Bike Snob


Book Description

“Equal parts critical manifesto and tender mini-memoir about a boy and his bikes” from Eben Weiss, blogger and author of The Enlightened Cyclist (GQ). Cycling is exploding in a good way. Urbanites everywhere, from ironic hipsters to earth-conscious commuters, are taking to the bike like aquatic mammals to water. BikeSnobNYC—cycling’s most prolific, well-known, hilarious, and anonymous blogger—brings a fresh and humorous perspective to the most important vehicle to hit personal transportation since the horse. Bike Snob treats readers to a laugh-out-loud rant and rave about the world of bikes and their riders and offers a unique look at the ins and outs of cycling, from its history and hallmarks to its wide range of bizarre practitioners. Throughout, the author lampoons the missteps, pretensions, and absurdities of bike culture while maintaining a contagious enthusiasm for cycling itself. Bike Snob is an essential volume for anyone who knows, is, or wants to become a cyclist. “This is a social manual that should be bundled with every bike shipped in America.” —Christian Lander, author of Stuff White People Like “I like to think I know a thing or two (or three) about being ruthless and relentless—either trying to win the Tour or fighting cancer. The Snob knows it too. Keeping us dorks in line is tough work. I take pleasure in getting picked on by the Snob, slightly more pleasure in reading his writing, but take the most pleasure punishing his ass (my payback) on the bike either in Central Park or on 9W/River Road. Long live the Snob.” —Lance Armstrong




The European Observatory for SMEs


Book Description

Against the background of completing the European Single Market is the observance and monitoring of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). With about 20 million such businesses, employing some 117 million people, SMEs represent an economic lynchpin to the success of the Single Market concept. This 6th report, from the Observatory, and prepared by a consortium led by KPMG Consulting, focuses on the economic and financial needs of SMEs. Specific chapters look at their products and services, the recruitment and training of staff, particulary vocational training, and their access to investment. The report is concluded with the set of policy recommendations, which are aimed at strengthening the entrepreneurial culture. These recommendations include: to provide more information on public procurement to SMEs; to promote further resarch on the impact of electronic commerce on the position of SMEs.




OECD Public Governance Reviews Financing Democracy Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns and the Risk of Policy Capture


Book Description

The recent debate on the role of money in politics has shed the light on the challenges of political finance regulations. What are the risks associated with the funding of political parties and election campaigns? Why are existing regulatory models still insufficient to tackle those risks?




The Motoring Century


Book Description

From the advent of the horseless carriage to the age of the stretch limousine, the Royal Automobile Club has been known as the Parliament of motoring. This volume provides a centenary history of the club. It is a record of the work of the institution, tracing the journey of the car through 100 years of Britain's national life.




Build Your Own Sports Car for as Little as £250 - and Race It!


Book Description

Build a roadworthy two-seater open sports car for a fraction of the cost of a kit car! Using standard tools, basic skills and low-cost materials, this volume shows you how to make the chassis, suspension and bodywork, and advises you on how to modify and use inexpensive but serviceable mechanical components. Contains sections on improving handling, information on how to get through the Single Vehicle Approval test, and builders' own stories.




The Common Pursuit


Book Description

THE STORY: begins at Cambridge University, where a group of talented undergraduates decide to start a high-minded literary magazine to be called The Common Pursuit , in honor of their mentor F.R. Leavis, a famed professor of English. Stuart,




Commemorations And Memorials: Exploring The Human Face Of Anatomy


Book Description

A major component of many modern human anatomy programs is commemorating people who have donated their body for education and research. In addition, some institutions have also organized memorial places to honor the body donors. This book is an edited volume which explores the phenomena of commemorations and memorials in anatomy. It includes both descriptive papers focusing on the content of the ceremonies and theoretical papers contextualizing and examining these within the broader ethical, scientific, medical and educational frameworks. Building up on the idea of a community of practice, the main objective of the volume is to enhance the exchange of ideas and sharing of experiences. The concepts of 'commemoration' and 'memorial' in anatomy programs are presented as emerging. They are seen as phenomena that will continue to evolve and ramify within different cultural and educational contexts, and this volume is expected to facilitate these processes. Indeed, meager literature on the topic indicates potentially enormous practical value in sharing and combining practices from different cultural and teaching/research traditions.




OECD Public Governance Reviews Preventing Policy Capture Integrity in Public Decision Making


Book Description

This report exposes how “policy capture”, where public decisions over policies are consistently or repeatedly directed away from the public interest towards a specific interest, can exacerbate inequalities and undermine democratic values, economic growth and trust in government.




New Ways of Making Babies


Book Description

In this book, leading scholars investigate the difficult ethical, legal, and policy issues that surround egg donation and the new reproductive technologies as a whole. Of special interest are feminist inquiries into perceptions of women involved in egg donation; the effects of race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status on the uses of such technologies; and moral and theological questions about whether third-party gamete donation should be used at all. In addition, the book describes procedures at four egg-donation centers in the United States, including private for-profit and university-based non-profit programs, and presents a new set of guidelines from the National Advisory Board on Ethics in Reproduction (NABER), a panel in the private sector with members from the fields of ethics, theology, law, medicine, genetics, and public policy.




Auditing


Book Description

In this compilation, critical aspects of the internal audit function are contrasted in order to provide an insight into the value of internal auditing and, within that, to submit arguments for the implementation and maintenance of an internal audit function.The authors examine how to optimize the allocation of audit resources over an auditee population with respect to available population statistics. The included survey mainly deals with audit situations where the auditee is assumed to behave rationally and optimize its expected utility based on information regarding the audit strategy.According to the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, internal auditors must always maintain an objective and independent working attitude to perform effectively. However, data indicate that this requirement might often become challenged due to bias-prone situations, eventually leading to false conclusions or even wrong decisions by auditors and management. As such, the authors address selected cognitive biases for internal auditors and potential behavior patterns tempering the effects of these biases.In common energy audition methods, the efficiency of waste-to-energy power plants is evaluated directly. This method is highly sensitive to the measurement errors of waste mass flow which is difficult determine precisely. Further-more, the direct method does not clarify the sources of energy loss. Using the indirect method which is proposed in this chapter book, the power plant is split into three sub-systems. The overall efficiency is determined by analyzing the multiplication of thesesub-systems efficiency and the internal energy usage.This final chapter uses case examples to showcase how auditing is a suitable method for clarifying the level of comprehensive, risk-based safety and security management of organizations operating in business and the public sector. The authors encourage organizations to develop their safety and security management system using a risk-based approach.