One of the great pleasures of staying in a hotel is spending time in a spotless, neat, and organized space that you don’t have to clean. That doesn’t, however, mean the work disappears—when we’re not looking, someone else is doing it. With Housekeeping by Design, David Brody introduces us to those people—the housekeepers whose labor keeps the rooms clean and the guests happy. Through unprecedented access to staff at several hotels, Brody shows us just how much work goes on behind the scenes—and how much management goes out of its way to make sure that labor stays hidden. We see the incredible amount of hard physical work that is involved in cleaning and preparing a room, how spaces, furniture, and other objects are designed to facilitate a smooth flow of hidden labor, and, crucially, how that design could be improved for workers and management alike if front-line staff were involved in the design process. After reading this fascinating exposé of the ways hotels work—or don’t for housekeepers—one thing is certain: checking in will never be the same again.

On December 4, 1999, David was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. He also had the complication of Crohn's Disease. The cancer had reappeared twice, since the first remission. Although articulate, David was better able to put his hopes, fears and experiences on paper. This journal covers the seven years from 2004 to 2011.

In the first major English translation of the ancient Upanisads for over half a century, Olivelle's work incorporates the most recent historical and philological scholarship on these central scriptures of Hinduism. Composed at a time of great social, economic, and religious change, the Upanisads document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions. The introduction and detailed notes make this edition ideal for the non-specialist as well as for students of Indian religions.

This book is the ideal entry point for any student who wants to understand the many complex roles of design--as process, product, function, symbol, and use. Reflecting the diverse range of perspectives on design, the reader brings together over 70 key texts. The essays are presented in themed sections covering history, methods, theory, visuality, identity, consumption, labor, industrialization, new technology, sustainability, and globalization. Each section is separately introduced and each concluded with a guide to further reading. Authors include Theodor Adorno, Arjun Appadurai, Rayner Banham, Jean Baudrillard, Pierre Bourdieu, Cheryl Buckley, Michel de Certeau, Margaret Crawford, Michel Foucault, Buckminster Fuller, Paul du Gay, Erving Goffman, Donna Haraway, John Chris Jones, Guy Julier, Naomi Klein, Ezio Manzini, Victor Margolin, and many others. In addition, a final section of specially commissioned essays analyzes 10 seminal designs of the 20th Century, from Helvetica to the cell phone. Bringing together the best classic and contemporary writing, Design Studies: A Reader will be invaluable to all students of Design as well as to students of Architecture, Art, Material Culture and Sociology.