Virtual environments (VE) are human-computer interfaces in which the computer creates a sensory-immersing environment that interactively responds to and is controlled by the behaviour of the user. Since these technologies will continue to become more reliable, more resolute and more affordable, it's important to consider the advantages that VEs may offer to support business processes. The term 'synthetic world' refers to a subset of VEs, having a large virtual landscape and a set of rules that govern the interactions among participants. Currently, the primary motivators for participation in these synthetic worlds appear to be fun and novelty. As the novelty wears off, synthetic worlds will need to demonstrate a favourable value proposition if they are to survive. In particular, non-game-oriented worlds will need to facilitate business processes to a degree that exceeds their substantial costs for development and maintenance. Working Through Synthetic Worlds explores a variety of different tasks that might benefit by being performed within a synthetic world. The editors use a distinctive format for the book, consisting of a set of chapters composed of three parts: c a story or vignette that describes work conducted within a synthetic world based loosely on the question, 'what will work be like in the year 2025?', founded on the expert authors' expectations of plausible future technologies c a scholarly review of the technologies described by the stories and the current theories related to those technologies c a prescription for future research required to bridge the current state-of-the-art with the notional worlds described in the stories. The book will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students, professors, scientists and engineers, managers in high-tech industries and software developers.

Virtual environments (VE) are human-computer interfaces in which the computer creates a sensory-immersing environment that interactively responds to and is controlled by the behaviour of the user. Since these technologies will continue to become more reliable, more resolute and more affordable, it's important to consider the advantages that VEs may offer to support business processes. The term 'synthetic world' refers to a subset of VEs, having a large virtual landscape and a set of rules that govern the interactions among participants. Currently, the primary motivators for participation in these synthetic worlds appear to be fun and novelty. As the novelty wears off, synthetic worlds will need to demonstrate a favourable value proposition if they are to survive. In particular, non-game-oriented worlds will need to facilitate business processes to a degree that exceeds their substantial costs for development and maintenance. Working Through Synthetic Worlds explores a variety of different tasks that might benefit by being performed within a synthetic world. The editors use a distinctive format for the book, consisting of a set of chapters composed of three parts: c a story or vignette that describes work conducted within a synthetic world based loosely on the question, 'what will work be like in the year 2025?', founded on the expert authors' expectations of plausible future technologies c a scholarly review of the technologies described by the stories and the current theories related to those technologies c a prescription for future research required to bridge the current state-of-the-art with the notional worlds described in the stories. The book will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students, professors, scientists and engineers, managers in high-tech industries and software developers.

Team collaboration involves many operational tasks such as team decision-making or course of action selection, developing shared understanding, and intelligence analysis. These operational tasks must be performed in many situations, often under severe time pressure, with information and knowledge uncertainty, large amounts of dynamic information and across different team characteristics. Recent research in this area has focused on various aspects of human collaborative decision-making and the underlying cognitive processes while describing those processes at different levels of detail, making it difficult to compare research results. The theoretical construct of 'macrocognition in teams' was developed to facilitate cognitive research in team collaboration, which will enable a common level of understanding when defining, measuring and discussing the cognitive processes in team collaboration. Macrocognition is defined as both the internalized and externalized mental processes employed by team members in complex, one-of-a-kind, collaborative problem solving. Macrocognition in Teams provides readers with a greater understanding of the macrocognitive processes which support collaborative team activity, showcasing current research, theories, methodologies and tools. It will be of direct relevance to academics, researchers and practitioners interested in group/team interaction, performance, development and training.

Team collaboration involves many operational tasks such as team decision-making or course of action selection, developing shared understanding, and intelligence analysis. These operational tasks must be performed in many situations, often under severe time pressure, with information and knowledge uncertainty, large amounts of dynamic information and across different team characteristics. Recent research in this area has focused on various aspects of human collaborative decision-making and the underlying cognitive processes while describing those processes at different levels of detail, making it difficult to compare research results. The theoretical construct of 'macrocognition in teams' was developed to facilitate cognitive research in team collaboration, which will enable a common level of understanding when defining, measuring and discussing the cognitive processes in team collaboration. Macrocognition is defined as both the internalized and externalized mental processes employed by team members in complex, one-of-a-kind, collaborative problem solving. Macrocognition in Teams provides readers with a greater understanding of the macrocognitive processes which support collaborative team activity, showcasing current research, theories, methodologies and tools. It will be of direct relevance to academics, researchers and practitioners interested in group/team interaction, performance, development and training.

The major goal of 'Expanding Frontiers in Polypeptide and Protein Structural Research' has been to bring the various avenues for the exploration of protein structures to a single forum. The idea of organizing the symposiwn was conceived by one of the editors, V. Renugopalakrislman, during the 9th International Biophysics Congress satellite symposium at Kibbutz Nof-Ginosar, Israel in 1987. It was originally supposed to dwell on 2D NMR and molecular dynamics of polypeptides and proteins. During the earlier part of the last decade, these two approaches began to emerge as powerful tools to probe protein structures at the atomic level in solution. The developments in molecular biology ushered in the capability to design polypeptides and proteins for specific application in science and technology. The emergence of 2D NMR and molecular dynamics was greatly facilitated by contemporary developments in molecular biology and protein engineering. Therefore an international symposiwn devoted exclusively to 2D NMR and molecular dynamics studies of proteins was felt necessary to bring two major approaches in a single forum. In addition to emphasis on 2D NMR and molecular dynamics simulation, the scope of the symposiwn included optical spectroscopy, protein design, and new horizons in protein structure. The symposiwn consisted of five plenary sessions devoted to NMR and optical spectroscopy as probes for protein structure, protein dynamics, computational methods in protein design, and new horizons in protein structure. In addition, five workshops in related areas, viz.

Thirteen year-old Harley is forced by his parents to attend a music camp located in an isolated patch of woods near the east coast. He's torn between trying to stick it out at camp with a bunch of kids he doesn't know, or trying to run away and get home, where he'll still have his parents to deal with. An accidental encounter with and old blues musician complicates his dilemma, but ultimately leads to a powerful connection to a masterful musician, and helps Harley see beyond his limited ego.

Love at first sight was never so dangerous. Jack Gunnison has a problem, well, two actually, one is 5'5" and the other is a Killer. Jennifer Stewart needs a change after losing her husband, and sending her daughter off to College. Moving to the high country of Colorado to restart her life, and follow her dreams, Jenn gets more than she bargained for, when she attracts the eye of a killer. Together, Jack and Jenn must figure out his identity, before he strikes again. Mature content due to language and sex.