Chris Baker

Do you feel confident at work? Are there times when you lack confidence but can’t show it? The role of confidence in successful leadership is both significant and undisputed and yet organisations are full of leaders and teams who don’t have as much as they want and, even worse, are not doing anything about it. Attempts to develop confidence are usually confined to empty affirmations and vanilla-flavoured self-help books. In contrast, this book provides an evidence-based code that outlines the steps we can all take to positively shift our confidence and that of our teams. Confident Leaders by Design is for leaders at all levels looking for a rigorous yet accessible approach to confidence development. Through research and fascinating anecdotes it reveals the surprising secrets to supercharging leadership potential through confidence creation. Alongside the theory, readers will practically locate their confidence sweet spot and explore activities like sludge audits, confidence curves and self-efficacy circles which will help them to immediately start growing confidence in themselves and their teams.

Do you feel confident at work? Are there times when you lack confidence but can’t show it? The role of confidence in successful leadership is both significant and undisputed and yet organisations are full of leaders and teams who don’t have as much as they want and, even worse, are not doing anything about it. Attempts to develop confidence are usually confined to empty affirmations and vanilla-flavoured self-help books. In contrast, this book provides an evidence-based code that outlines the steps we can all take to positively shift our confidence and that of our teams. Confident Leaders by Design is for leaders at all levels looking for a rigorous yet accessible approach to confidence development. Through research and fascinating anecdotes it reveals the surprising secrets to supercharging leadership potential through confidence creation. Alongside the theory, readers will practically locate their confidence sweet spot and explore activities like sludge audits, confidence curves and self-efficacy circles which will help them to immediately start growing confidence in themselves and their teams.

Swimming Sydney is a tale of 52 swims in and around Sydney that take place over a calendar year. From Palm Beach to Cronulla, Mount Druitt to Bondi, Chris Baker swims at iconic beaches, municipal pools, harbour baths, tidal rock pools, bushland lakes and a backyard pool. Taking his weekly plunges, Baker reflects on friendship, history and family, and how swimming can help us better understand ourselves. Swimming Sydney is a valentine to the beautiful obsession of swimming in the world's most beautiful city. It's a book for everyone who loves swimming, who loves Sydney, and who understands that storytelling is the best way to navigate life's emotional currents.

The world needs changing – that much is clear. But how best to do it? Change how you vote? Get out and protest? Have an argument? The fact is that the power sits in your pocket. Changing how we spend our money has more potential to change the world than almost anything else we can do with our time on this planet. Consumer spending accounts for over 60% of GDP across the world and it will hit a staggering $77 trillion a year by 2029. But the vast majority of this money currently goes to businesses that are fuelling problems, through their packaging, formulations and practices, the same companies making huge profits and resisting change. But if we moved just 1% of spending to brands that are making a positive impact on our planet, this would amount to $700 billion every year. And the good news is that it’s already happening. A rising tide of ‘Change Brands’ are emerging across the world and acting as powerful catalysts to tackle some of the biggest problems facing humanity. These Change Brands, such as Tony’s Chocolonely, Oatly, Vinted, and Liquid Death, are putting legacy brands under pressure by winning consumers’ hearts, minds and their spending. As this movement gathers pace, many legacy brands and business models will be in danger of becoming obsolete in the next decade if they don’t radically reconsider how they do things. Chris Baker explains why one of the best ways to change the world is to create a brand and provides clear steps on how to accomplish this. The book includes guidance to help legacy brands introduce Change Brand thinking into their own business and provides unique insight from within big companies battling to come to terms with a changing world via a secret agent on the inside, ‘Agent Change’.

Take a magical walk through the forest and learn all about the wild beauty and wonder of mushrooms on this inspiring picture book journey A mushroom day is a day of exploring together and discovering some of the most incredible lifeforms on earth: fungi. In this lyrical, informational picture book structured around a walk through a summertime wood, a child and their caregiver share the sights, sounds and smells of the forest as they observe and identify different varieties of mushrooms. On a Mushroom Day encourages curiosity and a love of fungi in young children and normalizes safe, chaperoned joyful exploration of the fungal queendom all around us. Filled with fun, fascinating fungi facts and a visual catalogue of mushroom species so that kids can enjoy their very own mushroom day in the pages of this book

Join us on a journey of discovery through the wines and spirits of the Old and New World with From Ground to Glass. This book is not a textbook, but rather a guide for those who already have a love of alcoholic beverages and want to learn more about them. With over 65 years of experience in the industry, the author shares their knowledge and insights, highlighting the best quality wines and spirits at user-friendly prices, made with environmentally sound practices and minimal intervention. Follow along as we explore the world of alcohol, from the UK to the Middle East, Far East, Australia, South America, Europe, and India, and learn from the author's experiences, including the founding of the Hong Kong Wine School. Join us and Alfie the cat as we delve into the delicious world of wine and spirits.

Since he was banished from his home, Sunjata and his followers have travelled the land of Mali, making life better for everyone. But can they defeat the terribleSorcerer-King? Sunjata and the Sorcerer-King is part of the Galaxy range of books from Rising Stars Reading Planet. Galaxy provides captivating fiction and non-fiction for Pink A to White band. The rich collection of highly decodable books immerses children in a range of cross-curricular topics and genres. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and activities to support reading at home as well as comprehension questions to check understanding. Reading age: 6-7 years

Sir Reebull, Dashi and Pex are on a mission to escape from AbacusTower. Can you help them solve the different maths puzzles and set them free? Escape From Abacus Tower! is part of the Galaxy range of books from Rising Stars Reading Planet. Galaxy provides captivating fiction and non-fiction for Pink A to White band. The rich collection of highly decodable books immerses children in a range of cross-curricular topics and genres. Reading Planet books have been carefully levelled to support children in becoming fluent and confident readers. Each book features useful notes and activities to support reading at home as well as comprehension questions to check understanding. Reading age: 6-7 years

Detailed ship histories combined with policy context.

Since it was first published in 2005, A History of Thailand has been hailed as an authoritative, lively and readable account of Thailand's political, economic, social and cultural history. From the early settlements in the Chao Phraya basin to today, Baker and Phongpaichit trace how a world of mandarin nobles and unfree peasants was transformed by colonialism, the expansion of the rice frontier and the immigration of traders and labourers from southern China. This book examines how the monarchy managed the foundation of a new nation-state at the end of the nineteenth century, and how urban nationalists, ambitious generals, communist rebels and business politicians competed to take control through the twentieth century. It tracks Thailand's economic changes, globalisation and the evolution of mass society, and draws on popular culture to dramatize social trends. This edition contains a new chapter on Thailand's turbulent politics since 2006 and incorporates new sources and research throughout.

The development of radar has been one of the most successful direct applications of physics ever attempted, and then implemented and applied at large scale. Certain watchwords of radar engineering have underpinned many of the developments of the past 80 years and remain potential avenues for improvement. For example, 'Narrow beams are good', 'Fast detection is good', 'Agility is good', and 'Clutter is bad'. All these statements of merit are true. The underlying principles for all these statements are the laws of physics, and they provide support for current radar designs. However, each of these statements is really a design choice, rather than their necessary consequence. This book shows that under the physical laws and with modern data processing, staring radar offers a new direction of travel. The process of detection and tracking can be updated through persistent signal discovery and target analysis, without losses in sensitivity, and while delivering detailed information on target dynamics and classification. The first part of the book introduces various forms of staring radar, which include the earliest and simplest forms of electromagnetic surveillance and its users. The next step is to summarise the physical laws under which all radar operates, and the requirements that these systems need or will need to meet to fulfil a range of applications. We are then able to be specific about the technology needed to implement staring radar.

The sector north of Ypres is best known for the inundation of much of the ground to the east of the Yser that acted as a block to the German advance in the autumn of 1914\. From that time on military activities were extremely limited. Much of this line was manned by Belgian troops, with some assistance from the French army at its southern end and of the British army on the Channel coast. The role of the Belgian army in the Great War is little known, apart from the opening months, when 'brave little Belgium' held on to its important fortified cities, notably Liege and Antwerp, for longer than German planning had anticipated. It was not until mid October 1914 that the Belgian army was forced back to the area of the Yser, when its defences were bolstered by French troops whilst Haig's I Corps came up on its southern flank. At this crucial phase of the campaign, the harsh decision was taken to open the dykes at the end of October 1914 and thereby flooding much of the low lying ground east of the Yser and so effectively halting major German offensive operations. For almost four years the Belgian army rested reasonably secure behind this sodden landscape, although certain key points were the scene of frequent, if limited, tussles. 'Free' Belgium was reduced to two significant towns that could be regarded as secure and out of the range of most German artillery - the coastal resort of La Panne (De Panne) and the much bigger settlement of Furnes (Veurne), Over these years the Belgian army was rebuilt under the dynamic leadership of the king, Albert I, and by the time of the general allied advance in September 1918, the Belgian army was able to take its place in the Advance to Victory, in an allied Army that was commanded by King Albert. Although this phase of the war is outside the scope of the book, it is important to realise that the Belgian army was a very active player in these last few months. Amongst the achievements of Belgian troops at this stage of the war was the final capture of Passchendaele. This book concerns itself with the years of defence and the reconstruction of the army behind the Yser. Relatively little of Belgium's efforts in the Great War remained, but recent years have seen action to preserve what does. Most significant of these, perhaps, is the so called Trench of Death near Diksmuide. Although always preserved, it has recently been very successfully refurbished and is now most effectively and informatively presented. Other remains from the war have also been developed so as to be more informative and the result is that touring this area provides a fascinating insight into one of the most unusual sectors of the Western Front and which is conveniently close to the much visited Ypres Salient. In this book Chris Baker brings his extensive knowledge of the Belgian army (helped by his ability to read French and Dutch) and of the Flanders region to produce a much needed insight into Belgium's army role for most of the war as the protector of the northern flank of the whole of the Allied line.

Tired of being surprised in the opening? Horrified by studying many hours each week to keep on top of the latest developments in main-line openings? Then this is the book for you For here is a repertoire of opening lines based on 1 e4 that are slightly off the beaten track, but full of practical sting and cunning traps for unwary opponents. All are based on rapid, healthy development, central control and play against the enemy king. You go straight from the opening into a sharp, little-explored middlegame where you will be better prepared than your opponent. This new edition brings the repertoire completely up to date. The basic choice of main lines is unchanged, but each move has been re-examined and new ideas from practice and analysis incorporated at every turn. Teeming with dangerous new ideas never published anywhere else before Makes use of the new generation of neural-network based engines inspired by AlphaZero Updated by an openings expert and editor with a wealth of experience creating repertoires Emphasis on lines that are hard to meet in practice with the clock ticking Future-proofed: recommendations against rare and untried ideas for Black

Train Aerodynamics: Fundamentals and Applications is the first reference to provide a comprehensive overview of train aerodynamics with full scale data results. With the most up-to-date information on recent advances and the possibilities of improvement in railway facilities, this book will benefit railway engineers, train operators, train manufacturers, infrastructure managers and researchers of train aerodynamics. As the subject of train aerodynamics has evolved slowly over the last few decades with train speeds gradually increasing, and as a result of increasing interest in new train types and high-speed lines, this book provides a timely resource on the topic.

TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the world's best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening. This pack contains 36 books, 6 of each of the following titles: Sixteen Sisters, Gawain and the Green Knight, Shakespeare Stories, The Enchanted Horse, The Snow Queen and The Storm Child.

TreeTops Greatest Stories offers children some of the world's best-loved tales in a collection of timeless classics. Top children's authors and talented illustrators work together to bring to life our literary heritage for a new generation, engaging and delighting children. The books are carefully levelled, making it easy to match every child to the right book. Each book contains inside cover notes to help children explore the content, supporting their reading development. Teaching notes on Oxford Owl offer cross-curricular links and activities to support guided reading, writing, speaking and listening. This pack contains 6 books, one of each of the following titles: Sixteen Sisters, Gawain and the Green Knight, Shakespeare Stories, The Enchanted Horse, The Snow Queen and The Storm Child.

The German offensive in Flanders in April 1918 came close to catastrophe for the British Armies, but ultimately ended in strategic defeat for the Kaiser's men. Following closely on the heels of the devastating 'Operation Michael' attack in March on the Somme and around Arras, named as 'Operation Georgette', the offensive was aimed at strangling the vital railways and roads that supplied the British at Ypres. Having assembled an overwhelming numerical advantage, the Germans attacked in thick fog on 9 April 1918. They faced tired British formations that had just been relieved from the earlier battle and which were receiving replacements, mainly in the form of 18 year-old conscripts. By the day's end, the Germans had succeeded in gaining a crossing of the River Lys and were well on their way to the vital railway junctions at Hazebrouck. Several British divisions were deployed to stop the advance, only to be effectively destroyed in the attempt over the next few days. Gradually, fresher British, Australian and French reserves arrived and held their ground. With disappointing results, mounting casualties and a diminishing return for their efforts, the Germans abandoned the offensive and turned their attention further south. What the British call The Battle of the Lys 1918 is a fascinating yet curiously neglected period of military history. Chris Baker examines this major battle from the strategic down to the platoon level, highlighting the key events, characters and acts of enormous bravery on both sides, both in a historical narrative and in a series of tours of the area. This volume, one of two on the battle, concentrates on the southern half of the battlefield.

Build your child’s reading confidence at home with books at the right level This scrapbook tells the story of a Forest School year. Each week in Forest School the children visit Barrowswold Forest and record their adventures throughout the changing seasons. They have fun climbing trees, making things and exploring – and they also learn a lot about the animals, plants and environment around them! Emerald/Band 15 books provide a widening range of genres including science fiction and biography, prompting more ways to respond to texts. Text type – An information book. The book is organised into short chapters to help children practise the skills of locating and identifying important information. The glossary and index can be used to develop children's information retrieval skills further. Curriculum links – Geography

Tried-and-tested by specialist educational consultants Hay Management Consultants, this volume will help head teachers and subject leaders make the most out of performance management in their schools. The government's insistence that each school in England (whether primary or secondary) implements a performance management system has lead schools to see this imposition as yet another bureaucratic chore. This volume shows how performance management can be turned to a school's advantage to improve teaching and school performance. Highly practical in tone, the book shows how schools can turn a government imposition into an opportunity for realistic and tangible improvement.