Walther Nernst and the Transition to Modern Physical Science

Book Description

One of Germany's most important, productive and often controversial scientists, Walther H. Nernst (1864-1941) was at once the first "modern" physical chemist, an able scientific organizer and a savvy entrepreneur. The winner of the 1920 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, Nernst was a key figure in the transition to modern physical science with his contributions to the study of solutions, of chemical equilibria, and of the behavior of matter at the extremes of the temperature range. This volume provides a scientific biography of the man who was a director of major research institutes, the rector of the Berlin University, and the inventor of a new electric lamp. It also addresses the work of many prominent scientists, such as Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Wilhelm Ostwald and Svante Arrhenius. A wealth of new archival material and recent scholarship reveals how Nernst's career exemplified the increasing connection between the German technical industry and academic science, between theory and experiment, between concepts and practice, providing a rich portrait of the history of science in the period preceding the Second World War. This book also details a set of specific scientific problems that evolved at the intersection of physics, chemistry and technology during one of the most revolutionary periods of modern physical science.

Book Description

This text introduces current evolutionary game theory -- where ideas from evolutionary biology and rationalistic economics meet -- emphasizing the links between static and dynamic approaches and noncooperative game theory. Much of the text is devoted to the key concepts of evolutionary stability and replicator dynamics. The former highlights the role of mutations and the latter the mechanisms of selection. Moreover, set-valued static and dynamic stability concepts, as well as processes of social evolution, are discussed. Separate background chapters are devoted to noncooperative game theory and the theory of ordinary differential equations. There are examples throughout as well as individual chapter summaries.

Because evolutionary game theory is a fast-moving field that is itself branching out and rapidly evolving, Jörgen Weibull has judiciously focused on clarifying and explaining core elements of the theory in an up-to-date, comprehensive, and self-contained treatment. The result is a text for second-year graduate students in economic theory, other social sciences, and evolutionary biology. The book goes beyond filling the gap between texts by Maynard-Smith and Hofbauer and Sigmund that are currently being used in the field.

Evolutionary Game Theory will also serve as an introduction for those embarking on research in this area as well as a reference for those already familiar with the field. Weibull provides an overview of the developments that have taken place in this branch of game theory, discusses the mathematical tools needed to understand the area, describes both the motivation and intuition for the concepts involved, and explains why and how it is relevant to economics.

Customer Reviews:

A must read...only for the serious game theorists, though........2006-07-15

Weibull's "Evolutionary Game Theory" has earned a distinguished place in many bookshelves for good reason: It is rigorous and never short of intuition. That said, however, this book is not the first item in the reading list of a beginner.

If you are interested in learning evolutionary game theory and your previous exposure to non-cooperative game theory and ordinary differential equations has been limited, do not start with Weibull's Evolutionary Game Theory. Consider first visiting Herbert Gintis's "Game Theory Evolving" and Maynard Smith's classic "Evolution and the Theory of Games"

For the 'technical' reader this book still is not a walk in the park becasue Weibull walks the reader not only in a math garden but also exposes the reader to several important evolutionary concepts including but not limited to 'evolutionary stability','evolutionarily stable strategy', 'replicator dynamics', 'population dynamics'. Grasping both the theoretical concepts and how they are modelled takes some thinking and patience.

Overall this is a must reader for the seriously involved and can be the single item for many students of this subject that takes them to a higher plane of understanding.

Hard to read and to apply.......2005-09-09

I'm a computer sciences engineer working on my phd thesis that is related with game thoery. I found the book difficult to read. Forget about following an entire chapter if you are weak on differential equations.

It explains Evolutionary Game Theory very well.......2005-07-17

After one makes it through umpteen refinements of Nash equilibria, the book becomes fascinating. Many ideas of Darwinism became much clearer -they got a quality of unavoidability so to speak- than when I read books on Darwinism before.
I found the level of mathematical sophistication needed rather unchallenging, without being boring - and I am not a "deep core" mathematician, but an engineer.

Highly recommendable

Not much usefull for practical purposes.......2000-07-27

During the work on my master thesis ("Learning in strategic games") i bought several books about the topic. This one was the hardest to understand and to apply to anything practical. I guess this one is for "hard core" mathematicians.

A New Sequential Goodness-Of-Fit-Test for the Three-Parameter Weibull Distribution with Known Shape Parameter Value Based on Skewness and Q-Statis G. O.F. Test Statistics

Average customer rating:

A New Sequential Goodness-Of-Fit-Test for the Three-Parameter Weibull Distribution with Known Shape Parameter Value Based on Skewness and Q-Statis G. O.F. Test Statistics

Manufacturer: Storming Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
ASIN: 1423553721

Product Description

This is a AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSONAFB OH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A497163. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: Due to its flexibility, the Weibull distribution has very wide applicability in a lot of disciplines and is very prevalent in reliability theory. Thus, a lot of statistical tests that generally have a substantial degree of computional complexity have been developed to determine if the data at hand can be represented with this distribution. This research presents a new omnibus goodness-of-fit test (G.O.F.) that has less computational complexity than the existing tests for the three-parameter Weibull distribution using a sequential application of two individual tests, sample skewness and Q-Statistic. A Monte Carlo procedure has been employed to generate critical values for the skewness and Q-Statistic (G.O.F.) tests for various Weibull distributions with specified shape parameter values. Additionally, tables or charts of attained significance levels for the new sequential G.O.F. test procedure have been generated. Using the critical values and significance levels, a sequential G.O. F. test procedure can be used to determine if the given sample data agrees with a hypothesized Weibull distribution with known shape. A power study has been conducted against a variety of alternative hypotheses, and the results were compared with those obtained using conventional EDF type Cramer-von Mises, Ahderson-Darling and Kolmogorov-Smimov G.O.F tests, and the sequential procedure by Clough. Since the sequential test demonstrates better or equivalent power, it serves to significantly reduce the computational requirements for powerful G.O. F. testing.

Relating Initial Budget to Program Growth With Rayleigh and Weibull Models

Average customer rating:

Relating Initial Budget to Program Growth With Rayleigh and Weibull Models

Manufacturer: Storming Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
ASIN: 142352960X

Product Description

This is a AIR FORCE INST OF TECH WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB OH SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A789093. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: Previous research on completed defense R&D shows that contract expenditures can be fit well with a Rayleigh model. With fixed outlay rates, as prescribed by the OSD comptroller, the budget profile must have most of the funds in the early years to produce Rayleigh-distributed expenditures. R&D programs with more delayed funding profiles may also produce expenditures that a Rayleigh model fits through schedule slips and cost overruns. This research tests how well the initial funding profile produces Rayleigh-distributed expenditures that can be related to the program's final cost overrun and schedule slips. Based only on the initial budget profile, we explain 53.3% of cost overruns and 51.1% of percent schedule slip in 37 completed programs.

A Simulation Study of the Error Induced in One-Sided Reliability Confidence Bounds for the Weibull Distribution Using a Small Sample Size with Heavily Censored Data

Average customer rating:

A Simulation Study of the Error Induced in One-Sided Reliability Confidence Bounds for the Weibull Distribution Using a Small Sample Size with Heavily Censored Data

Manufacturer: Storming Media
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Spiral-bound
ASIN: 1423521714

Product Description

This is a NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL MONTEREY CA report procured by the Pentagon and made available for public release. It has been reproduced in the best form available to the Pentagon. It is not spiral-bound, but rather assembled with Velobinding in a soft, white linen cover. The Storming Media report number is A309924. The abstract provided by the Pentagon follows: Budget limitations have reduced the number of military components available for testing, and time constraints have reduced the amount of time available for actual testing resulting in many items still operating at the end of test cycles. These two factors produce small test populations (small sample size) with "heavily" censored data. The assumption of normal approximation for estimates based on these small sample sizes reduces the accuracy of confidence bounds of the probability plots and the associated quantities. This creates a problem in acquisition analysis because the confidence in the probability estimates influences the number of spare parts required to support a mission or deployment or determines the length of warranty ensuring proper operation of systems. This thesis develops a method that simulates small samples with censored data and examines the error of the Fisher-Matrix (FM) and the Likelihood Ratio Bounds (LRB) confidence methods of two test populations (size 10 and 20) with three, five, seven and nine observed failures for the Weibull distribution. This thesis includes a Monte Carlo simulation code written in S- Plus that can be modified by the user to meet their particular needs for any sampling and censoring scheme. To illustrate the approach, the thesis includes a catalog of corrected confidence bounds for the Weibull distribution, which can be used by acquisition analysts to adjust their confidence bounds and obtain a more accurate representation for warranty and reliability work.

Weibull Models (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics)

Average customer rating:

Comprehensive in theory, but infuriating!

Weibull Models (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics)
D. N. Prabhakar Murthy , Min Xie , and Renyan Jiang
Manufacturer: Wiley-Interscience
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Professional | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

Science | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0471360929

Book Description

Get the first book to pull the vast literature on the Weibull into a proper perspective under one cover. Weibull Models

Covers model analysis, parameter estimation, model validation, and application
Classifies the different models and their properties
Intertwines theory and application
Focuses on model identification prior to model parameter estimation

Download Description

Since Waloddi Weibull published his landmark paper in 1951, the Weibull distribution has attracted worldwide attention from both researchers and practitioners in different fields, among them reliability modeling and survival analysis, the modeling of particle size, wind velocity, amplitude of tidal waves on offshore structures, human task performance time, the size of Antarctic icebergs and of rock fragmentation, the fracture strength of glass, and so on. The literature on the Weibull is vast; ranging from two thousand papers on various aspects of the subject matter to many books on reliability and statistics which contain a single chapter on it, but this is the first book to integrate all the different facets of Weibull models in a single volume.

Customer Reviews:

Comprehensive in theory, but infuriating!.......2007-03-02

This book does a service to those in reliability, survival analysis, materials, and other disciplines which use Weibull analysis by gathering together much of the information published in the over half-century since Waloddi Weibull's seminal work. Many of the variations on Weibull's original model are covered and classified. While there is some practical information on conducting Weibull analysis, the emphasis of the book is theoretical.

That's fine as far as it goes, but the book has many annoying (sometimes even infuriating) idiosyncracies. While I recognize that some probability distributions are most lucidly described by their distribution functions (including the two-parameter Weibull; doing so illuminates the power-law relationship between Weibull and exponential), while some are best described by their hazard functions (a design feature in reliability and survival analysis), and others still by their inverse distribution function, the other functions are still essential when they are conveniently expressed. One of the most frustrating aspects of this book is the refusal of the authors to provide more than one of these functions for most of the models considered. After a couple of months, I still haven't found the density function for the two-parameter Weibull model.

I also found the organization difficult to work with. Key material on basic Weibull and simple variations are covered in multiple sections, and is scattered throughout much of the book. This disorganization negates one of the important putative advantages of this book: that is supposed to organize much disjoint information which has accumulated over the years.

Weibull Radar Clutter (Radar, Sonar, Navigation and Avionics Series, 3)

Average customer rating:

Weibull Radar Clutter (Radar, Sonar, Navigation and Avionics Series, 3)
Matsuo Sekine
Manufacturer: Institution of Electrical Engineers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Applied | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0863411916

Deriving tree diameter distributions using Bayesian model averaging [An article from: Forest Ecology and Management]

Average customer rating:

Deriving tree diameter distributions using Bayesian model averaging [An article from: Forest Ecology and Management]
B.P. Bullock , and E.L. Boone
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000PKI03O

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Forest Ecology and Management, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Diameter distributions of loblolly pine trees (Pinus taeda L.) were derived using Bayesian methods. The Bayesian derived distributions were compared to traditional maximum likelihood techniques for estimating diameter distributions. The data for this study come from a planting density study established in 1983 at four locations in Virginia and North Carolina. Results of the Bayesian analysis show that different distributional forms had the highest posterior probability at different ages for the diameter distributions. Standard goodness-of-fit statistics for the maximum likelihood estimates did not consistently recommend a distribution for the empirical data. Further, there were cases where no distribution was chosen from the candidate distributions based on the goodness-of-fit statistics. The lack of a clear distribution that fits over the range of ages for the diameter data suggests that a Bayesian model averaging technique would be beneficial for deriving tree diameter distributions with probability proportional to the posterior distribution. A simulation study was conducted to compare the goodness-of-fit statistics from the averaged distributional model and other candidate distributions. Results indicated that the averaged distribution had superior goodness-of-fit values over the candidate models; the exception being when the candidate distribution was an exact fit to the data.

Detection of equipment aging and determination of the efficiency of a corrective measure [An article from: Reliability Engineering and System Safety]

Average customer rating:

Detection of equipment aging and determination of the efficiency of a corrective measure [An article from: Reliability Engineering and System Safety]
C. Clarotti , A. Lannoy , S. Odin , and H. Procaccia
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RQZUPW

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Reliability Engineering and System Safety, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
When too many failures occur on a given piece of equipment, the dependability engineer needs to decide whether these failures are attributable to poor initial design or if they are due to a phenomenon of aging. If aging is confirmed, the problem is then to determine the moment at which the process began and what corrective measure (generally, a modification in the design or in the preventive maintenance program) is the best suited to delay the occurrence of the failure. This measure will thus make it possible to extend the lifetime of the equipment. The method is based on the simple hypothesis of a model of step aging and on Bayesian techniques. The principal benefit of this method is the determination of the time at which aging begins (and the related uncertainties), the evolution in the failure rate of the component in its initial state and once modified, and the probability of success of the corrective measure. The IBTV software was developed to implement this methodology.

A diameter distribution model for even-aged beech in Denmark [An article from: Forest Ecology and Management]

Average customer rating:

A diameter distribution model for even-aged beech in Denmark [An article from: Forest Ecology and Management]
T. Nord-Larsen , and Q.V. Cao
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000P6O8OS

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Forest Ecology and Management, published by Elsevier in 2006. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
We developed a diameter distribution model for even-aged stands of European beech in Denmark using the Weibull distribution. The model parameters were estimated using a large dataset from permanent sample plots covering a wide range of different treatments. Parameters of the model were estimated by fitting the cumulative density function using a non-linear least squares procedure. Further, a model constrained to yield estimates consistent with observed basal area was also developed. Predicted distributions confirmed the expected development of diameter distributions in even-aged beech stands. Due to large differences in initial stem-numbers care should be taken when the model is applied to young stands ( <40 years).

Duration dependence of the business cycle in Japan: A Bayesian analysis of extended Markov switching model [An article from: Japan & The World Economy]

Average customer rating:

Duration dependence of the business cycle in Japan: A Bayesian analysis of extended Markov switching model [An article from: Japan & The World Economy]
H. Iiboshi
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000PC0P4Y

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Japan & The World Economy, published by Elsevier in 2007. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
For the purpose of analyzing cyclical stochastic processes in business cycles, we propose a regime-switching model with duration dependence that makes use of the Weibull model. The advantage of this model is that it relaxes a constraint of the Markov-switching model in favor of time-varying transition probabilities, and investigates the property of duration dependence in business states. We employ Bayesian inference via MCMC to overcome the drawbacks of maximum likelihood estimation. Estimation using the composite index of coincident indicator shows that both the contractions and the expansions of the Japanese business cycle exhibited positive duration dependence during the last two decades.

Book Description

“I think German Boy has all the qualities of greatness. I love the book.” -- from the Foreword by Stephen Ambrose

As the Third Reich crumbled in 1945, scores of Germans scrambled to flee the advancing Russian troops. Among them was a little boy named Wolfgang Samuel, who left his home with his mother and sister and ended up in war-torn Strasbourg before being forced farther west into a disease-ridden refugee camp. German Boy is the vivid, true story of their fight for survival as the tables of power turned and, for reasons Wolfgang was too young to understand, his broken family suffered arbitrary arrest, rape, hunger, and constant fear.

Because his father was off fighting the war as a Luftwaffe officer, young Wolfgang was forced to become the head of his household, scavenging for provisions and scraps with which to feed his family. Despite his best efforts, his mother still found herself forced to do the unthinkable to survive, and her sacrifices became Wolfgang’s worst nightmares. Somehow, with the resilience only children can muster, he maintained his youth and innocence in little ways–making friends with other young refugees, playing games with shrapnel, delighting in the planes flown by the Americans and the candies the GIs brought. In the end, the Samuels begin life anew in America, and Wolfgang eventually goes on to a thirty-year career in the U.S. Air Force.

Bringing fresh insight to the dark history of Nazi Germany and the horror left in its wake, German Boy records the valuable recollections of an innocent’s incredible journey.

Customer Reviews:

A compulsive pageturner.......2007-09-06

The author, who was 10 years old and living in eastern Germany when WWII came to an end, has an amazing memory for telling details and an irresistibly engaging personality. His memoir of that dreadful time is framed as a tribute to his mother, who certainly deserves it, and an unforgettable lesson in history as it is really lived. Once you start reading this book, you will be unable to put it down and you will never forget it.

Should be Required Reading for All Youths.......2007-07-18

This harrowing memoir should be required reading for all children. Perhaps, as adults, they will think hard and deeply before embarking on war. The description of life at the end of WWII and postwar Germany are harrowing. The reader cannot help but wonder how he or she would or could cope in the same situation.

I found the comparison among the American, British and Russian zones in postwar Germany to be fascinating. I hope that the friendliness and genorosity which have historically characterized Americans have not been lost in our recent imperialist adventurism and immoral acts.

GERMAN BOY.......2007-06-24

I learned of this author and his saga through the Berlin Airlift Association. I am WWII vintage, first landed in Berlin during the Pottsdam Conference- July '45. I was later stationed in Germany on three different occasions and flew on the Berlin Airlift in '48 as a pilot. I read and thoroughly enjoyed Wolfgang's story and went through the book in a matter of hours- a rarity for me. It was a compelling story, so well crafted. The author has a real gift for a superb journalistic format and style. I can relete to so much of the trauma he went through, not in his boots, so to speak, but as an observer of the terrible situation confronting the civilian population. I am a WWII history buff & have a large collection of books from that period. German Boy is certainly a keeper in this time frame and setting. I so enjoyed the flow of the story and the easy to read style. His descriptions are vivid, alive and enticing. I immediately bought the sequel, Coming To Colorado and it is equally fine reading. As the author of a book, TOP STICK, I realize the undertakings involved in writing a good story. Wolfgang does a superb job and he is to be congratulated for his fine work. Buy and read this book. You will be most pleased that you did, and I'd wage that you'll buy more of his work. HAROLD A.JACOBS, LT COL. USAF ret.

German Boy.......2007-06-04

My friend living in London, England, read this book and suggested it to me. It is the story of a young boy growing up in war torn and defeated Germany. He later comes to America and become an Air Force officer. It is a worthwhile and fascinating study in overcoming hardship. It focuses on a part of war that most accounts of war fail to do: the civilian population and the wars effect on them. But the book is more than that. It is a highly personal account of survival and hardship in growing up. It is a story that had to be told.

Excellent book, a must read!.......2007-05-24

I bought this book to give me some more insight into the world my mother saw in Germany as a teenager during and after the war. The book's descriptions of the conditions of the housing, food shortages, black market, and other parts of daily life are almost exactly some of the stories I heard from my mother - especially when the writer recounts going into already-harvested potato fields to find the small, deeply buried ones that were missed. This book is full of vivid detail like that- you are transported to a darker, sadder part of history that is almost forgotten.
Interestingly, the book also gave me some insight into my Father's life - in poor rural Alabama during the Depression. A world away, but the same poverty, hunger, and in him a desire (like the writer of the book) for something better.
My Father met my Mother in Germany, just before this book ends. It is a story about an incredible journey, and a desire for a better life.

Book Description

Kevin and Me is a heartfelt memoir of a single mother who struggled with her son's Tourette syndrome and discovered music therapy as a magical influence on him and their relationship. Her courageous story covers Kevin's life from age six when his TS tics first appeared to his late twenties when he transformed from a violent man into a peaceful person. The author relates her personal account of music therapy with Kevin, a person with Tourette syndrome, developmental and learning disabilities, ADHD, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

Kevin and Me will inspire parents, psychologists, teachers, and medical professionals to explore music therapy as a medium for reaching children and adults with Tourette syndrome. Modern music therapy began after World War I and slowly gained acceptance in mainstream medical circles. Its services are available in private centers, hospitals, and school districts.

Customer Reviews:

A Special, NO SIDE EFFECT Therapy!.......2007-05-12

The topic of Music Therapy is not new to me as I am a Registered Music Therapist myself. The book Kevin and ME is a very sensitive and compassionate story about how the natural gift of music can offer so much hope and relief, and change a young man afflicted with Tourette Syndrome and other horiffic disorders, into a special, loving one, with a future to look forward too! I have Tourtette Syndrome and know how the tics associated with this disorder can be so painful and completely devestate the lives of so many chidren and adults. Kevin and ME shows just how much Music Therapy can do for so many that are afflicted with various disorders.
This book should become a part of the reading curiculum in the public school system! BRAVO! TO KEVIN!
Thank you to Patricia Heenan for sharing this book with the world and for being "A VERY SPECIAL MOTHER!"
Raymond Vacchino M.Mus.(MT) A.Mus.Licentiate, L.R.S.M.(AMTA/member type/professional)

Songs in the Key of Life.......2005-08-06

"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast..." this oft-quoted line is startlingly a propos in Kevin Heenan's case.

Kevin developed normally for the first nearly 3 years of his life. He suffered from earaches as a toddler and his language was severely delayed. His social difficulties were first noticed in his aggression with peers as a pre-schooler. His younger sister Megan was the only child with whom he had a mostly good relationship.

Kevin was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome when he was six. Facial twitching; grimaces; involuntary swearing and bizarre comments and generally poor language skills were behaviors that were present. Kevin's parents divorced when he was a young child. He became more violent, erratic and out of control. At 10, he was hospitalized for three years. Still in need of a secure facility, Kevin spent several more years in state facilities. His father resumes custody of Kevin when the boy was 15.

By that point, Kevin, medicated since the age of six to control violent behavior and Tourette-related outbursts had started running away. The boy's mother then resumed custody, but Kevin's problems continued. He was enrolled in special programs in high schools in his district; he rebelled as he chafed at the stigma of these educational placements. After years of fearing Kevin's violence and history of running away, the boy's mother has him placed in group homes.

Once in the group homes, Kevin literally steps up his running away. An inveterate soda addict, he goes on soda binges, even taking soda from other residents. Since the sugar jolt has adverse effects on his behavior, he is gradually weaned off of soda. That was the first of many giant steps he takes.

Luckily for Kevin, music therapy was included in the group home program. He responded immediately and everyone was soon singing the praises of the music therapists and music therapy in general. Kevin also became involved in his community, taking on several part-time jobs and even received an award for volunteering at an animal shelter.

From the telling, Kevin will continue to need care and supervision. Hope abounds as he makes progress in socializing with the other residents and by making music his forte. This book makes me think of Stevie Wonder's words "...music is a language we all understand..."

Kevin was in facilities that were part of MHMR (Mental Health, Mental Retardation) which is a Texas agency. Many readers will undoubtedly pick up on that.

I noticed that the word "eradicate," which means "obliterate" was used instead of "erratic," in "Kevin's eradicate [sic] behavior." The word "perseverate" is a damning and extremely harmful word. It has hurt many and is best avoided. The heavy-handed usage of that word cost this book one star. The terms "special interests," (if interests apply), "repetitive verbalizations/behaviors," or just plain "repetition" are much more accurate and demonstrate tolerance whereas that other word does not.

Still, this is a good book about life with a person who has an especially severe case of Tourette's in addition to other challenges.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books