Book Description
The 2003 International Building Code addresses the design and installation of building systems through requirements that emphasize performance. Fully compatible with all the International Codes, the 2003 edition provides up-to-date, comprehensive coverage that establishes minimum regulations for building systems using prescriptive- and performance-related provisions. Content is founded on broad-based principles that make possible the use of materials and building designs. Structural as well as fire- and life-safety provisions covering seismic, wind, accessibility, egress, occupancy, roofs, and more are included.
Customer Reviews:
international building code 2003 3 ring binder.......2007-03-16
book arrived on time in great condition, better than i expected. I was a little concerned about buying on line but this was worth it no dought!! great investment for my small business, Arctic Aloha Drafting, Thank you.
The IBC more than just another building code.......2006-03-22
The IBC is the long-time-coming consolidation of the three major building codes in the US and there is nothing "international" about it. Back in the 70's the 3 code organizations formed BOCA and put out a 1 & 2 family dwelling code. The 3 members them gradually made changes to the individual building codes that brought them into similar formats, then they combined them into one code in 2000, the IBC, and modified the dwelling code to be the IRC (Int. Residential Code)and changed the organization's name to the ICC, the Int. Code Council. There little to review about the content since it is either the law in your area or it is not. For comparisons to previous codes and other information try the ICC's website http://www.iccsafe.org/
A Strucural Engineer's Necessity.......2005-09-06
It is pretty difficult to review a specification that you must have.
49 states are now adopting this Code.......2003-09-07
Better learn this code. Local codes are being swept away by one standard. Here is Colorado each town had its own test, amendments and licensing system. California is the only state, having revamped its code 2 years ago, to keep its system.
I finish basements, often for homeowners who think they can do it. From Loveland, I can work any city without irate inspectors wondering why I don't know their specific requirements. Good book.
Book Description
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW AND IT'S ENVIRONMENT, 4th Edition employs a comparative approach that emphasizes private law and facilitates effective managerial decision-making. The authors balance the legal challenges of doing business in developing and non-market-economy countries with the economic and political issues that commonly arise.
Customer Reviews:
It is an excellent book for international lawyers.......1998-09-29
This book contains a concise explanation of every day problems regarding foreign transactions, together with an explanation of the Common law system specially in United States, this book concentrates pertinent cases for each of the subjects explained in it.
Book Description
Wouldn't you love to abolish the IRS. . . .
Keep all the money in your paycheck. . . .
Pay taxes on what you spend, not what you earn. . . .
And eliminate all the fraud, hassle, and waste of our current system?
If so, the FairTax is for you!
A smash #1 New York Times bestseller from the moment it went on sale, The FairTax Book launched a massive grassroots movement across the country with its dramatic call to rid Americans of the punishing burden of income tax. Talk-radio firebrand Neal Boortz and Congressman John Linder are leading the charge to replace the current tax system with the FairTax -- a simple 23 percent retail sales tax on new goods and services that would eliminate the reviled IRS and replace it with a system that's fair to all -- while jump-starting the U.S. economy, bringing businesses and jobs back to our shores, and recapturing billions of untaxed dollars currently lost to criminal and offshore businesses. Americans would get to keep 100 percent of their hard-earned paycheck . . . and April 15 would become just another beautiful spring day.
Endorsed by scores of leading economists -- and gaining momentum in both the House and the Senate -- the FairTax Plan could revolutionize the way America pays for itself. Here -- revised and updated, with a new afterword by the authors -- is the straight-talking book that started it all.
Download Description
"
Wouldn't you love to abolish the IRS ...
Keep all the money in your paycheck ...
Pay taxes on what you spend, not what you earn ...
And eliminate all the fraud, hassle, and waste of our current system?
Then the FairTax is for you. In the face of the outlandish American tax burden, talk-radio firebrand
Neal Boortz and Congressman
John Linder are leading the charge to phase out our current, unfair system and enact the FairTax Plan, replacing the federal income tax and withholding system with a simple 23 percent retail sales tax on new goods and services. This dramatic revision of the current system, which would eliminate the reviled IRS, has already caught fire in the American heartland, with more than six hundred thousand taxpayers signing on in support of the plan.
As Boortz and Linder reveal in this first book on the FairTax, this radical but eminently sensible plan would end the annual national nightmare of filing income tax returns, while at the same time enlarging the federal tax base by collecting sales tax from every retail consumer in the country. The FairTax, they argue, would transform the fearsome bureaucracy of the IRS into a more transparent, accountable, and equitable tax collection system. Among other benefits, it will:
- Make America's tax code truly voluntary, without reducing revenue
- Replace today's indecipherable tax code with one simple sales tax
- Protect lower-income Americans by covering the tax on basic necessities
- Eliminate billions of dollars in embedded taxes we don't even know we're paying
- Bring offshore corporate dollars back into the U.S. economy
Endorsed by scores of leading economists and supported by a huge and growing grassroots movement, the FairTax Plan could revolutionize the way America pays for itself. In this straight-talking book,
Neal Boortz and
John Linder show you how it would work -- and how you can help make it happen.
"
Customer Reviews:
More for the rich.......2007-10-17
"THOSE WHO CHOSE PARENTS WISELY MAY TAKE CREDIT FOR SUCCESS; OTHERWISE, IT'S ALL FORTUNE."wlf
The FAIR TAX is another method used to further enrich the wealthy and change OUR GOVERNMENT INTO AN ARISTOCRACY.
If a family is bringing in millions of dollars and purchases only necessities, its Power (money) grows rapidly. After it accumulates a large amount (money) it can purchase vast capital (machinery, land, buildings) at once and have true Power over many people. That is an oligarchy (the conservatives are working to attain it and dismantle the New Deal), which can turn into an aristocracy. Inheritance to those who do not deserve such largesse promulgates that dangerous threat to our form of government. As clearly shown by George W Bush, inheritors can wreak terrible damage on this country.
Progressive taxation, instituted by judicious leaders, has a prime purpose of keeping the WEALTH GAP at a reasonable level to prevent revolution by those unable to take part in our country's bonanza. That developing bloodbath today is obvious in our criminal class, which, due to most citizens' greed and selfishness, lives the only way it knows how, as predators.
If you want a country of SERFS AND MASTERS, then work for the `Fair Tax.' It will arrive quickly unless a vigorous progressive tax is resumed to slow the flow of too much wealth to the already affluent.
For everyone.......2007-10-06
Yes, it's a book on economics and taxes, but Mr. Boortz helps to make it an entertaining and easily understood book. While it pretty much explains the theory of the fair tax in full and is a great place to start, it's a good idea to do your own research into the fair tax, studying the pros and cons. Just be sure that you understand the basics, or else you may get confused by anti-fair tax information that gets an idea wrong or blatantly lies...
The Cure for a Disease Known as Income Taxes.......2007-10-03
In this book, Boortz and Linder discuss the abolishment of the income tax. Under this system, wages would not be taxed at all. As an alternative to raise revenue for the government, they propose a national sales tax. The goal is revenue neutral so that same amount of revenue would be collected to run the government.
This would allow the individual to choose when they paid tax. So those who save and invest money rather than spending all of it, would come out much better.
The proposed sales tax rate would be around 23%. While this may sound high, one should keep in mind that no tax would have been withheld from his or her paycheck. For example, say that the average household income for America which is approximately $40,000 a year were not taxed. This would mean the Joneses get to take home all $40,000 of that hard earned income. As it stands today, they are probably only taking home around $32,000 assuming a 20% income tax rate and not considering state, Social Security, or Medicare taxes.
As a component of the national sales tax, they propose that a certain poverty level determination of say $10,000 which would be considered the bare minimum for a person to survive on and each person would receive a "prebate" of $2,300 per year paid in monthly installments. This would significantly help those on the low end of the income spectrum and actually result in additional money to spend on essentials such as food, clothing, and housing. It would also avoid the potential disparities which could occur with a food exemption if the wealthy purchased steak and lobster or other such expensive food items.
Additionally, it would take many of the inefficiencies out of the current system in that each time there is a touch on producing a good or service, income tax is charged. For example, when you buy a loaf of bread, the business who produced the seeds, the farmer who grew the wheat, the mill, the bakery, the trucking company, and the grocery store all pay income tax on their portion of the bread production. By taking the income tax away, the loaf of bread would subsequently be much cheaper (estimated around 25%) from the reduction of built in income tax for a product. (This assumes that businesses will not pay income tax. There would be many rules set up to prevent people setting up "businesses" to evade taxes.)
The Fair Tax also has the benefit of helping prevent tax evasion. Under the current system, there are millions upon millions of dollars of unreported income every year which are not taxed. This could occur in anything from illegal trades such as selling drugs on the street to the legal trades of wait staff or any industry in which cash is used to pay for goods or services but not reported. Every time these dollars were spent by the individuals, however, they would be taxed so this revenue which is currently lost would be collected.
It would additionally get rid of the estimated $265 billion spent annually to comply with the tax code. This is not to mention the 100s of thousands of hours that would be freed up to engage in more productive and enjoyable pursuits.
Economists estimate that in the first year of its implementation the economy would grow by 10.5%. Foreign companies would also have incentive to build factories in the U.S. to take advantage of the eliminated inherent cost included as mentioned in the bread example.
I think that this is a really great idea and hope that it is implemented one day. To learn more about it and see if your congressperson supports it or not, go to FairTax.org.
Fair Tax.......2007-09-29
Excellent reading to get yourself ready to defend the concept when it is attacked by the tax and spend crowd in Washington. It is a quick read and makes a great deal of sense.
A plan for the rich (1.5 *s).......2007-09-23
If you want a fundamental principle of government/society discussed with right-wing, shock-radio bluster, this is your book. Though a congressman is the co-author, the book is simply a continuation of the rant that has been heard daily on a local radio station in Atlanta for over thirty years. We learn early in the book that the passage of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913 enabling the collection of income taxes is akin to the devastation of Pearl Harbor or the destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept 11, 2001. The IRS is no less than the enemy of the people, fulfilling a Marxian prophecy. You get the general idea.
One would like to think that anyone proposing a fundamental overhaul of our taxation system would first lay out a philosophy of taxation, which must be consistent with a broader philosophy of society and government. You won't find that in this book. The principal author has consistently exhibited a decided lack of social concern and understanding.
The so-called fair-tax is a twenty-three percent consumption tax in lieu of apparently all other federal level taxes: income, dividends, social security, Medicare, corporate, etc. [State taxes don't seem to be addressed.] It has long been held that the wealthy in a nation should pay taxes at a higher rate than ordinary citizens. The wealthy benefit far more than most from government. In fact they have a huge advantage over the rest of us by having an overwhelming say in the choice of those who occupy governmental offices and the consequent setting of policies and decisions. In essence, the rich get richer. They should pay for that largesse.
Consumption taxes are by far the most regressive of taxes that can be imposed. The median earner in this nation spends every dollar on necessary items. The rich do not. In fact a large portion of their income goes towards investments and wealth production. By exempting income, dividends, and interest from taxation, the so-called fair tax would simply exacerbate a tax scheme already weighted to the rich. The tax rate for the rich would plummet; for the poor suckers taken in by the fair-tax scheme, their tax rate would maximize.
The one thing that the book gets right is the necessity of changing the tax system. The loop holes for the rich are disgraceful. The idea that corporations don't really pay taxes is certainly a reality. The book complains about class warfare, not about the one that the powerful have been waging for decades. But the one where the ordinary citizen wants the powerful to get the boot off of his or her neck. But then that merely reflects where the hearts of the author are.
The fair-tax scheme proposed is utterly useless. It seems to assume that consumption is definitive of life - there is no larger context with greater significance and ramifications. For example, issues of power. Usually schemes such as this get a bit of a spike in public interest when first proposed, appealing to ideologues and the ignorant. Fortunately, there usually is no staying power. The length of the attention spans is commensurate with the depth of the knowledge of those jumping on the bandwagon.
Book Description
Learn to successfully engage in and conduct international business transactions with INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS LAW! With a focus on transactional business, this business law text provides you with numerous practical tips and applications that will help you succeed in this course and in your career. Studying is made easy with tools such as qualitative and applied problems, internet exercises, excerpted cases, and frequently used forms and documents found throughout the text. With its comparative perspective, this business text also prepares you to do business with other countries by teaching you about business law in other nations and how they differ from U.S. laws.
Book Description
The eighth edition of this best-selling book continues to provide readers with a realistic picture of actual collective bargaining and labor relations situations drawn from the authors' considerable experiences. Sections of actual labor agreements as well as arbitration cases and decisions of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the courts illustrate and emphasize contemporary issues of collective bargaining and labor relations. Experts in the fields of labor law and arbitration have contributed âtipsâ on how the concepts in the book can actually be applied.
In addition to covering history and law, workplace challenges, the collective bargaining process, and labor contracts, major features of this new edition include expanded coverage of public sector labor relations, international collective bargaining issues, union organizing and avoidance strategies, and collective bargaining in professional sports.
Because of its comprehensive coverage and excellent resource material, this book is an excellent reference for human resource directors, labor relations directors, personnel directors, and labor negotiators.
Customer Reviews:
Dry.......2007-02-19
I only bought this book because I'm in labor relations class. It's as dry as a piece of stale bread. But if you want to know anything and everything about Labor Relations and the history, BUY IT!
My first textbook order from Amazon.......2007-01-11
This is the first time I have order a textbook online. My experience was awesome. I received my order in a timely manner. The textbook was in outstanding condition. This text consisted of labor law material along with various labor law cases and procedures. I just order another book I am awaiting for the early arrival of this text.
THANK YOU AMAZON !!
Fairly good - Not excellent.......2004-11-19
I just took a college level class in which we used this book as the textbook. There is a lot of good information inside which provides a good introduction to the novice on how the process of collective bargaining works. It begins with the history of how it started and continues through the specific issues that collective bargaining entails. There is even a copy of the National Labor Relations Act in the back of the book.
There are some rough spots that should be worked out in the next edition however. Sometimes I found myself lost in the verbage that the author chose to use and had no idea what the point had been. The case studies at the ends of the chapters have no solutions, they ask questions of you and then leave you - a novice - to flounder with no professional direction in the event - which is frequent - that you can't figure out the answer. And, there are some typo's in key locations which end up disproving, instead of proving, the point that the author was attempting to make (very confusing.)
This text is best used in conjunction with lectures by a good professor if you want to get the most out of it.
Great Book.......2002-05-17
Great book for the novice negotiator or student.Current, easy to read, practical examples.
Concise & complete.......2002-04-11
The authors provide a complete & concise discussion of the process of collective bargaining within a general labor relations context. Many, current cases, tips from experts, and historical references help present the concepts. A solid text for the novice negotiator or interested student.
Average customer rating:
- A Straight Forward Text Book
- Great buy
- Excellent text for the Instructor; for the Student
- Not Only For Students
- Business Law Today by Jentz et al.
|
Business Law Today, Standard Edition: Text and Summarized Cases--E-Commerce, Legal, Ethical and International Environment (with Online Research Guide)
Roger LeRoy Miller , and
Gaylord A. Jentz
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Study Guide for Miller/Jentz's Business Law Today, Standard Edition: Text and Summarized Cases--E-Commerce, Legal, Ethical and International Environment, 7th
ASIN: 0324204833 |
Book Description
This text provides the legal credibility, authoritativeness, and comprehensiveness of a traditional business law book, while also offering the visual appeal and student friendly features students are used to seeing in books for many of their other courses. Though the text is ?fun? for students to read, it does not accomplish this at the expense of important information ? it goes into the necessary detail to completely explain law topics. The book truly offers an instructor the best of both worlds ? a credible business law source, which students will be motivated to read. Its magic and the cornerstone of its widespread success is in this ability to appeal to both instructors and students without being mutually exclusive. It also offers the most comprehensive teaching and learning support package on the market, with something to fit many different instructional or learning styles ? a reflection of West Legal Studies in Business?s continual commitment to partnership, leadership, and innovation in providing the highest quality materials available for Business Law instructors and students. This text explicitly meets the AACSB curriculum requirements.
Customer Reviews:
A Straight Forward Text Book .......2007-05-27
It's a textbook. That being said, it is filled with extra material, like case examples, a CD-ROM, etc. I didn't look at any of that because my business law class went at such a slow pace we only looked at about 10 of the chapters. If you are buying this for a class, you should come away with a lot of good information from this book without feeling it is too much of a boring chore to read through.
Great buy .......2006-04-05
Very fast delivery, thanks I was in a hurry and you have made me very happy.
Excellent text for the Instructor; for the Student.......2004-11-01
This is an excellent text at various levels of interest, desire, talent and time. The text is arranged that given the time, the Instructor can dig deeper and deeper into thorny topics. Additionally, curious students can rely on numerous web sources for enhanced views and greater depth.
Further, there are additional sources for the Instructor available through test banks and outlines. This is my favorite text to teach from. It is neither dry with enough cases to stir the imagination of the younger students nor MTV'd and contains sufficient current cases to give older students and retired students pause to consider. 5 stars. Larry Scantlebury
Not Only For Students.......2004-02-08
I am using this textbook in several of my classes, and let me just say- it has everything I could have hoped for. The chapters are laid out well, many cases are cited, and the student is given actual cases to figure out, with the citations given at the end so he can find the actual outcome. I've found this to be among the best textbooks. It is so good, in fact that I've reccomended it to several of my friends who are going into business for themselves. This covers nearly everything they'll need to know regarding contracts, secured transactions, warranties, etc.
Love the law!
Business Law Today by Jentz et al........2004-02-03
This is an excellent text. It incorporates the law, as well as
legal research methodologies. For instance, a standard chapter
contains an outline, common law sources,constitutional,
statutory and administrative laws/rule-making. The work cites
computerized legal research in WESTLAW and LEXIS. Relevant
international legal citations are listed. The applicable
United States Code is cited by Title and specific paragraph.
In some cases, individual state legal codes are cited. There
are exhaustic sets of historical and statutory notes, cross
references and federal practice notes. Each chapter has a
comprehensive case study with a brief synopsis, cited case
and final disposition. There are teaching suggestions at the
end of the instructor's manual together with discussion
questions, research assignments and an explanation of footnotes.
In addition, there is an exhaustive section on essay question
answers.
Here is a model answer:
Stare decisis is a doctrine that prescribes following earlier
judicial decisions in deciding a current case if the facts and
questions are similar. Courts attempt to be consistent with their
own prior decisions and with the decisions of courts superior
to them. Stare decisis is important because part of the function
of law is to maintain stability. If the application of the law
was unpredictable, there would be no consistent rules to follow
and no stability.
The volume has detailed coverage of the following areas:
o Business Ethics o Int'l Business Law
o Employee Rights o Employment law
o Occupational safety o Accounting and the law
o Securities o Mergers and acquisitions
o Insurance o Real Estate
o Financial institutions o Unfair competition
o Advertising o Environmental law
o Health Care o Sports and entertainment
o Hospitality management o Communications
o Government contracts o Legal representation of business
There are significant software support systems; namely,
o Legal Clerk Research Software System
o Computerized Instructor's Manual
o Computerized Questions/Answers
o Case problems on diskette
o CD
o Lecture Builder Software
o Westest
o A Classroom Management System
o WESTrain
o Transparency Masters
o Sample Moot Court and much much more
This text is an excellent purchase for collegiate law students.
Amazon.com
As it becomes increasingly associated with impressive corporate gains realized in recent years by companies ranging from FedEx and Rolex to Starbucks and Volvo, "branding" has developed into one of the marketing world's hottest concepts. And for good reason, contend well-known strategist Al Ries and his daughter Laura Ries in The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding: How to Build a Product or Service into a World-Class Brand.
"Marketing is building a brand in the mind of the prospect," they write. "If you can build a powerful brand you will have a powerful marketing program. If you can't, then all the advertising, fancy packaging, sales promotion and public relations in the world won't help you achieve your objective." A no-holds-barred look at a diverse collection of successful--and not-so-successful--branding efforts undertaken by these and other high-profile firms, their book distills the most critical principles involved into a series of clear rules with straightforward titles such as The Law of Expansion, The Law of Contraction, The Law of Consistency, and The Law of Mortality. While some of their suggestions may at first seem counterintuitive, together they compose a logical blueprint for success in today's ever-more-competitive environment. --Howard Rothman
Amazon.com Audiobook Review
When you call a book The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, you're pretty much ruling out Oprah's Book Club as potential buyers. (Not that Oprah herself isn't a terrific brand.) This is an audiobook for a narrow demographic: entrepreneurs, top managers, and public-relations directors. Coauthor Al Ries comes off like the eccentric genius that most of these managers keep in a basement office, only listening to when necessary. When he says, "The power of a brand is inversely proportional to its scope," and hectors managers with the idea that "customers want brands that are narrow in scope," you know he's right (he backs himself up with dozens of examples), and you know it's the last thing powerful, expansion-minded businesspeople want to hear. Coauthor Laura Ries, his daughter and marketing-firm partner, also reads sections. (Running time: 1.5 hours, one cassette) --Lou Schuler
Book Description
How to build a product or service into a world–class brand.
In today's competitive world, it is no longer enough to have a superior product or even a great advertising campaign. Today's consumers are more savvy than ever, and ample competition has allowed them to become more choosy. The only way to stand out in today's, and tomorrow's 埣luttered marketplace is to build your product or service into a brand. 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is the definitive work on brands and branding. In the tradition of 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, this book is illustrated with anecdotes from some of the best brands in the world and explains how any product or service can be built into a brand.
Customer Reviews:
Great book.......2007-10-10
Excellent book. Although the 22 laws may not be immutable they definitely are impossible to overlook. This book is packed with practical examples of where major corporations failed and succeeded, by breaking or following each of the 22 laws. Definitely must read if you're interested in creating a strong brand.
What a Book!.......2007-09-22
I never read a book more packed with incredible insights that this one. My company, Astonish Results (www.astonishresults.com) provides consulting to mortgage companies. I will recommend this book to every company we consult.
must have for business owners.......2007-09-11
As a small business owner and someone who was new to the business side of running a business I have found this book an absolute necessity in my daily business life.
Something to think about.......2007-08-11
I read this book with pleasure. It contains a lot of common sense and showed how people are influenced in their choice of branding features by what others have done and not what makes sense. I hope to use much of the information in my firm for our software branding.
Steven Calkins
Cross Media Solutions
Würzburg, Germany
Excellent work.......2007-05-26
I must say I have become somewhat of a Ries groupie. Al & Laura Ries along with Jack Trout have created some of the most thought filled pieces within the Branding, Marketing and communications world today. This one lives up the all the hype. The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding is a masterpiece to say the least. I began seeking out new books on the topic and thought why not hear from the gurus of the field. I had read The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing first and it lead me to this great piece. I am a marketing student not just in the classroom but for life. It is what I do, therefore learning more is what I must do.
Once you began your journey for more knowlege on Branding and relating fields you will side with this book. Branding lives with the perpection that is placed int he mind of the consumer. In all my many marketing classes have I not discussed the many issues that come up in this book. To be a great marketer or branding strategiest you must seek out information from all levels of the field and then rethink those thoughts in regards to your position and situation. This book places you in the right mindset to do that and much more. So begin the process...
Book Description
With the radical changes in information production that the Internet has introduced, we stand at an important moment of transition, says Yochai Benkler in this thought-provoking book. The phenomenon he describes as social production is reshaping markets, while at the same time offering new opportunities to enhance individual freedom, cultural diversity, political discourse, and justice. But these results are by no means inevitable: a systematic campaign to protect the entrenched industrial information economy of the last century threatens the promise of today’s emerging networked information environment.
In this comprehensive social theory of the Internet and the networked information economy, Benkler describes how patterns of information, knowledge, and cultural production are changing—and shows that the way information and knowledge are made available can either limit or enlarge the ways people can create and express themselves. He describes the range of legal and policy choices that confront us and maintains that there is much to be gained—or lost—by the decisions we make today.
Customer Reviews:
This Book Proves the Adage that You See What You Look For.......2007-07-08
I have been hearing about Yochai Benkler's book, "The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedoms," for some time and his exposition around what he (and many others) have called the "networked information economy." Benkler, a Yale law professor, also offers his 527 page (473 in text) book as a free PDF from his web site under a Creative Commons share alike license.
First, let me say, there are a couple of worthwhile insights in the book, which I'll get to in a moment. But mostly, I found the book overly long, often off-subject, and too political for my tastes. In fairness, some of this might be due to the fact it was written in 2005 (published in 2006) and the social and participatory aspects of the Web are now widely appreciated. Yet I fear the broader problem with this polemic is that it proves the adage that you see what you look for.
Benkler's argument is that cheap processors and the Internet have removed the physical constraints on effective information production. This is in keeping with the non-proprietary nature of information as a "nonrival" good, and is also leading to the democratization of information production and the emergence of large-scale peer-produced content. Benkler generally allies himself with the camp of technology optimists. His observations about trends and new developments from Ebay to Wikipedia to SETI@home and open source software are now commonly appreciated.
With the costs of information duplication and dissemination trending to zero, the limiting factor of production becomes human creativity and effort itself. But here, too, with hundreds of millions of Internet users, just a few hours of contributed content from each can easily swamp the ability of even the largest firms to compete. These trends to Benkler presage a "radical decentralization" of information production, and many other changes to the political economy and culture.
That radical changes in the nature of information production and authorship and even the role of traditional publishers or the media are underway is without question. Purposeful collaborations like Wikipedia are now clearly successful and were not forecasted by many.
The lens, however, in which Benkler looks at all of these trends is through the "modern" history of the mass media. Citing Paul Starr's "Creation of the Media," he notes how in 15 years from 1835 to 1850 the cost of setting up a mass-circulation paper increased from $10,000 to over $2 million (in 2005 dollars). In Benkler's view, these cost increases shifted the ability to publish away from the common citizen into the "problem" hands of the mass media. Fortunately, now with the Internet and cheap processors, this evil can be reversed. Though Benkler specifically disclaims that he is not describing "an exercise in pastoral utopianism," the fact is that is exactly what he is describing.
There can be no doubt that the role of mass media and traditional publishers is under severe challenge from the emergence of the Internet. It is also the case that we are witnessing citizen publishers and authors emerge by the millions. These changes are momentous, but they do not involve everyone -- only comparatively small percentages of Internet users blog and still smaller percentages contribute to Wikipedia (about 80,000 at present based on a user base of hundreds of millions). And, as the traditional gatekeepers of printers, publishers and editors lose prominence, new institutions and mechanisms for establishing the authoritativeness and trustworthiness of content will surely need to evolve.
These real trends deserve thoughtful exploration.
However, there is a reason that publishing costs increased so rapidly in that era of the 1800s. Mass publishing and pulp paper were emerging that acted to bring an increasing storehouse of content and information to the public at levels never before seen.
The explosion of information content that occurred at this very same time correlates well with the fundamental historical changes in human wealth and economic growth. Though mass media may prove to be an historical artifact, I would argue that its role in bringing literacy and information to the "masses" was generally an unalloyed good and the basis for an improvement in economic well being the likes of which had never been seen.
By taking a narrow historical horizon and then viewing it through the lens of the vilified "mass media," Benkler is both looking in the wrong direction and missing the point.
The information by which the means to produce and disseminate information itself is changing and growing. These changes in information infrastructure support an inexorable trend to more adaptability, more wealth and more participation. What we are seeing now with the Internet is but a natural continuation of that trend. The "mass media" and the costs of information production of the 1800s was a natural phase within this longer, historical trend. The multiplier effect of information itself will continue to empower and strengthen the individual, not in spite of mass media or any other ideologically based viewpoint but due to the freeing and adaptive benefits of information itself. Information is the natural antidote to entropy and, longer term, to the concentrations of wealth and power.
By trying to push the trends of the Internet through the false needle's eye of political economics, an effort that Benkler also erroneously makes with his earlier analysis of the growth of radio, what are in essence historical forces of almost informational or technological determinism are falsely presented as matters of political choice. Hogwash.
Benkler, however, does observe two useful dimensions for measuring social collaboration efforts: modularity and granularity. By modularity, Benkler means "a property of a project that describes the extent to which it can be broken down into smaller components, or modules, that can be independently produced before they are assembled into a whole." By granularity, Benkler means "the size of the modules, in terms of the time and effort that an individual must invest in producing them."
Benkler's insight is that "the number of people who can, in principle, participate in a project is therefore inversely related to the size of the smallest scale contribution necessary to produce a usable module. The granularity of the modules therefore sets the smallest possible individual investment necessary to participate in a project. If this investment is sufficiently low, then incentives" for producing that component of a modular project can be of trivial magnitude. Most importantly for our purposes of understanding the rising role of nonmarket production, the time can be drawn from the excess time we normally dedicate to having fun and participating in social interactions."
To illustrate this effect of granularity, he contrasts Wikipedia with its simple entries and editing and bounded topics with the far-less successful Wikibooks, which has much larger granularity.
Creators of social collaboration sites are advised to keep granularity small to encourage broader contributions, and if the nature of the site is complex, to increase the number of its modules. Of course, none of this guarantees the magic or timing that also lie behind the most successful sites!
I think that Benkler's arguments could have been more effectively distilled into a 30-page article, with much of the political economy claptrap thrown out. The book is definitely worth a skim.
Phenomenal Book on Information Science and Peer Production.......2007-05-12
I first became familiar with Benkler after reading his paper, "Coase's Penguin" in undergraduate study. I was delighted to hear of the publication of this book. Benkler continues beautifully where he left off in his previous papers and synthesizes an excellent theory of social production in his book.
Benkler begins by describing the economic shape of information - it's non-rival and builds upon itself. He explains the challenges that face information, particularly the Babel Objection. Benkler also covers some legal background on aspects of a "liberal society", such as the role of commons versus private property.
From there, he makes his way into peer production. He touches different aspects of this type of production, from open source to distributed content production & filtering (click workers) to the results of the FCC's shift towards commons-based wireless policy. I found chapter 4, where he connects social production to the economic concepts discussed earlier, to be the most interesting chapter of the book.
He moves on to a lengthy discussion of the political effects of network distribution and social production, including a summary of the history of mass media and predictions about the future. From there, he lays down his argument that we ought to continue to encourage open networks and information sharing. He presents a discussion on current legislation and legal challenges to information and provides some examples of solutions.
I read this book coming out of an undergraduate program in Information Science and wished I had read this book perhaps my sophomore or junior year. Benkler essentially lays out, in linear form, the precise message that my professors were teaching. Because of networks, information science in the 21st century will not follow the traditional industrial-style of distribution but rather a distributed and non-proprietary model. Its impact is phenomenal, not only in the realm of economics and science but politics, culture, and interpersonal communication.
This book ought to be required reading for every undergraduate student studying Telecommunications, Media, or Information Science.
Good argumentation.......2007-04-28
I agree when some people say the book is not well edited (even not being english my first language I found some errors within it) but I think the greatest think about it is the attempt to explain something that it is easy to see that is happening today but nobody know why is happening. You know people write in Wikipedia and that most of them do that at their free time, you know that some people participate in great collaborative efforts to develop free software in the Internet, you know people keep blogs to express their point of view. But can you explain why that happens, why do they do that expecting no financial return or acknowledgment? What do they want? Perhaps you may know what you want when you do or don't some of that things but what about the rest of the world, if you care about it? What has changed or is changing or still must be changed in the societies so that happens?
The author doesn't explain it too but he tries to do it, it is an initial attempt to get some answers. His argumentation through the book covers many aspects of our lives, economic, political, social, antropological, legal and I think that at least at the end you will have some new insights on what is all that about.
Connectivization.......2007-04-20
Be forewarned that this brilliantly conceived book is not so brilliantly written, and the reading can be a real slog at times. Yochai Benkler is a perceptive social theorist but his thoughts are bogged down in academic writing that could really use some editing. Expect excessive introducing, foreshadowing, recapping, and summarizing, giving you the often tiresome impression that you will read Benkler's prose again or have read it before. This book also suffers from what business strategists and military tacticians would call "scope creep," as Benkler's broad theories on society and knowledge become so all-inclusive as to border on diffuseness and ineffectiveness - a problem that really slows down the middle section of the book. This is a common difficulty for vast unified theories about information and humanity, so prepare for some difficulty in following the main points that Benkler is trying to make.
But now that those warnings are out of the way, beneath Benkler's ponderous prose are insightful theories about the rise of networked culture, inspired by the digital revolution, in the face of lockdowns from entrenched power players. The initial uses of open networks inspired a megalomaniacal reaction from the industrial and political sectors, which have partially succeeded in forcing technological design changes, and persecution of new cultural behaviors, that threatened their economic and political dominance. For instance, intellectual property laws (patents, trademarks, and copyrights), which were originally meant to encourage cultural production, have been transformed by power players into tools to enforce corporate profitability. And if you think concerns over those trends are merely alarmism, Benkler provides profound evidence that damage really is being done to culture, freedom, and democracy - in ways that are far deeper and more troubling than the (corporate-inspired) popular rhetoric around piracy, rolyalties, and hackers.
Benkler informatively differentiates the types of freedom that are at stake - personal, cultural, social, and political - and ably demonstrates how each are affected by trends in infrastructure development, media behavior, corporate profiteering, and political gamesmanship. One especially winning chapter deals with how the rising network society can promote justice and development in third world areas that are not currently connected and may never be. The corporate and political insistence on regulating the information infrastructure and criminalizing user behaviors may represent a losing battle against the basic human drive to network and create, as can be seen in trends like open source software and community wi-fi. Benkler's main point here (when you're finally able to uncover it) is that humanity may be on the brink of a major change in the way we process culture and information, thanks to the growth in open worldwide networks. The old school power players won't go without a fight, adding unnecessary strife to the process, but Benkler has faith in humanity's ability to transform and rise above [~doomsdayer520~]
Excellent and Insightful Articulation.......2007-01-11
I highly recommend reading Yochai Benkler's book.
It is a balanced articulation of what the Internet and Web 2.0 are enabling in the development of new forms of social collaboration that are not adequately recognized as such by both private/regulated market advocates and welfare advocates. One of the things that struck me most is Benkler's capacity to create a perspective in which he can show that these new forms of collectives are rooted in old practices that have existed forever.
He also shows that these practices can gain major significance if:
1. The neutrality of the web, access to the web, Open Source initiatives, and the General Public Licensing type of legislation are improved,
2. The aggressive move toward Intellectual Property laws and regulations, and control by corporations, is counter-balanced.
Excellent read!
Book Description
The international aspects of income taxation have become increasingly important as countries worldwide have become more economically integrated. International Tax Primer provides an introduction to the policies that countries seek to advance with their international tax rules, with numerous examples drawn from the practices of both developed and developing countries. It grew out of the authors' work with the OECD in conducting seminars on international tax for tax officials in countries emerging from the collapse of the Soviet Union. The book emphasizes tax treaties and other cooperative arrangements that countries employ to coordinate their income tax systems with the tax systems of their trading partners. International Tax Primer strikes a balance between the specific and the general by illustrating the fundamental principles and structure of international tax with frequent reference to actual practice in a variety of countries. Coverage includes: + the role of the tax adviser; + tax planning techniques; + international double taxation; transfer pricing; + anti-avoidance rules; + tax treaties, including discussion of the OECD and UN Model Treaties; + emerging issues, such as e-commerce and harmful tax competition. The work also offers such practical features as: + an extensive glossary of international tax terms; and + a selected bibliography of international tax reference materials, including a list of periodicals devoted to international tax. Students, government officials, and tax practitioners who may be confronting international tax issues for the first time, as well as experienced international tax practitioners, will find International Tax Primer a helpful articulation of the fundamental principles that arise again and again in this field. The book works as both an introduction and a refresher in an area where issues often prove more complex than they seem and where a return to the basics is often the most helpful means of untangling a multi-layered problem. The second edition provides updates for recent developments and expands the coverage by providing many new examples. A chapter dealing with harmful tax competition, hybrid entities, and the taxation of e-commerce has been added to the book.
Customer Reviews:
Truly a good primer.......2003-02-13
This is the only book I found that actually explained everything in its table of contents in a way that I could understand. This is an excellent book for a total beginner just trying to understand the basic issues of thin capitalization rules, deductions vs. exemptions vs. credits, double taxation, tax sparing, tax havens, etcetera.
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