Machines

How productivity culture and technology became emblematic of the American economic system in pre- and postwar Germany. The concept of productivity originated in a statistical measure of output per worker or per work-hour, calculated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. A broader productivity culture emerged in 1920s America, as Henry Ford and others linked methods of mass production and consumption to high wages and low prices. These ideas were studied eagerly by a Germany in search of economic recovery after World War I, and, decades later, the Marshall Plan promoted productivity in its efforts to help post–World War II Europe rebuild. In Productivity Machines, Corinna Schlombs examines the transatlantic history of productivity technology and culture in the two decades before and after World War II. She argues for the interpretive flexibility of productivity: different groups viewed productivity differently at different times. Although it began as an objective measure, productivity came to be emblematic of the American economic system; post-World War II West Germany, however, adapted these ideas to its own political and economic values. Schlombs explains that West German unionists cast a doubtful eye on productivity's embrace of plant-level collective bargaining; unions fought for codetermination—the right to participate in corporate decisions. After describing German responses to US productivity, Schlombs offers an in-depth look at labor relations in one American company in Germany—that icon of corporate America, IBM. Finally, Schlombs considers the emergence of computer technology—seen by some as a new symbol of productivity but by others as the means to automate workers out of their jobs.

Start your engines for a grand tour of the most stylish grand motoring automobiles ever created. Evoking an era when elegance, romance, and outright performance defined the automobile--and the fascinating stories that made them icons of the road. From the shark-inspired Maserati Ghibli to the fiery Lamborghini Miura, from European elegance with American firepower such as the Iso Grifo and Facel Vega to the groundbreaking designs of the Alfa Romeo Tipo 33 Stradale and Renault Alpine and the advanced technology behind the Jensen FF or Porsche 918 Spyder--these cars are less transportation and more testaments to beauty, freedom, ambition, innovation, and speed. Beautiful Machines was conceived and edited by gestalten. The stories are written by automobile expert Blake Z. Rong with a preface by Classic Driver's Jan Baedeker and gestalten's Robert Klanten.

For those who know... that something is going on... The witnesses are legion, scattered across the world and dotted through history, people who looked up and saw something impossible lighting up the night sky. What those objects were, where they came from, and who—or what—might be inside them is the subject of fierce debate and equally fierce mockery, so that most who glimpsed them came to wish they hadn’t. Most, but not everyone. Among those who know what they’ve seen, and—like the toll of a bell that can’t be unrung—are forever changed by it, are a pilot, an heiress, a journalist, and a prisoner of war. From the waning days of the 20th century’s final great war to the fraught fields of Afghanistan to the otherworldly secrets hidden amid Nevada’s dusty neverlands—the truth that is out there will propel each of them into a labyrinth of otherworldly technology and the competing aims of those who might seek to prevent—or harness—these beings of unfathomable power. Because, as it turns out, we are not the only ones who can invent and build...and destroy. Featuring actual events and other truths drawn from sources within the military and intelligence community, Tom DeLonge and A.J. Hartley offer a tale at once terrifying, fantastical, and perhaps all too real. Though it is, of course, a work of... fiction?

‘With the call of ‘Hey, you guys! Let’s get to work,’ women and men shoulder drills and picks, board cranes and cement mixers, and set their equipment bulldozing and steamrolling across vibrant page spreads. Barton generates the excitement of road and building construction for young sidewalk engineers.’ —BL. 1988 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book) Notable 1987 Children's Trade Books in Social Studies (NCSS/CBC) Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children 1987 (NSTA/CBC) 1987 Children's Books (NY Public Library)

This is a practical manual of the Jacquard Machine. It's a device attached to a loom that simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles with complicated patterns such as brocade, damask and matelassé. The resultant ensemble of the loom and Jacquard machine is called a Jacquard loom. The writer explained the working of the Jacquard weaver with quick tips for the users in simple language, avoiding any technicalities to help them grasp the information easily.

How productivity culture and technology became emblematic of the American economic system in pre- and postwar Germany. The concept of productivity originated in a statistical measure of output per worker or per work-hour, calculated by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. A broader productivity culture emerged in 1920s America, as Henry Ford and others linked methods of mass production and consumption to high wages and low prices. These ideas were studied eagerly by a Germany in search of economic recovery after World War I, and, decades later, the Marshall Plan promoted productivity in its efforts to help post–World War II Europe rebuild. In Productivity Machines, Corinna Schlombs examines the transatlantic history of productivity technology and culture in the two decades before and after World War II. She argues for the interpretive flexibility of productivity: different groups viewed productivity differently at different times. Although it began as an objective measure, productivity came to be emblematic of the American economic system; post-World War II West Germany, however, adapted these ideas to its own political and economic values. Schlombs explains that West German unionists cast a doubtful eye on productivity's embrace of plant-level collective bargaining; unions fought for codetermination—the right to participate in corporate decisions. After describing German responses to US productivity, Schlombs offers an in-depth look at labor relations in one American company in Germany—that icon of corporate America, IBM. Finally, Schlombs considers the emergence of computer technology—seen by some as a new symbol of productivity but by others as the means to automate workers out of their jobs.

Kids know that hockey sticks, water bottles with screw-on lids, and cleats are all used in sports. It may, however, be a surprise to them to learn that they’re all machines. This book teaches sports enthusiasts how to spot the simple machines they’ve never noticed and to analyze their favorite games as never before. Labeled diagrams explain concepts such as mechanical advantage, and examples of each kind of simple machine abound.