Sunday 16 January 2011

Inclusion Polymers (Advances in Polymer Science)



Inclusion Polymers (Advances in Polymer Science)
Gerhard Wenz | 2009-07-01 00:00:00 | Springer | 240 | Chemical Engineering
Inclusion Polymers (Advances in Polymer Science)
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Liberal Modernity and Its Adversaries (Studies in Critical Social Sciences)



Liberal Modernity and Its Adversaries (Studies in Critical Social Sciences)
Zafirovski | 2007-06-30 00:00:00 | BRILL | 582 | Social Sciences
The book rediscovers liberal modernity as the master process and destination of Western civilization, and its anti-liberal adversaries, notably conservatism, as the ghosts of a dead past. The anti-liberal rumors of the dead of liberalism are greatly exaggerated.

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Understanding Competitive Advantage: The Importance of Strategic Congruence and Integrated Control



Understanding Competitive Advantage: The Importance of Strategic Congruence and Integrated Control
Fredrik Nilsson,Birger Rapp | 2004-11-10 00:00:00 | Springer | 231 | Economics

This book is about competitive advantage and how it is created at the company level. It is based on the premise that the alignment of strategies and control systems affects the firm`s chances of successfully positioning itself in its chosen arena of competition. The firm is in a better position to concentrate on activities that create value for the customer if its strategies and control systems are mutually consistent and adapted to expected external demands. This book is thus a contribution to the literature that treats competitive advantage on the basis of the match between the environment and internal resources. The authors believe that the co-ordination and integration of strategies and control systems will provide a necessary, and long-overdue, expansion of knowledge in the area.



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SAS/Genetics 9.1.3 User's Guide



SAS/Genetics 9.1.3 User's Guide
| 2005-08-24 00:00:00 | | 0 | Computer Application


SAS/Genetics is a collection of SAS procedures along with a SAS macro specifically designed for the statistical analysis of genetic marker data. This guide is intended to provide you with the statistical genetics background and the procedural syntax needed to use this software, as well as examples showing some common applications of the methods in these procedures.


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The Origins and Role of Same-Sex Relations in Human Societies



The Origins and Role of Same-Sex Relations in Human Societies
James Neill | 2009-01-05 00:00:00 | McFarland | 478 | History
This groundbreaking work draws on a vast range of research into human sexuality to demonstrate that homosexuality is not a phenomenon limited to a small minority of society, but is an aspect of a complex sexual harmony that the human race inherited from its animal ancestors. Through a survey of the patterns of sexual expression found among animals and among societies around the world, and an examination of the functional role homosexual behavior has played among animal species and human societies alike, the author arrives at some provocative conclusions: that a homosexual or bisexual phase is a normal part of sexual development, that same-sex relations play an important balancing role in regulating human reproduction, that many societies have institutionalized homosexual traditions in the past, and that the harsh condemnation of homosexuality in Western society is a relatively recent phenomenon, unique among world societies throughout history. This well researched and meticulously documented book is the first that integrates into a coherent picture the startling revelations about human sexuality coming from the recent work of sexual researchers, psychologists, anthropologists and historians. The view that emerges, of an ambisexual human species whose complex sexual harmony is being thwarted by the imposition of an artificial understanding of nature, represents a new way of thinking about sex.
Reviews
I found this book to be very easy to read and helpful in understanding both homosexuality and human nature. I was raised in a religious setting where it was believed that homosexuality was an evil spirit that was to be cast out through united prayer.

Being raised in a foreign country that accepted homosexuality as natural as hetrosexuality confused me, and I found this book helpful in understand the way sexuality was viewed in Japan.

The argument in this book was englightening as it was very conviencing as to how human nature changed over the course of history while the biological urges did not.

This book, in my opinion, is helpful to those who do not fully understand homosexuality, and encourages a new outlook concerning human nature in general.

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Software by Numbers: Low-Risk, High-Return Development



Software by Numbers: Low-Risk, High-Return Development
Mark Denne,Jane Cleland-Huang | 2003-10-18 00:00:00 | Prentice Hall | 208 | Software Engineering
Reviews
This book was a surprise but only because I didn't read the title properly.

"Software by Numbers : Low-Risk High-Return Development".

Fundamentally, it is about project planning and prioritisation and not about estimation.



This book starts with three assumptions:-

1. You are using a feature-driven development iterative release approach to a project.

2. You can attach numeric business value to each of the features.

3. You can estimate the cost of developing the required software modules to implement the above features.



With these assumptions in place, the authors then use a number of net present value accounting algorithms to help you schedule the software module development to provide "Low-Risk High-Return development".

The algorithms are designed to maximise business return and minimise the risk as per the book's title.



It is only 190-pages, well-laid out with clear examples pitched at the right level for me so I swallowed in a week-end with only faint and distant grumbling from my wife.



I will be trying it out on my next green-field project and interested to see how assumptions 2 and 3 stand up to the test.



Highly Recommended.
Reviews
I am an advocate of Agile Software Development methods so I read this book with that bias. What I found was this book quantifies many of the ideas of agile development that before just made intuitive sense. The book explains the potential value of developing in small steps, and has a great discussion of how incremental development and architecture interact to affect return on investment.



If you are not involved in the financial side of planning software projects you may find yourself skimming through parts, but the general themes are ones that everyone involved in planning software projects will find interesting. (This includes developers in small teams.)



In most cases customers want you to build a software application to help them make or save money, and reading this book will help you to understand that.
Reviews
This book caught my attention because I was searching for a decent book on ROI and software development, and Dr. Jane Cleland-Huang was a professor at the graduate school I attended (I was never a student of hers and have never met her). Furthering my interest in "Software by Numbers" were the facts that it runs less than 200 pages and is from Sun Microsystems. In my opinion, most large technology works can be significantly shortened if the fluff is removed from them (who has time to read fluff?), and I view Sun as a respected firm that is involved with a lot of the technologies in my workplace. Maximizing financial return during the development of software is the main subject of this book, and the attempt of Jane and Mark Denne, her co-author, to show how to do so is a good one. Interestingly enough, the Preface of this text discusses how the authors arrived at the title "Software by Numbers", and although this title is better than the others that their friends and colleagues suggested, because it is a bit too similar to the common expression "paint by number" (which can be an idiomatic expression for "easy" or "mindless"), I do not think it does the book content justice. ROI is anything but a simple subject. Multiple formulas exist for ROI to begin with, and return can be a subjective matter because it can involve a lot of assumptions. Quite a few financial tables are presented with the book material, and a cursory review of the accompanying ROI examples shows that there is a bit of explanation missing. Of course, there is a tradeoff here between conciseness and thoroughness, and explaining all of the assumptions made would probably not be appropriate for most readers. The authors start the discussion by stating that software development is a very difficult endeavor. The following portions of the introductory chapters explain well much of the language used throughout the rest of the book, such as minimum marketable feature (MMF) and return on investment (ROI). The authors then compare MMF-based ROI with classic ROI and discuss how to discover MMFs, how to determine their value, and how this all fits with incremental funding methodology (IFM). While there exists overlap between the architecture discussion and the content of "Architecture in Practice" (see my review for that text), the authors quickly move forward to discussing the delivery of valued features to customers and how parallel development of multiple MMFs is often well suited for meeting customer needs. Although the chapter on how to manage intangibles provides a much more simple explanation than books such as "Making Technology Investments - ROI Road Map to Better Business Cases", the authors get their point across in a succinct manner. Similarly, the authors discuss how IFM can thrive when used with the (Rational) Unified Process and other more agile software engineering methodologies.
Reviews
Software by Numbers focuses on the financial aspects of software development. It introduces a method called "Incremental Funding Method" which demonstrates how software development with incremental delivery can fund itself, therefore lowering investment costs and thus lowering the risks for starting the development. The key-idea in the method is probably to break up the feature sets of a software product in MMFs (minimum marketable features) and calculate the investment and ROI of these separately and then deciding in what order they could be developed to maximize the total ROI.



The ideas of software by numbers are important to understand when selecting a development method that enables incremental delivery (like most agile development methods). Its especially good in convincing people who do not know software development that incremental delivery is a very good idea and financially sound idea.



To me this book was definitively worth reading. However, at some points the book seemed to lose my attention. At points I felt the authors were just repeating the same points over and over again. Eventhough the book is not very thick, I felt it could have been even thinner and conveying the same message.



Still, it's a recommended read.
Reviews
The core theory of the book is that feature/stories need to be prioritized based on business value. To anyone doing Agile (Scrum, XP, FDD) this is pretty much standard stuff.

What is new in the book is that they provide a framework for tying individual features to future cash flow/benefit for that feature to drive an analysis of net present value.

My viewpoint is that this book is very academic in orientation rather than grounded in the real world examples. As an example, there is no detailed example/sample/case study of how future cash flows were determined for a given set of features. The derivation of these values is critical to the applicability of the approach.

Do I buy it? No. I think XP User stories prioritized by the customer(s) will be a much more robust mechanism for selecting what to work on next. It will also come at a lower cost.

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Chaussettes faciles au tricot : creations tendance et fantaisie pour tricoteuses tous niveaux


Chaussettes faciles au tricot : creations tendance et fantaisie pour tricoteuses tous niveaux
Jeanette Trotman | 2008-01-01 00:00:00 | Tutti Frutti | 121 | Do It Yourself
Jamais il n a ete aussi facile de tricoter des chaussettes! Source inegalable de confort, les chaussettes faites main, douces et moelleuses, font partie des petits luxes de la vie. Ce livre tres accessible presente 20 modeles surprenants de simplicite, dont la plupart peuvent etre realises le temps d un week-end. Chaque modele est accompagne de photographies illustrant les etapes importantes de la realisation. Vous apprendrez a tricoter les points de base et assimilerez les methodes de confection d un ouvrage, selon des techniques simples avec les aiguilles droites, les aiguilles a double pointe et l aiguille circulaire. Vous profiterez d un large choix de modeles adaptes a toute la famille : fantaisie, detente, elegants ou duveteux, les chaussons feutres pour les jours de flanerie, les chaussons abeille ou papillon, les chaussons rayes Bambino, ou les ballerines " C?ur d amour ". Vous vous perfectionnerez grace aux explications claire et personnaliserez vos chaussettes grace aux nombreux conseils sur les fils et sur les techniques d ornement.
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The Princess & the Penis


The Princess & the Penis
RJ Silver | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | | 17 | Fiction Other
A beautiful, chaste, and completely naive princess encounters a strange lump in her mattress. The lump soon morphs into a shape familiar to everyone but her, triggering her curiosity and her father's greatest fears. He frantically tries to intervene, but having a large phantom phallus in a curious maiden's bed is never a good combination.
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The Local Origins of Modern Society: Gloucestershire 1500-1800



The Local Origins of Modern Society: Gloucestershire 1500-1800
David Rollison | 1992-11-17 00:00:00 | Routledge | 336 | England
Explanations of the rise of industrial capitalism usually focus on urban centers, yet its origins lie in the late middle ages, in the flight of manufacturing industry from towns to rural districts. Habitually conceived and justified as a system of poor relief for landless households, rural industry created new social relations, pastoral disciplines, ideologies, and forms of communication.

Through a series of sharply focused studies spanning three centuries, David Rollison explores the rise of capitalist manufacturing in the English countryside and the revolution in consciousness that accompanied it. Combining the empiricism of English historiography with the rationalism of Annales, The Local Origins of Modern Society argues that the explosive implications of the rise of rural industry altered the communal, cultural, and social contexts of people's lives. Using localized case studies, Rollison uses significant detail in providing a subtle and innovative view of English cultural identities in the early modern period.

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Categorical Data Analysis (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics)



Categorical Data Analysis (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics)
Alan Agresti | 2002-07-22 00:00:00 | Wiley-Interscience | 734 | Mathematics
Amstat News asked three review editors to rate their top five favorite books in the September 2003 issue. Categorical Data Analysis was among those chosen.

A valuable new edition of a standard reference.
"A 'must-have' book for anyone expecting to do research and/or applications in categorical data analysis."
-Statistics in Medicine on Categorical Data Analysis, First Edition

The use of statistical methods for categorical data has increased dramatically, particularly for applications in the biomedical and social sciences. Responding to new developments in the field as well as to the needs of a new generation of professionals and students, this new edition of the classic Categorical Data Analysis offers a comprehensive introduction to the most important methods for categorical data analysis.

Designed for statisticians and biostatisticians as well as scientists and graduate students practicing statistics, Categorical Data Analysis, Second Edition summarizes the latest methods for univariate and correlated multivariate categorical responses. Readers will find a unified generalized linear models approach that connects logistic regression and Poisson and negative binomial regression for discrete data with normal regression for continuous data. Adding to the value in the new edition is coverage of:

  • Three new chapters on methods for repeated measurement and other forms of clustered categorical data, including marginal models and associated generalized estimating equations (GEE) methods, and mixed models with random effects
  • Stronger emphasis on logistic regression modeling of binary and multicategory data
  • An appendix showing the use of SAS for conducting nearly all analyses in the book
  • Prescriptions for how ordinal variables should be treated differently than nominal variables
  • Discussion of exact small-sample procedures
  • More than 100 analyses of real data sets to illustrate application of the methods, and more than 600 exercises
    Reviews
    Was quite impressed at the speed with which I received the book. The book came as advertized. Will do business with this person again and will recommend others to do so.
    Reviews
    This book is the standard for this material. It is clear, concise and comes with enough examples to assure the reader of the empirical importance of all the theory.
    Reviews
    The text is comprehensive in covering categorical data. Other reviews make this clear so I wanted to focus on the following. I was able to understand more general topics in statistics because of Agresti's depth of coverage on CDA. For example, for repeated measurements, Agresti clearly explains marginal models, conditional models, and generalized estimating equations. When I needed to understand these topics, I used this text because I have not found clear explanations elsewhere. In addition, SAS code and R code is available for the examples presented.
    Reviews
    When this book came out in 1990 it was the first book to provide a truely modern treatment of categorical data analysis for both ordinal and nominal data. It provides an excellent treatment of the asymptotic theory for binary and multinomial data. It is extremely well written and is still a favorite of statisticians and practitioners. Because of its popularity and continued value, it should soon be added to the Wiley Classic series.

    This is the first book to take the regression approach to categorical data analysis tieing the subject to the methods and theory of the generalized linear models. It also was one of the first to show the modern practicality of exact permutation methods.



    The only drawback of this book is that it is 11 years old and there have been many interesting and relevant research developments in computer-intensive methods, analysis of missing data and mixed effects linear models to make a revision useful. Some of the latest developments can be found in Lloyd's new book "Statistical Analysis of Categorical Data" that was recently published by Wiley.



    Agresti provides clear advice and also gives a nice historical perspective on the development of the subject. The book is authoritative and includes numerous relevant references. Each chapter contains many exercises and a wealth of practical examples for illustration of the techniques. This is a good text from both practical and theoretical perspectives. It is excellent for a graduate level course on categorical data analysis.




    Reviews
    Please read this in addition to the other reviews! I agree with the other reviewers except on one aspect: I found the style of writing a little bit choppy at times. The author uses short sentences when a few connecting words like e.g. "because", "due to", would have made understanding a little easier. Also, examples are not integrated optimally into the text so that there seems to be a gap between abstract conceptual explanations and the examples.

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  • Everyday life in the modern world (Harper torchbooks, TB1608)



    Everyday life in the modern world (Harper torchbooks, TB1608)
    Henri Lefebvre | 1971-01-01 00:00:00 | Harper & Row | 0 | Subjects
    Basing his discussion on everyday life in France, Lefebvre shows the degree to which our lived-in world and sense of it are shaped by decisions about which we know little and in which we do not participate.

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    L. Costaz - Grammaire Syriaque



    L. Costaz - Grammaire Syriaque
    | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | | 0 | Others
    L. Costaz - Grammaire Syriaque
    Dar el-Machret Sarl: Beyrouth | ISBN: 2721470035 | 1992 | PDF | 263 pages | 15.90 Mb
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    More No Holds Barred Fighting: Killer Submissions (No Holds Barred Fighting series)



    More No Holds Barred Fighting: Killer Submissions (No Holds Barred Fighting series)
    Mark Hatmaker,Doug Werner | 2003-06-01 00:00:00 | Tracks Publishing | 208 | Martial Arts
    This advanced guide to submission wrestling-the underlying fighting skill associated with such events as the Ultimate Fighting Championships, the King of the Cage, and the Pride Fighting Championships-continues the straightforward, pragmatic approach to ultimate-fighting instruction begun in No Holds Barred Fighting. A review of the basics is provided, followed by more of everything-more takedowns, more takedown defenses, more ground positioning, more submissions, more escapes, and more drills. The cross-disciplinary approach develops physical and mental endurance, total body flexibility and agility, explosive functional strength, and a thorough knowledge of body mechanics and dynamics. Useful lists of related web sites, publications, instructional videos, and other training resources are provided.
    Reviews
    I agree w some of the other reviewers here in that the book has decent wrestling and some good training for breathing, but the submissions wouldnt work against an actual trained grappler. The techniques are more flashy looking, and contain technical flaws. Im an MMA instructor and have trained in various grappling arts for years. I received this book as a gift, and decided to check it out. Although it does have some good basic info for a beginner, there are many other books out there that show much better, more realistic jiujitsu/submissions (Submission Grappling by Royler Gracie is one recommendation). Stick with the true basics, spend a little more money, and get another resource.
    Reviews
    This book from Mark Hatmaker covers submission chains from various positions.



    Most of the chains involve a lot of ground movement and wrestling, which is quite good actually.



    Quite frankly, most of the submissions shown would qualify as "show holds". Meaning that they only work with compliant partners. The high percentage holds he does show all have errors. For example, he shows a juji-gatame armbar from teh mounted position. He isolates the arm he wants to lock, then steps around his opponents head, falling back and taking the armbar. The problem is, he doesnt' clamp his legs together to prevent his opponent from escaping until the last step. This is a white belt mistake in both Judo and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Any halfway competant grappler, and many incompetant grapplers that simply resist will be able to get theri elbow out of position to be barred. Another example is his squatting series (essentially mount attacks) and armbar helpers series. Every armbar is shown with his legs loose, leaving his opponent ample opportunity to escape.



    His Hanging leg lock series is completely rubbish. He actually shows the figure four leg lock from pro wrestling! Which requires you to control both of your opponents legs, step through them, then fold his legs around and tuck them under one another, all without your opponent resisting. He also shows a boston crab, which requires you to turn your opponent over, something no whitebelt would allow to happen. Typically, standing leg locks don't work well because you tend to get swept from that position almost automatically. His lullaby chain (rear naked strangle chain) does nothing to control the body of his opponent, menaing they could simply stand or turn into the attack and defeat it by taking top position in guard.



    Overall, I would NOT recommend this book to anyone for it's submission content, however, it does have some good ground movement techniques that a non grappling student might not know.
    Reviews
    mark hatmaker did it again. another very good book on NHB. mark is a credible author who can share his knowledge easily and practical. a 5 star rating was given for a very good author and NHB practitioner. hoping for more books to come
    Reviews
    With so many excellent books and DVD series on grappling available today, I do not think anyone should even consider buying this book.



    The author, Mark Hatmaker, is a complete unknown in the grappling and mixed martial arts world. He never (never!) competed in MMA, and even he on his website does not claim to have won (or, for that matter, participated in) any grappling tournaments. Some people are better at teaching than competing, but they at least try to compete. Mark does not try to compete... and he does not have any successful students either. I suppose, those who can't do and can't teach either ... write books instead.



    This book can easily show why Hatmaker hasn't been successful - he knows "moves", but he does not really know the grappling basics that would allow him to execute these moves against a fully resisting opponent. The picture on the front cover (the one you probably see on the top of this page), could be an illustration to "Common positioning mistakes on the white belt level". The most obvious tell is that his right leg is way too loose - the heel needs to be right up against the opponents body, squeezing it for control. It is extremely important to control your opponent in a No-GI match, since people get very slippery. No technical grappler of note would ever sit like that. I am not even talking about the fact that his left leg is completely out of position (was it an attempt to show the grimacing face of his opponent?) and that his right hand appears to have slipped off his bicep (which it was supposed to cup).



    If you are not completely convinced, look at the photo on the back - Mark pays a lot of attention to his hand positioning... while being *completely* out of position himself, with his legs thrown loosely around his opponent, he is sitting away, and his chest is barely touching the opponents shoulder. This is so far away from the tight control of the opponent's body he should be showing, it is nothing short of amazing that Mark actually considered teaching grappling.



    My advice - do not even look at this book, it will do you more harm than good.



    The reviewer is a nationally ranked U.S. grappling competitor.
    Reviews
    Let me just say this..... I really like this book.



    It doesn't just pick up where the last one left off. It takes the game to a whole new place. The crux of this book for me, was the submission chains.



    Hatmaker explains how to combined techniques into chains to keep the pressure on. Takedowns to controls, controls to submissions, subs to ther subs. Basically, he teaches you some chains and how to create your own.



    This is a subject Hatmaker is well versed in. He is a more intellectual type than many of the naturally gifted World Champion competitors you can get instructionals from.



    Hatmaker knows what works. And he knows what works for you and me, not Roger Gracie. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't trade my Jiu Jitsu in for the world. However, these books have given me a perspective that has helped me create my own style and helped me greatly in BJJ, Judo, Sub Grappling and MMA.

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    Type 2 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents: A Global Perspective



    Type 2 Diabetes in Children and Adolescents: A Global Perspective
    Martin Silink,Kaichi Kida,Arlan L. Rosenbloom | 2003-08-28 00:00:00 | Informa Healthcare | 272 | Diabetes
    Third author, Arlan L. Rosenbloom, is with Univ. of Florida, Gainesville. Provides a comprehensive review of current research and developments and addresses the interrelationship of diabetes, obesity, insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome; clinical and diagnostic issues; epidemiology, pathophysiology, and genetics; and treatment.

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    Atlas of the Newborn Volume 4: Dermatology and Perinatal Infection



    Atlas of the Newborn Volume 4: Dermatology and Perinatal Infection
    Arnold J. Rudolph M.D.,Arnold J. Rudolph MD,Arnold J. Rudolph MD | 1997-04-04 00:00:00 | pmph usa | 155 | Internal Medicine
    This is part of a spectacular 5-volume set representing the life work of the most meticulous photographic archivist in neonatology. Over the course of 40 years, Dr. Rudolph collected photographs of virtually every disease, disorder, and condition affecting the newborn. Collectively they act as a uniquely powerful diagnostic tool.

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    Teaching, Learning and Study Skills: A Guide for Tutors (Sage Study Skills Series)



    Teaching, Learning and Study Skills: A Guide for Tutors (Sage Study Skills Series)
    Tom Burns,Sandra Sinfield | 2004-09-17 00:00:00 | Sage Publications Ltd | 288 | Education
    This is a book for tutors, lecturers and teachers in further and higher education, who need to teach their students how to study, learn and communicate effectively. Based around the same techniques and contents as the tutors earlier book Essential Study Skills (SAGE 2003) which is itself based on many years experience of teaching and mentoring students in higher education, this book is intended to work with traditional and non-traditional students.

    The material will be suitable for institutions concerned with widening participation; with student retention; with quality enhancement; with equal opportunities and with professional /staff development.

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    Linking Education Policy to Labor Market Outcomes (Directions in Development)



    Linking Education Policy to Labor Market Outcomes (Directions in Development)
    Tazeen Fasih | 2008-04-09 00:00:00 | World Bank Publications | 96 | Economics
    Linking Education Policy to Labor Market Outcomes examines current research and new evidence from Ghana and Pakistan representative of two of the poorest regions of the world to assess how education can increase income and help people move out of poverty. This book indicates that in addition to early investments in cognitive and noncognitive skills which produce a high return and lower the cost of later educational investment by making learning at later ages more efficient quality, efficiency, and linkages to the broader macro-economic context also matter. Education and relevant skills are still the key determinants of good labor market outcomes for individuals. However, education policies aimed at improving skills will have a limited effect on the incomes of that skilled workforce or on the performance of a national economy if other policies that increase the demand for these skills are not in place. For education to contribute to national economic growth, policies should aim at improving the quality of education by spending efficiently and by adapting the basic and postbasic curricula to develop the skills increasingly demanded on the global labor market, including critical thinking, problem solving, social behavior, and information technology.

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    The Sea Rover's Practice: Pirate Tactics and Techniques, 1630-1730



    The Sea Rover's Practice: Pirate Tactics and Techniques, 1630-1730
    Benerson Little | 2007-01-01 00:00:00 | Potomac Books | 320 | History
    For those who love historical texts, but sometimes have a hard time weeding thru the period language, overly technical jargon and miles of microfiche, this book is a real blessing. The author not only deals with the methods of tracking, chasing and boarding prey, but goes happily in-depth about the people who follow the "sweet trade". He covers the buccaneer lifestyle on land as well as at sea, the events leading up to their rise in influence in the Caribbean, and goes into clothing, food, religion, heirarchy, weapons, flags,choice of ships and cultural relationships.
    I picked up this book primarily to confirm or disprove my theories on individual weapons combat during boarding actions and while the techniques are not played up in any great detail,citing the use of powder and grenades over cutlass and knife, the reasonings behind what weapons were used and how unorthodox hand to hand combat could be in closed quarters are sound.
    Overall a very enjoyable and informative book!
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    L'ABC du verger - Geste par geste



    L'ABC du verger - Geste par geste
    | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | | 0 | Others
    L'ABC du verger - Geste par geste
    PDF | French | 215 pages | Rustica editions | ISBN: 2840386992 | 50.6 MB
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    Dynamical Systems: Examples of Complex Behaviour



    Dynamical Systems: Examples of Complex Behaviour
    Jurgen Jost | 2005-01-01 00:00:00 | Springer | 189 | Mathematics
    This book presents a survey of the field of dynamical systems and its significance for research in complex systems and other fields, based on a careful analysis of specific important examples. It also explains the fundamental underlying mathematical concepts, with a particular focus on invariants of dynamical systems, including a systematic treatment of Morse-Conley theory. Entropy and related concepts in the topological, metric, measure theoretic and smooth settings and some connections with information theory are discussed, and cellular automata and random Boolean networks are presented as specific examples.
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    Petroleum Engineering Handbook V1


    Petroleum Engineering Handbook V1
    John R. Fanchi, | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | | 1 | Other Engineering
    Petroleum Engineering Handbook V1
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    Bravo Two Zero



    Bravo Two Zero
    Andy McNab | 1994-01-01 00:00:00 | Bantam Doubleday Dell | 411 | Non-fiction
    This book is the true story of operation gone horribly wrong during the Gulf War. An eight-man team of the elite British Special Air Service were dropped by helicopter into the desert of western Iraq, each carrying well over 200 lbs. of equipment. Their mission was to watch a road for military traffic and hunt for mobile Iraqi SCUD missile launchers. They were soon discovered by a local shepherd boy. The local Iraqi militia were called out, and the poop hit the fan.

    Their radios didn't work, and so they had no way to call for an extraction. They decided to trek 100 miles west to the Syrian border. But one man had injured his leg during the evasion of the Iraqi forces. Another had been wearing his thermal underwear since the compromise, and so had sweating profusely the entire time and was now dangerously dehydrated. How any managed to survive is a true testament to the power of the human will, and to the rigorous standards to which the SAS trains its men.

    The overall book is excellent. McNab has put together one of the most readable military stories I've ever come across. It's a cliche, but this book is a real page-turner. There's military jargon galore, but he usually explains it for the layman reader. A glossary at the back helps with that, and with some of the British army slang, but the regular British stuff you have to figure out by context.

    It's the little things McNab adds that make this book so readable and "enjoyable," (if you can use that word about a book in which a man describes himself and his friends being tortured, and some dying gruesome deaths.) To a military professional, the tactics and gear of the SAS are an interesting part of the book. [To my grunt bubbas, make sure to check out the pictures of the packs and gear they carried.] But even the average person can find things to identify with in the book: The joking between the members of the patrol, even after they've been discovered; The story about the old Iraqi farmer who they run into while escaping. There are others, but I won't spoil the entire book for you.

    This is one of the most no-holds-barred looks at warfare I've ever read. The only book I can compare it to, for realism and readability purposes, is "Nam" by Mark Baker. If you enjoy military books, or true stories of adventure and survival against all odds, you'll like this book.

    BTW, if you already read this book, McNab's account of his life before the Gulf War, "Immediate Action," would be well worth your time also. I've also heard the BBC (or some British TV station) did an excellent movie version of this story, starring Sean Bean ("Sharpe" movies, "GoldenEye,") as McNab. I haven't seen it, but that'd probably be worth checking out, too.
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    Build Strong Healthy Feet



    Build Strong Healthy Feet
    Patricia Bragg | 2004-01-01 00:00:00 | Bragg Health Sciences | 168 | Health and Care
    This book covers the many functions of our feet and their relationship to the body's other systems. With proper care our feet can remain fit for a lifetime.
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    The Good Fight Continues: World War II Letters From the Abraham Lincoln Brigade



    The Good Fight Continues: World War II Letters From the Abraham Lincoln Brigade
    Michael Nash,Melvin Small | 2006-10-01 00:00:00 | NYU Press | 300 | United States

    Written with passion and intelligence, the letters of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade in World War II express the raw idealism of anti-fascist soldiers who experienced the war in boot camps, cockpits, and foxholes, but never lost sight of the great global issues at stake.

    When the United States entered World War II on December 7, 1941, only one group of American soldiers had already confronted the fascist enemy on the battlefield: the U.S. veterans of the Lincoln Brigade, a volunteer army of about 2,800 men and women who had enlisted to defend the Spanish Republic from military rebels during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). They fought on the losing side.

    After Pearl Harbor, Lincoln Brigade veterans enthusiastically joined the U.S. Army, welcoming this second chance to fight against fascism. However, the Lincoln recruits soon encountered suspicious military leaders who questioned their patriotism and denied them promotions and overseas assignments, foreshadowing the political persecution of the postwar Red Scare. African American veterans who fought in fully integrated units in Spain, faced second-class treatment in America's Jim Crow army. Nevertheless, the Lincolns served with distinction in every theater of the war and won a disproportionate number of medals for courage, dedication, and sacrifice.

    The 154 letters in this volume, selected from thousands held in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives at NYU's Tamiment Library, provide a new and unique perspective on aspects of World War II.



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    Marine Ecosystems and Global Change



    Marine Ecosystems and Global Change
    Manuel Barange,John G. Field,Roger P. Harris,Eileen E. Hofmann,R. Ian Perry,Francisco Werner | 2010-04-19 00:00:00 | Oxford University Press, USA | 464 | Conservation
    Global environmental change (including climate change, biodiversity loss, changes in hydrological and biogeochemical cycles, and intensive exploitation of natural resources) is having significant impacts on the world's oceans. This book advances knowledge of the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems, and their past, present, and future responses to physical and anthropogenic forcing. It illustrates how climate and humans impact marine ecosystems, providing a comprehensive review of the physical and ecological processes that structure marine ecosystems as well as the observation, experimentation, and modelling approaches required for their study. Recognizing the interactive roles played by humans in using marine resources and in responding to global changes in marine systems, the book includes chapters on the human dimensions of marine ecosystem changes and on effective management approaches in this era of rapid change. A final section reviews the state of the art in predicting the responses of marine ecosystems to future global change scenarios with the intention of informing both future research agendas and marine management policy.

    Marine Ecosystems and Global Change provides a detailed synthesis of the work conducted under the auspices of the Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (GLOBEC) programme. This research spans two decades, and represents the largest, multi-disciplinary, international effort focused on understanding the impacts of external forcing on the structure and dynamics of global marine ecosystems.

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    Counterexamples in Topological Vector Spaces (Lecture Notes in Mathematics)



    Counterexamples in Topological Vector Spaces (Lecture Notes in Mathematics)
    S.M. Khaleelulla | 1982-07-20 00:00:00 | Springer | 208 | Mathematics

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    The Lazy Man's Way To Riches


    The Lazy Man's Way To Riches
    Joe Carbo | 1973-01-01 00:00:00 | | 56 | Finances and Money
    Bringing this world famous work, together with its examples, case histories and so very much more has been not only a considerable task, but also a joy, to which I would welcome and in fact encourage your discussions, comments and reactions.
    JOE
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    Fundamentals of Composite Materials



    Fundamentals of Composite Materials
    Vincent K. Choo | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | Knowen Academic Press, Incorporated | 313 | Engineering

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    Sefer Yesira



    Sefer Yesira
    A. Peter Hayman | 2004-11-30 00:00:00 | Mohr Siebeck GmbH & Co. K | 206 | Subjects

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    Advanced Crime Scene Photography



    Advanced Crime Scene Photography
    Christopher D Duncan | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 | CRC Press | 339 | Photography
    This is a great book for anyone in the field to have on hand. It is perfect for the beginner crime scene investigator as well as the seasoned veteran; for the prosecutor or homicide investigator looking to learn more about how or why certain photos at crime scenes are taken and used; for a criminal justice student wanting to get a leg up in the field, or anyone interested in forensic photography. This book is great to carry along to scenes to reference when you encounter situations not common enough to practice with any real frequency. Just having this book within reach will boost your photographic confidence. I highly recommend it.
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    Algorithmische Zahlentheorie.



    Algorithmische Zahlentheorie.
    Otto Forster | 1996-10-01 00:00:00 | Vieweg Verlagsgesellschaft | 278 | Subjects

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    Physics Demystified: A Self-Teaching Guide



    Physics Demystified: A Self-Teaching Guide
    Stan Gibilisco | 2002-01-01 00:00:00 | McGraw-Hill Professional; 1 edition | 599 | Physics
    Now anyone with an interest in the physical sciences can master physics - without formal training or drowning in a sea of complicated formulas and equations.

    * Unlike most books on the topic, this one utilizes a "top down" approach--general concepts are presented first and details follow
    * For the most user-friendly and clear style possible, formulas and equations are used when necessary, but mathematics does not overwhelm the presentation
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    Marine Optics (Journal of Organometallic Chemistry Library)



    Marine Optics (Journal of Organometallic Chemistry Library)
    N. G. Jerlov | 1900-01-01 00:00:00 | Elsevier Science & Technology | 231 | Geology

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    Environment Concerns in Rights-of-Way Management 8th International Symposium



    Environment Concerns in Rights-of-Way Management 8th International Symposium
    John W. Goodrich-Mahoney,Lawrence Abrahamson,Jennifer Ballard,Susan Tikalsky | 2008-03-20 00:00:00 | Elsevier Science | 855 | Public Policy
    The management of rights-of-way by electric and telephone utilities, highway departments, gas pipeline companies, and railroads around the world is guided and constrained by policies and regulations to protect the environment. Companies that manage rights-of-way are required to comply with these regulations, and are seeking the most cost-effective management practices which, at the same time, demonstrate stewardship of the environment. Protection of biodiversity and sustainable development are especially important as national goals in many countries, and rights-of-way managers are seeking practical ways to include public participation in their operations.

    * Addresses environmental issues in rights-of-way planning and management
    * Provides a forum for information exchange among various agencies, industries, environmental consultants, and academic organizations
    * Presents peer-reviewed papers to help achieve a better understanding of current environmental issues involved in rights-of-way management

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    The Twitter Book



    The Twitter Book
    | 2009-05-26 00:00:00 | | 0 | Web


    This practical guide will teach you everything you need to know to quickly become a Twitter power user, including strategies and tactics for using Twitter's 140-character messages as a serious--and effective--way to boost your business. Co-written by Tim O'Reilly and Sarah Milstein, widely followed and highly respected Twitterers, the practical information in The Twitter Book is presented in a fun, full-color format that's packed with helpful examples and clear explanations.

    Twitter Tips

    1. Even if you use Twitter primarily to post information that?s not directly about your company, you can?and should?use it to sometimes link back to your own site or blog. Many companies find that Twitter can become a top referrer to their sites, so avail yourself of that benefit?just do it in a smart way. The key is to frame the link in a way that?s interesting to your Twitter followers. So instead of saying, ?New Blog Post: Mundane Headline, http://yourblog.com,? try something like the examples here, each of which links back to the Bigelow Tea blog.

    2. If you?re looking to get the most out of Twitter, don?t fall into the trap of posting an RSS feed of headlines from your site or blog. Although there are services that will automate such a connection for you, they simply help you create an impersonal account that duplicates the main feature of an RSS reader. Why bother?

    Four Important Things to Search For

    If you want really useful search results from Twitter, you have to spend some time playing with the advanced search options to figure out the relevant terms and topics people are talking about. Here are four topics to get you started: 1. Your name. It may be known as a ?vanity search,? but keeping an eye on what people say about you is a smart idea. (Don?t forget that putting quotes around your name can help refine the results. Search for ?Jane Doe? instead of Jane Doe.) 2. Your Twitter account name. Don?t miss messages to or about you. 3. Your company, brand or product. Peek into the minds of customers, competitors, journalists and other key constituents. If you?re a local business, use the advanced search ?Location? option to narrow down results. Also, if your company name is common, use the minus sign to weed out inappropriate results. For instance, if you work for Kaiser Permanente, search for Kaiser -Chiefs to make sure messages about the band don?t overwhelm your results. (Here, a targeted search yields some relevant results.) 4. Your competitors. Get market intel and ideas.



    User review
    Good introduction, but will be outdated quickly
    A good introduction to Twitter and many of the 3rd party tools that have sprung up around it. Definitely aimed at novice users. Also, I suspect this book will be dated quickly simply because the Twitter universe is evolving so rapidly that many of the tools mentioned will be superseded by better tools and the Twitter API itself is also evolving, helping to spawn more tools and features.


    So if you are considering this book and it is more than 12 months old and there hasn't been a 2nd edition, I would probably look for something more recent.

    User review
    The Twitter Book
    Because I was a history major in college, and am approaching 60 years old, I needed this basic text. It makes Twittering simple to do, and explains the proper etiquette for `twittering`. Who would have thought that an Internet microblog site could be good for business?


    For any skeptics of the power of the Internet, I say either get on board or get left behind.


    William C. Head

    Attorney at Law

    Atlanta, GA

    [,,.]



    User review
    Learn What You Need to Know About Twitter in 90 min
    I am a person who is new to Twitter and still a Twitter skeptic. While this book didn't convert me (that wasn't the book's intention) it did a wonderful job of demystifying this new world.


    Pros

    1. The Twitter Book's strengths are in its brevity and structure. Most topics are covered in one page and it is just enough info to give you a good primer on each topic. From there you can take the tools & links it provides and dig deeper.


    2. Clearly explained the lingo and jargon which was extremely help to a casual user like myself.


    3. Very timely, all the examples and references are still fresh.


    Cons

    1. Unfortunately, this book won't age well. Things are changing so fast in the social media world that in another 6-12 months many of the examples and references may seem stale. Let's hope the sales of this version are enough to justify frequent revisions.


    In conclusion, give the book a shot, you'll get enough tips and pointers from it to make it worth your while.



    User review
    The right info, the right depth
    I used this to get started as newbie, but with some smarts about communication, and I found this book a marvelous blend of form and function. Every question, big or little, was answered quickly, and I found myself putting unexpected functions to work smoothly. I think this works best for learning-while-twittering, which is what Twitter is all about (and I'm a when-all-else-fails-read-the-manual guy, anyway). The emphasis is on Twitter itself, rather than other platforms like Tweetie or TweetDeck, which I found myself using almost immediately, but getting comfortable with the basic tools was the point I think. I ordered other books on Twitter, and this was the only one I really used.

    User review
    twitter explained in detail
    `Really useful book to get you up to speed on Twitter. Grab this book before you get started, and avoid a lot of wasted time and mistakes. Also, helps you navigate the twitter subculture, so you'll finally understand hashtags, FF, RT, et al.`


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