Pedagogy Of The Oppressed: 30th Anniversary Edition

Customer Reviews:

Education for the Poor.......2007-05-13

This is a discussion of curriculum for the education of poor people. It is written by a man who made it his life mission to help the oppressed masses. While Freire no longer lives, his work continues in South America.
This book is an insight to Freire's thoughts.

Change your mind.......2007-04-15

This is a profound little book that makes a cogent argument for effective change in individual and social thought processes. It will change the way you think about oppression and what it actually is for those who are oppressed. This is a book for everyone but especially for those who want to make a change for the better in themselves and the society at large. A thought provoking and challenging book!

A must-read one if you are keen on Education.......2007-02-02

You will see how his idea is very influential in the educational discourse. Intrigued particularly by the Chapter 2, I would say that his revlutionary notion of education will be alive and well-adapted in the contemporary educational practices.

Freire wants to critisize the idea of narrative education in which teachers just impose students with plentiful information without encouraging them to think cirtically and to search for realilty, and students just listen passively, try to memorize, and repeat teacher's words and lessons accordingly. In fact, education should be to forster students' creativity, transformation ,and knowledge so that it helps them to become fully human being. In the ideology of oppression, teacher is the oppressor, and students are the oppressed. It means it is not neccessary for students to argue, ask questions, have their own position, and the roles of teacher are to preach students and to dominate their opinions. In other words, it is called the banking concept of education used by oppresors to change the mind of the oppressed in order to easily cotrol them. Conversely, the concept of liberian education entails deeper cooperation between teachers and students. Teachers and students can learn from each other because students must be seen as people who have prior knowlege and raise their opinions influencing teachers'.

Classic Freire.......2007-01-05

For the politically driven educator or other social worker, Paulo Freire provides experience and inspiration from his struggles to empower the downtrodden in his home country of Brazil. Pedagogy of the Oppressed is the most accessible of Freire's education-centered writings, which explains why is his most popular. In this book, Freire identifies the ways traditional pedagogy works to reinforce the 'status quo' and how it may even increase the stratification between the upper and lower classes. The following chapters outline an inspirational and empowering philosophy that, when coupled with education, shows promise to bring about change. A must for any educator concerned with social issues.

pedagogy of the oppressed paulo freire.......2007-01-04

This is a wonderful liberating view on empowerment of the self and an understanding of, how inthis world people can disempower themselves by accepting the view of the powerful and remaining as victims in their own lives.
the most important thing to know is that to achieve true equality is for the oppressed to free the oppressor

Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-Battering System That Shapes Their Lives

Average customer rating:

Very Important Book
Maybe for professors but I'm not sure even for them
Operant conditioning for groupthink.
Preaching to the disaffected
A must read for all students

Disciplined Minds: A Critical Look at Salaried Professionals and the Soul-Battering System That Shapes Their Lives
Jeff Schmidt
Manufacturer: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business Life | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0742516857

Book Description

This book details the battle one must fight to be an independent thinker, showing how an honest reassessment of what it means to be a professional in today's corporate society can be remarkably liberating. Poignant examples from the world of work reveal the workplace as a battleground for the very identity of the individual. Schmidt contends that professional work is inherently political--that the unstated duty of professionals is to maintain strict ideological discipline. Career dissatisfaction evolves as workers lose control over the political component of their creative work.

Customer Reviews:

Very Important Book.......2007-08-03

Disciplined Minds is one of the most important books I have read in quite some time. Conceptually the author captures the great deal of frustration and dissatisfaction of practically every person I know in a professional work environment or in graduate school. It has its flaws, the major one being that while the book gives a framework for dealing with the system of graduate school, its much more difficult to apply it in the corporate system, where your colleagues are much more terrified. Regardless, I would recommend anyone in a graduate or professional program or in the professional work environment to read the book.

Maybe for professors but I'm not sure even for them.......2006-10-24

For me to recommend a book, it has to be right, applicable, and fun to read. This book falls short on all three. Mostly on applicability: it speaks against the dangers of mind-numbing bureaucracy and close-mindedness, claiming American university physics PhD programs as the example. I had hoped for something that talked about the salaried professional once s/he's at work, not the university experience preceding it. If you want to review the worst of academic bureaucracy in order to know how to recognize and deal with it, then read this book. Otherwise skip it and just stay alert for those times when "the system" tries to put one over on you.

Operant conditioning for groupthink........2003-12-05

I found this work fascinating, though my take is different. Observing the Darwin debate over time as a secular critic I was always struck by the way the Intelligent Design movement (which I don't agree with)was able to simply skewer the standard scientific position, even despite their own confusions, as all the bigwigs in science and education were reduced to reiterated press release stuff from the kneejerk Darwin paradigm. How was it possible, I thought, that the entire cadre of scientific experts could not properly defend their own subject or see the clear problems pointed to?
The answer became clear in interactions with some grad students, nervously retreating in genuine fear, knowing full well they had to bite the bullet and lie.
Baffled, since I know little about the academic context, I found this book hit the spot very well in showing how that could be possible.
Very interesting book, although I think some of the examples the author gives don't quite match his very well laid out thesis at the beginning. That's not surprising, his thesis is very intangible, and it is sometimes hard to put one's finger on the actual way it happens.

Preaching to the disaffected.......2003-05-30

Jeff Schmidt's thesis is that professionals are needed by
business and are formed by education. Those who don't fit
in are discarded, not necessarily because they aren't smart
enough, but because they're not conservative enough. Liberal,
independent thinkers are weeded out. Professionals
have to be political, and since the rules are made by
the bosses, they aren't in control and hence lead generally
miserable lives.

The process of making professionals is an "intellectual

bootcamp" with "cold-blooded expulsions and creeping
indoctrination" that "systematically grinds down the student's
spirit" and ultimately produces "employees who do their
assigned work without questioning its goals."

Only the stuffy and conservative professionals can
accommodate, as poorly as they do, to the hierarchical
structure of the business-military complex.

Schmidt got a PhD in physics at UC Irvine, and he draws
examples and conclusions from the weeding out experience
there; in particular, the qualifying exam. This is an
"ordeal" that requires much preparation. Schmidt says that
students who do not submit to the requirement to memorize
solutions from previous exams do poorly, even if they
have a good general background. This is because trick
questions and time pressure only allow students to
regurgitate obscure things they remember. Also, faculty
will sometimes pass a student who fails the test if
that student is playing the game, demonstrating compliance
by submitting to demands of the faculty, and working hard
on a research project.

Schmidt's underlying complaint is that students are selected
to "fill a slot in the corporate-governmental complex -- so
well suited to serve the status quo in an institution
of the status quo", not "to work for social change."

Unfortunately, Schmidt's examples and his general position
are so extreme that most people who have gone through
graduate school in technical fields of science or
engineering will simply respond "That's not my experience,
nor is it the experience of anyone I knew in the PhD
program." Contrary to Schmidt's examples of selfish,
preening, secretive, ego-obscessed professors, most faculty
members in physics departments are generous, open,
inquisitive people, who are deeply interested in their
science and care about their students. Ultimately, the
book becomes boring in its repetition of the theme.
As social science, it relies on a small selection of anecdotes
and fails the test of credibility.

A must read for all students.......2003-01-11

It took me three days to read this book. I could not put it down...I took it with me everywhere and have told everyone I know about it. The level of insight into the motivations of professional training schools is right on the mark. I am currently a graduate student as well as an employee at a major university. I can see first hand the professionalization (read indoctrination) of the graduate student. I can also see with more insight the dynamics that go on in an academic office. I now understand why those in charge of forwarding the ideology of the office are not micromanaged, and those not trusted to forward the accurate ideology are micromanaged. Dr. Schmidt also does an excellent job in describing the role industry and the military has in professional training programs. A professional schools is seen as an extention of the profession, not an extention of the educational institution in which it is housed. There are tremendous forces pushing and pulling on professional training programs to produce the "right" kind of student. Unfortunately the force that wins out is the one with the money...private industry and the military. Students have to be aware that their very futures can be determined by what kind of funding a department receives.

He is right to say that if one does not remain connected to one's values and convictions, one can succumb to the whims of those in power. After depressing you with his accurate interpretation of the role professional schools play in society, he gives instructions on how to fight the indoctrination process.

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Has history been tampered with?.......2007-10-23

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RAZQNMXM4M9CL Has history been tampered with? Yes, it has! Did events and eras such as the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Roman Empire , the Dark Ages, and the Renaissance, actually occur within a very different chronology from what we've been told? Yes, they certainly did!

The history of humankind is both drastically shorter and dramatically different than generally presumed.

Why is it so? On one hand, it was usual custom to justify the claims to title and land by age and ancestry, and on the other the court historians knew only too well how to please their masters. The so called universal classic world history is a pack of intricate lies for all events prior to the 16th century. World history as we learn it today was entirely fabricated in the 16th-18th centuries. It's likely that nobody told you before, but

there is not a single piece of firm written evidence or artefact that is reliably and independently dated prior to the 11th century.

Naturally, after what you've learned in school and university, you will not easily believe that the classical history of ancient Rome, Greece, Asia, Egypt, China, Japan, India, etc., is manifestly false.

You will point accusing finger to the pyramids in Egypt, to the Coliseum in Rome and Great Wall of China etc., and claim, aren't they really ancient, thousands of years ancient? Well, there is no valid scientific proof that they are older than 1000 years!

The oldest original written document that can be reliably dated belongs to the 11th century!

New research asserts that Homo sapiens invented writing (including hieroglyphics) only 1000 years ago. Once invented, writing skills were immediately and irreversibly put to the use of ruling powers and science.

The consensual chronology we live with was essentially crafted in the 16th century by the Jesuits.

The world history was compiled from contradictory mix of innumerable copies of ancient Latin and Greek manuscripts and other irrefutable proofs delivered by late mediaeval astronomers that were cemented by the authority of writings of the Church Fathers.

Early in life, we learn about ancient history. Children love the magical lessons of history - they are like fairy tales. Teachers recite breathtaking stories; very soon We learn by heart the names and deeds of brave warriors, wise philosophers, fabulous pharaohs, cunning high priests and greedy scribes.

We learn of gigantic pyramids and sinister castles, kings and queens, dukes and barons, powerful heroes and beautiful ladies, emaciated saints and low-life traitors.

Ancient history is based documents, manuscripts, printed books, paintings, monuments and artefacts - called primary sources.

The problem is that neither these ancient documents, nor events described therein can be irrefutably dated, moreover they contradict each other for the most part.

When a school textbook tells us that Genghis Khan in year X or Alexander in year Y, have each conquered half of the world, it means only that it is so said in some of the written sources.

There are no answers to simple questions:

When were these primary sources written?

Where and by whom were these sources found?

It is wrongly presumed that ancient and medieval chronicles, written by Genghis Khan's or Alexander the Great contemporaries and eyewitnesses, are readily available. Actually, only sources written hundreds or even thousands of years after the events are there, compiled mostly in the 16th 18th centuries, or even later.

As a rule, these sources suffered considerable multiple manipulations, falsifications and distortions by editing. At the same time,

innumerable originals of ancient documents under various pretexts were destroyed in Europe under various pretexts.

The names of persons and geographical sites often changed meaning and location during the course of the centuries.

Geographical locations became clearly defined on maps only with the advent of printing.

This made possible the circulation of identical copies of the same map for purposes of the military, navigation, education and governance tasks.

Historians from Oxford say: "hey, everybody knows that Julius Caesar lived in the first century B.C.

`Julius Caesar' statement is only a point of view as

there is simply no irrefutable documentary proof that Julius Caesar or any other great name of antiquity ever existed.

Better than that - extremely rare sources that can be reliably dated back to the 10th-14th centuries A D, do not show the polished picture of classical history.

They show a picture both contradictory and confusing.

All methods of dating of ancient sources and artefacts are erroneous:

Radio-carbon C14 method produces dating with exactitude of plus minus 1500 years, therefore it is too crude for dating of events in historical timeframe!

The Almagest tractate, which lies as corner stone contemporary chronology, compiled in the 2nd century A D by Ptolemy, the founding father of astronomy, contains astronomical data of 9th to 16th century!

The Bronze Age,that has supposedly began 5000 years ago. Bronze is made of 90% copper and 10% tin, but the technology for tin extraction dates back to 14th century A D!.

All eclipses contained in manuscripts, like Thucydides one, relating 'ancient' events have exclusively medieval dating. All horoscopes cut in stone or painted in Egyptian temples, like Dendera have exclusively early medieval dating solutions.

Not quite what you have learned in school? Open your eyes, and, you will find sufficient proof to reach step by step the inevitable conclusion that the classical chronology is false and therefore, that the history of ancient and medieval world universally accepted today, is also false. Have a fresh outlook on everything said or printed about "ancient" and "enigmatic" Roman, Greek and Egyptian, medieval as well as all other "lost and found" civilizations.

Antiquity and Dark Ages are phantoms invented in the 16th 18th and polished in 19th 20thcenturies. Human civilization is in fact barely 1000 years old!

This book will change your perception of History forever!
What if Ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt were invented during Renaissance?
What if The Old Testament was a rendition of events of the Middle Ages?
What if Jesus Christ was born in 1053 and crucified in 1086 AD?
Sounds Unbelievable?
Not after you've read "History: Fiction or Science?" by Anatoly Fomenko, the genius mathematician.
Armed with astronomy and computers Anatoly Fomenko turns History into a rocket science.

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

Sociology of Organizations: Classic, Contemporary and Critical Readings

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Sociology of Organizations: Classic, Contemporary and Critical Readings

Manufacturer: Sage Publications, Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Organizational Behavior | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0761987665

Book Description

"Michael Handel has assembled an authoritative and wide-ranging collection of key articles in the organizations field, and complements these papers with a terrific critical survey of the literature. His introductory essays will benefit both students and researchers alike. This collection is a real service to the field."

- Walter W. Powell, Stanford University

"A unique reader and commentary with broad coverage of the classics, combined with a healthy skepticism about received theories and an emphasis on the impact of organizations on society. The lucid commentary brightens the field."

- Charles Perrow, Yale University

For the first time, a single volume offers a comprehensive selection of primary readings and companion overview essays on the sociology of organizations. These readings and essays provide incisive and guided coverage of the subjects normally included in a one-semester sociology of organizations course.

The Sociology of Organizations covers the full range of theoretical perspectives and substantive topics through readings that are either classics in the field or widely discussed and debated "new classics."

Section introductions explain key terms and concepts, provide illustrations, and summarize related debates and research in clear prose. The depth of these overview essays makes this book ideal for use as either as a stand-alone text or a supplementary reader. After reading this book, students will have a thorough understanding of central concepts and an appreciation of the primary texts that are the foundation of the field.

Scholars and students in the fields of sociology, management, organizational behavior, and organizational psychology and those within political science and economics who are interested in how organizations function will find this work a welcome, invaluable resource.

Mind Performance Hacks: Tips & Tools for Overclocking Your Brain (Hacks)

Average customer rating:

A mind is a terrible thing to waste....
Pretty good
just not that impressed
Just what I was looking for.
OK but not full of new things

Mind Performance Hacks: Tips & Tools for Overclocking Your Brain (Hacks)
Ron Hale-Evans
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0596101538

Book Description

You're smart. This book can make you smarter. Mind Performance Hacks provides real-life tips and tools for overclocking your brain and becoming a better thinker. In the increasingly frenetic pace of today's information economy, managing your life requires hacking your brain. With this book, you'll cut through the clutter and tune up your brain intentionally, safely, and productively. Grounded in current research and theory, but offering practical solutions you can apply immediately, Mind Performance Hacks is filled with life hacks that teach you to:

Use mnemonic tricks to remember numbers, names, dates, and other flotsam you need to recall
Put down your calculator and perform complex math in your head, with your fingers, or on the back of a napkin
Spark your creativity with innovative brainstorming methods
Use effective systems to capture new ideas before they get away
Communicate in creative new ways-even using artificial languages
Make better decisions by foreseeing problems and finding surprising solutions
Improve your mental fitness with cool tricks and games

While the hugely successful Mind Hacks showed you how your brain works, Mind Performance Hacks shows you how to make it work better.

Customer Reviews:

A mind is a terrible thing to waste...........2007-08-11

So buy this book and make the most use of it!

Just think of this book as kind of martial arts program for your brain. Each chapter (and there's 22 in all) stands out on its own and discusses a particular area you can improve on, such as memory, creativity, math, communication, and so on. It's an easy read and since each chapter stands out by itself, you can jump around and go to the areas that interest you the most. A great book with a lot of clever and PRACTICAL ideas, I give it 5 stars easy. Also liked The Sixty-Second Motivator to improve one's motivation.

Pretty good.......2007-05-22

The book is filled with plenty of hacks, although some of them were somewhat useless and uninteresting to me.

The memory hacks are pretty decent, but they don't go into enough detail on how to actually learn to use them. If you figure them out they work incredibly well, though. Some of the fast-math hacks were pretty helpful as well. One of my tops, however, was the hack that shows you how to calculate the weekday of any given day.

Good buy, good as a reference book just to learn something new if you ever need to.

just not that impressed.......2007-03-30

I bought this book sort of on a whim, hoping it might be a real gem. I've read some of the Hacks but not all of them. To me, they seem to skirt around the edges of usefulness, implementability, and impact. The strongest points seem like things I've heard elsewhere. I'm going to go back to the book based on all the positive reviews here, but I'm skeptical.

Just what I was looking for. .......2007-01-14

Focus on getting your mind expanding/growing. A great and highly useful set of tools, perspectives on maximizing your mental abilties. Wonderfully written, precise, Although I have been a software developer for 27 years, the Perls scripts are not essential for the non-developer type. Great for those of us heading into the 60+ years bracket. Got to be worth the bucks. Lots of great hacks. Buy it.

OK but not full of new things.......2007-01-08

It was OK and mostly worth the money but it was not full of new things for me. The hype on this book made me expect more out of this than I received.

Maintaining Mission Critical Systems in a 24/7 Environment (IEEE Press Series on Power Engineering)

Average customer rating:

Light on content, disorganized

Maintaining Mission Critical Systems in a 24/7 Environment (IEEE Press Series on Power Engineering)
Peter M. Curtis
Manufacturer: Wiley-IEEE Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471683744

Book Description

The latest tested and proven strategies to maintain business resiliency and sustainability for our ever-growing global digital economy

Here is a comprehensive study of the fundamentals of mission critical systems, which are designed to maintain ultra-high reliability, availability, and resiliency of electrical, mechanical, and digital systems and eliminate costly downtime. Readers learn all the skills needed to design, fine tune, operate, and maintain mission critical equipment and systems. Practical in focus, the text helps readers configure and customize their designs to correspond to their organizations' unique needs and risk tolerance. Specific strategies are provided to deal with a wide range of contingencies from power failures to human error to fire. In addition, the author highlights measures that are mandated by policy and regulation.

The author of this text has worked in mission critical facilities engineering for more than twenty years, serving clients in banking, defense, utilities, energy, and education environments. His recommendations for maintaining essential operations are based on firsthand experience of what works and what does not.

Most chapters in this text concentrate on an individual component of the mission critical system, including standby generators, automatic transfer switches, uninterruptible power supplies, and fuel, fire, and battery systems. For each component, the author sets forth applications, available models, design choices, standard operating procedures, emergency action plans, maintenance procedures, and applicable codes and standards. Extensive use of photographs and diagrams illustrates how individual components and integrated systems work.

With the rapid growth of e-commerce and 24/7 business operations, mission critical systems have moved to the forefront of concerns among both private and public operations. Facilities engineers, senior administrators, and business continuity professionals involved in information technology and data center design should consult this text regularly to ensure they have done everything they can to protect and sustain their operations to reduce human error, equipment failures, and other critical events. Adapted from material the author has used in academic and professional training programs, this guide is also an ideal desktop reference and textbook.

Customer Reviews:

Light on content, disorganized.......2007-06-04

This book has some good sections, which are fine by themselves. However, I found the power chapters in the first part of the book to be disorganized and poorly written. The diagrams are not clear at all, and many have a lot of information in them that should have been removed. Almost like they did cut and paste without making them relevant to the text. Many diagrams are missing labels and annotations as well. There is a chapter on power quality that starts with a very dubious analogy about grades of gasoline and sports cars and the importance of using high quality power. Then the start of the next chapter says that modern equipment can use a large range of voltages and really power quality isn't important, availability of power is. Uh...great. So, I feel the continuity of the book was poor. I haven't finished everything, but so far, I am not impressed.
As far as the content that is there, I don't feel this is really an engineering oriented book. I didn't feel there were enough methods to really made decisions about availability or reliability, just general ideas, which we all have anyway (downtime is bad, uptime is good, etc).
I don't feel it really helps you understand WHY things are, mainly it rehashes industry best practices, which in many cases are driven by the vendors who are selling products used to increase services availability. There is an interesting appendix about the national power infrastructure, but it covers a lot of things that are already in the book, which is kinda strange. This is a collection of articles, not a book really.

Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life

Average customer rating:

Not fit for critical thinking
Food for "THOUGHT"
Decent Book
Great for teachers of critical thinking classes
If you want to get smart, especially in today's chaotic world..., get hold of this book quickly!

Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life
Richard W. Paul , and Linda Elder
Manufacturer: FT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0130647608

Book Description

Critical Thinking is about becoming a better thinker in every aspect of your life: in your career, and as a consumer, citizen, friend, parent, and lover. Discover the core skills of effective thinking; then analyze your own thought processes, identify weaknesses, and overcome them. Learn how to translate more effective thinking into better decisions, less frustration, more wealth Q and above all, greater confidence to pursue and achieve your most important goals in life.

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Customer Reviews:

Not fit for critical thinking.......2007-09-11

Although the authors have plenty of authority in this field, the book comes across to me as marketing or propaganda. They have focused on what they view as the essence of critical thinking which they call "fairmindedness." However, their intent seems less about teaching people how to apply logic to life's situations and more about an agenda of promoting liberal, Humanist philosophy. They eschew emotion as counterproductive to "fairmindedness," yet the text is replete with emotionally charged words, symbols, and examples. I was very disappointed, and I struggled to find the nuggets of truth in the sea of philosophical pondering.

Food for "THOUGHT".......2007-08-06

--You will see (in private) the assets and liabilities of your own personal thinking - as well as the the assets and liabilities in how your family, friends and associates think.
--Highly readable - very informative - absorbing and engrossing presentations - the art of critical thinking made user-friendly, enjoyable, and magnetic. A book worth using to learn or to teach "how" to think - as well as to employ for reflecting upon "how" we think.

Decent Book.......2007-07-06

I think that the book was really good and gave me a couple of new ways to think. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking to examine how they think.

Great for teachers of critical thinking classes.......2007-05-20

I use this book as a college professor for courses in ethics in addition to courses based primarily on critical thinking skills. Easy to follow, good chapter separation, and each chapter building upon the previous one, make this an excellent choice for these types of courses.

If you want to get smart, especially in today's chaotic world..., get hold of this book quickly!.......2006-10-28

Critical Thinking: Tools for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life
by Richard Paul & Linda Elder

One of the hallmarks of strategic thinking, whether it is for business or for personal application, is the ability to think critically. This is also the expressed contention of Michel Robert in his series of well-known strategic thinking books for CEOs & senior managers.

In this particular book, which also happens to be one of my personal favourites, the two authors argue that everything you do in life is determined by the quality of your thinking. I fully concur with the authors. The two authors are principal leaders of the Center for Critical Thinking, a well-respected research & professional development organisation among the critical thinking community.

What I like about this book is that the authors help the reader to become a better thinker in every aspect of your life: in your career, & as a consumer, a citizen, a friend, a parent, & even a lover. They also help the reader to analyze your own thought processes so you can identify your own weaknesses & overcome them. To be more precise, they actually show the reader how to "take thinking apart" & assess it for quality.

In a nutshell, readers will learn how to improve all the three core components of thinking:

- analysis;
- evaluation;
- re-thinking;

The authors have also provided practical metacognitive exercises for honing your thinking skills every day.

These are the powerful & beautiful features of this wonderful book!

In the end analysis, thinking strategically is actually using effective critical thinking to achieve your goals & enhance your life. This also applies in the business realm.

I want to compliment both authors for crafting this excellent guide & field book on critical thinking. Their writings are clear, succinct & concise. Personally, I have enjoyed working on their exercises in the book.

If you want to get smart, especially in today's chaotic world where you're at the mercy of everyone else - from dishonest politicians to aggressive, stop-at-nothing ad agencies - get hold of this book quickly.

Readers who are interested to explore further the two authors' masterwork are welcome to check out their corporate website. They have a lot of other good stuff e.g. Thinker's Guides.

Contemporary Human Behavior Theory: A Critical Perspective for Social Work (2nd Edition)

Average customer rating:

well worth the time
good info
Groundbreaking book
Difficult to read
Contemporary Human Behavior Theory: A Critical Perspective f

Contemporary Human Behavior Theory: A Critical Perspective for Social Work (2nd Edition)
Susan P. Robbins , Pranab Chatterjee , and Edward R. Canda
Manufacturer: Allyn & Bacon
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0205408168

Book Description

This new book is the first to approach the subject from a comparative theory perspective, including coverage of contemporary knowledge theories as well as traditional theories. A consistent framework for analysis is provided for all of the theoretical systems that are covered. This book encourages readers to develop critical thinking skills in analyzing and comparing theories, and includes contemporary developments in traditional lifespan theory, theories of political economy, and a separate chapter on transpersonal theory (Chapter 12). The book includes explicit content on spirituality, oppression, and social justice. Each chapter includes coverage of the research that supports a particular theory, as well as an analysis of the validity of that research; each chapter also includes a discussion of "Contemporary Issues." The last chapter, Chapter 13, provides a case example demonstrating how the various theories can be applied to a single case. Social workers, therapists, and psychologists.

Customer Reviews:

well worth the time.......2007-01-08

This book is an outstanding overview of a huge range of social theory/human behavior theory. It is true that some of the chapters are challenging, but I felt this was because the authors truly presented well-thought out, exhaustive synopses of each theory. This book not only was clear in presenting information about theories I was unfamiliar with in an effective way, but also presented interesting insights and great review of theories that I was already very familiar with. Considering how much is information is covered in this text density is to be expected, but it is well worth it!

good info.......2006-02-26

the book has good information and is very throrough, but chapters are wordy and could probably be condensed. overall, the book is of good quality.

Groundbreaking book.......2002-04-27

This is a truly comprehensive theory textbook that covers complex theories in a manner that makes them accessible to the reader. The authors are to be applauded for making a critical analysis of theory a central component of each chapter and for including theories that most other textbooks have ignored.

Difficult to read.......2001-10-02

This book is extremely challenging to get through and understand. I was lost a great deal of the time and did not learn what I had hoped. I appreciate the inclusion of the spiritual aspects of theories in the book, but the authors seemed to forget about teaching in an understandable manner.

Contemporary Human Behavior Theory: A Critical Perspective f.......2000-01-22

This book pioneers in integrating theory about spiritual development into a human behavior text. In recent years the profession of social work has become aware of the importance of addressing spirituality with clients, but few social workers have been trained in formal theory about spiritual development. This book is one of the few which provides this content; thus it is a critical text for use in social work Human Behavior courses. The Council on Social Work Education has included spirituality in its latest curriculum guidelines, and this text provides a way to incorporate spirituality into social work education.

Average customer rating:

Enjoyable and useful
Innovative
If you like learning from novels
5 star concepts in a 3 star novel
A must for every potential project manager

Critical Chain : A Business Novel
Eliyahu M. Goldratt
Manufacturer: North River Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0884271536

Book Description

Powerful yet simple techniques to solve project management's toughest problems. This book teaches companies to drastically cut project development times resulting in early completion within budget and without compromising quality or specifications.

Customer Reviews:

Enjoyable and useful.......2007-10-18

This book is well written; easy to read and to understand. It includes a bunch of useful concepts in a smooth way, so you assimilate the almost without effort.

Since it is written like a novel, rather than a textbook, I found myself reading it eagerly and I finished it in very few days. On the other hand, it is not suitable as a reference book.

In conclusion, if you want to introduce in project managing from a practical point of view just buy it, it really pays off

Innovative.......2007-01-03

An interesting concept presented in an innovative novel. Easy to read and follow. Just like a novel once you start, it is a page turner and hard to put down.

I highly recommend this along with Goldratt's first novel, The Goal.

If you like learning from novels.......2006-10-24

A "made-for-TV" novel with a lesson about a new method of project scheduling. Goldratt invented the "Theory of Constraints," a general problem analyis and planning method which he then applies to various areas. Each application presented in story format.

"Critical Chain" = "Critical Path" x "Theory of Constraints".

Read this book if you want an easy read and a fun introduction to the subject. But if you actually want to apply the Critical Chain method, you'll probably need a textbook format. Or make the effort to abstract the method from the dialogue of the story.

5 star concepts in a 3 star novel.......2006-10-04

Eli Goldratt is one of the most respected experts in the field of Project Management. His work on the Theory of Constraints provides project managers with some very useful tools for keeping projects focused, on budget, and on target. I have definitely benefitted from Goldratt's insights into these topics.

Unfortunately, this work of fiction, with three largely separate story lines, makes for an awkward read. The 246 page novel has about half of its page count spent on two stories that add little to the main message of the book. The ongoing storylines about fixing the business school's executive MBA program and the main character's relationship with his wife Judith have nothing to do with project management. Fortunately, these two superfluous stories are at the end or beginning of each chapter and it is easy to skip over them and get to the useful subject material in the main story line, the running of projects and their problems. Skipping over about 100 pages of the book makes me question the value of paying for a book that could have easily been less than half as long. I might be OK with that if the stories were interesting or well written, but they are not.

Using the book as a reference would be challenging. It has no Table of Contents, no Index, nor a Glossary. The Chapters do not even have titles, or a summary of the key concepts at the end in most cases. I would struggle to find an important concept if I went back to the book more than a week or so after reading it.

A much slimmer, edited version of this book, with just the TOC and project management material, laid out end to end would be an instant must have, and a valuable learning tool.

A must for every potential project manager.......2006-08-11

I've been introduced to CCPM (critical chain project management) years ago in school, but thought it was boring. Reading Goldratt's novel opened my mind to it in a much deeper way, and I'm now using it at my work with great success. I also recommend his other business novels.

Average customer rating:

Great resource
PC Theory
Excellent for the new, but acquainted CRT reader
Cutting Edge

Critical Race Theory 2Nd Ed Pb
Richard Delgado
Manufacturer: Temple University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Discrimination & Racism | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1566397146

Book Description

In this wide-ranging second edition, Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic bring together the finest, most illustrative, and highly accessible articles in the fast-growing legal genre of Critical Race Theory. In challenging orthodoxy, questioning the premises of liberalism, and debating sacred wisdoms, Critical Race Theory scholars writing over the past few years have indelibly changed the way America looks at race.Contributors: Regina Austin, Robin D. Barnes, Adrienne Davis, Derrick Bell, Kevin Brown, Paulette M. Caldwell, Robert S. Chang, Robert J. Cottrol, Jerome McCristal Culp, Jr., Peggy C. Davis, Richard Delgado, Raymond T. Diamond, Mary A. Dudziak, Leslie G. Espinoza, Monica J. Evans, Daniel Farber, Alan D. Freeman, Trina Grillo, Alex M. Johnson, Jr., Sheri Lynn Johnson, James W. Gordon, Angela P. Harris, Lisa C. Ikemoto, Randall L. Dennedy, Ian F. Haney Lopez, Sylke Merchan, Kathryn Milun, Margert E. Montoya, Michael A. Olivas, Deborah Waire Post, Thomas Ross, Jennifer M. Russell, Margaret M. Russell, Suzanna Sherry, Girardeau A Spann, Jean Stefancic, Gerald Torres, Patricia J. Williams, Stephanie M. Wildman, Robert A. Williams, Fr., Adrien, and Datherine Wing.

Customer Reviews:

Great resource.......2007-06-08

the cutting edge is a great introduction to critical race theory if you have never really read anything about it. It has many essays that give you a good survey of the different writers that are out there from a variety of perspectives. For those of you doing dissertation writing, this is a great resource to get a "quick and dirty" look at CRT.

PC Theory.......2005-12-30

It is tough to rebut a work like this. It is a rambling, incoherent series of stream of consciousness, conclusory mish mash. The authors believe that we are supposed to believe their arguments by authority.

The arguments involve children's fairy tales about spacemen. There is medical quackery that the cause of black hypertension is the White race. The entire work is a mess and a hate speech tirade, of crucial omissions, and of racist lies. Rebutting Mein Kampf, barking back at dogs seem more productive use of one's time.

What is useful, is that this book lays out the theoretical jusitification for PC speech codes and other constitutional torts. If any plaintiff is injured by such, this book is worth perusing for specific guideline makers, and potential co-defendants. As guideline makers, and the inspiration for these violations, the relevant author should be held accountable, to deter. You may think that the authors are unlikely to have assets. However, whom do they work for, and under whose auspices and for whose benefit were these articles written? Most of the authors are law school or college professors, hired by schools with big endowments.

It is not clear that the guideline makers are shielded by the First Amendment.

Otherwise, every article should be challenged by any intellectually honest student forced to study this book.

Excellent for the new, but acquainted CRT reader.......2004-03-17

This is an excellent array of essays and articles from the legal genre of Critical Race Theory. I recommend reading Kimberle Crenshaw's Critical Race Theory: A Reader to begin with. This would be part 2 so to speak. After that, I would recommend reading the following: Devon Carbado's Black Men on Race, Gender and Sexuality; Adrien Wing's Critical Race Feminism and Global Critical Race Feminism; and of course, last but not least anything and everything by Derrick Bell.

Cutting Edge.......2001-06-10

My class used this book as a text and resource in a course on Advanced Torts. While only sections of the book were assigned, I grew so interested in the subject matter that I read most of the rest on my own.

The editors have collected some of the most outstanding texts in this area and compiled them for reference. Included are sections on critical feminism, queer issues, intergroup relations, the black-white binary, and crime issues. The top writers in the field are all included, such as Derrick Bell and Richard Delgado. While the book is easy to use, none of the texts are easy but rather are challenging of deeply-held ideas and ideals.

As critical race and gender studies continue to proliferate in undergraduate colleges and law schools, I am sure that this text will recieve a great deal more attention. It is certainly a worthy and thought-provoking read.

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