Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Margarethe, the proud, impetuous daughter of a nobleman in Germany, wants no part in her father's plans to marry her off to Count von Schonstein's son, Eric, so that the two nobles can join forces against the "upstart" burghers. She would much rather stay at home with her beloved younger sister, Else, but Else will soon be leaving to spend the rest of her life in a convent. Unlike her gentle, pious sister, Margarethe is certain that God's only desire is to make her life miserable, especially now that she refuses to participate in the rites and ceremonies of the Church. When her brother, Fritz, brings her an "indulgence" from far-off Juterbog, she doubts that even this can make her acceptable to an angry God. Then from her great-aunt, Margarethe hears of another religion, one almost forgotten, that taught that God loves the world, and she longs to know if this message is true. As the controversy surrounding the teachings of Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwinglius intensifies, she and her dear friend, Anna, along with Fritz and Eric, must decide what part they might play in the emerging Reformation.

When Jerusalem is captured by the Muslims in A.D. 1187, Elfreda, a young Saxon orphan, is sent back to England to her mother's sister. Her proud aunt, Lady de Valery, is not at all pleased to see her, and her uncle, Sir Valence, fears that she may have brought the family curse back to England. This hundred-year-old curse is said to have been placed on an ancestor named Leofwine, and more than one family member has tried in vain to remove it. Meeting her cousin, Guy, for a few moments as he prepares to join King Richard's Crusade to free Jerusalem, Elfreda tells him of her father's battle cry, "Christ and His salvation." Something in this cry thrills Guy's heart even though he doesn't understand the meaning of the words. Soon after this, Lady de Valery sends Elfreda off to live with relatives in London. There Elfreda and Guy meet again and Guy promises Elfreda that he will win such honor as a crusader that he will be able to remove the curse from their family. Elfreda, too, tries to remove the curse through a life of religious devotion. Over the years that follow, however, severe trials befall the de Valery family, and Guy and Elfreda despair of ever being able to lift the curse, until at last they both learn of One who has power stronger than any curse.

Humiliated by his father in front of their household, Leofwine's only crime is that, unlike his wild, younger brother, he finds no pleasure in terrorizing the countryside. Leofwine finally receives permission to enter a monastery but shortly after his dream is fulfilled, he hears strange rumors of a French monk who preaches "heresy." Unable to stop thinking about these new ideas, Leofwine and his fellow monks become convinced that he must be under the spell of a witch. At last, Leofwine determines to leave the monastery and England, hoping that in the holy life of a pilgrim he will find freedom from the curse that he feels he is under. His search for inner peace takes him to France and to Rome and finally to Jerusalem, but all of his travels leave him more confused than ever, and worse yet, he uncovers a plot against his native England. Now Leofwine must find a way to help his beloved country and also decide what to believe about the surprising ideas he has heard in a small village in the Alps.

When Flaminius, a high Roman official, takes his wife, Flavia, and her sister to the Colosseum to see Christians thrown to the lions, he has no idea the effect it will have on all of their lives. Flavia cannot forget the faith of the martyrs, and is drawn more and more to a God who can give such courage in the face of death, but then rumors begin to fly about her forsaking the worship of the gods. Finally, to protect her from complete disgrace or even danger, Flaminius requests a transfer to a more remote government post. Even there, however, he cannot escape from troubles over this new faith. His job responsibilities require him to deal with increasing turmoil and unrest from the mobs who hate Christianity and demand to see its followers destroyed, while his own wife openly practices Christianity. As he and his family travel to the seven cities of Asia Minor mentioned in Revelation, he sees the various responses of the churches to persecution but is frustrated by those who stubbornly refuse to compromise for the sake of peace. Then something happens that shakes his faith in the gods, and his attitude toward the despised Christians begins to change.

After the death of their father, Glaucia and Laon are taken to Rome to be sold as slaves to pay his debts. Glaucia is sold to Valeria, the proud daughter of Fabrizzio Gracchi, a wealthy Roman philosopher who has decided to move his family to Athens so that he can continue his study of Greek philosophy. Glaucia is grateful to be going back to her native city, but feels that the gods she has loved and served have no interest in the worship of a slave. She tries hard to adjust to her new life and to please her young mistress, but she longs to find a God who can love even a slave. Meanwhile, her brother, Laon, struggles to find her and to earn enough money to buy her freedom. Then, in the marketplace, Glaucia hears about a God who cares for slaves. As she learns more about this God, she is drawn to Him, but finds she must choose between the many gods she has always worshiped and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will not share His worship with anyone.

How a new understanding of warfare can help the military fight today's conflicts more effectively The way wars are fought has changed starkly over the past sixty years. International military campaigns used to play out between armies at central fronts. Today's conflicts find major powers facing rebel insurgencies deploying elusive methods, from improvised explosives to terrorist attacks. Presenting a transformative understanding of these contemporary confrontations, Small Wars, Big Data shows that a revolution in the study of conflict yields new insights into terrorism, civil wars, and foreign interventions. Modern warfare is not about struggles over territory but over people; civilians-and the information they might provide-can turn the tide at critical junctures. Drawing lessons from conflicts in locations around the world, Small Wars, Big Data provides groundbreaking perspectives for how small wars can be better strategized and favorably won.

How a new understanding of warfare can help the military fight today's conflicts more effectively The way wars are fought has changed starkly over the past sixty years. International military campaigns used to play out between large armies at central fronts. Today's conflicts find major powers facing rebel insurgencies that deploy elusive methods, from improvised explosives to terrorist attacks. Small Wars, Big Data presents a transformative understanding of these contemporary confrontations and how they should be fought. The authors show that a revolution in the study of conflict--enabled by vast data, rich qualitative evidence, and modern methods-yields new insights into terrorism, civil wars, and foreign interventions. Modern warfare is not about struggles over territory but over people; civilians-and the information they might choose to provide-can turn the tide at critical junctures. The authors draw practical lessons from the past two decades of conflict in locations ranging from Latin America and the Middle East to Central and Southeast Asia. Building an information-centric understanding of insurgencies, the authors examine the relationships between rebels, the government, and civilians. This approach serves as a springboard for exploring other aspects of modern conflict, including the suppression of rebel activity, the role of mobile communications networks, the links between aid and violence, and why conventional military methods might provide short-term success but undermine lasting peace. Ultimately the authors show how the stronger side can almost always win the villages, but why that does not guarantee winning the war. Small Wars, Big Data provides groundbreaking perspectives for how small wars can be better strategized and favorably won to the benefit of the local population.

Diese Arbeit entstand wiihrend meiner Tatigkeit als wissenschaftIicher Mitarbeiter am Lehrstuhl fur Informatik und Operation Research der Universitat Passau im Rahmen eines langfristigen Forschungsprojektes zur Realisierung leistungsfahiger Entscheidungsunterstiitzender Systeme ftir komplexe Anwendungen (wie z.B. das Scheduling von Projekten). Gegenstand der vorliegenden Arbeit ist die Konzep tion eines Verwaltungssystemes, mit dem die in einem Rechnersystem verftigbare Software problem- und anwenderspezifisch zu effizient arbeitenden Entschei dungsunterstiitzenden Systemen zusammengestellt werden kann. Auf einer SUN-Workstation wurden verschiedene Moglichkeiten zur Implemen tie rung eines derartigen Verwaltungssystemes untersucht. 1m einzelnen wurden eine Realisierung tiber PROLOG, eine Realisierung tiber trickreiche PASCAL Pointerstrukturen und eine Realsierung tiber die relationale Datenbank INGRES betrachtet. Der Datenbank-Ansatz, bei dem die Datenbank mit Hilfe der Datenbank-Anfragesprache QUEL aus C-Programmen heraus gesteuert wurde, erwies sich dabei den anderen Ansatzen gegentiber sowohl von der Performance als auch yom Programmieraufwand her als tiberlegen. Zur Zeit wird nach den in dieser Arbeit entwickelten Konzepten ein Verwaltungs system fur ein Entscheidungsuntersttitzendes System im Bereich der Projekt planung aufgebaut. Dabei sind Standard-Software und an verschiedenen Universitaten entwickelte Spezial-Software zu einem leistungsfahigen Gesamt system zu integrieren. Ftir die langfristige Forderung dieser Arbeit und seine zahlreichen Anregungen und Verbesserungsvorschlagen gilt mein besonderer Dank Herrn Professor Dr."