This is the third in a series of World Bank studies that examines patterns and trends in corruption in business-government interactions in the transition countries of Europe and Central Asia. The message of this series is positive: Corruption has fallen since 2000 in many transition countries in the region. Firms are paying bribes less frequently and in smaller amounts (as a share of reveneues) than in the past, and they see corruption as less of a problem for business. Reforms have accelerated in the past decade. Many countries are cutting red tape, simplifying taxes, and strengthening...

This book constitutes the refereed post-proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems, OPODIS 2005, held in Pisa, Italy in December 2005. The volume presents 30 revised full papers and abstracts of 2 invited talks. The papers are organized in topical sections on nonblocking synchronization, fault-tolerant broadcast and consensus, self-stabilizing systems, peer-to-peer systems and collaborative environments, sensor networks and mobile computing, security and verification, real-time systems, and peer-to-peer systems.

This volume of the new series, "Medical Radiology" addresses the important topic of "Innovations in Diagnostic Radiology." It presents examples of current work of interest not only to the radiological community but to physicians in other medical disciplines and to scientists in general. The impact of radiology on diagnostic medicine and patient management has been obvious from the beginning of our specialty. However, the evolution of the field is expanding at an astounding rate. During the professional lifetime of one generation of radiologists alone, numerous technologies and procedures have...

Hands-on, practical guide helping academics to reinvigorate their seminar teaching. Ideal for new higher education staff seeking guidance as well as more experienced academics looking for tips and ideas. Covers all elements of seminar-based instruction including encouraging participation, handling sensitive topics and incorporating new technology.