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“Marcus shows the ways in which Black activists and writers, in particular, have continued to express their political desires. In doing so, she draws our attention to the centrality of disappointment in American political life.”—Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, New Yorker“Political Disappointment is an abundant text, overflowing with Sara Marcus’s considerable gifts. She is adept at presenting history and narrative with equal clarity; her writing is urgent but also optimistic. This is a book that is sometimes painful but never sacrifices hope or beauty.”—Hanif AbdurraqibMoving from the aftermath of Reconstruction through the AIDS crisis, a new cultural history of the United States shows how artists, intellectuals, and activists turned political disappointment—the unfulfilled desire for change—into a basis for solidarity.Sara Marcus argues that the defining texts in twentieth-century American cultural history are records of political disappointment. Through insightful and often surprising readings of literature and sound, Marcus offers a new cultural history of the last century, in which creative minds observed the passing of moments of possibility, took stock of the losses sustained, and fostered intellectual revolutions and unexpected solidarities.Political Disappointment shows how, by confronting disappointment directly, writers and artists helped to produce new political meanings and possibilities. Marcus first analyzes works by W. E. B. Du Bois, Charles Chesnutt, Pauline Hopkins, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers that expressed the anguish of the early Jim Crow era, during which white supremacy thwarted the rebuilding of the country as a multiracial democracy. In the ensuing decades, the Popular Front work songs and stories of Lead Belly and Tillie Olsen, the soundscapes of the civil rights and Black Power movements, the feminist poetry of Audre Lorde and Adrienne Rich, and the queer art of Marlon Riggs and David Wojnarowicz continued building the century-long archive of disappointment. Marcus shows how defeat time and again gave rise to novel modes of protest and new forms of collective practice, keeping alive the dream of a better world.Disappointment has proved to be a durable, perhaps even inevitable, feature of the democratic project, yet so too has the resistance it precipitates. Marcus’s unique history of the twentieth century reclaims the unrealized desire for liberation as a productive force in American literature and life.

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The ongoing war in Ukraine, between freedom and totalitarianism, has been brewing since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989: the great victory of liberal democracy over communism. In recent decades, authoritarian regimes have proliferated or become emboldened – from Myanmar and North Korea to Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and, of course, China. At the same time, we have seen wildly overpriced stock markets, the emergence of decentralised finance and its associated cryptocurrencies, and the idolization of inordinately expensive things, from watches and customised trainers to rare whiskies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The decoupling of capitalism from democracy, which gathered pace in the 1990s, has fostered an economic system powered by greed alone, able to prosper in brutal dictatorships, unchecked even by the financial crisis of 2007/8. Rampant inequality, fuelled by radically increased money supply, has been the result, with a tiny fraction of the world’s population owning more than the rest put together. This inequality has incited social unrest and contributed to the undermining of faith in the institutions of the democratic state. The citizens of Western democracies have been left to the mercy of unfettered capitalism, becoming data subjects, endlessly surveilled, marshalled and polarised. Today’s extreme capitalism, promoted by Milton Friedman and others, is exemplified by its modern monopolists – Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, whose fortunes have been built on often immoral, if not illegal actions, and whose headline-grabbing antics appear to be motivated more by ego than any genuine desire to do good for humanity. In the 1990s, an understanding of social justice and an appreciation of democracy still survived, but public discourse has grown increasingly polarised and angry. The authors draw a line from the robber barons of the 1990s tech revolution to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, citing the marginalisation of democratic principles which has enabled the rise of authoritarian populists such as Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Jair Bolsonaro and, of course, Donald Trump and Boris Johnson. An unanticipated fightback in Ukraine, with support from the EU and the West, has the potential to reclaim the lost spirit of freedom inherent in liberal democracy, but will it be enough?

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When murderous bands of militiamen begin roaming the western United States and attacking government agencies, it will take a dedicated group of the nation's finest and toughest civilian airmen to put an end to the homegrown insurgency. U.S. Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan vows to take to the skies to join the fight, but when his son, Bradley, also signs up, they find themselves caught in a deadly game against a shadowy opponent.When the stock markets crash and the U.S. economy falls into a crippling recession, everything changes for newly elected president Kenneth Phoenix. Politically exhausted from a bruising and divisive election, Phoenix must order a series of massive tax cuts and wipe out entire cabinet-level departments to reduce government spending. With reductions in education and transportation, an incapacitated National Guard, and the loss of public safety budgets, entire communities of armed citizens band together for survival and mutual protection. Against this dismal backdrop, a SWAT team is ambushed and radioactive materials are stolen by a group calling themselves the Knights of the True Republic. Is the battle against the government about to be taken to a new and deadlier level?In this time of crisis, a citizen organization rises to the task of protecting their fellow countrymen: the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), the U.S. Air Force auxiliary. The Nevada Wing-led by retired Air Force Lieutenant-General Patrick McLanahan, his son, Bradley, and other volunteers-uses their military skills in the sky and on the ground to hunt down violent terrorists. But how will Patrick respond when extremists launch a catastrophic dirty bomb attack in Reno, spreading radiological fallout for miles? And when Bradley is caught in a deadly double-cross that jeopardizes the CAP, Patrick will have to fight to find out where his friends' loyalties lie: Are they with him and the CAP or with the terrorists?With A Time for Patriots, the New York Times bestselling master of the modern thriller Dale Brown brings the battle home to explore a terrifying possibility-the collapse of the American Republic.Praise for Dale Brown:'Dale Brown is the best military adventure writer in the country.' Clive Cussler.'Brown puts us in the cockpit...authentic and gripping.' New York Times.

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China's economic growth has been revolutionary, and is the foundation of its increasingly prominent role in world affairs. It is the world's second biggest economy, the largest manufacturing and trading nation, the consumer of half the world's steel and coal, the biggest source of international tourists, and one of the most influential investors in developing countries from southeast Asia to Africa to Latin America. Multinational companies make billions of dollars in profits in China each year, while traders around the world shudder at every gyration of the country's unruly stock markets. Perhaps paradoxically, its capitalist economy is governed by an authoritarian Communist Party that shows no sign of loosening its grip. China is frequently in the news, whether because of trade disputes, the challenges of its Belt and Road initiative for global infrastructure, or its increasing military strength. China's political and technological challenges, created by a country whose political system and values differ dramatically from most of the other major world economies, creates uncertainty and even fear. China's Economy: What Everyone Needs to Know is a concise introduction to the most astonishing economic and political story of the last three decades. Arthur Kroeber enhances our understanding of China's changes and their implications. Among the essential questions he answers are: How did China grow so fast for so long? Can it keep growing and still solve its problems of environmental damage, fast-rising debt and rampant corruption? How long can its vibrant economy co-exist with the repressive one-party state? How do China's changes affect the rest of the world? This thoroughly revised and updated second edition includes a comprehensive discussion of the origins and development of the US-China strategic rivalry, including Trump's trade war and the race for technological supremacy. It also explores the recent changes in China's political system, reflecting Xi Jinping's emergence as the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. It includes insights on changes in China's financial sector, covering the rise and fall of the shadow banking sector, and China's increasing integration with global financial markets. And it covers China's rapid technological development and the rise of its global Internet champions such as Alibaba and Tencent.

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Crushing waves of stress? Ride them out with this adult coloring book that explores the mesmerizing beauty of the sea.The crashing sound of waves on the shore, shells beneath your feet, a variety of sea life skimming through the deep blue. Creative Mindfulness: Seas of Serenity brings you calming, travel-sized outlines of sea and beach scenes to help you de-stress virtually anywhere. Whether you’re at home or on your morning commute, you’ll be able to color an array of intricate ocean animals and creative coastal designs.Adult coloring provides an artistic outlet for stress that aids in alleviating everyday pressures—many of which occur while we’re active and not in the comfort of our homes. However, many books are often restricted to oversized pages that require a large surface to color. These twenty-four black-and-white illustrations are travel-sized, making it simple and convenient to color when you’re on the go. The pages are perforated and printed on one side, so each design can be removed to share or display. Additionally, the book is printed on a sturdy art stock that accommodates any coloring medium—whether it’s markers, crayons, colored pencils, or pens.This book features:Twenty-four original black-and-white designs for your coloring pleasure on single-sided perforated pagesHigh-quality, sturdy paper that can withstand travel and wear-and-tearPerfectly sized illustrations to fit in pockets and bagsIf you’re looking to venture into the adult coloring experience, you’ll have no trouble getting your sea legs with Creative Mindfulness: Seas of Serenity. Whether you are an artist looking to improve your craft, someone seeking a way to find inner peace, or simply want to give the gift of coloring, this travel-sized book is a must-have that will transport you to paradise. It’s guaranteed to provide hours of creative relaxation. So dive in and prepare to be completely immersed in these beautiful designs!

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A unified theory of conservation that addresses the broad problem of conservation, the principles that inform conservation choices, and the application of those principles to the management of the natural world. The conservation of natural resources, like that of any other asset, involves trade-offs. Yet, in a world faced with the harsh realities of climate change, crafting the right environmental policies is an increasingly urgent task. In Conservation, Charles Perrings and Ann Kinzig bring together new research in economics and biodiversity to investigate conservation decisions and the theory behind them. Perrings and Kinzig apply the concept of conservation broadly to examine how the principles of conservation apply to the management of the natural world. They demonstrate that the same basic principles serve as the foundation of all rational conservation decisions, from managing financial assets to safeguarding at-risk ecosystems. Whether someone is deciding to hold or dispose of a stock or whether to exploit or preserve a natural resource, they are better off choosing to conserve a resource when its value to them, if conserved, is greater than its value when converted. The book also considers the context of such conservation decisions. Just as national tax rules influence choices about financial investments, environmental regulations within countries, and environmental agreements between countries, impact the decisions regarding natural resources. Building on their basic theory of conservation, Perrings and Kinzig address key issues in the field of environmental economics, including the valuation of ecosystem services and environmental assets; the limits on the substitutability of produced and natural capital; and the challenges posed by the often weak markets for ecosystem services oriented toward the public good. They also address the problem of scale: while decisions might be easier to make at the local level, many conservation policies need to apply at either the national or international level to succeed. Written by experts from both social and hard sciences, this book presents a unified theory of conservation and provides a model for a more effective way to approach the vitally important issue.

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Universities increasingly encourage spin-out companies from their own departments, and interest from entrepreneurs and the commercial sphere is only set to develop further in coming years. With this in mind, Professor Graham Richards - an academic and businessman who has had many years of involvement with spin-out companies - has written this book as a guide and an inspiration for those who are thinking about commercialising intellectual property and creating a spin-out company. In an informative and enjoyable style he describes his personal experiences of the processes involved in launching a spin-out; from the key decisions that have to be made through to those inevitable mistakes to be learnt from. The University of Oxford has an outstanding record in forming spin-out companies, and has become one of the leading UK universities in this activity. Within the University, the Department of Chemistry has played a central role, with GBP80 million being contributed to university funds by spin-out companies that have emerged from the department.' Spin-Outs' provides an insight into how this has been achieved, and carefully signposts the route for taking an academic's intellectual property from the lab, to a start-up company and then on to flotation on the stock market. As a former head of Chemistry at Oxford, Professor Graham Richards is uniquely placed to describe this process. The author gives a real-life focus to his account by using illustrative examples of the businesses in which he was personally involved, drawing extensively on the case study of Oxford Molecular Ltd to show how this company was spun-out in practice. The book provides invaluable information for universities about what can be achieved and how. It also provides guidance to the entrepreneur with thoughts of creating a high-tech company: the pitfalls, the problems and what is needed, as well as an indication of the potential benefits to all concerned.

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Containing newly updated versions of existing entries and adding several important new entries, this second edition of the Elgar Encyclopedia of Comparative Law takes stock of present-day comparative law scholarship. Written by leading authorities in their respective fields, the contributions in this accessible book cover and combine not only questions regarding the methodology of comparative law, but also specific areas of law (such as administrative law and criminal law) and specific topics (such as accident compensation and consideration). In addition, the Encyclopedia contains reports on a selected set of countries' legal systems and, as a whole, presents an overview of the current state of affairs. Providing its readers with a unique point of reference, as well as stimulus for further research, this volume is an indispensable tool for anyone interested in comparative law, especially academics, students and practitioners. Contributors: M. Abe, D. Bradley, W. Bull, W.E. Butler, R. Caterina, M. Claes, H. Cousy, E. Dacoronia, G.-R. de Groot, M.J. de Waal, H. Dedek, M. Deturbide, R. Dotevall, J.E. du Plessis, M.G. Faure, B. Fauvarque-Cosson, J. Fedtke, F. Ferrari, A. Fournier, J. Fu, D. Geradin, H.P. Glenn, M. Gondek, J. Gordley, J. Hage, B. Havel, J.H. Herbots, V. Heutger, G. Howells, E.J. Hughes, M. Hunter-Henin, J. Husa, N. Jansen, M.T. Kamminga, A.J. Kanning, S.M. Kroll, P. Letto-Vanamo, S.D. Lindenbergh, G. Lubbe, B. Lurger, L. Macgregor, H.L. MacQueen, U. Magnus, K. Mayer, R. Michaels, J.M. Milo, H. Muir Watt, J. Neethling, H.P. Nehl, D. Nelken, L. Nottage, C. O'Cinneide, A.E. Orucu, V.V. Palmer, F. Pennings, P. Pichonnaz, B. Pozzo, L. Rademacher, G. Samuel, M.J. Schermaier, M. Schmidt-Kessel, E. Schrage, G. Shalev, L. Slepaite, D. Smith, J.M. Smits, Z.D. Tarman, V. Thuronyi, M. Torsello, J.H.M. van Erp, N. Van Leuven, C.H. van Rhee, L. van Vliet, A. Vaquer, R. Verhagen, R. Verkerk, D. Visser, S. Vogenauer, M. Vranken, S. Weatherill, T. Weigend, B. Wessels, C.A. Williams, J. Ziller, P. Zumbansen

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Taking stock of emerging planet data and analysing policies during the global crisis, Earth Economics provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to basic macroeconomic concepts, methods and principles, and their application to real world data.Written principally for students seeking an introduction to macroeconomics, this book offers a completely new angle to policy, with a focus on the truly global level. Underpinned by empirical orientation of state-of-the-art data, it introduces earth economics as the study of the economy of our planet from the perspective of an autarkic system (a 'closed economy'), focussing on policymaking that improves global rather than national welfare.Key features include:- A discourse on issues fundamental to the understanding of macroeconomics.- An introduction to economists' tools and concepts. Non-economists will learn how to survive in a discussion with economists: where to ask questions, where to listen, where to skip and where to ignore.- Presentation of extensive and wide-ranging data in a consistent and comprehensive framework.- In-depth treatment of key concepts including: aggregates, autarky, closed economies, current accounts, earth economics, data, macroeconomics, microeconomics, development and global public goods.- Provision of a thorough, working understanding of the subject matter via exercises set throughout the book, including: questions on the text, calculations, formulating arguments and preparation, analysis and interpretation of data and figures.See the companion website - www dot eartheconomics dot info for updates and additional information.Contents: Preface 1. Introduction: It is the Only One We Have 2. Planet Accounts Part I: Short-term Fluctuations and Demand Management 3. Earth's Business Cycle 4. Why I = S and What That Means: The Building Blocks of Macroeconomic Analysis 5. Investment, the IS Curve, and Product Market Equilibrium 6. What About Government? 7. Money Matters! The LM Curve and Money Market Equilibrium 8. Eartheconomic Demand and Supply 9. Puzzling Disagreements Part II: Long Run 10. Long-Run Growth 11. Development and Change 12. Limits to Growth? Part III: Earth Governance and Global Public Goods 13. Global Public Goods 14. Global Peers: An Agenda References Index

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Exam Board: AQALevel: GCSESubject: HistoryFirst Teaching: September 2016First Exam: June 2018Create a stimulating, well-paced teaching route through the 2016 GCSE History specification using this tailor-made series that draws on a legacy of market-leading history textbooks and the individual subject specialisms of the author team to inspire student success.- Motivate your students to deepen their subject knowledge through an engaging and thought-provoking narrative that makes historical concepts accessible and interesting to today's learners- Embed progressive skills development in every lesson with carefully designed Focus Tasks that encourage students to question, analyse and interpret key topics- Take students' historical understanding to the next level by using a wealth of original contemporary source material to encourage wider reflection on different periods- Help your students achieve their potential at GCSE with revision tips and practice questions geared towards the changed assessment model, plus useful advice to aid exam preparation- Confidently navigate the new AQA specification using the expert insight of experienced authors and teachers with examining experienceAbout this bookNorman England is an authoritative textbook for the new AQA British Depth Study: Norman England 1066-1100. It covers:Part One: Conquest and Control - Causes of conquest: Why did the Normans invade and conquer England?- The Battle of Hastings: Why did William win the Battle of Hastings in 1066?- Establishing control: How did William deal with rebellions and start to take control of the country?Part Two: Taking Stock- Feudalism: How was the country organised under the Feudal system?- Domesday book: Why was the Domesday survey compiled & what can be learnt from it?- The Medieval Village: What was life like for ordinary people?Part Three: The Normans and Monasticism- The Church: To what extent did William change the English Church?- Monasticism: How did monasteries change after the Norman conquest?Norman England is written by the Helena Clarke who has taught History at Wilmslow High School for 10 years and is also team leader for GCSE History for a major awarding body.

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Prep ahead and save time all week long! With over 125 time-saving recipes, you can transform your schedule with make-ahead breakfasts, salads-on-the-go, and easy-to-fix charcuterie dinner boards! With simple prep each week, you can stock your fridge and freezer with heat-and-eat meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner or do partial prep and make dinnertime a breeze. Meal Prep Cookbook For Dummies can help you spend less time in the kitchen, meet health goals, save money, and just plain eat better. With over 125 recipes, plus tips and techniques for making all your favorites ahead of time, this book lets you breeze through your week. Imagine the possibilities that will open to you when you can just pop a healthy and delectable pre-made meal in the microwave, and—ding!—your made-from-scratch dinner is ready. Prep ahead and toss vegetables and your favorite protein on a sheet pan and dinner is ready in under 20 minutes. What will you do with all your extra time? Why stress about what to eat each day? Meal Prep Cookbook For Dummies will take the uncertainty out of mealtime, as you discover everything from cooking basics to grocery store tips to meal prepping secrets. Whatever your home-chef skill level, you’ll discover new favorite meals, organize your kitchen, store food efficiently, and learn new ideas to take your meal prepping abilities to the next level. Discover over 125 make-ahead recipes that you can prepare at home in 45 minutes or less, with the cooking tools you already have Meal prep for any diet (carb conscious, gluten-free, vegetarian), allergy, or food sensitivity Craft delicious and nutritious breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for yourself or your whole family Get new ideas and tips for sprucing up your staples, planning your grocery trips, and balancing your meals Before you know it, you’ll have meal prep down to a science, so you can relax a little bit more, knowing breakfast, lunch, and dinner are already taken care of!

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A “how-to” guide for supply chain professionals who need accurate cost information for end-to-end processes With the increasing pace of globalization, supply chain professionals find that they have less and less margin for error in their decisions making. Competition is getting more intense, and, unfortunately, CFOs and accountants do not currently provide supply chain managers with the information required to make better decisions. Supply Chain Costing and Performance Management, 2nd Edition, will show you (and the executives you report to) how to understand and apply various enterprise and corporate performance management (EPM/CPM) methods related to costs and profit margins and performance measurements. This book is a “how-to” guide to assist supply chain managers and employee teams to obtain interenterprise cost information on supply chain processes. It provides techniques for obtaining accurate cost and performance information on the activities performed within your firm and on activities performed by trading partners. The techniques and approaches in this book were developed from supply chain costing practices implemented by leading-edge firms. You will learn how you can gain access to reasonably accurate costs and profit margins involved with suppliers, products, stock keeping units (SKUs), service-lines, channels, and customers. In addition, you will gain insight into the activity costs in end-to-end business processes, including the “drivers” for each type of cost. Learn how to access accurate cost and pricing information related to both your company and your trading partners Overcome siloed information by creating your own costing practices using proven methods drawn from leading firms Understand what drives activity costs for each step in end-to-end business processes Assess the performance of your costing activities with step-by-step measurement guidelines Make better decisions and improve performance and profitability with clearer, more transparent cost and price data The information in this book will empower supply chain managers with the ability to make better decisions and improve their organizations’ performance and profitability.

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Time is on your side—smart money management for Millennials Smart is the New Rich: Money Guide for Millennials is an interactive, step-by-step guide to all things money. From credit, student debt, savings, investing, taxes, and mortgages, CNN's chief business correspondent Christine Romans shows this newest generation of earners how to build wealth. You'll learn the old-fashioned approach that leads to a healthier financial lifestyle, and open the door on a straightforward conversation about earning, saving, spending, growing, and protecting your money. You'll learn how to invest in the stock market or buy a home, even if you are still paying off student loan debt. Romans offers expert insight on the "New Normal," and why the rules of the credit bubble—the one you were raised in—no longer apply. Checklists and quizzes help solidify your understanding, and pave the way for you to start putting these new skills into action. For thirty years, the financial rules for life revolved around abundant credit at the ready. A quick look around makes it obvious that those rules no longer work, and Millennials just now coming of age and entering the workforce need a new plan to build a solid financial foundation and healthy money habits. This book puts you on the right track, with step-by-step help and expert guidance. Learn what you should ask yourself before spending any money Revisit some old money rules that are actually good habits See simple rules for managing student debt Learn how to talk about money with friends, dates, and parents Find out what makes a Millennial successful in the workforce The economy is out of recession and growing, but many young people feel left out of the recovery. It's why smart spending, saving, and debt management is so critical right now for them. A smart money plan is no longer a "nice to have" extra, it's mandatory. Smart is the New Rich: Money Guide for Millennials is your guide on how to use time and some good money manners to build wealth.

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Fire had always been one of the greatest threats to an early modern British society that relied on the naked flame as the prime source of heating, lighting and cooking. Yet whilst the danger of fire had always been taken seriously, it was not until the start of the eighteenth century that a sophisticated system of insurance became widely available. Whilst a number of high profile fires during the seventeenth century had drawn attention to the economic havoc a major conflagration could wreak, it was not until the effects of sustained industrialization began to alter the economic and social balance of the nation, that fire insurance really took off as a concept. The culmination of ten years of research, this book is the definitive work on early British fire insurance. It also provides a foundation for future comparative international studies of this important financial service, and for a greater level of theorising by historians about the relationship between insurance, perceptions of risk, economic development and social change. Through a detailed study of the archives of nearly 50 English and Scottish insurance companies founded between 1696 and 1850 - virtually all the records currently available - together with the construction of many new datasets on output, performance and markets, this book presents one of the most comprehensive histories ever written of a financial service. As well as measuring the size, market structure and growth rate of insurance, and the extent to which the first industrial revolution was insured, it also demonstrates ways in which insurance can be linked into wider issues of economic and social change in Britain. These range from an examination of the joint-stock company form of organization - to an analysis of changing attitudes towards fire hazard during the course of the eighteenth century. The book concludes by emphasising the ambivalent character of fire insurance in eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain, contrasting the industry's dynamic long-run rate of growth with its more conservative attitude to product design and diversification.

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Quantitative Financial Economics Quantitative Financial Economics provides a comprehensive introduction to models of economic behaviour in financial markets, focusing on analysis in discrete time. Following the huge success of the first edition, this second edition has been fully revised and updated to reflect new developments in theory and practice, including: Behavioural finance: Preferences, arbitrage and learning Mean-variance and intertemporal asset allocation Performance of mutual and hedge funds Momentum, value-glamour strategies, style investing, market timing. Stochastic discount factor models: Equity premium and volatility puzzles Affine and cash-in-advance models Value at risk: Monte Carlo simulation, bootstrapping. Market microstructure: FX markets, technical trading, chartism Calibration, regime switching, data snooping, non-linear models. The authors provide theories and tests of competing ideas in financial markets using examples from the stock, bond and foreign exchange markets. Emphasis is placed on how models inform real-world decisions, making this book accessible to both students and quants practitioners studying the behaviour of asset returns and prices. REVIEWS FOR 1ST EDITION Review of 1st edition in Journal of Banking and Finance (22, pp 121-124): “In general the book is well written with a lucid exposition and Cuthbertson is eager on giving intuitive explanations whenever possible. Thus students and empirical researchers in macroeconomics and finance will undoubtedly find the book very valuable.” Tom Engsted, Aarhus School of Business, Aarhus, Denmark Review of 1st edition in Journal of Finance (53(1), pp. 417-420): “I found the book accessible and informative on a variety of topics. It provided me with a different perspective on some of the recent empirical literature. I believe that many finance doctoral student and academics would find it to be a useful resource and a handy reference.” Robert F. Whitelaw, Stern School of Business, NYU The book has a supporting website http://www.wiley.co.uk/cuthbertson which includes questions and answers, illustrative Excel and GAUSS programmes and econometrics notes.

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Big Bend National Park is one of the few places left in America where a person can literally get away from it all. Nestled in the great bend of the Rio Grande that forms one of the most distinctive features of the silhouette of Texas, the park is several hundred miles from any large city. Within its 1,250 square miles of mountains, canyons, desert, and river, Big Bend National Park offers visitors respite from the stresses of urban living—a place for taking stock and charting new courses. That's one reason why many people return to the park year after year.This book is the first and only comprehensive photographic and word portrait of Big Bend National Park. Laurence Parent presents a magnificent photo gallery of park scenes. He portrays the mountain ranges—Chisos, Dead Horse, Rosillos, and Sierra del Carmen—from first light to moonrise and in all seasons and weather. He includes dramatic images of Santa Elena, Mariscal, and Boquillas canyons, as well as landmark features such as Mule Ears Peaks, Elephant Tusk, and the Chisos Basin Window. Parent also portrays the ephemeral beauty of Big Bend wildflowers, including giant bluebonnets and blooming prickly pear cactus, as well as the traces of human habitation at ghost towns scattered around the park.Joe Nick Patoski complements Parent's images with a masterfully crafted word portrait of Big Bend National Park. Patoski describes the powerful geologic and volcanic forces that created the awe-inspiring landscape of the Big Bend. He reviews the park's natural history and also its human history, from the prehistoric hunter-gathers who ranged over the region to Cabeza de Vaca, who was probably the first European to see Big Bend, to the creation of the national park in the 1930s and 1940s. Patoski also summarizes recent conservation efforts that have led to the protection of 2.1 million acres on both sides of the Rio Grande.Although no single book could ever hope to contain the vastness of Big Bend National Park between two covers, this one beautifully captures its essence.

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In a 2001 poll, Turks ranked the United States highest when asked: "Which country is Turkey's best friend in international relations?" When the pollsters reversed the question—"Which country is Turkey's number one enemy in international relations?"—the United States came in second. How did Turkey's citizens come to hold such opposing views simultaneously? In The Limits of Westernization, Perin E. Gürel explains this unique split and its echoes in contemporary U.S.-Turkey relations. Using Turkish and English sources, Gürel maps the reaction of Turks to the rise of the United States as a world-ordering power in the twentieth century. As Turkey transitioned from an empire to a nation-state, the country's ruling elite projected "westernization" as a necessary and desirable force but also feared its cultural damage. Turkish stock figures and figures of speech represented America both as a good model for selective westernization and as a dangerous source of degeneration. At the same time, U.S. policy makers imagined Turkey from within their own civilization templates, first as the main figure of Oriental barbarism (i.e., "the terrible Turk"), then, during the Cold War, as good pupils of modernization theory. As the Cold War transitioned to the War on Terror, Turks rebelled against the new U.S.-made trope of the "moderate Muslim." Local artifacts of westernization—folk culture crossed with American cultural exports—and alternate projections of modernity became tinder for both Turkish anti-Americanism and resistance to state-led modernization projects. The Limits of Westernization analyzes the complex local uses of "the West" to explain how the United States could become both the best and the worst in the Turkish political imagination. Gürel traces how ideas about westernization and America have influenced national history writing and policy making, as well as everyday affects and identities. Foregrounding shifting tropes about and from Turkey—a regional power that continues to dominate American visions for the "modernization" of the Middle East—Gürel also illuminates the transnational development of powerful political tropes, from "the Terrible Turk" to "the Islamic Terrorist."

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The recipient of the Kluge Prize for lifetime achievement in the humanities and the Tang Prize for "revolutionary research" in Sinology, Ying-shih Yu is a premier scholar of Chinese studies. Chinese History and Culture volumes 1 and 2 bring his extraordinary oeuvre to English-speaking readers. Spanning two thousand years of social, intellectual, and political change, the essays in these volumes investigate two central questions through all aspects of Chinese life: what core values sustained this ancient civilization through centuries of upheaval, and in what ways did these values survive in modern times? From Ying-shih Yu's perspective, the Dao, or the Way, constitutes the inner core of Chinese civilization. His work explores the unique dynamics between Chinese intellectuals' discourse on the Dao, or moral principles for a symbolized ideal world order, and their criticism of contemporary reality throughout Chinese history. Volume 2 of Chinese History and Culture completes Ying-shih Yu's systematic reconstruction and exploration of Chinese thought over two millennia and its impact on Chinese identity. Essays address the rise of Qing Confucianism, the development of the Dai Zhen and Zhu Xi traditions, and the response of the historian Zhang Xuecheng to the Dai Zhen approach. They take stock of the thematic importance of Cao Xueqin's eighteenth-century masterpiece Honglou meng (Dream of the Red Chamber) and the influence of Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles of the People, as well as the radicalization of China in the twentieth century and the fundamental upheavals of modernization and revolution. Ying-shih Yu also discusses the decline of elite culture in modern China, the relationships among democracy, human rights, and Confucianism, and changing conceptions of national history. He reflects on the Chinese approach to history in general and the larger political and cultural function of chronological biographies. By situating China's modern encounter with the West in a wider historical frame, this second volume of Chinese History and Culture clarifies its more curious turns and contemplates the importance of a renewed interest in the traditional Chinese values recognizing common humanity and human dignity.

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An entirely new guide to the Trans Pennine Trail. The hugely popular 370 miles (595km) of trail across the north of England is a big favourite with walkers and cyclists, with many sections available for horse-riders and wheelchair users. The trail is suitable for users of all ages and abilities due to its easy gradients and traffic free conditions. This guide is packed with full colour maps, trail info and photos, making it perfect for planning and use along the way.Plan a scenic walk or bike ride, perhaps through the Pennines themselves, with it's many pretty villages, muse-ums and other visitor attractions along the way, very often with the possibility of a train return. For weekend or longer breaks on the trail you can select something from the wide range of accommodation in the guide, from the simple to the stylish and the quirky to the budget. Or, plan your leisurely day out with the kids, maybe combining a canal side walk or ride with a visit to a stately home. There's also the ultimate challenge of a coast to coast walk or cycle ride stretching 215 miles (346km) from Southport to Hornsea. Whatever your choice, the Ultimate Trans Pennine Trail Guide can help.This brand new guide features:* Detailed full colour 1:75,000 mapping showing route options for cyclists, walkers and horse-riders. * Street-level mapping for main towns and cities along the way, including: Southport, Liverpool, Widnes, Stock-port, Penistone, Doncaster, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Leeds, Selby, Hull and Hornsea. * Numerous colour images.* Route navigation notes.* Sleeping, eating and sightseeing suggestions cross-referenced to the mapping.Part of the popular Ultimate Guide Series which includes the bestselling Ultimate C2C Guide. Author Richard Peace has written and photographed more than 20 cycling titles as well as being a contributor to numerous cycling magazines and websites including Cycle (the official Cycle UK magazine), Bikeradar, Free-wheeling France and A to B transport magazine.

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•Understand what digital transformation means in a law firm context •Explore the cultural barriers to transformation, and learn how to overcome them •Gain insight from the operating models of successful digital businesses •Develop a business case and practical strategy for digital transformation •Understand the importance of diversity and purpose in driving digital change •Manage change and adoption challenges •Build on learnings from the COVID-19 crisis to accelerate digital transformation As law firms take stock in the aftermath of COVID-19, there is an opportunity to rethink the law firm operating model for the next decade and beyond. The crisis has reinforced the importance of agility and resilience, and the critical role digital technologies play in client service. For law firms, digital transformation should no longer be viewed as an indulgence, but as an urgent necessity. For those that embrace this challenge, the rewards, for both clients and colleagues, will be substantial. Written by one of the most respected leaders of law firm innovation, this book will help those contemplating or leading digital change in law firms to develop and execute a compelling digital transformation strategy. With a particular focus on the cultural and organisational challenges inherent in a law firm partnership, the book provides practical advice on how to effect meaningful and sustainable change. This invaluable guide for law firm leaders, lawyers, and those leading digital change in a law firm includes plenty of best-practice examples from outside as well as inside the legal profession. The book provides valuable insight for start-ups and technology providers looking to partner with law firms, and for aspiring lawyers starting their professional careers. Along with practical guidance on shaping digital transformation, this engaging work will give the reader a comprehensive overview of the competitive landscape in legal services, sharing diverse perspectives and case studies from leaders from different parts of the legal sector.

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In this monograph, Professor Gissurarson explains the Icelandic model of fisheries management, Individual Transferable Share Quotas (ITQs), implemented in 1979 to reverse the decline in Icelandic fish stocks. Access to Icelandic fisheries was traditionally open to all. In the 1960s and 1970s excessive catches of herring and then cod led to a decline in stocks of these important species in Iceland's waters. In response, Iceland's government imposed restrictions on the number of days trawlers could put to sea to catch certain species. This led to fishing Derbies, where fishermen competed to catch as many fish as possible in the limited time available. Inevitably, catches continued to exceed sustainable levels. Starting in 1979, the Icelandic government gradually introduced a system of individual transferable share quotas (ITQs), which essentially give boat owners the right to catch a specific proportion of the total allowable catch (TAC) of certain species. If a boat owner does not wish to use all his ITQ he can sell part of it to someone else. This encourages more efficient use of the capital invested in boats and equipment. Because ITQs entitle their owners to a specific share of the future stock of fish, they create incentives to ensure that stocks are sustainable. Since the introduction of ITQs, capital invested in Icelandic fisheries (boats and equipment) has been gradually falling and catches have fallen to sustainable levels, whilst the value of catches has risen. Because of the success of the ITQ system and the wealth it has created, there is now political pressure for an imposition of a resource rent tax. But such a tax would be contrary to the interests of effective conservation of fish stocks. A more appropriate next step would be to introduce a cost-recovery charge and, as a quid pro quo, give ITQ owners greater say in the administration and enforcement of the system. Owners of ITQ would have stronger incentives to ensure that catch levels were set at the economically optimal level.

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A gripping, “rollicking” (John Carreyrou, New York Times bestselling author of Bad Blood) biography of Jay Gould, the greatest of the 19th-century robber barons, whose brilliance, greed, and bare-knuckled tactics made him richer than Rockefeller and led Wall Street to institute its first financial reforms. Had Jay Gould put his name on a university or concert hall, he would undoubtedly have been a household name today. The son of a poor farmer whose early life was marked by tragedy, Gould saw money as the means to give his family a better life…even if, to do so, he had to pull a fast one on everyone else. After entering Wall Street at the age of twenty-four, he quickly became notorious when he paralyzed the economy and nearly toppled President Ulysses S. Grant in the Black Friday market collapse of 1869 in an attempt to corner the market on gold—an event that remains among the darkest days in Wall Street history. Through clever financial maneuvers, he gained control over one of every six miles of the country’s rapidly expanding network for railroad tracks—coming close to creating the first truly transcontinental railroad and making himself one of the richest men in America.American Rascal shows Gould’s complex, quirky character. He was at once praised for his brilliance by Rockefeller and Vanderbilt and condemned for forever destroying American business values by Mark Twain. He lived a colorful life, trading jokes with Thomas Edison, figuring Thomas Nast’s best sketches, paying Boss Tweed’s bail, and commuting to work in a 200-foot yacht. Gould thrived in an expanding, industrial economy in which authorities tolerated inside trading and stock price manipulation because they believed regulation would stifle the progress. But by taking these practices to new levels, Gould showed how unbridled capitalism was, in fact, dangerous for the American economy. This “gripping biography” (Fortune) explores how Gould’s audacious exploitation of economic freedom triggered the first public demands for financial reforms—a call that still resonates today.

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***Winner of the Financial Times Business Book of the Year award*** ***Selected as one of Barack Obama's Favourite Books of 2023*** 'Pulse quickening. A nonfiction thriller - equal parts The China Syndrome and Mission Impossible' New York Times An epic account of the decades-long battle to control the world's most critical resource—microchip technology Power in the modern world - military, economic, geopolitical - is built on a foundation of computer chips. America has maintained its lead as a superpower because it has dominated advances in computer chips and all the technology that chips have enabled. (Virtually everything runs on chips: cars, phones, the stock market, even the electric grid.) Now that edge is in danger of slipping, undermined by the naïve assumption that globalising the chip industry and letting players in Taiwan, Korea and Europe take over manufacturing serves America's interests. Currently, as Chip War reveals, China, which spends more on chips than any other product, is pouring billions into a chip-building Manhattan Project to catch up to the US. In Chip War economic historian Chris Miller recounts the fascinating sequence of events that led to the United States perfecting chip design, and how faster chips helped defeat the Soviet Union (by rendering the Russians’ arsenal of precision-guided weapons obsolete). The battle to control this industry will shape our future. China spends more money importing chips than buying oil, and they are China's greatest external vulnerability as they are fundamentally reliant on foreign chips. But with 37 per cent of the global supply of chips being made in Taiwan, within easy range of Chinese missiles, the West's fear is that a solution may be close at hand. 'A riveting history. Features vivid accounts and colourful characters' Financial Times'Fascinating…A historian by training, Miller walks the reader through decades of semiconductor history – a subject that comes to life thanks to [his] use of colorful anecdotes' Forbes 'Indispensable' Niall Ferguson

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How we concieve of the movement of ancient phenomena through time and space has been undergoing reassessment over the last two decades, causing the grip to be loosened on the well-entrenched interpretative models that had dominated research up to that point. The 'Regionalism and Globalism in Antiquity' conference, held in Vancouver on March 16-17, 2007, aimed to take stock of this situation and in particular to investigate in fresh ways how regional and global phenomena in the ancient Mediterranean, Near East and Eurasia shaped local life. Still today two models tend to guide explanations of intercultural and interregional contact and interaction: diffusionism from cores (or centres) to peripheries, involving 'superior' civilisations influencing other 'inferior' ones, and Mediterraneanism, the set of distinctive environmental, cultural and historical images that create a unified and unchanging view of the Mediterranean. These two models have come under increasing scrunity since the 1980s, as we have been living in a world of shifting perceptions of time and space and of greater interconnectedness that affects our everyday lives in numerous ways. The source of these shifts has been credited to globalisation, and with it has also come a greater historical appreciation of the phenomenon, including the recognition that the world has witnessed periods of globalisation since the end of the Ice Age. This volume contains 14 reworked and peer-reviewed essays from the original conference proceedings and provides a fair overview of the various chronological periods, methods and data, and perspectives encountered at the conference. The essays consist of case studies whose subjects range in date from the 10th millennium BC to the 4th century AD and draw in all the major regions of the ancient world. These essays and the original conference from which they derive have by no means exhausted all the potential topics raised by the framework within which they work. Much work remains to be done for antiquity and, given the framework's wide applicability, later periods of history.

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Christopher Knowlton, author of Cattle Kingdom and former Fortune writer, takes an in-depth look at the spectacular Florida land boom of the 1920s and shows how it led directly to the Great Depression.The 1920s in Florida was a time of incredible excess, immense wealth, and precipitous collapse. The decade there produced the largest human migration in American history, far exceeding the settlement of the West, as millions flocked to the grand hotels and the new cities that rose rapidly from the teeming wetlands. The boom spawned a new subdivision civilization—and the most egregious large-scale assault on the environment in the name of “progress.” Nowhere was the glitz and froth of the Roaring Twenties more excessive than in Florida. Here was Vegas before there was a Vegas: gambling was condoned and so was drinking, since prohibition was not enforced. Tycoons, crooks, and celebrities arrived en masse to promote or exploit this new and dazzling American frontier in the sunshine. Yet, the import and deep impact of these historical events have never been explored thoroughly until now. In Bubble in the Sun Christopher Knowlton examines the grand artistic and entrepreneurial visions behind Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Miami Beach, and other storied sites, as well as the darker side of the frenzy. For while giant fortunes were being made and lost and the nightlife raged more raucously than anywhere else, the pure beauty of the Everglades suffered wanton ruination and the workers, mostly black, who built and maintained the boom, endured grievous abuses. Knowlton breathes dynamic life into the forces that made and wrecked Florida during the decade: the real estate moguls Carl Fisher, George Merrick, and Addison Mizner, and the once-in-a-century hurricane whose aftermath triggered the stock market crash. This essential account is a revelatory—and riveting—history of an era that still affects our country today.

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A fascinating exploration of early to mid-twentieth-century politics as seen through the eyes of a Roosevelt technocrat.History seems to repeat itself. With ongoing wars abroad and the collapse of financial institutions at home, Americans rely on President Barack Obama and Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew to bring about positive change. When the US stock market collapsed in 1928 and World War II broke out, the nation turned to Franklin D. Roosevelt and his Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., for leadership.Henry Morgenthau, Jr. explores the life of this native New Yorker. Born into a prominent Jewish family, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., became a controversial figure in politics. Yet, his contributions were integral to social, political, and economic milestones in American history, all while he grappled with his identity as an American Jew during the atrocities of WWII in Europe. This new biography offers a glimpse of yesterday and lessons for today.Author Herbert Levy offers an extensively researched life of this important American leader. From thorough research in the archives of Hyde Park to careful study of Morgenthau’s letters, Levy delivers an in-depth account of the fascinating life of this remarkable man. This book explores the complex and oftentimes frustrating world in which Morgenthau was forced to live and illuminates his odyssey as a Roosevelt technocrat.Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

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A no-good thief takes on a job with a huge payout that he can’t possibly resist!Steven Train is a thief who knows a thing or two about how to handle a firearm. One day he’s approached by another crook named John Rainier to go on a manhunt. Train is wary at first, but when Rainier tells him there’s a huge payout, he decides to take on the job.Rainier works for Patrick Comstock, a rich rancher looking for an honest man to go on a dangerous mission in hopes of finding his long lost friend. Comstock’s friend disappeared after losing all his earnings in oil stock investments that went bad. However, as luck would have it, one of the oil stocks bounced back and is now worth $50,000! Comstock needs Train to find his long lost friend and give him his earnings.Train takes on the job with the intent of stealing the cash and splitting it with the no-good Rainier, but a snooping detective investigating a number of older crimes Train committed could ruin their best-laid plans. And to top it off, Train has an odd change of heart and decides that if Comstock enlists his help, he will double-cross Rainier and will instead faithfully carry out his mission to find the missing person and return to him his money.Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in fiction that takes place in the old West. Westerns—books about outlaws, sheriffs, chiefs and warriors, cowboys and Indians—are a genre in which we publish regularly. Our list includes international bestselling authors like Zane Gray and Louis L’Amour, and many more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

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Whether building a road or fighting a war, leaders from ancient Mesopotamia to the present have relied on financial accounting to track their state's assets and guide its policies. Basic accounting tools such as auditing and double-entry bookkeeping form the basis of modern capitalism and the nation-state. Yet our appreciation for accounting and its formative role throughout history remains minimal at best,and we remain ignorant at our peril. The 2008 financial crisis is only the most recent example of how poor or risky practices can shake, and even bring down, entire societies.In The Reckoning , historian and MacArthur Genius" Award-winner Jacob Soll presents a sweeping history of accounting, drawing on a wealth of examples from over a millennia of human history to reveal how accounting has shaped kingdoms, empires, and entire civilizations. The Medici family of 15th century Florence used the double-entry method to win the loyalty of their clients, but eventually began to misrepresent their accounts, ultimately contributing to the economic decline of the Florentine state itself. In the 17th and 18th centuries, European rulers shunned honest accounting, understanding that accurate bookkeeping would constrain their spending and throw their legitimacy into question. And in fact, when King Louis XVI's director of finances published the crown's accounts in 1781, his revelations provoked a public outcry that helped to fuel the French Revolution. When transparent accounting finally took hold in the 19th Century, the practice helped England establish a global empire. But both inept and willfully misused accounting persist, as the catastrophic Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the Great Recession of 2008 have made all too clear.A masterwork of economic and political history, and a radically new perspective on the recent past, The Reckoning compels us to see how accounting is an essential instrument of great institutions and nations,and one that, in our increasingly transparent and interconnected world, has never been more vital.

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Scholarship of multi-level governance has developed into one of the most innovative themes of research in political science and public policy. This accessible Handbook presents a thorough review of the wide-ranging literature, encompassing various theoretical and conceptual approaches to multi-level governance and their application to policy-making in domestic, regional and global contexts. The importance of multi-level governance in specific policy areas is highlighted, and the contributors - an international group of highly renowned scholars - report on the ways in which their field of specialization is or may be affected by multi-level governance and how developments could affect its conceptualization. European integration is considered from its unique standpoint as the key catalyst in the development of multi-level approaches, and the use of multi-level governance in other parts of the world, at both domestic and regional levels, is also considered in detail before focus is shifted towards global governance. The Handbook concludes with a presentation of six policy fields and instruments affected by multi-level governance, including: social policy, environmental policy, economic policy, international taxation, standard-setting and policing.This comprehensive Handbook takes stock of the vast array of multi-level governance theory and research developed in subfields of political science and public policy, and as such will provide an invaluable reference tool for scholars, researchers and students with a special interest in public policy, regulation and governance.Contributors: M.W. Bauer, M. Beisheim, A. Benz, T.A. Börzel, D. Braun, T. Büthe, S. Campe, S. Clarkson, H. Enderlein, B. Geys, A. Graser, T.N. Hale, M. Hallerberg, A. Hassel, E. Herschinger, S. Hix, L. Hooghe, C. Humrich, M. Jachtenfuchs, C. Jeffery, I. Kaul, K.A. Konrad, C. Kraft-Kasack, S. Kuhnle, G. Marks, W. Mattli, F.W. Mayer, A. Obydenkova, B. Rittberger, T. Rixen, A. Sbragia, M. Schäferhoff, F.W. Scharpf, J.A. Scholte, M.A. Schreurs, A.-M. Slaughter, M.B. Stein, W. Swenden, L. Turkewitsch, S. Wälti, B. Zangl, M. Zürn

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Authors Keegan-Michael Key and Elle Key build on the popularity of their 2022 Webby Award–winning podcast and delve deeper into the world of sketch, helped along with new essays created expressly for the book by comedy greats. The History of Sketch Comedy will appeal to all kinds of comedy fans as well as fans of Keegan-Michael Key, whether they know him from his Emmy- and Peabody-winning work on Key & Peele; his roles in Fargo, The Prom, Schmigadoon!, The Bubble, and the upcoming Wonka; voiceover work in The Lion King; or as President Barack Obama's anger translator, Luther. With epic personal tangents and hilarious asides, their story takes you on an illuminating look at all facets of comedy from the stock characters of commedia del arte in the 16th century, to the rise of vaudeville and burlesque, the golden age of television comedy, the influence of the most well-known comedy schools, and the ascension of comedy films and TV specials - all the way through to a look at the future of sketch on social media platforms. Along the way, we hear tales of Key's childhood, his comedy influences, and the vicissitudes of his career path. As the New York Times said in its review of their podcast, "this comedy nerd history is filtered through memoir, with Key relating stories of his budding fandom, training and rise from improv comic to television sketch artist." Part masterclass, part memoir, and hilariously embellished with priceless commentary, The History of Sketch Comedy illuminates the essential building blocks of sketch comedy while interweaving Key's experiences of personal discovery and the influence of his comedy heroes. The text is complemented by original art by Elle Key and exclusive essays compiled from conversations with some of their famous comedy friends and performers who have influenced the development of comedy, such as Jordan Peele, Mel Brooks, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, John Oliver, Tracy Morgan, Carol Burnett, Jim Carrey, and many more.

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The global warming problem is becoming critical year by year, causing climate disaster all over the world, where it has been believed that the CO2 gas emitted from the factories and the burning of fossil fuels may be one of the reasons of global warming. Moreover, the global stock of fossil fuels is limited, and may run out soon within several tens of years. Although wind, geo-thermal, and tide energies have been considered as clean energy sources, those depend on the land or sea locations and subject to the climate change. Biofuel and biochemical production from renewable bio-resources has thus been paid recent attention from environmental protection and energy production points of view, where the current chemical and energy producing plants can be also utilized with slight modification. The so-called 1st generation biofuels have been produced from corn starch and sugarcane in particular in USA and Brazil. However, this causes the problem of the so-called "food and energy issues" as the production scale increases. The 2nd generation biofuel production from lingo-cellulosic biomass or wastes has thus been paid recent attention. However, it requires energy intensive pretreatment for the degradation of lingo-cellulosic biomass, and the fermentation is slow due to low growth rate, and thus the productivity of biofuels and bio-chemicals is low. The 3rd generation biofuel production from photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria and algae has been also paid attention, because such organisms can grow with only sun light and CO2 in the air, but the cell growth rate and thus the productivity of the fuels is significantly low. The main part or core of such production processes is the fermentation by micro-organisms. In particular, it is critical to properly understand the cell metabolism followed by the efficient metabolic engineering. The book gives comprehensive explanation of the cell metabolism and the metabolic regulation mechanisms of a variety of micro-organisms. Then the efficient metabolic engineering approaches are explained to properly design the microbial cell factories for the efficient cell growth and biofuel and biochemical production.

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Fisheries Management is a beautifully-produced full colour guide to the management of still-water coarse fisheries. Carefully compiled by three leading specialists, who each draw on many years’ experience, this book is an essential purchase for all still water coarse fisheries managers. The correct management of still waters and their fisheries is vital to ensure environmental protection and an appropriate level of stocking densities of healthy fish. This new book provides the reader with the necessary information to achieve these goals. The book's first part covers the ecology of still waters and includes succinct and user-friendly information on physical and chemical processes, nutrient cycles, energy movements, trophic levels, bacteria, plants, invertebrates, fish, disease-causing organisms, mammals and birds. Part two provides in depth, but easily assimilated cutting edge information, on how a still-water fishery should be set up, developed and successfully managed. Coverage includes development, preparation and construction; stock assessment and invertebrate survey; control of water quality, aquatic plants, erosion, predators and nuisance species; management of the impact of climate change; fish disease and biosecurity; control of fishing activities, fish nutrition, fishery enhancement and condition improvement, and general administration. The final part of this excellent manual covers legal and social frameworks including general and environmental legislation, direct fisheries-related legislation, and agencies and organizations. Fisheries Management provides fishery managers with an invaluable, practical tool which none should be without. Students studying fisheries biology, fisheries management and aquatic sciences will find this a very useful learning resource, as will all those who are considering buying or building and setting up lakes for fisheries. All libraries in universities, research establishments and government agencies where fisheries and biological sciences are studied and taught should have copies of this landmark publication on their shelves. Editor and authors with many years’ practical experience Vital and commercially important information for fisheries managers A useful reference source for upper level students and academics Covers an important multi-million pound industry across many countries

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During the Global Financial Crisis in 2008, our financial infrastructure failed. Governments bailed out the very institutions that let the economy down. This episode spurred a serious rethink of our financial system. Does it make any sense that it takes two days to settle a stock transaction? Why do retailers, operating on razor thin margins, have to pay 3% for every customer credit card swipe? Why does it take two days to transfer money from a bank account to a brokerage—or any other company? Why are savings rates miniscule or negative? Why is it so difficult for entrepreneurs to get financing at traditional banks? In DeFi and the Future of Finance, Campbell R. Harvey, Ashwin Ramachandran and Joey Santoro, introduce the new world of Decentralized Finance. The book argues that the current financial landscape is ripe for disruption and we are seeing, in real time, the reinvention of finance. The authors provide the reader with a clear assessment of the problems with the current financial system and how DeFi solves many of these problems. The essence of DeFi is that we interact with peers—there is no brick and mortar and all of the associated costs. Savings and lending are reinvented. Trading takes place with algorithms far removed from traditional brokerages. The book conducts a deep dive on some of the most innovative protocols such as Uniswap and Compound. Many of the companies featured in the book you might not have heard of—however, you will in the future. As with any new technology, there are a myriad of risks and the authors carefully catalogue these risks and assess which ones can be successfully mitigated. Ideally suited for people working in any part of the finance industry as well as financial policy makers, DeFi and the Future of Finance gives readers a vision of the future. The world of finance will fundamentally be changed over the coming decade. The book enables you to become part of the disruption – not the target of the disruption.

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In Warren Buffett: Inside the Ultimate Money Mind, Hagstrom breaks new ground with a deep analysis of Buffett's essential wisdom, an intricate mosaic of wide-ranging ideas and insights that Buffett calls a Money Mind. What exactly is a Money Mind? At one level, it's a way of thinking about major financial issues such as capital allocation. At another level, it summarizes an overall mindset for successfully investing in today’s fast-paced stock market, a mindset that depends on a commitment to learning, adapting, and facing down irrelevant noise. This is not a method book. It is a thinking book. Warren Buffett: Inside the Ultimate Money Mind explains the philosophies of self-reliance, stoicism, rationalism, and pragmatism and their contributions to making intelligent investment decisions. It also outlines the evolution of value investing, discusses how to develop a business-driven investing mindset, and describes the defining traits of successful active management. Lastly, it examines the surprising aspects of a Money Mind – sportsman, teacher, and artist. In short, Warren Buffett: Inside the Ultimate Money Mind helps readers understand the building blocks that go into making a Money Mind so they can begin to incorporate its principles in the service to a life of value. Testimonials "An erudite masterpiece..."–Lawrence A. Cunningham, author; professor and director, Quality Shareholders Initiative, George Washington University "It's another must-read…"–Bethany McLean, journalist and Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair, author, Saudi America and co-author The Smartest Guys in the Room "Pure Genius! This is a game changer in investment books..."–Robert P. Miles, author; Executive in Residence, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Executive MBA Program, 'The Genius of Warren Buffett' "Effervescence and thoughtful analysis of Buffett's life and work..."–Tom Gayner, Co-chief Executive Officer, Markel Corporation "Hagstrom's books always enable readers to think about the world in new ways…"–Tren Griffin, author, Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor

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Although most Americans attribute shifting practices in the financial industry to the invisible hand of the market, Mark H. Rose reveals the degree to which presidents, legislators, regulators, and even bankers themselves have long taken an active interest in regulating the industry. In 1971, members of Richard Nixon's Commission on Financial Structure and Regulation described the banks they sought to create as "supermarkets." Analogous to the twentieth-century model of a store at which Americans could buy everything from soft drinks to fresh produce, supermarket banks would accept deposits, make loans, sell insurance, guide mergers and acquisitions, and underwrite stock and bond issues. The supermarket bank presented a radical departure from the financial industry as it stood, composed as it was of local savings and loans, commercial banks, investment banks, mutual funds, and insurance firms. Over the next four decades, through a process Rose describes as "grinding politics," supermarket banks became the guiding model of the financial industry. As the banking industry consolidated, it grew too large while remaining too fragmented and unwieldy for politicians to regulate and for regulators to understand—until, in 2008, those supermarket banks, such as Citigroup, needed federal help to survive and prosper once again. Rose explains the history of the financial industry as a story of individuals—some well-known, like Presidents Kennedy, Carter, Reagan, and Clinton; Treasury Secretaries Donald Regan and Timothy Geithner; and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon; and some less so, though equally influential, such as Kennedy's Comptroller of the Currency James J. Saxon, Citicorp CEO Walter Wriston, and Bank of America CEOs Hugh McColl and Kenneth Lewis. Rose traces the evolution of supermarket banks from the early days of the Kennedy administration, through the financial crisis of 2008, and up to the Trump administration's attempts to modify bank rules. Deeply researched and accessibly written, Market Rules demystifies the major trends in the banking industry and brings financial policy to life.

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Transform your life and thoughts in just a few minutes a day with the 3-Minute Positivity Workbook! Re-train your brain to focus on positivity and reframe your emotions. Using neuroscience and psychology-based techniques, this accessible workbook will guide you in exploring negative thoughts and practicing positivity. Each writing prompt or activity included is designed to take only three minutes. Learn how to cope with your emotions and how to identify thoughts and beliefs that are hindering you from being your best self. The 3-Minute Positivity Workbook features: Over 150 thought-provoking prompts 3-minute mindfulness and meditation activities Inspirational quotes Helpful tips Sample prompts include: List five misconceptions your anxious mind has believed about yourself. Take three minutes to meditate and see yourself achieving your goals, living the life you want. Envision how it will look and feel. Write about your obsessive needs to control. How does it feel in your body? Discover how to improve positivity in all areas of your life, including your emotional, physical, and mental well-being. Get started today and you’ll be on your way to becoming more positive, healthy, and optimistic! With so much of our lives and contact going digital, the Guided Workbooks offer an intimate way to nurture your connection with yourself and the people around you. An entertaining way to get off your screen, the pages in these guided prompt books are great for writers and first-timers alike. Each workbook offers content around a different, compelling theme, filled with thoughtful questions, inspiration for composition, and interactive prompts to learn about yourself and the world around you. Beautifully designed on high-quality paper stock and full of mindful prompts, channel your inspiration as you put pen to paper to learn more about what inspires you. Other books in the series include: 52 Weeks to Better Mental Health, Tarot: A Guided Workbook to Unlock and Explore Your Magickal Intuition, and Astrology: A Guided Workbook to Understand and Explore the Wisdom of the Universe.

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"Maneuvers" takes readers on a global tour of the sprawling process called 'militarization'. With her incisive verve and moxie, eminent feminist Cynthia Enloe shows that the people who become militarized are not just the obvious ones - executives and factory floor workers who make fighter planes, land mines, and intercontinental missiles. They are also the employees of food companies, toy companies, clothing companies, film studios, stock brokerages, and advertising agencies. Militarization is never gender-neutral, Enloe claims: It is a personal and political transformation that relies on ideas about femininity and masculinity. Films that equate action with war, condoms that are designed with a camouflage pattern, fashions that celebrate brass buttons and epaulettes, tomato soup that contains pasta shaped like "Star Wars"' weapons - all of these contribute to militaristic values that mold our culture in both war and peace. Presenting new and groundbreaking material that builds on Enloe's acclaimed work in "Does Khaki Become You?" and "Bananas, Beaches, and Bases", "Maneuvers" takes an international look at the politics of masculinity, nationalism, and globalization. Enloe ranges widely from Japan to Korea, Serbia, Kosovo, Rwanda, Britain, Israel, the United States, and many points in between. She covers a broad variety of subjects: gays in the military, the history of 'camp followers', the politics of women who have sexually serviced male soldiers, married life in the military, military nurses, and the recruitment of women into the military. One chapter titled "When Soldiers Rape" explores the many facets of the issue in countries such as Chile, the Philippines, Okinawa, Rwanda, and the United States. Enloe outlines the dilemmas feminists around the globe face in trying to craft theories and strategies that support militarized women, locally and internationally, without unwittingly being militarized themselves. She explores the complicated militarized experiences of women as prostitutes, as rape victims, as mothers, as wives, as nurses, and as feminist activists, and she uncovers the 'maneuvers' that military officials and their civilian supporters have made in order to ensure that each of these groups of women feel special and separate.

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October 19th 1987 was a day of huge change for the global finance industry. On this day the stock market crashed, the Nobel Prize winning Black-Scholes formula failed and volatility smiles were born, and on this day Elie Ayache began his career, on the trading floor of the French Futures and Options Exchange. Experts everywhere sought to find a model for this event, and ways to simulate it in order to avoid a recurrence in the future, but the one thing that struck Elie that day was the belief that what actually happened on 19th October 1987 is simply non reproducible outside 19th October 1987 - you cannot reduce it to a chain of causes and effects, or even to a random generator, that can then be reproduced or represented in a theoretical framework. The Blank Swan is Elie's highly original treatise on the financial markets – presenting a totally revolutionary rethinking of derivative pricing and technology. It is not a diatribe against Nassim Taleb's The Black Swan, but criticises the whole background or framework of predictable and unpredictable events – white and black swans alike – , i.e. the very category of prediction. In this revolutionary book, Elie redefines the components of the technology needed to price and trade derivatives. Most importantly, and drawing on a long tradition of philosophy of the event from Henri Bergson to Gilles Deleuze, to Alain Badiou, and on a recent brand of philosophy of contingency, embodied by the speculative materialism of Quentin Meillassoux, Elie redefines the market itself against the common perceptions of orthodox financial theory, general equilibrium theory and the sociology of finance. This book will change the way that we think about derivatives and approach the market. If anything, derivatives should be renamed contingent claims, where contingency is now absolute and no longer derivative, and the market is just its medium. The book also establishes the missing link between quantitative modelling (no longer dependent on probability theory but on a novel brand of mathematics which Elie calls the mathematics of price) and the reality of the market.

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The easy-to-use resource for anyone looking to learn more about the financial sector and how to make the most of it The Fisher Investments On series is designed to provide individual investors, students, and aspiring investment professionals with the tools necessary to understand and analyze investment opportunities—primarily for investing in global stocks. Each guide is an easily accessible primer to economic sectors, regions, or other components of the global stock market. While this guide is specifically on Financials, the basic investment methodology is applicable for analyzing any global sector, regardless of the current macroeconomic environment. Following a top-down approach to investing, Fisher Investments on Financials can help you make more informed decisions within the Financials sector. It skillfully addresses how to determine optimal times to invest in Financials stocks and which Financials industries have the potential to perform well in various environments. The book is divided into three comprehensive parts—Getting Started, Financials Details, and Thinking Like a Portfolio Manager. Explains some of the sector's key macro drivers—like regulation, interest rates, and credit trends Shows how to capitalize on a wide array of macro conditions and industry-specific features to help you form an opinion on each of the industries within the sector Takes you through the major components of the industries within the global Financials sector and reveals how they operate Offers investment strategies to help you determine when and how to overweight specific industries within the sector Outlines a five-step process to help differentiate firms in this field—designed to help you identify those with the greatest probability of outperforming Filled with in-depth insights, Fisher Investments on Financials provides a framework for understanding this sector and its industries to help you make better investment decisions—now and in the future. With this book as your guide, you can gain a global perspective of the Financials sector and discover strategies to help achieve your investing goals.

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Taking stock of contemporary social, cultural, and political currents, Timothy Brennan explores key turning points in the recent history of American intellectual life. He contends that a certain social-democratic vision of politics has been banished from public discussion, leading to an unlikely convergence of the political right and the academic left and a deadening of critical opposition. Brennan challenges the conventional view that affiliations based on political belief, claims upon the state, or the public interest have been rendered obsolete by the march of events in the years before and after Reagan. Instead, he lays out a new path for a future infused with a sense of intellectual and political possibility. In highlighting the shift in America's intellectual culture, Brennan makes the case for seeing belief as an identity. As much as race or ethnicity, political belief, Brennan argues, is itself an identity-one that remains unrecognized and without legal protections while possessing its own distinctive culture. Brennan also champions the idea of cosmopolitanism and critiques those theorists who relegate the left to the status of postcolonial "other." Wars of Position documents how alternative views were chased from the public stage by strategic acts of censorship, including within supposedly dissident wings of the humanities. He explores how the humanities entered the cultural and political mainstream and settled into an awkward secular religion of the "middle way." In a series of interrelated chapters, Brennan considers narratives of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Clinton impeachment; reexamines Salman Rushdie's pre-fatwa writing to illuminate its radical social leanings; presents a startling new interpretation of Edward Said; looks at the fatal reception of Antonio Gramsci within postcolonial history and criticism; and offers a stinging critique of Hardt and Negri's Empire and the influence of Italian radicalism on contemporary cultural theory. Throughout the work, Brennan also draws on and critiques the ideas and influence of Heidegger, Lyotard, Kristeva, and other influential theorists.

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Artists today are at a crossroads. With funding for the arts and humanities endowments perpetually under attack, and school districts all over the United States scrapping their art curricula altogether, the place of the arts in our civic future is uncertain to say the least. At the same time, faced with the problems of the modern world—from water shortages and grave health concerns to global climate change and the now constant threat of terrorism—one might question the urgency of this waning support for the arts. In the politically fraught world we live in, is the “felt” experience even something worth fighting for? In this soul-searching collection of vignettes, Patrick Summers gives us an adamant, impassioned affirmative. Art, he argues, nurtures freedom of thought, and is more necessary now than ever before. As artistic director of the Houston Grand Opera, Summers is well positioned to take stock of the limitations of the professional arts world—a world where the conversation revolves almost entirely around financial questions and whose reputation tends toward elitism—and to remind us of art’s fundamental relationship to joy and meaning. Offering a vehement defense of long-form arts in a world with a short attention span, Summers argues that art is spiritual, and that music in particular has the ability to ask spiritual questions, to inspire cathartic pathos, and to express spiritual truths. Summers guides us through his personal encounters with art and music in disparate places, from Houston’s Rothko Chapel to a music classroom in rural China, and reflects on musical works he has conducted all over the world. Assessing the growing canon of new operas performed in American opera houses today, he calls for musical artists to be innovative and brave as opera continues to reinvent itself. This book is a moving credo elucidating Summers’s belief that the arts, especially music, help us to understand our own humanity as intellectual, aesthetic, and ultimately spiritual.

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Andersfield, Cannington, and North Pether-ton hundreds together occupy the Lower Par-rett valley stretching from the Quantock ridge in the west to King's Sedgemoor in the east, and from the Bristol Channel in the north to the river Tone in the south. By the late 11th century the settlement pattern was dense, especially between the Quantocks and the Par-rett, an area crossed by the Saxon 'herpath' in the north and including the 10th-century strongholds of Athelney and Lyng in the south and the Domesday royal manors of Can-nington, North Petherton, and Creech St. Michael. The origin of the medieval royal park at North Petherton can be traced to a pre--Conquest royal forest on the Quantocks, and North Petherton was an extensive minster parish. Bridgwater, a chartered borough from 1200, is the only significant town. By the later Middle Ages its port served central, south, and west Somerset, and until the 19thcentury heavy goods continued to be transported along the Parrett, the Tone, and the Bridgwater and Taunton canal into Dorset and Devon. The pattern of settlement is varied, with a few nucleated villages, roadside villages, and many dispersed hamlets. Interlocking parish boundaries indicate complex economic units and late parochial formation. Arable farming predominated until the 16th century, partly in open arable fields. In the 17th century there was an emphasis on stock rearing and an increase in dairying and orchards, large-ly the result of improved drainage. Cheese was an important product of the area in the 18th century, and in the 19th baskets from locally grown willow. Woollen cloth production con-tinued into the 17th century. From the late 17th century the alluvial clays of the Parrett valley provided material for the bricks and tiles for which Bridgwater became well known in the 19th century. Substantial estates whose houses wholly or partially survive include Fairfield, Gothelney, Gurney Street, West Bower, and Sydenham. Halswell House was from the later 17th century the grandest mansion in the area, and Enmore Castlewas built in the later 18th century.

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Marked by the establishment of ISDA in 1985, derivatives have become an indispensable, integral and deeply embedded part of the international financial markets. The new global regulatory framework instituted following the 2008 financial crisis was accompanied by a series of operational, commercial and documentation changes, which has made the derivatives markets stronger, safer and more resilient. However, a deeper and more robust product and regulatory understanding of the derivatives market is more important than ever. This fourth edition of Practical Derivatives: A Transactional Approach features a number of new chapters analysing the latest trends in the following areas: the rise of derivatives referencing cryptocurrencies and other digital assets, and the emerging regulatory framework on both sides of the Atlantic; the slow but steady move to assets meeting the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) criteria in the area of derivatives and structured products; the completion of the regulatory framework for cleared and OTC derivatives; the development of non-English/New York law derivatives documentation; and the emergence of new structures in the securities finance world. It also includes updated chapters explaining how derivatives are used in the practical context, how the documentation works and any pitfalls for the unwary. It provides real-life tips for the application and negotiation of transactions referencing: 2021 ISDA Interest Rate Derivatives Definitions; 2014 ISDA Credit Derivatives Definitions; 2002 ISDA Equity Derivatives Definitions; 2005 ISDA Commodity Definitions; Regulatory IM and VM documentation; and The principal repo and stock lending forms of agreement. With contributions from leading law firms, investment firms and academics, this accessible book takes a transactional approach and features coverage of product innovations. Whether you are at a bank, asset manager, pension fund, insurance company or other financial institution; from a company or organisation looking to invest or manage your risk; or involved in providing advisory services to these entities, this title will provide you with practical tools for using derivatives in your business.

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"Mr. Wolman's view of the women as style icons comes into sharp focus thanks to a new coffee-table book, Groupies and Other Electric Ladies. It collects his published portraits along with outtakes, contact sheets, the original articles from the issue and new essays that put the subjects into a modern context. The thick paper stock and oversize format emphasizes Mr. Wolman's view of the groupies as pioneers in hippie frippery." New York Times Style section "...style and fashion mattered greatly, were central to their presentation, and I became fascinated with them... I discovered what I believed was a subculture of chic and I thought it merited a story." Baron Wolman The 1960s witnessed a huge cultural revolution. Music was at the heart of a new generation's rallying cry for love, peace and harmony - from small clubs to giant festivals like Woodstock. With men predictably dominating as musicians and performers, the women and girls backstage started to explore their own forms of liberation and self-expression. They became better known as the Groupies - offering their allegiance to the music, and the artists who made it. On February 15, 1969 Rolling Stone magazine released a 'Special Super-Duper Neat Issue' called 'THE GROUPIES and Other Girls' featuring the work of their chief photographer, Baron Wolman. It would turn out to be a sensational milestone, making instant celebrities of the women featured. With this single issue, the Groupies had arrived. They emerged as extraordinary women, whose lifestyles divided opinion and remain controversial. Some became models, actresses, writers, artists and musicians - the GTOs, the original 'Groupie band' admired and encouraged by Frank Zappa, is featured here. Others fell into obscurity. Now, over 45 years later, ACC and Iconic Images are proud to publish the photographs of Baron Wolman in a single volume for the first time. Groupies and Other Electric Ladies features more than 150 images, including previously unseen out-takes and contact sheets, and comes complete with the original Rolling Stone text, as well as interviews with several of the women today.

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Ethan and Joel Coen's The Big Lebowski was released in 1998 to general bafflement. A decade on, it had become a cult classic and remains so over 20 years later, inspiring a thriving circuit of 'Lebowski Fests' during which costumed devotees gather at bowling alleys and guzzle White Russians. Beyond its superabundance of deliciously quotable lines, how has the movie inspired such remarkable affection? And why does its critical stock continue to rise? The film's unlikely anchor is Jeff Bridges' career-best performance as Jeffrey Lebowski, a fully-baked 1960s radical turned Venice Beach drop-out known to his friends as 'the Dude'. Mistaken for an identically-named grandee whose young trophy wife is in trouble, the Dude finds himself embroiled in an impossibly convoluted kidnap plot involving pornographers, nihilists and threats to his 'johnson'. Worst of all, it conflicts with his bowling commitments. In part an irreverent pastiche of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep (as filmed by Howard Hawks), The Big Lebowski is also a jukebox of film history, littered with playful references to everything from Hitchcock and Altman to Busby Berkeley. This riot of addled quotations reflects the film's Los Angeles setting, a discombobulated world inhabited by flakes, phonies and poseurs with put-on identities. Like many Coen films, the movie plays havoc with the conventions of the crime genre and the absurdities of classical American 'heroism'. But it's also that rare thing: a comedy that gets richer, funnier and more affecting with each viewing. Beneath its breakneck pacing and foul-mouthed ribaldry, the Dude's story offers disarmingly humane lessons in the value of simple things: friendship, laughter and bowling. In their foreword to this new edition, the authors reflect on Lebowski's cult status and its contemporary resonances as a film about gentle non-conformity and friendship in an increasingly polarized world. The new edition also includes an interview with the Coens, revealing the origins of the name 'Jeffrey Lebowski'.

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A must-read for anyone who makes business decisions that have a major financial impact. As the recent collapse on Wall Street shows, we are often ill-equipped to deal with uncertainty and risk. Yet every day we base our personal and business plans on uncertainties, whether they be next month’s sales, next year’s costs, or tomorrow’s stock price. In The Flaw of Averages, Sam Savage­known for his creative exposition of difficult subjects­ describes common avoidable mistakes in assessing risk in the face of uncertainty. Along the way, he shows why plans based on average assumptions are wrong, on average, in areas as diverse as healthcare, accounting, the War on Terror, and climate change. In his chapter on Sex and the Central Limit Theorem, he bravely grasps the literary third rail of gender differences. Instead of statistical jargon, Savage presents complex concepts in plain English. In addition, a tightly integrated web site contains numerous animations and simulations to further connect the seat of the reader’s intellect to the seat of their pants. The Flaw of Averages typically results when someone plugs a single number into a spreadsheet to represent an uncertain future quantity. Savage finishes the book with a discussion of the emerging field of Probability Management, which cures this problem though a new technology that can pack thousands of numbers into a single spreadsheet cell. Praise for The Flaw of Averages “Statistical uncertainties are pervasive in decisions we make every day in business, government, and our personal lives. Sam Savage’s lively and engaging book gives any interested reader the insight and the tools to deal effectively with those uncertainties. I highly recommend The Flaw of Averages.” —William J. Perry, Former U.S. Secretary of Defense “Enterprise analysis under uncertainty has long been an academic ideal. . . . In this profound and entertaining book, Professor Savage shows how to make all this practical, practicable, and comprehensible.” —­Harry Markowitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics

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A practical guide to making more informed investment decisions Investors often buy or sell stocks too quickly. When you base your purchase decisions on isolated facts and don't take the time to thoroughly understand the businesses you are buying, stock-price swings and third-party opinion can lead to costly investment mistakes. Your decision making at this point becomes dangerous because it is dominated by emotions. The Investment Checklist has been designed to help you develop an in-depth research process, from generating and researching investment ideas to assessing the quality of a business and its management team. The purpose of The Investment Checklist is to help you implement a principled investing strategy through a series of checklists. In it, a thorough and comprehensive research process is made simpler through the use of straightforward checklists that will allow you to identify quality investment opportunities. Each chapter contains detailed demonstrations of how and where to find the information necessary to answer fundamental questions about investment opportunities. Real-world examples of how investment managers and CEOs apply these universal principles are also included and help bring the concepts to life. These checklists will help you consider a fuller range of possibilities in your investment strategy, enhance your ability to value your investments by giving you a holistic view of the business and each of its moving parts, identify the risks you are taking, and much more. Offers valuable insights into one of the most important aspects of successful investing, in-depth research Written in an accessible style that allows aspiring investors to easily understand and apply the concepts covered Discusses how to think through your investment decisions more carefully With The Investment Checklist, you'll quickly be able to ascertain how well you understand your investments by the questions you are able to answer, or not answer, without making the costly mistakes that usually hinder other investors.

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A sharp and illuminating history of one of capitalism's longest running tensions-the conflicts of interest among public company directors, managers, and shareholders-told through entertaining case studies and original letters from some of our most legendary and controversial investors and activists. Recent disputes between shareholders and major corporations, including Apple and DuPont, have made headlines. But the struggle between management and those who own stock has been going on for nearly a century. Mixing never-before-published and rare, original letters from Wall Street icons-including Benjamin Graham, Warren Buffett, Ross Perot, Carl Icahn, and Daniel Loeb-with masterful scholarship and professional insight, Dear Chairman traces the rise in shareholder activism from the 1920s to today, and provides an invaluable and unprecedented perspective on what it means to be a public company, including how they work and who is really in control. Jeff Gramm analyzes different eras and pivotal boardroom battles from the last century to understand the factors that have caused shareholders and management to collide. Throughout, he uses the letters to show how investors interact with directors and managers, how they think about their target companies, and how they plan to profit. Each is a fascinating example of capitalism at work told through the voices of its most colorful, influential participants. A hedge fund manager and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, Gramm has spent as much time evaluating CEOs and directors as he has trying to understand and value businesses. He has seen public companies that are poorly run, and some that willfully disenfranchise their shareholders. While he pays tribute to the ingenuity of public company investors, Gramm also exposes examples of shareholder activism at its very worst, when hedge funds engineer stealthy land-grabs at the expense of a company's long term prospects. Ultimately, he provides a thorough, much-needed understanding of the public company/shareholder relationship for investors, managers, and everyone concerned with the future of capitalism.

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