Search results for ""author robert a. scott""

The great Gothic cathedrals of Europe are among the most astonishing achievements of Western culture. Evoking feelings of awe and humility, they make us want to understand what inspired the people who had the audacity to build them. This engrossing book surveys an era that has fired the historical imagination for centuries. In it Robert A. Scott explores why medieval people built Gothic cathedrals, how they built them, what conception of the divine lay behind their creation, and how religious and secular leaders used cathedrals for social and political purposes. As a traveler's companion or a rich source of knowledge for the armchair enthusiast, "The Gothic Enterprise" helps us understand how ordinary people managed such tremendous feats of physical and creative energy at a time when technology was rudimentary, famine and disease were rampant, the climate was often harsh, and communal life was unstable and incessantly violent. While most books about Gothic cathedrals focus on a particular building or on the cathedrals of a specific region, "The Gothic Enterprise" considers the idea of the cathedral as a humanly created space. Scott discusses why an impoverished people would commit so many social and personal resources to building something so physically stupendous and what this says about their ideas of the sacred, especially the vital role they ascribed to the divine as a protector against the dangers of everyday life. Scott's narrative offers a wealth of fascinating details concerning daily life during medieval times. The author describes the difficulties master-builders faced in scheduling construction that wouldn't be completed during their own lifetimes, how they managed without adequate numeric systems or paper on which to make detailed drawings, and how climate, natural disasters, wars, variations in the hours of daylight throughout the year, and the celebration of holy days affected the pace and timing of work. Scott also explains such things as the role of relics, the quarrying and transporting of stone, and the incessant conflict cathedral-building projects caused within their communities. Finally, by drawing comparisons between Gothic cathedrals and other monumental building projects, such as Stonehenge, Scott expands our understanding of the human impulses that shape our landscape.

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An expert guide designed to help university trustees become effective leaders.Honorable Mention for Eric Hoffer Award (Business Category) by The Hoffer ProjectWe expect college and university trustees to hire the president, advise senior staff, manage investments and financial decisions, and oversee major strategic initiatives. Unfortunately, they sometimes come into this powerful role with little or no understanding of what they are meant to do or how their institutions work.How University Boards Work, by Robert A. Scott, is designed to help trustees understand how to fulfill their responsibilities. Written by a widely respected leader in American higher education and former university president, How University Boards Work is the product of personal experience and considerable research. This concise, straightforward guide includes:• an explanation of the difference between governance and management• tips on how best to prepare for board decisions and discussions• examples of positive and negative board behavior• guidance about board professional development• advice on managing transitions between chief executivesHow University Boards Work will prove an invaluable resource for those responsible for governing colleges and universities, whether privately financed or state funded. It will also be an illuminating read for board secretaries, campus executives and administrators, faculty leaders, alumni volunteers, and public officials, as well as anybody seeking to understand institutional governance in the light of past and current trends in higher education.

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Over the last three decades a lot of research on the role of metals in biochemistry and medicine has been done. As a result many structures of biomolecules with metals have been characterized and medicinal chemistry studied the effects of metal containing drugs. This new book (from the EIBC Book Series) covers recent advances made by top researchers in the field of metals in cells [the “metallome”] and include: regulated metal ion uptake and trafficking, sensing of metals within cells and across tissues, and identification of the vast cellular factors designed to orchestrate assembly of metal cofactor sites while minimizing toxic side reactions of metals. In addition, it features aspects of metals in disease, including the role of metals in neuro-degeneration, liver disease, and inflammation, as a way to highlight the detrimental effects of mishandling of metal trafficking and response to "foreign" metals. With the breadth of our recently acquired understanding of metals in cells, a book that features key aspects of cellular handling of inorganic elements is both timely and important. At this point in our understanding, it is worthwhile to step back and take an expansive view of how far our understanding has come, while also highlighting how much we still do not know. The content from this book will publish online, as part of EIBC in December 2013, find out more about the Encyclopedia of Inorganic and Bioinorganic Chemistry, the essential online resource for researchers and students working in all areas of inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry.

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Connecting inorganic chemistry to the hottest topic in materials science, this timely resource collects the contributions made by leading inorganic chemists towards nanomaterials research. The second volume in the “Wiley Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry Methods and Applications Series,” this signature title concentrates on recent developments in the field and includes all key topics such as nanowires, nanotubes, biomineralization, supramolecular materials and much more. This volume is also available as part of Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry, 5 Volume Set. This set combines all volumes published as EIC Books from 2007 to 2010, representing areas of key developments in the field of inorganic chemistry published in the Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry. Find out more.

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Summarizes the essential biosynthetic pathways for assembly of metal cofactor sites in functional metalloproteins Metalloprotein Active Site Assembly focuses on the processes that have evolved to orchestrate the assembly of metal cofactor sites in functional metalloproteins. It goes beyond the simple incorporation of single metal ions in a protein framework, and includes metal cluster assembly, metal-cofactor biosynthesis and insertion, and metal-based post-translational modifications of the protein environments that are necessary for function. Several examples of each of these areas have now been identified and studied; the current volume provides the current state-of-the-art understanding of the processes involved. An excellent companion to the earlier book in this series Metals in Cells—which discussed both the positive and negative effects of cellular interactions with metals—this comprehensive book provides a diverse sampling of what is known about metalloprotein active site assembly processes. It covers all major biological transition metal components (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Mo), as well as the other inorganic components, metal-binding organic cofactors (e.g., heme, siroheme, cobalamin, molybdopterin), and post-translationally modified metal binding sites that make up the patchwork of evolved biological catalytic sites. The book compares and contrasts the biosynthetic assembly of active sites involving all biological metals. This has never been done before since it is a relatively new, fast-developing area of research. Metalloprotein Active Site Assembly is an ideal text for practitioners of inorganic biochemistry who are studying the biosynthetic pathways and gene clusters involved in active site assembly, and for inorganic chemists who want to apply the concepts learned to potential synthetic pathways to active site mimics.

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Modern spectroscopic and instrumental techniques are essential to the practice of inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry. This first volume in the new Wiley Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry Methods and Applications Series provides a consistent and comprehensive description of the practical applicability of a large number of techniques to modern problems in inorganic and bioinorganic chemistry. The outcome is a text that provides invaluable guidance and advice for inorganic and bioinorganic chemists to select appropriate techniques, whilst acting as a source to the understanding of these methods. This volume is also available as part of Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry, 5 Volume Set. This set combines all volumes published as EIC Books from 2007 to 2010, representing areas of key developments in the field of inorganic chemistry published in the Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry. Find out more.

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