Boundaries, borders and margins are related concepts and realities, and each of these can be conceptualized and organized in closed or open ways—with degrees of closure or openness. The logics of stasis and closure, as well as cults of exclusivist and exclusionary sovereignty, are reflected and embodied in the closed xenophobic conceptualization and organization of boundaries, borders and margins. But, an open conceptualization of the borderlands, where mixing and hybridity take place at a...

The world of work is going through a large-scale transition with digitization, automation and acceleration. Critical skills and expertise are imperative for companies and their employees to succeed in the future, and the most forward-thinking companies are being proactive in adapting to the shift in the workforce. Kelly Palmer, Silicon Valley thought-leader from LinkedIn, Degreed, and Yahoo, and David Blake, co-founder of Ed-tech pioneer Degreed, share their experiences and describe how so...

The world of work is going through a large-scale transition with digitization, automation and acceleration. Critical skills and expertise are imperative for companies and their employees to succeed in the future, and the most forward-thinking companies are being proactive in adapting to the shift in the workforce. Kelly Palmer, Silicon Valley thought-leader from LinkedIn, Degreed, and Yahoo, and David Blake, co-founder of Ed-tech pioneer Degreed, share their experiences and describe how so...

On 27 December 1973 the nightmare began: late that night German businessman Thomas Niedermayer was kidnapped from his home in Belfast. Never seen alive again by his friends or family, he became one of the 'disappeared' and it seemed that no one knew what had happened to him.His wife, Ingeborg, and his daughters, Renate and Gabriele, spent the next seven years not knowing if Thomas were alive or dead. In 1980, an IRA informant led police to recover his body. But the trauma for Thoma...

Since the 1980s, the characteristics model in economics has been applied to the field of finance, and offers a fresh perspective for understanding financial behaviour. This book brings together some of the latest research by leading exponents of the characteristics model and its application to finance.

There are nine breeds of dog that are native to Ireland: four terriers, three gun dogs, and two hounds. In The Curious History of Irish Dogs, David Blake Knox tells the remarkable stories of each of the nine breeds, and reveals how they have become inextricably linked to the human beings with whom they share the island. Irish Wolfhounds stalked through ancient Celtic mythology, while Kerry Beagles were among the victims of the Land War in the 1880s. Charles Stewart Parnell insisted that hi...

Hitler's Irish Slaves tells the shocking story of 32 merchant seamen from Ireland who were held in conditions of great hardship in an SS slave labour camp from 1943 to 1945. Mercilessly punished for their refusal to join the German war effort, and ignored by their own government, they became part of a slave workforce that was used to construct an immense bunker. The Nazis believed that they could build a 'miracle boat' in this bunker: a new type of U-boat that could win the war for Germany...

First published in 1992, this book explains how pension funds work in order to highlight their impact on the economy as a whole. David Blake explores the different systems in operation at the time of writing, both state run and private sector, and describes policy initiatives such as personal pension schemes. Longer life-expectancy, overseas investment, equal opportunities and short-termism in capital markets are among the issues discussed as David Blake assesses how pension funds typicall...

First published in 1992, this title conducts an in-depth examination of the investment behaviour of pension funds, presenting the first econometric model in this area. Using the well-established framework of modern portfolio theory, David Blake derives a model of optimal portfolio behaviour that explains pension fund asset holdings in terms of the most important macroeconomic and cyclical indicators. He shows how factors such as industry profitability, the balance of payments and the monet...

Transcultural Japan provides a critical examination of being Other in Japan. Portraying the multiple intersections of race, ethnicity, class, and gender, the book suggests ways in which the transcultural borderlands of Japan reflect globalization in this island nation. The authors show the diversity of Japan from the inside, revealing an extraordinarily complex new society in sharp contrast to the persistent stereotypical images held of a regimented, homogeneous Japan. Unsettling ...

Broadland is the first in a chilling series of serial killer books, which will rapidly convert followers of Faith Martin, Joy Ellis and Damien Boyd into David Blake devotees.When a girl’s body is found strangled, raped, and horrifically mutilated by a boat’s propeller, deep in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, newly arrived Detective Inspector John Tanner is asked to assist with the investigation. At first, all the evidence points to a man who had a multi-million-pound reason to kill...

Drawing on the science of how we learn, The Expertise Economy shows companies big and small how to transform their employees into experts and ultimately their biggest competitive advantage.The world of work is going through a large-scale transition with digitization, automation and acceleration. Critical skills and expertise are imperative for companies and their employees to succeed in the future, and the most forward-thinking companies are being proactive in adapting to ...