Critical Questions


Book Description

This collection of writings allows the reader a rare opportunity to see Barzun's lively, engaging, rich, and original mind at work on several strategic areas of cultural inquiry: music and the musical life, esthetics, biography, criticism, and social commentary. Barzun makes use of a variety of contexts as a forum for evidence and opinion, including essays, program notes, letters, and reviews. And he approaches a wide variety of particular and general questions. What is it like to sit in on a recording session with a great orchestra? What is the role of the piano in Western culture? What is art in relation to objective reality and to the perceiving mind? Can one translate music into words? What is cultural history? For anyone unfamiliar with Barzun's work, Critical Questions will serve as a valuable introduction to one of the most important cultural historians of our time. Others will be glad to have these pieces—most of them no longer easily available—brought together in a single volume. Uniformly insightful, provocative, and a pleasure to read, they show the consistency of Barzun's thought even as they exhibit diversity.




Critical Decade


Book Description




A More Beautiful Question


Book Description

To get the best answer-in business, in life-you have to ask the best possible question. Innovation expert Warren Berger shows that ability is both an art and a science. It may be the most underappreciated tool at our disposal, one we learn to use well in infancy-and then abandon as we grow older. Critical to learning, innovation, success, even to happiness-yet often discouraged in our schools and workplaces-it can unlock new business opportunities and reinvent industries, spark creative insights at many levels, and provide a transformative new outlook on life. It is the ability to question-and to do so deeply, imaginatively, and “beautifully.” In this fascinating exploration of the surprising power of questioning, innovation expert Warren Berger reveals that powerhouse businesses like Google, Nike, and Netflix, as well as hot Silicon Valley startups like Pandora and Airbnb, are fueled by the ability to ask fundamental, game-changing questions. But Berger also shares human stories of people using questioning to solve everyday problems-from “How can I adapt my career in a time of constant change?” to “How can I step back from the daily rush and figure out what really makes me happy?” By showing how to approach questioning with an open, curious mind and a willingness to work through a series of “Why,” “What if,” and “How” queries, Berger offers an inspiring framework of how we can all arrive at better solutions, fresh possibilities, and greater success in business and life.




The Critical Decade


Book Description




Critical Questions, Critical Perspectives


Book Description

Critical Questions, Critical Perspectives: Language and the Second Language Educator is intended primarily for language educators, broadly conceived, and thus is appropriate for not only foreign language teachers, but also individuals teaching English to speakers of other languages in both Anglophone and non-Anglophone settings, teachers in bilingual education programs, heritage language teachers in both formal and informal settings, and others whose work involves language teaching and learning. It is also intended for teachers of all age groups and levels, since the issues that it raises are neither age nor level specific. This is not a book about teaching methodology, nor is it the sort of work that will provide the teacher with practical activities for use in the classroom.




Critical Decade, A: China's Foreign Policy (2008-2018)


Book Description

China emerged as a major economic, diplomatic, and military power during the critical decade from 2008 to 2018. As a result, China's foreign policy has become more active and dynamic. This book provides a unique perspective to understand Chinese foreign policy during this decade by examining continuities and changes in both internal and external factors that have shaped China's development. The book focuses on key challenges in China's diplomacy such as US-China relations, the Korean Peninsula, Taiwan, Japan, India, Chinese investment overseas, the Belt and Road Initiative, global and regional cooperation, soft power, etc. It also includes an extensive annotated bibliography of major recent publications on various aspects of Chinese foreign policy. This is the first scholarly book that studies the evolution and key challenges of China's foreign relations during the critical decade (2008-2018) when China grew into a crucial, sometimes assertive, power in international affairs.




Critical Questions in Sustainability and Hospitality


Book Description

Informed by the scholarly and practical viewpoints of a myriad of internationally recognised experts, this engaging and timely volume poses a set of pertinent questions that cover critical and contemporary sustainability issues in hospitality and tourism and proposes actionable solutions. Embellished with informative tables, diagrams and photographs, key questions and debates are discussed from a variety of angles with proposed solutions by industry practitioners, academics and consultants belonging to the Hospitality Net World Panel on Sustainability in Hospitality. Designed to facilitate contemporary discussion and debate, this book presents constructive dialogues which are designed to lead to action within the hospitality industry and education. Key questions cover the following topics: • Major contemporary sustainability challenges – e.g. climate change, biodiversity loss, impacts of pandemics, water scarcity, human right risks. • Specific hospitality functions or departments – e.g. food and beverage, engineering, health and safety, guest relationship, finance, purchasing, human resources. • Strategic issues related to marketing and stakeholder relationships – e.g. sustainability working groups, return on sustainability investment, marketing and reporting sustainability, certification, supplier relationship, engaging guests. This book is an essential reading for students and academics in the field of hospitality and tourism management, as well as industry professionals searching for answers to the challenges they face in enacting sustainability in their business.