Bringing a new conceptual framework and valuable historical perspective to various approaches to public management, this study uses cultural theory to show why ideas about how to manage government are inherently plural and contradictory.

The works of Iain M. Banks have forever changed the face of modern science fiction. With breathtaking imagination and extraordinary storytelling, they have secured his reputation as one of the most extraordinary and influential writers in the genre. 'Banks is a phenomenon' William Gibson The State of the Art is the only collection of Iain M. Banks's short fiction and includes the acclaimed Culture novella of the same name. From science fiction to horror, dark fantasy to twisted comedy, all eight stories bear the indefinable stamp of Banks's staggering talent. Praise for the novels of Iain M. Banks: 'Epic in scope, ambitious in its ideas and absorbing in its execution' Independent on Sunday 'Banks has created one of the most enduring and endearing visions of the future' Guardian 'Jam-packed with extraordinary invention' Scotsman 'Compulsive reading' Sunday Telegraph The novels of Iain M. Banks: The Culture series Consider Phlebas The Player of Games Use of Weapons Excession Inversions Look to Windward Matter Surface Detail The Hydrogen Sonata The State of the Art Other books by Iain M. Banks Against a Dark Background Feersum Endjinn The Algebraist Also now available: The Culture: The Drawings - an extraordinary collection of original illustrations faithfully reproduced from sketchbooks Banks kept in the 1970s and 80s, depicting the ships, habitats, geography, weapons and language of Banks' Culture series of novels in incredible detail.

Invaluable information on key issues for Canadians -- energy, water, security and surveillance, military integration, social services Living With Uncle examines the new realities of Canada's relations with the US in a world of a Conservative government in Ottawa, a trade agreement that often proves ineffective, and the post 9/11 American preoccupation with security and military dominance. In this book a new generation of analysts offers fresh insights into the challenges to Canada's independence, identity and democracy. Contributors include Diana Gibson and Dave Thompson, former BC Hydro Board member Marjorie Cohen, human rights analyst Maureen Webb, University of Toronto law professor Kent Roach, Michael Byers of the University of British Columbia, Lloyd Axworthy, Maude Barlow, Ed Broadbent, Mel Hurtig, and Avi Lewis. Canadians concerned about the future of their country will find Living With Uncle a source of understanding, analysis, hope and inspiration.

This colorful new series of useful, compact books celebrates the essence of each of the 50 United States. Each book pictures and describes whatever is exceptional about a state and profiles the explorers, artists, writers, and personalities who shaped each state's distinctive heritage. In "California", travelers visit goldfields, the Hollywood studio lots, and vineyards that make the West Coast such a popular travel destination. 201 photos, 172 in full color.

This full color catalog details the State of the Art 2020 exhibition at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas from February 22 through May 24, 2020.

This volume contains the Proceedings of the ‘Uralic Studies’ Seminar: The State of the Art of Uralic Studies: Tradition vs Innovation, held in Padua (Italy), November 12-13, 2016. The seminar was organized by the Department of ‘Studi Linguistici e Letterari’ of Padua University and the ‘Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia’ of Sapienza University of Rome. The aim of the seminar, and of this volume, was / is to bring together linguists working on the Uralic languages from different perspectives, with the purpose of increasing the exchange of ideas and fostering mutual influences on each other field and methods of analysis. In addition to presenting the current ‘state of the art of Uralic studies’ – for specialists, general linguists and general public – the volume also addresses some issues related to the so-called ‘Ural-Altaic theory’, nowadays often referred to as the ‘Ural-Altaic linguistic belt, unique typological belt’. The contributors to the volume are renown scholars of Uralic, and also Altaic languages, from various European universities, such as Moscow, Helsinki, Paris, Budapest etc.

A comprehensive instructional guide to the world's most popular martial art. 16-pp. photo insert. 350 illustrations. Media attention.