springer japan okt 2016 (178 risultati)

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -In this book, the functions and dynamics of enterprises are explained with the use of anthropological methods. The chapters are based on anthropological research that has continued mainly as an inter-university research project, which is namedKeiei Jinruigaku, of the National Museum of Ethnology (Japan) since 1993. These studies have a twofold aim: to clarify that enterprises are not only actors in economic activity but also actors that create culture and civilization; and to find the raison d'être of enterprises in a global society. Business anthropology is an approach to the investigation of various phenomena in enterprises and management using anthropological methodology (e.g., participant observations and interviews). Historically, its origin goes back to the 1920s¿30s. In the Hawthorne experiments, the research group organized by Elton Mayo recruited an anthropologist, Lloyd W. Warner, and conducted research on human relations in the workplace by observation of participants. Since then, similar studies have been carried out in the United States and the United Kingdom. In Japan, however, such research is quite rare. Now, in addition to anthropological methods, the authors have employed multidisciplinary methods drawn from management, economics, and sociology. The research contained here can be characterized in these ways: (1) Research methods adopt interpretative approaches such as hermeneutic and/or narrative approaches rather than causal and functional explanations such as ¿cause¿consequence¿ relationships. (2) Multidisciplinary approaches including qualitative research techniques are employed to investigate the total entity of enterprises, with their own cosmology. In this book, the totality of activities by enterprises are shown, including the relationship between religion and enterprise, corporate funerals, corporate museums, and the sacred space and/or mythology of enterprises. Part Iprovides introductions toKeiei Jinruigakuand Part II explains the theoretical characteristics ofKeiei Jinruigaku. In addition, research topics and cases ofKeiei Jinruigakuare presented in Part III.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 268 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book explains in fascinating detail how economic and social transformations in pre-1600 Japan led to an industrious revolution in the early modern period and how the fruits of the Industrious Revolution are what have supported Japan since the eighteenth century, improving living standards and leading to the formation of the work ethic of modern Japan.The arrival of the Sengoku Period in the sixteenth century saw the emergence and domination of government by the warrior class. It was Tokugawa Ieyasu who unified the realm. Yet this unity did not give rise to an autocratic state, as the shogun was recognized merely as a main pillar of the warrior class.Economically, however, from the fourteenth century, currency payments for sh¿en nengu (taxes paid to the proprietor) became standard, and currency circulation began, primarily in the central region. Under Tokugawa rule, organized domestic coinage of currency began, opening the way to establishing a national economic society. Also, agricultural land was surveyed through cadastral surveys known as kenchi. Land values were converted in terms of rice, so the expected rice yields for each village were assessed, and the lords used this as a benchmark for imposing taxes.In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Japan experienced a ¿great transition,¿ and conditions for peasants, agriculture, and farming villages underwent great changes. Inefficient traditional agriculture using peasants in a state of servitude was transformed into highly efficient small-sized farming operations which relied on family labor. As production yields increased due to labor-intensive agriculture, the profits obtained by the peasants improved their living standards. The stem-family system became the norm through which work ethics and even literacy were transmitted. This very change was the result of the ¿industrious revolution¿ in Japan.The book thus presents theframework of the facts of pre-industrial Japanese history and depicts pre-modern Japan from a macroscopic point of view, showing how the industrious revolution came about. It is certain to be of great interest to economists and historians alike.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 152 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book is one of the first comprehensive works to fill the knowledge gap resulting from the limited number of empirical studies on interfirm networks. The in-depth empirical research presented here is based on a massive transaction relationship database of approximately 400,000 Japanese firms. This volume, unlike others, focuses on the role of interfirm networks in three different fields: (1) macroeconomic activities, (2) economic geography and firm dynamics, and (3) firm¿bank relationships. The database for this work is constructed in collaboration with Japan's largest credit research company, Teikoku Data Bank, and covers a substantial portion of Japanese firms with information on firms' transaction partners, shareholders, financial institutions, and other attributes, including their locations and performance.Networks prevail in many aspects of economic activities and play a major role in explaining a wide variety of economic phenomena from business cycles to knowledge spillovers, which has motivated economists to produce a number of excellent works. In the policy arena, there has been a growing concern on the vulnerabilities of networks based on the casual observation that idiosyncratic shocks on firms can be amplified through inter-firm connections and leads to a systemic crisis. Typical examples are the manufacturing supply-chain networks in the automobile and electronics industries which propagated regionally concentrated shocks (the Great East Japan Earthquake and floods in Thailand in 2011) into global ones. An abundance of theoretical literature on the formation and functions of networks is available already.This book breaks new ground, however, and provides an excellent opportunity for the reader to gain a more integrated understanding of the role of networks in the economy. The Economics of Interfirm Networks will be of special interest to economists and practitioners seeking empirical and quantitative knowledgeon interfirm and firm¿bank networks.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 276 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book describes the history of the IMF from its birth, through the Bretton Woods era, and in the aftermath. Special attention is paid to integrating IMF history with the macro-economic policies of member countries and of other international institutions as well. This collection of work presents a clear understanding, inter alia, of the influence of the United States over IMF policy via the National Advisory Committee; the dealings of the IMF with the UK on pound sterling policy; the institutional change of the IMF brought about by Per Jacobsson, the third managing director; and France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Japan vis-à-vis IMF consultations. It also provides the reader with topics concerning the bankers¿ acceptance market function and international liquidity issues in relation to IMF policy; the final chapter sheds light on the long-standing relations between the IMF and China, from the Bretton Woods Agreement to the contemporary period. All the chapters are archive-based academic studies providing deep insights with historical background, which makes this book the first thoroughly independent achievement in the field of IMF history. This book is highly recommended to readers interested in contemporary monetary and financial history and those who seek to obtain a coherent image of postwar international institutions and markets.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 344 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book reconstructs Keynesian macroeconomics so that it is compatible with the neoclassical dynamic microeconomic theory. This theory adopts three postulates: rational expectations, perfect price flexibility, and exclusion of the money in utility function (MIU). Based on the new theoretical finding that the Lucas model (1972) contains multiple equilibria, the author unifies Keynesian and monetarist theories within the same framework. The book applies the above basic theory to international macroeconomics and economic growth theory.New Keynesian theory contains logical inconsistencies: menu costs that have no close relationship with microeconomics and MIU, which implies that the money accumulated as wealth is never spent. These two assumptions do not proximate the real world. In this volume, the author discusses how various segregated theoretical approaches in macroeconomics relate to one another and proposes how to integrate them.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 224 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book is the first comprehensive work to be published on far-ultraviolet (FUV) and deep-ultraviolet (DUV) spectroscopy,subjects of keen interest because new areas of spectroscopy have been born in the FUV and DUV regions. For example, FUV spectroscopy in condensed matterhas become possible due to the development of attenuated total reflection/FUV spectroscopy. As other examples, DUV surface-enhanced Raman scattering and DUV tip-enhanced Raman scattering have received great attention. Imaging by DUV spectroscopy has also become an area of interest. More recently, FUV and DUV spectroscopy have shown potential for applications in several fields including industry. All these topics are described in this book.Doctoral students and researchers in universities and national research institutes as well as researchers in various industries will find this volume highly useful.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 184 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book provides a theoretical, step-by-step comprehensive explanation of superconductivity for undergraduate and graduate students who have completed elementary courses on thermodynamics and quantum mechanics. To this end, it adopts the unique approach of starting with the statistical mechanics of quantum ideal gases and successively adding and clarifying elements and techniques indispensible for understanding it. They include the spin-statistics theorem, second quantization, density matrices, the Bloch¿De Dominicis theorem, the variational principle in statistical mechanics, attractive interaction and bound states. Ample examples of their usage are also provided in terms of topics from advanced statistical mechanics such as two-particle correlations of quantum ideal gases, derivation of the Hartree¿Fock equations, and Landaüs Fermi-liquid theory, among others. With these preliminaries, the fundamental mean-field equations of superconductivity are derived with maximum mathematicalclarity based on a coherent state in terms of the Cooper-pair creation operator, a quasiparticle field for describing the excitation and the variational principle in statistical mechanics. They have the advantage that the phase coherence due to the Cooper-pair condensation can be clearly seen making the superfluidity comprehensible naturally. Subsequently, they are applied to homogeneous cases to describe the BCS theory for classic s-wave superconductors and its extension to the p-wave superfluidity of 3He. Later, the mean-field equations are simplified to the Eilenberger and Ginzburg¿Landau equations so as to describe inhomogeneous superconductivity such as Abrikosov¿s flux-line lattice concisely and transparently. Chapters provide the latest studies on the quasiclassical theory of superconductivity and a discovery of p-wave superfluidity in liquid 3He. The book serves as a standard reference for advanced courses of statistical mechanics withexercises along with detailed answers.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 304 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book is one of the very few published investigations of international business in a Japanese context, based on an up-to-date overview of the Japanese mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market in particular. The author explicates recent developments in Japanese business and shows how Japanese firms drastically change to reach out to become more globalized. The book can serve as a foundation in a teaching module for any Japan-related class in international business. Specifically, this publication reveals the inner workings of the Japanese business system. M&A activities covered here include those of foreign firms in Japan as well as Japanese firms investing domestically and in cross-border ventures. Illustrated by carefully chosen examples and supported by extensive data analyses, this book is highly recommended to readers who seek an in-depth understanding of the Japanese M&A market. The volume is enriched by case studies that explicitly illustrate the objectives of specific firms andhow they successfully manage their M&A.The author brings to this work his 14 years of experience in Japan and has relied not only on English literature but also on original Japanese sources in creating this highly valuable contribution to the field.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 244 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Agent-based modeling/simulation is an emergent approach to the analysis of social and economic systems. It provides a bottom-up experimental method to be applied to social sciences such as economics, management, sociology and politics as well as some engineering fields dealing with social activities. This book includes selected papers presented at the Eighth International Workshop on Agent-Based Approaches in Economic and Social Complex Systems held in Tokyo, Japan, in 2013. At the workshop, 23 reviewed full papers were presented and of those, 13 were selected to be included in this volume.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 216 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book proposes immunogenomics, or immunopharmacogenomics, as the next-generation big science to uncover the role that the immune system plays in the pathogenesis of many diseases, by summarizing the importance of the deep sequencing of T-cell and B-cell receptors. Immunogenomics/immunopharmacogenomics, a genetic characterization of the immune system made possible by next-generation sequencing (NGS), will be important for the further understanding of the pathogenesis of various disease conditions. Abnormal immune responses in the body lead to development of autoimmune diseases and food allergies. Rejection of recipient cells and tissues, as well as severe immune reactions to donor cells, is also the result of uncontrolled immune responses in the recipient body. There have been many reports indicating that activated immune responses caused by the interaction of drugs and HLA are present in drug-induced skin hypersensitivity and liver toxicity. The importance of the host immune responses has been recognized in cancer treatments, not only for immunotherapy but also for cytotoxic agents and molecular targeted drugs. Hence, characterization of the T-cell receptor and B-cell receptor repertoire by means of NGS deep sequencing will ultimately make possible the identification of the molecular mechanisms that underlie various diseases and drug responses. In addition, this approach may contribute to the identification of antigens associated with the onset or progression of autoimmune diseases as well as food allergies. Although the germline alterations and somatic mutations have been extensively analyzed, changes or alterations of the immune responses during the course of various disease conditions or during various treatments have not been analyzed. It is also clear that computational analyses to draw meaningful inferences of functional recognition receptors on the immune cells remain a huge challenge.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 172 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book focuses on sports performance. According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 'performance' refers to 'how well or badly a person, company etc. does a particular job or activity' and 'high performance' describes 'cars, computers etc. that are able to go faster, do more work etc. than normal ones'. In the 100-m dash Usain Bolt is indubitably the fastest person in history and Javier Sotomayor, the world record holder in the high jump, has exhibited the highest level of performance in this event. In these contests, the index of sports performance is unitary; it is simply the time or the jumping/throwing distance. What is it that allows such performers to achieve the fastest running time or the highest jump One of the topics covered in this book is an attempt to clarify some of the unique motor skills and/or physical abilities that underlie such high performances.This book comprises a compilation of updated reviews on performance in various sports,including both basic and applied research and is divided into three parts.The central theme of Part I is the brain. Basic research on human locomotion, motor imagery, and cognitive function are included in this part. In Part II, the focus is on basic information involving high performance in sports, including the athletes¿ physiology, genetics, nutrition and biomechanics.In Part III, entitled ¿Performance and Coaching in Various Sports¿, the latest findings involving skills and performance in individual sports are presented. These performances are thoroughly described and to the extent possible, explained utilizing observations that involve applied biomechanics, coaching science and information technology. In the Elektronisches Buch version, videos and images are available, which provide valuable information on movement in sports. This book will awaken a deeper and more sophisticated interest in exceptional sports performance, not only in specialists such as researchers, athletes, and coaches, but also in laypeople who enjoy participating in and watching sports.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 400 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book on multiscale seismic tomography, written by one of the leaders in the field, is suitable for undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and professionals in Earth and planetary sciences who need to broaden their horizons about seismotectonics, volcanism, and interior structure and dynamics of the Earth and Moon. It describes the state-of-the-art in seismic tomography, with emphasis on the new findings obtained by applying tomographic methods in local, regional, and global scales for understanding the generating mechanism of large and great earthquakes such as the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (Mw 9.0), crustal and upper mantle structure, origin of active arc volcanoes and intraplate volcanoes including hotspots, heterogeneous structure of subduction zones, fate of subducting slabs, origin of mantle plumes, mantle convection, and deep Earth dynamics. The first lunar tomography and its implications for the mechanism of deep moonquakes and lunar evolution are also introduced.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 320 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This volume includes 28 chapters by authors who are leading researchers of the world describing many of the up-to-date aspects in the field of several complex variables (SCV). These contributions are based upon their presentations at the 10th Korean Conference on Several Complex Variables (KSCV10), held as a satellite conference to the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) 2014 in Seoul, Korea.SCV has been the term for multidimensional complex analysis, one of the central research areas in mathematics. Studies over time have revealed a variety of rich, intriguing, new knowledge in complex analysis and geometry of analytic spaces and holomorphic functions which were 'hidden' in the case of complex dimension one. These new theories have significant intersections with algebraic geometry, differential geometry, partial differential equations, dynamics, functional analysis and operator theory, and sheaves and cohomology, as well as the traditional analysis of holomorphic functions in all dimensions. This book is suitable for a broad audience of mathematicians at and above the beginning graduate-student level. Many chapters pose open-ended problems for further research, and one in particular is devoted to problems for future investigations.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 388 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book focuses on theoretical aspects of the affine projection algorithm (APA) for adaptive filtering. The APA is a natural generalization of the classical, normalized least-mean-squares (NLMS) algorithm. The book first explains how the APA evolved from the NLMS algorithm, where an affine projection view is emphasized. By looking at those adaptation algorithms from such a geometrical point of view, we can find many of the important properties of the APA, e.g., the improvement of the convergence rate over the NLMS algorithm especially for correlated input signals. After the birth of the APA in the mid-1980s, similar algorithms were put forward by other researchers independently from different perspectives. This book shows that they are variants of the APA, forming a family of APAs. Then it surveys research on the convergence behavior of the APA, where statistical analyses play important roles. It also reviews developments of techniques to reduce the computational complexity of the APA, which are important for real-time processing. It covers a recent study on the kernel APA, which extends the APA so that it is applicable to identification of not only linear systems but also nonlinear systems. The last chapter gives an overview of current topics on variable parameter APAs. The book is self-contained, and is suitable for graduate students and researchers who are interested in advanced theory of adaptive filtering.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 236 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book analyzes the sustainability of community seed production under a rice¿wheat farming system from microeconomic perspectives, considering how seed producers benefit from community seed production and how those benefits continue into the future. Seed producers¿ performance in resource management, governance and marketing strategies indicates current benefits, whereas soil conservation and risk-management practices provide the basis for future benefits. Community seed production is a local-level seed management system owned by farmers. This system provides the institutional mechanism to supply diversified seed demands of open-pollinated varieties of food crops in a cost-effective way in rural regions. Being able to address the concerns of food insecurity, poverty, climate stress and biodiversity loss in programs and policies of development agencies, community seed production is gaining popularity among the farmers and the policy makers in developing countries.This book discusses the issues of organizational governance of the community seed producers¿ groups and links them with household-level benefits to understand the organizational dynamism and the probable development paths of such organizations in the future. It also highlights the necessity to institutionalize lessons learned in community seed production in the stakeholders¿ programs and policies. These understandings provide a basis for formulating policies for strengthening the system in developing countries. Students, researchers, policy makers and donor agencies working with CSP in the developing world will find this book useful in broadening their understanding of CSP in general and its sustainability in particular.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 200 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Water balance studies for large and small river basins are the subject of this book. Here, the specific focus is on the soil and water assessment tools (SWAT) model coupled with geographic information system (GIS) remote sensing data for a comprehensive study. Some books available in the market provide an overview of different hydrological models for water balance but not specifically for the SWAT model. This book effectively utilizes the SWAT model to study the water balances in small and large catchments with consistent competence and excellent accuracy for yearly and monthly water balance modules along with suspended sediment yield over several slope classes of the catchments. The approach is new and has been successfully utilized, as discussed in a case study on the Taleghan Catchment in Iran. These implementation models may assist as advantageous techniques for incorporated management of catchments in the direction of sustainable development. This book will help readers who wish to study all the changes related to those in water balances.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 116 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book deals with methods of measurement and evaluation of environmental noise based on an auditory neural and brain-oriented model. The model consists of the autocorrelation function (ACF) and the interaural cross-correlation function (IACF) mechanisms for signals arriving at the two ear entrances. Even when the sound pressure level of a noise is only about 35 dBA, people may feel annoyed due to the aspects of sound quality. These aspects can be formulated by the factors extracted from the ACF and IACF. Several examples of measuring environmental noise¿from outdoor noise such as that of aircraft, traffic, and trains, and indoor noise such as caused by floor impact, toilets, and air-conditioning¿are demonstrated. According to the noise measurement and evaluation, applications for sound design are discussed. This book provides an excellent resource for students, researchers, and practitioners in a wide range of fields, such as the automotive, railway, and electronics industries, andsoundscape, architecture, and acoustics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 276 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Why do females in male-philopatric species seem to show larger variation in their life history strategies than males in female-philopatric species Why did females in human societies come to show enormous variation in the patterns of marriage, residence and mating activities To tackle these important questions, this book presents the latest knowledge about the dispersing females in male-philopatric non-human primates and in human societies. The non-human primates that are covered include muriquis, spider monkeys, woolly monkeys, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and some species of colobine monkeys. In these non-human primate species females typically leave their natal group before sexual maturation and start reproduction in other groups into which they immigrate. However, there is a large variation as some females may breed in their natal group with some risks of inbreeding with their male relatives and some females may associate with males of multiple groups at the same time after leaving their natal group. Such variation seems to provide better strategies for reproduction depending on local circumstances. Although knowledge about female dispersal patterns and life history is indispensable for understanding the dynamic structure of primate societies, it is still not known how females behave after leaving their natal groups, how many groups they visit before finally settling down and which kinds of groups they choose to immigrate into, due to the large variation and flexibility and the difficulty of tracking females after natal dispersal.To encourage further progress in this important field, this volume provides new insights on evolution of female dispersal by describing factors influencing variations in the dispersal pattern across primates and a hypothesis for the formation of human families from the perspectives of female life history. This book is recommended reading for researchers and students in primatology, anthropology, animal behavior and evolution and for anyone interested in primate societies and human evolution.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 312 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book is aimed not only at haptics and human interface researchers, but also at developers and designers from manufacturing corporations and the entertainment industry who are working to change our lives. This publication comprises the proceedings of the first International AsiaHaptics conference, held in Tsukuba, Japan, in 2014. The book describes the state of the art of the diverse haptics- (touch-) related research, including scientific research into haptics perception and illusion, development of haptics devices, and applications for a wide variety of fields such as education, medicine, telecommunication, navigation, and entertainment.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 336 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book draws examples from food security issues in Bangladesh. The book is structured around those issues and underlying causes of food security, the implications from different sectors, policy analysis, and the role and actions of various stakeholders from different sectors to ensure food security.Bangladesh is situated in a climatically vulnerable position and is impacted frequently by such climatic hazards as floods, cyclones, droughts, and salinity intrusion. Due to global atmospheric changes, abrupt shifts in climatic conditions severely affect Bangladesh¿s agriculture. Although Bangladesh has made significant progress in increasing domestic production of food grain, if the production of major cereals is hampered due to climate change, food security will be in jeopardy. Most estimates show that a huge amount of additional food grain will be required to feed the growing population of the country. Ensuring food security for all is the overarching goal of Bangladesh¿s national food policy. Therefore, ensuring food security in the future requires a great deal of additional effort in yield improvement, with limited scope for expanding the area under cultivation.The primary target readers for this book are students and researchers in the fields of environment, disaster risk reduction, and climate change studies. The book will provide them with a good idea of the current trend of research in the field and will furnish basic knowledge on this important topic. Another target group comprises practitioners and policy makers, who will be able to apply collective knowledge to policy and decision making.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 288 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book draws upon case studies and practices of different types of DRR involvement by the private sector from all over the world. The book comprises two parts, Part I: Overview and Regional Cases; and Part II: Country Cases. The regional cases include those from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central America, and the country cases include ones from India, Japan, the United States, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Nepal. DRR at the international level is discussed from the perspective of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). The perspective of the AsiäPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is presented in the discussion of DRR at the societal level.The private sector is becoming more active in disaster management and plays an important role in distributing relief items and sending search and rescue teams in the response phase. However, once the response stage is over, private sector involvement tends to fade. While a number of disaster risk reduction (DRR) initiatives by the private sector are documented, they remain limited. The private sector can contribute enormously to DRR by developing business continuity plans, innovating technology for early warning systems, and providing and sharing technical knowledge, skills, and resources in the field of disaster preparedness. To strengthen DRR capacity, it is crucial to involve the private sector as major actors in DRR.The primary target groups for this book are students and researchers in the fields of disaster management and DRR studies. Another target group comprises practitioners and policy makers, who will be able to apply the collective knowledge from this work to policy and decision making. The book provides an overview of the current research trends and furnishes basic knowledge on this important topic.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 356 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book is a pioneering regional work and provides a balanced approach of theory and practice in disaster risk reduction (DRR) in Pakistan. The book analytically discusses the status of DRR and draws examples and lessons from national and community-level programs and projects and events in the country.The book covers different types of disasters facing Pakistan, including geo-physical and hydro-meteorological hazards. This work incorporates and draws some of the key lessons learned from the pre-disaster and disaster phases to the post-disaster phase, providing an effective framework in the form of those lessons. The rich content is based on a selection of available documents, a consultative workshop with academicians from different universities undertaking DRR higher education programs, and the editors¿ own knowledge and experience in the field. Special emphasis is given to analyzing field experiences from academic perspectives, and pinpointing key issues and the policy relevance of DRR.Disaster Risk Reduction Approaches in Pakistan is organized into three sections with a total of 20 chapters. Section one provides the outline and basics of DRR strategies applied at the national level with supporting examples from a global review. Section two specifically highlights the wide ranges of hazards experienced in Pakistan and presents examples, policy options, institutional set-ups, risk reduction strategies, and key lessons learned. The third section of the book is given to approaches and issues of DRR practices with examples of disaster responses.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 408 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book presents the latest breakthrough results in glycobiology regarding the roles of glycans in relation to quality control and transport of protein, the immune system, viral infection, stem cells, the neural system, and various diseases such as cancer, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, muscular dystrophy, and schizophrenia. Although glycoscience has long been regarded as a very specialized field with no simple analytical method, the recent explosive progress in research continues to provide limitless evidence that glycan chains are the key component in various biological phenomena. Cell surface glycans, for example, change with developmental stages or environmental conditions and thus represent a ¿face¿ of the cell that is utilized for identification of iPS and ES cells and as biomarkers in diagnosis or detection of cancer. This book comprises 17 chapters, each of which poses outstanding ¿glyco-related¿ questions enabling non-specialists to have a clearer idea about what the future direction for further investigation of glycans in their own research fields will be. Also including basic information to understand the nature of glycans, this title serves as an excellent ¿textbook¿ for researchers in diverse research fields who are not familiar with, but nevertheless interested in, glycan chains or sugar chains.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 296 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -What is this sound What does that sound indicate These are two questions frequently heard in daily conversation. Sound results from the vibrations of elastic media and in daily life provides informative signals of events happening in the surrounding environment. In interpreting auditory sensations, the human ear seems particularly good at extracting the signal signatures from sound waves. Although exploring auditory processing schemes may be beyond our capabilities, source signature analysis is a very attractive area in which signal-processing schemes can be developed using mathematical expressions.This book is inspired by such processing schemes and is oriented to signature analysis of waveforms. Most of the examples in the book are taken from data of sound and vibrations; however, the methods and theories are mostly formulated using mathematical expressions rather than by acoustical interpretation. This book might therefore be attractive and informative for scientists, engineers, researchers, and graduate students who are interested in the mathematical representation of signals and the applications of Fourier analysis.The book can be described as being practically self-contained but does assume readers are familiar with introductory topics in discrete signal processing, as in the discrete Fourier transform. Hence this book might be also usable as a textbook in graduate courses in applied mathematics on topics such as complex functions. Almost all scientific phenomena are sensed as waves propagating in some space. Over the years, waveform analysis has therefore been one of the resilient academic areas of study and still is seen as fertile ground for development. In particular, waveform analysis based on the theory of linear systems would be a good example where a physical interpretation can be given to the mathematical theory of complex functions in terms of magnitude, angle, poles, and zeros of complex functions.For readers who are interested in the physical aspects of sound and vibration data or elementary formulation of wave equations and their solutions, the book Sound and Signals by M. Tohyama (Springer 2011) is recommended. It can serve as a complementary companion to this present volume or independently as a good reference.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 248 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book focuses on thielocin B1 (TB1), which was found to be an inhibitor of protein¿protein interactions (PPIs) of proteasome assembling chaperone (PAC) 3 homodimer, and elucidates the mechanism by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies. Interfaces of PPIs recently have been expected to be novel therapeutic targets, while it is difficult to apply conventional methodology based on lock and key theory. The author achieved the first total synthesis of TB1 and its spin-labeled derivative to carry out NMR experiments because the supply of TB1 from natural sources was limited. Unique 2,2¿,6,6¿-tetrasubstituted diphenyl ether moiety of TB1 was synthesized from a depsidone skeleton by chemoselective reduction of lactone. In the process of elongating side wings, efficient formylation utilizing dichloromethyl methyl ether¿silver trifluoromethanesulfonate was developed for the sterically hindered aromatic compound. NMR titration experiments and paramagnetic relaxation enhancement observation of PAC3 homodimer were performed with synthesized TB1 and its molecular probe, respectively. The results of the above NMR studies and additional in silico docking studies suggested that TB1 promotes the dissociation to monomeric PAC3 after interaction with PAC3 homodimer. The rare mechanism shown in this book indicates a potential novel drug target in the interfaces of PPIs with no cavity or groove.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 124 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -In this book, the author theoretically studies two aspects of topological states.First, novel states arising from hybridizing surface states of topological insulators are theoretically introduced. As a remarkable example, the author shows the existence of gapless interface states at the interface between two different topological insulators, which belong to the same topological phase. While such interface states are usually gapped due to hybridization, the author proves that the interface states are in fact gapless when the two topological insulators have opposite chiralities. This is the first time that gapless topological novel interface states protected by mirror symmetry have been proposed.Second, the author studies the Weyl semimetal phase in thin topological insulators subjected to a magnetic field. This Weyl semimetal phase possesses edge states showing abnormal dispersion, which is not observed without mirror symmetry. The author explains that the edge states gain a finite velocity by a particular form of inversion symmetry breaking, which makes it possible to observe the phenomenon by means of electric conductivity.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 104 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book focuses on opera house acoustics based on subjective preference theory; it targets researchers in acoustics and vision who are working in physics, psychology and brain physiology. This book helps readers to understand any subjective attributes in relation to objective parameters based on the powerful and workable model of the auditory system.It is reconfirmed here that the well-known Helmholtz theory, which was based on a peripheral model of the auditory system, may not well describe pitch, timbre and duration as well as the spatial sensations described in this book, nor overall responses such as subjective preference of sound fields and the annoyance of environmental noise.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 196 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book focuses on automated negotiations based on multi-agent systems. It is intended for researchers and students in various fields involving autonomous agents and multi-agent systems, such as e-commerce tools, decision-making and negotiation support systems, and collaboration tools. The contents will help them to understand the concept of automated negotiations, negotiation protocols, negotiating agents¿ strategies, and the applications of those strategies. In this book, some negotiation protocols focusing on the multiple interdependent issues in negotiations are presented, making it possible to find high-quality solutions for the complex agents¿ utility functions. This book is a compilation of the extended versions of the very best papers selected from the many that were presented at the International Workshop on Agent-Based Complex Automated Negotiations.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 164 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book covers topics on mechanosensing, mechanotransduction, and actin cytoskeletal dynamics in cell motility. It will contribute to a better understanding of how cells functionally adapt to their mechanical environment as well as highlighting fundamental concepts for designing material niches for cell manipulation. With topics from multidisciplinary fields of the life sciences, medicine and engineering, the book is the first of its kind, providing comprehensive, integrated coverage of innovative approaches to cell biomechanics. It provides a valuable resource for seniors and graduate students studying cell biomechanics and is also suitable for researchers interested in the application of methods and strategies in connection with the innovative approaches discussed. Each section of the book has been supplemented with concrete examples and illustrations to facilitate understanding even for readers unfamiliar with cell biomechanics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 204 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The purpose of this publication is to elucidate the biological aspect of the abiotic stress response from the field to the molecular level in horticultural plants. This book is unique in that it concerns the basic aspect of abiotic stress biology and research progress at the molecular level in model plants or major field crops, as it focuses mainly on the abiotic stress response in existing horticultural plants. Many readers interested in plant abiotic stress biology are aware of the application of the latest findings to agricultural production, and this book will have a special appeal for those readers. The book will be of interest to scientists and graduate students who are involved in the research, development, production, processing, and marketing of horticultural products, including those in developing countries who are interested in high tech and advanced science in this field. The application of the latest findings to agricultural production is particularly useful. Stress tolerance mechanisms in horticultural crops are gaining importance, because most agricultural regions are predicted to experience considerably more extreme environmental fluctuations due to global climate change. Further, because of recent progress in next-generation sequencing technologies, the postgenomic era is impending not only in model plants and major cereal crops but also in horticultural crops, which comprise a great diversity of species. This book provides information on the physiological aspects of the abiotic stress response in horticultural plants, which is considered essential for postgenomic research.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 228 pp. Englisch.