Born in 1940, Wolfgang Schulz experienced the war and post-war period in Austria from a child's perspective and recorded his memories in a series of vivid stories. Intense experiences of nature alternate with bizarre episodes from everyday life and special incidents that highlight the conditions of the war and post-war period for younger readers.

Media independence is vital for democracies, and so is the independence of the regulatory bodies governing it. The Independence of the Media and its Regulatory Agencies explores the complex relationship between media governance and independence of media regulatory authorities within Europe, which form part of the wider framework in which media’s independence may flourish or fade. Based on research in more than forty countries, the contributions analyse the independence of regulato...

The revised edition of this important reference volume presents an expanded overview of the analytical and numerical approaches employed when exploring and developing modern laser materials processing techniques. The book shows how general principles can be used to obtain insight into laser processes, whether derived from fundamental physical theory or from direct observation of experimental results. The book gives readers an understanding of the strengths and limitations of simple numeric...

This analysis of how multi-level networked governance has superseded the liberal system of interdependent states focuses on the role of law in mediating power and shows how lawyers have shaped the main features of capitalism, especially the transnational corporation. It covers the main institutions regulating the world economy, including the World Bank, the IMF, the WTO and a myriad of other bodies, and introduces the reader to key regulatory arenas: corporate governance, competition polic...

Spectroscopy is the principal tool used in astronomy to investigate the Universe beyond Earth's atmosphere. Through the analysis of electromagnetic radiation, spectrographs enable observers to assess the chemical composition, kinematics and local physical properties of distant stars, nebulae and galaxies. Thoroughly illustrated and clearly written, this handbook offers a practical and comprehensive guide to the different spectroscopic methods used in all branches of astronomy, at all wavel...

The aims of and motives for development cooperation have changed significantly in recent times. Besides pursuing short- and longer-term objectives in their own economic, foreign policy and other interests, donors usually have a recognisable and genuine interest in assisting countries in their processes of development.

The field of astrometry, the precise measurement of the positions, distances and motions of astronomical objects, has been revolutionized in recent years. As we enter the high-precision era, it will play an increasingly important role in all areas of astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. This edited text starts by looking at the opportunities and challenges facing astrometry in the twenty-first century, from space and ground. The new formalisms of relativity required to take advantage of ...

With growing concern about the conditions facing low wage workers and new challenges to traditional forms of labor market protection, this book offers a timely analysis of the purpose and effectiveness of minimum wages in different European countries. Building on original industry case studies, the analysis goes beyond general debates about the relative merits of labor market regulation to reveal important national differences in the functioning of minimum wage systems and their integratio...

A comprehensive review of the state of the art and advances in the field, while also outlining the future potential and development trends of optical imaging and optical metrology, an area of fast growth with numerous applications in nanotechnology and nanophysics. Written by the world's leading experts in the field, it fills the gap in the current literature by bridging the fields of optical imaging and metrology, and is the only up-to-date resource in terms of fundamental knowledge, basi...

In the past ten to twenty years the global political economy picture has dramatically changed with the emergence of the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and, notably, China (BRICs) as big players and competitors of the advanced economies in the West and Eastern Asia. The book comparatively analyses institutional change in the BRICs.This book examines the BRICs by analysing their institutional development, their main continuities and changes, and their differences. It provides a c...

This reference book provides a fully integrated novel approach to the development of high-power, single-transverse mode, edge-emitting diode lasers by addressing the complementary topics of device engineering, reliability engineering and device diagnostics in the same book, and thus closes the gap in the current book literature.Diode laser fundamentals are discussed, followed by an elaborate discussion of problem-oriented design guidelines and techniques, and by a systematic treatm...

Examining the changing nature of health care federalism within a competitive global context, Comparative Health Care Federalism provides a rich and nuanced account of the way in which the interplay of federal relationships impact health care within an array of systems. The editors have gathered together some of the leading international health policy scholars to provide detailed accounts of the dynamics of federal health policy-making within their respective jurisdictions. Complementing th...