The Cost of a Deadbeat is a thought-provoking study that takes both a humorous and cynical approach to identifying and defining the major types of deadbeats, and the hidden monetary and emotional costs they bring to society. With over forty years of experience in the workplace, author Michael Webb applies his business knowledge and observation skills to illuminate what most of us unknowingly tolerate each day from the selfish and lazy in our culture. In each chapter, Webb provides personal examples of DNA (Deadbeat Negligent Activities) and categorizes the types of deadbeats, such as: - Workplace deadbeats-slackers, sickies, tenure train riders, and slacking supervisors - Criminal deadbeats-pilferers, prisoners, cyber slugs, scam artists, and petty thieves - Daylight deadbeats-porky politicians, bumbling bureaucrats, and deadbeat voters - Cheater deadbeats-fraud finders, tax evaders, and bankruptcy bums - New generation deadbeats-poor parents and weak schools The Cost of a Deadbeat will encourage you to join the fight against deadbeats by examining your own behavior and contributing common sense and decency to your own life.

Building Community is an in-depth, wide-ranging survey of contemporary apartment buildings, not as raw canvases for interior decoration but as a building type of growing significance. An introduction presents the history of multiple-occupancy housing through its most innovative 20th-century exemplars, from the urbane blocks of Auguste Perret and Henri Sauvage in Paris, to the landscaped housing estates of Weimar Germany and the visionary schemes of Le Corbusier. The heart of the book features 39 recent or ongoing projects, designed by leading international studios and rising talents. Buildings range from social housing and micro apartments to urban villages, megastructures and innovative high-rises. Each project is considered for the way in which it enriches the lives of residents and the city, and is shown through drawings and photographs, taken from the street and within. The book also includes interviews with such contemporary masters of apartment design as Michael Maltzan, Lorcan O'Herlihy, Edouard Francois and Bjarke Ingels. As our cities grow more crowded, it is critical that we produce creative buildings that enhance the lives of their inhabitants, their surroundings and the urban environment as a whole. Building Community offers dozens of proven successes to designers and apartment-dwellers. With 348 illustrations in colour

Thirty of the world's leading architects, including Norman Foster, Thom Mayne, Tod Williams and Billie Tsien, talk about the houses they designed for themselves over the past decade. What inspired them, what were the constraints, how did their concepts take shape? Michael Webb explores the creative process and traces the influence of architects' houses over the past two hundred years, from Jefferson's Monticello to the creations of Charles and Ray Eames, Toyo Ito and Frank Gehry. Texts, images, sketches and plans are interwoven to illustrate houses that differ widely, in size, material, character and location. There are urban infills, rustic retreats, experiments, and fusions of new and old. They all make a statement, modest or ambitious, and each reflects the personality and tastes of its owner. These architects have accepted the challenge of doing something out of the ordinary, turning constraints to advantage. They give different answers to a crucial question: how can a house enrich lives and its surroundings? Spacious or frugal, refined or rough-edged, daring or reductive, these adventurous dwellings will inspire other architects and everyone who would like to design or commission a house that is one-of-a-kind.

Offers an overview of Italian music of the modern era dealing with the composers and the music they wrote. This book includes full bibliographical references and an index.

Over the past two decades, spectacular advances have been made in our understanding of the molecular genetics of cancer, leading to the pursuit of identifying genes that, when mutated, result in an increased susceptibility to the disease. In Cancer Susceptibility: Methods and Protocols, experts in the field bring together the most recent technological developments for identifying and screening cancer susceptibility genes. Divided into two clear sections, the book begins with gene identification, which updates and informs scientists working at identifying novel cancer susceptibility genes, while the second part deals with mutation screening technologies that aid scientists and clinicians working to translate this knowledge into the clinic. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, chapters contain introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory protocols, and notes on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Authoritative and cutting-edge, Cancer Susceptibility: Methods and Protocols is a timely collection that seeks to provide researchers with the tools to predict and combat this terrible disease.

This is the first English language biography of Ottorino Respighi, the most performed Italian composer of the twentieth century. Best known for his so-called Roman trilogy, (Fountains of Rome, Pines of Rome and Roman Festivals), this book documents the story of his rise to fame and offers a fascinating insight into the active lifestyle of an internationally renowned musician, who made an important contribution to the revival of interest in early music. It also takes a closer look at Respighi's associations with eminent figures such as Arturo Toscanini, Serge Diaghilev, Gabriele D'Annunzio and even Albert Einstein which make his story deeply engaging and take us beyond the realms of music into a world of Russian emigres, wealthy patrons and Nobel Prize winners, while also documenting some of the early effects of fascism on art and culture.

From artworks and chairs to architecture, landscaping and interior design, Michael Boyd's devotion to the principles of modernism is comprehensive. An artist and musician, he acquired his expertise as a collector, surrounding himself with rare and beautiful finds. His immersion in the philosophy and creativity of the masters inspired him to restore a succession of classic modern houses, curate exhibitions, create a versatile range of furniture and rugs, and design sculptural gardens. Millennium Modern: Living in Design details his work across the first two decades of the new millennium and reflects his belief that the tenets of modernism - honesty and simplicity - developed more than a century ago, are equally relevant to our pluralistic age. In contrast to the pioneers who wanted to do away with the past, his creations are deeply rooted in the history of design. Essays by Boyd and architectural writer Michael Webb, along with comments from collaborators and critics, explore each facet of his residential design. This beautifully illustrated volume reveals Boyd's holistic design practice from his discovery of design classics in flea markets, to his own furniture designs, which feature in residential interiors, hotels and museums, through to his sensitive restoration of the houses by Paul Rudolph and Oscar Niemeyer, Richard Neutra and Craig Ellwood, and the sculptural landscapes he designed to enhance these residences, as well as masterpieces by John Lautner.

Music in Pacific Island Cultures is one of several case-study volumes that can be used along with Thinking Musically, Second Edition, the core book in the Global Music Series. Thinking Musically incorporates music from many diverse cultures and establishes the framework for exploring the practice of music around the world. It sets the stage for an array of case-study volumes, each of which focuses on a single area of the world. Each case study uses the contemporary musical situation as a point of departure, covering historical information and traditions as they relate to the present. The islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia are steeped in diverse musical traditions that reach far beyond the expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Music in Pacific Island Cultures is the first brief, single-volume text to provide a thematic, succinct introduction to the music of the Pacific Islands-a region of the world that has long been under-represented in ethnomusicological studies. Based on the authors' extensive fieldwork and experiences in Pacific Island cultures, the text draws on interviews with performers, eyewitness accounts of performances, vivid illustrations, and insights gained from ongoing participation in Pacific music. The authors use four themes-colonialism, belief systems, musical flows, and the re/presentation of Pacific cultures-to survey the region and draw parallels and contrasts between its various musical traditions. Packaged with a 70-minute audio CD containing musical examples discussed in the book, Music in Pacific Island Cultures features numerous listening activities that engage students with the music. The companion website includes a comprehensive Instructor's Manual with suggested classroom activities. Visit www.oup.com/us/globalmusic for a list of books in the Global Music Series. The website also includes instructional materials to accompany each volume.

Anthony Poon's passion for music inspires a vibrant architecture that engages its users and the environment. Affordability and sustainability are hallmarks of Poon's designs, which fuse quality and innovation. His success explodes the myth that architect-designed houses are more expensive and challenging than generic solutions and raises the bar for developers and architects alike. This monograph explores three fields in which Poon Design have excelled: housing, schools, and restaurants. It explains how they enrich the experience of living, learning, and eating, and promote social interaction. Readers can track the creative process from concept sketch to model, plan to completion.

Quality management. Process mapping. Speed to production. In the past 50 years, a rigorous, measurement-based methodology called Six Sigma has brought production management to previously unimaginable levels of success and sophistication. Top corporations such as Motorola and GE have built their reputations, products, and revenues using this approach. Indeed, Six Sigma has found widespread application in every significant industry and business-except marketing and sales. In Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way, sales and quality guruMichael Webb shows how to blend marketing and sales efforts with the cutting-edge methods of Six Sigma to boost their bottom lines. With Webb's book as a guide, readers learn to engineer rapid routes to customer value, accurately predict future revenue, and ensure return on investment for their projects. In Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way, you will: * Find out why "the usual fixes" for sales problems don't work * Meet executives who have used Six Sigma to imrpove marketing and sales results * See the pitfalls that await the unwary when applying process improvement in sales * Learn how to introduce Six Sigma to sales and marketing professionals * Discover through examples and cases how to manage sales as a process Webb walks readers through several Six Sigma sales and marketing projects from start to finish, highlighting the tools, decisions, and results that made them successful. He shows the practical methods managers use to translate process improvement principles to the human world of selling and marketing. With his dual background in sales and marketing management and in quality improvement, Webb speaks clearly to readers in both disciplines. This makes Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way, the indispensible guide for sales and marketing professionals who want to excel in today's business environment, and for quality improvement experts who want to help them.

The Cost of a Deadbeat is a thought-provoking study that takes both a humorous and cynical approach to identifying and defining the major types of deadbeats, and the hidden monetary and emotional costs they bring to society. With over forty years of experience in the workplace, author Michael Webb applies his business knowledge and observation skills to illuminate what most of us unknowingly tolerate each day from the selfish and lazy in our culture. In each chapter, Webb provides personal examples of DNA (Deadbeat Negligent Activities) and categorizes the types of deadbeats, such as: - Workplace deadbeats-slackers, sickies, tenure train riders, and slacking supervisors - Criminal deadbeats-pilferers, prisoners, cyber slugs, scam artists, and petty thieves - Daylight deadbeats-porky politicians, bumbling bureaucrats, and deadbeat voters - Cheater deadbeats-fraud finders, tax evaders, and bankruptcy bums - New generation deadbeats-poor parents and weak schools The Cost of a Deadbeat will encourage you to join the fight against deadbeats by examining your own behavior and contributing common sense and decency to your own life.

The Romantic's Guide contains hundreds of tips for the romantically impaired. There are unique ideas on gift-giving, creative dating, having fun with food, and all the little things you can do each day for increasing the romantic potential of even the most stoic of lovers. The perfect gift for anyone involved in a loving relationship.

From the ruins of Palmyra in the Syrian desert to the ghost town of Bodie, the painted churches of Sucevita in Romania, and a fire festival in a Japanese village: Michael Webb has ventured far afield in search of the rare and beautiful. He recalls memorable experiences of people and places over eight decades of travel around the world, and some of the buildings and landscapes that have left a lasting impression. It's getting harder to find places that have not been commercialised and overwhelmed by mass tourism, but they can still be found, even in the most popular destinations. Webb's recommendations should inspire you to get off the beaten track and make your own discoveries.