M. J. Taylor - Böcker

This volume is an outgrowth of the LMS Durham Symposium on L-functions, held in July 1989. The symposium consisted of several short courses, aimed at presenting rigorous but non-technical expositions of the latest research areas, and a number of individual lectures on specific topics. The contributors are all outstanding figures in the area of algebraic number theory and this volume will be of lasting value to students and researchers working in the area.

This book originates from graduate courses given in Cambridge and London. It provides a brisk, thorough treatment of the foundations of algebraic number theory, and builds on that to introduce more advanced ideas. Throughout, the authors emphasise the systematic development of techniques for the explicit calculation of the basic invariants, such as rings of integers, class groups, and units. Moreover they combine, at each stage of development, theory with explicit computations and applications, and provide motivation in terms of classical number-theoretic problems. A number of special topics are included that can be treated at this level but can usually only be found in research monographs or original papers, for instance: module theory of Dedekind domains; tame and wild ramifications; Gauss series and Gauss periods; binary quadratic forms; and Brauer relations. This is the only textbook at this level which combines clean, modern algebraic techniques together with a substantial arithmetic content. It will be indispensable for all practising and would-be algebraic number theorists.

Originally published in 1984. Australia is a resource-rich country deriving a significant proportion of its export earnings from trade in these resources. At the same time, the country is young, sparsely populated beyond the coastal fringe, particularly in the resource-rich areas, and environmentally fragile. The consequences of resource exploitation in these areas have far-reaching policy implications. A range of these concerns is canvassed in this volume, encompassing the views of policy-makers, planners and academics. Five chapters address social and economic impacts ranging over manufacturing and tertiary industry, immigration and labour markets, employment and population and the provision of educational facilities. Many of these are seen in microcosm in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. Two contributions offer an international perspective, one in another federal system – Canada – and one where Australian interests are participating in resource extraction – Papua New Guinea. The issues raised are fundamental to Australia's development in the 1980's and of importance to everyone connected with the development and planning of Australia's future.