Peter Wells – författare

Den gängse bilden av den fyra århundradena från Roms fall till Karl den stores rike är att perioden präglades av godtyckligt våld, laglöshet, folkvandringar, sjukdom och svält den mörka tiden. Men arkeologiska fynd på senare tid berättar något annat. De fyra hundra åren var mycket dynamiska och allt annat än mörka. Civilisationer nådde nya höjder i fråga om konst, teknologi, arkitektur, hantverksskicklighet, handel och lärdom. Den nyutvecklade plogen höjde jordbruksproduktionen till en nivå långt över romarnas, de byggnadstekniska innovationer möjliggjorde uppförandet av medeltida ståtliga katedraler och imposanta borgar och några av Europas ledande universitet växte fram. Många nya städer grundades, dessa urbana centrum utgjorde nav i vittförgrenade handelsnät, där allt från tyger och vapen till bärnsten och kryddor bytte ägare. Under denna så avgörande epok utvecklades också den moderna kristendomen. Peter S.Wells är professor i antropologi vid University of Minnesota samt en av världens ledande auktoriteter vad gäller den romerska eran och tiden efter imperiets upplösning.

This study is about the struggle for survival among the assembler and components firms which constitute the European automobile industry. The book describes and explains the competitive, structural, organizational and technological changes being made and outlines the spatial and economic effects of these changes. The empirical core of the book is a study of the number of technology fields in automobile components. These sections draw on up-to-date research carried out by the authors in Europe, through which they evaluate the extent to which lean production techniques have permeated the assemblers and components industry.

The automotive industry is still one of the world's largest manufacturing sectors, but it suffers from being very technology-focused as well as being relatively short-term focused. There is little emphasis within the industry and its consultancy and analyst supply network on the broader social and economic impacts of automobility and of the sector that provides it.The Global Automotive Industry addresses this need and is a first port of call for any academic, official or consultant wanting an overview of the state of the industry. An international team of specialist researchers, both from academia and business, review and analyse the key issues that make vehicle manufacturing still the world’s premier manufacturing sector, closely tied in with the fortunes of both established and newly emerging economies. In doing so, it covers issues related to manufacturing, both established practices as well as new developments; issues relating to distribution, marketing and retail, vehicle technologies and regulatory trends; and, crucially, labour practices and the people who build cars. In all this it explains both how the current situation arose and also likely future trajectories both in terms of social and regulatory trends, as the technological, marketing and labour practice responses to those, leading in many cases to the development of new business models.Key features Provides a global overview of the automotive industry, covering its current state and considering future challengesContains contributions from international specialists in the automotive sectorPresents current research and sets this in an historical and broader industry contextCovers threats to the industry, including globalization, economic and environmental sustainabilityThe Global Automotive Industry is a must-have reference for researchers and practitioners in the automotive industry and is an excellent source of information for business schools, governments, and graduate and undergraduate students in automotive engineering.

Written by Barry Hymer and Peter Wells, Chess Improvement: It's all in the mindset is an engaging and instructive guide that sets out how the application of growth mindset principles can accelerate chess improvement.With Tim Kett and insights from Michael Adams, David Howell, Harriet Hunt, Gawain Jones, Luke McShane, Matthew Sadler and Nigel Short.Foreword by Henrik Carlsen, father of world champion Magnus Carlsen.Twenty-first-century knowledge about skills development and expertise requires us to keep such mystical notions as fixed 'talent' in perspective, and to emphasise instead the dynamic and malleable nature of these concepts.Nowhere is this more apparent than in chess, where many gifted players fall prey to plausible but self-defeating beliefs and practices - and thereby fail to achieve the levels their 'natural' abilities predicted. Happily, however, the reverse can be true too; through learned dispositions such as grit, risk-taking, strategic thinking and a capacity for sheer hard work, players of apparently modest abilities can achieve impressive results.Blending theory, practice and the distinct but complementary skills of two authors - one an academic (and amateur chess player) and the other a highly regarded England Chess Olympiad coach (and grandmaster) -Chess Improvement is an invaluable resource for any aspirational chess player or coach/parent of a chess player.Barry and Peter draw on interviews conducted with members of England's medal-winning elite squad of players and provide a template for chess improvement rooted in the practical wisdom of experienced chess players and coaches.They also include practical illustrative descriptions from the games and chess careers of both developing and leading players, and pull together themes and suggestions in a way which encourages readers to create their own trajectories for chess improvement.

Prominent opening specialists take a revolutionary look at a popular group of openings - the Anti-Sicilians - and select a wealth of 'dangerous' options for both Black and White.

In many parts of the world, there is a crisis of mobility. The choices we have made over the past 200 years on modes and technologies of transport have brought us unprecedented global interaction and in many respects increased personal freedom. However, all this mobility has come at a cost to society, to the economy and to the environment. Mobility is in crisis, but few seem aware of the full extent of it. Though most people will be aware of congestion, accidents (although this aspect is often overlooked), parking restrictions or fuel prices, few will have considered the effects of the dramatic increase in mobility expected in China, India and elsewhere. Nor do many people in their daily lives consider the impact of climate change on our environment and the contribution our cars make to it. It is often thought that technology alone can solve this problem. For some observers, salvation could be achieved by means of hydrogen fuel cells, by hybrid cars, or by increased fuel efficiency, or even by telematics to reduce congestion. This book shows that "technology" may well not be enough in itself and that for a genuinely sustainable transport future far more radical change – affecting many aspects of society – is needed. It is likely, for example, that new business models are needed, as well as users and consumers adopting new forms of behaviour. Disruptive technological innovation may well contribute, but needs to be induced by a combination of market forces and government regulation.Many studies touch on transport and mobility issues and more mainstream books aimed at challenging the dominance of automobility are common, yet works dealing with the longer-term strategic, theoretical and broader conceptual issues needed to inform the move towards more sustainable transport are rare. Yet policy-makers, practitioners, as well as many sections of academia, acknowledge a need for guidance on new thinking on sustainable mobility. This book brings together a range of views representing both leading-edge thinking and best practice in the mobility sector. The individual expert contributions form the basis for framing a broader vision of future mobility and proposed transition trajectories towards that future.Much of the effort reflected in the chapters in this book is concerned with going beyond the "technofix" of new cars, to confront the more difficult challenges of institutional, cultural and social change within and beyond the industry that have to be resolved in the transition towards sustainability. It therefore seeks to break through the conventional boundary between engineering and the social sciences, and the contributors come from both sides of this traditional but unnecessary divide, combining economists, engineers, geographers, designers and others.The work is based on the sustainable mobility stream in the 2003 International Greening of Industry Network conference in San Francisco. This event brought together experts from industry and government, and the book combines some of the papers presented there, developed and updated into full chapters, with a number of additional chapters to capture some of the themes that emerged from the conference.The central problem addressed in this book is the private car: how to power it, how to build it and how to deliver it to customers in a more sustainable future. It starts with ideas of radical innovation in the propulsion system of the car, notably the hydrogen fuel cell. In one section, the book examines business models that could be used to deliver automobility in a more sustainable manner. This section looks at how the car is made and used, and looks beyond it by examining how we could change those aspects in our quest for sustainable mobility. The book then considers a number of recently introduced vehicles and alternative vehicle concepts within the context of a dominant existing paradigm. These vary from a minimalist single-seat commuter to a powertrain exchange concept that could breathe new life into the electric vehicle. A number of chapters then report on current practice and experience in the initial moves toward more sustainable automobility. Finally, more visionary views are presented to look at what conclusions we can draw from the strands discussed and suggest possible future scenarios: where do we go from here?When thinking about the car, it is often not appreciated to what extent our modern culture is integrated with the car and its systems: we have literally built our world around the car in its current form, and this inevitably shapes the scope for constructing sustainable mobility. We therefore need to tackle any change to the current automobility paradigm on a very broad front and we need to be prepared for the possibly dramatic social and economic changes we may bring about by changing just some elements.The Business of Sustainable Mobility will be essential reading for academics, practitioners, policy-makers and others interested in the latest thinking on sustainable mobility.

This edited collection collates the most up-to-date and important research within the area of operations and logistics management.

Can innovations in business change society? Can innovations in society change business? This book represents a start at bridging the dynamic world of business model innovation with the constant and unprecedented transitions underway in the world around us.