Best Selling Books by Michael Tyler

Before leaving home, three children gaze into a mirror with feelings of self-doubt, wondering what people will think of them. They adventure out into the world, befriending each other along the way. Their mutual quest for self-assurance takes them to a grand park, with an even grander work of art --- a magical reflective bean. There they meet their inner voice, the image of their self-confidence reflected in their smiling faces. Filled up with self-acceptance, possibility and belief, the children dream about all that they can be. As the children return home, they take with them the gift of knowing that the truth of who they are lies within the mirror of their heart.

Your Loving Son, Andrew is the story of a young man named Andrew Knox who leaves behind his parents and his responsibilities on the family farm in Virginia to enlist as a soldier in the U.S. army, enticed by the promise of seeing the world and learning what it truly means to be a man. After a heartfelt goodbye to his parents, Mike and Marie Knox, Andrew is on the bus heading to basic training when he meets Donald Birch, another young man who also enlisted in the hopes of making something of himself. Andy and Don become fast friends as they endure the hardships of basic training together, and they are ultimately deployed in the same unit to serve their country in Afghanistan. Frequently told in long and sincere letters between Andy and his parents during his deployment, the novel follows Andy and Don as they navigate life at war, undergoing harsh treatment from their commanders alongside dangerous brushes with local citizens. But when tragedy strikes and both men are injured during a bombing, a wedge is driven between them that threatens to end their friendship. Meanwhile Mike and Marie wait anxiously back at the farm for news about when Andy will be coming home. A story about family and friendship, sacrifice and responsibility, Your Loving Son, Andrew explores the limits of what we can endure for the people we love.

In a classic confrontation of good versus evil, Special Agent Michael Griffin returns from The Vendetta to stalk a backwoods predator. Lost in a dark blur of booze and depression after the death of his wife, it''s a last chance for Griffin to rebuild himself as a cop and as a man. With a knack for thinking like his suspects, a talent for following cold trails, and no qualms about crossing the lines of legality in order to stop a child killer, he backtracks thirteen years to close the gap on Choctaw''s elusive psychopath. Tortured by reluctant desire for a tantalizing exotic woman, frustrated by his just-out-of-the-closet partner, hated by Choctaw''s Sheriff, and backed by a most unlikely posse, Griffin races to stop The Reaper before he kills again.

One good cop. One part-time hooker. Both dead. Michael Griffin is a cop. Narcotics. Tough as nails. The man you want at your back when things get bad-the man to avoid if you are bad. His friends have been murdered; one tagged a suicide, the other discarded like yesterday''s garbage. But Griffin values his friends, doesn''t sort them by race or profession, and he wants justice. True justice. If he can''t get it from within the system, he''ll take his game out of bounds, rules be damned. The Vendetta is the story of Griffin''s pursuit of renegade criminals responsible for a string of brutal murders. Cops and mobsters, wives and lovers, hookers and dealers-meet them all as Griffin plunges into the murky depths of the underworld. Street-smarts and gut instinct put him on the trail, pure determination keeps him alive when he becomes the hunted, and don''t-give-a-damn courage carries him through to the end of his quest. "Tyler has penned a mystery-thriller masterpiece. It''s got it all: drug dealers, the mob, prostitutes, strippers, bikers, murderers, traitors, and a courageous and talented team of street cops?all told with such authenticity, wit, page-turning realism, and edge-of-your seat suspense that it would make you swear the author must have worked the dark streets of this very town as an undercover agent himself. Not for the faint of heart. It''s HOT!" Robert Gelinas Author, The Mustard Seed

System characteristics and their regulatory implications / frequency allocations, assignments and coordination / licensing / network interconnection and revenue sharing / standards / numbering / six scenarios of handling policy issues.

Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) is implemented to obtain both streamwise and wall normal velocity measurements for the array centerline plane. This data is used to examine the interaction of the jet as it leaves the film cooling hole and the structure produced when the jet mixes with the boundary layer.

This thesis seeks to offer a rhetorical explanation to the sudden rise of superhero films in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This study draws on the theoretical writings of Kenneth Burke and his concepts of equipment for living and form. I argue through the rhetorical usage of form these films have constructed symbols that respond to the trauma and fears audiences experience living in the context of a post 9/11 world. Chapter one outlines a historical literature review tracing the origins of superhero films to their literary roots in comic books. This literature review outlines the history of comic book characters addressing social fear and trauma throughout the United States'' history and suggests that superhero movies continue this tradition through the visual medium of film. Chapter two constructs a methodology in which to critically examine these films. The chapter outlines Burke''s concept of the Symbol and Barry Brummett''s notion of the rhetorical homology. With this methodology in place, chapter three and four present case studies explicating how form manifests itself in specific superhero films and explores the rhetorical influence these movies have on audiences. Chapter three examines the Symbol that is found within three films: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and Spider-man. Chapter four looks critically at the rhetorical homology that exists between the film 300 and the Bush administrations justification of the Iraq invasion. Furthermore, chapter four defines the Mask found in V for Vendetta as a site for political protest and a rhetorical source of empowerment for the disenfranchised. The concluding chapter investigates the ramifications of these symbols and critiques the messages some of them suggest to audiences and also discusses the opportunity for further research in the subject area.

This thesis consists of two separate experiments on unique biological threats to Texas freshwater ecosystems. The first experiment sought to understand the interaction between the harmful alga Prymnesium parvum and the cyanobacteria, Anabaena sp. The second experiment sought to determine the effectiveness of triploid grass carp, Ctenopharyngodon idella, as a biological control for two species of invasive macrophytes, which were giant salvinia, Salvinia molesta, and hygrophila, Hygrophila polysperma. Prymnesium parvum blooms have become more frequent in the south-central United States, leading to significant ecological and economic impacts. Allelopathic effects from cyanobacteria were suggested as a mechanism that might limit the development of P. parvum blooms. This research focused on the effects of cultured cyanobacteria, Anabaena sp., on P. parvum. Over a 6-d period, daily additions of filtrate from the senescent Anabaena culture were made to P. parvum cultures growing in log phase. All treatments, including several types of controls, showed reductions in P. parvum biomass over the course of the experiment, but the treatments receiving Anabaena filtrate were reduced to a lesser degree, suggesting that filtrate from the senescent cyanobacteria culture was beneficial to P. parvum in some way. Aquatic vegetation is an important component of most freshwater systems and provides numerous valuable ecosystem services, providing food, habitat and refuge for a variety of organisms. A significant threat to beneficial aquatic vegetation abundant in many United States waterways is the introduction and spread of invasive macrophytes. Two of the newest invasive species, giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta) and hygrophila (Hygrophila polysperma), have quickly established in Texas waters. This research evaluated the potential use of triploid grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) as a biological control agent for these two novel invasive species. Using a controlled mesocosm experiment, consumption rates and feeding preferences were measured. Giant salvinia and hygrophila were compared to six native and introduced species common in Texas and the Southern US. Grass carp were found to be potentially useful in controlling giant salvinia in the preliminary stages of an infestation but an overall poor control option for hygrophila. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/152488

Almost fifty years after the Apollo 11 mission, the moon landing remains one of humankind''s most remarkable technological achievements. On the lunar surface, the Eagle''s flight crew left behind an American flag, mementos honoring those who lost their lives in the quest for such an achievement, and a plaque reading, "Here men from the planet Earth set foot upon the moon. July 1969 A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." Despite overwhelming proof of this achievement--radio transmissions, photographs, film, rock and soil samples--a sizable minority of Americans continue to view the Apollo 11 moon landing as a hoax. To the Moon and Back takes this conspiratorial lens as a point of departure, exploring the history of NASA and the subsequent Apollo 11 moon landing as both a case study in period-specific Americanism, as well as a contemporary armature through which the construction of belief is examined. Prints, drawings, paintings sculpture, and music offer a narrative matrix of myth, folklore, conspiracy, faith, and fiction, and fact, with the goal of challenging our ideologies and histories in the contemporary post-factual landscape.

This paper compares the views of Bosnian and Romanian business students on the ethics of tax evasion. Wilcoxon tests found that their views were significantly different for 12 of the 18 fact situations examined.

The ethics of tax evasion has been discussed sporadically in the theological and philosophical literature for at least 500 years. Martin Crowe wrote a doctoral thesis that reviewed much of that literature in 1944. The debate revolved around about 15 issues. Over the centuries, three main views evolved on the topic. This paper begins with a review of the literature and identifies the main issues and summarizes the three main viewpoints that have emerged over the centuries. It then reports on the results of a survey of business and economics students in Macau who were asked their opinions on the ethics of tax evasion. The survey consisted of 15 statements, representing the three viewpoints that have emerged over the centuries. Participants were asked to signify the extent of their agreement with each statement by placing a number from 1 to 7 in the space provided. One hundred eighty-seven (187) usable responses were received. The data were then analyzed to determine which of the three viewpoints was dominant among the sample population. Male scores were also compared to female scores to determine if the responses differed by gender. Males were significantly more opposed to tax evasion than females for 3 of the 15 cases. Gender differences were insignificant for the other 12 cases.

Such an undertaking is done in the hope of ensuring a more just and equitable online environment, which attributes are hoped will be manifested in the real world as well.

Tax evasion is a worldwide phenomenon. The problem is especially acute in transition and developing economies, since they do not have an appropriate infrastructure in place to collect taxes. Attitudes of the citizenry are an important factor in the collection of taxes. The present study reviews the attitudes of taxpayers in 33 countries on the issue of the ethics of tax evasion and considers demographic differences (gender, age, education and income level) that may impact these attitudes. The data examined was collected as part of a larger study on human beliefs and values. This study found that women are more opposed to tax evasion than men; older people are more opposed to tax evasion than younger people; less educated people are more opposed to tax evasion than better educated people; and poorer people are more opposed to tax evasion than wealthier people.