The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.

Written by major sports event organizer Filippo Bazzanella and sports communications/operations manager Egon Theiner, "Must Have, Nice to Have!" examines how major sports events are organized and gives an in-depth look into the synergies between sports, media, politics and business. It documents the excesses, wasted public investments, abandoned stadiums and "white elephant" projects that have been made in the name of sporting excellence in recent years, and that have caused increasing controversy. In addition, it discusses the often negative public attitudes toward event bidding and staging currently prevalent in many parts of the globe, and offers a practical response to the measures announced by the International Olympic Committee in its 40-step reform program Agenda 2020 at the end of 2014. Based on interviews, case studies and examples of good practice, the book provides pragmatic, constructive advice and examples of organizational systems that could be useful to future organizers adopting a structured and "human-scale" approach that trims budgets, refocuses events back on sports and that reflects the needs and views of all the different stakeholders involved. Including contributions by leading sports experts ranging from FISU World University Championships President Claude Louis Gallien, International Ski Federation President Gian Franco Kasper, International Skating Union President Ottavio Cinquanta, Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi, former World Ski super-star Alberto Tomba, World Federation of Sporting Goods Industry President Frank Dassler to Italian Football Federation General Director Michele Uva, this book goes beyond the present status quo, and makes proposals for future, possible solutions for dilemmas faced by event organizers, sports associations, governments and public bodies today.

"A ground breaking set of case studies about how [health care] coverage decisions are made" Robert A. Berenson M.D. Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute, Washington D.C. and former Director of the Center for Health Plans and Providers of the Medicare program Developed countries are facing rapidly rising health care costs and one of the major factors driving health care cost growth is the continual development and diffusion of new, generally more expensive, health care technologies. This book contains: * A description of the institutions, procedures and criteria used by eight countries for assessing technologies for public insurance coverage * An analysis of the role of interest groups, and of the public interest, in these decision making processes * An examination of how particular technologies are treated differently by different countries, and why Based upon research from Australia, Canada, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, the contributors argue that although each of these countries is committed to evidence-based scientific assessment of technologies, in fact adoption of technologies is significantly affected by political considerations, and in particular by the influence of interest groups. Moreover, it offers recommendations as to how technology assessment for coverage policy can be improved to serve better the public interest. Health Care Coverage Determinations is essential reading for health policy makers, managers, researchers and students with an interest in health economics, health care provision and the politics affecting health care legislation. Contributors: Liliana Bulfone, Tanisha Carino, Peter C. Coyte, Anna García-Altés, Colleen M. Flood, Stefan Greß, Felix Gurtner, Anthony Harris, Timothy Stoltzfus Jost, Eric Nauenberg, Christopher Newdick, Dea Niebuhr, Guillaume Roduit, Heinz Rothgang, Frans F.H. Rutten, Dominique Sprumont, Juergen Wasem.

The key role that farming plays in the economy of Indiana today owes much to the work of John Harrison Skinner (1874-1942). Skinner was a pioneering educator and administrator who transformed the study of agriculture at Purdue University during the first decades of the twentieth century. From humble origins, occupying one building and 150 acres at the start of his career, the agriculture program grew to spread over ten buildings and 1,000 acres by the end of his tenure as its first dean. A focused, single-minded man, Skinner understood from his own background as a grain and stock farmer that growers could no longer rely on traditional methods in adapting to a rapidly changing technological and economic environment, in which tractors were replacing horses and new crops such as alfalfa and soy were transforming the arable landscape. Farmers needed education, and only by hiring the best and brightest faculty could Purdue give them the competitive edge that they needed. While he excelled as a manager and advocate for Indiana agriculture, Skinner never lost touch with his own farming roots, taking especial interest in animal husbandry. During the course of his career as dean (1907-1939), the number of livestock on Purdue farms increased fourfold, and Skinner showed his knowledge of breeding by winning many times at the International Livestock Exposition. Today, the scale of Purdue's College of Agriculture has increased to offer almost fifty programs to hundreds of students from all over the globe. However, at its base, the agricultural program in place today remains largely as John Harrison Skinner built it, responsive to Indiana but with its focus always on scientific innovation in the larger world.

A reference work for all those concerned with the administration of higher education, this volume contains information on universities and other tertiary institutions worldwide.