This book demonstrates how innovation is used to create wealth, productivity growth, and improved quality of life

For thousands of years humanity has engaged in creative expression. This book explores the history, theory, and practice of creativity from a psychological perspective. It considers the nature and development of creativity, analysing why we produce creative work, and the ways in which we can understand creative work in its cultural context.

What is development -- How does development happen? -- Why are some countries rich and others poor? -- What can be done to accelerate development? -- The evolution of development aid -- Sustainable development -- Globalization and development -- The future of development.

A project is a temporary coalition of people and resources brought together to achieve a one-off objective. Andrew Davies explains how and why the project approach is central to success in creating products and services, constructing major infrastructure, launching entrepreneurial ventures, implementing strategies, even landing a man on the moon.

What is innovation? How is innovation used in business? How can we use it to succeed? Innovation, the ways ideas are made valuable, plays an essential role in economic and social development, and is an increasingly topical issue. Over the last 150 years our world has hit an accelerated rate of transformation. From aeroplanes to television and penicillin, and from radios to frozen food and digital money, the fruits of innovation surround us. This Very Short Introduction looks at what innovation is and why it affects us so profoundly. It examines how it occurs, who stimulates it, how it is pursued, and what its outcomes are, both positive and negative. Considering innovation today, and discussing future disruptive technologies such as AI, which have important implications for work and employment, Mark Dodgson and David Gann consider the extent to which our understanding of innovation has developed over the past century and how it might be used to interpret the global economy. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

The war instinct is part of human nature, but the means to fight war depend on technology. Alex Roland traces the co-evolution of technology and warfare from the Stone Age to the age of cyberwar, describing the inventions that changed the direction of warfare throughout history: from fortified walls, the chariot, battleships, and the gunpowder revolution to bombers, rockets, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and nuclear weapons. In the twenty-first century, new technologies continue to push warfare in unexpected directions, while warfare stimulates stunning new technological advances. Yet even now, the newest and best technology cannot guarantee victory. Brimming with dramatic narratives of battles and deep insights into military psychology, this book shows that although military technologies keep changing at great speed, the principles and patterns behind them abide.

Some people appear to be smarter than others, but how do we measure intelligence? Why do some people have better thinking powers than others? What does intelligence predict about people's health and social outcomes? This "Very Short Introduction" uses the best, large-scale psychological data to answer important questions about intelligence, such as how environment, genes, brain structure, gender, and age affect people's thinking skills. It asks whether intelligence increased over the 20th century. Ian Deary also considers the new field of cognitive epidemiology, which discovers links between higher intelligence and better health, lower rates of illness, and longer life. -- From publisher's description.