Scientific Philosophy: Origins and Development is the first Yearbook of the Vienna Circle Institute, which was founded in October 1991. The book contains original contributions to an international symposium which was the first public event to be organised by the Institute: Vienna--Berlin--Prague: The Rise of Scientific Philosophy: The Centenaries of Rudolf Carnap, Hans Reichenbach and Edgar Zilsel.'
The first section of the book - Scientific Philosophy - Origins and Developments' reveals the extent of scientific communication in the inter-War years between these great...

Cosmic electrodynamics is the specific branch of plasma physics which studies electromagnetic phenomena -- mostly the role of electromagnetic forces in dynamics of highly-conducting compressible medium in the solar interior and atmosphere, solar wind, in the Earth's magnetosphere and magnetospheres of other planets as well as pulsars and other astrophysical objects. This textbook is written to be used at several different levels. It is aimed primarily at beginning graduate students who are assumed to have a knowledge of basic physics. Starting from the language of plasma physics, from...

In this volume we will present some applications of special functions in computer science. This largely consists of adaptations of articles that have appeared in the literature . Here they are presented in a format made accessible for the non-expert by providing some context. The material on group representations and Young tableaux is introductory in nature. However, the algebraic approach of Chapter 2 is original to the authors and has not appeared previously . Similarly, the material and approach based on Appell states, so formulated, is presented here for the first time . As in all volumes...

Motion-based recognition deals with the recognition of an object and/or its motion, based on motion in a series of images. In this approach, a sequence containing a large number of frames is used to extract motion information. The advantage is that a longer sequence leads to recognition of higher level motions, like walking or running, which consist of a complex and coordinated series of events. Unlike much previous research in motion, this approach does not require explicit reconstruction of shape from the images prior to recognition.
This book provides the state-of-the-art in this...

Multi-Ethnic Metropolis is based on international comparative research on ethnic segre- gation patterns and policy reactions at local and national level. The objective was to achieve a broader, European perspective. For the acquisition of the information on which this book is based, we relied heavily on our colleagues abroad and their network of relations, since a great deal of factual data and information on the policies pursued is usually not available in a freely accessible form and can only be obtained through persons who know their way around. Eventually, in- formation was provided by...

It is universally recognised that Venice and its lagoon are of such value that they constitute an international public good that must be preserved for humanity as a whole. But such an ambitious task requires a diversified, sustainable set of economic activities, mostly focused on the production of services and non-material goods. This complex issue is analyzed using different approaches, with a discussion of the case of Venice as an example of some of the most relevant problems concerning the relation between the environment and development in the contemporary world: the trade-off between...

Noncommutative differential geometry is a new approach to classical geometry. It was originally used by Fields Medalist A. Connes in the theory of foliations, where it led to striking extensions of Atiyah-Singer index theory. It also may be applicable to hitherto unsolved geometric phenomena and physical experiments.
However, noncommutative differential geometry was not well understood even among mathematicians. Therefore, an international symposium on commutative differential geometry and its applications to physics was held in Japan, in July 1999. Topics covered included: deformation...

The broadband wireless communications field is growing at an explosive rate, stimulated by a host of important emerging applications ranging from 3G, 4G and wireless LAN. Wideband CDMA and CDMA2000 will be used for 3G. OFDM+CDMA might be a good choice for 4G, CDMA overlay will possibly be used for new-generation broadband wireless LAN. For system planners and designers, the projections of rapidly escalating demand for such wireless services present major challenges and meeting these challenges will require sustained technical innovation on many fronts. The text of this book has been developed...

The History of Astronomy in the Orient has been vigorously researched in the last several decades. We may recall here the publications of Joseph Needham's monumental volumes on Science and Civilisation in China, one volume of which is devoted to Chinese Astron omy, S. Nakayama's A History of Japanese Astronomy (Tokyo, 1969), and the School of Edward Kennedy's writings on Islamic Astronomy,1 which particularly culminated in the studies of the Critique of Ptolemaic Astronomy by the Islamic astronomers belong ing to Na lruddin rusI's School, established at Maragha Observatory during the l3-l4th...

We have arrived at the third volume of this useful series on Organiza tions and Strategies in Astronomy (OSA). It contains seventeen articles on a wide range of topics, from virtual observatories, astronomy organizations in various communities (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, South Africa), and the role of ground stations in space observatories, to quality assurance in UK higher education. In this foreword, I shall give some views on ideas expressed in this volume, in particular from my personal experience when I was project officer for the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). Let me first...