Taxes textbook: December 2008

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Apparel Product Design and Merchandising Strategies or The Communist Manifesto

Apparel Product Design and Merchandising Strategies

Author: Cynthia L Regan

Offering a higher level of understanding, this book provides an in-depth and illustrated look at the product development process. Using a broad to narrow focus, it explains the product development process, the decisions made at early stages, and how to relate a company’s business strategy to products developed. Unique in its approach, it ties a fictional story into textbook narrative and uses an ongoing company project to engage students in their own product development activity. Each chapter is filled with company examples, web links, activities, and quotes that reveal the current industry environment and the skills needed to thrive in it. Professionals working in Apparel Manufacturing and New Product Development within the Fashion Design Industry.

The Communist Manifesto

Author: Karl Marx

Originally published on the eve of the 1848 European revolutions, The Communist Manifesto is a condensed and incisive account of the worldview Marx and Engels developed during their hectic intellectual and political collaboration. Formulating the principles of dialectical materialism, they believed that labor creates wealth, hence capitalism is exploitive and antithetical to freedom.

This new edition includes an extensive introduction by Gareth Stedman Jones, Britain's leading expert on Marx and Marxism, providing a complete course for students of The Communist Manifesto, and demonstrating not only the historical importance of the text, but also its place in the world today.

Microsoft Office 2003 or Workplace Plus 3 with Grammar Booster

Microsoft Office 2003 (The O'Leary Series), Vol. 2

Author: Timothy J OLeary

The goal of the O’Leary Series is to give students a basic understanding of computing concepts and to build the skills necessary to ensure that an “O’Leary” student has an advantage in whatever career they choose. The text design emphasizes step-by-step instructions with full screen captures that illustrate the results of each step performed. This method allows students to learn at their own pace. Each Tutorial (chapter) combines conceptual coverage with detailed software-specific instructions. A running case that is featured in each tutorial highlights the real-world applications of each software program and leads students step-by-step from problem to solution.

Books about: Writing in the WorkPlace or Foundations of Finance Activebook 20

Workplace Plus 3 with Grammar Booster, Vol. 3

Author: Joan M Saslow

Workplace Plus, an innovative four-level standards-based English course, readies adults for self-sufficiency in the three principal areas of their lives: the workplace, the community, and the home. Workplace Plus integrates the CASAS life skill competencies and SCANS Competencies and Foundation Skills with a complete language syllabus and relevant and practical social language. The newGrammar Booster provides extra pracitce beyond each lesosn.

Workplace Plus 3, by Joan Saslow, is written for intermediate learners. It rapidly enables them to:

understand spoken and written general employment-related language.
communicate in their own words outside of an English class.
understand the culture and behavioral expectations of their new environment and workplace.

Workplace Plus is correlated to the following national standards: SCANS Competencies and Foundation Skills, CASAS Life Skill Competencies, and EFF Content Standards.

Correlations
Scope and sequence
Unit 1 Your life and work
Unit 2 Your environment
Unit 3 Your equipment and machines
Unit 4 Your consumers
Unit 5 Your time
Unit 6 Your supplies and resources
Unit 7 Your relationships
Unit 8 Your health and safety
Unit 9 Your money
Unit 10 Your career
References
Alphabetical word list
Key expressions
Irregular verbs
Irregular comparative and superlative forms of adjectives
Verbs followed by gerunds
Verbs followed by infinitives
Verbs followed by gerunds or infinitives
Verbs followed by objects and infinitives
How to spell the gerund and the present participle
Supplementary authentic documents
Grammar Booster

Process Selection or Learning Through Knowledge Management

Process Selection

Author: K G Swift

Process Selection
Second edition
K G Swift and J D Booker

The definitive practical guide to choosing the optimum manufacturing process, written for students and engineers.

Process Selection provides engineers with the essential technological and economic data to guide the selection of manufacturing processes. This fully revised second edition covers a wide range of important manufacturing processes and will ensure design decisions are made to achieve optimal cost and quality objectives.

Expanded and updated to include contemporary manufacturing, fabrication and assembly technologies, the book puts process selection and costing into the context of modern product development and manufacturing, based on parameters such as materials requirements, design considerations, quality and economic factors. Key features of the book include: manufacturing process information maps (PRIMAs) provide detailed information on the characteristics and capabilities of 65 processes and their variants in a standard format; process capability charts detailing the processing tolerance ranges for key material types; strategies to facilitate process selection; detailed methods for estimating costs, both at the component and assemby level.

The approach enables an engineer to understand the consequences of design decisions on the technological and economic aspects of component manufacturing, fabrication and assembly.

This comprehensive book provides both a definitive guide to the subject for students and an invaluable source of reference for practising engineers.

Professor K G Swift, Department of Engineering, University of Hull
Dr J D Booker, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol

Also available from Butterworth-Heinemann:
Process Planning, P. Scallan, 0 7506 5129 6
Make It! Engineering, the Manufacturing Solution, J Garside, 0 7506 4569 5

Interesting book: Born Yogis or Touching

Learning Through Knowledge Management

Author: Pervaiz K K Ahmed

'Learning through Knowledge Management' provides an insightful overview of the main issues integrating learning and Knowledge Management. It offers a rich resource of case examples that highlight Knowledge Management in practice.

The text explores and defines learning and Knowledge Management concepts, and deals with the elements that play an important part in determining implementation success in the organization. The chapters present a managerially oriented discussion of the following key areas:

* The role of processes in managing knowledge
* The behavioural side of Knowledge Management
* Leadership reflexes for knowledge management success
* The key features of Information Technology required for Knowledge Management
* The future of Knowledge Management as part of organization management.

There are many case studies which include:
British Airways
BP Amoco
Ford
Hewlett Packard
Xerox
Swedish Police
IBM

The case studies encompass a diverse and broad range of sectors, maturity of practice, problems and approaches to Knowledge Management.

Unique in explicitly drawing together the related thinking in the popular areas of Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning, and using this as the focal point
Includes original case studies to back up theory
Gives a single author overview of what can be a specialist field, making it a good introduction to the behavioural side of the subject

	Preface
	Acknowledgements
	Authors' profiles
1	Knowledge management and learning for organizations	3
2	Process approaches for management of knowledge and learning	25
3	Culture for knowledge sharing and transfer	49
4	Leadership role in the management of knowledge structures and culture	71
5	Measurement and technology	95
6	Learning knowledge management imperatives: present into future	110
7	British Airways	143
8	BP Amoco	156
9	Celemi	165
10	Chevron	173
11	CMG	195
12	Ford	203
13	Hewlett-Packard	206
14	Honda	217
15	IBM	221
16	ICL	233
17	Lucent Technologies	240
18	Monsanto	243
19	Pacific Western Airlines	248
20	The Post Office	251
21	Quidnunc	275
22	Singapore Airlines	280
23	Swedish National Crime Intelligence	284
24	Xerox	289
	References and further reading	303
	Case study references	309
	Index	315

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Fundamentals of Aviation Law or Problems Cases in Health Care Marketing

Fundamentals of Aviation Law

Author: Raymond C Special

The only textbook available on Aviation Law

This is an undergraduate textbook designed for college and university courses on aviation law. Each chapter covers a fundamental legal subject and discusses application of that area in the aviation environment. Each chapter comes completed with case-studies, and problems, along with instructor’s materials.

1	Fundamentals of the U.S. legal system	1
2	The U.S. Constituion and aviation	37
3	Impact of criminal law on airmen and air carriers	67
4	Tort liability and air commerce	91
5	Administrative agencies and aviation	119
6	Commercial law applications to aviation-related transactions	159
7	Entity choice for aviation enterprises	191
8	Property law issues for aircraft owners and airport operators	217
9	Employment law and the aviation industry	253
10	International aviation law	279

New interesting book: Windows Vista Annoyances or Absolute Beginners Guide to Ebay

Problems & Cases in Health Care Marketing

Author: John T Gourvill

Cases in Health Care Marketing, 1/e by Gourville, Quelch, and Rangan is a collection of Harvard cases that concentrate on marketing within the health care sector. The book is divided into seven sections, exploring topics which include: Developing a Marketing Strategy, Developing New Products, Launching of New Products, Managing Distribution, Managing Communications, Managing the Brand, and International Marketing.

The Globalization of Nothing or Nike Culture

The Globalization of Nothing

Author: George Ritzer

In a world increasingly festooned with familiar logos - from the hallmark swoosh on a designer tennis shoe to an amusement park's infamous mouse ears - it is clear that these symbols are not merely decorative, but represent important changes in our social milieu. The proliferation of credit card offers, automated banking services, and globally recognizable brand names illustrate significant changes in the realm of social consumption: a trajectory toward a world of increasingly dehumanized services and empty places and things.

George Ritzer theorizes in his provocative new book, The Globalization of Nothing, that the "grand narrative" or social story of this period is a movement from "something" to "nothing." Building on but going beyond his renowned McDonaldization thesis, Ritzer contends that societies around the globe continue to move away from "something," defined as a social form that is generally indigenously conceived, locally controlled, and rich in distinctive content. He argues that we are moving toward "nothing" - that which is centrally controlled and conceived and relatively devoid of distinctive substance. It is in the movement toward the globalization of "nothing" that "something" is lost. More than likely, that "something" is an indigenous custom, a local store, a familiar gathering place, or simply personalized interaction. Thus, the central problem in the world today is defined as "loss amidst monumental abundance (of nothing)".

The Globalization of Nothing takes the subject of globalization in new directions, introducing terms such as "grobalization" (the growing influence of, for example, American corporations throughout the world). The key conflict in the world today is viewed as that between the grobalization of nothing and the glocalization of something. This book is structured around four sets of concepts addressing this issue: "places/non-places," "things/non-things," "people/non-people," and "services/non-services." By drawing upon salient examples from everyday life, George Ritzer invites the reader to examine the nuances of these concepts in conjunction with the paradoxes within the process of the globalization of nothing. Why is it that those who produce "nothing" for major multinational corporations often cannot afford that which they produce? Why do so many of us seem to be enraptured with our favorite brands or with our credit cards? What are the social implications of the increasing "globalization of nothing" for medicine, education, and tourism? Critical questions are raised throughout the book and the reader is compelled not only to seek answers to these questions, but to critically evaluate the questions as well as their answers.

The Globalization of Nothing is ideal as a primary or supplemental text for courses in sociology, anthropology, communication, business, and related disciplines. This book is also recommended for anyone interested in the critical study of contemporary social phenomena.

Book review: Coming to Term or Its Not Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Nike Culture: The Sign of the Swoosh

Author: Stephen Papson

Is advertising changing the way we think about society and ourselves? Does the sign-world of advertising inevitably fuse fantasy with commodities? These are central questions in the sociology of advertising. Most studies deal with them by presenting broad sweeping surveys of theory and ad culture. This is one of the first studies to take an in-depth look at how an advertising image works. It exposes the psychology, sociology, culture and semiotics of the Nike swoosh logo. Nike Culture argues that contemporary society is, above all, a sign economy. The more that signifiers resonate through the intended audiences, the more economically successful the corporation will be. Blending themes of empowerment, transcendence and irreverence, the advertising campaign launches by Nike promoted the company to the top of the sports shoe and apparel industry. Its swoosh logo is now globally pervasive and Nike has become synonymous with sports culture. Nike Culture describes and deconstructs the themes and structures of Nike advertising, outlines the contradictions between image and practice, and explores the logic of the sign economy. In addition, by focusing in issues revolving around race, class and gender, the desire for both community and recognition, and the construction of sport as a spiritual enterprise, the book offers insights into the cultural contradictions embedded in sports culture. Engrossing and illuminating, Nike Culture provides a wealth of detail harnessed to an authoritative analysis. This book will be required reading on courses in sociology, media studies and cultural studies.

	Preface
	Acknowledgments
1	Suddenly the Swoosh is Everywhere	1
2	Just Metacommunicate It	24
3	Nike and the Construction of a Celebrity Democracy	46
4	Reflexivity and Irreverence	74
5	Alienation, Hope and Transcendence: Determinism or Determination?	94
6	Transcending Difference? Representing Women in Nike's World	118
7	There are Many Paths to Heaven	146
8	"Just Do It," but not on My Planet	169
	Index	187

Rfid or Business Mathematics

RFID: Applications, Security, and Privacy

Author: Beth Rosenberg

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is rapidly becoming ubiquitous as businesses seek to streamline supply chains and respond to mandates from key customers. But RFID and other new wireless ID technologies raise unprecedented privacy issues. RFID: Applications, Security, and Privacy covers those issues from every angle and viewpoint.

Award-winning technology journalist and privacy expert Simson Garfinkel brings together contributions from every stakeholder community--from RFID suppliers to privacy advocates. His contributors introduce today's leading wireless ID technologies, trace their evolution, explain their promise, assess their privacy risks, and evaluate proposed solutions--technical, business, and political. Beyond RFID, they also review the privacy implications of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, smartcards, biometrics, new cell-phone networks, and the ever-evolving Internet. Highlights include

How RFID and other wireless ID technologies work
RFID applications, from your gas station and pharmacy to the twenty-first century battlefield
RFID, privacy, and the law--in the United States and around the world
The privacy impact of location awareness in today's wireless Internet infrastructure
Doomsday scenarios: Could ubiquitous wireless ID enable totalitarianism?
RFID, security, and industrial espionage
How Bluetooth and Wi-Fi can track individuals, with or without their permission
Technical solutions to wireless ID privacy concerns--their value and limitations
Stakeholder perspectives from Texas Instruments, Gemplus, NCR, P&G, and other leaders
The future of citizen activism onprivacy issues

Clear, balanced, and accessible, this is the indispensable primer for everyone involved in RFID: businesses implementing or evaluating RFID; technology suppliers responding to user concerns; and policymakers and privacy advocates who want a deeper understanding of the technology and its implications. Includes contributions from

AIM Global, Inc.
CVS Corporation
Center for Democracy and Technology
Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering
EPCglobal, Inc.
ExxonMobil Corporation
Fleishman-Hillard Inc.
The Galecia Group
Gemplus
IDAT Consulting & Education
Institute for the Future
Matrics, Inc.
MIT Media Laboratory
MIT Auto-ID Laboratory
Privacy Journal
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Procter & Gamble
RSA Security
Texas Instruments, Inc.
UCLA Department of Geography
Wayne State University Law School

Book about: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Administration or Active Directory

Business Mathematics

Author: Charles David Miller

KEY BENEFIT: Business Mathematics, Eleventh Edition maximizes interest by presenting the necessary mathematics through real-world applications. New examples from real companies and the people who run them are woven throughout the book to apply the concepts to real practices. Many new photographs, news clippings, and graphs have been added to increase the relevance of chapter content to the world of business. The globalization of our society is emphasized through examples and exercises that highlight foreign countries and international topics. KEY TOPICS: Whole Numbers and Decimals; Fractions; Percent; Bank Services; Payroll; Mathematics of Buying; Mathematics of Selling; Simple Interest; Compound Interest; Annuities, Stocks, and Bonds; Business and Consumer Loans; Taxes and Insurance; Depreciation; Financial Statements and Ratios; Business Statistics. MARKET: For all readers interested in business mathematics.

Booknews

New edition of a standard elementary text-workbook (with perforated test pages) for high school or junior college. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Monday, December 29, 2008

Astropolitik or The Social Construction of Free Trade

Astropolitik

Author: Everett Dolman

This volume identifies and evaluates the relationship between outer-space geography and geographic position (astrogeography), and the evolution of current and future military space strategy. In doing so, it explores five primary propositions. First, many classical geopolitical theories of military development are fully compatible with the realm of outer space. Second, how geographical position relates to new technology. Such evolution has developed through sea, rail and air power. Space power is the logical and apparent heir. Third, the special terrain of solar space dictates specific tactics and strategies for efficient exploitation of space resources. Fourth, the concept of space as a power base in classical, geopolitical thought will easily conform to the use of outer space as an ultimate national power base. Finally, a thorough understanding of the astromechanical and physical demarcations of outer space can prove useful to planners, and will prove critical to military strategists in the future. Anoptimum deployment of space assets will be essential on the current terrestrial and future-based battlefield.

Books about: Fundamentals of Food Process Engineering or Meeting Management

The Social Construction of Free Trade: The European Union, NAFTA, and Mercosur

Author: Francesco G Duina

This book offers a compelling new interpretation of the proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs) at the end of the twentieth century. Challenging the widespread assumption that RTAs should be seen as fundamentally similar economic initiatives to pursue free trade, Francesco Duina proposes that the world is reorganizing itself into regions that are highly distinctive and enduring. With evidence from Europe, North America, and South America, he challenges our understanding of globalization, the nature of markets, and the spread of neoliberalism.

The pursuit of free trade is a profoundly social process and, as such, a unique endeavor wherever it takes place. In an unprecedented comparative analysis, the book offers striking evidence of differences in the legal architectures erected to standardize the worldview of market participants and the reaction of key societal organizations--interest groups, businesses, and national administrations--to a broader marketplace. The author gives special attention to developments in three key areas of economic life: women in the workplace, the dairy industry, and labor rights. With its bold and original approach and its impressive range of data, The Social Construction of Free Trade represents a major advance in the growing fields of economic sociology and comparative regional integration.

List of Figures and Tables     ix
A Note on Translations     xi
Acknowledgments     xiii
Abbreviations     xvii
Introduction and Theoretical Framework
Visions of Free Trade     3
Institutions, Politics, and the Making of Regional Markets     29
The Evolution of Law and Society in the EU, Mercosur, and NAFTA
The Use of Regional Law to Standardize Reality     63
The Targets and Content of Regional Law     101
Societal Adjustments to Integration     148
Conclusion
Reflections on the Present and Future     185
Appendix     211
References     217
Index     241

Product and Services Management or A Survival Guide for Culinary Professionals

Product and Services Management

Author: George J Avlonitis

Product and Services Management provides a holistic approach to the study of product and services management. Authors George Avlonitis and Paulina Papastathopoulou look at the key milestones within a product's or service life cycle and considers in detail three crucial areas within product management, namely product/service portfolio evaluation, new product/service development and product/service elimination.

Based on research conducted in Europe and North America, this book includes revealing cases studies that will help students make important connections between theory and practice. The pedagogical features provided in each chapter include chapter introduction, summary, questions and a further reading section. Additional material for instructors include PowerPoint slides and indicative answers to each chapter's questions.

Product and Services Management is written for undergraduate and graduate students of business administration who are pursuing courses in marketing, product portfolio management, new product development and product policy.

Books about: Guant namo and the Abuse of Presidential Power or A Different Mirror

A Survival Guide for Culinary Professionals

Author: Karen Levin

Well Done! A Survival Guide for Culinary Professionals is a lively, easy-to-read book that is full of anecdotes and useful information for the busy student or professional. With tips from culinary professionals on everything from organization to stress management to owning your own restaurant, this is one book busy students and professionals won?t want to be without.

Chapter 1	The Right Ingredients	1
	Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs	26
Chapter 2	Following the Recipe	29
	How to Cook Pasta	47
Chapter 3	Everything in Its Place	49
	Bringing Home the Bacon	71
Chapter 4	It's a Goal!	73
	More Mashed Potatoes, Please	90
Chapter 5	Too Many Cooks	93
	Opening an Oyster	122
Chapter 6	Inside the Pressure Cooker	125
	A Perfect Batch of Rice	146
Chapter 7	An Ounce of Prevention	149
	Caramelized Onions	174
Chapter 8	Cooks and Chefs: The Basics, Part 1: Hygiene, Sanitation, and Safety	177
	Vinaigrette	198
Chapter 9	Cooks and Chefs: The Basics, Part 2: The Art and Science of Cooking	201
	Mayonnaise	227
Chapter 10	On the Rise	229
	Stir-Fry	251
Chapter 11	A Range of Opportunities	253
	Thanksgiving Turkey	276
Chapter 12	The Savvy Professional	279
	Really Good Coffee and Really Great Tea	300
Chapter 13	The Possible Dream	303
	Index	321

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Student Study Guide to Accompany Contemporary Management or Transnational Management

Student Study Guide to Accompany Contemporary Management

Author: Gareth R Jones

Prepared by Tom Quirk of Webster University, the study guide has been completely revised and updated with the goal of helping students master course content. Each chapter now includes learning objectives; chapter outline; and matching, true-false, multiple choice, and essay questions, with answer keys including page references to the text.

New interesting textbook: A Peoples History of the Supreme Court or Manufacturing Consent

Transnational Management: Text and Cases

Author: BARTLETT

Transnational Management: Text and Cases, 4e, by Bartlett/Ghoshal/Birkinshaw, combines text material, Harvard and London Business School cases, and readings to present the best of current research and thought on the global business environment. Now in its 4th edition, Julian Birkinshaw joins Bartlett and Ghoshal, recognized as leading scholars on global strategy and organization, as a co-author. Transnational Management focuses on management's challenge associated with developing strategies, designing organizations and managing operations of companies whose activities stretch across national boundaries. Bartlett, Ghoshal and Birkinshaw make a distinction between "Transnational Management" and International or Multinational Management.

Pt. 1	The strategic imperatives
Ch. 1	Expanding abroad : motivations, means, and mentalities	1
Ch. 2	Managing conflicting demands : global integration, local responsiveness, and worldwide learning	91
Ch. 3	Developing strategic capabilities : building layers of competitive advantage	203
Pt. 2	The organizational challenge
Ch. 4	Developing coordination and control : the organizational challenge	339
Ch. 5	Creating and leveraging knowledge : the worldwide learning challenge	456
Ch. 6	Managing across boundaries : the collaborative challenge	556
Pt. 3	The managerial implications
Ch. 7	Building multidimensional capabilities : the management challenge	666
Ch. 8	Preparing for the future : evolution of the transnational	756

Creating a Climate for Power Learning or Radio Wave Propagation For Telecommunication Applications

Creating a Climate for Power Learning: 36 Mind-Stretching Activities

Author: Carolyn Chambers Clark

37 Mind-Stretching Activities: Tap creativity, build cooperation, and promote problem solving with 37 thought-provoking activities guaranteed to create a climate for change. From keynote speeches to staff meetings to group presentations, use these fun icebreakers to help your audience members: relax, focus on your message, connect with one another, look at a problem with a fresh pair of eyes, get a grip on difficult concepts, rethink preconceived notions, and work as a team. Whatever your topic, you'll love the way these exercises prepare participants for learning by energizing minds and bodies, engaging different learning styles, and facilitating free thinking.

New interesting textbook: Wine Label Language or A Thousand Days in Tuscany

Radio Wave Propagation For Telecommunication Applications

Author: H Sizun

This books thoroughly describes the physical mechanisms of electromagnetic wave propagation in the terrestrial and near space environment. It thus provides advanced students and development engineers the background for the design of reliable telecommunication systems in the radiofrequency domain.

1	Introduction to the propagation of radio waves	1
2	The earth's atmosphere	13
3	Electromagnetic waves and propagation characteristics	35
4	Ionospheric links	69
5	Terrestrial fixed links	93
6	Satellite links	153
7	Mobile radio links	175
App. A	The sun and the solar activity	233
App. B	Microphysical properties of hydrometeors	247
App. C	The frequency spectrum	257
App. D	Cross-polarisation induced by the atmosphere	271
App. E	Fresnel equations	281
App. F	Ionospheric and geomagnetic disturbances associated with solar events	287
App. G	Investigation methods of the ionosphere	307
App. H	The terrestrial magnetic field and the magnetic indexes	313
App. I	Rain attenuation	319
App. J	Vegetation attenuation	325
App. K	Diffraction models	345
App. L	Mobile radio measurements	369
App. M	Directions of arrival	375
App. N	Geographical databases	391
App. O	Determination of the electromagnetic field after interaction with structures	403

IMF and the Future or Power and Governance in a Partially Globalized World

IMF and the Future: Issues and Options Facing the International Monetary Fund

Author: Graham Bird

The International Monetary Fund has been criticized from both the right and the left of the political spectrum with the right arguing that it is too interventionist and creates more problems than it solves and the left on occasion demanding that it be abolished altogether. What seems almost beyond question is that the IMF needs to be reformed.
Defining a future role for the IMF will always be a controversial issue, but vital to any considerations will be a measured assessment of how it has operated in the past. This excellent new book from an internationally respected expert on the IMF intends to do just that. Starting with an historical background tracing the evolution of the IMF.
The book goes on to cover such themes as:
The circumstances under which countries turn to the IMF
The various aspects of IMF conditionality
Institutional issues such as lending facilities and how the fund is resourced.

	List of figures
	List of tables
	Preface
	Acknowledgements
1	A suitable case for treatment?: understanding the ongoing debate about the IMF	1
2	Borrowing from the IMF: the policy implications of recent empirical research	31
3	IMF lending: how is it affected by economic, political and institutional factors?	44
4	IMF programmes - do they work? Can they be made to work better?	68
5	The effectiveness of conditionality and the political economy of policy reform: is it simply a matter of political will?	93
6	IMF programmes: is there a conditionality Laffer curve?	113
7	The credibility and signalling effect of IMF programmes	130
8	The IMF's role in mobilizing international capital: is there a catalytic effect?	141
9	Restructuring the IMF's lending facilities	163
10	Resourcing the Fund: direct borrowing from private capital markets	179
11	Crisis averter, crisis lender, crisis manager: the IMF in search of a systemic role	194
12	The IMF and developing countries: a review of the evidence and policy options	211
13	Political economy influences within the life cycle of IMF programmes	243
14	The political economy of the SDR: the rise and fall of an international reserve asset	267
	Index	291

Look this: Taliban or The Forsaken

Power and Governance in a Partially Globalized World

Author: Robert Keohan

Robert O. Keohane has been one of the most innovative an influential thinkers in international relations for more than three decades. His groundbreaking work in institutional theory has redefined our understanding of international political economy. This work is a collection of his most recent essays that address such core issues as interdependence, institutions, the development of international law, globalization and global governance. The essays are placed in historical and intellectual context by a substantial new introduction outlining the developments in Keohane's thought. In an original afterword, the author offers a challenging interpretation of the September 11th attacks and their aftermath.

Saturday, December 27, 2008

The Economic Approach to Law or Electricity 1

The Economic Approach to Law

Author: Thomas J Miceli

In recent decades, the economic approach to law has developed into a mainstream field of study for both legal scholars and economists. This book provides a textbook treatment of the subject, primarily directed toward undergraduate economics students. It presumes a basic familiarity with economic principles, but little knowledge of the law. An effort is made to show both how economic principles can explain the actual structure of the law, and how they can help to make the law more efficient.

The book emphasizes unifying themes and methodologies rather than an exhaustive coverage of legal topics. To that end, the scope of analysis is limited to the basic common law areas of torts, contracts, and property, as well as the legal process and criminal law. The hope is that after reading the book, students can apply the basic principles to other areas of law.

	List of Tables and Figures
	Preface
Ch. 1	Introductory Concepts	1
App. to Ch. 1	Review of Microeconomics	15
Ch. 2	An Economic Model of Tort Law	38
Ch. 3	Applying the Economic Model of Tort Law	80
Ch. 4	The Economics of Contract Law I: The Elements of a Valid Contract	109
Ch. 5	The Economics of Contract Law II: Remedies for Breach	128
Ch. 6	The Economics of Property Law: Fundamentals	161
Ch. 7	Involuntary Transfers and Regulation of Property	207
Ch. 8	The Economics of Dispute Resolution	242
Ch. 9	The Economics of Crime	283
	Answers to In-Chapter Exercises	327
	Notes	337
	Works Cited	355
	Index	375

Read also Texas Politics or Call Centers

Electricity 1

Author: Thomas Kubala

The sequence of topics and practical applications encompassed in this book will provide readers with a solid foundation in electron theory and movement, direct-current series circuits, parallel circuits, series-parallel circuits, voltage line drops, rotating machinery fundamentals, and more! The Eighth Edition has been updated to the 2005 National Electrical Code® and features current industry terminology, contemporary photographs of commonly used electrical equipment, and updated circuit diagrams throughout. Sample problems and solutions in each unit help to solidify an understanding of electrical principles, making this an ideal choice for a first course in basic electricity, house wiring, or commercial installations.

Debt Defaults and Lessons from a Decade of Crises or Changing the Performance

Debt Defaults and Lessons from a Decade of Crises

Author: Federico Sturzenegger

Choice Outstanding Academic Title, 2007.

The debt crises in emerging market countries over the past decade have given rise to renewed debate about crisis prevention and resolution. In Debt Defaults and Lessons from a Decade of Crises, Federico Sturzenegger and Jeromin Zettelmeyer examine the facts, the economic theory, and the policy implications of sovereign debt crises. They present detailed case histories of the default and debt crises in seven emerging market countries between 1998 and 2005: Russia, Ukraine, Pakistan, Ecuador, Argentina, Moldova, and Uruguay. These accounts are framed with a comprehensive overview of the history, economics, and legal issues involved and a discussion from both domestic and international perspectives of the policy lessons that can be derived from these experiences.

Sturzenegger and Zettelmeyer examine how each crisis developed, what the subsequent restructuring encompassed, and how investors and the defaulting country fared. They discuss the new theoretical thinking on sovereign debt and the ultimate costs entailed, for both debtor countries and private creditors. The policy debate is considered first from the perspective of policymakers in emerging market countries and then in terms of international financial architecture. The authors' surveys of legal and economic issues associated with debt crises, and of the crises themselves, are the most comprehensive to be found in the literature on sovereign debt and default, and their theoretical analysis is detailed and nuanced. The book will be a valuable resource for investors as well as for scholars and policymakers.

Interesting book: Professional C 2008 or SPSS For Dummies

Changing the Performance: A Companion Guide to Arts, Business and Civic Engagement

Author: Julia Rowntre

Changing the Performance: A Companion Guide to Arts, Business and Civic Relations is an inspiring manual for arts practitioners concerned with the relationship between business, the arts and wider society, and particularly those engaged in fundraising.

Julia Rowntree gives a fascinating account of her experiences forging the business sponsorship campaign at the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT). Faced with a funding crisis in the early 1990s, LIFT responded with a radical experiment in business arts relations - the LIFT Business Arts Forum - in which young students and people from private and public sectors are invited to attend the theatre together and imagine how they might do their work differently as a result of this shared experience.

This book proposes that fundraising for the arts is much more than simply a function for generating income. It fulfills an ancient social role of connection across levels of power, expertise, culture, gender and generation. Rowntreedescribes why these dynamics are vital to society's ability to adapt. Raising intriguing questions about common ground between artistic, social and commercial innovation, this book offers a new model for the theory and practice of financing the arts.

What People Are Saying

Janet Suzman
...invaluable as a record of the painstaking preparation behind LIFT's work, and useful too as a handbook on funding and sponsorship. (Janet Suzman, Actress)

Pt. 1	Opening a window on the world : the London International Festival of Theatre	11
1	Starting by not knowing	13
2	LIFT learns the language of business	25
3	Finessing the rules of engagement	38
4	Rediscovering civil society amid the market and the state	59
5	Enter young theatre-makers	87
Pt. 2	Strategic conversations	101
6	Bleached bones and starting again	103
7	Giving birth to the LIFT Business Arts Forum	126
8	Taking steps into the world of organizations	139
Pt. 3	Imagining a cultural commons	165
9	Collective learning	175
10	Crafting a new discourse - experiments and evolution	183
11	Overstepping the market	214
12	Inventive societies begin on our doorstep	230
App. 1	Timeline of LIFT, the Business Arts Forum and world events
App. 2	Summary of productions seen by Business Arts Forum members in LIFT '95
App. 3	Key LIFT adaptations re sponsorship and Business Arts Forum

Writing News for Television or The Building of Renaissance Florence

Writing News for Television: Style and Format

Author: Eric K Gormly

The single universal bit of advice that working journalists give students is "learn to write well." Solid writing is the key to any successful broadcast news operation. In Writing and Producing Television News, Second Edition, author Eric K. Gormly uses contemporary news events as an engaging backdrop to teach students the fundamentals of writing and producing news for broadcast and cable television, offering them all the necessary tools to write well and produce a well-conceived newscast. Gormly draws on his extensive background as a television journalist to explain how real newsrooms work. The text reviews basic grammar, introduces students to industry-specific terminology and the particular rules for TV newswriting, appraises the basics of a television news story, and reveals how televison writing differs from writing for other media. The core of the book then develops various story formats, gives step-by-step instruction on how to transform basic information into properly scripted, solid stories, and shows how to build and run a newscast. Also included are "day-in-the-life" looks at a reporter and a producer in major market newsrooms, detailing the job of each, as well as comments from other television journalists on the role of writing. Packed with student exercises for hands-on learning and fully illustrated with line drawings and charts, Writing and Producing Television News, Second Edition, prepares students to perform from the moment they hit the newsroom.

Book review: Economic Literacy or Integrating Ecofeminism Globalization and World Religions

The Building of Renaissance Florence: An Economic and Social History

Author: Richard A Goldehwait

Awarded the Howard R. Marraro Prize by the American Historical Association

"Always fascinating... The reader will get from Goldthwaite's book on the economics of architecture a more lively and more authentic impression of life in Renaissance Florence than from many more general descriptions of Florentine culture."--Felix Gilbert, New York Review of Books.

New York Review of Books - Felix Gilbert

Always fascinating.

Felix Gilbert

Always fascinating. -- New York Review of Books

Friday, December 26, 2008

Management Communication or Consumer Economics

Management Communication

Author: James S IV ORourk

Using real case studies to emphasize the principles introduced in the book, Management Communication is an exciting and useful approach to better business and organizational communication. It discusses the fact that all communication processes in successful businesses of this new century will be fully integrated, and prepares interested readers to understand and use the techniques described for their benefit in the workplace. Taking a strategic attitude, this book comprehensively explains communication in transition, communication ethics, listening and feedback, nonverbal communication, intercultural and international communication, managing conflict, performance in business meetings, and dealing with the media. A powerful tool for readers employed in fields where successful communication skills are necessary, including executives, managers, and others in leadership positions.

Look this: I Live Here or Bush at War

Consumer Economics: Issues and Behaviors

Author: Elizabeth B Goldsmith

Today's consumer is operating in a much more complex marketplace than could ever have been envisioned by Adam Smith, founding father of modern economics, who argued that consumers—not kings or parliaments—should rule nations. There is no doubt that the consumer is still sovereign, but controlling resources is becoming increasingly difficult. This text examines and explains the issues surrounding the modern consumer.

Highlights include:

Student-based examples such as landlord-tenant disputes, sorting through credit card and cellular phone offers, purchasing cars and vehicle repairs, and choosing travel and various other "deals" wisely
Internet and e-commerce is well-documented
Introduces the circular flow model of consumption from beginning to end
A full chapter on consumption shifts and the consumer movement
State-of-the-art scientific and behavioral knowledge on diets, organically-grown food, genetically altered food, additives, food-related disease, and fast-food versus the slow-food movement
A full chapter on health and wellness
Practical information regarding purchasing homes, cars, insurance, and investments, including warranties and guarantees, product safety and awareness of "get rich quick" schemes
A full chapter on identity theft and how to avoid it

Consumer Behaviour or Accounting and Finance for Your Small Business

Consumer Behaviour

Author: Ahmad Jamal

Consumer Behaviour is an exciting, new European text written in student friendly language and designed specifically around how students learn. Using their considerably experience, Martin Evans, Ahmad Jamal and Gordon Foxall present a concise exploration of the key aspects of the Consumer Behaviour in a lively but rigorous manner. They also include topical issues, such as Consumer Misbehaviour, and the growing trend within marketing to attempt to understand consumers through an ever-expanding range of personalised transactional and profile data.

Interesting textbook: Praying Through Cancer or Blood Matters

Accounting and Finance for Your Small Business

Author: E James Burton

"Once again, Bragg has turned his discerning eye and formidable talents on a topic and the results are outstanding. Both those new to the business and the long-established entrepreneur will benefit greatly when he joins forces with E. James Burton to produce this outstanding work."
—Mary S. Schaeffer, Editorial Director Accounts Payable Now & Tomorrow

"I use the tips and practices found in [this book] all through the year. They are clear, direct, and efficient-which, in turn, improves our company and our bottom line. I recommend [this book] to anyone wanting to improve their own bottom line."
—D. R. Drum, CIO, CSO Engineering/Accounting, Dragon Moon Productions

"Eminently accessible, this book is a must-read for the entrepreneur, both new and established alike. Organizationally, the work flows smoothly and logically in a way that is valuable for the start-up as well as the veteran needing a refresher on specific aspects of the small business accounting/financing picture. I found particularly useful the rich resourcefulness that Messrs Burton and Bragg brought to the table in compiling the essential checklists for every conceivable corner of the entrepreneur's financial realm from fraud prevention to financing options. As a small business owner myself, I was well pleased with the real-world guidance and instant 'useability' this book offers."
—David Struthers, JDFacilitator/Trial Lawyer

"This book is essential for any small business owner, manager, or accountant's business tool kit. This easy-to-read book distills complex subject matter into meaningful and understandable information and is a great refreshercourse for those deeply involved in the accounting and financial matters of a small business. The book contains many examples that can be used immediately in daily operations to improve the quality of information for better decision making. The book provides those involved in small business the framework to manage what they measure."
—Jim Bologa, CFODaticon, Inc.

Preface.

Section I: Preparing to Operate the Business.

Chapter 1: Budgeting for Operations.

Definition or Purpose of an Operating Budget.

Signs of Budget Ineffectiveness.

Improvements to the Budgeting System.

Responsibility Accounting.

Budget Tracking and Maintenance.

The System of Interlocking Budgets.

Need for Budget Updating.

Summary.

Chapter 2: Investing in Long-Term Assets and Capital Budgeting.

Definitions.

Overview and Use of Capital Budgeting.

Life Cycles.

Capital Budgeting Sequence.

Producing Numbers to Get Dollars, the Use of Forms, and the Capital Budgeting Model.

Miscellaneous Considerations.

Product Discontinuance.

Bailout.

Summary.

Appendix: Examples and Comparison of Calculations.

Chapter 3: Basic Control Systems.

The Need for Control Systems.

Types of Fraud.

Key Controls.

When to Eliminate Controls.

Summary.

Section II: Operating the Business.

Chapter 4: Cash Flow Concerns.

Cash.

What to Do with Excess Cash.

Cash Flows.

Introduction to Cash Flow Budgets.

Indications of Cash Flow Problems.

Managing Cash.

Preparation of the Cash Budget.

Disbursements.

Net Cash Flow and Cash Balances.

Exceptions to Expected Cash Flows.

Summary.

Appendix: Cash FlowExample.

Chapter 5: Financing.

New Businesses.

Zero Working Capital and Zero Fixed Assets.

Types of Financing.

Private Placement of Stock.

Swapping Stock for Expenses.

Stock Warrants.

Stock Subscriptions.

How to Obtain a Bank Loan.

Sources of Debt Financing.

Types of Loan Arrangements.

Restrictions on Loans.

Conditions That a Borrower Should Seek.

Summary.

Section III: Evaluating the Operations of the Business.

Chapter 6: Performance Measurement Systems.

Financial Ratios.

Types of Financial Ratios.

Using Performance Measurements for Predictions.

Operating Ratios.

Other Ratios.

The Balanced Scorecard.

Summary.

Chapter 7: Financial Analysis.

Risk Analysis.

Capacity Utilization.

Breakeven Analysis.

Summary.

Chapter 8: Taxes and Risk Management.

Controlling Tax Liabilities.

Risk Management.

Insurance.

Types of Insurance Companies.

Claims Administration.

Summary.

Chapter 9: Reporting.

Federal Government Requirements.

State Government Requirements.

Local Government Requirements.

Creditors.

Equity Holders.

Management Reports.

Summary.

Index.

Payroll Accounting or Introduction to Logistics Systems Planning and Control

Payroll Accounting: A Complete Guide to Payroll

Author: Frank C Giov

This comprehensive and practical textbook covers the entire payroll process, step-by-step. The text provides an overview of governmental procedures and regulations, and two unique chapters offer a managerial perspective on internal control and cost-saving measures.

An ongoing case and continuing case problem illustrate the steps of the payroll cycle at realistic manufacturing and service companies.

Book about:

Introduction to Logistics Systems Planning and Control

Author: Gianpaolo Ghiani

Logistics is defined as a business planning framework for the management of material, service, information and capital flows. Logistic systems have received considerable attention in the last 10 years, as they constitute one of the cornerstones in the design and control of production systems and the modeling of supply chains. This renewed interest is partly due to the recognition that well-known planning and control systems such as ‘Manufacturing Resources Planning’ and ‘Just in Time’ systems fail to establish a sound integration of lead time management, capacity planning and quality considerations.

This book uniquely:

• Presents a balanced treatment of quantitative methods for logistics systems planning, organization and control.

• Each topic is illustrated with real examples.

• Each chapter features an annotated bibliography of key references.

• Features a number of case studies that show how the methods can be applied to complex logistics problems.

• Assumes only a basic knowledge of operations research.

• Supported by a Website () featuring exercises and teaching material.

A unique, leading edge title for researchers, practitioners, and students of logistics and supply chain management, in both academia; engineering, computer science, management science, undergraduate, graduate students and industry professionals.

Introduction to Logistics Systems Planning and Control provides an accessible self-contained introduction to the subject for researchers, practitioners, and students of logistics and supply chain management, in both academia and industry. The book has been developed from courses taught to engineering, computer science and management science undergraduate and graduate students.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Careers In and Out of Organizations or Theory and Practice of Leadership

Careers In and Out of Organizations

Author: Douglas T Hall

What are the individual and organizational influences on career choices and adult development?

Careers In and Out of Organizations provides an overview of the changing context of careers and describes the role of interpersonal relationships as influences on development of a person's identity and learning. The author examines the nature of the new career contract and the different approaches that have been taken to studying career decision making. He explores how career choices are made, the developmental stages people pass through during the course of their working lives in organizations, and the factors related to career effectiveness including integrating career and personal life. The latter third of the book turns from research to the practical issues involved in applying theory including a look at how an understanding of career dynamics can be employed to make careers work better for individuals and for the work communities where they are employed.

	Introduction to the Series
	Preface
	Acknowledgments
Pt. I	Contemporary Careers	1
1	The Study of Careers	3
2	The Protean Career Contract	17
Pt. II	Elements of the Career	47
3	Career Choice and Decision Making	49
4	Life, Career, and Learning Stages	89
5	Predicting Career Effectiveness: Performance	131
6	The Protean Career Identity and Attitudes	169
7	Career Adaptability	205
8	Managing Protean Career and Life Roles	235
Pt. III	Implementing Career Concepts	255
9	Reflection: Self-Development for the Growth of Identity and Adaptability	257
10	Toward More Strategic and Self-Directed Careers	279
11	Looking Back at Careers In Organizations and Looking Ahead: Toward More Spiritual Careers	301
	References	313
	Index	335
	About the Author	345

New interesting textbook:

Theory and Practice of Leadership

Author: Roger Gill

Leadership today is a hot topic, with a mushrooming but fragmented literature. Theory and Practice of Leadership provides a comprehensive and critical review of the major theories of leadership and clearly lays out a more holistic understanding of leadership that integrates the disparate approaches and theories.

Throughout the book, the author uses illustrative examples and cases, drawn from research and practice in the UK, mainland Europe and the USA, enabling students to better relate the theories to real cases and their own experience. A clear picture of leadership theory and development is set out through accessible language and a focus on bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Theory and Practice of Leadership is essential reading for anyone needing a clear overview of the theories and practice behind this growing field. The book will be used by postgraduate students pursuing an MBA or other courses in leadership, business management, organizational behaviour, HRM and organizational strategy.

Effective Real Estate Sales and Marketing or Global Cities

Effective Real Estate Sales and Marketing

Author: Johnnie Rosenauer

Become a competitive and successful salesperson with EFFECTIVE REAL ESTATE SALES AND MARKETING! With an overview of the relationship between marketing and sales, this real estate text provides you with the tools and information you need for success. The proven techniques discussed include insight understanding consumer behavior, effective communication, and time management. In-depth coverage of current technology trends with real world applications found throughout will equip you for today's competitive marketplace.

Look this:

Global Cities

Author: Mark Abrahamson

Global Cities examines the distinctive commercial, residential, and spatial features of the major cities of the contemporary world--cities housing the financial and cultural activities that are most consequential for everyone, regardless of where they live. The development of these influential cities is intimately related to the emergence of modern telecommunications, the growth of multinational corporations, the internationalization of economic activity, and the increased movement of cultural symbols and artifacts across national lines.
Accessible to readers with little background in sociology or social science, Global Cities analyzes numerous contemporary issues to illustrate concepts and processes pertaining to the most significant global cities. These concrete examples facilitate students' general understanding and show them the contemporary relevance of the material. The book offers a detailed and multifaceted picture of such leading urban centers as London, New York, Tokyo, and Paris, but also branches out to other important cities in the world. It analyzes both the internal features of the cities and the nature of their connections with each other. Global Cities is ideal for undergraduate courses in urban sociology and other social sciences.

Getting a Job or Leisure Program Planning and Delivery

Getting a Job: A Study in Contacts and Careers

Author: Mark Granovetter

This classic study of how 282 men in the United States found their jobs not only proves "it's not what you know but who you know," but also demonstrates how social activity influences labor markets. Examining the link between job contacts and social structure, Granovetter recognizes networking as the crucial link between economists studies of labor mobility and more focused studies of an individual's motivation to find work.
This second edition is updated with a new Afterword and includes Granovetter's influential article "Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problems of Embeddedness."
"Who would imagine that a book with such a prosaic title as 'getting a job' could pose such provocative questions about social structure and even social policy? In a remarkably ingenious and deceptively simple analysis of data gathered from a carefully designed sample of professional, technical, and managerial employees . . . Granovetter manages to raise a number of critical issues for the economic theory of labor markets as well as for theories of social structure by exploiting the emerging 'social network' perspective."—Edward O. Laumann, American Journal of Sociology
"This short volume has much to offer readers of many disciplines. . . . Granovetter demonstrates ingenuity in his design and collection of data."—Jacob Siegel, Monthly Labor Review

"A fascinating exploration, for Granovetter's principal interest lies in utilizing sociological theory and method to ascertain the nature of the linkages through which labor market information is transmitted by 'friends and relatives.'"—Herbert Parnes, Industrial and Labor RelationsReview

	Preface to the Second Edition
	Preface
	Acknowledgments
	Introduction	3
Pt. 1	Toward Causal Models	23
Ch. 1	"Job Search" and Economic Theory	25
Ch. 2	Contacts and Their Information	41
Ch. 3	The Dynamics of Information Flow	51
Ch. 4	The Dynamics of Vacancy Structure	63
Ch. 5	Contacts: Acquisition and Maintenance	73
Ch. 6	Career Structure	85
Ch. 7	Some Theoretical Implications	93
Pt. 2	Mobility and Society	105
Ch. 8	Mobility and Organizations	107
Ch. 9	Comparative Perspectives	119
Ch. 10	Applications	131
	Afterword 1994: Reconsiderations and a New Agenda	139
	Appendix A: Design and Conduct of the Study	183
	Appendix B: Coding Rules and Problems	195
	Appendix C: Letters and Interview Schedules	201
	Appendix D: Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness	211
	References	241
	Index	249

Go to:

Leisure Program Planning and Delivery

Author: Ruth V Russell

Leisure Program Planning and Delivery will prepare recreation students for 21st-century programming. The book provides a comprehensive three-step plan for successful programming of services, program leadership, and understanding operational management of program systems in recreation and leisure service organizations. The scope of the book makes it practical either for preparing students and new professionals or for retooling your recreation program for today's challenges.

Grounded in contemporary professional practice and real-world applications, the book provides a systematic plan for students to learn the essentials of successful recreation programming, with examples of a variety of activities in community, outdoor, sport, cultural arts, and tourism sectors of the field. A companion Web site provides support for recreation professors with sample course syllabi, chapter review questions, PowerPoint presentations, and a test bank.

Each chapter of Leisure Program Planning and Delivery includes the following student-friendly features:

Learning objectives

An opening vignette with a real-world example tied to the theme of the chapter

Photographs, tables, and figures

Examples of specific chapter programming concepts taken from actual programming for outdoor, sport, tourism, cultural arts, and community recreation organizations

A continuing case study highlighting the City of Westerville, Ohio, Parks and Recreation Department, a 2001 Gold Medal Awardee

A chapter summary keyed to the learning objectives

A glossary of key terms

A bound-in CD-ROM contains chapter-by-chapter activities and assignments that applyprogramming concepts and professional best practices from the text; Internet sites for interactive learning; and forms for planning, implementing, and evaluating programs. At the end of the course, the student assignments can be combined to create a student programming portfolio.

Throughout the text, the City of Westerville, Ohio, Parks and Recreation Department-a 2001 Gold Medal Awardee-serves as a case study. The case illustrates how program concepts and practices apply in the real world of recreation programming.

Leisure Program Planning and Delivery is the foundational text to prepare students and practicing professionals for situations they will encounter on the job. As a reference, the book contains the essentials of programming and offers cutting-edge programming techniques, support tools, and forms that will help professionals meet challenges in leisure programming, making it a text that students will keep long after their course work is completed.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The Theory of Incentives or Economic Approach to Human Behavior

The Theory of Incentives: The Principal-Agent Model

Author: Jean Jacques Laffont

Economics has much to do with incentives--not least, incentives to work hard, to produce quality products, to study, to invest, and to save. Although Adam Smith amply confirmed this more than two hundred years ago in his analysis of sharecropping contracts, only in recent decades has a theory begun to emerge to place the topic at the heart of economic thinking. In this book, Jean-Jacques Laffont and David Martimort present the most thorough yet accessible introduction to incentives theory to date. Central to this theory is a simple question as pivotal to modern-day management as it is to economics research: What makes people act in a particular way in an economic or business situation? In seeking an answer, the authors provide the methodological tools to design institutions that can ensure good incentives for economic agents.

This book focuses on the principal-agent model, the "simple" situation where a principal, or company, delegates a task to a single agent through a contract--the essence of management and contract theory. How does the owner or manager of a firm align the objectives of its various members to maximize profits? Following a brief historical overview showing how the problem of incentives has come to the fore in the past two centuries, the authors devote the bulk of their work to exploring principal-agent models and various extensions thereof in light of three types of information problems: adverse selection, moral hazard, and non-verifiability. Offering an unprecedented look at a subject vital to industrial organization, labor economics, and behavioral economics, this book is set to become the definitive resource for students, researchers, and others whomight find themselves pondering what contracts, and the incentives they embody, are really all about.

	Foreword
	Introduction	1
1	Incentives in Economic Thought	7
1.1	Adam Smith and Incentive Contracts in Agriculture	8
1.2	Chester Barnard and Incentives in Management	11
1.3	Hume, Wicksell, Groves: The Free-Rider Problem	14
1.4	Borda, Bowen, Vickrey: Incentives in Voting	15
1.5	Leon Walras and the Regulation of Natural Monopolies	18
1.6	Knight, Arrow, Pauly: Incentives in Insurance	18
1.7	Sidgwick, Vickrey, Mirrlees: Redistribution and Incentives	20
1.8	Dupuit, Edgeworth, Pigou: Price Discrimination	22
1.9	Incentives in Planned Economies	23
1.10	Leonid Hurwicz and Mechanism Design	25
1.11	Auctions	27
2	The Rent Extraction-Efficiency Trade-Off	28
2.1	The Basic Model	32
2.2	The Complete Information Optimal Contract	33
2.3	Incentive Feasible Menu of Contracts	36
2.4	Information Rents	39
2.5	The Optimization Program of the Principal	40
2.6	The Rent Extraction-Efficiency Trade-Off	41
2.7	The Theory of the Firm Under Asymmetric Information	46
2.8	Asymmetric Information and Marginal Cost Pricing	48
2.9	The Revelation Principle	48
2.10	A More General Utility Function for the Agent	51
2.11	Ex Ante versus Ex Post Participation Constraints	57
2.12	Commitment	63
2.13	Stochastic Mechanisms	65
2.14	Informative Signals to Improve Contracting	68
2.15	Contract Theory at Work	72
3	Incentive and Participation Constraints with Adverse Selection	82
3.1	More than Two Types	86
3.2	Multidimensional Asymmetric Information	93
3.3	Type-Dependent Participation Constraint and Countervailing Incentives	101
3.4	Random Participation Constraint	115
3.5	Limited Liability	118
3.6	Audit Mechanisms and Costly State Verification	121
3.7	Redistributive Concerns and the Efficiency-Equity Trade-Off	130
4	Moral Hazard: The Basic Trade-Offs	145
4.1	The Model	148
4.2	Risk Neutrality and First-Best Implementation	153
4.3	The Trade-Off Between Limited Liability Rent Extraction and Efficiency	155
4.4	The Trade-Off Between Insurance and Efficiency	158
4.5	More than Two Levels of Performance	163
4.6	Informative Signals to Improve Contracting	167
4.7	Moral Hazard and the Theory of the Firm	172
4.8	Contract Theory at Work	174
4.9	Commitment Under Moral Hazard	184
5	Incentive and Participation Constraints with Moral Hazard	187
5.1	More than Two Levels of Effort	191
5.2	The Multitask Incentive Problem	203
5.3	Nonseparability of the Utility Function	226
5.4	Redistribution and Moral Hazard	232
6	Nonverifiability	240
6.1	No Contract at Date 0 and Ex Post Bargaining	242
6.2	Incentive Compatible Contract	244
6.3	Nash Implementation	246
6.4	Subgame-Perfect Implementation	256
6.5	Risk Aversion	261
7	Mixed Models	265
7.1	Adverse Selection Followed by Moral Hazard	269
7.2	Moral Hazard Followed by Adverse Selection	294
7.3	Moral Hazard Followed by Nonverifiability	298
8	Dynamics under Full Commitment	303
8.1	Repeated Adverse Selection	307
8.2	Repeated Moral Hazard	319
8.3	Constraints by Transfers: The Role of Implicit Incentives	342
9	Limits and Extensions	347
9.1	Informed Principal	351
9.2	Limits to Enforcement	360
9.3	Dynamics and Limited Commitment	364
9.4	The Hold-Up Problem	370
9.5	Limits to the Complexity of Contracts	375
9.6	Limits in the Action Space	387
9.7	Limits to Rational Behavior	391
9.8	Endogenous Information Structures	395
	References	399
	Author Index	413
	Subject Index	417

New interesting textbook: SQL Queries for Mere Mortals or Outlook 2007 For Dummies

Economic Approach to Human Behavior

Author: Gary Stanley Becker

Since his pioneering application of economic analysis to racial discrimination, Gary S. Becker has shown that an economic approach can provide a unified framework for understanding all human behavior. In a highly readable selection of essays Becker applies this approach to various aspects of human activity, including social interactions; crime and punishment; marriage, fertility, and the family; and "irrational" behavior.
"Becker's highly regarded work in economics is most notable in the imaginative application of 'the economic approach' to a surprising breadth of human activity. Becker's essays over the years have inevitably inspired a surge of research activity in testimony to the richness of his insights into human activities lying 'outside' the traditionally conceived economic markets. Perhaps no economist in our time has contributed more to expanding the area of interest to economists than Becker, and a number of these thought-provoking essays are collected in this book."—Choice
Gary Becker was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Science in 1992.

	Preface
1	Introduction, Background, and Preview	1
2	People, Places, and Lifestyles	23
3	Immigration	48
4	Cities in the Global Economy	71
5	Inequality	95
6	Global Culture and the Cultural Industries	121
7	The Global Cultural Industries Hierarchy	139
8	Some Final Thoughts	162
	Index	173

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Apparel Product Design and Merchandising Strategies

Table of Contents:

The Communist Manifesto

Microsoft Office 2003 (The O'Leary Series), Vol. 2

Workplace Plus 3 with Grammar Booster, Vol. 3

Table of Contents:

Process Selection

Learning Through Knowledge Management

Table of Contents:

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Fundamentals of Aviation Law

Table of Contents:

Problems & Cases in Health Care Marketing

The Globalization of Nothing

Nike Culture: The Sign of the Swoosh

Table of Contents:

RFID: Applications, Security, and Privacy

Business Mathematics

Booknews

Table of Contents:

Monday, December 29, 2008

Astropolitik

The Social Construction of Free Trade: The European Union, NAFTA, and Mercosur

Table of Contents:

Product and Services Management

A Survival Guide for Culinary Professionals

Table of Contents:

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Student Study Guide to Accompany Contemporary Management

Transnational Management: Text and Cases

Table of Contents:

Creating a Climate for Power Learning: 36 Mind-Stretching Activities

Radio Wave Propagation For Telecommunication Applications

Table of Contents:

IMF and the Future: Issues and Options Facing the International Monetary Fund

Table of Contents:

Power and Governance in a Partially Globalized World

Saturday, December 27, 2008

The Economic Approach to Law

Table of Contents:

Electricity 1

Debt Defaults and Lessons from a Decade of Crises

Changing the Performance: A Companion Guide to Arts, Business and Civic Engagement

What People Are Saying

Table of Contents:

Writing News for Television: Style and Format

The Building of Renaissance Florence: An Economic and Social History

New York Review of Books - Felix Gilbert

Felix Gilbert

Friday, December 26, 2008

Management Communication

Consumer Economics: Issues and Behaviors

Table of Contents:

Consumer Behaviour

Accounting and Finance for Your Small Business

Table of Contents:

Payroll Accounting: A Complete Guide to Payroll

Introduction to Logistics Systems Planning and Control

Table of Contents:

Thursday, December 25, 2008

Careers In and Out of Organizations

Table of Contents:

Theory and Practice of Leadership

Effective Real Estate Sales and Marketing

Global Cities

Table of Contents:

Getting a Job: A Study in Contacts and Careers

Table of Contents:

Leisure Program Planning and Delivery

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

The Theory of Incentives: The Principal-Agent Model

Table of Contents:

Economic Approach to Human Behavior

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