Two new optical analysis methods in the field of nanotechnology are introduced. Both methods are based on optical microscopy coupled with a digital image analysis system. The first method can be used as a low cost quality control process for nanoimprint lithography. Here, fluorescence microscopy is used in combination with a standard printable polymer labeled with a fluorescent dye. The optical detection allows for the observation of imprinted structures down to 100 nm of lateral size. The second method uses either dark field or fluorescence microscopy for analysis of the particle size distribution of dispersed nanoparticles with diameters between 100 and 1000 nm. Both methods are characterized by a high reliability and reproducibility as well as user-friendliness and quickness.

Ultrasonic imaging uses higher ultrasound frequencies and power levels to achieve better spacial resolution and image quality. Potential hazard for patients have to be evaluated on the basis of relevant acoustic parameters. Measurements of the acoustic pressure with piezoelectric hydrophones is only reliable up to 40 MHz because of minimum sensor size. This work improves a pizooptical measurement method for acoustic pressure. Acoustic pressure changes the refractive index of water. This is determined by measuring laser power, reflected at a fiber/water interface. To improve calibration uncertainty for that kind of measurement to the level of piezoelectric hydrophones (11% - 14%) was the primary goal. Therefore a piezooptic fiber hydrophone with single mode fiber and single mode light source (laser diode) is developed. The active area of the used single mode fiber type has a diameter of 5 µm. Since the fiber influences sound field propagation due to reflection and diffraction, sensitivity of the device is frequency dependent. These effects are compensated by mathmatic modelling. By calculaing the exact curve progression of the factor of reflection depending on the refractive index gradient at the fiber/water interface, calibration uncertainty is improved from 18% to below 11%. Results are validated by intercomparison with several calibarted piezoelectric hydrophones. Measurements are carried out on different ultrasound imagaing systems.

In August 2001, students of East Asian Studies travelled for field research to Sichuan province in Southwest China. The excursion was organized and supervised by Prof. Dr. Thomas Heberer and Anja-Désirée Senz. In the rural districts of South Sichuan the group conducted qualitative and quantitative empirical research on village elections. These elections were introduced in China nationwide in 1998 and are international highly recognized, because of there potentially impact on political reforms in China. The objective of the research was to analyse the influence of village elections on the political consciousness of the rural population. Some of the results are being presented in the following article.

In the last years China has recognized the environment as an economically valuable good, thus promoting sustainable economic development. Among the young people, this principle is spread by creating awareness through Environmental Education (EE) in schools. Although high on the agenda, the implementation of EE is restricted by a lack of finance and know-how so that Chinese schools benefit from foreign assistance. The focus of this paper is to evaluate the situation of EE in Chinese schools and to test the adaptability of a German EE strategy in China. For this purpose, the need patterns of different categories of schools concerning the contents and the implementation of EE are analyzed. These need patterns are then contrasted with the contents and concept of the German EE strategy. The estrictions in adaptability as well as the necessary adaptations of the German strategy are concluded and laid down accordingly. Together with an outline of possible project partners, these findings are put together to form four different project proposals for EE projects in Chinese schools.

The present study is a contribution to the synthesis and extensive characterization of fundamental C, F, O containing compounds, which play an important role in the chemistry of the atmosphere due to their appearance in degradation processes of CFCs and their substitutes. The formation of the peroxy radicals CF3OO, FC(O)OO, CF3OC(O)OO, CF3C(O)OO, and CH3C(O)OO is achieved by low pressure thermolysis of suitable precursors, highly diluted in argon or neon and subsequent quenching of the reaction mixture as a matrix. In addition, the radicals CF3OCO, SF5, and CF3OOO are formed in matrix. All investigated radicals are characterized as matrix isolated species by IR- and UV-spectroscopy. The properties of the studied fluorocarbon peroxy radicals are comprehensively discussed. The first preparation of pure trifluoromethyl nitrate, CF3ONO2, is reported via different synthetic routes. The compound is completely characterized (IR, Raman, UV, NMR, melting and boiling point, vapour pressure, gas electron diffraction), a nd its chemistry is evaluated. It is demonstrated, that trifluoromethyl nitrate acts neither for CF3O radicals, nor for nitrogen dioxide as a reservoir species. With the synthesis of bistrifluoromethyl trioxydicarbonate, CF3OC(O)OO-OC(O)OCF3, a novel open-chain trioxide is obtained, which is thermally stable below -20°C. CF3OC(O)OOOC(O)OCF3 is characterized by IR, Raman, UV, NMR spectroscopy and is used in the generation of the previously unknown peroxy radical CF3OC(O)OO. For all investigated species quantum chemical calculations are performed. The consistent use of the density functional method B3LYP with the basis set 6-311G(d,p) allows a comprehensive theoretical study. In addition, band assignments of the spectra of the characterized compounds were supported by these calculations.

The PhD thesis deals with the topic of thermal radiation in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum in the field of automatic fire detection. The thesis shows that it is possible to detect fires by their thermal radiation in the microwave region and that the thermal radiation of different fire materials depend on the observed frequency, so that it is possible to distinguish the fire materials. The thesis contains the physical basics of thermal radiation, especially in the microwave region. It further describes the developed measuring device that is able to measure the power of the thermal radiation in the frequency range between 2 GHz and 40 GHz, the setup for the standardized test fires according to EN54 and the measuring results.

The following article reflects the implementation of microcredits as well as their influence on the socio-economic development of the indigenous Adivasi of the Gudalur area in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The case study traces about the individual experience of 10 self-help-groups. After a short introduction to the concept of microcredit in the International Year of Microcredit 2005 of the UN the author reflects the difficulties, challenges and advantages of his field research and discribes the outcome of the microcredit programme for the Adivasi in relation to community-building, emacipation/gender and income.

In order to develop and evaluate characteristics of ideal-typical patterns of private additional lessons in mathematics, I refer to investigations on mathematics school lessons of Hans Freudenthal, Hans Werner Heymann, Alan H. Schoenfeld, and Heinrich Winter. Their ideal-typical patterns are equally represented in the six fundamental dimensions independent work, subject orientation, process and problem oriented interactions, structural thinking, discovering education processes, and application orientation. For private additional lessons, the content of the six dimensions is determined by case studies, consisting of the execution and analysis of remedial teaching, and evaluated by synopsis to the characteristics of school teaching. As an outlook I present a concept of school-organized remedial teaching.

Knowledge acquisition is the most important part in the development of expert system. It deals with extracting knowledge from sources of expertise and transferring it to a knowledge base. Knowledge acquisition is major research field in knowledge engineering and still the most difficult and error-prone task for knowledge engineer while building an expert system. This situation influences the performance of the knowledge due to the quality of information and the reduction of error possibility. It is not an easy task to acquire knowledge from human expert not trained in knowledge engineering. The performance of the knowledge is performed by interaction between experts and knowledge engineer or machine during acquisition process. In most rule-based expert system, building of rules can easily be done. Knowledge Engineer or expert does not have to do any work specifying rules and how they are linked to each other. Sometime the knowledge engineer or expert can reference rules or facts that have not yet been created. It seems to be a simple and an instant work. The problem due to the performance of the knowledge will not occur until the number of rules is getting higher. Some problem may appear in the form of inconsistent rules, unreachable rules, redundant rule and rotating chain of rules. In order to solve that problem and to achieve that mentioned performance, a rule-based knowledge acquisition system using Ternary Grid is developed. This system acquires knowledge from human expert using grid or matrix system. Ternary Grid represents a model of rule-based knowledge in a grid or matrix format.

This work at hand deals with two monosaccharides, beta-D-mannuronic acid (M) and alpha-L-guluronic acid (G), units of bacterial and algal alginates. Bacterial alginates are metabolic products of particular species of bacteria. They are thought to be the main structural components of biofilms, and play an important role in water technology. Water-soluble alginates chains build a 3-dimensional network with calcium ions. The goal of this work was to understand how the monomers of bacterial alginate interact with calcium ions to build this network. This was examined with theoretical models, i. e. forcefield calculations with molecular dynamics simulations