Charter schools offer something that public school systems, parents, and teachers need: a way to experiment with alternative ways of teaching, motivating students, organizing schools, using technology, and employing teachers. While people came down on both sides of support for or against charter schools, everyone was surprised by how difficult it was to assess charter school performance. The first part of this book focuses on how to improve estimates of charter schools' performance, especially their benefits to students who attend them; the second part suggests how policymakers can learn more about charter schools and make better use of evidence. The editors and authors suggest ways states and localities can improve the quality of data on which charter school studies are based and trace some of the ways charter school research influences policy.

Charter schools offer something that public school systems, parents, and teachers need: a way to experiment with alternative ways of teaching, motivating students, organizing schools, using technology, and employing teachers. While people came down on both sides of support for or against charter schools, everyone was surprised by how difficult it was to assess charter school performance. The first part of this book focuses on how to improve estimates of charter schools' performance, especially their benefits to students who attend them; the second part suggests how policymakers can learn more about charter schools and make better use of evidence. The editors and authors suggest ways states and localities can improve the quality of data on which charter school studies are based and trace some of the ways charter school research influences policy.

Ancient Egypt is a beautifully illustrated, easy-to-read book covering the formative era of the Egyptian civilization: the age before the pyramids. Douglas Brewer shows why an awareness of the earliest phase of Egyptian history is crucial to understanding of later Egyptian culture. Beginning with a quick review of the fields of Egyptology and archaeology, Ancient Egypt takes the reader on a compelling survey of Egypt's prehistoric past. The books tours the Nile Valley to explore its impact on all aspects of life, from day-to-day living to regional politics, and introduces the reader to the Nile Valley's earliest inhabitants and the very first "Egyptians".

This is a most welcome book, which will fill a gap in the study of early Egypt. The author has sprinkled his narrative with anecdotes from his own archaeological expeditions make the text lively and entertaining, elevating his book from mere description to a highly personal and approachable account. This is a skillful survey which will benefit many different kinds of readers. I highly recommend it., says Ronald J. Leprohon, Professor of Egyptology, University of Toronto. Have you ever wondered who built the pyramids and why? What life was like for the earliest Egyptians? When and how hieroglyphic writing developed? How Egyptian civilization changed through time? and What religion the ancient Egyptians practiced? The answers to all these questions lie deep in Egypt's past. In Ancient Egypt, The Origins, Douglas J.Brewer traces Egypt's history from the Nile Valley's earliest inhabitants through to the building of the first pyramids.

Much has been written about the influence of religion on the Northern Ireland conflict and the part played by ex-combatants in the peace process. Yet we know very little about the religious outlook of ex-combatants themselves. Are they personally devout? Is religion important to their political identity? Did faith play a role in their decision to take up arms, or lay them down? And now that their war is over, does religion help them cope with the past?

Based on original interviews with ex-combatants from across the political and religious divide, this book addresses these questions, shedding new light on the interplay of religion, identity and violence in Ireland. It also shows how the case of Northern Ireland illuminates the current international debate around religion and peacemaking. Arguing that advocates of religious interventions in transitional justice often naively exaggerate its influence, a theoretical model for understanding the role of religion in transitional justice is proposed.

Studies of Northern Ireland's ex-combatants ignore religion, while advocates of religious interventions in transitional justice exaggerate its influence. Using interview data with ex-combatants, this book explores religious influences upon violence and peace, and develops a model for evaluating the role of religion in transitional justice.

This book has two aims: to clarify the meaning of C. Wright Mills's depiction of the sociological imagination; and to use this to develop a sociological framework that assists in understanding the process by which communal violence has ended in Northern Ireland and South Africa. The contrast between these two societies is a familiar one, but the book is novel by developing an explanatory framework based on Mills's "sociological imagination". This model merges developments in the two countries at the individual, social structural and political arenas in order to account for the emergence of their peace processes.

Movement disorder specialists, general neurologists, hepatologists, general gastroenterologists, and psychiatrists are the specialists who will most likely see some Wilson's disease patients during their careers. See them - yes. Recognize and diagnose them - maybe. If you are in one of these specialties, and a patient with tremor, hepatitis, cirrhosis, apparent Parkinsonism, or mood disorder, is referred to you, will you appropriately recognize the possibility that the underlying diagnosis may be Wilson's disease? Wilson's disease is both treatable and reversible, and commonly misdiagnosed. This book aims to change this with comprehensive coverage of every aspect of Wilson's disease, from well-catalogued, easy-to-use clinical diagnostic tools to treatment methods to molecular biology. Dr. Brewer is the world's leading expert on Wilson's disease, seeing and caring for over 300 patients with the disease during the last 20 years. He is a professor of human genetics at the University of Michigan.

Anti-Catholicism forms part of the dynamics to Northern Ireland's conflict and is critical to the self-defining identity of certain Protestants. However, anti-Catholicism is as much a sociology process as a theological dispute. It was given a Scriptural underpinning in the history of Protestant-Catholic relations in Ireland, and wider British-Irish relations, in order to reinforce social divisions between the religious communities and to offer a deterministic belief system to justify them. The book examines the socio-economic and political processes that have led to theology being used in social closure and stratification between the seventeenth century and the present day.

With respect to the vital work of maintaining and increasing much needed petroleum reserves within the continental United States, the Southeast is intriguing because it has been under-explored for many years at the expense of far more promising areas such as the Gulf Coast. While critics may contend that the overall geology of the Southeastern United States is unfavorable for commercial accumulations of hydrocarbons, the occurrence of the oil seeps in Georgia and the oil and gas shows reported in wells drilled in North Carolina, suggests otherwise. This volume introduces new evidence and compiles and re-examines data which argues for increased oil and gas exploration in the region.

Movement disorder specialists, general neurologists, hepatologists, general gastroenterologists, and psychiatrists are the specialists who will most likely see some Wilson's disease patients during their careers. See them - yes. Recognize and diagnose them - maybe. If you are in one of these specialties, and a patient with tremor, hepatitis, cirrhosis, apparent Parkinsonism, or mood disorder, is referred to you, will you appropriately recognize the possibility that the underlying diagnosis may be Wilson's disease? Wilson's disease is both treatable and reversible, and commonly misdiagnosed. This book aims to change this with comprehensive coverage of every aspect of Wilson's disease, from well-catalogued, easy-to-use clinical diagnostic tools to treatment methods to molecular biology. Dr. Brewer is the world's leading expert on Wilson's disease, seeing and caring for over 300 patients with the disease during the last 20 years. He is a professor of human genetics at the University of Michigan.

This book has two aims: to clarify the meaning of C. Wright Mills's depiction of the sociological imagination; and to use this to develop a sociological framework that assists in understanding the process by which communal violence has ended in Northern Ireland and South Africa. The contrast between these two societies is a familiar one, but the book is novel by developing an explanatory framework based on Mills's 'sociological imagination'. This model merges developments in the two countries at the individual, social structural and political arenas in order to account for the emergence of their peace processes.

Anti-Catholicism forms part of the dynamics of Northern Ireland's conflict and is critical to the self-defining identity of certain Protestants. However, anti-Catholicism is as much a sociology process as a theological dispute. It was given a Scriptural underpinning in the history of Protestant Catholic relations in Ireland, and wider British Irish relations, in order to reinforce social divisions between the religious communities and to offer a deterministic belief system to justify them. The book examines the socio-economic and political processes that have led to theology being used in social closure and stratification between the 17th century and the present day.;The text is for courses on history (Irish history, history of Northern Ireland, history of religion); politics (British politics, Irish politics); Northern Ireland; conflict studies; peace studies; sociology (sociology of religion, race and ethnic conflict); Irish studies; and religious studies.

Environmental Causes and Prevention Measures for Alzheimer's Disease examines the increased incidence of the disease in developed countries and aims to educate neuroscientists, medical practitioners and other educated individuals on new insights into environmental causation, primarily metals. This book looks into the web of evidence around the hypothesis of copper toxicity and the additional role that a high fat diet plays in disease progression and cognition loss. The data and its implications are discussed, along with potential prevention measures. This book will generate excitement and interest among neuroscientists, medical practitioners and other biomedical researchers.

Essential and Toxic Trace Elements and Vitamins in Human Health is a comprehensive guide to the wide variety of micronutrients that affect human health, including fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins that support diverse biochemical functions, trace elements with established and suggested links to health maintenance, and elements with known human toxicity such as arsenic, cadmium, and lead. An essential reference text for nutritionists working in academia and functional food and supplement industries, dieticians, and clinicians, Essential and Toxic Trace Elements and Vitamins in Human Health provides an in-depth look at toxic trace elements and essential vitamins and minerals and their direct influence on the body's overall health with expert research from renowned scientists.