Medieval bridges are startling achievements of civil engineering, which prove the importance of road transport and the sophistication of the medieval economy. The Bridges of Medieval England rewrites their history, offering new insights into many aspects of the subject. It has profound implications for our understanding of pre-industrial economy and society, challenging accepted accounts of the development of medieval trade and communications and showing continuities from the Anglo-Saxon period to the eve of the Industrial Revolution.

When it comes to frameworks, the familiar story of the elephant and the six blind philosophers seems to apply. As each philoso pher encountered a separate part of the elephant, each pronounced his considered, but flawed judgement. One blind philosopher felt a leg and thought it a tree. Another felt the tail and thought he held a rope. Another felt the elephant's flank and thought he stood before a wall. We're supposed to learn about snap judgements from this alle gory, but its author might well have been describing design automation frameworks. For in the reality of today's product...

The economic links arising from tourism that now exist between what used to be regarded as -developed- and -developing- societies make it imperative that they are considered component parts of a global system rather than distinct entities. The central focus of this book is mass tourism across a range of societies. It focuses on the theoretical perspectives on mass tourism (including systems approaches, political economy, ethics, sustainability, and environmentalism), the historical context of mass tourism, and the current challenges to domestic, intra-regional, and international mass tourism....