The legends of the Japanese warrior-statesmen, referred to as the samurai, are renowned for accounts of military valor and political intrigue—epic conflicts between powerful lords, samurai vassals, and the imperial court—as well as accounts of profound self-sacrifice and loyalty. The term samurai is derived from the word saburau, or “one who serves.” The evolution of the samurai from mo…
Why do polished stones look wet? How does the Twin Paradox work? What if Jupiter were a star? How can we be sure that pi never repeats? How does a quantum computer break encryption? Discover the answers to these, and other profound physics questions! This fascinating book presents a collection of articles based on conversations and correspondences between the author and complete strangers ab…
Jeremy Bentham’s writings on Australia, new authoritative editions of which are now published in a volume entitled Panopticon versus New South Wales and other writings on Australia1 in The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham, have had a profound and enduring influence across a number of fields. For instance, according to the historian John Gascoigne, s…
Rice straw is a residual byproduct of rice production at harvest. The total biomass of this residue depends on various factors such as varieties, soils and nutrient man-agement and weather. At harvest, rice straw is piled or spread in the field depending on the harvesting methods, using stationary threshers or self-propelled combine harvesters, respectively. The amount of rice straw t…
An argument for simplicity from the best-selling authors of Profit from the Core. Is radical reinvention the key to winning in today’s fast-paced world? Not judging by the results of some of the world’s best-performing companies. In Repeatability, Chris Zook and James Allen - leaders of Bain & Company’s influential Strategy practice - warn that complexity is a silent killer of profitab…
This Open Access volume highlights how tree ring stable isotopes have been used to address a range of environmental issues from paleoclimatology to forest management, and anthropogenic impacts on forest growth. It will further evaluate weaknesses and strengths of isotope applications in tree rings. In contrast to older tree ring studies, which predominantly applied a pure statistical approach t…
David Allen reads an all-new edition of his popular self-help classic for managing work-life balance in the 21st century - now updated for the new challenges facing individuals and organizations in today's rapidly changing world. Since it was first published more than 15 years ago, David Allen's Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era and the ulti…
The Albertian paradigm of architecture as an allographic1practice implies that architectural design comprises forms of notation and representation. It would seem that mediums2 are all that architects engage with. Architecture is primarily a cultural, visual practice that operates through design, understood as composition and the arrangement of relations. While architects work with drawings and …
Middle Egyptian introduces the reader to the writing system of ancient Egypt and the language of hieroglyphic texts. It contains twenty-six lessons, exercises (with answers), a list of hieroglyphic signs, and a dictionary. It also includes a series of twenty-five essays on the most important aspects of ancient Egyptian history, society, religion and literature. The combination of grammar lesson…
It was in November 2021 that we shared the intriguing idea of co-editing a book project on the historical figure of saxophonist Elise Hall. After sending several messages back and forth, we finally found a mutually agreeable time for a video meeting. Kurt was at his home in Brussels, while Adrianne was in Chicago, a sev-en-hour time difference. We had first met at a conference in 2016, “Prepo…