Joint Committee On Statutory Instruments: 14th Report, Session 2003-2004

Book Description

What do teachers need to know about children's literature? This book is based on the belief that deep subject knowledge of language and literature provides a foundation for effective teaching and learning. It provides a comprehensive guide to the range of genres and characteristic features of English language fiction written for children. Exploring Children's Literature will help readers to:

Develop their understanding of literature within social, cultural and political reading practices
Extend their knowledge of language features and conventions of different genres
Develop skills in analytical and critical reading

The case study material, investigative activities and practical exercises promote an active approach to learning.

Knowledge about language is embedded in the context of reading and responding to literature and the authors use extensive exemplification to explain concepts and terminology.

The authors focus on the range of fiction texts incorporated in the National Curriculum for England and the National Literacy Strategy, but also provides examples from world literature written in English, including American and Australian fiction. Examples from work in translation are also included.

Exploring Children's Literature provides a good foundation for the knowledge and understanding of English required in ITT. It is designed to be used addresses the requirements of the primary core curriculum for ITT English. It is designed to be used:

To support distance- learning
As an aid to self-study
As a course text.

Book Description

The approach of this book is step-by-step, from the initial understanding of the business through measurement after implementation of process change. The focus is on major, discrete change and improvement in groups of projects. Information technology is a major theme. Not only do you need a strategic systems plan for the enterprise and key departments, but a strategic plan is also an integral part of designing and implementing improved processes. Measurement is also a theme throughout the book.

With the material in this book, you will be better equipped to do the following: Understand the business and select the most appropriate processes for improvement; assess technology and develop a strategic systems plan for the enterprise and for key departments; create new business processes that work; define a project plan and team that can implement process improvement; market the new process to management and employees; develop an implementation strategy and plan; implement the new processes and measure the results; and, identify and solve problems and issues that arise during the entire project.

Customer Reviews:

A short sighted, oversimplified book.......2001-08-06

The method suggested is practical but its failure to address the fundamental questions of "What is the Solution for?, and Why does it exist (what is its purpose?)" and a few others besides will result in managers making short sighted, short term changes that are likely to cause significant, unforseen systemic problems with time.

Someone buy the author a System Dynamics textbook. In my view its failure to take the complex and inter-connected nature of reality into account and obsession with oversimplified comparison tables/matrices dooms the book to starting the fire at home.

Comprehensive and easy to use, not text-bookish at all........2001-06-15

I used this book for a university management subject (my own idea, there was no set text) and it was great. It's simple to follow and easy to read, and very practical. It helped me understand what Process Improvement is when I had no prior knowledge. It's even just interesting to read cover to cover, it reads so well. I would give it 5 stars, but I haven't actually used it in real life yet!

Will jumpstart your project and save significant time.......2001-05-06

This is the second book I have read by Team Lientz and Rea. It provides a clear roadmap to implementing process improvement, and does so with structure and a rich set of tools on the accompanying CD ROM.

Book: This is a step-by-step guide for process improvement projects. With the exception of the last two chapters (managing the project and examples) the material is sequential and needs to be read and used in order. I rarely read introductions, but in the case of this book I am glad I did because it sets the context and provides questions and a checklist that will prove invaluable as you go through the book.

Critical success factors are the key to process improvement initiatives and this is where the book starts. Next you are lead through the development of a project plan that establishes your direction and the time and resources that need to be devoted. This is a go/no-go hurdle to determine the cost/benefit of a process improvement initiative. You are then lead through the tasks and deliverables of business analysis and technology/process assessment to nail down the "as-is" processes. The section on determining the new process, and the follow-on section on implementation and measuring results are definitely based on best practices. The authors' approach is to the point and complete. I especially liked the chapters on defining and measuring success, and follow-up after implementation - both of which are too often glossed over at the end of a project. Also valuable was the chapter on measuring strategic systems, which is a mature step in a process improvement initiative that is rarely done. Overall: an exhaustively complete set of steps for implementing process improvement that is augmented by a well-written chapter on how to manage the initiative, and a collection of examples and outsourcing and downsizing considerations. This book could be the project manual for an internal process improvement initiative as well as a manual of methods and procedures for a consulting firm.

Software: The array of software tools that come with this book is simply incredible and will cut hundreds of hours off of the planning and execution of your initiative (or if you're consulting company, provide ready-made tools). There are three Microsoft Access databases: Issues, Lessons learned and planning issues. Each database has well-designed data entry screens and numerous reports. There are also 114 Excel spreadsheets that are both numbered by project step and descriptive name. The same numbering/naming scheme applies to the 21 Word documents that are checklists, templates and other artifacts that you will need in order to effectively execute a process improvement project. The authors also provide ten PowerPoint presentations for you to fill in the blanks and present to stakeholders. And, the best for last, there are six Microsoft Project plans: two that illustrate an example project used in the book, two Gantt charts, a resource pool and an outsourcing project plan. Each is not only thorough, but they all are well-formed. By that I mean they have properly developed dependencies and all of the important project views. The first thing I do when I see an MS Project plan is switch from Gantt to PERT view to see if the developed knew what he or she was doing (dependencies that make sense and logical, etc.) The authors do.

This is a complete plan and collection of tools that (1) approaches process improvement in a carefully thoughtout, effective manner, and (2) will jump start any project and save hundreds of not thousands of hours from the planning and execution process. Moreoever, you will benefit from the authors' extensive experience and will do the right things the right way of you follow their step-by-step procedures and heed their advice. Five solid stars and my highest recommendation.

Comprehensive and practical.......2000-08-19

Our company has tried reengineering and it failed. A member of my staff bought this book. The method works. We have followed the steps in the book and found them to be easy to use, can be done in parallel, and address many of the problems that we encountered when we tried reengineering. There are many useful suggestions on how to overcome problems such as resistance to change, the role of IT, how to get employees involved, how to make presentations to management, and how to organize and perform the work. It is organized for easy access. The CD-ROM was very useful and saved time since it contains files that help implement the material in the chapters. Overall, this is probably one of the best books in process improvement.

Customer Reviews:

Your Average Statistical Textbook!.......2005-07-17

This textbook just may not have been my style. For a Basic Statistics book, I would expect the focus of the learning would be on how to work out the problems using pencil and paper. I understand that today software such Excel and Minitab are valuable tools, however, this textbook could have placed more emphasis on understanding mathematics and statistical processes. To be extra critical, I think the information could have been organized differently for better understanding. The CD-ROM didn't provide any added value either. Otherwise, this was a very good textbook. I would recommend James Kenkel's "Introductory Statistics for Economics and Management."

Book Description

In A History of Canadian Economic Thought, Robin Neill relates the evolution of economic theory in Canada to the particular geographical and political features of the country. Theories and policies are critiqued by testing them against both the conditions to which they were applied and against competing theories.

This study reflects a number of issues in Canadian history. The two most crucial issues are the existence of a distinctive Canadian economics, and the nature and importance of the staple theory as an explanation of the development process in Canada. While there were distinctively Canadian economic discourses in nineteenth-century Ontario and early twentieth-century Quebec, Neill argues that these have now been absorbed into the broader North American mainstream. He also examines the nature and importance of the staple theory controversy and its suitability for the Canadian case.

With full accounts of the work of major Canadian economists including John Rae, H.A.Innis, and Harry Johnson, A History of Canadian Economic Thought is the first definitive treatment of the subject in 30 years.

A History of Canadian Economic Thought. (book reviews): An article from: Southern Economic Journal

Average customer rating:

A History of Canadian Economic Thought. (book reviews): An article from: Southern Economic Journal
D.E. Moggridge
Manufacturer: Southern Economic Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Southern Economic Journal, published by Southern Economic Association on April 1, 1993. The length of the article is 1077 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: A History of Canadian Economic Thought. (book reviews)
Author: D.E. Moggridge
Publication: Southern Economic Journal (Refereed)
Date: April 1, 1993
Publisher: Southern Economic Association
Volume: v59 Issue: n4 Page: p847(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Populism and Democratic Thought in the Canadian Prairies, 1910-1945 (State and Economic Life)

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Populism and Democratic Thought in the Canadian Prairies, 1910-1945 (State and Economic Life)
David Laycock
Manufacturer: University of Toronto Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

"That Man Partridge": E.A. Partridge, His Thoughts and Times (Canadian Plains Studies)

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"That Man Partridge": E.A. Partridge, His Thoughts and Times (Canadian Plains Studies)
Kenneth Murray Knuttila , and Murray Knuttila
Manufacturer: Canadian Plains Research Center
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Production & Operations | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Agricultural | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

Canadian | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Prairie Provinces | Regional Canada | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0889770794

Average customer rating:

A History of Canadian Economic Thought
Robin Neill
Manufacturer: Routledge 1/10/1991
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBXWAW

Trends in Canadian economic thought (Duke University, Durham, N.C. Commonwealth-Studies Center. Reprint series)

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Trends in Canadian economic thought (Duke University, Durham, N.C. Commonwealth-Studies Center. Reprint series)
W. T Easterbrook
Manufacturer: Duke University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

Royalty Free - ReadySetPresent (Inspirational Quotes): Keep your audience focused and engaged by using our carefully selected collection of thoughtful, witty and humorous quotes. Use in a presentation with an LCD projector, make handouts, and create overheads. This topic includes 25 quotes, slide transitions, clipart and animation. It is a must-have supplement for anyone interested in presenting on these or related topics. Packaged on 3.5" floppy disk/s. PC compatible. You may use this product over and over again.

Amazon.com

One of the most entertaining and important e-zines on the Web (even after "selling out" to HotWired in 1995), Suck dishes out cooler-than-thou commentary and daily unapologetic satire on pretty much any subject that deserves it. Suck: Worst Case Scenarios in Media, Culture, Advertising, and the Internet, a collection of some of the more memorable columns from the site's long (in Web years) history, marks the first foray of the Sucksters into the world of print. Can an animated musical of Terry Colon's cartoon versions of the Suck staff be far behind?

Some of the unfortunate recipients of attention in the "repurposed content" include PBS newsman Jim Lehrer, Niketown, and Slate, Microsoft's foray into the overcrowded e-zine market. Terry Colon's distinctive illustrations pepper each column, but none of the classic narrative cartoon collaborations between Colon and columnist Polly Esther are included. This omission (as well as other missing favorites) reflects the difficult task of selecting a few dozen columns from three years of daily contributions. Or perhaps the duo is simply negotiating a book deal of their own.

Suck includes hyperlinked rants as sidebars, so you can--if you wish--roughly re-create the wandering-attention-span phenomenon associated with reading Suck online. Some readers may find the collected Sucksters too clever for their own good (if you've used the term "smart alec" in a sentence recently, this may not be your cup of tea), and readers who find themselves too cool for Suck will not be impressed. Anyone who has a sense of humor, however, especially one that finds glee in the lampooning of large media conglomerations (such as the one that employs the book's authors), will enjoy the offerings of Suck.

Customer Reviews:

the last puff of smoke from a dying breed.......2006-01-03

Since the Sucksters took their eternal summer vacation in June 2001 and the Web site at last fulfilled the e-zine's running joke by changing ownership to an adult-entertainment portal in December 2005, this is all that's left of the smartest, shrewdest and funniest site to emerge amidst the hot air of the Dot-Com Rise and Fall of the 1990s.

Where else can you find an acerbic, pseudonymmed writer dismiss The Fugees as "reconstituted adult rock masquerading as hip-hop"? Or the pinpoint assertion that if you drop your kid off at any mall, "he'll quickly learn that community and commodity are not easily discernible from each other"? Or: "The only thing that kept Burning Man out of Business Week was that no one would admit to making -- or seeking -- a profit"? And really, you can find as good or better a bon mot on any of the pages of this book.

Even from the mid-1990s, this book is a breath a fresh air from today's world of multimedia mergers, where reporters chase each others' tales in conflating and inflating pre-conceived notions and prepackaged soundbytes. Who today proclaims as forcefully -- or anywhere near as literately -- that the emperor has no clothes even as the mainstream media sources compete for more vivid adjectives to describe the non-existent garments?

While the book has its faults and there were certainly better essays than some of the selections, it more than holds its own with any contemporary commentary. A full decade before VH1 announced its sure-to-be-craptacular series "Web Junk 20" as the latest lowest-common-denomination demon spawn of TV and Internet, Suck explained why attempts at merging the two media only seem to cull the worst of each and draw into sharp detail the differences -- not the similarities -- between technology's long-lost kin. With today's breathless tech reporters and hypesters trying to convince you that watching a movie on an iPod is somehow as good as enjoying it in widescreen, and a supplicant media (owned by those releasing those movies) coo their approval, the absence of sarcastic outsider wisdom by the likes of Suck is more missed than ever.

While this book will not cure what ails society, consider it a drinking binge from the fountain of knowledge that won't leave you with a hangover in a stranger's apartment. If the drink is bittersweet given Suck's fate, at least it proves satisfying.

title says it all..........2002-04-24

thought this might be an interesting book on the rise and fall of a pop-culture ezine, but I couldn't get past page 15. Save you money for n-sync's next record...

Impulse buy.......2001-07-09

Though I tend to shy away from "books", I had a burning desire to own this one. So being the impulsive youth, I am, I hit the order button. Do I regret it? No! I laughed my arse off. I guess now, I'll put it on a shelf and read it when bored, or sick or something. Yep.

Not as interesting as the web site.......2000-05-29

I guess I just don't get it. I've owned this book for years and can't bring myself to finish it. I've visited the site a few times, and the writings are good. The material seems to lose its impact in printed form, however.

Close your eyes!.......1999-03-17

Not only am I not going to read this book--which, incidently,is the best book ever--I'm not going to review it either.

Suck: Worst-Case Scenarios in Media, Culture, Advertising, and the Internet

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Suck: Worst-Case Scenarios in Media, Culture, Advertising, and the Internet
Joey Anuff
Manufacturer: HardWired
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K3X7IY

Book Description

The Internet is quickly moving from a marketing tool in which businesses and organizations promote sales and awareness, to a core element of any information system architecture. The advent of the Internet as a fundamental infrastructure for the delivery of advanced business systems has opened up a wide range of questions for the design and development of such systems.

Internet-Based Organizational Memory and Knowledge Management provides a multidisciplinary view of the wide range of ideas on innovative Internet information systems as they related to organizational memory and knowledge. Using the Internet as the primary architectural base, this book presents results and challenges of Internet-based knowledge management systems.

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