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Valentine Princess (Princess Diaries 7.75)
by Meg CabotValentine's Day means cards, flowers and chocolates... <P><P> That is, it usually means those things. But when you're Princess Mia, nothing happens the way it's supposed to. For one thing, Grandmère seems determined to prove that boy (or Michael, as he is commonly known) isn't the right one for the crown princess of Genovia. And Mia isn't having much luck proving otherwise, since Michael has a history of being decidedly against any kind of exploitative commercialization (Valentine's Day, as it is commonly known).<P> Boris can declare his love openly to Lilly, and even Kenny comes through with a paltry Whitman's Sampler. So why can't Michael give in to Cupid and tell Mia he loves her—preferably with something wrapped in red or pink and accompanied by roses—in time to prove he's Mia's true prince?
Valerie: The Autobiography
by Phil GiffordOlympian, World and Commonwealth champion. Valerie Adams talks openly and honestly about life in the spotlight and her tumultuous private life. Valerie Adams keeps no secrets as she tells her inspirational story of how a Tongan kid from Mangere, throwing the shot in bare feet, transformed herself into a double Olympic champion. She tells, in minute-by-minute detail, what really happened at the London Olympics. You?ll learn the full, true story of her split with coach Kirsten Hellier. She also reveals why the pain in her personal life made 2010 a nightmare for her. And why, to stay the best in the world, she?s been living on a mountaintop in Switzerland. Sir Murray Halberg says Valerie Adams may be on track to be our greatest ever athlete. Valerie ? honest, joyous and sometimes heartbreaking ? is the unvarnished story of a great athlete and a remarkable New Zealander.
Valiant
by Sarah McguireA debut fairy tale reimagining featuring a strong female character and a daring quest just right for fans of Shannon Hale, Jessica Day George, and Gail Carson Levine.Saville hates sewing. How can she not when her father, the Tailor, loves his bolts of velvet and silk far more than he's ever loved her? Yet, when he is struck ill shortly after they arrive in the city of Reggen, Saville must don boy's clothes in the hopes of gaining a commission from the king to keep them fed.The kingdom is soon on edge when stories spread of an army of giants led by a man who cannot be killed. But giants are just stories, and no man is immortal.And then the giants do come to the city gates, two larger-than-life scouts whom Saville cunningly tricks into leaving. The Tailor of Reggen is the hero of the kingdom, the king promises his sister's hand in marriage, and by the time Saville reaches the palace doors, it is widely known that the Tailor single-handedly killed the giants.When her secret--that she's a girl--is quickly discovered by Lord Galen Verras, the king's cousin, Saville's swept into the twists and turns of court politics. The deathless man is very real, and he will use his giant army to ensure he is given the throne freely or by force.Now, only a tailor girl with courage and cunning can see beyond the tales to discover the truth and save the kingdom again.Valiant is a rich reimaging of "The Brave Little Tailor," artfully crafting a story of understanding, identity, and fighting to protect those you love most.
Validity of Educational Assessments in Chile and Latin America
by Jorge Manzi María Rosa García Sandy TautThis edited volume presents a systematic analysis of conceptual, methodological and applied aspects related to the validation of educational tests used in Latin American countries. Inspired by international standards on educational measurement and evaluation, this book illustrates efforts that have been made in several countries to validate different types of educational assessments, including student learning assessments, measurements of non-cognitive aspects in students, teacher evaluations, and tests for certification and selection. It gathers the experience of validity studies from the main international assessments in Latin America (PISA, TIMSS, ERCE, and ICCS). Additionally, it shows the challenges that must be taken into account when evaluations are used to compare countries, groups or trends of achievement over time. The book builds on the premise that measurements in the educational field should not be used if there are no studies that support the validity of the interpretation of their scores, or the use made of such tests. It shows that, despite the recognition given to validity, relatively few educational measurement assessments have accumulated enough evidence to support their interpretation and use. In doing so, this volume increases awareness about the relevance of validity, especially when assessments are key component of educational policies.
Validity: An Integrated Approach to Test Score Meaning and Use
by Gregory J. CizekValidity is a clear, substantive introduction to the two most fundamental aspects of defensible testing practice: understanding test score meaning and justifying test score use. Driven by evidence-based and consensus-grounded measurement theory, principles, and terminology, this book addresses the most common questions of applied validation, the quality of test information, and the usefulness of test results. Concise yet comprehensive, this volume’s integrated framework is ideal for graduate courses on assessment, testing, psychometrics, and research methods as well as for credentialing organizations, licensure and certification entities, education agencies, and test publishers.
Valley Interfaith and School Reform: Organizing for Power in South Texas
by Dennis ShirleyCan public schools still educate America's children, particularly in poor and working class communities? Many advocates of school reform have called for dismantling public education in favor of market-based models of reform such as privatization and vouchers. <P>By contrast, this pathfinding book explores how community organizing and activism in support of public schools in one of America's most economically disadvantaged regions, the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, has engendered impressive academic results. <P><P> Dennis Shirley focuses the book around case studies of three schools that have benefited from the reform efforts of a community group called Valley Interfaith, which works to develop community leadership and boost academic achievement. He follows the remarkable efforts of teachers, parents, school administrators, clergy, and community activists to take charge of their schools and their communities and describes the effects of these efforts on students' school performance and testing results.
Valley So Low: One Lawyer's Fight for Justice in the Wake of America's Great Coal Catastrophe
by Jared SullivanA riveting courtroom drama about the victims of one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history—and the country lawyer determined to challenge the notion that, in America, justice can be boughtFor more than fifty years, a power plant in the small town of Kingston, Tennessee, burned fourteen thousand tons of coal a day, gradually creating a mountain of ashen waste sixty feet high and covering eighty-four acres, contained only by an earthen embankment. In 2008, just before Christmas, that embankment broke, unleashing a lethal wave of coal sludge that covered three hundred acres, damaged nearly thirty homes, and precipitating a cleanup effort that would cost more than a billion dollars—and the lives of more than fifty cleanup workers who inhaled the toxins it released.Jim Scott, a local personal-injury lawyer, agreed to represent the workers after they began to fall ill. That meant doing legal battle against the Tennessee Valley Authority, a colossal, federally owned power company that had once been a famous cornerstone of President Franklin D. Roosevelt&’s New Deal. Scott and his hastily assembled team gathered extensive evidence of malfeasance: threats against workers; retaliatory firings; disregarded safety precautions; and test results, either hidden or altered, that would have revealed harmful concentrations of arsenic, lead, and radioactive materials at the cleanup site. At every stage, Scott—outmanned and nearly broke—had to overcome legal hurdles constructed by TVA and the firm it hired to help execute the cleanup. He grew especially close to one of the victims, whose swift decline only intensified his hunger for justice. As the incriminating evidence mounted, the workers seemed to have everything on their side, including the truth—and yet, was it all enough to prevail?The lawsuit that Scott pursued on the workers&’ behalf was about their illnesses, no doubt. But it was also about whether blue-collar employees could beat the C-suite; if self-described &“hillbilly lawyers&” could beat elite corporate defense attorneys; and whether strong evidence could beat fat pocketbooks. With suspense and rich detail, Jared Sullivan&’s thrilling account lays bare the casual brutality of the American justice system, and calls into question whether—and how—the federal government has failed its people.
Valley of Death: The Tragedy at Dien Bien Phu That Led America into the Vietnam War
by Ted MorganPulitzer Prize-winning author Ted Morgan has now written a rich and definitive account of the fateful battle that ended French rule in Indochina-and led inexorably to America's Vietnam War. Dien Bien Phu was a remote valley on the border of Laos along a simple rural trade route. But it would also be where a great European power fell to an underestimated insurgent army and lost control of a crucial colony. Valley of Death is the untold story of the 1954 battle that, in six weeks, changed the course of history. A veteran of the French Army, Ted Morgan has made use of exclusive firsthand reports to create the most complete and dramatic telling of the conflict ever written. Here is the history of the Vietminh liberation movement's rebellion against French occupation after World War II and its growth as an adversary, eventually backed by Communist China. Here too is the ill-fated French plan to build a base in Dien Bien Phu and draw the Vietminh into a debilitating defeat-which instead led to the Europeans being encircled in the surrounding hills, besieged by heavy artillery, overrun, and defeated. Making expert use of recently unearthed or released information, Morgan reveals the inner workings of the American effort to aid France, with Eisenhower secretly disdainful of the French effort and prophetically worried that "no military victory was possible in that type of theater. " Morgan paints indelible portraits of all the major players, from Henri Navarre, head of the French Union forces, a rigid professional unprepared for an enemy fortified by rice carried on bicycles, to his commander, General Christian de Castries, a privileged, miscast cavalry officer, and General Vo Nguyen Giap, a master of guerrilla warfare working out of a one-room hut on the side of a hill. Most devastatingly, Morgan sets the stage for the Vietnam quagmire that was to come. Superbly researched and powerfully written, Valley of Death is the crowning achievement of an author whose work has always been as compulsively readable as it is important.
Valmiki's Ramayana
by ValmikiValmiki's Ramayana, composed as early as 500 BCE, remains a story that speaks to every generation and continues to enthral millions of people in the Subcontinent and beyond. The noble prince Rama is exiled from Ayodhya on his stepmother's whim, and his loyal brother Lakshmana and beautiful wife, Sita, follow him into the forest despite the many dangers it holds. But when Sita is kidnapped by Ravana, king of the rakshasas, Rama must go deep into himself to find the physical and emotional resources he needs to rescue her. Apart from exploring the fundamental human question of how to be good, the Ramayana is also the story of a god who comes to earth to establish righteousness. The tension between Rama's essentially divine nature and his all too human trials makes this one of the most compelling epics in world literature.
Valor: The American Odyssey of Roy Dominguez
by Rogelio "Roy" DominguezThe son of Hispanic immigrants, Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez grew up in gang-plagued Gary, Indiana. With strong family support, he managed to beat the odds, graduating with distinction from Indiana University, finishing law school after a rough start, and maturing into a successful attorney and officeholder. Yet there was more in store for Roy. Ready to start a family and embark on a career as a deputy prosecutor, he was stricken with Guillain-Barré syndrome. How he coped with and eventually overcame this debilitating affliction is a compelling part of his story. The experience steeled him to meet future crises with wisdom, perspective, and grit. An inspiring true story, Valor is also a significant and original contribution to the social, ethnic, and political history of Indiana.
Valorizing the Barbarians
by Eric AdlerWith the growth of postcolonial theory in recent decades, scholarly views of Roman imperialism and colonialism have been evolving and shifting. Much recent discussion of the topic has centered on the ways in which ancient Roman historians consciously or unconsciously denigrated non-Romans. Similarly, contemporary scholars have downplayed Roman elite anxiety about their empire’s expansion. In this groundbreaking new work, Eric Adler explores the degree to which ancient historians of Rome were capable of valorizing foreigners and presenting criticisms of their own society. By examining speeches put into the mouths of barbarian leaders by a variety of writers, he investigates how critical of the empire these historians could be. Adler examines pairs of speeches purportedly delivered by non-Roman leaders so that the contrast between them might elucidate each writer’s sense of imperialism. Analyses of Sallust’s and Trogus’s treatments of the Eastern ruler Mithradates, Polybius’s and Livy’s speeches from Carthage’s Hannibal, and Tacitus’s and Cassius Dio’s accounts of the oratory of the Celtic warrior queen Boudica form the core of this study. Adler supplements these with examinations of speeches from other characters, as well as contextual narrative from the historians. Throughout, Adler wrestles with broader issues of Roman imperialism and historiography, including administrative greed and corruption in the provinces, the treatment of gender and sexuality, and ethnic stereotyping.
Value
by Diane ElsonThis republication of a long out-of-print collection of essays, first published in 1979, focuses on the elusive concept of "value. " The field of study surrounding the theory of value remains comparatively sparse in Anglophone circles, and the essays here aim to answer the question, "Why is Marx's theory of value important?"
Value (What is Political Economy?)
by Frederick Harry Pitts'Value' seems like an elusive and abstract concept. Nonetheless, notions of value underpin how we understand our lives, from discussions about the economic contribution of different kinds of work and productive activity, to the prices we pay for the things we consume. So what is value, and where does it come from? In this new book, Frederick Harry Pitts charts the past, present and future of value within and beyond capitalist society, critically engaging with key concepts from classical and neoclassical political economy. Interrogating the processes and practices that attribute value to objects and activities, he considers debates over whether value lies within commodities or in their exchange, the politics of different theories of value, and how we measure value in a knowledge-based economy. This accessible and intriguing introduction to the complexities of value in modern society will be essential reading for any student or scholar working in political economy, economics, economic sociology or management.
Value Chains Transformation and Transport Reconnection in Eurasia: Geo-economic and Geopolitical Implications (Innovations in International Affairs)
by Jacopo Maria PepeThis book focuses on the geo-economic and geopolitical impact of value chains transformation on the transport-logistic reintegration of continental Eurasian countries, with a specific focus on the members of the Eurasian Economic Union. The author assesses the potential impact of current trends (global value chains fragmentation and decoupling) on Eurasian transport integration. The book combines in-depth analysis of the evolution of value chains and transport-logistics corridors across Eurasia with a geopolitical assessment of its implications for the EAEU’s members’ foreign and economic policy orientation. The author explores three key arguments: (1) the key to a successful and sustainable integration of the transport space of continental Eurasia is less the ongoing expansion of transcontinental transit, and more the participation in intraregional and transregional cross-border value chains, even though this process is increasingly tied to the question of the geopolitical and geo-economic orientation of continental Eurasia; (2) even in a more regionalised world economy, the economic complementarities between continental Eurasia and the two manufacturing blocks at the edges of the supercontinent, Europe and Asia, represent the greatest chance for continental Eurasia for larger participation in high value-added value chains; and (3) without diversifying trade and financial ties across Asia and normalising relations with the EU, the combined effect of shifting value chains location across the continent and China’s ambiguous and flexible transport politics might turn an unprecedented chance into risk, augmenting competition among and within countries which are members of the EAEU over traffic volume, FDI, value chain participation, and ultimately geopolitical and geo-economic dividends. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of IR Theory, IPE, Geopolitics and Regional Studies, as well as the related subfields of transport geography, economic geography, and logistics.
Value Chains and WTO Disputes: Compliance at the dispute settlement mechanism
by Aydin Baris YildirimAs economic populism and protectionism increasingly threatens the global trade order, this book examines the behavior of World Trade Organization (WTO) members at the judicial arm of the WTO—the dispute settlement mechanism (DSM). The author explores why and when governments cooperate at the WTO and comply with the ruling of its panels, focusing on how the growth of global value chains through the internationalization of trade and production has increased the importance of both trade liberalization and supra-national governance and policy-making. Finding that domestic organized interests—i.e. firms and sectors—mobilize and lobby national governments to change their domestic policies to better harmonize with their international trade commitments, the author outlines how the time it takes to comply with adverse WTO rulings is shorter when the potential domestic costs of non-compliance outweigh protectionist interests. The author’s innovative research design highlights the conditions under which the WTO can preserve the rules of international trade and support a more open, global economy.
Value Change in the Supreme Court of Canada
by Cynthia Ostberg Matthew WetsteinValue Change in the Supreme Court of Canada is a groundbreaking analysis of the degree to which Supreme Court decisions reflect the changing values of society over the past four decades. Focusing on three key areas of law: environmental disputes, free speech, and discrimination cases, Wetstein and Ostberg provide a revealing analysis of the language used by Supreme Court justices in landmark rulings in order to document the way that value changes are transmitted into the legal and political landscape. Bolstered by a comprehensive and nuanced blend of research methods, Value Change in the Supreme Court of Canada offers a sweeping analysis of pre- and post-Charter influences, one that will be of significant interest to political scientists, lawyers, journalists, and anyone interested in the increasingly powerful role of the Supreme Court.
Value Economics: The Ethical Implications of Value for New Economic Thinking
by M. R. Griffiths J. R. LucasThe last financial crisis revealed a gap between business practice and ethics. In Value Economics, Griffiths and Lucas examine some of the reasons for this ethical gap and discuss the resulting loss of confidence in the financial system. One of the reasons has been hazy or inadequate thinking about how we value economic enterprises. With the close link between the creation of value and business ethics in mind, this book proposes that economic value should become the basic metric for evaluating performance in the creation of value, and for establishing fair and reasonable standards for executive compensation. Value Economics considers a number of rational philosophical principles for business management, on which practical codes of business ethics can be based. As the creation of value has moral implications for economic justice, the book reaffirms the argument for economics as a moral science, and seeks, within the context of proposed changes in the regulation and control of financial services, to answer the following question: will things really change after the last financial crisis?
Value Politics in Japan and Europe (Globalisation, Europe, and Multilateralism)
by François ForetThis book explains the increasing importance of value politics in Europe and Japan, shedding light on various arenas: social values; parties, elections and politics; public action, private sector and law; identity politics and religion; media and public spheres. It analyses how, against different but commensurable backgrounds, the rise of value politics alters (or not) the political game, for which purposes and with which effects. Applying both qualitative and quantitative methods from a wide range of primary and secondary sources, the comparison is organized by joining skills from experts of Japan and Europe and by systematizing a common analytical framework for the two cases. As such, it presents a revealing and unique analysis of the changing relationship between values and political behaviour in the two polities. Beyond the comparison, it also documents the opportunities and challenges underlying the interactions between Europe, Japan and the rest of the world; and the competition/combination between different versions of modernity. This book is of key interest to scholars and students of European studies and politics, Asian politics/studies, Japanese studies/politics and more broadly to comparative politics, sociology, cultural/media studies, and economics.
Value Politics in the European Union: From Market to Culture and Back (Routledge Studies on Government and the European Union)
by François Foret; Jana VargovčíkováThis book explores what drives value politics and the way in which it redraws political conflict at EU level. Based on case studies and analyses of statistical data, the book shows what the uses and roles of values have been at EU level over the past decades in both market-related policies and in identity, cultural and morality policies. It challenges the common assumption that the latter is more driven by value conflicts. The research shows the intrinsic similarities between all policy areas regarding the agency and limits of values as drivers of change or continuity. It argues that European values are a broad and flexible symbolic repertoire instrumentalised to serve as a resource for mobilization, legitimation/delegitimation, the conquest and conservation of power. This book will be of key interest to both scholars and students in European studies/politics, comparative politics, public policy, political theory, sociology and cultural studies, as well as appealing to professionals of European affairs within and around the EU institutions.
Value and Virtue in Public Administration: A Comparative Perspective
by Michiel S. De Vries Pan Suk KimA multidisciplinary analysis of the role of values and virtue in public administration, this book calls for a rediscovery of virtue. It explores ways of enabling the public sector to balance the values that are presently dominant with classic values such as accountability, representation, equality, neutrality, transparency and the public interest.
Value and Worthlessness: The Rise of the Populist Right and Other Disruptions in the Anthropology of Capitalism (Dislocations)
by Don KalbAdvocating for an interdisciplinary Marxist anthropology of the present, this book uses historical and global anthropology to engage with history, theory, unevenness, and comparison, while using “global ethnography” and “hidden histories” as the keys to social discovery. Kalb’s anthropology of value and worthlessness lays bare the logics that currently produce right wing, populist, and nationalist outcomes. The book also battles with the “anthropology of global systems”, financialization, and the seductive myths of global middle-class formation, while assessing the theoretical legacies of Eric Wolf, David Graeber, David Harvey, Jonathan Friedman, Marcel Mauss and “moral anthropology”, among others.
Value in Marx: The Persistence of Value in a More-Than-Capitalist World
by George HendersonLong prone to dogmatic disagreement, the question of value in Marx&’s thought—what value is, the purpose it serves, its application to real-world capitalism—requires renewal if Marx&’s work is to remain vibrant. In Value in Marx, George Henderson offers a lucid rereading of Marx that strips value of its turgid theoretical reduction and reframes it as an investigation into the tensions between social relations and forms as they are rather than as what they could otherwise become.Drawing on Marx&’s Capital and Grundrisse, Henderson shows how these volumes do not harbor a single theory of value that equates value to capital. Instead, these books experimentally compose and recompose value for a world that is more than capitalist. At stake is how Marx conceives of human freedom, of balanced social arrangements, and of control over the things people produce. Henderson finds that the limits on social becoming, including the tendency toward alienated existence, haunt Marx even as he looks beyond the critique of capital to an emancipated society to come. Can these limits be confronted in a creative, even joyful, way? Can they become aspects of what we desire, rather than being silenced and denied? As long as we persist in interpreting value broadly, following it as an active and not a shut-down, predetermined feature of Marx&’s texts, Henderson ultimately views Marx as responding positively to these challenges and employing value as a powerful tool of the political imaginary.
Value(s): Building a Better World for All
by Mark CarneyA bold, urgent argument on the misplacement of value in financial markets and how we can and need to maximize value for the many, not few.As an economist and former banker, Mark Carney has spent his life in various financial roles, in both the public and private sector. VALUE(S) is a meditation on his experiences that examines the short-comings and challenges of the market in the past decade which he argues has led to rampant, public distrust and the need for radical change.Focusing on four major crises-the Global Financial Crisis, the Global Health Crisis, Climate Change and the 4th Industrial Revolution-- Carney proposes responses to each. His solutions are tangible action plans for leaders, companies and countries to transform the value of the market back into the value of humanity.
Value, Conflict, and Order: Berlin, Hampshire, Williams, and the Realist Revival in Political Theory
by Edward HallIs the purpose of political philosophy to articulate the moral values that political regimes would realize in a virtually perfect world and show what that implies for the way we should behave toward one another? That model of political philosophy, driven by an effort to draw a picture of an ideal political society, is familiar from the approach of John Rawls and others. Or is political philosophy more useful if it takes the world as it is, acknowledging the existence of various morally non-ideal political realities, and asks how people can live together nonetheless?The latter approach is advocated by “realist” thinkers in contemporary political philosophy. In Value, Conflict, and Order, Edward Hall builds on the work of Isaiah Berlin, Stuart Hampshire, and Bernard Williams in order to establish a political realist’s theory of politics for the twenty-first century. The realist approach, Hall argues, helps us make sense of the nature of moral and political conflict, the ethics of compromising with adversaries and opponents, and the character of political legitimacy. In an era when democratic political systems all over the world are riven by conflict over values and interests, Hall’s conception is bracing and timely.
Value-Added Assessment in Practice
by Laura S. Hamilton Daniel F. MccaffreyValue-added assessment (VAA) systems use statistical techniques to analyze test-score data; VAA data is intended to help educators make more informed decisions about curriculum and instruction. The authors examined the rollout of Pennsylvania's VAA program, and found that, in its pilot phase, the program had little effect on student achievement and received limited use by most principals and teachers at schools participating in the program.