This volume is part of a growing body of work that maps the evolution of high technology small firm research over almost a complete decade since 1993. Begun during a period of relative neglect of high technology small firms (HTSFs) during the early 1990s, the book series has witnessed, and perhaps played some part in creating, a resurgence of interest in this type and scale of enterprise in the United Kingdom and mainland Europe by the turn of the century. Throughout this period, specific interest within the high technology small firm study area has ebbed and flowed, with some rather obviously important issues (e.g. policy and finance) often to the fore, while new and resurrected areas of concern have also contributed to the research agenda. Perhaps the best example of resurrection has been the rebirth of interest in the subject of clustering (or agglomeration) as it applies to HTSFs, notably led by Michael Porter. This interest has extended, and put a new slant upon, work consistently well represented in these volumes on networking. This trend is evidenced by the presence of four papers in the concluding Part IV of this volume on "Clusters and Networks". Earlier themes comprise groups of papers on "Science Parks and University Spin offs" (Part II), and "Markets, Strategy and Globalization" (Part III). Both individually and in aggregate, this series of books on HTSF development and growth issues represents a "one stop shop" for all those seeking to gain a broad understanding of the evolution of HTSF research since 1993 by providing a record of the manner in which this research agenda has evolved over these years.

SIIE is an international forum of Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking and English-speaking researchers devoted to investigate and implement the use of computers in education. In 1999 the Symposium was held in Aveiro, Portugal. In the year 2000 it was celebrated in Puertollano, Spain. Other meetings preceded this Symposium, namely, the "Simposio de Investigacao e Desenvolvimento de Software Educativo" held in Lisbon, Coimbra and Evora, two Congresses held in Spain and organised by ADIE: Encuentro de Informatica Educativa, in Madrid and the so successful ConieD'99 held in Puertollano in 1999. A collection of Conied'99 papers is also published in this collection with the title "Computers in Education in the 21st Century" (2000). ADIE (Association for the Development of Computers in Education) undertook the organisation of the congresses and symposiums on Computers in Education. It is an association which organises meetings for researchers in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. ADIE publishes "Revista de Ensenanza y Tecnologia" in Latin America quarterly."

Codesign for Real-Time Video Applications describes a modern design approach for embedded systems. It combines the design of hardware, software, and algorithms. Traditionally, these design domains are treated separately to reduce the design complexity. Advanced design tools support a codesign of the different domains which opens an opportunity for exploiting synergetic effects. The design approach is illustrated by the design of a video compression system. It is integrated into the video card of a PC. A VLIW processor architecture is used as the basis of the compression system and popular video compression algorithms (MPEG, JPEG, H.261) are analyzed. A complete top-down design flow is presented and the design tools for each of the design steps are explained. The tools are integrated into an HTML-based design framework. The resulting design data can be directly integrated into the WWW. This is a crucial aspect for supporting distributed design groups. The design data can be directly documented an cross referencing in an almost arbitrary way is supported. This provides a platform for information sharing among the different design domains. Codesign for Real-Time Video Applications focuses on the multi-disciplinary aspects of embedded system design. It combines design automation and advanced processor design with an important application domain. A quantitative design approach is emphasized which focuses the design time on the most crucial components. Thus enabling a fast and cost efficient design methodology. This book will be of interest to researchers, designers and managers working in embedded system design.

The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and the UPOV Convention are increasingly relevant and important. They have technical, social and normative legitimacy and have standardised numerous concepts and practices related to plant varieties and plant breeding. In this book, Jay Sanderson provides the first sustained and detailed account of the Convention. Building upon the idea that it has an open-ended and contingent relationship with scientific, legal, technical, political, social and institutional actors, the author explores the Convention's history, concepts and practices. Part I examines the emergence of the UPOV Convention during the 1950s and its expanding legitimacy in relation to plant variety protection. Part II explores the Convention's key concepts and practices, including plant breeder, plant variety, plant names (denomination), characteristics, protected material, essentially derived varieties (EDV) and farm saved seed (FSS). This book is an invaluable resource for academics, policy makers, agricultural managers and researchers in this field.

This comprehensive and student friendly book dwells on various aspects of technical communication that students of science and engineering should be familiar with. Divided into two parts, Part A of the text describes in detail the planning, designing and drafting of documents for a broad range of situations and applications. The text explores the types of business letters reflecting current practices, and different techniques of drafting them. Since, in the professional settings, executives have to work in teams, the book explains various causes of communication breakdown and ways to overcome them. A separate chapter is devoted to Advertising. Part B elaborates on Group Communication taking into consideration the collective and individual requirements. This part also includes individual chapters on Effective Presentation, Non-Verbal Cues, Speeches, Interviews, and Negotiation Skills so as to orient young professionals towards new challenges. This compact book is intended primarily as a text for undergraduate students of engineering and science. Besides, students of business management would also find the book immensely valuable. In addition, the text would be a handy reference for practicing professionals who wish to hone their communication skills for achieving better results and should prove extremely useful for those involved in everyday communication.

Should law be technologically neutral, or should it evolve as human relationships with technology become more advanced?
In Law in an Era of "Smart" Technology, Susan Brenner analyzes the complex and evolving interactions between law and technology and provides a thorough and detailed account of the law in technology at the beginning of the 21st century. Brenner draws upon recent technological advances, evaluating how developing technologies may alter how humans interact with each other and with their environment. She analyzes the development of technology as shifting from one of "use" to one of "interaction," and argues that this interchange needs us to reconceptualize our approach to legal rules, which were originally designed to prevent the "misuse" of older technologies.
As technologies continue to develop over the next several decades, Brenner argues that the laws directed between human and technological relationships should remain neutral. She explains how older technologies rely on human implementation, but new "smart" technology will be completely automated. This will eventually lead to, as she explains, the ultimate progression in our relationship with technology: the fusion of human physiology and technology. Law in an Era of "Smart" Technology provides a detailed, historically-grounded explanation as to why our traditional relationship with technology is evolving and why a corresponding shift in the law is imminent and necessary.

Companies face major challenges as they seek to flourish in competitive global markets, fuelled by developments in technology, from the Internet to grid computing and Web services. In this environment, service orientation - aligning business processes to the changing demands of customers - is emerging as a highly effective approach to increasing efficiency. In this book, Paul Allen provides an accessible guide to service orientation, showing how it works and highlighting the benefits it can deliver. The book provides an integrated approach: after covering the basics of service orientation, he discusses key issues such as business agility, designing quality-of-service infrastructure, implementing service-level agreements, and cultural factors. He provides roadmaps, definitions, templates, techniques, process patterns and checklists to help you realize service orientation. These resources are reinforced with detailed case studies, from the transport and banking sectors. Packed with valuable insights, the book will be essential reading for CIOs, IT architects and senior developers. IT facing business executives will also benefit from understanding how software services can enable their business strategies. Paul Allen is a principal business-IT strategist at CA and is widely recognized for his innovative work in component-based development (CBD), business-IT alignment and service-oriented architecture. With over thirty years experience of large-scale business systems, he is an established author whose previous book was the critically acclaimed 'Realizing e-Business with Components'. Sam Higgins is now with Forrester Research Inc.; formerly he managed the Innovation and Planning Unit ofQueensland Transport's Information Services Branch. Paul McRae is the application architect in the Innovation and Planning Unit of Queensland Transport's Information Services Branch. Hermann Schlamann is a senior architect in the architecture group of Credit Suisse.

This book was first published in 2006. Technologists have the ideas. Lawyers know the rules. But for business managers and investors, rules and ideas don't readily combine into a strategic vision. No longer is intellectual property (IP) just a necessary expense for large technology companies. Competing and succeeding in the marketplace requires an in-depth understanding of IP - its use as a weapon, as a shield, and as a monetizable asset. Yet in a world where fortunes can rise or founder on the strength of an IP portfolio, hesitation to enter this arcane, unfamiliar world still abounds. This book equips the business manager with a working, practical knowledge essential to creating and exploiting IP wealth. It shows investors how to evaluate IP strength and competitive value. With its results-oriented perspective and international focus, Intellectual Property for Managers and Investors is essential for those with decision making-responsibility at the interface where business and innovation meet.

In this book, Patricia Ticineto Clough reenergizes critical theory by viewing poststructuralist thought through the lens of "teletechnology", using television as a recurring case study to illuminate the changing relationships between subjectivity, technology, and mass media.

Autoaffection links diverse forms of cultural criticism -- feminist theory, queer theory, film theory, postcolonial theory, Marxist cultural studies and literary criticism, the cultural studies of science and the criticism of ethnographic writing -- to the transformation and expansion of teletechnology in the late twentieth century. These theoretical approaches, Clough suggests, have become the vehicles of unconscious thought in our time.

In individual chapters, Clough juxtaposes the likes of Derridean deconstruction, Deleuzian philosophy, and Lacanian psychoanalysis. She works through the writings of Fredric Jameson, Donna Haraway, Judith Butler, Bruno Latour, Nancy Fraser, Elizabeth Grosz -- to name only a few -- placing all in dialogue with a teletechnological framework. Clough shows how these cultural criticisms have raised questions about the foundation of thought, allowing us to reenvision the relationship of nature and technology, the human and the machine, the virtual and the real, the living and the inert.

Understanding and improving your organization's business processes is vital in today's economy. Using non-technical language, this book describes the importance of these processes and the internal and external forces that shape them. It then explains the kinds of computer software available for improving and managing business processes in a flexible way. Detailed case studies illustrate that successful process management depends on attention to the human, organizational and financial factors involved, as well as the strategic implications. Finally, the book gives even-handed guidance on what to look for in Business Process Management software and discusses current technical trends. With many clear diagrams and footnotes throughout, a glossary of terms and suggestions on further reading, the book enables the non-specialist reader to take a broad and informed view of business processes, free from technical imperatives. Ideal for non-technical managers, this book will also appeal to MBA and business studies students.

What useful changes has feminism brought to science? Feminists have enjoyed success in their efforts to open many fields to women as participants. But the effects of feminism have not been restricted to altering employment and professional opportunities for women. The essays in this volume explore how feminist theories and practices have had a direct impact on research in the biological and social sciences, in medicine, and in technology, often providing the impetus for fundamentally changing the theoretical underpinnings and practices of such research.
In archeology, evidence of women's hunting activities suggested by spears found in women's graves is no longer dismissed; computer scientists have used feminist epistemologies for rethinking the human-interface problems of our growing reliance on computers. Attention to women's movements often tends to reinforce a presumption that feminism changes institutions through critique-from-without. The examples of change in this volume reveal, however, the potent but not always visible transformations feminism has brought to science, technology, and medicine from within.
Contributors:
Ruth Schwartz Cowan
Linda Marie Fedigan
Scott Gilbert
Evelynn M. Hammonds
Evelyn Fox Keller
Pamela E. Mack
Michael S. Mahoney
Emily Martin
Ruth Oldenziel
Nelly Oudshoorn
Carroll Pursell
Karen A. Rader
Alison Wylie

Decreasing power dissipation per logic function has become a primary concern in virtually all CMOS system chips designed today as a result of the relentless progress in processing technology that has led us into the deep-submicron age. Evolution from 1 micron to 0.1 micron lithography in the next decade will not be possible without a change in the way we design CMOS systems. But power reduction requires an overall optimisation, ranging from software compilation over instruction set design down to the introduction of much more parallelism in the architecture, the optimal use of memory hierarchy, new clocking strategies, use of asynchronous techniques, new CMOS circuit techniques and management of leakage currents in new low power technologies. Moreover, performance and power dissipation will come to be dominated by interconnect and thus completely new floor planning and place and route strategies are emerging. The chapters in this book present a systematic coverage of deep submicron CMOS digital system design for low power, from process technology all the way up to software design and embedded software systems. Audience: An excellent guide for the practising engineer, researcher and student interested in this crucial aspect of actual CMOS design.

Fossil fuels are limited resources and are anticipated to be exhausted within the next few decades. Solar energy is the only renewable resource capable of adequately meeting today's total global energy demand. Dye-sensitised solar cells (DSCs) represent a novel class of photovoltaic devices that mimic nature's photosynthesis process. This book focuses on the possibilities of optimising the dye-sensitised solar cells' efficiency, and also presents the historical background of DSCs, their efficiency timeline, key components, and the principle of operation. Some powerful nanotechnology tools and methods used to investigate and enhance this type of solar cell are also presented in detail. The methods and findings detailed here combine both experimental and computational studies. They pave the way towards enhancing the efficiency of dye-sensitised solar cells.

Bilingualism and multilingualism both make a major contribution in cross-cultural interaction, but, at the same time, improve various cognitive abilities, such as better attention and multitasking. Meaning in the world around us is represented by means of the language that is used for communication and knowledge exchange between intelligent individuals. The phenomena of human interaction and communication are recently experiencing unprecedented influence from digital technologies. Language learning is part of the global revolution, meaning that language learning technologies are playing an increasingly important role in learning English for Specific Purposes. This volume addresses theoretical and practical aspects of learning, technology adoption and pedagogy in the context of English for Specific Purposes.

In recent decades, media theory has become one of the most influential trends in contemporary thinking, namely within cultural studies, the arts and humanities. Spreading mostly from the German scholarly scene, under the influence of post-structuralism, media theory has developed as a fundamental theoretical framework, for many fields of theoretical and applied research, through authors such as the late Friedrich Kittler, 1943-2011. Commenting on several aspects of Kittler's work, and on its impact in different fields of art and culture, this essay collection examines recent developments in media theory brought about by concepts such as "cultural techniques" and "operative ontologies" and by key authors, contributing to this volume, such as Bernhard Siegert, Sybille Kramer and Peter Weibel.