The story of European-Russian collaboration in space is little known and its importance all too often understated. Because France was the principal interlocutor between these nations, such cooperation did not receive the attention it deserved in English-language literature. This book rectifies that history, showing how Russia and Europe forged a successful partnership that has continued to the present day. Space writer Brian Harvey provides an in-depth picture of how this European-Russian relationship evolved and what factors—scientific, political and industrial—propelled it over the decades. The history begins in the cold war period with the first collaborative ventures between the Soviet Union and European countries, primarily France, followed later by Germany and other European countries. Next, the chapters turn to the missions when European astronauts flew to Russian space stations, the Soyuz rocket made a new home in European territory in the South American jungle and science missions were flown to study deep space. Their climax is the joint mission to explore Mars, called ExoMars, which has already sent a mission to Mars. Through this close examination of these European-Russian efforts, readers will appreciate an altogether new perspective on the history of space exploration, no longer defined by competition, but rather by collaboration and cooperation.

The financial crisis is destroying wealth but is also a remarkable opportunity to uncover the ways by which debt can be used to regulate the economic system. This book uses four case studies of cooperatives to give an in-depth analysis on how they have braved the crisis and continued to generate wealth.

The "European Yearbook" has expanded over the years in keeping with the role played by European institutions compared with national ones. It is an indispensable work of reference for anyone dealing with these institutions, which have become so numerous and varied that no-one can possibly memorise all their acronyms or functions. The "European Yearbook" provides aids for finding one's way through the labyrinth of these organisations which coordinate a variety of activities in over 20 countries. One of the aids is an 'organisation chart' at the beginning of the documentary section, giving a clear picture of the general situation. A perusal of the many contributions in the volume organisation by organisation, shows the full diversity of the activities which Europe is gradually taking over from national governments, with their consent and financial support. Written in both of the Council of Europe's official languages, English and French, the "European Yearbook" also contains a general index by subject and name which constitutes a very valuable list of articles and provides direct access to the work's subject matter, regardless of the particular organisation concerned, offering a kind of cross-section of the activities of European organisations.

This book presents the results of an assessment of the state of robotics in Japan, South Korea, Western Europe and Australia and a comparison of robotics R&D programs in these countries with those in the United States. The comparisons include areas like robotic vehicles, space robotics, service robots, humanoid robots, networked robots, and robots for biological and medical applications, and based on criteria such as quality, scope, funding and commercialization. This important study identifies a number of areas where the traditional lead of the United States is being overtaken by developments in other countries./a