This book is a collection of selected papers written by researchers qf our "RISC" institute (Research Institute for Symbolic Computation) along with the ESPRIT MEDLAR Project (Mechanizing Deduction in the Logics of Practical Reason ing). Naturally, the MEDLAR Project was and is the focal point for our institute whose main objective is the combination of foundational research in the area of symbolic computation and possible applications thereof for high-tech industrial projects. I am grateful to the director of the MEDLAR project, Jim Cunningham, for his enthusiasm, profound expertise, and continuous effort to manage a fruitful cooperation between various European working groups in the area of the project and for giving us the opportunity to be part of this challenging endeavor. I also acknowledge and feel indebted to Jochen Pfalzgraf for managing the RISC part of the MEDLAR project and to both him and Dongming Wang for editing this volume and organizing the refereeing process.
