This book provides an excellent step-by-step approach to learning how to use SPSS to conduct statistical analyses. The book begins with a description of the Basics of SPSS: opening the program, opening files, printing, saving, etc. The authors then cover, through examples, the running of descriptive stastics, graphing, and inferential statistics, including t tests, one-way ANOVA, correlation, regression, and Chi-square. The book is filled with illustrations which the authors have designed utilizing the data sets that come with the SPSS package. The authors not only cover the procedures for running the statistical tests in SPSS, but they also discuss the research questions that may be addressed with each statistic, i.e. the "When?" and "Why?" questions

I was completing my dissertation in Clinical Psychology when I hit the wall. I am not fluent in the language of statistics and SPSS was much too complicated for me to understand immediately. I acquired this book from a friend and I can't tell you how much this book saved my life! It explained not only how to use the program in very easy steps, it explained WHY and HOW to pick your statistical procedures in language that was simple. Reading through the book and looking at the examples helped me understand how to pick the appropriate statistical procedures (and why), how to enter the data, how to pull down the appropriate tests, and how to look at the data calculations and make conclusions. THere are no wasted pages in this book (88 pages) and I swear it helped me get through my dissertation on my own (which I passed!). Don't hesitate to buy this book if you are working on your psychology or social science thesis or dissertation. It's a fantastic resource!

After reading Reinventing Public Education, I believe that the only really hope for the future of American education lies in the contracting approach to public education that the authors describe. This is one of the only books on education I have ever read that understands that the problems with public education in this country have less to do with a lack of standards, poor teaching methods, or inequitable funding, than a system which fails to understand that schools are organizations that can only be successful through organic growth rather than government regulation. This book will appeal to both voucher supporters and ardent defenders of a public education system that is committed to educating all its students

from the title (marvelous!) on, this older (1976) book remains the best read on Noel Coward around. It's all here, consumately engaging, lovingly presented, with dignity, style, charm and all the other positive things that the incomparable Mr. Coward possessed. It's the sort of book one reads again and again and continues to capture the essence of Coward.

This book presents study findings and provides an in-depth discussion on the question of whether or not extrinsic rewards negatively affect intrinsic motivation. The authors conclude, on the basis of over 100 experimental investigations, that there no support to the claim that rewards produce significant and substantial decreases in people's intrinsic interest. They also conclude that rewards can be used to enhance performance and motivation. This is a scholarly work of outstanding quality and clearly addresses a controversy that, to this day, divides people in management. As a management consultant specializing in compensation, I highly recommend this book to every practitioner, academic and author/expert who would rid the world of pay for performance; I hope they have the intrinsic motivation to read it with an open mind-if so, I believe they will be rewarded for their effort.

A valuable guide for driving South Carolina, "Scenic Driving South Carolina" gives my Texas-based family with deep South Carolina roots information we need to explore the homelands of our parents and grandparents. For several years, family members have planned to discover the South Carolina so embodied in our lives and in the spirit of our family. Our first journey embarks through information gleaned from the pages of "Scenic Driving South Carolina."

We value especially the 21 detailed maps packed with essential features, one for each of the scenic drives. The background information included in the "Introduction," the "Attractions," the "Neat Places to Stay," the "Restaurant and Shops," the "Tours and Nature-based Services" sections of the book also demonstrates the vitality of the state.

More than 40 appealing photographs add merit to "Scenic Driving South Carolina."

Our journeys continue: We native Texans will explore for several years the present day 21 "scenic drives" of our grandparents' and mothers' indigenous to South Carolina. This book is invaluable.

The authors did an excellent job of taking a topic so broad, such as school finance and education policy, and presenting it in a concise format. Professors using this text book have the freedom to delve deeply into specific chapter topics as needed, while also having the opportunity to cover the broader spectrum of school fincance and education policy as permitted by the course calendar. An update of the book would be greatly appreciated.

In Small Victories: Conversations About Prematurity, Disability, Vision Loss, And Success, Mary Lou Dickerson, herself the mother of a visually impaired premature child and individual who was born prematurely, seeks to assure other parents in similar circumstances that they are not alone and that a child's disability is not necessarily a barrier to success or a sense of fulfillment. Dickerson presents life stories of adults who were born prematurely prior to 1954 (when being born prematurely usually resulted in visual impairment, physical disabilities, or death); stories of adults who weathered prematurity with no apparent physical consequences, yet were touched by the circumstances of their birth; and stories of current parents of premature babies facing similar challenges in raising their children, but also problems unique to their own place and time. Informative, and at times inspiring, Small Victories is very highly recommended reading for any parent experiencing or seeking to come to terms with the birth of a premature child.

"so many gifts" is a wonderful story of Santa. It makes the transition from "believing" to "not believing" smooth and joyous. The story instills the spirit of Santa, Christmas and giving using a beautiful series of illustrating and words. It is truly a wonderful story to be read by adults and children alike.

Sarah Hudson-Pierce turned to writing poetry as a means of helping handle personal pain and hurt. Her successful self-therapy has become available to a large audience of her admirers as as she moved from published poet to television talk show host in 1994. Now with Southern Vignettes, her fourth book, this talented writer shares her life experiences and observations in a series of short essays.

Ms. Hudson-Pierce was born in rural Arkansas in l948 and at an early age went into a foster home and later an orphanage in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A marriage at age nineteen, to a minister, began a series of moves throughout the Southwest. Writing became a means of finding roots and, in the process, established a sense of self. In Southern Vignettes, a matured writer reflects the self-confidence that find a valuable lesson in almost everything that happens to her, including what most of us would consider problems.

After reviewing her manuscript, her publisher was moved to write that the author had "...the passion and creativity to write of her adventures with gratitude and grace. She candidly shares her joys, her doubts and fears with her readers, finding a common ground where human fraility knows no strangers. Her special brand of courage and exuberance is a source of hope and inspiration to all who read her words."

Sarah Hudson-Pierce's Southern Vignettes reflects a spirit that seems to fly above us all, to capture something that eludes most of us. And she does it with a rhythm, a flow of words that touches something deep within us because she seems able to look into our hidden selves. You leave her book thinking "that Sarah Hudson-Pierce is something really special." --James Creswell Gardner, Sr. Former Mayor Shreveport, Louisiana