Quick Reference to Iras, 2002

Book Description

This book is about increasing team performance. It focuses on building system dynamics models when tackling a mix of interrelated strategic problems to enhance team learning, foster consensus, and create commitment. The book is intended to be applied in the organizations of today. As the "command and control" organization evolves into one of decision-making teams, so these teams have become the critical building blocks upon which the performance of the organization depends. The team members face an increased complexity of decision making with the interrelation of several strategic problems. What this means is that people have different views of the situation and will define problems differently. However, research shows that this can in fact be very productive if and when people learn from each other in order to build a shared perspective. Learning in this way might prove to be the only sustainable competitive advantage for organizations in the future. As a result, team leaders want to create "learning teams" and are confronted with issues such as how to:

create a situation where people doubt their ideas rather than stubbornly cling to dearly held views
create a learning atmosphere rather than trying to "win" the discussion
create a shared understanding of a problem in a team
foster consensus and create commitment with a strategic decision
facilitate Group Model Building

Those who will benefit most from Group Model Building: Facilitating Team Learning Using System Dynamics are those who are familiar with systems thinking or organizational learning, or those who are working in groups and are coming up against the common difficulties.

Book Description

Sometime in the first half of the twentieth century, a coterie of fire ants came ashore from South American ships docked in Mobile, Alabama. Fanning out across the region, the fire ants invaded the South, damaging crops, harassing game animals, and hindering harvesting methods. Responding to a collective call from southerners to eliminate these invasive pests, the U.S. Department of Agriculture developed a campaign that not only failed to eradicate the fire ants but left a wake of dead wildlife, sickened cattle, and public protest.

With political intrigue, environmental tragedy, and such figures as Rachel Carson and E. O. Wilson, The Fire Ant Wars is a grippingly perceptive tale of changing social attitudes and scientific practices. Tracing the political and scientific eradication campaigns, Joshua Buhs's bracing study uses the saga as a means to consider twentieth-century American concepts of nature and environmental stewardship. In telling the story, Buhs explores how human concepts of nature evolve and how these ideas affect the natural and social worlds.

Spotlighting a particular issue to discuss larger questions of science, public perceptions, and public policy—from pre-environmental awareness to the activist years of the early environmental movement—The Fire Ant Wars will appeal to historians of science, environmentalists, and biologists alike.

Customer Reviews:

A catastrophic mistake.......2005-06-15

Recently, nature has come to be viewed as a sort of plague on humanity. The necessity of no littering signs leads me to the conclusion that a consensus of apathy exists towards nature's well being. Nature, in society's perception, is much closer to the ultimate hassle - debunking any consideration of its credentials as the ultimate caretaker. I believe that much of this disregard comes from environmentalists who fail to recognize man's place in nature. It falls short of the task to say man has a responsibility to nature: man is a part of nature and as such, must be spoken of in these terms. Joshua Blu Buhs, in The Fire Ant Wars, fails to recognize the error of separating man from nature. While his thesis promoting the importance of respect for nature is certainly important, it ultimately fails; a much more conducive thesis for his goals would present a unification of man and nature.

In Blu Buh's thesis, he fails to recognize a distinction between man and nature. On his view, humans must "work with nature...and in the process recreate it" (198). Furthermore, Blu Buhs aligns his view with Aldo Leopold, who see nature as a machine in which "we are tinkers...working on [its] complex machinery" (194). This failing to recognize the importance of placing man, not as conductor of nature, but as subject of nature creates a catastrophic arrangement of power, in which the environment and nature will always be abused. Nature is a self-perpetuating cycle in which man interferes constantly, allowing man to redirect the course of nature. Certainly, though, man cannot change nature: a change would require a violation of basic principles. For example, humans may introduce a new animal to an ecosystem - like the fire ants - which consequentially may lead to a redistribution of species and wildlife, but the basic principles of `survival of the fittest' will remain unaltered. Therefore, man is limited to the role of a subject of nature.

Generally, Blu Buhs' language of argument would go unnoticed, but the repercussions of his view are dire and severe. If man views himself as a separate entity from nature, in a relationship in which he exerts power over it, his struggle for this power will only end in his destruction. Nature is independent of man. A belief in the dependence of nature on man yields conclusions that fail to show respect for nature - the thesis Blu Buhs advocates. A responsibility to nature implies that man must - in a patriarchal sense - atone for nature's inability to cope with man. Absurdly, this seems to require man to live in distinct distance from nature: never interfering, never enjoying. However, an ethic based upon man's subjectivity to nature more fully describes the relationship. In a relationship such as this, man is an entity within nature's confluence; as such, he is subject to the repercussions. This is the general thesis Blu Buhs seems to strive for. In separating man as caretaker of nature, Blu Buhs falls short of attaining a description of this intricate relationship. The argument of the book places the power with nature, but the thesis at the end places the power with man.

Ultimately, while Blu Buhs' thesis is well intentioned, its mistake of delineating man from nature leads to a devastating ideology. If the relationship between man and nature is to be mended, man must realize his place as a subject of nature. Belief that man is nature's custodian only leads to horrible actions; before any discussion of environmental ethics can occur, man must be recognized as a part of nature.

The Fire Ant Wars: Nature, Science, and Public Policy in Twentieth-Century America.(Book Review) : An article from: Journal of Southern History

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The Fire Ant Wars: Nature, Science, and Public Policy in Twentieth-Century America.(Book Review) : An article from: Journal of Southern History
Scott Dewey
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Journal of Southern History, published by Thomson Gale on February 1, 2006. The length of the article is 567 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: The Fire Ant Wars: Nature, Science, and Public Policy in Twentieth-Century America.(Book Review)
Author: Scott Dewey
Publication: Journal of Southern History (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 72 Issue: 1 Page: 212(2)

Article Type: Book Review

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The Fire Ant Wars: Nature, Science, and Public Policy in Twentieth-Century America

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The Fire Ant Wars: Nature, Science, and Public Policy in Twentieth-Century America
Joshua Blu Buhs
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OPHLX0

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Working Papers: Astronomy and Astrophysics Panel Reports
Astronomy and Astrophysics Survey Committee , Board on Physics and Astronomy , and National Research Council
Manufacturer: National Academies Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0309043832

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Working papers astronomy and astrophysics panel reports (SuDoc NAS 1.26:188785)
NASA
Manufacturer: National Academy Press National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Technical Information Service, distributor]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00010HA1Q

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Working Papers: Astronomy and Astrophysics Panel Reports
John N. (ed.) Bahcall
Manufacturer: National Academy Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OSS3NY

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This digital document is an article from Canadian Chemical News, published by Chemical Institute of Canada on July 1, 2003. The length of the article is 4626 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: CSC 2003 award winners announced.(CIC Bulletin ICC)(awards for those who make contributions in inorganic chemistry or electrochemistry)
Publication: Canadian Chemical News (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2003
Publisher: Chemical Institute of Canada
Volume: 55 Issue: 7 Page: 30(10)

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Improved Manufacturing Increases Cell Output.(Brief Article): An article from: Fuel Cell Technology News

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Improved Manufacturing Increases Cell Output.(Brief Article): An article from: Fuel Cell Technology News

Manufacturer: Business Communications Company, Inc.
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Binding: Digital

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This digital document is an article from Fuel Cell Technology News, published by Business Communications Company, Inc. on July 1, 2002. The length of the article is 412 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: Improved Manufacturing Increases Cell Output.(Brief Article)
Publication: Fuel Cell Technology News (Newsletter)
Date: July 1, 2002
Publisher: Business Communications Company, Inc.
Volume: 4 Issue: 10 Page: NA

Article Type: Brief Article

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A new bonded catalyst for safe lithium-thionyl chloride batteries: Final technical report to U.S. Army Electronics Research and Development Command, Fort Monmouth, NJ

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A new bonded catalyst for safe lithium-thionyl chloride batteries: Final technical report to U.S. Army Electronics Research and Development Command, Fort Monmouth, NJ
F Walsh
Manufacturer: ECO
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006Y6H8Y

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Elementary Number Theory With Applications
Thomas Koshy
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Elementary Number Theory with Applications

Student's Solutions Manual to accompany Elementary Number Theory

Elementary Number Theory

ASIN: 0124211739

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An elementary investigation of the theory of numbers: with its application to the indeterminate and Diophantine analysis, the analytical and geometrical ... algebraical and arithmetical problems. /
Peter Barlow
Manufacturer: Cornell University Library
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1429700467
Release Date: 1969-12-31

Book Description

This volume is produced from digital images from the Cornell University Library Historical Mathematics Monographs collection.

Elementary Number Theory with Applications

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Excellent book for beginning courses
The best Elementary Number Theory textbook for students

Elementary Number Theory with Applications
Thomas Koshy
Manufacturer: Academic Press
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0124211712

Book Description

The advent of modern technology has brought a new dimension to the power of number theory: constant practical use. Once considered the purest of pure mathematics, it is used increasingly now in the rapid development of technology in a number of areas, such as art, coding theory, cryptology, computer science, and other necessities of modern life.
Elementary Number Theory with Applications is the fruit of years of dreams and the author's fascination with the subject, encapsulating the beauty, elegance, historical development, and opportunities provided for experimentation and application. This is the only number theory book to show how modular systems can be employed to create beautiful designs, thus linking number theory with both geometry and art. It is also the only number theory book to deal with bar codes, Zip codes, International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN), and European Article Numbers (EAN). Emphasis is on problem-solving strategies (doing experiments, collecting and organizing data, recognizing patterns, and making conjectures). Each section provides a wealth of carefully prepared, well-graded examples and exercises to enhance the readers' understanding and problem-solving skills.

This is the only number theory book to:
Show how modular systems can be employed to create beautiful designs, thus linking number theory with both geometry and art
Deal with bar codes, Zip codes, International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN), and European Article Numbers (EAN)
Emphasize problem-solving strategies (doing experiments, collecting and organizing data, recognizing patterns, and making conjectures)
Provide a wealth of carefully prepared, well-graded examples and exercises to enhance the readers' understanding and problem-solving skills

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book for beginning courses.......2002-01-14

This book is ideal for an undergraduate course in number theory. The combination of theory, problems and biographical sketches of the principals who made it what it is today is an excellent pedagogical technique. It allows an instructor to show how number theory began very early in mathematical history and how it has progressed over the centuries. Number theory holds the distinction as being the reservoir of most of the easily stated yet difficult problems. As Paul Erdös said, "If it is a simply stated problem that has remained unsolved for centuries, it is almost certainly one in number theory." In this book, you learn the reasons for this situation.
It is also well-suited for anyone with an interest in number theory who wishes to learn more about it. The explanations are well-written and a large number of exercises are included. Solutions to the odd numbered problems are given at the end. Review, supplementary and computer exercises are also included at the end of each chapter. The bulk of the explanatory text consists of examples worked out in complete detail.
This is the book that I would use if I were teaching a course in beginning number theory. It is a complete package, not only demonstrating what is known and unknown, but the path to how it got that way.

[....]

The best Elementary Number Theory textbook for students.......2001-08-31

I recommend it for all College and University students taking number theory classes.
The book is concise, well documented, easily understandable, up to date with the last developments in the field, and with very nice examples and attractive proposed problems.
I read this textbook without letting if off my hands - like a detective novel or an exciting story.

Elementary Number Theory with Applications, Second Edition

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easier read than Knuth's books

Elementary Number Theory with Applications, Second Edition
Thomas Koshy
Manufacturer: Academic Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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A Pathway Into Number Theory

ASIN: 0123724872

Book Description

This second edition updates the well-regarded 2001 publication with new short sections on topics like Catalan numbers and their relationship to Pascal's triangle and Mersenne numbers, Pollard rho factorization method, Hoggatt-Hensell identity. Koshy has added a new chapter on continued fractions. The unique features of the first edition like news of recent discoveries, biographical sketches of mathematicians, and applications--like the use of congruence in scheduling of a round-robin tournament--are being refreshed with current information. More challenging exercises are included both in the textbook and in the instructor's manual.

Elementary Number Theory with Applications 2e is ideally suited for undergraduate students and is especially appropriate for prospective and in-service math teachers at the high school and middle school levels.

* Loaded with pedagogical features including fully worked examples, graded exercises, chapter summaries, and computer exercises
* Covers crucial applications of theory like computer security, ISBNs, ZIP codes, and UPC bar codes
* Biographical sketches lay out the history of mathematics, emphasizing its roots in India and the Middle East

Customer Reviews:

easier read than Knuth's books.......2007-06-11

For a maths student who has never before studied discrete maths, Koshy provides a good education. He takes you through several centuries of this field. At a very understandable pace. Many topics are covered. From Catalan numbers to (ancient) Egyptian multiplication to the eternal Goldbach conjecture on prime numbers.

Of course, much more recent ideas are covered. Like the Chinese remainder theorem, Euler's theorem, and public key cryptography, with a lengthy example given by the RSA cryptosystem. This is in one chapter developed to cryptology. No bad. But if your interest is this topic, you may desire a lengthier discussion, as in Stalling's book,
Cryptography and Network Security (4th Edition), or Spillman, Classical and Contemporary Cryptology.

Koshy's chapters also have the useful facet that the problems at the end of each chapter have a section on computer exercises. An acknowledgement that many of us come to this field fluent in computer programming, and perhaps with a need to use this maths in that context.

Koshy's book also overlaps with large portions of Knuth's classic volumes, "The Art of Computer Programming". But Koshy's pace of exposition is slower, and the examples are simpler to understand. For readers who might have tried reading Knuth and given up in frustration, perhaps consider Koshy for an easier read. Don't get me wrong. If you want to go seriously into number theory and computing, Knuth's books are classics. But to newcomers, Koshy could be more suitable.

Book Description

Air Admiral Marc Mitscher, who led the U.S. attack across the Pacific, is a legend in military circles for developing an entirely new concept of war at sea. His skills as a carrier tactician and genius for leading men rank him with the best World War II combat commanders, yet because he shunned publicity and destroyed his private papers shortly before his death in 1947, his accomplishments are not widely known. Mitscher's sound decisions and successful tactics helped create the greatest striking weapon in history—the carrier force that could put up a thousand planes in half an hour, the task force that sank a thousand ships and destroyed the Japanese air force, the fleet that opened a direct route to Japan.

Written by a former naval officer and well-known journalist, this book tells the full story of this pioneer of naval aviation and his innovations. Theodore Taylor traces the aviator's brilliant career from its beginnings in 1916, when Mitscher became one of the Navy first pilots. When first published in 1954, it was hailed as a first-class biography that set down the major role played by the admiral in developing the Navy's air program, and is also credited with providing a lively and detailed history of the progress of naval aviation. The author accomplishes all this with compassion, humor, and deep respect for his subject.

Customer Reviews:

magnificent Mitscher.......2001-08-12

My review would be slightly biased. Adm. Mitscher was the uncle of my Grandmother. The Book, "The Magnificent Mitscher" is spellbinding, and extremely well written. I enjoy reading it completely... to the point that I am going to have to buy another copy as mine is going to wear out soon. My copy is copyrighted in 1954, by Theodore Taylor. It cost my Grandfather $4.50 to get, and was given to my father as a gift.

A fantastic book for anyone interested in WWII and the Pacific Task force 58/38.

An excellent, engaging tale of the Navy's first true aviator.......1999-09-19

While wary of Naval biographies, I plucked this biography of Mitcher off the Wardroom library shelf for the sheer appeal of the weathered old admiral on the cover; and in so doing proved once again that although we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, a cover sometimes leads one to a very good book indeed. Taylor is commendable not only for his portrayal of Mitcher as an integral player in Naval aviation, but as an individual in his own right. I was captivated not only by tales of his prowess in the tight spots of Naval aviation in the major conflicts of his era, but by the portrayal of his private misgivings and apprehensions. This, coupled with the inclusion of other key players of the times -- Nimitz, Halsey, McCain, and others -- made for an excellent primer on the beginnings of Naval aviation. I highly recommend this work to anyone looking for a few evenings of good reading or an introduction to the intracacies and excitement of Naval aviation.

Book Description

One night in 1990, a stranger cut the screen out of Nancy McCabe's bedroom window while she slept and shone a flashlight into her eyes as she woke. A few weeks later, her father came down with temporary amnesia. Although unrelated, these events became linked in her mind, sweeping out from under her the fundamentals many of us take for granted: safety, freedom, the stability of memory, and a general oblivion to mortality. After the Flashlight Man is the story of how one author came to terms with these experiences that threw her life into a whole new light: the self-defense classes, rape crisis volunteer work, writing, and meditation that served as checkpoints along her healing journey while she re examined events from her childhood and relationships with family and friends. Ultimately, a flashlight turned against her as a bizarre weapon became instead a metaphorical tool that blazed her path, the impetus to reclaim, recast, and tell her own stories, discovering her own power to reinvent her vision of her life.

Customer Reviews:

A very interesting and beautifully written book.......2004-03-16

Nancy McCabe's essays are ample proof that the nonfiction memoir, when handled by the right author, is an art form rivalling fiction or poetry in power and even beauty. These essays are about violence and memory, how to experience a traumatic personal event and arrive at some kind of resolution. I first read McCabe's "Meeting Sophie" because I, too, am the mother of daughters adopted from China. When I loved that book, I ordered this one. Even though I haven't personally experienced rape or even near-rape (the Flashlight Man fortunately bungles his crime), I was so enamored of McCabe's writing that I read this book in a single night. Highly recommended.

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