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Eileen Power, best known for her posthumously published Medieval Women, was one of the foremost scholars of medieval economic and social history in the first half of the twentieth century. This 1922 work is a substantial study of medieval English nunneries between 1275 and 1535. Power examines in depth who entered the convents, how they were organised, their finances, activities and problems. Although medieval nunneries were significantly poorer and less well documented than the monastic houses, Power uses the available sources to build up a multifaceted picture of medieval life. Her arguments are firmly rooted in documentary evidence, but are presented in an extremely accessible and engaging style. The book reveals that convent life was not particularly ascetic or learned, and that in poorer houses the nuns had to find additional sources of income. Power's account of their methods of coping makes fascinating reading.

Are migrant workers needed to 'do the jobs that locals will not do' or are they simply a more exploitable labour force? Do they have a better 'work ethic' or are they less able to complain? Is migran

This work claims that Musaylima served as a prophet for his own people in Yamama in more or less the same way as the Prophet Mu?ammad in Mecca and Medina. However, unlike Islam, Musaylima’s religious

The Charters of Grenoble Cathedral are also commonly known as the Charters of St Hugues (1053–1132), who was consecrated bishop of the see in the late eleventh century and remained there until his death. In this 1869 work, the editor gives a thorough introduction to the history of the cathedral and to St Hugues' Charters. Marion discusses the controversial question of whether or not the second charter is authentic by examining the historical sources, and he demonstrates that out of the three charters, two can definitely be ascribed to St Hugues. Although the third charter was possibly begun in St Hugues' lifetime, it was probably completed by his successors. The first charter, probably written around 1130, describes the history of southern France and its inhabitants, and is followed by the much less accomplished second charter. The final charter shows signs of having been considerably re-edited.

Mariana Starke (c.1762–1838) published this work in 1802, launching her career as a travel writer. Volume 2 contains nine beautifully written letters which evaluate the cultural attractions of the cities of Rome, Naples, Pompeii, Florence, Bologna, and Venice and the cities' surrounding countryside. The guide gives detailed information on the climate, dialects, population, geography and medical facilities of each city. A supplement offers advice on visiting the major cities of France and using the main transport links between them. The work quickly became popular as it took into account the increasing trend for less affluent families to travel abroad. Starke offers a wealth of advice on affordable food, accommodation, transport and entertainment; her famous rating system, employing exclamation marks to signify the quality of a cultural site, was the precursor of the modern-day system of star-rating. It is a classic of nineteenth-century travel writing.

Mariana Starke (c.1762–1838) published this work in 1802, launching her career as a travel writer. The work, consisting of twenty-five letters spread over two volumes, describes the political situation in Italy after the first Napoleonic campaigns and offers practical guidance for tourists visiting Italy's cultural sites. Volume 1 contains sixteen letters: the first seven describe Starke's experience of the Napoleonic conquest and the following nine describe the architecture, paintings and sculptures of Pisa, Florence, Siena, Rome, Naples, Bologna and Venice. The work quickly became popular as it took into account the increasing trend for less affluent families to travel abroad. Starke offers a wealth of advice on affordable food, accommodation, transport and entertainment; her famous rating system, employing exclamation marks to signify the quality of a cultural site, was the precursor of the modern-day system of star-ratings. This is a classic of Georgian travel writing.

Professor Thompson's subject is the uneasy position of art within Marxist ideology: what part can the arts of the past play in the new society? On the one hand there was the sense of a continuing cultural tradition, more or less independent of ideological change symbolized in the image of the Venus of Milo, and on the other, the iconoclastic demands for a complete break with the past in all its forms made by revolutionary artists, who found in the myth of Lot's wife a symbol of the attractions of the past. Originally published in 1978, the book discusses the problems and paradoxes involved from a general theoretical point of view and in the work of individual artists. Professor Thompson suggests that the power inherent in art to resist social and ideological changes undermines all rationalistic theories of art, those of the Marxists and those fashionable in the West.

In this book, originally published in 2007, Chiara Bottici argues for a philosophical understanding of political myth. Bottici demonstrates that myth is a process, one of continuous work on a basic narrative pattern that responds to a need for significance. Human beings need meaning in order to master the world they live in, but they also need significance in order to live in a world that is less indifferent to them. This is particularly true in the realm of politics. Political myths are narratives through which we orient ourselves, and act and feel about our political world. Bottici shows that in order to come to terms with contemporary phenomena, such as the clash between civilizations, we need a Copernican revolution in political philosophy. If we want to save reason, we need to look at it from the standpoint of myth.

"Carissa doesn't know who she is anymore. She and her husband, Richard, are recent empty nesters; Richard is spending more and more time at work counseling his volatile clients and less time at home w

Bringing together a group of established and emergent Jonson scholars, this volume reacts to major advances in thinking about the writer and his canon of works. The study is divided into two distinct parts: the first considers the Jonsonian career and output from biographical, critical, and performance-based angles; the second looks at cultural and historical contexts building on rich interdisciplinary work. Social historians work alongside literary critics to provide a diverse and varied account of Jonson. These are less standard surveys of the field than vibrant interventions into current critical debates. The short-essay format of the collection seeks less to harmonize and homogenize than to raise awareness of new avenues of research on Jonson, including studies informed by book history, cultural geography, the law and legal discourse, the history of science and interests in material culture.

Sixth grade is proving to be less than dreamy: Julia Gillian's new homeroom teacher is serious about school work and has the class "controlling for variables." Julia Gillian has been paired for the Re

In his Etymologiae, St Isidore of Seville put together a systematic survey of the world in the form of a vast thesaurus of Latin vocabulary, which supplies a more or less accepted or fanciful etymology for each term. It became one of the most influential books of European culture through the whole medieval period. This Latin 'Roget' is traditionally used as a reference work, accessed through an elaborate index system. In this book Professor Henderson, the most challenging critic writing on Latin literature and Roman culture, presents a full reading of all twenty books of the Etymologiae, showing how the material is sequenced so that its reader is treated to a thoroughgoing education in the world as it was apprehended in Jewish, Graeco-Roman and Christian culture. All Latin, including etymologies, is translated.

Focusing on South Africa during the period 1650–2000, this book examines the role of law in making democracy work in changing societies. The Legacies of Law sheds light on the neglected relationship between path dependence and the law. Meierhenrich argues that legal norms and institutions, even illiberal ones, have an important - and hitherto undertheorized - structuring effect on democratic outcomes. Under certain conditions, law appears to reduce uncertainty in democratization by invoking common cultural backgrounds and experiences. In instances where interacting adversaries share qua law reasonably convergent mental models, transitions from authoritarian rule are shown to be less intractable. Meierhenrich's historical analysis of the evolution of law - and its effects - in South Africa during the period 1650–2000, compared with a short study of Chile from 1830–1990, shows how, and when, legal norms and institutions serve as historical causes to both liberal and illiberal rule.

This handbook by George Frederick Chambers (1841–1915), a young and enthusiastic amateur astronomer, became a best-seller soon after its publication in 1861 and made Chambers' reputation as a popular astronomy writer. The work is divided into ten parts covering the following topics: the planets of our solar system; eclipses; gravity and tides; phenomena including aberration and refraction; comets; chronological astronomy; stars; astronomical instruments; the history of astronomy; and meteoric astronomy. It is richly illustrated with photographs and woodcuts depicting a wide variety of astronomical phenomena. Chambers went on to become one of the leading amateur astronomers of the nineteenth century. The usefulness and accessibility of his practical advice ensured that his published works became indispensable for thousands of less famous amateurs. The Handbook, reissued in many editions, remains his most popular work and is a key text in the history of Victorian popular astronomical wri

Does democracy promote the creation of market economies and robust state institutions? Do state-building and market-building go hand in hand? Or do they work at cross-purposes? This book examines the relationship between state-building and market-building in 25 post-communist countries from 1990 to 2004. Based on cross-national statistical analyses, surveys of business managers, and case studies from Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, and Uzbekistan, Timothy Frye demonstrates that democracy is associated with more economic reform, stronger state institutions, and higher social transfers when political polarization is low. But he also finds that increases in political polarization dampen the positive impact of democracy by making policy less predictable. He traces the roots of political polarization to high levels of income inequality and the institutional legacy of communist rule. By identifying when and how democracy fosters markets and states, this work contributes to long-standing debates in

Does democracy promote the creation of market economies and robust state institutions? Do state-building and market-building go hand in hand? Or do they work at cross-purposes? This book examines the relationship between state-building and market-building in 25 post-communist countries from 1990 to 2004. Based on cross-national statistical analyses, surveys of business managers, and case studies from Russia, Bulgaria, Poland, and Uzbekistan, Timothy Frye demonstrates that democracy is associated with more economic reform, stronger state institutions, and higher social transfers when political polarization is low. But he also finds that increases in political polarization dampen the positive impact of democracy by making policy less predictable. He traces the roots of political polarization to high levels of income inequality and the institutional legacy of communist rule. By identifying when and how democracy fosters markets and states, this work contributes to long-standing debates in

From her picture on the British 5 pound note to the numerous Elizabeth Fry Societies worldwide, Elizabeth Fry (1780-1845) is well known for her work for prison reform. But less well known is how her Q

Who knows what awaits us tomorrow? Much of the most innovative and exhilarating work performed in the boundary-less arena of SF is being done in the short form. This year's magnificent harvest?gathe

Riemann surfaces is a thriving area of mathematics with applications to hyperbolic geometry, complex analysis, fractal geometry, conformal dynamics, discrete groups, geometric group theory, algebraic curves and their moduli, various kinds of deformation theory, coding, thermodynamic formalism, and topology of three-dimensional manifolds. This collection of articles, authored by leading authorities in the field, comprises 16 expository essays presenting original research and expert surveys of important topics related to Riemann surfaces and their geometry. It complements the body of recorded research presented in the primary literature by broadening, re-working and extending it in a more focused and less formal framework, and provides a valuable commentary on contemporary work in the subject. An introductory section sets the scene and provides sufficient background to allow graduate students and research workers from other related areas access to the field.

This book re-examines early twentieth-century British welfare economics in the context of the emergence of the welfare state. There are fresh views of the well-known Cambridge School of Sidgwick, Marshall, Pigou, and Keynes, by Peter Groenewegen, Steven G. Medema, and Martin Daunton. This is placed against a less well-known Oxford approach to welfare: Yuichi Shionoya explores its foundations in the idealist philosophy of T. H. Green; Roger E. Backhouse considers the work of its leading exponent, J. A. Hobson; and Tamotsu Nishizawa discusses the spread of this approach in Britain. Finally, the book covers welfare economics in the policy arena: Maria Cristina Marcuzzo and Atsushi Komine discuss Keynes and Beveridge, and Richard Toye points to the possible influence of H. G. Wells on Churchill and Lloyd George. A substantial introduction frames the discussion, and a postscript relates these ideas to the work of Robbins and subsequent developments in welfare economics.

The Elizabethan history play was one of the most prevalent dramatic genres of the 1590s, and so was a major contribution to Elizabethan historical culture. The genre has been well served by critical studies that emphasize politics and ideology; however, there has been less interest in the way history is interrogated as an idea in these plays. Drawing in period-sensitive ways on the field of contemporary performance theory, this book looks at the Shakespearean history play from a fresh angle, by first analyzing the foundational work of the Queen's Men, the playing company that invented the popular history play. Through innovative readings of their plays including The Famous Victories of Henry V before moving on to Shakespeare's 1 Henry VI, Richard III, and Henry V, this book investigates how the Queen's Men's self-consciousness about performance helped to shape Shakespeare's dramatic and historical imagination.

In this book, Graham Connah offers an overview of archaeological authorship: its diversity, its challenges, and its methodology. Based on his own experiences, he presents his personal views about the task of writing about archaeology. The book is not intended to be a technical manual. Instead, Connah aims to encourage archaeologists who write about their subject to think about the process of writing. He writes with the beginning author in mind, but the book will be of interest to all archaeologists who plan to publish their work. Connah's overall premise is that those who write about archaeology need to be less concerned with content and more concerned with how they present it. It is not enough to be a good archaeologist. One must also become a good writer and be able to communicate effectively. Archaeology, he argues, is above all a literary discipline.

In this book, Graham Connah offers an overview of archaeological authorship: its diversity, its challenges, and its methodology. Based on his own experiences, he presents his personal views about the task of writing about archaeology. The book is not intended to be a technical manual. Instead, Connah aims to encourage archaeologists who write about their subject to think about the process of writing. He writes with the beginning author in mind, but the book will be of interest to all archaeologists who plan to publish their work. Connah's overall premise is that those who write about archaeology need to be less concerned with content and more concerned with how they present it. It is not enough to be a good archaeologist. One must also become a good writer and be able to communicate effectively. Archaeology, he argues, is above all a literary discipline.

Mysteries and detective stories are among the most popular of books but the writers of such genre fiction suffer from a perception that their work is to be taken less seriously than so-called literar

Hopkins and Heidegger is a new exploration of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poetics through the work of Martin Heidegger. More radically, Brian Willems argues that the work of Hopkins does no less than propo

Although some young children can read aloud with apparent fluency, they fail to understand fully or remember connected discourse. Much research on reading has focused on problems at the word recognition level and less attention has been given to comprehension difficulties. The authors of this 1991 work observed that teachers usually monitored reading ability by listening to children read aloud, or by using reading tests that concentrate on word recognition skills. Thus, comprehension problems could go unnoticed. The authors provide an introduction and an overview of adult and child text comprehension. They then describe their own research on children who have a specific comprehension deficit. Such children have difficulties in making inferences from text, in using working memory to integrate information into a coherent mental model and in reflecting on their own comprehension. The authors relate these findings to educational practice and make suggestions for comprehension improvement.

In this Companion, leading scholars and critics address the work of the most celebrated and enduring novelists from the British Isles (excluding living writers): among them Defoe, Richardson, Sterne, Austen, Dickens, the Brontës, George Eliot, Hardy, James, Lawrence, Joyce, and Woolf. The significance of each writer in their own time is explained, the relation of their work to that of predecessors and successors explored, and their most important novels analysed. These essays do not aim to create a canon in a prescriptive way, but taken together they describe a strong developing tradition of the writing of fictional prose over the past 300 years. This volume is a helpful guide for those studying and teaching the novel, and will allow readers to consider the significance of less familiar authors such as Henry Green and Elizabeth Bowen alongside those with a more established place in literary history.

In this Companion, leading scholars and critics address the work of the most celebrated and enduring novelists from the British Isles (excluding living writers): among them Defoe, Richardson, Sterne, Austen, Dickens, the Brontës, George Eliot, Hardy, James, Lawrence, Joyce, and Woolf. The significance of each writer in their own time is explained, the relation of their work to that of predecessors and successors explored, and their most important novels analysed. These essays do not aim to create a canon in a prescriptive way, but taken together they describe a strong developing tradition of the writing of fictional prose over the past 300 years. This volume is a helpful guide for those studying and teaching the novel, and will allow readers to consider the significance of less familiar authors such as Henry Green and Elizabeth Bowen alongside those with a more established place in literary history.

One study after the next shows that most employees are unhappy with their jobs and that less than a third actively engage with their work. That means that two out of every three are merely putting in

It is generally accepted that the Middle East witnessed the ancient rise of monotheism and its dissemination. The three faiths predominantly concerned - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - have retained their separateness and have been in different degrees torn asunder by schisms; but less well known has been the degree of co-operation between the three faiths and their multifarious sects, throughout history. First published in 1969, Religion in the Middle East aims to give a factual account of these three religions and their sects, in concord and conflict, from an historical perspective. The focus was on the significance of Islam, considered to be the dominant religion of the Middle East since the seventh century. Experts from many parts of the world contributed individual chapters, and the whole work was co-ordinated by a team of leading scholars, making it an erudite study that will be of interest to anyone interested in the historical impact of Islam in the Middle East.

From coca to chicken soup, this work thoroughly covers traditional medical systems of eight global regions and cultural/ethnic groups, encompassing less well-known traditional practices of Africa and

If you love Penny Haren's Pieced Appliqué_ blocks and want to have fun with quick-to-finish projects, this book is for you. Each project can be finished in a weekend or less and is designed to work wi

Best known today for the innovative satire and experimental narrative of Tristram Shandy (1759–67), Laurence Sterne was no less famous in his time for A Sentimental Journey (1768) and for his controversial sermons. Sterne spent much of his life as an obscure clergyman in rural Yorkshire. But he brilliantly exploited the sensation achieved with the first instalment of Tristram Shandy to become, by his death in 1768, a fashionable celebrity across Europe. In this Companion, specially commissioned essays by leading scholars provide an authoritative and accessible guide to Sterne's writings in their historical and cultural context. Exploring key issues in his work, including sentimentalism, national identity, gender, print culture and visual culture, as well as his subsequent influence on a range of important literary movements and modes, the book offers a comprehensive new account of Sterne's life and work.

Best known today for the innovative satire and experimental narrative of Tristram Shandy (1759–67), Laurence Sterne was no less famous in his time for A Sentimental Journey (1768) and for his controversial sermons. Sterne spent much of his life as an obscure clergyman in rural Yorkshire. But he brilliantly exploited the sensation achieved with the first instalment of Tristram Shandy to become, by his death in 1768, a fashionable celebrity across Europe. In this Companion, specially commissioned essays by leading scholars provide an authoritative and accessible guide to Sterne's writings in their historical and cultural context. Exploring key issues in his work, including sentimentalism, national identity, gender, print culture and visual culture, as well as his subsequent influence on a range of important literary movements and modes, the book offers a comprehensive new account of Sterne's life and work.

Humans may run faster, read less or type more quickly, simply because someone else is present. The presence of one person affects the behaviour of another: this is known as social facilitation and is one of the oldest topics in social psychology. Despite its importance this was the first book-length study of the phenomenon when it was published in 1993. Dr Guerin reviewed all work in the area from 1898 onwards, looking at both animal and human research, and developed his own theory, based on modern behaviour analysis. The book will be appreciated for its wide-ranging and balanced review of previous work on social facilitation and for the general review of the state of social psychology during the 1990s that Dr Guerin's work on the phenomenon includes. The author's theoretical stance is innovative and important, and will make the work required reading.

Anthropology is generally thought of as the study of exotic peoples in far-away lands. However, anthropologists have a long history of less exotic, applied “get-your-hands-dirty work.” As a nation of

Why are we sometimes unable to remember events, places and objects? This concise overview explores the concept of 'forgetting', and how modern society affects our ability to remember things. It takes ideas from Francis Yates classic work, The Art of Memory, which viewed memory as being dependent on stability, and argues that today's world is full of change, making 'forgetting' characteristic of contemporary society. We live our lives at great speed; cities have become so enormous that they are unmemorable; consumerism has become disconnected from the labour process; urban architecture has a short life-span; and social relationships are less clearly defined - all of which has eroded the foundations on which we build and share our memories. Providing a profound insight into the effects of modern society, this book is a must-read for anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists and philosophers, as well as anyone interested in social theory and the contemporary western world.

Why are we sometimes unable to remember events, places and objects? This concise overview explores the concept of 'forgetting', and how modern society affects our ability to remember things. It takes ideas from Francis Yates classic work, The Art of Memory, which viewed memory as being dependent on stability, and argues that today's world is full of change, making 'forgetting' characteristic of contemporary society. We live our lives at great speed; cities have become so enormous that they are unmemorable; consumerism has become disconnected from the labour process; urban architecture has a short life-span; and social relationships are less clearly defined - all of which has eroded the foundations on which we build and share our memories. Providing a profound insight into the effects of modern society, this book is a must-read for anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists and philosophers, as well as anyone interested in social theory and the contemporary western world.

The world of the Indian Untouchable is often invisible behind that of the dominant Hindu caste, but it is of no less significance for the understanding of contemporary Indian society. The Untouchables, like the caste Hindu, have been substantially affected by the political, economic and social changes that are occurring in independent India. While India has legally abolished untouchability, the society scarcely has and the Untouchables continue to face social resistance and deprivation. However, the changing social circumstances have given rise to a new awareness and increased expectations among the Untouchables and, although their social achievements may have been limited, they are engaged in a process of questioning and reformulating old definitions of self and society. This book is a study of the new frame of mind of the Untouchable. The work presents a complete discussion of the value structure and meaning of Untouchable ideology. It is a subtle combination of sensitive ethnographi

Henry George (1839–97) was an American journalist and newspaper editor. In Progress and Poverty, his most famous work (1879), he seeks to explain the apparent paradox that the gulf between rich and poor in a developed city (or nation) is much less that that in a less developed community: 'Like a flash it came over me that there was the reason of advancing poverty with advancing wealth. With the growth of population, land grows in value, and the men who work it must pay more for the privilege.' His economic ideas were widely debated, and this volume also contains a response to the 1881 English edition of the book from Isaac B. Cooke, a cotton broker from Liverpool, and Andrew Mearns's The Bitter Cry of Outcast London (1883), a short but telling description of the reality of the poverty then to be found in the world's richest city.