Florence was known in the Renaissance for its cutthroat competition and hypercritical environment, which sustained the city’s reputation for superb craftsmanship and innovative design. Yet many of its most successful artists worked for long periods outside the city. Vasari states that, to make a reputation at home, an artist had to travel abroad, to execute highly visible and well-compensated projects commissioned by prestigious patrons. Ambrogio Lorenzetti was “called outside his homeland to honor another; and if by chance [that other place] is more noble in customs, mind and ability, he, once unhappy, is filled with joy in seeing himself awarded, embraced and largely honored.”

Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, the recent conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East signal the return of geopolitics. This book challenges conventional approaches that ignore border change, arguing that geopolitics is driven by nationalism and focusing on how nationalism transforms the state. Using geocoded historical maps covering state borders and ethnic groups in Europe, the authors’ spatial approach shows how, since the French Revolution, nationalism has caused increasing congruence between state and national borders and how a lack of congruence increased the risk of armed conflict. This macro process is traced from early modern Europe and widens the geographic scope to the entire world in the mid twentieth century. The analysis shows that the risk of conflict may be increased by how nationalists, seeking to revive past golden ages and restore their nations’ prestige, respond to incongruent borders. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Chapter 2 places Lucia within the context of bel canto opera in the first half of the nineteenth century and discusses the dramaturgy, voice types and fixed vocal forms that are often found in this style of opera. In addition, going beyond the mere definition of ‘beautifully sung’, Chapter 2 argues that bel canto reflects an operatic work where the singer’s vocal agility (i.e., their coloratura) is the main vehicle that defines the character’s dramatic persona and climactic journey, from an unfortunate individual who, at first glance, is powerless to change their situation, to a fully rounded character with a certain heroic potential. Lucia is unique in this regard owing to the main character’s ability to shape-shift from a quiet and somewhat naïve lover and dutiful daughter to a murderer and usurper of family values. This malleability between a tasteful showpiece for the female voice and a tragic tour-de-force is one of the main factors that keeps Lucia in the repertoire today. Such versatility places Donizetti’s opera more in line with the psychologically rich and often violent works of Verdi and Puccini at the end of the century rather than the operatic works of the 1830s.

An introduction to and overview of the continuum limit analysis of the causal action principle is given.

When George H. W. Bush ascended to the American presidency in 1989, one of the more urgent relationships that he was faced with building was that with Israel’s Yitzhak Shamir. Drawing on newly declassified materials from American and Israeli state and non-state archives, this book reveals the complexities of a relationship defined by both deep co-operation and sharp tensions. From the peace process to loan guarantees, from military aid to emotional diplomacy, The Strained Alliance uncovers the debates, conflicts, and strategic decisions that shaped this critical period between 1989 and 1992. In doing so, David Tal challenges the traditional perception that US–Israel relations were dominated by policy disagreements, highlighting instead the broader foundation of collaboration that endured behind the scenes. Tal provides fresh insights into the intricate dynamics of diplomacy, ideology, and leadership, offering a balanced perspective on one of the most pivotal chapters in US–Israel history.

Multivariable analysis is used for four major types of studies: observational studies of etiology, randomized and nonrandomized intervention studies, studies of diagnosis, and studies of prognosis.

For observational studies, whether etiologic or intervention, the most important reason to do multivariable analysis is to eliminate confounding, since in observational studies the groups are not randomly assigned. With randomized studies, multiple analysis is used to adjust for baseline differences that occurred by chance, to identify other independent predictors of outcome besides the randomized group, and x.

With studies of diagnosis, multivariable analysis is used to identify the best combination of diagnostic information to determine whether a person has a particular disease. Multivariable analysis can also be used to predict the prognosis of a group of patients with a particular set of known prognostic factors.