David B. Wilson

This is a unique applied linguistic study which demonstrates that the history of TEFLers is very different from the history of TEFL. Instead of studying theories of language learning and teaching, it explores the experience of being a TEFLer through the ages, using a wide range of fictional and fictive sources: novels, plays, biographies, memoirs, essays, and poems. Part One considers the present and recent past through an analysis of 15 fictional works and five memoirs. Part Two is concerned with the experiences of some historical iconic figures from the world of TEFL, beginning with the sixteenth century and ending with figures associated with the British Council and International House. Along the way one meets Victorian governesses, Berlitz teachers, and literary figures from the inter-War 'Golden Age' of travel. Interposed are some of the experiences of the author garnered during his long and varied career as an expatriate TEFLer.

This book provides the student, researcher or practitioner with the tools to understand many of the most commonly used advanced statistical analysis tools in criminology and criminal justice, and also to apply them to research problems. The volume is structured around two main topics, giving the user flexibility to find what they need quickly. The first is “the general linear model” which is the main analytic approach used to understand what influences outcomes in crime and justice. It presents a series of approaches from OLS multivariate regression, through logistic regression and multi-nomial regression, hierarchical regression, to count regression. The volume also examines alternative methods for estimating unbiased outcomes that are becoming more common in criminology and criminal justice, including analyses of randomized experiments and propensity score matching. It also examines the problem of statistical power, and how it can be used to better designstudies. Finally, it discusses meta analysis, which is used to summarize studies; and geographic statistical analysis, which allows us to take into account the ways in which geographies may influence our statistical conclusions.

This introductory textbook takes a building-block approach that emphasizes the application and interpretation of statistics in research in crime and justice. This text is meant for both students and professionals who want to gain a basic understanding of common statistical methods used in criminology and criminal justice before advancing to more complex statistical analyses in future volumes. This book emphasizes comprehension and interpretation. As the statistical methods discussed become more complex and demanding to compute, it integrates statistical software. It provides readers with an accessible understanding of popular statistical programs used to examine real-life crime and justice problems (including SPSS, Stata, and R). In addition, the book includes supplemental resources such as a glossary of key terms, practice questions, and sample data. Basic Statistics in Criminology and Criminal Justice aims to give students and researchers a core understanding of statistical concepts and methods that will leave them with the confidence and tools to tackle the statistical problems in their own research work.

This book provides the student, researcher or practitioner with the tools to understand many of the most commonly used advanced statistical analysis tools in criminology and criminal justice, and also to apply them to research problems. The volume is structured around two main topics, giving the user flexibility to find what they need quickly. The first is “the general linear model” which is the main analytic approach used to understand what influences outcomes in crime and justice. It presents a series of approaches from OLS multivariate regression, through logistic regression and multi-nomial regression, hierarchical regression, to count regression. The volume also examines alternative methods for estimating unbiased outcomes that are becoming more common in criminology and criminal justice, including analyses of randomized experiments and propensity score matching. It also examines the problem of statistical power, and how it can be used to better designstudies. Finally, it discusses meta analysis, which is used to summarize studies; and geographic statistical analysis, which allows us to take into account the ways in which geographies may influence our statistical conclusions.

This introductory textbook takes a building-block approach that emphasizes the application and interpretation of statistics in research in crime and justice. This text is meant for both students and professionals who want to gain a basic understanding of common statistical methods used in criminology and criminal justice before advancing to more complex statistical analyses in future volumes. This book emphasizes comprehension and interpretation. As the statistical methods discussed become more complex and demanding to compute, it integrates statistical software. It provides readers with an accessible understanding of popular statistical programs used to examine real-life crime and justice problems (including SPSS, Stata, and R). In addition, the book includes supplemental resources such as a glossary of key terms, practice questions, and sample data. Basic Statistics in Criminology and Criminal Justice aims to give students and researchers a core understanding of statistical concepts and methods that will leave them with the confidence and tools to tackle the statistical problems in their own research work.

THE OBAMA CONFEDERACY: A Tangled Web of Deceit, Divisiveness and Dishonesty At last, from a pragmatic, down-to-earth, freelance writer, an objective assessment of the impact Barack Obama's years in the White House have had on the World, America and Americans. Seven years in the making, selected articles from David B. Wilson's email network, "LET'S FACE IT: Everyday Political Discussions", have been assembled in this single collection. In an unconventional, man-on-the-street style of writing, Wilson brilliantly blends truth, analogy, satire, sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek literary tools to expose how dirty politics and cronyism have burgeoned in Washington under the current administration. Pulling from his Texas roots, he colorfully describes this era as "a load of crap". Then, with simplicity in his analyses and insightful scenario thinking Wilson brings some measure of reality to the modern political process that everyday Americans just do not have the time to develop on their own. Now, here it is, an easy-to-read book that those who are interested in, but not obsessed with, politics can use to painlessly and, indeed, enjoyably "catch up". The book contains over five hundred articles and opinion editorials regarding specific events that have taken place since President Obama took office. It is divided into yearly segments that are complimented by thematic summaries at the beginning and end of each year. Using content from the above-mentioned missives as subject matter and drawing from his forty years of following American politics, Wilson freely expresses his opinion about the havoc the Obama presidency has wreaked on the Country. The basic information, however, is presented in a form that the readers can quickly absorb and come to their own conclusions. Wilson passionately professes to being a staunch conservative but, this writing was earnestly prepared with the intent to always be fair and authentic in his analyses. His bottom line, however, is this: "THE OBAMA CONFEDERACY" makes the case that Barack Obama's term as President is arguably the most agenda-driven, corrupt period in the history of American politics. Postscript: Just for the record, it is the author's opinion that a Hillary Clinton presidency would be a continuation of "THE OBAMA CONFEDERACY" in which the "crap" would simply be piled higher and deeper.

The Scottish Enlightenment was a vital moment in the history of Western civilization. As one modern admirer of Scotland cogently wrote: “No small nation—except Greece—has ever achieved an intellectual and cultural breakthrough of this magnitude.” Placing Isaac Newton’s natural philosophy within a broad conceptual context, Seeking Nature’s Logic takes that science from Galileo to the early nineteenth century, concentrating on Scotland during the 120 years from 1690 to 1810—a period defined by the publication of Newton’s Principia in 1687 and the death of John Robison in 1805. Newton’s work changed the course of natural philosophy, and Robison was the most significant natural philosopher of the Scottish Enlightenment. As professor of natural philosophy at Edinburgh University from 1774 to 1805, John Robison taught the premier science of the day at the premier science university of the time. He discovered experimentally that electrical and magnetic forces were, like gravity, inverse square forces, and he wrote influential treatises on electricity, magnetism, mechanics, and astronomy. By articulating a particularly Scottish approach to physics, he was the main conceptual link between Newton and those Scottish geniuses of Victorian physics, Lord Kelvin and James Clerk Maxwell. Seeking Nature’s Logic explains the background of Robison’s natural philosophy, analyzes his own sharply shifting ideas, and places those ideas in the context of early nineteenth-century Scottish thought.

The Scottish Enlightenment was a vital moment in the history of Western civilization. As one modern admirer of Scotland cogently wrote: “No small nation—except Greece—has ever achieved an intellectual and cultural breakthrough of this magnitude.” Placing Isaac Newton’s natural philosophy within a broad conceptual context, Seeking Nature’s Logic takes that science from Galileo to the early nineteenth century, concentrating on Scotland during the 120 years from 1690 to 1810—a period defined by the publication of Newton’s Principia in 1687 and the death of John Robison in 1805. Newton’s work changed the course of natural philosophy, and Robison was the most significant natural philosopher of the Scottish Enlightenment. As professor of natural philosophy at Edinburgh University from 1774 to 1805, John Robison taught the premier science of the day at the premier science university of the time. He discovered experimentally that electrical and magnetic forces were, like gravity, inverse square forces, and he wrote influential treatises on electricity, magnetism, mechanics, and astronomy. By articulating a particularly Scottish approach to physics, he was the main conceptual link between Newton and those Scottish geniuses of Victorian physics, Lord Kelvin and James Clerk Maxwell. Seeking Nature’s Logic explains the background of Robison’s natural philosophy, analyzes his own sharply shifting ideas, and places those ideas in the context of early nineteenth-century Scottish thought.