During the 2008 election season, politicians from both sides of the aisle promised to rid government of lobbyists’ undue influence. For the authors of Lobbying and Policy Change, the most extensive study ever done on the topic, these promises ring hollow—not because politicians fail to keep them but because lobbies are far less influential than political rhetoric suggests. Based on a comprehensive examination of ninety-eight issues, this volume demonstrates that sixty percent of recent lobbying campaigns failed to change policy despite millions of dollars spent trying. Why? The authors find that resources explain less than five percent of the difference between successful and unsuccessful efforts. Moreover, they show, these attempts must overcome an entrenched Washington system with a tremendous bias in favor of the status quo. Though elected officials and existing policies carry more weight, lobbies have an impact too, and when advocates for a given issue finally succeed, policy tends to change significantly. The authors argue, however, that the lobbying community so strongly reflects elite interests that it will not fundamentally alter the balance of power unless its makeup shifts dramatically in favor of average Americans’ concerns.

This book examines the key relationship between Willy Brandt (the former Mayor of West Berlin and future West German Chancellor) and the administration of President John F. Kennedy. Arne Hofmann focuses on the administration’s influence on the development of Brandt’s ‘policy of small steps’ and the formation of his later Ostpolitik, the centrepiece of European détente. Brandt’s interaction with the Kennedy administration is traced through the Berlin Wall crisis of 1961, together with Kennedy’s search for a modus vivendi based on the status quo, the 1962 crisis in German-American relations, Brandt’s disillusionment campaign, the development of his programmatic statements, Brandt’s three meetings with the President including Kennedy’s famous visit to Berlin, the limited nuclear test ban treaty and Brandt’s Berlin pass agreement of Christmas 1963. While the narrative focuses on the gradual change in Brandt’s position, systematic parts concentrate on Brandt’s and Kennedy’s détente concepts, the triangular relationship between West Berlin, Washington and Bonn with its implication for domestic politics, and the role of images, campaigning and public opinion. The Emergence of Détente in Europe will appeal to students of Cold War history, foreign policy, international relations and international history in general.

Changing Patterns of Warfare between India and Pakistan analyzes how advanced nuclear technologies and the advent of disruptive technologies have affected the evolving conflict between India and Pakistan. Advanced nuclear technologies such as nuclear submarines, aircraft carriers, ballistic missile defence systems (BMDs), multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), anti-satellite weapons (ASAT); and disruptive technologies such as hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence (AI), lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) / drones and space-based and cyber technologies have all complicated crisis dynamics and the domain of warfare in the region. Further, the employment of India’s compellence strategy is an indication of a change in its stance that demonstrates smart/surgical strikes are now more likely. The phenomenon of surgical strikes raises the question of how disruptive technologies will be used to gain direct/indirect military control and hence challenge the existing status quo and deterrence stability. Against this backdrop, the authors predict how this conflict may develop in the future and evaluate the ways to stabilize deterrence and regulate the militarization of artificial intelligence and disruptive technologies between India and Pakistan. This book will be of interest to all those researching and working in the fields of security studies, strategic studies, nuclear policy, deterrence thinking and proliferation/non-proliferation aspects of the nuclear weapons programme within South Asia and beyond. It will also be relevant for the academic community, policy-makers, diplomats, members of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), professional research institutes and organizations working on India–Pakistan relations.

Business is changing at a break-neck speed, so managers must be increasingly active in reorganizing their firms to gain a competitive edge. This textbook provides a discussion of change in relation to the complexities of organizational life, offering comprehensive coverage of the significant ideas and issues associated with change at all levels of organizational activity from the strategic to the operational and at the individual, group, organizational and societal levels. Taking both a theoretical and a practical approach to the issues of organizational change, the text seeks to meet both the academic and applied aims of most business and management courses. The book is ideal for both MBA students and those studying for the more specialist degrees in organizational change. Its structure and content also make it accessible to final-level undergraduate business studies students

The networks and information systems of today are evolving rapidly. There are new trends and applications in information networking such as wireless sensor networks, ad hoc networks, peer-to-peer systems, vehicular networks, opportunistic networks, grid and cloud computing, pervasive and ubiquitous computing, multimedia systems, security, multi-agent systems, high-speed networks, and web-based systems. These kinds of networks need to manage the increasing number of users, provide support for different services, guarantee the QoS, and optimize the network resources. For these networks, there are many research issues and challenges that should be considered and find solutions. The aim of the book is to provide latest research findings, innovative research results, methods, and development techniques from both theoretical and practical perspectives related to the emerging areas of information networking and their applications.

The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change, Second Edition The NTL Handbook of Organization Development and Change is a vital tool for anyone who wants to know how to effectively bring about meaningful and sustainable change in organizations—even in the state of turbulence and complexity that today’s organizations encounter. Featuring contributions from leading practitioners and scholars in the field, each chapter explores a key aspect of organization development. In this new edition, each of the 34 chapters has been revised in response to recommendations from the contributors and NTL members. “These 34 chapters articulate exactly what grounds organization development! Issues and perspectives involving training, groups, practice, and the global world are current and thought provoking.” —Therese F. Yaeger Ph.D., professor, OB/OD Department, College of Business, Benedictine University “There is no other source that offers such a rich array of the most current and future-thinking topics from so many leaders in the field.” —Robert Gass, Ed.D., co-founder, Rockwood Leadership Institute “The editors accomplish the difficult task of including theory, concept, and method that will appeal to the academic community as well as those who are focused on being an effective practitioner.” —John D. Carter, Ph.D., president, Gestalt OSD Center

Choice Recommended Read This volume tackles the critical question of whether people change or whether they remain relatively constant across the lifespan. Much existing literature in psychology has largely endorsed the concept of stability. Indeed, in many people’s minds, the person is understood to be set in stone, as a function of early socialization and reaching a particular stage of development, evolutionary processes, or traits that are hard-wired from the beginning by genes and biology. However, in recent years, important scientific developments in theory and research concerning the psychology of change have emerged. In contrast to the commonly held conception of the individual as fixed, this research illustrates how malleable people are—showing much behavioral plasticity. The chapters in this volume, written by scholars at the cutting-edge of research into the psychology of change, showcase these developments with the aim of advancing knowledge of the field and encouraging further research. Topics addressed include brain function, cognitive performance, personality, psychological well-being, collective action to achieve social change, responses to life stressors, and political change. The message is clear—the culture we live in, what happens to us along the way, and who we think we are and want to be, can all change people.

Demonstrates that the majority party seizes agenda control at nearly every stage of the legislative process.

In todays world of breakneck change, many business transformations fail. Its not because they werent necessary or good ideas, but because they do not happen fast enough. Charlie Thackston, president and cofounder of SOAR Performance Group, is here with a roadmap to help you bring quick transformation to your business. Do you feel like you are constantly scrambling to keep up with the accelerating rate of changes in your market? Through personal anecdotes from experiences in business and life, Charlie makes organizational transformation accessible. With summary questions at the end of each chapter to help you think through each step in the transformation process, Charlie makes organizational transformation real. This book will leave you equipped to identify areas in need of change, strategize plans of action, and implement transformation in your own company. Succeeding in todays reality of accelerating change requires change velocity. Executives chartered with leading change to accelerate growth will learn how they can create change velocity to successfully lead sales transformations in their organizations.