Since the end of the Cold War, crises from the Balkans to Central Asia and Africa have forced international organizations to adapt, expand, and cooperate to end civil wars, manage humanitarian challenges, and contain terrorist threats. The Power of Dependence explores the complex relationship between two of these organizations: NATO and the United Nations. It advances an innovative resource dependence approach to explain the stark variation in interorganizational cooperation, combining insights from international relations theory and organizational science in a comprehensive theoretical framework. Comparing NATO and the UN's engagement in three major post-Cold War conflicts- Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan- the study finds that the level and balance of the organizations' resource dependence plays a crucial role in shaping the degree of cooperation. The Power of Dependence demonstrates the logic, dynamics, and impact of organizational interactions in addressing regional instability and violent conflict. It will be of interest to anyone concerned with understanding and building more effective interorganizational partnerships in crisis management.

In this highly original study, Gregory Downs argues that the most American of wars, the Civil War, created a seemingly un-American popular politics, rooted not in independence but in voluntary claims of dependence. Through an examination of the pleas and

World-renowned therapist Dr. Jorge Bucay's wisdom is finally available in America, helping to change lives in the United States, in the same powerful manner he has done so for countless people throughout the world. In an easy-to-read format, with engaging stories and thoughtful anecdotes drawn from a multitude of sources -- folktales, the Bible, eastern philosophy, and the Talmud -- The Power of Self-Dependence leads us beyond our commonplace notion of independence to the more profound concept of self-dependence. Dr. Jorge Bucay, taking on the role of Life-Coach, proposes that in order for us all to attain balance in our lives and to achieve inner peace, we must acknowledge our dependence on those around us -- whether they are friends, family, or even coworkers. We can't, Bucay firmly establishes, go it alone. With his unique blend of spirituality and practical wisdom, Bucay explains why independence proves to be an illusion and demonstrates how understanding this allows us to transform ourselves into healthy, enlightened individuals. Without ignoring our own need for independence, Bucay shows us that as people, we are social creatures who must learn to trust and embrace one another. Before we can seek happiness, says Bucay,we must first learn to be self-dependent -- on our own instincts and of those closest to us. Once we have attained this delicate balance between trusting ourselves and trusting those we love and depend upon, we clear the path toward the ultimate goal: personal happiness.

Drawing on the research of more than 50 influential international scholars, this extensive interdisciplinary survey consolidates and evaluates what is known and not known about organizations, and critically examines how we learn about and study them. Contributors include 50 influential international scholars. Contributions represent the most important contemporary perspectives on organizations, including networks, ecology and technology. Each topic is covered at three levels of organization: intraorganizational, organizational, and interorganizational. Chapters structured around five common elements for ease of use.

This work provides scholars and policy makers with a better understanding of the conditions under which international organizations make meaningful efforts to cooperate and offers important insights into inter-organizational partnerships on the international stage.

"Prodependence," a new psychological term created by Robert Weiss to describe healthy interdependence in the modern world, turns this around. Rather that preaching detachment and distance over continued bonding and assistance, as so many therapists, self-help books, and 12-step groups currently do, prodependence celebrates the human need for and pursuit of intimate connection, viewing this as a positive force for change. Simply stated, prodependence occurs when attachment relationships are mutually beneficial--with one person's strengths filling in the weak points of the other, and vice versa. And this can occur even when an addiction is present

The area of data analysis has been greatly affected by our computer age. For example, the issue of collecting and storing huge data sets has become quite simplified and has greatly affected such areas as finance and telecommunications. Even non-specialists try to analyze data sets and ask basic questions about their structure. One such question is whether one observes some type of invariance with respect to scale, a question that is closely related to the existence of long-range dependence in the data. This important topic of long-range dependence is the focus of this unique work, written by a number of specialists on the subject. The topics selected should give a good overview from the probabilistic and statistical perspective. Included will be articles on fractional Brownian motion, models, inequalities and limit theorems, periodic long-range dependence, parametric, semiparametric, and non-parametric estimation, long-memory stochastic volatility models, robust estimation, and prediction for long-range dependence sequences. For those graduate students and researchers who want to use the methodology and need to know the "tricks of the trade," there will be a special section called "Mathematical Techniques." Topics in the first part of the book are covered from probabilistic and statistical perspectives and include fractional Brownian motion, models, inequalities and limit theorems, periodic long-range dependence, parametric, semiparametric, and non-parametric estimation, long-memory stochastic volatility models, robust estimation, prediction for long-range dependence sequences. The reader is referred to more detailed proofs if already found in the literature. The last part of the book is devoted to applications in the areas of simulation, estimation and wavelet techniques, traffic in computer networks, econometry and finance, multifractal models, and hydrology. Diagrams and illustrations enhance the presentation. Each article begins with introductory background material and is accessible to mathematicians, a variety of practitioners, and graduate students. The work serves as a state-of-the art reference or graduate seminar text.

The church of Jesus Christ finds itself at a very unique moment in history. The average Christian living in the “economically advanced countries” enjoys a level of prosperity that has been unimaginable for most of human history. At the same time, over 2.5 billion people in the Majority World (Africa, Asia, and Latin America) live on less than $2 per day, with many of these people being Christians. Ironically, it is amongst the “least of these” in the Global South that the global church is experiencing the most rapid growth. All of this raises profound challenges to the global church. How can churches and missionaries in the Majority World effectively address the devastating poverty both inside their congregations and just outside their doors? How can churches in the economically advanced countries effectively partner with Global South churches in this process? The very integrity of the global church’s testimony is at stake, for where God’s people reside, there should be no poverty (Deuteronomy 15:4; Acts 4:34). For the past several decades, microfinance (MF) and microenterprise development (MED) have been the leading approaches to poverty alleviation. MF/MED is a set of interventions that allow households to better manage their finances and start small businesses. From remote churches in rural Africa to the short-term missions programs of mega-churches in the United States, churches and missionaries have taken the plunge into MF/MED, trying to emulate the apparent success of large-scale relief and development organizations. Unfortunately, most churches and missionaries find this to be far more difficult than they had imagined. Repayment rates on loans are low and churches typically end up with struggling programs that require ongoing financial subsidies. Everybody gets hurt in the process: donors, relief and development agencies, churches and missionaries, and--most importantly—the poor people themselves. This book explains the basic principles for successfully utilizing microfinance in ministry. Drawing on best practice research and their own pioneering work with the Chalmers Center, Brian Fikkert and Russell Mask chart a path for churches and missionaries to pursue, a path that minimizes the risks of harm, relies on local resources, and enables missionaries and churches to minister in powerful ways to the spiritual and economic needs of some of the poorest people on the planet. The insights of microfinance can play a tremendous role in helping to stabilize poor households, removing them from the brink of disaster and enabling them to make the changes that are conducive to long-term progress. Moreover, when combined with evangelism and discipleship, a church-centered microfinance program can be a powerful tool for holistic ministry—one that is empowering for the poor and devoid of the dependencies plaguing most relationships between churches in economically advanced countries and churches in poor nations.