The wealth derived from natural resources can have a tremendous impact on the economics and politics of producing countries. In the last quarter... century, we have seen the surprising and sobering consequences of this wealth, producing what is now known as the "resource curse." Countries with large endowments of natural resources, such as oil and gas, often do worse than their poorer neighbors. Their resource wealth frequently leads to lower growth rates, greater volatility, more corruption, and, in extreme cases, devastating civil wars. In this volume, leading economists, lawyers, and political scientists address the fundamental channels generated by this wealth and examine the major decisions a country must make when faced with an abundance of a natural resource. They identify such problems as asymmetric bargaining power, limited access to information, the failure to engage in long-term planning, weak institutional structures, and missing mechanisms of accountability. They also provide a series of solutions, including recommendations for contracting with oil companies and allocating revenue; guidelines for negotiators; models for optimal auctions; and strategies to strengthen state-society linkages and public accountability. The contributors show that solutions to the resource curse do exist; yet, institutional innovations are necessary to align the incentives of key domestic and international actors, and this requires fundamental political changes and much greater levels of transparency than currently exist. It is becoming increasingly clear that past policies have not provided the benefits they promised. Escaping the Resource Curse lays out a path for radically improving the management of the world's natural resources.

Taoism and the Arts of China brings together a remarkable collection of art from one of China's most ancient and influential traditions. Produced to... accompany the first major exhibition ever organized on the Taoist philosophy and religion, this opulent book includes more than 150 works of art from as early as the late Zhou dynasty (fifth-third century b.c.) to the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Many of these works are paintings that show the breathtaking range of style and subject that makes the Taoist heritage so rich. Sculpture, calligraphy, rare books, textiles, and ritual objects are also represented.Like the exhibition, the book is organized thematically. It begins with the sage Laozi (to whom the Daode Jing is attributed), and moves on to explore the birth of religious Taoism and the interaction between Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. A wealth of subjects are covered: the gods of the Taoist pantheon, ritual, the boundaries and intersections between Taoism and popular religion, Taoist Immortals and Realized Beings, the role of alchemy, sacred landscape and its significance, and Taoist temples and their architecture.Taoism and the Arts of China includes an engaging series of introductory essays by scholars with a deep understanding of their subjects. Among the topics discussed are a historical introduction to Taoism, archaeological evidence for early Taoist art, and a general introduction to the functions of art in religious Taoism. Lavishly illustrated with over 150 color images, this volume affords a sweeping view of an artistic terrain that until now has received too little exposure in the West. Its publication constitutes a major advance in Western understanding of this important tradition.

Después de algunos años de ausencia, Pablo Klein vuelve a la ciudad de provincias donde ha pasado su infancia para ejercer como profesor de alemán en... el instituto. Allí entabla relación con distintas personas de la ciudad, fundamentalmente jóvenes, y con las alumnas del instituto, sobre todo con Natalia. A través de las ocupaciones cotidianas de este grupo de jóvenes, de sus angustias, del aburrimiento y de la falta de imaginación, Carmen Martín Gaite traza el perfil de una juventud sin ilusión.

Originally published in English in 1988, Joseph Ratzinger's Eschatology remains internationally recognized as a leading text on the "last... things"--heaven and hell, purgatory and judgment, death and the immortality of the soul. This highly anticipated second edition includes a new preface by Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI and a supplement to the bibliography by theologian Peter A. Casarella. Eschatology presents a balanced perspective of the doctrine at the center of Christian belief--the Church's faith in eternal life. Recognizing the task of contemporary eschatology as "to marry perspectives, so that person and community, present and future, are seen in their unity," Joseph Ratzinger brings together recent emphasis on the theology of hope for the future with the more traditional elements of the doctrine. His book has proven to be as timeless as it is timely.

If Christian hope is reduced to the salvation of the soul in a heaven beyond death, wrote Jürgen Moltmann, it loses its power to renew life and change... the world, and its flame is quenched. Thomas Rausch, SJ, agrees, arguing that too often the hoped-for eschaton has been replaced by an almost exclusive emphasis on the four last things death and judgment, heaven and hell. But eschatology cannot be reduced to the individual salvation. In his new book, Rausch explores eschatology s intersections with Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, and, perhaps most intriguingly, liturgy. With the early Christians, he sees God s future as a radically social reality, already present initially in Christian worship, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist. This fresh and insightful work of theology engages voices both ancient and contemporary.

For almost twenty years, new historicism has been a highly controversial and influential force in literary and cultural studies. In Practicing the New... Historicism, two of its most distinguished practitioners reflect on its surprisingly disparate sources and far-reaching effects.In lucid and jargon-free prose, Catherine Gallagher and Stephen Greenblatt focus on five central aspects of new historicism: recurrent use of anecdotes, preoccupation with the nature of representations, fascination with the history of the body, sharp focus on neglected details, and skeptical analysis of ideology. Arguing that new historicism has always been more a passionately engaged practice of questioning and analysis than an abstract theory, Gallagher and Greenblatt demonstrate this practice in a series of characteristically dazzling readings of works ranging from paintings by Joos van Gent and Paolo Uccello to Hamlet and Great Expectations.By juxtaposing analyses of Renaissance and nineteenth-century topics, the authors uncover a number of unexpected contrasts and connections between the two periods. Are aspects of the dispute over the Roman Catholic doctrine of the Eucharist detectable in British political economists' hostility to the potato? How does Pip's isolation in Great Expectations shed light on Hamlet's doubt?Offering not only an insider's view of new historicism, but also a lively dialogue between a Renaissance scholar and a Victorianist, Practicing the New Historicism is an illuminating and unpredictable performance by two of America's most respected literary scholars.

The purpose of this manual is to present in a clear, concise, and didactic manner, and illustrate with images in color and with schemes, the broad range... of different lesions that affect the nervous system and how diagnosis is reached. After a general description of the basic macroscopic and microscopic changes specific to the nervous system, the different pathological processes which affect the nervous system, i.e., tumors, trauma, strokes, infections, prion diseases, degenerative processes, acquired and hereditary metabolic disorders and developmental malformations, are described. Specific chapters are devoted to epilepsy and the pathology of peripheral nerves, skeletal muscle and pituitary. Each chapter has been written by internationally recognized experts in the field, and provides updated information including genetic as well as basic technical and practical data.Demonstrates techniques with illustrations and clear descriptionsHelps the reader understand the histological features of muscle disease crucial to the evaluation of muscle biopsiesCovers perinatal pathology and congenital malformations of the nervous systemEach chapter has been prepared by internationally recognized experts in the field.Provides a useful appendix, including removal methods, tissue fixation methods, gross examination methods, special techniques, and more

The Preposition Book is intended as a thorough guide and workbook to address students’ questions and misconceptions regarding English prepositions and... improve their ability to use prepositions fluently.  The book comprehensively covers prepositions and also provides opportunities to practice many other essential points of English grammar and usage practice. The Preposition Book is organized by level of difficulty but was written forintermediate-level students.  Many exercises are included within each chapter, and Putting It Together and Expansion Exercises are designed to give students even more opportunity to practice.  A Comprehensive Test appears at the end of each chapter. 

Sastre es autor de veintidos obras de teatro. El suyo es un teatro de investigacion y revelacion y nunca de propaganda. Es un teatro rico en... experiencias humanas y en sutileza poetica. Sastre ha comprendido siempre que la fuerza dramatica no se consigue dando soluciones panfletarias a problemas complejos, sino haciendo preguntas acerca de esos problemas. No se logra por medio del dogma, sino por la revelacion social y existencial. El sentido del trabajo intelectual y artistico esta en aclarar el mundo dice Sastre, y su produccion dramatica es testimonio a esta mision inquietante y reveladora que Sastre se ha planteado.

A network of complex currents flowed across Jacobean England. This was the England of Shakespeare, Jonson, and Bacon; the era of the Gunpowder Plot and... the worst outbreak of the plague. Jacobean England was both more godly and less godly than it had ever been, and the entire culture was drawn taut between these polarities. This was the world that created the King James Bible. It is the greatest work of English prose ever written, and it is no coincidence that the translation was made at the moment "Englishness," specifically the English language itself, had come into its first passionate maturity. The English of Jacobean England has a more encompassing idea of its own scope than any form of the language before or since. It drips with potency and sensitivity. The age, with all its conflicts, explains the book.