This is an original investigation of how movies have reflected and helped to shape the values of a generation. From All the President's Men to Wall Street, US films of the 1970s and 80s were a kaleidoscope of shifting values and contrasting moral viewpoints. Knowing that movies mirror the way we think we are - or would like to be - O'Brien focuses on the key values (or their absence) found in films from this period in order to see more clearly what Americans really cherished in life, and how these values have evolved or changed. Comprehensive and thought provoking, this book addresses how and why movies glamorized and portrayed certain professions; the changing role of women; the targeting of religion for satire; the addressing of environmental issues and film's representation of and engagement with history.

Pundits, politicians, and business leaders continually make claims for what standardized tests can do, and those claims go largely unchallenged because they are in line with popular assumptions about what these tests can do, what the scores mean, and the psychology of human motivation. But what most of what these opinion leaders say-and the public believes-about standardized testing just isn't so. However, few members of the general public, not even concerned parents, have the time or the background to keep up with the latest findings of testing experts, psychometricians, and researchers. That's where The Myths of Standardized Tests comes in. In simple, accessible language, Harris, Smith, and Harris spell out the assumptions underlying standardized tests and point out what's true about them and what's just plain mythical. But they not only debunk common assumptions; they propose better ways to judge the success of our schools. They also offer readers suggestions for ways they can help reduce the burden of tests on their children. Appendixes offer readers contact information and suggestions for actions they can take to become part of the solution to the problem of overusing and misusing standardized tests.

Presents the Therapeutic Potential for Caspase Inhibitors: Present and Future Caspases represent one of the most specific protease families described to date. These extremely important enzymes are crucial to the destruction of aberrant cells - the body's self-protection mechanism for warding off the growth of abnormal cells, many of which can promote cancer. Design of Caspase Inhibitors as Potential Clinical Agents introduces cutting-edge evidence regarding caspases' role in pro-inflammatory responses. New research now shows that the inhibition of caspase function is a critical component for the treatment of many diseases, including: Arthritic and neurological disorders Lung disease Hereditary fever syndromes Inflammatory bowel and skin diseases Sepsis Liver fibrosis Outlines Efforts to Develop Molecule Inhibitors for Caspase Activity Transformation Under the editorial guidance of authoritative inflammatory disease, small molecule discovery, and apoptosis researchers, the book organizes the wide array of caspase literature into one convenient resource. It also summarizes the relative difficulty of transitioning a caspase small molecule inhibitor from the lab to the clinic and suggests approaches to circumvent this difficulty. Taking a novel, yet core approach to disease treatment, this seminal work sets the stage to combat a slew of debilitating diseases through groundbreaking drug development.

A story of paradoxes of morality and behaviour, Cassidy's Cross gives a kaleidoscope view of the fictional area of Doonbay in 1960's County Waterford. The picture is fractured and tangled, with petty crime, affairs, illicit pregnancy, rape and murder among the happenings. Set against the backdrop of a spent copper-mining area, the story unfolds to reveal a hotbed of secrets. The school, church, quarry and the village pub are all focal points of interest, with a bit of cross-roads dancing and a donkey derby thrown in for good measure. Two brothers are the key characters; James 'Ringyboy' Ring, and the older tearaway Johnny who is home from holiday in London. James uncovers a letter which literally has an explosive effect on the citizens. The not so good citizens of Cassidy's Cross

QUEENIE...MONEY FROM AMERICA...JOHNJO... 3 plays set in the shadows of the Comeragh Mountains. QUEENIE is a woman who has spent much of her life in mental institutions and has now been released back into the community. She possesses second-sight, frightening psychic powers, which in the past have seen many in the locality label her a witch. MONEY FROM AMERICA tells the tale of two brothers and a farm. Lardy has spent all of his life eking out an existence in the family hill-farm - now brother Jack is back from America to claim his rightful inheritance, which he plans to sell. JOHNJO is the story of a man on the run from rural Ireland, and his struggle to survive amongst the chaos of war-torn England. How long can he stay in the shadows?

QUEENIE....is the story of Victoria Dwan (Queenie), who has been institutionalised since an early age. Most of her life has been spent at the mental institution called St Josephs, although in later years she has been living there as a voluntary patient. Now, St Joseph's is coming down and Queenie has been "released" into the community at large. Her first port of call is to revival of the open-air stage-dancing at Granagh Cross, which she remembers from her youth. Her visit brings back to her memories of the tragic events which caused her to lose her sanity - and very nearly her life. Not always able to separate present-day reality from the past, Queenie also possesses second-sight - frightening psychic powers, which, in the past had seen many in the neighbourhood label her a witch.

A book of quirky short stories about life in modern Ireland - mostly from those who have left its shores and who are no longer sure where 'home' is.

Terry, Chris and Larry are three Irish friends in the London of the 1960's with little in common except their liking for 'dishonest work'. Chris is a pickpocket in the West End; the time of the first race determines what time Larry gets out of bed; Terry's aversion to manual labour is so strong that he says 'I'd rather starve than work on the fucking buildings'. Then there is Bannaher, the big man, the 'subby', who is publicising his new pub venture by having a friend of theirs temporarily buried alive in the pub's back garden. 'A charity lie-in', he calls it. Into this mix comes Tessa, blonde, English and 'out to screw the world before it screws me'. Before she is finished all their lives have changed irrevocably. It's a tale of greed and deception that trawls the pubs and building sites of Kilburn and Cricklewood, and the mean street of Limerick.