D. A. Johnson - Böcker

An important part of inorganic chemistry is the study of the behaviour of chemical elements and their compounds. If this behaviour is to be explained with any confidence, it needs first to be described in quantitative language. Thermodynamics provides such a language, and Dr Johnson's 1982 book is concerned with the theoretical explanations that become possible after the translation into thermodynamic language has taken place. This book will continue to be of interest to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of chemistry, as well as teachers of chemistry in both schools and universities.

This volume of the annual series on work teams focuses on leadership. A number of experts in academia and in business agree that leadership is the key to effective work teams. However, they do not necessarily agree on what is meant by 'leadership', how leadership should be enacted, or what constitutes a 'team'. The world of work is changing, and with it, the nature of leadership or our understanding of it is changing. There has been some evolution of leadership concepts and practices toward a more empowering approach focusing on the employees as human resources, but the older command and control approach is only slowly being replaced in research literature and business practices. The authors of the papers in this volume are at the cutting edge with their thinking, writing, and validation work on new approaches to understanding leadership. Subjects addressed in these papers include: team citizenship behavior; self-leadership, self-managed teams and shared leadership; transformational leadership; organizational culture as expressed in the behavior of team members; and, decision making in top management teams. The final chapter emphasizes the training of leaders and teams. These papers each contribute valuable insights and perspectives to both the researcher planning further study of team leadership and the practitioner who must produce performance enhancing change with work teams.

The chapters in this volume are drawn from the Center for Study of Work Teams most recent conference, one which brings practitioners and researchers together to share knowledge and experience. The chapters cover a diversity of issues and variables that contribute to successful teaming. They also cover a variety of types of teams and remind us that different factors apply to different team requirements. Collectively these chapters expand our knowledge base in the field. This volume is an example of how the Center has contributed to the accumulation and management of knowledge about teaming over an extended period of time. Anyone who is involved with teaming, either at the micro or macro level, will benefit from the contents of this volume and from the overall body of work it represents.

Work teams have been in use for many years, yet research-based knowledge of the keys to high performance still has questions to answer. The development or maturity of a team is assumed to be closely related to the level of performance, but few studies have examined the maturation process thoroughly. Models of that process have emerged over the past half century, but their value seems limited. The chapters in this volume provide ideas, examples, and frameworks for improving our understanding of team development and the models we follow in fostering that development. As ideas like these become incorporated in research and practice, our ability to effectively move a team toward advanced levels of maturity will improve, and with that will come more frequent successes where teams outperform expectations.

Concluding the "Advances in Interdisciplinary Studies of Work Teams" series with a focus on team-based organizing, this title reveals how the context for teams is critical to their success. Environmental factors may determine team goal accomplishment more than factors internal to the team. In particular, alignment of support systems with work teams influences how well they can function and how the team members feel about reaching challenging goals. The initial chapter sets the stage for a context focus by describing the critical success factors that impact team environments and how to address those factors. The second chapter focuses on effective change practices for transforming organizations into effective collaborative systems. The third chapter examines the fit of support systems with teams, including management systems and culture. Chapter four ties these system pieces together in a model that translates the value of team process improvements into financial terms for strategic decision making. Other chapters focus on team level task analysis and organizational citizenship behaviour, including the complex flow of leadership in emergency room teams. As a whole, this volume presents a perspective on team practice and theory that should benefit a wide range of readers.

This book looks at how molecules react, and how the feasibility and outcome of chemical reactions can be predicted. Beginning with an introduction to the concept of an activity series of metals, Metals and Chemical Change then introduces chemical thermodynamics (enthalpy, entropy and free energy) and applies the concept to both inorganic and organic elements. A Case Study on batteries and fuel cells is also included. The accompanying CD-ROM includes video sequences of the reactions of metals with water, acid and aqueous ions, and gives the reader an opportunity to make experimental observations and predictions about chemical behaviour. A comprehensive Data Book of chemical and physical constants is included, along with a set of interactive self-assessment questions. The Molecular World series provides an integrated introduction to all branches of chemistry for both students wishing to specialise and those wishing to gain a broad understanding of chemistry and its relevance to the everyday world and to other areas of science. The books, with their Case Studies and accompanying multi-media interactive CD-ROMs, will also provide valuable resource material for teachers and lecturers. (The CD-ROMs are designed for use on a PC running Windows 95, 98, ME or 2000.)

Presenting a systematic approach to the chemistry of the p Block elements and hydrogen, this book also introduces some basic topics concerning chemical bonding, such as oxidation numbers, bond strengths, dipole moments and intermolecular forces. The chemistry is illustrated by coverage of the biological role of nitric oxide and of hydrogen bonding, and the new chemistry of carbon nanotubes. Applied aspects of the topic are developed in the two Case Studies, which examine the causes and prevention of acid rain and the inorganic chemical industry. The accompanying CD-ROMs cover silicate mineral structures, the inert pair effect and a database of chemical reactions of the p Block elements. The Molecular World series provides an integrated introduction to all branches of chemistry for both students wishing to specialise and those wishing to gain a broad understanding of chemistry and its relevance to the everyday world and to other areas of science. The books, with their Case Studies and accompanying multi-media interactive CD-ROMs, will also provide valuable resource material for teachers and lecturers. (The CD-ROMs are designed for use on a PC running Windows 95, 98, ME or 2000.)

This second volume in the series covers such topics as cross-functional teamwork, working in public and learning-in-action, organizing knowledge work systems and varieties of knowledge work experience.