How should governments and central banks use monetary policy to create a healthy economy? Traditionally, policymakers have used such strategies as controlling the growth of the money supply or pegging the exchange rate to a stable currency. In recent years a promising new approach has emerged: publicly announcing and pursuing specific targets for the rate of inflation. This book is the first in-depth study of inflation targeting. Combining penetrating theoretical analysis with detailed empirical studies of countries where inflation targeting has been adopted, the authors show that the strategy has clear advantages over traditional policies. They argue that the U.S. Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank should adopt this strategy, and they make specific proposals for doing so. The book begins by explaining the unique features and advantages of inflation targeting. The authors argue that the simplicity and openness of inflation targeting make it far easier for the public to understand the intent and effects of monetary policy. This strategy also increases policymakers' accountability for inflation performance and can accommodate flexible, even "discretionary," monetary policy actions without sacrificing central banks' credibility. The authors examine how well variants of this approach have worked in nine countries: Germany and Switzerland (which employ a money-focused form of inflation targeting), New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Israel, Spain, and Australia. They show that these countries have typically seen lower inflation, lower inflation expectations, and lower nominal interest rates, and have found that one-time shocks to the price level have less of a "pass-through" effect on inflation. These effects, in turn, are improving the climate for economic growth. The authors warn, however, that the success of inflation targeting depends on operational details, such as how the targets are defined and when they are announced. They also show that inflation targeting is not a panacea that can make inflation perfectly predictable or reduce it without economic costs. Clear, balanced, and authoritative, Inflation Targeting is a groundbreaking study that will have a major impact on the debate over the right monetary strategy for the coming decades. As a unique comparative study of what central banks actually do in different countries around the world, this book will also be invaluable to anyone interested in how economic policy is made.
Growing up during The Troubles, I was determined that I was not going to be forced into Irish unity by terrorist violence or the threat of it. At the time, there was no space to think about a different future. But since then, we have had peace, however imperfect it may be, and we now have the opportunity to freely decide our fate. Why will everyone living on the island of Ireland benefit from Irish unity? How will the referendum be won? Do we need to start preparing now? What will happen when Ireland is reunified? Disillusioned with the state of pro-union politics in Britain and Northern Ireland, scarred by what he and many others see as a detrimental vote for Brexit and determined to heal the wounds inflicted by partition, Ben Collins sets out a multitude of political, social and economic benefits of removing the border on the island of Ireland, once and for all. Written from the viewpoint of an East Belfast-born former UUP campaigner, Irish Unity: Time to Prepare addresses the concerns of unionists in Northern Ireland and sceptics in the Republic and urges everyone on the island of Ireland to escape the crumbling United Kingdom so that we can build a peaceful and prosperous future together, for ourselves and our children.
The Film Studio sheds new light on the evolution of global film production, highlighting the role of film studios worldwide. The authors explore the contemporary international production environment, identifying various types of film studios and investigating the consequences for Hollywood, international film production, and the studio locations. Visit our website for sample chapters!
“At last a book has been written that forensically examines how the British Armed Forces fought its way through Normandy . . . utterly absorbing.” —James Holland, bestselling author of Brothers in Arms Stout Hearts is a book which offers an entirely new perspective on the British Army in Normandy. This fresh study explores the anatomy of war through the Army’s operations in the summer of 1944, informing and entertaining the general nonfiction reader as well as students of military history. There have been so many books written on Normandy that the publication of another one might appear superfluous. However most books have focused on narrating the conduct of the battle, describing the factors that influenced its outcome, or debating the relative merits of the armies and their generals. What was missing from the existing body of work on Normandy specifically and the Second World War generally is a book that explains how an army actually operates in war and what it was like for those involved; Stout Hearts fills this gap. Stout Hearts is essential reading for those who wish to understand the “mechanics” of battle. How does an Army care for its wounded? How do combat engineers cross obstacles? How do tanks fight? How do Air and Naval Forces support the Army? But to understand what makes an Army “tick” you must also understand its people. Therefore explanations of tactics and techniques are not only well illustrated with excellent photographs and high quality maps but also effectively combined with relevant accounts from the combatants themselves. These dramatic stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things are the strength of the book, bringing the campaign to life and entertaining the reader.
In a chillingly realistic scenario for the future, the Peacekeepers, the U.N. Peacekeeping force that operates all strategic defense satellites in orbit around Earth, combat terrorism, tactical nuclear bombs and war in Central America and the Middle East
Viewers of The Thick of It will know of special advisers as spin doctors and political careerists. Several well-known ministers have been special advisers, among them David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Jack Straw and Vince Cable. People also know about the public relations disasters involving Jo Moore, Damian McBride and Adam Smith. But what is the reality? What do special advisers actually do in government? Who are they, where do they come from, and why are they needed? This book is the most detailed study yet carried out of special advisers. The Constitution Unit's research team, led by Dr Ben Yong and Professor Robert Hazell, assembled a comprehensive database of over 600 special advisers since 1979. They conducted written surveys, and interviewed over 100 special advisers, ministers and officials from the past thirty years. They conclude that special advisers are now a permanent and indispensable part of Whitehall, but are still treated as transient and temporary. The book concludes with practical recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of special advisers through improvements to their recruitment, induction and training, support and supervision, and strengthening their accountability.
Schools, theatres and malls used to be safe havens. Marathons were triumphal, not tragic. Today, public life is risky. Citizens are on edge, either calling for gun control or purchasing personal weapons of self-defense. In this timely book, prominent US and international authors examine gun violence in public life. They offer the latest data and analysis on topics such as comparative gun homicide rates, the efficacy of gun control, risks associated with gun ownership, concealed-carry data and policy, media and gaming violence, gender and guns, and school shootings. New insights are developed from a comparative case study of Canada, a country in which gun ownership is common but with a much lower rate of gun violence. Neither demonising nor mythologising guns, the contributors provide evidence-based analyses that shed light on policy directions and personal conduct.
Ben Dunkelman grew up in a wealthy Jewish family in Toronto. Kicked out of several schools for being a hell-raiser, he was sent off to Europe and the Middle East in the 1930s, gaining hard experience that would serve him well in the years to come. On his return he worked for the family business, but when World War Two came he lost no time in enlisting. Dunkelman describes the war from the ordinary soldier's viewpoint, without embellishment or glorification. Yet he was a hero to his men--and to his country. After the war Dunkelman returned to Canada, but in 1948 he went to war again--this time to fight for the young nation of Israel in the struggle to establish a Jewish state. Dual Allegiance is the exciting, fast-paced story a man and the passions he was willing to fight for--and if necessary, die for.
The general problem addressed in this book is a large and important one: how to usefully deal with huge storehouses of complex information about real-world situations. Every one of the major modes of interacting with such storehouses – querying, data mining, data analysis – is addressed by current technologies only in very limited and unsatisfactory ways. The impact of a solution to this problem would be huge and pervasive, as the domains of human pursuit to which such storehouses are acutely relevant is numerous and rapidly growing. Finally, we give a more detailed treatment of one potential solution with this class, based on our prior work with the Probabilistic Logic Networks (PLN) formalism. We show how PLN can be used to carry out realworld reasoning, by means of a number of practical examples of reasoning regarding human activities inreal-world situations.
Longtime San Francisco residents and intrepid hikers David Weintraub and Ben Pease have selected 44 "must-do" trips for hiking, running, and bicycling. Trails range from easy strolls to all-day treks, from 2 to 12 miles, covering the most scenic parks and preserves between Santa Rosa and San Jose. The second edition features new hikes in Muir Woods and the Presidio, more elevation profiles, and at-a-glance information helps you find the best wildflowers, fall color, bird-watching, camping, historic sites, and cool hikes for hot days.
Making a Difference in Urban Schools evaluates how school and community leaders have worked to change urban education in Canada for the better over the past fifty years.
Inhaltsangabe:Abstract: This report will demonstrate the importance of Loyalty Management in the competitive environment of the airline industry and will show that a successful approach to Loyalty Management consists of three different, interlinked aspects. These three pillars are Customer Service, Frequent Flyer Programs, and Complaint Management; their interdependence will be analysed in depth, with special attention given to the perceived importance of Frequent Flyer Programs. Findings from a detailed literature review and a survey show that customers do indeed perceive these issues as vital with regards to their loyalty towards a particular airline. It was found that Customer Service can be regarded as the foundation for Loyalty Management; it can help an airline to gain competitive advantage by setting it apart from its competitors. Frequent Flyer Programs, if implemented and run properly, can provide the customer with added value. As such, they compliment Customer Service and can help to increase overall loyalty. Additionally, Complaint Management was found to be gaining importance among airlines. The number of complaints was shown to be rising gradually, stressing the growing significance of efficient Complaint Management and its strong after-effect on customer loyalty. Inhaltsverzeichnis:Table of Contents: 1.INTRODUCTION6 1.1AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE REPORT7 1.2TERMINOLOGY9 1.3BACKGROUND INFORMATION: LOYALTY MANAGEMENT9 1.3.1DEFINITIONS9 1.3.2TRADITIONAL MARKETING AND LOYALTY MANAGEMENT10 1.3.3IMPORTANCE OF LOYALTY MANAGEMENT12 1.4CHARACTERISTICS OF THE AIRLINE MARKET13 1.4.1AIRLINE INDUSTRY ANALYSIS - STEEPLE13 1.4.1.1Social13 1.4.1.2Technological14 1.4.1.3Economical14 1.4.1.4Environmental14 1.4.1.5Political15 1.4.1.6Legal15 1.4.1.7Ethical15 1.4.2CONSOLIDATION IN PRACTICE: BRITISH AIRWAYS16 1.4.2.1British Airways and KLM16 1.4.2.2British Airways and American Airlines18 1.4.3THE CURRENT AIRLINE SITUATION19 2.LITERATURE REVIEW22 2.1CUSTOMER SERVICE22 2.1.1BACKGROUND INFORMATION23 2.1.1.1Singapore Airlines23 2.1.2REVELATION OF DISSATISFACTION24 2.1.3EMPLOYEES25 2.1.4COMMUNICATION25 2.1.5THE CUSTOMER26 2.1.5.1Customer Requirements26 2.1.6SERVICE QUALITY27 2.1.6.1Quality and Retaining Customers28 2.1.7ORIENTATION OF COMPANY29 2.1.8CONCLUSION CUSTOMER SERVICE29 2.2FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMS31 2.2.1BACKGROUND INFORMATION31 2.2.1.1Statistics Frequent Flyer Programs32 2.2.2CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS [...]
These essays explore the Great Depression from the point of view of a scholar whose specialty is macroeconomics. His key assertion is that the Depression is informative about the current economy because it was enormous and it affected most of the world's countries.
In British Columbia by the Road, Ben Bradley takes readers on an unprecedented journey through the history of roads, highways, and motoring in British Columbia’s Interior, a remote landscape composed of plateaus and interlocking valleys, soaring mountains and treacherous passes. Challenging the idea that the automobile offered travellers the freedom of the road and a view of unadulterated nature, Bradley shows that an array of interested parties – boosters, businessmen, conservationists, and public servants – manipulated what drivers and passengers could and should view from the road. When it came to roads and highways, planners and builders had two concerns: grading or paving a way through “the wilderness” and opening pathways to new parks and historic sites. They understood that the development of a modern road network would lead to new ways of perceiving BC and its environment. Although cars and roads promised freedom, they offered drivers a curated view of the landscape that shaped the province’s image in the eyes of residents and visitors alike.
When the War of 1812 breaks out between the British in Canada and the United States, eighteen-year-old Billy Green is an expert woodsman with romantic ideas of combat. Struggling with his father's ideals and with his attraction to Sarah, the daughterof an American sympathizer, Billy soon finds himself faced with a series of fateful decisions. Then on June 5, 1813, he spots the massive American forces camped in the tiny hamlet of Stoney Creek. Against all odds, the young man rides three hours in the middle of the night to Burlington Heights to warn the British. The Americans have already captured Fort George and destroyed Fort York. Burlington Heights is the only bastion of British forces remaining in the area, and if the Americans seize it, all of Upper Canada could fall under U.S. control. Can Billy Green help save the day? The ensuing historic battle will forever change the face of a nation and present Billy with challenges that will shake him to his very core.
A Circle is a Balloon and Compass Both is a collection of stories about love, the most elusive and problematic of all phenomena. With a mix of traditional, literary prose and bold–some might even say irresponsible–experimentation, Ben Greenman explores the ins and outs of modern romance. Expect tears, nudity, and recrimination. From the half-hearted summer affair between a part-time bartender and a married doctor in a Miami hotel to the cryptic pseudo-erotic love letters to a friend who is “more than a friend,” we experience the love of pop songs, the love of cohabitation in Chicago, and love that is so transporting it takes us to the moon–literally. “Like Green Day did for punk rock, and The Matrix for kung-fu flicks, this new collection from New Yorker editor Greenman could well become an advocate for the short story with those who haven’t been interested in the form. Amusing, palatable . . . it’s precisely the sort of thing that can gain a new audience for a genre.” Time Out Chicago “A smart, tightly structured collection . . . playful, wryly comical.” The Brooklyn Rail “Seriously funny.” San Francisco Chronicle “Wildly inventive, sometimes surreal, but tenderly told, these stories give a glimpse of what Phillip K. Dick might have written if he’d allowed himself a sincere broken heart.” Paste Magazine
Reveals America’s long history of making both naturalized immigrants and native-born citizens un-American after stripping away their citizenship Expatriation, or the stripping away citizenship and all the rights that come with it, is usually associated with despotic and totalitarian regimes. The imagery of mass expulsion of once integral members of the community is associated with civil wars, ethnic cleansing, the Holocaust, or other oppressive historical events. Yet these practices are not just a product of undemocratic events or extreme situations, but are standard clauses within the legal systems of most democratic states, including the United States. Witness, for example, Yaser Esam Hamdi, captured in Afghanistan in November 2001, sent to Guantánamo, transferred to a naval brig in South Carolina when it was revealed that he was a U.S. citizen, and held there without trial until 2004, when the Justice Department released Hamdi to Saudi Arabia without charge on the condition that he renounce his U.S. citizenship. Hamdi’s story may be the best known expatriation story in recent memory, but in Revoking Citizenship, Ben Herzog reveals America’s long history of making both naturalized immigrants and native-born citizens un-American after their citizenship was stripped away. Tracing this history from the early republic through the Cold War, Herzog locates the sociological, political, legal, and historic meanings of revoking citizenship. Why, when, and with what justification do states take away citizenship from their subjects? Should loyalty be judged according to birthplace or actions? Using the history and policies of revoking citizenship as a lens, Revoking Citizenship examines, describes, and analyzes the complex relationships between citizenship, immigration, and national identity.
Raise a pint to the WORLD’S BEST BEERS! This extensive exploration of the 1,000 tastiest brews on earth is not your average guidebook—it’s a complete look into the history, production, and flavor of every beer worth drinking. “Brewery Profiles” take you country-by-country to the finest breweries in places like Argentina, Japan, Germany, Belgium, Britain, and New Zealand, and provide fun facts, stats, and anecdotes. There’s even an explanation of which beers go with which foods. Next time you eat shellfish, try it with a Pilsner. Having a hearty stout? It pairs perfectly with some vanilla ice cream. So drink up!
There is a growing recognition of the role that culture can play in sustainable development strategies. This development has generally been welcomed, but also raises a number of questions: What are the implications in policy and practice? Who are the most influential voices in promoting a global agenda for culture and development, and to what extent has the creation of new international policy instruments reflected a consensus? More fundamentally, what is meant by "culture" in these discussions and who has the power to give particular definitions political and legal authority? The Politics of Cultural Development seeks to provide a theoretically and historically informed response to such questions, illustrated by reference to case studies (including the European Union, the Caribbean and China). Particular attention is paid to the formation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and the Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, a landmark instrument in debates about culture and development. The book goes on to explore some of the practical implications that this international treaty is beginning to have for the ways that culture is (and is not) being integrated into contemporary development policy and practice. This book will be useful for students, academics and policymakers in the fields of international development, international relations, international political economy, cultural policy and cultural theory.
We live in a time of linguistic plainness. This is the age of the tweet and the internet meme; the soundbite, the status, the slogan. Everything reduced to its most basic components. Stripped back. Pared down. Even in the world of literature, where we might hope to find some linguistic luxury, we are flirting with a recessionary mood. Big books abound, but rhetorical largesse at the level of the sentence is a shrinking economy. There is a prevailing minimalist sensibility in the twenty-first century. Novel Style is driven by the conviction that elaborate writing opens up unique ways of thinking that are endangered when expression is reduced to its leanest possible forms. By re-examining the works of essential English stylists of the late twentieth century (Anthony Burgess, Angela Carter, Martin Amis), as well as a newer generation of twenty-first-century stylists (Zadie Smith, Nicola Barker, David Mitchell), Ben Masters argues for the ethical power of stylistic flamboyance in fiction and demonstrates how being a stylist and an ethicist are one and the same thing. A passionate championing of elaborate writing and close reading, Novel Style illuminates what it means to have style and how style can change us. .
Earth is an old planet, and her teeming masses are running out of resources . . . and time. It is up to men such as Jeff Holman to discover a haven for Earth’s millions. Altair VI is one such planet, and Holman is determined to transform this world into one where the human race can survive. Star probes had long before informed Earth that Altair VI had a flourishing ecology with one very tough beast at the top of the food chain, a beast that will have to be dealt with before the human colony ships arrive. The beast is not only tough, it is as smart as a man. Holman is faced with a soul-wrenching decision—for to make Altair VI habitable for humans, all native life must die.
America Has Ceded The Heavens To The Tyrants -- And The Renegades. The U.S. has abandoned its quest for the stars, and an old enemy has moved in to fill the void. The potential wealth of the universe is now in malevolent hands. Rebel billionaire Dan Randolph -- possessor of the largest privately owned company in space -- intends to weaken the stranglehold the new despotic masters of the solar system have on the lucrative ore industry. But when the mineral-rich asteroid he sets in orbit around the Earth is commandeered by the enemy, and his unarmed workers are slaughtered in cold blood, the course of Randolph's life is changed forever. Now cataclysm is aimed at the exposed heart of America -- a potential catastrophe that Randolph himself inadvertently set in motion. And the maverick entrepreneur must use his skills, cunning, and vast resources to strike out at his foes hard, fast and with ruthless precision -- and wear proudly the mantle that fate thrust upon him: space pirate!
This is the first book to examine the relationship between English nationalism, Brexit and ‘the Anglosphere’ – a politically-contested term used to denote English-speaking countries sharing cultural and historical roots with the UK. In the aftermath of the UK’s EU referendum some pointed to a ‘revolt’ of those ‘left behind’ by globalisation. Ben Wellings argues instead that Brexit was and is an elite project, firmly situated within the tradition of an expansive English nationalism. Far from being parochial ‘Little Englanders’, elite Brexiteers sought to replace the European Union with trade and security alliances between ‘true friends’ and ‘traditional allies’ in the Anglosphere. Brexit was thus reassuringly presented as a giant leap into the known. As the UK’s future relationship with the rest of the world is negotiated, the need to understand this ‘English moment’ has never been more pressing.
Global Urban Analysis provides a unique insight into the contemporary world economy through a focus on cities. It is based upon a large-scale customised data collection on how leading businesses use cities across the world: as headquarter locations, for finance, for professional and creative services, for media. These data - involving up to 2000 firms and over 500 cities - provide evidence for both how the leading cities, sometimes called global cities, are coming to dominate the world economy, and how hundreds of other cities are faring in this brave new urban world. Thus can the likes of London, New York and Hong Kong be tracked as well as Manchester, Cleveland and Guangzhou, and even Plymouth, Chattanooga and Xi'an. Cities are assessed and ranked in terms of their importance for various functions such as for financial services, legal services and advertising, plus novel findings are reported for the geographical orientations of their connections. This is truly a comprehensive survey of cities in globalization covering global, world-regional, and national scales of analysis: - 4 key chapters outline the global structure of the world economy featuring the leading cities; - 9 regional chapters covering the whole world also feature the level of services provided by 'medium' cities; - 22 chapters on selected countries and sub-regions indicate global-ness and local-ness and feature an even wider range of cities. Written in an easy to understand style, this book is a must read for anybody interested in their own city in the world and how it relates to other cities.
At the end of World War II, long before an Allied victory was assured and before the scope of the atrocities orchestrated by Hitler would come into focus or even assume the name of the Holocaust, Allied forces had begun to prepare for its aftermath. Taking cues from the end of the First World War, planners had begun the futile task of preparing themselves for a civilian health crisis that, due in large part to advances in medical science, would never come. The problem that emerged was not widespread disease among Europe’s population, as anticipated, but massive displacement among those who had been uprooted from home and country during the war. Displaced Persons, as the refugees would come to be known, were not comprised entirely of Jews. Millions of Latvians, Poles, Ukrainians, and Yugoslavs, in addition to several hundred thousand Germans, were situated in a limbo long overlooked by historians. While many were speedily repatriated, millions of refugees refused to return to countries that were forever changed by the war—a crisis that would take years to resolve and would become the defining legacy of World War II. Indeed many of the postwar questions that haunted the Allied planners still confront us today: How can humanitarian aid be made to work? What levels of immigration can our societies absorb? How can an occupying power restore prosperity to a defeated enemy? Including new documentation in the form of journals, oral histories, and essays by actual DPs unearthed during his research for this illuminating and radical reassessment of history, Ben Shephard brings to light the extraordinary stories and myriad versions of the war experienced by the refugees and the new United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration that would undertake the responsibility of binding the wounds of an entire continent. Groundbreaking and remarkably relevant to conflicts that continue to plague peacekeeping efforts, The Long Road Home tells the epic story of how millions redefined the notion of home amid painstaking recovery.
Moving from the absurdity of the First World War to the chaos of today's cities, where men share beds, bottles of ouzo, and shade from willow trees, these poems ask questions: If your lover speaks in his sleep, how do you know "you" is you? Can you wake him to move his arm? What if you think of the perfect comeback to a six-year-old argument? Otter fails, with style, to find answers. Ben Ladouceur is a writer originally from Ottawa, now based in Toronto. His work has been featured in The Best Canadian Poetry 2013, and he was awarded the Earle Birney Poetry Prize in 2013.
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