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Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. Neuware - The ever-increasing importance of chemical reactions at high and superhigh temperatures in crystalline, amorphous, and semicrystalline SOlids, as well as the reactions of these solids with gases, prompted the authors of this book to examine critically the literature available in this field and to present a general review of the subject. In this monograph we discuss those chemical and physicochemical points which we consider to be most important for solving a series of problems in the preparation and use of new inorganic materials. We hope that this book will be of interest to the many specialists working on inorganic materials. N. A. Toropov PREFACE Modem technology demands ever more materials with high mechanical strength, heat and chemical re sistance, fire resistance, special electrical properties, particular behavior toward active radiations, etc. The search for such materials requires the study of various chemical compounds, metallic alloys, and other fused in organic systems, especially oxide systems. Materials based on oxides begin to assume increasing importance in many fields of the new technology. In this connection the investigation of oxides and systems consisting of two and more oxides is expanding greatly.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. Neuware - The Growth of Crystals series was begun in 1957 by A. V. Shubnikov and . N. N. SheftaP with the publication of the first volume. which contained the proceedings of the First All-Union Conference on Crystal Growth. The initiative and considerable efforts of the principal editor of the entire series. N. N. Sheftal', and his assistants led over the next 15 years to the publica tion of ten volumes which have assumed a leading position among the numerous books on crys tal growth. It has become traditional in this series to adopt a broad approach to crystal growth problems, and this approach is continued in Volumes 11 and 12, which are composed mainly of papers presented at the Fourth All-Union Conference on Crystal Growth in Tsakhkadzor. September 17-22, 1972. These papers, presented by both Soviet and foreign workers, deal with crystal growth processes. growth methods. and crystal perfection. Many of the papers reflect the tendency for our knowledge of crystallization processes to become increasingly more fundamental. with emphaSis on quantitative treatments. There are some extremely difficult problems in this approach. especially when the requirements of practical uses are envisaged. and many of these are discussed in various ways in these two volumes. These topics include detailed theoretical and experimental analysis of cooperative phenomena in crystallization. with emphasis not only on statistical thermodynamics but also statistical kinetics. This approach involves research on the structure and properties of phase boundaries. including the composition and structure of surface layers in liquids.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. Neuware -Mechanisms of Heart Failure is based on papers selected from poster presentations made at the International Conference on Heart Failure, Winnipeg, May 20-23, 1994. Although the entire book is one continuous discussion of subcellular mechanisms of heart failure and its treatment, the presentation has been divided into three sections: the opening section on the subcellular basis of heart failure includes discussions of cytokines, signal transduction, metabolism, extracellular matrix, organ level changes and newer approaches to understanding the pathogenesis of heart failure. The second section focuses on the pathophysiological aspects of cardiomyopathies and their treatment. In the final section, medical, surgical and pharmacological approaches to the treatment of heart failure are discussed in clinical and animal laboratory settings.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. Neuware - The First All-Union Symposium on Phase-Separation Phenomena in Glasses was held in Lenin grad from April 16 to 18, 1968. The symposium was organized by the Section of the structure of glass and the nature of the glassy state of the Scientific Council for the problem 'New Tech nical Materials and Coatings Based on Glass and Refractory Compounds' of the State Committee for Science and Technology of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, by the Scientific Council for the problem 'Physicochemical Principles of Production of New Heat-Resistant Inorganic Mate rials' of the Division of Physical Chemistry and Technology of Inorganic Materials, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, by the Leningrad regional board of the D. 1. Mendeleev All-Union Chemi cal Society, and by the 1. V. Grebenshchikov Institute of Silicate Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the USSR. The present collection consists of the Proceedings of the Symposium and is No. 3 in Vol. 5 of the series 'The Glassy State,' published by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR since 1955. The book contains the results of theoretical and experimental investigations of phase sep aration of glasses into two glassy phases, and of the influence of this submicroscopically heter ogeneous structure on certain properties of glass. Metastable phase separation in glasses was discovered about 10 years ago.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -study or teaching. This manual explores the This publication is intended for persons who are various possibilities for using the book in just planning to use my book, Building Construction about all the ways I can imagine in terms of and Design, as a basic text or reference for some teaching effort. The book was indeed written to teaching situations and learning goals. be used for study purposes, including those in Most college teachers get no teacher education volving some classroom situation with a teacher. or training (me included). If both totally unpre The book itself is organized and presented es pared by training and also inexperienced in sentially for the utility of the readers; with or teaching work, the teacher faces a vast abyss of without the benefit of guidance by a teacher. unknowns in approaching the classroom and the This manual is written for the teacher and deals blank stares of a room full of students. Any help is wanted, and this manual may hopefully supply with teaching in general, as well as with the some for the less experienced teachers. In specific use of my book. 84 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In order to design and build computers that achieve and sustain high performance, it is essential that reliability issues be considered care fully. The problem has several aspects. Certainly, considering reliability implies that an engineer must be able to analyze how design decisions affect the incidence of failure. For instance, in order design reliable inte gritted circuits, it is necessary to analyze how decisions regarding design rules affect the yield, i.e., the percentage of functional chips obtained by the manufacturing process. Of equal importance in producing reliable computers is the detection of failures in its Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) circuit components, caused by errors in the design specification, implementation, or manufacturing processes. Design verification involves the checking of the specification of a design for correctness prior to carrying out an implementation. Implementation verification ensures that the manual design or automatic synthesis process is correct, i.e., the mask-level description correctly implements the specification. Manufacture test involves the checking of the complex fabrication process for correctness, i.e., ensuring that there are no manufacturing defects in the integrated circuit. It should be noted that all the above verification mechanisms deal not only with verifying the functionality of the integrated circuit but also its performance. 240 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -My curiosity with the economic efficiency and social benefits of provisions used by telecommunications carriers to limit their liability to customers for damages arising from service interruptions and network outages is a longstanding one. It began with the changing state regulatory environments in the late 1980's while representing AT&T as an attorney before numerous state legislatures in the Midwest. As telecommunications carriers faced the ramifications of deregulation, several legal consequences came to the fore. One important consequence was the impact of changing regulatory rules and requirements on the carriers' abilities to continue to limit their liability for damages to customers in a non-tariffed world. As a result, one of my responsibilities while employed by AT&T was to syek legislative relief in some state jurisdictions which would enable the continued use of limited liability provisions notwithstanding other deregulatory developments in the industry. In my capacity as an attorney, I succeeded in this task in the few jurisdictions for which I was given the charge. However, as an economist, these efforts piqued my interest regarding the economic effects of such limited liability provisions on consumer interests. What liability rules for the industry would really better serve general societal interests As my career evolved, which involved returning to graduate school to pursue my Ph. D. and becoming the Director of Public Policy Studies at Ameritech, I had the opportunity to pursue interdisciplinary research in telecommunications policy issues. 144 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -On September 17 and 18, 1998, a conference took place at Mont Tremblant on the theme 'Doing Business in a Knowledge-Based Economy.' This conference brought together some hundred participants from government, business and academia, with backgrounds in business administration, engineering, public administration and economics, to provide a multidisciplinary analysis of what has come to be known as the 'Knowledge-Based Economy' (KBE). The aim was to come up with suggestions and recommendations about how to do business in a knowledge based economy, both at the firm level and at the government level. All presenters were explicitly asked to conclude with policy recommendations. The conference was sponsored by Industry Canada and organized by the Centre of Interuniversity Research on the Analysis of Organizations (CIRANO). The conference papers offered U.S., Canadian and European perspectives on the management of a knowledge-based economy. This volume is divided into three parts. The papers in part I set the stage by describing the salient features of the KBE. What is so special about it What are its economic underpinnings What are its technological characteristics Knowledge plays a crucial role in a KBE, hence its name. Whereas, in the past, growth was determined primarily by the availability of land, natural resources, labour and capital successively, at the end of the twentieth century, knowledge has become a (if not the) major factor of economic growth. 512 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Dynamic Portfolio Strategies: Quantitative Methods and Empirical Rules for Incomplete Information investigates optimal investment problems for stochastic financial market models. It is addressed to academics and students who are interested in the mathematics of finance, stochastic processes, and optimal control, and also to practitioners in risk management and quantitative analysis who are interested in new strategies and methods of stochastic analysis. While there are many works devoted to the solution of optimal investment problems for various models, the focus of this book is on analytical strategies based on 'technical analysis' which are model-free. The technical analysis of these strategies has a number of characteristics. Two of the more important characteristics are: (1) they require only historical data, and (2) typically they are more widely used by traders than analysis based on stochastic models. Hence it is the objective of this book to reduce the gap between model-free strategies and strategies that are 'optimal' for stochastic models. We hope that researchers, students and practitioners will be interested in some of the new empirically based methods of 'technical analysis' strategies suggested in this book and evaluated via stochastic market models. 228 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -As the demand for environmental quality is increasing and as the current GATT rules monitored by the WTO are not very suitable for environmental protection, either a new international environmental organization may be formed soon or new environmental regulations may be added to GATT. In either case, understanding of the interactions between trade and the environment will be vital. Trade and the Environment presents both the theoretical and empirical exposition of (i) the impact of trade liberalization on environmental quality; (ii) the impact of environmental regulations on international competitiveness; and (iii) strategic trade and environmental policies. An important feature of Trade and the Environment as compared to earlier books is that it brings together the reciprocal interactions between trade and the environment. It can be used as the main or complementary textbook for a course on trade and the environment. 232 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Consumption takes place in settings or environments which have both direct and indirect effects on its dynamic path. Direct effects of environments on activities in consuming can occur through constraints that environments impose. Environment can also have indirect effects on consumption through enduring modification of internalized constructs which enter heuristics for decisions on activities. The importance of environments to consumption is increased by the definitional dependence of status on the judgements of others. This study examines microprocessing in consumer activities for status as it interacts with structure in the environments of these activities. The importance of environments in status activities provides the basis for a seperate, but related inquiry into observed differences in the form they take across societies. Conjecture on the consequences of differences in the structure of environments for consumption that typify a society is studied in the narrative statements by members of comparison societies and in the content of print advertising in these societies. Evolutionary processes which could establish observed differences in structure across societies are also considered in both their systematic and random components. I review models of random drift and stochastic resonance as candidate forms for generating observed structure in environments. Directions for the subsequent study of status through consumption are discussed.P Introduction: Status Through Consumption; Knowledge Use in Nonwork Activities for Status; Interactions of Consumer Microprocessing and Structured Environments: Activity Feedback and the Stability of Structure; Awards and Honors Systems in Structured Environments: Cross Societal Comparisons of Narrative Statements on Consuming for Status; Comparative Analyses of Consumption Appeals in the Print Advertising of the USA and France, 1955-1991 Random Process in the Generation of Structured Environments; Overview and directions for Study of Status Through Consumption. 220 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In the future, as our society becomes older and older, an increasing number of people will be confronted with Alzheimer's disease. Some will suffer from the illness themselves, others will see parents, relatives, their spouse or a close friend afflicted by it. Even now, the psychological and financial burden caused by Alzheimer's disease is substantial, most of it borne by the patient and her family. Improving the situation for the patients and their caregivers presents a challenge for societies and decision makers. Our work contributes to improving the in decision making situation con cerning Alzheimer's disease. At a fundamental level, it addresses methodo logical aspects of the contingent valuation method and gives a holistic view of applying the contingent valuation method for use in policy. We show all stages of a contingent valuation study beginning with the design, the choice of elicitation techniques and estimation methods for willingness-to-pay, the use of the results in a cost-benefit analysis, and finally, the policy implica tions resulting from our findings. We do this by evaluating three possible programs dealing with Alzheimer's disease. The intended audience of this book are health economists interested in methodological problems of contin gent valuation studies, people involved in health care decision making, plan ning, and priority setting, as well as people interested in Alzheimer's disease. We would like to thank the many people and institutions who have pro vided their help with this project. 132 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The purpose of Projects as Business Constituents and Guiding Motives is to describe and analyse the roles that projects play in business. The editors, authors and researchers are convinced that projects are of significant importance at virtually every level of society, even though companies are the focus of this book. Projects are not merely conspicuous components of businesses, they in fact signal what businesses are all about. As you will see from some of the contributions to this book, these signals come in different forms and have different effects. Thus the various contributions to this book also mirror a kind of uncertainty as to what this phenomenon that is called project is all about. Rather than trying to define what it `really is', the editors have opted for the alternative, namely to let some of the variation be replicated in the different contributions. One important reason for the variations is that each author wants to stress a different aspect of projectisation. The editors illustrate some of the variations as they appear in the minds of researchers and in the minds of those who work with projects every day. They believe that they do greater justice to the field by taking this stance at this stage in the evolution of project management. The book is structured in four sections. The first section includes four chapters elaborating on various aspects of the roles projects play for shareholders, for management, for the global scene, and for the more or less continuous reorganising efforts that characterise most industries at the present time. The second section deals with how projects fit in with traditional business processes and the challenges that face project management as well as the generic business procedures. The third section brings forward some of the most essential matters when it comes to the future of business organisations. Innovation projects have a completely different character compared to traditional projects, and when entire industries go through thorough transformations, attending to project matters will be part of that change. One of the most often-repeated statements in business is that people matter; in the last section that statement is scrutinised in a projectised environment. This volume has a wide international selection of authors. Eight different nationalities are represented. The collection is relevant to academics in business administration, project management and organisation behaviour. It should also appeal to a significant secondary audience: professionals in project management, business strategy and organisation. 280 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Throughout the development of mathematical programming researchers have paid great attention to problems that are described by a single objective that can only be achieved subject to satisfying a set of restrictions or constraints. Recently, it has been recognized that the use of a single objective limits the applicability of In reality, many multiobjective mathematical programming models. situations exist and frequently these mUltiple objectives are in direct conflict. Research on multiobjective problems can be broken down into two broad categories: multiobjective optimization and multicriterion decision theory. Multiobjective optimization models are based on techniques such as linear programming. In general, the multiobjective optimization problem can be defined as finding a feasible alternative that yields the most preferred set of values for the objective functions. This problem differs from a single objective because subjective methods are required to determine which alternative is most preferred. A body of literature parallel to that m multiobjective optimization has been developing in the area of multicriterion decision theory. These models are based on classical decision analysis, particularly utility theory. One focus of this research has been the development and testing of procedures for estimating multiattribute utility functions that are consistent with rational decision maker behavior. A utility function provides a model of a decision maker's choice among alternatives. This literature is directly xii MULTIOBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION applicable to multiobjective optimization and provides much needed insight into the subjective character of that problem. 188 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The theme ofthe conference at which the papers in this book were presented was'Systems Thinking in Europe'. Members of the United Kingdom Systems Society (UKSS) were conscious that the systems movementflourishes notonly in the UK, America and the Antipodes, but also in continental Europe, both East and West, and in the USSR, a nation increasingly being welcomed by the European comity. Membership of the UKSS had not perhaps had the opportunity, however, of hearing important new ideas from continental Europe, and this conference provided an opportunity to do so. Some interesting papers are to be found here from both the West and the East, if the editors may be forgiven for perpetuating what may be an increasingly irrelevant dichotomy. One lesson to be learned from this conference, though, is that systems thinking is truly international. This is not to say that there is one systems paradigm unifonnly applied, however. Perhaps the core of systems thinking is that one is interested in complex 'wholes' with emergent properties, to which cybernetic ideas can be applied. Examples of such systems thinking can be found in these proceedings, for example in the section entitled 'Applications of Systems Thinking'. Attempts to bring about change with these ideas, however, have given rise to a diversity of approaches, as is evidenced by the papers dealing with the application of methodologies in the 'hard' and 'soft' systems traditions. 628 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In cooperative games, one generally assumes that the agents know exactly the joint (monetary) gains that can be achieved by any possible coalition of cooperating agents. In reality, however, only little is known with certainty. This does not necessarily imply that traditional cooperative game theory cannot be applied in practical situations, for in various cases knowledge of the expected gains suffices. In many other cases, however, it is just the sharing of risk that is beneficial. Joint ventures, for instance, exist since cooperation reduces the risk of the investment for the individual parties. Since the existing models fail to incorporate such risks, they are not suitable for analyzing cooperative decision-making under risk. This book aims to rectify this deficiency by discussing a model of cooperative games with random payoffs. 156 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Because of their mutually influencing interactions, information systems and modern manufacturing systems are intertwined. They have been so integrated that information systems have become an embedded and critical component of any effective manufacturing system. The impact of the increasing focus on information permeates throughout the manufacturing life cycle, from product conceptualization, design, process planning, all the way to production, order fulfilment, and customer services. For these reasons, it is critical that we study information-based manufacturing in its entirety, crossing the traditional functional boundaries and building as much synergy between Information Systems (IS), Information Technology (IT), and manufacturing as possible. This is the motivation for this book and, to this end, the purpose of this book is threefold: to establish an up-to-date interdisciplinary research framework for information-based manufacturing that builds on the research foundation from IS and IT and manufacturing research; to develop a forward-looking research agenda for information-based manufacturing for identifying future directions for research and applications; and to foster a joint academic and industrial research agenda in information systems and manufacturing by identifying the greatest synergy possible between academic research and industrial practices. 352 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -A thorough analysis of insider trading requires the integration of law and finance, and this book presents a theoretical and empirical examination of insider trading by incorporating a synthesis of securities law with that of financial theory. The book begins with a conceptual framework that explores the theoretical roles of markets, firms and publicly held corporations, including a discussion of corporate governance to determine both who may have access to nonpublic information, and their legal rights and responsibilities. The book then examines different aspects of the securities laws, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and a critique of the SEC disclosure rules and their ramifications for market efficiency. This is followed by a detailed chronology of insider trading regulations enacted in the U.S. since 1934 and an overview of the existing empirical literature on insider trading. Empirical evidence is presented on insider trading activities and the merit of anti-insider trading laws is evaluated on theoretical arguments and recent empirical developments. The authors conclude by arguing that insider trading laws and enforcement activities have failed and propose the decriminalization of insider trading. 184 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Recently, a research program on the compliance costs and the economic effects of taxation in New Zealand was undertaken within the Inland Revenue Department. Taxation and the Limits of Government is an edited volume which presents the best of the papers that emerged from that research program. Topical coverage includes a brief history of reform in New Zealand, the effect of taxation on economic growth, the marginal cost of taxation, the employment effects of taxation, income distribution, the hidden economy and taxation, tax compliance, taxation and bankruptcy, and estimates of effective tax rates. 324 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The evaluation profession has experienced rapid growth in the past five years. Prior to 1995. there were five national evaluation organizations: the American Evnluntion Association (AEA). the Asociacion Centroamericana de Evaluacion (ACE). the Australasian Evaluation Society (AES). the Canadian Evaluation Society (CES). and the European Evaluation Society (EES). In November 1995. AEA and CES cosponsored an international evaluation conference in Vancouver, of the conference was 'Evaluation for a New British Columbia. The theme Century-A Global Perspective.' Delegates from 50 countries throughout Europe, Australia. New Zealand, Asia, Africa, and Central and South America attended the conference. The conference combined workshops and lecture fonnats to bring participants the most up-to-date and relevant information in a variety of sectors. Following the Vancouver conference, there was a gestation period, after which several national evaluation organizations in Europe were born (AEA/CES, Evaluation '95, On-Site Program). In 1997, EES held a conference in Stockholm. The theme of the conference was 'What Works and for Whom' ' More than 280 evaluation professionals from 30 countries in Europe and throughout the world attended the conference. The conference provided a forum for academic professionals and civil servants to meet and share their experiences. Leaders emerged with goals to increase membership and to create extensive professional networks within the society (EES Newsletter, 2/97). 376 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book is a result of the ISD'97, Sixth International Conference on Information Systems Development-Methods and Tools, Theory and Practice held August 11-14, 1997 in Boise, Idaho, USA. The purpose of this Conference was to address the issues facing academia and industry when specifying, developing, managing and improving software systems. The selection of papers was carried out by the International Program Committee. All papers were reviewed in advance by at least three people. Papers were judged according to their originality, relevance and presentation quality. All papers were judged purely on their own merits, independently of other submissions. This year's Information Systems Development Conference-ISD'97 is the first ISD conference being held in the US. ISD was brought into existence almost ten years ago. It continues the fine tradition of the first Polish-Scandinavian Seminar on Current Trends in Information Systems Development Methodologies, held in Gdansk-Poland in 1988. ISD'98 will be held in Bled, Slovenia. ISD'97 consists not only of the technical program represented in these proceedings, but also tutorials on improved software testing and end-user information systems and workshop on sharing knowledge within international high technology industries that are intended for both, the research and business communities. We would like to thank the authors of papers accepted for ISD'97 who all made gal lant efforts to provide me with electronic copies of their manuscripts conforming to com mon guidelines. We thank them for thoughtfully responding to reviewers comments and carefully preparing their final contributions. 584 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Economic Development is but one facet of Human Development. This forces us to ask - how do humans develop Man is a social animal and the growth of our humanity requires various social institutions, such as bureaucracy. The paradox of capitalism is that it is a system ostensibly based on self-interest yet wholly dependent on non-market values for its success. These non-market values are shaped by two much-neglected factors, religion and ethnicity. Economic Development is an applied field; whatever it claims as a conclusion should be an applicable conclusion. This requires attention to all those non-economic factors which translate economic decisions into practice - such as the forces of nationalism versus the pressures of such global powers as US foreign policy and the advice of the IMF/IBRD. Since policy is our goal, theory whose intellectual basis is inaccessible to policy makers or which fails to have application should be minimized. Mathematical models are best avoided and, if they are to be used, the burden of proof must be placed upon their proponents. As insights about the market are limited neither by time nor space, poor countries can learn from rich ones, and vice versa. It is most fruitful to focus on examples of success, such as the East Asian economies. They are the clearest illustration of the fact that rapid economic development is possible even to those who have suffered through imperialism, and possess few natural resources, but have their work and their determination intact. `One good example is enough.' 280 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The problems arising from the existence of asymmetric information in public decision making have been widely explored by economists. Most of the traditional analysis of public sector activities has been reviewed to take accountofthe possible distortions arising from an asymmetric distribution of relevant information among the actors of the public decision-making process. A normative approach has been developed to design incentive schemes which tackle adverse selection and moral hazard problems within public organisations: our understanding of these problems is now much better, and some of the mechanisms designed have had important practical implications. While this analysis is still under way in many fields of public economics, as the papers by Jones and Zanola, and Trimarchi witness, a debate is ongoing on the possible theoretical limitations ofthis approach and on its actual relevance for public sector activities. This book encompasses different contributions to these issues, on both theoretical and practical areas, which were firstly presented at a conference in Catania. The innermost problem in the current discussion arises from the fact that this normative analysis is firmly rooted in the complete contracting framework, with the consequence that, despite the analytical complexities of most models, their results rely on very simplified assumptions. Most complexities of the organisation of public sector, and more generally, of writing 'contracts', are therefore swept away. 228 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The aim of this book, Future of the Telecommunications Industry: Forecasting and Demand Analysis, is to describe leading research in the area of empirical telecommunications demand analysis and forecasting in the light of tremendous market and regulatory changes. Its purpose is to educate the reader about how traditional analytic techniques can be used to assess new telecommunications products and how new analytic techniques can better address existing products. The research presented focuses on new products such as Internet access and additional lines and new techniques such as hazard modeling, adaptive forecasting and neural networks. The scope of this volume includes new telecommunications products, new analytical techniques, and a review of market changes in the US and other countries. Some of the most critical questions facing the industry are addressed here, such as the impact of competition, customer churn, rate re-balancing, and early assessment of new products. The research includes a variety of different countries, products and analytic tools. 288 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This collection of papers is an outgrowth of the 'Game Practice I' th th conference held in Genoa from 28 to 30 June 1998. More precisely, it is the result of the call for papers that was issued in association with that conference: actually, nearly half of the contributions to this book are papers that were presented in Genoa. The name chosen for the conference and for this book is in evident and provocative contrast with 'Game Theory': this choice needs some explanation, and to that we shall devote a few words of this Preface. Let us say at the outset that 'Game Practice' would not exist without Game Theory. As one can see, the overall content of this book is firmly rooted in the existing Game Theory. It could be hardly otherwise, given the success and influence of Game Theory (just think of the basic issues in Economic Theory), and the tremendous development that has taken place within Game Theory. This success, however, makes even more evident the existence of problems with respect to the verification of the theory. This is patent from the point of view of the predictive value of Game Theory (the 'positive' side): a lot of experimental and observational evidence demon strates that there is a large gap between theory and 'practice'. 292 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The 1996 Conference focused on topics of environmentally attractive technologies for electricity production-renewables, natural gas, and nuclear energy. Recent technology developments were addressed which include creation of more efficient photovoltaic convert ers for electricity generation; the current and future role of natural gas in meeting global de mand for electric power generation; and the status of nuclear energy, its various applications, and the prospects for its future. The Conference agenda, in light of its global economic im pact, included comparative discussions of all the above alternative energy sources. The re gional choice of energy sources and their impact on the global economy and environment was reviewed. In addition to the above subjects, but strongly connected with the theme of global en ergy needs and security, the Conference program contained one session on new needs and di rections in higher education: new curricula to cover fundamental global issues on energy, resources, and environment. 320 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Analog VHDL brings together in one place important contributions and up-to-date research results in this fast moving area. Analog VHDL serves as an excellent reference, providing insight into some of the most challenging research issues in the field. 120 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -It is common practice today to use the term 'alloy' in connection with specific classes of materials, with prominence given to metals and semiconductors. However, there is good justification for considering alloys in a unified manner based on properties rather than types of materials because, after all, to alloy means to mix. The scientific aspects of mixing together different materials has a very long history going back to early attempts to understand and control materials behavior for the service of mankind. The case for using the scientific term 'alloy' to mean any material consisting of more than one element can be based on the following two considerations. First, many alloys are mixtures of metallic, semiconducting, and/or insulating materials, and the properties of an alloy, i.e., metallic, semiconducting, or insulating, are often functions of composition and of external conditions, such as temperature and pressure. Second, and most importantly, in attempting to understand the various properties of materials, whether physical, chemical, or mechanical,one is apt to use the terminology and experimental, formal, and computational methods in their study that transcend the type of material being studied. 528 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book is intended for the graduate or advanced undergraduate engineer. The primary motivation for writing the text was to present a complete tutorial of phase-locked loops with a consistent notation. As such, it can serve as a textbook in formal classroom instruction, or as a self-study guide for the practicing engineer. A former colleague, Kevin Kreitzer, had suggested that I write a text, with an emphasis on digital phase-locked loops. As modem designers, we were continually receiving requests from other engineers asking for a definitive reference on digital phase-locked loops. There are several good papers in the literature, but there was not a good textbook for either classroom or self-paced study. From my own experience in designing low phase noise synthesizers, I also knew that third-order analog loop design was omitted from most texts. With those requirements, the material in the text seemed to flow naturally. Chapter 1 is the early history of phase-locked loops. I believe that historical knowledge can provide insight to the development and progress of a field, and phase-locked loops are no exception. As discussed in Chapter 1, consumer electronics (color television) prompted a rapid growth in phase-locked loop theory and applications, much like the wireless communications growth today. xiv Preface Although all-analog phase-locked loops are becoming rare, the continuous time nature of analog loops allows a good introduction to phase-locked loop theory. 400 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condición: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Forty years after the discovery of the helix nature of DNA and more than twenty after the first applications of recombinant DNA technology to the pharmaceutical industry, the Pandora's vase of biotechnology seems far from being empty. New products for agriculture and the food industry are constantly being placed on the market, and powerful monitoring techniques have been developed to track non-modified and genetically modified vaccines, viruses, microbes and plants released into the environment. Molecular approaches for taxonomic purposes, which might also be useful for quality control and assurance, have been successfully developed and used for taxonomic purposes in the last decade for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, including yeasts and filamentous fungi. Mycorrhizae are one example of a traditional biotechnology that can greatly benefit from the latest molecular approaches. These universal symbioses between soil fungi and plant roots playa central role in most of the natural and agricultural ecosystems in such key processes as nutrient cycling, soil structural conservation and plant health. For these reasons, mycorrhizae have been successfully used to improve the quality of forest and agricultural seedlings, to produce high-quality micropropagated plants and to increase the production of edible mushrooms of high economic value, such as truffles. However, although controlled inoculation of oak and hazel seedlings with ectomycorrhizal truffles has been carried out for decades in France and Italy, and is still expanding commercially, several technological gaps remain to be filled. 260 pp. Englisch.