Japan is arguably today's most successful industrial economy, combining almost unprecedented affluence with social stability and apparent harmony. Japanese goods and cultural products are consumed all over the world, ranging from animated movies and computer games all the way through to cars, semiconductors, and management techniques. In many ways, Japan is an icon of the modern world, and yet it remains something of an enigma to many, who see it as a confusing montage of the alien and the fa...

The book describes what it means to say the world is complex and explores what that means for managers, policy makers and individuals. The first part of the book is about the theory and ideas of complexity. This is explained in a way that is thorough but not mathematical.

It compares differing approaches, and also provides a historical perspective, showing how such thinking has been around since the beginning of civilisation. It emphasises the difference between a complexity worldview and the...

This highly original and sophisticated look at architecture helps us to understand the cultural significance of the buildings that surround us. It avoids the traditional style-spotting approach in favour of giving an idea of what it is about buildings that moves us, and what it is that makes them important artistically and culturally. The book begins by looking at how architecture acquires meaning through tradition, and concludes with the exoticism of the recentavant garde.

Illustrations of p...

The human body is a complicated and beautiful machine, governed by the laws of physics and chemistry. By understanding its physiology - how it performs its varied functions - it is possible to build strategies for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. In this latest edition, expanded and restructured coverage of sensory physiology and the respiratory system, a new comprehensive glossary of key terms, and additional online learning resources make Human Physiology even more student-f...

The study of Islamic philosophy has entered a new and exciting phase in the last few years. Both the received canon of Islamic philosophers and the narrative of the course of Islamic philosophy are in the process of being radically questioned and revised. Most twentieth-century Western scholarship on Arabic or Islamic philosophy has focused on the period from the ninth century to the twelfth.

It is a measure of the transformation that is currently underway in thefield that, unlike other refer...

This third edition of Human Rights: Between Idealism and Realism presents human rights in action, focusing on their effectiveness as legal tools designed to benefit human beings. By combining conceptual analysis with an emphasis on procedures and mechanisms of implementation, this volume provides a multidimensional overview of human rights. After examining briefly the history of human rights, the author analyses the intellectual framework that forms thebasis of their legitimacy.

In particular...

Make discussion work easy for students with Bookworms Club. These collections of graded short stories have been specially selected for Reading Circles - small groups of students who meet to talk about stories. With role sheets to help students prepare for the discussions, and stimulating graded stories, Bookworms Club provides the magic formula for getting students to talk in English.

Covering both trade and international finance, this innovative text provides a thoroughly up-do-date and comprehensive treatment of each area. Throughout, the theory is illustrated with empirical evidence and an abundance of relevant case studies. It includes an online study guide.

The Japanese Economy, 4th Edition is for anyone curious about economics, for it is impossible to appreciate economics without vivid examples of its application. This book is also for anyone broadly interested in Japan, for it is impossible to fully understand Japan without learning what basic economics has to say about it, which is much. To know Japan - or any country for that matter - is more than an ability to recite a litany of facts about its history, geography, institutions, and culture.

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Very Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring We live today in an interconnected world in which ordinary people can became instant online celebrities to millions of fans thousands of miles away, in which religious leaders can influence billions globally, in which humans are altering the climate and environment, in which new infectious diseases spread across continents at lightning speed, and in which complex social forces are increasingly impacted by digital technology. This is global...