Abraham Lincoln: The name alone conjures up images from your earliest school days. A gangling youth reading by firelight in a log cabin. The Gettysburg Address. The Emancipation Proclamation. That fateful night at Ford's Theater. Over time, however, your image of Lincoln has doubtless matured. Three recently published histories will further expand and refine readers' understanding — and perhaps even alter the world's view — of the nation's 16th president.
In Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter of 1860-1861, Harold Holzer examines the four eventful months between Lincoln's election and inauguration when, as one earlier biographer noted, "The difficulties of Mr. Lincoln's position … have been but little understood."
Lincoln's actions — or, as some historians have characterized it, his inaction — during this crucial period have been interpreted as the "vulnerable soft spot" in Lincoln's "otherwise sterling reputation." The president-elect came to be viewed as too silent on the crucial issues of slavery and states' rights, too indecisive in selecting members of his cabinet and too indifferent about the looming crisis of civil war. Meanwhile, public scrutiny of the soon-to-be chief executive was intense. Skeptics in and out of politics feared that Lincoln was not really equipped to be president.
Holzer takes exception to that view of Lincoln, and with fascinating detail documents the president-elect's emergence from untested prairie politician to shrewd national leader. "Under Lincoln's patient stewardship," Holzer writes, "ex-Whigs and ex-Democrats, Northerners and border state men, progressives and conservatives ultimately came together to serve the Union — and the new president."
Holzer's finely tuned narrative, to mirror his own description of Lincoln's first inaugural address, will "appeal both to ordinary and sophisticated audiences." Extensive, informative endnotes and an epilogue, as well as the entire text of Lincoln's 1861 inaugural address, including his own "editorial alterations," round out this expansive study.
Lincoln and the Decision for War: The Northern Response to Secession, by Russell McClintock, reexamines the period between Lincoln's election and the opening shots of the Civil War. McClintock transports the reader into the realm of antebellum American brinksmanship. His goal is to "provide a broad analysis of the Northern response to secession."
Party politics is at the heart of this story, which features key decisionmakers such as William Seward, Stephen Douglas and of course Lincoln. Lesser statesmen, grassroots operatives and also the newspapers have a voice in the narrative as well. "[T]he words and actions of trusted party leaders," McClintock notes, "swayed popular opinion profoundy."
Divided chronologically, the book follows events from November 1860 to May 1861. Despite what the title implies, however, the 16th president (by the author's own admission) "seems to drop out of the picture" in the early chapters. Lincoln gradually reappears as he is unavoidably thrust into the role of a final arbiter who must choose between the olive branch and the sword. McClintock's lengthy and detailed notes conclude this satisfying account.
Open to any page of Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President and be drawn into the Great Emancipator's own rhetoric. Editors Brian Lamb and Susan Swain have gathered a "collection of Lincoln essays … drawn from C-SPAN's programming archives." Here are 55 snapshots of Lincoln from an equal number of respected writers and scholars, including such leading lights as Doris Kearns Goodwin, Shelby Foote, James McPherson and Harold Holzer. Each brings his own unique perspective to a seemingly inexhaustible subject.
The format throughout is conversational and relaxed, although the images of Lincoln that emerge from the narrative are not always sanitized or glossy. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Mark Neely Jr., for example, reminds us that Lincoln "always took the high road, and he never neglected the low road. He knew all the tricks of the trade, and when he needed them he would use them." In another essay, Irving Bartlett comments on the persistent rumor that South Carolina politico John C. Calhoun had actually fathered Lincoln.
This intriguing little volume is supplemented with a variety of color photographs and maps. To round things out, a timeline of events in Lincoln's life as well as a short biography of each essayist are included, along with a complete index and the full texts to eight of Lincoln's most memorable speeches.
'Three recently published histories expand readers' understanding of the president'
3/6/09
2/8/09
Hat trick for Great Thursday
A guy runs into a bar and says, "Bartender, quick! Give me 20 shots of your best Scotch!"
So the bartender lines up 20 shots of his best Scotch and watches this guy down one after the other.
"Man," the bartender says, "I've never seen anyone drink shots that fast!"
"You'd drink them that fast too if you have what I have," the guy says.
"Oh my God," says the bartender, "what do you have?"
"50 cents."
So the bartender lines up 20 shots of his best Scotch and watches this guy down one after the other.
"Man," the bartender says, "I've never seen anyone drink shots that fast!"
"You'd drink them that fast too if you have what I have," the guy says.
"Oh my God," says the bartender, "what do you have?"
"50 cents."
1/27/09
Syndromes: Rapid Recognition and Perioperative Implications
The authors of this book are: Professors Bruno Bissonnette, Igor Luginbuehl, Bruno Marcinick, Bernard Dalens. The book is entitled "Syndromes Rapid Recognition and Perioperative implications" and it is published by Mc Graw Hill Medical, "[ 1]
This is an exhaustive reference includes review of almost 2,000 medical syndromes. The editors indicated that: the cross reference of synonyms and the variations of international names cover nearly 4,500 entries. It intended for pediatricians, medical practitioners, genetics specialists, pediatric surgeons and anesthesiologists. A pediatric anesthesiologist meets at least one patient diagnosed with a medical syndrome. This book serves as quick desk reference to working practitioners who need direct fundamental correct information at glance.
The book is put in 852 pages. It has 180 photographs in black and white. The syndromes are arranged in alphabetical order from "A to Z" and describe each syndrome according to template of 14 items. The first item is: ( 1) At a Glance which gives a general clinical synopsis of the syndrome; the next items describe briefly (2) Synonyms . (3) History, (4) Incidence, and (5) Genetic Inheritance of the syndromes. The authors have kept these descriptions short and to the point. This is followed by a more extensive explanation of the (6) Pathophysiology, (7) Diagnosis, and (8) Clinical Aspects, which should enable an anesthesiologist to formulate an anesthetic plan. These sections are written appropriately focused on the various organ systems that perioperative clinicians might be interested in special issues such as airway, respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic systems. There are more specific mentioned item relevant to anesthesia and pediatric and neonatal intensive care. (9) Precautions before Anesthesia recommends potential consults, radiographs, and laboratory tests to be considered before proceeding; (10) Anesthetic Considerations describes potential issues such as airway management, vascular access, and postoperative issues that might potentially be encountered; and (11) Pharmacological Implications stresses potential contraindications associated with the use of specific medications. The final item, (12) Other Conditions To Be Considered refers to potentially related medical conditions that could be considered as alternate diagnoses in order to use specific medications. And (13) Classification and (14) references when needed
The book has four editors and 32 contributors mainly from North America. It includes an extensive index of syndrome for quick allocation.
This wealth of topics is new addition to the intended health workers dealing with young little patients and exposes the reader to quick fundamental dependable referenced information.
Overall the book offers a sound basic overview of the syndromes it describes and make child care living with rare syndromes more safe.
In conclusion, it is recommended to health care provider's readers and their library. I hope to see this book produced as an encyclopedia on CD with multimedia and colorful pictures then we will get more and more involved in surfing this valuble intellectual production.
This is an exhaustive reference includes review of almost 2,000 medical syndromes. The editors indicated that: the cross reference of synonyms and the variations of international names cover nearly 4,500 entries. It intended for pediatricians, medical practitioners, genetics specialists, pediatric surgeons and anesthesiologists. A pediatric anesthesiologist meets at least one patient diagnosed with a medical syndrome. This book serves as quick desk reference to working practitioners who need direct fundamental correct information at glance.
The book is put in 852 pages. It has 180 photographs in black and white. The syndromes are arranged in alphabetical order from "A to Z" and describe each syndrome according to template of 14 items. The first item is: ( 1) At a Glance which gives a general clinical synopsis of the syndrome; the next items describe briefly (2) Synonyms . (3) History, (4) Incidence, and (5) Genetic Inheritance of the syndromes. The authors have kept these descriptions short and to the point. This is followed by a more extensive explanation of the (6) Pathophysiology, (7) Diagnosis, and (8) Clinical Aspects, which should enable an anesthesiologist to formulate an anesthetic plan. These sections are written appropriately focused on the various organ systems that perioperative clinicians might be interested in special issues such as airway, respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic systems. There are more specific mentioned item relevant to anesthesia and pediatric and neonatal intensive care. (9) Precautions before Anesthesia recommends potential consults, radiographs, and laboratory tests to be considered before proceeding; (10) Anesthetic Considerations describes potential issues such as airway management, vascular access, and postoperative issues that might potentially be encountered; and (11) Pharmacological Implications stresses potential contraindications associated with the use of specific medications. The final item, (12) Other Conditions To Be Considered refers to potentially related medical conditions that could be considered as alternate diagnoses in order to use specific medications. And (13) Classification and (14) references when needed
The book has four editors and 32 contributors mainly from North America. It includes an extensive index of syndrome for quick allocation.
This wealth of topics is new addition to the intended health workers dealing with young little patients and exposes the reader to quick fundamental dependable referenced information.
Overall the book offers a sound basic overview of the syndromes it describes and make child care living with rare syndromes more safe.
In conclusion, it is recommended to health care provider's readers and their library. I hope to see this book produced as an encyclopedia on CD with multimedia and colorful pictures then we will get more and more involved in surfing this valuble intellectual production.
12/27/08
The globalised university: trends and challenges in teaching and learning
The first thing to note in reviewing this collection is that its main title is totally misleading. This is not a study on the effects on universities of globalisation, understood as those networks of capital, data and human resources made possible by high speed and pervasive communication and information technologies and economic systems which promote international supply chains of labour, finance and commodities.
Indeed, no coherent concept or definition of globalisation underpins the text or its individual chapters – no reference to even the popular ‘gurus of globalisation’ such as Thomas Friedman, who describes globalisation as a technological phenomenon which serves capitalism, and who predicts a resurgence of nationalism as rich economy countries assert their national interests.
In higher education contexts, globalisation encompasses student and staff mobility and fierce competition for international student enrolments, including the enticements of linked migration laws, as Birrell’s work in Australia illustrates. Globalisation in higher education also involves consideration of trade agreements such as GATS (the General Agreement on Trade in Services) and WTO (World Trade Organsiation) regulations, as the work of universities is increasingly conceived of as a tradeable commodity, and here Marginson and Considine are valuable sources, along with Knight. ‘The business of borderless education’, the challenge of for-profit education companies expanding in the main from North America, is well-canvassed by Ryan and Bjarnason.
In brief, there is no shortage of previous publications exploring the globalised university – Scott (1998), King (2004) and Breton and Lambert (2003) being the foremost.
The sub-title of the present book, ‘Trends and challenges in teaching and learning’ is perhaps a better content descriptor, although there is rather more emphasis on the ‘challenges’, which editors Scott and Dixon set out in Chapter 1. This chapter begins with a reproduction of ‘Ozymandias’, the Shelley poem on the decay of despots and their power symbols. Is this intended to reflect the authors’ despair over the HE sector? Or, as they suggest (p. 2) a warning that the ‘traditional’ university may not survive? (NB – it’s already disappeared, folks!) The Ozymandias metaphor is inappropriate in the extreme, unless Scott and Dixon believe that traditional universities were despotic, cruel and arrogant. They go on to spike the usual suspects in the demise of traditional universities – restructuring, globalisation, technology, management ‘fashions’, corporatisation, vocationalism, lack of government funding and, finally, a crippling lack of time ‘to debate philosophical standpoints’ over ‘long lunches’ (p. 4).
No simple ‘solutions’ are proffered – nor are they possible: the university will continue to evolve as these pressures intensify.
The remaining chapters range in a somewhat desultory manner over topics loosely linked to teaching.
De la Harpe and Radloff examine how institutions have responded to an increased focus on ‘the student experience’ as a result of regulatory government fiat and contestable funding, and their resort to Learning and Teaching Plans, and the establishment of new senior positions such as Associate Deans of Teaching. They also note the reluctance of staff to engage in the existing teaching support services provided to improve student learning. (This reluctance is widely shared – I will never forget the proud boast of a mathematics lecturer that he had never attended any activity of his university’s academic development unit because it would be like going to ‘a Marxist re-education camp’!)
Dixon and Scott revisit the changed nature of the academic role in a technology university, the perpetuated valourising of research over teaching and workloads in Chapter 3, concluding that the ‘enemy of the 21st century academic (is) Time’.
Price and Kirkwood traverse the impact of government and institutional drives to the adoption of new technologies in UK universities, with particular reference to the Open University, and recommend a professional development model which involves support staff as well as teaching staff. There is no attempt to relate these issues to the theme of globalisation.
Reynold Macpherson contributes an interesting case study of his (failed) attempt to ‘convert’ a Middle Eastern university to a student-centred approach to teaching, due to cultural patterns of autocracy. The chapter illustrates how the ‘export’ of Western models of education may conflict with other ideologies and confound ‘borderlessness’. Susan Nelson’s chapter on the tensions between teaching and research agendas at a large US public university is a discursive case study, which culminates in a description of the career decisions of two State University staff, one tenured, the other seeking tenure, and the pressure from their institution to expend less effort on teaching in favour of research. The connection of this to the theme of globalisation is not apparent.
The final chapter, by Charles Webber, on Leadership for organisational change, is actually another case study, this time on a unit of the University of Calgary, the Graduate Division of Educational Research and possible directions for niche universities in a globalised world. A potential to focus on providing international distance education is the only link to globalisation.
In summary, the chapters in this book have only the most tangential relationship to its purported theme. A book on globalised universities should surely have covered more on the effects of large numbers of international students in on-shore classes and the teaching approaches staff (and support staff) take to accommodate a more diverse student body; it should have examined the links between corporatisation of universities and the increased use of sessional staff for workforce ‘flexibility’; it should have canvassed the growth in importance of national and international quality assurance and standards agencies which, in seeking ‘harmonisation’ of national standards for degree certification, are moving inexorably to homogenise curricula worldwide. Such a book would also have reprised the role of ICTs and US-derived Learning Management Systems in imposing standardised teaching models. The globalised university is not that book, despite its title.
Indeed, no coherent concept or definition of globalisation underpins the text or its individual chapters – no reference to even the popular ‘gurus of globalisation’ such as Thomas Friedman, who describes globalisation as a technological phenomenon which serves capitalism, and who predicts a resurgence of nationalism as rich economy countries assert their national interests.
In higher education contexts, globalisation encompasses student and staff mobility and fierce competition for international student enrolments, including the enticements of linked migration laws, as Birrell’s work in Australia illustrates. Globalisation in higher education also involves consideration of trade agreements such as GATS (the General Agreement on Trade in Services) and WTO (World Trade Organsiation) regulations, as the work of universities is increasingly conceived of as a tradeable commodity, and here Marginson and Considine are valuable sources, along with Knight. ‘The business of borderless education’, the challenge of for-profit education companies expanding in the main from North America, is well-canvassed by Ryan and Bjarnason.
In brief, there is no shortage of previous publications exploring the globalised university – Scott (1998), King (2004) and Breton and Lambert (2003) being the foremost.
The sub-title of the present book, ‘Trends and challenges in teaching and learning’ is perhaps a better content descriptor, although there is rather more emphasis on the ‘challenges’, which editors Scott and Dixon set out in Chapter 1. This chapter begins with a reproduction of ‘Ozymandias’, the Shelley poem on the decay of despots and their power symbols. Is this intended to reflect the authors’ despair over the HE sector? Or, as they suggest (p. 2) a warning that the ‘traditional’ university may not survive? (NB – it’s already disappeared, folks!) The Ozymandias metaphor is inappropriate in the extreme, unless Scott and Dixon believe that traditional universities were despotic, cruel and arrogant. They go on to spike the usual suspects in the demise of traditional universities – restructuring, globalisation, technology, management ‘fashions’, corporatisation, vocationalism, lack of government funding and, finally, a crippling lack of time ‘to debate philosophical standpoints’ over ‘long lunches’ (p. 4).
No simple ‘solutions’ are proffered – nor are they possible: the university will continue to evolve as these pressures intensify.
The remaining chapters range in a somewhat desultory manner over topics loosely linked to teaching.
De la Harpe and Radloff examine how institutions have responded to an increased focus on ‘the student experience’ as a result of regulatory government fiat and contestable funding, and their resort to Learning and Teaching Plans, and the establishment of new senior positions such as Associate Deans of Teaching. They also note the reluctance of staff to engage in the existing teaching support services provided to improve student learning. (This reluctance is widely shared – I will never forget the proud boast of a mathematics lecturer that he had never attended any activity of his university’s academic development unit because it would be like going to ‘a Marxist re-education camp’!)
Dixon and Scott revisit the changed nature of the academic role in a technology university, the perpetuated valourising of research over teaching and workloads in Chapter 3, concluding that the ‘enemy of the 21st century academic (is) Time’.
Price and Kirkwood traverse the impact of government and institutional drives to the adoption of new technologies in UK universities, with particular reference to the Open University, and recommend a professional development model which involves support staff as well as teaching staff. There is no attempt to relate these issues to the theme of globalisation.
Reynold Macpherson contributes an interesting case study of his (failed) attempt to ‘convert’ a Middle Eastern university to a student-centred approach to teaching, due to cultural patterns of autocracy. The chapter illustrates how the ‘export’ of Western models of education may conflict with other ideologies and confound ‘borderlessness’. Susan Nelson’s chapter on the tensions between teaching and research agendas at a large US public university is a discursive case study, which culminates in a description of the career decisions of two State University staff, one tenured, the other seeking tenure, and the pressure from their institution to expend less effort on teaching in favour of research. The connection of this to the theme of globalisation is not apparent.
The final chapter, by Charles Webber, on Leadership for organisational change, is actually another case study, this time on a unit of the University of Calgary, the Graduate Division of Educational Research and possible directions for niche universities in a globalised world. A potential to focus on providing international distance education is the only link to globalisation.
In summary, the chapters in this book have only the most tangential relationship to its purported theme. A book on globalised universities should surely have covered more on the effects of large numbers of international students in on-shore classes and the teaching approaches staff (and support staff) take to accommodate a more diverse student body; it should have examined the links between corporatisation of universities and the increased use of sessional staff for workforce ‘flexibility’; it should have canvassed the growth in importance of national and international quality assurance and standards agencies which, in seeking ‘harmonisation’ of national standards for degree certification, are moving inexorably to homogenise curricula worldwide. Such a book would also have reprised the role of ICTs and US-derived Learning Management Systems in imposing standardised teaching models. The globalised university is not that book, despite its title.
11/17/08
You asked what I wanted
A man walks into the restaurant and sits at the counter. He asks for a cup of coffee then looks at the menu. The waitress brings him a cup off coffee.
Waitress: What you you like?
Man: I'd like a quickie
Waitress: What?!
Man: I'd like a quickie
The waitress slaps him and leaves.
The man next to him leans over and says: It's pronounced keesh.
Waitress: What you you like?
Man: I'd like a quickie
Waitress: What?!
Man: I'd like a quickie
The waitress slaps him and leaves.
The man next to him leans over and says: It's pronounced keesh.
11/6/08
I was at my bank today; there was a short line. Just one lady in front of me,
an Asian lady who was trying to exchange yen for dollars. It was obvious
she was a little irritated. . .
She asked the teller, "Why it change? Yesterday, I get two hunat dolla
fo yen. Today I only get hunat eighty? Why it change?"
The teller shrugged his shoulders and said, "Fluctuations."
The Asian lady says, "Fluc you white people too!"
an Asian lady who was trying to exchange yen for dollars. It was obvious
she was a little irritated. . .
She asked the teller, "Why it change? Yesterday, I get two hunat dolla
fo yen. Today I only get hunat eighty? Why it change?"
The teller shrugged his shoulders and said, "Fluctuations."
The Asian lady says, "Fluc you white people too!"
10/31/08
Buckshot
A duck hunter was out enjoying a nice morning on the marsh when he decided to take a leak. He walked over to a tree and propped up his gun. Just then a gust of wind blew, the gun fell over and discharged, shooting him in the genitals.
Several hours later, lying in a hospital bed he was approached by his doctor.
"Well sir, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that you are going to be OK. The damage was local to your groin, there was very
little internal damage, and we were able to remove all of the buckshot."
"What's the bad news?" asked the hunter.
"The bad news is that there was some pretty extensive buckshot damage done to your penis. I'm going to have to refer you to my brother."
"Oh, well I guess that isn't too bad," the hunter replied. "Is your brother a plastic surgeon?"
"Not exactly." answered the doctor. "He's a flute player in the local symphony and he's going to teach you where to put your fingers so you don't piss in your eye."
Several hours later, lying in a hospital bed he was approached by his doctor.
"Well sir, I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that you are going to be OK. The damage was local to your groin, there was very
little internal damage, and we were able to remove all of the buckshot."
"What's the bad news?" asked the hunter.
"The bad news is that there was some pretty extensive buckshot damage done to your penis. I'm going to have to refer you to my brother."
"Oh, well I guess that isn't too bad," the hunter replied. "Is your brother a plastic surgeon?"
"Not exactly." answered the doctor. "He's a flute player in the local symphony and he's going to teach you where to put your fingers so you don't piss in your eye."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)