Abstract
The paper discusses the ancient Chinese "Book of Songs," a book of poems each of which is set to music so it can be sung. The book consists of 305 poems categorized into folk songs, ceremonial songs, and sacrificial songs, based on their content and the style of the music. The paper examines the various styles of songs that make up the book and how these songs were used to celebrate many occasions.

From the Paper
"Chinese literature has a long history that begins with Shi Jing, or the Book of Songs. The original title of the work was Shi (Poems) and later Shi Sanbai (Three Hundred Poems). Each of the poems was set to music so it could be sung. The book finally consisted of 305 poems categorized into folk songs, ceremonial songs, and sacrificial songs, based on their content and the style of the music. Folk songs were popular among the people and made up the best part of the book. Ceremonial songs and sacrificial songs were sung primarily on sacrificial or ceremonial occasions as a means of eulogizing the merits and virtues of the Son of Heaven and of his forefathers (Churchill paras. 1-2). Shi Jing is one of the seminal works of Chinese Civilization, serving this role along with the Book of Changes (Yi Jing), the Book of History (Shu Jing),.."

Tags:chinese, book, songs

Abstract
The paper refers to Spence's "Treason by the Book" (2001) and discusses how anti-Manchu sentiment was alive and well in early 18th century China. The paper explains that anti-Manchu sentiment tells much of how opinion travelled in imperial China and the approach of the third emperor, Yongzheng, in trying to contend with it as opposed to his censoring son. The paper reflects on the timeless aspects of China in anti-Mongol sentiment, illiteracy, the power of rumour, state crackdowns and general mistrust of governments.

From the Paper
"Jonathan D. Spence's "Treason by the Book" is interesting to read for what it tells us of China not so long after the Qing Dynasty's establishment. (2001) Apart from the author's comments on Manchu society in China from the mid-17th century, the reader is given other glimpses of how different Chinese responded to new leadership that was seen as very foreign. A great deal of the novel is taken up by matters of Chinese who remained loyal to the Ming Dynasty that the Manchus replaced. The reader understands more of how foreign the Qing Dynasty seemed to many Chinese, and through to its..."

Tags:manchus, treason by the book, sentiment

Abstract
This paper discusses Jonathan Spence's "Treason by the Book" and what it imparts of early 18th century China, the importance of traditional anti-Manchu sentiment, censorship and the vagaries of an immense imperial bureaucracy and all else.

From the Paper
"This book can be recommended to readers with or without previous interest in China who will find a fast-moving account of events in the reign of Emperor Yongzheng of the 1720s and 1730s, having to do with the dissident sentiment of Zeng Jing, a quite insignificant teacher in provincial China who like many Chinese since the Qing takeover of 1644 held bitter sentiment about the Manchu rule that replaced the fallen Ming Dynasty. Jonathan D. Spence is a noted historian of China known for scholarly and..."

Tags:treason by the book, spence, review essay

Abstract
In this article, the writer describes Harrison-Keyes' dilemma in its e-book publishing initiative. The writer maintains that with problems in outsourcing, communication gaps, and other issues, Harrison-Keyes needs a solution that will bring the company back into alignment with corporate goals. The writer includes tables.

From the Paper
"Harrison-Keyes has encountered a number of threatening circumstances related to its e-book publishing project and all of them could realistically have been either forestalled or lessened in impact by appropriate planning. Although the company has launched its e-book project using Asian off-shoring, a strategy that begs advance planning it had no contingency plan in place to address the major issues that came up, a flood that put its contractor out of business, production problems ..."

Tags:e-book, publishing, outsourcing, management, business, communication, analysis, strategy alignment

Abstract
The paper posits that Mike Davis's new book, "Planet of Slums", has been correctly described as "groundbreaking, mind-stretching stuff" (Davis, back cover). The paper points out that Davis is well-known as a provocative commentator on contemporary urban landscapes, and is the author of "Dead Cities", which deals with American West Coast urbanism, and in the process goes off at tangents to investigate pressing matters such as Victorian disaster fiction and prehistoric mass extinctions. The paper mentions that Davis also penned "City of Quartz", which is an examination of the social geography of Los Angeles.

From the Paper
"Mike Davis's new book, "Planet of Slums", has been correctly described as "groundbreaking, mind-stretching stuff" (Davis, back cover). Davis is well-known as a provocative commentator on contemporary urban landscapes, and is the author of Dead Cities, which deals with American West Coast urbanism, and in the process goes off at tangents to investigate pressing matters such as Victorian disaster fiction and prehistoric mass extinctions. Davis also penned City of Quartz, which is an examination of the social geography of Los Angeles. This book showed once again that..."

Tags:book, review, slums

Abstract
This paper analyzes Daniel Solin's book, "The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read". It also investigates the role that financial planners play in today's society and what benefit their profession provides. This paper states both the benefits as well as the downfalls to using a financial planner. The paper first investigates Solin's views on financial planners as well as a summary of his book, "The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read". The paper then goes into further detail on financial planning as a profession, and why it is a superfluous service to spend your money on. The tone of the paper then changes as the paper investigates the pros to using financial planning services and why and how they may benefit society. The paper further goes into detail on what to do if you are pursuing a career as a financial planner in relation to Solin's book. Finally, the paper compares the positive/negative facts and opinions expressed throughout the paper to remind the reader of both sides before he or she forms an opinion.

From the Paper
"For the closing segment of the book, Solin breaks down the way to become a smart investor and "beat ninety five percent of the pros". He explains how this can be achieved in his "four step process". First, the investor needs to decide on their asset allocation by dividing the portfolio into three categories: stocks, bonds, and cash. He also emphasizes that to do this, the investor needs to consider age, health, if income will be needed from the portfolio, and life (such as job loss, divorce, accident, etc.) this will help determine how risky an investor should make their portfolio (Solin 111-113). The second step is to open a account with a firm that does not implement commissions such as Fidelity Investments, Vanguard Group, or T. Rowe Price. Solin then states that the third step is to select your investments. He shows that this is a simple step by providing tables that show low to high risk portfolio outlines for each of the firms mentioned above. "

Tags:investing, stocks, index, funds

Abstract
This paper explores the phenomena of perhaps the first European best sellers. The medieval "Book of Hours" was the first book to reach the bookcases of the people. Fundamentally a religious primer, the sumptuously illustrated and illuminated "Book of Hours" served to both reinforce the spiritual wealth of the noble classes and to act as an indicator of personal wealth. This paper examines how the demise of the "Book of Hours" was tolled by the automated printing press, thus giving weight to the idea that the Middle Ages laid great store in the opulent, the visual and the aesthetically precious.

From the Paper
"Modern man lives in a world where the word is king. Information, both fiction and non-fiction reaches its audience in a growing number of formats. Our libraries are full of printed, cloth-bound books which share space with paperbacks and jostle for attention with computer monitors offering the wealth of the internet to interested surfers. People read paperbacks on the train, plane and in their lunch breaks. Our newspapers bristle with world events, humor, fashion, religion and "How-To" articles. Information is there for the taking. Medieval man, however, had far fewer media options with which to avail himself. His sources were scarce. He may have learnt news and skills from his neighbor. He may have gained an insight into religious expectations from sculpted Tympana and church friezes. Middle Age man's options were limited due to the scarcity and cost of the written word. For these were the days before the printing press, when books were handmade; each one painstakingly lettered by a calligraphist, with possible illustrations, marginalia and "illuminations." These were the days when books were the province of the wealthy. It was into this arena that the Books of Hours was born. For the noble classes, the ownership of such a volume satisfied not only a laity desire for spiritual fulfillment, but also an opportunity to display conspicuous proof of the owner's social status."

Tags:catholic, caxton, hoares, illuminated, illustrated, laity, literature, marginalia, noble, parchment, pious, press, print, printing, scriptoria, vellum, zoomorphic

Abstract
This paper explains that Michael Gerber in "The E-book Physician", focusing on the business of being a physician, reveals a plan for the creation and development of a radical mind set for physicians, similar to other small businesses. The author points out that Gerber believes that, for the most part, physicians are being shackled by the tyranny of the system of unprofitable and unproductive routine-juggling of their numerous patients. The book explores relevant topics of a small business, such as money, efficient and effective office administration and the management of staff and patients in a manner that promotes "The E-book Physician".

From the Paper
"One physician, C Alan Henry, MD, testifies that after reading the book 'The e-Myth Physician', he was astounded at the various changes that had taken place in his business over the period of time after the reading. He also states that he had gained new insights into his personal life as well as his professional life, and found that the mere idea of having a 'Primary Aim', and a 'Strategic Objective', and inter connecting those ideas with whatever else he happened to be doing had achieved a "seismic shift in thinking" for him. This is because, whereas earlier he had been thinking of his work as being a separate entity from what he was doing with the other parts of his life, he now realized that both were completely interrelated, and whereas earlier he had been merely wringing money from his business, regardless of who was being affected by it, he now thinks and considers carefully his 'Intentions', and lives his life with more 'Attention'."

Tags:mind-set, routine-juggling, efficient, success, procedure

Abstract
This paper discusses how the "Book of Judges" is an important section of the Old Testament both for its theological content as well as for its historical information. It studies its background from both an historical as well as liturgical standpoint, including an examination of the questions that the book leaves us with. It provides an overview of what is contained in the "Book of Judges" which is conventionally divided into three distinct sections and how derives its name from a class of temporary leaders in Israel who bore the title of judges during the historical period covered. It presents an historical examination of events in Israel beginning with the death of Joshua (one of the most important and visionary of Hebrew leaders) up to the point in Jewish thinking and Israel's history just before the birth Samuel, another of the most important of the prophets. This period thus corresponds with the time that extends from the end of the Israelite conquest of Canaan (which occurred about 3300 years ago) to the beginning of monarchy two hundred years later.

From the Paper
"The second section of the Book of Judges (from 2:6 to16:31) relates a series of trials visited on the nation of Israel by God. This section describes how were the people of Israel were delivered into the hands of their enemies time and again for the explicit reason of testing the nation of Israel. Each time the Israelites are tested, a new hero comes forward (or sometimes a heroine) to save the nation, by which the Israelites learn to trust that God will not deliver them into a situation from which they cannot escape."

Tags:joshua, israel, god, israelites, deborah, samuel, canaan, people, tribes

Abstract
This paper explains that the "Book of Haggai" ("The Prophecy of Aggeus") is the tenth of the twelve Old Testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets. Haggai ( 6th century BC) served to mobilize the Jewish community in the enormous effort required to rebuild the Temple of Jerusalem (516 BC) after the Babylonian Exile and prophesied the glorious future of the Messianic age. The author points out that the book is comprised of a series of prophecies, which were delivered over the course of a four-month period in the second year of the reign of the Persian king, Darius I the Great (521 BC). The paper concludes that, whenever people struggle to overcome the complacency and lack of piety that characterizes modern life, they can look to the example of Haggai, as he sought to accomplish what he believed was necessary to usher in a new Messianic order.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Background and Overview
Review and Discussion
Prophecies in the Book of Haggai
Genealogical Significance of Title
Obedience and Responsiveness of the Jewish People in the Book of Haggai
Impact of Haggai on Traditional and Contemporary Liturgical Thought
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The international situation during and several decades before the time of Haggai and Zechariah clearly had a profound impact on what these prophets represented and what they intended to do. According to Hallo and Simpson, the entire face of the ancient Near East -- Mesopotamia, Syria-Palestine, Egypt had shifted with the defeat of the Babylonian empire, an event that may be conveniently dated to the defeat of the city of Babylon in 538 BC. According to Kent, the political and national life of the Jewish people, which had been all-important in the days before the exile suddenly ceased. Over the course of the next 400 years the Jewish people were enslaved, and were powerless under the hands of their foreign masters."

Tags:old, testament, temple, jerusalem, messianic