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The durability of Japan's industrial products now holds world acclaim. But the durability of jobs in Japan--despite misleading Western images of lifetime employment--is no better than in other industrial nations. The "group model" of Japanese society that has been in fashion in the West confuses the goals of an organization with the personal aims and aspirations of its members. Like workers anywhere, those in Japan must go through life reconciling their duties to the job with their often conflicting obligations to family, to community, and to self-respect. Career outcomes are anything but certain in Japan--once we see them from a worker's point of view. Work and Lifecourse in Japan is a collection of workers' eye-level reports on career development in a variety of Japanese organizations and professions. In addition, there are overview chapters on employment trends in the Japanese economy, and on the problems of scheduling one's life-events in the demanding milieu of our post-industrial world.

Why are the Japanese fascinated with the Jews? By showing that the modern attitude is the result of a process of accretion begun 200 years ago, this book describes the development behind Japanese ideas of Jews and how these images are reflected in their modern intellectual life

A new volume in the Global Century series, this masterful history of the world in our time captures the ground-level drama of events and the larger contours of change during a period of global transformation.

Bach's Well-tempered Clavier (or the 48 Preludes and Fugues) stands at the core of baroque keyboard music and has been a model and inspiration for performers and composers ever since it was written. This invaluable guide to the 96 pieces explains Bach's various purposes in compiling the music, describes the rich traditions on which he drew, and provides commentaries for each prelude and fugue. In his text, David Ledbetter addresses the main focal points mentioned by Bach in his original 1722 title page. Drawing on Bach literature over the past three hundred years, he explores German traditions of composition types and Bach's novel expansion of them; explains Bach's instruments and innovations in keyboard technique in the general context of early eighteenth-century developments; reviews instructive and theoretical literature relating to keyboard temperaments from 1680 to 1750; and discusses Bach's pedagogical intent when composing the Well-tempered Clavier. Ledbetter's commentaries on individual preludes and fugues equip readers with the concepts necessary to make their own assessment and include information about the sources when details of notation, ornaments, and fingerings have a bearing on performance.

The role of the social worker is to be found lying interestingly between society and the individuals they work with. As a result, social workers often feel pulled between the demands and challenges that each presents. The Compleat Social Worker explores the many debates the profession enjoys, including those between nature and nurture, care and control, thought and feeling, art and science, facts and values. In examining these ideas and the discussions they sponsor it celebrates social work's rich heritage of scientific thought and human relationships. It is out of these many divisions and disagreements and their resolution that the idea of the well-rounded, compleat social worker emerges. For those wishing to explore and enjoy, argue and acknowledge what it is to be a good social worker, this elegant book will prompt lively interest and debate.

We cannot explain why people kill themselves. There are no necessary or sufficient causes for suicide, so rather than explaining suicide (looking for causes), perhaps we can understand suicide, at least in one individual, a phenomenological approach. This book begins by examining the diaries from eight individuals who killed themselves. Using qualitative analyses, supplemented in some cases by quantitative analyses, Lester seeks to uncover the unique thoughts and feelings that led these individuals to take their own lives. Lester has also studied suicide notes, the poems of those who died by suicide (both famous poets and unpublished poets), the letters written by suicides, blogs and twitter feeds, and one tape recording of a young man who killed himself just an hour or so after he recorded the tape. This book will give you insights into the “I” of the storm, the suicidal mind. David Lester has PhD’s from Cambridge University (UK) and Brandeis University (USA). He is a former President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and a leading scholar on suicide, murder, the fear of death and other topics and thanatology.

Kidwell's Financial Institutions, 12th Edition presents a balanced introduction to the operation, mechanics, and structure of the U.S. financial system, emphasizing its institutions, markets, and financial instruments. The text discusses complex topics in a clear and concise fashion with an emphasis on "Real World" data, and people and event boxes, as well as personal finance examples to help retain topical interest.