Mark D. West – författare

Each society that consumes alcohol has its own unique drinking culture, and each society deals with the drunken products of that culture in particular ways. As Mark D. West shows in Drunk Japan, the distinctive features of Japanese drinking culture and its intoxication-related laws are not simply interesting in and of themselves, but offer a unique window into Japanese society more broadly. Drawing upon close readings of over 5,000 published Japanese court opinions on drunkenness-related cases, he provides a rich description of Japanese alcohol consumption, drinking culture, and intoxication. West reveals that the opinions not only show patterns in what, where, and why people drink in Japan, but they also focus to a surprising extent on characteristics (including occupation, wealth, gender, and education) of individual litigants. By examining the consistencies and contradictions that emerge from the cases, West finds that, at its most extreme, the Japanese legal system is hyper-individualized. Focusing on individual people sometimes leads courts to ignore forensic evidence, to rely on post-arrest drinking tests, and to calculate prison sentences based on factors such as a mother's promise to help her adult child abstain. Cumulatively, the colorful and often tragic cases West uses not only illuminate the complexity of the culture, but they also reveal an entirely new vision of Japanese law and a comprehensive picture of alcohol use in Japanese society writ large.

Lawsuits are rare events in most people's lives. And high-stakes cases are even less commonplace. Why is it, then, that scholarship concerning the Japanese legal system has focused almost exclusively on big topics like corporate law and large-scale social issues? Mark D. West's Law in Everyday Japan fills a void in our understanding of the relationship between law and social life in Japan by shifting the focus to cases most representative of everyday Japanese life. Compiling case studies based on seven fascinating themes - karaoke-based noise complaints, sumo wrestling, love hotels, post-Kobe earthquake condominium reconstruction, lost-and-found outcomes, working hours, and debt-induced suicide - Law in Everyday Japan offers a vibrant portrait of the way law intermingles with social norms, historically ingrained ideas, and cultural mores in Japan. Each example is informed by extensive fieldwork. West interviews the participants - from judges and lawyers to defendants, plaintiffs, and their families - to uncover an everyday Japan where law matters, albeit in very unexpected ways.

In Lovesick Japan, Mark D. West explores an official vision of love, sex, and marriage in contemporary Japan. A comprehensive body of evidence—2,700 court opinions—describes a society characterized by a presupposed absence of physical and emotional intimacy, affection, and personal connections. In compelling, poignant, and sometimes horrifying court cases, West finds that Japanese judges frequently opine on whether a person is in love, what other emotions a person is feeling, and whether those emotions are appropriate for the situation. Sometimes judges' views about love, sex, and marriage emerge from their presentation of the facts of cases. Among the recurring elements are abortions forced by men, compensated dating, late-life divorces, termination fees to end affairs, sexless couples, Valentine's Day heartbreak, "soapland" bath-brothels, and home-wrecking hostesses. Sometimes the judges' analysis, decisions, and commentary are as revealing as the facts. Sex in the cases is a choice among private "normal" sex, which is male-dominated, conservative, dispassionate, or nonexistent; commercial sex, which caters to every fetish but is said to lead to rape, murder, and general social depravity; and a hybrid of the two, which commodifies private sexual relationships. Marriage is contractual; judges express the ideal of love in marriage and proclaim its importance, but virtually no one in the court cases achieves it. Love usually appears as a tragic, overwhelming emotion associated with jealousy, suffering, heartache, and death.

Learn how to use stories and visuals to make top–notch presentations It′s called CAST (Content, Audience, Story, & Tell) and it′s been a quiet success, until now. Developed over a twelve year period as a presentation method to help Enterprise Architects, it was adopted by Microsoft Enterprise Architecture teams and filtered from IT managers to Sales, and beyond to major organizations around the world. Now, thanks to this unique book from an expert author team that includes two Microsoft presentation experts, you can learn how to use this amazing process to create and make high–impact presentations in your own organization.The book helps you build complete visual stories, step by step, by using the CAST method to first create a Story Map and from there, a compelling presentation. It includes sample Story Maps, templates, practical success stories, and more. You′ll discover how to go beyond PowerPoint slides to create presentations that influence your peers and effect change. Explains the secrets of making presentations and effecting change using CAST to create Story Maps and from there, high–impact and visual presentations that tell a storyCovers how to apply a range of techniques and what the results look like, using screenshots of presentations, one page hand outs, and basic delivery with whiteboardsCoauthored by Microsoft experts and a visual design guru who have years of experience training professionals in these methodsIncludes sample Story Maps, templates, practical success stories, and more Learn how to sell your ideas and trigger change in your company with Stories That Move Mountains: Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive Presentations.

In recent years, computer content analysis has undergone something of a renaissance. Inexpensive and powerful desktop computers mean that computer analysis of texts is available to most researchers. The availability of software to do analyses, however, is not always linked to clear theoretical and methodological understandings. This volume seeks to deal with this concern by providing, from scholars in a variety of disciplines, perspectives upon the theoretical and methodological issues which arise when conducting content analysis via computer. Although it is not always obvious, computer content analysis is a method which inevitably calls for theoretical assumptions. Those theoretical assumptions in turn drive methodological considerations, and method in turn determines the form of the practice of computer content analysis.This volume includes ten articles by well-known scholars utilizing computer content analysis. A variety of methodological, theoretical, and practical issues are here addressed, presenting unique methods and perspectives for the consideration of computer content analysis. Intended for an audience of graduate students, scholars, and in-field practitioners, Theory, Method and Practice of Computer Content Analysis will serve as an invaluable resource of ideas and practices for those interested in using computers to analyze textual material.

In recent years, computer content analysis has undergone something of a renaissance. Inexpensive and powerful desktop computers mean that computer analysis of texts is available to most researchers. The availability of software to do analyses, however, is not always linked to clear theoretical and methodological understandings. This volume seeks to deal with this concern by providing, from scholars in a variety of disciplines, perspectives upon the theoretical and methodological issues which arise when conducting content analysis via computer. Although it is not always obvious, computer content analysis is a method which inevitably calls for theoretical assumptions. Those theoretical assumptions in turn drive methodological considerations, and method in turn determines the form of the practice of computer content analysis.This volume includes ten articles by well-known scholars utilizing computer content analysis. A variety of methodological, theoretical, and practical issues are here addressed, presenting unique methods and perspectives for the consideration of computer content analysis. Intended for an audience of graduate students, scholars, and in-field practitioners, Theory, Method and Practice of Computer Content Analysis will serve as an invaluable resource of ideas and practices for those interested in using computers to analyze textual material.

The researcher in computer content analysis is often faced with a paucity of guidance in conducting a study. Published exemplars of best practice in computer content analysis are rare, and computer content analysis seems to have developed independently in a number of disciplines, with researchers in one field often unaware of new and innovative techniques developed by researchers in other areas. This volume contains numerous articles illustrating the current state of the art of computer content analysis. Research is presented by scholars in political science, natural resource management, mass communication, marketing, education, and other fields, with the aim of providing exemplars for further research on the computer analysis and understanding of textual materials.The studies presented in Applications of Computer Content Analysis offer a varied spectrum of exemplary studies, Researchers can, due to the breadth of the studies presented here, find methodological, theoretical, and practical suggestions which will significantly ease the process of creating new research--and will significantly reduce the duplication of effort which has, until now, plagued computer content analytic research. Intended for an audience of graduate students, scholars, and in-field practitioners, this will serve as an invaluable resource, full of useful examples, for those interesting in using computers to analyze newspapers articles, emails, mediated communication, or any other sort of digital communication.

The researcher in computer content analysis is often faced with a paucity of guidance in conducting a study. Published exemplars of best practice in computer content analysis are rare, and computer content analysis seems to have developed independently in a number of disciplines, with researchers in one field often unaware of new and innovative techniques developed by researchers in other areas. This volume contains numerous articles illustrating the current state of the art of computer content analysis. Research is presented by scholars in political science, natural resource management, mass communication, marketing, education, and other fields, with the aim of providing exemplars for further research on the computer analysis and understanding of textual materials.The studies presented in Applications of Computer Content Analysis offer a varied spectrum of exemplary studies, Researchers can, due to the breadth of the studies presented here, find methodological, theoretical, and practical suggestions which will significantly ease the process of creating new research--and will significantly reduce the duplication of effort which has, until now, plagued computer content analytic research. Intended for an audience of graduate students, scholars, and in-field practitioners, this will serve as an invaluable resource, full of useful examples, for those interesting in using computers to analyze newspapers articles, emails, mediated communication, or any other sort of digital communication.