This special volume contains the Proceedings of a Workshop on "Parallel Algorithms and Transputers for Optimization" which was held at the University of Siegen, on November 9, 1990. The purpose of the Workshop was to bring together those doing research on 2.lgorithms for parallel and distributed optimization and those representatives from industry and business who have an increasing demand for computing power and who may be the potential users of nonsequential approaches. In contrast to many other conferences, especially North-American, on parallel processing and supercomputers the main focus of the contributions and discussion was "problem oriented". This view reflects the following philosophy: How can the existing computing infrastructure (PC's, workstations, local area networks) of an institution or a company be used for parallel and/or distributed problem solution in optimization. This volume of the LECfURE NOTES ON ECONOMICS AND MA THEMA TICAL SYSTEMS contains most of the papers presented at the workshop, plus some additional invited papers covering other important topics related to this workshop. The papers appear here grouped according to four general areas. (1) Solution of optimization problems using massive parallel systems (data parallelism). The authors of these papers are: Lootsma; Gehne. (II) Solution of optimization problems using coarse-grained parallel approaches on multiprocessor systems (control parallelism). The authors of these papers are: Bierwirth, Mattfeld, and Stoppler; Schwartz; Boden, Gehne, and Grauer; and Taudes and Netousek.

These Proceedings report the scientific results of an International Workshop on Large-Scale Modelling and Interactive Decision Analysis organized Jointly by the System and Decision Sciences Program of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA, located in Laxenburg, Austria), and the Institute for Informatics of the Academy of Sciences of the GDR (located in Berlin, GDR). The Workshop was held at a historically well-known place - the Wartburg Castl- near Eisenach (GDR). (Here Martin Luther translated the Bible into German.) More than fifty scientists representing thirteen countries participated. This Workshop is one of a series of meetings organizE d by or In collaboration with IIASA about which two of the Lecture Notes In Economics and Mathematical Systems have already reported (Voi. 229 and Vol. 246). This time the aim of the meeting was to discuss methodological and practical problems associated with the modelling of large-scale systems and new approaches In interactive decision analysis based on advanced information processing systems.

These Proceedings report the scientific results of the Summer Study on Plural Rationality and Interactive Decision Processes orga nized jointly by the System and Decision Sciences Program of the Inter national Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (located in Laxenburg, Austria) and the Hungarian Committee for Applied Systems Analysis. The Study, which was held in Sopron over the period 16-26 Augus.t 1984, had a very special character. Sixty-eight researchers from sixteen coun tr es participated, most of them contributing papers or experiments. In addition many members of IIASA's Young Scientists Summer Program were present. All of these participants were heavily involved in dis cussions; discussions that were not limited to the allotted time but extended well into the evenings and nights. By design, the Study gathered specialists from many disciplines, from philosophy and cultur al anthropology, through decision theory, game theory and economics, to engineering and applied mathematics. A further element of diversity was the representation of several varieties of culture, from typically Western countries, through Middle and Eastern Europe, to the Far East."

Das sehr vielgestaltige Gebiet Multimedia wird aus der Sicht der Nutzung in Informationssystemen von Unternehmen und offentlichen Verwaltungen dargestellt. Dabei ist es Ziel des Buches, eine Kosten-Nutzen-Perspektive der multimedialen Informationstechnologien zu geben. Behandelt werden die Grundlagen, der Entwurf und die Entwicklung multimedialer Systeme. Der Einsatz und Nutzen multimedialer Anwendungen wird zur Prasentation des Firmenimage, erklarungsbedurftiger Produkte, elektronischer Kataloge fur Konsumguter, Investitionsguter, immaterieller Guter, wie Software- und Beratungsleistungen sowie der Computer-Telephon-Integration vorgestellt.