Now in its third edition, "South Asia 2006" provides an in-depth library of information on the countries and territories of the region.
Exhaustively researched by Europa's experienced editorial team, this title includes a vast range of up-to-date economic, political and statistical data. Combining impartial analysis with facts and figures, "South Asia 2006" provides a unique overall perspective on this increasingly important region.
The book is divided into three sections:
A General Survey
* This contains introductory essays by key specialists providing impartial coverage of issues of regional importance including security and religion. Essays include: "Globalization and Human Development Issues in South Asia "- C. Rammanohar Reddy, Deputy Editor, The Hindu, Chennai, India; "Corruption and the Challenges to Good" "Governance in South Asia "- Mushtaq Khan, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, United Kingdom; "Environmental Issues in South Asia "- Gouranga Dasvarma, Senior Lecturer and Director, Graduate Program in Population and Human Resources and Master of Environmental Management Program, School of Geography, Population and Environmental Management, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia; "Current Security Issues "- Rohan Gunaratna, Associate Professor, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technical University, Singapore; "Religions in South Asia "- Geoffrey Parrinder, Emeritus Professor of the Comparative Study of Religions, University of London, United Kingdom.
Country Surveys
* Detailed coverage of the eight countries of South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
* Up-to-date statistical surveys including the latest available figures on population and area, agriculture, industry, trade, transportation, communications, media and education
* A directory section of essential contact names, postal addresses and e-mail and internet addresses.
Regional Information
* A biographical section profiling prominent figures in the South Asian region
* Directory details of research institutes studying the area and a select book and periodicals bibliography.

A systematic survey of all the countries of East Asia, South-East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands
* Essential for anyone with an interest in this vast area of the world
* Keeps up-to-date with current economic and political developments
* Presents over 1,300 pages of statistics, directory material, and expert analysis
General Survey
* Informative articles on contemporary issues relating to the area as a whole. Topics include: "Human Rights in the Asia Pacific Region; Current Security Issues" "in Asia; Population in Asia and the Pacific; Environmental Issues of Asia and the Pacific; The Religions of Asia Pacific;" and" The Asian-Pacific Community in the Pacific Century
"
Country Surveys
* Individual chapters on each country containing: articles on geography, history, and the economy; an economic and demographic survey of the latest available statisticson population, agriculture, industry, finance, trade, transport, tourism, and education; a directory of names, addresses, and contact numbers covering the constitution, government, legislature, judiciary, political organizations, diplomatic representation, religion, the media, finance, trade, industry, tourism, defense, and education; and a select bibliography
Regional Information
* Includes all major international organizations active in the region, their aims, activities, publications, and principal personnel; a detailed survey of major commodities in Asia and the Pacific; a directory of research institutes specializing in the region; select bibliographies of books and periodicals covering the Far East and Australasia; and an index of regional organizations
For coverageof the countries and territories comprising South Asia, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and more, please now consult the newest volume in this series, devoted exclusively to this intricate, increasingly important region. South Asia 2004 provides all of the expert content you've come to expect from Europa's Regional Surveys, combining current facts and in-depth historical perspective.

The latest addition to Europa's highly praised and valued Regional Surveys of the Worldseries, South Asia 2004 provides an in-depth library of information on the countries and territories of the region.Exhaustively researched by Europa's experienced editorial team, this title includes a vast range of up-to-date economic, political and statistical data. Combining impartial analysis with facts and figures, South Asia 2004 provides a unique overall perspective on this increasingly important region. The book is divided into three sections: A General Survey * This contains introductory essays by key specialists providing impartial coverage of issues of regional importance including security and religion. Essays include: Globalization and Human Development Issues in South Asia - C. Rammanohar Reddy, Deputy Editor, The Hindu, Chennai, India; Corruption and the Challenges to Good Governance in South Asia - Mushtaq Khan, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, United Kingdom; Environmental Issues in South Asia - Gouranga Dasvarma, Senior Lecturer and Director, Graduate Program in Population and Human Resources and Master of Environmental Management Program, School of Geography, Population and Environmental Management, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia; Current Security Issues - Rohan Gunaratna, Associate Professor, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technical University, Singapore; Religions in South Asia - Geoffrey Parrinder, Emeritus Professor of the Comparative Study of Religions, University of London, United Kingdom. Country Surveys * Detailed coverage of the eight countries of South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka * Up-to-date statistical surveys including the latest available figures on population and area, agriculture, industry, trade, transport, communications, media and education * A directory section of essential contact names, postal addresses and e-mail and internet addresses. Regional Information * A biographical section profiling prominent figures in the South Asian region * Directory details of research institutes studying the area and a select book and periodicals bibliography.

The latest addition to Europa's highly praised and valued "Regional Surveys of the World" series, "South Asia 2005" provides an in-depth library of information on the countries and territories of the region.
Exhaustively researched by Europa's experienced editorial team, this title includes a vast range of up-to-date economic, political and statistical data. Combining impartial analysis with facts and figures, "South Asia 2005" provides a unique overall perspective on this increasingly important region.
The book is divided into three sections:
A General Survey
* This contains introductory essays by key specialists providing impartial coverage of issues of regional importance including security and religion. Essays include: "Globalization and Human Development Issues in South Asia "- C. Rammanohar Reddy, Deputy Editor, The Hindu, Chennai, India; "Corruption and the Challenges to Good Governance in South Asia "- Mushtaq Khan, Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies, London, United Kingdom; "Environmental Issues in South Asia "- Gouranga Dasvarma, Senior Lecturer and Director, Graduate Program in Population and Human Resources and Master of Environmental Management Program, School of Geography, Population and Environmental Management, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia; "Current Security Issues "- Rohan Gunaratna, Associate Professor, Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies, Nanyang Technical University, Singapore; "Religions in South Asia "- Geoffrey Parrinder, Emeritus Professor of the Comparative Study of Religions, University of London, United Kingdom
Country Surveys
* Detailed coverage of the eight countriesof South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
* Up-to-date statistical surveys including the latest available figures on population and area, agriculture, industry, trade, transport, communications, media and education
* A directory section of essential contact names, postal addresses and e-mail and internet addresses
Regional Information
* A biographical section profiling prominent figures in the South Asian region
* Directory details of research institutes studying the area and a select book and periodicals bibliography

This book presents the Recommender System for Improving Customer Loyalty. New and innovative products have begun appearing from a wide variety of countries, which has increased the need to improve the customer experience. When a customer spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on a piece of equipment, keeping it running efficiently is critical to achieving the desired return on investment. Moreover, managers have discovered that delivering a better customer experience pays off in a number of ways. A study of publicly traded companies conducted by Watermark Consulting found that from 2007 to 2013, companies with a better customer service generated a total return to shareholders that was 26 points higher than the S&P 500. This is only one of many studies that illustrate the measurable value of providing a better service experience. The Recommender System presented here addresses several important issues. (1) It provides a decision framework to help managers determine which actions are likely to have the greatest impact on the Net Promoter Score. (2) The results are based on multiple clients. The data mining techniques employed in the Recommender System allow users to "learn" from the experiences of others, without sharing proprietary information. This dramatically enhances the power of the system. (3) It supplements traditional text mining options. Text mining can be used to identify the frequency with which topics are mentioned, and the sentiment associated with a given topic. The Recommender System allows users to view specific, anonymous comments associated with actual customers. Studying these comments can provide highly accurate insights into the steps that can be taken to improve the customer experience. (4) Lastly, the system provides a sensitivity analysis feature. In some cases, certain actions can be more easily implemented than others. The Recommender System allows managers to "weigh" these actions and determine which ones would have a greater impact.

This book presents the Recommender System for Improving Customer Loyalty. New and innovative products have begun appearing from a wide variety of countries, which has increased the need to improve the customer experience. When a customer spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on a piece of equipment, keeping it running efficiently is critical to achieving the desired return on investment. Moreover, managers have discovered that delivering a better customer experience pays off in a number of ways. A study of publicly traded companies conducted by Watermark Consulting found that from 2007 to 2013, companies with a better customer service generated a total return to shareholders that was 26 points higher than the S&P 500. This is only one of many studies that illustrate the measurable value of providing a better service experience. The Recommender System presented here addresses several important issues. (1) It provides a decision framework to help managers determine which actions are likely to have the greatest impact on the Net Promoter Score. (2) The results are based on multiple clients. The data mining techniques employed in the Recommender System allow users to "learn" from the experiences of others, without sharing proprietary information. This dramatically enhances the power of the system. (3) It supplements traditional text mining options. Text mining can be used to identify the frequency with which topics are mentioned, and the sentiment associated with a given topic. The Recommender System allows users to view specific, anonymous comments associated with actual customers. Studying these comments can provide highly accurate insights into the steps that can be taken to improve the customer experience. (4) Lastly, the system provides a sensitivity analysis feature. In some cases, certain actions can be more easily implemented than others. The Recommender System allows managers to "weigh" these actions and determine which ones would have a greater impact.

"We have run the appropriate calculations. You will survive for three weeks, two days, and seventeen hours..." Supervillains crave power above all else, but something stands between them and their ultimate goal. That something is someone - an insignificant reporter-turned-police consultant named Floyd. For months they ignored him, dismissed him, and generally pretended he didn't exist. But now they're through playing games, and they've banded together to eliminate him. Floyd wakes up alone, in the dark, with no memory of what has happened. As he tries to explore his surroundings he quickly discovers that he isn't alone as he first thought. A malevolent presence is toying with him; altering his thoughts, emotions, and will. As the rules of the game become clear Floyd realizes that, win or lose, he's going to die...

A passionate and unrepentant memoir of illicit and adulterous love in 1970s Berkeley. Lynn Danielle -a dancer, a poet, an artist, a lifelong student of existentialism, a single mother grieving for displaced sons, attempts to revive her optimism against all logic, by following, "Peculiar travel suggestions" (As suggested by Kurt Vonnegut in Cat's Cradle). Inspired by her studies in the Classics library at UC Berkeley Lynn takes up the time-honored tradition of renewing her virginity in the sea, a nearly forgotten ritual established by Aphrodite on the island of Cypress in the Mediterranean. She meets the drummer whose beats take possession of her feet; he is the artist who sculpts life as well as wood. Joe is real, the quintessential Ares, a disciple of experience. Lynn is real. Her daughter Marika is more capricious than Puck. The poets are real. For their own amusement it seems that the classic gods of the Greek Pantheon have, unbeknownst to anyone, possessed a group of San Francisco Bay Area poets and their interventions further the plot. Lynn's world turns upside down. What kind of feet does she land on? Are they His or are they Hers? This book is a fictitiously honest exploration of real life magic and a totally honest journal of Victorian home restoration. Existentialism? Garden-variety madness? Who is in control?

Despite adopting the title of "Defender" and giving his life on an almost daily basis to save complete strangers, Floyd still doesn't believe in heroes. And after breaking up with the woman who saved his life twice, he's not even sure he believes in love anymore. Into the midst of this uncertainty steps a man who defies Floyd's way of life-Brandon Reece, also known as the superhero Blue Shadow. Brandon has everything Floyd does not-courage, honor, graciousness, and a heavy dose of stupidity. He is a thorough and competent fighter, although his idealism prevents him from being very effective. Despite constantly ridiculing him, Floyd eventually admits to a grudging respect for the vigilante, but his warnings against heroism come true-and Brandon must choose between his honor and the life of his beloved.

In a world without superheroes, who will fight against the forces of evil? The supervillain outbreak has begun. Reports are trickling in from all over the world of havoc and mayhem being wreaked by evil masterminds and villains. In the midst of this world-wide phenomena, however, London is strangely calm and peaceful. Not a single supervillain has made an appearance. For most Londoners this is very good news, but for the editor of a tabloid paper specializing in the strange and unusual it's very bad news indeed. Reporter Jeffry Floyd is assigned the task of finding a supervillain "or else." He appeals to Scotland Yard for help, but his incessant poking at shadows gets him banned from the case, until one sergeant realizes that both Floyd and his "investigation" are more than they seem...

Welcome to the end of the world, where paperwork accumulates like snowdrifts and supervillains run unchecked through the streets. Where London is under the rule of a mysterious coalition, and the only person who has any clue what's going on is a cowardly wannabe-supervillain nerd. Welcome to a world without Jeffry Lewis Floyd. Joseph Adams never says his name. The self-styled Defender of the Earth died saving the policeman's life, and that mistake can never be rectified. Adams neglects his duty as a police officer, and even when threatened with losing his job he is only interested in pursuing supervillains who vanish like vapor whenever he gets close. Then everything changes with the rumor that Floyd might still be alive...

A string of murders leads Inspector McCormick of Scotland Yard to believe that a serial killer is loose in London. Only a few facts remain to be cleared up; such as how the murderer is getting to his victims, and how to catch him. But when their lead suspect turns out to be the harmless-but-eccentric reporter, Jeffry Floyd, an unlikely alliance is formed. Floyd reveals that the supervillains are also being picked off one at a time, and he intends to find out who is responsible. But matters are complicated when Sergeant Adams' sister comes to town. Kate Adams is nothing at all like her brother, and manages to get thoroughly mixed up in the double murder investigation, the supervillain underworld, and--unexpectedly--the life of Jeffry Floyd.

Floyd's escapades are always getting him into trouble. But he never cares until they get someone else into trouble-someone he relies on too much to risk offending. Sergeant Adams has been suspended from his duties pending a hearing regarding some papers he was supposed to be safeguarding-papers a supervillain stole on Floyd's watch. Floyd vows to get them back, but Adams declines his assistance. Floyd never did know how to take a hint, and devises an elaborate scheme to trick Adams into coming with him. Their investigation takes them to the United States of America where they are shot out of the sky, branded as vigilantes, and meet an old farmer who offers to take them to the the town where the first supervillains appeared...

Joe Sugayan--a sculptor and drummer meets Lynn Danielle-a dancer, a poet, an artist, a lifelong student of existentialism, a single mother grieving for displaced sons, at a time in her life when she is attempting to revive her whimsically invented heroine, Pollyanna Pangloss, (think optimisn on steroids) by dancing on Bokonon's highway of "Peculiar travel suggestions." In reality Lynn takes up the time-honored tradition of renewing her virginity in the sea, a nearly forgotten ritual established by Aphrodite. When she meets the drummer his beats take possession of her feet and her heart; he is an artist who sculpts life as well as wood. Joe is real, the quintessential Ares, a disciple of experience. Lynn is real. Her daughter Marika is more capricious than Puck. The poets are real. For their own amusement the classic cast of the Pantheon have, unbeknownst to anyone, possessed a group of San Francisco Bay Area poets and their interventions further the plot. Lynn's world turns upside down. What kind of feet does she land on? Are they His or are they Hers? This book is a fictitiously honest exploration of real life magic and a totally honest journal of Victorian home restoration. Existentialism? Garden-variety madness? Who is in control?

The world has been overrun by supervillains and the only thing that stands between humanity and destruction is an alien reporter-turned-supervillain hunter--Jeffry Lewis Floyd. The last thing in the galaxy Floyd wants is to be a hero, but even the villains seem intent on making him into one. A human torch boasts that he will cause the Second Great Fire of London. Every day he turns more of the city into smouldering ruins, and nothing can be done to stop him. Will a hero be found in time, or will London be consumed by fire and Ashes?

The Tale of Pirate Shishkabob is a delightful picture book that tells of the adventures of some very hungry pirates. Illustrated in vivid colored pencils, it even includes a recipe in the back so that you can make your own Piratey Shishkabobs when you've finished the story.

A systematic survey of all the countries of East Asia, South Asia, South-East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands * Essential for anyone with a professional interest in the region * keeps up-to-date with current economic and political developments * presents over 1,400 pages of statistics, directory material and expert analysis.