. To provide researchers working on neurodegenerative diseases and mitochondria with updated information on this rapidly progressing field, we have invited experts in the field to critically review recent progresses and identify future research directions. The topics include genetics of mitochondrial dynamics, mitochondrial dynamics and bioenergetics, autophagy, apoptosis, and axonal transport, and its role in neurological diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases. 272 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Eco-city planning is a key element of urban land use planning in perspective and of ongoing debate of environmental urban sustainable development with a spatial and practical dimension. The conceptual basis of ecological planning is that we can no longer afford to be merely human-centred in approach. Instead, the interdependency of human and non-human species has forced us to appreciate the 'rights' and 'intrinsic values' of non-human species in our pursuit for a sustainable ecosystem. This volume has as approach an emphasis on environmental planning policies whereby, for example, energy saving, anti-pollution measures, use of non-car modes, construction of green buildings, safeguarding of nature and natural habitats in urban areas, and use of more renewable resources are promotional norms. Their aims and leading outcome serve to protect the Earth from adverse effects of global warming and different sources of pollution threatening the quality of life of human societies. 320 pp. Englisch.