San Miguel, a city located in central Mexico, is steeped in history; it is the place where the Mexican war for independence from Spain started in 1810. Today, San Miguel retains old-world charm as many of its elegant buildings have been preserved; the city is practically a museum of Spanish and Mexican history and architecture. This unique book displays over 350 color photographs and leads a tour of San Miguel's indoor living at its finest. Pass into open courtyards, interior patios, and extraordinary homes through doors that are closed to the average visitor. Fifteen chapters illustrate its charming doors, living rooms, kitchens, dining rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, stairways, furniture, lighting, art, and talavera ceramics---all with intense color that pervades the senses. Be inspired to include Mexican details into your next building project.

Mexico's contemporary architecture was inspired by the vision of Luis Barragan, one of Mexico's most influential 20th century architects. This unique book showcases the original work of 26 contemporary Mexican architects, with a wide variety of impressive architectural designs. Containing over 370 full color photos and architectural plans, it takes readers into a world of creativity and beauty, a world whose roots go back centuries. These same architects succeed in creating their own version of modernism, imbuing it with the warmth and vibrancy of their native Mexico, featuring clean lines and raw color combinations. Yet their work is infused with a modern ingenuity all their own. Each architect's work is featured in a dedicated chapter showing one of their recent projects. Today's Mexican architects, both young and old, bring a new level of creativity to Mexico's architectural tradition.

In many towns throughout Mexico, houses still retain blank exteriors facing the street, some with an occasional window. However, beyond these canyon-forming walls, one is exposed to interiors alive with rainbows of color. The front of the house may be one story, but once inside the entrance, a visitor might be exposed to two or more stories, probably with a rooftop terrace and a fantastic view of a downtown skyline. The architecture of the houses reflects eras when Mexico was at peaks in its history and when some buildings were extravagant homes built by famous families. Now they may be occupied by commercial or public venues, but their details reflect the rich quality of architecture that has not diminished with time. Over 240 color photographs present fascinating doors, interior rooms, stairways, fireplaces, lighting, ceilings, floors, and plenty of details that can inspire today's homeowners, architects, and decorators who seek to live with authentic Mexican character.

This book analyzes reliable evidence to tell the true story of student debt in America. One of the nation's foremost experts on college finance, Sandy Baum exposes how misleading the widely accepted narrative on student debt is. Baum combines data, research, and analysis to show how the current discourse obscures serious problems, risks misdirecting taxpayer dollars, and could deprive too many Americans of the educational opportunities they deserve. This book and its policy recommendations provide the basis for a new and more constructive national agenda to make paying for college more manageable.

This unique book of over 325 full color photographs takes you into a little-known world of magic, mystery, and color, behind the walls of some of the most exclusive living areas in Mexico. Here you can see what typical visitors are forbidden; a world created by each of the homeowners. As an invited guest, you will witness the ingenuity of Mexican workers with a bent for the exotic, as no two gardens are alike. The variety and creative effort highlights the richness of Mexican architecture that has not diminished with time. Take a trip to Mexicos private gardens and patios through seventeen chapters that illustrate outdoor living and dining rooms, rooftop terraces and shelters, garden walks and sculpture, outdoor fireplaces, and gardens, all in colors of the rainbow. Be inspired to include a Mexican environment into your next outdoor project.

San Miguel de Allende, a city located in central Mexico, is steeped in history and old world charm. Many of its elegant buildings have been preserved and it is practically a museum of Spanish and Mexican history and architecture. This unique book displays over 325 color photographs and leads a tour of San Miguel's outdoor living at its finest. Pass through massive gates into open courtyards, exposed rooftop patios, and extraordinary homes that are closed to the average visitor. Fifteen chapters illustrate its charming facades, gates, patios, gardens, fountains, columns, pools, cantera, windows, walls, cupolas, wrought iron, street graphics, construction... all with intense color that pervades the senses. Be inspired to include Mexican details in your next building project.

See beautiful hammered copper vessels made long ago and today at Santa Clara del Cobre, Mexico, a small town in the southwest state of Michoacan. From nothing more than a chunk of copper or sheet metal, artists here have spent centuries creating both useful and decorative copper items, with specially made hand tools and machinery. The richness of the work has undergone a marked improvement in design, materials, and finish during the second half of the twentieth century. Hundreds of copper items from the Museo Nacional de Cobre illustrate the art's evolution. 393 colorful photographs, an historical perspective, list and introductions to 540 copper artists, and detailed descriptions combine in this impressive reference. Be inspired to visit Mexico's Michoacan state and Santa Clara del Cobre, to meet the artists in their workshops.

Practical solutions for improving higher education opportunities for disadvantaged students Too many disadvantaged college students in America do not complete their coursework with any college credential, while others earn degrees or certificates with little labor market value. Large numbers of these students also struggle to pay for college, and some incur debts that they have difficulty repaying. The authors provide a new review of the causes of these problems and promising policy solutions. These circumstances stem both from problems on the individual side, such as weak academic preparation and financial pressures, and from institutional failures. Low-income students disproportionately attend schools that are underfunded and have weak performance incentives, contributing to unsatisfactory outcomes for many students. Some solutions, including better financial aid or academic supports, target individual students. Other solutions, such as stronger linkages between coursework and the labor market and more structured paths through the curriculum, aim at institutional reforms. All students, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, also need better and varied pathways both to college and directly to the job market, beginning in high school. We can improve college outcomes, but must also acknowledge that we must make hard choices and face difficult tradeoffs in the process. While no single policy is guaranteed to greatly improve college and career outcomes, implementing a number of evidence-based policies and programs together has the potential to improve these outcomes substantially.

William Spratling was a U.S. educator whose artistic impact caused a successful silver jewelry industry to arise in Taxco, Mexico, in the 1940s. This book examines Spratling's Mexican work and explores how his talent attracted the attention of the U.S. Interior Department. In 1945, he was invited to create a similar program for Alaska, where it was felt that the indigenous people needed to be encouraged for their own artistic expression and economic gain. Thirty never-before-seen Alaskan models, lost for over 50 years, have been found and now are preserved at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian. These and original designs for the project, made in 1949, are presented here along with Spratling's original 1945 report to the Arts and Crafts Board. Also featured are Spratling's designs that inspired a new company's formation to carry on his legacy at Taxco. Clearly, innovation in designs and inspiration for generations of new artists have risen from Spratling's work.

Each year, many students with affordable college options and the academic skills needed to succeed do not enroll at all, enroll at institutions where they are not well-positioned for success, or drop out of college before earning a credential. Efforts to address these challenges have included changes in financial aid policy, increased availability of information, and enhanced academic support. This volume argues that the efficacy of these strategies can be improved by taking account of contemporary research on how students make choices. In Decision Making for Student Success, scholars from the fields of behavioral economics, education, and public policy explore contemporary research on decision-making and highlight behavioral insights that can improve postsecondary access and success. This exciting volume will provide scholars, researchers, and higher education administrators with valuable perspectives and low-cost strategies that they can employ to improve outcomes for underserved populations.

An invaluable primer on the role economic reasoning plays in campus debate and decision making Campus Economics provides college and university administrators, trustees, and faculty with an essential understanding of how college finances actually work. Sandy Baum and Michael McPherson explain the concepts needed to analyze the pros, the cons, and the trade-offs of difficult decisions, and offer a common language for discussing the many challenges confronting institutions of higher learning today, from COVID-19 to funding cuts and declining enrollments. Emphasizing the unique characteristics of the academic enterprise and the primacy of the institutional mission, Baum and McPherson use economic concepts such as opportunity cost and decisions at the margin to facilitate conversations about how best to ensure an institution's ongoing success. The problems facing higher education are more urgent than ever before, but the underlying issues are the same in good times and bad. Baum and McPherson give nontechnical, user-friendly guidance for navigating all kinds of economic conditions and draw on real-world examples of campus issues to illustrate both institutional constraints and untapped opportunities. Campus Economics helps faculty, administrators, trustees, and government policymakers engage in constructive dialogue that can lead to decisions that align finite resources with the pursuit of the institutional mission.

Each year, many students with affordable college options and the academic skills needed to succeed do not enroll at all, enroll at institutions where they are not well-positioned for success, or drop out of college before earning a credential. Efforts to address these challenges have included changes in financial aid policy, increased availability of information, and enhanced academic support. This volume argues that the efficacy of these strategies can be improved by taking account of contemporary research on how students make choices. In Decision Making for Student Success, scholars from the fields of behavioral economics, education, and public policy explore contemporary research on decision-making and highlight behavioral insights that can improve postsecondary access and success. This exciting volume will provide scholars, researchers, and higher education administrators with valuable perspectives and low-cost strategies that they can employ to improve outcomes for underserved populations.

Why higher education is not a silver bullet for eradicating economic inequality and social injustice We often think that a college degree will open doors to opportunity regardless of one's background or upbringing. In this eye-opening book, two of today's leading economists argue that higher education alone cannot overcome the lasting effects of inequality that continue to plague us, and offer sensible solutions for building a more just and equitable society. Sandy Baum and Michael McPherson document the starkly different educational and social environments in which children of different races and economic backgrounds grow up, and explain why social equity requires sustained efforts to provide the broadest possible access to high-quality early childhood and K-12 education. They dismiss panaceas like eliminating college tuition and replacing the classroom experience with online education, revealing why they fail to provide better education for those who need it most, and discuss how wages in our dysfunctional labor market are sharply skewed toward the highly educated. Baum and McPherson argue that greater investment in the postsecondary institutions that educate most low-income and marginalized students will have a bigger impact than just getting more students from these backgrounds into the most prestigious colleges and universities. While the need for reform extends far beyond our colleges and universities, there is much that both academic and government leaders can do to mitigate the worst consequences of America's deeply seated inequalities. This book shows how we can address the root causes of social injustice and level the playing field for students and families before, during, and after college.