Finite Fields are fundamental structures of Discrete Mathematics. They serve as basic data structures in pure disciplines like Finite Geometries and Combinatorics, and also have aroused much interest in applied disciplines like Coding Theory and Cryptography. A look at the topics of the proceed ings volume of the Third International Conference on Finite Fields and Their Applications (Glasgow, 1995) (see 18]), or at the list of references in I. E. Shparlinski's book 47] (a recent extensive survey on the Theory of Finite Fields with particular emphasis on computational aspects), shows that...

Finite Fields are fundamental structures of Discrete Mathematics. They serve as basic data structures in pure disciplines like Finite Geometries and Combinatorics, and also have aroused much interest in applied disciplines like Coding Theory and Cryptography. A look at the topics of the proceed- ings volume of the Third International Conference on Finite Fields and Their Applications (Glasgow, 1995) (see 18]), or at the list of references in I. E. Shparlinski's book 47] (a recent extensive survey on the Theory of Finite Fields with particular emphasis on computational aspects), shows that...