economics-times

Very complete guide, following the standards set forth by the Que "Using" series. Covers using all parts of ACT! 4, including SideACT! and reports. The information included in this book will help you take ACT! 4 to the limit, you will find yourself getting the most out of ACT! than you thought possible. ACT! is the easiest to understand of the Contact managers, no wonder it is the market leader.

After almost a century of modern-style research, the world is not exactly short of ethnographies. You can find works on everybody from Indiana town dwellers to Sri Lankan fishermen. Papua New Guinea, as an area where a wide variety of cultures, some with Stone Age technologies, endured well into the 20th century, attracted the attention of anthropologists right from the start. There are a very large number of books on the country, starting with Malinowski's seminal works on the Trobriand Islands during and after WW I. Most, but not all, of them concentrated on investigations of what are often referred to as 'traditional cultures', if not 'primitive'. Anthropologists, not unlike Western tourists, have often been lured by the 'exotic' parts of the world where cultures extremely different from their own could be found. Bateson, Burridge, Glasse, Heider, Hogbin, Mead, Pospisil, Rappaport, Reay, Schieffelin, and Wagner to name a few, gravitated to Papua New Guinea, drawn perhaps by the chance to study people whose cultures were 'untouched' by the West. 'Untouched' is no doubt a relative word. A few others, especially Lawrence and Worsley, delved into the cargo cults, an aspect of Melanesian religion that sprang up in the wake of colonial pressures on traditional beliefs. Modern Papua New Guinea, with its Christianity, bureaucracy, development projects, education, corruption, urban crime, and population explosion, has not received so much attention. Until now. Michael French Smith's VILLAGE ON THE EDGE is a delightful new ethnography based on work in the same village in the mid-1970s and then in the late '90s. Based on the idea of observing change, because Kragur village, on Kairiru island, off the north coast of the country, has been changing rapidly for many decades, Smith succeeds brilliantly. To my taste, he strikes just the right note between popular writing and professional investigation. In a clear, jargon-less style, he covers many areas usually found in ethnographies, such as village structure, family structure, the economic and political system, and religious beliefs, but focusses on how all these things have changed. It is a down-to-earth, non-exotic picture of present dilemmas for the Kragur villagers who still, after over twenty years of independence, remain poised between a sharing, cooperative society based on personal ties and the money-based, more individualistic one introduced as a correct model by the West and emulated by educated, town-dwelling locals. Smith puts himself into the picture, admits to his predilections and difficulties. Refreshingly, he does not hide behind some false 'objectivity', but shows how he accepted certain privileges (and dealt with some problems) that came with being a 'whiteman'. This honesty, coupled with a sense of humor and nice introduction of the flavor of Pidgin English or Tok Pisin, a national language in the country, made the book all the more appealing.

Melanesian societies often believed that knowledge'-of magic or ritual'-held the key to success in any endeavor, would be the best guarantee of prosperity. Those who had the best knowledge grew the best crops, caught the most fish, or had the most successful trading relationships. But, if many people in the village had that knowledge, then the whole village would be prosperous and successful. Thus, Kragur villagers, like most Melanesians, saw Western education as the way to go if they wanted to raise their standard of living, to obtain money and an easier life. Get Western education, prosper like the Westerners. In a way, Smith points out in the heart of the book, they have been proven right, but the results challenge the whole belief system that underlay their society. For them, if individuals prosper, but the village does not, the new knowledge has failed to produce the desired result. But as time goes by, as more individuals prosper, will not the old ideals completely fade, will not the old cooperative society vanish ? The village is on the edge.

I urge everyone interested in knowing what Papua New Guinea is like today to read this book. It should be on every reading list dealing with the modern Pacific, modern Melanesia, or 'dilemmas of development'. If you are trying to attract students to the field of anthropology or to draw their attention to the process of writing ethnographies, you can hardly go wrong with VILLAGE ON THE EDGE.

Suddenly it all makes sense! Virtual universities get hyped up, but what have been the results? We hear of all sorts of initiatives, yet somehow the educational world hasn't changed that much - or has it?

In 'The Virtual University: an action paradigm and process for workplace learning', Teare, Davies and Sandelands outline a coherent vision of what is possible, backed up by real examples of what they are achieving today.

The book manages to sketch out the big picture of the learning society within the context of a rapidly changing, uncertain world. It presents an inclusive, 'open systems' model of personal and organizational learning. But it's not just a theoretical model, as is ably demonstrated by the creation of Our University for Industry - hospitality worldwide, among other experiences related.

The use of electronic communications media is discussed, but this is not a book for the techno-heads, it's for educationalists and in-company senior training and OD specialists. And it's for everyone seeking to develop themselves on an ongoing, 'lifelong' basis.

It follows on nicely for me in the tradition of 'The Knowledge Game' and 'Our Enterprise School of Management' by Gordon Wills, and all works by Reg Revans e.g. 'The ABC of Action Learning'.

I enjoyed it and feel I have benefitted from finding the time to read it cover to cover!

Claire Huntley Contributing Editor: Technology Strategies Editorial Advisor: Global Anthological Journal of Action Learning

I BELIVE IT'S A GOOD BOOK. IT TEACHES YOU ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE IN GERMANY WHENT THROUGH!!!!!

But if not for gradution, then for life! This little gem is packed with concise, powerful little nuggets helpful for anyone. It is obviously written for the professional, but I am a nurse and it is extremely applicable. Following Martin's ideas will earn you high praise from colleagues and managers. Examples: Be prepared to expect that you don't know anything. Learn when to stay out of the way. Project deadline day is not the time to try to impress your boss with your interest in the company. Think. Come early, stay late, work hard. Never sit back and wait for work to come to you. Always be productive and ask "what's next?" whenever you finish a task. I am very busy and don't have time to write all my thoughts, but I felt it was important enough to come on-line and share these thoughts. There is no other book like this.

This book offers great advice for anyone in sales, but especially for those selling professional services. If you're a self-employed professional or want to become a rainmaker in your company, this book will teach you an effective sales method that will help you beat the competition every day of the week. Despite what the subtitle implies, the advice in this book is of perennial interest and not just good for bad economies. If you take the author's advice and work in the "invisible market" before anyone else even knows there's a sale to be made, your success rate will be good, no matter what the economic climate.

My Mother-in-law used this book and loaned it to me about 12 years ago. It's the BEST little book I have (yes, with her permission, I've kept it - because, I still NEED it).

I am a former student of Dra. Benito-Vessels and I have to say that I loved this book. It was used in a class about Spanish Women in the Middle Ages and this book was interesting and informative. Both of the authors did a great job presenting different facets of the lives of Spanish women in the middle ages and it really taught a great deal about those times. On a topic that does not have a great deal of information, these two women made the book come alive with history and got me interested in learning more and more about the topic. I would recommend this book to any Spanish History buff that is interested in the rols of women in the Middle Ages. Particularly facinating are the stories about Jewish Women in the Middle Ages and what they went through to survive the Expulsions/Conversions of Jews in 1492. This is a MUST READ. Felicitaciones a las dos escritoras!

Bad habits and working conditions get in the way of WORDS AT WORK. Writing is easier if you look at it as a process: listing what needs to be covered and when; writing and rewriting for an attention getting opening, a smooth main part, and a memorable ending; editing; getting feedback; and proofreading. Author Susan Benjamin also says to build a portfolio of regularly written documents, find mentors, make reading and writing comfortable habits, pay attention to budgets and deadlines, take classes, use common sense, and write what the boss wants. With her emphasis on appropriately personal or professional tone, lively word use and solid structure, her book works well with Cosmo Ferrara's WRITING ON THE JOB, Marcia Layton's THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO TERRIFIC BUSINESS WRITING, and Jeffrey McQuain's POWER LANGUAGE.

Wonderful job of explaining how an economy begins and showing where ours is and where it's headed (cashless system). Full of biblical truths concerning principles of finance. "Your Finances in Changing Times" is a well written, easy to understand and very informative book that will help you put your finances back on track by putting God back in the midst of things. Learn to be a good steward of what God has blessed you with and position yourself for Him bless your finances. Steven (N.C.)