Drawing on more than four decades of experience as a researcher and teacher, Howard Becker now brings to students and researchers the many valuable techniques he has learned. Tricks of the Trade will help students learn how to think about research projects. Assisted by Becker's sage advice, students can make better sense of their research and simultaneously generate fresh ideas on where to look next for new data. The tricks cover four broad areas of social science: the creation of the "imagery" to guide research; methods of "sampling" to generate maximum variety in the data; the development of "concepts" to organize findings; and the use of "logical" methods to explore systematically the implications of what is found. Becker's advice ranges from simple tricks such as changing an interview question from "Why?" to "How?" (as a way of getting people to talk without asking for a justification) to more technical tricks such as how to manipulate truth tables. Becker has extracted these tricks from a variety of fields such as art history, anthropology, sociology, literature, and philosophy; and his dazzling variety of references ranges from James Agee to Ludwig Wittgenstein. Becker finds the common principles that lie behind good social science work, principles that apply to both quantitative and qualitative research. He offers practical advice, ideas students can apply to their data with the confidence that they will return with something they hadn't thought of before. Like Writing for Social Scientists, Tricks of the Trade will bring aid and comfort to generations of students. Written in the informal, accessible style for which Becker is known, this book will be an essential resource for students in a wide variety of fields. "An instant classic. . . . Becker's stories and reflections make a great book, one that will find its way into the hands of a great many social scientists, and as with everything he writes, it is lively and accessible, a joy to read."—Charles Ragin, Northwestern University

The twenty last years have been marked by an increase in available data and computing power. In parallel to this trend, the focus of neural network research and the practice of training neural networks has undergone a number of important changes, for example, use of deep learning machines. The second edition of the book augments the first edition with more tricks, which have resulted from 14 years of theory and experimentation by some of the world's most prominent neural network researchers. These tricks can make a substantial difference (in terms of speed, ease of implementation, and accuracy) when it comes to putting algorithms to work on real problems.

TA-DAAAH!Paul Kelly makes the ordinary extraordinary with a little bit of magic and a whole lot of wisdom.Tired of spinning your wheels? Do you want to take your business, your career, your family, your life to the next level? Paul Kelly has grown one of America's most successful HVAC and plumbing companies, enjoying years of exceptional growth that's the envy of the industry. Now he offers his experience and expertise to you. With Paul as your guide, you'll learn how to . . .?Convince anyone of anything?Win the war for talent?Set and achieve goals?Make more out of the business you already get?Advertise effectively-even on a budget?Get everyone on the same page?Earn customers' loyalty and trust ?Create an environment that encourages success?Rev up your sales engine?Get rid of the hiccups (seriously)?And more!Paul Kelly's vast experience and know-how are between these covers. Read "Tricks of the Trade to Success," put it to work, and let it change your life and your business in ways that will make you wave your hand with a flourish, take a bow, and say . . .TA-DAAAH!

Neurosurgery Tricks of the Trade: Spine and Peripheral Nerves presents core surgical procedures in a concise, highly didactic format, enabling surgeons to quickly grasp their essence from the bulleted text and superb illustrations that accompany them. Expert neurosurgeons specializing in the spine and peripheral nerves describe how they perform common procedures and offer surgical tips and pearls. Key Features: Distills a wealth of information in a concise, step-by-step format, making it easy for neurosurgeons and other spine specialists to review how procedures are performed Includes more than 100 procedures focusing on the spine and peripheral nerves, each accompanied by high-quality, original illustrations Presents all procedures using a consistent outline and covers topics in either a pathology-based or an approach-based manner Surgeons at all levels, from residents learning procedures to experienced practitioners needing a quick refresher, will find this book and its companion volume, Neurosurgery Tricks of the Trade: Cranial, to be invaluable resources throughout their surgical careers. This book has been developed from Thieme eNeurosurgery, the world's most comprehensive neurosurgical resource online. For a free trial, go to: http://thieme.com/eneurotrial

A comprehensive how-to guide on hand surgery techniques from top experts! Hand surgery requires precision, in-depth expertise, and versatility in order to perform a wide variety of operations on fractures, tendon and nerve conditions, soft tissue injuries, rheumatoid deformities, and congenital defects. Hand Surgery: Tricks of the Trade by renowned Rothman Orthopaedic Institute hand surgeon Pedro Beredjiklian and an impressive group of contributors provides a clear road map on how to perform common hand surgery procedures. Concise step-by-step text enables readers to quickly read, review, and understand the most salient points for each approach. Organized into 14 major sections and 88 chapters, this book encompasses the full spectrum of orthopaedic surgery procedures on the tendons, nerves, bones, and joints of the hand. The text starts with two sections focused on tendon repair and reconstruction. Subsequent sections detail open and endoscopic release and decompression techniques for nerve conditions, fixation and plating of hand and wrist fractures, osteotomy for bone reconstruction, arthroplasty for arthritis, and ligament repair for instability. The last four sections discuss plastic surgery topics including the use of diverse skin grafts and flaps, Dupuytren's disease, arthroscopy, and infections. Key Features Consistent chapter layouts include key principles, indications, contraindications, positioning and anesthesia, important procedural steps, potential complications, and more. Nearly 1,000 illustrations and photographs provide greater understanding of impacted anatomy. Insightful intraoperative pearls, tips, and tricks provide surgeons with the tools to perform surgeries more effectively and thereby improve patient outcomes. This is a must-have resource for orthopaedic surgery residents, fellows, and hand surgeons. Trainee and experienced plastic surgeons will also benefit from reading this textbook.

'An intoxicating cocktail composed of equal parts delicious name-dropping gossip, venomous Hollywood satire and steamy boy-meets-boy action' - PW Being gay in Hollywood is never easy, but thanks to his homophobic boss, Burt's life is a living hell. Now he figures if he's going down, he'll take the whole town with him. Then he meets Rodrigo, a lusty Latino hustler looking for his big break, and Jim Fallon, an actor whose personal life has put an end to his career. The stage is set for the trio to wreak havoc on the biz, but can partners in crime become partners in life?

A review for the book from another world renown author.Rita Mulcahy, PMP, is an author, consultant and member of the Project Management Institute's Risk Management Special Interest Group. Either through frustration at the lack of good, practical risk management reference materials, or because she is bubbling over with ideas on the subject, Rita has written a comprehensive book: "Risk Management - Tricks of the Trade? for Project Managers." The book is structured according to the Institute's view of project risk management and is therefore supportive of the Project Management Professional certification exam. It even has a 50-question Final Exam in the certification examination mode.However, Rita's book is much more than that. It provides a very clear and down-to-earth explanation of what project risk management is all about. I was particularly pleased to see an emphasis on things going right (opportunities enhancement) as well as going wrong (risks). The book is lavishly endowed with bulleted lists of explanation for rapid absorption of content by busy project people. It also has very practical quick-read "Tricks of the Trade" sidebars (e.g. How to interview an expert), check lists, charts, forms and how to use them with worked examples. It is even topped off with quiz games to make it a fun encounter.For University instructors and training workshop leaders there are plenty of "Questions for discussion". In an appendix there is a long list of potential risks, their cause and effect in various industries. No doubt that list has been culled from the brainstorming efforts of many of Rita's workshop attendees over the years. Still, I could not help but empathize with chagrin the construction risk-cause entry "Local politicos, unruly elements, etc." Well said!Armed with this book, there should be no excuse any longer for anyone to declare that they don't know how to apply risk management to their projects, however large or small their projects may be. Nor should there be any question of how to get started or even why they should get started and when. The real benefit of the book is that it demonstrates very clearly that project risk management does not have to be difficult, nor academically challenging. I have always held that project risk management is really very simple.When you are gearing up for your next project, the best advice I can give is "Don't leave home without it!"R. Max Wideman, P.Eng.FCSCE, FEIC, FICE, FPMI

This book looks inside the secretive subculture of modern magicians. Entering the flourishing Paris magic scene as an apprentice, the author gives a firsthand account of how magicians learn to perform their deceptions. He follows the day-to-day lives of some of France's most renowned performers, revealing not only how secrets are created and shared, but also how they are stolen and destroyed.

Jeston Nash knew horses—he’s stolen enough of them in his time. But the lookalike cousin of Jesse James was going respectable, almost. Then, in a New Orleans teeming with drunks and blue uniforms, he sold a horse to a well-bred lady. It was the biggest mistake of his career .... He hit Fort Lincoln with a belly full of wounds and minus a boot. His horse had been stolen, and he’d stolen it back—along with some bootleg crackers. All in all, it hadn’t been a pleasant trip through the dreaded Black Hills. But at least Jeston Nash—for the time being calling himself Beatty—hadn’t drowned. Now he fully intended to fulfill a promise: to deliver an unridable horse called Honest Bob to a woman named Custer. The trouble was, the wife of General George Armstrong Custer, Elizabeth, wasn’t very interested in the horse she’d persuaded Nash to deliver. In fact, Mrs. Custer was on the warpath. So were the Sioux—and General Custer’s commanders in Washington. Suddenly, Nash finds himself in the middle of the most dangerous kind of fight: a marital squabble. Before he knows it he’s riding alongside a hardheaded, buffalo-hunting, blond-haired general who’s sure glory awaits them—at a place called Little Big Horn ....