LITMIR.BIZ

Many of the problems that lie at the heart of the current financial crisis stem from a significant but little-known development that occurred in the early 1980s: investors changed their investment criteria. This change gave rise to a conflict – a silent war – between executives in charge of the world's largest corporations, on the one hand, and credit agencies whose task it is to enforce the criteria on investors' behalf, on the other. The credit agencies that flourished in New York, London and elsewhere acquired a great deal of power because their ratings now reflected investors new priorities, and so controlled the ability of corporations to gain access to capital. The rise of the credit agencies thereby also represented a new model of capitalism, quite different from the old model of the risk-taking entrepreneur. To attract investment capital, corporations now have to employ enormous resources to create the illusion that capital is directed in line with the new expectations imposed by the credit agencies. The result is that devious reporting on companies' activities has become endemic. Drawing on more than six years of fieldwork carried out in some of the world's most powerful corporations and credit rating agencies on Wall Street, this short book describes, for the first time, the unspoken conflict that shapes the global economy. Anthropologist Alexandra Ouroussoff describes with startling clarity the effects of Wall Street's silent war: from the financial community's inability to price risk accurately (now recognised as a major cause of the financial crisis) to the deep reasons behind credit analysts' misplaced faith in numbers. Yet the book's most important contribution is its path-breaking analysis of the conditions of the conflict itself, here revealed as an unintended consequence of a much deeper transformation in the conditions underlying capitalism's success.

Подробнее

This book summarizes and explains the main approaches to age estimation in the living, defining when a parameter may be of use and raising awareness of its limitations. This text ensures that practitioners recognize when an assessment is beyond their area of expertise or beyond verification depending upon the clinical data available. Each key approach to age evaluation has been allotted a single chapter, written by an international leader in the particular field. The book also includes summary chapters that relay readily accessible data for use by the practitioner, and includes important “ageing milestones.” This book is indispensable where problems of immigration and legal standing, juvenile vs. adult criminal status, and responsibilities of law enforcement to protect vulnerable persons are key issues on a daily basis. Medical practitioners, forensic practitioners such as pathology, odontology, anthropology and nursing, lawyers, and police would find this book incredibly useful.

Подробнее

Based on in-depth research in Poland and Slovakia, Domesticating Neo-Liberalism addresses how we understand the processes of neo-liberalization in post-socialist cities. Builds upon a vast amount of new research data Examines how households try to sustain their livelihoods at particularly dramatic and difficult times of urban transformation Provides a major contribution to how we theorize the geographies of neo-liberalism Offers a conclusion which informs discussions of social policy within European Union enlargement

Подробнее

This liquid modern world of ours, like all liquids, cannot stand still and keep its shape for long. Everything keeps changing – the fashions we follow, the events that intermittently catch our attention, the things we dream of and things we fear. And we, the inhabitants of this world in flux, feel the need to adjust to its tempo by being ‘flexible' and constantly ready to change. We want to know what is going on and what is likely to happen, but what we get is an avalanche of information that threatens to overwhelm us. How are we to sift the information that really matters from the heaps of useless and irrelevant rubbish? How are we to derive meaningful messages from senseless noise? We face the daunting task of trying to distinguish the important from the insubstantial, distil the things that matter from false alarms and flashes in the pan. Nothing escapes scrutiny so stubbornly as the ordinary things of everyday life, hiding in the light of deceptive and misleading familiarity. To turn them into objects of attention and scrutiny, they must first be torn out from that daily routine: the apparently familiar must be made strange. This is precisely what Zygmunt Bauman seeks to do in these 44 letters: each tells a story drawn from ordinary lives, but tells it in order to reveal an extraordinariness that we might otherwise overlook. Arresting, revealing, disconcerting, these snapshots of life by the most brilliant analyst of our liquid modern world will appeal to a wide readership.

Подробнее

Utilizing innovative ethnographic research, Swept Up Lives? challenges conventional accounts of urban homelessness to trace the complex and varied attempts to care for homeless people Presents innovative ethnographic research which suggests an important shift in perspective in the analysis and understanding of urban homelessness Emphasizes the ethical and emotional geographies of care embodied and performed within homeless services spaces Suggests that different homelessness ‘scenes’ develop in different places due to varied historical, political, and cultural responses to the problems faced

Подробнее

A hands-on guide to using R to carry out key statistical practices in educational and behavioral sciences research Computing has become an essential part of the day-to-day practice of statistical work, broadening the types of questions that can now be addressed by research scientists applying newly derived data analytic techniques. Comparing Groups: Randomization and Bootstrap Methods Using R emphasizes the direct link between scientific research questions and data analysis. Rather than relying on mathematical calculations, this book focus on conceptual explanations and the use of statistical computing in an effort to guide readers through the integration of design, statistical methodology, and computation to answer specific research questions regarding group differences. Utilizing the widely-used, freely accessible R software, the authors introduce a modern approach to promote methods that provide a more complete understanding of statistical concepts. Following an introduction to R, each chapter is driven by a research question, and empirical data analysis is used to provide answers to that question. These examples are data-driven inquiries that promote interaction between statistical methods and ideas and computer application. Computer code and output are interwoven in the book to illustrate exactly how each analysis is carried out and how output is interpreted. Additional topical coverage includes: Data exploration of one variable and multivariate data Comparing two groups and many groups Permutation tests, randomization tests, and the independent samples t-Test Bootstrap tests and bootstrap intervals Interval estimates and effect sizes Throughout the book, the authors incorporate data from real-world research studies as well aschapter problems that provide a platform to perform data analyses. A related Web site features a complete collection of the book's datasets along with the accompanying codebooks and the R script files and commands, allowing readers to reproduce the presented output and plots. Comparing Groups: Randomization and Bootstrap Methods Using R is an excellent book for upper-undergraduate and graduate level courses on statistical methods, particularlyin the educational and behavioral sciences. The book also serves as a valuable resource for researchers who need a practical guide to modern data analytic and computational methods.

Подробнее

Early Human Kinship brings together original studies from leading figures in the biological sciences, social anthropology, archaeology, and linguistics to provide a major breakthrough in the debate over human evolution and the nature of society. A major new collaboration between specialists across the range of the human sciences including evolutionary biology and psychology; social/cultural anthropology; archaeology and linguistics Provides a ground-breaking set of original studies offering a new perspective on early human history Debates fundamental questions about early human society: Was there a connection between the beginnings of language and the beginnings of organized 'kinship and marriage'? How far did evolutionary selection favor gender and generation as principles for regulating social relations? Sponsored by the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland in conjunction with the British Academy

Подробнее

The NAPA Bulletin series is dedicated to the practical problem-solving and policy applications of anthropological knowledge and methods. NAPA Bulletins are peer reviewed, and are distributed free of charge as a benefit of NAPA membership. The NAPA Bulletin seeks to: facilitate the sharing of information among practitioners, academics, and students be a useful document for practitioners contribute to the professional development of anthropologists seeking practitioner positions support the general interests of practitioners both within and outside the academy

Подробнее

Locating Neoliberalism in East Asia: Neoliberalizing Spaces in Developmental States examines the influence of neo-liberal ideologies on urban and regional policies and practices in several Asian Pacific nations. Represents one of the few studies of neoliberal changes in East Asia, one of the most important topics in social science research over the past two decades Considers the Asian perspective by focusing on readings from Asian experts Pays special attention to the ‘spatial' dimension of the East Asian neoliberalization Examines the influence of neo-liberal ideologies on urban and regional policies and practices in several Asian Pacific nations Explores the evolving relationship between the two political economies

Подробнее

A complete introduction to the history, evolution, and future of the modern city, this book covers a wide range of theory, including the significance of space and place, to provide a balanced account of why cities are an essential part of the global human experience. Covers a wide range of theoretical approaches to the city, from the historical to the cutting edge Emphasizes the important themes of space and place Offers a balanced account of cities and offers extensive coverage including urban inequality, environment and sustainability, and methods for studying the city Takes a global approach, with examples from Berlin and Chicago to Shanghai and Mumbai Includes a range of pedagogical features such as a substantial glossary of key terms, critical thinking questions, suggestions for further reading and a range of innovative textboxes which follow the themes of Exploring Further, Studying the City and Making the City Better Extensively illustrated with maps, charts, tables, and over 80 photographs Accompanied by a comprehensive student companion site featuring a list of relevant journals, a guide to useful web resources, and an annotated documentary film guide, alongside a useful instructor companion site with further examples, case studies, and discussion and essay questions; instructors will find a link to the instructor website on the student website at www.wiley.com/go/cities

Подробнее