Two main goals have been set for this book: on the one hand, a technology-specific combined evaluation of all the external environmental impacts of arable crop production (soil, water and air pollution, human health, biodiversity and landscape) at the level of individual farms, and on the other, improvement of the valuation methodology used for assessing impacts on biodiversity. Five methods of empirical investigation (qualitative valuation, deliberative monetary valuation, contingent valuation, choice experiment and impact-pathway analysis) served as a foundation for our research work. Valuations of the external impacts of the organic farm and the farm utilising intensive agricultural technologies may be indicative of the value of a future larger-scale (national, European) application of the methods here used. The results obtained may serve as a guideline for the refinement of agricultural policies, and subsidies in particular.

The present research paper may be an excellent guide for those readers who are interested in John Fowles' outstanding narrative techniques and unique view of life. His well-known book The Collector brings together two totally different world-views and unique elements in many ways. Thus, this book has the aim of providing a general analysis of the Fowlesian art, covering different themes and topics, as well as writing techniques. As most of the authors, Fowles also puts 'himself' in his books in different ways, like dreams, concerns and emotions, which also serve as a point of analysis of this research paper. The odd relationship between the author and the film version of the novel, as well as the filming process are also examined in the book. As Fowles' outstanding book enchants the readers from page to page, thus this book does the same by providing an overall analysis on the unique world created by John Fowles.

This monograph focuses on control methods that influence vehicle dynamics to assist the driver in enhancing passenger comfort, road holding, efficiency and safety of transport, etc., while maintaining the driver's ability to override that assistance. On individual-vehicle-component level the control problem is formulated and solved by a unified modelling and design method provided by the linear parameter varying (LPV) framework. The global behaviour desired is achieved by a judicious interplay between the individual components, guaranteed by an integrated control mechanism. The integrated control problem is also formalized and solved in the LPV framework. Most important among the ideas expounded in the book are: application of the LPV paradigm in the modelling and control design methodology; application of the robust LPV design as a unified framework for setting control tasks related to active driver assistance; formulation and solution proposals for the integrated vehicle control problem; proposal for a reconfigurable and fault-tolerant control architecture; formulation and solution proposals for the plug-and-play concept; detailed case studies. Robust Control Design for Active Vehicle Assistance Systems will be of interest to academic researchers and graduate students interested in automotive control and to control and mechanical engineers working in the automotive industry. Advances in Industrial Control aims to report and encourage the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.

This monograph focuses on control methods that influence vehicle dynamics to assist the driver in enhancing passenger comfort, road holding, efficiency and safety of transport, etc., while maintaining the driver's ability to override that assistance. On individual-vehicle-component level the control problem is formulated and solved by a unified modelling and design method provided by the linear parameter varying (LPV) framework. The global behaviour desired is achieved by a judicious interplay between the individual components, guaranteed by an integrated control mechanism. The integrated control problem is also formalized and solved in the LPV framework. Most important among the ideas expounded in the book are: application of the LPV paradigm in the modelling and control design methodology; application of the robust LPV design as a unified framework for setting control tasks related to active driver assistance; formulation and solution proposals for the integrated vehicle control problem; proposal for a reconfigurable and fault-tolerant control architecture; formulation and solution proposals for the plug-and-play concept; detailed case studies. Robust Control Design for Active Vehicle Assistance Systems will be of interest to academic researchers and graduate students interested in automotive control and to control and mechanical engineers working in the automotive industry. Advances in Industrial Control aims to report and encourage the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.

Knot theory is a classical area of low-dimensional topology, directly connected with the theory of three-manifolds and smooth four-manifold topology. In recent years, the subject has undergone transformative changes thanks to its connections with a number of other mathematical disciplines, including gauge theory; representation theory and categorification; contact geometry; and the theory of pseudo-holomorphic curves. Starting from the combinatorial point of view on knots using their grid diagrams, this book serves as an introduction to knot theory, specifically as it relates to some of the above developments. After a brief overview of the background material in the subject, the book gives a self-contained treatment of knot Floer homology from the point of view of grid diagrams. Applications include computations of the unknotting number and slice genus of torus knots (asked first in the 1960s and settled in the 1990s), and tools to study variants of knot theory in the presence of a contact structure. Additional topics are presented to prepare readers for further study in holomorphic methods in low-dimensional topology, especially Heegaard Floer homology. The book could serve as a textbook for an advanced undergraduate or part of a graduate course in knot theory. Standard background material is sketched in the text and the appendices.

Crowley und Gurdjieff im Caf de la Paix Zwei ber chtigte Magier und eine Lady im Gespr ch Ein semifiktiver Okkult- und Renaissance-Roman Paris, 18. Dezember 1924 Im Caf de la Paix trifft der ber chtigte Magier Aleister Crowley (Horror-Crowley) den ebenso ber chtigten Guru Georg Iwanowitsch Gurdjieff (Monsieur Bonbon), der dort seine Pariser Sprechstunden abh lt. Die beiden Okkultisten beginnen ein Gespr ch ber den Tarot (Tarock), das sieben Tage lang, bis zu Heiligabend 1924, fortgesetzt wird. Crowley begeistert sich f r die esoterische Bedeutung der 22 Tarot-Tr mpfe (Arkana). Gurdjieff h lt dem als Pendant seine 22 Idioten aus der Stufenleiter der Vernunft entgegen. Zur Veranschaulichung werden die wundersch nen Renaissance-Tarotkarten von Visconti-Sforza aus dem 15. Jahrhundert verwendet, welche von der K nstlerin Lady Frieda Harris (Lady Bulldogge) zum Leben erweckt werden. So entsteht im Caf de la Paix der Tarot der Idioten als Gemeinschaftswerk von Gurdjieff, Crowley und Harris: ein kryptisches Tarotspiel, das ausschlie lich der harmonischen Entwicklung des Menschen dient.