economics-schools

This great, classic history of Outward Bound in the United States has been updated to include the newer parts of Outward Bound including Expeditionary Learning, the highly successful school reform initiative.

One of the authors, Josh Miner, was responsible for bringing Outward Bound to the United States. He was there when it all started and his stories are so real and down to earth. This book is a must read for any one who has interest in Outward Bound or outdoor adventure in general.

Fredrik Barth's Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans is one of the most beautiful ethnographies I have read. He presents us a unique and interesting case example about the ways in which 'khans' of the Pakhtoun lineage play(ed) their roles as the leaders in the Swat valley (now in Pakistan). Barth carefully shows how do the leaders and their subjects participate in the defence of their resources (the land). Unlike the prevalent anthropological tradition of the time, Barth has emphasized the consequences of individual decisions for the larger social structure of the Usufzai Pathans. He touches every aspect of the Pathan society -from family structure to the social history -while explaining the contexts in which power is excercised by some leaders through both coercion and consensus.
But it is important to note that Barth focuses more on description rather than art of writing. The description of so many interesting events and incidents are sometimes bogged down by too much 'facts' and details. On the whole, the book is a landmark in the history of social anthropology.

Rarely do you find a book that is EXACTLY what you're looking for and EXACTLY what it claims to be. This is a superb book for intermediate Russian students who want to focus their study on Politics and International Relations. I treasure this book.

I had the priviledge of going through this book while studying under Dr. Oberlender @ Oklahoma State and putting it to use once I graduated. The text is written in straight forward language and includes many practical "real world" situations. It includes all the basics from conceptualization to start-up. Topics such as organizing, planning, staffing, directing, and many more. An excellent reference for any manager's office.

This book draws from the experience of several hundred top school adminstrators to provide many specific and creative ways administrators and teachers can promote their school. Examples of both immediate actions and long-term plans are provided so that you can start improving your school's image NOW. This book really stresses the importance of the community's knowledge of and involvement in the local school, and suggests how this can best be accomplished. Best of all, Promoting... is written for those of us without degrees in and experience with public relations. The suggestions are simple, yet effective.

This book reveals that public education is a continuing scam masquerading as a cost effective benefit for the children of the body politic. It's yet another testament to the syndrome of hypocrisy and self serving behavior that typifies the leadership of the public education establishment. Be certain that it's not an indictment of the thousands of well-meaning teachers and workers, those whose dues are being pilfered for political purposes by corrupt cadres at the top; no. It is however another dagger thrust into the heart of the problem, the ceaseless dishonesty of entrenched elites.

These people have for too long formed an iron triangle with a vastly corrupted Democratic party establishment with its concommitant dependence on illegal teachers unions campaign contributions, and the lobbyists who serve their cause. As the numbers in this book (highlighted by forensic accounting) frame the case, the game is over, just not the battles. Like any corrupted elite these educational establishment grinches will continue to fight a rear guard action whose sole purpose will be to stretch out their reign of priviledge and neglect.

Because of the rise in the proliferation of information, made possible by the increases in power of the microchip (and the attendant reductions in costs) we can herald the day when students will once again be served by those who truly have their best interests in mind. But, power to the people never occurs without a fight and the courage of the few who rise up to fight that power.

A great book which should be read by every legislator and citizen. I know, wishful thinking, but isn't it refreshing to dream of the possible?

I found this book easy to follow and clear enough to help me find funds for my school. The accountant for our district also used this book as a reference for other projects.

Professor Michael Beesley pioneered a series of lectures on utility regulation sponsored jointly between the Institute of Economic Affairs, London and the London Business School which previously had been published in the IEA Readings series.

In 1999 his untimely death deprived the UK of one of it's most distinguished economists only shortly before the latest of the lecture series got underway. Now aptly renamed the Beesley lectures the series has continued under the auspices of the IEA and LBS and this book, edited by Beesley's close friend and colleague, IEA Editorial Director, is the record of that 1999 lecture series.

The format of the book mirrors that of the lectures themselves - each year the academics and the practitioners alternate in giving the lecture while the others chair the session and comment before opening up to the floor for questions and discussion. In line with the IEA brief to express the issues clearly and cogently so that the layman can follow the debate, the papers are well written with the minimum of technical jargon to explore the current issues and examine possibilities for the future.

The whole question of the limits to public finance which instigated privatisation, deregulation and increased competition in the provision of public services the world over has led to a burgeoning literature on regulation which may be viewed as the ability of government to ensure service delivery standards without direct provision. As universities and research institutes the world over focus on the questions of regulation, this series, although focussing on the British experience, nonetheless provides insights which have general applicability.

The quality of this book is very high and is recommended reading for expert, student and layman alike. Some of the papers are a little dated such as Colin Mayer's excellent exposition on the 1999 Water price review but which has important lessons for the whole of utility regulation. Overall the papers provide interesting perspectives on the approach of the recently elected Labour government's approach to regulation and competition. Professor Catherine Waddhams Price's paper is a prime example of regulation with a social needs perspective. Colin Robinson has done a marvellous job is editing the papers. The most interesting from my own point of view are the Ian Jones paper on 'Railway Franchising' and the final paper by Dan Goyder on the new Competition Commission.

All in all this is a befitting testimony to a great man who always had a knack of finding a new way of looking at things from everyone alse.

After reading Reinventing Public Education, I believe that the only really hope for the future of American education lies in the contracting approach to public education that the authors describe. This is one of the only books on education I have ever read that understands that the problems with public education in this country have less to do with a lack of standards, poor teaching methods, or inequitable funding, than a system which fails to understand that schools are organizations that can only be successful through organic growth rather than government regulation. This book will appeal to both voucher supporters and ardent defenders of a public education system that is committed to educating all its students

Now in an updated and expanded second edition, Running A School Library Media Center: A How-To-Do-It Manual For Librarians by Barbara L. Stein (Professor, University of North Texas School of Library and Information Sciences) and Risa W. Brown (Library Media Specialist, Lake Highlands High School, Dallas, Texas), is a highly practical, "user friendly", how-to guide for librarians charged with developing, maintaining, and operating a private, parochial, or public school library media center. Individual chapters cover key issues including the efficient maintenance, building a collection, hiring and working with staff, promoting literacy, and much more. A comprehensive selection of appendix provides numerous resources at a librarian's fingertips, from lists of book an periodical vendors, to sources of reviews, to handling software packages that filter inappropriate Internet content. Running A School Library Media Center is fundamentally recommended for all dedicated school librarians.