lap lambert academic publishing dez 2009 (155 Ergebnisse)

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity is shaking the world with emphasis on a vigorous community, missionary work, strong family and individual, personal relationship to God and not in the last place, accent on prosperous health and business. This book is an ethnographic study of a manifestation of this global movement in Hungary. The focus lies on a new type of religious experience that the Pentecostal/Charismatic religion offers to its followers in Faith Church in Budapest, with vivid understanding of the transcendental in the believer¿s life and the experience of closeness of God, regarded as religious sensations. Considering religious sensations is an innovative approach in understanding religious experience, as it encompasses not only the feelings experienced during sensations, but also their mediation and induction. The role of narratives, bodily movements and the charismatic leadership of this church are analyzed with respect to the creation and mediation of religious experience.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 56 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The news in Pakistan is dead. What had been routine for journalists ¿ covering politics, government, and community life ¿ is no more. Overshadowed by coverage of violence, international conflict and terrorism since the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., there is no room in Pakistani news media or interest among Pakistani journalists for everyday news. Instead of covering human rights issues and daily social problems, images and news of suicide bombings, terrorist attacks, and religious extremism continue to land on page one, plaster Web pages and dominate TV news. International reporter and scholar Rauf Arif examines, through the stories of 12 Pakistani journalists, changing news trends of journalism in Pakistani media that were set in motion by the events of 9/11. This work bridges a gap in mass media research on how significant events in history impact the values of journalism influence media in everyday life on the other side of the world.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 72 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Since the Cold War minority rights have been re-internationalized and the protection of national minorities has become an important and often controversial factor in European politics. The EU has shown its commitment to minority protection when, in 1993 the European Council incorporated the ¿respect for and protection of national minorities¿ as a part of the political condition for EU membership. This resulted in a substantive incentive structure for the improvement of minority protection during the accession period. However, the author focuses on what has happened after the EU-accession and whether the established criterion continues to provide minority protection. In order to unravel and examine potential inconsistencies concerning minority protection the study examines the Hungarian communities living in Slovakia and Romania, with a particular focus on language rights. The study will be useful to professionals working in the field of minority research, and to everyone who is interested in the European policy-making in the field of minority protection. (The Master Thesis was submitted in May 2009)Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 84 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Earnings Management (EM) is a phrase often given to the accounting decisions (or practices) managers make that can affect the outcome of the ¿Bottom Line.¿ Current definitions lend a negative connotation to the phrase and thus people think that all earnings management is wrong, but this book maintains that not all decisions are ¿bad.¿ There are viable decisions managers can make that still help maintain a solid bottom line and are still ethical, mainly because the intent behind the decision is not to deceive. Thus, intent is key. When the intent is to deceive, the resulting actions are defined as fraud, which is illegal. Therefore, many definitions must better distinguish differences between earnings management practices and fraudulent practices. Furthermore, this book attempts to answer the following ethics question: Can one perform EM ethically and still maintain profitable bottom lines This discussion prompts further questions such as: Is something ethical if it is legal or is something unethical if it is illegal Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 56 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The mineral subsector has traditionally offered informal and formal employment to local communities. Discovery of mines is accompanied with realignment of socio-economic and cultural context of an area. New Mineral Policy and Mineral Act were developed in 1990s that allowed foreign investors in the mining industry. The influx of foreign investment companies was received with mixed feel by the government, local communities and artisanal and small-scale miners. However there is little evidence of minerals¿ significant contribution in curbing poverty. This book examines a particular case in Tanzania, where artisanal and small-scale miners, local companies and communities are engaged in mining activities. Limited consultation culminates into misgiving and brews conflicts between the investors and artisanal and small-scale miners. Conflicts chock the chances for collaboration. Being at receiving end, mining communities are mostly affected whenever there are conflicts that cause the mines to close thereby affecting the livelihood communities. Relevant authorities have to strategize how stakeholders can complement each other and effectively contribute to poverty reduction.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 104 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The book is the first attempt to analyze the phenomenon of financial contagion during the global crisis that started in 2007. Estimation procedure is based on time-varying copula models of daily return rates of seven world stock markets during 2005-2009. Copula functions are applied to investigate the impact of the global financial crisis on the dependence measures between international markets. The relation between the effect strength and trend characteristics is also examined. The results indicate upward shift of constant correlation parameters and significant change of the coefficients describing the behaviour of dependence parameters.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 60 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book places a choice of conscience on the decision-making table of powerful multinational companies and business managers in general, offering them a conceptual decision-making model to deal with corruption-related situations. The purpose of writing this book is to lend an inclusive meaning to corruption that takes into account stakeholder issues and provides business managers an ethical choice of action in corruption-related situations.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 160 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Causal inference is an important but controversial topic in the social sciences in that it is difficult to statistically control for all possible confounding variables. To address this concern, this monograph introduces a reference distribution of the confounding that is the product of two dependent correlation coefficients and illustrates how to use the reference distribution to investigate the robustness of a cause inference to the impact of a confounding variable. The methodology discussed in this monograph would also allow for multiple partial causes in the complex social phenomena under study, so as to inform causal inferences in the social sciences from statistical linear models.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 96 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Outcome Mapping is a methodology for planning, monitoring and evaluation of projects promoted by the International Development Research Centre. During its ten years of existence, the Latin American Trade Network has been incorporating this methodology gradually, adapting its tools to its own features and procedures. OM provides a series of steps to the stage of planning and project definition, and data collection mechanisms and evaluation of outcomes that allow continuous monitoring and reflection. Those data collection instruments have become the main tool for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Network. Throughout that process, the instruments and steps that the proposed methodology postulates have been adapted to the possibilities and needs of LATN, positioning this regional network as a reference on the subject. This book presents the experience of application of OM in LATN and its ongoing process of adaptation. It resumes the evaluation results of the application of that methodology during the third period of LATN, from 2003 to 2008. As a result, we propose, from our experience, to consider the scope and possibilities of this methodology in research activities.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 52 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -As the population of the Philippines continues to grow, poverty and civil unrest is widespread on the island of Mindanao. Mindanao''s poverty can be attributed largely to past migration and economic policies of the Philippines government that delayed economic growth. Furthermore, since independence was obtained from the United States in 1946, the condition of life of Mindanao''s poor has worsened due to such factors as internal conflicts between government forces and secessionist movements. This paper sheds some light on the dilemma of poverty, government policies, migration and civil unrest on Mindanao, southern Philippines.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 108 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Theoretical studies and empirical evidence suggest that an optimal committee consists of roughly 5-9 members, although this result may vary somewhat under specific circumstances. This paper develops a conceptual model for the case of a monetary policy committee (MPC). The main conclusions are that (i) MPC size varies according to the size of the monetary zone and overall economic stability; (ii) for large monetary zones (EMU, USA, Japan), MPC size is close to the estimated optimal level; and (iii) in several countries, MPC size is considerably misaligned. Our model is backed by econometric evidence using a 2006 survey for 85 countries, which is available on the Web for further research.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 60 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Czech people were one of the immigrant groups which have made life in America possible. Many Czechs wholly assimilated to American society, but many maintained some degree of Czech identity. The main aim of this book is to determine to what extent Czech Americans maintain a Czech identity in contemporary America. A research study was conducted in order to discover the state of preservation of Czech culture in the United States. The book first gives a history of Czech immigration to America. It also introduces famous American personalities of Czech descent and describes social and cultural institutions of Czech Americans. The last part of the historical background concentrates on the importance of their origin, preservation of Czech language and customs, and relationship of Czech Americans to the Czech Republic. In its final part, the findings of the research study are presented. Anyone interested in the state of ethnic elements in American society of today should find the reading of this book appealing. Despite the fact that the research was aimed at the Czech-American community, it shows tendencies which in many aspects do not differ from other ethnic groups in the USA.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 96 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -With new processor families appearing every few years, it is increasingly harder to achieve high performance rates in sparse matrix computations. This monograph studies new methods for sparse matrix factorizations and applies them efficiently while retaining ease of use of existing solutions. The implementations are timed and analyzed using a commonly accepted set of test matrices. Contemporary processors are used for the tests. The new factorization techniques are proven to be quite competitive with state of the art software. In addition, an optimization effort is applied to an iterative algorithm that stands out for its numerical robustness. This also gives satisfactory results on the tested computing platforms in terms of performance improvement. The same set of test matrices is used to enable an easy comparison between both investigated techniques, even though they are customarily treated separately in the literature. Possible extensions of the presented work range from easily conceivable merging with existing solutions to rather more evolved schemes dependent on hard to predict progress in theoretical and algorithmic research.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 84 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -An embedded system is a special-purpose computer system designed to perform one or a few dedicated functions, often with real-time computing constraints. It is usually embedded as part of a complete device including hardware and mechanical parts. In contrast, a general-purpose computer,such as a personal computer, can do many different tasks depending on programming. Embedded systems control many of the common devices in use today.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 96 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Voltage instability has been a great concern for a long time in electrical power industry. A system enters a state of instability due to increase in demand, a sudden large disturbance or a change in system condition that causes a progressive and uncontrollable decline in voltage. It is therefore interest to study dynamic and static aspects of voltage stability.In this Book, Effects of induction motor load on short-term voltage stability and the effects of dynamics of slow-active devices on long- term voltage stability of a system were also investigated using PV curves and time domain analysis (MATLAB/SIMULINK). A technique to determine the critical fault clearing time to prevent stalling of induction motor load has been presented. In addition, a method to determine voltage stability index based on the complex voltages of all buses is proposed and used in estimating the maximum loading of the power system and for identifying weakest segments of a power system to prevent voltage instability/collapse by providing appropriate reactive compensations.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 116 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This research explored the perceived factors that influence students'' breakfast routines. The researcher had become increasingly concerned about her students skipping breakfast, and therefore finding it difficult to concentrate. The choice of breakfast foods at college were often unhealthy options, such as a bag of crisps or bar of chocolate. Students seemed to be influencing one another a lot on their choice of breakfast. Students sometimes reduce the exercise they do, become obsessed with their weight and can lead poor lifestyles. As there had been limited research carried out with college students about their breakfast routines, the researcher wanted to find out from them why they make the choices they do, and what factors influence their routines. Recommendations were made following the findings¿¿Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 112 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This dissertation contains three topics using the Bayesian paradigm for statistical inference. The first topic is related to Bayesian sample size determination with a misclassified prevalence variable when two possibly dependent diagnostic tests are used for estimation. After accounting for the dependence structure, the required sample size will be larger than that assuming independence between the tests. The second topic is also concerned with Bayesian sample size calculation with a misclassified binary response variable. Differing from the first topic, an error-free covariate is added. Simulations demonstrate that choices of prior distributions have a great impact on the resultant sample size. The last topic is about Bayesian variable selection under the multiple linear regression model. Two competing Bayesian methods are Bayesian model averaging and reversible jump MCMC. It is found that reversible jump MCMC, expected to give better models, does not seem to differ from Bayesian model averaging in examples considered.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 100 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Nanoparticles are interesting:possessing properties which significantly differ from those of other larger particles.Natural nanoparticles are formed from magma spewing volcanoes;others are formed by forces such as of oceanic breakers,tides,river currents,etc.But the most complex of all the systems is the 'nanome',i.e.the totality of nanoparticles in a living system.Moreover, using DLS technique it is seen that the natural nanoparticles (high % of approx.90%) in invertebrate(silkworm) haemolymph occur mostly at a size range of approx. 10-15nm while that in vertebrate serum they constitute approx. size range of 50-100nm and in plants is 200nm approx.Here is interesting evolutionary trend.Again,Blue-green algae in ponds have much less average size range(of approx. 200¿250nm at 95¿98%) of the nanoparticles than the Blue-green algae occurring in hot springs (having size range of approx.600¿700nm at 98-100%).The evolutionary significance of these results has not been derived yet.By simply using Foxtail grass extract,it could be said that the proteins so abundant in animal serum or haemolymph is not a prominent composite of the extract.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 60 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -A characterization study of ultrasmall ultraefficient multijunction concentrator solar cells under realistic illumination conditions is presented, with emphasis on performance sensitivity to light intensity and distribution. Information of this type is essential in the design and optimization of the latest generations of high-flux photovoltaic systems. Cell miniaturization allows increasing the concentration at which efficiency peaks, facilitates passive heat rejection, and permits the use of all-glass optics. However, few device measurements have been published on ultrasmall cells. Extensive measurements, up to ~5000 suns, on the 1.0 mm2 active region within the busbars are reported and analyzed. The standard model which assumes lumped series resistance was insuficient to account for the experimental results. For that reason a new explicit model which relaxes that assumption was developed and its non-trivial predictions were explored. The combinations of the new model with first order heat transfer corrections agreed much better with the experimental results. The practical orientation of this work is evidenced in its improvement suggestions.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 72 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book provides a thorough geomorphological investigation to analyse the extent of damage and subsequent development of a coast before and after the tsunami of 26 December 2004. The main objective is to increase the understanding of future coastal development that is vulnerable to the tectonic activities resulting tsunami and land subsidence. Little was known about the geomorphic settings of the Banda Aceh, a coast worst affected by this tsunami event. This study fills in the gap of knowledge on the forcing factors involved in shaping the geomorphic settings of this study area in history. This information was subsequently used to set some scenarios of future morphological development of the coast. Frequent earthquakes cause high probability of land subsidence and tsunami recurrence (once every 20 to 30 years) in a century. The rate of shoreline retreat caused by tectonic subsidence and tsunami can be an order of magnitude greater than that caused by the gradual sea-level rise in this region.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 140 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Nowadays hi-tech secure products need more services and more security. Furthermore the corresponding market is now oriented towards more flexibility. In this thesis we propose as novel solution a Multi-algorithm Cryptographic Co-processor called Celator. Celator is able to encrypt or decrypt data blocks using private key encryption algorithms such as Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) or Data Encryption Standard (DES). Moreover Celator allows condensing data using the Secure Hash Algorithms (SHA). These algorithms are frequently implemented in hi-tech secure products in software or in hardware mode. Celator belongs to the class of the flexible hardware implementations, and allows an user implementing its own cryptographic algorithm under specific conditions. Celator architecture is based on a 4x4 Processing Elements (PE) systolic array, a Controller with a Finite State Machine (FSM) and a local memory. Data are encrypted or decrypted by the PE array. This thesis presents Celator architecture, as well as its AES, DES, and SHA basic operations. Celator performances are then given and compared to other securitycircuits.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 108 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Semi-Markov processes (SMP) are powerful stochastic tools for modeling reliability measures over time. This work precisely aims at proposing more efficient mathematical and numerical treatments for SMP in continuous time. The first approach (called 2N-) is based on transition frequency densities and general quadrature methods. The other proposed method (in short Lap-) applies Laplace transforms that are inverted by a Gaussian quadrature method known as Gauss Legendre to obtain the state probabilities in time domain. Mathematical formulation of these approaches as well as descriptions of their numerical treatment are developed and provided with details. The effectiveness of the novel 2N- and Lap- developments is validated by using examples in the context of oil industries. It is shown that the 2N- and Lap- approaches are significantly less time- consuming and have comparable accuracy to Monte Carlo simulation based solution.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 108 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The industrial development is vital for the economic growth of a country. The metallurgy, electronics and ternary industries are very important industries. The major draws back of these industries is the pollution that causes cancer, kidney disorders and metal toxicity and have become the world wide problems. This book is based on the methods to control metal pollution. Based on the methods described in this book, a model cell is designed which can be installed to individual homes, offices, electronics or leather industries to remove and recycle the heavy metals from their effluents. The designed cell can also be used to recover precious metals from their impure solutions. The technique of electrolysis is coupled with ultrasound and with resins has enhanced the current efficiency and substantially reduced the cost of energy consumption. This sono-electrolytic cell is much more effective and less expensive than the cost of the medicines consumed to recover the patients suffering from water born diseases.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 108 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -Semiconductors form the backbone of all modern-day microelectronic and optoelectronic devices. These devices get exposed to various types of radiation when they are used in radiation environments. Exposure to radiation can cause degradation to the performance of these devises leading to their failure. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the performance of semiconductor devices under radiation environments. This monograph deals with an experimental study on the effect of 8 MeV electron irradiation on single crystalline Silicon and polycrystalline thin film Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) devices. A brief introduction to the subject is followed by experimental techniques used. Results of the studies on the effect of electron irradiation on Silicon and CdTe Schottky diodes, Silicon Photo-detectors and CdTe Solar Cells have been discussed and the radiation tolerance of single crystalline Silicon and polycrystalline CdTe thin film have been compared. This is specially targeted to researchers working in the field of irradiation effect on semiconductor devices as well as postgraduate students of Physics, Electrical and Materials Engineering.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 120 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This book is an attempt to reveal in an integrated manner Al _ Tayeb Salih''s elements of fiction concerning his skillful portrayal of characters. Special consideration will be given to some elements of nature such as the River Nile and date palm trees, characters'' common features, names and their implications, religious and their common features. Moreover, a comparison and contrast have been made among characters. An attempt to reflect some of the Sudanese traditions and customs through the fictional elements as reflected by characters. Due to its integrated process of tackling several of Al ¿ Tayeb Salih''s novels to analyze their fictional elements, this book will be of great interest to those who share the same interest in such a kind of literature. In addition, it will supply those who would like to have further future studies with some insights. The book will also address those who are interested in the wider cultural aspects, knowledge and experience.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 68 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This undergraduate thesis examines a handful of instances in the Synoptic gospels of the New Testament where the authors seem to utilize Roman symbols of power and authority to advance new, Christian moralities. I argue that they do this in order to contextualize Jesus in a familiar role to both Roman and Hebrew audiences, so as to provide a new and recognizable character in a story that advances very novel messages of ideal use of power, authority, kingship, and empire. In this thesis, I compare Jesus with Livy''s tale of Romulus and his twelve 'lictors' (a very fierce band of personal bodyguards), the apotheosis of Romulus and Jesus, concepts of the Christian 'kingdom of God/Heaven' with Roman 'empire,' and the traditional view of the Hebrew 'Messiah' with Jesus of Nazareth.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 64 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -In recent years, a change has been made in the education field to move away from tests, which merely measure memorization. As a result, critical thinking assessments have emerged, mainly in the form of essays. The overall action research question of this study addressed whether enabling 10th grade Social Studies students to create authentic Document- Based Essay Questions be the catalyst for higher student achievement and a more positive attitude towards completing Social Studies DBQs. An authentic assignment was given to students designed to assess their ability to apply standard-driven knowledge and skills to real-world challenges. The literature review contains research articles that have examined the authenticity of DBQs and how creating authentic tasks can lead to greater conceptual understanding and student achievement in a high school social studies setting. The methodology devised for this research project was firmly grounded in the criticism and suggestions of Grant et al. (2005) with regards to the Regents Document Based Question and the Create-Your-Own DBQ activity of Kotzin (2001).Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 120 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -The influx of international graduate students in science and engineering (S&E) to the U.S. has changed since the terrorist attacks of 2001. The implementation of the SEVIS and related F-1 visa policies have required a higher level of scrutiny of the student visa procedures and introduced strict student monitoring policies. SEVIS monitoring and compliance has altered the operation of international student service offices, affected the students they serve, and the operation of the universities enrolling international students. This study investigated the effects of SEVIS on graduate programs in S&E and their students. Information was gathered from respondents of the 60 universities having the highest population of international students in these fields, as per NSF. The results of this study suggest that many international students are negatively affected by SEVIS, impacting their ability to remain in-status and to understand how the system works. To counter this, school professionals have increased their level of support for these students, providing them guidance on how to remain in-status and how to improve their social and academic experience in the U.S.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 288 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -This thesis, which utilizes both postcolonial and feminist frameworks, details the value of a widely- popularized text like Andre Dubus III''s House of Sand and Fog in academic discourse. Employing mainly the works of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Chandra Talpade Mohanty, the study explains how Dubus'' work exposes issues of internal colonization in America for both immigrants like the Iranian Behrani family in the novel and white, less recently immigrated citizens. In addition, it acknowledges the value of distinguishing between First and Third World feminisms when working with a text like House of Sand and Fog. Through exploring issues of language, identity, class, race, sex, economic opportunity, and physical space, it argues for an opening of Dubus'' text that acknowledges the suppression of voice endured ¿ in separate and distinct ways ¿ by both immigrant and female voices in America. Ultimately, this thesis encourages a reconsideration of a somewhat overlooked text, as far as academic discourse is concerned, and a rejuvenation of interest in Dubus'' novel.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 72 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Zustand: Neu. Neuware -In the recent global age, English has become more valued in Japan as a means of international communication. However, traditional grammar translation and audio-lingual methods still remain as a major pedagogy used by the vast majority of Japanese high schools today. Additionally, very little academic literature has been produced on the effect of 'practicing' English on a university exam. Therefore, whilst using the Center Pre-Test, a highly-valid mock test of the Japanese national university exam, this book challenges the current English education of Japan. Comparative analysis was conducted between the students who regularly engage in the practical English self-study and those who do not, with a focus on five types of the self-study methods in speaking, listening, watching TV, reading and writing. Consequently, the correlation between practical self-study and the learners'' English proficiency on the university exam and several positive attitudes toward English learning were observed. This book is highly recommended and beneficial especially for the researchers and professionals in the field of foreign language teaching and learning.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 88 pp. Englisch.