Charlie Teezak is a temporary worker for the Townson agency. One day during lunch, in the drab world of paper and boxes, Charlie incites a revolt amongst the temporary employees against the corporate world. The bloodless coup a failure, he leaves the stability of a paycheck for a chance at reaching his dream. Keven Macovoe unwittingly follows his friend Charlie and is transported into the land of Golden Opportunity. The corporate runaways must face the ogres of economic reality in a struggle against corporate malaise. Will Charlie and Keven fulfill their dreams of love and wealth or will they be a part of the corporate food chain?

In recent years, micro- and nanotechnologies became key technologies, having a significant effect on the development of new products and production technologies, as well as on novel medical diagnosis and treatment methods. Moreover, due to their enormous potential for new applications, micro- and nanotechnologies, in future, will increasingly affect our every days life, with an impact, comparable to that of the industrial revolution in the 19th century, or the developments in microelectronics in the 20th century.

Although, micro- and nanotechnologies, in general, are regarded as two independent disciplines, there is obviously an intense interaction between these two fascinating technologies. The term "MicroNano Integration," in this context, addresses the enormous potential of synergy effects, provided by the combination and mutual integration of micro- and nanotechnological elements.

In order to discuss the integration aspects of micro- and nanotechnologies, the "International Forum on MicroNano Integration," a conference, held in Potsdam, Germany on December 3-4, 2003 brought together researchers from both communities - from industries as well as from scientific institutions. The contributions to this book reflect the discussions during the conference.

Seki was a Japanese mathematician in the seventeenth century known for his outstanding achievements, including the elimination theory of systems of algebraic equations, which preceded the works of Etienne Bezout and Leonhard Euler by 80 years. Seki was a contemporary of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, although there was apparently no direct interaction between them.

The Mathematical Society of Japan andthe History of Mathematics Society of Japan hosted the International Conference on History of Mathematics in Commemoration of the 300th Posthumous Anniversary of Seki in 2008. This book is the official record of the conference and includes supplements of collated texts of Seki's original writings with notes in English on these texts.

Hikosaburo Komatsu (Professor emeritus, The University of Tokyo), one of the editors, is known for partial differential equations and hyperfunction theory, and for his study on the history of Japanese mathematics. He served as the President of the International Congress of Mathematicians Kyoto 1990."

This volume contains nine essays dealing with historical issues of mathematics. The topics covered span three different approaches to the history of mathematics that may be considered both representative and vital tothe field. The first section, Images of Mathematics, addresses the historiographical and philosophical issues involved in determining the meaning of mathematical history. The second section, Differential Geometry and Analysis, traces the convoluted development of the ideas of differential geometry and analysis. The third section, Research Communities and International Collaboration, discusses the structure and interaction of mathematical communities through studies of the social fabric of the mathematical communities of the U.S. and China.
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The contributors and their methods are diverse. Their papers deal with subjects such as anamorphic art, the geometry of Durer, musical works of Mozart and Beethoven, the history of negative numbers, the development of mathematical notation, and efforts to bring mathematics to bear on problems in commerce and engineering. All papers have English summaries.
This book provides historians of mathematics or mathematicians with an interest in history with an overview of the methods, concerns, and results of research in the history of mathematics as it stands today.

Migration crisis, food crisis, economic crisis the most alarming tendencies in our contemporary world are related to the transnational social question. But what role does transnational law play in this context: Does it exacerbate the asymmetries by shielding the rich and exploiting the poor? Or is the emerging regime of international social human rights a promising candidate for countering the crisis of world society?This book scrutinises both the potentials and the boundaries of de-coupling the notion of "social rights" from the nation-state and of transferring it to the transnational sphere. By drawing on a critical theory of transnational law, it provides in-depth analyses of the different sites where the struggle for social rights is at stake, such as the emerging transnational food regime, the ILO, international environmental law and the accountability of private actors. It reveals enforcement structures, discusses judicial doctrine and relates these aspects to the social and political struggles which surround the transnationalisation of social rights.

This volume offers contributions reflecting a selection of the lectures presented at the international conference BAIL 2014, which was held from 15th to 19th September 2014 at the Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. These are devoted to the theoretical and/or numerical analysis of problems involving boundary and interior layers and methods for solving these problems numerically. The authors are both mathematicians (pure and applied) and engineers, and bring together a large number of interesting ideas. The wide variety of topics treated in the contributions provides an excellent overview of current research into the theory and numerical solution of problems involving boundary and interior layers.

One of the key concerns in modern control theory is the design of steering strategies. The implementation of such strategies is done by a regulator. Presented here is a self-contained introduction to the mathematical background of this type of regulator design. The topics selected address the matter of greatest interest to the control community, at present, namely, when the design objective is the reduction of the influence of exogeneous disturbances upon the output of the system. In a first scenario the disturbance signal is regarded as a deterministic time series with known dynamics but unknown parameters. The design objective is then the asymptotic disturbance compensation. In a second scenario, no information about the disturbance signal is available apart from some bounds. Here, in an H-approach, control strategies are worked out which will prove efficient for all such disturbances. The intention of this book is to present ideas and methods on such a level that the beginning graduate student will be able to follow current research. New results are included, especially for nonlinear control systems, and as a service to the reader, an extensive appendix presents topics from linear algebra, invariant manifolds and calculus of variations, information which is hardly to be found in standard textbooks. Contents: Introduction * The problem of output regulation * Introduction * Problem statement * Output regulation via full information * Output regulation via full error feedback * A particular case * Well-posedness and robustness * The construction of a robust regulator * Disturbance attenuation via H-methods * Introduction * Problem statement * A characterization of the L2-gain of a linear system * Disturbance attenuation via full information * Disturbance attenuation via measured feedback * Full information regulators * Problem statement * Time-dependent control strategies * Examples * Time-independent control strategies * The local case * Nonlinear observers * Problem statement * Time-dependent observers * Error feedback regulators * Examples * Nonlinear H-techniques * Introduction * Construction of the saddle-point * The local scenario * Disturbance attenuation via linearization * Matrix equations * Linear matrix equations * Algebraic Riccati equations * Invariant manifolds * Existence theorem * Outflowing manifolds * Asymptotic phase * Convergence for T (1) * A special case * Dichotomies and Lyapunov functions * Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman-Isaacs equation * Introduction * Method of characteristics * The equation of Isaacs * The Hamiltonian version of Isaacs' equation * Bibliography

Mediated messages flood our daily lives, through virtually endless choices of media channels, genres, and content. However, selectivity determines what media messages we attend to and focus on. The present book examines the factors that influence this selectivity. Seminal books on selective media exposure were published in 1960 by Klapper and in 1985 by Zillmann and Bryant. But an integrated update on this research field is much needed, as rigorous selective exposure research has flourished in the new millennium. In the contexts of political communication, health communication, Internet use, entertainment consumption, and electronic games, the crucial question of how individuals choose what content they consume has garnered much attention. The present book integrates theories and empirical evidence from these domains and discusses the related research methodologies. In light of the ever-increasing abundance of media channels and messages, selective exposure has become more important than ever for media impacts. This monograph provides a comprehensive review of the research on selective exposure to media messages, which is at the heart of communication science and media effects. It is required reading for media scholars and researchers, and promises to influence and inspire future research.

Concerned citizens across the globe fear that democratic institutions are failing them. Citizens feel shut out of politics and worry that politicians are no longer responsive to their interests. In Hope for Democracy, John Gastil and Katherine R. Knobloch introduce new tools for tamping down hyper-partisanship and placing citizens at the heart of the democratic process. They showcase the Citizens' Initiative Review, which convenes a demographically-balanced random sample of citizens to study statewide ballot measures. Citizen panelists interrogate advocates, opponents, and experts, then write an analysis that distills their findings for voters. Gastil and Knobloch reveal how this process has helped voters better understand the policy issues placed on their ballots. Placed in the larger context of deliberative democratic reforms, Hope for Democracy shows how citizens and public officials can work together to bring more rationality and empathy into modern politics.

This book will fill a void in the literature around research and program design and the impact of such experiences on learning outcomes within urban agricultural contexts. In particular, this book will cover topics such as STEM integration, science learning, student engagement, learning gardens and curriculum design.

This book will fill a void in the literature around research and program design and the impact of such experiences on learning outcomes within urban agricultural contexts. In particular, this book will cover topics such as STEM integration, science learning, student engagement, learning gardens and curriculum design.

This volume offers contributions reflecting a selection of the lectures presented at the international conference BAIL 2014, which was held from 15th to 19th September 2014 at the Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic. These are devoted to the theoretical and/or numerical analysis of problems involving boundary and interior layers and methods for solving these problems numerically. The authors are both mathematicians (pure and applied) and engineers, and bring together a large number of interesting ideas. The wide variety of topics treated in the contributions provides an excellent overview of current research into the theory and numerical solution of problems involving boundary and interior layers.

Seki was a Japanese mathematician in the seventeenth century known for his outstanding achievements, including the elimination theory of systems of algebraic equations, which preceded the works of Etienne Bezout and Leonhard Euler by 80 years. Seki was a contemporary of Isaac Newton and Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, although there was apparently no direct interaction between them. The Mathematical Society of Japan and the History of Mathematics Society of Japan hosted the International Conference on History of Mathematics in Commemoration of the 300th Posthumous Anniversary of Seki in 2008. This book is the official record of the conference and includes supplements of collated texts of Seki's original writings with notes in English on these texts. Hikosaburo Komatsu (Professor emeritus, The University of Tokyo), one of the editors, is known for partial differential equations and hyperfunction theory, and for his study on the history of Japanese mathematics. He served as the President of the International Congress of Mathematicians Kyoto 1990.

This book presents a survey on recent attempts to treat classical regulator design problems in case of an uncertain dynamics. It is shown that source of the uncertainty can be twofold:

(i) The system is under the influence of an exogenous disturbance about which one has only incomplete - or none - information.

(ii) A portion of the dynamical law is unspecified - due to imperfect modeling.

Both cases are described by the state space model in a unified way

"Disturbance Attenuation for Uncertain Control Systems" presents a variety of approaches to the design problem in the presence of a (partly) unknown disturbance signal. There is a clear philosophy underlying each approach which can be characterized by either one of the following terms: Adaptive Control, Worst Case Design, Dissipation Inequalities.

In recent years, micro- and nanotechnologies became key technologies, having a significant effect on the development of new products and production technologies, as well as on novel medical diagnosis and treatment methods. Moreover, due to their enormous potential for new applications, micro- and nanotechnologies, in future, will increasingly affect our every days life, with an impact, comparable to that of the industrial revolution in the 19th century, or the developments in microelectronics in the 20th century.

Although, micro- and nanotechnologies, in general, are regarded as two independent disciplines, there is obviously an intense interaction between these two fascinating technologies. The term "MicroNano Integration," in this context, addresses the enormous potential of synergy effects, provided by the combination and mutual integration of micro- and nanotechnological elements.

In order to discuss the integration aspects of micro- and nanotechnologies, the "International Forum on MicroNano Integration," a conference, held in Potsdam, Germany on December 3-4, 2003 brought together researchers from both communities - from industries as well as from scientific institutions. The contributions to this book reflect the discussions during the conference.

One of the key concerns in modern control theory is the design of steering strategies. The implementation of such strategies is done by a regulator. Presented here is a self-contained introduction to the mathematical background of this type of regulator design. The topics selected address the matter of greatest interest to the control community, at present, namely, when the design objective is the reduction of the influence of exogeneous disturbances upon the output of the system. In a first scenario the disturbance signal is regarded as a deterministic time series with known dynamics but unknown parameters. The design objective is then the asymptotic disturbance compensation. In a second scenario, no information about the disturbance signal is available apart from some bounds. Here, in an H-approach, control strategies are worked out which will prove efficient for all such disturbances. The intention of this book is to present ideas and methods on such a level that the beginning graduate student will be able to follow current research. New results are included, especially for nonlinear control systems, and as a service to the reader, an extensive appendix presents topics from linear algebra, invariant manifolds and calculus of variations, information which is hardly to be found in standard textbooks. Contents: Introduction * The problem of output regulation * Introduction * Problem statement * Output regulation via full information * Output regulation via full error feedback * A particular case * Well-posedness and robustness * The construction of a robust regulator * Disturbance attenuation via H-methods * Introduction * Problem statement * A characterization of the L2-gain of a linear system * Disturbance attenuation via full information * Disturbance attenuation via measured feedback * Full information regulators * Problem statement * Time-dependent control strategies * Examples * Time-independent control strategies * The local case * Nonlinear observers * Problem statement * Time-dependent observers * Error feedback regulators * Examples * Nonlinear H-techniques * Introduction * Construction of the saddle-point * The local scenario * Disturbance attenuation via linearization * Matrix equations * Linear matrix equations * Algebraic Riccati equations * Invariant manifolds * Existence theorem * Outflowing manifolds * Asymptotic phase * Convergence for T (1) * A special case * Dichotomies and Lyapunov functions * Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman-Isaacs equation * Introduction * Method of characteristics * The equation of Isaacs * The Hamiltonian version of Isaacs' equation * Bibliography

In 1989, the American Institute of Steel Construction published the ninth edition of the Manual of Steel Construction which contains the "Specification for Structural Steel Buildings-Allowable Stress Design (ASD) and Plastic De sign." This current specification is completely revised in format and partly in content compared to the last one, which was published in 1978. In addition to the new specification, the ninth edition of the Manual contains completely new and revised design aids. The second edition of this book is geared to the efficient use of the afore mentioned manual. To that effect, all of the formulas, tables, and explanatory material are specifically referenced to the appropriate parts of the AISCM. Ta bles and figures from the Manual, as well as some material from the Standard Specifications for Highway Bridges, published by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and from the Design of Welded Structures, published by the James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foun dation, have been reproduced here with the permission of these organizations for the convenience of the reader. The revisions which led to the second edition of this book were performed by the first two authors, who are both experienced educators and practitioners.

1. Einleitung.- 2. Alexander von Humboldts Beitrage zum Erdmagnetismus.- 3. Anfange der erdmagnetischen Forschungen in Goettingen: 1832-1836.- 4. Augustus Frederick, Herzog von Sussex.- 5. Zur Entstehungsgeschichte von Humboldts Brief an den Herzog von Sussex.- 6. Handschriftliche Abschriften des Briefes Humboldts an den Herzog von Sussex.- 7. Inhalte von Humboldts Brief an den Herzog von Sussex.- 8. Publikationen von Humboldts Brief an den Herzog von Sussex vom 23. April 1836.- 9. Christies und Airys Antwortschreiben vom 9. Juni 1836.- 10. Auswirkungen von Humboldts Brief.- 11. Weiterer Brief von Alexander von Humboldt an den Herzog von Sussex vom 29. Mai 1838.- 12. Weitere Briefe Alexander von Humboldts zur Foerderung der erdmagnetischen Forschung.- 13. Urteile uber die Wirkung von Humboldts Brief an den Herzog von Sussex.- 14. Ausblick: Nationale anstelle von internationaler Forschung

Die im Cotta-Archiv des Deutschen Literaturarchivs Marbach archivierte Korrespondenz Alexander von Humboldts mit Johann Friedrich von Cotta und nach 1832 mit dessen Sohn Johann Georg dokumentiert die uber ein halbes Jahrhundert (1804-1859) wahrende Verbindung des beruhmten preussischen Weltburgers zu dem suddeutschen Verlagshaus. Der Hauptinhalt der fast 400 bisher meist unpublizierten Briefe betrifft naturgemass Humboldts Publikationen bei Cotta, von seinem amerikanischen Reisewerk bis zum erfolgreichen Alterswerk, dem "Kosmos." Der lange Zeitraum der Korrespondenz umspannte aber auch eine politisch brisante Zeit. Humboldts Kommentare zum Zeitgeschehen sind gewissermassen ein Abriss der preussischen Geschichte der ersten Halfte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Daneben berichtet er uber wissenschaftliche Themen, die ihn gerade beschaftigten, und kommentiert Fachliteratur. In seinen Schilderungen des Alltags (Reisen, Tatigkeit am Hof des preussischen Konigs, nachtliches Arbeiten an den Manuskripten, Krankheiten und Todesfalle, chronischer Geldmangel, Unterstutzung fur andere usw.) begegnet dem Leser der beruhmte Wissenschaftler auch ganz privat. Vor allem zum jungeren Cotta hatte sich eine von Vertrauen und Offenheit gepragte Freundschaft entwickelt, so dass Humboldt ihm 1851 versicherte, "dass die freundschaftlichen Verhaltnisse, die mit Ihrem vortreflichen ... Herrn Vater begannen, von dem wurdigen Sohne auf das Zarteste unterhalten, viel, sehr viel zu der Erheiterung meines nicht ganz frohen Alters beitragen.""

Mit der Veroffentlichung der "Naturwissenschaftlichen, medizinischen und technischen Schriften" als Reihe VIII der Akademie-Ausgabe wird erstmals ein Teil des Leibniz'schen Schaffens zuganglich, der bisher nur selten Gegenstand editorischer Bemuhungen und systematischer Forschung war. Dessen ungeachtet hat er als Bindeglied zwischen Mathematik und Philosophie herausragende Bedeutung fur das Verstandnis des Leibniz'schen Denkens. Die neue Reihe wird 9 Bande umfassen und in chronologisch-systematischer Folge Leibniz Beitrage u.a. zu Astronomie, Botanik, Zoologie, Alchimie, Mineralogie und Geowissenschaften enthalten. Einen prominenten Platz nehmen die einzelnen physikalischen Disziplinen, insbesondere die Mechanik, ein. Bereits in den ersten Banden werden Uberlegungen prasentiert, die spater zur Formulierung des beruhmten Satzes uber die Erhaltung der lebendigen Kraft fuhren. Aber auch Nautik, Pneumatik und Hydrodynamik sind bevorzugte Forschungsfelder. Mit den naturwissenschaftlichen Texten fast umfangsgleich sind die Schriften zur Medizin und Pharmazie. Zum Inhalt der Reihe VIII gehoren daruber hinaus Militaria und Technica. Ein Novum der Reihe besteht darin, dass samtliche Texte auch in einer Internetprasentation zur Verfugung gestellt werden, die es u.a. ermoglicht, die zugehorigen Handschriften als digitalisierte Bilder aufzurufen und mit den Transkriptionen zu vergleichen. Die ersten beiden Bande werden die Schriften aus der Zeit bis zum Ende von Leibniz' Parisaufenthalt 1676 enthalten."

Hans Lamm (1913-1985), von 1970 bis zu seinem Tod Prasident der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde in Munchen, hatte seine Geburtsstadt im Jahr 1938 verlassen mussen. Schon 1945 kam er wieder nach Deutschland, ging aber nach seinem Einsatz als Dolmetscher bei den Nurnberger Prozessen und am Wiedergutmachungsgerichtshof zunachst wieder in die USA. Erst 1955 liess er sich dauerhaft in Deutschland nieder. Er war zunachst Kulturdezernent beim Zentralrat der Juden in Dusseldorf und kehrte 1961 in seine Heimatstadt Munchen zuruck, wo er als Abteilungsleiter der Volkshochschule arbeitete. Lamms Grunde fur die Ruckkehr nach Deutschland und seine Rolle in der deutschen Nachkriegsgesellschaft stehen im Mittelpunkt der Studie."

Alexander von Humboldt und Carl Ritter gelten als Begrunder der modernen Geographie. Ihre uberlieferte Korrespondenz 179 zum uberwiegenden Teil hier erstmals publizierte Briefe aus den Jahren 1828 bis 1859 erlaubt die Rekonstruktion einer vielfaltigen Arbeitsbeziehung und eroffnet eine neue Sicht auf Themenfelder und wissenschaftliche Praxis der Berliner Geographie in der ersten Halfte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Humboldt und Ritter agierten an der Schnittstelle zwischen akademischer Forschung, staatlicher Wissenschaftspolitik und interessierter Offentlichkeit. Der wissenschaftliche Austausch zwischen den beiden Gelehrten reicht von geohistorischen Fragen (globale Wanderungsbewegungen von Naturprodukten, Volkern und Ideen) uber aktuelle Reiseberichte (Zentralafrika, Hochasien, Mittelamerika) bis hin zu Problemen der Wissenschaftsorganisation. Gemeinsam setzten sich Humboldt und Ritter fur die Forderung Berlins als Standort geographischer Forschung ein. Mit diesem Ziel gelang es ihnen unter anderem, eine Unterstutzung staatlicher Stellen fur die preussisch-britischen Expeditionsprojekte Heinrich Barths und der Bruder Schlagintweit zu sichern. Humboldt nutzte seine Korrespondenz mit Ritter nicht zuletzt, um der unter der Agide des jungeren Kollegen stehenden Gesellschaft fur Erdkunde zu Berlin fachliche und thematische Impulse zu geben. Die zahlreichen Mitteilungen, die Humboldt seinen Briefwechseln mit Forschern in Europa, Asien und Ubersee entnahm, bieten einen einzigartigen Einblick in das weltweite Beziehungsgeflecht der wissenschaftlichen Geographie um 1850."

The archaeology and architecture of Afghanistan have never been the subject of their own book before; through concise description and discussion Edgar Knobloch here reveals their importance both as works of art, and as symbols of the country's past, geography and character. Tracing the historical and cultural development of artistic and architectural styles, this book comprehensively examines the major sites, with detailed description of their buildings and decoration. The extent to which these structures were influences by Afghanistan's long history of war and invasion - from Alexander the Great to the present day - is discussed against a clear and informative outline of the country's past and present. Illustrated with evocative photographs of both monuments and daily life, the book describes in detail the artistic movements and achievements of Afghanistan, while constantly reminding the reader that these images, taken by the author in 1978, show a cultural heritage which may no longer exist.