This edited collection, first published in 1991, focuses on the commercial relations, marketing structures and development of consumption that accompanied early industrial expansion. The papers examine aspects of industrial structure and work organisation, including women’s work, and highlight the conflict and compromise between work traditions and the emergence of a market culture. With an overarching introduction providing a background to European manufacturing, this title will be of particular interest to students of social and economic history researching early industrial Europe and the concurrent emergence of a material, consumer culture.

In front of us lies a rather unique study. Unique in respect of both its initiative and its set up. This study is the result of a private initiative of an international organization of management consultancy firms. It is the first time that such a broad international study was undertaken jointly by individual consulting firms in many different countries. Moreover the method used can be characterized as 'from the bottom up'. Representatives of almost 100 organizations in seven European countries were interviewed by seven individual management consultancy firms on the basis of their own reputation and contacts. Not only the well-known multinationals in the information and communication industry participated, but also medium-sized and small companies as well as government agencies. The study focuses on one sector of industry that is considered to be of prime importance for employment in Europe, viz. the information and communication industry. It is generally assumed that important instruments for the stimulation and strengthening of Europe's position in this field are: reduction of competition within Europe better coordination of R&D efforts improved harmonization of rules, standards and regulations better coordination and education programmes increased stimulation and guidance by governments. This study puts these assumptions to the test. It assesses the state of the art regarding these instruments and identifies the actions needed to improve the present situation.

Written by 19 scholars of history, archaeology, and ethnology, this book takes a multidisciplinary approach to European spaces of the past and the human agents within them. Prior to the Industrial Era, the geography of Europe posed problems but also offered possibilities for its people. Distances created obstacles to communication and state formation, but at the same time, inhabitants and officials in peripheral areas gained room to pursue more independent action, allowing unique customs to flourish. Focusing on northern Europe, this history answers how early modern Europeans - rulers, officials, aristocrats, scholars, priests, and commoners - perceived, utilized, and organized the space around them.

In Worthy Efforts Catharina Lis and Hugo Soly offer an innovative approach to the history of perceptions and representations of work in Europe throughout Classical Antiquity and the medieval and early modern periods.

Please update ISBNs on imprint page: C 978-0-8039-7488-3 P 978-0-8039-7489-0