Civil Engineering A Very Short Introduction

Discusses the importance of civil engineering in the history of civilization, explores problems civil engineers face each day, and outlines some modern accomplishments in the field.

Descripción del editor: "Using examples from around the world, including the Shard in London and jumbo jets like the A380, David Blockley explores the world of structural engineering. This Very Short Introduction considers the crucial role structural engineering has on issues such as cost and energy efficiency to long-term sustainability and safety" (Oxford University Press).

Engineering is part of almost everything we do - from the water we drink and the food we eat, to the buildings we live in and the roads and railways we travel on. This book explores the nature and practice of engineering, its history, its scope, and its relationship with art, science and technology.

This book will transform the way you think about design by showing how integral it is to our daily lives, from the spoon we use to eat our breakfast cereal to the medical equipment used to save lives. John Heskett goes beyond style and taste to look at how different cultures and individuals personalise objects.

While the development of Information Technology has been obvious to all, the underpinning computer science has been less apparent. Subrata Dasgupta provides a thought-provoking introduction to the field and its core principles, considering computer science as a science of symbol processing.

Instant Access to Civil Engineering Formulas Fully updated and packed with more than 500 new formulas, this book offers a single compilation of all essential civil engineering formulas and equations in one easy-to-use reference. Practical, accurate data is presented in USCS and SI units for maximum convenience. Follow the calculation procedures inside Civil Engineering Formulas, Second Edition, and get precise results with minimum time and effort. Each chapter is a quick reference to a well-defined topic, including: Beams and girders Columns Piles and piling Concrete structures Timber engineering Surveying Soils and earthwork Building structures Bridges and suspension cables Highways and roads Hydraulics, drams, and waterworks Power-generation wind turbines Stormwater Wastewater treatment Reinforced concrete Green buildings Environmental protection

Starting with an examination of how historians work, this "Very Short Introduction" aims to explore history in a general, pithy, and accessible manner, rather than to delve into specific periods.

From the schools of ancient times to the present day, Gary Thomas looks at how and why education evolved as it has. By exploring some of the big questions, he examines the ways in which schools work, considers the differences around the world, and concludes by considering the future of education worldwide.

Film music is as old as cinema itself. Years before synchronized sound became the norm, projected moving images were shown to musical accompaniment, whether performed by a lone piano player or a hundred-piece orchestra. Today film music has become its own industry, indispensable to the marketability of movies around the world. Film Music: A Very Short Introduction is a compact, lucid, and thoroughly engaging overview written by one of the leading authorities on the subject. After opening with a fascinating analysis of the music from a key sequence in Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, Kathryn Kalinak introduces readers not only to important composers and musical styles but also to modern theoretical concepts about how and why film music works. Throughout the book she embraces a global perspective, examining film music in Asia and the Middle East as well as in Europe and the United States. Key collaborations between directors and composers--Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann, Akira Kurosawa and Fumio Hayasaka, Federico Fellini and Nino Rota, to name only a few--come under scrutiny, as do the oft-neglected practices of the silent film era. She also explores differences between original film scores and compilation soundtracks that cull music from pre-existing sources. As Kalinak points out, film music can do many things, from establishing mood and setting to clarifying plot points and creating emotions that are only dimly realized in the images. This book illuminates the many ways it accomplishes those tasks and will have its readers thinking a bit more deeply and critically the next time they sit in a darkened movie theater and music suddenly swells as the action unfolds onscreen. About the Series: Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam.

"Bloodied toy soldiers, gilded shopping carts, and Lego concentration camps. Contemporary art is supposed to be a realm of freedom where artists shock, break taboos, and switch between confronting viewers with works of great profundity and jaw-dropping triviality. But away from shock tactics in the gallery, there are many unanswered questions. What is contemporary about contemporary art? What effect do politics and big business have on art? And who really runs the art world?" "Previously published as Art Incorporated, this controversial and witty Very Short Introduction is an exploration of the global art scene that will change the way you see contemporary art."--BOOK JACKET.