Accounting's Changing Role in Social Conflict

Customer Reviews:

A pair of reviews for Accounting's Changing Role in Society.......2006-06-21

"This book rejects the two most commonly held positions regarding the role of accounting in certain ongoing financial crises: the position of market theorists that accounting doesn't matter and the position of theorists that support the view of 'representational faithfulness.' The author takes a view she calls 'dialectic,' which assumes that accounting 'both reflects and affects' struggles and is 'neither an insignificant player nor a mere bearer of facts.' Under this view it is important to understand both the nature of social conflict in society and the role accounting plays in the social struggle. These ideas are the focus of the analysis in this book.

"It is ambitious, covering a wide range of material including economic theory, philosophy of science, structure of societies, feminist theory, critical theory, and semiotics. It is provocative in that it challenges the reader to recognize and question the most basic implicit and explicit assumptions of accounting professionalism and conventional accounting research."
---Accounting Review

"Using the discipline of semiotics, Lehman presents an extremely insightful and exhaustive analysis of accounting and business literature. The author clearly and expertly demonstrates that the professional literature has failed to acknowledge the profession's participation in social conflict, and as a result has left the profession ill-prepared to respond to current societal needs. Chapters 1 through 3 rigorously lay the theoretical and philosophical foundations for the research methodology. Chapters 4 and 5 are models of clarity, presenting an organized, clearly illustrated (with tables and graphs), and exhaustive analysis of the disturbing research findings. Chapter 6 provides a brief but well-founded conclusion followed by an excellent bibliography. This work is mandatory reading for all graduate students and faculty; it will enable them to understand how accounting can once again become a transforming discipline rather than an obstacle in a changing economy."
--Choice Magazine

Accounting's Changing Role in Social Conflict

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Accounting's Changing Role in Social Conflict

Manufacturer: Markus Wiener Pub
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 9991222375

Book Description

In Breakaway, entrepreneurial businessman Charles Fred presents a revolutionary performance model that helps your company break away from the competition. He offers a new approach to organizational learning that will dramatically speed up the learning process and help any company save on their two most valuable resources-time and money. Breakaway provides the critical information you need for hastening the moment when each worker in your organization can convert knowledge into action to provide value to the customer, and increase the bottom line.

Customer Reviews:

Breakaway is a must read!.......2003-04-05

Breakaway is a must-read book for anyone in the corporate world who has responsibility for human resources, employee development, sales and marketing management, and for top corporate executives.

The main theme of the book is that in order to break away from the competition in today's ever-changing economy, an organization must effectively develop employees to deliver value to the customer faster than the competition does. After analyzing how organizations currently train employees and the deficiencies associated with this type of training, Fred goes on to define a new method for bringing employees to proficiency faster and more successfully than traditional training methods.

The first several chapters of the book document a new model for human performance and the three rules for accomplishing peak performance. The first rule - Establish a proficiency threshold - describes how to determine the point at which an employee is equipped to deliver the promised value to customers quickly. Fred clearly describes the questions that managers must ask in order to define the proficiency threshold and discusses the relationship of the proficiency threshold and the value chain.

The second rule - Accelerate the accumulation of experience - includes a discussion of how people really learn, describes the four phases of learning, discusses how traditional training methods leave the accumulation of experience to chance, and how to manage the accumulation of learning. Using an example of training copper splicers to become fiber optic cable splicers, Fred demonstrates how to successfully manage the accumulation of experience in relation to training.

The third rule - Measure the cycle time to threshold proficiency - describes the metrics used to measure the how fast an employee can be trained to arrive at the proficiency threshold. Fred goes into some detail on how to measure the overall proficiency of the organization, and redefines the learning curve as the proficiency curve.

In the last half of the book, Fred describes how to "put it all together". Recognizing that no two companies are the same, Fred compares and contrasts the styles of two very different companies. What emerges is that there is no set of rules for achieving organizational proficiency, rather there are a set of key concepts that managers must be aware of in designing fast, effective, successful development programs.

In summary, this book is very readable, indeed it is designed "...for the business leader, to be read in the time it takes to fly from Chicago to San Francisco or Denver to Miami." True to one of the key concepts, the book is clear, concise and to the point.

About the author:
Charles L. Fred is a thought leader in performance improvement and an expert in learning speed. He is the founder and CEO of The Breakaway Group, which provides seminars and workshops to teach the concepts described in Breakaway. Formerly the CEO of Avaltus, a leading provider of e-learning services, he has also directed major change efforts in both the manufacturing and service industries, has consulted to successful companies around the globe, and has been a frequent speaker to major business forums and groups of senior executives over the past twenty years. Once a nationally ranked NCAA track athlete, he continues to compete in corporate races across the country. He lives in Centennial, Colorado, with his wife, Julie, and their three teenage children.

Review by Richard D. Turnquist.

If you only have time for one book this year, read this one........2002-09-21

What has really changed in our world in the last two decades? Time has sped up and surpassed all the other busienss variables in importance. These days time is more important than money.

To win in business, you must break away from the pack and stay ahead by serving your customers extraordinarily well. "Speed-to-proficiency is more than a theoretical advantage; it is the most devastating competitive weapon in a world where the competitive forces of scale, automation, and capital are subordinate to the power of a proficient work force."

I enjoyed this book, right from the first sentence -- "This book is designed for the business reader, to be read in the time it takes to fly from Chicago to San Francisco or Denver to Miami." Breakaway is an easy read with a vital message. Read it.

Excellent Book!.......2002-09-03

Breakway was clearly written by an author who has been in the trenches, growing a company and working with people. From its elegant organization to its intuitive set of theories Breakaway reinforces what we all know to be true - that a principled approach to business will achieve the best results. This book should be on every business person's must-read list.

D. K. Luraas.......2002-08-27

Breakaway is a refreshing, common sense book that provides fresh, new ideas about performance improvement, and the value of employees. This book describes how important a competitive edge is in today's market place, and provides the tools to help you succeed!

Breakaway.......2002-08-22

Breakaway lives up to its promise (and premise) of delivering value and expertise fast and clean. No-nonsense, practical, with suggestions of surgical precision to guide organizational transformations.

Don A. Johnson
Principal,
The Clarity Group, Inc.

Average customer rating:
Eclipses 2005-2017: A Handbook of Solar And Lunar Eclipses And Other Rare Astronomical Events
Wolfgang Held
Manufacturer: Floris Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Astronomy | Astronomy | Science | Subjects | Books
General | Science | Subjects | Books
Astronomy | Astronomy | Professional Science | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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Eclipse!: The What, Where, When, Why, and How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses

The Cambridge Eclipse Photography Guide : How and Where to Observe and Photography Solar and Lunar Eclipses

Total Solar Eclipses and How to Observe Them (Astronomers' Observing Guides)

Totality: Eclipses of the Sun

ASIN: 0863154786

Book Description

Solar eclipses are indeed awe-inspiring spectacles if you can watch from the ideal location—in the path of a total event. Being in the right place at the right time, however, may be difficult. Here is the long-awaited handbook for both serious and amateur eclipse viewers.

Wolfgang Held, director of the Kepler Observatory, provides intricately detailed information on the best places to see the many solar and lunar eclipses that will be visible during the next twelve years, from 2005 until 2017. Easy-to-follow, high-quality maps are included, which are especially useful when the ideal spot for viewing is in a remote area.

Wolfgang Held also offers interesting and practical answers to question about the relationships between human beings and the Sun and Moon, thus opening up the reflective dimension of these phenomena. He provides comprehensive background information for each eclipse and hundreds of useful tips on how to make the most of these brief, awe-inspiring phenomena.

Eclipses 2005 - 2017 is bundled with safety glasses to protect the eyes during solar eclipses.

Anyone interested in eclipses will want this practical handbook.

Book Description

Prepared for students by renowned professors and noted experts, here are the most extensive and proven study aids available, covering all the major areas of study in college curriculums. Each guide features: up-to-date scholarship; an easy-to-follow narrative outline form; specially designed and formatted pages; and much more.

Customer Reviews:

Good study reference.......2005-12-05

Back in the good ol' days I went through more than a couple study guides - maybe I needed more help than others? I really liked the Harper guide - it is very readable and includes relevant problems for each chapter. The book is definitely geared toward your first year of o-chem: there aren't any more advance topics. The book works well as an aid and reference for classroom work as it's a bit too breezy to be a self-study guide. Still, though, I think it's the best of the study helps.

Good review/reference.......2002-07-17

I used this book as a reference for my second semester organic chemistry course. It worked very well to reinforce concepts presented in my class textbook, and as a review for the first semester material (we had a comprehensive 1st and 2nd semester final). The question/answer format worked for me -- some people might find it annoying, though. This is not the book to use if you're looking for straight-forward, tabular listings of reactions. I would recommend it as a backup presentation of class material.

The reason I give this book only 3 stars is that it had an inexcusable number of mistakes and misspellings, way too many to have made it past a competent editor. I found the errors to be distracting and at times it made me wonder if some of the chemistry in the text might also be in error!

Very Good Affordable Reference.......2000-06-19

This book has a lot to offer for a very small price. Other paperback OChem review books skimp on content -- that is not the case with this one. In some cases this book has more detail than my college text book does.

It is organized as a series of questions, for example "What is the structure of Lithium Aluminum Hydride?" instead of the standard Topic/subtopic format. I didn't find this to be an asset, but I got used to it. The diagrams are hardly flashy, but they get the point across. I needed an Organic Chem reference because I teach an MCAT Prep course. This book is well organized and complete. I would definately recommend buying it!

Book Description

This book discusses the diversity of mechanisms by which prey avoid attack by predators and questions how such defensive mechanisms have evolved through natural selection. It considers how potential prey avoid detection, how they make themselves unprofitable to attack, how they signal their
unprofitability, and how other species have exploited these signals. Using carefully selected examples drawn from a wide range of species and ecosystems, the authors present a critical analysis of the most important published works in the field.
Illustrative examples of camouflage, mimicry and warning signals regularly appear in undergraduate ecology textbooks, but these subjects are rarely considered in depth. This book summarizes some of the latest research into these fascinating adaptations, developing mathematical models where
appropriate and making recommendations for the most urgently needed outstanding areas of enquiry.

Book Description

The autobiography of the widow and political partner of Frank Church, four-term U.S. senator from Idaho (1957-1981), and their joint efforts on behalf of progressive issues such as civil rights, opposition to the Vietnam War, and wilderness preservation. Besides being a tale of a political woman, A Lifelong Affair is a poignant love story.

Customer Reviews:

Politics as it was and shall be.......2004-11-28

If politics is getting you down, read this book. It recalls a time when thoughtful problem-solving and bipartisan collaboration were practiced by elected officials. Bethine Church's memoir takes us from agrarian Idaho in the first half of the 20th Century to Washington DC at the end of the century, showing how politics changed with the years. The author's father was a Governor of Idaho; her husband, the late Frank Church, was a prominent U.S. Senator; and she herself was a lifelong political strategist and campaigner. The author shows how politics can be a noble art that serves the public, and she reveals something of the courage and wit a politician needs to survive in the public arena.

A "reader involving" life story.......2003-12-14

A Lifelong Affair: My Passion For People And Politics is the autobiography of Bethine Church, so-called "Third Senator from Idaho" due to her lasting influence, and the widow of Idaho Senator Frank Church. Reflections on her personal life, cogent observations on specific chapters of American history (including the Vietnam War), as well as the powerful love story of her marriage (including her husband's battle with cancer) fill the pages of this "reader involving" life story of a remarkable and politically active woman.

Bethine Church has a story to tell....a valuable one ........2003-09-19

Capturing the life Frank & Bethine Church lived and the love they shared in Washington, in their home state and in the World, Bethine reveals much about the strength,character & comlexities of our country---then and now. She entertains us & gives us hope for the future of America. So perhaps we we need to pay attention.

A Lifelong Affair: My Passion for People and Politics

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A Lifelong Affair: My Passion for People and Politics
Bethine C. Church
Manufacturer: Francis Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000N7C846

Book Description

Journalist Larry D. Hodge has given us a lively and accurate fresh new look at early Texas heroes and heroines as well as legendary tales of the famous trails, ranches, and events in Texas's long history. Musician/poet Michael Stevens set out to bring these stories to life in music. Together the two have created a collaborative work that combines traditional favorites and original songs with the historical background of each story.

Amazon.com

Orgies in the White House pool, sadomasochistic sex with prostitutes, abuse of prescription drugs--if the Kennedy brothers had been forced to deal with an independent counsel investigation, the American people would likely still be plowing through their videotaped testimony. But in their heyday, even a political enemy like Jimmy Hoffa considered their personal lives off-limits, so gossip lovers have had to wait a few decades for the lurid details. Aptly subtitled A Candid Biography of Robert F. Kennedy, this lengthy tome actually includes fairly substantive coverage of RFK's political activities as well as plenty of dish. Although the author notes that he worked on RFK's 1968 presidential campaign, the book is not notable for his empathy with his subject (unless you count comments like "Bobby wasn't so much into bimbos as his two brothers were"). However, Heymann's heavy reliance on quotes from interviews--many with individuals whose motives and veracity he never analyzes--does give an intimate sense of the younger Kennedy brother's personality: competitive, aggressive, not nearly as charming as Jack, but arguably a lot more thoughtful. The portrait of Bobby that emerges here is not pretty, but it's certainly vivid. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

With the assassination of his brother, Robert Kennedy inherited the hopes and aspirations of a bereft nation adopting his brother's political legacy in what became a personal quest for vindication and redemption. A highly successful and controversial political player in his own right, RFK was on the verge of gaining the Democratic Presidential nomination in the last year of his life. His assassination in 1968 at the age of 43 felled a man who had come to represent the impossible hopes and ideals of a just political system. But who was this complex man? In this definitive work, master researcher and bestselling author of celebrity biographies C. David Heymann has exposed Kennedy's inner contradictions, the machinations of his political career, his private liaisons, his enemies, and his lovers. The book is filled with major revelations, including new details about: RFK's relationship with Jackie Kennedy after JFK's death; his sexual involvement with various movie stars; what really happened with Marilyn Monroe; and his dealings with J. Edgar Hoover, Roy Cohn, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Jimmy Hoffa, and various notorious Mafia figures. Heymann spent over five years researching this book, interviewing over a thousand friends, family members, foes, political aides, and former employees of RFK, and gathering never-before-released documents from the FBI, the CIA, and Scotland Yard, among others. The result is a fascinating portrait of an American icon whose life embraced triumph and tragedy, deception and intrigue, power and passion.

Customer Reviews:

Not worth your time.......2006-01-18

Mr Heymann has an interesting interpretation of the word 'integrity'. I was simply aghast at some of the bizarre assertions that the author seems to accept as fact. Check the sources (and I did!) and you'll not find much to back up his rather bold claims. Many of those interviewed or quoted have rather questionable motives and a lot is second hand information or hearsay.

Also many of RFK's own comments were taken completely out of context. When asking "Where are all the women?" on the '68 campaign trail this was not in a sexual context. As far back as the early '50s while running JFK's senatorial campaign Bobby would often say that he preferred women in a campaign because he thought they tend to work harder.

This is NOT an unbiased biography. For a completely unbiased account of Robert Kennedy's life I refer you to Evan Thomas' 'Robert Kennedy: His Life'. It takes a look at both 'Good' and 'Bad' Bobby but sticks strictly to the facts.

The most exhaustive and indepth RFK biography is of course Arhtur Schlesinger's 'Robert Kennedy and His Times'. Not from a completely objective standpoint as it's written by a Kennedy friend but ultimately reliable and informative.

A good biography........2005-11-10

RFK fans may not like this biography because it ain't a biased one. And this may be the first attempt to write a cruel and honest account of RFK's life. I've read some reviews here, and people who did not like this book are commeting that it is just gossip plain and simple. It must be remember that Heymann spent 7 years researching for this book. RFK was not the liberal icon that many thought he was. Many of the things he did wasn't only because he cared (I do believe he did care) but also for political ambition. He had a dark side (which he did use a lot with LBJ) and also a good side. The dark side is shown exhaustively in this book, and in the end, as amanzingly as it seems, Heymann writes a sympathetic image of RFK. Another thing, just because it is shown that RFK was not very different from his brothers when it came to sex doesn't mean that it is not truth (and who says otherwise must known that Heymann did much more researched in this subject than the others biographers did), this is a "candid" biography after all. People who bought this must not be naive and have an idea of what they'll find when they read it.

Simply Trash.......2005-10-12

My title tells it all and to spent too much time on a review is to assign this an importance it does not merit. If you are interested in any thoughtful analysis of RFK you will not find it here. The focus is on lurid one source and second hand tall tales and obviously the author has an axe to grind. If you love the National Enquirer and Fox News you will probably like this and there's no saving you. If you want to learn more about this complicated man and his era, this will fill you with disgust.

totally disgusting book,.......2003-06-24

one star is too much, the book doesn't do anything tern RFK?s legacy. the arguments are false, and the book is boring.
DONT SPEND EVEN ONE CENT ON THIS BOOK.

Trashy, tawdry character assassination.......2003-04-13

This work seems to pay inglorious homage to a number of souls who held such dislike for RFK that, years after the fact of his horrible, untimely [end of life], they couldn't wait to spew sordid "detail" about the man in the hope of damaging his legacy. He cared about his family, he cared about the less fortunate, he cared about the powerless. He personnified those convictions. No politician on either side of the spectrum has ever succeeded in achieving what he did for a few crazy months in the craziest year of the latter half of the 20th century. We're a poorer society and culture because we were deprived of RFK far too early. Mr. Heyman should be ashamed of himself for writing this.

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Great Guard Memoir

An inside look...

On the job at Alcatraz

Alcatraz Screw

Alcatraz Screw: My Years As a Guard in America's Most Notorious Prison
George H. Gregory
Manufacturer: University of Missouri Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Specific Groups | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Penology | Crime & Criminals | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0826213960

Customer Reviews:

Great Guard Memoir.......2006-06-15

Gregory's book is one of the few books that I could find written entirely from the guards or `screws' point of view, and also written in the first person. There are others like Alcatraz '46 and the book by Frank Heaney, but this is the only book I could find that takes on Alcatraz from this angle. I found it to be a very enjoyable personal memoir. The book was published by his wife following his passing, and it is very well written, and markedly different from other memoirs. I think it makes a good companion book to some of the other memoirs.

As a small criticism, I didn't find the book to have many interesting story elements, other than the fact that he was an Alcatraz guard. He has some mildly interesting stories, but nothing that held same interest or excitement as some of the inmate biographies. It's not to say that didn't enjoy the book. I really enjoyed it and recommend it to readers interested in the saga of Alcatraz, but keeping in mind that it is in my opinion an average to a little above average read. It includes a few very interesting photographs and illustrations, and covers his long assignment at Alcatraz in modest detail. I found his life history as an Iwo Jima veteran and path to Alcatraz very interesting. You can sample several of the pages here on Amazon. I recommend reading some of the body text.

Despite my small criticism, I am still giving his book 5-Stars. I think it is a good book and worth reading. I also highly recommend Frank Heaney's book on Alcatraz if you're interested in reading more from one of the guards. I am a UCLA graduate student and have been reading on Alcatraz as part of my study work. I'm reviewing several Alcatraz books that I've read and hope to assist others with common reading interests. Please see my other reviews on Alcatraz.

An inside look..........2006-06-03

This book moves along smoothly detailing the daily life as a prison guard in one of America's most notorious prisons. Written by a former U.S. Marine and experienced correctional officer George Gregory, he captures his life inside the prison from 1947 to 1962. After reading this book you'll definitely will feel what it would be like to work on the inside. Highly recommended!

On the job at Alcatraz.......2005-03-24

Alcatraz Screw is the memoir of George Gregory, a correctional officer at Alcatraz from 1947 to 1963. A former Marine wounded at Iwo Jima, Gregory had the self-confidence necessary to handle himself well with inmates and his superior officers. He treated inmates fairly but firmly and didn't put up with any nonsense. His writing style is lean and plain with a 1950s flavor. Even if you have no interest in penology, this is an interesting book to read because it's the story of an honest guy competently doing his job as prison guard. It includes about 20 pages of photographs and maps.

Alcatraz Screw.......2002-08-27

This is a great book for anyone interested in what life was like on Alcatraz from an insider's perspective. Mr. Gregory served as a prison guard on Alcatraz and explains in detail the daily routines of the prisoners and guards. He writes very directly about the various jobs he had while there and what life was like. He adds a very human aspect to the people in his book while writing very "matter of factly." I was engaged by the book and did not want to put it down at times. Having read other books on Alcatraz and having been there, this book told me an insider's perspective that I had never felt I'd had before. I recommend it highly to anyone who has even the slightest interest in what Alcatraz was really like.

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