Global Force

This volume emerged from an international research colloquium jointly organised by National Museums Scotland and the Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies, University of Edinburgh, funded by the Scottish Government and administered by the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Historians and museum curators from Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa were invited to join with their Scottish counterparts to consider the functioning, and the meaning, of 'military Scottishness' in different Commonwealth countries and in Britain from the late Victorian period to the present day, with a particular focus on the impact of the First World War. Another key objective was to throw light on the 'hidden' culture of social networking which potentially operated behind local regiments and military units amongst Scotland's global diaspora. This edited collection provides a comparative overview of the nineteenth century emergence of military Scottishness and explores how the construction and performance of Scottish military identity has evolved in different Commonwealth countries over the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In particular, it looks at the ways in which Scottish volunteer regiments in Commonwealth countries variously sought to draw upon, align themselves with or, at certain key moments, redefine the assertions of martial identity which Highland regiments represented.

Our intuition on how the world works could well be wrong. We are surprised when new competitors burst on the scene, or businesses protected by large and deep moats find their defenses easily breached, or vast new markets are conjured from nothing. Trend lines resemble saw-tooth mountain ridges. The world not only feels different. The data tell us it is different. Based on years of research by the directors of the McKinsey Global Institute, No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Forces Breaking all the Trends is a timely and important analysis of how we need to reset our intuition as a result of four forces colliding and transforming the global economy: the rise of emerging markets, the accelerating impact of technology on the natural forces of market competition, an aging world population, and accelerating flows of trade, capital and people. Our intuitions formed during a uniquely benign period for the world economy -- often termed the Great Moderation. Asset prices were rising, cost of capital was falling, labour and resources were abundant, and generation after generation was growing up more prosperous than their parents. But the Great Moderation has gone. The cost of capital may rise. The price of everything from grain to steel may become more volatile. The world's labor force could shrink. Individuals, particularly those with low job skills, are at risk of growing up poorer than their parents. What sets No Ordinary Disruption apart is depth of analysis combined with lively writing informed by surprising, memorable insights that enable us to quickly grasp the disruptive forces at work. For evidence of the shift to emerging markets, consider the startling fact that, by 2025, a single regional city in China -- Tianjin -- will have a GDP equal to that of the Sweden, of that, in the decades ahead, half of the world's economic growth will come from 440 cities including Kumasi in Ghana or Santa Carina in Brazil that most executives today would be hard-pressed to locate on a map. What we are now seeing is no ordinary disruption but the new facts of business life -- facts that require executives and leaders at all levels to reset their operating assumptions and management intuition.

For ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, military medical personnel are among the first to arrive and the last to leave. Sustained U.S. involvement in these operations has placed stresses on the Department of Defense's (DoD) medical personnel. As the U.S. military role in Iraq and Afghanistan changes, the Army must adapt the number and mix of medical personnel it deploys. This report evaluated the extent to which: (1) DoD has assessed its need for medical personnel in theater to support ongoing operations; (2) the Army has adapted the composition and use of medical units to provide advanced medical care; and (3) the Army fills medical personnel gaps that arise in theater. Illus. This is a print on demand report.

This text explains and synthesizes the functioning and relationships of numerous Defense, Joint, and Army organizations, systems, and processes involved in the development and sustainment of trained and ready forces for the Combatant Commanders. It is designed to be used by the faculty and students at the U.S. Army War College (as well as other training and educational institutions) as they improve their knowledge and understanding of "How the Army Runs." We are proud of the value that senior commanders and staffs place in this text and are pleased to continue to provide this reference.

Over the last 50 years there has been rapid development of construction techniques, analytical methods and materials for use in ground engineering. One of the major techniques which has been developed is soil strengthening or reinforcement whereby man-made elements are included within geological material to provide a stabilised mass. Various products have been developed for retaining systems, slope stabilisation, etc.More recently, environmental concerns and the focus on sustainable development have led to the examination of materials based on renewable resources for use in ground engineering.In this book, the applications of both vegetable and man-made fibres in situations where there is a requirement for short-term ground reinforcement are examined and discussed. The use of vegetable fibre geotextiles (VFG), particularly in erosion control and soil reinforcement, is covered in detail, with examples from various civil engineering applications.Over the last 50 years there has been rapid development of construction techniques, analytical methods and materials for use in ground engineering. One of the major techniques which has been developed is soil strengthening or reinforcement whereby man-made elements are included within geological material to provide a stabilised mass. Various products have been developed for retaining systems, slope stabilisation, etc.More recently, environmental concerns and the focus on sustainable development have led to the examination of materials based on renewable resources for use in ground engineering.In this book, the applications of both vegetable and man-made fibres in situations where there is a requirement for short-term ground reinforcement are examined and discussed. The use of vegetable fibre geotextiles (VFG), particularly in erosion control and soil reinforcement, is covered in detail, with examples from various civil engineering applications.

A thorough guide to the fundamentals--and how to use them--of finite element analysis for elastic structures For elastic structures, the finite element method is an invaluable tool which is used most effectively only when one understands completely each of its facets. A Primer for Finite Elements in Elastic Structures disassembles the entire finite element method for civil engineering students and professionals, detailing its supportive theory and its mathematical and structural underpinnings, in the context of elastic structures and the principle of virtual work. The book opens with a discussion of matrix algebra and algebraic equation systems to foster the basic skills required to successfully understand and use the finite element method. Key mathematical concepts outlined here are joined to pertinent concepts from mechanics and structural theory, with the method constructed in terms of one-dimensional truss and framework finite elements. The use of these one-dimensional elements in the early chapters promotes better understanding of the fundamentals. Subsequent chapters describe many two-dimensional structural finite elements in depth, including the geometry, mechanics, transformations, and mapping needed for them. Most chapters end with questions and problems which review the text material. Answers for many of these are at the end of the book. An appendix describes how to use MATLAB(r), a popular matrix-manipulation software platform necessary to perform the many matrix operations required for the finite element method, such as matrix addition, multiplication, inversion, partitioning, rearrangement, and assembly. As an added extra, the m-files discussed can be downloaded from the Wiley FTP server.