Miller Gaas Guide 2002: A Comprehensive Restatement of Standards for Auditing, Attestation, Compilation, and Review

Book Description

Combine speed and knowledge to propel your organization toward success

Warren Bennis Executive Briefing Series

This guide takes a unique twist on the concept of a learning organization. It proposes the need for a FASTER learning organization (FLO) and goes one step further than other books you've read by specifying the steps necessary to become a FLO.

The author fuses concept, strategy, and application of a FASTER learning organization so your organization can:

* Create superior products and services
* Use new technology to your advantage
* Reduce cycle time
* Become more innovative and resilient
* Strengthen and reinforce the ability to change
* Focus on overall, long-term improvement

The fully illustrated model for creating and maintaining a FLO will help you, your executives, and managers immediately transform your organization into a more profitable company. Plus, the book includes action ideas to help bring employees at all levels into the process.

Enjoy the advantages of a faster learning organization by following the author's unique model, which includes a vision, three strategies, specific tactics and skills, and measurement and reinforcement tools.

Here's all you need to know to create an organization that learns faster and stays ahead of its competition.

Read it in just 2 Hours!

Customer Reviews:

Easy, worthwhile evening read for busy execs.......2001-01-16

"Learning Organizations" are the latest Org Dev (O.D.) hype. I usually delight in trashing the latest management fad and worthless book to take your money (ala "FISH", by Lundin), but there is something to like here. While under the covers, the concept of the Learning Organization is nothing really new, it encompasses a lot of concepts covered in a wide range of other "fad" books.

A good blend of short case study examples and easy theory. Reminds me of the "In Search of Excellence" format. The theory part is not overdone, and is tied to some simple acronyms, such as DIFFPAT and FLO, which you can remember. Theory of how teams learn and how companies can utilize that learning is what the book is really all about. Gives different strategic approaches based on which area (HR, workgroups, execs) initiates the strategy.

The book would be most helpful if combined with some material or reading about how individuals learn - such as the auditory, visual, and physical styles, and how organizations could create LO's using these elements.

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Concepts of the Cosmos: An Introduction to Astronomy
Barry R. Parker
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books
Astronomy | Astronomy | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0155128507

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Concepts of the Cosmos: An Introduction to Astronomy
Barry R. Parker
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OJGBYQ

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Study guide for Parker's Concepts of the cosmos, an introduction to astronomy
Ronald J Bieniek
Manufacturer: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0155128515

Book Description

Hardbound. Volume 1 describes the basic background information common to thermal analysis and calorimetry in general. Thermodynamic and kinetic principles are discussed along with the instrumentation and methodology associated with thermoanalytical and calorimetric techniques. The purpose is to collect the discussion of these general principles and minimize redundancies in the subsequent volumes that are concerned with the applications of these principles and methods. More unique methods, which pertain to specific processes or materials, are covered in later volumes.

Book Description

Neural Networks and Intellect: Using Model-Based Concepts describes a new mathematical concept of modeling field theory and its applications to a variety of problems. Examining the relationships among mathematics, computations in neural networks, signs and symbols in semiotics, and ideas of mind in psychology and philosophy, this unique text discusses deep philosophical questions in detail and relates them to mathematics and the engineering of intelligence. Ideal for courses in neural networks, modern pattern recognition, and mathematical concepts of intelligence, it will also be of interest to anyone working in a variety of fields including neural networks, AI, cognitive science, fuzzy systems, pattern recognition and machine/computer vision, data mining, robotics, target tracking, and financial forecasting. Neural Networks and Intellect describes model-based neural networks that utilize the intriguing concept of an internal "world" model, an idea that originated in artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology but whose roots date back to Plato and Aristotle. Combining the a priori knowledge with adaptive learning, the new mathematical concept addresses the most perplexing problems in the field of neural networks: fast learning and robust generalization. The author provides an overview of computational intelligence and neural networks, relating hundreds of seemingly disparate techniques to several fundamental mathematical concepts, which are in turn linked to concepts of mind in philosophy, psychology, and linguistics. Topics covered include the hierarchical and heterarchical organization of intelligent systems, statistical learning theory, genetic algorithms, complex adaptive systems, mathematical semiotics, the dynamic nature of symbols, Godel theorems and intelligence, emotions and thinking, the mathematics of emotional intellect, consciousness, and more. Perlovsky's remarkable conclusion is that the work of ancient philosophers came closer to the computational concepts emerging today than that of pattern recognition and AI experts of just a few years ago. The following website contains information about Dr. Perlovsky's current research related to the theory developed in the book and about available funding opportunities under a Research Associateship Program: to find it search for Perlovsky on http://www4/nationalacademies.org/pga/rap.nsf. Other sources of funding might be available for US-based and international researchers.

Customer Reviews:

Good breadth of topics, but many incorrect math.......2006-07-19

This is an important book, but it would be more useful if it didn't have so many errors in the equations. Chapter 5, for example, states that the rates are a part of the model, but the equations on pages 210-213 only define the rates, but never use them. Equation 5.2-11 should have det(Cbar) in the numerator. There are many more errors like these in just the MLANS description in Chapter 5.

mathematical models and philosophy of AI.......2001-06-22

Artificial intelligence research goes back to the 1940s as do the first developments in electronic computers. Perlovsky traces the history of AI in a thoughtful and scholarly manner, emphasizing his philosophy and his own generalization of the theory which he calls Modeling Field Theory (MFT). He also traces the study of intelligence back to the Greek philosophers beginning with Plato and Aristotle some 2300 years ago.

The book however, provides more than just a philosophy for artificial intelligence. It mixes in some very important mathematics from the disciplines of engineering, statistics and computer science. Mathematical techniques and models have been particularly useful in the solution to problems in classification, clustering, pattern recognition, rule-based expert system development, multiple-target tracking, orbit determination and Kalman filtering, and time series prediction.

Perlovsky, over the course of his career, has had a great deal of involvement in the development of this research in both his consulting work and his work at Nichols Research Corporation. I know a lot about this because, in 1980 I began working at the Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo California as a MTS (statistician). I worked on statistical problems including Kalman filtering, image processing, image recognition, orbit determination, rule-based expert systems, multiple-target tracking and target discrimination. When I moved over to manage the tracking and discrimination algorithm development for the Air Force's Space Surveillance and Tracking System I became familar with the work being done for us by contractors that included Nichols Research Corporation (NRC). I became very familar with the work of Perlovsky and his colleagues at Nichols Research who supported us from the Newport Beach, Colorado Springs and Boston offices of the company on the multiple-target tracking algorithms and the target classification algorithms. I found the work to be so interesting and of such high quality that I joined NRC in 1988.

Perlovsky sees artifical intelligence as a very practical discipline and believes that computing machines can do a good job of at least mimicking human intelligence through the use of a priori knowledge (as rules preprogrammed into the computer or a priori probability distributions) along with experience (collected data from observational or statistical designed studies) combined using algorithms (Bayes theorem, adaptive neural networks) based on the mathematical foundation of uncertainty incorporated through probability theory and/or fuzzy set theory.

In my experience, I have found rule-based expert systems to be one of the major successful developments in the field of artificial intelligence. At the heart of these systems lies the tools of mathematics and statistics, including the discriminant or classification algorithms based on multivariate Gaussian models (linear and quadratic classifiers) and the nonparametric classification algorithms (kernel discriminant algorithms and classification tree algorithms). Also, patterns can be discovered by computers through the use of clustering algorithms based on Gaussian mixture models or nonparametric techniques like nearest neighbor rules.

The Bayesian approach to statistical analysis has been useful in many areas including the Kalman filter. In Kalman filtering prior knowledge plus current data is used to update the estimate of the current state and for the prediction of the future state of a dynamic system using a simple recursive algorithm that is easily updated in the computer. Many of these developments are well characterized and developed from first principles in this text.

Perlovsky emphasizes his own work including the MLANS system which is a neural network system that incorporates important statistical ideas such as maximum likelihood, the Cramer-Rao inequality and statistical efficiency along with the neural network architecture.

Some of this work was developed by Perlovsky under an Army contract that was coincidentally managed by my brother Julian. I have always viewed this research as being successful because it applied appropriate statistical models to the real problems. I think the crucial aspects of this work are the appropriate use of the Bayesian paradigm and teh indentification of appropriate models for construction of the likelihood equations. The fundamental and well established tools of probability and statistics are the keys. In his proposals, Leonid also included ideas from fuzzy set theory and embedded his methods in an artificial neural network framework. I always thought that these modern theories (fuzzy set theory and neural networks) were gimmicks to get military funding. This may not have been a fair assessment on my part as a careful reading of this book indicates that Perlovsky honestly views these tools as important.

There are subtleties to concepts such as fuzzy set theory. Although I do not yet see its value as a substitute for measure theoretic probability theory for characterizing human uncertainty, it is possible that I just haven't thought hard enough about it. Maybe a continued reading and rereading of Perlovsky's book will help me.

This is a very interesting and unique book on artificial intelligence from a perspective that is quite different from what one find in the standard books written by computer scientists (who often do not have the deep understanding of probability and statistics that Perlovsky possesses).

Philosophy of Intelligence and Intelligence of Philosophy.......2001-01-19

The book is a fascinating review of concepts in philosophy, semiotics, and mathematics of intelligence; it is interesting for a wide audience, not just for mathematicians. The author relates mathematics and philosophy and finds detailed and specific connections, suggesting that the evolution of mathematics of intelligence during the last fifty years paralleled the evolution of philosophy of mind beginning from Plato. The author develops mathematical techniques for semiotics, which reconciles the differences among concepts in classical semiotics. He argues that *symbol* as understood in general culture is a process relating conscious and unconscious, and he proposes modifications in semiotic terminology needed to bring in correspondence varying usages of this term. A most intriguing is a chapter that connects the mathematics to Kantian theory; an ability for perceiving beauty, concludes the author, is associated with learning. A useful feature of the book is the proposed course outlines for mathematically prepared students and for non-mathematicians.

Review of Neural Networks and Intellect.......2000-12-12

While this book is not mainstream and would not be a good place to try to begin to learn AI it is thought provoking and presents a number of new ideas. Where Rod Brooks seaks to eliminate internal models Perlovsky makes them a part of his definition of intelligence. I rather liked the philosophical slant of the book. Perlovsky expects to overcome complexity using fuzzy logic. Looked at from Allen Newell's multiple levels or bands perspective fuzzy logic is an extension of classical logic and in any real computer is implemented by a lower level (underlying level) of ordinary Boolean logic. It would seem to me that different granularities at each level would accomplish the same thing. Rules in first order logic can represent subsymbolic entities just as easily as they represent macroscopic objects and actions. Perlovsky presents an interesting MLANS architecture but gives rather less detail on a hierachical version. The computational complexity of these recurrent networks looks rather high to me. Perlovsky's book is a good challenge to those who have already studied some traditional AI and connectionist literature. He criticizes nearest neighbor (and CBR) systems but it seens to me that they offer some very fast parallel implementations such as Kanerva's distributed memory and Stanfill and Waltz's memory-based reasoning.

Excellent new ideas..........2000-11-30

Perlovsky has published a large number of papers exploring limitations associated with today's main approaches to AI. This book captures the essence of those papers with the addition of developing and expanding Perlovsky's philosophy of AI.

Perlovsky takes the reader through the development of AI from its behaviouristic beginnings through Minsky's "revolution" of purely symbolic AI. He then goes through some more recent methods of combining both methods with some adaptive learning techniques. For all cases Perlovsky clearly demonstrates the inherent limitations of all methods through analytic means.

He then presents his view on a possible way forward though adaptive networks employing fuzzy logic, illustrated with some examples such as work done on SAR image analysis. Throughout the book he provides many examples and certainly this will make an excellent advanced textbook for the field of AI.

I am particularly impressed by his good overview and development of his philosophical views. After years of books by people like the Churchland's, Chalmers, Searle and Hofstadter this is finally a great example of someone who is not afraid to cut through the fluff and expose the real problem to further progress. This should be required reading for anyone looking into philosophy, in particular the philosophy of mind and science. The references are very valuable and Perlovsky and done an excellent job of listing many.

That said, there are a few points I would suggest for the next edition of this book. First, I find it odd that Perlovsky seems unaware of Chaitin's work in algorithmic information theory, particularly his book "The Limits of Mathematics". Considering Perlovsky's many references to Godel and Turing this is a glaring omission. Also, he is missing a reference to Wilson's excellent "Spikes, Decisions, and Actions : The Dynamical Foundations of Neurosciences", possibly because it is also a very recent publication. These three books belong together!

Perlovsky also needs to answer the issues posed by Susan Haack ("Deviant Logic, Fuzzy Logic : Beyond the Formalism") regarding the viability of fuzzy logic and better-define the methods that are the "correct" interpretation when applied to neural networks. I would hope to see an expansion on this theme in the future.

There are some irritating small problems, the most major being the spelling of "Plank" throughout the text; someone's spellcheck was acting up I guess...The index is a bit thin as well.

An excellent book and, as stated in the other reveiw, "must" reading for anyone interested in the future of AI. Perlovsky, Chaitin, Prigogine, Wilson and James H. Austin ("Zen and the Brain") are to be applauded for breaking with the current strangling hold of ancient thought.

Book Description

Loosely connected with Part One and the German legend of Faust, Part Two is a dramatic epic rather than a strictly constructed drama. It is conceived as an act of homage to classical Greek culture and inspired above all by the world of story-telling and myth at the heart of the Greek tradition, as well as owing some of its material to the Arabian Nights tales. The restless and ruthless hero, advised by his cynical demon-companion Mephistopheles, visits classical Greece i search of the beautiful Helen of Troy. Returning to modern times, he seeks to crown his career by gaining control of the elements, and at his death is carried up into the unkown regions, still in pursuit of the `Eternal Feminine'. David Luke's translation of Part One won the European Poetry Translation Prize. Here he again imitates the varied verse-forms of the original, and provides a highly readable - and actable - translation, supported by an introduction, full notes, and an index of classical mythology.

Customer Reviews:

Great work, great translation, and great notes.......2002-04-21

The previous review is clear about the value of this translation. Knowing a bit of German, I can say that this translation does use shapes instead of forms for Gestalten. the real value of the work beyond the translation, however, especially for first time readers, is found in the notes made by David Luke. These notes are helpful for the historical context, allusions to Goethe's personal life and work, and allusions to philosophy, literature, and more ... all essential to understanding the work.

The most faithful of the translations I've read.......2000-12-23

Looking at some reviews by other reviewers, I realized that not everybody has heard of Faust or of Goethe, and I was pretty shocked.

The first part of what I'm saying is about this translation. As Luke so graphically showed in his "Translator's introduction", there are many things that pull at the translator's central agenda: rhyme, metre, primary meaning, nuance, and so on, and the translator has to achieve a balance. Among the translations I've read and from snippets of what I've seen of other translations, Luke's translation is the most accurate of the ones I've read, in many ways. In other words, the compromises that Luke himself details have been executed here with near-perfection.

It comes down to what you like. Luke's translation is the closest among all attempts so far to being dubbed a "universal" tranlslation. But just as we cannot have a universal programming language, we cannot have a translation that will please everybody.

The positive for this translation is of course the extraordinary faithfulness to the original while maintaining rhyme. The negatives are what one would expect; the translation does not read smoothly on the line level. To clarify, a line carries over to the next line in too many cases to make for a "smooth read". An example:

"Refreshment! It's your own soul that must pour / It through you, if it's to be anything."

This "pour it" example siuation occurs too often, and is jarring for those who "grew up" with Arndt's or Wayne's translations.

The second part of what I'm writing is about Faust itself, the Masterwork: as any German will tell you, Faust is one of the centrepieces of literature, and it is worthwhile learning German JUST to read Faust. Each person comes away from "Faust" having found that that he/she was looking for. Every person is reflected in Faust; "Faust" is the ultimate story of Man. What tempts us, what keeps us, what draws us on, what tears us, what defines us, what lies in store for us - it is all there. "Faust" is a journey everyone should undertake. There is nothing controversial here - no "God", no "Hellfire", nothing but Goethe's straightforward but not blunt, sensitive but not compromised, philosophical but not dreamy, analysis of the human situation. "Faust" is the Master thinker Goethe's sincere attempt at looking at it all; and it does not fall visibly short of the task.

Part I should be read by everyone; Part II is not strictly a sequel, but in many ways is, as Wayne shows in his Introduction. Part II requires some knowledge of Greek Mythology; and does in many ways "complete the story". Only, it goes way beyond that.

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The Works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - Faust a Tragedy in Two Parts

Manufacturer: Black's Readers Service
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000B3NECM

Product Description

Faust - A tragedy in two parts as translated by Bayard Taylor

Faust - A Tragedy in Two Parts and the Urfaust (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature) (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature)

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Faust - A Tragedy in Two Parts and the Urfaust (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature) (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature)
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Manufacturer: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Classics | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Drama | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1840221151

Product Description

Goethe's Faust is a classic of European literature. Based on the fable of the man who traded his soul for superhuman powers and knowledge, it became the life's work of Germany's greatest poet. Beginning with an intriguing wager between God and Satan, it charts the life of a deeply flawed individual, his struggle against the nihilism of his diabolical companion Mephistopheles. Part One presents Faust's pact with the Devil and the harrowing tragedy of his love affair with the young Gretchen. Part Two shows Faust's experience in the world of public affairs, including his encounter with Helen of Troy, the emblem of classical beauty and culture. The whole is a symbolic and panoramic commentary on the human condition and on modern European history and civilisation. This new translation of both parts of Faust preserves the poetic character of the original, its tragic pathos and hilarious comedy. In addition, John Williams has translated the Urfaust, a fascinating glimpse into the young Goethe's imagination, and a selection from the draft scenarios for the Walpurgis Night witches' sabbath - material so ribald and blasphemous that Goethe did not dare publish it.

Faust / Part Two (Penguin Classics L93, Part Two)

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Faust / Part Two (Penguin Classics L93, Part Two)
Faust
Manufacturer: Pemguin Classic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B000P7TNUG

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The continuation of part one, where the drama transposedto the spiritual plane

Faust A Tragedy in Two Parts World's Classics

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Faust A Tragedy in Two Parts World's Classics
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JJLHAE

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Faust Part One and Two

Manufacturer: The Bobbs-Merrill Company Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HUOYBE

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Faust Part Two
translator Goethe. Philip Wayne
Manufacturer: Penguin Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
ASIN: B000H7ELN8

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Faust Part Two Penguin Classics
Goethe
Manufacturer: The Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RF2YSY

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Faust Parts One & Two
Goethe/delacroix
Manufacturer: FOLIO SOCIETY LTD (ENGLAND)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000QBRZME

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Faust Parts One & Two
Johann Wolfg Goethe
Manufacturer: FRANKLIN LIBRARY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000Q9M6UM

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Northern Ireland Personal Insolvency: Supplement: Insolvent Partnerships Order (NI) 1995
John M. Hunter CBE LLB
Manufacturer: SLS Legal Publications (NI)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Bankruptcy | Business | Law | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0853896089

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