Chinese Painting and Calligraphy: A Pictoral Survey

Book Description

This series of step-by-step guides acquaints amateur digital photographers with the full spectrum of techniques and technology they need to attain the professional edge in digital imaging. The manuals offer a clear, no-nonsense approach to teaching basic skills, such as understanding the basic functions of the digital camera and how to arrange a photograph artistically, while more experienced photographers will profit from the guides that focus on complex issues, including effective posing and lighting strategies, color and image balancing methods, and design techniques for perfecting the digital image in Adobe Photoshop Elements.

Amateur photographers will learn to utilize the essential software behind breathtaking digital photography in this comprehensive guide to fabricating the perfect image. Designed to avoid technical jargon and complicated processes, this beginner's manual presents each tool and feature of Adobe Photoshop Elements in short, easy-to-digest lessons that facilitate rapid learning. Every phase of the printing process is covered, including how to use light correctly, sharpen images that are not quite focused, remove dust and scratches from scanned photos, eliminate red-eye, and crop and resize images. Pairing concise text with screen shots for every step, this handbook makes it easy to get started quickly and begin making images look their best.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic!!!.......2007-03-12

A must have for new Element users (I have 3.0 for MAC and this book is perfect for introducing all that Photoshop Elements can do!!!)

Book Description

Modern economics is like a metropolitan area. Economists' ideas about business and markets are like the magnificent buildings of the city centre. Yet most growth and prosperity is in the suburbs -- lately many of economics' greatest successes have been outside the traditional boundaries of the discipline. In the study of law, economic ideas have been the intellectual focus and `law and economics' has become a major field. In the study of politics, economists and political scientists using economics-type methods are uniquely influential. In sociology and history, economics has had a smaller but growing influence through `rational choice sociology' and `cliometrics'. The influence of the economists type thinking in other social sciences is bringing about a theoretical integration of all the social sciences under one overarching paradigm. The chapters of the book illustrate the intellectual advances that account for this unified view of economies and societies.

Customer Reviews:

Not So Dismal.......2001-03-22

Reviewer: Bill Roach (Bill@BillRoach.net)

`Traditional' economics, which focuses on overpopulation and shortages of capital and other resources, tends to offer a dismal outlook for underdeveloped countries. The title of the book stems from the premise that, if the scope of investigation is expanded to include institutions and economic policy, the outlook is less dismal. That is, changes in institutions and policies can have a very favorable impact on prospects for development in poor countries.

The book is a collection of papers by scholars in Economics, Law, Business, History and Social Sciences, on the effects of policies and institutions on development. From the preface, by Olson and Kakhonen:

"The chapters in this book illustrate the intellectual advances that are broadening economics and integrating the social sciences. They illustrate these advances in almost all of the fields in which they are occurring. This book was inspired in part by the belief that just such a book on the broader economics or integrated social sciences was needed - and that it would take a number of experts in different fields to illustrate the wide range of work being done. ... It is the shortcomings of the economic policies and institutions of the capital-short countries of the world that keep investors ... from putting much capital there. ... These shortcomings also blight the productivity of the indigenous resources of the poor countries. ... governance is a decisive determinant of economic performance, and ... with the right economic policies and institutions, countries as poor as India could grow at very rapid rates and become developed nations far sooner than is usually supposed."

From Chapter 10, by Pranab Bardhan:

"The New Institutional Economics points to some very important features of institutional failures that cause or prolong underdevelopment, particularly the legal and contractual structures and rules of third-party enforcement which are necessary for most arms-length market transactions. ... In Western societies, over time, complex institutional structures have been devised ... [which include] property rights, formal contracts and guarantees, trademarks, limited liability, bankruptcy laws, and large corporate organization with governance structures to limit problems of agency and ... of incomplete contracting and ex-post opportunism."

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Association for Evolutionary Economics on December 1, 2000. The length of the article is 1172 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: A NOT-SO-DISMAL SCIENCE: A BROADER VIEW OF ECONOMIES AND SOCIETIES.(Review) (book review)
Author: William M. Dugger
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Refereed)
Date: December 1, 2000
Publisher: Association for Evolutionary Economics
Volume: 34 Issue: 4 Page: 986

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

This book integrates recent developments and related applications in $q$-series with a historical development of the field, focusing on major breakthroughs and the author's own research interests. The author develops both the important analytic topics (Bailey chains, integrals, and constant terms) and applications to additive number theory. He concludes with applications to physics and computer algebra and a section on results closely related to Ramanujan's "Lost Notebook."

Book Description

"Women Weaving Webs: Will Women Rule the Internet" is a resource for women who want a role in shaping this new technology, as well as for those who want to use the Internet to reach women.

Although the 'Net is still male-dominated, communication in cyberspace is particularly suited to a woman's way of actingusing cooperation, collaboration, sharing and constant communication.

Dr. Clarisse Behar Molad addresses how women are using the Internet today, and how they can take charge of the "virtual global village". It includes stories of women around the worldfrom Silicon Valley to Eastern Europe, from urban Japan to rural Australiawho are discovering the power of the Internet and helping to shape its future.

Customer Reviews:

Think marketing!.......2007-04-30

When you think marketing it is always interesting who rules your market. This is a very valuable resource if your target market are women.

Book Description

In a study crucial to our understanding of American social inequality, Edna Bonacich and Richard Appelbaum investigate the return of sweatshops to the apparel industry, especially in Los Angeles. The "new" sweatshops, they say, need to be understood in terms of the decline in the American welfare state and its strong unions and the rise in global and flexible production. Apparel manufacturers now have the incentive to move production to wherever low-wage labor can be found, while maintaining arm's-length contractual relations that protect them from responsibility. The flight of the industry has led to a huge rise in apparel imports to the United States and to a decline in employment.
Los Angeles, however, remains a puzzling exception in that its industry employment has continued to grow, to the point where L.A. is the largest center of apparel production in the nation. Not only the availability of low-wage immigrant (often undocumented) workers but also the focus on moderately priced, fashion-sensitive women's wear makes this possible. Behind the Label examines the players in the L.A. apparel industry, including manufacturers, retailers, contractors, and workers, evaluating the maldistribution of wealth and power. The authors explore government and union efforts to eradicate sweatshops while limiting the flight to Mexico and elsewhere, and they conclude with a description of the growing antisweatshop movement.
Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of 2000

Customer Reviews:

A fascinating insight into a large and glamorous industry.......2002-10-29

"Los Angeles is now the apparel manufacturing center of the United States" (page 16). 2,900 sewing companies work in LA for the 185 firms. Sadly, the apparel manufactureres use sweatshops.

According to Dr. Bonacich and Dr. Appelbaum, a "sweatshop" is a factory that fails to pay a living wage and does nto allow a worker to purchase a house and health care(page 11). Sadly, workers make less than the poverty line of $7,200 a year. Hence, concerned citizens like us wonder how sweatshops come to be and exist?

Again, according to Dr. Bonacich and Dr. Appelbaum, sweatshops are caused by 1) a high turnover in styles (14), 2) low tech tools, such as sewing machines, 3) the neglect of union representation, 4) cheap start-ups in other countries, 5) cheap labor, and 6) bossy retailers. The authors write, "Thousands of contractors can produce small lots rapidly. The city's industry is primed for the production of fashion at cheap prices" (p. 18). Thus, Los Angeles is the "sweatshop capital of the U.S" (p. 19).

A city of sweatshops is not a healthy city. ""Polarization is destructive to society." A Chinese person making $25.00 a month cannot afford $100 pair of shoes" (p. 24). Furthermore, immigrants do not have access to politicians, since wealthy people can buy lobbyists and call the govenor and threaten to move the industry. 2.9 million Angelinos make less than $20,000 yr.

The solution to sweatshops is to spread the cost-cutting activities in every area of apparel manufacturing. "Yet cost cutting is never aimed at the executives professionals or profits." As a result, "the garment industry is a throwback to the earliest phases of the industrial revolution" (p. 14).

I hope the supervisors in the valuable garment industry read this fine book.

The best book on Sweatshops.......2000-07-08

This is an outstanding book that should be read by policy makers, academics, activists and elected leaders. Great effort and job. This is the best book on the subject.

Book Description

If you care for someone with a mental illness—whether as a family member, friend, or practitioner—this hands-on reference is for you. The acclaimed What Every Patient, Family, Friend, and Caregiver Needs to Know About Psychiatry is now available in a long-awaited second edition. Like the first, it is written in a simple, concise style for the layperson—and is packed with need-to-know information on adult psychiatric disorders, including their causes, approaches to treatment, and what caregivers can do to help. It is an excellent resource for therapist's waiting room.

What Every Patient, Family, Friend, and Caregiver Needs to Know About Psychiatry features a wealth of immediately usable guidance for caregivers. It's an excellent text for introduction to psychiatry classes in colleges and nursing schools for helping students develop valuable knowledge and skills to apply in practice.

This one-stop resource is the first place to turn for practical guidance for the latest research-based techniques. You'll

Get a solid understanding of the causes of psychiatric disorders, including stress, genetics and heredity, and emotional and physical problems
Develop hands-on skills for the full range of emotional and mental disorders, including psychosomatic disorders, anxiety, substance abuse, sexual problems, loss, personality and mood disorders, schizophrenia, and cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease
Find out how the psychiatrist should function in the patient-caregiver-doctor relationship—and learn how to choose a psychotherapist.

This second edition has been extensively revised and updated with new information on diagnostic techniques and brain scans, the role of genetics, new medications and psychotherapeutic approaches, and more. In addition, it features a unique and illuminating look at mental health in our post-9/11 nation, including the rising incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Whether you're a social worker or psychologist, nurse or other professional, friend or family member, you'll get a sound framework to help you achieve better results.

Caring for a person with mental illness requires knowledge, skill, understanding, and strength. What Every Patient, Family, Friend, and Caregiver Needs to Know About Psychiatry gives you a source of guidance and techniques that will make you more confident and successful in your role as practitioner or caregiver.

Book Description

A former German soldier eloquently reflects on the insidious effects of Nazi propaganda, especially on young people, citing his own experience as the son of an anti-Semitic father whom he loved deeply. Bruno Manz also recounts his wartime experiences fighting the Soviets in Finland and presents a unique perspective on the United States, to which he came in the 1950s during Operation Paperclip along with Werner von Braun and other German rocket scientists. In the epilogue he draws conclusions about Germanyâ€™s guilt and his own, baring his soul to the reader. This heartfelt memoir is for anyone who seeks to understand how a civilized people could plunge into mass insanity.

Customer Reviews:

Personal Exorcism Not Completed.......2005-10-14

This book was interesting, earnest, candid and filled with the author's personal angst for having been duped, first by his Nazi father and then by Hitler. I disagree with some of the other reviews in that I didn't find it penetrating or searing. Bruno Manz stabs but fails at soul-searching.

In some ways it is repetitive. The author explains again and again how he was brainwashed into Nazism from youth to young adulthood. He digresses into various life experiences with teachers, schools, childhood friends, military experiences and lesser details of life. All of which he thinly connects to his primary purpose for the memoir, exorcising his personal demons over blindly serving Hitler. Many of those digressions would be unremarkable without that connection. Bruno uses those vignettes to underscore that he was misguided but they fail to reveal, illuminate or prove how any particular incident, mentor or authority figure contributed to his blind devotion to Hitler. In fact, he frequently recounts how he internally rebelled against school authorities, military authorities, rules and procedures that didn't make common sense or rubbed him the wrong way. If that is so, then he should have self analyzed further to determine how and why he dismissed his conscience when it called about Hitler, the concentration camps and the Jews. He continued to follow the grand lie and served as essentially a political officer in youth organizations and later in the military. He recounts that he was never very enthusiastic and harbored doubts, yet he continuously pressed on. Example on pg 69, he describes a school director quoting Hitler's credo, "He who wants to live, let him fight. And he who does not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle does not deserve to live." Bruno expresses misgivings when the school director says that is more religion than a person would ever find in the Bible. He admits agreeing with the anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism of the director but boycotts his classes from then on. Methinks he doth protest too much.

Don't get me wrong, Bruno Manz clearly, genuinely, honestly apologizes for his personal role in Germany's evil shame. He denounces all that he was and embraces all that he has become since the war and particularly while living in America. But in the end about all that Bruno confirms is that, at least between 1915 and 1946, Germans were weak for rhetoric, easily swayed by romantic and heroic figures, and followed the crowd. He doesn't dig deep enough to reveal how that was possible. Were they greedy, mad, angry, vulnerable, ambitious, fearful, bombastic, maniacal, weak, bloodthirsty, gullible? Personally, he was swayed by Dad while impressionable and later by Hitler via Goebbels propaganda machine. OK, we already know that about every German during WWII. Bruno, why and how were you vulnerable to that when the rest of the world was not? Why do some Germans today continue to deny the Holocaust? Why is there an element that still deifies Hitler and anti-Semitism?

I suspect that Bruno cannot to this day accept his own cowardice. He never dared to disagree or question his father, although he credits his mother and older brother with being able to avoid anti-Semitic hatred and Hitler worship. He wouldn't dare question his Nazism or the Fuhrer because he very likely knew it would mean his death or imprisonment. Hmmm, that may be the self evident truth every German citizen who willingly participated in Nazism has to face. They didn't take any contrary action because it was someone else who was being victimized and they were cowards. So, while he may have achieved some catharsis, I doubt that he completely exorcised the regret and shame he aimed for. Still, the book has some value derived from its basic honesty and first person account.

Outstanding account of life in Nazi Germany.......2005-03-25

A Mind in Prison is a powerful and moving personal account of life as a committed Nazi, a soldier on the Eastern Front, and the difficult and painful realization that everything the author once stood for was evil and destructive. The candor of this book is both startling and refreshing because it gives the reader tremendous insight into the corrosive power of Nazi propaganda and ideology. For the author to admit thinking and acting like he did must have been a painful experience, but it gives this account a sharp edge of credibility that might otherwise be lacking. In fact, it is that candor that makes this story so heartrendering. The world would be a much better place if more people would break their silence about the tragedy of Nazi Germany and share their experiences and feelings as openly and sincerely as Dr. Manz has.

Important insight into the mind of a German betrayed.......2002-01-05

This book is basically the author's way of exorcising his personal demons. Manz grew up idolizing a man named Adolf Hitler, whom most Germans believed to be a sort of messiah sent to save them from the devastating poverty and national humiliation following the Treaty of Versailles. The book chronicles how Manz (and many other pro-Nazi Germans then) got to believe in the things he did, and his eventual disillusionment with the Third Reich.

Did the German civilians know about the atrocities of the concentration and extermination camps? Over the recent years, this question has loomed large in works concerning WWII in the European theater. Manz can't answer for every German during that period, but he gives us HIS story as an offering to further understanding in this matter.

This book struck a very personal chord with me. Although I was born decades after WWII, I grew up in a country where the press (in fact, every type of media - books, TV, movies, etc.) was heavily censored by the national government. The government told people what to think, what to say, when to assemble, and throws those who defy their orders in jail under the holy name of "national security". As a result, I totally understand how mind-numbing propoganda can be. A population, after all, is merely a collection of individuals living in a state. An individual's morals and personal biases are largely dependent on what information they have available to them. Hitler understood this very well, and with the help of his propoganda minister, Goebbels, managed to shape the thinking of an amazingly large portion of the German population, including the author's.

Manz is all the more convincing because he doesn't get overly apologetic, but does admit that he's not in any way proud of all that he has done (he was a Hitler Youth, and later a soldier in the German army). He feels very strongly for the victims of the Third Reich (the book is dedicated to them), and although he was never in direct contact with any official programs dealing with the "Jewish problem", regrets that he couldn't have done more.

It is very touching to read books by those who were on the "wrong" side of the war, especially those with a sense of morality (however late it surfaced) like Manz. This book is an important reminder to us of how dangerous bigotry can be, especially when it is led by an eloquent and convincing tyrant.

A glimpse into the Third Reich.......2000-09-05

Dr. Bruno Manz has written an honest, searing story of his experiences growing up in the Third Reich with a father who he loved but who was an enthusiastic Nazi. First person accounts of this quality are rare and valuable, giving those of us who are curious as to how a civilized nation like Germany could turn itself into the soulless, mechanistic killing machine it became under Hitler a look at how ordinary people contributed, by omission or commission, to the coming horror. Dr. Manz has more than atoned for his own omissions by writing this excellent, gripping book, which I recommend to anyone interested in this perplexing episode of history.

A New Perspective on Hitler's Germany.......2000-06-14

Over the years I have read several books on Hitler's rise to power and the effects his rule had on the German people and the Jews of Europe. Many, like William Shirer's "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" approached the subject from a historical point of view while "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "The Hiding Place" dealt with the personal stories of Hitler's victims. In his book "A Mind in Prison", Bruno Manz shows us a new perspective: what it was like for a young boy to grow up in Germany during the Hitler years. In this very personal autobiography, Dr. Manz describes the dominating influence of not only the social order imposed by Hitler but the anti-Jewish prejudice of a father he loved and respected. From his early years at the dawn of the Hitler era, through his time with the Hitler Youth and the German Army, to his disillusionment and subsequent redemption, Dr. Manz recounts his journey with depressing, humorous, and poignant stories. I highly recommend this book not only for those still seeking an understanding of how Hitler could have captured the minds of an entire nation, but also for those who love a well-written, personal story told with passion and compassion.

Book Description

The first comprehensive photographic guide to the birds of Indonesia ever available, this superb volume covers 686 species in one of the world's most diverse avifauna regions.

The highlight of this book is its almost 700 stunning color photographs--many appearing here for the first time. But the book also contains many other useful features, including distribution maps for all species covered and a concise but thorough text. The volume's design places photographs, text, and maps in close proximity to provide an excellent at-a-glance overview.

Attractive and easy to use, this guide is indispensable reading for all bird lovers.

Morten Strange is a professional bird photographer and writer. He lived in Singapore from 1980 to 1993 and has traveled extensively throughout Southeast Asia. He was formerly the International Officer for the Danish Ornithological Society. His photojournalism has appeared in more than 60 books and more than 100 magazine articles.

Customer Reviews:

Worth owning.......2007-06-14

This is a pretty decent field guide for the amateur birder in Indonesia. True, all of the photos are not great, but I was able to identify all of the birds I saw. The locality maps and ratings as to how common the birds were, made it much easier to identify species. And my Indonesian friends all really enjoyed it also. This book has traveled with me twice to Indonesia now, and the bindings have held up well.

Worth having but NOT as a guide.......2003-11-14

This book is worth having as a souvenir for its amazing collection of photos of Indonesian birds - many excellent, some very poor.
However it is certainly NOT a guide as claimed to be - it does not include all species, nor are the photos all good enough to make identification possible.
Another thought - Morten deserves credit for pointing out which photos were taken of captive birds! Very few photographers/books do that.

Birds of South East Asia: A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia

Average customer rating:

Birds of South East Asia: A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Indonesia
Morten Strange
Manufacturer: New Holland Publishers, Ltd.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Birdwatching | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

A Photographic Guide to Birds of Borneo (Photoguides)

Average customer rating:

Interesting sampling of about half of Borneo's 580 species

A Photographic Guide to Birds of Borneo (Photoguides)
G.W.H. Davison , and Chew Yen Fook
Manufacturer: New Holland Publishers Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Customer Reviews:

Interesting sampling of about half of Borneo's 580 species.......2005-04-03

Not a comprehensive guide by any means, this book nevertheless offers valuable info on most of the species an average birder is likely to encounter. There is one major plus behind photos rather than traditional illustrations: you get to see habitat. Right off, just by the picture, you know where to find a leafbird: in the bright green leaves high up in the canopy; you know the frogmouths will be down low camoflaged with the brown leaves; you get the idea that Bar-winged Flycatcher-Shrikes like palms... despite the fact no specific mention is made in the alongside text of preferred trees.

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