This print edition of Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions contains all of the original and vital illustrations, allowing the reader to comprehend the geometry described in the satirical story. First published in the 1880s, Flatland is a playful satire of the hierarchical class structure which Abbott perceived as defining the Victorian society in which he lived. The titular country has a population consisting of different shapes; their shape denotes their place in the society - the more sides the shape has, and the more regular their shape, the higher the place they occupy in the social strata. The ordinary, day-to-day existence of the author (A. Square) is brought into question when he experiences a dream. In it a shape with depth, a Sphere, announces its existence and origin in Spaceland; a place with a third dimension. Thrilled by the revelation, the Square postulates that perhaps there are actually four, five or more dimensions constituting the world.

Essays, based on five years of survey research in Iowa and case study examples from across the United States, examine the implications of telecommunications technologies for rural community development. Supported by data from five years of survey and case study research, telecommunications adoption and use is explored in nine sectors of the rural community to determine the influence these organizations and institutions have on telecommunications development within the broader rural community. These sectors include local government, economic development, business, newspapers, library services, health care, university extension to communities, and farming. Also considered are the factors that promote and retard telecommunications development, particularly the impact of telecommunications policy, the availability of state-of-the-art infrastructure and service, and the involvement of telephone companies in local community development. Using a community development framework, this work discusses the physical, financial, human and social capitals necessary for holistic community development and the significance of critical mass, the roles of internal and external networks, as well as vertical and horizontal linkages, and the importance of visionary leadership and the championing of telecommunications.

Social Science and telecommunications scholars will appreciate the interdisciplinary approach these case studies represent. In addition, this research is intended to assist local leaders, community service providers, businesses, community officials, and state policy makers in capturing the potential benefits of innovative telecommunications technologies for local economic development, while avoiding potential problems and pitfalls. Essays are organized in three sections. The first presents theory, policy, and issues within a community development framework. The second discusses perspectives and actions of community sectors in their adoption and use of telecommunications. The third examines what occurs within an organization as it implements a new telecommunications system. Charts and graphs enhance the text and a glossary of terms is provided.

As adoption of Electronic Health Record Systems (EHR-Ss) shifts from early adopters to mainstream, an increasingly large group of decision makers must assess what they want from EHR-Ss and how to go about making their choices. The purpose of this book is to inform that decision. This book explains typical needs of a variety of stakeholders, describes current and imminent technologies, and assesses the available evidence regarding issues in implementing and using EHR-Ss.

Divided into four important sections--Needs, Current State, Technology, and Going Forward--the book provides the background and general notions regarding the EHRS and lays out the framework; delves into the historical review; presents a high-level view of EHR systems, focused on the needs of different stakeholders in the health care and the health enterprise; offers practical views of existing systems and current (and short-term future) issues in specifying a EHR system and deciding how to approach the institution of such a system; deals with technology issues, from front- to back-end; and describes where we are and where we should be going with EHR systems.

Designed for use by chief information officers, chief medical informatics officers, medical liaisons to hospital systems, private practitioners, and business managers at academic and non-academic hospitals, care management organizations, and practices. The book could be used in any medical or health informatics course, at any level (undergrad, fellowship, MBA).

5 care reforms. Part II: Price Regulation The second partofthis volume examines the role ofprice regulation in controlling health care costs. It contains three chapters. In chapter seven, I examine the alternatives for regulating pharmaceutical prices. In chapter eight, Jack Hadley examines the impactofvarious forms ofhospital price regulation; while in chapter nine, MarkPaulyexaminestheroleofpriceregulation incontrollingphysician fees. Chapter seven focuses on the issue of regulating pharmaceutical prices. There are two key issues examined in this paper. First, is there a clear need for price regulation, and second, can price regulation work in this industry? In response to the first question, I come to the conclusion that the proponents ofprice regulation have not really proven their case. Although the financial returns in the pharmaceu tical industry have been slightly higher than expected during the 1970s and 1980s, there is not overwhelming evidence of"price gouging" or excessive profits on the part of the industry. In response to the second question, the answer is clearly no. The traditional approaches to price regulation will not have the intended affect of eliminating excess profits from the industry while maintaining the incentives for research and development. First, rate-of-return regulation, the most natural approach, would result in many adverse incentives-includingexcessive investment in research and developmentinorderto inflatetheratebaseused tocalculatedtheallowablereturns."

Unless you're a mathematician, the chances of you reading any novels about geometry are probably slender. But if you read only two in your life, these are the ones. Taken together, they form a couple of accessible and charming explanations of geometry and physics for the curious non-mathematician. Flatland, which is also available under separate cover, was published in 1880 and imagines a two-dimensional world inhabited by sentient geometric shapes who think their planar world is all there is. But one Flatlander, a Square, discovers the existence of a third dimension and the limits of his world's assumptions about reality and comes to understand the confusing problem of higher dimensions. The book is also quite a funny satire on society and class distinctions of Victorian England. The further mathematical fantasy, Sphereland, published 60 years later, revisits the world of Flatland in time to explore the mind-bending theories created by Albert Einstein, whose work so completely altered the scientific understanding of space, time, and matter. Among Einstein's many challenges to common sense were the ideas of curved space, an expanding universe and the fact that light does not travel in a straight line. Without use of the mathematical formulae that bar most non-scientists from an understanding of Einstein's theories, Sphereland gives lay readers ways to start comprehending these confusing but fundamental questions of our reality.

This masterpiece of science (and mathematical) fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire that has charmed readers for more than 100 years. The work of English clergyman, educator and Shakespearean scholar Edwin A. Abbott (1838-1926), it describes the journeys of A. Square, a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland, where women-thin, straight lines-are the lowliest of shapes, and where men may have any number of sides, depending on their social status.
Through strange occurrences that bring him into contact with a host of geometric forms, Square has adventures in Spaceland (three dimensions), Lineland (one dimension) and Pointland (no dimensions) and ultimately entertains thoughts of visiting a land of four dimensions--a revolutionary idea for which he is returned to his two-dimensional world. Charmingly illustrated by the author, Flatland is not only fascinating reading, it is still a first-rate fictional introduction to the concept of the multiple dimensions of space. "Instructive, entertaining, and stimulating to the imagination." -- "Mathematics Teacher."

The fourth dimension, humor, satire, and logic combine into a science-fiction classic that has entertained generations.

The fourth dimension, humor, satire, and logic combine into a science-fiction classic that has entertained generations.