Electronic Gaap

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Current economic difficulties and the challenge of competing in the world market have necessitated a rethinking of American approaches to the utilization of people in organizations. Management now recognizes a need to have workers take on more responsibility at the points of production, of sale, and of service rendered if the United States is to compete in rapidly changing world markets. This development means that much more is expected of even entry-level members of the American workforce. Thus, even more is expected of our high schools and colleges to provide this type of workforce. br br The need of American management for workers with greater skills and who can take on greater responsibility has spawned many commissions, task forces, and studies. All of them have contributed to the vast evidence documenting the need for a more highly skilled workforce. These studies are summarized and synthesized in this book. However, what remains largely undone is the development of methods to assess the necessary skills that have been identified. A major portion of this book deals with assessment issues. br br i Workforce Readiness: Competencies and Assessment /i explores the state-of-the-art in the specification of competencies (skills) and their assessment for students entering the world of work from both high school and college. Both individual and team competencies are examined via data that has been reported and collected in various settings--schools, laboratories, and industrial facilities. br

Customer Reviews:

Provides depth and detail on Palestine history and issues.......2006-03-06

The first edition of Encyclopedia Of The Palestinians appeared in 2000 and there have been vast changes in the region since, prompting the need for this substantively revised edition, which offers new entries about these recent developments. Articles have all been updated, photos of important leaders and events added, and fifty key documents included. Encyclopedia Of The Palestinians provides depth and detail on Palestine history and issues, making it a recommended pick for general-interest college-level history holdings, as well.

Concise Discussions Without Overt Bias Can Promote Peace.......2002-12-05

There is much more detail that should be included. Four examples:

1 - The first 20 years of the region's decoupling from Turkey is inadequately discussed;

2 - Faisel Husseini, the man T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) chose as his key to launching the WWI revolt) was assisted in escaping the Turks by Lebanese-born Rafiq Habib Gabour, the 20-year-old consul on behalf of Persia to Turkey;

3 - Rafiq Habib Gabour dedicated his life to evicting Britain from Egypt and from Palestine, yet is not mentioned in the book;

4 - Working-class Jews and Arabs of the region worked together to improve their working conditions, wages, and political freedoms. Yet, not one line to this effect is uttered. This is key, for those in power and those with a financial stake in the area may possibly have driven a wedge between the two groups for which the entire world is now paying a stiff price!

The organization also could be much improved. Trying to find information on particular people, such as Faisel, or his brother Abdullah, or their father King Hussein of the Hegaz, is a bit of a meandering trail.

Despite these shortcomings, this book is quite useful and remarkably free of bias that leads any reader into a particular judgement. It is a must for anyone wishing to gain a fair insight to Palestine and Israel.

I highly recommend the book to any individual wishing to gain an insight into the development of the region and the seeds of the current strife. Supporters of Israel will find the book helpful, just as will supporters of the Palestinians. Few other books about the people of the region can boast such a claim.

Excellent Encyclopedia about Palestine & Palestinians.......2000-05-12

This Encyclopedia in one volume brings together a wealth of unbiased information about Palestine & Palestinians. It walks you through a snapshot of Palestine past & current events. I gained valuable information about past & current leadership within the Palestinian community. For example, briefly it gives you a snapshot about Palestinian families & their well known family members (i.e. Husayni, Nashashibi, Abdil Hadi, Khalidi, Nsabih,..etc. families). Beside that the book also gave me a deep insight into the past & present political parties, their leadership, statistical data (population, immigration, water sources, ..etc) before & after the catastrophe, Israeli settlement, ..Etc. Although the book contained very good maps, it lacks pictures of its subjects & events. An Arabic & Hebrew version of this book is a must. Good Job

Philip's Astronomy Encyclopedia (Astronomy)

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Philip's Astronomy Encyclopedia (Astronomy)
Eugene H. Ehrlich
Manufacturer: Philip's
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Astronomy | Encyclopedias | Reference | Subjects | Books

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Proceedings in Nonlinear Science Centre for Nonlinear Studies, The University, Leeds LS2 9NQ, UK Series co-ordinator: Arun V. Holden Proceedings in Nonlinear Science deal with all areas of nonlinear science and its applications, and generally consist of multi-author volumes associated with select conferences and workshops within this exciting field. This series runs in parallel with the Nonlinear Science: Theories and Applications series of monographs and texts, also published by Manchester University Press. Both provide a source of up-to-date research in an immediate form. This survey addresses two crucial aspects of nonequilibrium behaviour: the interaction between chemical modes and spatial modes; and the study of transience, whether arising from fluctuations or from external disturbances. The results of a major meeting held in Brussels, Belgium, these papers deal with self-organization and nonlinear dynamics in chemistry, giving the results of recent experiments and bringing new emphasis on spatial inhomogeneities and dynamical phenomena in connection with transient behaviour and fluctuations. The principal objective of the book is to present an account of current research in this area and to stress the perspectives which it offers for future developments. P. Gray is Master of Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge; G. Nicolis, F. Baras, and P. Borckmans are at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium; S. K. Scott is Lecturer in Physical Chemistry, University of Leeds.

Book Description

Computer algebra systems are revolutionizing the teaching, the learning, and the exploration of science. Not only can students and researchers work through mathematical models more efficiently and with fewer errors than with pencil and paper, they can also easily explore, both analytically and numerically, more complex and computationally intensive models.

Aimed at science and engineering undergraduates at the sophomore/junior level, this introductory guide to the mathematical models of science is filled with examples from a wide variety of disciplines, including biology, economics, medicine, engineering, game theory, mathematics, physics, and chemistry. The topics are organized into the Appetizers dealing with graphical aspects, the Entrees concentrating on symbolic computation, and the Desserts illustrating numerical simulation.

The heart of the text is a large number of computer algebra recipes based on the Maple 10 software system. These have been designed not only to provide tools for problem solving, but also to stimulate the reader’s imagination. Associated with each recipe is a scientific model or method and an interesting or amusing story (accompanied with a thought-provoking quote) that leads the reader through the various steps of the recipe. The recipes are also included on the CD-ROM enclosed with the book. Each section of recipes is followed by a set of problems that readers can use to check their understanding or to develop the topic further.

This text is the first of two volumes, the advanced guide, aimed at junior/senior/graduate level students, dealing with more advanced differential equation models.

Customer Reviews:

cd format mac incompatibility fixed (for me).......2002-02-27

Contacted Springer who manufactured cd in microsoft format incompatible to mac today (26Feb2002).

... These authors are masters. Each author, I find from surfing on the web, has a computer learning lab. The early reading introduces the fact that without the constraints of paper, undergraduates can learn to compose solutions to more realistic problems, eg. golf balls do not go on parabolas but do depend on your irons and crosswinds.

My last read text by the same authors, "Nonlinear Physics with Maple" edition 1 was a really inspiring book full of exercises. A master of solitons, Ablowitz, wrote (with) "Complex Variables" available at [Amazon.com]. Riemann Hilbert problems chapter 7 ought to further flesh out "Nonlinear Physics with Maple" last chapter concerning inverse scattering method in a to me readable manner.

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Nothing every-day about this Victorian chronicle

Impressive craftmanship

Her Gifts Lay More in the Direction of Social Realism

You will love Molly Gibson and hate Mrs Kirkpatrick

Anguish!

Wives and Daughters : An Every-Day Story (Everyman's Library)
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell , and Pam Morris
Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

19th Century | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Gaskell, Elizabeth | Classics | British | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
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North and South (Oxford World's Classics)

Cranford (Penguin Classics)

Mary Barton (Penguin Classics)

Wives and Daughters

North & South

ASIN: 0460876511

Book Description

Miss Eyre listened in silence, perplexed but determined to be obedient to the directions of the doctor, whose kindness she and her family had good cause to know. She made strong tea; she helped the young men liberally in Mr Gibson's absence, as well as in his presence, and she found the way to unloosen their tongues, whenever their master was away, by talking to them on trivial subjects in her pleasant homely way.

Download Description

To begin with the old rigmarole of childhood. In a country there was a shire, and in that shire there was a town, and in that town there was a house, and in that house there was a room, and in that room there was a bed, and in that bed there lay a little girl; wide awake and longing to get up, but not daring to do so for fear of the unseen power in the next room - a certain Betty, whose slumbers must not be disturbed until six o'clock struck, when she wakened of herself 'as sure as clockwork', and left the household very little peace afterwards.

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Nothing every-day about this Victorian chronicle.......2007-10-01

With its fairy-tale beginning ("In a country there was a shire, and in that shire there was a town, and in that town there was a house . . ."), the subtitle of Wives and Daughters is gently ironic. While the basic plot is standard--boy and girl meet and overcome many obstacles, including themselves--Gaskell's tale is as much about the rapidly changing Victorian world as about Molly Gibson and her provincial village of Hollingford.

Set before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters consciously brings together England's aristocratic past, represented by Squire Hamley and the upstart earl and countess of Cumnor Towers, and the future, represented by Molly Gibson and Squire Hamley's sons, especially Roger. The elder son, Osborne, puts his own interests and more modern sensibilities above those of his father, while Roger envisions a future of science, exploration, and expansionism. To Mrs. Gibson, who marries to avoid having to work and dependence on the aristocracy, Osborne offers her daughter an entrée into at least the landed gentry, whereas Roger is merely a second son demeaning himself by dabbling in the sciences. Although renowned in London for his travels and discoveries, Roger becomes worthy of her notice only when he is taken into the inner circle of Lord Hollingford and the Towers as a result of his personal achievements.

While the visible action takes place within the small circle of Hollingford, Cumnor Towers, and Hamley Hall, Gaskell encompasses the widening world of rural England. Cynthia attends school in France while the Hamleys are off to Cambridge. The Hamley home is filled with relics from India, while Lady Harriet advises the Miss Brownings on how to obtain the best-priced Indian tea. Cynthia returns from her jaunts to London fashionably dressed and with hints of admirers, while Roger comes back from Africa browned, bearded, and mature in aspect and mien. Even villagers like Miss Hornblower feel the pull of the larger world and the new technology. As Mr. Gibson tells Molly, " . . . if these newfangled railways spread, as they say they will, we shall all be spinning about the world; 'sitting on tea-kettles,' as Phoebe Browning calls it."

The spheres of the sexes are vastly different. Clare Kirkpatrick thinks "how pleasant it would be to have a husband once more; some one who would work while she sat at her elegant ease in a prettily-furnished drawing-room." Even as Mr. Gibson thwarts the advances of Molly's first suitor, he tries to keep his "little goosey" unprepared for anything but life under the protection of a man, either father or husband. He advises her governess, "Don't teach Molly too much: she must sew, and read, and write, and do her sums; but I want to keep her a child, and if I find more learning desirable for her, I'll see about giving it to her myself." As men of science, he and Roger believe themselves to be dispassionate and rational, yet Molly senses their obvious mistakes before they do and that they are more deeply affected than they appear to be. Gaskell's characters, however, do not follow stereotypes. Lord Cumnor, a garrulous gossip, and Squire Hamley, an openly emotional man, are "womanly" in their ways, while Lady Cumnor and her daughter, Lady Harriet, are models of independence and detachment. Rather than assert her own independence and risk upsetting her excitable, patriarchal husband, Mrs. Hamley wastes away, ironically depriving her husband of her management of his emotions and their expression.

Molly is raised to suppress her feelings. As Mrs. Gibson's values clash with those of Mr. Gibson and Molly, he is able to ride off and immerse himself in his work, while Molly can only swallow her emotions or, as a last resort, hide them in solitude. There is hope, however, that Molly can avoid the life for which Mr. Gibson is preparing her, that of an obedient wife. Her life as companion to Mrs. Hamley shows her impressionable mind the folly of pride and the lasting harm it causes as it separates Mr. Hamley and his elder son. Her natural curiosity and intelligence, consciously discouraged by Mr. Gibson, are encouraged by Roger Hamley, who bridges the ancient Hamley past and the future of science and discovery. This future will be built on achievements, not family name, which makes young Osborne's parentage significant only to traditionalists like the squire and Mrs. Gibson. Their vision of the possibilities never extends beyond their own desires and concerns.

In Wives and Daughters, Gaskell addresses myriad issues important to her and her contemporaries--medicine, science, marriage, the family, gender roles, monetary wealth and land wealth, rural mores, the perception of English heritage and strength and French decadence, exploration, and change. Her characters are so richly drawn that the reader begins to anticipate Mrs. Gibson's "infinite nothings" and Mr. Gibson's searing irony. Gaskell imbues some of them with an enticing air of unsolved mystery. What are Mr. Gibson's origins? Who was Jeanie, his first love, and why did he not marry her? How does that and his other early relationships influence his behavior toward Molly? Why, at age 28, does Lady Harriet refuse a good match and seemingly scorn romance? Gaskell does not judge her characters--even Mrs. Gibson has redeeming qualities--nor does she reveal all their secrets. Wives and Daughters is an enlightening, captivating, and, despite its unfinished state, satisfying look at Victorian life and society, the influence of which is still felt.

Impressive craftmanship.......2007-02-18

I wasn't that excited about reading "Wives and Daughters", since I'd just finished "North and South" by Mrs. Gaskell, and found it rather tedious. I was pleasantly surprised.

Gaskell did a fabulous job drawing the characters in this book. Cynthia is one of the most skillfully crafted characters I have ever encountered. She's shallow and selfish, but also very kind and lovable -- and it's completely believable. All the others are very easy to accept as "real people" - something I don't encounter very often in victorian literature.

It's a love story that becomes predictable early on, but the complexities along the way are fascinating. Molly finds herself in the middle of every scandal, although she has nothing to do with any of it. Her stepmother, who throws off phony aristocratic airs at every turn, is actually a very funny character rather than a villain. Though Molly has had to face many hurtful challenges, she never acts victimized. Though she struggles with the choices she has to make, she never loses her strength.

It's sad that Gaskell didn't live to finish this book, but it's pretty much wrapped-up where she left off, so not much is lacking. Don't let that stop you from reading this book.

Her Gifts Lay More in the Direction of Social Realism.......2006-11-08

"Wives and Daughters" is a novel of provincial life, set in the small town of Hollingford. Some commentators have identified this with Mrs Gaskell's own home town, Knutsford in Cheshire, but references to the Malvern Hills and to its proximity to Birmingham suggest that it is located further south, probably in Worcestershire. The action takes place several decades before it was written in 1864-65, although the exact time-frame is difficult to determine exactly. Some topical references, such as to Catholic emancipation which took place in 1829, suggest that the book is set in the late 1820s and early 1830s, but other factors suggest a somewhat later date. (The barrister Mr Kirkpatrick is referred to as a Q.C., not a K.C. as he would have been before the accession of Queen Victoria in 1837).

The main character is Molly Gibson, the daughter of the local doctor. Molly is befriended by Mr Hamley, the local squire, and his wife, who see her almost as a substitute daughter (their own daughter having died in childhood). Molly falls deeply in love with Roger, the Hamleys' academically brilliant younger son, but he sees her only as a friend, being infatuated with Molly's stepsister Cynthia. (Dr Gibson is a widower who has remarried a widow with a daughter around the same age as Molly). Roger is a scientific explorer who travels to Africa in search of new species of animals and plants; his character may have been inspired by the exploits of the likes of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russell Wallace. ("The Origin of Species" had been published only a few years earlier).

The book is clearly influenced by the work of Jane Austen (at times it reads like a pastiche), not only in its subject-matter but also in the way in which Mrs Gaskell tries to draw ironical, satirical pen-portraits of her characters. Cynthia, for example, is beautiful but shallow and fickle, and her mother, Hyacinth Kirkpatrick Gibson, is hypocritical, manipulative, conceited and snobbish. Dr Gibson is generally portrayed as a sensible, level-headed man, so it is not easy to understand why he should have taken such an obnoxious woman as his second wife.

The Austen novel with which "Wives and Daughters" has the greatest affinities is "Mansfield Park". In both books the central male character (Roger/Edmund) is the younger son of an upper-class family, overshadowed by a flashier elder brother (Osborne/Tom), but steady, reliable and decent. In both books he is loved patiently and in secret by a quiet, demure girl (Molly/Fanny) but becomes infatuated with another woman, beautiful but flighty and superficial (Cynthia/Mary). In both cases the patient girl's devotion is rewarded with marriage to the man she loves; Mrs Gaskell died before she could write the final chapters of "Wives and Daughters", leaving it unfinished, but there can be little doubt that this is the ending that she intended. Mrs Gaskell left what may have been a deliberate hint that Austen's book was her inspiration; the Hamleys refer to Molly as "another Fanny", that being the name of their deceased daughter.

I have some sympathy with those readers who preferred Cynthia, who for all her obvious character flaws is at least a rounded human being, to the idealised but insipid Molly. (But then, I am one of those who hoped that "Mansfield Park" would end with Edmund marrying Mary rather than Fanny, surely Austen's dullest heroine). Mrs Gaskell seemed to try so hard to make Molly good that she forgot to make her interesting.

Some of the most interesting scenes in the book were those involving Roger's older brother Osborne and his clandestine marriage to a French nursery maid. Osborne needs to keep this marriage a secret because his autocratic father, who has set his heart on a brilliant, financially advantageous match for his son and heir, would not welcome a daughter-in-law who was foreign, a Catholic and a former servant. I felt, however, that this potentially interesting theme was wasted by being relegated to a sub-plot, and wished that Mrs Gaskell had paid more attention to Osborne and Aimee and less to the Roger/Molly/Cynthia triangle.

At well over 600 pages this is a long book, much longer than any of Austen's, being a product of the system of publishing by weekly or monthly instalments, a system which had the effect of inflating by a considerable amount the average length of a novel during this period. Dickens also used this method of publishing, but although he was occasionally guilty of padding his books he was generally able to turn the system to his advantage by producing plots of ingenious complexity and finishing each episode at a dramatic point in the narrative. The plot of "Wives and Daughters", however, is too slender to support such a weighty book, and at times I found it frustrating as the action was slowed down to a standstill by yet another lengthy and discursive conversation a propos (to use a typically Gaskellian phrase) of nothing. (The book was successfully adapted as a TV series a few years ago, possibly because the dramatist was able to keep the basic plot but to prune out the duller passages) There were characters whose appearances I learned to dread, particularly the Misses Browning, a tedious pair of garrulous spinster sisters. Even the satire at the expense of Hyacinth, amusing at first, gradually became repetitive; Mrs Gaskell seems to have lacked Austen's gift for playful irony.

Elizabeth Gaskell is often regarded today as a novelist of the early Victorian industrial North, writing social-realist novels which tackled the problems of poverty, unemployment and labour relations ("Mary Barton", "North and South") and unmarried motherhood ("Ruth"). In "Wives and Daughters" she tried to move into Austen's territory, love and marriage among the provincial upper and upper-middle classes, but my view is that her gifts lay much more in the direction of social realism.

You will love Molly Gibson and hate Mrs Kirkpatrick.......2006-10-26

"Wives and Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell was written for serialisation in the Cornhill Times between 1864 and 1865. However Gaskell died suddenly shortly before finishing the book. The ending had already been planned and the book is satisfyingly complete as it stands.

"Wives and Daughters" is Gaskell's best book in my opinion and it shows her talent at its peak.

The language and descriptions are not as convoluted or drawn-out as in her other books. In fact the language is quite modern compared with the flowery style of the era.

The narrative itself is gripping, especially towards the end of the book when events reach their climax. There are exciting twists and turns in the plot, almost like a modern thriller. This is where Gaskell shines - she is a very skilful constructor of intricate story plots. It is difficult to put the book down as we near the end of the story.

Gaskell is brilliant in evoking mental images in the reader. We are drawn into the story in our imagination and construct our own imagery of the characters and settings. This, of course, is why books will always be with us and will never be supplanted by TV. Some of her descriptions of the English countryside, with its plants, crops and seasons are quite beautiful and show a very observant eye.

Another area in which Gaskell shines is her vivid depiction of characters, even though they might be standard "types" to readers of her day. Mrs Kirkpatrick is especially interesting, although she will intensely irritate many readers. She is superficial, self-centred, manipulative, selfish and fawns over the local aristocracy - in fact, just like many young women of today! While these traits might be expected, although unattractive, in a silly teenager, they are distasteful in a middle-aged widow such as Mrs Kirkpatrick. Readers will love to hate her!

But every reader will love Molly and side with her in her jousts with Mrs Kirkpatrick. Molly is probably the most likeable of all the characters in Gaskell's books. She is more realistic and less of an exaggerated "type" than many of the others.

"Wives and Daughters", like all Gaskell's books, is an enjoyable read and the plot moves on apace. Perhaps this is due to the requirements of serialisation - short, self-contained episodes that leave the reader keenly awaiting the next episode. Dickens' books are successful for much the same reason, as are modern TV soapies.

The book also gives a valuable insight into attitudes and ways of life in the early 19th century. This will interest readers who love history. Fiction such as this can illuminate social history.

If you want to explore Elizabeth Gaskell's books, start with "Wives and Daughters" and then move onto the earlier books.

Anguish!.......2006-09-12

I began Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell in late July, and have only just finished it - yesterday, as a matter of fact. I had already seen the movie about a year ago, but I really wanted to read the book. It started out much like the movie, only the events and happenings were much more drawn-out. Let's face it, the book was dull. Way too many unnecessary conversations and long descriptions.

Nevertheless, I was determined to finish it. I wanted to be able to say I'd read all 648 pages of Wives and Daughters. So I did. By the time I began the last chapter I was anticipating the end and the lovely scene I knew was going to happen (after all, that was the way the movie ended). I turned the page, right in the middle of another long-winded "tete-a-tete" (as Mrs. Gaskell so often likes to term it) between Mrs. Gibson and Molly, when BOOM. It ended. My mind was reeling. Wh-wh-what??

I immediately went on to read the note from the editor, who coined it thus:

"Here the story is broken off, and it can never be finished. What promised to be the crowning work of a life is a memorial of death. A few days longer, and it would have been a triumphal column, crowned with a capital of festal leaves and flowers: now it is another sort of column - one of those sad white pillars which stand broken in the churchyard."

She died?! In my anguish I could not help but wonder how, if only the author had not wasted so much time on those never-ending, tedious passages, perhaps - just perhaps - she would've actually finished it?

I threw down the book in disgust (quite literally, I'm afraid) while muttering, "Stupid, stupid book!"

So now I must go and watch the movie - at least it has an ending! Sadly this is one case where the movie is much more worthwhile than the book.

WIVES AND DAUGHTERS: AN EVERY-DAY STORY.

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WIVES AND DAUGHTERS: AN EVERY-DAY STORY.
Mrs. Gaskell
Manufacturer: Smith, Elder
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OQGWLG

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