The colonists who settled the backcountry in eighteenth-century New England were recruited from the social fringe, people who were desperate for land, autonomy, and respectability and who were willing to make a hard living in a rugged environment. Mark Williams' microhistorical approach gives voice to the settlers, proprietors, and officials of the small colonial settlements that became Granby, Connecticut, and Ashfield, Massachusetts. These people--often disrespectful, disorderly, presumptuous, insistent, and defiant--were drawn to the ideology of the Revolution in the 1760s and 1770s that stressed equality, independence, and property rights. The backcountry settlers pushed the emerging nation's political culture in a more radical direction than many of their leaders or the Founding Fathers preferred and helped put a democratic imprint on the new nation. This accessibly written book will resonate with all those interested in the social and political relationships of early America.

Have you ever wondered what a guide dog does? How do they know to lead a blind owner? Can they understand traffic lights? Most importantly, how does the owner know where to pick up the poop? This memoir answers these questions-and more. It tells what guide dogs are supposed to do. They're smart, loyal and well-trained-but not all dogs are created alike. Musket is proof of that. He's definitely got a thing for treats and belly rubs. For the first time, the dog has his say. "(Of course he needed a little help with the typing, since he doesn't have opposable thumbs. That's where author Mark Carlson came in. Still, Musket is the brains of the outfit.)" Mark and Musket tell their story with humor, emotion, and Musket's occasional contradictions. And at the end of the day, Musket somehow manages to be a great guide dog too. "Confessions of a Guide Dog" was written so a wonderful, devoted dog could reach out to those who haven't been lucky enough to meet him. He'll make you smile, laugh, cry, and want to give him treats. This is their story. "(And they're sticking to it.)"

This volume contains the proceedings of the Second International DMTF Ac- emic Alliance Workshopon Systems and Virtualization Management:Standards and New Technologies (SVM 2008) held in Munich, Germany, during October 21-22, 2008. The SVM 2008 proceedings are intended for use by students of systems and virtualization management. The reader is presumed to have a basic knowledge of systems management technologies and standards at the level provided, for example, the Common Information Model (CIM) standard for modeling m- agement resources. The student of systems management will ?nd here material that could be included in anadvanced study program.These proceedings should furthermoreallowstudents to acquireanappreciationofthe breadthandvariety of systems and virtualization management research. The proceedings also illuminate related standards and research issues, - swering questions such as:what are the implications of virtualizationfor distr- uted systems management, which advances in information models and protocols aidinmanagingvirtualization,whatnewproblemswillweincur whenmanaging virtualized systems and services, and how might management itself bene?t from virtualization? Topics related to managing distributed systems, virtualization of distributed resources/servicesand workin management standardizationare also highlighted. There were 15 regular paper submissions. These went through an active - view process, with each submission reviewed by at least three members of the Program Committee. We also sought external reviews from experts in certain areas. All these inputs were used by the ProgramCommittee in selecting a ?nal program with 13 regular papers.

There are two competing theories explaining bank panics. One argues that panics are driven by real shocks, asymmetric information, and concerns about insolvency. The other theory argues that bank runs are self-fulfilling, driven by illiquidity and the beliefs of depositors. This paper tests predictions of these two theories using information uniquely available for the Crisis of 1893. The results suggest that real economic shocks were important determinants of the location of panics at the national level, however at the local level, both insolvency and illiquidity were important as triggers of bank panics.

It is often argued that branching stabilizes banking systems by facilitating diversification of bank portfolios; however, previous empirical research on the Great Depression offers mixed support for this view. Analyses using state-level data find that states allowing branch banking had lower failure rates, while those examining individual banks find that branch banks were more likely to fail. We argue that an alternative hypothesis can reconcile these seemingly disparate findings. Using data on national banks from the 1920s and 1930s, we show that branch banking increases competition and forces weak banks to exit the banking system. This consolidation strengthens the system as a whole without necessarily strengthening the branch banks themselves. Our empirical results suggest that the effects that branching had on competition were quantitatively more important than geographical diversification for bank stability in the 1920s and 1930s.

The 1987 stock market crash was a major systemic shock. Not only did the prices of many financial assets tumble, but market functioning was severely impaired. This paper reviews the events surrounding the crash and discusses the response of the Federal Reserve, which responded in a number of ways to support the operation of financial markets, including the provision of liquidity, in a highly visible fashion.

Have you ever wondered what a guide dog does?
How do they know to lead a blind owner?
Can they understand traffic lights?
Most importantly, how does the owner know where to pick up the poop?

This memoir answers these questions and more. It tells what guide dogs are supposed to do. They re smart, loyal and well-trained but not all dogs are created alike. Musket is proof of that. He s definitely got a thing for treats and belly rubs.

For the first time, the dog has his say.

"(Of course he needed a little help with the typing, since he doesn t have opposable thumbs. That s where author Mark Carlson came in. Still, Musket is the brains of the outfit.)"

Mark and Musket tell their story with humor, emotion, and Musket s occasional contradictions. And at the end of the day, Musket somehow manages to be a great guide dog too.

"Confessions of a Guide Dog" was written so a wonderful, devoted dog could reach out to those who haven t been lucky enough to meet him. He ll make you smile, laugh, cry, and want to give him treats.

This is their story.

"(And they re sticking to it.)"