Indicator

Using sixteen composite fictional characters, he describes the various ways each man is unique and how we can, by understanding not only our personality type, but also how our male socialization affects us, we can be more comfortable with who we are, our feelings and thoughts, and no longer have to "apologize for being ourselves." He clearly shows what aspects we show to the world, and which we defer, and how this affects communication not only between men and women, but also in our work and friendship relations with other men. Women may find in 'Sixteen Men' understandings about themselves, as it Dr. Pedersen's thesis encompasses both sexes, even though the stated subject is men. He states at many points that just as some men may appear to have more of the feminine, and why, some women may appear to have more of the masculine in how they communicate.

In a very readable form, Dr. Pederson gives insights well past those of popular books that simply separate the natures of men and women. The only caveat I have to the book is that readers are well-advised to have had an introduction (even if just from the web) to the Myers-Briggs system, and what type preferences they might have.

as helpful to understanding between people as John Gray's
Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus has been.
Congratulations on another fine book, Dr. Pedersen!
(Please feel free to see my review of Dark Hearts, also
on Amazon.com)

This is the best value for having global figures handy, and is one tenth the cost of the other great reference work, the Fitzroy Dearborn Book of World Rankings. Perhaps even more to the point, this book has something the other one does not: country by country data (although one could always go to the CIA World Factbook online for similar data as well as biographic listings). Having said that, it does not have the full range of detail that is offered by the other, such as domestic water shortages and energy consumption. This book has Internet and music charts--but none of the charts are comprehensive, generally listing top and bottom countries, not all countries. Bottom line: this is the best value for a portable book about global figures relevant to political economy.

The concept of neurotic defense mechanisms rooted in childhood abuse and neglect seems to be one of the few areas of Freudianism that continues to wear well historically, remaining firmly perceived as a useful construct in virtually all sub-specialties of psychotherapy in the U.S. today (rape and general trauma, addictions, grief, anxiety, deviance, violence, identity, childhood emotional and learning disorders, marriage counseling, family systems, etc.). Thus, a book devoted to this topic couched in the combined language of Myers-Briggs (MB), Jung (via MB) and TA is bound to be an exciting find for a great many therapists.

Dr. Delunas offers a typology of unconscious "survival games" (neurotic defense mechanisms in action) based in the four MB types: Artisan (SP), Guardian (SJ), Rational (NT) and Idealist (NF). Each of these type-specific games shares distinct qualities: (1) They are destructive and potentially deadly if carried to extremes. (2) They are unconsciously chosen in hopes of improving serious life situations, but, instead, cause new problems worse than those they were supposed to fix. (3) They are based in feelings of worthlessness due to poor adjustment to life trauma, usually severe childhood trauma. (4) They invariably continue until the player is able to master the original traumatic event symbolically in a present relationship by responding this time around in a healthy, functional way (stop compulsively hurting himself or others in the same patterned way, in an unconscious, neurotic attempt to restore the painful past).

I believe the MB type most likely to be enthusiastic about Dr. Delunas's ideas is the INTJ, for these reasons: (1) Observing your clients carefully in order to assess where they fit into MB allows you get to sit back quietly and analyze in a clear, systematic manner. (2) Identifying whether your clients are involved in any of the four survival games, how intensely they apply them and how firmly they are entrenched in them, allows further orderly armchair analysis. (3) Designing interventions, such as guided visualizations, for ending your clients' destructive games allows for additional analysis, with a fun fillip of N creativity thrown in. (4) Approaching your clients (in a standard cognitive-therapy manner) in the role of instructor/parent by assigning "homework" at the end of each session involves actually talking to the client, but it is still pretty safe for the introverted NT, because it allows you to maintain a position of superior, scientific detachment.

As an INTJ/INFJ myself, I was, not surprisingly, initially quite attracted to the validation I found in Dr. Delunas's work. I always experience a strong hunger within my INT self to learn as much as possible about my clients (often, unless the client is also an N, far more hunger than the client will ever feel him/herself). So I was understandably comforted at being reassured that a drive for incessant information gathering on the part of a therapist is a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, I find it difficult, based on professional and personal experience, to agree with why Dr. Delunas thinks it is so great: (1) While claiming to dislike the vast majority of Freud's ideas, most cognitive therapists continue wasting enormous amounts of valuable (and very expensive) therapy time digging around in their clients' pasts looking for childhood miseries to explain present neurotic behavior--an approach Dr. Delunas directly and indirectly encourages. I have come to agree with opposing thinkers such as William Glasser, who states that the only practical reason for digging around in a client's past is in order to come up with success stories of when clients managed, without harming themselves or others, to get their basic human needs met. (2) The approach recommended in this book is paternalistic, and, therefore, inevitably, even in cases where the client is a child, patronizing. This is so, because the therapist is doing for clients what they desperately need to learn how to do for themselves: become aware of their actions, think objectively about them, and make better choices for future actions. Unfortunately, when the therapist is the one doing all the thinking and choice-making, as Dr. Delunas recommends, the client is reduced to a docile, obedient child.

Having said all that, you might well ask, why am I rating Dr. Delunas with 4 stars when I disagree with her this much? Because her insights on the defense mechanisms of the four basic MB types are brilliant. I rate this portion of the book at 5 stars. However, her paternalistic therapy techniques rate, in my view, only 2 stars. I averaged these two scores to get 3.5, and bumped it to 4 because her thinking on survival games is extremely well written, fascinating and innovative.

Eve Delunas does a good job at identifying and disecting the different games that each personality is likely to play, and gives ideas on how to stop the "game playing" that is going on within yourself and the loved ones around you.

Using her examples you can easily identify what games are being played and what you can do to take control and stop / counter them in an effective fashion.

Easy to read with little background knowlege needed, this book is a must for everyone - parent, spouse, sibling. I recomend it highly.

It alowed me to see the hidden agendas going on underneath the surface facade that we present to the world... A definite 5 stars!!!

Some examples: "In the long term, the growth in economic output depends on the number of people working and output per worker (productivity)" (Page 41); Or "In general, the more optimistic consumers are, the more likely they are to spend money. This boosts consumer spending and economic output" (Page 93)...

...One begins to yearn for the days where economics was more of an explanatory and less a mathematical science.

The guide is divided into a number of chapters discussing issues and examples related to
- How economic activity is calculated, and what the main indicators GDP/GNP/NNI capture and do not capture, as well as what changes in these indicators or their components mean.
- Employment indicators such as employment by sector or the unemployment rate
- Balance of payments and fiscal indicators, such as tax revenue or budget deficit
- Consumer indicators, such as disposable income or consumer confidence and their significance
- Investment and savings indicators, such as investment intentions or sales/inventory ratios
- Business indicators, including business conditions, auto sales, construction orders and other common stats
- Exchange rates and financial market indicators, such as interest rates and money supply.
- Prices and wages, like the effect of oil price changes, among others

Coverage of the most common and widely available indicators is fairly comprehensive. Given the simplicity of the book, it is better to have a certain level of economic knowledge and opinion to be able to put the content in context. Not much different to reading The Economist, really.

I called Adobe twice and they said they don't support the e-Book reader! I checked their user forums at (...)and there are three other people with the same problem. I can't believe Amazon(.com) and Adobe sell a product neither one supports!

A lot of the concepts have been presented in previous books, but here they are taken a step further when the authors give examples from their long experience within the field. Downloadable forms, worksheets, and checklists (at the publishers website!!), that may be adapted to various needs is a definite valuable add-on for practitioners who do not have an urge "to do it all on their own".

The book starts off with taking a look at the need for measurement and evaluation and presents the ROI-process as a framework for 6 types of measures, (Kirkspatricks' 4, the ROI and intangible assets). Then all levels, possible measurements etc are presented throughout the book, finishing off with key implementation steps. It is all wrapped in the ROI-process, a step-by-step "receipe" for planning, building and implementing the evaluation process.

So when the top management want to know if a training program is worth the money . . .
Reading the book may get you on the track. It may help you talk the language of Money a way that senior management understands.
This is in addition to building better programs.

And it sure was practical with a digital version on my laptop, that way I bing it with me whereever I go; really conveniant when being a consultant - -

A lot of the concepts have been presented in previous books, but here they are taken a step further when the authors give examples from their long experience within the field. Downloadable forms, worksheets, and checklists (at the publishers website!!), that may be adapted to various needs is a definite valuable add-on for practitioners who do not have an urge "to do it all on their own".

The book starts off with taking a look at the need for measurement and evaluation and presents the ROI-process as a framework for 6 types of measures, (Kirkspatricks' 4, the ROI and intangible assets). Then all levels, possible measurements etc are presented throughout the book, finishing off with key implementation steps. It is all wrapped in the ROI-process, a step-by-step "receipe" for planning, building and implementing the evaluation process.

So when the top management want to know if a training program is worth the money . . .
Reading the book may get you on the track. It may help you talk the language of Money a way that senior management understands.
This is in addition to building better programs.

In other words, if you have bought into the conventional econometrics of the day, whatever that is, this is your guidebook. It ought to help get through a class, but outside the ivory tower, I'm not sure it will be much help.

Personally, the author didn't help me connect the dots. What do these indicators imply for the GNP 2, 3 or 4 years down the road? What connections do foreign indicators have with domestic ones?

These questions are not answered. It's just a dictionary. You get the nominal description, the publishing authority, a bit about why the authority thinks their indicator useful and maybe a few sample numbers. That is it. If you like academic economics or ever have to make a presentation to some government officials, this is probably an exceptional service, though.

Dr. Evelina Tainer has managed, in a succinct manner, to offer academicians (particularly those without practical experience in the world of finance)a way to communicate ideas to students that is compelling and interesting.

I more carefully read about her background only after finishing her book. It make perfect sense that this book was written by an author who has worked in both academic and professional circles. Dr. Tainer integrates material from both perspectives in a meaningful way.

I was particularly fond of the "Did you know" sections where Dr. Tainer fine-tunes a specific notion or concept.

Her discussion of "Seasonal Adjustment" helped to clarify a nubmer of questions that once clouded my understanding.

Academic texts rarely allocate space (for obvious reasons) to details regarding economic indicators. This is where Dr. Tainer's book picks up to bring to light the relevance of the indicators to investment analysis.

I can readily see how Dr. Tainer's, "Using Economic Indicators to Improve Investment Analysis," would be a welcome text in the classroom -- as a stand alone text for an elective course or as supplement to other required texts. I think that students will take to its lucid approach.