Performance Books

A great overview of the intersections of games, linear stories, and interactive artworks. This book almost inevitably leaves you with a richer perspective, because the range of articles (the uses of voice synthesizers to the Sims) makes it unlikely that you are familiar with all the terrain. The commentary discussions parallel to the main text give a feeling like chatting with your smart friends about some brilliant lecture you just saw. Thought provoking and fun.

What has particularly excited me is the opening chapter on "Cyberdrama"... it discusses approaches to story, game play and engagement in terms that echo what we are trying to achieve in Drama education. Throughout the book (and this is from preliminary browsing) there are discussions about narrative and simulation and disticntions being drawn bewteen perceptual positions of players ... the writers that have contributed to this book have a very clear sense of the notion of "role" and I am starting to think that this book may well serve as the basis for investigation into the role of technology in Drama ( and possibly other) education for the next few years. Other promising looking chapters include such discussions as "Moving Through Me as I move: A Paradigm for Interaction", "Unusual Positions: Embodied Interactions in Symbolic Spaces", "Narrative, Interactivity, Play and Games: Four Naughty Concepts in Need of Discipline", " Videogames of the Oppressed: Critical Thinking, Education, Tolerance and other Trivial Issues", "A Preliminary Poetics for Interactive Drama and Games"

The authors contributing to this book are well known to anyone who's started looking into Drama and technology - Janet Murray , Espen Aarseth and Brenda Laurel are all there, alongside more familiar "drama' voices such as Richard Schechner...

As a high school drama teacher, I have a keen interest in new media applications in Drama education - it seems that many of our number are still focussed totally on their Drama classrooms and while they have an interest in technology are not actually making much headway with developing knowledge in the area - this retards developing discussions when there isn't a common language and some basic concepts upon which to build our discussions and investigations...

I think this book "First Person" is probably as good a starting point as is available at the moment. It provides a broad overview of the scope of "new media" interactions and there is definitely what I would call a "drama sensibility" contained within it.

The other book I've just started looking into is Marie-Laure Ryan's "Narrative as Virtual Reality"

Narrative As Virtual Reality: Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media

What looks promising here is Chapter Nine: "Participatory Interactivity from Life Situations to Drama". I've yet to properly digest the chapter - I've been intrigued by some of the statements I've encountered, for instance "For interactivity to be reconciled with immersion, it must be stripped of any self-reflexive dimension"... I'm not sure that is exactly what we are trying to do with Drama (or any form of) education - we are generally trying to become aware of the symbolic forms we are engaging with... although in a Stanislavskian sense, it might just be that this ne dimension of building belief is somehow well placed in Drama... I tend to think the Brechtian requirement for distance might be better suited... but that can be a discussion for another day... for the time being we need to start to come to grips with some key concepts in the new paradigm we have the opportunity to define...

Once again... as Drama people we know the need for social constructivist approaches... I'm hoping we can live that rather than just posit it....

We are trying to establish a special interest group called DramaPlayShop.org... you're welcome to drop in!

I recently purchased this book. If you own a Six Cylinder Ford Falcon, you will want this book. If you own a Six Cylinder Mustang, over half this book directly applies to you. The Authors focus on "daily drivers" with practical suggestions and ideas on how to get reasonable (the best for the design) performance from six cylinder engines. The book discusses the year to year variations of the Six cylinder engines, with how to read part numbers and what to look for in the junk yard. The Authors provide practical step by step instructions for "tuning" Ford six cylinder engines and explain the reasons why in very accessable language. The book tells you what years/displacement to get interchange parts. The Authors also give several examples of "engine swaps" they have done (for daily drivers), and explain the reasons why for their choices (the 200 ci slips into a 60-63 Falcon, while the 250 ci starter will hit the steering center link, you need to move the radiator, etc - but you can do it - they tell you how). The authors also discuss transmissions, and rear axles. It is obvious that this book is the accumulation of decades of experience and passion for Ford Falcons by the authors. This is a very practical book.

If you are lucky enough to own a beautiful Ford Falcon, you will want this book. You will find a plethora of information about which parts to choose and detailed information about engines and performance. Ford's slogan during the Falcon's heyday of 1960-1965 when the car was its coolest was "Drive a Ford! It's a Better Idea! Fords give you Better Ideas!" The early bird Falcons were certainly among Ford's Better Ideas. If you want to keep those Ford Falcons flying, get this book.

I've always been a fan of Craig Shallahamer, an author who explains complex concepts in plain English.

This is not a trivial book, but it's an excellent book for performance tuning, a worthy book for the worthy scholar.

Oracle STATSPACK and the automated workload repository have provided a gold mine for the Oracle DBA to forecast future performance, and this is a great "get started" book to the statistical techniques that are required to perform performance forecasting.

This is a great book to do FORECASTING, that is, if you already have a tunning problem you will not find the solution here. If you are in calm times regarding your application speed, this is when you have to do Performance Forecasting, for which this book is excelent. Very practical and just enough technicall to grasp the priciples.

This is the second book in what I like to think of as Napier's trilogy. If you have not read Masks Transformation, and Paradox, I recommend reading that one first and then this wonderful book, to be followed by The Age of Immunology: Conceiving a Future in an Alienating World. Napier's work is not light reading. His treatment of the concept of the stranger is relevant to the process he traces out in the first book which deals with the way(s) in which notions of alterity and difference are central to societal rituals of transformation. He says that "the recognition of change hinges both on the apprehension of identity and on the awareness of a potential for paradox." (Myths, 3) In this work he takes that thesis a step further and attempts to prove that this process is universal by examining it in different cultures. In the latest work, he introduces the same ideas but in a brand new context using immunology as a trope. I highly recommend all of Napier's work. Although it is anthropology, don't think that his ideas do not have relevance to other areas of study. I used his book for an analysis of Oscar Wilde's uses of paradox and masks in his dramatic and critical work. Jack Worthing's reference to Lady Bracknell as a Gorgon in "The Importance of Being Earnest" came alive to me after reading Napier's meditations on the apotropaic.

This work brings up crucial questions about how we perceive alterity in our society, no small question. People who enjoy philosophy, mythology, literature, psychology, and of course, anthropology will need to be acquainted with Napier's work. You can start here or buy the whole trilogy as I did. You will not be sad you did.

Makes an important contribution to the understanding of Indian and Greek art and myth.

You can find advice all over the internet on how to do certain moves, but nothing online has compared to the wealth of detail contained in this book. The author breaks the moves down into such minute detail, then explains the common mistakes people make, and drills that can be done to get the move.

I was a little put off at first by the stick figure drawings, but they're well done and I've come to realize that they demonstrate the moves and concepts far more easily than static pictures of people.

In addition, the author runs a website where he posts updates (things like wushu competition rules changing and how that affects the move) and responds to questions in the book's forum. I suppose you could skip buying the book and post a million questions to the forum, but don't be a jerk/cheapskate. Buy the book, you won't regret it. And if anything doesn't make sense or you feel it's missing something, go ask.

I just got this book last month, and it's great! Every move is analyzed in incredible detail and it really helps you understand how to do the jumps better. I'm still working on my moves but I've already increased my rotations!! I've just about got my 540 and I'm on my way to 720! The tips in there are so on the money, and even though the book is a little wordy, it's soooo easy to read. Way more helpful than some other martial arts books I've looked at. Oh yeah, and there's a companion guide to the book you can download too.

The book goes over:
Jump Front Kick
Jump Inside Kick (XFJ)
Running Jump Outside Kick
Standing Jump Outside Kick
Butterfly Kick
Butterfly Twist
Aerial
Aerial Twist
Front Sweep
Back Sweep

Highly recommended!!

The computer revolution originated largely in the U.S. Much of the funding for early computer science has come from the U.S. government. Funding a Revolution shows the interactions among players in academic circles, government and industry. It is fitting that benefits of the computer revolution accrue to the U.S. Federal, State and Municipal governments in delivering services to citizens, to U.S. citizens, and to the U.S. economy in productivity gains, job growth, and the growth of the computing industry. Individual scientific achievement, and government and corporate support, are instrumental for developments in large scale integrated circuit computers, packet switching and the Internet, relational databases, the personal computer, speech recognition, computer graphics, GIS, cryptography and computer security. Funding a Revolution is extremely well written, by many contributors. I recommend it for self-education or classroom education. I would also recommend Government Jobs in Information Technology, and Information Technology Jobs in America, showing the growth of the industry leading to lucrative jobs in U.S. Federal, State and Municipal Government and in corporate America. Digital Government Jobs [2008 Edition]: U.S. Federal, State & City Jobs in Information Technologyand Government Jobs in America: U.S. State, City & Federal Jobs & Careers - With Job Titles, Salaries & Pension Estimates - Why You Want One - What Jobs Are Available - How to Get One. The revolution has given birth to the corporate funders who grew up during this time (Cisco, SUN, Oracle and others) who now share their wealth with grant funding. For that story I recommend Technology Grant News, a newsletter, and the recently issued annual, Technology Grant News: Everything Technology [2008]: Awards-Contests-Grants-Scholarships (Technology Grant News: Everything Technology). A recent AP story says the National Science Foundation is providing funding for a clean-slate Internet; so the beat goes on, the story continues. This book describes our collective heritage in computer and telecommunications technology, 50 years of achievement, affecting so many things.

The computer revolution originated largely in the U.S. Much of the funding for early computer science has come from the U.S. government. Funding a Revolution shows the interactions among players in academic circles, government and industry. It is fitting that benefits of the computer revolution accrue to the U.S. Federal, State and Municipal governments in delivering services to citizens, to U.S. citizens, and to the U.S. economy in productivity gains, job growth, and the growth of the computing industry. Individual scientific achievement, and government and corporate support, are instrumental for developments in large scale integrated circuit computers, packet switching and the Internet, relational databases, the personal computer, speech recognition, computer graphics, GIS, cryptography and computer security. Funding a Revolution is extremely well written, by many contributors. I recommend it for self-education or classroom education. I would also recommend Government Jobs in Information Technology, and Information Technology Jobs in America, showing the growth of the industry leading to lucrative jobs in U.S. Federal, State and Municipal Government and in corporate America. Government Jobs in Information Technology [2007]: U.S. Federal - State - City - Career & Job Guide and Information Technology Jobs in America [2007] Corporate & Government Career Guide The revolution has given birth to the corporate funders who grew up during this time (Cisco, SUN, Oracle and others) who now share their wealth with grant funding. For that story I recommend Technology Grant News, a newsletter, and the recently issued annual, Technology Grant News - Everything Technology: Awards-Contests-Grants-Scholarships. Technology Grant News: Everything Technology [2007]:Awards ¿ Contests ¿ Grants -Scholarships ¿ Fellowships A recent AP story says the National Science Foundation is providing funding for a clean-slate Internet; so the beat goes on, the story continues. This book describes our collective heritage in computer and telecommunications technology, 50 years of achievement, affecting so many things.

Hedging has always tempted the investors and the boom of hedge funds on the market has cought us the academic world unprepared just like the era of Tatcher and Reagan that has created tatcharism and reaganomics. This study is one of the few in this sphere but certainly one of the best for giving knowledge in the area of hedge funds and funds of hedge funds. This can be a excellent handbook for lots of emerging market economies, where people has suffered from lots of financial robberies - first by the communist party and then by their pyramidal creations.
- Dr. Georgi Smatrakalev, Florida Atlantic Univeristy, USA

The book is split into four parts: the first finds out the distinctiveness of performance for funds of hedge funds (alpha, persistence, factor decomposition, portfolio optimization). The second part deals with diversification, selection, allocation and hedge fund indices where correlations effects are analysed among different managing styles. Thirdly, some essays are devoted to construction, and statistical properties of funds of hedge funds, such as distributional characteristics, and higher-moment performance characteristics. Finally, the volume investigates specific items such as monitoring risk, due diligence and special classes of funds of funds, where one of the main problems is to implement quantitative methodologies to select the hedge funds. The book is a must-read for those who are looking for an edge in applying the more sophisticated approaches that have recently been developed in the hedge funds industry.
Giampaolo Gabbi, University of Siena and SDA Bocconi, Italy

When Emmit Smith was a baby, he wached football because his dad wached it all the time and got him into it. That is why he is so good at running back. First when he got drafted to the cowboys no one knew how good he was. Emmitt talked to the coach and asked if he could play more than he already was. He led the cowboys to 5 super bowls in a row, that shows how good he was. I think kids that are starting football should read this book. That is how you can become a very good football player.

When Emmit Smith was a baby, he wached football because his dad wached it all the time and got him into it. That is why he is so good at running back. First when he got drafted to the cowboys no one knew how good he was. Emmitt talked to the coach and asked if he could play more than he already was. He led the cowboys to 5 super bowls in a row, that shows how good he was. I think kids that are starting football should read this book. That is how you can become a very good football player.

In his book, Dr. Granat gives practical tools and techniques to help athletes and other performers (lawyers, businesspersons, teachers, etc.) to enter "The Zone" which is the highest mental state. Dr. Granat cites specific examples from his extensive work with clients so the reader can integrate various techniques such as relaxation, meditation, and visualization into his/her own life. The book is clear, concise, and is a valuable resource to enter "The Zone" with greater frequency and be a peak performer.

I recently purchased this book to help me with my golf game. An avid golfer it was recommended that my attitude was playing a bigger role then my swing. Not only did Dr. Granat's simple tips help me with my game, it applies to so many areas of both my personal and professional life. It is clear Dr. Granat has a real insight into how to apply mental focus and his guidance througout is amazing. I definately recommend this book every area of your life will benefit.

This is a "must have book" for all individuals, collages and libraries. I wish there were more GPS books like this one (but unfortunately there aren't).

Of all the engineering books on GPS, the book by Misra and Enge is ideally suited as a textbook on this subject and is the best available. This book provides a complete description of the principles of operation of GPS receivers, with an emphasis on system modeling for analysis and design. This book provides an excellent discussion of delay lock loops, phase lock loops, signal acquisition, signal structure, and error modeling. In addition, this book also goes into depth on how the carrier phase and code phase measurements are derived. Finally, an outstanding feature of this book is its presentation of current technical issues, which is invaluable as a starting point for graduate research.

There are many other books on GPS engineering out there, but the book by Misra and Enge is the best place to start - and it will give you a very good start!