springer netherlands springer netherlands nov 2014 (878 risultati)

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Developing and ¿transition¿ economies face myriad challenges in their attempts to achieve and maintain political stability and foster the economic growth essential for national security, the social well-being of current citizens and sustainable environments for future generations. Governments in the Western Balkans have striven to achieve all of the above, and this volume assesses the nature of their experiences as well as the level of their success in doing so. Featuring detailed case studies of public policy reforms in the region as well as comparative analysis on a range of indicators, the book analyzes the role of key players in setting the political agenda as well as implementing policy reforms. It also distils the lessons that can be learned from the Western Balkan experience, recommending strategies for enhancing the policy making process. In addition, it examines the developmental role played by the full spectrum of policy actors, including the private sector, NGOs, specialinterest groupings, international financial institutions, donor nations and the EU.Each case study has been prepared by academics with deep knowledge and experience of the western Balkans and addresses a core set of questions: identifying the policy issue and its broader context, defining the roles of specific individuals in formulating policy and reform and assessing the influence of networks and coalitions in the policy making process. With so little detailed literature on public policy making in a group of nations strategically positioned between Europe, Russia and the near East, the detailed insights provided by this volume will be widely welcomed.Our book provides case studies of specific public policy reform episodes in selected Western Balkan post-conflict and transition countries. The focus of these case studies extends beyond the technical aspects and entails substantive examination of the policy actors, constituencies and politics that ultimately shape the policy that emerges from the policy making process. This analysis draws lessons for strengthening the quality of policies, the transparency, consistency, and governance of the policy making process and ultimately for contributing to economic and social development of the region.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 264 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book deals with the theoretical, methodological, and empirical implications of bounded rationality in the operation of institutions. It focuses on decisions made under uncertainty, and presents a reliable strategy of knowledge acquisition for the design and implementation of decision-support systems. Based on the distinction between the inner and outer environment of decisions, the book explores both the cognitive mechanisms at work when actors decide, and the institutional mechanisms existing among and within organizations that make decisions fairly predictable.While a great deal of work has been done on how organizations act as patterns of events for (boundedly) rational decisions, less effort has been devoted to study under which circumstances organizations cease to act as such reliable mechanisms. Through an empirical strategy on open-ended response data from a survey among junior judges, the work pursues two main goals. The first one is to explore the limits of ¿institutional rationality¿ of the Spanish lower courts on-call service, an optimal scenario to observe decision-making under uncertainty. The second aim is to achieve a better understanding of the kind of uncertainty under which inexperienced decision-makers work. This entails exploring the demands imposed by problems and the knowledge needed to deal with them, making this book also a study on expertise achievement in institutional environments.This book combines standard multivariate statistical methods with machine learning techniques such as multidimensional scaling and topic models, treating text as data. Doing so, the book contributes to the collaboration between empirical social scientific approaches and the community of scientists that provide the set of tools and methods to make sense of the fastest growing resource of our time: data.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 252 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This volume offers a comprehensible account of the development and evolution of moral systems. It seeks to answer the following questions: If morals are eternal and unchanging, why have the world¿s dominant religious moral systems been around for no more than a mere six thousand of the two hundred thousand years of modern human existence What explains the many and varied moral systems across the globe today How can we account for the significant change in moral values in one place in less than 100 years¿ time Using examples from classical civilizations, the book demonstrates how increasing diversity compromises a moral system¿s ability to account for and integrate larger populations into a single social unit. This environmental stress is not relieved until a broader, more abstract moral system is adopted by a social system. This new system provides a sense of belonging and purpose for more people, motivating them to engage in prosocial (or moral) acts and refrain from socially disruptive selfish acts. The current human rights paradigm is the world¿s first universal, indigenous moral system. Because moral systems can be expected to continue to evolve, this book points to current boundaries of the human rights paradigm and where the next major moral revolution might emerge. ¿Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 96 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book is based on the assumption that ¿organic has lost its way¿. Paradoxically, it comes at a time when we witness the continuing of growth in organic food production and markets around the world. Yet, the book claims that organic has lost sight of its first or fundamental philosophical principles and ontological assumptions. The collection offers empirically grounded discussions that address the principles and fundamental assumptions of organic farming and marketing practices. The book draws attention to the core principles of organic and offers different clearly articulated and well-defined conceptual frameworks that offer new insights into organic practices. Divided into five parts, the book presents new perspectives on enduring issues, examines standards and certification, gives insights into much-discussed and additional market and consumer issues, and reviews the interplay of organic and conventional farming. The book concludes with a framework for rethinking ethics in the organic movement and reflections on the positioning of organic ethics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 352 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The liberal enlightenment as well as the more radical left have both traditionally opposed religion as a reactionary force in politics, a view culminating in an identification of the politics of religion as fundamentalist theocracy. But recently a number of thinkers¿Agamben, Badiou, Tabues and in particular Simon Critchley¿have begun to explore a more productive engagement of the religious and the political in which religion features as a possible or even necessary form of human emancipation. The papers in this collection, deriving from a workshop held on and with Simon Critchley at the University of Texas at San Antonio in February 2010, take up the ways in which religion¿s encounter with politics transforms not only politics but also religion itself, molding it into various religions of politics, including not just heretical religious metaphysics, but also what Critchley describes as non-metaphysical religion, the faith of the faithless. Starting from Critchley¿s own genealogy ofPauline faith, the articles in this collection explore and defend some of the religions of politics and their implications. Costica Bradatan teases out the implications of Critchley¿s substitution of humor for tragedy as the vehicle for the minimal self-distancing required for any politics. Jill Stauffer compares Critchley¿s non-metaphysical religiosity with Charles Taylor¿s account of Christianity. Alistair Welchman unpacks the political theology of the border in terms of god¿s timeless act of creation. Anne O¿Byrne explores the subtle dialectic between mores and morality in Rousseaüs political ethics. Roland Champagne sees a kind non-metaphysical religion in Arendt¿s category of the political pariah. Davide Panagia presents Critchley¿s ethics of exposure as the basis for a non-metaphysical political bond. Philip Quadrio wonders about the political ramifications of Critchley¿s own ¿mystical anarchism¿ and Tina Chanter re-reads the primal site in the Western tradition at which the political and the religious intersect, the Antigone story, side-stepping philosophical interpretations of the story (dominated by Hegel¿s reading) by means of a series of post-colonial re-imaginings of the play. The collection concludes with an interview with Simon Critchley taking up the themes of the workshop in the light of more recent political events: the Arab Spring and the rise and fall of the Occupy movement.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 208 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Fatigue of structures and materials covers a wide scope of different topics. The purpose of the present book is to explain these topics, to indicate how they can be analyzed, and how this can contribute to the designing of fatigue resistant structures and to prevent structural fatigue problems in service. Chapter 1 gives a general survey of the topic with brief comments on the signi cance of the aspects involved. This serves as a kind of a program for the following chapters. The central issues in this book are predictions of fatigue properties and designing against fatigue. These objectives cannot be realized without a physical and mechanical understanding of all relevant conditions. In Chapter 2 the book starts with basic concepts of what happens in the material of a structure under cyclic loads. It illustrates the large number of variables which can affect fatigue properties and it provides the essential background knowledge for subsequent chapters. Different subjects are presented in the following main parts: ¿ Basic chapters on fatigue properties and predictions (Chapters 2¿8) ¿ Load spectra and fatigue under variable-amplitude loading (Chapters 9¿11) ¿ Fatigue tests and scatter (Chapters 12 and 13) ¿ Special fatigue conditions (Chapters 14¿17) ¿ Fatigue of joints and structures (Chapters 18¿20) ¿ Fiber-metal laminates (Chapter 21) Each chapter presents a discussion of a speci c subject.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 648 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The main goal of this introductory text is to demonstrate how basic concepts in Soil Mechanics can be used as a ¿forensic¿ tool in the investigation of geotechnical failures. This, in turn, provides a good opportunity to show how to use available procedures in the formulation of useful simple models. Geotechnical failure is understood here in a broad sense as the failure of a structure to function properly due to a geotechnical reason. Some of the geotechnical failures selected are well known for their impact on the geotechnical community. Others are closer to the author¿s experience. They have been organized into three main topics: Settlement, Bearing Capacity and Excavations. They cover a significant proportion of every day¿s activity of professional geotechnical engineers. No attempt has been made to create a comprehensive handbook of failures. Instead, the emphasis has been given to creative applications of simple mechanical concepts and well known principles and solutions of Soil Mechanics. The book shows how much can be learned from relatively simple approaches. Despite this emphasis on simplicity, the book provides a deep insight into the cases analyzed. A non-negligible number of new analytical closed-form solutions have also been found. Their derivation can be followed in detail. In all the cases described an effort was made to provide a detailed and step by step description of the hypothesis introduced and of the analysis performed.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 256 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book provides a completely revised and expanded version of the previous classic edition ¿General Relativity and Relativistic Astrophysics¿. In Part I the foundations of general relativity are thoroughly developed, while Part II is devoted to tests of general relativity and many of its applications. Binary pulsars ¿ our best laboratories for general relativity ¿ are studied in considerable detail. An introduction to gravitational lensing theory is included as well, so as to make the current literature on the subject accessible to readers. Considerable attention is devoted to the study of compact objects, especially to black holes. This includes a detailed derivation of the Kerr solution, Israel¿s proof of his uniqueness theorem, and a derivation of the basic laws of black hole physics. Part II ends with Witten¿s proof of the positive energy theorem, which is presented in detail, together with the required tools on spin structures and spinor analysis. In Part III, all of the differential geometric tools required are developed in detail. A great deal of effort went into refining and improving the text for the new edition. New material has been added, including a chapter on cosmology. The book addresses undergraduate and graduate students in physics, astrophysics and mathematics. It utilizes a very well structured approach, which should help it continue to be a standard work for a modern treatment of gravitational physics. The clear presentation of differential geometry also makes it useful for work on string theory and other fields of physics, classical as well as quantum.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 756 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Pathways through the life course have changed considerably in recent decades. Many of our assumptions about leaving home, starting new relationships and having children have been turned upside down. It is now almost as common to have children prior to marriage as afterwards, and certainly much more common to live together before marrying than to marry without first living together. Women are more likely to remain in the labour force after having children and many families struggle with problems of work-family balance at some stage in their lives, particularly when they have young children. But how much has really changed Is there really more diversity in how individuals transition through these life course stages, or just variations at the margin with most people following a standard work and family life course This volume makes use of rich longitudinal data from a unique Australian project to examine these issues. Drawing on broader theories of social change and demographic transitions in an international context, each chapter provides a detailed empirical assessment of the ways in which Australian adults negotiate their work and family lives. In doing so, the volume provides important insight into the ways in which recent demographic, social and economic changes both challenge and reproduce gender divisions.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 240 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Microwave ablation is a simple, affordable, and highly precise technique. After its successful application in treating liver tumors, it is now widely used to combat renal tumors, adrenal tumors, thyroid nodes, uterine fibroids and other solid tumors. This book presents 40 successful cases of treating these diseases. A series of picture before treatment, after treatment and from different angles is provided for each kind of tumor treatment. In each chapter, step by step operative techniques and illustrations are included. This book also examines CT, NMR and ultrasonography to evaluate the effect of microwave ablation.Editor Ping Liang, is the Director and Professor at Dept. of Interventional Ultrasound, General Hospital of PLA, Beijing, China. Editor Xiaoling Yu is Professor and Chief physician, Editor Jie Yu is Associate Chief physician at the same department.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 356 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Ballast water management is a complex subject with many issues and still limited knowledge, however, it is building up on new scientific researches and practical experience. The Ballast Water Management Convention is the global legal framework which still needs to be implemented.This book brings together a long-term and newest experience from practical work, scientific research, administration and policy involvements, offering unique insights to readers who would like to learn more about this subject. It also provides recommendations and practical solutions especially important for professionals, administrations and organizations in the process of the implementation of this Ballast Water Management Convention.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 324 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -¿The importance of knowledge consists not only in its direct practical utility but also in the fact the it promotes a widely contemplative habit of mind; on this ground, utility is to be found in much of the knowledge that is nowadays labelled ¿useless¿. ¿ Bertrand Russel, In Praise of Idleness, London (1935) ¿Why are scientists in so many cases so deeply interested in their work Is it merely because it is useful It is only necessary to talk to such scientists to discover that the utilitarian possibilities of their work are generally of secondary interest to them. Something else is primary. ¿ David Bohm, On creativity, Abingdon (1996) In this volume, the dynamical critical behaviour of many-body systems far from equilibrium is discussed. Therefore, the intrinsic properties of the - namics itself, rather than those of the stationary state, are in the focus of 1 interest. Characteristically, far-from-equilibrium systems often display - namical scaling, even if the stationary state isvery far from being critical. A 1 As an example of a non-equilibrium phase transition, with striking practical c- sequences, consider the allotropic change of metallic -tin to brittle -tin. At o equilibrium, the gray -Sn becomes more stable than the silvery -Sn at 13. 2 C. Kinetically, the transition between these two solid forms of tin is rather slow at higher temperatures. It starts from small islands of -Sn, the growth of which proceeds through an auto-catalytic reaction.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 568 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Based on 30 years of clinical and research experience, backed by a careful assessment of four decades of published data, Dr. Faguet documented in The War on Cancer (Springer 2005), early advances in cancer treatment and patient survival that soon stalled. Ten years later and after an exhaustive analysis of evidence-based data available through 2013 that incorporates 755 references, he reveals the root causes of the stagnation in cancer control, including the role played by major stakeholders and advocates a coordinated national effort, akin to the Apollo program, to unveil the causes of cancer and their mastery. In the interim, Dr. Faguet urges caregivers to manage patients according to the four ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, respect for patients¿ autonomy and justice especially at the end of life.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 268 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book investigates the unique hydrodynamics and heat transfer problems that are encountered in the vicinity of the critical point of fluids. Emphasis is given on weightlessness conditions, gravity effects and thermovibrational phenomena. Near their critical point, fluids indeed obey universal behavior and become very compressible and expandable. Their comportment, when gravity effects are suppressed, becomes quite unusual.The problems that are treated in this book are of interest to students and researchers interested in the original behavior of near-critical fluids as well as to engineers that have to manage supercritical fluids. A special chapter is dedicated to the present knowledge of critical point phenomena. Specific data for many fluids are provided, ranging from cryogenics (hydrogen) to high temperature (water). Basic information in statistical mechanics, mathematics and measurement techniques is also included. The basic concepts of fluid mechanics are given for the non-specialists to be able to read the parts he is interested in. Asymptotic theory of heat transfer by thermoacoustic processes is provided with enough details for PhD students or researchers and engineers to begin in the field. Key spaces are described in details, with many comparisons between theory and experiments to illustrate the topics.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 476 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The book discusses planthopper pests of rice. These insects are one of the most destructive pests, threatening food security around the world. The historical development of the rice planthopper problem shows that they are secondary pests and single-discipline control tactics or strategies were not able to manage them, and instead caused frequent resurgences. This book not only presents new approaches to this persistent problem, but also new ecological methods, new perspectives on the effect of pesticide marketing, insights into developing resistant varieties and structural reforms in pest management. Integrating biological, ecological, economic and sociological aspects, it clearly presents the latest information on newly developed strategies for managing this pest.Dr. K. L. Heong is the principal scientist and insect ecologist at the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines. He has been researching rice planthoppers for more than 30 years. Dr. Heong is a fellow of the Third World Academy of Science and the Academy of Sciences, Malaysia.Professor Jia-an Cheng is an insect ecologist who has been studying rice planthoppers for about 50 years. He is a professor at Zhejiang University, China.Professor M.M. Escalada works at Visayas State University.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 252 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book systematically summarizes the ideas and technologies used in urine proteome analysis. It argues that change is the core of biomarker definition since the body uses its homeostatic mechanisms to correct changes in the blood. This means that urine is probably a better source of biomarkers than blood. A roadmap to the urinary biomarker era is proposed, and researchers are reminded of the potential opportunities and risks in their study design. Kidney diseases are emphasized as they produce the most significant changes in urine. This book tries to show researchers and graduate students, who are in or entering the field, 'all things considered' rather than 'the current affair'.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 220 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book has the purpose of providing the 'state of the arts' concerning bio-economic modelling dealing with agricultural systems. In most cases, the contributions use a methodology combining the use of biophysical and economic models, in all cases, an engineering production function approach is totally or partially applied. This practice is being developed in the last years as a response to concrete policy matters: agricultural policies are increasingly combined with environmental and natural resources policies, and this reality involves the need of an integrated assessment, that current economic models are not able to provide.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 232 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -Insect Behavior is the second edition of the text that for thirty years served as the fundamental introduction to a field of study that has been growing enormously. Today, new technologies and understandings are allowing questions to be shaped¿and answered¿in ways that once could not have been envisioned. However, massive new information also can overwhelm and obscure the broader perspectives needed to put new discoveries into context. Thus, the times fairly demand that students and non-specialists seek a wider understanding of diverse proximate and ultimate forces that cause animals to behave as they do.This book provides that opportunity. The authors strike a balance between modern developments and historical insights, between new examples and old, between empirical work and theory, and between pertinent conclusions and the dynamic field and laboratory experiences from which such discoveries arise. Considerably updated and expanded, this edition includes 26 case studies, as well as 45 new color plates and 173 figures (over 40% of them new) with detailed legends that add richness to the well-written, accessible text.Like the course that originally inspired it, Insect Behavior will find utility at the graduate and senior undergraduate level for college and university students. However, although some background in entomology or animal behavior is helpful, an in-depth knowledge is not a prerequisite. Thus, the book also invites comparative psychologists, science educators, and all others with an interest in the physically small but inestimably important creatures that comprise three-quarters of all animal life on our planet.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 528 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -The aim of this work is to bridge the gap between the well-known Newtonian mechanics and the studies on chaos, ordinarily reserved to experts. Several topics are treated: Lagrangian, Hamiltonian and Jacobi formalisms, studies of integrable and quasi-integrable systems. The chapter devoted to chaos also enables a simple presentation of the KAM theorem. All the important notions are recalled in summaries of the lectures. They are illustrated by many original problems, stemming from real-life situations, the solutions of which are worked out in great detail for the benefit of the reader.This book will be of interest to undergraduate students as well as others whose work involves mechanics, physics and engineering in general.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 484 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This invaluable addition to Springer¿s Explorations of Educational Purpose series is a revelatory ethnographic account of the visual material culture of contemporary youths in North America. The author¿s detailed study follows apparently dissimilar groups (black and Latino/a in a New York City after-school club, and white and Indigenous in a small Canadian community) as they inflect their nascent identities with a sophisticated sense of visual material culture in today¿s globalized world. It provides detailed proof of how much ethnography can add to what we know about young people¿s development, in addition to its potential as a model to explore new and significant avenues in pedagogy.Supported by a wealth of ethnographic evidence, the analysis tracks its subjects¿ responses to strikingly diverse material ranging from autobiographical accounts by rap artists to the built environment. It shows how young people from the world¿s cultural epicenter, just like their counterparts in the sub-Arctic, construct racial, geographic and gender identities in ways that are subtly responsive to what they see around them, blending localized characteristics with more widely shared visual references that are now universally accessible through the Web. The work makes a persuasive case that youthful engagement with visual material culture is a relational and productive activity that is simultaneously local and global, at once constrained and enhanced by geography, and possesses a potent and life-affirming authenticity. Densely interwoven with young people¿s perspectives, the author¿s account sets out an innovative and interdisciplinary conceptual framework affording fresh insights into how today¿s youth assimilate what they perceive to be significant.Supported by a wealth of ethnographic evidence, the analysis tracks its subjects¿ responses to strikingly diverse material ranging from autobiographical accounts by rap artists to the bSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 244 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This volume offers key insights into the crisis of legitimization that music as a subject of arts education seems to be in. Music as an educational subject is under intense pressure, both economically, due to the reduction of education budgets, as well as due to a loss of status with policy makers. The contributions in this book illuminate Martin Heidegger¿s thinking as a highly cogent theoretical framework for understanding the nature and depth of this crisis. The contributors explore from various angles the relationship between the pressure on music education and the foundations of our technical and rationalized modern society and lead the way on the indispensable first steps towards reconnecting the cultural practices of education with music and its valuable contributions to personal development.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 268 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book documents the ultramodern rise of the multifaith movement, as mulitfaith initiatives have been increasingly deployed as cosmopolitan solutions to counter global risks such as terrorism and climate change at the turn of the 21st century. These projects aim to enhance common security, particularly in Western societies following the events of September 11, 2001 and the July 2005 London bombings, where multifaith engagement has been promoted as a strategy to counter violent extremism. The author draws on interviews with 56 leading figures in the field of multifaith relations, including Paul Knitter, Eboo Patel, Marcus Braybrooke, Katherine Marshall, John Voll and Krista Tippett.Identifying the principle aims of the multifaith movement, the analysis explores the benefits¿and challenges¿of multifaith engagement, as well as the effectiveness of multifaith initiatives in countering the process of radicalization. Building on notions of cosmopolitanism, thework proposes a new theoretical framework termed ¿Netpeace¿, which recognizes the interconnectedness of global problems and their solutions. In doing so, it acknowledges the capacity of multi-actor peacebuilding networks, including religious and state actors, to address the pressing dilemmas of our times. The primary intention of the book is to assist in the formation of new models of activism and governance, founded on a ¿politics of understanding¿ modeled by the multifaith movement.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 200 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book examines the historical roots and evolution of simulation from an epistemological, institutional and technical perspective. Rich case studies go far beyond documentation of simulation¿s capacity for application in many domains, they also explore the 'functional' and 'structural' debate that continues to traverse simulation thought and action. One here asks if simulation deeply transforms science, or instead constitutes a limited tool that principally extends the repertory of erstwhile practice. Does simulation comprise a novel form of experiment, or rather operate as a mechanism which extends standing forms of experimentation What are simulation¿s relations with models or theory, for example These studies further query to what extent and in what ways simulation may be regarded as a discipline, a special species of instrument, or as transdisciplinary.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 220 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -In the twentieth century, avant-garde movements have pushed the concept of art far beyond its traditional boundaries. In this dynamical process of constant renewal the prestige of thinking about art as a legitimizing practice has come to the fore. So it is hardly surprising that the past decades have been characterized by a revival or even breakthrough of philosophy of art as a discipline. However, the majority of books on aesthetics fail to combine a systematical philosophical discourse with a real exploration of art practice.Thinking Art attempts to deal with this traditional shortcoming. It is indeed not only an easily accessible and systematic account of the classical, modern and postmodern theories of art, but also concludes each chapter with an artist¿s studio in which the practical relevance of the discussed theory is amply demonstrated by concrete examples. Moreover, each chapter ends with a section on further reading, in which all relevant literature is discussed in detail.Thinking Art provides its readers with a theoretical framework that can be used to think about art from a variety of perspectives. More particularly it shows how a fruitful cross-fertilization between theory and practice can be created. This book can be used as a handbook within departments of philosophy, history of art, media and cultural studies, cultural history and, of course, within art academies. Though the book explores theories of art from Plato to Derrida it does not presuppose any acquaintance with philosophy from its readers. It can thus be read also by artists, art critics, museum directors and anyone interested in the meaning of art.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 352 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book on privacy and data protection offers readers conceptual analysis as well as thoughtful discussion of issues, practices, and solutions. It features results of the seventh annual International Conference on Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection, CPDP 2014, held in Brussels January 2014.The book first examines profiling, a persistent core issue of data protection and privacy. It covers the emergence of profiling technologies, on-line behavioral tracking, and the impact of profiling on fundamental rights and values. Next, the book looks at preventing privacy risks and harms through impact assessments. It contains discussions on the tools and methodologies for impact assessments as well as case studies.The book then goes on to cover the purported trade-off between privacy and security, ways to support privacy and data protection, and the controversial right to be forgotten, which offers individuals a means to oppose the often persistent digital memory of the web.Written during the process of the fundamental revision of the current EU data protection law by the Data Protection Package proposed by the European Commission, this interdisciplinary book presents both daring and prospective approaches. It will serve as an insightful resource for readers with an interest in privacy and data protection.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 428 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -For many years, the authors have investigated the adaptive role of heat shock proteins (HSPs) in different animals, including the representatives of homothermic and poikilothermic organisms that inhabit regions with contrasting thermal conditions. This book will summarize the data accumulated in the course of these studies and describe the general molecular mechanisms underlying the adaptation of various organisms to aggressive environments. We also concentrate on different evolutionary trends characteristic for HSP systems in the course of adaptation to fluctuating environmental conditions. In addition, we describe the peculiarities in the regulatory regions of heat shock genes necessary for fine tuning of these systems providing the adaptation to adverse conditions. Special emphasis is given to the role of mobile elements in the evolution and functioning of various groups of HSP genes. The book combines the results of field studies and laboratory analysis of stress genes systems.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 236 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -In its first English-language edition, this book introduces the many-faceted interactions of animal populations with their habitats. From soil fauna, ants and termites to small and large herbivores, burrowing mammals and birds, the author presents a comprehensive analysis of animals and ecosystems that is as broad and varied as all nature. Chapter 2 addresses the functional role of animals in landscape ecosystems, emphasizing fluxes of energy and matter within and between ecosystems, and the effects of animals on qualitative and structural habitat change. Discussion includes chapters on the role of animal population density and the impacts of native herbivores on vegetation and habitats from the tropics to the polar regions. Cyclic mass outbreaks of species such as the larch bud moth in Switzerland, the mountain pine beetle and the African red-billed weaver bird are described and analyzed. Other chapters discuss Zoochory ¿ the dispersal of seeds by ants, mammals and birds ¿ and the influence of burrowing animals on soil development and geomorphology. Consideration extends to the impact of feral domestic animals. Chapter 5 focuses on problems resulting from introduction of alien animals and from re-introduction of animal species to their original habitats, discusses the effects on ecosystems of burrowing, digging and trampling by animals. The author also addresses keystone species such as kangaroo rats, termites and beavers. Chapter 6 addresses the role of animals in landscape management and nature conservation, with chapters on the impact of newcomer species such as animals introduced into Australia, New Zealand and Europe, and the consequences of reintroduction of species to original habitat. It also discusses the carrying capacity of natural habit, public attitudes toward conversation and more. The final section ponders the effects of climate on interactions between animals and their habitats.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 556 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book focuses on recent advances in our understanding of the signal transduction pathway of ethylene, its interaction with other hormones and its roles in biological processes. It discusses at which point plants could have acquired ethylene signaling from an evolutionary perspective. Ethylene was the first gaseous hormone to be identified and triggers various responses in higher plants. Our grasp of ethylene signaling has rapidly expanded over the past two decades, due in part to the isolation of the components involved in the signal transduction pathway. The book offers a helpful guide for plant scientists and graduate students in related areas.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 300 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This book by Lev M. Blinov is ideal to guide researchers from their very first encounter with liquid crystals to the level where they can perform independent experiments on liquid crystals with a thorough understanding of their behaviour also in relation to the theoretical framework. Liquid crystals can be found everywhere around us. They are used in virtually every display device, whether it is for domestic appliances of for specialized technological instruments. Their finely tunable optical properties make them suitable also for thermo-sensing and laser technologies. There are many monographs written by prominent scholars on the subject of liquid crystals. The majority of them presents the subject in great depth, sometimes focusing on a particular research aspect, and in general they require a significant level of prior knowledge. In contrast, this books aims at an audience of advanced undergraduate and graduate students in physics, chemistry and materials science. The book consists of three parts: the first part, on structure, starts from the fundamental principles underlying the structure of liquid crystals, their rich phase behaviour and the methods used to study them; the second part, on physical properties, emphasizes the influence of anisotropy on all aspects of liquid crystals behaviour; the third, focuses on electro-optics, the most important properties from the applications standpoint. This part covers only the main effects and illustrates the underlying principles in greater detail. Professor Lev M. Blinov has had a long carrier as an experimentalist. He made major contributions in the field of ferroelectric mesophases. In 1985 he received the USSR state prize for investigations of electro-optical effects in liquid crystals for spatial light modulators. In 1999 he was awarded the Frederiks medal of the Soviet Liquid Crystal Society and in 2000 he was honoured with the G. Gray silver medal of the British Liquid Crystal Society. He has held many visiting academic positions in universities and laboratories across Europe and in Japan.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 460 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware -This volume continues the series of books on ¿Plant Pathology in the 21st Century¿, and contains the papers given at the 10th International Congress of Plant Pathology (ICPP 2013) held in Beijing, August 25-30, 2013 concerning seed health.Many pathogens are transmitted throughout infected seeds and propagation material .The fact that propagation material production is very much concentrated in few establishments, favors the quick spread of new diseases throughout seed commercialization. This phenomenon is very much accelerated in a globalized system.The book covers case studies of contamination, aspects of detection and diagnosis as well as disease management strategies, with special emphasis towards seed treatments with unconventional products.This book will be useful for all plant pathologists as well as students in advanced courses.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 148 pp. Englisch.