R.W. Smith - Böcker

The origins of this book arise from the highly successful second SIGdial Workshop on Discourse and Dialogue that was held in September 2001 in con­ junction with Eurospeech 2001. The original workshop proceedings consisted of 29 papers selected from 57 submissions, an exceptionally high number of submissions for a two day workshop. This book includes extended versions of 12 papers originally presented at the workshop. In addition, 4 other invited papers on major themes in discourse and dialogue research are included. There are three main themes addressed by the papers in this collection: (1) corpus annotation and analysis; (2) method­ ologies for construction of dialogue systems; and (3) perspectives on various key theoretical issues including communicative intention, context-based gen­ eration, and modeling of discourse structure. However, because of the very nature of discourse and dialogue research that often requires researchers to tackle several issues in one piece of work, we have chosen to order the papers alphabetically by author rather than try to create artificial thematic sections. We believe this collection provides a concise yet reasonably comprehensive snapshot of major research themes in discourse and dialogue. We hope that readers will benefit greatly from this collection.

The origins of this book arise from the highly successful second SIGdial Workshop on Discourse and Dialogue that was held in September 2001 in con­ junction with Eurospeech 2001. The original workshop proceedings consisted of 29 papers selected from 57 submissions, an exceptionally high number of submissions for a two day workshop. This book includes extended versions of 12 papers originally presented at the workshop. In addition, 4 other invited papers on major themes in discourse and dialogue research are included. There are three main themes addressed by the papers in this collection: (1) corpus annotation and analysis; (2) method­ ologies for construction of dialogue systems; and (3) perspectives on various key theoretical issues including communicative intention, context-based gen­ eration, and modeling of discourse structure. However, because of the very nature of discourse and dialogue research that often requires researchers to tackle several issues in one piece of work, we have chosen to order the papers alphabetically by author rather than try to create artificial thematic sections. We believe this collection provides a concise yet reasonably comprehensive snapshot of major research themes in discourse and dialogue. We hope that readers will benefit greatly from this collection.

This book considers technical, economic, and policy aspects of application of microelectronics to gas distribution problems. It is based on the first and second IGT symposia on microelectronics in the gas industry to disseminate information on rapidly evolving topics of gas distribution automation.

Goethe's great love for the ancient classics once prompted him to write ("Gespriiche mit Eckerman," April 1, 1827), "Man studiere nicht die Mitgeborenen und Mitstrebenden, sondern grosse Menschen der Vorzeit, deren Werke seit Jahrhunderten gleichen Wert und gleiches Ansehen behalten haben ...Man studiere Moliere, man studiere Shakespeare, aber vor allen Dingen die alten Griechen und immer die alten Griechen. " Anyone examining the history of Western ideas has found this statement to prove eminently true: one must study above all others the ancient Greeks. This book, by its study of the Greeks and others, seeks to fill in a small way the large gap which has obtained in the history of rhetoric in the Eastern Mediterranean area: the rhetoric (formal spoken discourse) of the courtroom, street corner, classroom, and legislative hall. Scholars have long investigated, and with considerable success, the figures and movements in Rome and Athens until Con- stantine, or even later, but for some reason they have neglected the role and impact of oratory in most Asian and North African centers (Antioch excepted).If this monograph can provide outlines of its activity in Greco-Roman Alexandria to approximately A. D. 400 and encourage further scholarship in Pergamum, Tarsus, and elsewhere, it will have fulfilled its purpose. At the same time, it is not intended as a history of the city, nor an economic, political, or religious account of its life.

Goethe's great love for the ancient classics once prompted him to write ("Gesprliche mit Eckerman," April 1, 1827), "Man studiere nicht die Mitgeborenen und Mitstrebenden, sondern grosse Menschen der Vorzeit, deren Werke seit Jahrhunderten gleichen Wert und gleiches Ansehen behalten haben ...Man studiere Moliere, man studiere Shakespeare, aber vor allen Dingen die alten Griechen und immer die alten Griechen. " Anyone examining the history of Western ideas has found this statement to prove eminently true: one must study above all others the ancient Greeks. This book, by its study of the Greeks and others, seeks to fill in a small way the large gap which has obtained in the history of rhetoric in the Eastern Mediterranean area: the rhetoric (formal spoken discourse) of the courtroom, street corner, classroom, and legislative hall. Scholars have long investigated, and with considerable success, the figures and movements in Rome and Athens until Con- stantine, or even later, but for some reason they have neglected the role and impact of oratory in most Asian and North African centers (Antioch excepted).If this monograph can provide outlines of its activity in Greco-Roman Alexandria to approximately A. D. 400 and encourage further scholarship in Pergamum, Tarsus, and elsewhere, it will have fulfilled its purpose. At the same time, it is not intended as a history of the city, nor an economic, political, or religious account of its life.