The Political Economy of Japanese Financial Markets: Myths Versus Reality (International Political Economy Series)

Customer Reviews:

A complex financial system.......2001-05-31

This a comprehensive book. However, it misses on the most critical part of the Japanese economy which impinges on its functioning. The presence of business houses with banks as one of the important constituents resulted in funds being provided at very low cost. As a result some of the marginal investment projects also qualified as a viable project. It is a simple premise : the cost of capital being low, say about three percent, the discounted value of future earning rises and this leads to their acceptance. During the upswing of the economies it is good but during the down-swing it loans going bad and to the list of non-performing-banking assets. This situation is further confounded due to inter-investment of funds. It is extremely difficult to track down the performance of the firms that have been financed. This is precisely what has happenedduring the financial crisis in Asia. The process of monitoring has been rendered difficult. Any efficient system of monitoring would have given warning signals. The other inflexibilites of the Japenese system further aggravated the problem - life long employment, seniority based promotions, created some degree of demotivation among employees. The second generation of the Japanese executives are more anxious to have promotions. They have alternative employment opportunities available to them. This has been rendered possible because of emergence of internet as a mode of recruitment used by potential employers at the global level. In recent times some Japanese firms have given up some of these rigidities. Some well known firms have retrenched workers. Mazda has a non-Japanese CEO, has promoted a 41 years old on the board of directors. The above points do not undermine contribution of the book in providing enormous information under one title.

Book Description

As copyright issues grow more complicated, this guide to US copyright law becomes ever more indispensable. The fifth edition has been updated to include recent judicial and legislative decisions concerning copyright and the debates surrounding publication on the Web and other new media. What continue to distinguish the book are the author's common sense and his ability to express complex issues and judicial decisions in language that the lay reader can understand and even enjoy.

Customer Reviews:

The Unpractical Guide is more like it.......1999-12-09

It is not easy to understand. It deals with much more international stuff than is practical. Its a reasonable book but not what is sounds like

The Copyright Book, Fifth Edition: A Practical Guide

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The Copyright Book, Fifth Edition: A Practical Guide
William S. Strong
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQHYJU

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Principles of agricultural chemistry: With special reference to the late researches made in England
Justus Liebig
Manufacturer: John Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Agricultural Sciences | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006EKNCA

Book Description

The discovery of p53 in 1979 marks the beginning of a most fascinating era of modern cancer research and molecular biology, an era that is still in full swing and does not show any signs of ending in the foreseeable future. p53 has emerged as a key tumor suppressor and important target for novel cancer therapy. For around 10 years, p53 was considered an oncogene with somewhat unusual features. However, a major paradigm shift occurred around 1988-89 when exciting new findings demonstrated that normal (wild type) p53 could inhibit transformation of cells in culture and that the p53 gene was mutated in a large fraction of human tumors. In fact, p53 appeared to be the most frequently mutated gene in cancer cells. Subsequent work during the 1990’s showed that p53 was a transcription factor that regulates many other genes, and that p53 can trigger apoptosis, the suicide program of the cell.

This book, written by world-leading p53 researchers including many of those who have shaped the field over the past 25 years, provides unique insights into the progress of the p53 field and the prospects for better cancer diagnosis and therapy in the future. It should be of interest to everybody working in cancer research, clinical oncology, and molecular biology, and indeed to anybody interested in science, medicine, as well as in recent developments of the ideas and concepts of the molecular biology of cancer.

Average customer rating:

Ok sourcebook

Excellent starter volume

Essential !!!

Great Experiments in Physics: Firsthand Accounts from Galileo to Einstein

Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Physics | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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Landmark Experiments in Twentieth Century Physics

Thirty Years that Shook Physics: The Story of Quantum Theory

The Great Physicists from Galileo to Einstein (Biography of Physics)

Gravity Gravity

The Prism and the Pendulum : The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments in Science

ASIN: 0486253465

Book Description

Starting with Galileo's experiments with motion, this study of 25 crucial discoveries includes Newton's laws of motion, Chadwick's study of the neutron, Hertz on electromagnetic waves, and more.

Customer Reviews:

Ok sourcebook.......2007-08-16

This is a haphazard sourcebook with mediocre, short introductions to each paper that are almost entirely biographical. Some of the selections are not really experiments at all, e.g. the usual excerpts from Galileo and Newton on mechanics and most of the 80-page appendices (Maxwell, Einstein, Bohr, etc.). Others are more measurements than "great experiments", e.g. Boyle, Coulomb, Cavendish. Isolated but interesting selections are Young and Fresnel on light (no Newton here), Röntgen on x-rays, Becquerel on radioactivity. The only reasonably coherent thread that one can follow through the book is electromagnetism. I shall summarise the main points briefly. Coulomb (1785) discovered his "fundamental law by which electrified bodies repel each other", namely that the repulsive force is inversely proportional to the square of the distance, as is the attractive force between opposite charges. But this is the same law as for magnets. Thus "The magnetic fluid seems to have, if not by its nature, at least by its properties an analogy with the electric fluid. Based on this analogy it can be assumed that the two fluid obey the same laws. In all other phenomena of attractions or repulsion that nature presents to us, for instance elasticity and chemical affinity, the forces seem to be exerted only at very small distances, and it seems, therefore, that they are nothing but the same laws of electricity and magnetism." The link between electricity and magnetism was further strengthened when Oersted (1820) discovered that a current can influence a magnetic needle. Apparently the current generates some sort of "electric conflict" which "is not enclosed in the conductor, but ... is at the same time dispersed in the surrounding space, and that somewhat widely". "All nonmagnetic bodies seem seem to be penetrable through electric conflict; but magnetic bodies, or rather their magnetic particles, seem to resist the passage of this conflict, whence it is that they can be moved by the impulse of contending forces." Faraday (1832) discovered further that currents can induce currents (albeit weak ones: "I could obtain no evidence by the tongue") and that magnets can induce currents. As for the nature of this electromagnetic business, Faraday (1834) made some discoveries on electrolysis. Water can be decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen by sticking two metal plates in it and connecting them with a current, and Faraday discovered that "when subjected to the influence of the electric current, a quantity of it is decomposed exactly proportionate to the quantity of electricity which has passed" and thus "it seems probable, and almost a natural consequence, that the quantity which passes is the equivalent of, and therefore equal to, that of the particles separated; i.e., that if the electrical power which ... makes a grain of oxygen and hydrogen in the right proportions unite into water ... could be thrown into the condition of a current, it would exactly equal the current required for the separation of that grain of water into its elements again." So electricity seems to be of a material nature. Other experiments (and the theory of Maxwell (1865)), however, makes electricity seem like a wave phenomena, as represented here by Hertz (1888): "the action of an electric oscillation spreads out as a wave into space" so "I planned experiments with the object of concentrating this action ... by putting the primary conductor in the focal line of a large concave parabolic mirror" and indeed "I have succeeded in producing distinct rays of electric force, and in carrying out with them the elementary experiments which are commonly performed with light and radiant heat". If such rays were material it ought to be possible to deflect them by magnetic fields, which could at first not be effected. Then Thomson (1897) finally managed to set up an experiment where "cathode rays [that] carry a charge of negative electricity, are deflected by an electrostatic force as if they were negatively electrified, and are acted on by a magnetic force in just the way in which the force would act on a negatively electrified body moving along the path of these rays." Consequently, "I can see no escape from the conclusion that they are charges of negative electricity carried by particles of matter. The question next arises, what are these particles? are they atoms, or molecules, or matter in a still finer state of subdivision? To throw some light on this point, I have made a series of measurements of the ratio of the mass of these particles to the charges carried by it." Basically, one measures the total amount of electricity in the ray by putting a sensor at the end of it, and the total kinetic energy by having the ray bump into an obstacle and measuring the increase in temperature; knowing the magnetic field, one can figure out the ratio mass/charge from these values. We find that this ratio is about 10^-7 which is "very small compared with the value 10^-4, which is the smallest value of this quantity previously known, and which is the value for the hydrogen ion in electrolysis."

Excellent starter volume.......2006-10-17

Ok, so, this is a good book. If you are interested in the history of science or just physics, and you want to break into primary sources but feel a little overwhelmed, then I recommend going ahead and buying this book, because it's cheap, and flipping to the first chapter that catches your eye. You will probably like what you see: English translation of texts by Galileo, Boyle, Cavendish, etc., which are short excerpts of the "good part". In the margins, there are commentaries to help you out with archaic language and "weirder" aspects. Now you're cooking! You can go on to other reading if you want.

Essential !!!.......1999-07-05

I strongly recommend this book for everyone interested in physics. Professor Shamos did a fantastic job in collecting in one single book the experiments and original works of the main geniuses of the history of physics. It's so much more interesting and easy to understand the principles when you visualize the context in which they were developed. Such literature must be obrigatory for every student of physics !!

Customer Reviews:

Manipulation in the name of science..........2004-01-26

Before I read Pygmalion everythin I knew was, that is was connected to the musical 'My fair lady'. So first of all I was scared because musicals arer not the kind of entertainment I prefer. But while reading it the manipulation of a poor an first mentally weak girl in the name of science an in a sadistic and somehow abusing way kept me in suspense to go on reading. And beside that human-despising experiment a little love story evolved to a happy end. To conclude I want to justify the 'just' three stars: I don't like love stories.

Praise for Shaw's Voice.......2002-02-01

Shaw masters satire in Pymalion his play with a double edged sword. A superficial examination of the play reveals it to be a self-rightoues lesson in grammar. But a deeper inspection shows it tobe a toungue in cheek comedy (albeit a critical one) that reveals much about the British society of the time (particularly linguistically speaking). Henry Higgin's unabashed condescending attitude provide many laughs while Eliza's emotion filled responses are also humorous and no less insightful. The prolougue although irritating to most, gives the play a unique voice and the epilogue although considered by many to be a literary fallacy says true to Shaw's style. I have only one complaint about this book that I can rant on about to no end, that fact that he say's English is the language of the Bible. Is English the lanuguage of Crime and Punishment or Metamorphosis because it was translated in English? Please, don't insult us. But aside from that it is a Brilliant play!

The Pygmalion was wonderful, but Major Barbara...?.......2000-02-25

This was, all in all, a charming little book. I loved the Pygmalion and the manipulative male lead, Professor Higgins. Major Barbara, on the other hand, was as boring as could be. The preface? Don't even bother reading. It was absolute boredom, and completely unaffective on the reading of Major Barbara. The Pygmalion, while I did not particularly enjoy the epilogue (I'm a romantic), was very clever and yes, probably the real aspect of how things turn out. So, all being said, read the book! It is a delightful little sample of Shaw's work.

Witty compositions but unable to escape parochialism.......1998-10-09

The worst thing I found was Shaw's ending epilogue after the Pygmalion. He went too far, too deep and too preachy in his imagination of how things were to turn out. His lengthy preface to Major Barbara may well reflect sentiments at the turn of the century, but he never looked at the question "whether he imagined the impoverished becoming like him or him becoming like the impoverished" when he talked idealistically against the tyranny of poverty. He showed no comprehension of basic economics, social evolution nor human nature. Had he lived longer, he might have seen it in the collapse of communism in eastern Europe. That is not to say Shaw was espousing communism, and it can be argued that the communism was an imperfect implementation of a perfect solution. The same then can be said of a lot of other things, including Christianity, the Church, the Salvation Army, nationhood, law enforcement as well as the judiciary. None set out to commit the sins they did. At the end of the day, helping feed a single individual may cause no more harm than helping no individuals but sitting down and espousing fine rhetorics and theories and ideals which lead to establishment of institutions modelled after them which affect thousands instead.

Six Plays: The Doctor's Dilemma; Pygmalion; Major Barbara; Heartbreak House; Captain Brassbound's Conversion; A Man of Destiny

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Six Plays: The Doctor's Dilemma; Pygmalion; Major Barbara; Heartbreak House; Captain Brassbound's Conversion; A Man of Destiny
Bernard Shaw
Manufacturer: Dodd, Mead and Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000LETX6C

Six plays: Arms and the man, Man and superman, Major Barbara, Pygmalion, Heartbreak house [and] Saint Joan

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Six plays: Arms and the man, Man and superman, Major Barbara, Pygmalion, Heartbreak house [and] Saint Joan
Bernard Shaw
Manufacturer: Constable
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006DIVDY

Book Description

This fully updated and revised new edition of the bestselling The Archaeology Coursebook is a guide to students studying archaeology for the first time, providing pre-university students and teachers as well as undergraduates and enthusiasts with the skills and technical concepts necessary to grasp the subject. Specially designed to assist learning, it:

· Introduces the most commonly examined archaeological methods, concepts, and themes, and provides the necessary skills to understand them
· Explains how to interpret the material students may meet in examinations and how to succeed with different types of assignments and exam questions
· Supports study with case studies, key sites, key terms, tasks and skills development
· Illustrates concepts and commentary with over 200 photos and drawings of excavation sites, methodology and processes, tools and equipment
· Links from its own site to other key websites in archaeology
· Refreshes existing content with the latest developments in archaeology, new case studies, boxes, photographs and diagrams, as well as updates on examination changes for pre-university students and additional weblinks

Archaeology Coursebook: An Introduction to Study Skills, Topics and Methods

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A marvelously wonderful introduction to all you need to know
Excellent introduction to the subject

Archaeology Coursebook: An Introduction to Study Skills, Topics and Methods
Jim Grant
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Study Skills | Education | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Reference | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0415236398

Book Description

The Archaeology Coursebook is an unrivalled guide to students studying archaeology for the first time. Comprehensive and user-friendly, it will interest pre-university students and teachers as well as undergraduates and enthusiasts. Specially designed to assist learning it introduces the most commonly examined archaeological methods, concepts and themes and illustrates concepts and commentary with over 200 photographs and drawings of excavation sites, methodology and processes, tools and equipment.

Customer Reviews:

A marvelously wonderful introduction to all you need to know.......2004-02-15

I love history, and books about history, but sometimes you just really get the urge for hands on work with it. There is something amazing about finding an artifact, touching the distance past - well there is nothing like it. But you need basics. History needs handling with respect.

Most archaeology books are geared to those familiar with all the techniques and terms, they are too complex or boring to the layman, but this book is exactly the opposite. A thorough work (if they sold it by weight alone, it would be a steal!!). There is little this book does not cover, such as different type of surveys, excavating, how to analyse these steps, making sense of the data. They cover threats to historical sites today, how to use the space and set up of on a dig, the art, the dwellings, what the people lived on...well, I could go on and on; if you need to know it, it's here.

It's presented in a crisp, logical fashion with oodles of diagrams and photographs, and in easy to follow language. I just cannot recommend this highly enough for true history buffs that want to leave that armchair and get involved in our heritage. The books is written primarily for England, but these teaching will apply for any country.

Excellence resource for writers as well!

Excellent introduction to the subject.......2001-12-23

This book has clearly been written with one eye on archaeology courses in England but contains lots of useful material for the American reader or student, especially if they are just starting to look outside the US.

Most of the sections on methods and issues in archaeology apply everywhere, as do the sections on themes. The case studies include many on the Maya and other civilizations regularly studied in anthropology and archaeology courses, and there are links to many useful US websites.

Most archaeology texts assume a high level of technical language and familiarity with scientific techniques and social science concepts. This one doesn't. Its main attraction is the way it introduces new ideas simply and clearly. It gives you the basic understanding to be able to tackle the harder texts and get the most out of difficult lectures. A great intro to archaeology.

Book Description

Through an examination of the fascinating lives and careers of a series of nineteenth-century "mad-doctors," Masters of Bedlam provides a unique perspective on the creation of the modern profession of psychiatry, taking us from the secret and shady practices of the trade in lunacy, through the utopian expectations that were aroused by the lunacy reform movement, to the dismal realities of the barracks-asylums--those Victorian museums of madness within which most nineteenth-century alienists found themselves compelled to practice. Across a century that spans the period from an unreformed Bedlam to the construction of a post-Darwinian bio-psychiatry centered on the new Maudsley Hospital, from a therapeutics of bleeding, purging, and close confinement through the era of moral treatment and nonrestraint to a fin-de-siècle degenerationism and despair, men claiming expertise in the treatment of mental disorder sought to construct a collective identity as trustworthy and scientifically qualified professionals. This fascinating series of biographies answers the question: How successful were they in creating such a new identity?

Drawing on an extensive array of sources, the authors vividly re-create the often colorful and always eventful lives of these seven "masters of bedlam." Sensitive to the idiosyncrasies and peculiarities of each man's personal biography, the authors replace hagiographical ac-counts of the great men who founded modern psychiatry with fully rounded portraits of their struggles and successes, their achievements and limitations. In the process Masters of Bedlam provides an extremely subtle and nuanced portrait of the efforts of successive generations of alienists to carve out a popular and scientific respect for their specialty, and reminds us repeatedly of the complexities of nineteenth-century developments in the field of psychiatry.

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Bedlam
Anthony Masters
Manufacturer: Joseph
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Social Services & Welfare | Poverty | Current Events | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Internal Medicine | Medicine | Subjects | Books | Cardiology | Critical Care | Endocrinology & Metabolism | Gastroenterology | General | Hematology | Hepatology | Infectious Disease | Nephrology | Neurology | Oncology | Pulmonary | Rheumatology | Urology
ASIN: 0718115465

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Masters of Bedlam: The Transformation of the Mad-Doctoring Trade

Manufacturer: Princeton 1999.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000IG3X4G

Book Description

This guide covers the basics of scientific and engineering communication, including defining an audience, working with collaborators, searching the literature, organizing and drafting documents, developing graphics, and documenting sources. The documents covered include memos, letters, proposals, progress reports, other types of reports, journal articles, oral presentations, instructions, and CVs and resumes. Throughout, the authors provide realistic examples from actual documents and situations. The materials, drawn from the authors' experience teaching scientific and technical communication, bridge the gap between the university novice and the seasoned professional.

In the five years since the first edition was published, communication practices have been transformed by computer technology. Today, most correspondence is transmitted electronically, proposals are submitted online, reports are distributed to clients through intranets, journal articles are written for electronic transmission, and conference presentations are posted on the Web. Every chapter of the book reflects these changes. The second edition also includes a compact Handbook of Style and Usage that provides guidelines for sentence and paragraph structure, punctuation, and usage and presents many examples of strategies for improved style.

Customer Reviews:

Teacher and Engineer.......2004-08-14

The explanation for each particular topic is very concise and clear. I would recommend to have a look if it is available in your library. However, I would give a 5 star rating if the book provides more examples and visual aids.

Excellent book for written professional communication.......2002-01-06

This book mainly presents strategies to write effectively in real world engineering/science situations, assuring that what you write is really read. It shows how to present your ideas so that your target audience understands it. It describes the characteristics that a document aimed to a technical person, to a lay person and to a manager should have.

Besides, it shows how to write memos, letters, reports and even e-mails, explaining from the initial document outline, sentece/paragraph structure to the final polished form.

I wish I had read this book when I was an undergrad, I had to learn how to write effectivelly in the hard way.

Excellent Guide for Focused Thinking And Effective Writing.......2000-01-13

This book helped me to effectively write my dissertation. The methods described facilitate organizing a difficult task and presenting the ideas in a clear format. I continue to draw on the wealth of information contained within the text.

The Mit Guide to Science and Engineering Communication: Second Edition

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The Mit Guide to Science and Engineering Communication: Second Edition
James G. (Author) Zimmerman, Muriel L. (Author) Zimmerman, Muriel L. (Joint Author) Paradis
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OR5KE0

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