Research Books

It's an easy reference book for the understanding of development theory. It contains the three main currents of development theory including modernization theory, dependency theory and world-system theory. The book is well structured in ideas and eash to read. For those who are interested in the development theory, this book is a good choice.

Alvin So's book is the only time I ever read a book about theory and on the first time through the sentence I said "Oh! That's what that's all about!" It's sad but true that most theory books are so full of garbage-- unneeded words, grammatically convoluted sentences that go nowhere-- that you end up more confused than enlightened.

Twenty or so years of teaching at the University of Hawaii if I am not mistaken allowed So to practice again and again explaining theory to students until he'd figured out how to do it right, I only wish he'd written a book on all the other theories as well!

Dr. So's comparison of the three major schools of thought in Development Studies, namely Modernization, Dependency, and World Systems, is the best book of its kind currently available. While it lacks the breadth of _Society, State, and Market_ by John Martinussen, it makes up for it in the depth of its analysis. Using A limited numer of theorists, Dr. So presents a comprehensive picture of each of the schools of thought in a historical perspective. He outlines the historical and intellectual origins of each, then discusses the theory itself, follows with an examination of the classical studies in each school, and concludes with the modern studies from that intellectual tradition. If supplemented with another, broader work, this book is a perfect introduction into a daunting field that often defies understanding.

This is clearly a textbook, as the publisher's writeup notes, so don't go looking for a ripping insider tell-all. That said, it's a good, solid textbook in true academic fashion: clearly laid out, systematic in structure and specific in definitions. Absolutely a dream to take notes from.
It's also a needed change that, instead of hopping around references to different theories based on politics or country, the author breaks the text into three blocks - one per major theoretical school - and lines them up chronologically by era of popularity. This of course gets a bit muddy by the end as the field in general starts to look like a free-for-all to find what works, but overall the text is blessedly clear after so much rhetoric.

Excellent review of statistics and their uses in social science research methods. Excellent examples to understand the different statistical concepts. Would recommend this book for masters and doctoral students.

Well it is only for my course called fundamnetals of socýal research but its very expensive indeed. Just wanted the first to make a comment thats all.

This is a fabulous book for the novice researcher and an excellent resource/refresher for the experienced. Everything is laid out so clearly it is a pleasure to read--a no nonsense approach. I highly recommend it!

This text is well-written in easy to understand English. It gives the background behind the different kinds of research and then gives practical guidelines for carrying out the research.
I can see that this book will not be too far away as I reflect, research and write up my current project.

A sourcebook that has daily implications. Used and read on a daily basis. I dont think you will outgrow the concepts available for you to try it on yourself and anybody else.

Each element is relevant and challenging, complete in its description and yet flexible enough for you to experiment. I plan to have it as a constant companion.

I find this book immensely helpful as a resource for the 77 NLP Patterns, and also because of the NLP introduction at the beginning.
L.M.Hall outlines the different levels at which we process information highlighting the truth about sub-modalities. He then goes on to describe, "The Mechanism of Change" and how the magic works.
With each pattern he provides an explanation of when to use it and precisely how.
An excellent resource for those who, like me, need all the patterns in one book.

Those of you who missed the 1st edition of this excellent book, there is now a second chance to pick up this modern classic.

The premise of the work is that many NLP books are available that contain, within extensive "padding", only a few patterns, some books just one or two. Hall achieves his goal of separating the wheat from the chaff admirably with all the objectivity of a Haynes car manual leaving this pragmatic work refreshingly academic yet accessible. Like a cookbook it is reference driven allowing the practitioner access to these powerful patterns without the contingency of having to wade into battle against the author's literary aspirations.

What are these patterns?
Most of these patterns are primarily action orientated, simple exercises to be run through step by step with regard to specific ends. The other few are, more fundamentally, explanations of NLP assumptions, such as the principle of well formed outcomes.

Hall begins by introducing the reader to an overview of NLP and levels-of-processing that is indispensable, as within the instructions to the patterns he falls back on a few technical concepts with out further explanation, such as "test and future pace".

Then we come the patterns themselves, organised roughly according to their level of processing, the book allows you to easily select a pattern for your goal. Included patterns are; collapsing anchors, resolving internal conflict, chaining states, becoming intentionally compelled, responding to criticism, healthy eating, spinning icons.....

The second edition adds to the first; some simplification of the procedures and a little more detail as to the cognitive / behavioural mechanisms used in the patterns, and a deserved revision of the introduction. In the first (and second) edition Hall asserts that there may be as many as 200 distinct patterns and surely some that haven't been invented (or should that be discovered?) yet. So I was expecting some new patterns in the 2nd ed. but it's the original 77.
I don't know how I would start to define the distinction of a unique pattern (as opposed to a variant) anyway. I find it unlikely that at a computational - cognitive level there are 200 modes of action, so it's safe to assume the all of the building blocks are here for you. Hall hints that, a list of patterns touted as "exhaustive", would promote dogma and stagnate inventive development, through his legitimate assertion that all the patterns are largely prototypical and are easily extended and adapted.

Without being overly complex, this book is dense.

I bought this book recently, and even working on the first pattern, I noticed a significant mental shift, when I ran the pattern through my own neurology. I have used that pattern many times, and just feel very calm. It could also be called the Law of Attraction pattern.

A complaint of many NLP books is that they are difficult to read or the concepts are difficult to grasp. I can assure that this book is not difficult to follow, if you have a basic grasp of NLP. I highly recommend it.

If you were to find this review helpful, please click yes.

Das Werk "Sowing the Dragon's Teeth: Byzantine Warfare in the Tenth Century (Dumbarton Oaks Studies)" enthält die bisher einzig verfügbare englische Übersetzung der Precepta Militaria. Aufgrund seiner Bedeutung für die byzantinische Militärgeschichte ist diese Ausgabe somit ein absolutes Muß für jeden Byzanz-Fan.
Im Textteil wird dem griechischen Originaltext dabei jeweils auf der gegenüberliegenden Seite die englische Übersetzung gegenüber gestellt. Für Leser, die - wie ich - dem Alt-Griechische nicht mächtig sind, ist dies meist nur bei Fachausdrücken von Vorteil, die sich nicht immer 100%-ig übersetzen lassen. Zumal Begriffe im Laufe der Zeit durchaus die Bedeutung ändern können.
Darüberhinaus enthält das Buch analoge Textpassagen des späteren Taktika des Nikephoros Ouranos, die in gleicher Weise Griechisch/Englisch präsentiert werden.
Auch werden ausgesuchte Textpassagen mit ähnlich lautenden Passagen früherer Werke verglichen und Unterschiede in der Nomenklatura aufgezeigt.

Der zweite Teil des Buches enthält umfangreiche Informationen zum geschichtlichen Kontext und die Interpretationen des Autors zu den Traktaten.

Obwohl neuere Autoren die Qualität der Übersetzungen mitlerweile in Frage stellen und zum Teil zu gänzlich anderen Schlußfolgerungen kommen, bildet doch das vorliegende Werk eine unerlässliche Quelle and Informationen aus erster Hand.

This is an outstanding book of its' type. The translations are good and the transliterations very well done. It also provides a good background on not only the texts but also the events and institutions they discuss, making the book useful not only as a primary source, but also as a historical analysis in its own right. The commentary is also eminently readable and filled with information on not only the Byzantine army itself, but also those Asiatic enemies which it faced and bested. Honestly, I have yet to find a better text on this subject.

The successful resistance of the Later Roman Empire aka the Byzantine Empire to the powerful and relentless assault of nascent Islam is not only the foundation stone of Western civilisation but also a great mystery. Why should Rome, weakened as it was by the ravages of hordes of Northern and Eastern barbarians and a series of dreadful plagues, have survived the onslaught when the its great and ancient rival, the Persian Empire was so quickly overwhelmed? The financial and military rescources of the early Caliphs were vastly greater than those at the command of the Byzantine Emperor and the military enthusiasm of his subjects was intense - witness the constant attacks by the large number of volunteer Jihad warriors from all over Islam who based themselves in what is now Syria.

Part of the answer is to be found in this excellent book which affords the reader an insight into the detail of the military adaptations the Roman Empire made to cope with its dire problem. This scholarly, authentic account is an indispensible tool for those who wish to understand why it is that, to paraphrase Edward Gibbon, the inhabitants of medieval Oxford did not answer the Muezzin's call and worship Allah in the city of dreaming spires.

The tanslation of the texts are well done, but that is not the best thing about this book. It is the commentary that follows the translations (about half the book). The author does an excellent job of describing, in modern language, the items detailed in the translations, providing examples from Byzantine warfare to illustrate. The reader finally gets a detailed impression of Byzantine warfare in the age of its greatest triumphs.

Actually the one I am working with is French through pictures but it is the same except for the language. I am trying to port it to a CD-ROM using Hyperstudio. Hyperstudio is similar to Hypercard but works on both systems. It is the next step beyond flash cards, that is it includes sound, is of course much faster and flexible....

This book looks deceptively simple, even juvenile. However, if you faithfully follow page by page, you will learn about 600 words and working grammatical knowledge more easily and quickly than any other book I have seen. Languages were my field for some years, and the "..through Pictures" series by I.A.Richards, et.al. are the first I would look for. The book - a paperback of 270 pages - is entirely in Spanish and builds in a self-explanatory procedure. You can produce basic, useful statements in a few hours, and experience a pleasant, rapid learning curve. If you are like me and want to know some more grammar along the way, "Spanish for Beginners" by Charles Duff is a good companion book. But make sure you finish Richard's.

I used this book to acquire a great deal of the Spanish I now have--I teach Spanish now. The author is phenomenally competent at sequencing and incrementing the material for the easiest, fastest, and most stress-free method for language learning I have ever seen. (I have studied several languages.) I am desperately seeking a replacement for my lost copy of it---in any condition, at any price!

This is the best way I have ever seen to learn conversational Spanish through a book. I have seen a friend with no knowledge of the language become fluent in conversing at a Cuban restaurant he liked to frequent, solely by studying this book and its sequel, Spanish Through Pictures: Book II. They build your vocabulary through a series of line drawings; never giving an English translation. This is similar to the way we all learned our primary language as a child, and helps you to actually think in the language you are learning.

A book which is very easy to understand with many examples from physiology and social behaviour. For those who are new in the subject with the least mathematical background it is a highly recommended book. R. Warner offers a very intuitive approach to the difficult subject of spectral analysis and motivates, in a sense, the interested ones to go further with more advanced texts. For those who would like to get the idea of spectral analysis, to apply and interpret it, especially in the context of the behavioural sciences, it is the ideal book. However, for those who are more mathematically inclined (e.g. engineers, physicists or economists) and are interested in the-how-and-the-why by means of mathematical reasoning, other texts would be more appropriate.

I think this book is extremely simple. The only knowledge required to understand it is perhaps Ordinary Least Squares. A theoretical explanation of the spectral analysis is not in the book. There is only a brief comment on De moivre's theorem (the one allowing and sustaining the whole spectral analysis) in a footnote. The main purpose of the author is to deliver an empirical methodology for empirical researchers not interested in the theories. The advantage is that, once you see such empirical applications, you understand the underlying idea of spectral Analysis. The elementary examples are very illuminating. The book is well organized and the review of "de-trending" (on this particular subject, I would like to say that the scientific discussion has evolved a lot in the last 20 years and the author's presentation is a little bit old), "harmonic analysis", "periodogrammes" seems pretty coherent. Perhaps the only drawback is that the text is a little repetitive and thus, slightly boring; but this is a minor problem, if you consider that this style will make more solids the understanding of the fundamental concepts. It's a great introduction to spectral analysis. Students having standard mathematical knowledge should begin here and then start reading more technical works, such as Bloomfied's "Fourier Analysis of Time Series" and the chapter of spectral analysis of Hamilton's "Analysis of Time Series".

If you haven't got a clue about spectral analysis, this is the ideal place to start exploring the frequency domain. Although the examples are from psychological studies, it is not a reason why an economist shouldn't read it!!!

No one writes more clearly than Rebecca Warner. If you want to understand spectral analysis, she will help you. If you want to *do* spectral analysis, read this book first. It might be the only one you need.

This used to be thee text for seminarians before Vatican II. It is the best assembly of information relative to the spiritual life one can imagine. Do I wish that it was returned to the seminaries and colleges of our Catholic heritage.

There are virtually no unchartered waters in this book relative to the spiritual life. Grab it, read it and apply it and you will see for yourself the treasure you have in your hands.

This book is a compilation of saintly progress that is unmatched
in variety and summation of the spiritual life. Anyone who reads
this book with an open heart will be changed for life.

A Catholic priest recommended The Spiritual Life to me. The book is both a great guide to Christian Mysticism, and to the Catholic faith. The descriptions of the spiritual journeys of various saints described in the book are fascinating.

This book is simply a must have for the spiritual life. It is long but it is definately worth the read.

One reason this book is set above others is that it goes through all the doctrinal and dogmatic foundations of the spiritual life giving us the reasons why we should serve and love God. The author says himself that he doesn't think a work on the spiritual life should omit a review of what exactly God has done for us. Also placing himself on solid dogmatic grounds the author avoids falling into subjectivism or a undue focus on ourself. This is the first (and shortest) part of the book.

Secondly the author goes in depth to the three ways. That is, the purgative, the illuminative, and the unitive. He thoroughly treats all of them so you can get plenty of help in the one that you may happen to be in, but you will also learn to look forward to what may come. It is, of course, important to know what you are working towards in addition to knowing what to do in your present state.

The author treats just about everything imaginable in the spiritual life. He treats the gifts of the Holy Ghost, meditation, contemplation, perfection, interior graces, mystical phenomena, trials, the "dark nights", beginning the SL, advancing in virtue, Communion/confession, combatting the passions, growing in charity, and many other things.

The author bases his teaching mainly on Scripture, Saint Thomas, the so-called "french school" (Olier,Berulle,Eudes, etc,), Saint Theresa and Saint John of the Cross, and Saint Francis de Sales. Although he does quote many others and has a very wide knowledge of spiritual authors.

The author also maintains the traditional teaching on the spiritual life: that love of God is perfection. The modern era has made achieving various "mental states" as perfection. This is of course very wrong. This book will help you to grow in love for God. Whether you acieve any extraordinary gifts is God's decision. God's free gifts cannot be attained by any "technique".

Finally I would recommend this book because it not only only inflames your will with a desire to love God and serve Him as some books do, it also give real concrete steps to achieve this. God Bless.

As far as review books go, this is fairly readable and contains a lot of pertinent information, several charts with comparisons, etc. This review book was recommended by my school, some of the topics were seen on the NCLEX RN(reported by classmates who have already taken the NCLEX Rn)I also have a copy of NCLEX 3500 coming in the mail, so along with this review book and the questions I hope to be well prepared.Lots of practice, practice, practice!

This NCLEX study guide is neato! Of all the NCLEX study guides I have looked at, this is the only one that presents information in a way that makes it easy to remember. And that's incredibly important when your palms are sweating and you're sitting in front of that computer taking the test. Instead of presenting gobbs of information in outline format, it presents case studies that focus on important information the NCLEX focuses on. It contains an evaluative pretest, posttest, and two disk tests that all contain rationales for correct and incorrect answers (very helpful). The quickly accessible appendices with normal lab values, conversion equivalents, etc are very helpful as well.

i received this book 2 days after my test and i felt that gave a good review with questions that reflected more like nclex questions. And i passed my test! Good luck

Am studying in preparation to write the NCLEX- this book is a great review of the basics. The sample tests on DVD are a great help as well

This is a great book. Everyone who uses statistics in any way should read it. Maybe everyone who READS articles that contain statistics should read it! The mathematics is minimal (very few formulas, and those are basic), but a lot of very good advice on how to use statistics sensibly (and how it is sometimes used nonsensically!).

This is the most informative book on statistics that I have ever read. In every chapter there is something to stimulate thinking. I only wish someone had recommended it to me last decade rather than last year.

Anyone who has struggled to try and integrate the many different facets of statistics and research will find that Abelson has done a magnificent job supported by enlightening examples and comprehensive references.

The author is a psychologist with strong graduate training in mathematics and statistics. He did his graduate work at Princeton and as his dedication indicates. he was very much influenced by the work of John Tukey (who he probably took courses from at Princeton in addition to later interactions). Abelson is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and is very knowledgeable on the statistical literature from the 1940s up to the present.

The book is mostly expository with a lot of dialogue and interesting applications. Applications are concentrated in psychology, a field that Abelson is most familiar with but coverage is not restricted to psychology. He covers examples from sports, gambling and medicine as well and some of these examples are very good at making points about common misunderstandings a perceptions about probability and statistics.

A main theme is the importance of a reasoned or principled argument in the presentation of results from a statistical analysis. Abelson points out that many researchers are afraid of mathematics and statistics and use it only as a necessary tool in a research project. They want to find a method for turnng the crank and reaching a conclusion. Abelson recognizes that this causes trouble.

There is too much reliance on the 0.05 significance level. Researchers fail to understand the use of a null hypothesis or the fact that conclusion of hypothesis tests are not black and white and have possible errors associated with them. Most researchers do not understand the subtleties of the interpretation of p-values or confidence intervals and many do not know or understand the difference between the frequentist and Bayesian approaches.

Abelson is careful to articulate all of this in a way that statisticians would be proud of and hopefully it will be understandable to researchers as well.

He also spends time in the text describing the counterintuitive streaky nature of random sequences. He refers to this by saying "Chance is lumpy." He illustrate this with examples from ESP experimentation and the study of the hot hand in basketball. This is all time well spent. Abelson also points out the gambler's fallacy of believing that a batter is "due" for a hit if he has not gotten one for many at bats or that red should come up on the next spin of the roulette wheel after a string of 5 or 6 blacks.

Equivalence and multiple comparisons are two topics that are well-covered in the book. The author also speaks well for Tukey's exploratory approach to data analysis and includes some graphics including stem-and-leaf plots. But aside from a few graphs and tables, there is very little mathematics and no formulas or derivations. This can make it a little difficult for the mathematical statisticians at times. Yet this may be viewed as a blessing by the less mathematically inclined researcher.

In any case it is worth reading for anyone involved in statistical analysis especially graduate students and researchers.

The author is a psychologist with strong graduate training in mathematics and statistics. He did his graduate work at Princeton and as his dedication indicates. he was very much influenced by the work of John Tukey (who he probably took courses from at Princeton in addition to later interactions). Abelson is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and is very knowledgeable on the statistical literature from the 1940s up to the present.
The book is mostly expository with a lot of dialogue and interesting applications. Applications are concentrated in psychology, a field that Abelson is most familiar with but coverage is not restricted to psychology. He covers examples from sports, gambling and medicine as well and some of these examples are very good at making points about common misunderstandings a perceptions about probability and statistics.

A main theme is the importance of a reasoned or principled argument in the presentation of results from a statistical analysis. Abelson points out that many researchers are afraid of mathematics and statistics and use it only as a necessary tool in a research project. They want to find a method for turnng the crank and reaching a conclusion. Abelson recognizes that this causes trouble.

There is too much reliance on the 0.05 significance level. Researchers fail to understand the use of a null hypothesis or the fact that conclusion of hypothesis tests are not black and white and have possible errors associated with them. Most researchers do not understand the subtleties of the interpretation of p-values or confidence intervals and many do not know or understand the difference between the frequentist and Bayesian approaches.

Abelson is careful to articulate all of this in a way that statisticians would be proud of and hopefully it will be understandable to researchers as well.

He also spends time in the text describing the counterintuitive streaky nature of random sequences. He refers to this by saying "Chance is lumpy." He illustrate this with examples from ESP experimentation and the study of the hot hand in basketball. This is all time well spent. Abelson also points out the gambler's fallacy of believing that a batter is "due" for a hit if he has not gotten one for many at bats or that red should come up on the next spin of the roulette wheel after a string of 5 or 6 blacks.

Equivalence and multiple comparisons are two topics that are well-covered in the book. The author also speaks well for Tukey's exploratory approach to data analysis and includes some graphics including stem-and-leaf plots. But aside from a few graphs and tables, there is very little mathematics and no formulas or derivations. This can make it a little difficult for the mathematical statisticians at times. Yet this may be viewed as a blessing by the less mathematically inclined researcher.

In any case it is worth reading for anyone involved in statistical analysis especially graduate students and researchers.

Real joy to read , easy to follow , great examples , if you want to know about statistics as well as spss please look no more & save your pennies. it does not support spss11. that's not even a drawback. if you are looking for PhD pretty simple for you

I was told that it is impossible to learn statistics and SPSS at the same time but this book proves that it can be done. It is very logical and the increasing complexity is easy to follow and the examples used in the book are easy to understand. Each chapter ends with an exercise section which helps to test your comprehension of the chapter. I have already used 4 other books and this is the best. Don't bother wasting your money and time with other books. I highly recommend it.

`This is a text that can be strongly recommended....I would imagine this book would be useful as a set text for undergraduate modules in social statistics, or as a resource on postgraduate degrees in social science that take a quantitative focus' -
Medical Sociology News

`This book is a detailed and very practical manual introducing statistical methods for research.... In its treatment of statistics the book is accurate and has obviously been edited with great care.... For the reviewer, the main attraction of the book was the detailed explanation of principles that underlie test formulae. As a result, the mystery of statistical output is removed and the simple practicalities are laid bare. This approach, so necessary for deep learning, makes the work far more than a statistical recipe book with a DIY computing section. The author has gone to considerable lengths to assist students by including example questions with model answers, a glossary of terms, a list of key equations and a selection of statistical tables. A CD-ROM containing data files for student exercises is provided with the book and a public access Internet address is given for readers to obtain updated files.... For undergraduate and graduate students seeking to acquire an understanding of statistical methods for research, and the associated SPSS procedures, this book provides an excellent introduction' -
Journal of Advanced Nursing

This is the rarest of statistics texts that combines complete accessibility (especially to "numerically challenged" students) with rigorous treatments of introductory and advanced statistical concepts. The integration of SPSS menus directly into the text is a unique and outstanding feature that allows for the seamless integration of this software package into lectures, problem sets, and exams. Practitioners will also love this book. This is THE text you want to own!!!

Jason Hecht

Assistant Professor of Finance
Ramapo College of New Jersey