Students of comparative politics have long faced a vexing dilemma: how can social scientists draw broad, applicable principles of political order from... specific historical examples? In Analytic Narratives, five senior scholars offer a new and ambitious methodological response to this important question. By employing rational-choice and game theory, the authors propose a way of extracting empirically testable, general hypotheses from particular cases. The result is both a methodological manifesto and an applied handbook that political scientists, economic historians, sociologists, and students of political economy will find essential.In their jointly written introduction, the authors frame their approach to the origins and evolution of political institutions. The individual essays that follow demonstrate the concept of the analytic narrative--a rational-choice approach to explain political outcomes--in case studies. Avner Greif traces the institutional foundations of commercial expansion in twelfth-century Genoa. Jean-Laurent Rosenthal analyzes how divergent fiscal policies affected absolutist European governments, while Margaret Levi examines the transformation of nineteenth-century conscription laws in France, the United States, and Prussia. Robert Bates explores the emergence of a regulatory organization in the international coffee market. Finally, Barry Weingast studies the institutional foundations of democracy in the antebellum United States and its breakdown in the Civil War. In the process, these studies highlight the economic role of political organizations, the rise and deterioration of political communities, and the role of coercion, especially warfare, in political life. The results are both empirically relevant and theoretically sophisticated.Analytic Narratives is an innovative and provocative work that bridges the gap between the game-theoretic and empirically driven approaches in political economy. Political historians will find the use of rational-choice models novel; theorists will discover arguments more robust and nuanced than those derived from abstract models. The book improves on earlier studies by advocating--and applying--a cross-disciplinary approach to explain strategic decision making in history.

Featuring updates and the inclusion of nine new chapters, Analytic Philosophy: An Anthology, 2nd Edition offers a comprehensive and authoritative... collection of the most influential readings in analytic philosophy written over the past hundred years. Features broad coverage of analytic philosophy, including such topics as ethics, methodology, and freedom and personal identity Focuses on   classic or seminal articles that were especially influential or significantNew articles in this edition include “Proof of an External World” by G. E. Moore, “Criteria, Defeasibility, and Knowledge” by John McDowell, “Sensations and Brain Processes” by J. J. C. Smart, selections from Sense and Sensibilia by J. L. Austin, “Other Bodies” by Tyler Burge, “Individualism and Supervenience” by Jerry Fodor, “Responsibility and Avoidability” by Roderick Chisholm, “Alternative Possibilities and Moral Responsibility” by Harry Frankfurt, and “Personal Identity” by Derek ParfitOffers diverse approaches to analytic philosophy by including readings from Austin, Wittgenstein, Quine, and Davidson

Featuring a topical organization and a number of outstanding articles not readily available, this text provides an exciting new introduction to the... field and includes coverage of Mind and Ethics not covered in most other texts. The author's general introduction provides foundation, while specialist contributors provide introductions to the topics of the text.

How do you make a decision? How do you know you=ve made a good one? Whether you=re a 7th grade student selecting a science fair project, or a school... board choosing a superintendent, the basic requirements of decision making are the same. You need information and the ability to analyze that information effectively. This is rational thinking, and it doesn=t happen by accident. It=s an acquired skill. Analytic Processes for School Leaders describes four rational-thinking processes: - Decision analysis - Potential problem analysis - Problem analysis - Situation appraisal The authors explain how educators can use these analytic processes to handle four common types of situations: when something goes wrong, when we need to make a choice, when we need to implement a change, and when we need to better understand a complex issue. Using these processes teaches rational thinking and benefits administrators, teachers, and students. Throughout the book, extended examples in administrative and classroom settings translate theory into practice, taking the reader step-by-step through each process. Key questions guide the reader. The authors describe how breaking the thinking process down into steps helps us reach better conclusions because we can understand, fine-tune, and improve our own approaches; communicate our rationale to others; more effectively involve others in solving problems; and teach these skills to others. Cynthia Richetti is vice president and Benjamin Tregoe is founder and chair of the Tregoe Education Forum, a nonprofit organization created to bring critical-thinking skills to KB12 students and school administrators. Tregoe is also cofounder of Kepner-Tregoe, Inc., an international management consulting firm.

Most companies have massive amounts of data at their disposal, yet fail to utilize it in any meaningful way. But a powerful new business tool -... analytics - is enabling many firms to aggressively leverage their data in key business decisions and processes, with impressive results.In their previous book, Competing on Analytics, Thomas Davenport and Jeanne Harris showed how pioneering firms were building their entire strategies around their analytical capabilities. Rather than "going with the gut" when pricing products, maintaining inventory, or hiring talent, managers in these firms use data, analysis, and systematic reasoning to make decisions that improve efficiency, risk-management, and profits.Now, in Analytics at Work, Davenport, Harris, and coauthor Robert Morison reveal how any manager can effectively deploy analytics in day-to-day operations—one business decision at a time. They show how many types of analytical tools, from statistical analysis to qualitative measures like systematic behavior coding, can improve decisions about everything from what new product offering might interest customers to whether marketing dollars are being most effectively deployed.Based on all-new research and illustrated with examples from companies including Humana, Best Buy, Progressive Insurance, and Hotels.com, this implementation-focused guide outlines the five-step DELTA model for deploying and succeeding with analytical initiatives. You'll learn how to:· Use data more effectively and glean valuable analytical insights· Manage and coordinate data, people, and technology at an enterprise level· Understand and support what analytical leaders do· Evaluate and choose realistic targets for analytical activity· Recruit, hire, and manage analystsCombining the science of quantitative analysis with the art of sound reasoning, Analytics at Work provides a road map and tools for unleashing the potential buried in your company's data.

Philosophy in the English-speaking world is dominated by analytic approaches to its problems and projects; but theology has been dominated by... alternative approaches. Many would say that the current state in theology is not mere historical accident, but is, rather, how things ought to be. On the other hand, many others would say precisely the opposite: that theology as a discipline has been beguiled and taken captive by 'continental' approaches, and that the effects on the discipline have been largely deleterious. The methodological divide between systematic theologians and analytic philosophers of religion is ripe for exploration. The present volume represents an attempt to begin a much-needed interdisciplinary conversation about the value of analytic philosophical approaches to theological topics. Most of the essays herein are sympathetic toward the enterprise the editors are calling analytic theology; but, with an eye toward balance, the volume also includes essays and an introduction that try to offer more critical perspectives on analytic theology.

Learning trigonometry concepts can be a difficult and frustrating process. The tenth edition of this successful book helps readers gain a strong... understanding of these concepts by discovering how trigonometry is relevant in their lives through rich applications. It follows a right triangle-first approach and is graphing optional. Readers will find new and updated applications as well as additional exercises and solutions. Greater emphasis is also placed on relevant applications more than other books in the field. All of this will help readers comprehend and retain the material.

The 11th edition of Analytic Trigonometry continues to offer readers trigonometric concepts and applications. Almost every concept is illustrated by an... example followed by a matching problem to encourage an active involvement in the learning process, and concept development proceeds from the concrete to the abstract. Extensive chapter review summaries, chapter and cumulative review exercises with answers keyed to the corresponding text sections, effective use of color comments and annotations, and prominent displays of important material to help master the subject. Analytic Trigonometry, 11e includes updated applications from a range of different fields.

"[Todd Boss] can make any rhyme feel like a concealed weapon." —Sherman AlexieWith poems about loss, home, marriage, and the inner music of our lives,... Pitch is a series of variations on an overturned piano. By turns bright and dark like the keys on a keyboard, these poems demonstrate the range of one of contemporary poetry’s most musical poets, a master of internal rhyme.from “Overtures on an Overturned Piano” . . . our hi-beams played across the gleaming bed of snowdrifted bramble where it lay, moaning chaotically . . .

Learning trigonometry concepts can be a difficult and frustrating process. The tenth edition of this successful book helps readers gain a strong... understanding of these concepts by discovering how trigonometry is relevant in their lives through rich applications. It follows a right triangle-first approach and is graphing optional. Readers will find new and updated applications as well as additional exercises and solutions. Greater emphasis is also placed on relevant applications more than other books in the field. All of this will help readers comprehend and retain the material.

How well can you decode the signs that permeate our daily lives? All of us, consciously or not, constantly engage in the acts of reading and... interpreting the signs in the world around us. But how do we sharpen these skills, deepen our awareness of meaning in a complex world, and ultimately reach our full potential as university writers? This book answers the needs of students of composition, culture studies, and literature, providing a process-orientated guide to analyzing anything.

A great resource and reference book, the authors provide balanced treatment of both commercial and institutional operations in both profit and... non-profit arenas. This book explores the role of computer applications, management information systems, and new developments in management through numerous examples that realistically portray the field. Provides valuable insight regarding the food industry with segments written by leaders in the field. Food Service personnel.

Book Five of the Ethnographer's Toolkit series provides the reader with a variety of methods for transforming piles of fieldnotes, observations, audio... and videotapes, questionnaires, surveys, documents, maps, and other kinds of data into research results that help people understand their world more fully and facilitate problem solving. Using methods common to qualitative and quantitative methods, this slim volume discusses ways of organizing, retrieving, rendering manageable, and interpreting the data through everything from simple statistics to narratives, graphic representation to triangulation. The volume keeps a continuous focus on producing results that can be used in policy and programmatic settings.