During the last decade, the Latin American and Caribbean region has experienced unprecedented natural resources abundance. This book highlights how transparency can help realize the benefits and reduce negative externalities associated with the extractive industries in the region. A central message is that high-quality and well-managed information is critical to ensure the transparent and effective governance of the sector. The insights from experiences in the region can help policymakers design and implement effective regulatory reforms and adopt international standards that contribute to this goal. This is particularly important at a time when the recent boom experienced by extractives in the region may be coming to an end.

Hold High the Torch, the first of a series of regimental and squadron histories by the Historical Branch, G-3 Division, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps, is designed primarily to acquaint the members of the 4th Marines, past and present, with the history of their regiment. In addition, it is hoped this volume will enlarge public understanding of the Marine Corps’ worth both in limited war and as a force in readiness. During most of its existence the 4th Marines was not engaged in active military operations, but service of the regiment in China, the Dominican Republic, and off the west coast of Mexico, was typical of the Marine Corps’ support of national policy. In many of its combat operations, the 4th Marines was only one element of a much larger force. In other instances, as in the Dominican Republic and China, the regiment was a subordinate unit in situations which were essentially political and diplomatic. Only so much of these higher echelon activities as are essential to an understanding of the 4th Marines story have been told. This is a regimental history and the focus is therefore on the 4th Marines.

A foundational work on historical and social studies of quantification What accounts for the prestige of quantitative methods? The usual answer is that quantification is desirable in social investigation as a result of its successes in science. Trust in Numbers questions whether such success in the study of stars, molecules, or cells should be an attractive model for research on human societies, and examines why the natural sciences are highly quantitative in the first place. Theodore Porter argues that a better understanding of the attractions of quantification in business, government, and social research brings a fresh perspective to its role in psychology, physics, and medicine. Quantitative rigor is not inherent in science but arises from political and social pressures, and objectivity derives its impetus from cultural contexts. In a new preface, the author sheds light on the current infatuation with quantitative methods, particularly at the intersection of science and bureaucracy.