Why are some organizations more creative than others? What sets innovative, high-performing organizations apart? Can creativity and innovation be learned and enhanced? The answer to the last question, say creativity experts Nancy Napier and Mikael Nilsson, is a resounding yes. And with general consensus that creativity and innovation drive business growth, fostering creativity couldn't be more important. In The Creative Discipline, Napier and Nilsson illustrate six key factors that power creative, high-achieving organizations, and they provide managers with guidelines for incorporating those factors into their own companies. Business people will learn how innovative organizations get superior results from employees not just through disciplined methods of thinking, but also through free-flowing work spaces and work practices that help supercharge the imagination. Combining research on creative organizations in several sectors, this book argues that innovative organizations known for doing things differently (and profitably) approach creativity and innovation in similar, disciplined ways, regardless of industry or field. That discipline fosters new ideas, solutions, and approaches, and it ensures that the flow of creativity is constant. The Creative Discipline demonstrates that: -Innovative, high-performing organizations have three disciplines in common: (1) within discipline mastery, (2) out of discipline thinking, and (3) a disciplined process that leads to innovation. -Innovative organizations also have three factors that strengthen the creative disciplines: faces (creative entrepreneurs, leaders, and teams); places (the physical and organizational infrastructure that is reflected in offices, buildings, and location); and traces (elements that act as catalysts for creativity—the culture, networks, and policies that support creative and innovative endeavors). The book explains each factor for creative success in detail. Best, Napier and Nilsson show creativity and innovation at work in a range of sectors from sports to software to theater and contemporary circus. They also show how innovative practices in developed countries like the U.S. and Sweden compare to those in developing countries like Vietnam. Companies can learn to innovate and in the process reap benefits like higher sales and profits, greater productivity—while regaining a valuable element missing in so many workplaces: fun.
Mikael Nilsson offers a detailed and groundbreaking analysis of how the United States Information Agency (USIA) conducted its wide-ranging propaganda campaign in Sweden during the Cold War, 1952–1969. The USIA placed propaganda in the Swedish press, radio, and television as well as schools and universities and established connections to labour leaders, government officials, and journalists. The book also details how the U.S. military financed research at Swedish universities. Nilsson shows how Swedish journalists, scientists, and government officials assisted the USIA in its propaganda efforts --- i.e., co-produced U.S. hegemony in Sweden. The book highlights both the width and the limits of USIA’s propaganda and also relates this theme to Swedish security policy and the secret military cooperation between Sweden and the United States.
After Hitler's death, several posthumous books were published which purported to be the verbatim words of the Nazi leader – two of the most important of these documents were Hitler's Table Talk and The Testament of Adolf Hitler. This ground-breaking book provides the first in-depth analysis and critical study of Hitler’s so-called table talks and their history, provenance, translation, reception, and usage. Based on research in public and private archives in four countries, the book shows when, why, where, how, by and for whom the table talks were written, how reliable the texts are, and how historians should approach and use them. It reveals the crucial role of the mysterious Swiss Nazi Francois Genoud, as well as some very poor judgement from several famous historians in giving these dubious sources more credibility than they deserved. The book sets the record straight regarding the nature of these volumes as historical sources – proving inter alia The Testament to be a clever forgery – and aims to establish a new consensus on their meaning and impact on historical research into Hitler and the Third Reich. This path-breaking historical investigation will be of considerable interest to all researchers and historians of the Nazi era.
In this book, the author traces the origins of the domestic Swedish guided missile development effort, and shows how an effective Swedish air defense presupposed the consent to American hegemony. The cooperation was established through a series of crucial decisions made by the Swedish government to tacitly give its consent to American hegemony in European and world affairs. This process started in 1948 with the Swedish participation in the Marshall Plan and can be considered to have been finalized in 1952 when President Truman made Sweden eligible for reimbursable armaments deliveries from the United States. In 1959 Sweden purchased the Sidewinder Guided Missile from the United States. This confirmed that Sweden had become a trusted and close ally of the U.S. in the Cold War in Europe. The focus of the study is the effort to develop Swedish-made guided missiles for the Swedish Army and Air Force 1945¿1962. These efforts were stymied by the lack of funding and know-how, and therefore the author concludes that Swedish cooperation with the United States during the Cold War cannot be viewed as a series of exceptions to the policy of neutrality, but that hegemonic theory permits the display of sovereignty that Sweden¿s policy gave expression to. The Swedish consent to American hegemony was constant throughout the period studied, just as the American acceptance of Swedish foreign policy behavior and its recognition of Sweden as an ally in the Cold War. The reason for denying Sweden access to guided missiles had nothing to do with American apprehensions regarding the policy of neutrality, but with the U.S. government¿s lack of trust in its allies overall--including the NATO countries. Likewise, the decision to finally release these missiles to Sweden had to do with American concerns for the credibility of its leadership in the eyes of its European allies.
This companion volume to “Fundamental Polymer Science” (Gedde and Hedenqvist, 2019) offers detailed insights from leading practitioners into experimental methods, simulation and modelling, mechanical and transport properties, processing, and sustainability issues. Separate chapters are devoted to thermal analysis, microscopy, spectroscopy, scattering methods, and chromatography. Special problems and pitfalls related to the study of polymers are addressed. Careful editing for consistency and cross-referencing among the chapters, high-quality graphics, worked-out examples, and numerous references to the specialist literature make “Applied Polymer Science” an essential reference for advanced students and practicing chemists, physicists, and engineers who want to solve problems with the use of polymeric materials.
When Matthew was a child, he was taught to hide his violent urges. Those close to him ensured he lived a good, normal life. But Matthew finds this life dull, meaningless, and empty. Despite having a job where he helps people, Matthew feels no compassion. His partner adores him, but Matthew is incapable of love and suffocates under the weight of affection. Everything changes when two young women are murdered. Matthew knows that as the hunt for the killer intensifies, it won't be long before his own dark secrets are uncovered. The skeletons in his closet are about to be exposed, and the facade of his normal life is on the brink of collapse.
After Hitler's death, several posthumous books were published which purported to be the verbatim words of the Nazi leader – two of the most important of these documents were Hitler's Table Talk and The Testament of Adolf Hitler. This ground-breaking book provides the first in-depth analysis and critical study of Hitler’s so-called table talks and their history, provenance, translation, reception, and usage. Based on research in public and private archives in four countries, the book shows when, why, where, how, by and for whom the table talks were written, how reliable the texts are, and how historians should approach and use them. It reveals the crucial role of the mysterious Swiss Nazi Francois Genoud, as well as some very poor judgement from several famous historians in giving these dubious sources more credibility than they deserved. The book sets the record straight regarding the nature of these volumes as historical sources – proving inter alia The Testament to be a clever forgery – and aims to establish a new consensus on their meaning and impact on historical research into Hitler and the Third Reich. This path-breaking historical investigation will be of considerable interest to all researchers and historians of the Nazi era.
This successor to the popular textbook, “Polymer Physics” (Springer, 1999), is the result of a quarter-century of teaching experience as well as critical comments from specialists in the various sub-fields, resulting in better explanations and more complete coverage of key topics. With a new chapter on polymer synthesis, the perspective has been broadened significantly to encompass polymer science rather than “just” polymer physics. Polysaccharides and proteins are included in essentially all chapters, while polyelectrolytes are new to the second edition. Cheap computing power has greatly expanded the role of simulation and modeling in the past two decades, which is reflected in many of the chapters. Additional problems and carefully prepared graphics aid in understanding. Two principles are key to the textbook’s appeal: 1) Students learn that, independent of the origin of the polymer, synthetic or native, the same general laws apply, and 2) students should benefit from the book without an extensive knowledge of mathematics. Taking the reader from the basics to an advanced level of understanding, the text meets the needs of a wide range of students in chemistry, physics, materials science, biotechnology, and civil engineering, and is suitable for both masters- and doctoral-level students. Praise for the previous edition: ...an excellent book, well written, authoritative, clear and concise, and copiously illustrated with appropriate line drawings, graphs and tables. - Polymer International ...an extremely useful book. It is a pleasure to recommend it to physical chemists and materials scientists, as well as physicists interested in the properties of polymeric materials. - Polymer News This valuable book is ideal for those who wish to get a brief background in polymer science as well as for those who seek a further grounding in the subject. - Colloid Polymer Science The solutions to the exercises are given in the final chapter, making it a well thought-out teaching text. - Polymer Science
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