Training Engineers for Innovation

Download Training Engineers for Innovation PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1119563364
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (195 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Training Engineers for Innovation by : Denis Lemaître

Download or read book Training Engineers for Innovation written by Denis Lemaître and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2018-10-22 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Throughout history, engineers have been defined as those who bring technological innovation to society. However, the concept of innovation and the role of the engineer are now changing as a result of globalization, the digital revolution, growing inequalities and environmental concerns. Training Engineers for Innovation therefore analyzes the ways in which the educational systems for engineers are adapting to these new demands, as well as the conditions in which this training has developed. This book brings together the works of a consortium of researchers dedicated to the subject area as part of the Innov’Ing 2020 project. Its contributors present various means to devise effective pedagogies adapted to a holistic approach to innovation which incorporates the technical, economic, social, ethical and environmental dimensions of engineering.

World Industrialization

Download World Industrialization PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1786303965
Total Pages : 200 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (863 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis World Industrialization by : Michel Vigezzi

Download or read book World Industrialization written by Michel Vigezzi and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-01-02 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based on the paradigms of economics and management, inspired by the history of technology and the sociology of technological change, the concepts of shared inventions and competitive innovations make it possible to analyze the industrialization of the world in a fresh and efficient way. As a new approach, shared inventions are classified in this book as a set of existing knowledge thats often associated with the rediscovery of old techniques. Determining capitalized and collective intelligence, this knowledge and reinvention allows us to create inventions which will be shared, first in their construction, then in their use. Another new approach is that these competitive innovations are defined in World Industrialization by associations of experiences of competitively-motivated actors – actors seeking to complement existing techniques by increasing their competitive power. These shared inventions and competitive innovations will also be defined by trajectories identifying their modes of creation, enabling us to overcome the peculiarities of these actions and competitions. This book also highlights four key areas in global industrialization: the emergence of machinism with the defense of Arts and Crafts from 1698–1760; the changes the Industrial Revolution wrought in developed nations from 1760–1850; the link between technology and social relations within modern companies from 1850–1914; and, from 1914 onwards, the birth of extended machinism, its world wars and its global crises.

Expropriation by Law

Download Expropriation by Law PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1035326159
Total Pages : 205 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (353 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Expropriation by Law by : Christian Bessy

Download or read book Expropriation by Law written by Christian Bessy and published by Edward Elgar Publishing. This book was released on 2024-02-12 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Placing himself at the crossroads of economics, law, and sociology, Christian Bessy investigates the contemporary transformation of intellectual property rights (IPR) with the emergence of new conventions for their valuation. He demonstrates how entities previously considered inappropriate have now become the object of property rights by means of a creeping legal codification and generate inequalities.

Ethnopsychiatry

Download Ethnopsychiatry PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN 13 : 0228004454
Total Pages : pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (28 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Ethnopsychiatry by : Henri F. Ellenberger

Download or read book Ethnopsychiatry written by Henri F. Ellenberger and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2020-12-17 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the relationship between culture and mental health? Is mental illness universal? Are symptoms of mental disorders different across social groups? In the late 1960s these questions gave rise to a groundbreaking series of articles written by the psychiatrist Henri Ellenberger, who would go on to publish The Discovery of the Unconscious: The History and Evolution of Dynamic Psychiatry in 1970. Fifty years later they are presented for the first time in English translation, introduced by historian of science Emmanuel Delille. Ethnopsychiatry explores one of the most controversial subjects in psychiatric research: the role of culture in mental health. In his articles Ellenberger addressed the complex clinical and theoretical problems of cultural specificity in mental illness, collective psychoses, differentiations within cultural groups, and biocultural interactions. He was especially attuned to the correlations between rapid cultural transformations in postwar society, urbanization, and the frequency of mental illness. Ellenberger drew from a vast and varied primary and secondary literature in several languages, as well as from his own findings in clinical practice, which included work with indigenous peoples. In analyzing Ellenberger's contributions Delille unveils the transnational and interdisciplinary origins of transcultural psychiatry, which grew out of knowledge networks that crisscrossed the globe. The book has a rich selection of appendices, including Ellenberger's lecture notes on a case of peyote addiction and his correspondence with anthropologist and psychoanalyst Georges Devereux. These original essays, and their masterful contextualization, provide a compelling introduction to the foundations of transcultural psychiatry and one of its most distinguished and prolific researchers.

A Century of Innovation

Download A Century of Innovation PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : 3m Company
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 246 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A Century of Innovation by : 3M Company

Download or read book A Century of Innovation written by 3M Company and published by 3m Company. This book was released on 2002 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compilation of 3M voices, memories, facts and experiences from the company's first 100 years.

La fabrique de l'innovation

Download La fabrique de l'innovation PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9782100577026
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (77 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis La fabrique de l'innovation by : Gilles Garel

Download or read book La fabrique de l'innovation written by Gilles Garel and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: L'innovation est une nécessité pour les entreprises, le management de l'innovation est un enseignement qui s'est généralisé et pourtant l'innovation se heurte souvent à la peur de l'inconnu. Comment aboutir à la création de nouvelles idées considérées auparavant comme impossibles ou inacceptables ? Comment réaliser des objets inconnus, quel que soit le domaine, et en avançant rapidement ?L'innovation de rupture appelle des cadres théoriques nouveaux tant pour être comprise comme phénomène que pour être réalisée comme activité.Cet ouvrage, à la fois sérieux et original, expose, à partir de cas inédits et de très nombreux exemples, les processus à l'oeuvre dans l'innovation en s'appuyant sur la théorie CK, théorie pratique de la conception innovante. Les auteurs - un innovateur reconnu et un enseignant chercheur - expliquent comment concilier, dans un même processus de gestion, l'imagination et la pensée rationnelle, la prévision et la surprise, le pétillement et l'organisation. Revenant sur la face cachée de conception de la Swatch et dévoilant la conception d'un produit du futur, ils défendent une approche qui repose sur des interactions rigoureuses et continues entre des concepts et des connaissances. Un va et vient permanent entre cas vécus et théorie en rend la lecture vivante et permet de bien comprendre les rouages de l'innovation.

Color Charts

Download Color Charts PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Princeton University Press
ISBN 13 : 0691255172
Total Pages : 285 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (912 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Color Charts by : Anne Varichon

Download or read book Color Charts written by Anne Varichon and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2024-02-06 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A beautifully illustrated history of the many inventive, poetic, and alluring ways in which color swatches have been selected and staged The need to categorize and communicate color has mobilized practitioners and scholars for centuries. Color Charts describes the many different methods and ingenious devices developed since the fifteenth century by doctors, naturalists, dyers, and painters to catalog fragments of colors. With the advent of industrial society, manufacturers and merchants developed some of the most beautiful and varied tools ever designed to present all the available colors. Thanks to them, society has discovered the abundance of color embodied in a plethora of materials: cuts of fabric, leather, paper, and rubber; slats of wood and linoleum; delicate skeins of silk; careful deposits of paint and pastels; fragments of lipstick; and arrangements of flower petals. These samples shape a visual culture and a chromatic vocabulary and instill a deep desire for color. Anne Varichon traces the emergence of modern color charts from a set of processes developed over the centuries in various contexts. She presents illuminating examples that bring this remarkable story to life, from ancient writings revealing attention to precise shade to contemporary designers’ color charts, dyers’ notebooks, and Werner’s famous color nomenclature. Varichon argues that color charts have linked generations of artists, artisans, scientists, industrialists, and merchants, and have played an essential and enduring role in the way societies think about color. Drawing on nearly two hundred documents from public and private collections, almost all of them previously unpublished, this wonderfully illustrated book shows how the color chart, in its many distinct forms and expressions, is a practical tool that has transcended its original purpose to become an educational aid and subject of contemplation worthy of being studied and admired.

Process Engineering and Industrial Management

Download Process Engineering and Industrial Management PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1118565983
Total Pages : 382 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (185 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Process Engineering and Industrial Management by : Jean-Pierre Dal Pont

Download or read book Process Engineering and Industrial Management written by Jean-Pierre Dal Pont and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-03-04 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Process Engineering, the science and art of transforming raw materials and energy into a vast array of commercial materials, was conceived at the end of the 19th Century. Its history in the role of the Process Industries has been quite honorable, and techniques and products have contributed to improve health, welfare and quality of life. Today, industrial enterprises, which are still a major source of wealth, have to deal with new challenges in a global world. They need to reconsider their strategy taking into account environmental constraints, social requirements, profit, competition, and resource depletion. “Systems thinking” is a prerequisite from process development at the lab level to good project management. New manufacturing concepts have to be considered, taking into account LCA, supply chain management, recycling, plant flexibility, continuous development, process intensification and innovation. This book combines experience from academia and industry in the field of industrialization, i.e. in all processes involved in the conversion of research into successful operations. Enterprises are facing major challenges in a world of fierce competition and globalization. Process engineering techniques provide Process Industries with the necessary tools to cope with these issues. The chapters of this book give a new approach to the management of technology, projects and manufacturing. Contents Part 1: The Company as of Today 1. The Industrial Company: its Purpose, History, Context, and its Tomorrow?, Jean-Pierre Dal Pont. 2. The Two Modes of Operation of the Company – Operational and Entrepreneurial, Jean-Pierre Dal Pont. 3. The Strategic Management of the Company: Industrial Aspects, Jean-Pierre Dal Pont. Part 2: Process Development and Industrialization 4. Chemical Engineering and Process Engineering, Jean-Pierre Dal Pont. 5. Foundations of Process Industrialization, Jean-François Joly. 6. The Industrialization Process: Preliminary Projects, Jean-Pierre Dal Pont and Michel Royer. 7. Lifecycle Analysis and Eco-Design: Innovation Tools for Sustainable Industrial Chemistry, Sylvain Caillol. 8. Methods for Design and Evaluation of Sustainable Processes and Industrial Systems, Catherine Azzaro-Pantel. 9. Project Management Techniques: Engineering, Jean-Pierre Dal Pont. Part 3: The Necessary Adaptation of the Company for the Future 10. Japanese Methods, Jean-Pierre Dal Pont. 11. Innovation in Chemical Engineering Industries, Oliver Potier and Mauricio Camargo. 12. The Place of Intensified Processes in the Plant of the Future, Laurent Falk. 13. Change Management, Jean-Pierre Dal Pont. 14. The Plant of the Future, Jean-Pierre Dal Pont.

The Explosion of Life Forms

Download The Explosion of Life Forms PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1119818435
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (198 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Explosion of Life Forms by :

Download or read book The Explosion of Life Forms written by and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-03-11 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the essential characteristics of living beings is the explosion of variety in their forms that is intrinsically linked to the diversity of the environments they have adapted to. This book, the result of collaboration between international specialists, analyzes the multiplicity of these morphologies. It explores the origin of forms, their role in defining living things, and the relationship between form and function. It exposes the role of genes and epigenetics and examines the forms of bacteria, protists and plants. The Explosion of Life Forms also studies the memory of animals and their sensory processes, the forms of robots (built in the image of living things), and medical technologies aimed at restoring damaged living forms. Finally, this work questions a common principle of construction in the diversity of forms, as well as the idea of an abandonment of the form, a possible hidden defect of some modern philosophies.

The Industrial Revolution in Iron

Download The Industrial Revolution in Iron PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
ISBN 13 : 1351887726
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (518 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Industrial Revolution in Iron by : Chris Evans

Download or read book The Industrial Revolution in Iron written by Chris Evans and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essays in this volume, each written by an acknowledged expert in the field, trace the fortunes of British coal technology as it spread across the European continent, from Sweden and Russia to the Alps and Spain, and supply an authoritative picture of industrial transformation in one of the key industries of the 19th century. In this period iron making in continental Europe was transformed by the take-up of technologies such as coke smelting and iron puddling that had already revolutionised the British iron industry. The transfer of British technologies was fundamental to European industrialisation, but that transfer was not straightforward. The techniques that had proved so successful in Britain had to be adapted to local circumstances elsewhere, for charcoal-fired techniques proved surprisingly durable. More often than not, as these studies show, coal-fired methods were incorporated into traditional production systems, making for the proliferation of technological hybrids. Overall, it is diversity that stands out. Some European regions (southern Belgium) came near to the British model; others (Spain) persisted with charcoal technology into the late 19th century. Some countries (Sweden) adopted British organisational principles but not the reliance on coal; others (Russia) maintained different iron making sectors - one coal-based, the other loyal to charcoal - in parallel.

Bibliography of the History of Medicine

Download Bibliography of the History of Medicine PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 1308 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Bibliography of the History of Medicine by :

Download or read book Bibliography of the History of Medicine written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 1308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Open Services Innovation

Download Open Services Innovation PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 0470905743
Total Pages : 88 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (79 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Open Services Innovation by : Henry Chesbrough

Download or read book Open Services Innovation written by Henry Chesbrough and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2011-01-18 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The father of "open innovation" is back with his most significant book yet. Henry Chesbrough’s acclaimed book Open Innovation described a new paradigm for management in the 21st century. Open Services Innovation offers a new approach that demonstrates how open innovation combined with a services approach to business is an effective and powerful way to grow and compete in our increasingly services-driven economy. Chesbrough shows how companies in any industry can make the critical shift from product- to service-centric thinking, from closed to open innovation where co-creating with customers enables sustainable business models that drive continuous value creation for customers. He maps out a strategic approach and proven framework that any individual, business unit, company, or industry can put to work for renewed growth and profits. The book includes guidance and compelling examples for small and large companies, services businesses, and emerging economies, as well as a path forward for the innovation industry. "Whether you are managing a product or a service, your business needs to become more open and more inclusive in order to be more innovative. Open Services Innovation will be an invaluable guide to intrepid managers who commit to making that journey." —GARY HAMEL, visiting professor, London Business School; director, Management Lab; and author, The Future of Management "I tore out page after page to share with my leaders. Chesbrough has pioneered an entire rethink of business innovation that’s rich in concept, deeply explained, with tools ready to use in every industry." —SCOTT COOK, founder and chairman of the executive committee, Intuit "Focusing on core competence often tempts managers to keep continuing what succeeded in the past. A far more important question is what capabilities are critical in the future, and Chesbrough shows how to ask and answer these issues." —CLAYTON CHRISTENSEN, Robert & Jane Cizik Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School, and author, The Innovator's Dilemma "To thrive, businesses will need to master the lessons of open service innovation. Here is their one-stop guidebook with important lessons clearly and compellingly presented." —JAMES C. SPOHRER, director, IBM University Programs World-Wide "Open Innovation pioneer Henry Chesbrough breaks new ground with Open Services Innovation, a persuasive argument for the power of co-creation in the world of services." —TOM KELLEY, general manager, IDEO, and author, The Ten Faces of Innovation, The Art of Innovation "With his trademark style of beautifully explained examples, Henry Chesbrough shows how open service innovation and new business models can help you escape this product commodity trap and bring you to the next level of competition." —ALEX OSTERWALDER, author, Business Model Generation "Open Services Innovation shows how a business can redefine itself as a service organisation and tap into faster growth through shared innovation." —SIR TERRY LEAHY, chief executive, Tesco "Chesbrough shows how innovating openly with a services mindset can make you a market leader." —CHARLENE LI, author, Open Leadership, and founder, Altimeter Group

The Circulation of Agency in E-Justice

Download The Circulation of Agency in E-Justice PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN 13 : 9400775253
Total Pages : 377 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (7 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis The Circulation of Agency in E-Justice by : Francesco Contini

Download or read book The Circulation of Agency in E-Justice written by Francesco Contini and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-19 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book contributes to an understanding of the dynamic complexities involved in the design of e-justice applications that enable online trans-border judicial proceedings in Europe. It provides answers to critical questions with practical relevance: How should online trans-border judicial proceedings be designed in order to deliver effective and timely justice to European citizens, businesses and public agencies? How can the circulation of judicial agency across Europe be facilitated? Based on extensive research, the book explores and assesses the complex entanglements between law and technology, and between national and European jurisdictions that emerge when developing even relatively simple e-services such as those supporting the European small claims procedure and European payment orders. In addition to providing a strong theoretical framework and an innovative approach to e-justice design, this book includes case studies that are based on a common methodology and theoretical framework. It presents original empirical material on the development of e-government systems in the area of European justice. Finally, it introduces the design strategies of Maximum Feasible Simplicity and Maximum Manageable Complexity and, based on them, it proposes architectural and procedural solutions to enhance the circulation of judicial agency.​

New Territories in Health

Download New Territories in Health PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
ISBN 13 : 1119706750
Total Pages : 149 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (197 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis New Territories in Health by : Isabelle Pailliart

Download or read book New Territories in Health written by Isabelle Pailliart and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-02-19 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third volume in the Health Information set, New Territories in Health focuses on the multifaceted spheres of influence or territories in the field of health. This book includes nine contributions based on the analysis of stakeholder logics that approach the relationships between health and territories. The authors all specialists offer original insights, enhanced by in-depth studies, on the multiple forms that this territorialization takes: political and institutional, professional and organizational, public and media.

Creativity, Inc. (The Expanded Edition)

Download Creativity, Inc. (The Expanded Edition) PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 0679644504
Total Pages : 367 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (796 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Creativity, Inc. (The Expanded Edition) by : Ed Catmull

Download or read book Creativity, Inc. (The Expanded Edition) written by Ed Catmull and published by Random House. This book was released on 2014-04-08 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The co-founder and longtime president of Pixar updates and expands his 2014 New York Times bestseller on creative leadership, reflecting on the management principles that built Pixar’s singularly successful culture, and on all he learned during the past nine years that allowed Pixar to retain its creative culture while continuing to evolve. “Might be the most thoughtful management book ever.”—Fast Company For nearly thirty years, Pixar has dominated the world of animation, producing such beloved films as the Toy Story trilogy, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Up, and WALL-E, which have gone on to set box-office records and garner eighteen Academy Awards. The joyous storytelling, the inventive plots, the emotional authenticity: In some ways, Pixar movies are an object lesson in what creativity really is. Here, Catmull reveals the ideals and techniques that have made Pixar so widely admired—and so profitable. As a young man, Ed Catmull had a dream: to make the first computer-animated movie. He nurtured that dream as a Ph.D. student, and then forged a partnership with George Lucas that led, indirectly, to his founding Pixar with Steve Jobs and John Lasseter in 1986. Nine years later, Toy Story was released, changing animation forever. The essential ingredient in that movie’s success—and in the twenty-five movies that followed—was the unique environment that Catmull and his colleagues built at Pixar, based on philosophies that protect the creative process and defy convention, such as: • Give a good idea to a mediocre team and they will screw it up. But give a mediocre idea to a great team and they will either fix it or come up with something better. • It’s not the manager’s job to prevent risks. It’s the manager’s job to make it safe for others to take them. • The cost of preventing errors is often far greater than the cost of fixing them. • A company’s communication structure should not mirror its organizational structure. Everybody should be able to talk to anybody. Creativity, Inc. has been significantly expanded to illuminate the continuing development of the unique culture at Pixar. It features a new introduction, two entirely new chapters, four new chapter postscripts, and changes and updates throughout. Pursuing excellence isn’t a one-off assignment but an ongoing, day-in, day-out, full-time job. And Creativity, Inc. explores how it is done.

Dealing in Uncertainty

Download Dealing in Uncertainty PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Policy Press
ISBN 13 : 1529221366
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (292 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis Dealing in Uncertainty by : Arjen van der Heide

Download or read book Dealing in Uncertainty written by Arjen van der Heide and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2023-04-28 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Insurance is an important – if still poorly understood – mechanism for dealing with a broad variety of risks associated with modern life. This book conducts an in-depth examination of one of the largest and longest-established private insurance industries in Europe: British life insurance. In doing so, it draws on over 40 oral history interviews to trace how the sector has changed since the 1970s, a period characterized by rampant financialization and neoliberalization. Combining insights from science and technology studies and economic sociology, this is an unprecedented study of the evolution of insurance practices and an invaluable contribution to our understanding of financial capitalism.

A General History of Horology

Download A General History of Horology PDF Online Free

Author :
Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0198863918
Total Pages : 777 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (988 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!


Book Synopsis A General History of Horology by : Turner

Download or read book A General History of Horology written by Turner and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2022-02-02 with total page 777 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A General History of Horology describes instruments used for the finding and measurement of time from Antiquity to the 21st century. In geographical scope it ranges from East Asia to the Americas. The instruments described are set in their technical and social contexts, and there is also discussion of the literature, the historiography and the collecting of the subject. The book features the use of case studies to represent larger topics that cannot be completely covered in a single book. The international body of authors have endeavoured to offer a fully world-wide survey accessible to students, historians, collectors, and the general reader, based on a firm understanding of the technical basis of the subject. At the same time as the work offers a synthesis of current knowledge of the subject, it also incorporates the results of some fundamamental, new and original research.