Technology is normally pursued only as a practical subject in schools of engineering. Technology is move into the information society or age. Human is specialized in one respect or another. The ability to think abstractly, which allows the species to be at once specific and general. Technology is simply the applied science and the scientific discoveries that can easily converted into applications. Technology is by abstracting of specie characteristics from the natural process of organism.

This book presents the perspective of the SYDIC-Telecom project on system design and reuse as perceived in the course of the research during 1999 - 2003. The initial problem statement of the research was formulated as follows: "The current situation regarding system design in general is, that the methods are insufficient, informally practiced, and weakly supported by formal techniques and tools. Regarding system reuse the methods and tools for exchanging system design data and know-how within companies are ad hoc and insufficient. The means available inside companies being already insufficient, there are actually no ways of exchanging between companies. Therefore, there hardly exists any system IP (Intellectual Property) industry. Although system design know-how is one of companies' main assets, it cannot be reused and capitalised effectively enough today. There is a lack of rational design flows supporting a design methodology based on reuse of IP, and few design tools to support it. Even guidelines on how to use existing tools in the design flow for this purpose often do not exist." The problem was known to be hard and the scope broad. The plan of attack was first to analyse the state-of-the-art and the state-of-the-practice, then to identify potential improvements, and finally to synthesise a formalised proposal for implementation. The approach was applied to different system-level issues, e.g. design flows, terminology, languages, reuse, design process and object of design.

Following the birth of the laser in 1960, the field of "nonlinear optics" rapidly emerged.

Today, laser intensities and pulse durations are readily available, for which the concepts and approximations of traditional nonlinear optics no longer apply. In this regime of "extreme nonlinear optics," a large variety of novel and unusual effects arise, for example frequency doubling in inversion symmetric materials or high-harmonic generation in gases, which can lead to attosecond electromagnetic pulses or pulse trains. Other examples of "extreme nonlinear optics" cover diverse areas such as solid-state physics, atomic physics, relativistic free electrons in a vacuum and even the vacuum itself.

This book starts with an introduction to the field based primarily on extensions of two famous textbook examples, namely the Lorentz oscillator model and the Drude model. Here the level of sophistication should be accessible to any undergraduate physics student. Many graphical illustrations and examples are given. The following chapters gradually guide the student towards the current "state of the art" and provide a comprehensive overview of the field. Every chapter is accompanied by exercises to deepen the reader's understanding of important topics, with detailed solutions at the end of the book.

Industrial engineering is not known for its contribution to management requirements, which can be both challenging and varied. However, productivity and profitability are subjects that preoccupy manufacturers, distributors, warehouse managers and third-party logistics firms, many of which are multinational companies that cater to an end customer thousands of miles away. Industrial engineers must therefore follow a balance between maintaining a commitment to basic traditional tools that have been proven to improve productivity and keeping up with the evolution of their profession by staying informed about and trained in modern approaches.

This "balance" of essential information, theory, case studies, and a thorough examination of many timeless applications for productivity and profitability is evidenced in Beyond World-Class Productivity. It serves as a practical, informative source of information in the field of industrial engineering because it is neither an instruction manual nor a theoretical textbook. Practical examples and commentary come from the author's 40 years of real-world experience on the shop floor and in the boardroom.

Industrial engineering has a tendency to devote its time to "non-real gain" activities, or to making small improvements occasionally with a small-cycle time reduction. The effect of this "improvement" is calculated by annual reduced cycle time - an effect which consequently is practically invisible.

Instead, industrial engineers should aim to achieve real gain; for example, reducing the allocated number of workers to reduce paid hours immediately, but accruing the same or more powerful results. Management, particularly in human resources departments, is most interested in this type of gain and industrial engineering should be a department that fosters such connections with management. Industrial engineering tools are effective enough to support management with these goals in mind.

Inthepresentvolumethemainaspectsofhigh-powerlaser-matterinteractionin 10 22 2 theintensityrange10 -10 W/cm aredescribed. Weofferaguidetothistopic forscientistsandstudentswhohavejustdiscoveredthe eldasanewandattractive areaofresearch,andforscientistswhohaveworkedinanother eldandwantto joinnowthesubjectoflaserplasmas. Beingawareofthewidedifferencesinthe degreeofmathematicalpreparationtheindividualcandidatehasacquiredwetried topresentthesubjectinanalmostself-containedmanner. Tobemorespeci c,a bachelordegreeinphysicsenablesthereaderinanycasetofollowwithoutdi- culty. Generally uidorgasdynamicsanditsrelativisticversionisnotapartof thiseducation;itisdevelopedinthecontextwhereitisneeded. Basicknowledgein theoreticalmechanics,electrodynamicsandquantumphysicsaretheonlyprereq- sitesweexpectfromthereader. Throughoutthebookthemainemphasisisonthe variousbasicphenomenaandtheirunderlyingphysics. Notmoremathematicsthan necessaryisintroduced. Thepreferenceisgiventoideas. Agoodmodelisthebest guidetotheadequatemathematics. Thereexistalreadysomebutnotsomany, however, goodvolumesandsome monographsonhigh-powerlaserinteractionwithmatter. Afterresearchinthis eld hasgrownoverhalfacenturyandhasrami edintomanybranchesoffundamental studiesandapplicationsproducingcontinuouslynewresults,thereisnoindication ofsaturationorlossofattraction,ratherhasexcitementincreasedwiththeyears: "Therearenolimits;horizonsonly"(G. A. Mourou). Wetakethisasamotivation foranewattemptofpresentingourintroductiontotheachievementsfromthebeg- ninguptopresent. Anadditionalaimwastoofferamoreuni edormoredetailed viewwherethisispossiblenow. Furthermore,thereadermay ndconsiderations not encountered in existing volumes on the eld, e. g. , on ideal uid dynamics, dimensionalanalysis,questionsofclassicaloptics,instabilitiesandlightpressure. Inviewoftherapidlygrowing eldofatoms,moleculesandclustersexposedto superstronglaser eldsweconsidereditascompulsorytodedicateanentirechapter tolaser-atominteractionandtothevariousmoderntheoreticalapproachesrelated toit. Finally,aconsistentmodelofcollisionlessabsorptionisgiven. Dependingonpersonalpreferencesthereadermaymissperhapsasectionon inertialfusion,onhighharmonicgenerationandonradiationfromtheplasma,or ontraditionalatomicandionicspectroscopy. Inviewofthespecializedliterature vii viii Preface alreadyavailableonthesubjectswethinktheself-imposedrestrictionisjusti ed. Ourreferencingpracticewasguidedbyindicatingmaterialforsupplementaryst- iesandestablishingacontinuitythroughthedecadesofresearchinthe eldrather thanbytheaimofcompleteness. Thelatternowadaysiseasilyachievablewiththe aidoftheInternet. Wehavetestedthetextwithrespecttocomprehensionandreadability. Our rst thanksgotoProf. EdithBoriefromtheForschungszentrumKarlsruhe. Shepro- readgreatpartsofthetextverycarefullyandgavevaluablecomments. Insecond placewewouldliketothankMrs. ChristineEidmannfromTheoreticalQuantum A Electronics (TQE), TU Darmstadt, for typing in LTX half of the book. We are E furtherindebtedtoProf. RudolfBockfromGSI,Darmstadt,forhelpfuldiscussions andprecioushints. Furtherthanksforhelpfuldiscussions,criticalcomments,che- ingformulasgotoDr. HerbertSchnabl,Prof. WernerScheid,Dr. RalfSchneider, Dipl. -Phys. TatjanaMuth,Dr. SteffenHain,andDr. FrancescoCeccherini. Wewant toacknowledgeexplicitlythecontinuouseffortandsupportinpreparingthe nal manuscript by Dr. Su-Ming Weng from the Insitute of Physics, CAS, China, at presentfellowoftheHumboldtFoundationatTQE. Forhisprofessionalinputto thesectiononBrillouinscatteringspecialthanksgotoDr. StefanHullerfromEcole PolytechniqueinPalaiseau. Darmstadt,Germany PeterMulser Rostock,Germany DieterBauer Contents 1 Introductory Remarks and Overview ...1 2 The Laser Plasma: Basic Phenomena and Laws...5 2. 1 Laser-ParticleInteractionandPlasmaFormation...6 2. 1. 1 High-PowerLaserFields...6 2. 1. 2 SingleFreeElectronintheLaserField(Nonrelativistic). . 9 2. 1. 3 CollisionalIonization,PlasmaHeating,andQuasineutrality 13 2. 2 FluidDescriptionofaPlasma...24 2. 2. 1 Two-FluidandOne-FluidModels...24 2. 2. 2 LinearizedMotions...37 2. 2. 3 SimilaritySolutions...44 2. 3 LaserPlasmaDynamics...58 2. 3. 1 PlasmaProductionwithIntenseShortPulses ...60 2. 3. 2 HeatingwithLongPulsesofConstantIntensity...63 2. 3. 3 SimilarityConsiderations...69 2. 4 SteadyStateAblation...74 2. 4. 1 TheCriticalMachNumberinaStationaryPlanarFlow...75 2. 4. 2 AblativeLaserIntensity...78 2. 4. 3 AblationPressureintheAbsenceofPro leSteepening...82 References...85 3 Laser Light Propagation and Collisional Absorption ...

Mastering the complexity of innovative systems is a challenging aspect of design and product development. Only a systematic approach can help to embed an increasing degree of smartness in devices and machines, allowing them to adapt to variable conditions or harsh environments. At the same time, customer needs have to be identified before they can be translated into consistent technical requirements. The field of Systems Engineering provides a method, a process, suitable tools and languages to cope with the complexity of various systems such as motor vehicles, robots, railways systems, aircraft and spacecraft, smart manufacturing systems, microsystems, and bio-inspired devices. It makes it possible to trace the entire product lifecycle, by ensuring that requirements are matched to system functions, and functions are matched to components and subsystems, down to the level of assembled parts. This book discusses how Systems Engineering can be suitably deployed and how its benefits are currently being exploited by Product Lifecycle Management. It investigates the fundamentals of Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) through a general introduction to this topic and provides two examples of real systems, helping readers understand how these tools are used. The first, which involves the mechatronics of industrial systems, serves to reinforce the main content of the book, while the second describes an industrial implementation of the MBSE tools in the context of developing the on-board systems of a commercial aircraft.

TheThird International Workshop on Multi-Robot Systems was held in March 2005 at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D. C. , USA. Bringing together leading researchers and government sponsors for three days of technicalinterchange on multi-robot systems, theworkshop follows two previous highly successful gatherings in 2002 and 2003. Likethe previous two workshops, the meeting began with presentations byvarious government p- gram managers describing application areas and programs with an interest in multi-robot systems. U. S. Government representatives were on handfrom theOf?ce of Naval Research and several other governmental of?ces. Top - searchers inthe ?eld then presented their current activities in many areas of multi-robot systems. Presentations spannedawide rangeof topics, incl- ing task allocation, coordination in dynamicenvironments, information/sensor sharing andfusion, distributed mapping and coverage, motion planning and control, human-robot interaction, and applications of multi-robot systems. All presentations were given in a single-track workshop format. This proce- ings documents the work presented at the workshop. The research presen- tions were followed by panel discussions, in which all participants interacted to highlight the challenges of this ?eld and to develop possible solutions. In addition to the invited research talks, researchers and students were given an opportunity to present their work at poster sessions. We would like to thank the Naval Research Laboratory for sponsoring this workshop and providing the - cilitiesforthesemeetingstotakeplace. WeareextremelygratefultoMagdalena Bugajska, Paul Wiegand, and Mitchell A. Potter, for their vital help (and long hours) in editing these proceedings and to Michelle Caccivio for providing the administrative support to the workshop.

This book provides readers an understanding of the implementation of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) for international construction operations. In an extended case study, it primarily focuses on Chinese construction firms (CCFs) based in Singapore. In this regard, the book explains the differences and similarities between Risk Management (RM), Project Risk Management (PRM) and ERM in the construction industry, and examines their linkages for international construction operations in a broader context. The explanation elaborates on how companies may adopt and implement RM, PRM and ERM as appropriate in their various operations, both in their home market as well as in overseas host markets. The book also reviews the whole spectrum of work relating to organizational behavior (OB) as one of the key underpinnings for companies to evaluate and implement ERM. It will benefit practitioners from the industry as well as academics interested in the implementation of ERM practices in international construction operations.

Natural Computing in Computational Finance is a innovative volume containing fifteen chapters which illustrate cutting-edge applications of natural computing or agent-based modeling in modern computational finance. Following an introductory chapter the book is organized into three sections. The first section deals with optimization applications of natural computing demonstrating the application of a broad range of algorithms including, genetic algorithms, differential evolution, evolution strategies, quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithms and bacterial foraging algorithms to multiple financial applications including portfolio optimization, fund allocation and asset pricing. The second section explores the use of natural computing methodologies such as genetic programming, neural network hybrids and fuzzy-evolutionary hybrids for model induction in order to construct market trading, credit scoring and market prediction systems. The final section illustrates a range of agent-based applications including the modeling of payment card and financial markets. Each chapter provides an introduction to the relevant natural computing methodology as well as providing a clear description of the financial application addressed.

The book was written to be accessible to a wide audience and should be of interest to practitioners, academics and students, in the fields of both natural computing and finance.

This book offers a comprehensive guide to implementing a company-wide management system (CWMS), utilising up-to-date methodologies of lean-six sigma in order to achieve high levels of business excellence. It builds the foundation for quality and continuous improvement, which can be implemented in any organization. The book begins with an introduction to and an overview of CWMSs, and reviews the existing literature on various management systems. It then discusses the integration and implementation of lean-six sigma in supply chain management. The integration approach presented highlights the link between the existing management systems and shows how continuous improvement methodologies are incorporated. The book then examines the components of CWMS, comparing them to other systems. It also explores Kano-based six sigma and concludes with further recommendations for reading. This book covers five management systems integrated into one novel approach that can be followed by organizations wishing to achieve quality and business excellence. Covering lean-six sigma - an essential element of management systems - it is a valuable resource for practitioners and academics alike.

This contributed volume presents a state-of-the-art compendium for startups and corporations, focusing on corporate ventures. The book is based on the volume "Strategy and Communication for Innovation" and includes up-to-date discussions which help to better understand strategy and communication from a startup perspective. Each chapter offers a starting point for the exchange of ideas, key lessons and new insights from entrepreneurial perspectives such as e-ventures, corporate ventures and traditional ventures. Readers with an interest in innovation management will benefit from this book.

To be able to compete successfully both at national and international levels, production systems and equipment must perform at levels not even thinkable a decade ago. Requirements for increased product quality, reduced throughput time and enhanced operating effectiveness within a rapidly changing customer demand environment continue to demand a high maintenance performance. In some cases, maintenance is required to increase operational effectiveness and revenues and customer satisfaction while reducing capital, operating and support costs. This may be the largest challenge facing production enterprises these days. For this, maintenance strategy is required to be aligned with the production logistics and also to keep updated with the current best practices. Maintenance has become a multidisciplinary activity and one may come across situations in which maintenance is the responsibility of people whose training is not engineering. This handbook aims to assist at different levels of understanding whether the manager is an engineer, a production manager, an experienced maintenance practitioner or a beginner. Topics selected to be included in this handbook cover a wide range of issues in the area of maintenance management and engineering to cater for all those interested in maintenance whether practitioners or researchers. This handbook is divided into 6 parts and contains 26 chapters covering a wide range of topics related to maintenance management and engineering.

Metal cutting is a science and technology of great interest for several important industries, such as automotive, aeronautics, aerospace, moulds and dies, biomedicine, etc. Metal cutting is a manufacturing process in which parts are shaped by removal of unwanted material. The interest for this topic increased over the last twenty years, with rapid advances in materials science, automation and control, and computers technology. The present volume aims to provide research developments in metal cutting for modern industry. This volume can be used by students, academics, researchers, and engineering professionals in mechanical, manufacturing, and materials industries. THE SERIES: ADVANCED MECHANICAL ENGINEERING Currently, it is possible to defi ne mechanical engineering as the branch of engineering that "involves the application of principles of physics and engineering for the design, manufacturing, automation and maintenance of mechanical systems". Mechanical Engineering is closely related to a number of other engineering disciplines. This series fosters information exchange and discussion on all aspects of mechanical engineering with a special emphasis on research and development from a number of perspectives including (but not limited to) materials and manufacturing processes, machining and machine tools, tribology and surface engineering, structural mechanics, applied and computational mechanics, mechanical design, mechatronics and robotics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, renewable energies, biomechanics, nanoengineering and nanomechanics. In addition, the series covers the full range of sustainability aspects related with mechanical engineering. Advanced Mechanical Engineering is an essential reference for students, academics, researchers, materials, mechanical and manufacturing engineers and professionals in mechanical engineering.

This book gathers authoritative contributions in the field of Soft Computing. Based on selected papers presented at the 7th World Conference on Soft Computing, which was held on May 29-31, 2018, in Baku, Azerbaijan, it describes new theoretical advances, as well as cutting-edge methods and applications. New theories and algorithms in fuzzy logic, cognitive modeling, graph theory and metaheuristics are discussed, and applications in data mining, social networks, control and robotics, geoscience, biomedicine and industrial management are described. This book offers a timely, broad snapshot of recent developments, including thought-provoking trends and challenges that are yielding new research directions in the diverse areas of Soft Computing.

This book provides an introduction to the theory and numerical developments of the homogenization method. It's main features are: a comprehensive presentation of homogenization theory; an introduction to the theory of two-phase composite materials; a detailed treatment of structural optimization by using homogenization; a complete discussion of the resulting numerical algorithms with many documented test problems. It will be of interest to researchers, engineers, and advanced graduate students in applied mathematics, mechanical engineering, and structural optimization.

1 Kennzeichen der Konstruktion.- 1.1 Problemstellung und Herausforderungen.- 1.2 Ziele und Aufgaben der Konstruktion.- 1.3 Potentiale moderner Informationstechnik in der Konstruktion.- 2 Angebotserstellung.- 2.1 Kennzeichnung der Angebotserstellung.- 2.2 Systematische Angebotserstellung.- 2.2.1 Erfassen und Einordnen des Kundenproblems.- 2.2.2 Angebotskonstruktion.- 2.2.3 Lieferterminplanung.- 2.2.4 Kalkulation.- 2.2.5 Dokumentation der Planungsergebnisse.- 2.3 Organisation in der Angebotserstellung.- 2.4 Hilfsmittel in der Angebotserstellung.- 3 Konstruktionsprozesse.- 3.1 Methodisches Konstruieren.- 3.1.1 Anforderungsfestlegung.- 3.1.2 Funktionsfindung.- 3.1.3 Prinziperarbeitung.- 3.1.4 Gestaltung.- 3.1.5 Detaillierung.- 3.2 Charakteristika der Konstruktionsprozesse.- 3.2.1 Auftragsarten.- 3.2.2 Konstruktionsarten.- 3.3 Informationen in der Konstruktion.- 3.3.1 Wichtige Informationsquellen zum Konstruieren.- 3.3.1.1 Kataloge.- 3.3.1.2 Normen.- 3.3.1.3 Konstruktionsrichtlinien.- 3.3.2 Dokumentation der Konstruktionsergebnisse.- 3.3.2.1 Zeichnungen.- 3.3.2.2 Stucklisten.- 3.4 Methoden und konventionelle Hilfsmittel.- 3.4.1 Hilfsmittel und Methoden zur Ideenfindung.- 3.4.1.1 Intuitive Ideenfindungsmethoden.- 3.4.1.2 Systematische Suchmethoden.- 3.4.2 Analyse- und Bewertungsmethoden.- 3.4.2.1 Wertanalyse.- 3.4.2.2 Nutzwertanalyse.- 3.4.2.3 Konstruktionsbegleitende Kalkulationen.- 3.4.2.4 Relativkostenkataloge.- 3.5 EDV-Einsatz bei Konstruktionsprozessen.- 3.5.1 CAD-Technik.- 3.5.1.1 Rechnerinterne Darstellungen.- 3.5.1.2 Systemfunktionalitaten.- 3.5.1.3 CAD-Arbeitsplatz.- 3.5.2 Computer Aided Engineering.- 3.5.3 Systemintegration im Konstruktionsbereich.- 3.5.3.1 Produktmodell.- 3.5.3.2 Schnittstellen.- 3.5.3.3 Datenmanagement.- 3.5.3.4 Engineering Data Management Systeme.- 3.5.4 Konstruktionssysteme - Neue Entwicklungen.- 3.5.4.1 Funktionsorientiertes Konstruieren.- 3.5.4.2 Wissensbasiertes Konstruieren.- 3.5.4.3 Objektorientiertes Konstruieren.- 3.6 Organisation des Konstruktionsbereichs.- 3.6.1 Aufbauorganisation der Konstruktion.- 3.6.2 EDV-Organisation.- 4 Rationalisierungskonzepte.- 4.1 Ermittlung von Rationalisierungsmassnahmen.- 4.2 Rationalisierungsmassnahmen.- 4.2.1 Konventionelle Rationalisierungsmassnahmen.- 4.2.1.1 Ansatze zur Verringerung des Zeichnungsaufwands.- 4.2.1.2 Hilfsmittel und Methoden zur Wiederverwendung.- 4.2.2 Auswahl und Einfuhrung von EDV-Systemen.- 4.2.2.1 Projektdefinition.- 4.2.2.2 Prozessreorganisation.- 4.2.2.3 Systemkonzept.- 4.2.2.4 Systemauswahl.- 4.2.2.5 Systemeinfuhrung.- 4.2.3 Wirtschaftlichkeitsaspekte des CAD/CAM-Einsatzes.- 5 Integration der Konstruktionsprozesse in die Unternehmensablaufe.- 5.1 Methodisches Vorgehen zur Integration von Konstrukions- und Arbeitsplanungsprozessen.- 5.1.1 Planungsmodell der integrierten Konstruktion und Arbeitsplanung.- 5.1.2 Beschreibung der Elementzusammenhange uber Matrizen.- 5.1.3 Planungsmethoden.- 5.1.4 Durchfuhrungsmethoden.- 5.2 Simultaneous Engineering.- 5.2.1 Zielsetzung des Simultaneous Engineering.- 5.2.2 Organisatorische Umsetzung.- 5.2.3 Praxisbeispiel.- 5.3 Telekooperation.- 5.4 Product Life Cycle Design.- 5.4.1 Problemstellung und Motivation.- 5.4.2 Grundgedanken des Lifecycle Design.- 5.4.3 Ergebnisse und Potentiale des Lifecycle Design.- 6 Zusammenfassung.- Literatur.- Sachwortverzeichnis.

The recent trend in user-customized product design requires the shape of products to be automatically adjusted according to the human body s shape, so that people will feel more comfortable when wearing these products. Geometric approaches can be used to design the freeform shape of products worn by people, which can greatly improve the efficiency of design processes in various industries involving customized products (e.g., garment design, toy design, jewel design, shoe design, and design of medical devices, etc.). These products are usually composed of very complex geometric shapes (represented by free-form surfaces), and are not driven by a parameter table but a digital human model with free-form shapes or part of human bodies (e.g., wrist, foot, and head models).

"Geometric Modeling and Reasoning of Human-Centered Freeform Products "introduces the algorithms of human body reconstruction, freeform product modeling, constraining and reconstructing freeform products, and shape optimization for improving the manufacturability of freeform products. Based on these techniques, the design automation problem for human-centered freeform products can be fundamentally solved.

Researchers and developers working on problems of automatic designing individually customized products can use this book as a reference, and it can also be used in courses in computer-aided product design at the graduate level."

This book is a detailed description of all the aspects of ultrahigh speed optical transmission technology. Ultrahigh-speed optical transmission technology is a key technology for increasing communication capacity. The devices developed for ultrahigh-speed optical transmission are not limited to communication applications only. They are key devices for high-speed optical signal processing, i.e. monitoring, measurement and control, and will thus give a wide technological basis for innovative science and technology. All these aspects of ultrahigh-speed optical transmission technology are described in detail in this book.

This book presents the results of several years' research work on how to characterize complexity in engineering design with a specific regard to dependency modeling. The 52 complexity metrics that are presented show different facets of how complexity takes shape in design processes. The metrics are supported by a modeling method and a measurement framework to employ the metrics in a goal-oriented manner. The detailed description of all involved metrics and models makes it possible to apply the analysis approach to common process modeling methodologies. Three case studies from automotive process management illustrate the application to facilitate the transfer to other cases in an industrial context. The comprehensive appendix supplies additional details and checklists for structural analysis to generate a complete overview of current means of structural analysis.

Providing a comprehensive overview of various methods and applications in decision engineering, this book presents chapters written by a range experts in the field. It presents conceptual aspects of decision support applications in various areas including finance, vendor selection, construction, process management, water management and energy, agribusiness , production scheduling and control, and waste management. In addition to this, a special focus is given to methods of multi-criteria decision analysis. Decision making in organizations is a recurrent theme and is essential for business continuity. Managers from various fields including public, private, industrial, trading or service sectors are required to make decisions. Consequently managers need the support of these structured methods in order to engage in effective decision making. This book provides a valuable resource for graduate students, professors and researchers of decision analysis, multi-criteria decision analysis and group decision analysis. It is also intended for production engineers, civil engineers and engineering consultants.

This proceedings volume of the ISEA 2006 examines sports engineering, an interdisciplinary subject which encompasses and integrates not only sports science and engineering but also biomechanics, physiology and anatomy, and motion physics. This is the first title of its kind in the emerging field of sports technology.

Upspeeding technological evolution and globalisation characterise today's and future lives of engineers. It is vital for all institutions involved in engineering education to keep pace and to anticipate future needs. The herein presented collection of papers results from the Workshop on Global Engineering Education (GEE'3) which took place at Aachen University of Technology, 18 - 20 October 2000. In this meeting more than 150 specialists from 25 countries discussed the topic "Educating the Engineer for the Century." Which role to attribute to non-technical qualifications? How to integrate ethical aspects in education? Do we have to define international standards in education? What about quality control? What is the potential of new media for knowledge transfer? How to organise lifelong learning for engineers? - These are some of the questions discussed among representatives of industries, educational institutions, politicians and individuals during this meeting. According to the sessions of the workshop, the book is subdivided into chapters covering the areas "Role of the Global Engineer in Meeting the Challenges of Society in the Century," "Internationality and Interdisciplinarity," "Engineering Education in Emerging Economies," "European Bachelor and Master Programmes," "Developing Personal Skills to be a Global Engineer." Three chapters deal with successful practice in engineering education covering the topics "Programmes, Curricula and Evaluation," "Educational Concepts," and "University-Industry Partnership, Design Projects."