Weiss Rating's Guide to Hmos and Health Insurers: Winter 2002-03 (Weiss Ratings' Guide to Hmo's and Health Insurers, Winter 2002-03)

Book Description

Citizen participation in such complex issues as the quality of the environment, neighborhood housing, urban design, and economic development often brings with it suspicion of government, anger between stakeholders, and power plays by many--as well as appeals to rational argument. Deliberative planning practice in these contexts takes political vision and pragmatic skill. Working from the accounts of practitioners in urban and rural settings, North and South, John Forester shows how skillful deliberative practices can facilitate practical and timely participatory planning processes. In so doing, he provides a window onto the wider world of democratic governance, participation, and practical decisionmaking. Integrating interpretation and theoretical insight with diverse accounts of practice, Forester draws on political science, law, philosophy, literature, and planning to explore the challenges and possibilities of deliberative practice.

Customer Reviews:

Searching for theory behind praxis.......2003-10-27

Once I started reading this book I could not put it aside for long. Perhaps this is because so many of the insights that the author offers on what practioners of deliberative planning and rural development actually do resonates so much with the work I am involved with in Indonesia and the Philippines.

Unlike many other books I have read on planning and development, this book relates stories of planners' real world experiences. It appears that most of the skills practitioners use to deal with the diversity of interests in the face of conflict are rarely taught in universities or textbooks. One wonders where practitioners learn what they do best.

While a solid professional background is necessary, planners must also use improvisation to deal with deliberative processes which involve many stakeholders. What I enjoyed most about this book, unlike many others, is that it contrasts rationality with emotional sensitivity, calculation with improvisation, all of which are necessary for good practice.

The author aslo addresses an often overlooked aspect of deliberative processes in the design professions, that is, how to balance pragmatism in contexts where there has been a history of injustice towards particular groups.

The book makes use of extensive practical experiences of real-life planners and attempts to draw theory from that praxis. These experiences are just as fascinating to read as the authors' insights into theory. It's like being immersed into a deliberative dialogue.

Planning in a Pluralist World.......2003-01-16

As Forester explains in his Introduction makes, the title of his book is an intentional reference to Don Schön's path breaking The Reflective Practitioner. To use a trite cliché, that his book begins where Schön's book left off. There is, on the one hand, a remarkable similarity between the way Schön frames the situation the planner faces on the one hand, and Forester's description of the planner's world and his concept of deliberation on the other. The difference is in Forester's upfront, no-illusion understanding of the conflict-ridden nature of the world of planners and policy makers. Where Schön's reflection-in-action can, perhaps somewhat unfairly, be read as an improvement of the received view of professional knowledge as the sage expert who solves complex problems for clients in need, Forester has no illusions anymore about the moral and instrumental bankruptcy of the expert model. This becomes nowhere as clear as when we look at the examples each author uses. Where Schön uses one-on-one encounters between a psychotherapist and his supervisee, or an architect and his student, Forester examples include a bitter, entrenched fight over urban development in the Oslo harbour, a black home buyer counsellor in the overtly racist environment of a low income white settlement house, or housing improvement among poor campesinos in rural Venezuela.

Between Schön's and Forester's book lie almost twenty years of massive social, economic and political change, and, in its wake, almost twenty years of disenchantment, if not disillusion, with the role of politicians, administrators, and experts in the public domain. The world that Forester's planners or today's administrators inhabit is the fragmented, pluralistic, adversarial world that has eroded the steering capacity of central governments and that transferred policymaking power to a fragmented field of social and political actors. It is a world that has become so complex and tightly coupled, that the only thing that seems certain to policy makers is that their actions will generate massive unforeseen effects. A world in which the "privileged" knowledge of experts time and again dramatically fails to foresee or solve social and technical problems, and in which, consequently, citizens no longer take the authority of experts for granted. A world, moreover, in which debates about policy solutions are often less about the effectiveness of solutions as about the nature of the problem or the identity of the parties involved. As Forester makes clear, any theory of planning or policymaking or public administration that aspires to even a modicum of social or political relevance, has somehow to come to terms with this world. Listen to the way Forester, subtly commenting upon Schön, sets the stage for his book: "As planners work in between interdependent and conflicting parties in the face of inequalities of power and political voice, they have to be not only personally reflective but politically deliberative too."(1999: 2) Planners, in order to be effective in this pluralist and conflicted world, have no choice but to work with others in an open, transparent and mutually respecting way.

So what does democratic deliberation in the real world of politics and administration entail? Without being exhaustive, let me just touch upon some of the more startling insights of this rich and rewarding book. First, deliberation is more than debate and dialogue; more than the opportunity of being heard. (1999: 115) It is above all active participation in joint problem solving situations. Despite the practical stance of the book, it's key argument is epistemic and circles around the twin notions of unpredictability and complexity. Actors have no choice but to immerse themselves in the messiness, ambiguity, and open-endedness of practical situations. Not only are they literally captives of the everyday world, but the social-technical complexity of most public problems is such that it discounts any general problem solving strategy, and demands from the actors' immersion in the rich, diffuse detail of concrete situations. Knowledge, thus, is essentially local and relational.

In line with the book's epistemic theme, Forester argues that an important part of participatory inquiry consists of telling stories as a special, pragmatic kind of knowing. Much has been written in the last two decades about the role of stories in providing meaning to unstructured, conflictual situations. Forester is particularly insightful about the central role of storytelling in working through everyday political situations. Stories, he tells us, are not mere representations of meetings or encounters between planners and their clientele. Instead, stories are generative; they open up possibilities and close off unwanted or unfeasible lines of action by helping the actors narratively explore the complexities and contradictions of the situation at hand as it is situated in its proximal and distal environment. As Forester puts it, with a particularly happy phrase, stories do all sorts of moral and practical "work": "descriptive work of reportage, moral work of constructing character and reputation (of oneself and others), political work of identifying friends and foes, interests and needs, and the play of power in support and opposition, and, most important. ...deliberative work of considering means and ends, values and options, what is relevant and significant, what is possible and what matters, all together." (1999: 29) Stories are, thus, the prime means for practical judgement. They retain the rich detail that we need for a valid assessment of the situation at hand, yet, by situating the concrete event in a wider moral and causal landscape, stories allow us to connect the particular with the general, the concrete situation with the more general standard. In addition stories allow the actor to explore the emotional dimensions of his actions, both for himself and for others.

"Listen to Stories, Learn in Practice".......2000-10-08

John Forester's latest book entitled "The Deliberative Practitioner encouraging Participatory Planning Process", (MIT press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, England, 1999) develops the key ideas of his earlier writings on participatory planning processes by examining the challenges and difficulties of planning in the midst of contested power relationships.

Forester perceives planning as the effort to build consensus towards commonly perceived goals. Since the context of the planning is always fraught with differences, conflicts and inequalities, a planning process necessarily shapes opinion, creates value, transforms not just material conditions but human relationships.

The emphasis on democracy and participation is central to Foresters search for effective planning practices. Keenly sensitive to a world 'riddled with racial violence and discrimination with vast differences in levels of political organization and mobilization', Forester highlights the significance of public deliberations that give space to plural voices and strengthen democratic practices. Adversarial situations are not predetermining. They can be negotiated towards collaborative action. Deliberative planning is seen as a process of learning together to craft strategies towards greater community good. Forester's concern with planning focuses on the issues of rationality, emotional sensitivity and moral vision. Forester defines rationality as an interactive and argumentative process of marshalling evidence and giving reasons. By ethics, Forester understands not a system of fixed codes and predetermined standards, but the continuous allocation and recognition of value inherent in every pragmatic choice assessable by its quality of action and consequences. Emotional sensitivity is seen as a source of knowledge and recognition. "Deliberative practitioner" highlights these issues in a 'live' way by using 'stories' as a narrative method because stories deepen our understanding of planning as a human interaction. Stories bring into play our dual roles of actor and critic, crucial to planning. By capturing situations in their complexity, Forester sensitizes our perceptions to the significance of many non-formal processes and the elements of unpredictability and surprise in planning cautioning against a 'rush to interpretation' and simplistic cure-alls.

Forester's book makes significant contributions to the discussion on participatory planning. The stories he selects indicate how planners can through their technical inquiry, explicit value inquiry, and learning about social identities succeed in a pragmatic synthesis of rationality, ethical judgements and emotional sensitivities. Forester's book has special relevance to developing contexts, fraught with unevenness, caught between their indigenous cultures and the new cultures that the culture of external development aid brings with it. Development projects in such contexts, under the pressure of measurable, time-bound performance indicators, tend to abandon the process of deliberative planning. Forester's book reminds the planners in contexts of developing economies, of the need for culturally-sensitive planning process if sustainable development has to happen. It underscores the possibility and need of cross-context learning. It also reminds that in a situation of unequal relationship, participatory planning can be said to be successful only if existing relationship have been transformed through greater transfer of power to those who are the subjects of planning. Forester's book creates an effective, innovative way of educating planner, using theory and practice, the general and the particular, to mutually illuminate each other. Finally, and most importantly, it bridges the gap between theory and practice in a way that makes practice insightful and theory relevant, each enriching the other. It restores the practitioner to the centrality of planning discourse, and in doing so, the importance of people in planning.

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Different Approaches to Planning.(Review) (book review): An article from: Journal of the American Planning Association
Jerome L. Kaufman
Manufacturer: American Planning Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B0008HK1TU
Release Date: 2005-07-28

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This digital document is an article from Journal of the American Planning Association, published by American Planning Association on January 1, 2001. The length of the article is 1302 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: Different Approaches to Planning.(Review) (book review)
Author: Jerome L. Kaufman
Publication: Journal of the American Planning Association (Refereed)
Date: January 1, 2001
Publisher: American Planning Association
Volume: 67 Issue: 1 Page: 108

Article Type: Book Review

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The Deliberative Practitioner: Encouraging Participatory Planning Processes

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The Deliberative Practitioner: Encouraging Participatory Planning Processes
John Forester
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQB7MK

Book Description

Even minute increases in a country's growth rate can result in dramatic changes in living standards over just one generation. The benefits of growth, however, may not be shared equally. Some may gain less than others, and a fraction of the population may actually be disadvantaged. Recent economic research has found both positive and negative relationships between growth and inequality across nations. The questions raised by these results include: What is the impact on inequality of policies designed to foster growth? Does inequality by itself facilitate or detract from economic growth, and does it amplify or diminish policy effectiveness?

This book provides a forum for economists to examine the theoretical, empirical, and policy issues involved in the relationship between growth and inequality. The aim is to develop a framework for determining the role of public policy in enhancing both growth and equality. The diverse range of topics, examined in both developed and developing countries, includes natural resources, taxation, fertility, redistribution, technological change, transition, labor markets, and education. A theme common to all the essays is the importance of education in reducing inequality and increasing growth.

Inequality and Growth: Theory and Policy Implications

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Inequality and Growth: Theory and Policy Implications
Theo S. (EDT) / Turnovsky, Stephen J. (EDT) Eicher
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OQIB4M

Customer Reviews:

Nihilistic Fun.......2001-05-17

Out of all of Burns' work, I don't consider this his best, but it is definitely the most fun. El Borbah, a character based upon El Santos, the star of popular Mexican Action films, is a fat dude in wrestling tights and mask who solves crimes and kicks ***. While the world runs down in chaos around him, El Borbah just wants to earn a buck fighting crime. Includes stories re. the next step after body-piercing, genetic engineering and fast food chains, and other sorts of weirdness. BUY THIS or the Fantagraphics reprint NOW!

bizzare SFnal detective comic book.......1998-05-12

Designed to appeal to the peculiar, a nicely-realised world of weirdos torment our hero 'el borbah - man of steel' who appears to be a WWF wrestler with a job as a PI. pre-reminiscent of 'gun with occasional music'

Book Description

Robert Wuthnow shows how music and art are revitalizing churches and religious life across the nation in this first-ever consideration of the relationship between religion and the arts. All in Sync draws on more than four hundred in-depth interviews with church members, clergy, and directors of leading arts organizations and a new national survey to document a strong positive relationship between participation in the arts and interest in spiritual growth. Wuthnow argues that contemporary spirituality is increasingly encouraged by the arts because of its emphasis on transcendent experience and personal reflection. This kind of spirituality, contrary to what many observers have imagined, is compatible with active involvement in churches and serious devotion to Christian practices.
The absorbing narrative relates the story of a woman who overcame a severe personal crisis and went on to head a spiritual direction center where participants use the arts to gain clarity about their own spiritual journeys. Readers visit contemporary worship services in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston and listen to leaders and participants explain how music and art have contributed to the success of these services. All in Sync also illustrates how music and art are integral parts of some Episcopal, African American, and Orthodox worship services, and how people of faith are using their artistic talents to serve others.
Besides examining the role of the arts in personal spirituality and in congregational life, Wuthnow discusses how clergy and lay leaders are rethinking the role of the imagination, especially in connection with traditional theological virtues. He also shows how churches and arts organizations sometimes find themselves at odds over controversial moral questions and competing claims about spirituality. Accessible, relevant, and innovative, this book is essential for anyone searching for a better understanding of the dynamic relationships among religion, spirituality, and American culture.

Customer Reviews:

Arts and graces .......2005-10-04

This book by Robert Wuthnow, professor of social sciences and Director of the Centre for the Study of Religion at Princeton University, draws upon extensive research, including interviews with more than 400 people involved in a diverse number of worship settings across the country. In this study, Wuthnow documented a strong connection between interest in the arts and interest in spiritual growth.

Americans are fundamentally a religious, spiritual people. 'Spirituality is deeply significant to most Americans. Despite the materialism that surrounds us, the quest to know God and to experience the sacred has not diminished,' according to Wuthnow. However, this quest does not always happen within the confines of the institutional church - increasingly, people are looking for other ways of making connections with God.

Music and art are part of this quest, but often overlooked, save in the most formal of ways. There is an undercurrent of Protestant/Puritan mistrust of images, many kinds of artwork, and many types of music. One would think in this media-saturated culture that people would not lack for images, sounds, and words to experience, but this is part of the problem, according to Wuthnow. 'Although mass media make it easy for Americans to explore the arts, the results of such explorations are often disappointing. Media-fed spirituality suffers from superficiality, while momentary inspiration fails to illumine the dark night of the soul.'

Wuthnow explores the overall religious identity of the United States, looking at statistical studies and trends since the post-World War II period. He shows growth in different ways (more people identifying themselves as conservative and as liberal religiously, more interest in spirituality vs. historic religious institutions, etc.) but also asks questions regarding the basis of these trends. Wuthnow shows that the arts play a great deal of importance in spirituality trends, including music, television, film, theatre, museum and formal 'arts' shows, and publishing. Wuthnow argues in this book 'that the vitality of America's churches may depend significantly on the public's growing interest in artistic activities.' Wuthnow admits that some may find this argument a stretch, but in his subsequent chapters, he does give interesting argument for support.

Wuthnow's text deals with issues in art, spirituality, imagination, liturgy and worship, problems of conflict between the arts and the churches, and the awakening of the artistic soul in every person. We live in a consumer society, and this approach is often found with regard to understanding the arts, too. 'Because it is easier to be consumers of art than to create it, it is all the more important to emphasise that art is a strong form of personal discipline.' As Wuthnow states, it is not that Americans are averse to work (indeed, quite the opposite), but that the arts have always been relegated to that arena of life that is a hobby, a value-added-extra not actually required, save for those very few who are professional artists.

Wuthnow gives advice to congregational leaders to be sensitive to the various issues in art, particularly the way in which people have become accustomed to different ways of seeing and knowing, and the values of democracy and individuality that the arts tend to support. The arts are important in ways that need to be carefully considered, and Wuthnow's book is a very good way of exploring these issues.

Book Description

This is a collection of writings by Michael Frayn, based on his column in The Guardian, covering the pomposities and inanities of public announcements, fashionable conversations, and self-advertising of all kinds.

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Dark Age of Camelot - PRIMA Book - Catacombs

Saves a lot of hunting for info.

Another Author Chimes In:

A Note From One of the Authors

Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs (Prima's Official Strategy Guide)
Inc. IMGS
Manufacturer: Prima Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Dark Age of Camelot Trials of Atlantis (Prima's Official Strategy Guide)

Dark Age of Camelot: Epic Edition (Prima Official Game Guide)

Dark Age of Camelot: Prima's Official Strategy Guide

Dark Age of Camelot Epic Edition

Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs Expansion Pack

ASIN: 0761549498
Release Date: 2004-12-14

Book Description

A Guide to light your way
·Full Color Maps of the Catacombs, PLUS every New Frontiers zone!
·Designer and Player strategies for five new character Classes!
·Complete stats for new monsters.
·Key treasure and drop stats.
·Getting the most out of player housing.

Customer Reviews:

Dark Age of Camelot - PRIMA Book - Catacombs.......2005-09-15

This book is INDISPENSABLE in using the expansion pack of Catacombs. You can play without it fine, but with this book, you can play Outstandingly. Maps are out of this world!!! Explanations of changes are marvelous. I highly recommend this to any DAoC player ! :)

Saves a lot of hunting for info........2004-12-30

I found this helpful in that most of what I needed to learn about Catacombs is in one place. Much less time spent searching for new merchants,other NPCs, mobs and drops. The maps are a lot nicer than the ones found in earlier DAOC Prima guides and in color. As stated in earlier reviews you also get maps for the New Frontiers.

The downside is that as the game continues to evolve some of the info will be out of date.

Another Author Chimes In:.......2004-12-02

Ranorian Syraandor here, author of most of the Albion section and the Passage of Conflict/Darkness Falls strategy sections. Like Larian said, this book is totally worth it, and invaluable for exploring the new zones. Even if you're not that interested in Catacombs, the New Frontiers maps are great, especially considering they have all the individual regions named, and have mob lists.

The book itself is packed with information: Mob lists, zone writeups, gorgeous full-color maps with NPCs, zone points, and dungeons clearly marked, along with class writeups <<by the developers!>>, strategies for the Passage of Conflict and Darkness Falls dungeons, backround on the new classes, the lore of each of the new zones, and even a full loot list for the new Darkspire instanced epic dungeon! There's also blurbs explaining Arulite and instanced dungeons.

Trust us on this one, the guide is really worth the money. Of course, it's not 100% accurate, but pretty darn close. Total accuracy is almost impossible, since the game literaly changes every week due to Mythic putting through new patches. But like I said...it's VERY useful, even with a few minor flaws.

A Note From One of the Authors.......2004-12-02

I must say that I am extremely pleased with how this book has turned out. Deadlines prevented us from getting everything 100% nailed down, but we did manage to get this book looking really good! The maps by Kallisti and Brasse alone make the book worth the price. These maps are far superior to any maps previously published in a Prima Guide (those familiar with Kallisti's maps know what I am talking about).

Not only are the maps extremely well done, but the listing of items and monsters is very comprehencise, and has the sort of information that a player will need.

The new character classes are amazingly detailed in this book as well. There is the added bonus that each class has a section written by the developer hiimself! This way you get an inside view into the class, as well as getting a player's perspective on the class.

And the additional material included makes for very enjoyable reading! There is a lot of background lore on Catacombs included as well as some RvR strategies, information on housing, and the ever popular humour from Kwip!

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