Michael Thomas

BUTTERFLY KISSES: A Story of Flight and Redemption... Uncle Joe trains his cadre in warrior skills and warrior virtues. His clients have ways, means, and the occasional nagging problem. Discreet and effective, Joe's reputation for resolving those problems is unparalleled. Joe is content. Joe's clients are content... Until Mari, Joe's star pupil, trashes a client's border factory in Juarez. Leaving devastation in her wake, she then heads south. Joe means to have her back. His client means to have compensation. Things come to a head in Mexico City, the world leader in urban eccentricity. This is a novel of international intrigue like no other. Owls take vermin by night in the metropolis; Monarch butterflies cluster on the sides of nearby volcanoes; and the human drama plays out as Mari struggles to shake free of forces that mass against her. From Reviews of Earlier Works: OSTRICH (A Barnes and Noble's Discover Great New Writers Selection): "...A bravura romp, it's neatly plotted, with carefully drawn characters and considerable insight" Kirkus Review "a charming tale, told with warmth and humor by a master storyteller." George Needham - A Booklist Starred Review HAT DANCE: "This is a rich and exuberant novel which the reader is unlikely to put down." Dr. Michael Hogan - The Guadalajara Reporter "It has enough action, humor, sex and friendship that I could see it optioned as a film." Tucson Weekly

Supplementary cementing materials (SCMs), such as fly ash, slag, silica fume, and natural pozzolans, make a significant difference to the properties of concrete but are rarely understood in any detail. SCMs can influence the mechanical properties of concrete and improve its durability in aggressive environments. Supplementary Cementing Materials in Concrete covers the chemical, physical, and mineralogical properties of SCMs; their chemical reactions; and the resulting changes in the microstructure of concrete. The author links the properties of the material at the microstructural level with its behavior in laboratory tests, and, in turn, to the performance of the material in concrete structures under field exposure. He explains how SCMs influence the mechanical properties of concrete and improve its durability and also covers how various SCMs influence hydration reactions and the evolution of the pore structure and pore-solution composition. However, SCMs are not a panacea for concrete and improper use may be injurious to certain properties. Achieving the maximum benefit from SCMs requires an understanding of the materials and how they impact concrete properties under various conditions. Drawing on the author’s 30 years of experience, this book helps engineers and practitioners to optimize the use of supplementary cementing materials to improve concrete performance.

Over the last decade there continues to be an increase in the technology and how it affects our lives. Since then the incorporation of electronic databases and other communication tools for students, faculty and staff, virtual learning environments have become an important innovation in the student learning experience.Technologies, Innovation, and Change in Personal and Virtual Learning Environments presents a widespread collection of research on the growth, innovation and implementation of learning technologies for educators, technologists and trainers. The book is a useful source for academics and professionals interested in information and communication technologies.

This book explains the institutionalization of nearly unconditional American support of Israel during the Reagan administration, and its persistence in the first Bush administration in terms of the competition of belief systems in American society and politics. Michael Thomas explains policy changes over time and provides insights into what circumstances might lead to lasting changes in policy. The volume identifies the important domestic, social, religious and political elements that have vied for primacy on policy towards Israel, and using case studies, such as the 1981 AWACS sale and the 1991 loan guarantees, argues that policy debates have been struggles to embed and enforce beliefs about Israel and about Arabs. It also establishes a framework for better understanding the influences and constraints on American policy towards Israel. An epilogue applies the lessons learned to the current Bush administration.American Policy toward Israel will be of interest to students of US foreign policy, Middle Eastern politics and international relations.

On the eve of this thirty-fifth birthday, the unnamed black narrator of Man Gone Down finds himself broke, estranged from his white wife and three children, and living in the bedroom of a friend's six-year-old child. He has four days to come up with the money to keep his kids in school and make a down payment on an apartment for them to live in. As we slip between his childhood in inner city Boston and present-day New York City, we discover a life marked by abuse, abandonment, raging alcoholism, and the best and worst intentions of a supposedly integrated America. This is a story of the American Dream gone awry, about what it's like to feel preprogrammed to fail in life and the urge to escape that sentence.

The statistical analysis of extreme data is important for various disciplines, including hydrology, insurance, finance, engineering and environmental sciences. This book provides a self-contained introduction to the parametric modeling, exploratory analysis and statistical interference for extreme values.The entire text of this third edition has been thoroughly updated and rearranged to meet the new requirements. Additional sections and chapters, elaborated on more than 100 pages, are particularly concerned with topics like dependencies, the conditional analysis and the multivariate modeling of extreme data. Parts I–III about the basic extreme value methodology remain unchanged to some larger extent, yet notable are, e.g., the new sections about "An Overview of Reduced-Bias Estimation" (co-authored by M.I. Gomes), "The Spectral Decomposition Methodology", and "About Tail Independence" (co-authored by M. Frick), and the new chapter about "Extreme Value Statistics of Dependent Random Variables" (co-authored by H. Drees). Other new topics, e.g., a chapter about "Environmental Sciences", (co--authored by R.W. Katz), are collected within Parts IV–VI.Related software is available for free download on extras.springer.com.

Approaching his thirty-fifth birthday estranged from his white Boston Brahmin wife and three children, an impoverished African-American construction worker evaluates his inner-city Boston childhood, the abuses he suffered at the hands of his parents, and the disparity between the promise of his intellectual potential and his real-world achievements. Original.

Stamp Duty Land Tax ('SDLT') raises some £6 billion per annum - more revenue than inheritance tax and capital gains tax put together. Providing a much-needed, incisive and comprehensive commentary on every aspect of SDLT, this book will appeal to property lawyers, tax specialists, and anyone involved in land transactions. It gives a detailed discussion of the legislation and puts forward suggested interpretations and planning opportunities. The second edition is fully updated and deals with the many changes that have been made since the introduction of SDLT. New chapters provide in-depth coverage of the treatment both of leases and partnerships. Areas of difficulty which arise in practice are dealt with throughout. In addition, the chapter on planning has been revised to take account of new legislation and case law, including the impact of the SDLT disclosure rules.

A critical examination of urban policies and management practices used to make cities sustainable. With an international perspective, the book describes urban environmental agendas and how they arose in the context of globalization, urban economic restructuring, and the need to make cities competitive. It argues that the environment became an integral part of city development policy, turning attention not only to physical and ecological issues but also to improving the economic performance of cities and the lives of citizens. The authors also go beyond the technical issues to explore the political importance of urban environmentalism, using case studies to illustrate both its international scope and place-specific characteristics which are inexorably influencing city development throughout the world. In connecting the concept to its political effects, the book raises issues such as local democracy, equality and social regulation, all of which are increasingly concerning academics, professionals, environmentalists and city authorities alike.

A critical examination of urban policies and management practices used to make cities sustainable. With an international perspective, the book describes urban environmental agendas and how they arose in the context of globalization, urban economic restructuring, and the need to make cities competitive. It argues that the environment became an integral part of city development policy, turning attention not only to physical and ecological issues but also to improving the economic performance of cities and the lives of citizens. The authors also go beyond the technical issues to explore the political importance of urban environmentalism, using case studies to illustrate both its international scope and place-specific characteristics which are inexorably influencing city development throughout the world. In connecting the concept to its political effects, the book raises issues such as local democracy, equality and social regulation, all of which are increasingly concerning academics, professionals, environmentalists and city authorities alike.

Das Buch gibt einen regional- und unternehmenssoziologischen Einblick in die Transformationswerkstatt ostdeutscher und polnischer Unternehmensgründer im klein- und mittelständischen Wirtschaftssegment. Umfassende Interviews und Fallstudien in verschiedenen Branchen (Informationstechnik, Bau, Textil) bilden das anschauliche Material, an Hand dessen kognitive und biografische Ressourcen für die Herstellung von Vertrauensbeziehungen, Kooperationen und Unternehmensvernetzungen in ihrer Wirkungsweise detailliert analysiert werden. Die jeweiligen regionalen Handlungsbedingungen und Interaktionskonstellationen sowie die durch sie ermöglichten Begegnungen und Lernprozesse der ökonomischen Basisakteure erweisen sich als wichtige Faktoren für die Mobilisierungsfähigkeit sozialen Kapitals gerade in ostmitteleuropäischen Transformationsregionen.

Ein wissenschaftlicher Auftrag ist der Grund für Paytons lange Reise zu einem weit entfernten Planeten. Dort trifft er Wesen die unterschiedlicher nicht sein könnten. Und doch haben sie Vieles gemeinsam. Am Ende ihrer Reise eröffnet ihnen das mysteriöse Wesen das ihnen dort begegnet, Einblicke in die Abgründe ihrer Existenzen. Ein Spiel , dessen Ausgang tödlich ist und dessen Sinn verborgen bleibt beginnt. Ein Spiel, das Payton unter allen Umständen beenden möchte.

The third edition of an established text, this book provides comprehensive treatment of international marketing issues and includes expanded coverage of Eastern Europe and the Pacific Rim. New for this edition are the expanded use of mini cases within the text to illustrate the latest developments in marketing, together with expanded coverage of: South East Asia and the Pacific Rim, Central and Eastern Europe, Globalization, Culture, Financial aspects of marketing. Included throughout are self-assessment and discussion questions, key terms, references and bibliography.