The terms groupware and CSCW (Computer-Supported Cooperative Work) have received significant attention in computer science and related disciplines for quite some time now. This book has two main objectives: first, to outline the meaning of both terms, and second, to point out both the numerous opportunities for users of CSCW systems and the risks of applying them. The book introduces in detail an interdisciplinary application area of distributed systems, namely the computer support of individuals trying to solve a problem in cooperation with each other but not necessarily having identical work places or working times. CSCW can be viewed as a synergism between the areas of distributed systems and (multimedia) communications on the one hand and those of information science and socio-organizational theory on the other hand. Thus, the book is addressed to students of all these disciplines, as well as to users and developers of systems with group communication and cooperation as top priorities.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 21-24 April 2008

The Bubble and Beyond, describes how the fabulous expansive forces of industrial capitalism have been subverted by a predatory finance capitalism. What the FED hailed as The Great Moderation has left the middle class to take on a lifetime of bank debt to obtain access to housing, education to get a job, an auto to drive to it, and simply to maintain living standards that wages and salaries no longer support. What has derailed the economy is the take-over of academic economics and politics by the financial sector in order to censor criticism and misrepresent statistics so as to give the impression that the economy can borrow its way out of debt. The reality is that income used to pay down today s debt overhead is not available to be spent on goods and services. The result is debt deflation, followed by austerity and the the "fire sale" or decay of infrastructure at the national and local levels. The most controversial claim by Prof. Hudson is that Debts that can t be paid, won t be. The question he poses is whether their non-payment will lead to worldwide foreclosures including sell-offs of the public domain by debt-strapped local and national governments or whether they will be written down in line with the ability to pay. This is the economic issue that will dominate politics over the next generation. Illustrated with charts and exhibits that make it plain where money goes versus where it should go.

Knowledge about the outer heliosphere and the interstellar medium, which were long treated as two separate fields, has improved dramatically over the past 25 years as a consequence of recent developments: The discovery of interstellar pickup ions and neutral helium inside the heliosphere, the determination of the interstellar hydrogen distribution in the heliosphere obtained using backscattered solar Lyman-alpha radiation, the prediction and subsequent detection of the hydrogen wall just outside of the heliopause, the development of detailed global models for the interaction of solar wind plasma with the interstellar medium, and most recently, direct in-situ plasma and field measurements inside of the heliosheath. At the same time, our understanding of the nearby galactic environment, including the composition and dynamics of the warm gas clouds and hot gas in the local bubble, has benefited greatly from absorption-line spectroscopy using nearby stars as background sources and dynamic modeling. The present volume provides a synopsis of these developments organised into seven sections: Dominant physical processes in the termination shock and heliosheath, three-dimensional shape and structure of the dynamic heliosphere, relation of the plasmas and dust inside and outside of the heliosphere, origin and properties of the very local interstellar medium, energy and pressure equilibria in the local bubble, physical processes in the multiphase interstellar medium inside of the local bubble, and the roles that magnetic fields play in the outer heliosphere and the local bubble. The last theme is probably the most basic of all as magnetic fields play important roles in most of the phenomena discussed here. The volume concludes with four papers providing the "big picture" by looking at the time evolution of both the heliosphere and the local bubble, looking beyond the local bubble, and finally addressing the challenges in modeling the interface between the two media.

A beautifully photographed and designed cookbook and guide to the cultural phenomenon that is boba, or bubble tea--featuring recipes and reflections from The Boba Guys tea shops. Andrew Chau and Bin Chen realized in 2011 that boba--the milk teas and fruit juices laced with chewy tapioca balls from Taiwan that were exploding in popularity in the States--was still made from powders and mixes. No one in the U.S. was making boba with the careful attention it deserved, or using responsible, high-quality ingredients and global, artisanal inspiration. So they founded The Boba Guys: a chic, modern boba tea shop that has now grown to include fourteen locations across the country, bringing bubble tea to the forefront of modern drinks and bridging cultures along the way. Now, with The Boba Book, the Boba Guys will show fans and novices alike how they can make their (new) favorite drink at home through clear step-by-step guides. Here are the recipes that people line up for--from the classics like Hong Kong Milk Tea, to signatures like the Strawberry Matcha Latte and the coffee-laced Dirty Horchata. For the Boba Guys, boba is Taiwanese, it's Japanese, it's Mexican, it's all that and more--which means it's all-American.

PROFESSOR MICHAEL HUDSON is one of the foremost critics of contemporary finance capitalism and the worldwide power "the 1%" weilds because of government tax breaks and other favorable legislation. In THE BUBBLE AND BEYOND, he illuminates how the expansive and successful forces of 19th and 20th century industrial capitalism have been subverted by today's predatory finance capitalism, putting the entire world in a financial mess - and what can be done about it. A confusing labyrinth of geo-political issues impacts economic health and growth, and few are studied in the classroom or given space in the press. There is a way out of the labyrinth, however, as Professor Hudson demonstrates across 20 readable topics. PROFESSOR HUDSON'S most controversial claim is that "Debts that can't be paid, won't be," leaving in question whether or not debt non-payment will lead to worldwide foreclosures - including sell-offs of public domain assets by debt-strapped local and national governments. This is already happening locally and globally - exactly what some of the 1% would like - creating a newly-poor feudalistic society with the 1% collecting all the usage "fees." Alternatively, he suggests that the debts be written down in line with the ability to pay, as has been done by corporations via Chapter 11 bankruptcies and reorganizations throughout a more enlightened modern economic history as well as biblical record. In Professor Hudson's bold view, debt write-downs versus privatization and sell-offs of public domain assets are the economic issues that will dominate politics over the next generation. THE BUBBLE AND BEYOND is a compendium and brief history of economic thought and why it matters not only to Americans, but to people all over the world. You will find that you refer to it again and again as a fount of information, much of which has been out of favor for decades and/or suppressed by the financial interests. Professor Hudson provides chapter and verse, names names, and explains the mistakes and outright fraud that have often been committed in the name of political ideology - by both the right and the left. You will encounter all of the heroes and miscreants of economics, industry, and politics from the Bible and Babylon to present day banksters, misguided Fed policy-makers, and captains of the finance/insurance/real estate (FIRE) sector and the military-industrial complex. In one chapter after another, Professor Hudson tells who did what to whom - as well as who wins and who loses. This updated edition makes it plain where money goes versus where it might go - and ought to go. UPDATED EDITION with a NEW INDEX, LIST OF 47 EXHIBITS (illustrations, charts, graphs and models), a BONUS CHAPTER and BONUS SUMMARY, contemporary quotes, and author pull-out quotes.

Puts the "housing bubble" in the historical context of other bubble and analyzes how this one is likely to play out - and how readers can leverage almost any market eventuality into a high return.