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ABSTRACT
Readers in ancient Rome did not have efficiency of reading as a goal. The much-cited exception that proves the rule is a letter of the Younger Pliny (Letter 3.5, early 2nd c. CE) that describes the extraordinary reading habits of his uncle the Elder Pliny, as he read and digested the 2000 works used as sources for constructing his encyclopedic Natural History. Famously, the Elder, as he rode in his carriage or litter, would have a lector read to him and a stenographer take notes. This article examines in detail how an ancient reader would imagine such a scene. The aims of the article are two: (1) to shine further light on the enslaved persons enabling Pliny's project; (2) to elucidate how and why an ancient reader would see (as modern commentators have not) the comical impracticalities behind the Elder's extreme "efficient" reading behavior.

UK Government and construction industry advisors are becoming ever more interested in increasing the use of offsite modern methods of construction (MMC) within the private housing sector as a solution to current quality and efficiency problems. However, industry uptake remains below that of many countries with comparable economies, with UK housebuilders seemingly reluctant to invest in innovative building technologies. The Japanese private housing sector, on the other hand, paints a very different story, with prefabricated housing manufacturers dominating a significant proportion of the housing market. After an introduction to the key themes, this report will explore the drivers for offsite fabrication in the Japanese housing market, paying particular attention to building cycles and prevailing development systems, the cultural preference for new-build houses, attitudes towards land ownership and the demand for customised dwellings. Next, the report will investigate the major drivers for innovation in the UK housebuilding industry, focusing on Government reports and initiatives that promote offsite MMC, perceived advantages and barriers for greater uptake within the construction industry, and strategies used by the housebuilding industry to minimise market and site-specific risk in the emerging market environment. The final chapter will discuss the applicability of the Japanese model of prefabricated housing manufacture in the UK context, highlighting some possible crossover benefits and making some suggestions as to how these can be realised.

Sends his son, Richard Johnson, to the Academy; discusses finances and course of studies.

A word often used today regarding China is innovation, as if the concept were new to the eastern country. Most people know, however, that China was a juggernaut in creating new technologies and at one time was the innovation king of the world--but that was at least seven centuries ago! Today, the great oriental power is attempting once again to take the throne of innovation for its own. But this desire to usurp the throne, which had been diligently taken by the West during the Scientific Revolution, has placed an almost unrealistic emphasis on innovation. In Innovation in China: The Tail of the Dragon, Professor Johnson explores the issues and actors involved in making innovation the emphasis in China. He uses a simple systems model of innovation and various perceptual lenses. The lenses are aimed at the historical, economic, political, legal, educational and cultural elements of an innovation-based society. All of these elements are intimately related to each other in an effective innovation system. After various travels he has made to China and research on the subject, Dr. Johnson questions whether the push towards proactive self-sustaining innovation has been effective to date and prognosticates where it may be going. He cautions that although innovation is the "tail that wagged the dog" and is driving a lot of business and political activities in China these days, the dragon is awakened and that the rest of the world must take China seriously as an innovation power. After reading the book, the reader will understand more about how innovation is happening in China and by whom. More importantly, the reader will begin a journey of learning more about where the country is going as it relentlessly continues its drive to create an innovation-based society and to become once again, in terms appropriate to its history, the emperor of innovation.