It won't happen to me. I'm too busy to worry about a living will. My family will know what to do. No one wants to plan for death or incapacitating illness. But, as the emotional legal battle in the Terri Schiavo case made all too clear, people of all ages need to document and communicate clear decisions about the final details of their lives while they are healthy and have time to fully consider their own values and preferences. Here, Drs. David Doukas and William Reichel help individuals make decisions and communicate their wishes to health care providers and family members and other loved ones. Drs. Doukas and Reichel use a question-and-answer format to guide readers through the process—emphasizing the crucial connection between values and treatment preferences. They explain advance directives and the health care decision-making process, including the values history, family covenants, proxies, and proxy negation. The appendix includes resources and Web links for learning about advance directive requirements and obtaining legal forms in all fifty states. This practical guide helps people navigate the important but often intimidating process of thinking about, and planning for, an uncertain future.
European Equity Markets and Corporate Financial Decisions explores the current nature of corporate decisions faced by European financial managers, the highly interdependent financial and economic environment in which they function, and how that environment seeks complete integration with other financial and economic environments. The contributing authors provide a timely core of theoretical and empirical investigations on a set of European equity markets and corporate financial management decisions to give readers a deeper understanding of equity markets in Europe.
Here are new insights into the process of European financial integration which continues to remain in the forefront of international financial developments. Based on the most recent econometric techniques and theoretical innovations, this book provides a timely core of theoretical and empirical studies on European currency movements, the European Monetary System (EMS), and developments in European banking and financial markets. European Foreign Exchange Movements and Financial Institutions offers an understanding of the current exchange rate movements within the EMS and the functioning of European financial institutions in an environment moving toward greater financial and economic integration. Contributing authors from Europe and the United States study and examine: foreign exchange risk and EMS EMS exchange rate fluctuations the effects of risk-based capital standing on European financial institutions and the rest of the world European banking acquisitions and corporate control issues interest rates and the cost structure of the French banking system European Foreign Exchange Movements and Financial Institutions is a valuable source of helpful information for students in MBA and PhD programs and for technically-oriented finance professionals with banking research interests.
John Kass's Odyssey is a nine-article Chicago Tribune series from April 2012 that relates the economic and political transformations of Greece and Turkey from the always-honest perspective of an award-winning columnist. As a first-generation American born to Greek immigrants, Kass explores his family's history and his personal connections to these neighboring nations whose own relationship is often tumultuous. While ancient Greece's traditions are at the heart of our American democracy, modern Greece has become notorious for making headlines as an economic harbinger of doom. Kass finds a desperate situation in Greece: the citizens are frustrated and in despair, due to government corruption and the inevitable fiscal disaster that follows (a situation not unfamiliar to the ready hypocrisies and injustices of Chicago that Kass regularly unearths in his daily column). In the same balanced style that has won him respect from readers and peers alike, Kass sojourns from Athens to his ancestral village of Rizes, finding moments of hope that are uplifting and poignant as well as interpersonal stories that are eminently memorable. From Greece, Kass crosses the Aegean sea to neighboring Turkey—a country that may be Greece's inverse when it comes to both economics (Turkish GDP growth has boomed over the past decade) and democracy. Turkey is painted as a place of burgeoning democracy driven by Islamist reformers, which is a far cry from the republic's founding and unique status as a secular Islamist state. Traveling from Istanbul to Ankara, and then to the ancient city of Izmir with its rich shared Turkish-Greek history, Kass discovers not only the intimate intertwining of Greece and Turkey, but also his own deep, personal connections to the two lands. Kass brilliantly highlights the surprising circumstances these two countries share, not only with each other but with his hometown of Chicago and with Illinois and the United States as a whole. John Kass's Odyssey is a unique mixture of personal travel story and up-to-the-minute political journalism. The up-close humanity evoked through Kass's journalistic voice creates stories that are relatable, near, and more urgent than any front-page headline could ever hope to be. For Chicagoans, who by and large live in ethnically diverse communities and identify their city as a hub of Greek culture, these stories take on even broader meanings. When Kass concludes his journey at Easter Mass in a Greek Orthodox church in the heart of Istanbul, readers will feel that this could be anywhere—taking place as much on South Halsted Street as it could be in the Hagia Sophia. It will surely appeal to those interested in international affairs, history, religion, and travel writing, in addition to the many readers who are consistently rapt by the writing of one of Chicago's finest journalists.
Here is a new book that enhances understanding of European financial management issues and the way they relate to the U.S. economy. Financial Management in Post-1992 Europe discusses the process of integration of European economies and helps researchers, academics, and practitioners arrive at optimal solutions in their decisionmaking relating to the European unified economy and capital markets. It provides a timely core of empirical investigations into financial management issues and explains the anatomy of the European capital markets integration. This book exposes readers to research outcomes produced by some of the finest researchers and academics, generating new insights into the financial nature of the European unification. Financial Management in Post-1992 Europe discusses European banking structure and its functioning, investments decisions, and integration and performance of Euromarkets. Chapters also: analyze the political consequences of the EEC's recent changes in the European banking system address empirically the extent of integration of European money and foreign exchange markets investigate the efficient functioning of European equity markets as well as the interrelationships among these markets examine European capital market reactions to investment decisions in the 1987-1992 period This book is ideally suited for MBA and PhD graduates, finance professionals, and researchers who need or wish to know more about the financial effects of European unification. It also makes an effective ancillary text for upper-level courses on topics such as financial management and international capital markets.
Most of us are uncomfortable with thoughts of our own death or serious illness - and so we put off making decisions that could help ensure that the health care we receive as we are dying is managed according to our preferences and personal values. This book explains why it is important to decide now what you want and do not want at the end of your life - and it shows you how to document those preferences and have them carried out. Using a question-and-answer format, Planning for Uncertainty tells you what you need to know about advance directives - the living will, the durable power of attorney, and the values history. Family physicians Dr. David Doukas and Dr. William Reichel describe the medical consequences of a broad range of choices and procedures, from using respirators and ventilators to withholding nutrition and hydration. They tell why and how to prepare advance directives that address a variety of medical circumstances. They also explore ethical issues such as active euthanasia, assisted suicide, and passive euthanasia. As family physicians, the authors of Planing for Uncertainty have seen what happens when a dying person has lost the ability to make decisions and has failed to provide advance directives. The result can be great anguish for families and needless suffering for patients. With sample documents and a wealth of practical information, Planning for Uncertainty allows you to spare your family the difficult task of deciding for you - and to spare yourself from futile medical procedures.
The 128-year dynasty of the Komneni (1057 to 1185) was the last great epoch of Byzantium, when the empire had to fend off Turkish and Norman foes simultaneously. Starting with the extremely able Alexios I, and unable now to count on help from the West, the Komneni played their strategic cards very well. Though the dynasty ended in cruelty and incompetence under Andronikos I (the Terrible), it fought a valiant rear-guard action in keeping eastern Christendom alive. The Komnene dynasty saw several changes in Byzantine military practice, such as the adoption of heavy cavalry on the western model, the extensive use of foreign mercenaries and the neglect of the navy (both of which were to prove a huge and possibly fatal disadvantage). A chapter is devoted to the famous Varangian Guard, which included many Saxons in exile following the Norman conquest of England. The terrible defeat at Myriokephalon in 1176 sealed the doom of the dynasty, preparing the way for the conquest of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusaders.
This supplement reviews the growth in emerging capital markets and provides a setting for understanding the nature of the integration process as well as the behaviour of national stock-price movements.
The Holy Wars of King Wladislas and Sultan Murad presents a detailed account of the conflict between Christendom and the Ottoman Empire from 1438-1444, which culminated in the Crusade of Varna.
The 128-year dynasty of the Komneni (1057 to 1185) was the last great epoch of Byzantium, when the empire had to fend off Turkish and Norman foes simultaneously. Starting with the extremely able Alexios I, and unable now to count on help from the West, the Komneni played their strategic cards very well. Though the dynasty ended in cruelty and incompetence under Andronikos I (the Terrible), it fought a valiant rear-guard action in keeping eastern Christendom alive. The Komnene dynasty saw several changes in Byzantine military practice, such as the adoption of heavy cavalry on the western model, the extensive use of foreign mercenaries and the neglect of the navy (both of which were to prove a huge and possibly fatal disadvantage). A chapter is devoted to the famous Varangian Guard, which included many Saxons in exile following the Norman conquest of England. The terrible defeat at Myriokephalon in 1176 sealed the doom of the dynasty, preparing the way for the conquest of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusaders.
Byzantium survived for 800 years, yet its dominions and power fluctuated dramatically during that time. John Haldon tells the story from the days when the Empire was barely clinging on to survival, to the age when its fabulous wealth attracted Viking mercenaries and Asian nomad warriors to its armies, their very appearance on the field enough to bring enemies to terms. In 1453 the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XII, died fighting on the ramparts, bringing to a romantic end the glorious history of this legendary empire.
This work provides an introduction to Byzantine military history during the first three Crusades. It examines the ethnic composition, financial support structure, and strategic implementation of the Byzantine army during the turbulent eleventh and twelfth centuries.
“Take[s] us through 500 years of conflict from Justinian through the rise of Islam to the coming of the Turks . . . good chapters on Islamic warfare.”—Balkan Military History In August 1071, the Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV Diogenese led out a powerful army in an attempt to roll back Seljuk Turkish incursions into the Anatolian heartland of the Empire. Outmaneuvered by the Turkish sultan, Alp Arslan, Romanus was forced to give battle with only half his troops near Manzikert. By the end of that fateful day much of the Byzantine army was dead, the rest scattered in flight and the Emperor himself a captive. As a result, the Anatolian heart was torn out of the empire and it was critically weakened, while Turkish power expanded rapidly, eventually leading to Byzantine appeals for help from Western Europe, prompting the First Crusade. This book sets the battle in the context of the military history of the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic World (Arab and Seljuk Turkish) up to the pivotal engagement at Manzikert in 1071, with special emphasis on the origins, course and outcome of this battle. The composition, weapons and tactics of the very different opposing armies are analyzed. The final chapter is dedicated to assessing the impact of Manzikert on the Byzantine Empire’s strategic position in Anatolia and to the battle’s role as a causus belli for the Crusades. Dozens of maps and battle diagrams support the clear text, making this an invaluable study of a crucial period of military history. “A gripping story of desertion, defection and betrayal amongst the Byzantine troops and of the fleet and ferocious Seljuk steppe warriors.”—Today’s Zaman
The Continuation of the Chronicle of John Skylitzes provides a contemporary narrative of the events and people that shaped the course of Byzantine history in a time military and political crisis.
This mystery adventure novel takes the reader on a dangerous journey to Greece. FBI agent Gene McKay must find a missing Greek scientist before the Chinese and Russians can capture the man and confiscate his revolutionary oil drilling invention. The Agency’s instructions to Gene are clear: find the inventor, bring him safely back to the United States, and cure your drinking problem, or your employment will be terminated.
The Byzantine Empire dates back to Constantine the Great, the first Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, who, in 330 AD, moved the imperial capital from Rome to a port city in modern-day Turkey, which he then renamed Constantinople in his honor. From its founding, the Byzantine Empire was a major anchor of east-west trade, and culture, art, architecture, and the economy all prospered in the newly Christian empire. As Byzantium moved into the middle and late period, Greek became the official language of both church and state and the Empire's cultural and religious influence extended well beyond its boundaries. In the mid-15th century, the Ottoman Turks put an end to 1,100 years of Byzantine history by capturing Constantinople, but the Empire's legacy in art, culture, and religion endured long after its fall. In this revised and updated second edition of the Historical Dictionary of Byzantium, author John H. Rosser introduces both the general reader and the researcher to the history of the Byzantine Empire. This comprehensive dictionary includes detailed, alphabetical entries on key figures, ideas, places, and themes related to Byzantine art, history, and religion, and the second edition contains numerous additional entries on broad topics such as transportation and gender, which were less prominent in the previous edition. An expanded introduction introduces the reader to Byzantium and a guide to further sources and suggested readings can be found in the extensive bibliography that follows the entries. A basic chronology and various maps and illustrations are also included in the dictionary. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Byzantium.
The articles republished in this volume are ground-breaking studies that employ a large body of religious figural imagery of Byzantine lead seals ranging from the 6th to the 15th century. A number of the studies present tables, charts and graphs in their analysis of iconographic trends and changing popularity of saintly figures over time. And since many of the seals bear inscriptions that include the names, titles or offices of their owners, information often not given for the patrons of sacred images in other media, these diminutive objects permit an investigation into the social use of sacred imagery through the various sectors of Byzantine culture: the civil, ecclesiastical and military administrations. The religious figural imagery of the lead seals, accompanied by their owners’ identifying inscriptions, offers a means of investigating both the broader visual piety of the Byzantine world and the intimate realm of their owners’ personal devotions. Other studies in this volume are devoted to rare or previously unknown sacred images that demonstrate the value of the iconography of Byzantine lead seals for Byzantine studies in general. This volume includes studies dedicated to the image of Christ, primarily found on imperial seals, various images of the Virgin, and narrative or Christological scenes. A companion volume presents various articles focusing on sphragistic images of saints and on the religious imagery of Byzantine seals as a means of investigating the personal piety of seal owners, as well as the wider realm of the visual piety and religious devotions of Byzantine culture at all levels. (CS1085)
The Eastern Roman or 'Byzantine' Empire had to fight for survival throughout its long history so military ability was a prime requisite for a successful Emperor. John Carr concentrates on the personal and military histories of the more capable war fighters to occupy the imperial throne at Constantinople. They include men like it's founder Constantine I , Julian, Theodosius, Justinian, Heraclius, Leo I, Leo III, Basil I, Basil II (the Bulgar-slayer), Romanus IV Diogenes, Isaac Angelus, and Constantine XI. ??Byzantium's emperors, and the military establishment they created and maintained, can be credited with preserving Rome's cultural legacy and, from the seventh century, forming a bulwark of Christendom against aggressive Islamic expansion. For this the empire's military organization had to be of a high order, a continuation of Roman discipline and skill adapted to new methods of warfare. Thus was the Empire, under the leadership of its fighting emperors, able to endure for almost a thousand years after the fall of Rome.
Make the most of your time with The Rough Guide to Greece, the ultimate handbook to the Greek mainland and islands - right down to the tiniest one-village outcrops, including an overview of all of Greece's highlights, from Mount Pilio's lush countryside and Prespa's beautiful lakes to the fish market in Thessaloniki and the famous oracle site in Delphi. There are sections on Greek cuisine, Wild Greece and Orthodox Festivals, hundreds of reviews of all the best places to eat, drink and sleep, for all budgets, plus practical tips on a wide range of activities, from bird-watching and windsurfing to hiking and cycling. The guide also takes a detailed look at the country's history, culture, mythology and wildlife and comes complete with maps and plans for every region.
Originally the eastern half of the mighty Roman Empire, Byzantium grew to be one of the longest-surviving empires in world history, spanning nine centuries and three continents. It was a land of contrasts – from the glittering centre at Constantinople, to the rural majority, to the heartland of the Orthodox Church – and one surrounded by enemies: Persians, Arabs and Ottoman Turks to the east, Slavs and Bulgars to the north, Saracens and Normans to the west. Written by one of the world's leading experts on Byzantine history, Byzantium: A History tells the chequered story of a historical enigma, from its birth out of the ashes of Rome in the third century to its era-defining fall at the hands of the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
Warfare in the Age of Crusades: The Latin East explores in fascinating detail the key campaigns, battles and sieges that shaped the crusading period of the Middle Ages, giving special attention to military technologies, tactics and strategies. Key personalities and political factors are addressed, including the role of papal monarchy in initiating the crusading expeditions, the relationship between Catholic Europe and the Byzantine empire, the role of the religious military orders, and Islamic and Mongol military capabilities. Chapters are devoted to each of the major crusades to the Levant – First, Second, Third and Fourth crusades – and an analysis of the Islamic response. The rise of the Mamluks in Egypt, with their innovative military organization, is covered, as are the failed Egyptian and Tunisian campaigns. The concluding chapters describe the Mongol campaigns in the Levant, the Mamluk response, and the final siege of Acre in 1291. This original and perceptive study of a key stage in medieval military history features regional, strategic and multi-phase tactical maps that illuminate the narrative and provide a valuable resource for students, historians and wargamers alike.
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