Here is a survival strategy for suppliers to the automotive industry. With QS-9000 serving as the new harmonized quality systems requirement of internal and external suppliers for Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, as well as other automobile and truck manufacturers and assemblers, the QS-9000 Handbook is your practical guide for achieving registration. Any company that wishes to achieve registration, must provide evidence of quality production to third-party audits of the registrar. The QS-9000 Handbook will do just that as well as show you how to document your quality systems, train personnel in quality, and improve the effectiveness of any independent quality assurance functions inside your operation.

War and Worship concerns textile deposits from the bog sites of Thorsberg in Germany and Nydam, Vimose and Illerup Ådal in Denmark. All four sites are well-known for containing a substantial amount of archaeological materials, particularly weapons, but they also contain, as integral parts of the weapon deposits, a smaller number of preserved textiles, which nevertheless constitute outstanding assemblages. With the exception of Thorsberg, publications dealing particularly with textiles from weapon deposits are almost non-existent. The textiles from each site are analysed, then compared to one another and described as a unit characterising the particular site. Comparisons are then made between the four sites, with emphasis on the overall context. A final chapter by Lise Ræder Knudsen analyses tablet-woven textiles in the deposits, a textile technique used to make bands, edges and borders. Although the state of preservation of the textiles at the different locations varies hugely, the research has extracted a large amount of information allowing conclusions on status, origin, function and role in the deposits to be drawn. The fabrics presented here were, unquestionably, consecrated textiles. They had been worn by the defeated foreign warriors during the battle and were considered worthy as sacrificial offerings to the gods. Some individual high-status textiles were perceived to have a value comparable to certain metal items. Others - probably the majority - were used for covering and wrapping other offerings for the subsequent sacrifice. All were committed to the lakes in a sacred act of remembrance to celebrate victorious battles.

Every year, the world consumes more than 10,000 tons of diamond superabrasives, which are indispensable for fields such as construction, metals, ceramics, automobiles, semiconductors, computers, and cellular phones. In fact, the per capita consumption of superabrasives may be used as an indicator of a country's industrial activities. This volume presents several aspects of superhard materials, especially diamond superabrasives and their manufacture, properties, and applications, and introduces several new designs of ultrahard materials that may be harder than diamond. It discusses diamond’s connection with the origin of life, in particular, the origin of the first RNA. In addition, it throws light on the concept of diamond quantum computers with neutrons of the carbon-13 isotope as quantum bits. This innovation may maintain quantum coherence with minimal interference without using complicated cryogenic cooling. Hence, it can be a robust design for future quantum computers. For those interested in the depth of the quantum mechanical world, a chapter elaborates the history of life and humanity in light of the evolution of quantum universes.