Sheffield's story is one of fierce independence and a revolutionary spirit, its industrial origins having their roots in the same forests as the legends of Robin Hood. From Huntsman's crucible steel in the eighteenth century, to Brearley's stainless steel in the twentieth, Sheffield forged the very fabric of the modern world. As the industrial age drew to a close the city's reputation for rebelliousness spawned its popular reputation as capital of the 'People's Republic of South Yorkshire'. Yet in the wake of the Miners' Strike and the Hillsborough Disaster, the early twenty-first century has seen Sheffield retain its unique character while reinventing itself as a centre of education, creativity and innovation.

John Owen (1616-1683) and Richard Baxter (1615-1691) were both pivotal figures in shaping the nonconformist landscape of Restoration England. Yet despite having much in common, they found themselves taking opposite sides in several important debates, and their relationship was marked by acute strain and mutual dislike. By comparing and contrasting the parallel careers of these two men, this book not only distils the essence of their differing theology, it also offers a broader understanding of the formation of English nonconformity. Placing these two figures in the context of earlier events, experience and differences, it argues that Restoration nonconformity was hampered by their strained personal relationship, which had its roots in their contrasting experiences of the English Civil War. This study thus contributes to historiography that explores the continuities across seventeenth-century England, rather than seeing a divide at 1660. It illustrates the way in which personality and experience shaped the development of wider movements.

The present economic system requires us to consume and throw away more and more goods. Yet often it's our desire, and the best interests of the environment, for these goods to last. The contributors to this book, who comprise many of the most significant international thinkers in the field, explore how longer lasting products could offer enhanced value while reducing environmental impacts. If we created fewer but better quality products, looked after them carefully and invested more in repair, renovation and upgrading, would this direct our economy onto a more sustainable course? The solution sounds simple, yet it requires a seismic shift in how we think, whether as producers or consumers, and our voracious appetite for novelty. The complex range of issues associated with product life-spans demands a multidisciplinary approach. The book covers historical context, design, engineering, marketing, law, government policy, consumer behaviour and systems of provision. It addresses the whole range of consumer durables - vehicles, kitchen appliances, audio-visual equipment and other domestic products, furniture and floor coverings, hardware, garden tools, clothing, household textiles, recreational goods and DIY goods - as well as the re-use of packaging. Longer Lasting Products provides policy makers, those involved in product design, manufacturing and marketing, and all of us as consumers, with clear and compelling guidance as to how we can move away from a throwaway culture towards an economy sustained by more durable goods.

The Saints' Everlasting Rest meditates on what Scripture reveals about heaven, helping believers live an abundant, God-honoring life in anticipation of eternal rest.

The aggregates industry is perhaps the quintessential industry of the 20th century, quite literally shaping our world, but its history and archaeology have arguably been neglected. In this ground-breaking new book, the author attempts to redress the balance with an in-depth but accessible study of the sand and gravel industry of the Trent Valley in the English Midlands. The book explores an industry at the heart of the economic development of modern Britain. It sets the emerging industry in the context of the Trent Valley region and the tensions between the competing requirements of mineral extraction and agriculture. Drawing heavily on government documents (many newly released under the Freedom of Information Act) that reveal the machinations of post-war planning policy, the archives of major companies and oral testimony of former workers, the author charts the growth of the industry in 20th century Britain. The history of the industry went hand in hand with the growing use of concrete. The book begins with the geology of the region and the earliest use of the resource. It explores technological developments such as the invention of 'Ready-Mix Concrete', and the impact of war, the motorway building programme, and housing demands on the industry. The author then explains the extraction process in detail, illustrated by case studies, and considers the environmental impact of the industry on the landscape. The book concludes with the oral testimony of those who have worked in the industry.

Traces the careers and fortunes of the last priests ordained before the Reformation. A central paradox of the English reformation is that the call to the Catholic priesthood was never more eagerly answered than on the very eve of religious upheaval. In this important new study, based on the records of the third largest diocese in the country, covering six counties of the midlands and north-west, Dr Cooper traces the careers of the pastoral clergy from their preparatory education, through ordination and job-hunting, to the writing of theirwills, often in ripe old age and having served a single parish through the entirety of the main period of reform. In this highly `clericalised' society, in which ten new priests were ordained each year for every arising vacancy, it was those priests without livings who were the main point of contact between the church and its people. This `clerical proletariat', and, indeed, the majority of parochial incumbents, emerge as conscientious servants of their native communities, distinguishable from their neighbours by virtue of their sacramental function rather than their social backgrounds and general concerns. Throughout, the book argues that the parish clergy, whose services were ingreater demand than ever before, were remarkably well integrated into the communities they served and that popular anticlericalism as an explanatory factor of the English reformation is difficult to sustain. Dr TIM COOPER has taught history at the universities of Sheffield, Manchester and Hull.

Advanced Mathematics for FPGA and DSP Programmers covers the mathematical concepts involved in FPGA and DSP programing that can make or break a project. Coverage includes Numbers and Representation, Signals and Noise, Complex Arithmetic, Statistics, Correlation and Convolution, Frequencies, The FFT, Filters, Decimating and Interpolating, Practical Applications, Dot Product Applications, and a glossary of DSP arithmetical terms. About the Author Tim Cooper has been developing real-time embedded and signal processing software for commercial and military applications for over 30 years. Mr. Cooper has authored numerous device drivers, board support packages, and signal processing applications for real-time-operating systems. Mr. Cooper has also authored high-performance signal processing libraries based on SIMD architectures. Other signal processing experience includes MATLAB algorithm development and verification, and working with FPGA engineers to implement and validate signal processing algorithms in VHDL. Much of Mr. Cooper's experience involves software development for systems having hard real-time requirements and deeply embedded processors, where software reliability, performance, and latency are significant cost drivers. Such systems typically require innovative embedded instrumentation that collects performance data without competing for processing resources. Mr. Cooper holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Sciences and a Master's degree in Computer and Electronics Engineering from George Mason University.

Great Lakes Conflagration is the second in two volumes covering military operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the turn from the 21st century. This volume explores developments in the DRC that led to the outbreak of violence in August 1998, and systematically details the continued build-up and status of the Congolese, Rwandan and Ugandan armies, as well as the forces of Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and other African countries that were sucked into the conflict. Recounted is the Rwandan attempt to topple the government of Laurent Kabila through an operation that saw a redeployment of some of best Rwandan units from Kigali and Goma to the western DRC, resulting in a series of fierce air-land clashes with Zimbabwean and Angolan forces and culminating in the Battle of Kinshasa. Also described is the fighting along what became the 'Eastern Front' in the DRC, as Zimbabwean and allied troops attempted to stop Rwandan, Ugandan and rebel advances out of Kivu Province in the direction of the Congo River through 1998 and 1999. These early phases of the war, or 'The First African War' as it has come to be known, were characterized by surprising outflanking and infiltration manoeuvres; foreign mercenaries; Zimbabwean Hawk and Lynx light strikers flying intensive combat operations from N'Djili airport, half of which was occupied by Rwandans, Ugandans and Congolese rebels; interdiction strikes guided by special forces deployed deep behind enemy lines; operations of helicopter gunships and transport aircraft under intense ground attack in support of troops cut off by advancing opponents; use of transport aircraft as makeshift bombers in bad weather and by night and clashes of armoured forces and many other elements of 'high-technology' warfare. All the protagonists deployed their best military units, their best equipment and some of their best military commanders, yet despite their best efforts, and hampered by in-fighting, the conflict ultimately resulted in a stalemate which dragged on for a further three years while negotiations bogged down. This book is illustrated with an extensive selection of exclusive photography, colour profiles and markings, making it of special interest to enthusiasts and professionals alike.

In his classic text The Reformed Pastor, Richard Baxter expounds on the apostle Paul's encouragement to the elders of Ephesus to keep watch over themselves and their flocks. Updated and abridged edition.