Introduction to Social Security: Policies, Benefits and Poverty

Book Description

An Introduction to Social Security is an up-to-date text on an important social policy issue that needs constant updating. It will be essential reading for all students in social policy and administration courses, and it includes contributions from some of the best-known and most respected names in the field.

Book Description

`This is an enormously significant book. Cees van Beers and André de Moor have not only identified the main obstacles but also suggested new pathways to the key public policy reforms needed to move toward a more prosperous, equitable and sustainable future. Their work is superb, marked by insight, innovation, rigor of analyses, and strength of argument.'

- From the Foreword by Jim MacNeill, Chairman, World Bank Inspection Panel

`This book highlights one of the most productive things environmental groups, economists and policy officials could do for society: form a partnership to push for cuts to subsidies that simultaneously damage the economy and the environment. The authors have made that task easier for those groups by providing a comprehensive and yet very readable analysis of the issue. They provide an assessment of the overall extent of subsidies to different sectors in rich and poor countries, including a wide range of case studies. This is a “must buy” for people seriously interested in finding ways to improve the environment that contribute to rather than deplete national treasuries and development prospects.'

- Kym Anderson, University of Adelaide, Australia

The allocation of subsidies is often regarded as a fundamental role of governments in order to realize and maintain benefits to society. The possibility that public subsidies could actually be counterproductive contradicts common perception. The authors of this challenging book present recent evidence which, in their view, suggests that subsidies may in fact turn out to be a contemporary plague.

Public Subsidies and Policy Failures provides extensive analysis of the theory and political economy of public support policies, demonstrating how subsidies can harm the environment, distort trade, and benefit those in society who do not require support. Furthermore, they often fail to achieve the desired and expected goals. The authors employ a theoretical framework to illustrate the impact of subsidies on developed and developing economies, as well as on international trade. They examine public subsidies in various natural resource and industrial sectors and discover that many turn out to be policy failures. They also investigate the various barriers and lock-in mechanisms by which subsidies become entrenched in economic and political structures. The book goes on to propose concrete actions, policy strategies and international `Grand Deals' which will engender effective subsidy reforms.

Scholars, researchers and students will welcome this rigorous investigation into the political and economic costs and benefits of public subsidies. International trade organizations and policymakers will also benefit from the strategic emphasis.

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Public Subsidies and Policy Failures: How Subsidies Distort the Natural Environment, Equity and Trade and How to Reform Them. .(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Southern Economic Journal
Alexandre Rivas
Manufacturer: Southern Economic Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B0008G7C98
Release Date: 2005-07-30

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Southern Economic Journal, published by Southern Economic Association on January 1, 2003. The length of the article is 942 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Public Subsidies and Policy Failures: How Subsidies Distort the Natural Environment, Equity and Trade and How to Reform Them. .(Book Review) (book review)
Author: Alexandre Rivas
Publication: Southern Economic Journal (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2003
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Volume: 69 Issue: 3 Page: 748(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

This is a survey of bounded rationality, an area of theoretical macroeconomics which is receiving increased attention. The book is written by a leading macroeconomist who outlines the issues involved, describes some of the analytic tools that are being used, and shows how they can be applied in a range of models. It points to further potential positive developments of the theory as well as some of its limitations.

Bounded Rationality in Macroeconomics; the Arne Ryde Memorial Lectures

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Bounded Rationality in Macroeconomics; the Arne Ryde Memorial Lectures
Thomas J. Sargent
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000VLCHSG

Average customer rating:

Violin Making-as it is and was

The one violin book to have.

Violin-Making: A Historical and Practical Guide
Edward Heron-Allen
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Useful Measurements for Violin Makers: A Reference For Shop Use

Art of Violin Making

Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work

Violin Making

The Violin-Makers of the Guarneri Family (1626-1762)

ASIN: 0486443566

Book Description

This classic guide offers an accessible initiation into the mysteries of violin-making. Charming in its style and cultivated in its research, it covers every detail of the process and includes a fascinating history of the instrument. More than 200 diagrams, engravings, and photographs complement the text. 1885 edition.

Customer Reviews:

Violin Making-as it is and was.......2007-07-05

I am becoming a professional Luthier and studied in Italy making varnishes etc. This book is the very best you can buy on making a Stradivarius Cremona Violin. I used it to remodel a piece of thick unplayable junk-violin, sold to me with a violin case. I wanted the case not the violin. Now this piece of junk is a valuable violin one of the best in my collection. In the original book as it is and was the building plans for the stradivarius are full size, and precisely drawn. There is a registery for many stradivarius building Luthiers in the world. Most are only allowed to make 15 per year. But times have changed and there are millions of stradivarius copies made in Asia and Europe. However if you really study hard and learn from this book, you will make a valuable instrument. Put the love in the violin and she will make the most beautiful music created from your heart. Buy it, it's worth it!

The one violin book to have........2007-04-13

If, like me, your earliest memories are of sitting in front of the T.V., then this book will be a little hard to get use to. Once you get use to the victorian era prose, It gets to be more fun than three days at the circus.

This is not a visual book.Everything you could want is here, but you have to be able to read and follow along. There is a set of the the best plans and templates you will find. They are in the back of the book and reduced in size, but can be enlarged easily enough at Kinkos or some such shop. The templates were taken from a real Strad that he had on his bench. They are painstakingly compiled by a violin maker who apprenticed to Chanot,(remember. This was written in 1885) and there is no detail left out. You have to turn to the templates page while you read, but it is well worth it.

If you buy no other book on violin making, buy this one. It is everything you need.

Book Description

Historians and literary critics from both sides of the Atlantic analyze significant watersheds and faultlines from 1775-1815--a crucial era in the history of Euro-Americans relations. Tracing patterns of intellectual and cultural cross-pollination between the Old and the New World, between pre- and post-Revolutionary cultures, the essays increase awareness of the degree to which the emergence of cultural nationalism in this period was essentially a transatlantic process-a process that was itself part of a larger circumatlantic cultural continuum.

Romantic Dialogues: Anglo-American Continuities, 1776-1862 & Revolutionary Histories: Transatlantic Cultural Nationalism, 1775-1815.(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Wordsworth Circle

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Romantic Dialogues: Anglo-American Continuities, 1776-1862 & Revolutionary Histories: Transatlantic Cultural Nationalism, 1775-1815.(Book Review) (book review): An article from: Wordsworth Circle
Bryan Waterman
Manufacturer: Wordsworth Circle
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Wordsworth Circle, published by Wordsworth Circle on September 22, 2002. The length of the article is 1276 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Romantic Dialogues: Anglo-American Continuities, 1776-1862 & Revolutionary Histories: Transatlantic Cultural Nationalism, 1775-1815.(Book Review) (book review)
Author: Bryan Waterman
Publication: Wordsworth Circle (Refereed)
Date: September 22, 2002
Publisher: Wordsworth Circle
Volume: 33 Issue: 4 Page: 150(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

This book is a journey through the final four seasons of "The X-Files." Featuring interviews with members of the show\'s creative team and its diverse fan base, the book also includes my episode reviews and essays, which hopefully will provide additional insight into the show and the powerful impact it had on the millions of fans it touched.

Customer Reviews:

Great But Flawed.......2007-08-23

I loved this book, the author was really insightful with the episodes he chose to review, the non-episode articles are also intelligantly written, often humerous and enjoyable. Where I think the book fails is that it doesn't cover the whole of seaon 8/9, only selected episodes, the episode in which Mulder appears. This is because the book has a shipper heart through and through and is intent on covering the Mulder and Scully relationship. Fair enough but I would have loved to see what the author thought of more non-shipper episodes. It isn't very comprehensive in that regard but still a good read.

Misleading Title - Very disappointed.......2005-08-20

Well. I would have to agree with the two last reviewers there. Bad book for seasons 8 and 9. And it had such potential. But the author was too busy explaining why there never should have been a season 8 or 9. How sad. Someone should have helped him with his hype and title about this book being one that would take an honest look at ALL of the last four seasons, without all of the biased b.s. towards seasons 8 and 9. Believe it or not, there are a lot of fans out there that LOVED seasons 8 and 9, and enjoyed seeing Scully come into her own those last two years without Mulder. Very nice change of pace. And I would agree that the author showed much adolescent, childish behaviour in the way that he slurred Reyes' character all the time with his childish remarks. I would have expected a little more professionalism out of a "professional" writer. Again - sad. So, I would recommend maybe checking it out of the library or something, but for those that want a true account of the last four seasons (and seasons 8 , 9 Doggett and Reyes) please don't waste your money on this load of .... Yeah...

Very Disappointing - Much too biased in his commentary.......2004-12-14

I was so looking forward to this book, and the insight into seasons 8 and 9, especially since there are no other books out there that cover these two specific seasons. Instead, I got a load of crap. The author should have forewarned his readers of his blatant bias and overtly narrow-minded opinions on the Mulder/Scully Dynamic (which is still quite debatable among the most hardcore of fans - were they, or weren't they?) and his horrendous interpretations of John Doggett and Monica Reyes. I thought I was reading the work of a small homophobic child with his insistence on referring to the Monica Reyes character as a lesbian. Absurd. Simply absurd. She was never considered a lesbian. I guess he forgot about her former relationship with AD Brad Follmer. She was not on the make for Scully. She was Scully's friend, as was Doggett. The book was supposed to be about season 6 through season 9. He gives us much insight with seasons 6 and 7, then explains for the last half of the book why there should have never been a season 8 or 9. Why make the claim that it was an objective, informative view of all four seasons? Instead, the reader is given one fan's own biased opinion of only two of them. Not worth the time, money or effort for someone that is legitimately interested in an objective, well-informed discussion on the last four seasons of the show, and especially the last two.

Interesting Analysis of the Last Four Seasons.......2004-06-20

I found Unbound 1's book to be a detailed look at key episodes from the last four seasons of the show, and one that is written with a definite fan bias and not much objectivity. But as a fan, that's the only way it could be written.

Unbound 1 analyzes the episodes with an emphasis on the Scully/Mulder relationship, which was a key aspect of the show to fans like myself, so I did appreciate his comments in that area. I also appreciated his dissatisfaction with plot and character in the last two seasons.

In some cases I think Unbound 1 went too far, as in his constant references to the Monica Reyes character as a "lesbian," which the character was not. It's not so much that Unbound 1 labels her as one, but that he uses the term as a slur because he doesn't like her character. I found that to be a bit adolescent for someone who is a professional writer.

Overall, I enjoyed EXaminations, since there is not much in print about the last few seasons, and I do agree with many of the points Unbound 1 made in his book. This is a book that truly demonstrates how fans analyze and connect emotionally to their TV shows. And believe me, there are many of us out there.

EXCELLENT/INSIGHTFUL book for Mulder/Scully fans only.......2004-06-13

I came into the "X-Files phenomenon" after everyone else it seems, and looking to find out more about the series, especially the later years (Seasons 6-9), I highly anticipated reading this book, as it was hyped as "covering the last four years of the X-Files." This description, I feel, is a bit misleading, but I still consider buying this book a great choice and money well spent. (My only regret is not purchasing one the author had signed--didn't know those books were available!) For the most part, I am thoroughly satisfied with this book. It answered many questions concerning the decisions made during the last two years of the show, and why the divisions in the fan base have occurred (which, I must admit, I didn't understand at the time). However, the author's reviews of the episodes during Seasons 8 and 9 were only on the episodes that David Duchovny appeared in. Considering the incredible insight he showed in his writing of his reviews of those episodes, I would have like to have read his thoughts and opinions on all the episodes, including those about the new characters of Doggett and Reyes. (They, for the most part, are ignored in this book). I felt after reading this book that while I definitely knew more than I did before I read it, there were still unanswered questions. (I guess I fall into that very small minority of fans who liked all nine seasons, feeling that even "bad" X-Files episodes were 100% better than everything else being offered on TV at the time). So, if you are looking for a wonderfully written, thoroughly entertaining review of the Mulder/Scully dynamic during the last four years of the X-Files, buy this book. You won't be disappointed. But be prepared to acknowledge that the author is definitely an "old-school" X-Files fan. If you are looking for information in any other direction, you need to keep looking. But this book is by far the best of the "behind the scenes" books out there, and any additional books by this author would be greatly appreciated by this reader.

Book Description

5 books in 1 -- your key to terrific digital photos

Your one-stop, full-color guide to Photoshop CS2 and your digital SLR

You've just bought a brand-new digital single lens reflex camera and Photoshop CS2. Congratulations! Now the question is, "How do I make great photos?" You're in luck! The first two minibooks cover everything you want to know about using your new camera to capture images. The last three explore the wonders of digital photography using Photoshop CS2.

Discover how to
* Set your camera for the right exposure
* Select the right lens for the job
* Choose the better format--JPEG or RAW
* Tweak exposure and white balance images in Photoshop
* Use layer masks in retouching and special color effects

Customer Reviews:

The best book I have ever read!!!.......2007-07-26

What a wonderful book! Turns out the book goes above and beyond the great description that I read. I'm very happy with my purchase and will purchase 30 more for my photography students! It really breaks down a complicated hobby into easy and understandable information.

A very worthwhile book for both experienced and new digital photographers........2007-01-02

Although not new to digital photography I have found this book reveals many aspects of the subject which in many other books are frequently not explained fully enough to totally grasp the concepts or are explained in such detail that one has to fathom what it's all about.

Explanations are clearly detailed on how to optimize such subjects as exposure, balancing white point, controlling color, archiving images and numerous others aspects of digital photography.

Kevin gives readers the opportunity of trying a number of exercises relating to the contents of the book and even offers images which can be down loaded from his web site.

This book is well illustrated with explicit explanations and the setting out of topics makes for easy understanding. A book well worth reading for both the enthusiast and experienced photographer.

Digital photography newbie.......2006-03-30

After much thought and reluctance I finally have made the transition from film to digital and purchased a DSLR. I needed a book to help me make the transition and decided on Kevin Ames' book. A very fortuitous choice on my part indeed. He writes in a fashion that is interesting, informative, to the point and most importantly easy to understand. As a result of using the book as a guide I have enjoyed the digital transition thoroughly and have come to realize I have made the right decision.
What impressed me the most was when I had a problem registering for downloads from his website and I emailed him. I was expecting an email in return. Got not an email but a personal phone call from Kevin to help me with the problem!! Kevin was extremely helpful. He not only took the time to solve the original problem but gave some very good advice on other issues as well. His enthusiasm for photography and willingness to share with others his knowledge and expertise is evident in the book and was borne out by a personal phone call from him. I am very impressed. Buy the book, you will not be disappointed.

Right on Target.......2006-03-28

I have enjoyed this book which provides a good blend of 'understanding your camera' with 'how to work magic with it' in CS2. I have recommended the book to others; especially those confused with all the camera and CS2 technologies. I refuse to lend it as I'm afraid I won't get it back.

If you are buying only one Digital SLR photo book, get this one!.......2006-03-15

For those not fortunate enough to attend one of Kevin Ames' workshops, as I recently did, this "Dummies" book is the next best thing. Whether you are a beginner to digital photography or a practicing professional, Digital SLR Photography with Photoshop by Kevin Ames is a valuable addition to your "toolbox."

Ames is that rare combination of artist and teacher, and this book is one of the most comprehensive, clearest and easiest to follow "how to" books that I have come across.

I've been a photography hobbyist for more than fifty years and the early chapters on fundamentals were still a worthwhile refresher. As a serious amateur my pictures are important to me, so I found Ames' unique approach to non-destructive image processing, disciplined file organization and foolproof archiving to be extremely valuable and essential information.

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