Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments

No project of this scope is accomplished alone. CoreMicroeconomics and its suite of learning resources came together as a result of the dedication of many individuals who devoted incredible amounts of time to the project. These include reviewers of manuscript chapters, focus group participants, accuracy reviewers, supplements contributors, project specialists, and the production and editorial staff at Worth Publishers.

I want to thank those reviewers of the third edition who read through chapters in manuscript and offered many important suggestions that have been incorporated into this project. They include:

I would like to thank those focus group participants who devoted a lot of time and effort to discussing the proposed revisions to the third edition and how this edition of CoreMicroeconomics can facilitate a broad range of learning and teaching approaches. Their suggestions (and criticisms) contributed immensely to the development of this project. They include:

I would like to thank my current and former student assistants who helped with data collection and shared ideas for examples that would click with college students today. These students include Alan Jagessar, Eileen Schneider, Phil Esterman, Enrique Valdes, Kevin Brady, Thomas Thornton, Brett Block, and Craig Haberstumpf. I also thank all of the students who have taken my principles courses. Their comments, body language, and facial expressions provided cues to whether my concept explanations and applications were clear and provided guidance on how to approach these topics in the book.

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I would like to thank Jose Vazquez of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Rochelle Ruffer of Nazareth College for their willingness to use the preliminary version of the third edition in their classes. The feedback I received from their experience as well as from their students allowed me to improve the textbook prior to its publication.

I am extremely grateful to Jane Himarios of the University of Texas at Arlington who not only oversaw the complete revision of the Test Bank but also took on the role of an expert accuracy checker. Further, Jane provided constant moral support throughout the project.

I want to thank James Watson for his tireless examination of the page proofs to ensure accuracy. Despite dozens of eyes that have read through manuscript and proofs, James still managed to catch errors that none of us want to see in the final product.

A huge debt of gratitude is owed to Lindsay Neff and the supplements authors. Lindsay did a remarkable job to get the best people to author the supplements. They include Jane Himarios of the University of Texas at Arlington who managed the revision of the Test Bank, Albert J. Sumell of Youngstown State University and Gregory Rose of Sacramento City College who revised the CourseTutor, Eric Levy of Florida Atlantic University who created the dynamic PowerPoint slides, and Solina Lindahl of California Polytechnic University–San Luis Obispo for coordinating the pedagogical resources available to instructors. I would also like to thank Ting Levy of Florida Atlantic University, Tamika Steward, James Watson and Brett Block for the development of materials for LaunchPad for CoreMicroeconomics. CoreMicroeconomics and the CoreMedia came together into a cohesive set of instructor and student resources because of their efforts.

I owe a significant debt to the team of technology specialists who created many fascinating digital resources for CoreMicroeconomics. I thank Tom Acox for his instrumental role in the development and management of the online resources, especially LaunchPad. There has been more than one occasion when a crisis situation with my class required immediate attention, and Tom was always available, day and night, to resolve the problem. He truly exemplifies his title as digital solutions manager.

I am truly indebted to Jeremy Brown, who over the years has taught me the tools and tricks of digital technology that have become indispensable in today’s media-driven world. These tools include video editing, animation, and other visual effects, creating a professional Web site, and maximizing the effectiveness of social media. Whenever I have a technology-related question, I can count on Jeremy for an answer. His influence has given me the confidence to use cutting-edge technology to its maximum potential to the benefit of the CoreMicroeconomics suite of resources.

Several persons have provided inspiration for various teaching pedagogies as well as a willingness to lend an ear. These individuals include Gregory Rose of Sacramento City College, Djeto Assane of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Yoram Bauman (Stand-up Economist), Janice Hauge of the University of North Texas, Marc Cannon, and William Bosshardt of Florida Atlantic University.

The production team at Worth is truly the best in the industry. My heartfelt thanks go to the entire team, including Kevin Kall, senior designer, for creating a fantastic set of interior and cover designs; Georgia Lee Hadler, senior project editor, for skillfully managing the copyediting and proofing of the book; Martha Solonche for her superb copyediting; Christine Buese and Julie Tesser for their immense efforts at finding and obtaining rights to the hundreds of photos used in the book; Mary Walsh for her meticulous work in preparing manuscripts for production; Tracey Kuehn, Barbara Seixas, and production specialists Susie Bothwell, Lisa Hankins, and Christina Welker. Each of these individuals made sure each part of the production process went smoothly. Thank you very much for a job well done.

I want to thank Charles Linsmeier, publisher of economics, for recruiting me for this project and making this collaboration with Jerry Stone a reality. Not only did Chuck sign me to Worth, he also has provided dedicated support throughout the entire process. I also thank Paul Shensa for this support from the beginning of the project to its completion. From his ideas on editorial changes to marketing, Paul is an indispensable resource for any author.

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There is no one person I can thank more than Bruce Kaplan, senior development editor, who has guided me on the revision of CoreMicroeconomics from start to finish. Bruce had a long working relationship with Jerry Stone on his first two editions and was able to provide the continuity into the third edition without Jerry’s presence. In fact, in my last conversation with Jerry Stone, he told me to “stick with Bruce; he’s the best and will take you far.” Jerry’s words ring true each time I work with Bruce, who is the best editor and mentor an author can have.

You couldn’t ask for a better marketing team than that at Worth. In the early stages of this edition, I had the pleasure of working with Scott Guile, whose enthusiasm is infectious and his efforts tireless. Scott’s promotion left big shoes to fill, but the arrival of Tom Digiano as marketing manager provided a flawless transition. Tom’s expertise in online homework systems and social media marketing is inspiring, and has encouraged me to push the boundaries to create wonderful marketing pieces that I am proud to put my name on. I thank Tom Kling for his role in motivating the sales reps to the benefits of this project, and for always making me feel at home during sales meetings. I thank the entire sales force, which devotes its time, effort, and passion to showcasing CoreMicroeconomics in a way that truly exemplifies its value to economics education.

I wish to thank Sarah Dorger, for without her efforts, my authoring role would not have happened. I thank Sharon Balbos, whose abundance of experience with textbook-related projects prior to CoreMicroeconomics helped me to develop a keen eye for detail that is vital to an author. I thank Craig Bleyer, who for many years encouraged me to become an author before I finally did. And I thank Catherine Woods and Elizabeth Widdicombe for supporting me as an author.

Finally, I thank Jerry Stone, a true friend and colleague who put his full trust in me when he offered me the opportunity to take over authorship of CoreMicroeconomics in 2010 and carry the book forward to a new generation of students and instructors with new needs. I wish Jerry were still here to collaborate on the textbook he created so successfully in the first two editions. I will never cease my efforts to make CoreEconomics a long-lasting legacy of Jerry’s brilliance and dedication to students and instructors.

Eric P. Chiang