Demonstrating Digital Architecture: 5th Far Eastern International Digital Architectural Design [FEIDAD] Award

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Demonstrating Digital Architecture: 5th Far Eastern International Digital Architectural Design [FEIDAD] Award

Manufacturer: Birkhäuser Basel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
Reference | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
General | Drawing & Modelling | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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Developing Digital Architecture

Distinguishing Digital Architecture: 6th Far Eastern International Design Award

Tooling (Pamphlet Architecture)

Algorithmic Architecture

Diversifying Digital Architecture: 2003 FEIDAD Award

ASIN: 3764372745

Book Description

The latest FEIDAD Award presents the 50 best projects by architects, students and designers from 22 different countries, exploring digital concepts such as computing, information, electronic media, hyper-, virtual-, and cyberspace in order to help define and discuss future space and architecture in the digital age. Fully documented in text and color illustrations, these award-winning projects provide an excellent overview of the very latest international developments in digital design and an invaluable sourcebook for all who make use of new media in their work.

In addition, stars such as Tadao Ando, Peter Eisenman, Zaha Hadid, Greg Lynn, Diller + Scofidio, OCEAN north, MVRDV and UN Studio were also invited to present their latest projects.

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A few days in Geneva: Photographs (Contemporary photography series)
Mari Mahr
Manufacturer: Travelling Light
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0906333210

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FEW DAYS IN GENEVA: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARI MAHR
Mari Mahr
Manufacturer: Travelling Light
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J3N3W0

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FEW DAYS IN GENEVA: PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARI MAHR
Mari Mahr
Manufacturer: Travelling Light
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000J3QDNQ

Book Description

This book looks at the major challenges of the future and proposes a new start based on four contracts: social, natural, cultural, and ethical. Will humanity survive the coming century? Is it threatened by a demographic time-bomb? Will there be food for everybody? Will new technologies increase the gap between the rich and the poor? Or will they open access to lifelong distance education for all? Will women conquer their legitimate place in society? How can we fight global warming and desertification? Will there be wars for water? Will we be able to harness solar energy? These questions and more are considered in this fascinating book.

Customer Reviews:

A Well Researched Look at Global Problems and Solutions.......2003-03-26

Written by two leaders in UNESCO with academic ties, this book exposes trends developing throughout the world, their social and environmental impacts, and suggests directions in developing future solutions. The book is well organized and scientific in tone, and appears to be written from a very well informed viewpoint. The authors draw from a wide range of sources to document their findings and recommendations. Each chapter ends with a list of "Pointers and Recommendations" and an extensive list of bibliographic references.

The book is divided into four parts:
1. Towards a New Social Contract
2. Towards a Natural Contract: Science, Development and the Environment
3. Towards a Cultural Contract: From the Information Society to the Knowledge Society?
4. Towards a New Ethical Contract.

Overall, this is an informative and thought provoking read. I liked the fact that the authors summarized chapters with some novel and surprising yet viable solutions to world problems. The only thing I did not like was that their solutions seemed to be speaking to those in higher levels of governments, and made little mention of possible solutions that could be implemented by communities and individuals.

I recommend this book for those wanting a current (©2001) and thorough look at the effects of globalization and some recommendations for future direction.

The World Ahead : Our Future in the Making

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The World Ahead : Our Future in the Making
Federico Mayor
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MU7GQ4

Book Description

The rebirth of competition and the extensive 'exit' that has resulted are among the most important developments in Central Europe since the demise of communism. This book examines why, how, and to what extent enterprises have reduced in size or left the market altogether during the first years of the transition from socialism to capitalism in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland.

Book Description

The Price of a Dream tells the remarkable story of the Grameen Bank, the groundbreaking "village bank" that has revolutionized the way people around the world fight poverty. The Bank's model--providing collateral-free "micro-loans" for self-employment to millions of women villagers in Bangladesh--has inspired and shaped the thinking of economists, policy makers, business people, development workers and a generation of social entrepreneurs. Both liberal and conservative policy circles have championed the Bank's ability to transform the lives of its clients and help them escape the vicious cycle of deep economic hardship. Drawing upon interviews with villagers, development workers, economists, and the Bank's founder Muhammad Yunus--a recipient of numerous humanitarian awards--the book shows how the Grameen Bank grew from an experiment in one village to an organization that lends billions of dollars in small individual loans.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent seller.......2007-08-23

Book received was just as described, received very quickly. Excellent. Would use this seller again.

Fighting Poverty in the Trenches, One Borrower at a Time.......2001-08-18

More than just a casual pass through Bangladesh to investigate Grameen Bank, the micro-credit phenomenon started a quarter century ago by Muhammad Yunus, The Price of a Dream fills in gaps left by other writings. It puts a human face on the poor of this impoverished Asian country, formerly known as East Pakistan. It brings poverty-stricken Bangladeshis into your livingroom as factual, not fictional, folks.

"Aren't all Bangladeshis poor?" you ask. No. There is wealth. But there are also tens of millions of families so impoverished that one cannot begin to understand the depth and breadth of their deprivation without actually visiting this tropical nation or coming to know some of these people through a book such as this.

Bornstein writes in a painterly way. His stories, both sad and glad, weave a mesmerizing pattern of the richness of Bangladeshi life amid trying circumstances. How people cope, how they react to successes and disasters, how they work to pull themselves up economically and socially: every thread is pulled through the loom in due course to render a true and clear representation of lives on the ragged edge. Thanks to loans from Grameen, millions of families have been able to hem that edge, one stitch at a time, to finish off their piece of cloth.

For his part, Yunus, speaking as the economics professor he once was, declares, "Credit is a powerful weapon, and anyone possessing this weapon is certainly better equipped to maneuver the forces around him to his advantage." (p. 228)

Micro-credit empowers the unempowered. No one describes that process better than David Bornstein. The Price of a Dream will open your eyes to the possibility of minimizing the indignity of poverty in our lifetime, if not eliminate it altogether. Every beautiful tapestry starts with a single thread. Even if that first thread is mere hope, it's a worthy place to begin.

Capitalism for the Landless Poor.......2001-01-12

I am a junior in highschool. I chose this book from an AP Economics reading list I received this year. When I started reading this book, I expecting a monotonous mass of numbers, terms, and theories. However, I was soon captivated by the story. Bornstein beautifully integrated the story of the Grameen Bank, the lives of its members, and the economic principles behind it.

The Price of A Dream The Story of the Grameen Bank and the Idea That Is Helping the Poor to Change Their Lives

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The Price of A Dream The Story of the Grameen Bank and the Idea That Is Helping the Poor to Change Their Lives
Bornstein David
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UD3H5C

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The price of a Dream: The Story of the Grameen bank and the idea that is Helping the Poor to Change their Lives
David Bornstein
Manufacturer: University Press Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000O8B4FI

Amazon.com

As consultants and trainers who specialize in public speaking and other elements vital to a persuasive corporate production, George Morrisey, Thomas Sechrest, and Wendy Warman are well-versed in the good (as well as the bad and the ugly). The fourth edition of their time-tested guide, Loud and Clear: How to Prepare and Deliver Effective Business and Technical Presentations, offers step-by-step advice on critical components from visuals to logistics to delivery. It unequivocally views preparation as the crux, however, and fully outlines six integrated planning procedures certain to improve one's chance for success. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

Full step-by-step advice and practical answers, Loud and Clear is just what today's managers and technical experts need to make sure their messages come across clearly and confidently. Available for decades only at a college discount , this presentations handbook has been completely revised and updated for trade publications.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent instructional reference.......2000-10-19

Loud and Clear is an outstanding resource for producing an effective presentation. The emphasis on audience analysis, which is so often overlooked, is excellent and will lead you to focus on the things that matter for your presentation. I especially liked the exercises suggested by the authors. Do them; you will learn more about your style of communication and your ability to connect with audiences than you had ever imagined. This book is probably most effective for newer presenters who need a foundation in the building blocks of assembling an effective presentation. But, it will also be instructional and valuable to check the effectiveness of more experienced presenters. Overall Loud and Clear is a concise, well-written recipe for effective presentations

Book Description

Do you dream of huge profits from your inventions?

Anyone who has ever had an idea for an invention has probably fantasized about getting a patent and making millions of dollars off it. Realistically, it's not that easy. Taking your idea and transforming it into reality is one of the hardest things you could ever try to do. Realizing commercial success makes the whole process doubly difficult. Failure is all too easy unless you have a guide to show you how. Inventing Made Easy: The Entrepreneur's Indispensable Guide to Creating, Patenting and Profiting From Inventions is your personal guide to creativity, driving an inspiration from concept to reality, inventing, prototyping & market testing leading to validation and finally business start-up and marketing for sales and success.

This no-holds-barred book tells it like it is. Authors and veteran inventors Tom Bellavance and Roger Bellavance educate the novice as well as the established inventor about many of the perils and pitfalls inherent to the process. The authors blend years of inventing experience with credible authority and a passionate belief in every inventor's potential.

It's as if you are getting insider information from a best friend. This book teaches how to light the fires of your creativity to dream up winning ideas. The authors take you step-by-step through the maze known as the patent process. You can explore your options as you read about the many ways to make money with your inventions. This book's savvy marketing tips teach you how to successfully promote and sell your products.

Inventing Made Easy really shines as a source of information on starting up a small business and selling an invention. It further explores powerful and proven ways to help the aspiring entrepreneur obtain sales and commercial success from an invention.

Jam-packed in this book and in its voluminous appendices are listings of inventing resources. Profoundly valuable and not easily gathered, they alone are well worth the cost of the book. This book brims with hundreds of hours of research at your fingertips.

This comprehensive reference is the only book you'll need to create, patent and market your invention successfully. With their straight-from-the-hip narrative, free of the heavy technical jargon typical of the many books on the subject, the Bellavances become your "mentors" throughout the process. In this comprehensive resource, you'll learn how to:

Make your creativity flow to mega-generate ideas.

Safeguard (through proper documentation) and patent your idea.

Protect yourself from industrial espionage and patent infringement.

Avoid being victimized by invention promotion firms.

Find a manufacturer and set up licensing deals.

Exploit proven marketing outlets and techniques to promote and sell your products.

Profit from your invention with your own business.

You can avoid many of the pitfalls and problems that cause many inventors to fail. Inventing Made Easy shows readers how to take full control of the inventing process. With it, you possess the tools to invent and blaze a bold path to success.

Customer Reviews:

Successful Inventing is Not so Easy.......2006-01-24

This book has been written by two experienced inventor-entrepreneurs who share the knowledge they have gained in the school of hard knocks. While the title is a great eye-catcher for book store displays, they quickly point out that inventing may be easy -- but successful inventing is not.

The book is written plain and simple for the first-time inventor, while still offering much advice that can benefit the experienced inventor or entrepreneur. It covers the field from the first glimmer of an idea to the merchandising of a market-ready product.

Typical of their insights is that "Many experienced inventors feel, for the most part, design patents are a waste of time and money unless the design is incredibly distinctive". Many novice inventors have been scammed by outfits that do not explain the difference between design and utility patents.

On the subject of patent searches, they give the addresses of locations where you can do your own preliminary search. They, however, recommend a professional search and note "if your patent search is not comprehensive, it is next to worthless". They also note several ways to protect yourself during the patent search stage.

One of the valuable suggestions given in the book is to use news releases to promote your invention. The author's note that something on the order of 75 percent of the stories in our newspapers are based on news releases and that they are almost free! Some twenty tips are given on how to write a news release. A sample release is included.

Ever notice that some products are only marked patented while others also have the patent number? The writers discuss the pros and cons of which way to mark your product.

If you attempt to submit an idea to a corporation, many will ask you to sign a "waiver". They comment "These infamous agreements are toxic to inventors". They advise you to see your patent attorney before signing anything.

While there are some respectable invention brokers, the vast majority of those that advertise on radio or television can only be described as sharks. The authors list eight questions that must be asked if you even think of dealing with an invention promotion group.

On the subject of raising money by seeking out venture capitalists, they cite the very poor odds. In one four year period only 4,000 awards went to 275,000. They note networking is the key to locating "angels" (informal investors such as accountants, doctors, etc.). If you decide to set up your own business, there are five basic routes you can go: sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, S corporation, and LLC (limited liability corporation). They give the advantages and disadvantages of each of these routes.

If your product becomes a success in the marketplace, patent piracy may make its appearance in the form of lower-priced imported imitations. The legal cost of fighting a patent infringement case is, for the small business operator, prohibitively costly. Here the authors give an interesting option, treat the infringement as a "golden marketing opportunity". Take you case to the public. America loves the underdog and by creating publicity by the means they suggest the infringer may have second thoughts.

The book is up-to-date and gives guidelines for setting up a Web site on the Internet. Radio and TV advertising are discussed. This includes QVC and the Home Shopping Network. Mention is made of how large firms hog shelves at retail outlets by buying shelf space. (Currently the U.S. Senate is holding hearings regarding this "slotting fee" practice.) Cautions are given for dealing with packaging companies and warehousing firms. They advocate JIT (just-in-time) inventory management and share a hard earned lesson whereby one of the authors wound up with 65,000 Emergency Call Police banners in storage!

Chapter 7, "Patents: the Joke Is On Us" is a must-read. It takes the position that for the small entity "your patent is next to worthless" in that you have to sue to protect it and it creates a "false sense of security". Blame falls on "the Patent and Trademark Office, big industry, the judicial system, and lawyers". Also discussed are the PTO scandals and the "maintenance fee trap". Suggestions for curing the evils of the U.S. patent system are given.

An eight section appendix gives the addresses of helpful inventor associations across the nation, addresses of Patent and Trademark Depository Libraries, patent office fees, Better Business Bureaus, and more.

Some may be taken aback by the authors' frank opinions and realistic views, but if you are putting blood, sweat, and tears into an idea, isn't that better than the over optimistic mind-candy some books offer?

Practical and frank.......2002-02-22

The authors give a broad description of the patent process, as well as tips and considerations to market the developed ideas. Other interesting topics include the basics of marketing and bussiness development. I particularly like the poignant remarks on the reality of patent laws, which are designed to protect the rich and powerful instead of the poor and average; expect to be dissapointed if you do not have the money to sue someone for infringing your ideas.

Inventing -- realistically.......2000-07-13

This book is a great dose of reality about the inventing, patenting, and marketing process. The authors don't hold back on the truth about what to expect from patent "protection." They're generous about sharing their experiences and letting us benefit from their mistakes and hard knocks. Their comments about the realities of trying to get shelf space in the retail market kept me from making a big mistake in my marketing plan, and I'm working around the problem. My only reason for giving this book only 4 out of 5 stars is that the second section of the book (100 of 250 pages) containing sample inventions and appendices, such as inventors associations and government addresses, could have been left out, lowering the cost of the book. The appendix data changes so rapidly, the information would be more valuable if available on a web site. The material in the rest of the book, however, was very valuable and not available in other inventors books I've read, so I'd recommend reading this book to find out what to expect -- realistically -- from the patenting and marketing process.

Customer Reviews:

Geared toward kids but good for all beginners.......1998-10-01

As a twenty-something who wanted to learn to sew, I asked an experienced sewer for a good starter book. She handed me this one. Nancy Zieman (of PBS's Sewing with Nancy) originally wrote this book for use in 4H programs, so fitting instructions are geared toward young people's sizes. (Both boys and girls size charts are shown, and there are boys and girls on the cover. Extra points for not being sexist!)

But this book is just as valuable for adults who want to learn to sew, especially if they're trying to do it solo. You'll learn all the basics: pattern selection, basic machine operation, and stitching. There's also a brief introduction to sergers. This is a good little guide that you'll want to turn to time and again.

Customer Reviews:

Worth a read.......2002-10-17

The title is compelling enough although the book does not quite live up to it. No expose of the Corps can ever be really complete without reference to the monetary waste and resource degradation that are the bread and butter of the Corps. To his credit, the author made it clear from the outset that his aim was to focus on other subjects, such as the Corps' traditional cliquishness and institutional vanity. In these respects, the book provides some interesting information that probably cannot be found in other books. All in all, this is a "meaty" read and still surprisingly relevant after thirty-or-so years. Keep in mind that the author was about ninety years old when he wrote this book but it is very cogent and well-written.

Dams & Other Disasters: A Century of the Army Corps of Engineers in Civil Works

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Dams & Other Disasters: A Century of the Army Corps of Engineers in Civil Works
Arthur E. Morgan
Manufacturer: Porter Sargent
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000KDWPGE

Book Description

Today, when most personal memoirs involve misery and dysfunction, it is exhilarating to encounter a life of modesty, happiness, and stability. Often when thinking of nature writers and naturalists, the image of a rough-hewn rural, rugged outdoor type wrestled into epiphany by the arms of Mother Nature comes to mind. Thomas Urquhart found a different path. He combined a classical education with a lifelong passion for opera, literature and art, but from his earliest days he was a devoted amateur naturalist. For the Beauty of the Earth begins with the lives of Urquhart's ancestors, among them his grandmother, “a patron saint of lost causes” who cherished her signed photo of Robert E. Lee and his great aunt Catharine, arrested while protesting what she considered the judicial murder of Sacco and Vanzetti with Edna St. Vincent Millay and Marianne Moore. Through the years, birding provided Urquhart with opportunities for travel, a practical education, and a passionate place in the natural world. From the hills and fields of England—both olde and New—he takes us to Italy for “birding through the Renaissance,” then invites us to the wild landscape of Camargue in Provence, and the villages of Mali in West Africa.

Customer Reviews:

In praise of simple things.......2004-06-23

Thomas Urquhart is a 'rara avis' - a true intellect who has used his skills in scholastic research, personal avocations of reading great literature, studying languages, the many faces of music and poetry, and bird watching to create a book that defies description. FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH: BIRDING, OPERA AND OTHER JOURNEYS is not a memoir in the dictionary sense of the word. Yes, these are shared observations by a Naturalist who has visited his native England, Mali, Provence, Italy and America (now his home) and simply absorbed all the natural, at times rapidly disappearing, beauty of nature. For the reader who must have linear writing to enjoy a book, then this beautifully written volume is still accessible by reading only a chapter at a time. All of Urquhart's 'journeys' are descriptive of place, of people, of customs, of history, of local and universal mythology, of all the music in the songs of birds and the symphonies of natural wonders. While he celebrates and guides us a fellow travelers to embrace the wonders of the earth, he gently encourages us to heed his warnings. "...we have yet to internalize our recent discovery that the earth is fragile and finite. Although our ancestors understood how to live in nature far better than we do, they had not discovered this important fact...The scale of the disconnect between how we have conceived of the earth in cultural memory and just how much we need it now to support our species for the future is beginning to sink in. It is a chasm we must cross before we are pushed over the edge by the demons we have unleashed in our wake." "..our natural systems are at once source, symbol and symptom of our quality of life; their wise stewardship must be the standard by which any government is judged." Yet Urquhart, for all his convictions that we must preserve our natural resources, does not preach to us in this book. His primary concern is to awaken in us a renaissance of the wonder of nature. Walking the Provencal countryside he muses, "The play of pagan and Christian, nature and man is finally distilled into pure delight, a whimsical descant that decorates the physical testimony of the timeless dance of man and the earth." Along his travels he has many diversions into his appreciation for the symphonies and songs of Gustav Mahler, the Ring cycle of Richard Wagner, Schubert and other composers whose music holds evidence of the naturalist's view, poets and writers. Urquhart's knowledge of the density of history, language, mythology, botany and ornithology of his visited places is astonishing. There is more to learn in this volume of musings than in libraries of dry reference books. Why? In his words, "I have searched all my life for a practice that would allow me to celebrate Earth and nature as they deserve, to penetrate their wonders in the least branch, pool or leaf. It is a personal quest for something ecstatic or revelatory, something that will make my cheeks tingle or bring tears to my eyes." This lovingly and eloquently written diary of the earth is a joy to read and is food for thought as our society continues to chomp large bites out of hte earth's crust and atmosphere. Thomas Urquhart is a poet, a philosopher, and a simple birdwatcher with a profound message. Everyone should read this treasure!

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