The industrial world was built to run on cheap oil, and now the cheap oil has run out. For a while longer, the West will depend for its energy upon expensive oil --much of it obtained from sources that are geographically remote· or politically unstable. so in the near future, the world mus.t shift from oil to other sources of energy. TRANSITIONS TO ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SYSTEMS explores how such change can best be encouraged. The governments of the world, then, do not have the option of pious...

The challenges facing today's sales executives and their organizations continue to grow, but so do the expectations that they will find ways to overcome them and drive consistent sales growth.There are no simple solutions to this situation, but in this thoroughly updated Second Edition of Sales Growth, experts from McKinsey & Company build on their practical blueprint for achieving this goal and explore what world-class sales executives are doing right now to find...

In Man, Decisions, Society (1985) the authors offer an innovative approach to social science research: a new methodology, actor-system dynamics, makes possible a more effective analysis of modern societal developments and problems. Using flow charts, this methodology brings out the critical aspects of social phenomena, making complex processes visible and comprehensible.

Actor-systems dynamics is an innovative, multidisciplinary methodology for investigating and analyzing social struggles over economic resources and the related interplay between economic and socio-political institutions and processes. The authors, sociologists and economists, offer a systemic perspective on contemporary socio-economic issues such as economic crisis, unemployment, inflation, economic democracy and development; in their analyses, they identify several of the key factors that...

The challenges facing today's sales executives and their organizations continue to grow, but so do the expectations that they will find ways to overcome them and drive consistent sales growth.There are no simple solutions to this situation, but in this thoroughly updated second edition of Sales Growth, experts from McKinsey & Company build on their practical blueprint for achieving this goal and explore what world-class sales executives are doing right now to find growth a...

Test automation is an essential tool in today’s software development environments. It increases testing efficiency and makes test procedures reliably repeatable.This book provides a complete overview of how to design test automation processes and integrate them into your organization or existing projects. It details functional and technical strategies and goes into detail on the relevant concepts and best practices. The book’s main focus is on functional system testing.Topi...

It is quite possible that no elected office has been more historically maligned than the vice presidency of the United States. From the beginning of American politics the office has been the object of ridicule by scholars, pundits, humorists, citizens, and even vice presidents themselves. The perception among many is that institution and its occupants are at best irrelevant. Recent history would suggest otherwise, but as it stands no book exists that takes a detailed look at the new, impac...

Showcases the highly beneficial features arising from the presence of main group elements in organic materials, for the development of more sophisticated, yet simple advanced functional materialsFunctional organic materials are already a huge area of academic and industrial interest for a host of electronic applications such as Organic Light-Emitting Diodes (OLEDs), Organic Photovoltaics (OPVs), Organic Field-Effect Transistors (OFETs), and more recently Organic Ba...

Concepts, methods, and techniques—supported with practical, real-world examplesThe first book to cover the ISTQB® Certified Test Automation Engineer syllabusWith real-world project examples– Suitable as a textbook, as a reference book for ISTQB® training courses, and for self-studyThis book provides a complete overview of how to design test automation processes and integrate them into your organization or existing projects. It describes fu...

Public education, once considered a dogmatic institution in the 20th century, now finds itself challenged at almost every level in todays sociopolitical environment. New realities, as evidenced by the political complexities of the global village, widespread technological advances that undermine established educational practices, and ever mounting pressures on the curriculum to appease corporate interests have altered the face of public education forever, leaving educators seemingly strande...

WINNER OF THE 2017 PETER KATZENSTEIN BOOK PRIZE"BEST OF BOOKS IN 2017" BY FOREIGN AFFAIRSWINNER OF THE 2018 VIVIAN ZELIZER PRIZE BEST BOOK AWARD IN ECONOMIC SOCIOLOGY"How China Escaped the Poverty Trap truly offers game-changing ideas for the analysis and implementation of socio-economic development and should have a major impact across many social sciences."― Zelizer Best Book in Economic Sociology Prize Committee...

Long a fruitful area of scrutiny for students of organizations, the study of institutions is undergoing a renaissance in contemporary social science. This volume offers, for the first time, both often-cited foundation works and the latest writings of scholars associated with the "institutional" approach to organization analysis.In their introduction, the editors discuss points of convergence and disagreement with institutionally oriented research in economics and political science,...