Micro-X-ray fluorescence offers the possibility for a position- sensitive and non-destructive analysis that can be used for the analysis of non-homogeneous materials and layer systems. This analytical technique has shown a dynamic development in the last 15 years and is used for the analysis of small particles, inclusions, of elemental distributions for a wide range of different applications both in research and quality control. The first experiments were performed on synchrotrons but there is a requirement for laboratory instruments which offers a fast and immediate access for analytical results. The book discuss the main components of a -XRF instrument and the different measurement modes, it gives an overview about the various instruments types, considers the special requirements for quantification of non-homogeneous materials and presents a wide range of application for single point and multi-point analysis as well as for distribution analysis in one, two and three dimensions.

Provides comprehensive coverage on using X-ray fluorescence for laboratory applications This book focuses on the practical aspects of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy and discusses the requirements for a successful sample analysis, such as sample preparation, measurement techniques and calibration, as well as the quality of the analysis results. X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Laboratory Applications begins with a short overview of the physical fundamentals of the generation of X-rays and their interaction with the sample material, followed by a presentation of the different methods of sample preparation in dependence on the quality of the source material and the objective of the measurement. After a short description of the different available equipment types and their respective performance, the book provides in-depth information on the choice of the optimal measurement conditions and the processing of the measurement results. It covers instrument types for XRF; acquisition and evaluation of X-Ray spectra; analytical errors; analysis of homogeneous materials, powders, and liquids; special applications of XRF; process control and automation. An important resource for the analytical chemist, providing concrete guidelines and support for everyday analyses Focuses on daily laboratory work with commercially available devices Offers a unique compilation of knowledge and best practices from equipment manufacturers and users Covers the entire work process: sample preparation, the actual measurement, data processing, assessment of uncertainty, and accuracy of the obtained results X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Laboratory Applications appeals to analytical chemists, analytical laboratories, materials scientists, environmental chemists, chemical engineers, biotechnologists, and pharma engineers.

People have dreamed of machines, which would free them from unpleasant, dull, dirty and dangerous tasks and work for them as servants, for centuries if not millennia. Service robots seem to finally let these dreams come true. But where are all these robots that eventually serve us all day long, day for day? A few service robots have entered the market: domestic and professional cleaning robots, lawnmowers, milking robots, or entertainment robots. Some of these robots look more like toys or gadgets rather than real robots. But where is the rest? This is a question, which is asked not only by customers, but also by service providers, care organizations, politicians, and funding agencies. The answer is not very satisfying. Today's service robots have their problems operating in everyday environments. This is by far more challenging than operating an industrial robot behind a fence. There is a comprehensive list of technical and scientific problems, which still need to be solved. To advance the state of the art in service robotics towards robots, which are capable of operating in an everyday environment, was the major objective of the DESIRE project (Deutsche Service Robotik Initiative - Germany Service Robotics Initiative) funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under grant no. 01IME01A. This book offers a sample of the results achieved in DESIRE.

In this edited volume, leading experts of human rights measurement address the challenges scholarship of human rights face as well as explore approaches and means to overcoming them. The book seeks to further answer three specific and related questions. First, what do existing measures of human rights conditions tell us about the state of human rights? Are conditions improving or deteriorating? Second, how might scholars improve their measurement efforts and observe states' human rights practices given efforts by governments to hide human rights abuses and to make them essentially "unobservable"? Finally, what challenges might scholars encounter in the future as the conceptualization of human rights develops and changes, and as new methods and technologies (e.g., natural language processing, machine learning) are introduced into the study of human rights? This book will be of interest to students and scholars of human rights politics, power, development, and governance. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Journal of Human Rights.

Violations of the right to the physical integrity of the person, such as torture, cruel and unusual punishment, extra-judicial executions, disappearances, and political imprisonment have long been treated as an anomaly in democratically governed societies. In the current literature on human rights, violations of this right are by-and-large seen as the hallmark of autocratic and repressive regimes. This study takes on this dominant paradigm and shows not only that the common assumption that democratic countries effectively limit human rights abuse is simply wrong, but that its widely accepted theory of what drives human rights violations accounts for only a small part of these abuses at best. Haschke shows that despite the increasing numbers of countries that are democracies, and despite growing numbers of national signatories to international treaties prohibiting human rights abuse, the number of allegations has not declined. This book also demonstrates that the bulk of this abuse, which takes the form of torture and ill-treatment, extra-judicial killings, rape, and the like, is committed against marginal members of society, seeming to reveal environments that enable agents of the state to abuse those with whom they are in contact. This violence is found in democracies and dictatorships alike. This work will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, human rights and comparative politics.

Europe has paid a high price for asbestos, with over 100 000 related deaths. First in line in the fight to free buildings from asbestos contamination, workers in the construction sector could soon find a helping hand in the form of an AI-piloted robotic system. The constant and multifaceted evolution of society has left very few industries unchanged. For most sectors, this has meant moving towards increased automation. Most, but not all. One unyielding sector has largely stayed true to its old ways: the construction sector. For the past 200 years, the same repetitive, standardised and physically challenging construction tasks have been performed by workers with their own two hands. But this could change soon, as emerging voices - some of which decided to stand together under the Bots2ReC (Robots to Re-Construction) project - have been calling for the sector to embrace automation. The reasoning behind Bots2ReC is simple: some tasks are simply too hazardous for humans to perform, and machines could easily replace them. Besides the exposure, some processes or the materials handled in those processes generate health hazards in the form of dust, vibration, noise or toxic substances. It is precisely for these tasks that we could expect great benefits from - and also show the massive potential of - automation to achieve sustainable socio-ecological improvements. With its focus on asbestos, the EU H2020 Bots2ReC project is focusing on reducing the future health burden on workers. There is little doubt that the cost of the technology will easily be counterbalanced by its high social benefit and economic efficiency. This books presents the findings and results of the Bots2ReC project, and should be useful for Construction and Robotics Engineers, as well as graduate level students and researchers active in these fields.

Violations of the right to the physical integrity of the person, such as torture, cruel and unusual punishment, extra-judicial executions, disappearances, and political imprisonment have long been treated as an anomaly in democratically governed societies. In the current literature on human rights, violations of this right are by-and-large seen as the hallmark of autocratic and repressive regimes. This study takes on this dominant paradigm and shows not only that the common assumption that democratic countries effectively limit human rights abuse is simply wrong, but that its widely accepted theory of what drives human rights violations accounts for only a small part of these abuses at best. Haschke shows that despite the increasing numbers of countries that are democracies, and despite growing numbers of national signatories to international treaties prohibiting human rights abuse, the number of allegations has not declined. This book also demonstrates that the bulk of this abuse, which takes the form of torture and ill-treatment, extra-judicial killings, rape, and the like, is committed against marginal members of society, seeming to reveal environments that enable agents of the state to abuse those with whom they are in contact. This violence is found in democracies and dictatorships alike. This work will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, human rights and comparative politics.

People have dreamed of machines, which would free them from unpleasant, dull, dirty and dangerous tasks and work for them as servants, for centuries if not millennia. Service robots seem to finally let these dreams come true. But where are all these robots that eventually serve us all day long, day for day? A few service robots have entered the market: domestic and professional cleaning robots, lawnmowers, milking robots, or entertainment robots. Some of these robots look more like toys or gadgets rather than real robots. But where is the rest? This is a question, which is asked not only by customers, but also by service providers, care organizations, politicians, and funding agencies. The answer is not very satisfying. Today's service robots have their problems operating in everyday environments. This is by far more challenging than operating an industrial robot behind a fence. There is a comprehensive list of technical and scientific problems, which still need to be solved. To advance the state of the art in service robotics towards robots, which are capable of operating in an everyday environment, was the major objective of the DESIRE project (Deutsche Service Robotik Initiative - Germany Service Robotics Initiative) funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under grant no. 01IME01A. This book offers a sample of the results achieved in DESIRE.

Micro-X-ray fluorescence offers the possibility for a position- sensitive and non-destructive analysis that can be used for the analysis of non-homogeneous materials and layer systems. This analytical technique has shown a dynamic development in the last 15 years and is used for the analysis of small particles, inclusions, of elemental distributions for a wide range of different applications both in research and quality control. The first experiments were performed on synchrotrons but there is a requirement for laboratory instruments which offers a fast and immediate access for analytical results. The book discuss the main components of a µ-XRF instrument and the different measurement modes, it gives an overview about the various instruments types, considers the special requirements for quantification of non-homogeneous materials and presents a wide range of application for single point and multi-point analysis as well as for distribution analysis in one, two and three dimensions.

Sandra Haschke presents a strategy to enhance the Fe2O3 electrode performance by controlled nanostructuring of the catalyst surface, based on anodized aluminum oxide coated by means of atomic layer deposition. Furthermore, she investigates the influence of underlying conductive layers and post-deposition annealing on the electrode performance and the associated changes in morphology and chemical composition. Exploiting all effects combined delivers an increase in steady-state water oxidation throughput by a factor of 2.5 with respect to planar electrodes.

DC-potential changes, comprising fast fluctuations and slow shifts, rep resent objective concomitants of neuronal processes in the brain. They can be recorded not only in animals, but also in humans under various conditions. As far as slow brain potentials are concerned, exciting results have been detected with respect to their correlation to psychophysiolog ical events. Although a large amount of data has been accumulated by psychophysiologists, neurophysiologists, and other scientists involved, the neurophysiological basis of these field potentials is still not clear, and remains controversial. Scientists from European countries participated in an interdisciplinary symposium in the summer of 1990, July 2 to 6, at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena, which covered the field of slow brain potentials from the psychophysiological to the cellular level, including glial cells and microenvironment. From this conference the idea derived to present an up-to-date overview on important aspects of the field concerned. The Introductory Remarks are given to elucidate what is thought to be a "generator" of slow potentials of the brain. The large number of sources, implications of the "inverse problem" to analyze field potentials are taken into account."

Josef F. Haschke widmet sich in diesem Buch der offenbar krisenhaften Vertrauensbeziehung zwischen Burgern und Politikern, indem er untersucht, wie politische Vertrauens- bzw. Misstrauensurteile entstehen und wie sie strukturell zusammengesetzt sind. Hierzu integriert der Autor Erkenntnisse aus der Sozialpsychologie, der Soziologie, der Politikwissenschaft sowie der Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft in einem theoretischen Analysemodell. Ergebnis der empirischen Prufung im Rahmen einer qualitativen Interviewstudie ist eine Typologie politischer Vertrauensurteile: Sie zeigt die lebensweltliche Heterogenitat des Politikervertrauens entlang politischer Milieus und relativiert die These einer umfassenden politischen Vertrauenskrise.

Bereits seit vielen Jahren wird die RAntgenfluoreszenzenzanalyse eingesetzt fA1/4r die Untersuchung kompakter, homogener Proben wie Metallen oder GlAsern, aber auch fA1/4r die Analyse pulverfArmiger Proben wie etwa geologische Proben, Zement und Eisenlegierungen. In den letzten Jahren haben sich viele neue Applikationsgebiete fA1/4r diese Methode erAffnet. Im vorliegenden Buch erfolgt zunAchst eine kurze Darstellung der physikalischen ZusammenhAnge bei der Erzeugung und Wechselwirkung von RAntgenstrahlung in der zu untersuchenden Probe. Dann werden die verschiedenen Methoden der ProbenprAparation in AbhAngigkeit von der QualitAt des Ausgangsmaterials sowie von der analytischen Zielstellung vorgestellt. Nach einer kurzen Beschreibung der verschiedenen GerAtetypen, die in der RAntgenanalytik existieren, und deren LeistungsfAhigkeit wird auf die Auswahl optimaler Messbedingungen eingegangen sowie die Aufbereitung der Messdaten erlAutert, angefangen von deren Korrektur A1/4ber die Bestimmung der IntensitAten bis hin zum endgA1/4ltigen Analysenergebnis, auch unter BerA1/4cksichtigung, Vermeidung und Korrektur mAglicher auftretender Fehler. Nach einer kurzen Beschreibung der Gefahren einer SchAdigung durch RAntgenstrahlung und der Anforderungen zu denen Verhinderung werden die verschiedenen Applikationen der RAntgenfluoreszenz beschrieben.