Current Text: Accounting Standards As of June 1, 1990 : General Standards, 1990-91

Book Description

Designed for professional facilitation, each activity states its objective and is categorized according to its most probable use:

Team effectiveness
Values
Feedback
Role clarification
Problem solving/decision making
Team-member relationships
Intergroup activities
New, temporary, and transition teams

TIMING: Varies with each activity -- 45 minutes to 4 hours AUDIENCE: The intAnded audience for this product is teams.

The Encyclopedia of Team Activities Set, The Encyclopedia of Team-Development Activities, Volume 1 (Loose-Leaf Package) (605)

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The Encyclopedia of Team Activities Set, The Encyclopedia of Team-Development Activities, Volume 1 (Loose-Leaf Package) (605)
Pfeiffer
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MU9YK0

Book Description

Updated to include the latest medical findings and advances, this Second Edition of Crashing the Boards: A Friendly Study Guide for the USMLE Step 1 Exam, is a user-friendly guide to the most efficient study for the USMLE Step 1. Written as a collaborative effort by medical students who recently passed the Boards, the text focuses on the highest yield study material. Emphasis is placed on facts and concepts that carry the greatest weight in the exams; ones that students should focus their efforts on to earn the most points on the Boards. Important information is presented in easily digestible "nuggets," printed on a single-page spread to eliminate the distraction of page flipping.

Customer Reviews:

THE BEST.......2007-08-12

This book is the best! I began my summer studying the First Aid and I felt like it was an impossible task. I am not sure if this review applies to the USMLE Step 1 but I am writing to fellow podiatry students that will eventually take the national boards of podiatric medicine step 1. Most of my class spent their whole summer studying the First Aid and some of them did not pass. The First Aid really is just too much to read and remember. If one memorizes EVERYTHING in the Crashing the Boards book, then that is more than enough. It gives you the most important facts to know and will be tested on. Believe me...do yourself a favor and buy this book!

This Is The Only Book I needed!!!.......2001-07-17

I am a Podiatry Medical student in Cleveland and I just took part one of the boards last week. I passed. Hallelujah!! I didn't even need to do any extra testlets. I was pleasantly surprised, but nonetheless surprised because i only studied for 10 days and the only book i used was Crashing The Boards (and my own Lower Anatomy notes). All, and I mean all, of my other classmates used "USMLE First Aid". I began to worry that maybe i should have used First Aid also because it had a lot more pages and info than Crashing does...But, when all was said and done Crashing was more than adequate for the Boards. Crashing gives you the essential info needed in about 1/3 of the pages compared to First Aid, which translates to less time needed to study. Many reviews state that Crashing is just a good "supplemental" book to use, i would argue that Crashing is THE book to use.

Great small book to take along to study on the run!.......2001-06-15

You don't always want to take your whole library to your son's little league game! This is a compact book that packs a lot of information in it. I am really enjoying it for a review book.

Better than First Aid.......2001-05-29

One of my study partners bought this book and it was the most popular book to use among our group of four. We all had First Aid but fought to use this book. There is a lot of basic informaiton in the book that is well presented in a way to remember, but there is also a lot of information that will help with specific questions on the boards. I think this book was one of the reasons I did much better than just passing.

Better Books are available but this one is helpful.......2000-04-21

First Aid for USMLE Step 1 is better but this book was useful in combination with 1st Aid. I also liked the questions from Lazo...NMS Review for the USMLE Step 1.

Book Description

What are the implications for Humankind of alien civilizations that may be "out there?" In thinking about contact with extraterrestrials, we have to grapple with a host of philosophical, religious, and societal questions. The biggest is whether the outcome of contact will be beneficial or harmful. Will contact uplift us, bringing a golden age of wisdom and prosperity? Or will it demoralize, even destroy us?

This thought-provoking book presents a rainbow of opinions expressed by scientists, sociologists, historians, legal and political thinkers, and many others. The author takes into account not only scientific speculation, but also fiction and popular opinion. He challenges the most frequent assumptions that unerlie our thinking. He looks at both sides of the "where are they" debate, questioning the alleged paradox and proposing new ways of thinking about the issue.

The serious practical questions raised by extraterrestrial intelligence are becoming harder to avoid as our search technologies and methods improve, as we identify ever-greater numbers of planets orbiting other stars, and as the wave front of our radio, television, and radar signals reaches out into the Galaxy. How should we deal with contact if it happens? What do we want to say to an extraterrestrial civilization? Will we speak as one, or as many? What should we do if we find alien technology in our solar system? Should we simply be watchers and listeners, or should we actively seek contact by sending out messages proclaiming our presence? Our answers reveal our hopes and our fears.

Customer Reviews:

A Deeply Flawed, Onesided Survery of SETI.......2007-05-23

Sadly, Michael A.G. Michaud uses outdated arguments and information to present a rather one-sided view of SETI that fails to examine the total impact contact with alien civilizations. Once rather curious arguement that Michaud makes is that Humanity shouldn't delude itself into thinking that aliens will act like Humans - but they - the aliens - will commit the Human act of opening up a dialouge. With apologies to David Brin, I think the words of my favorite science fiction character, the B-9 Enviromental Robot, is appropriate here to paraphase: "This book does not compute."

Joseph Baneth Allen

Absolutely required reading for SETI enthusiasts.......2007-03-31

Before the publication of David Grinspoon's Lonely Planets: The Natural Philosophy of Alien Life (2003), which I highly recommend (see my review), I was frankly starved for speculations and information about the search for extraterrestrial life. With this volume however I think I am sated. This could be called the mother of all SETI books and then some.

The text runs to 376 dense pages. There are 72 pages of "References," although I wish there were a separate bibliography in which the works referenced were presented alphabetically by author. I don't find this newfangled practice of omitting a bibliography convenient. Regardless Michaud seems to quote just about anybody even remotely connected with SETI including many scientific lights, Carl Sagan, David Darling, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Drake, Seth Shostak, Jill Tarter, Frank Tipler, et al., along with scifi literary illuminati like Olaf Stapledon, not to mention religious people, politicians, and even a poet or two.

He begins with what he calls "a condensed history of speculations...up to 1959" which is followed by "brief descriptions of the scientific searches" for ETs and their signals, and then he launches into a step by step consideration of the Drake equation. He brings us up to date on the latest thinking. As most SETI knowledgeable people know, the Drake equation on the probability of there being intelligent life elsewhere has been given a big boost in recent years by the discovery of planets revolving around other stars, and by our learning just how inhospitable environments can be and still harbor microbial life, as in deep ocean vents and far down into the earth's crust. To me this last discovery is especially exciting because (as Michaud points out) it greatly increases the number of places in the cosmos where life could be thriving--around brown dwarfs (or maybe even ON them!), in interstellar space, in dust clouds and of course under frozen surfaces, such as exist on Europa.

Skeptics as well as wide-eyed optimists are quoted. The UFO controversy is examined. Consequences of contact are explored, etc. But with all the speculations, learned and otherwise, we are still left with just one example of life from which to extrapolate. So, interesting as all this material is, it is not nearly as interesting as just one itty-bitty, bonafide example of extraterrestrial life would be. I hope I live long enough for one to be found.

To conclude let me concentrate on a couple of issues that I find most interesting.

First, the issue of colonization of the galaxy. I prefer to ask not Fermi's "Where are they?" but "Why should they?"

The assumption that there is an innate propensity for life to reproduce ad infinitum is one that is hard to argue with when applied to life on earth. The assumption that life elsewhere will have a similar urge is also reasonable. However when we look at the average lifespan of species on this planet we realize that something like a million years is the norm. How much of the galaxy could a species that exists for a million years colonize? Further qualify this by asking what is the average lifespan of a species that leaves the environment to which it is adapted? It may well be that if we ourselves go space-faring, we may find artifacts of extinct ETs but not the ETs themselves.

There is also the question why would intelligent beings want to live in hostile environments? Some of their kind, like some of our kind, might very well volunteer for the uncertainties of a lifetime in space and a lifetime in space for their progeny, but most probably would not. And how massively advanced does a civilization have to be to go space-faring, confident that nothing will go wrong over the span of a hundred years, a thousand years, ten-thousand years...? Humans as presently constituted would find living on a spaceship for even months at a time very difficult. Think of how our ideas have changed since the time of Shakespeare, a mere four hundred years ago. By the time the space travelers are gone a generation or two, it is possible that they may change their minds about the virtue of the mission.

As Freeman Dyson said, "Interstellar travel...is essentially not a problem in physics or engineering but a problem in biology." (p. 130) He might well have added "psychology."

Another issue is that of sending out probes or self-replicating "Von Neumann machines" that would terra form the galaxy while endowing the new turf with the seed of their makers. But again, why would they? Darwinian biological creatures tend to reproduce to the carrying capacity of their environments; but any creatures that have the intelligence to colonize space would presumably be beyond such biological imperatives. In fact, the real question is why would any advanced society want to create more of its kind? It seems to me more likely that such creatures would want instead to observe life forms different from themselves in so far as possible. Michaud recalls that Andrew Clark and David Clark characterized sending out self-replicating probes as "galactic vandalism." Michaud adds that such probes could end up threatening the civilization that made them. (pp. 170-71) It's possible that sufficiently complex self-replicating machines could "evolve" into something with intentions very different from that of their creators.

There are historical examples of civilizations reigning in their exploratory and reproductive instincts, such as the Chinese before the European Age of Exploration, and the declining birth rates today in industrialized countries. It may very well be the case that once biological creatures reach a certain level of understanding, they stop all activity because there is no desire to do anything. If we build machines that have an intelligence vastly superior to ours, unless somehow the desire to continue is built into them, why would they continue?

I don't think anyone really interested in SETI can afford to miss this exciting book.

A True Service.......2007-03-20

Michael Michaud has performed a service for the specialized as well as the lay reader with this comprehensive review of who might be out there, how do we find out and how might we react. The subject is inherently difficult not only for its immense scope and implications but also for its nearly inextricable linking with the world of science fiction and fantasy. Michaud remains objective throughout and this cold objectivity makes his story all the more fascinating and compelling. The book is free of sensationalism, making no play at all on the science fiction aspects of the subjects. Nevertheless, the author doesn't shy away from popular subjects like space colonization and interstellar flight.

In thirty-three unnumbered chapters the author organizes his presentation under such headings as Searching for Intelligence; Probabilities of Life, Intelligence, Civilization, Technology and Science; Direct Contact, Why Don't We See Them?; a marvelous exposition on Reformulating the Problem; Contact Scenarios, Fears, Dangers; After Contact; and Some Conclusions Drawn.

The arrangement of headings, different typefaces and boxes in the text make the information easily accessible. The language is clear, never pedantic.

More interesting ideas per page than most books I've read.......2007-03-19

What is man's place in the Universe? Is the Universe teeming with life, and intelligent life at that or, are we an oasis of intelligence in an otherwise empty Universe? What would an alien civilization be like and why would aliens want to communicate with us? What would aliens say and how would we decode their message or, would we want to? What would reception of such a message mean for our existing civilization? Why would long distance contact be so different in its implications and effects than direct contact? In discussing these and many other questions Michaud's very well written and meticulously footnoted book touches on human evolution and what it means to be human, technology, religion, social dynamics, politics, human psychology and motivation, the history of first contacts here on Earth and a myriad of other topics. Machaud lays out and explores the many hypotheses researchers have developed based on the only example they have--us--about alien cultures, technologies, capabilities and motives. This meaty book presents many issues, conjectures and questions to mull over in the days and years ahead. Contact is packed with ideas which are of concern to all of us and not just to fans of science fiction.

A great survey of the field........2006-11-28

I recommend this excellent tome: Contact with Alien Civilizations: Our Hopes and Fears about Encountering Extraterrestrials, by Michael Michaud. Unlike many other books about the search for extraterrestrial intelligent life, this one does not leap upon a simple, single "explanation" for the apparent loneliness of humanity, but rather lays out some of the scope and range of this wide-open field, showing some of the disputes that have made this such a colorful field in recent years.

I admit being biased a bit. I have worked with the author a few times in trying to make sense of SETI, especially the issue of whether Earth civilization should start shouting at the cosmos ([...]) in order to draw attention to this little planet. This book is among the few places where a reader can get a balanced view of the arguments, hearing all sides and getting a chance to weigh things for yourself.

David Brin (With permission of Cheryl!)
[...]

Book Description

Through an integration of systematics, genetics, and related disciplines, the Modern Synthesis of Evolutionary Biology came into being over fifty years ago. Knowledge of evolution has since been transformed by several revolutions: the way we interpret the fossil record has been radically affected by theories of continental drift and asteroid impacts; the way we classify organisms has been influenced by the development of cladistics. Perhaps the most dramatic revolution has been the explosion in molecular biology of information about the genome. Aiming to capture the excitement of modern evolutionary biology, six prominent scientists here explore important issues and problems in their areas of specialization and identify the most promising directions of future research. The scope of this volume ranges from macroevolutionary patterns in the Precambrian to molecular evolution of the genome. Major themes include the origin and maintenance of variation and the causes of evolutionary change. Chapters on paleontology, ecology, behavior, development, and cell and molecular biology are contributed by Jim Valentine, Graham Bell, Mary Jane West Eberhard, Leo Buss, Marc Kirschner, and Marty Kreitman. The book contains an introductory chapter by John Bonner, whose seminal work is honored here.

Molds, Molecules, and Metazoa: Growing Points in Evolutionary Biology.

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Molds, Molecules, and Metazoa: Growing Points in Evolutionary Biology.
Peter R. & Henry S. Horn, eds. Grant
Manufacturer: Princeton University
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000OFXP8U

Book Description

Granular materials are an integral part of our everyday life. They are also the base material for most industrial processing techniques. The highly dissipative nature of the particle collisions means energy input is needed in order to mobilize the grains. This interplay of dissipation and excitation leads to a wide variety of pattern formation processes, which are addressed in this book. The reader is introduced to this wide field by, first, a description of the material properties of granular materials under different experimental conditions that are important in connection with the pattern formation dynamics and, second, by further details given later on in the description of the specific system.

Customer Reviews:

Between a Rock and a Hard Place!.......2001-07-13

The study of the behavior of granular materials is thousands of years old. And the behavior of granular materials affects each of us every day. From foodstuffs to pharmaceuticals to the substrates our houses rest on and our vehicles travel over. Yet it is only in the past decade or so that computers have become large enough to try to solve the multibody physics problems that underlie granular materials behavior. The technology is wrestling with old testing methods that tell us how to measure behavior but not why, and sophisticated theories that few of us who need to know if and how the 'why' changes the 'how' can quickly grasp. The Ristow book is translated from German. The translation is excellent. Ristow's approach is dispassionate and straightforward, without burdening the first-time reader with huge quantities of theory. Yet he summarizes quite succinctly the computer methods currently in vogue. It is a short, terse book that seems to cover the major thoughts regarding granular material behavior, including the "pile" experiments and the "rotating drum" experiments. A sound piece of work that will undoubtedly need to be updated in five year or less.

Book Description

The richest and most depraved man on Earth takes a wild space journey to distant worlds, learning about the purpose of human life along the way.

Download Description

In Vonnegut's tale of the near future, a cold and malevolent universe is all that humanity can ever know.

Customer Reviews:

Wow.......2007-09-10

Before purchasing this piece of art, I already agreed with most of the philosophy behind it that I was to indulge. By the time I finished the last line however, I had no idea it would strike my nerve ending the way it did. When I finished, I leaned back, and starting laughing out loud from extacy.

What amazed me most about this book was not its astounding realization of life, or the amazing context Vonnegut portrays it in, but the manner of which the book seems to take you on a journey much longer than the 300 pages seem they should. When I concluded this work of art, I felt as though I had been by Malachi Constant's side throughout all those years of 'accidents'.

In a punctual manner of speaking, this book is amazing. If you haven't read it, read it. If you've read it and are looking for support from my review, read it again. You owe it to yourself to enjoy such fantastic prose.

Smorgasbord.......2007-08-15

As any fan of Kurt Vonnegut's novels knows, there are certain common themes to his work. "The Sirens of Titan", more than any other of Vonnegut's books that I've read so far (eight and counting), seems to pack all of his favorite subjects into one story. The subjects of science fiction, religion, war, political satire, time, fame, family, fortune and fate all come together to form a highly entertaining and thought-provoking story. Despite the smorgasbord of familiar Vonnegut subjects, the one theme that seems to stand out and rise above the others is the theme of fate. The characters in the novel all start out believing that they control their own destinies, and yet, time and again, find themselves simply pawns in the games of more powerful forces; often completely without their knowledge. Vonnegut seems to be ridiculing again and again mankind's delusion that he is somehow in control. To paraphrase a character in the book, "It's obvious that some being much more intelligent than I is in charge. Why shouldn't I just be friendly and try to have a nice time?" Who knew you could get such home-spun common sense wisdom from the planet Mercury?

Fate, Chance, and the Meaning of Life.......2007-08-06

After the somewhat clunkier Player Piano (Vonnegut's first novel), his style and voice take a big leap forward here with The Sirens of Titan. The concise sentences, the short paragraphs, the short chapters, the subtle insights, the satire, the humor - everything that makes Vonnegut so compulsively readable is accounted for here. As far as the actual story, there are a lot of important twists that I don't want to give away, but in short, Sirens is a wonderfully inventive exploration of fate, chance, and the meaning of life in this solar system. While I personally prefer a couple of Vonnegut's later books to this one, I'd say that Sirens is a must read for Vonnegut fans and a great introduction for anyone who likes to save the best for last.

I fell in love with this book..........2007-08-02

It is the first Vonnegut book I had the pleasure of reading and within a month I have read 4 more. It a fantastic book that manages to mix sci-fi with philosophy and religion. It's a captivating story, and I think one of the best Vonnegut books out there.

Just can't recommend it........2007-07-22

This was my first Kurt Vonnegut book and I struggled to like it because this book and its author came so highley recommended, but alas, I just can't.

Perhaps in 1959 it was a breakthrough for being so nihilist towards its plot and characters, but with the retrospect that living in the 21st century provides, Vonnegut's novel comes across as surprissingly dated and bennal, as if it broke ground for people to come along later and truly execute with some vision what Vonnegut perhaps set out to do.

First and foremost the novel never delivers on the promises layed out in the first 20 pages. The sense of wonderment established in the beginning, and its connection to an undercurrent of meaning in all our lives, was never explored. It was monotonously explained away as if Vonnegut couldn't be troubled since life is all supossed to just be random and meaningless anyways.

The characters don't grow or evolve, they are unlikeable and render unimaginable and utterly illogical decisions. Perhaps he was attempting to make their synapsis as unpredictable as the occurences around them, but I don't buy that... it comes off as lackluster storytelling.

Overall I was left a tad confounded, not that the message or meaning was too complex, but that someone would actually set out to create such elaborate language around what amounted to nothing. Of all the books I've read I think about this one the least.

Fortunately it only took me about 5 hours to read (otherwise a lazy afternoon) so if you're truly curious you can give it a go.

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The Sirens of Titan
Jr. Kurt Vonnegut
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Slaughterhouse-Five

ASIN: B000EAPRAO

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SIRENS OF TITAN
KURT VONNEGUT JR.
Manufacturer: Dell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Cat's Cradle

ASIN: B000F6RFUW

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The Sirens of Titan
Kurt Vonnegut
Manufacturer: The Easton Press: Norwalk CT 2003.
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Binding: Hardcover
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THE SIRENS OF TITAN; CAT'S CRADLE; GOD BLESS YOU MR ROSEWATER; WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE; SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE

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THE SIRENS OF TITAN; CAT'S CRADLE; GOD BLESS YOU MR ROSEWATER; WELCOME TO THE MONKEY HOUSE; SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE
Kurt Jr Vonnegut
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The sirens of Titan: An original novel (A Dell book)

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The sirens of Titan: An original novel (A Dell book)
Kurt Vonnegut
Manufacturer: Dell Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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The Sirens of Titan
Kurt Vonnegut
Manufacturer: Dell
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Binding: Mass Market Paperback
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Kurt Vonnegut (6 Books) Slaughterhouse Five, The Sirens of Titan, Player Piano, Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, Mother Night

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Kurt Vonnegut : All Star Collection

Kurt Vonnegut (6 Books) Slaughterhouse Five, The Sirens of Titan, Player Piano, Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, Mother Night

Manufacturer: Octopus Books Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0905712471

Customer Reviews:

Kurt Vonnegut : All Star Collection.......2003-05-12

Six novels from Kurt Vonnegut. Includes Slaughterhouse Five, The Sirens of Titan, Player Piano, Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, and Mother Night.

A great value when considering purchasing each title individually.

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The Sirens of Titan (Audio)
Kurt Vonnegut
Manufacturer: Books on Tape
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette
ASIN: B000K03IYA

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The Sirens of Titan

Manufacturer: Dell Publishing Co., Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000HTXQOQ

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