In 2003, Methodists celebrated the 300th anniversary of the birth of their founder, John Wesley. Today, there are more than 300 Methodist denominations in 140 nations. Covering the activities of this group that plays an important role in the ecumenical movement through its many social and charitable activities in world affairs, this book offers more than 400 entries that describe important events, doctrines, and the church founders, leaders, and other prominent figures who have made notabl...

When evil wears a suit and tie, who will stand against it?In 1886, the Supreme Court declared corporations to be legal persons—immortal entities with rights but no soul. For the shadowy syndicate known as the Despicables, it became the perfect weapon.Malik Andrew Madison is a young lawyer who thought he married for love. But when his wife's powerful family reveals their true nature, he discovers he's entered a world where corporate law shields ancient evil,...

To stay ahead of the pack, you must translate your organization's competitive strategy into the day-to-day actions carried out in your company. That means channeling resources into the right efforts, achieving the right balance between innovation and control, and getting everyone pulling in the same direction. How to keep all this on track?Identify critical gaps in your strategy execution processes, focus on the most important choices you must make, and understand what's at stake i...

Orienting is the gateway to attention, the first step in processing stimulus information. This volume examines these initial stages of information intake, focusing on the sensory and motivational mechanisms that determine such phenomena as stimulus selection and inhibition, habituation, pre-attentive processing, and expectancy. Psychophysiological methods are emphasized throughout. The contributors consider analyses based on cardiovascular and electrodermal changes, reflex reactions, and n...

American culture is changing, a sentiment echoed in phrases such as “the new normal,” and “in these uncertain times,” that regularly introduce all forms of public discourse now, signally a national sense of vulnerability and transformation. Cultural shifts generally involve multiple catalysts, but in this collection the contributors focus on the role changing discourse norms play in cancel culture, corporatism, the counter-sexual revolution, racialism, and a radically divided political cli...

The subject of driverless and even ownerless cars has the potential to be the most disruptive technology for real estate, land use, and parking since the invention of the elevator. This book includes new research and economic analysis, plus a thorough review of the current literature to pose and attempt to answer a number of important questions about the effect that driverless vehicles may have on land use in the United States, especially on parking. Simons outlines the history of disrupti...

Java has quickly become one of the most important languages in programming, particularly for professional and enterprise-level projects. From its infancy as a language primarily used for web applets to its maturity through servlets, Enterprise JavaBeans, and database access, Java has become a complex and robust tool for today's developer.Hardcore Java takes this language and breaks it apart, piece by piece, revealing the important secrets and tricks that will take you from a junio...

It's 1950 in rural southwestern Ontario, five years after the 2nd world war, and five children, all touched by the war their fathers fought in, meet by accident and decide to design and build a bridge over the river between their farms.  Three of the children have lost their fathers in the war, and two more are the offspring of an army medic,  An older boy threatens to destroy the bridge, and inspired by JJR Tolkien's The Fellowship Of The Ring, they form a Fellowship to fight, l...

The design of an organization--the accountability system that defines roles, rights, and responsibilities throughout the firm--has a direct impact on the performance of every employee. Yet, few leaders devote focused attention to how this design is chosen, implemented, and adjusted over time. Robert Simons argues that by viewing design as a powerful and proactive management lever--rather than an inevitable outcome of corporate evolution--leaders can maximize productivity across every level...

Based on a ten-year examination of control systems in over 50 U.S. businesses, this book broadens the definition of control and establishes a critical bridge between the disciplines of strategy and accounting and control. In addition to the more traditional diagnostic control systems, Simons identifies three new control systems that allow strategic change: belief systems that communicate core values and provide inspiration and direction, boundary systems that frame the strategic domain and...

What makes a demagogue? A much more friendly touch, or more importantly, a perception of a friendly touch, than has previously been explored. Demagogues, Power and Friendship in Classical Athens examines the ways in which a demagogic leadership style based on personal connection became ingrained in this period, drawing on close study of several genres of literature of the late 5th and early-to-mid 4th centuries BCE. Such connection was particularly effective with lower classes of ...

This is a story of adventure and mystery that takes place 700 years from now. Tanei, a fogeign student from East Africa, and her fellow students at the University of Great Falls attempt to find the origin of a small gold coin, so that they can find additional artifacts to help them learn why our current civilization collapsed. As they search for the old and seemingly homeless woman who found the coin and then sold it, they are drawn into a dark and dangerous world. The Great Falls of the f...