The Co-ordination of Mission Statements, Objectives, and Targets in UK Executive Agencies (CIMA Research)

Book Description

The main objective of this report is to review the rationale and difficulties of using a highly rational model of management in the public sector, with its focus on targeting, measuring and reporting performance.

It also aims to identify the degree to which the mission statement, objectives and targets in the corporate and business plans of agencies are consistent, complete and co-ordinated.

Finally it sets out to identify the perceptions of chief executives of agencies in Northern Ireland with reference to the development, use and impact of mission statements, objectives, targets and performance measures.

* Presents the results of 48 planning documents (relating to 24 agencies in the UK)

* Presents the results of a series of interviews with chief executives of agencies in Northern Ireland

* Both authors have extensive experience and have previously published in the area of public sector accounting

Book Description

Move beyond workplace conflicts. Getting the job done is one thing getting it done together is another!

Customer Reviews:

Using Work It Out.......2002-05-11

I employ 10 folks in a computer development "geek" shop. A long-time student and user of Temperament or Type -- I was pleased with this book in that it presents the premise of Type in an easy to read style that represents realistic work environments; situations that I believed my staff would understand. I bought a copy for each staff member -- and as a team, we are working our way through the book chapter-by-chapter; one chapter each week. 30 to 45 minutes of each Monday morning Staff meeting are devoted to discussion of the issues in the "current" chapter; what each person's "type" value is, and how those values contribute and frustrate the values of others. We are six weeks into this project. Conflicts issues between staff that used to cause friction and frustration are simply melting away as the chapters drop away. Staff openly discuss disagreements as conflicts in Type; and allow each other to have different views. Staff that would never read anything ... are reading this book in advance, usually over the weekend on their own time, to be prepared for Monday staff meetings. Team members that were often late to staff meetings in the past ... are "on-time". Whether the excitement will sustain itself after the book is completed is clearly a "management" issue -- but this book has captured the interest of a diverse group of computer "geeks", administrators, and managers. And while the company's profits are determined over sustained selling and development cycles ... the productivity output of the staff is up and we've not missed even an internal delivery commitment in the past three weeks; a virtual impossibility in years past. The book is proving to be a very powerful tool for my company.

\\ Richard Eastman
The Eastman Group, Inc.
www.eastmangroup.com

A practical and enlightening guide.......2001-10-16

For an independent free-lance consultant like me, Work it out is a must ! It is an extremely useful book providing case studies which are clearly laid out and diagnosed in a comprehensive and enlightening way. They are great guidelines for professionals. Furthermore, Sandra Hirsh offers some useful guidelines on the team-building and coaching processes that are also extremely interesting and practical.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is not only involved in the Human Resource field, but for those who are responsible for managing teams or for the curious among you who find the human complexities fascinating.

Understanding and appreciating differences in each other.......2001-06-18

For several years I facilitated workshops using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and found them very rewarding. When I picked up a copy of Work it Out, it greatly broadened my scope. This book gives wonderful, real-life examples of situations that we can all relate to and understand. Sandra discusses many different cases and scenarios in the text that will shed light for many of those who are stuck and wonder what is going on in a relationship with a fellow worker. There are valuable sections on team-building and coaching that have been especially useful to me and "type clues" throughout the book that are great "aha" moments for even a seasoned MBTI user. Wonderful text to understand and appreciate differences in anyone we work with! Should be on the shelf of every MBTI user.

Great read, entertaining and insightful.......2001-05-22

If you're looking for clues on how to solve your people problems at the office, Work it Out may provide just the help you need. Hirsh weaves workplace difficulties into mini mysteries to illustrate our different communication, data gathering, time management and decision-making styles. Written with humor and candor, Work it Out is sure to provide you with valuable lessons learned from easily recognizable workplace situations.

Great read, entertaining and insightful!.......2001-05-22

Book Description

Gerald North's complete practical guide and resource package instructs amateur astronomers in observing and monitoring variable stars and other objects of variable brightness. Descriptions of the objects are accompanied by explanations of the background astrophysics, providing readers with real insight into what they are observing at the telescope. The main instrumental requirements for observing and estimating the brightness of objects by visual means and by CCD photometry are detailed, and there is advice on the selection of equipment. The book contains a CD-ROM packed with resources, including hundreds of light-curves and over 600 printable finder charts. Containing extensive practical advice, this comprehensive guide is an invaluable resource for amateur astronomers of all levels, from novices to more advanced observers. Gerald North is a lifelong amateur astronomer. In addition to being a member of the British Astronomical Association since 1977, he is also the author of many books, including Advanced Amateur Astronomy (Cambridge, 1997) and Observing the Moon (Cambridge, 2000).

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Primer on Variable Stars.......2006-03-25

I first heard about this book from a good review article in Sky and Telescope magazine and thoroughly enjoyed it. Overall, this book succeeds as a primer on Variable Star observing. And, for variable star observers, this is definitely a must-have book.

Although the beginning of the book provides in-depth information on how to do variable star observing, the real strength of this book comes later when the authors explain what is going on inside the stars which cause the observed variability. Again, the authors are very thorough in providing explanations for all of the different types of variable stars. The book also comes with an easy to use CD containing star charts and variable light curves which supplement the book very well.

Excellent Scientific Background Information.......2005-10-22

As an avid variable star observer myself, I found this book to be of great value. The first half of the book describes the process of observation in some detail. This detail includes a good deal of information about how the process should be done using CCD technology which I found quite interesting in it's own right as I am a visual observer and have not done any CCD observations yet. I do note the one weakness in the book is that the author brushes off the use of photometers in recording this data even though the AAVSO (the world's leading organization in variable star research) has a very lively group of photometric enthusiasts.

The real strength of the book in my opinion is in the second half. North goes into good detail discussing the science behind each of the various types of variables and why we believe they act as they do. This is information that I have found difficult to come by. It is especially useful, as it is quite readable and easy to reference.

All in all I recommend this book highly to anyone doing variable star observing, and I also recommend it in general to any amateur astronomer or arm chair scientist as a good source of information about a branch of science where it is the amateur who contributes the overwhelming amount of data to the field of study.

A Good Place for Amateurs to Consentrate.......2005-02-04

When I saw the title of this book I wondered why something like this would have any appeal to the amateur. The author immediately made this clear, these things have gotten boring to the professional so it is an area where the amateur can still do significant work.

After this, Mr. North spends the rest of the book on equipment, observing, and reporting your results. It's interesting that for this kind of work you don't need the biggest possible scope, in fact he says that you may have to stop down a larger scope to keep from overloading the image.

This book clearly lays out an observation program that just might appeal to a wide range of amateur observers. Within its area, it speaks with authority.

Book Description

Since 1946 Plastics Mold Engineering Handbook has been a valued reference for engineers involved in one of the fastest growing and changing areas of technology. The fifth edition continues the tradition by providing basic information on the aspects of plastics mould construction and the moulding processes that utilize moulds producing the multitude of plastic parts in production today. The handbook has been extensively revised to provide new information on methods, materials and means to meet the needs of today's moulders.

Customer Reviews:

Plastic mold.......1998-07-16

This book tells you if you are a new or skilled mold maker of any kind . From thermoplastics , extrusion dies , thermosets ,compression. Mostly about about how to design a good mold.

Average customer rating:

Plastics Mold Engineering Handbook
John Harry Dubois
Manufacturer: Kluwer Academic Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0442218974

Plastics Mold Engineering Handbook: Third Edition (ISBN: 0442221800)

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Plastics Mold Engineering Handbook: Third Edition (ISBN: 0442221800)
John Harry and Pribble, Wayne I. Dubois
Manufacturer: Van Nostrand Reinhold
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000NQMAJA

Book Description

The invention of scanning tunneling microscopy, atomic force microscopy and near field optical microscopy has opened up a new field of research: scanning probe methods (SMP). The quality of image acquisition has made great strides in recent times, but many fundamental, unsolved problems remain unanswered about the interaction between probe tip and sample.
Forces in Scanning Probe Methods contains 60 contributions dedicated to these problems. Most of the contributions are reviews, presenting condensed, relevant information, suitable for both students and specialists. The contributions cover the instrumental aspects and design of force microscopes in different environments (ambient pressure, low temperature, ultrahigh vacuum, liquids). Theory is also covered, including ab initio calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. Mechanical properties at micro and nanoscales receive intensive treatment, including adhesion, friction and wear: the friction phenomenon is one of the most hotly debated questions.
Other highlights include advances in near field optical microscopy and its relation to forces, the application of force microscopy in NMR, and the observance of flux lines in high T _c superconductors. Recent advances in biology and chemistry also attract attention.

Book Description

This book follows the beginnings of a youth, who grew up with very little. No knowledge of the work world or how to handle it. What he found was a lot of very strange people and how not to get hurt, if you play your cards right.

Customer Reviews:

A Study of the Confederate Medical Service.......2004-04-25

Although books on the military and political aspects of the Civil War abound there are surprisingly few books devoted to the study of Civil War medical care. There are fewer books still that examine in detail medical care within the Confederacy. H.H. Cunningham's "Doctors in Gray" first was published in 1958 and remains an excellent study of the Confederate medical service.

The book begins with an examination of the specific medical problems the Confederacy faced in 1861 which intensified as the War continued: lack of medical personnel, lack of medical supplies lack of food, an ever-tightening blockade, among others. Cunningham then proceeds to examine the ways in which the Confederate government and military tried to bring sufficient medical care to its troops and to prisoners of war within its lines.

Cunningham describes the organization of the Confederate medical service and the large general hospitals the Confederacy opted to establish for the care of its sick and wounded. The largest of these hospitals (and the largest Civil War hospital) was Chimbarozo in Richmond. The book then considers the field hospitals established in line of battle. Cunningham stresses the flexible, mobile nature of these hospitals and how they were constructed to move in a short time as required by the hazards of battle.

There are discussions on the ways in which the Confederate Medical Service endeavored to procure supplies and of how the availablity of supplies changed with the South's military fortune. There are detailed discussions of the diseases which claimed the lives of many soldiers and sailors and their sources in the unhygenic conditions of camps and ships. The book discusses medical care at the time of the war -- the use of chloroform, the prevalence of amputation, and experiments with various remedies to cure prevalent diseases. Interestingly, the Confederate Medical Service was the first in wartime to establish a dental care unit for its troops. It was well ahead of the Union army in this respect.

Cunningham discusses Confederate medical officers, their training and the difficulties under which they labored. He offers judicious and thougtful assessments of the successes and failures of the Confederate Medical Service. He concludes, reasonably enough, that it performed as well as could have been expected during that time under highly difficult circumstances.

Cunningham's book is still in print and worth reading. I am pleased to see, from this site, that others are reading and learning from the book. I enjoyed reading the excellent and succinct review below.

Insight into the Confederacy.......2004-02-15

Cunningham has created here a comprehensive history of the medical services of the Confederate states in the Civil War era. Cunningham explains in great detail many afflictions and circumstances that befell Confederate soldiers that ultimately resulted in medical treatment by a Confederate doctor. Ironically, he finds that the majority of the 200,00 soldiers who died during the Civil War had died due to illness or battle wounds which is indicative of a burgeoning and developing medical system that moved from primitive to slightly better by the end of the war. Cunningham explains that while the Confederate doctors did they best they could with the resources and shortcomings they had, their care was still better than no care and there were some doctors who were exceptions to the popular belief that Confederacy personnel were largely untrained.

Doctors in Gray: The Confederate Medical Service

Average customer rating:

Doctors in Gray: The Confederate Medical Service
H.H. Cunningham
Manufacturer: Louisiana State Univ Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBSIOW

Book Description

Both the North and the South viewed the Civil War in Christian terms. Each side believed that its fight was just, that God favored its cause. Rebuilding Zion is the first study to explore simultaneously the reaction of southern white evangelicals, northern white evangelicals, and Christian freedpeople to Confederate defeat. As white southerners struggled to assure themselves that the collapse of the Confederacy was not an indication of God's stern judgment, white northerners and freedpeople were certain that it was. Author Daniel W. Stowell tells the story of the religious reconstruction of the South following the war, a bitter contest between southern and northern evangelicals, at the heart of which was the fate of the freedpeople's souls and the southern effort to maintain a sense of sectional identity. Central to the southern churches' vision of the Civil War was the idea that God had not abandoned the South; defeat was a Father's stern chastisement. Secession and slavery had not been sinful; rather, it was the radicalism of the northern denominations that threatened the purity of the Gospel. Northern evangelicals, armed with a vastly different vision of the meaning of the war and their call to Christian duty, entered the post-war South intending to save white southerner and ex-slave alike. The freedpeople, however, drew their own providential meaning from the war and its outcome. The goal for blacks in the postwar period was to establish churches for themselves separate from the control of their former masters. Stowell plots the conflicts that resulted from these competing visions of the religious reconstruction of the South. By demonstrating how the southern vision eventually came to predominate over, but not eradicate, the northern and freedpeople's visions for the religious life of the South, he shows how the southern churches became one of the principal bulwarks of the New South, a region marked by intense piety and intense racism throughout the twentieth century.

Rebuilding Zion: The Religious Reconstruction Of The South, 1863-1877

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Rebuilding Zion: The Religious Reconstruction Of The South, 1863-1877
Daniel W. Stowell
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKOH0K

Book Description

This book describes the principles and practice of clinical mycology. It is a comprehensive review of clinical fungal infections--organized by system rather than taxonomically.

Principles and Practice of Clinical Parasitology

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Principles and Practice of Clinical Parasitology

Manufacturer: Wiley
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0471977292

Book Description

A comprehensive account of protozoan and metozoan diseases in modern clinical practice, with orientation towards clinical management of parasitic infections. In the past, parasitology was considered as an obscure subject of little relevance to the majority of clinicians and microbiologists. Over the last decade, however, much has happened to change this, not least the explosion in foreign travel
This textbook is the forth in the Principles and Practice series, providing an expansive and detailed coverage of clinical microbiology. It has a similar appeal to that of Zuckerman's, Principles & Practice of Clinical Virology, with an international authorship and emphasis placed on integrating new knowledge in a clinically relevant manner.
. An essential, up-to-date sourcebook on the fundamentals of human parasitology
. Provides a global approach with renowned and international authorship
. Completes the quartet of Principles and Practice series in Microbiology

Download Description

A comprehensive account of protozoan and metozoan diseases in modern clinical practice, with orientation towards clinical management of parasitic infections. In the past, parasitology was considered as an obscure subject of little relevance to the majority of clinicians and microbiologists. Over the last decade, however, much has happened to change this, not least the explosion in foreign travel This textbook is the forth in the Principles and Practice series, providing an expansive and detailed coverage of clinical microbiology. It has a similar appeal to that of Zuckerman's, Principles & Practice of Clinical Virology, with an international authorship and emphasis placed on integrating new knowledge in a clinically relevant manner. . An essential, up-to-date sourcebook on the fundamentals of human parasitology . Provides a global approach with renowned and international authorship . Completes the quartet of Principles and Practice series in Microbiology

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