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A fitting tribute to John B. Keane, for decades Ireland's favorite
storyteller, this winning short story collection typifies the late
author's folkloric imagination and storytelling arts. These are
congenial tales, too, as this literary legend views the foibles and
fallibilities of Irish country folk with abundant compassion as
well as a shrewd, sometimes sardonic eye. Add to that Keane's
glorious sense of fun and roguery that will make readers relish all
the more how and why, in "Fred Rimble," Jim Conlon kills the best
friend he ever had. Or how Willie Ramley determines that his future
wife will be "Guaranteed Pure." Or how, to tragic as well as comic
effect, a gasp, garlic, and gossip undo Denny Bruder in "The
Hanging." In all, Keane uncovers the folly in the romantic pangs,
exalted aspirations, misguided mischief, and everyday shortcomings
of the characters in the village of his storyteller's mind-and
beyond the folly finds their humanity.
Wayward son of a respected clergyman, by twenty-two, Jack Keane had
seen the world. It only remained for him to visit the forbidden
cities of Makkah and Madinah, and his chance came when he steps
ashore in the Red Sea port of Jiddah. Disguised as a pilgrim he
joins a caravan to Islam's holiest cities. Stoned in Makkah, knifed
on the way to Madinah, Keane witnesses death and suffering in the
desert, as he and his fellow-pilgrims are menaced by predatory
desert tribes. His account and the mysterious affair of the "Lady
Venus", who, Keane alleged, was an Englishwoman stranded in Makkah
at the time of his visit, created a sensation in England earning
him some notoriety and helping to publicise his first two books,
Six Months in Meccah and My Journey to Medinah. These are here
republished for the first time since the 1880s. William Facey's
Introduction tells the story of Keane's life, provides a critical
appraisal of his journey, and places his account of the pilgrimage
in the context of other travellers to Islam's holy places. The
comprehensive glossary, index and map which accompany this single
volume will assist and guide readers as they join Keane on his
remarkable journey. Today, with the spotlight turned on the region
and its religion, Keane's account represents a prescient reflection
of Western attitudes of the time towards Islam and the Arab world.
Spain has become a remarkable democratic laboratory in which
millions of citizens are experimenting with new forms of political
expression. This book examines the dynamics of this political
laboratory, showing that the upheavals it is experiencing are
likely in the near future to affect democracies elsewhere in the
world. Examining the new means of participation that were
established in fields where digital communication tools enabled the
launch of novel dynamics of political action, the reader will gain
access to a comprehensive analysis of the reshaping and mutation
process that has affected fields such as activism, political
parties and political participation. Using a case study of the
Spain between 2011 and 2015, the book focuses on the changes that
have taken place in politics and communication in Spain, paying
particular attention to the 15M movement and its disruptive,
innovative strength in all matters related to politics and
communication. The chapters cover political repertoires and the
hybridization of horizontal and vertical political logics; the
appearance of new political parties; the establishment of
monitoring mechanisms as an essential means of political expression
and participation; and the subversion of rationality across media
as a product of the communication strategies implemented by online
political activism. Showing that Spain is not just at the forefront
of democratic innovation, but that it is a political laboratory in
which trials are taking place that tell us much about the future of
democracy everywhere, this book will be of great use to scholars of
political theory, democracy and philosophy.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of the technology
behind the pico-solar revolution and offers guidance on how to test
and choose quality products. The book also discusses how pioneering
companies and initiatives are overcoming challenges to reach scale
in the marketplace, from innovative distribution strategies to
reach customers in rural India and Tanzania, to product development
in Cambodia, product assembly in Mozambique and the introduction of
'pay as you go' technology in Kenya. Pico-solar is a new category
of solar electric system which has the potential to transform the
lives of over 1.6 billion people who live without access to
electricity. Pico-solar systems are smaller and more affordable
than traditional solar systems and have the power to provide useful
amounts of electricity to charge the increasing number of low power
consuming appliances from mobile phones, e-readers and parking
metres, to LED lights which have the power to light up millions of
homes in the same way the mobile phone has connected and empowered
communities across the planet. The book explains the important role
pico-solar has in reducing reliance on fossil fuels while at the
same time tackling world poverty and includes useful
recommendations for entrepreneurs, charities and governments who
want to participate in developing this exciting and rapidly
expanding market.
Originally published in 1984, Contradictions of the Welfare State
is the first collection of Claus Offe's essays to appear in a
single volume in English. The political writings in this volume are
primarily concerned with the origins of the present difficulties of
welfare capitalist states, and he indicates why in the present
period, these states are no longer capable of fully managing the
socio-political problems and conflicts generated by late capitalist
societies. Offe discusses the viability of New Right, corporatist
and democratic socialist proposals for restructuring the welfare
state. He also offers fresh and penetrating insights into a range
of other subjects, including social movements, political parties,
law, social policy, and labour markets.
First published in 1986. This book analyses, at an introductory
level, the four main and competing political interpretations of the
cause of unemployment and the future of paid work - social
democracy, free market liberalism, the disciplinary state, and
utopian socialism. Considered together these four interpretations
are highly revealing - and challenging. They raise considerable
doubts about the viability or desirability of policies design to
'get the jobless back to work'. Keane and Owens' central argument
is that the post-war policy of full male employment, as well as its
politic, economic and social preconditions, are not repeatable,
Starting with Keynes and Beveridge, they explain how and why full
employment welfare states developed in Britain and the US, and how
they had in turn been replaced by the 'strong state, free market'
programmes of Thatcher and Reagan. By focusing on an issue which
was, and still is, at the heart of political debate, the book
provides a lucid and approachable guide to four key strands of
political thought it Britain and the US. It will be an ideal
introductory text for students of politics, sociology and
economics.
First published in 1986. This book analyses, at an introductory
level, the four main and competing political interpretations of the
cause of unemployment and the future of paid work - social
democracy, free market liberalism, the disciplinary state, and
utopian socialism. Considered together these four interpretations
are highly revealing - and challenging. They raise considerable
doubts about the viability or desirability of policies design to
'get the jobless back to work'. Keane and Owens' central argument
is that the post-war policy of full male employment, as well as its
politic, economic and social preconditions, are not repeatable,
Starting with Keynes and Beveridge, they explain how and why full
employment welfare states developed in Britain and the US, and how
they had in turn been replaced by the 'strong state, free market'
programmes of Thatcher and Reagan. By focusing on an issue which
was, and still is, at the heart of political debate, the book
provides a lucid and approachable guide to four key strands of
political thought it Britain and the US. It will be an ideal
introductory text for students of politics, sociology and
economics.
"Independent Analysis Today" shows how contemporary independent
psychoanalysts think and work. There are three themes to the book:
independent thinking including the theory of technique; exploration
of clinical concepts and demonstrations of ways of working by some
of the most prominent independent clinicians practicing today;
finally, the evolution and enduring impact of independent ideas and
the influence of past independents on present ways of working.
Contributors: Barnett, Budd, Dermen, Horne, Keene, Kleimberg,
Kohon, Parsons, Perelberg, Polmear, Raphael-Leff, Williams, Wright.
Originally published in 1984, Contradictions of the Welfare State
is the first collection of Claus Offe's essays to appear in a
single volume in English. The political writings in this volume are
primarily concerned with the origins of the present difficulties of
welfare capitalist states, and he indicates why in the present
period, these states are no longer capable of fully managing the
socio-political problems and conflicts generated by late capitalist
societies. Offe discusses the viability of New Right, corporatist
and democratic socialist proposals for restructuring the welfare
state. He also offers fresh and penetrating insights into a range
of other subjects, including social movements, political parties,
law, social policy, and labour markets.
Books of great political insight and novelty always outlive their
time of birth and this reissued work, initially published in 1985,
is no exception. Written shortly after the formation of Charter 77,
the essays in this collection are among the most original and
compelling pieces of political writing to have emerged from central
and Eastern Europe during the whole of the post-war period. Vaclav
Havel's essay provides the title for the book. It was read by all
the contributors who in turn responded to the many questions which
Havel raises about the potential power of the powerless. The essays
explain the anti-democratic features and limits of Soviet-type
totalitarian systems of power. They discuss such concepts as
ideology, democracy, civil liberty, law and the state from a
perspective which is radically different from that of people living
in liberal western democracies. The authors also discuss the
prospects for democratic change under totalitarian conditions.
Steven Lukes' introduction provides an invaluable political and
historical context for these writings. The authors represent a very
broad spectrum of democratic opinion, including liberal,
conservative and socialist.
High-Performance Computing (HPC) delivers higher computational
performance to solve problems in science, engineering and finance.
There are various HPC resources available for different needs,
ranging from cloud computing- that can be used without much
expertise and expense - to more tailored hardware, such as
Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or D-Wave's quantum computer
systems. High-Performance Computing in Finance is the first book
that provides a state-of-the-art introduction to HPC for finance,
capturing both academically and practically relevant problems.
Independent Psychoanalysis Today is a book that shows how
contemporary Independent psychoanalysts think and work. There are
three themes to the book: Independent thinking including the theory
of technique; exploration of clinical concepts and demonstrations
of ways of working by some of the most prominent Independent
clinicians practicing today; finally, the evolution and enduring
impact of Independent ideas and the influence of past Independents
on present ways of working.
An Australian Book Review Best Book of the Year A disturbing
in-depth expose of the antidemocratic practices of despotic
governments now sweeping the world. One day they'll be like us.
That was once the West's complacent and self-regarding assumption
about countries emerging from poverty, imperial rule, or communism.
But many have hardened into something very different from liberal
democracy: what the eminent political thinker John Keane describes
as a new form of despotism. And one day, he warns, we may be more
like them. Drawing on extensive travels, interviews, and a lifetime
of thinking about democracy and its enemies, Keane shows how
governments from Russia and China through Central Asia to the
Middle East and Europe have mastered a formidable combination of
political tools that threaten the established ideals and practices
of power-sharing democracy. They mobilize the rhetoric of democracy
and win public support for workable forms of government based on
patronage, dark money, steady economic growth, sophisticated media
controls, strangled judiciaries, dragnet surveillance, and
selective violence against their opponents. Casting doubt on such
fashionable terms as dictatorship, autocracy, fascism, and
authoritarianism, Keane makes a case for retrieving and
refurbishing the old term "despotism" to make sense of how these
regimes function and endure. He shows how they cooperate regionally
and globally and draw strength from each other's resources while
breeding global anxieties and threatening the values and
institutions of democracy. Like Montesquieu in the eighteenth
century, Keane stresses the willing complicity of comfortable
citizens in all these trends. And, like Montesquieu, he worries
that the practices of despotism are closer to home than we care to
admit.
"More than any other public figure of the eighteenth century, Tom
Paine strikes our times like a trumpet blast from a distant world."
So begins John Keane's magnificent and award-winning (the Fraunces
Tavern Book Award) biography of one of democracy's greatest
champions. Among friends and enemies alike, Paine earned a
reputation as a notorious pamphleteer, one of the greatest
political figures of his day, and the author of three best-selling
books, Common Sense, The Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason.
Setting his compelling narrative against a vivid social backdrop of
prerevolutionary America and the French Revolution, John Keane
melds together the public and the shadowy private sides of Paine's
life in a remarkable piece of scholarship. This is the definitive
biography of a man whose life and work profoundly shaped the modern
age. "Provide s] an engaging perspective on England, America, and
France in the tumultuous years of the late eighteenth century." --
Pauline Maier, The New York Times Book Review "It is hard to
imagine this magnificent biography ever being superceded.... It is
a stylish, splendidly erudite work." -- Terry Eagleton, The
Guardian
High-Performance Computing (HPC) delivers higher computational
performance to solve problems in science, engineering and finance.
There are various HPC resources available for different needs,
ranging from cloud computing- that can be used without much
expertise and expense - to more tailored hardware, such as
Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) or D-Wave's quantum computer
systems. High-Performance Computing in Finance is the first book
that provides a state-of-the-art introduction to HPC for finance,
capturing both academically and practically relevant problems.
At the moment, no other European city attracts so much fascination
as the city of Berlin. An unrivalled symbol of modern urban life,
Berlin is a dynamic city whose inhabitants, in the course of the
past two centuries, have lived through both the rapid growth and
the violent destruction of the institutions of civil society,
several times over. This volume situates itself within these
developments by presenting, for the first time in English, a sample
of the best, recently written essays on contemporary civil
societies, their structural problems, and their uncertain future,
written by scholars with a close, long-standing relationship with
the city. They are pre-occupied with a broad sweep of substantive
themes, but in each case they focus upon one or other of the key
trends that are shaping actually existing civil societies.
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Intelligent Data Engineering and Automated Learning, IDEAL 2002, held in Manchester, UK in August 2002.The 89 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from more than 150 submissions. The book offers topical sections on data mining, knowledge engineering, text and document processing, internet applications, agent technology, autonomous mining, financial engineering, bioinformatics, learning systems, and pattern recognition.
Euro-Par - the European Conference on Parallel Computing - is an
international conference series dedicated to the promotion and
advancement of all aspects of parallel computing. The major themes
can be divided into the broad categories of hardware, software,
algorithms, and applications for parallel computing. The objective
of Euro-Par is to provide a forum within which to promote the dev-
opment of parallel computing both as an industrial technique and an
academic discipline, extending the frontiers of both the state of
the art and the state of the practice. This is
particularlyimportant at a time when parallel computing is
undergoing strong and sustained development and experiencing real
ind- trial take up. The main audience for and participants in
Euro-Par are seen as researchers in academic departments,
government laboratories, and industrial organisations. Euro-Par
aims to become the primarychoice of such professionals for the
presentation of new results in their speci?c areas. Euro-Par is
also int- ested in applications that demonstrate the e?ectiveness
of the main Euro-Par themes. Euro-Par has its own Internet domain
with a permanent web site where the historyof the conference series
is described: http: //www. euro-par. org. The Euro-Par conference
series is sponsored bythe Association of Computer Machineryand the
International Federation of Information Processing. Euro-Par 2001
Euro-Par 2001 was organised bythe Universityof Manchester and UMIST
This volume presents the proceedings of the 13th British National
Conference on Databases, BNCOD 13, held in Manchester, UK in July
1995.
The volume contains 2 invited contributions and 14 full revised
technical papers selected from a total of 64 submissions. The
papers are organized in sections on functional databases, user
interfaces, system-level algorithms, queries and transactions, and
parallel and federated systems. Despite the fact that BNCOD is a
national event there is strong international representation in the
proceedings.
Spain has become a remarkable democratic laboratory in which
millions of citizens are experimenting with new forms of political
expression. This book examines the dynamics of this political
laboratory, showing that the upheavals it is experiencing are
likely in the near future to affect democracies elsewhere in the
world. Examining the new means of participation that were
established in fields where digital communication tools enabled the
launch of novel dynamics of political action, the reader will gain
access to a comprehensive analysis of the reshaping and mutation
process that has affected fields such as activism, political
parties and political participation. Using a case study of the
Spain between 2011 and 2015, the book focuses on the changes that
have taken place in politics and communication in Spain, paying
particular attention to the 15M movement and its disruptive,
innovative strength in all matters related to politics and
communication. The chapters cover political repertoires and the
hybridization of horizontal and vertical political logics; the
appearance of new political parties; the establishment of
monitoring mechanisms as an essential means of political expression
and participation; and the subversion of rationality across media
as a product of the communication strategies implemented by online
political activism. Showing that Spain is not just at the forefront
of democratic innovation, but that it is a political laboratory in
which trials are taking place that tell us much about the future of
democracy everywhere, this book will be of great use to scholars of
political theory, democracy and philosophy.
Books of great political insight and novelty always outlive their
time of birth and this reissued work, initially published in 1985,
is no exception. Written shortly after the formation of Charter 77,
the essays in this collection are among the most original and
compelling pieces of political writing to have emerged from central
and Eastern Europe during the whole of the post-war period. Vaclav
Havel's essay provides the title for the book. It was read by all
the contributors who in turn responded to the many questions which
Havel raises about the potential power of the powerless. The essays
explain the anti-democratic features and limits of Soviet-type
totalitarian systems of power. They discuss such concepts as
ideology, democracy, civil liberty, law and the state from a
perspective which is radically different from that of people living
in liberal western democracies. The authors also discuss the
prospects for democratic change under totalitarian conditions.
Steven Lukes' introduction provides an invaluable political and
historical context for these writings. The authors represent a very
broad spectrum of democratic opinion, including liberal,
conservative and socialist.
At the moment, no other European city attracts so much fascination
as the city of Berlin. An unrivalled symbol of modern urban life,
Berlin is a dynamic city whose inhabitants, in the course of the
past two centuries, have lived through both the rapid growth and
the violent destruction of the institutions of civil society,
several times over. This volume situates itself within these
developments by presenting, for the first time in English, a sample
of the best, recently written essays on contemporary civil
societies, their structural problems, and their uncertain future,
written by scholars with a close, long-standing relationship with
the city. They are pre-occupied with a broad sweep of substantive
themes, but in each case they focus upon one or other of the key
trends that are shaping actually existing civil societies.
India is heralded as the world's largest democracy. Yet, there is
now growing alarm about its democratic health. To Kill a Democracy
gets to the heart of the matter. Combining poignant life stories
with sharp scholarly insight, it rejects the belief that India was
once a beacon of democracy but is now being ruined by the
destructive forces of Modi-style populism. The book details the
much deeper historical roots of the present-day assaults on civil
liberties and democratic institutions. Democracy, the authors also
argue, is much more than elections and the separation of powers. It
is a whole way of life lived in dignity, and that is why they pay
special attention to the decaying social foundations of Indian
democracy. In compelling fashion, the book describes daily
struggles for survival and explains how lived social injustices and
unfreedoms rob Indian elections of their meaning, while at the same
time feeding the decadence and iron-fisted rule of its governing
institutions. Much more than a book about India, To Kill A
Democracy argues that what is happening in the country is globally
important, and not just because every third person living in a
democracy is an Indian. It shows that when democracies rack and
ruin their social foundations, they don't just kill off the spirit
and substance of democracy. They lay the foundations for despotism.
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