International Tax Avoidance and Evasion: Four Related Studies (Issues in International Taxation, No 1)

Book Description

Daigo is fresh out of the fire fighting training academy and has been newly assigned to the Medaka-GA-Hama fire station. Cocky and overconfident, Digo goes out on a few calls and is quickly humbled. He's still got a lot to learn before he can call himself a true firefighter. What he does have is an uncanny abillity to save lives. BUt with his unorthobox methods and lack of disclipline, is Daigo more of a liability than asset?

Amazon.com

Good parody often feels like one big inside joke, and Primal Whimper certainly qualifies. Anyone who's spent part of his workday between someone else's ears--whether a novice Psych 101 student or a Ph.D.--is sure to enjoy this collection of extracts from the Journal of Polymorphous Perversity (J. P. P.). For years, J. P. P. editor Glenn Ellenbogen has been coaxing parody articles from that rarest of beasts: academics with senses of humor. This material is terrifically authentic, but the language sometimes obscures the joke for those of us who haven't read Freud recently. However, this is not always the case, as evidenced by this send-up of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, the granddaddy of all personality tests:
"Answer each item T(rue) or F(alse):

I am easily awakened by the firing of cannons.
I believe I am following others.
I was not very strict with my parents.
I try to steal people's thoughts and ideas when they are not looking.
I am sexually attracted to beings from outer space..."

This collection of fake essays (with titles such as "The Academic Oedipal Crisis: An Experimental Investigation of the Need of Assistant Professors to Kill Their Departmental Chairman") will make the perfect gift for your therapist.

Customer Reviews:

Ups and downs.......2000-05-14

This book is like an _Onion_ for the head-shrinking field, and, like the _Onion_, it has pieces that work, and pieces that don't. The ones that do are hilarious; the ones that don't are embarrassing. Recommended for psych students and those with a strong interest in the topic.. others might be a little nonplussed

The Primal Whimper, More Readings from the Journal of Polymorphous Perversity

Average customer rating:

The Primal Whimper, More Readings from the Journal of Polymorphous Perversity
Glenn C.-Ph.D. Ellenbogen
Manufacturer: The Guilford Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000H5AXPK

Book Description

Collected primarily in metropolitan New York and Philadelphia during the classic era of black "street poetry" (i.e., during the late 1960s and early 1970s) these raps, signifyings, toasts, boasts, jokes and children's rhymes will delight general readers as well as scholars. Ranging from the simple rhymes that accompany children's games to verbally inventive insults and the epic exploits of traditional characters like Shine and Stagger Lee, these texts sound the deep rivers of culture, echoing two continents. Onwuchekwa Jemie's introductory essay situates them in a globally pan-African context and relates them to more recent forms of oral culture such as rap and spoken word.

Book Description

"Network+ 2005 In Depth" gives you all the skills that you need to pass the CompTIA 2005 Network+ exam. Begin with an introduction to the fundamental building blocks that form a modern network, such as protocols, topologies, hardware, and network operating systems. Then, dive into the most important concepts in contemporary networking, such as client/server architecture, TCP/IP, Ethernet, wireless transmission, and security. When you are finished, you will be prepared to select the best network design, hardware, and software for your environment. You will also have the skills to build a network from scratch and maintain, upgrade, and troubleshoot an existing network. CoursePrep Exam Guide available on Companion Web Site!

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Preparation.......2007-10-02

I am multi-certified and also teach networking technology. This book is a very good introduction to networking and very well organized and reasoned. It does have a few typos, but I have never seen a technical book that did not (and I am a technical editor as well).

This book is good prep for the exam. If you are a very experienced and trained IT pro (with perhaps two or three years under your belt) there are better choices, but if you are trying to enter the field with only home computing skills or desktop skills you cant go wrong with this book.

Excellent self study resource.......2007-08-20

This book, combined with Network+ 2005 Q&A, was my primary resource for Network+ certification prep. Prior to picking up this book, my knowledge of networking was virtually zero. Upon completion of this book, I was able to passed the Network+ certification exam first time out. This book is not an easy read, but contains all the information you will need to know to achieve certification. I recommend it highly.

Network +2005 in Depth.......2007-02-11

This is not only a book but an encyclopedia,everything you need to know about networking is here" it should be called " the network dictionarry"

For newbies to Networking.......2006-04-25

If you are brand new to the world of network administration this is the book for you. It covers everything IN DEPTH, and will give you enough knowledge to function as a Junior Network Admin. It will give you the answers to questions most other books will not. This book is more of a text book for Network Administration as well as a cert guide. For those who are looking for a more "refresher book" or have been in the field for awhile, I recommend something that gets more down to the necessities of the test. I found this book a long read and since I have been in the Networking field for well over 4 years I switched to the Sybex 4th. edition. I still use this book as a reference book for things I don't understand and for real life issues.

Pretty good book.......2006-03-22

I got my net+ certification by using this book as my main source, along with some online q&a tests. It's not the greatest network+ book ever, but if you want to know the basics of networking (and want to be network+ certified) without spending too much money, then this book it's for you. If you want something more than that, look for another book.

Amazon.com

Set in the late 19th century, The Last Crossing, Guy Vanderhaeghe's first novel since his acclaimed Englishman's Boy, is the story of three well-off English brothers: twins Simon and Charles Gaunt and their elder sibling, Addington, a former soldier and an arrogant scoundrel. At the behest of their dictatorial father, Charles and Addington travel the prairies of the U.S. and Canada in search of sensitive Simon, who has disappeared. Much of the novel concerns their journeys--bottles of port and claret rattling in their wagons--through Indian country with a cast of intricately drawn, fully realized characters. The small troupe is led through the whiskey-coloured light by Jerry Potts, a half-breed with one foot firmly in each world. The heart of the plot involves the love that Charles, a painter, feels for Lucy Stoveall, a simple but lovely country woman who accompanies them, secretly intent on avenging her sister's murder. However, the most intriguing character in this marvelous collection of all-too-human personalities is Custis Straw, a Bible-reading, heavy-drinking Civil War veteran who hides his tremendous dignity behind a bumbling facade, and who also loves Lucy.

Vanderhaeghe's rich language reveals a genuine feel for the prairies and their rough settlements: "a boom town draws rogues like a jam jar draws wasps," he writes, and describes "miles of wet plain patched with apple green, new penny copper, glints of silver." Though this is a Western in the traditional sense, Vanderhaeghe never sinks into parody. Rather, he uses the Western motif to reveal a number of profound universal truths about personal honour, and human failings and strengths. His humane character depictions reach emotional depths found in few novels today. --Mark Frutkin, Amazon.ca

Book Description

The Last Crossing is a sweeping tale of breathtaking quests, adventurous detours, and hard-won redemption. Englishmen Charles and Addington Gaunt are ordered by their tyrannical industrialist father to find their brother Simon, who has gone missing in the wilds of the American West. Charles, a disillusioned artist, and Addington, a disgraced military captain, set off to remote Fort Benton on the edge of the Montana frontier. The brothers hire the enigmatic Jerry Potts, a half Blackfoot, half Scot guide, to lead them North, where Simon was last seen. Addington takes command of the mission, buying enough provisions to fill two wagons, and hires sycophantic journalist Caleb Ayto to record the journey for posterity. As the party heads out, it grows to include the fiery Lucy Stoveall, Civil War veteran Custis Straw, and saloonkeeper Aloysius Dooley. This unlikely posse becomes entangled in an unfolding drama that forces each one of them to confront personal demons. Told from alternating points of view with vivid flashbacks, The Last Crossing is a novel of ruggedness and salvation, an epic masterpiece set in a time when worlds collided, were destroyed, and were built anew.

Customer Reviews:

Too intense for me.......2007-09-18

I'll admit up front that I only read the first 50 pages, but I just couldn't keep reading it because of its graphic nature. I think the author is highly intelligent, and I have a hunch the book is masterfully crafted, I've heard nothing but great comments about his talent. So this review is by no means a fully-informed one. I just wanted to tag a warning for those people who enjoy a well-written book minus the shock value. I figured if I couldn't get through 50 pages without detailed sex, murder and rape, it wasn't worth it to keep going.

The Gaunts Put the 'Dis' in Dysfunctional.......2006-09-06

Young Englishman Simon Gaunt, religious zealot, has gone missing in the Old American West (specifically Canada). Dear old dad Henry, the overbearing so-and-so, sends older brother Addington and Simon's twin Charles in search. These folks put the `dis' in a dysfunctional family. Addington, a self-centered martinet, loves only himself and his pleasures and timid Charles, an aspiring artist, seems not to know what he wants. They hire Jerry Potts, a real-life Canadian frontiersman (Vanderhaeghe is Canadian) to help find Simon and meet up with a collection of society's castoffs and loose ends and form an odd posse.

To some readers, calling this book Western literature might be a put off or a putdown - I happen to love Western writing (A.B. Guthrie and Larry McMurtry to name two) - so let's just call it literature set in the Old West. Vanderhaeghe is a tremendously talented writer.

Highly recommended for fans of Western literature or just fine writing of any kind.

Great read. Definitely recommended.......2006-06-13

Richly painted and diverse characters fill a story highlighting American and Canadian Western Frontier history. A nearly boiling-over melting pot of Englishmen, Scots, Americans, Native Americans, men and women, and mixes in between. Wonderful writing style that moves along at a great pace while spending time diving deep into the people and places that make up the tale.

Won't Find Better Writing.......2005-03-09

You won't be able to find any better writing than this. Frequently I had to stop just to admire the wordsmithing I had just encountered. Mr. Vanderhaeghe has an unparelleled ability to use metaphors, similes and simple words to describe something so vividly that you think you are looking at the object rather than a page in abook.

The story line is a young, idealistic Englishman gets lost in America. At the urging of their tyrannical father his two brothers search Montana and into Canada for him. Along the way they are joined by a Civil War veteran and a woman who are key players and a few ancillary characters. There are interactions with Indians throughout, but not of the cowboy and Indian type.

The tale is spun by the characters themselves, flashing from one to another. Occasionally a third person narrative is interjected to move the plot along. The author gets the different voices of the characters well so it is easy to maintain the identity of the speaker.

The historical context and relations with the Indians of the area are captured well. There is a love triangle and a character or two going over the edge. Sibling rivalries and love are explored deeply.

In addition to the fine writing, the author is terrific at developing the characters. Early on, the reader feels that he knows all of them, which always adds to a book. The dialogue between them is colorful and believeable. Often in a book such as this the first person narratives do not work because the author embues the speaker with too much knowledge or intelligence to be believable. Mr. Vanderhaege does not fall into the trap. The thoughts of each are credible and fit their personalities.

My only criticism of the book is that there are a few slow spots that are long enough to detract from the story line and the book as a whole. Even in the areas that are not so well paced, however, the writing continues to be absolutely wonderful. If there were half stars this would be be four and one half.

This is strongly recommended for the writing first, the characters second and the story line third.

An interesting Mix.......2005-02-18

Historical fiction with a modern eye overseeing all. Learned about some new people, but the pacing left a lot to be desired.

Average customer rating:

The Last Crossing: A Historical Novel
Ronald J. Baldwin
Manufacturer: Xlibris Corporation
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | World | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1413453848

Book Description

This completely revised second edition presents an introduction to statistical pattern recognition. Pattern recognition in general covers a wide range of problems: it is applied to engineering problems, such as character readers and wave form analysis as well as to brain modeling in biology and psychology. Statistical decision and estimation, which are the main subjects of this book, are regarded as fundamental to the study of pattern recognition. This book is appropriate as a text for introductory courses in pattern recognition and as a reference book for workers in the field. Each chapter contains computer projects as well as exercises.

Customer Reviews:

A best book on Statistical Pattern Recognition.......2005-09-13

Multivariate analysis is borrowed to name a NEW subject, Statistical Pattern Recognition (SPR). Many statisticians think it unfair or a shame. In spite of these, it is a good reference book of SPR. :-)

[1] Many contents of this book can be found in any graduate textbook of Multivariate Analysis, for instance, Fisher's linear disciminant, etc.
[2] The book is badly printed. Why not using LaTeX?
[3] Guassian distribution is assumed here and there.
[4] It may be good as a reference book, but definitely not as a textbook.

Standard reference and a classic text but with flaws.......2004-01-20

I do not like to consult this book for the following, quite superficial reason. The book is sloppily produced and proofread
(and the fault is [probably] mainly the publisher's instead of the author's). This manifests itself, e.g., as follows

(1) the typography is flawed (the equations hurt at least my eyes);
(2) at its each appearance, the all-important > < -sign goes the wrong way.

good coverage for engineers.......2000-08-04

Fukunaga is a standard source for pattern recognition methods often cited in the engineering literature. Covers parametric (particularly linear and quadratic discriminant algorithms) and nonparametric methods (density estimation). It is designed for and popular with engineers. When I was working at Nichols Research Corporation Fukunaga's papers and this book (earlier edition) were often cited as sources to justify the algorithms we used for discrimination problems. In fact Fukunaga had been a consultant to the company (used primarily by the Boston branch of the company where the KENN algorithms were developed). It is a reputable source. I still like Duda and Hart (1972) for good explanations of the fundamental concepts. For statisticians McLachlan's book is now far and away the best source.

Standard Reference in the Field.......2000-04-06

If you are writing a machine learning paper, and need to cite something to support an argument, you can almost always cite Fukunaga. This work is a standard reference in the field. The presentation of most material is very terse, but that is great if you already have a good feel for the material and need to look up some details about some algorithm or technique. There isn't much about neural networks here, but for the rest of the pattern recognition techniques, this is almost always the first place to start. Another strong point for this book is the use of realistic examples, which illustrate many of the statistical techniques.

Introduction to Statistical Pattern Recognition. Second Edition.

Average customer rating:

Introduction to Statistical Pattern Recognition. Second Edition.
Keinosuke Fukunaga
Manufacturer: see notes for publisher info
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000M4UJ82

Book Description

Mangroves are a fascinating group of plants that occur on tropical and subtropical shorelines of all continents, where they are exposed to saltwater inundation, low oxygen levels around their roots, high light and temperature conditions, and periodic tropical storms. Despite these harsh conditions, mangroves may form luxuriant forests which are of significant economic and environmental value throughout the world - they provide coastal protection and underpin fisheries and forestry operations, as well as a range of other human activities.

This book provides an up-to-date account of mangrove plants from around the world, together with silvicultural and restoration techniques, and the management requirements of these communities to ensure their sustainability and conservation.
All aspects of mangroves and their conservation are critically re-examined. Those activities which threaten their ongoing survival are identified and suggestions are offered to minimise their effects on these significant plant communities.

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