Embrace the power and magic of the ancient Celtic mysteries. Journey with gods, goddesses, and magical allies into a world of enchantment and inspiration. This is not just a deck of cards; it s a storehouse of ancient myth, magic, and mystery. Based on the Rider-Waite system but designed to express and transmit the depth of the Celtic mysteries, this deck plunges both reader and querent into strong currents of magic.

In this paper, we study investments by existing homeowners to improve their homes. The value of a house is modeled as the expected net present value of a perpetual stream of service flows emanating from the attributes of the house. An important innovation in our model is that the set of house attributes evolves over time according to the investment decisions of the homeowner. The homeowner's decisions to invest in house attributes are modeled as real options. Our model of investment embeds a multi-factor term structure model and a general model of the evolution of service flows. We employ numeric simulations to explore the properties of the investment model, and to motivate our empirical test of the model. Using a panel from the American Housing Survey, we test two implications of the real option theory. We test whether investment is more likely when the spread between the return to housing and the cost of capital is wide, and we test whether greater spread volatility depresses investment. The results indicate that homeowner investment behavior is consistent with the theory, even after controlling for business cycle, aging, tenure and for-sale influences.

This book brings a fresh perspective on the emerging field of international food law with the first detailed analysis of the process and implications of domestic compliance with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement. It investigates the influence of WTO disciplines on the domestic policy-making process and examines the extent to which international trade law determines European Union (EU) food regulations.

Following controversial WTO rulings on genetically-modified foods and growth hormones in beef, awareness and criticism of global rules governing food has grown considerably. Yet the real impact of this international legal meta-framework on domestic regulations has remained obscure to practitioners and largely unexplored by legal commentators. This book examines the emergence of transnational governance practices set in motion by the SPS Agreement and their role in facilitating agricultural trade. In so doing, it complements and challenges conventional accounts of the SPS regime dominated by analysis of WTO disputes.

It reviews legal commentary of the SPS Agreement to understand why WTO rules are so commonly characterised as a significant threat to domestic food policy preferences. It then takes on these assumptions through an in-depth review of food policies and decision-making practices in the EU, revealing both the potential and limits of WTO law to shape EU policies. It finally examines two important venues for the generation of global food norms - the WTO SPS Committee and Codex Alimentarius - to evaluate the practice and significance of transnational governance in this domain. Through detailed case studies including novel foods, food additives, vitamin and mineral supplements and transparency and equivalence procedures, this book provides a richer account of compliance and exposes the subtle, but important influence of WTO obligations.

On any given day, nearly half a million children are served by foster care services in the U.S. at an annual cost of over $25 billion. Growing demand and shrinking funds have so greatly stressed the child welfare system that calls for orphanages have re-entered the public debate for the first time in nearly half a century. New ideas are desperately needed to transform a system in crisis, guarantee better outcomes for children in foster care, and reduce the need for out-of-home care in the first place. Yet little is known about what works in foster care. Very few studies have examined how alumni have fared as adults or tracked long-term health effects, and even fewer have directly compared different foster care services. In one of the most comprehensive studies of adults formerly in foster care ever conducted, the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study found that quality foster care services for children pay big dividends when they grow into adults. Key investments in highly trained staff, low caseloads, and robust supplementary services can dramatically reduce the rates of mental disorders and substance abuse later in life and increase the likelihood of completing education beyond high school and remaining employed. The results of this unparalleled study document not only the more favorable outcomes for youth who receive better services but the overall return when an investment is made in high quality foster care: every dollar invested in a child generates $1.50 in benefits to society. These findings form the core of this book's blueprint for reform. By keeping more children with their families and investing additional funds in enhanced foster care services, child welfare agencies have the opportunity to greatly improve the health, well being, and economic prospects for foster care alumni. What Works in Foster Care? presents a model foster care program that promises to revolutionize the way policymakers, administrators, case workers, and researchers think about protecting our most vulnerable youth.