Over the last 2,000 years, critical innovations have transformed small regions into global powers. But these powers have faded when they did not embrace the next big innovation. Gerard J. Tellis and Stav Rosenzweig argue that openness to new ideas and people, empowerment of individuals and competition are key drivers in the development and adoption of transformative innovations. These innovations, in turn, fuel economic growth, national dominance and global leadership. In How Transformative Innovations Shaped the Rise of Nations, Tellis and Rosenzweig examine the transformative qualities of concrete in Rome; swift equine warfare in Mongolia; critical navigational innovations in the golden ages of Chinese, Venetian, Portuguese and Dutch empires; the patent system and steam engine in Britain; and mass production in the United States of America.
This book is devoted to a thorough analysis of the role that models play in the practise of physical theory. The authors, a mathematical physicist and a philosopher of science, appeal to the logicians’ notion of model theory as well as to the concepts of physicists.
In the last few years, it has become abundantly clear that the effects of accelerating climate change will be catastrophic, from rising seas to more violent storms to desertification. Yet why do nation-states find it so difficult to implement transnational policies that can reduce carbon output and slow global warming? In Oceans Rise, Empires Fall, Gerard Toal explains why geopolitical competition is the primary obstacle. In a world of interstate rivalry, nations tend to always prioritize acquiring the fossil fuels necessary for growth in the short term over working toward a zero-carbon future.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) is generally seen as one of the most important figures whose ideas had a great influence on the French Revolution (1789). Many immediately associate him with the concept of "the noble savage." However, just as with his political and philosophical writings, his love for botany and scenery would change the landscape of continental Europe, if not the world. This book presents a unique view of the young Rousseau's awakening love for plants, and his sometimes euphoric appreciation of the scenery during his endless walks. The author unfolds the development of Rousseau's concept of nature, which makes it possible to pinpoint the exact and pivotal moment of change in his thinking about the natural environment. This culminated in a vision that converged with the the Marquis de Girardin's ideas about landscaping. The reader follows the Marquis during the development of the first English Garden in France, where Rousseau probably spent the happiest weeks of his life. While the park represents Rousseau's dream come true, it was destined to become the place of both his death and his tomb. In text and photographs this book captures the character of the park, built around the concepts of two men of fundamentally different character. It is the park's intricate mixture of bliss and gloominess that put a spell on the reader and every visitor.
Gerard Roland's new text, Development Economics, is the first undergraduate text to recognize the role of institutions in understanding development and growth. Through a series of chapters devoted to specific sets of institutions, Roland examines the effects of institutions on growth, property rights, market development, and the delivery of public goods and services and focuses. With the most comprehensive and up to date treatment of institutions on development, Roland explores the important questions of why some countries develop faster than others and why some fail while others are successful.
A multiplicity of methods for visualization are described in Visualization of Receptors. This book of techniques covers immunocytology, radioautography, in situ hybridization, plasmon resonance, RT in vitro PCR, and X-ray crystal structure analysis. Lecturers, researchers, practitioners, technicians, and students will find all the principles and protocols they require and the means of implementing them. Topics discussed include localization of ligands (in vitro or in vivo), visualization of immunoreactivities of ligand and receptor proteins, detection and quantification of mRNA expression, amplification of signals, and determination of 3-D structure. Details of protocols with illustrations of results and commentaries are provided throughout the book.
This volume assembles and presents a database on bank regulation in over 150 countries (included also on CD). It offered the first comprehensive cross-country assessment of the impact of bank regulation on the operation of banks, and assesses the validity of the Basel Committee's influential approach to bank regulation. The treatment also provides an empirical evaluation of the historic debate about the proper role of government in the economy by studying bank regulation and analyzes the role of politics in determining regulatory approaches to banking. The data also indicate that restrictions on the entry of banks, government ownership of banks, and restrictions on bank activities hurt banking system performance. The authors find that domestic political factors shape both regulations and their effectiveness.
The author of this book, Gerard Lukken, has always believed that liturgy is not something which is unchangeable or sacrosanct, something to be imposed 'from above'; rather he believes that it must gain shape and content from the situation in which believers find themselves. This involvement is reflected in the hundreds of publications which have flowed from his pen. Lukken's extensive writings offer not only an exciting reflection on the challenges (such as secularization and the decrease in church-going) confronting church and believers, but also on the problems they have faced in celebrating their faith in recent decades. Moreover, his work represents a model for methodological renewal. The key concepts in his theological approach and his evaluation are 'anthropology' and 'semiotics'. These two aspects have left their marks on the organisation of this book which is a selective compilation drawn from his earlier publications. This collection consists of nineteen studies which have lost nothing of their topicality and most of which are now being translated into English, French or German for the first time. By crossing the frontier of language in such a way the editors wish not only to honour a leading specialist in liturgy but also to contribute to academic research into liturgy throughout the world. Gerard Lukken (1933) studied at the Diocesan Seminary in Haaren (Noord-Brabant), the Pontificia Universita in Rome, and the Institut Superieur de Liturgie in Paris. He was professor of liturgy and sacramental theology (from 1967) and director of the Liturgical Institute (from 1992) at the Theological Faculty of Tilburg until his retirement in 1994.
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