Standards of Value: Theory and Applications

Book Description

A must-read for appraisers, accountants, judges, attorneys, and appraisal users, this insightful book addresses standards of value as applied in four distinct contexts: estate and gift taxation; shareholder dissent and oppression; divorce; and financial reporting. Here, practitioners will discover some of the intricacies of performing services in these venues, and appraisers will find this book helpful in understanding why the practitioners are asking such questions.

Customer Reviews:

MUST read for valuation professionals.......2007-01-05

This text clarifies and illuminates our understanding of "standard of value" as a term of art. This volume should be in the library of every valuation professional.

Statistical theory of extreme values and some practical applications;: A series of lectures (United States. National Bureau of Standards. Applied mathematics series)

Average customer rating:

Statistical theory of extreme values and some practical applications;: A series of lectures (United States. National Bureau of Standards. Applied mathematics series)
Emil Julius Gumbel
Manufacturer: U.S. Govt. Print. Office
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

The Value of Signals in Hidden Action Models: Concepts, Application, and Empirical Evidence (Contributions to Economics)

Average customer rating:

The Value of Signals in Hidden Action Models: Concepts, Application, and Empirical Evidence (Contributions to Economics)
Wendelin Schnedler
Manufacturer: Physica-Verlag Heidelberg
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Labor & Industrial Relations | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Theory | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Shopping & Commerce | Reference | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Labor & Industrial Relations | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All German Books | German | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

All Amazon Upgrade | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Business & Investing | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Nonfiction | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Professional & Technical | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books

Science | Amazon Upgrade | Stores | Books
ASIN: 3790801739

Book Description

What happens if A wants to buy a good or service from B, but not all relevant characteristics can be fixed in a contract? This book gives a non-technical overview of various models dealing with this situation. Particular emphasis is put on the problem that the service includes various tasks and B is paid by a performance measure (signal). As a result, B might choose the wrong allocation of effort between tasks. Of course, the wrong allocation entails costs. A method to calculate these costs is suggested and it is explored how and when these costs occur. Some performance measures seem to be less prone to misallocation such as measures of firm performance. Consequently, one expects more use of firm performance measures when misallocation can be a problem. This hypothesis is examined empirically.

P-values for non-standard distributions with an application to the DF test (IED discussion paper series)

Average customer rating:

P-values for non-standard distributions with an application to the DF test (IED discussion paper series)
Jèrôme Adda
Manufacturer: Boston University, Institute for Economic Development
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Average customer rating:

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE ART OF WRITING A GOOD BOOK.

Balanced Approach to Gaining Commitment

The Art of Winning Commitment by Dick Richards

Just what I needed.

Artfully Rethinking Leadership

Art of Winning Commitment, The: 10 Ways Leaders Can Engage Minds, Hearts, and Spirits
Dick Richards
Manufacturer: AMACOM/American Management Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Human Resources & Personnel Management | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Leadership | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Look Inside Business Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Leader As Communicator: Strategies and Tactics to Build Loyalty, Focus Effort, and Spark Creativity

Artful Work

Leading Minds: An Anatomy Of Leadership

Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others Through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High

ASIN: 0814407854

Book Description

Leadership books most often cite interviews with high-profile business executives while offering do-and-don't case studies of different corporate initiatives in action. But some of the world's most extraordinary leaders work their magic outside the world of business. Their ability to gain the enthusiastic commitment of their people -- when something other, and perhaps greater, than profit is at stake -- demonstrates a fundamental human connection that their counterparts in the corporate sector would do well to emulate.

The Art of Winning Commitment presents the unique perspectives of a diverse group of leaders that includes:

* educators * religious and spiritual leaders * heads of not-for-profit social services * an orchestra conductor * a professional storyteller

Readers will also learn leadership secrets from former Philadelphia 76ers' executive Pat Croce, former Chief of the Cherokee Nation Wilma Mankiller, and politician and retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark, and others.

In the search for commitment, loyalty, and business excellence, leaders can learn a lot from those outside of the business definition of leadership.

Customer Reviews:

A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE ART OF WRITING A GOOD BOOK........2005-02-23

We enjoy well organized books that get to the point: this is one of them. In a nutshell, the work, based on interviews with leaders, offers practical wisdom and highlights 10 essential competencies of effective leaders: 1) seeing what is, in a new way; 2) vision; 3) storytelling (conveying a compelling message); 4) fostering hope (creating a sense of the possible through optimism); 5) rendering significance (connecting vision with each person's life goals); 6) mobilizing (encouraging right actions, setting high expectations, letting go, encouraging the best in others); 7) self awareness; 8) emotional engagement (empathic connection); 9) enacting beliefs; and 10) centering (developing centering consciousness and improvising). These highlights don't do justice to the book. In its content-rich pages, it delivers an abundance of insights about the meaning of leadership, as well as revealing an inspiring spirit.

Balanced Approach to Gaining Commitment.......2004-11-15

To be an effective leader, one must inspire a broad and deep genuine commitment to a team's mission, vision, desired results, and members. A number of books have been written on ways to get people to sign on, to agree, to perform. Applying the principles they promote will generate performance, adherence, and a certain degree of loyalty. Full commitment is a different issue.

Richards presents an approach that is balanced between intellectual commitment, emotional commitment, and spiritual commitment. Emphasizing the art of leadership, he shows how leaders can craft deeper relationships that generate genuine commitment to produce meaningful achievement and fulfilling satisfaction.

In the area of intellectual commitment, four chapters present the elements of insight, vision, storytelling, and mobilizing. Under emotional commitment, the chapters address self-awareness, emotional engagement, and fostering hope. Rendering significance, enacting beliefs, and centering build the understanding of spiritual commitment. The wrap-up chapter is titled Towering Conclusions and Further Strategies. A brief list of resources (interviewees and websites) and an index complement the text. Each chapter concludes with a handful of questions to stimulate contemplation.

The entire text stimulates contemplation. Using a wide range of people and their experiences and philosophies, Richards engages the reader in an introspective and educational journey. In chapter after chapter, I found myself inspired and enlightened, motivated to apply what I was learning in my work.

You will find this book to be a sort of combination of a walk in the woods, a comfortable soak in a hot tub, and time in a classroom with an energetic professor scribbling concepts rapidly across a white board while his writing hand struggles to keep up with his mind. Plan on reading this book twice; you won't get it all the first time. Margaret Thatcher's quote will help you understand that opportunity.

The Art of Winning Commitment by Dick Richards.......2004-09-09

I had always viewed myself as a pretty successful leader, but the insights I gained from reading this book have caused me to step back and review aspects of my leadership style that have evolved over a 25 year period. This excellent book calls on leaders to honestly assess the way they lead and communicate with their people in areas that for some are in uncharted waters - i.e., the emotional and spiritual dimensions. The book is not only insightful but is written so clearly and simply that its messages are very easy to grasp. I recommend this book for any leader who wants to raise her or his performance to the next level.

Just what I needed........2004-04-07

This book gave me the next steps to what I needed to make winning commitments. I knew all the analytical information to promote myself and business but I was lacking a way to engage the heart and spirits of my prospect. This book has helped me move in that direction.

Artfully Rethinking Leadership.......2004-03-01

So much business literature is mind-numbingly and illogically recursive, suggesting that breakthroughs for your business will stem from imitating the techniques of other business people.

In a departure from this tired and arguably broken premise, consultant and coach Dick Richards provides lessons from leaders operating outside of corporations: in not-for-profits, the arts, sports, religion, education, government...

In drawing insights from his interviews with these leaders, Richards argues that leaders succeed by securing follower commitment. He posits that this happens when leaders work on, if not master, ten competencies in four interrelated domains: political, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual (defined as, "the sense of a calling from some source larger than one's self").

When a leader's capabilities coalesce in these four main areas of competence, she becomes, in essence, a fuller, richer human being. As a result, others positively respond to the improved leader by choosing to invest more of themselves in pursuing the leader's mission.

~~~ Familiar but..., Soft but... ~~~
In this framework, Richards proffers a cogent, integrated way of *thinking* about your own leadership. Drawing on historical and personal anecdotes, quoting philosophers, researchers and leaders, Richards both echoes and transcends conventional business literature (including the recent spate championing "emotional intelligence").

It would be fair to argue that there is little new here. But that would be off the mark. As Dick Richards himself candidly points out, there is more than plenty of literature and seminars traversing the broad, overly worn leadership field. Fortunately, the intriguing whole that Richards has woven is more than the amalgam of its recognizable threads.

Likewise, it would be patently unfair (to both reader and author) to dismiss this thoughtful, occasionally lyrical work as too soft, too philosophical, or too New Age-y. By moving past the sterile Insert Tab-A into Slot-B mentality that underpins so much prescriptive management literature, Richards elevates his readers, helping them to transcend the heartless transactional world so many work in. (Still, while there's more than a modicum of practicum in the book, readers probably will want more guidance on how to translate the principles into action. Perhaps Richards is at work on a "field guide.")

Dick Richards proudly writes, as his title suggests, of the *Art* of leading. One senses that Richards thinks as an artist, a world-savvy poet reflecting on leadership. One could mistake the book for a wizened corporate shaman's love letter to meaning-starved managers.

~~~ Bottom Line ~~~
Dick Richards' THE ART OF WINNING COMMITMENT is more gestalt than how-to, more fresh synthesis of the known than breakthrough. It should ignite your little gray cells, kindle your interest in self-development, inflame your own commitment to fostering commitment in your colleagues. And help you become a better person in the process.

Don Blohowiak, Lead Well® Institute; editor, The Leader's Letter

Book Description

The long-awaited second edition of Wil Tirion’s superb Sky Atlas 2000.0 offers 43,000 additional stars, with all positions now derived from the Hipparcos database. The Atlas opens out to reveal 28 charts, each one 500 mm wide and 380 mm deep (20 by 15 inches). This large format allows the stars, nebulas and galaxies to be displayed with unrivalled clarity. For this edition improved isophotal maps are used for the Milky Way, and extra charts for crowded areas of the sky have been added. Within the constellations, Flamsteed numbers identify the brighter stars by name, while NGC and Messier numbers are used for non-stellar objects. Colour coding and size graduation is used to visually convey the maximum information on star types and brightnesses. This atlas is an indispensable aid for all users of astronomical telescopes. Copublished with Sky Publishing Corporation.

Customer Reviews:

Don't leave home without it.!.......2007-05-01

This book has instantly become one of the two most important documents I take to the field. Once I have determined my position and orientation using a plenisphere there is nothing I can't know about any part of the sky. It's heavy, and bulky to hold (I take a collapsible table when observing) but there is nothing like having the complete data at your fingertips. Spiral bound lays flat. I thought that was a cute idea when I bought it. Now I know how important it is. Lamination is also critical to have as the first night out with the "free" charts I printed from my computer they were ruined.

This is the master reference to take to the observing site. I reiterate, "Don't leave home without it."

laminated deluxe version.......2007-02-27

the unlaminated deluxe is great, easy to mark btw. but the laminated deluxe is simply fabulous. the size(21 by 16 inches, maps are not folded), the top-binding make the atlas much less clumsy to handle and the spiral-binding really makes sense. also the chart key is in the front. make sure you take a look of both before making your purchase.

Excellent book.......2006-11-10

This Atlas is fantastic ... very large but the scale s so large it gives you and excellent idea of what one can see.

Very good but not quite perfect.......2006-08-12

For years the Sky Atlas 2000.0 has been the most popular atlas step up from a 6th magnitude atlas. The 8th magnitude limit is deep enough to enable users to find Neptune and the brighter asteroids. The large charts, while they can be a bit awkward to handle, are great to view, as they show wide swaths of sky.

The Second Edition brought some significant improvements: a useful step up to magnitude 8.5, galaxy shapes which show size and orientation, better representation of star magnitude, detailed charts of the Orion region and Virgo Galaxy Cluster. If you are debating between a used First Edition and a new Second Edition, get the Second; it's worth the extra money.

A few shortcomings remain. The charts are arranged in ascending order of right ascension. This presents problems with editions which are bound on the left side. When users reach the right edge of the chart, they have to stifle the instinct to continue right to the next page, force themselves to reverse direction, and turn--of all places--to the previous page instead. The same with the left edge. Charts should be ordered in descending RA like Uranometria or Millennium. Ordering by ascending RA is a pointless tradition.

Some of the versions are bound at the top, which solves the problem of the chart sequence--and makes the book less floppy to handle--but makes it harder to search for charts. Since the chart number is at the top right, the user cannot see what page they have their fingers on until the book is completely open.

The pages of the laminated versions are very sturdy for field use but hard to grasp and separate, especially when moist with dew. This and the previous problem could be solved by adding numbered, graspable tabs to the bottom of each chart.

A badly-needed improvement to the atlas came in a subsequent printing of the second edition: around the edges of each chart are noted the numbers of the charts which adjoin it. This greatly simplifies navigation through the atlas. It would be good to take this measure a step further and, on each chart, mark adjacent chart borders as well to save guesswork as to where each one ends and the next begins.

The many virtues of this atlas have been amply documented by other reviewers. The space I have spent on the shortcomings is simply an attempt to round out the picture. The many improvements already made to this work speak well of the publisher's commitment to an excellent atlas. The Sky 2000.0 is now only a couple steps short.

So which atlas to choose for your observations? I would completely ignore the 6th magnitude atlases on the market. For a beginning to intermediate observer, the magnitude 7.6 Pocket Sky Atlas is very well designed and affordable. For intermediate observing, the Sky Atlas 2000.0 is an excellent choice. For advanced observers who frequently go deep, I would suggest skipping the Sky Atlas and bringing both the Pocket and the Millennium along on outings.

Excellent charts - but for home or field?.......2006-03-18

These are definitely the best charts I've used to date. I have the unlaminated deluxe copy spiralbound, and to have the objects color coded really helps a ton - makes it quick and easy to find stuff and even helps me orient the map faster. However, I would caution using this in the field. If you have problems with dew, definitely get either the laminated version, or buy it unlaminated and pay to have it laminated. (You may have to compare at stores where you live to figure out if it would save you much to buy unlaminated and then take it somewhere - some have said the price isn't that different, others have said they saved a lot by doing the lamination theirselves.) Another solution is to make copies of the area or constellation you want to observe, then if they get ruined or if you want to mark it to death, you can always make more copies.

You really need a good way to lay out the map in the field, like a table or something to make it easier to flip thru - definitely not for the grass and too big to just lay in a chair. Marking the constellation patterns (i.e. connect the dots) also helps, and it's convienent to do on laminated copies as you can use a dry erase or grease marker, and if you make a mistake you can fix it or even mark places for observing sessions, as they easily wipe off.

Overall.. I would most certainly recommend the deluxe spiral version (the one w/ color identification). A Great Buy!!!
Pros: color, nice big charts that show a good expanse of sky, not too detailed but more so than average charts in a book, not exceptionally heavy and easy to pack
Cons: susceptible to dew, can be awkward to flip thru w/o a table or similar prop, unlaminated

Book Description

This book discusses issues surrounding a teacher implemented a writing-across-the-curriculum program—designed to improve students' rhetorical and writing skills—in physical science, particularly chemistry. It contains practical material such as suggested assignments and strategies that can be put into practice immediately to use writing effectively. A comprehensive reference tool, the advice offered in this book applies to courses throughout the entire chemistry curriculum, including graduate education. Other coverage discusses designing, grading, and responding to writing assignments. For instructors who are considering, or already offering such programs, this book is a rich resource of clear, step-by-step suggestions.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent for science students and professionals.......2005-10-06

This little book is very clear about writing in science. It also gives faculty concrete ideas of how and, just as importantly, why writing needs to be assigned work. Students will be required to write in their professional lives and need to learn early how to do it. Practice is key and writing in various classes and for various kinds of tasks will help students master it for their futures. And let's not forget the faculty; we can get rusty, too! In all, this is a good tool for undergraduate science education.

Writing Across the Chemistry Curriculum: An Instructor's Handbook

Average customer rating:

Writing Across the Chemistry Curriculum: An Instructor's Handbook
Donna W. Sherwood Jeffrey Kovac
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OHTBAY

Book Description

This reader comprises 33 articles obtained from a variety of publications, both scholarly and popular. It is intended to help you gain a basic understanding of genetics and its varied applications in the real world.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic survery of key papers/articles in medical genetics.......2001-01-03

This was a fantastic book in my experience! It would help to have some science background, but the types of papers vary from being popular articles to more scientific. This is excellent for people that are undergrad science majors, medical students, and physicians that want to know more about this most important field.

Book Description

In a riveting thriller, worldwide bestselling suspense writer Mary Higgins Clark brilliantly weaves the mystery of twin telepathy into a mother's search for a kidnapped child, presumed dead.

When Margaret and Steve Frawley come home to Connecticut from a black-tie dinner in New York, their three-year-old twins, Kathy and Kelly, are gone. The police found the babysitter unconscious, and a ransom note from the "Pied Piper" demands eight million dollars. Steve's global investment firm puts up the money, but when they go to retrieve the twins, only Kelly is in the car. The dead driver's suicide note says he inadvertently killed Kathy.

At the memorial, Kelly tugs Margaret's arm and says: "Mommy, Kathy is very scared of that lady. She wants to come home right now." At first, only Margaret believes that the twins are communicating and that Kathy is still alive. But as Kelly's warnings become increasingly specific and alarming, FBI agents set out on a desperate search.

Download Description

"""THE TWINS' BEDROOM WAS AT THE END OF THE HALL. THERE WAS NO SOUND COMING FROM IT NOW." In a riveting new thriller, worldwide bestselling suspense writer Mary Higgins Clark weaves the mystery of twin telepathy into a mother's search for a kidnapped child, presumed dead.

Customer Reviews:

I Was Very Engrossed In Reading Two Little Girls In Blue.......2007-09-20

I have always been a big fan of MHC. I've read all of her books. I enjoyed reading Two Little Girls in Blue. I only wish that the kidnapper's identity wouldn't have been so obvious. I think that the story would have been more mysterious if the Pied Piper had been someone that people would never have suspected in a million years.
Other than that, it was a nice read.

On the Top.......2007-09-08

I'd have to say this book is one of my favorites. I loved how they portrayed the twins being telepathic, or their sense that one was in danger. The characters are vivid, the story line was wonderful. It was hard to put it down. Definitely on the top!

Two Little Girls in Blue.......2007-08-11

Oh what a fertile mind Ms. Clark has! And how many folks across this (and others) land of ours have met with similar difficulties? Hopefully, not many. A great time reading.

Two Little Girls in Blue.......2007-08-10

I enjoy Mary Higgins Clark books and this one was no exception. It took a concept of kidnap and crime and put them to the challenge by Ms. Clark. Thank you. While I've read other reviews of the book since I finished it, I fall in the category of those readers that thoroughly enjoyed reading this selection.

Very Blue Reading.......2007-07-17

I had stopped reading MHC for over two years now and when a co-worker gave me this book to read, I figured I'd give her another shot. No good. As others have stated before me, the story was dull and the ending, anti-climatic. Two three-year old twin girls get kidnapped; one is brought back and the rest of the story hunts the lost twin down. Nothing exciting. The bad guy was no surprise and frankly, who cared at that point. The whole "twin-talk" thing really turned me off and yes, they did seem quite advanced for three-year olds. Well maybe in another two years I'll give MHC another try. For now, I am sticking with authors who write books with substance.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books