Business Process Management: Practical Guidelines to Successful Implementations

Book Description

Business Process Management: Practical Guidelines to Successful Implementations provides organizational leadership with an understanding of Business Process Management and its benefits to an organization. This book also gives Business Process Management practitioners a framework and a set of tools and techniques that provide a practical guide to successfully implementing Business Process Management projects and provides a holistic approach and the necessary details to deliver a Business Process Management project.

Business Process Management: Practical Guidelines to Successful Implementations delivers:

* a proven in-depth step-by-step framework for the Business Process Management practitioner.

* insights into how to embed Business Process Management within an organization to ensure a continuous business process involvement culture.

* practical tools, explanations and assistance in the successful implementation of a BPM project.

* more than 50 case studies to illustrate various steps and aspects of the framework.

* an overall view and understanding of Business Process Management and the move towards a process-centric organization.

* Encompasses best practices and an overview of the most important tools and methods
* An in -depth framework for the Business Process Management practitioner.
* Insights into how to embed Business Process Management within an organization to ensure a continuous business process improvement culture.
* Practical tools, explanations and assistance in the successful implementation of a BPM project.
* Includes in excess of 50 case studies to illustrate various points in the book.

Customer Reviews:

Useful Read.......2007-09-19

This is a valuable book for beginners and intermediates. Its detail as expected in any book is moderate. Learning the true methodologies of BPM requires experience and additional reading. This book however does serve as a useful tool in understanding BPM and its mehtodologies as well as standardising a roll out.

Practical Manual.......2007-02-22

Anyone who's interested in process improvement needs to invest in this book. Written in simple plain language, the book simplifies bpm and bpi.
Though I bought this book based on other people's reviews, I am proud to send mine. If you are new in business process management, redesign or even re-engineering, this is a good place to start. I have found this book as a great material with real-life examples. It is an excellent guide for implementing a process improvement or management project. I am currently working on a business process improvement project for one of my training programs and I have found the ideas expressed in this book handy.
As a six sigma specialist, I find myself reading similar books but this book stands out and I look forward to the next page as I read on.

Informative, Thorough, Interesting, Captivating.......2006-07-15

A must read publication. The author is consice and does not stray from the topic. It all comes down to how one manages processes in the business environment for maximizing efficiency. That is exactly what the book concentrates on.
The Author does a fantastic job of going into detail about important topics.
I am hoping for future publications from the author. I highly recommend this book.

Simply ... The Best.......2006-06-27

I am very blessed to have had the opportunity to come across the book after hearing from my friends that it was special. A topic so dull and drab made so interesting and simple is amazing and incredible.

Buy it !.......2006-06-06

This book is one of those typical exceptions that you come accross now and then. It is exceptionally good reading for both business and IT. It creates a common understanding of the typical challenges one meets when involved in an IT / BPM implementation project.

A book that you can actually use during all the phases of an implementation project. Buy it now! No really, do it.

Solving the Greatest Mystery of Our time : The Mayan Calendar

Average customer rating:

Masonic Propaganda
A Bit on the Technical Side
deeply compelling
DiaGnosis: This is an invention, and not the Maya calendar
Judge Only for YOU...

Solving the Greatest Mystery of Our time : The Mayan Calendar
Carl Johan Calleman
Manufacturer: Garev Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mayan | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Controversial Knowledge | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Unexplained Mysteries | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

Cosmology | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books

General | Science | Subjects | Books

Cosmology | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness
Galactic Alignment: The Transformation of Consciousness According to Mayan, Egyptian, and Vedic Traditions
Maya Cosmogenesis 2012: The True Meaning of the Maya Calendar End-Date
The Mayan Code: Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind
Return of the Children of Light: Incan and Mayan Prophecies for a New World

ASIN: 0970755805

Book Description

The Mayan Calendar may well provide the basis for the understanding of creation. In this extraordinary publication, Carl Calleman shows us how the Mayan Calendar combines science and sprituality to unlock the secrets of the universe and provide clues to the future of mankind.

Customer Reviews:

Masonic Propaganda.......2007-09-20

You have to love Masonic propaganda. The roots of all this Mayan/Atlantean "mysteries" lies in 19th century creators of the New Age movement, most famous of which was the Freemason Mrs.Blavatsky.

Masons are putting together a One world government (taking shape under European Union, and the coming Rockefeller-sponsored North American Union)...which needs a one world religion. Its easier to control people if they all believe the same religious nonsense that you feed to them.

Masons invented communism (look up Marx and Mazzini), and succeeded in killing about 200 million people, but it didn't work in wiping out Christianity, which was its original intent.

So they try to invent new religions, fuse Christianity with all sorts of New Age concepts (like this book)...etc...but so far they've failed to come up with anything that would catch on.
Maybe they are still experimenting...

It will still take a few more decades to bring about one world government with continental "unions"...so they have plenty of time to pitch ideas to people and see what works. By 2013, the Mayan Calendar will be long gone and forgotten...

I get a good laugh out of those reviewers who consider this a "scholarly" work, when in fact almost none of the ideas presented can be scientifically corroborated.

A Bit on the Technical Side.......2007-07-30

Textbook style, in-depth analysis of the Mayan Calendar and the formation of the civilization itself. Devotes very little to the prophecy as it realtes to our present day. Not an easy read.

deeply compelling.......2007-05-14

I am so appreciative for this book and all the work it represents. Speaking for myself, I feel so benefitted by the perspective of a picture this big, this ancient and this relevant to events throughout time itself. I have been interested in the Mayan Calendar in times past but never have I been so "grabbed" and held inthralled by the potential of evolving consciousness. What a gift at this timie of so much shifting that all can feel but few can identify sufficiently to draw up a map for living. This book inspires to bend and flex in all the right ways and not to fear but to accept that what is coming will look, feel and be very different from what we are used to.

DiaGnosis: This is an invention, and not the Maya calendar.......2007-02-18

Extracts from the online disgnosis2012 (dotcodotukslashcalldothtm) review that also apperars in the book Beyond 2012:

Swedish researcher Carl Johan Calleman noticed that since the tzolkin can be used as a map of the 13-baktun cycle, it could theoretically also be applied to the larger cycles that have been found on a few stelae, (a stela or stele is an upright lab or pillar with an inscription or sculpture and the plural form is stelae) such as stela 1 at the Coba - a ruined Maya city in the forest sixty miles east of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan. Then he noticed that if this is continued upwards, a cycle is discovered that is close to the scientifically accepted age of the universe. To explain this further, we must first look at the extended version of the Long Count calendar.

Twenty kin or days is one uinal (20 days); eighteen uinals is one tun (360 days; twenty tuns is one katun- 7,200 days (about 20 years); twenty katuns is one baktun - 144,000 days (about 400 years); twenty baktuns is one pictun - 2,880,000 days (about 8,000 years); twenty pictuns is one kalabtun - 57,600,000 days (about 160,000 years); twenty kalabtuns is one kinchiltun - 1,152,000,000 days (about 3.154 million years); twenty kinchiltuns is one alautun (about 63.08 million years); twenty alautuns is one hablatun (about 1.26 billion years); twenty hablatuns is about 25.2 billion years.

What Calleman realized is that thirteen hablatuns would be equal to about 16.4 billion years, which is close to the usual estimate given for the age of the universe; about 15 billion years. If the pattern of the 13 x 20 Sacred Calendar or tzolkin encodes larger sacred cycles, such as the 13-baktun cycle, he reasoned that a whole cosmology of 13-unit cycles, rather than twenty-unit ones, could be represented in a nine-step pyramid form, such as the Pyramid of the Jaguar at Tikal, Guatemala, or the Temple of Inscriptions at Palenque, Mexico (the one that conceals the tomb of the ancient Maya ruler, Pacal). In this way, the top or ninth level would represent a 13-uinal period, while the bottom or first level would represent a 13-hablatun period.

So, the topmost layer represented the 260-day tzolkin of thirteen uinals. The next level down would be a 260-uinal cycle of thirteen tuns. The next level down would be a 260-tun cycle of thirteen katuns (this is a cycle normally known as the Short Count). Under this would be a 260-katun cycle of thirteen baktuns (this is the familiar 13-baktun cycle). Below this would be a 260-baktun cycle of thirteen pictuns, and so on. In this way, we would have a nine-level pyramid, where each layer is structured like the tzolkin, but twenty times larger than the layer above.

This is a very intriguing idea, showing how the development and evolution of the universe could be encoded into the structure of the Maya calendrical systems, from the creation of the universe until its final consummation at the end-point. At the junctions of each level of the pyramid, humanity gains another "frame of consciousness", and although Calleman says that speculation on the consciousness that will be accessed at the "summit of the pyramid" would seem to be "almost pointless", he does indulge the reader a little. It will be an end of time, in which no more calendars are needed:

"...the attainment of a time-less cosmic consciousness, and an experience of unity with All-That-Is in its fullest sense, a disappearance of the line dividing life from death. Although many that live today have had temporary experiences of such a cosmic consciousness, these have only been temporary, due to our limiting frame of consciousness. At the end of Creation this may no longer be so and the eternal life may in fact manifest as a time-less cosmic consciousness."

If this sounds familiar, maybe that is because it is based on "several ancient scriptures" that turn out to be mainly the Book of Genesis and the Book of Revelation.

Calleman supports the True Count, as opposed to the Lounsbury correlation, but he realised that his theory would be much neater if only the Long Count had ended on the day 13 Ahau in the tzolkin, instead of 4 Ahau. Incredibly, he decided that the Maya had got it wrong, and says that although he still agrees with the True Count of the tzolkin, the correlation between the Long Count and the tzolkin was wrong. This is something nobody had questioned before, since there has never been any doubt of the tzolkin - to- Long Count correlation; it was set by the Maya and wherever a stela shows the Long Count, it shows the relevant tzolkin date. Previous arguments had concerned how the calendars relate to the Gregorian calendar, not how they relate to each other. Calleman criticized Arguelles for creating his own New Age Dreamspell count, yet has not seen the parallels to his own creation. In fact, he says in reference to later "invented" tzolkin correlations, "Such disregard of the calendrical knowledge of the Classical Maya is not likely to lead to truth", but this applies equally to his own invented Long Count correlation. The result of the change in correlation means that Calleman sees the 13-baktun cycle as starting on June 17th 3115 BC and ending on 28th October 2011.

There is a problem, however, because dividing by twenty works fine until we get to the level beneath the summit of the pyramid, when we find that thirteen tuns is 4680 days, and a twentieth of this is 234 days, not 260 days. Calleman admits this, where he refers to "The short universal cycle of 2011, probably totalling only 13 x 18 = 234 days, but possibly 260 days..." Two diagrams on p.77 of Calleman's book differ on the length of this last cycle - one says 13 x 20 days (260) and the other says 13 x 18 days (234). If the tzolkin level (the Universal Underworld) is shortened to 234 days, so that the pattern (of each level being a twentieth the size of the one above) is retained, then the tzolkin as the key 260-unit "filtration pattern of divine light" is unable to form the top level of the pyramid. Alternatively, if the 260-unit tzolkin is retained as the top level of the pyramid, so that each level consists of 260 sub-units, then the top level will be only an eighteenth the size of the level below, whereas all other levels are a twentieth the size of the level below. Since both solutions lose the symmetry of the pyramid, Calleman is clearly undecided as to which is correct. This brings the validity of the whole pyramid construct into question.

If Calleman had stuck with the Maya Long Count correlation, the idea would have remained an interesting concept, but the idea that the tzolkin "ends" on the day 13 Ahau and "begins" on the day 1 Imix is, in fact, "based upon a misconception of the tzolkin calendar" due to modern conventions in representing it, according to John Major Jenkins. Therefore the alteration to the Long Count was not necessary, and Calleman could have presented the idea without resorting to inventing his own correlation. Calleman now has quite a following, and supporters are presenting his theory as "The Mayan Calendar" or saying, "The Maya say..." when they should say, "Carl Calleman says..." His book is titled The Maya Calendar: Solving the Greatest Mystery of Our Time, but his solution is being taken as the genuine Maya Calendar, when it is an attempted explanation that got out of hand and ended up "massaging" the facts to fit the explanation. Amazingly, José Arguelles has written the introduction to Calleman's sequel book, just as several websites are attempting to combine the theories of Arguelles and Calleman... and even Jenkins. It seems that people are so wary of throwing out the baby with the bathwater, that they have poured all the water into one bath, inadvertently drowning the baby.

Judge Only for YOU..........2007-01-12

Do not take the words of anyone else - especially when it comes to this book. If you want opinions, read ALL of the reviews on this book, not just the negative ones which seem to display most prominently.

I do not know what standards Mr. Jonathan Jett-Parmer thinks this book does not meet, nor does he state what his qualifications are in the subject material. He tells of the the relevance of Dr. Calleman's other works and their apparent qualifications which DO meet with the standards of Mr. Jett-Parmer. However, he does not provide any reasons for such assertions and apparent contradictions.

If he would be so kind as to update his review I think we could all benefit from a more detailed explanation for the opinions he has every right to express.

I would not be surprised if it took most people six months to a year of effort before the material in this book began to sink in and feel like one was learning it, instead of being confused by it. The reason is that it addresses using a calendar other than the one we all share worldwide - the Gregorian calendar. The calendar itself, no matter which one we used at any point in the past, present or future, is the basis for our conscious reality. That is why the book seems like it is not as easy to comprehend as perhaps other readers would expect. I know that I felt dumbfounded and walked away from it several times.

The reason it because the idea that we would use a calendar other than the one we know worldwide is truly a shock to your senses. We don't know how to even think about a calendar other than the one we know. Think about it: have you ever thought once about using another calendar?

I guarantee you have not - not to replace the one we all sharez. How about a year that was not 365 days per year? What about a year that was actually 360 days per year? The same as 360 degrees in a circle? Don't worry - because in this book there is no either/or with the calendar: There are 17 in total, one called the Haab that tracked the solar orbit of 365.2421 days per year and is more accurate than the Gregorian.

On solar orbit, why is that meaningful to our planet, besides the seasons, planting and harvesting to grow food? Why are we so obsessed with how accurate ANY system is in precision timekeeping of the Earth around the sun in a year? I think down to 4 decimal places is good for me.

Would it make sense to have alternatives to try and see if an even 360 day per Galactic Year system would be more likely to relate to other systems in the galaxy and universe? Is it safe to say that, at the very least, the time it takes our little planet to go around the sun in a year means nothing to anyone not on our planet? Why would it? IT ONLY MATTERS IN THIS LITTLE SOLAR ORBIT.

The rest of the universe is based on spherical shapes and sizes, of varying ellipses and precessions and so on, but they are all ultimately 360 degrees round. In the span of thousands to millions to billions of years and years it is the mathemathical relationships that deterine the flow of evolution. That does not mean that Keplers Laws or Newtons Laws are no less important - just that they are only important if what you use them for is relevant - like landing on the surface of a planet. Or putting a sattellite into orbit. Or blasting off from the surface of the planet.

But tracking the progress of our evolution, over 16.64 billion years ago until now, and culminating on October 28, 2011? That is mathematics, and the planets and orbits REPRESENT how it all works together. But the celestial mechanical motions from one day, month or year don't matter in the grand scheme of things. And besides that, if this book is wrong, then there is nothing to fear. Right?

but I am an expert on this book as well as the books by Mr. John Major Jenkins and Jose Arguelles: Jenkins and Arguelles are BOGUS disinformation based on unprovable assertions. This book is based on mathematics and makes no claims that are not verified. Are there assertions and deep thoughts as to the meaning of the math and how that should be interpreted? Of course. As with any book, on any subject, especially a subject as controversial and difficult to comprehend as the Mayan Civilization, if someone is asking you to ignore something for no apparent reason, or they make spurious claims that seem 'fishy' then wonder more about why they are working so hard to close your mind. Keep your mind open at all times, judge for yourself and of any books on the Mayans BUY ONLY THIS BOOK. It is not perfect, but it is the closest to the Truth that we have right now. Thank you.

The Mayan Code: Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind

Average customer rating:

A shaman's interpretation of the Mayan Calendar
Finally! A 2012 book that makes sense to me!
Excellent with a caveat . . .
A New Visionary Tool
An Ascendant Journey Through Time

The Mayan Code: Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind
Barbara Hand Clow
Manufacturer: Bear & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mayan | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

New Thought | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Time | Physics | Science | Subjects | Books

The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness
Alchemy of Nine Dimensions: Decoding the Vertical Axis, Crop Circles, and the Mayan Calendar
2012: You Have A Choice!: Archangelic Answers And Practices For The Quantum Leap
Catastrophobia: The Truth Behind Earth Changes
Solving the Greatest Mystery of Our time : The Mayan Calendar

ASIN: 1591430704
Release Date: 2007-04-09

Book Description

Bestselling author Barbara Hand Clow shows how the Mayan Calendar is a bridge to galactic wisdom that fosters personal growth and human evolution

• Unearths the meaning behind the calendar, its message for modern civilization, and what will happen when the calendar ends

• Reveals how time acceleration is a manifestation of the acceleration of consciousness

• By the author of The Pleiadian Agenda

Many researchers have investigated the science of time cycles by using the Mayan Calendar, which tracks the 5,125-year Long Count ending in the year 2012. History shows that civilizations suddenly appeared around 3115 B.C. in Egypt, India, and Sumer that used calendars based on systems similar to the Mayan Calendar, reflecting what was once a universal and sacred understanding of time. In The Mayan Code, Barbara Hand Clow draws on the work of biologist Carl Johan Calleman and many other New Paradigm researchers to unearth the deeper meaning behind the calendar and its message for modern civilization, especially during its final five years.

As we approach the end of the Mayan Calendar, time and consciousness are accelerating. Working with Calleman’s time-acceleration theory, Barbara Hand Clow shows how the cycles of time marked by the calendar match important periods in the evolutionary data banks of Earth and the Milky Way Galaxy and that the calendar describes the evolutionary stage to come. She explores how our own personal healing is the most important factor as we prepare to make this critical leap in human evolution--now referred to as the awakening of the World Mind.

Customer Reviews:

A shaman's interpretation of the Mayan Calendar.......2007-09-02

We have all been experiencing the effects of what Barbara Clow calls the time acceleration timetable encoded in the Mayan Calendar. This translates into the speed at which thoughts become reality, or as we've been saying in the New Age: instant karma. Well, it's here and we don't have a choice, our negativity or creativity will manifest in our lives with increasing frequency as we approach the 2011/2012 end of the calendar. (This allows us to clear up our emotional patterns and become enlightened beings.) But, what I found most fascinating about Calleman's theories and Clow's interpretation were the nine cycles of history or underworlds, going back to the Big Bang, each twenty-times faster (more condensed) than the preceding cycle, each broken down into further divisions of time--days and nights--so that we can compare themes. That is Day Four of the Galactic Underworld (1/5/99-10/28/11) December 4, 2004 to November 28, 2005--the Southeast Asian Tsunami, Ahmadinejad elected president of Iran, Hurricane Katrina, the great controversy over The Da Vinci Code leading to its own "enlightenment," compares to Day Four (749-355 BC) of National Underworld (3115 BC to 2011)--Isaiah warning the Israelites to change their errant ways, the days of the spiritual leaders: Lao-tse, Buddha, Confucius, Plato; to Day Four (AD 1873-1893) of the Planetary Underworld (AD 1755 to 2011)--Blavatsky founding of the Theosophical Society, Mary Baker Eddy's Christian Science, or the height of the spiritualist movement in America. Understanding how the Mayan shamans were able to see these patterns and encode them into their calendar takes the genius of a modern-day shaman, Barbara Hand Clow, to take new research and insights and show us the broader picture. It's heady and intuitive in equal measure. I can't recommend this enough for those struggling to understand and adapt to acceleration we're all experiencing.

Finally! A 2012 book that makes sense to me!.......2007-08-09

This book, by Barbara Hand Clow, is well written and appears to be based on facts involving the ancient Mayan calendar. She speaks to the acceleration of time and the process of human evolution from ancient times through the end of the calendar 2011/2012 (guesstimates vary through 12/21/2012). I know that some of you believe that we are currently in transformative times and are seeking to make sense of it all. Right now, according to the Mayans, we are walking the path "Xi Balba bih" (The Road of Awe) and for those seeking a better understanding of what lies ahead, this book could be useful. This book is NOT a doom and gloom portrayal of the future, but is, as I believe, the hope of a better future, a future of peace and love for many as we move forward into an anticipated leap of human consciousness. Barbara talks about the meaning of the calendar and the message it holds for modern civilization. Barbara gives in-depth explanations of how the Mayan calendar works, the details of which are a little too technical for me, but that's OK. I don't really need to understand the details of the calendar itself, just her rationale for her analysis. Much of this book resonates very well with me. She talks about the acceleration of time and consciousness. She references the time-acceleration theory work of Carl Johan Calleman and other researchers for a better understanding of the calendar, particularly during its last 5 years (2006/7 through 2011/12--like now Dude/Dudette!) She indicates how the calendar's cycles of time match up with important past and current time periods of the Earth and the Milky Way Galaxy.

I've been reading some 2012 stuff, I guess trying to find something that resonates with my own feelings and guidance in this area. I had studied the Spanish/Mexican language and culture for 5 years in school. In 2004, I visited the Mayan ruins in Chitzenitza, in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. I was fascinated by what I saw and have great respect for this very ancient culture (in its early days, before it was altered by a European gentleman). Our guide was also a Mayan descendent and who spoke about the Mayan calendar in some detail. As you may already know, Mayans were obsessed with time and were extremely accurate in their projections of it. So, maybe they have something to tell us about the future. Granted, no one knows what is going to happen, but, assuming the authors currently "out there" are being honest, and they are getting guidance from somewhere--well, let's just say that there's lots of different guidance going around right now, that's for sure, and lots of confusion. Like I said, this book makes sense to me. If 2012 and projections of a "new world" interest you, consider this book. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Just a side note, though, there are a lot of detailed explanations about the calendar so it gets a little hard to read because of the wealth of details. With that said, though, there's still a lot of info. So, it's like saying, "I'll tell you how to make a watch. If all you need is the time, then take the time and run with it. Disregard what you don't need in extra info."

Excellent with a caveat . . ........2007-07-23

Barbara Hand Clow makes an excellent and convincing summary of the Mayan Clendar and it's meaning for humankind in the very near future up through 2012. Very interesting reading, HOWEVER . . . she used it to put forth her vitreolic political opinons in chapter 6 (and throughout) that could have been better spent using different examples. She compared President Bush (and his "Bushites") to other fascist regimes, including Hitler's. including, "Will the American people under Bush act as the German people did under Hitler?" On page 144 she even stated that 9/11 couldn't have happened "Without the green light from military and secret agencies leading all the way to the White House . . ." Also, her larger message is significantly dimished by her constant rantings about the American "global empire." Other quotes: "As if the gods were throwing spears at Bush's brother Jeb, ferocious hurricanes such as Ivan pummeled Florida." and, "As if nature had decided to deal with the Bushites, Katrina, a massive category 5 hurricane, barreled into New Orleans . . ." Unfortunately, her frequent anti-American sentiments show her as an embittered author better suited for the "political diatribe" section of the bookstore.

A New Visionary Tool.......2007-07-17

Barbara Hand Clow has once again provided us with a timely message for all humanity. Continuing with themes she has explored with her previous books, especially The Pleiadian Agenda, Catastrophobia and Alchemy of Nine Dimensions, Clow presents an interpretation and exploration of the Mayan Calendar that helps to crystallize the events of the last five thousand years.

Clow postulates, with strong adherence on the work of Carl Johan Calleman, that Mayan visionaries constructed the calendar in recently modern times as a tool to see into, not only the very distant past, but into the future as well. Utilizing hard science as well as profound metaphysical understanding, Clow once again demonstrates a unique ability to teach from both sides of the brain, providing the reader with empirical scientific evidence and her own experiential knowingness achieved from many different teachers and traditions.

Barbara Hand Clow is a visionary thinker and teacher, oftentimes many years ahead of the rest of us, and gifts us with another tool to prepare for the coming awakening of consciousness that is humanity's destiny--I highly recommend this book!

An Ascendant Journey Through Time.......2007-07-14

The MAYAN CODE, Time Acceleration and Awakening the World Mind.
Drawing extensively on Carl Calleman's interpretations of the Mayan Calendar and synthesizing that work with those of other Mayan scholars, Hand Clow takes us on a break-taking journey through time and the evolution of consciousness as she streams the information through her own extraordinary scope of bicameral knowledge and wisdom. Based on Callemans' work the Calendar provides a 20/20 lens from which to view history. Hand Clow uses the accuracy of that view to turn the lens around and peer forward to 2012 and what a sight! On a journey that is often one foot in front of the other and frought with uncertainty, Hand Clow clears the way for a light and full hearted sprint to the end of time. A challenging read but a truly revelatory and uplifting book.

Classical Swedish Architecture and Interiors: 1650-1830

Average customer rating:

An excellent acquisition any library serious about world architectural styles will want.
Classical Swedish Architecture gets a rave review from me.
An amazingly beautiful book. Full of great information and pictures.

Classical Swedish Architecture and Interiors: 1650-1830
Johan Cederlund
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Reference | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

Sweden | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

Scandinavia | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Neoclassicism in the North: Swedish Furniture and Interiors 1770-1850
Swedish Interiors
Swedish Room (Creating the Look)
The Swedish House
The New Eighteenth-Century Style: Rediscovering a French Décor

ASIN: 0393731723

Customer Reviews:

An excellent acquisition any library serious about world architectural styles will want........2007-08-07

Any college-level holding specializing in world architectural history should have Classical Swedish Architecture & Interiors as part of its collection: art historian John Cederlund covers the foundations of Swedish architecture and interiors and covers the major sites and representations of Swedish style, from stoves to architecture for the monarchy. An excellent acquisition any library serious about world architectural styles will want.

Classical Swedish Architecture gets a rave review from me........2007-03-12

This is an excellent survey of Swedish architecture and interiors of the most influential historical period and the photographs are splendid.

An amazingly beautiful book. Full of great information and pictures........2007-02-20

I have bought several books on Swedish architecture and design. This book truly is an important addition to any fan of neoclassical design, although the segments on the baroque, rococco and empire periods are also outstanding.

The sketches, floorplans, photographs and engravings are of an extremely high quality, and the sheer breadth of buildings covered is astounding.

Highly, highly, highly recommended. A beautiful book that is a necessity for anyone with an interest in architecture or interior design.

Computer-Controlled Systems: Theory and Design (3rd Edition)

Average customer rating:

Terse.
Waste of Trees!
Review of Astrom and Wittenmark

Computer-Controlled Systems: Theory and Design (3rd Edition)
Karl Johan Astrom , and Bjorn Wittenmark
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Computer Science & Information Systems | New & Used Textbooks | Stores | Books

Electrical & Electronics | Engineering | New & Used Textbooks | Stores | Books

Mechanical | Engineering | New & Used Textbooks | Stores | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books

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Digital Control Systems
Advanced PID Control
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ASIN: 0133148998

Customer Reviews:

Terse........2006-08-04

I first entered engineering school back in 1980. Since college, I have worked in various laboratory environments, both private and Federal. Consequently, I have read many papers and books related to the materials presented in this text. As I look back over the years, I find that this text is the most terse I have ever seen and is entirely inappropriate as an introductory text to the subject.

It is no exaggeration to say that the most important parts of the subject exist in what is *NOT* expressly said in the pages of this book. True, in engineering school one is required to think and solve problems, but this text does not even have enough proper expository to motivate the subject, nor does it have enough problems to properly exercise the mind on the concepts. If one needs so much supplementary material to master the topic, it might be wiser to simply use a better text.

After trying hard to find something to like about this text, I find little...it is terse to the point of being enigmatic.

Please, get a copy from an engineering library before you spend any money on it and judge for yourself.

Waste of Trees!.......2005-11-25

This book is not for anyone. It is such a shame when you spend over $100 for something that will absolutly contribute nothing to you. I really did try to use this book, I just can't seem to find one full paragraph that I feel that I have actually learned something. The author begins his book, like he's already given you 10 previous introduction chapters. He feels he owes no explanation for anything, no real effort to make you understand or learn something. just a story teller with a bunch of equations, diagrams and solutions with no effort to to get anything across. I wonder exactly why this author felt he had to write this book. If it's because he wanted to contribute his knowledge, then he is surely a very bad teacher. I don't mean to cause any harm to the author, but I feel the obligation to warn anyone who is considering to buy this book for the sake of learning anything. Too bad they had to cut down trees to publish this book.

Review of Astrom and Wittenmark.......2000-06-21

Astrom Wittenmark's book on Computer Control Systems is a good book for intermediate and experienced people in the field of Computer Control Systems. It is excellent in its contents and coverage of the field as a whole.

Book Description

The second edition of this concise book clearly sets out and explains the analytical methods employed in the study of the incidence of infectious diseases. The well illustrated text uses practical examples throughout and has been thoroughly updated in line with changing health concerns, including a new chapter on outbreak investigations. Now in a more user-friendly larger format the book has been redesigned to make text, illustrations, examples and equations more accessible.

Customer Reviews:

Re infectious disease epidemiology book.......2007-01-03

This bookmis very informative for someonewho is interested in infectious disease epidemiology.

Good start for someone who is interested in the subject.......2006-08-20

Modern Infectious Disease Epidemiolgy was written from the angle of a clinician. It provides some interesting reading which is different from the usual types of epidemiology texts. Highly recommended for those who are interested in infectious disease epidemiology. Previous knowledge is not a must in understanding this book. I find it worth reading though I have received training in both clinical medicine and epidemiology as the author illustrates the materials in a different angle from the usual textbooks of epidemiology.

at last an intro epi book that takes infectious disease seriously.......2005-07-06

Introductory epidemiology texts have historically been very weak on the special features of the epidemiology of infectious disease. The only texts available that adequately covered infectious disease epidemiology were too intense (mathematically and otherwise) for an undergraduate course, too expensive to impose on students, and/or lacking in the broad concepts of epidemiology that apply to non-infectious as well as infectious diseases. Dr. Giesecke's book smoothly integrates the broad concepts of epidemiology with the specific features of infectious disease. You will find here all the requisite concepts of introductory epidemiology such as incidence and prevalence, sensitivity and specificity, case-control and cohort studies, confounding and interaction. You will also find chapters on seroepidemiology, vaccination epidemiology, mathematical models for epidemics (with relatively low intensity math that most undergrads might handle), the study of contact patterns and other topics related to infectious disease, and others. In all this, Dr. Giesecke uses intuitive explanations that make difficult subjects comprehensible. Teachers of epidemiology will find this book very useful for introductory epidemiology courses. As a primer and/or refresher for those in public health and various medical professions, this book is--among a vast multitude of competitors--uniquely fitting.

A good introduction........1998-09-18

Gieskecke has written a good introduction to epidemiology in general, but focuses on infectious disease epidemiology and how it is different from the other fields of epidemiology (e.g., the victims of an infectious disease can also be the source for new infections). I liked the organization and structure of the book. This is a good book for the beginner, but not someone seeking a thorough grounding in the issues.

Average customer rating:

Very Terse
quick hints/ reminder of perl cmd
Buy a clue, Gerald
Unhappy
Just right

Perl Pocket Reference, 4th Edition
Johan Vromans
Manufacturer: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Learning Perl, Second Edition
Regular Expression Pocket Reference: Regular Expressions for Perl, Ruby, PHP, Python, C, Java and .NET (Pocket Reference (O'Reilly))
Perl Cookbook, Second Edition
Programming Perl (2nd Edition)
VI Editor Pocket Reference

ASIN: 0596003749

Book Description

The Perl Pocket Reference is an invaluable reference for those who find themselves frequently searching for a quick answer to a question or reminder of a syntax rule. This handy, well-organized quick reference condenses stacks of Perl documentation down to the most essential at-your-fingertips facts. For ease-of-use, convenience, and price, this little reference is the first place Perl programmers look when they need an answer quickly. The Perl Pocket Referenc provides a complete overview of the Perl programming language, all packed into a convenient, carry-around booklet. It is updated for Perl 5.8, and covers a summary of Perl syntax rules, a complete list of operators, built-in functions, and standard library modules, all with brief descriptions. Also included are the newest Perl features, such as enhanced regular expressions, multithreading, the Perl compiler, and Unicode support. The Perl Pocket Reference, 4th Edition, is the perfect companion to the authoritative books on Perl published by O'Reilly & Associates: Programming Perl, Learning Perl, and the Perl Cookbook. This pocket reference will never make it to the bookshelf--dog-eared and well worn, it will remain within arms reach of the keyboard or tucked in a back pocket, where it will be referred to on a daily basis.

Customer Reviews:

Very Terse.......2006-07-12

Perl Pocket Reference only gives lists and tables. No explanation of how to use the various functions, variables, etc. Definitely not for new-comers.

I was very disappointed by this pocket reference. I was expecting something more like the very high quality "Python Pocket Reference", which manages to give complete description of the language, all functions, standard modules, etc, ALONG WITH EXAMPLES FOR EACH; The Python Pocket Reference is able to be used as a standalone reference. This is definitely not true for the Perl Pocket Reference; You will need other books to make this pocket reference make sense... what a pain!

quick hints/ reminder of perl cmd.......2006-03-24

good and give me a quick review/reminder of perl commands

Buy a clue, Gerald.......2005-08-26

Gerald W. Irmler writes in his review "I also have two very large Perl books that are also almost useless, so maybe it's a Perl problem." Well yes, Perl is not an easy language, but I suspect that the main problem here is an Irmler problem. This book does a very good job of doing what it intends to. Another clue that Irmler is lacking a clue is the baffling comment that "The author seemed more interested in being clever and funny, then (sic) imparting information." Huh? The book is comprised entirely of very succinct facts about the language. There is no style here to speak of, due to the nature of the book.

I rate this book 5 stars, Irmler -5 stars.

Unhappy.......2005-08-22

Of the many O'Reilly books that I have purchased,
this is the first one that was really poor.
I'd give it -5 stars, but the lowest you allow is 1.
The author seemed more interested in being clever
and funny, then imparting information.

However, I also have two very large Perl books
that are also almost useless, so maybe it's
a Perl problem.

Just right.......2003-04-11

"Perl Pocket Reference" has the dense information content of "Perl in a nutshell" with extra readability and decreased size. However, in it's subject matter it more closely resembles "programming perl" (aka: camel), because it only covers the language itself. I own all three of these books, and even when they are all within arms reach, I still use this pocket reference more than the other two books, for two reasons:

1)As a beginner (in Perl), many of my questions can be answered with a small book such as "Perl Pocket Reference".
2)I don't have to sift through a lot of extraneous information to get answers quickly.

This pocket reference is no substitute for the Camel, (or for a more complete reference such as "Perl in a nutshell") but it's a great solution for
-finding succinct answers quickly
-reminding yourself of the basics of some feature that you don't use much
-serving as a beginner's reference, or
-bringing to an open-book exam. ;-)

Book Description

Prior to the modern age laughter raised passions and activated the body to sweat and shake. Derision was not distinguished from joy. Deceiving the senses by tricks or funny stories made people laugh loudly, high and low class alike. Johan Verberckmoes describes in this innovating book the hodgepodge of comic images and stories in "Flandes" under the rule of the Spanish Habsburgs, from 1500 to 1700. It challenges the Bakhtinian idea of a caesura in the history of laughter around 1600 and pleads to take the laughing body seriously as influencing culture and society in its own right.

Average customer rating:

An Interesting, Although Marred Reflection on the Play Impulse
"No one is more serious than children at their games" Montaigne
Essential
Horrible translation!
Original but not essential.

Homo Ludens
Johan Huizinga
Manufacturer: Beacon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

Man, Play and Games
The Ambiguity of Play
Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals
Half-Real: Video Games between Real Rules and Fictional Worlds
Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism

ASIN: 0807046817

Book Description

A Study of the Play-Element in Culture

Customer Reviews:

An Interesting, Although Marred Reflection on the Play Impulse.......2007-01-22

Huizinga's text on the nature of the play impulse in man and as a formative principle for culture is indeed interesting but suffers from the myopic view that can occur when one places too much importance on a single factor in humanity. While I approach this from a theological perspective, I think that it is true of any topic. Huizinga does not reduce man to merely a playing being but does indeed develop this tendency highly, giving it central importance to culture, something which is ultimately related to the cult of the people involved.

With respect to this, Huizinga views the cult as profoundly influenced by the play-impulse of man. While this definitely has truth in it and also binds his thesis of play and culture together by means of an intermediary of cult, it is incomplete insofar as it ascribes primacy to an impulse which is only part of the unifying drive of humanity. This lack of consideration of the importance of other aspects of man leads Huizinga to often wax passionately for some primordial period of joyful playfulness which was wholly amoral. Because of his combination of play and the agonal (something with which I partially agree, although not entirely), he provides fodder for relativistic views of the world which view power as the ultimate determining factor in human life instead of Truth, Justice, and Love.

With this negative assessment in mind, Homo Ludens does explore important relationships between the ludic and agonal principles in human action. By looking at these with respect to the whole of human culture, Huizinga sheds light on many varied aspects of play and its essential nature. Indeed, his understanding of the importance of agonal action allows him to more fully integrate play with culture and cultural entities such as mythology, art, and philosophy. Because of this very positive contribution to the understanding of the play impulse, I still recommend this text with the caveats stated above.

"No one is more serious than children at their games" Montaigne .......2006-04-23

The search for the essence of our humanity has led thinkers to time and again single out one aspect of our complex nature. We are 'the talking creature' and we are the 'rational being' and we are 'the fabricator' and maker of worlds. We are the creature 'made in the image of God" and the only one capable of
'imitato dei'. And we are also 'homo ludens' the creature for whom play is at the essence of our being .
Huizinga may be too much of a generalist for many today, but he has a great perception and he elaborates and investigates it in an insightful way.
" If we cannot play we cannot begin to be fully human"

Essential.......2004-09-08

I'm sure the translation is as poor as everyone says, but for God's sake, this is one of only three or four absolutely essential twentieth-century books on the history of games and gaming. It's insightful and humorous even in English, so just imagine how good it is in Dutch. Along with Murray, Bell, Conway, et al, this is a necessary assignment for anyone who wants to talk about the subject. Five stars. Five! Five! Five!

Horrible translation!.......2002-12-27

Please be aware that this book really is a horrible translation of Huizinga's original and insightful attempts to make sense of 'play'.

Huizinga's contribution of the new word 'ludiek', introduced through his translations in almost every language but English, is simply left out of the introduction and does not occur in the book. This means that the logic Huizinga has set up, pointing out how cultural practices are characterized by 'ludieke' features (i.e. features of their game-like quality) gets reduced to a book on 'game elements'. The entire logic of play creating culture therefore never comes across, but stays obscured behind game elements in culture.

This translation should really be immediately taken from the market or redone by someone who actually tries his best to translate with integrity. An indication of the complete lack thereof is the note of the editor that he changed the subtitle from 'play element of culture' (which Huizinga in his introduction clarifies he fought for on several occassions to be maintained) into 'play element in culture', because "English prepositions are not governed by logic". The English-centricity complete overrules at least 90% of what Huizinga actually expresses.

Horrible.

Original but not essential........2002-10-27

Huizinga illustrates with numerous examples out of all sort of civilizations that culture first appears under the form of play. The first forms of culture are played. He finds his examples in as different fields as jurisdiction, art, poetry, battle ...
I agree that play was certainly influential or important for certain aspects of cultural life, but not for essential points like politics, exercise of power or distribution of wealth within a society.
This book is not in the same class as his other more known book 'The Autumn of the Middle Ages'.
He makes an important remark in his diatribe against Carl Schmitt, whom he reproaches his wrong point of view. Schmitt founds his jurisdictional work on the principle of 'friend-foe', in other words on war not on peace.

Local Positioning Systems: LBS Applications and Services

Average customer rating:

Useful Information Buried under Bad Writing
Thorough and well written

Local Positioning Systems: LBS Applications and Services
Krzysztof W. Kolodziej , and Johan Hjelm
Manufacturer: CRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

Location-Based Services: Fundamentals and Operation
Location-Based Services (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Data Management Systems)
Creating Location Services for the Wireless Web
Introduction to GPS: The Global Positioning System, Second Edition
Mobile Media and Applications, From Concept to Cash: Successful Service Creation and Launch

ASIN: 0849333490

Book Description

Local Positioning Systems: LBS Applications and Services explores the possible approaches and technologies to location problems including people and asset tracking, mobile resource management, public safety, and handset location-based services. The book examines several indoor positioning systems, providing detailed case studies of existing applications and their requirements, and shows how to set them up. Other chapters are dedicated to position computation algorithms using different signal metrics and determination methods, 2D/3D indoor map data and location models, indoor navigation, system components and how they work, privacy, deployment issues, and standards. In detail, the book explains the steps for deploying a location-enabled network, including doing a site-survey, creating a positioning model and floor maps, and access point placement and configuration. Also presented is a classification for network-based and ad-hoc positioning systems, and a framework for developing indoor LBS services. This comprehensive guide will be invaluable to students and lecturers in the area of wireless computing. It will also be an enabling resource to developers and researchers seeking to expand their knowledge in this field.

Customer Reviews:

Useful Information Buried under Bad Writing.......2007-06-28

My greatest difficulty in using this book was locating the positions of the useful technical information scattered among all of the bad writing and poor document structure. Hiring an English major to clean up the writing, and a tech writer to revise the structure, could have helped bring the useful content out. Many sentences are poorly structured, individual paragraphs contain unrelated topics, sections seem to wander, acronyms go either undefined or repeatedly defined within adjacent paragraphs and sentences, some paragraphs repeat sentences almost verbatim, and there is an uneven mix of useful technical information, useful marketing information, and marketing/management drivel. There were parenthetical comments (like this) injected all over the book (or at least many parts). Some serious editing could have cut down the length. Here is an example:

"Whichever world model you use, information related to position must somehow be stored, modeled and mapped. The storage is typically handled in a spatial database; the modeling depends on the algorithms that can be associated with the world model. The mapping is the role of the mapping infrastructure, and to create those, location (or space or world) models are essential. It is also about the content or context data that can be associated with that location data for specific location-based services."

One might expect a hierarchical exposition on a) storage, b) modeling, and c) mapping after this apparently introductory paragraph. Unfortunately, this apparently introductory paragraph pops up in the middle of a subsection in the middle of a section in the middle of a chapter in the middle of the book, to be followed by a similar paragraph that wanders around a tangentially related set of topics.

The best thing about this book is its collection of links to web resources with better writing and clearer documentation. The book is worth about 1/2 of the pages it presents and 1/2 of its cost to the buyer, so I'd give it 2.5 stars if I could. Managers will love it.

Thorough and well written.......2007-01-03

Thorough and well written, a comprhensive review of the current state of the art. It has been read by many at my office, all of who agree it is the best summary of current (Dec 2006) LPS technolgies available today...

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