Dr. Geisler's far-reaching, unique book provides an encyclopedic compilation of the key metrics to measure and evaluate the impact of science and technology on academia, industry, and government. Focusing on such items as economic measures, patents, peer review, and other criteria, and supported by an extensive review of the literature, Dr. Geisler gives a thorough analysis of the strengths and weaknesses inherent in metric design, and in the use of the specific metrics he cites. His book has already received prepublication attention, and will prove especially valuable for academics in technology management, engineering, and science policy; industrial R&D executives and policymakers; government science and technology policymakers; and scientists and managers in government research and technology institutions. Geisler maintains that the application of metrics to evaluate science and technology at all levels illustrates the variety of tools we currently possess. Each metric has its own unique strengths and weaknesses, but overall, metrics offer the best possible way to evaluate science and technology. He then finds that in general, science and technology have a positive effect on the human experience. Truly state of the art in the study of the metrics of science and technology, their outcomes and contributions to society and the economy, the book provides unique analyses of the academic world and its most useful metrics: the industrial science/technology research and development complex, and the government network of laboratories. For each, Geisler gives a comprehensive analysis of the main metrics and their best applications. His book is thus also usable in certain advanced undergraduate and graduate courses and seminars that treat technology and engineering management, project management in technology industries, and the evaluation of social and economic programs.

The annual collections in the History of Technology series look at the history of technological discovery and change, exploring the relationship of technology to other aspects of life and showing how technological development is affected by the society in which it occurred.

These studies represent the major contributions to the history of Islamic technology during the second half of the 20th century beside Donald Hill’s separate publications on the mechanical devices of Pseudo-Apollonios, the Banu Musa and al-Jazari. A gifted linguist who was trained as a historian of Islamic civilisation, and also a professional engineer, Hill achieved his goal of setting his subject on a solid basis. The papers reprinted here include his early studies of the trebuchet and the camel and horse, several overviews of different aspects of Islamic technology, articles on specific topics such as the Cairo Nilometer and al-Biruni’s geared luni-solar device, and the first notice of an extremely important Andalusian treatise on mechanical devices discovered in 1975.

Speculation abounds about the relationship between Frank Lloyd Wright and Ayn Rand. Was Wright the inspiration for Howard Roark, the architect hero of Rand's The Fountainhead? What can be made of their collaboration on the book's failed 1944 movie adaptation, and what can be gleaned from the 1949 Hollywood production of The Fountainhead? Where does the FBI--Wright was dubbed a communist sympathizer, and Rand was called before the House Un-American Activities Committee--fit into the story? Art, architecture, philosophy, film and politics come together in this exploration, which relies on the writings of Wright and Rand, FBI files, visual evidence and more to cement their connection. Chapters are devoted to Wright and Rand, the two together, their parts in both the failed production of The Fountainhead and the successful one, and the effect FBI harassment had on the movie and on their lives. Subsequent chapters discuss Wright's place as a Hollywood architect, and offer telling set designs and architectural images from the 1949 production of The Fountainhead. Several appendices supplement the illustrated text, and there is a filmography of movies mentioned in the book. A bibliography and index are also included.

Shortly after taking office in 1993, President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore called for a shift in American technology policy toward an expansion of public investments in partnerships with private industry. The authors of this volume were invited by the Clinton administration to take a hard, nonpartisan look at how successful the new policies have been and to propose ways to make their programs more effective. The first summary report of the team's recommendations was called the "hottest technology policy property on Capitol Hill."This book, an expansion of that report, offers a new set of technology policy principles. The authors use the principles to evaluate many federal research programs and to make recommendations for change. This volume will set the terms of the debate over the national research and innovation policy for years to come.

Although social, political, technological and business networks hold our modern world together, we still lack a good understanding of what business networks are, how they work, and the language of network analysis that we may apply to solve common, everyday problems. This book looks at such questions as: How do we make sense of the business networks we participate in and the networks we observe from a distance? Are business networks distinct from social networks, and if so what distinguishes them? How can business network analysis from a multidisciplinary perspective enhance strategic management? Emanuela Todeva deftly explores the patterns of networking and the dynamics of network relationships, to show how we can begin to tap their full potential. Of great interest to students and scholars of business network analysis, this revealing volume will also prove informative for managers wishing to obtain insights into network dynamics and its implications for strategic decision making. Business Networks expertly provides an interdisciplinary overview. It skilfully engages the reader with a range of economic, sociological, strategic management and communication theories that contribute to our knowledge of networks and networking. Transcending specific disciplines, and synthesizing the contributions that shape the structural, relational and cultural approaches to network analysis, Todeva’s outstanding text offers a wealth of conceptual frameworks and an exhaustive typology of existing business networks.