Cost Estimating and Analysis: Balancing Technology and Declining Budgets

Book Description

The Fun Way to Get Employees to Respond Positively to Change!. Who said change can't be fun! Certainly not Carolyn Nilson: In Games That Drive Change she delivers an exciting assortment of 100 ready-to-use games that add joy to work, create an atmosphere of self-directed learning, build trust, foster communication, and get even change-resistant employees to respond positively, creatively, and productively to the new business environment of continual change. Each game stands alone and is easy to understand--works well with experienced as well as novice trainers, teams, and managers--contains reproducible templates and answer sheets for easy use--and has a specific goal with measurable outcomes.

Customer Reviews:

Should be a tool used during planning of a major change.......1999-10-23

We're in the midst of a major corporate change. Our change agents needed to use this book to incorporate some of the activities during the planning stages of this project. The games focus heavily on the design and thought processes of beginning the change process. Some of the objectives on some of the activities include (may be rephrased in my own words): make the point that rewards and punishments need to be re-designed to manage change; engage a group of planners in a 'futuring exercise';

encourage people to think in broader terms regarding re-engineering; Identify major business processes and break them down into steps; identify dyxfunctional communication games we play with each other without thinking.

I was looking for activities that would help bridge the gap with the employees during this monumental change. This book has some activities around that. But not really specific to my need.

In all fairness, I was looking for activities that would help department trainers overcome the usual resistance to change that generally occurs with major systems changes. I didn't find it in this book.

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Games That Drive Change
Carolyn Nilson
Manufacturer: McGraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFWAQ8

Book Description

This digital document is an article from National Right to Life News, published by National Right to Life Committee, Inc. on June 1, 2003. The length of the article is 844 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: WILL TO LIVE AND ACCOMPANYING SUGGESTIONS WILL TO LIVE GENERAL PRESUMPTION FOR LIFE.
Publication: National Right to Life News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 1, 2003
Publisher: National Right to Life Committee, Inc.
Volume: 30 Issue: 6 Page: 20

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Student papers / University of Washington, School of Law

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Student papers / University of Washington, School of Law
James Conlin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Human Resources & Personnel Management | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Law | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0006R5SYK

Book Description

Among the ‘accidents of nature’ discussed is the curious and unexpected concurrence of certain very large numbers computed from atomic physics and cosmology, apparently unrelated subject areas.

Customer Reviews:

Groundbreaking Small Work.......2005-10-27

P.C.W. Davies' "The Accidental Universe was one of the first popular-level discussions of the so-called Anthropic Principle (in its strong sense the idea that the universe was designed for human existence). Davies is a well-known physicist and prolific science writer.

Written almost a quarter of a century ago, this short book discuss the many seemingly accidental aspects of the universe that allow it to be life permitting, e.g. the values and relationship between the fundamental forces. I share the author view that this combination of factors is exceedingly improbable and begs the question - Why? Why do we find ourselves in a universe that appears to be improbable beyond belief? Though Davies only touches on this question in a cursory manner ,it has spawned a range of responses from scientific, religious and philosophical camps. The proposed answers run the gambit from it was designed by God - to a forthcoming Theory of Everything will make these seemingly accidental constants necessary - to science fiction type speculation regarding multiple universes. Interested readers can explore these topics in the many good subsequent works in philosophy and cosmology.

Though this is a groundbreaking small work, I do not find Davies writing style particularly engaging (he seems, however, to have improved somewhat through the years). His frequent inclusion of formulas throughout the text can make it feel very choppy. Though the math is not complex the scientific notation may unduly slow readers who are unaccustomed to this style - much of this could be included as an annex. Indeed, though Davies deserves to be recognized for his groundbreaking work others have handled this material better - many strong discussions are available within the fields of philosophy of science and the philosophy of religion.

Overall, a good little book that raises many important scientific and philosophical questions. A bit of a clumsy read at times, but, none-the-less worthwhile for those interested in cosmology or metaphysics.

An awe-inspiring little book........2004-12-18

Davies says the numerical values that nature has assigned to the fundamental constants--like the charge on the electron, the mass of the proton, and the Newtonian gravitational constant--are critical to the structure of the universe we perceive.

Many characteristics of systems--from nuclei to galaxies--are very sensitive to the values of the fundamental constants. Had nature chosen a slightly different set of numbers, the world would be a very different place. Most likely, we would not be here to see it.

Here's one example:
Since liquid oceans have existed on Earth for the greater part of the history of the solar system, the temperature and luminosity of the sun can't have varied very much. This long-term, stable environment is due to the sun not using up its fuel too fast.

The rate at which nuclear fuel is consumed inside a star depends on the star's luminosity. Luminosity depends on the strength of gravity, and on electromagnetism. Roughly, the lifetime of a star is given by its total energy reserves divided by the rate of energy consumption. Davies' calculations show that the lifetime of a typical star is comparable to the present age of the universe, which is correct.

From this example, we can see that if gravity were stronger, stars would burn out faster. An increase by a factor of 10 in the gravitational constant would have changed everything. The earth would no longer exist. It would have been vaporized as the sun approached its red giant phase at the end of its hydrogen consumption. Thus, the extremely long time-scale required for major cosmic change is directly attributable to the weakness of gravity.

It seems that a hidden principle is at work, organizing the universe in a coherent way. Some scientists say this principle is not a physical one, but an anthropic one. The anthropic principle takes several forms. One says that if the fundamental constants had had significantly different values, we would simply not be here to comment on them. Another edges on special creation, saying that "The Universe must be such as to admit the creation of observers within it at some stage." Still another suggests that our very special cosmos is only one example of a limitless variety of actually existing universes.

Whatever your take on the subject, this book is beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Jake Kramer, God's Consultant: Or Managing the Accidental Universe: A Fable

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An Attention Grabber
Jake Kramer Is Inspiring
Wonderful book

Jake Kramer, God's Consultant: Or Managing the Accidental Universe: A Fable
Don L. Hall
Manufacturer: Booklocker.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Fiction | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1591130069

Book Description

"Jake Kramer, God's Consultant" brings together Hall's longtime interest in religion and his deep commitment to finding new ways to talk about it. But there is nothing tratiditional or even remotely orthodox in Jake's story. A man has a conversation with God and lives his life in Wonder forever after.

Customer Reviews:

An Attention Grabber.......2002-05-02

I liked the book, and enjoyed reading it. It is one of those books that grabs you quickly and you don't want to put it down. You're always wanting to know...and then what happens. And along the way, the author made some really good points. I commend Mr. Hall.

Jake Kramer Is Inspiring.......2002-02-12

Don Hall has, in a gentle and humorous manner, has gone to the root of how traditional religious views as well as contemporary "new age" religions have missed the mark in uplifting the human spirit. His take on how we all can address these shortcomings is direct and logical, yet still quite spiritual. Bravo!

Wonderful book.......2002-02-02

An inspiring story, that looks at God, the Universe, and Everything, from an a-typical perspective. The book is warm, funny, sad and happy at once, and makes me appreciate the wonder of it all!

Science & God: Our Amazing Physical and Economic Universe-Accidental or God Created?

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Science & God: Our Amazing Physical and Economic Universe-Accidental or God Created?
Greenhut John G.
Manufacturer: University Press of America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Consciousness & Thought | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 076182250X

Book Description

Science & God is directed to any person interested in learning whether science concludes, as it did in the 19th century, that God is dead. By correlating economics with cosmology, M.L. and John Greenhut conclude that God is very much alive and responsible, not only for our physical, but our economic lives.

Accidental elegance: how chance authors the universe.(Works in Progress): An article from: American Scholar

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Accidental elegance: how chance authors the universe.(Works in Progress): An article from: American Scholar
Mary Beth Saffo
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000BLBTN0
Release Date: 2005-09-28

Book Description

This digital document is an article from American Scholar, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 4545 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Accidental elegance: how chance authors the universe.(Works in Progress)
Author: Mary Beth Saffo
Publication: American Scholar (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 74 Issue: 3 Page: 18(10)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

Based on courses given at the universities of Texas in Austin, and California in San Diego, this book treats an active fields of research that touches upon the foundations of physics and chemistry. It presents, in as simple a manner as possible, the basic mechanisms that determine the dynamical evolution of both classical and quantum systems in sufficient generality to include quantum phenomena. The book begins with a discussion of Noether's theorem, integrability, KAM theory, and a definition of chaotic behavior; it continues with a detailed discussion of area-preserving maps, integrable quantum systems, spectral properties, path integrals, and periodically driven systems; and it concludes by showing how to apply the ideas to stochastic systems. The presentation is complete and self-contained; appendices provide much of the needed mathematical background, and there are extensive references to the current literature. Problems at the ends of chapters help students clarify their understanding. In this new edition, the presentation will be brought up to date throughout, and a new chapter on open quantum systems will be added.

The Transition to Chaos: In Conservative Classical Systems : Quantum Manifestations

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The Transition to Chaos: In Conservative Classical Systems : Quantum Manifestations
L. E. Reichl
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Chaos & Systems | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

Acoustics & Sound | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

System Theory | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Book Description

The subjects treated here are part of an active and rapidly growing field of research that touches on the foundations of physics and chemistry. Specifically, the book presents, in as simple and coherent a manner as possible, the basic mechanisms that determine the dynamical evolution of both classical and quantum systems in sufficient generality to include nonlinear phenomena. The book begins with a discussion of Noether's Theorem, integrability, KAM theory, and a definition of chaotic behavior; it continues with a detailed discussion of area-preserving maps, integrable quantum systems, spectral properties, path integrals, and periodically driven systems; and concludes by showing how to apply the ideas to stochastic systems. Appendices fill in much of the necessary mathematical background. Based on courses given at Universities in California, Texas, and China, the book will be useful both as a text and as a reference. The presentation is complete, and there are extensive references to the current research literature. Problems at the ends of the chapters will help students clarify their understanding of the concepts.

Book Description

The ancient order of the Knights Templar possessed untold wealth and absolute power over kings and popes . . . until the Inquisition, when they were wiped from the face of the earth, their hidden riches lost. But now two forces vying for the treasure have learned that it is not at all what they thought it was–and its true nature could change the modern world.

Cotton Malone, one-time top operative for the U.S. Justice Department, is enjoying his quiet new life as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen when an unexpected call to action reawakens his hair-trigger instincts–and plunges him back into the cloak-and-dagger world he thought he’d left behind.

It begins with a violent robbery attempt on Cotton’s former supervisor, Stephanie Nelle, who’s far from home on a mission that has nothing to do with national security. Armed with vital clues to a series of centuries-old puzzles scattered across Europe, she means to crack a mystery that has tantalized scholars and fortune-hunters through the ages by finding the legendary cache of wealth and forbidden knowledge thought to have been lost forever when the order of the Knights Templar was exterminated in the fourteenth century. But she’s not alone. Competing for the historic prize–and desperate for the crucial information Stephanie possesses–is Raymond de Roquefort, a shadowy zealot with an army of assassins at his command.

Welcome or not, Cotton seeks to even the odds in the perilous race. But the more he learns about the ancient conspiracy surrounding the Knights Templar, the more he realizes that even more than lives are at stake. At the end of a lethal game of conquest, rife with intrigue, treachery, and craven lust for power, lies a shattering discovery that could rock the civilized world–and, in the wrong hands, bring it to its knees.

From the Hardcover edition.

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Customer Reviews:

The Rev. Berry.......2007-09-26

I purchased the audio book version for a road trip and around the 4th or 5th disc began fast forwarding chapters. The action and loose plot, along with mostly weak characters -- that whole cotton thing is pretty annoying-- were decent until Berry began preaching his disdain for the opium for the masses beliefs. Why do writers seem to have a need to ruin good stories with long periods of sticky shove-it-in-your-face beliefs, outlandish lies and false conclusions. Stick to action and mystery, and leave the religious "education" to those with an ounce of true knowledge, not an axe to grind.

Excruciating..........2007-09-17

I read this book a few months after reading Berry's "The Third Secret", which I enjoyed and gave a highly-rated review. Unfortunately, this book was nowhere near as enjoyable. I had to force my way through it after stopping a half-dozen times.

Characters were inconsistent, exposition was superfluous, and the pacing was erratic. "Templar Legacy" was as bad as "Third Secret" was good.

I gave it two stars because I still believe Berry put in much hard work in researching this book and I can appreciate that.

Pretty Bad.......2007-09-14

This has got to be one of the worst books I have ever read. Come on now, 400 monks at a secret monastery in France? Do they even have 400 monks in all of France today? And one of them crazy enough to try and wreak vengeance on Phillip IV of France? Who has been dead for 700 years? And this nutcase gets elected Master of the monastery? And I don't care if they are Templars, but I cannot imagine any monastery teaching the Gospel of Thomas to its monks. From the parts that I have read of that Gospel, it sounds like it was put together by some ancient con artist. If you're going to write about the Catholic church, at least find out about it before you start making stuff up. The plot of the book does move along, but the whole premise is weak, the dialogue lame and the characters barely believable.

Okay Novel.......2007-09-01

The Templar Legacy has an interesting premise, however it never excited me. There's mystery, historical information and lots of action . The story is flat. I did not care about any of the people in the story and Mark the good "brother" didn't seem to possess any kind of spirituality.
I was entertained but the novel lacked spice.

FANTASTIC!.......2007-08-26

This was the first book that I have read by Steve Berry. I picked it up on a whim when vacationing in Ireland, and I had it read before the end of my vacation!!! It starts out fast and remains full of twists and turns and an excellent historical mystery!! Berry has done his homework on the Templars, and I am quite impressed!! I read his other books, "The Amber Room", and "The Romanov Prophecy" and enjoyed them immensely! I place The Templar Legacy over Dan Browns "The Davinci Code".

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The Templar Legacy : A Novel
Steve Berry
Manufacturer: Ballantine
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000OD6P8E

Average customer rating:

The Templar Legacy : A Novel
Steve Berry
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OVDIFO

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