Agent-Based Manufacturing and Control Systems: New Agile Manufacturing Solutions for Achieving Peak Performance (APICS SERIES ON RESOURCE MANAGEMENT)

Book Description

Traditional manufacturing systems rely upon centralized, hierarchical systems that are not responsive enough to the increasing demand for mass customization. Decentralized, or heterarchical, management systems using autonomous agents promise to nullify the limitations of previous solutions. Agent-Based Manufacturing and Control Systems: New Agile Manufacturing Solutions for Achieving Peak Performance offers a survey of both the literature and the practical applications of this technology. Using a realistic example of a fictitious firm throughout, the book indicates when agent-based systems are appropriate, enumerates techniques to decompose a problem into entities that can be modeled as agents, provides a step-by-step guide to implementation, and offers hints for using simulation to design the system. The authors pay particular attention to object-oriented techniques and to the selection of appropriate tools and inter-agent communication standards, with specific reference to JADE middleware and FIPA framework. Practical, applicative, and thoroughly modern, this text provides all the tools necessary for implementing an extremely flexible, robust, adaptive, and fault-tolerant manufacturing system. This is the perfect reference for AI researchers, industrial manufacturing engineers, operations researchers, and plant managers who wish to develop the most efficient manufacturing systems available.

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A practical view of manufacturing agents.......2004-12-24

The authors provide a practical guide to fill the gap between research and industrial world. Agent standards and methodologies from design to implementation, with special reference to planning, scheduling and control systems, are introduced and linked to manufacturing information systems.

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America in the time of Susan B. Anthony; the story of our nation from coast to coast, from 1845-1928.

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Profiles in Biography Today Sports Series, Volume 5, include action photos and portraits along with lively and informative biographical sketches for young readers ages 9 and up. The following individuals are covered in Volume 5: Vince Carter, basketball player; Lindsay Davenport, tennis player; Lisa Fernandez, softball player; Jaromir Jagr, hockey player; Marion Jones, track & field star; Pedro Martinez, baseball player; Warren Sapp, football player; Jennie Thompson, swimmer; and Karrie Webb, golfer.

Biography Today Sports Series: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series)

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Biography Today Sports Series: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series)

Manufacturer: Omnigraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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Biography Today Sports: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series)

ASIN: 0780806379

Biography Today Sports: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series Volume 6)

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Biography Today Sports: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series Volume 6)

Manufacturer: Omnigraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

Book Description

The sixth volume of Biography Today: Sports Series presents 10 all-new, in-depth biographical profiles of sports figures of interest to readers ages 9 and above. The following individuals are covered in Volume 10: Jennifer Capriati, tennis player; Stacy Dragila, Olympic pole vaulter; Kevin Garnett, basketball player; Eddie George, football player; Alex Rodriguez, baseball player; Joe Sakic, hockey player; Annika Sorenstam, golfer; Jackie Stiles, college basketball player; Tiger Woods, golfer; and Aliy Zirkle, dogsled racer.

Biography Today Sports: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series)

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Biography Today Sports: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series)

Manufacturer: Omnigraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
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Biography Today Sports Series: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series)

ASIN: 0780807146

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Biography Today Sports: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series)

Manufacturer: Omnigraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Ages 9-12 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies | Sports | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0780809416

Biography Today: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Sports Series, Vol 1)

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Biography Today: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Sports Series, Vol 1)

Manufacturer: Omnigraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0780800699

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Biography Today: Sports Series : Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series)

Manufacturer: Omnigraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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This volume in the "Biography Today Scientists and Inventors Series" focuses on computer scientists and pioneers of electronic commerce. The illustrated biographical profiles have been written to appeal to young readers ages 9 and up.

The following scientists and inventors are covered in Volume 5: Steve Case, founder of America Online, Inc.; Douglas Engelbart, inventor of the computer mouse; Shawn Fanning, creator of Napster; Sarah Flannery, student who created a method of encoding data; Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp.; Laura Groppe, founder of Girl Games, Inc.; Grace Murray Hopper, pioneering computer programmer; Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer, Inc.; Rand & Robyn Miller, creators of computer games "Myst" & "Riven"; Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Nintendo game "Super Mario"; and Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Computer, Inc.

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Sports Series: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series)

Manufacturer: Omnigraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

Sports & Recreation | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0780802616

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Sports: Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Biography Today Sports Series)

Manufacturer: Omnigraphics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
Sports & Recreation | Biographies | People & Places | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0780807928

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Biography Today : Profiles of People of Interest to Young Readers (Sports Ser., Vol. 1)
Laurie L. (editor) Harris
Manufacturer: Omnigraphics, Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000HMRDFQ

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A Good Book of Chinese Energy Quest for Global Security

A Good Book of Chinese Energy Quest for Global Security

A Good Book of Chinese Energy Security

An excellent book on China's Oil Quest for Global Security

Petro-Dragon's Rise What It Means for China and the World
Xu Xiaojie
Manufacturer: European Press Academic Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Economic Conditions | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
Economic Conditions | International | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 8883980158

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A Good Book of Chinese Energy Quest for Global Security.......2003-08-26

Western policy-makers and consumers alike are largely unaware of the enormous economic and geopolitical consequences of China's rapidly expanding energy imports. Until the mid-1990s China was a net exporter of hydrocarbons, but by 2010 it is projected to be one of the largest importers of petroleum. The world's most populous nation will enter the ranks of those countries, mainly advanced industrial societies, that are dependent on overseas oil supplies, particularly from the Middle East. What is China doing to secure low-cost, stable supplies of oil for its future energy needs? Will it continue to forge bilateral energy supply agreements or will it enter into international arrangements that guarantee access to oil and fuel stockpiles in times of political crisis and market uncertainty?

In Petro-Dragon's Rise, researcher Xiaojie Xu explains the perceptions,strategies and plans of Chinese government agencies and the three enormous, semi-privatized Chinese oil and gas enterprises. With the insights of a comparative scholar of economics and geopolitics, and from the unique experience of a corporate researcher -- he advised PetroChina on its overseas capitalization plan -- Xu comprehensively explores the rapidly evolving legal, regulatory and policy framework of energy policy and energy security policy formation in China, with an emphasis on the "go
abroad" strategy that has sent Chinese oil engineers to Sudan, Kazakhstan,Venezuela and even Canada in recent years. Petro-Dragon's Rise is essential reading for those trying to understand Chinese perspectives on how China will meet its growing demand for energy.

Steven W. Lewis, Ph.D.
Senior Researcher in Asian Politics and Economics, Baker Institute for Public Policy
Rice University, USA

A Good Book of Chinese Energy Quest for Global Security.......2003-08-26

Another Review by Steven W. Lewis
Western policy-makers and consumers alike are largely unaware of the enormous economic and geopolitical consequences of China's rapidly expanding energy imports. Until the mid-1990s China was a net exporter of hydrocarbons, but by 2010 it is projected to be one of the largest importers of petroleum. The world's most populous nation will enter the ranks of those countries, mainly advanced industrial societies, that are dependent on overseas oil supplies, particularly from the Middle East. What is China doing to secure low-cost, stable supplies of oil for its future energy needs? Will it continue to forge bilateral energy supply agreements or will it enter into international arrangements that guarantee access to oil and fuel stockpiles in times of political crisis and market uncertainty?

Steven W. Lewis, Ph.D.
Senior Researcher in Asian Politics and Economics, Baker Institute for Public Policy
Rice University, USA

A Good Book of Chinese Energy Security.......2003-08-24

Reviewed by Dr. Steven W. Lewis, Senior Researcher in Asian Politics and Economics, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, USA.

An excellent book on China's Oil Quest for Global Security.......2003-06-02

The impact of a steadily growing Chinese economy on the global oil and gas markets has been a subject for continuous debate by think-tank specialists and academics alike for the past decade. Xiaojie Xu¡¯s Petro-Dragon¡¯s Rise is the first book-length contribution by a Chinese oil industry analyst to offer a comprehensive assessment in the English language.

Xu has been analyzing global oil and gas market trends for the China National Petroleum Corporation since 1983. This work experience has meant his extensive exposure to international energy organizations, multinational energy corporations, and think-tank as well as academic research centers worldwide. His views therefore represent those by one of the most internationally oriented Chinese energy industry analysts.

The book is organized into nine chapters. The first chapter offers an assessment of the mega-trends, at the turn of the century, in global energy supply and demand, together with strategic positioning by the United States and other major powers, international oil companies and host governments. Xu¡¯s emphasis is on improving the channels of transportation to oil importing countries in Asia.

In the second chapter, Xu presents his summary and review of Chinese assessments of China in the global energy market, while updating the readers on major policy changes since 1998 to address the ¡°explicit imbalance¡± (p. 47) in the Chinese oil industry today. According to Xu, a key strategy adopted is to give priority to gas. This is the focus of Chapter Three. From this chapter we learn Chinese energy policymaker¡¯s pragmatism in tapping into both domestic and offshore gas supplies. Structural reforms of the Chinese oil industry make up the focus of Chapter Four. It should be noted, however, reforming the bureaucratic structures is much easier than dealing with the market complexities associated with the overall change in the Chinese economy.

Xu then takes us through a contour of his assessment of Central Asia (Chapter Five), the Middle East (Chapter Six), and Russian (Chapter Seven) as sources of oil and gas import for China. While space does not allow the reviewer to go over each in detail, Xu¡¯s presentation, in contrast with studies on the same subjects by Western writers, presents a picture of mixed opportunities and constraints each of these areas holds for China.

Chapters Eight and Nine elaborate on ongoing mechanisms and future prospects of China¡¯s cooperation with countries in Northeast Asia and the major powers, respectively. In these chapters, Xu outlines how China is utilizing every opportunity possible to diversify its dependence on offshore oil and gas. In these chapters we learn that although China¡¯s Northeast Asian neighbors are likewise dependent on oil and gas supplies from other regions of the world, China sees it conducive to pursue overall economic ties as an effective means for reducing the possible shocks to China¡¯s energy needs.

The book does not have a conclusion chapter. On the other hand, this is perhaps reflective of the state of affairs in China¡¯s domestic and international energy markets. There can be no easy way to offer a sweeping summary.

Overall, Petro-Dragon¡¯s Rise serves as a meaningful overview of China¡¯s energy ties with the rest of the world. The book is well documented and thoroughly analyzed. Interested readers, both in the industry and academia, can gain an informative look inside the world of thinking about China¡¯s energy industry and its global ties. The book should be required reading for courses dealing with China as a player in the global energy markets.

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Petro-dragon's rise: What it means for China and the World [A book review from: Energy Policy]
D. Zha
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000RR42AK

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Energy Policy, published by Elsevier in 2005. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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Book Description

To most Americans, Steve Allen is a comedian whose ground-breaking work on The Tonight Show and The Steve Allen Show still inspires comics and writers. But Steve Allen is also a tremendously prolific and passionate composer and lyricist who has written some 8,000 songs. Here are collected the lyrics to 100 of his favorites, including "This Could Be the Start of Something Big," "Gravy Waltz," "The South Rampart Street Parade," and the themes to Picnic, On the Beach, and Bell, Book, and Candle. From Dixieland to jazz to blues, Allen's lyrics resonate with romance and insight, often punctuated by humor. Allen provides a commentary for each song. The foreword is contributed by noted author, critic, and jazz historian Gene Lees.

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Very Enjoyable Read

Talented writer needs to bare her own feelings

Memoir without revenge? Is it possible?

Son of "Fear of Flying", and "Liars Club".

The Territory of Memoir

The Territory of Men: A Memoir
Joelle Fraser
Manufacturer: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Memoirs | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0812968182
Release Date: 2003-07-08

Book Description

Born into the turmoil of mid-sixties San Francisco, the daughter of a flower child and a surfer, Joelle Fraser grew up with no bedtime, no boundaries, and no father. But “dads” she had in abundance, as her mother worked her way through boyfriends and husbands, caught between the traditional rules of her upbringing and the new freedoms of the “me generation” and women’s lib. Moving every few months, from houseboats and beach shacks to run-down apartments, Joelle came to learn that a woman’s life, free or not, is played out on men’s territory.

Set in northern California, Hawaii, and the small coastal towns of Oregon, Fraser’s engrossing memoir captures this centerless childhood in wonderfully vivid, frank writing, then goes on to show how a legacy like this affects a girl as she grows up. Pretty, blond, precociously aware of her own sexuality, Joelle was drawn to men early, eager to unlock their mysteries. Working in bars, prisons, and firing ranges, she liked to hang out where they congregated. To her the only worlds that counted were men’s worlds. Men held the power; they made life matter.

Fraser’s sharp vignettes of her intense relationships, brief, turbulent marriage, and itinerant life are haunting echoes of her early memories. In The Territory of Men, she brilliantly portrays the way a rootless childhood leads to a restless adulthood, and how a mother’s aimless life serves as a blueprint for her daughter.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Very Enjoyable Read.......2003-09-10

Joelle Fraser writes a very honest, sweet memoir that is a pleasant change from the usual brag memoir. She takes us on a journey through growing up and understanding ourselves and the ones we love. She allows us to see the painful as well as the pleasurable moments in that growth and I find this very refreshing. Also, being a lover of Hawai'i, I enjoyed the brief journey to that state as well!

Talented writer needs to bare her own feelings.......2003-06-30

This young woman stumbles through life obsessively pursuing her own happiness, and seems surprised that she never finds it. Blonde, slender, intelligent, and skilled at manipulating men, she frequents dive bars in Hawaii and San Francisco, attends college, and blames her parents because she isn't happier. Perhaps the price she pays for her independence is that she never really cares about what happens to anybody else. Has she ever thought about people who had it much, much worse than she? You'd never know it from this book.

Fraser's memoir is most engrossing when she describes growing up in the free-form, no-rules, do-your-own-thing culture that flourished in California during the 60's and 70's. Continually shuffled between her alcoholic father and man-crazed mother, she is deprived of the stability that she obviously desperately needs. More than once, we get the premonition that something awful is going to happen to her, but unless this reviewer is failing to read between the lines, she never encounters anything worse than that which most adolescents deal with on a consistent basis. The chapter on her experience teaching in the medium security prison provides a good example: we see the chance she is taking just by being there; trouble breaks out and she runs towards it rather than away, but in the end nothing bad actually happens to her.

More interesting might have been a book about her mother, who actually suffers from some of the problems that Fraser only references second-hand. We are told that there were drunken orgies, a continual stream of men, substantial physical abuse, a number of failed marriages, a victory over alcoholism, and a developing interest in Native Americans, but usually the little girl in the background is sent off to her room, and doesn't really have much in the way of insights or information to share with us. Another missed opportunity is the section on her cousin Karyn, who was murdered (by being stabbed forty-two times) by her boyfriend. A little investigative reporting might have been in order here, because the bare facts we get don't really explain very much. The lessons that Fraser draws from the story are significant enough, but one is reminded of a number of great writers who have done entire books about murders that were no more brutal than this one.

This is by no means a bad piece of writing, but it seldom manages to evoke the empty decadence of the times. Most of the book is far more personal than historical, providing an overview of this young woman's relationship with her parents without betraying any really powerful emotions. Doesn't she resent her parents for raising her like a circus animal? Isn't she angry about the way they ship her back and forth, from one school to another, never letting her grow comfortable anywhere? Some genuine emotion might lend pathos to a document that, viewed from the outside, isn't really that noteworthy. Let's hope that this talented writer's next effort finds her able to penetrate past her own cool exterior, and dig at the roots of what she's really feeling.

Memoir without revenge? Is it possible?.......2002-10-17

As a Sausalito native who just missed the 60's, I was eager to read Fraser's take on this little coastal tourist town full of folks a little too offbeat to stay put in nearby San Francisco. From the first page, I was stuck. Fraser's powers of pacing, description, and presence make the vignettes of 30-plus years fly on by. She seems appropriately confident in her ability to craft narrative-based scenarios that deliver years of significance. The best part? No vindictiveness. No self-righteousness. No exhausting self-analysis. Fraser hands us the gift of her paragraphs: forward-moving, heartfelt, and the product of a powerful wordsmith. I am already waiting for her next title.

Son of "Fear of Flying", and "Liars Club"........2002-10-17

Erica Jong, Dani Shapiro, Mary Karr, Elizabeth Wurtzel. I love them all. They kept me involved in their stories, and I am grateful for the pleasure of reading them in my bedroom, because believe me, there is no way I could lure these very intelligent, beautiful ladies in real life, into my bedroom. And they are not ashamed to say they are beautiful and intelligent. Just as Marlon Brando/Tennesse Williams says to Blanche, in "Streetcar" (paraphrase), "I never met a dame yet, who didn't know if she was goodlookin', or not". They know they are so why play games? The only one of this group who really irks me, is Dani Shapiro, who in "Slow Motion", complains of this terrible man who takes her to Paris and almost at gunpoint forces her to stay in the most luxurious hotel, and eat in four star restaurants! What a sadist he was! Also good coke was in on the deal. But how could she be happy? HE LIED TO HER ABOUT HIS WIFE AND CHILD! Oy vey. I should only know such suffering. Another thing about memoirs such as "The Territory of Men" is the almost total recall of incidents that happened maybe five, ten, or twenty years ago, like, "I remember in 1969, he had that red shirt on, and was drinking coffee from the yellow mug, when he turned to page 12 of the Feb. 6 issue of Life magazine", etc. Do you remember anything that happened at lunch last Tuesday dear reader? Okay,now that I got my clever little shtick out, I would like to say Joelle Fraser writes beautifully, particularly about Hawaii, where she grew up, the child of a hippy flower child mom, and a hard drinking would be writer dad. Folks, I don't know if you feel old but the Children of the hippies are writting books and that means I am definitely phasing out on Planet Earth. Right on Joelle! Enjoy every minute of this, because the critics are sharpening their pencils for anyone who has the temerity to write a successful book. If you want to have some fun Joelle, read the reviews for Norman Mailer's, and James Jones' SECOND books, after "The Naked and the Dead", and "From Here to Eternity". Bloodshed, pure bloodshed.

The Territory of Memoir.......2002-09-30

Joelle Fraser's book neatly avoids the tendency of many contemporary memoirs to fall into tedious (or tawdry) abstracted navel-gazing. Instead, you get a real sense of engagement as the author makes a serious attempt to understand her own upbringing and its effects on her life and lifestyle. Concrete detail abounds, both in the narrative storytelling and in the exploration of Fraser's internal landscape. The subtle force of the writing will creep up on you.

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