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The present-day composer refuses to die. Bereits in seinem ersten Album formulierte Frank Zappa den Anspruch, ein bedeutender Komponist zu werden. Und tatsächlich sollte es ihm gelingen, nicht nur zu einer einzigartigen Musikikone aufzusteigen, sondern auch in Kompositionen für große Orchester oder dem Projekt The Yellow Shark einen unverkennbaren Stil zu entwickeln. Doch wo genau im weiten Feld der'Neuen Musik'des 20. Jahrhunderts begegnen wir dem Komponisten Frank Zappa und wen trifft man neben Edgard Varèse noch in seinem Werk? War John Cage für ihn nur ein skuriller Pilzsammler und Karlheinz Stockhausen bereits in einem Helikopter auf dem Weg zurück zum Planeten Sirius? Haben eher Pierre Boulez'Serialismus oder Conlon Nancarrows gestanzte Löcher ihre Punkte auf der Karte von Zappas musikalischem Kosmos hinterlassen? Was an Zappas Musik war konventionell, was innovativ? Und: Hat sich Zappa tatsächlich geweigert zu sterben?

In his first album, Frank Zappa already formulated his ambition to become an important composer. And not only did he succeed in becoming a unique musical icon but also in developing an unmistakeable style in compositions for large orchestras or for The Yellow Shark project. But where exactly in the vast field of New Music of the 20th century do we encounter the composer Frank Zappa and who else do we happen upon in his works besides the omnipresent Edgard Varèse? Was John Cage no more than a whimsical mushroom picker for him, and Karlheinz Stockhausen already in a helicopter off to Sirius? Or have Pierre Boulez'serialism or Conlon Nancarrow's punched holes left more dots on the map of Zappa's musical cosmos? What was conventional about Zappa's music, and what was innovative? And, did Zappa really refuse to die?

This book contains a novel combination of experimental and model-based investigations, elucidating the complex processes inside zinc air batteries. The work presented helps to answer which battery composition and which air-composition should be adjusted to maintain stable and efficient charge/discharge cycling. In detail, electrochemical investigations and X-ray transmission tomography are applied on button cell zinc air batteries and in-house set-ups. Moreover, model-based investigations of the battery anode and the impact of relative humidity, active operation, carbon dioxide and oxygen on zinc air battery operation are presented. The techniques used in this work complement each other well and yield an unprecedented understanding of zinc air batteries. The methods applied are adaptable and can potentially be applied to gain further understanding of other metal air batteries.

A Choice Outstanding Academic Book In the decade since President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 into law—amidst promises that it would'end welfare as we know it'—did the reforms ending entitlements and moving toward time limits and work requirements lift Texas families once living on welfare out of poverty, or merely strike their names from the administrative rolls? Under welfare reform, Texas continued with low monthly payments and demanding eligibility criteria. Many families who could receive welfare in other states do not qualify in Texas, and virtually any part-time job makes a family ineligible. In Texas, most families who leave welfare remain in or near poverty, and many are likely to return to the welfare rolls in the future. This compelling work, which follows 179 families after leaving welfare, is set against a backdrop of multiple types of data and econometric modeling. The authors'multi-method approach draws on administrative data from nine programs serving low-income families and a statewide survey of families who have left welfare. Survey data on health problems, transportation needs, and child-care issues shed light on the patterns of employment and welfare use seen in the administrative data. In their lives after welfare, the families chronicled here experience poverty even when employed; a multiplicity of barriers to employment that work to exacerbate one another; and a failing safety net of basic human services as they attempt to sustain low-wage employment.