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- Excellent book on all aspects of winery business
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Winemaking: From Grape Growing to Marketplace
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ASIN: 0306472724 |
Book Description
Outstanding in breadth and coherence, this definitive review is designed to embrace the entire scope of wine culture, including vine horticulture, winery design, wine processing, wine quality control, wine analysis, and wine marketing.
Winemaking: From Grape Growing to Marketplace, Second Edition, translates current literature and scientific developments into useable knowledge which grape growers, wine makers, wine educators, and wine marketers can apply towards their individual needs and tasks.
Presented in an easy-to-use, step-by-step format, the text guides the reader through the perils and pitfalls, appropriate alternative pathways, and major sources for equipment and materials within the winemaking industry. Throughout the text, pertinent regulations and permits enforced by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms are outlined. This excellent guide to winemaking will be of use to a wide audience, in particular:
-current and prospective vintners, both commercial and amateur - as an essential guide book in their cellars,
-wine connoisseurs - offers an in-depth understanding of crafting wine,
-professional marketers - provides a solid understanding of the rationale of methodology employed by grape-growers and vintners,
-students - searching for an initial overview of contemporary viticulture.
Among updates and new material the second edition includes information on marketing wines and on the use of computers in viticulture and winemaking.
As a whole, this book is an invaluable source into the elements of viticulture, enology, and marketing wine for both academia and industry. It also serves as a solid foundation from which to advance to more technical levels.
Customer Reviews:
Why is it out of print?.......2000-04-26
As a wine 'amateur' (French meaning - no French person would ever say they were a 'connossieur' of wine, as one can never know it), this book was great in teaching more of the nuts and bolts of the wine biz. Grab this online somewhere - hopefully Amazon.com's out-of-print service - but grab it - it is very interesting.
Excellent book on all aspects of winery business.......1999-04-29
This book touches on all parts of the winemaking business from vineyard costs to winery costs and designs to marketing your wines. It has a good section on analytical testing procedures and 50 pages of charts, tables and conversions that come in handy.
The section on vineyard costs details year by year expenses from start-up through year 7. I also found the feasibility and finance section very helpful in starting up my own winery. The section on government regulations was very helpful in warning any prospective winery owners of what the ATF and state regulators expect. There are plenty of examples of good record keeping that various governments expect you to keep on hand at all times.
Of course this book also has 117 pages of good winemaking details along with good sections on microbiology, winery equipment, barrels and label designs. If this book has any obvious fault it would be that it does not go deep enough into some of these subjects, but then it would be thousands of pages long instead of the 440 pages it is.
An all around great book on winemaking and the rest of the business that goes with a winery and it's operation. This book has lots of good business information in it that I have not seen in any other winemaking book. I recommend it for anyone who not only wants to make great wine but also is serious about starting his own commercial winery.
Poorly written and not worth the money.......1999-03-10
Here is good evidence why Indiana is not a mecca of fine wines. Mr. Vine needs to take a few classes at U.C. Davis or read any of Amerine's books. The faults are too many but he did do a good job by inserting Government Regs and a lot of tables that would be hard for him to screw-up.
Book Description
The Enron scandal notwithstanding, it is important for professionals in the electric power industry and related positions gain a solid understanding of electric power systems and how they work. Written by two veteran power company managers and respected experts, this is a real-world view of electric power systems, how they operate, how the organizations are structured, and how electricity is regulated and priced.
A comprehensive overview of the electric power industry from the inside
Covers electric power system components, electricity consumption, generation, transmission, distribution, electric utility operation, electric system control, power system reliability, government regulation, utility rate making, and financial considerations.
Includes an extensive glossary of key terms used in the U.S. and also definitions for terms used worldwide
Download Description
The Enron scandal notwithstanding, it is important for professionals in the electric power industry and related positions gain a solid understanding of electric power systems and how they work. Written by two veteran power company managers and respected experts, this is a real-world view of electric power systems, how they operate, how the organizations are structured, and how electricity is regulated and priced.
A comprehensive overview of the electric power industry from the inside
Covers electric power system components, electricity consumption, generation, transmission, distribution, electric utility operation, electric system control, power system reliability, government regulation, utility rate making, and financial considerations
Includes an extensive glossary of key terms used in the U.S. and also definitions for terms used worldwide
Customer Reviews:
Not Bad But Too Many Typos.......2005-08-31
As you can see from the information above, this book is aimed for the non-technical reader. It attempts to give that reader a familiarity with the technical aspects of the electrical power system in the US (first half of the book), and also to give the reader a good understanding of the regulatory issues involved (second half of the book).
I've read most of the first half of the book so far. It's not bad, BUT, I'm amazed that a book put out by the IEEE (that's Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) has as many annoying typos as this one has. Here are some examples:
1) The book consistently uses the abbreviation "m" to indicate one million, when of course the proper abbreviation is "M" (note the capital letter). This is not a minor point for a non-technical reader, because "m" is the proper abbreviation for one-thousandth, and is used in technical books such as this one all the time, to mean ONE-THOUSANDTH. I don't recall looking at another book of this type that makes this mistake.
2) One of the formulas in the book ends in the superscripted footnote "10". This superscripted "10" is placed directly to the right of the formula's rightmost variable, so it looks like that variable is to be raised to the 10th power.
3) One table in the book, which shows the cost of various fuels in dollars per "MMBTU", is difficult to understand, because the abbreviation "MM", which I believe is meant to stand for one million in this table, is not defined.
Yes, each of these examples appears to be minor, but for the non-technical reader trying to make sense of the technical text, the errors are, at the very least, annoying and misleading. I think the errors could have been corrected if the author or the publisher had employed a proper copy editor for about 8 hours.
It's a decent book, though; and the first half of the book pretty much fulfills its objective.
increased govt regulation.......2005-04-12
The book is written for an American reader who might be a manager for an electric utility company, or for someone who might be involved in trading electricity. There is a slight defensive tone about the latter purpose, given the Enron fraud meltdown.
There is an elementary discussion of the physics involved in power generation and transmission. To give the reader a basic understanding of what actually happens. Including the physical limits of a transmission line on the amount of current that it can bear. As well as the transmission losses incurred when selling energy over long distances.
But much of the book deals at a higher level. Notably, explaining how to comply with government regulations, including the various regulatory bodies, where these might be at the Federal or state level. Not surprising, given the Enron scandal, which is still unfolding, and the heightened government scrutiny over the entire utility industry.
Book Description
Does globalization menace our cities? Are cities able to exercise democratic rule and strategic choice when international competition increasingly limits the importance of place? Cities in the International Marketplace looks at the political responses of ten cities in North America and Western Europe as they grappled with the forces of global restructuring during the past thirty years. H. V. Savitch and Paul Kantor conclude that cities do have choices in city building and that they behave strategically in the international marketplace.
Rather than treating cities through case studies, this book undertakes rigorous systematic comparison. In doing so it provides an innovative theory that explains how city governments bargain in the capital investment process to assert their influence. The authors examine the role of economic conditions and intergovernmental politics as well as local democratic institutions and cultural values. They also show why cities vary in their approaches to urban development. They portray how cities are constrained by the dynamics of the global economy but are not its prisoners. Further, they explain why some urban communities have more maneuverability than do others in the economic development game. Local governance, culture, and planning can combine with economic fortune and national urban policies to provide resources that expand or contract the scope for choice. This clearly written book analyzes the political economy of development in Detroit, Houston, and New York in the United States; Toronto in Canada; Paris and Marseilles in France; Milan and Naples in Italy; and Glasgow and Liverpool in Great Britain.
Book Description
In large chain bookstores the "religion" section is gone and in its place is an expanding number of topics including angels, Sufism, journey, recovery, meditation, magic, inspiration, Judaica, astrology, gurus, Bible, prophesy, evangelicalism, Mary, Buddhism, Catholicism, and esoterica. As Wade Clark Roof notes, such changes over the last two decades reflect a shift away from religion as traditionally understood to more diverse and creative approaches. But what does this splintering of the religious perspective say about Americans? Have we become more interested in spiritual concerns or have we become lost among trends? Do we value personal spirituality over traditional religion and no longer see ourselves united in a larger community of faith? Roof first credited this religious diversity to the baby boomers in his bestselling A Generation of Seekers (1993). He returns to interview many of these people, now in mid-life, to reveal a generation with a unique set of spiritual values--a generation that has altered our historic interpretations of religious beliefs, practices, and symbols, and perhaps even our understanding of the sacred itself.
The quest culture created by the baby boomers has generated a "marketplace" of new spiritual beliefs and practices and of revisited traditions. As Roof shows, some Americans are exploring faiths and spiritual disciplines for the first time; others are rediscovering their lost traditions; others are drawn to small groups and alternative communities; and still others create their own mix of values and metaphysical beliefs. Spiritual Marketplace charts the emergence of five subcultures: dogmatists, born-again Christians, mainstream believers, metaphysical believers and seekers, and secularists. Drawing on surveys and in-depth interviews for over a decade, Roof reports on the religious and spiritual styles, family patterns, and moral vision and values for each of these subcultures. The result is an innovative, engaging approach to understanding how religious life is being reshaped as we move into the next century.
Download Description
In large chain bookstores the "religion" section is gone and in its place is an expanding number of topics including angels, Sufism, journey, recovery, meditation, magic, inspiration, Judaica, astrology, gurus, Bible, prophesy, evangelicalism, Mary, Buddhism, Catholicism, and esoterica. As Wade Clark Roof notes, such changes over the last two decades reflect a shift away from religion as traditionally understood to more diverse and creative approaches. But what does this splintering of the religious perspective say about Americans? Have we become more interested in spiritual concerns or have we become lost among trends? Do we value personal spirituality over traditional religion and no longer see ourselves united in a larger community of faith? Roof first credited this religious diversity to the baby boomers in his bestselling A Generation of Seekers (1993). He returns to interview many of these people, now in mid-life, to reveal a generation with a unique set of spiritual values--a generation that has altered our historic interpretations of religious beliefs, practices, and symbols, and perhaps even our understanding of the sacred itself. The quest culture created by the baby boomers has generated a "marketplace" of new spiritual beliefs and practices and of revisited traditions. As Roof shows, some Americans are exploring faiths and spiritual disciplines for the first time; others are rediscovering their lost traditions; others are drawn to small groups and alternative communities; and still others create their own mix of values and metaphysical beliefs. Spiritual Marketplace charts the emergence of five subcultures: dogmatists, born-again Christians, mainstream believers, metaphysical believers and seekers, and secularists.
Customer Reviews:
A window into today's faithful?.......2005-09-26
Written with a 'hands on' approach, Spiritual Marketplace takes the reader on a exploration of what drives America's faith. The classic Catholic & Protestant models no longer seem to be working the way the used to. And yet Americans continue to identify with some sort of faith. The latest trend of describing oneself as 'spiritual not religious' is reflected in a market which prusues and explores alternatives to traditions that no longer seem to fit today's lifestyle. Roof offers great insights. The book keeps the reader engrossed and curious. Definitely worth the investment.
A Great Value for Pursuing a Ministry to Empty Nesters!.......2000-08-31
Baby Boomers have hit the empty nest stage of their lives with a bang! For decades marketers and ministers have tried to understand how to reach out to Baby Boomers. With the advent of the empty nest stage of the lives of Boomers where often they function as a sandwich generation between aging parents and their children who are struggling to be adults, another great opportunity has presented itself. Therefore, as one who feels that congregations and parachurch ministries need to include intentional ministry to persons in the empty nest stage of their adult lives, I find this book to be valuable.
This book charts the emergence of five subcultures of Boomers: dogmatists, Born-again Christians, mainstream believers, metaphysical believers and seekers, and secularists. The value of this book is in its ability to provide you with an understanding of these five subcultures that is not based on shallow, pop research, but on in-depth suveys and interviews over a ten-year period.
One of the changes going on in Baby Boomers connections with congregations is that long-term loyal adults are dropping out when they become empty nesters, and those who left during their twenties and have not yet come back to a congregational community are now coming back as empty nesters. However, those who are coming back often find that congregations are not looking for them. They are looking for young adults, single adults, and senior adults.
Both Deep and Wide.......2000-08-08
This book both informed and affirmed something inside me. By calling the book the spiritual marketplace instead of the religious marketplace, the author immediately reveals the issues for a generation raised on modernity, but which nonetheless knows when it is spiritually hungry. It is almosts too simplistic to equate spirituality with inner experience and religion to outward beliefs, but it's good for a starter. The search culture seems to opt for community based on common inner experience rather than on "truth once revealed". A case in point is a cohort of "born again" boomers whose inner experience draws them into fellowship, but whose modern views shock the old guard who still equate spiritual fullfillment with a proper set of beliefs. Roof's findings make me cheer for the human spirit, the compass of which will always point north when distractions are out of the way. By listening to the stories and the data in Roof's book, I feel more hope that we really CAN find our way home.
The Long Arm of God........2000-01-21
Best and most lasting is knowing one has embraced faith. Roof's message is not new. Humanity has a long history of time spent on the elusive "quest" -- that long (and continuous) trail ever treading toward spirituality. A fulfilling goal. Yes I would recommend "Spiritual Marketplace." As an aside I will share a few personal observations. A friend and his friend, an older gentleman known locally as the 'Hermit of Cold River,'were both skeptical of all man's institutions. They eventually turned to a life time of living in the wilds of the earth's oldest mountain range, the Adirondacks, almost a century ago. There they found meaning in their life and discovered their greatest joys. I recommend reading LIFE WITH NOAH. A narrative of joy, a story of rediscovering one's values. Between pages of survival and adventure living in the outdoors one is treated with some beautiful prose. Backpacking pilgrimages have been taken into the Cold River valley just to capture God's grace and a fraction of the inner peace these men found among nature.
Book Description
In recent years, scientists have begun to focus on the idea that healthy, functioning ecosystems provide essential services to human populations, ranging from water purification to food and medicine to climate regulation. Lacking a healthy environment, these services would have to be provided through mechanical means, at a tremendous economic and social cost.
Nature and the Marketplace examines the controversial proposition that markets should be designed to capture the value of those services. Written by an economist with a background in business, it evaluates the real prospects for various of nature's marketable services to "turn profits" at levels that exceed the profits expected from alternative, ecologically destructive, business activities. The author:
- describes the infrastructure that natural systems provide, how we depend on it, and how we are affecting it
- explains the market mechanism and how it can lead to more efficient resource use
- looks at key economic activities-such as ecotourism, bioprospecting, and carbon sequestration-where market forces can provide incentives for conservation
- examines policy options other than the market, such as pollution credits and mitigation banking
- considers the issue of sustainability and equity between generations
.
Nature and the Marketplace presents an accessible introduction to the concept of ecosystem services and the economics of the environment. It offers a clear assessment of how market approaches can be used to protect the environment, and illustrates that with a number of cases in which the value of ecosystems has actually been captured by markets.
The book offers a straightforward business economic analysis of conservation issues, eschewing romantic notions about ecosystem preservation in favor of real-world economic solutions. It will be an eye-opening work for professionals, students, and scholars in conservation biology, ecology, environmental economics, environmental policy, and related fields.
Customer Reviews:
trading pollution permits.......2006-06-28
Heal explains how one might put a value on an ecosystem, or parts thereof. It's a relatively recent approach that attempts to avoid a tragedy of the commons with respect to the environment, be it local or even global.
A very useful idea described is the trading of pollution permits. The latter are rights to pollute. The premise is that instead of a government trying to mandate a minimum pollution level, it lets a free market determine this, by giving monetary value to permits. So that a company has incentive to develop or use innovative ways to minimise its pollution. Hence being able to sell any net gains to others. This also avoids the government trying to set a value on a permit.
The book suggests that carbon permits might be crucial in battling global warming.
Book Description
This important book addresses the intricate relationship between the public and private sector: why and how government intervenes in the economy and how business can respond. It provides analysis from both perspectives, presenting the ways that government policy affects the activities of the modern corporation and the key responses on the part of business. Providing a strong overview of the global marketplace in which government interacts with business, the book presents up-to-date analysis of recent changes in governmentÕs regulation of business. It features a realistic presentation of the manner in which businesses deal with government, including the basic geometry of governmental intervention in key business areas. Some of the areas covered include the tools that government uses to influence business decision-making; government regulation in the social and economic arenas; business and government in the international economy; government as a market; the key responses of business to government influence; and the future of the corporation. The sixth edition of Business and Government in the Global Marketplace has been revised to include the most up-to-date information and a new chapter on government as a market that covers an important area neglected by other books in this field. An essential reference on government regulation for every business professional.
Customer Reviews:
Text Book Required.......2006-11-03
The parts I have read are fairly well written and easy to follow. This was a required text book for a MBA class.
Book Description
Religion is infiltrating the arena of consumer culture in increasingly visible ways. We see it in a myriad of forms--in movies, such as Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, on Internet shrines and kitschy Web "altars," and in the recent advertising campaign that attacked fuel-guzzling SUVs by posing the question: What would Jesus drive? In Religion, Media, and the Marketplace, scholars in history, media studies, and sociology explore this intersection of the secular and the sacred. Topics include how religious leaders negotiate between the competing aims of the mainstream and the devout in the commercial marketplace, how politics and religious beliefs combine to shape public policy initiatives, how the religious "other" is represented in the media, and how consumer products help define the practice of different faiths.
At a time when religious fundamentalism in the United States and throughout the world is inseparable from political aims, this interdisciplinary look at the mutual influences between religion and the media is essential reading for scholars from a wide variety of disciplines.
Book Description
Religion in America is up for sale. The products range from a plethora of merchandise in questionable taste--such as Bible-based diet books (More of Jesus. Less of Me), Rapture T-shirts (one features a basketball game with half its players disappearing in the Rapture--the caption is "Fast Break"), and bumper stickers and Frisbees with inspirational messages--to the unabashed consumerism of Jim Bakker's Heritage USA, a grandiose Christian theme park with giant water slide, shopping mall, and office complex. We tend to think of these phenomena--which also include a long line of multimillionaire televangelists and the almost manic promotion of Christmas giving--as a fairly recent development. But as R. Laurence Moore points out in Selling God, religion has been deeply involved in our commercial culture since the beginning of the nineteenth century. In a sweeping, colorful history that spans over two centuries of American culture, Moore examines the role of religion in the marketplace, revealing how religious leaders have borrowed (and invented) commercial practices to promote religion--and how business leaders have borrowed (and invented) religion to promote commerce. It is a book peopled by a fascinating roster of American originals, including showman P.T. Barnum and circuit rider Lorenzo Dow, painter Frederick Church and dime novelist Ned Buntline, Sylvester Graham (inventor of the Graham cracker) and the "Poughkeepsie Seer" Andrew Jackson Davis, film directors D.W. Griffith and Cecil B. DeMille, Norman Vincent Peale and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. Moore paints insightful portraits of figures such as Mason Locke Weems (Weems's marriage of aggressive marketing and a moral mission--in such bloody, violent tales as The Drunkard's Looking Glass or God's Revenge Against Adultery--was an important starting point of America's culture industry), religious orator George Whitefield (who transformed church services into mass entertainment, using his acting talents to enthrall vast throngs of people), and Dwight Moody, a former salesman for a boot-and-shoe operation who founded a religious empire centered on the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago (and who advertised his meetings in the entertainment pages of the newspaper). Moore also shows how the Mormons pioneered leisure activities (Brigham Young built the famed Salt Lake Theater, seating 1,500 people, months before work on the Tabernacle started), how Henry Ward Beecher helped the ardent Protestant became the consummate consumer (explicitly justifying the building of expensive mansions, and the collecting of art and antique furniture, as the proper tendencies of pious men), and how the First Amendment, in denying religious groups the status and financial solvency of a state church, forced them to compete in the marketplace for the attention of Americans: religious leaders could either give in to the sway of the market or watch their churches die. Ranging from the rise of gymnasiums and "muscular Christianity," to the creation of the Chautauqua movement (blending devotional services with concerts, fireworks, bonfires, and humorous lectures), to Oral Robert's "Blessing Pacts" and L. Ron Hubbard's Church of Scientology, Selling God provides both fascinating social history and an insightful look at religion in America.
Book Description
Since 1998, U.S. House incumbents have won a staggering 98 percent of their reelection races. Electoral competition is also low and in decline in most state and primary elections. The Marketplace for Democracy combines the resources of two eminent research organizations—the Brookings Institution and the Cato Institute—to address the startling lack of competition in our democratic system. The contributors consider the historical development, legal background, and political aspects of a system that is supposed to be responsive and accountable yet for many is becoming stagnant, self-perpetuating, and tone-deaf. How did we get to this point, and what—if anything—should be done about it?
In The Marketplace for Democracy, top-tier political scholars also investigate the perceived lack of competition in arenas only previously speculated on, such as state legislative contests and congressional primaries. Michael McDonald, John Samples, and their colleagues analyze previous reform efforts such as direct primaries and term limits, and the effects they have had on electoral competition. They also examine current reform efforts in redistricting and campaign finance regulation, as well as the impact of third parties. In sum, what does all this tell us about what might be done to increase electoral competition?
Elections are the vehicles through which Americans choose who governs them, and the power of the ballot enables ordinary citizens to keep public officials accountable. This volume considers different policy options for increasing the competition needed to keep American politics vibrant, responsive, and democratic.
Contributors: Stephen Ansolabehere (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), William D. Berry (Florida State University), Bruce Cain (University of California-Berkeley), Thomas M. Carsey (Florida State University), James G. Gimpel (University of Maryland), Tim Groseclose (University of California-Los Angeles), John Hanley (University of California-Berkeley), John mark Hansen (University of Chicago), Paul S. Herrnson (University of Maryland), Shigeo Hirano (Columbia University), Gary C. Jacobson (University of California-San Diego), Thad Kousser (University of California-San Diego), Frances E. Lee (University of Maryland), John C. Matsusaka (University of Southern California), Kenneth R. Mayer (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Michael P. McDonald (Brookings Institution and George Mason University), Jeffrey Milyo (University of Missouri-Columbia), Richard G. Niemi (University of Rochester), Natheniel Persily (University of Pennsylvania Law School), Lynda W. Powell (University of Rochester), David Primo (University of Rochester), John Samples (Cato Institute), James M. Snyder Jr. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Timothy Werner (University of Wisconsin-Madison), and Amanda Williams (University of Wisconsin-Madison).
Customer Reviews:
Superb Examination of Elections and Democracy.......2006-11-15
This collection of essays, published in 2006 before the elections, is a valuable peek into elections, how those elected write the rules of the elections, and the electoral results of those rules. Several studies point to the resulting high rate of incumbency reelection, which since 1945 has usually been over 90% for most state and national offices. Still, this does not mean that elections are always secure. In 1980, 55% of incumbent Senators were reelected, a notable exception to the general reelection expectations. Plus, the book was written before the 2006 primaries and elections which experienced a higher rate of incumbent defeated than in the past.
While individual incumbents have become more secure in winning reelections, political parties have diminished. The research reported in this book indicates that the public's affiliation with any political party has been lessening since the 1960s. Yet without strong political parties, incumbents are finding it easier to win reelections in part due to decreased competition. Redistricting decisions tend to make it more difficult for challenging parties to successfully defeat incumbents. Research also shows that challengers have tended to have less previous experience, indicating that fewer experienced, and thus weaker, political challengers have emerged.
The redistricting advantage is currently particularly effective for Republicans, according to research discussed in this book. It credits Republican leaders with successful gerrymanders in Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan. Authors in this book conclude that the attempts of one political party to gerrymander have had unintended results of not achieving the best partisan result sought by the gerrymanders. When attempts are made to maximize the number a seats a political party could win, the result often turns out instead to increase in the number of competitive seats.
Electoral competition usually decreases in each successive election following redistricting. Incumbents are most vulnerable in their new districts and become better established and less vulnerable over time. Ironically, this failed to happen in 2002, the first election after the 2000 redistricting, leading some observations that incumbents had become better skilled at devising redistricting to protect themselves.
The per cent of voters participating in U.S. House elections has been declining over past decades, although the rate of decline has been erratic. It has reached a historic low. Apparently this reduced turnout has favored incumbents.
State legislative elections find incumbent reelection rates in several states as over 80% or 90%, with the highest rates found in some elections of 99% in Pennsylvania to 98% in New York, Michigan, and Massachusetts. The increased incumbency reelection rates produces stability of membership to legislatures. In the 1930s, each session saw half of its membership as new members. In the 1980s and 1990s, legislatures kept about three quarters of their members between sessions. Not running for reelection was a leading cause of not returning, rather than being defeated.
Legislatures have become more professional over the decades, and research shows the electoral competition decreases in states with more professional legislatures. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, and Wisconsin have the least competitive state legislative elections, and voter approval of their professional legislators along with the greater ability of professional legislators to serve and communicate with their constituents contributes to this reduced competition.
While campaign contributions have become a more important part of politics, researchers note that many candidates do not raise funds from local sources. Over half of all Democratic funds raised and about 40% of Republican funds nationwide are raised from contributors located in only 50 counties.
Term limits have increased competition for state legislative seats. From 1991 through 2002, 698 seats nationwide were created by term limits, and 82% of those open seats were contested by the two major parties. By comparison, there were 4,754 open seats that occurred in states without term limits, and 74% of those seats were contested between the two major parties. Despite the increased competition caused by term limits, greater political party turnover was found in the non-term limited open seats, where 19% switched parties, as opposed to the term-limited open seats were 12% switched parties.
In sum, this book discovers that elections have become less competitive. If democracy is truly a marketplace, then the market is purchasing more determinant elections and less electoral uncertainty.
The Marketplace Democracy is a desperately needed and strongly recommended contribution to modern political debate........2006-11-05
Edited by Michael P. McDonald (an assistant Professor as George Mason University and a visiting fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings institution) and John Samples (Director of the Center for Representative Government at the Cato Institute), The Marketplace Democracy: Electoral Competition and American Politics is an anthology of essays by political experts concerning the stagnancy of modern American democracy. Since 1998, US House incumbents have won 98% of the reelection races, and electoral competition is on the decline in most state and primary elections. The resources of two respected organizations, the Brookings Institution and the Cato Institute, pool their talents to investigate the historical background, legal development, and political nuances of a system that is supposed to be responsible and adaptable, yet is effectively self-perpetuating and anti-dynamic. Presenting a wealth of policy options to help revitalize American democratic politics, The Marketplace Democracy is a desperately needed and strongly recommended contribution to modern political debate.
Book Description
Media Center Discovery is a handy guide for you to use with your elementary and middle school students. They will learn to use the media center and develop the skills needed to access and use print, nonprint, and electronic library materials. The book contains an array of fun-filled and informative activities that support language arts and social studies courses in grades 5-8. Your students will learn by doing the book’s activities, which are designed to foster critical thinking skills, literacy skills, and research ethics. The lessons presented in this easy-to-use book can be used in any sequence, and each activity is followed with an assessment or evaluation. For quick access and easy use the book is organized into eleven sections.
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Books Index
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