How technological change in the West has been driven by the pursuit of improvement: a history of technology, from plows and printing presses to penicillin, the atomic bomb, and the computer. Why does technology change over time, how does it change, and what difference does it make? In this sweeping, ambitious look at a thousand years of Western experience, Robert Friedel argues that technological change comes largely through the pursuit of improvement—the deep-rooted belief that things could be done in a better way. What Friedel calls the "culture of improvement" is manifested every day in the ways people carry out their tasks in life—from tilling fields and raising children to waging war. Improvements can be ephemeral or lasting, and one person's improvement may not always be viewed as such by others. Friedel stresses the social processes by which we define what improvements are and decide which improvements will last and which will not. These processes, he emphasizes, have created both winners and losers in history. Friedel presents a series of narratives of Western technology that begin in the eleventh century and stretch into the twenty-first. Familiar figures from the history of invention are joined by others—the Italian preacher who described the first eyeglasses, the dairywomen displaced from their control over cheesemaking, and the little-known engineer who first suggested a grand tower to Gustav Eiffel. Friedel traces technology from the plow and the printing press to the internal combustion engine, the transistor, and the space shuttle. Friedel also reminds us that faith in improvement can sometimes have horrific consequences, as improved weaponry makes warfare ever more deadly and the drive for improving human beings can lead to eugenics and even genocide. The most comprehensive attempt to tell the story of Western technology in many years, engagingly written and lavishly illustrated, A Culture of Improvement documents the ways in which the drive for improvement has shaped our modern world.
Reverse Tradition invites the reader of postmodern fiction to travel back to the nineteenth-century novel without pretending to let go of contemporary anxieties and expectations. What happens to the reader of Beckett when he or she returns to Melville? Or to the enthusiast of Toni Morrison who rereads Charlotte Bronte? While Robert Kiely does not claim that all fictions begin to look alike, he finds unexpected and illuminating pleasures in examining a variety of ways in which new texts reflect on old. In this engaging book, Kiely not only juxtaposes familiar authors in unfamiliar ways; he proposes a countertradition of intertextuality and a way to release the genie of postmodernism from the bottleneck of the late twentieth century. Placing the reader's response at the crux, he offers arresting new readings by pairing, among others, Jorge Luis Borges with Mark Twain, and Maxine Hong Kingston with George Eliot. In the process, he tests and challenges common assumptions about transparency in nineteenth-century realism and a historical opacity in early and late postmodernism.
Why did the industrial revolution take place in eighteenth-century Britain and not elsewhere in Europe or Asia? In this convincing new account Robert Allen argues that the British industrial revolution was a successful response to the global economy of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. He shows that in Britain wages were high and capital and energy cheap in comparison to other countries in Europe and Asia. As a result, the breakthrough technologies of the industrial revolution - the steam engine, the cotton mill, and the substitution of coal for wood in metal production - were uniquely profitable to invent and use in Britain. The high wage economy of pre-industrial Britain also fostered industrial development since more people could afford schooling and apprenticeships. It was only when British engineers made these new technologies more cost-effective during the nineteenth century that the industrial revolution would spread around the world.
Mobile computing skills are becoming standard in the IT industry Mobile Computing Deployment and Management: Real World Skills for CompTIA Mobility+ Certification and Beyond is the ultimate reference for mobile computing. Certified Wireless Network Expert Robert J. Bartz guides IT and networking professionals through the fundamental and advanced concepts of mobile computing, providing the information and instruction necessary to get up to speed on current technology and best practices. The book maps to the CompTIA Mobility+ (MB0-001) exam, making it an ideal resource for those seeking this rewarding certification. The mobile device has already overshadowed the PC as a primary means for Internet access for a large portion of the world's population, and by 2020, there will be an estimated 10 billion mobile devices worldwide. Mobile connectivity has become the new standard for business professionals, and when combined with cloud computing, it creates a world where instant access is the norm. To remain relevant, IT professionals must hone their mobile skills. The ability to manage, develop, and secure a mobile infrastructure is quickly becoming a key component to entering the IT industry, and professionals lacking those skills will be left behind. This book covers all aspects of mobile computing, including: Radio frequency, antenna, and cellular technology Physical and logical infrastructure technologies Common mobile device policies and application management Standards and certifications, and more Each chapter includes hands-on exercises, real-world examples, and in-depth guidance from the perspective of a mobile computing expert. IT professionals looking to expand their capabilities need look no further than Mobile Computing Deployment and Management: Real World Skills for CompTIA Mobility+ Certification and Beyond for the most comprehensive approach to mobile computing on the market today.
This account of the settlement of one segment of the North Carolina frontier--the land between the Yadkin and Catawba rivers--examines the process by which the piedmont South was populated. Through its ingenious use of hundreds of sources and documents, R
Modern Engineering Thermodynamics - Textbook with Tables Booklet offers a problem-solving approach to basic and applied engineering thermodynamics, with historical vignettes, critical thinking boxes and case studies throughout to help relate abstract concepts to actual engineering applications. It also contains applications to modern engineering issues. This textbook is designed for use in a standard two-semester engineering thermodynamics course sequence, with the goal of helping students develop engineering problem solving skills through the use of structured problem-solving techniques. The first half of the text contains material suitable for a basic Thermodynamics course taken by engineers from all majors. The second half of the text is suitable for an Applied Thermodynamics course in mechanical engineering programs. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is introduced through a basic entropy concept, providing students a more intuitive understanding of this key course topic. Property Values are discussed before the First Law of Thermodynamics to ensure students have a firm understanding of property data before using them. Over 200 worked examples and more than 1,300 end of chapter problems provide an extensive opportunity to practice solving problems. For greater instructor flexibility at exam time, thermodynamic tables are provided in a separate accompanying booklet. University students in mechanical, chemical, and general engineering taking a thermodynamics course will find this book extremely helpful. Provides the reader with clear presentations of the fundamental principles of basic and applied engineering thermodynamics. Helps students develop engineering problem solving skills through the use of structured problem-solving techniques. Introduces the Second Law of Thermodynamics through a basic entropy concept, providing students a more intuitive understanding of this key course topic. Covers Property Values before the First Law of Thermodynamics to ensure students have a firm understanding of property data before using them. Over 200 worked examples and more than 1,300 end of chapter problems offer students extensive opportunity to practice solving problems. Historical Vignettes, Critical Thinking boxes and Case Studies throughout the book help relate abstract concepts to actual engineering applications. For greater instructor flexibility at exam time, thermodynamic tables are provided in a separate accompanying booklet.
Imagine a killer snack cake with a murderous mind of its own…a loose cannon cop with a rose for a head…and a futuristic warrior chicken in a finger-lickin' free-for-all. You will meet all these wondrous oddities and more in Volume Two of this collection of the unique short fiction of USA Today-bestselling author Robert Jeschonek. The 100 stories in the 3-volume set span multiple genres—everything from science fiction to fantasy to mystery to superheroes—and myriad sub-genres and cross-genres in between. Discover a wealth of dynamic characters, startling settings, shocking situations, and challenging ideas…plus loads of thrilling action, whiplash plot twists, and inspirational revelations. Explore a realm of mythic innovation by a writer who might just change the way you think about fiction, a treasury of stories unlike anything you have ever experienced in the universe of imagination…or will ever experience again in your wildest dreams and nightmares.
Consolidated Gold Fields was a major British mining house founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1892. Diversifying from its South African gold interests, the company invested widely during the following century. This included investments in the Western Australian gold sector from the 1920s and exploration and mining activities elsewhere in Australia and the Territory of New Guinea. In the 1960s, Consolidated Gold Fields Australia (CGFA) was formed. CGFA had ambitious plans and the financial backing from London to establish itself as one of the main diversified mining companies in Australia. Investments were held in the historic Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company, in Renison, and it was one of the first groups to develop iron ore deposits in the Pilbara of Western Australia. It also acquired a major interest in mineral sands. While the London-based Consolidated Gold Fields ceased to exist in 1989, taken over and dismembered by renowned corporate raider Hanson Plc, its Australian subsidiary, renamed Renison Goldfields Consolidated (RGC), continued for another nine years as a diversified mining group before it suffered its own corporate demise, facilitated by Hanson. CGFA and RGC were important participants in Australia’s post–World War II mining sector. This book is a history of a once great British mining-finance house and its investments in Australia. Consolidated Gold Fields had a rich and broad history in Australia; its ultimate fate did not demonstrate its potential as an Australian mining company.
The Greening of Protestant Thought traces the increasing influence of environmentalism on American Protestantism since the first Earth Day, which took place in 1970. Robert Booth Fowler explores the extent to which ecological concerns permeate Protestant thought and examines contemporary controversies within and between mainline and fundamentalist Protestantism over the Bible's teachings about the environment. Fowler explores the historical roots of environmentalism in Protestant thought, including debates over God's relationship to nature and the significance of the current environmental crisis for the history of Christianity. Although he argues that mainline Protestantism is becoming increasingly 'green,' he also examines the theological basis for many fundamentalists' hostility toward the environmental movement. In addition, Fowler considers Protestantism's policy agendas for environmental change, as well as the impact on mainline Protestant thinking of modern eco-theologies, process and creation theologies, and ecofeminism.
How do managers and entrepreneurs evaluate risk, encourage creativityor manage change? Might a better grasp of science help? The authorsof this book suggest that there is real value in trying to connectscience to business and that science is far too important just to beleft to the scientists
Since its dedication in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial has become an American cultural icon symbolizing the war in Vietnam--the defining experience of the Baby Boom generation. The black granite wall of names is one of the most familiar media images associated with the war, and after three decades the memorial remains one of the nation's most visited monuments. While the memorial has enjoyed broad acceptance by the American public, its origins were both humble and contentious. A grassroots effort launched by veterans with no funds, the project was completed in three and a half years. But an emotional debate about aesthetics and the interpretation of heroism, patriotism and history nearly doomed the project. Written from an insider's perspective, this book tells the complete story of the memorial's creation amid Washington politics, a nationwide design competition and the heated controversy over the winning design and its creator.
How do managers and entrepreneurs evaluate risk, encourage creativity or manage change? Might a better grasp of science help? The authors of this book suggest that there is real value in trying to connect science to business and that science is far too important just to be left to the scientists.All of science is too large a prospect, so the authors limit themselves to looking at disorder. We must all learn to manage and control change, and there is plenty of social, technical and business change going on. The authors suggest that a clearer understanding of entropy and the choices it presents will assist in that management of change — or, as they put it, to manage disorder one needs to control the entropy vector.This book is for scientists and engineers aspiring to business success and for business people interested in new approaches.
First published in 1988, this book arose from the author’s fascination with the period of the late eighteenth century and the two industries of cotton and steam that seem to characterise the period, the provision of power through the manufacture of steam engines and the rise to prominence of the cotton industry. Includes photographs and an exploration of people in these industries during the Industrial Revolution.
This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. This study is about the central place of the emotional world in Beckett's writing. Stating that Beckett is ‘primarily about love’, it makes a re-assessment of his influence and immense popularity. The book examines numerous Beckettian texts, arguing that they embody a struggle to remain in contact with a primal sense of internal goodness, one founded on early experience with the mother. Writing itself becomes an internal dialogue, in which the reader is engaged, between a ‘narrative-self’ and a mother.
Henry Starr was one of the most notorious criminals of the Old West, famed far and wide for robbing two banks in the same town at the same time—a feat even the Dalton Gang couldn’t pull off. Still, Henry Starr was a reluctant outlaw. An honest, hardworking seventeen-year-old Cherokee cowboy with a steady job and a steady girl, he was framed and arrested for a crime he didn’t commit. When he was falsely accused and convicted a second time, Starr figured that since he was branded a criminal, he might as well become one—and proceeded to make himself one of the most wanted men in the West. “If I’m going to have the name of a criminal, I might as well have the game,” he declared as he embarked on his life of crime. By the time he was through, he was said to have robbed more banks than any other man in history. From Henry Starr’s initiation as an outlaw, to a death sentence handed down by “Hanging Judge” Parker, to his final days playing the bad guy in Hollywood movies, The Saga of Henry Starr is a colorful retelling of a true Western legend.
NOTE: The exam this book covered, CWTS: Certified Wireless Technology Specialist (PW0-071), was retired by CWNP in 2017 and is no longer offered. For coverage of the current exam CWTS, CWS, and CWT: Exams PW0, please look for the latest edition of this guide: CWTS, CWS, and CWT Complete Study Guide: Exams PW0 (9781119385035). Completely updated to cover the latest Certified Wireless Technology Specialist exam, this best-selling guide is the only Official Study Guide for the popular wireless certification. This foundation-level certification is in high demand for wireless networking professionals, and you can master all the exam topics with this Official guide. It covers all the exam objectives and helps you study with hands-on exercises, chapter review questions, an objective map, a pre-assessment test, and additional study tools on the companion website. The only official study guide endorsed by CWNP Thoroughly covers all exam objectives, including Wi-Fi Technology, Standards, and Certifications; Hardware and Software; Radio Frequency (RF) Fundamentals; Site Surveying and Installation; Applications, Support, and Troubleshooting; and Security & Compliance Includes hands-on exercises and real-world scenarios to increase understanding Study aids include review questions, glossary, objective map, sample tests, and electronic flashcards CWTS: Certified Wireless Technology Specialist Official Study Guide, 2nd Edition is the study buddy that will enhance your chances for exam success. Note: CD-ROM materials for eBook purchases can be downloaded from http://booksupport.wiley.com.
At the heart of many fields - physics, chemistry, engineering - lies thermodynamics. While this science plays a critical role in determining the boundary between what is and is not possible in the natural world, it occurs to many as an indecipherable black box, thus making the subject a challenge to learn. Two obstacles contribute to this situation, the first being the disconnect between the fundamental theories and the underlying physics and the second being the confusing concepts and terminologies involved with the theories. While one needn't confront either of these two obstacles to successfully use thermodynamics to solve real problems, overcoming both provides access to a greater intuitive sense of the problems and more confidence, more strength, and more creativity in solving them. This book offers an original perspective on thermodynamic science and history based on the three approaches of a practicing engineer, academician, and historian. The book synthesises and gathers into one accessible volume a strategic range of foundational topics involving the atomic theory, energy, entropy, and the laws of thermodynamics.
This book is about the mechanisms of wealth creation, or what we like to think of as evolutionary "progress." The massive circular flow of goods and services between producers and consumers is not a perpetual motion machine; it has been dependent for the past 150 years on energy inputs from a finite storage of fossil fuels. In this book, you will learn about the three key requirements for wealth creation, and how this process acts according to physical laws, and usually after some part of the natural wealth of the planet has been exploited in an episode of "creative destruction." Knowledge and natural capital, particularly energy, will interact to power the human wealth engine in the future as it has in the past. Will it sputter or continue along the path of evolutionary progress that we have come to expect? Can the new immaterial wealth of information and ideas, which makes up the so-called knowledge economy, replace depleted natural wealth? These questions have no simple answers, but this masterful book will help you to understand the grand challenge of our time. Praise for Energy, Complexity and Wealth Maximization: “... people who run the modern world (politicians, economists and lawyers) have a very poor grasp of how it really works because they do not understand the fundamentals of energy, exergy and entropy ... those decision-makers would greatly benefit from reading this book ...” - Vaclav Smil, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Manitoba “... A grandiose design; impressive, worth reading and reflecting!” - Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizäcker, Founder of Wuppertal Institute; Co-President of the Club of Rome, Former Member of the German Bundestag, co-chair of the UN’s Resource Panel “... The book is a must read for concerned citizens and decision makers across the globe.” - RK Pachauri, Founder and Executive Vice Chairman, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and ex-chair, International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
This invaluable resource brings together up-to-date CAM design technology, correct design and manufacturing procedures, and recent CAM research results in one volume that is indispensable to the design and manufacturing of CAM-follower systems. Includes a 90-day trial demonstration copy of the Professional Version of Dynacam for Windows V.7.0.
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