A haunting story about an encounter between a woman and her estranged, alcoholic father. Simply told, and illustrated by paintings of Susan Joyce Weimer ("Unbowed: The Paintings of Susan Joyce Weimer"), the short story will resonate with anyone who has faced addictive disorder in a loved one.

Magical realism and real horse knowledge shape this cowboy story. Joey Duffle is an unforgettable character, and his adventures on the Circle D with the wild stallion will leave you smiling - and wondering. With evocative line drawings by Susan Joyce Weimer.

A pair of bay ponies bonded beyond this lifetime. A circus horse tortured but resilient. A gelding damaged by ignorance but still willing to love. A Percheron cross with a healing touch. These horses and others have taught the author about how to be a human being, and their stories, simply told, will enrich the life of any reader.

Users have become an integral part of technology studies. The essays in this volume look at the creative capacity of users to shape technology in all phases, from design to implementation. Using a variety of theoretical approaches, including a feminist focus on users and use (in place of the traditional emphasis on men and machines), concepts from semiotics, and the cultural studies view of consumption as a cultural activity, these essays examine what users do with technology and, in turn, what technology does to users. The contributors consider how users consume, modify, domesticate, design, reconfigure, and resist technological development--and how users are defined and transformed by technology.The essays in part I show that resistance to and non-use of a technology can be a crucial factor in the eventual modification and improvement of that technology; examples considered include the introduction of the telephone into rural America and the influence of non-users of the Internet. The essays in part II look at advocacy groups and the many kinds of users they represent, particularly in the context of health care and clinical testing. The essays in part III examine the role of users in different phases of the design, testing, and selling of technology. Included here is an enlightening account of one company's design process for men's and women's shavers, which resulted in a "Ladyshave" for users assumed to be technophobes.Taken together, the essays in How Users Mattershow that any understanding of users must take into consideration the multiplicity of roles they play--and that the conventional distinction between users and producers is largely artificial.