Organizations Books

This book provides an excellent overview of the field of cellular automata. It brings together a broad range of concepts and ideas which have been percolating over the past 70 years. In many ways the field of cellular automata and its offshoots remind me of the principles and ideas expounded on in Thomas Kuhn's book `The Structure of Scientific Revolutions'. For this field is truly revolutionary in its ability to easily show the power of emergent properties from simple rules.

The flow of the book is easy to understand and the documentation and references are excellent. The prose is well written and the author's ability to clarify basic ideas is exceptional.

I highly recommend this book. The first chapter `Preliminaries' clearly shows the author has brought a rich scope to the presentation of the material.

Although I have been nebulously aware of the term "Cellular Automata" for about 25 years, it was not until I read the book Cellular Automata that I really understood what it entails. As a result, I have become enamored with the field and its mathematical elegance. It is unfortunate for this fascinating field of study, that it is called Cellular Automata -- a marketing disaster if you ask me.

Though Cellular Automata probably has a strict definition, you can think of it as how simple rules governing a cell (or a neuron or an ant or whatever) through time can give rise to complex ordered systems. People often think that there's some intelligent design behind the complexity we see in nature, but as this book demonstrates, all it takes is a few simple rules about what happens in a local neighborhood to give rise to systems that order themselves into amazing complexity.

The book is a comprehensive survey of the history and current state of Cellular Automata. I wish I had the time to follow through on the amazing panoply of interesting paths, papers, web sites and ideas presented to the reader, but this could easily require a lifetime of study (and computer time).

In spite of having no background in Cellular Automata, I found this book to be extremely accessible and clearly written with many illustrative examples. I read the book cover-to-cover and understood it all, which for a textbook is really saying something. For the layman, it helps to have a strong mathematical background as well as a keen interest in number theory, but none of this is necessary. One of the nice things about this book is that if for some reason you don't understand a topic such as say, the Sierpinski Triangle, the rest of the book is not predicated upon it, even if it is called back on occasion.

The only possible issue I had with the text is that complex theoretical concepts were on rare occasion difficult to follow. Such concepts were introduced in order to give readers a complete primer on the current state of CA research, but the reader has to trust that the results are as stated in the book, and that an army of Grad Students carried out all the dirty work. Step-by-step implementation is (and should be) beyond the scope of the text, although for math weenies like myself, it may have clarified certain concepts.

Highly recommended.

This is a fascinating and erudite book that spans centuries of Hebrew printing. It would be worthwhile for the end-notes alone. It is a must read for anyone interested in the history of Jewish printing as well as anyone interested in the development and dynamic of censorship, both internal and self imposed.

This book is indeed first of its kind in its treatment of the history of books and book-culture in early modern Italy and Europe. Jewish-Christian dialogs and negotiations over questions of print and publishing are reviewed in a new and fresh light. The final outcome of what is otherwise simply viewed as a tool of coercion and persecution is surprising.

I had to read this re my masters course. It relates to actual situations and was very relevant to the field of educational leadership across the board. Great user friendly resource.

Centering Educational Administration is a veritable tour de force. Erudite, thought-provoking, and compelling, it effectively marshals the many strands of social, pedagogical, and organizational theory to weave its main message: in the noble service of the next generation, educational administration can uphold education's humanistic value by cultivating meaning, community, and responsibility. For Starratt, one of education's most encyclopedic and articulate public intellectuals, this entails moving beyond simply considering the "discrete functions of administration" and towards engaging "the essentials of administering." Much as the overtones of Starratt's argument may have W. B. Yeats turning in his grave (i.e., there is a center to educational administration... that can hold), it should be heeded for its critically normative orientation and purpose: to move educators and institutions from what is to what ought to be.

The book does so by centering educational leadership on the cultivating and monitoring of a learning agenda that begins with the self and students and extends to teachers and the community. Our ecological interdependence means that "School communities do not exist in isolation from their surrounding communities. What and how they learn needs to be in dialogue with their surroundings" (233). To this end, Starratt explores the separate and intersective synergy of theory and practice, teaching and learning, of individual and community, to organically develop a vision of school as "a humane and socially nurturing environment in which the pursuit of academic learning would go hand in hand with social learning" (96). He extends the conceptual foundations for ethical education first developed in Building an ethical school (1994) and engages substantive aspects of moral leadership, keeping students at the centre of the educational enterprise and offering perspectives to help educators through this late-modern era of high-stakes accountability, diversity, and uncertainty.

Starratt achieves this ambitious purpose through thoughtful organization of material, clear, vivid prose, and rich illustrative examples. The eight chapters of Part I, Elements of the Leader's Vision, take readers through the conceptual foundation of his argument about what school renewal looks like, why it's needed, and how it can be achieved. As the book's sub-title suggests, Starratt's vision for a new centre of educational administration comprises three main themes: cultivating meaning, community, and moral responsibility. For Starratt, school renewal is fundamentally about enriching and enhancing the learning of the schoolhouse's many selves - student and staff - in relation to their physical, social, and human worlds. It is about nurturing "moral excellence" in all learners, a sense of being responsible to, and for, what one learns. To this end, educational administration's core is therefore about cultivating personal, public, applied, and academic meaning-making by initiating "conversations among teachers about the basic meaning behind what and how they teach, and the meanings that are implied and assumed in the curriculum" (224).

Part II, Bringing the Vision to Reality, builds on the opening section's conceptual foreground to demonstrate how the active learning of all students, and the facilitating of this work by teachers, can take place in classroom, school, and district practices. Its six chapters apply Part I's lenses of moral philosophy, critical sociology, and cognitive science to refract and cohesively connect theory, policy, and practice. With carefully selected examples, each chapter helps illustrate the interdependency of Starratt's main themes in practical and workable situations. The site-based activities that conclude each of the book's fourteen chapters are especially useful in Part II. Clearly rooted in Starratt's vast experience as a scholar-practitioner-leader, they encourage readers to deepen their understanding of the many learnings through action research that is situated in the dynamics and structures of schools. Through this gestaltian marriage of theory and practice, readers are encouraged to reflect and operationalize the book's many rich concepts. The book's 57 site-based activities would make it a valuable addition to any graduate program in educational administration that seeks to integrate the scholarly with the practical.

As a former teacher and administrator turned doctoral student, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Centering Educational Administration. It challenged my thinking, forcing me to iteratively revisit eight years of professional experiences through Starratt's tripartite conceptualization of centered educational leadership; and it extended my scholarly experiences, developed over many graduate courses in educational administration. Most helpfully, it enabled me to connect meaningfully many scholar, practitioner, and leadership learnings of the last decade, honed as I moved in and out of schools as an educational administrator and the academy as a graduate student. Consequently, Starratt's latest will definitely find a place close at hand on my bookshelf of important educational administration texts and readily used, particularly given its clear, two-part structure, 21 explicatory diagrams and figures, and helpful author and subject indices.

Last June, while shopping for things in a religious book store, a book caught my eye. I don't know if it was the two eyes peeking over the stained glass windows, or the brilliant title "Challenging the Church Monster" with the word monster in green letters, but the book just seemed to call to me. I took it from the shelf and leafed to the Table of Contents where I was then led to the Foreword where is says:
This book is especially for you if you ever have left a church meeting wondering if anything was accomplished; had two weeks to go before the Sunday -school year began and needed six more teachers; wondered why a certain, apathetic church member agreed to serve on the church council ;assumed that it is the pastors job to make sure that everything in the church gets done; awakened in the middle of the night worrying about your committee being prepared for its next big project ; spent two months getting a new-church initiative ready only to have it voted down; thought that you church was putting the cart before the horse; or tried to inspire others at church but ended up just as discouraged as they were. This book is especially for you if any of the above scenarios describe something that has happened to you.
I was sold, hook, line and sinker. I purchased the book, rushed home, and could not put it down. The more I read the more it made sense to me that this book, this "Church Monster" is not only speaking about the author's church, but also many other churches that are still living under the same stagnant structures of the mid 1900's. The ideas found in this book are a wonderful fresh look at the church of today and how we can find ways to grow in the ministry of all people together while spending less time in the meeting rut of the past.

Brian McLaren, a prolific author and a senior fellow in Emergent, wrote an endorsement for Challenging the Church Monster: From Conflict to Community. McLaren wrote, "If Douglas Bixby is right, when people complain about `organized religion,' they're really complaining about `overorganized' or `poorly organized' religion. If that diagnosis rings true, savor the wise and practical insights offered in this helpful, needed, concise, and well-written book."

I found this book to be both clearly written and insightful. It helped me significantly on a practical level. The case studies were provided both vivid and interesting illustrations of the different pacts made within an organization.

This book offers helpful insight into creating corporate change that is supported by the work force. It is a must for every manager, employee and people interested in the dynamics making change in the business world. This book contains many enlightening, even humourous case studies which accompany the theory. Strebel's book is a refreshing change from traditional, dull management books. If there is one book this year that will make you a more effective manager, this is the it. Buy it or get left behind.

This book give 2 in depth studies from HP factory and R&D environments. I found the insights and information invaluable in my work as a consultant. As a consult to HP I found that the atmosphere rang true. I have recommended it to HP top managers and they have ordered it too!

This book gives organizations a vision of positive and effective change. It confirms that it is possible with the correct ingrediences...

Patricia Shaw wrote a great book because it gives a completely different view on the contribution of the "change" consultant to organizational change. Don't introduce models and schemas but initiate and fuel conversations in the organization not as a planned event but as a way of working. The strong point of this book is that Shaw lets the reader look into her consultant kitchen and takes you along with her "discoveries". It is a must read for every consultant with an urge to initiate all kind of change initiatives in organizations. And it is the most concrete example of the where the complexity 'school' from Ralph Stacey stands for I could find.
I have only one objection to this otherwise fantastic book. Shaw finds it necessary to set herself aside from all the other alternative change approaches in her last chapter. I would have liked this book even more if she just had skipped that chapter.

I really enjoyed this book. It is very readable and very practical. I have a Masters Degree in Complexity Theory and this book beautifully complimented my understanding of the power of conversations to get to the deeper complexity of issues and the limitations of our traditional workplace meetings. I have been pushing for a conversational structure to my meetings at work (I work in organisational development), discussion and development groups that I run outside work and in my interpersonal relationships.

"Changing Habits" A Memoir of the Society of the Sacred Heart" was written in 1988 by V V Harrison. In this vivid memoir and compelling history, the author takes us into the exclusive world of the Society of the Sacred Heart with both the humor and the understanding of one who has been there. Through the recollections of her own days at Eden Hall, she paints a picture of life behind the iron gates; of graceful "penguin-like" nuns on ice skates ~~ fluted white bonnets bobbing in unison; of stony rules of silence; and of young women's fervent prayers that had nothing to do with being holy! She also reveals the rich, intellectually demanding and fascinating traditions that have carried the Society through its unique history from 1800 to the present. Founded in the midst of the violent French Revolution, the Society of the Sacred Heart spread to six continents by 1908 and became one of the most prestigious religious congregations of nuns in the Catholic Church. Superbly educating daughters of both the wealthy and the poor to go into the world with "a man's mind and a woman's heart", the Sacred Heart has graduated such disparate women as Vivien Leigh, Maureen O'Sullivan, Yoko Ono, Susan Saint James, Michiko Shoda (Crown Princess of Japan) and the Kennedy women. But when the edicts of Vatican II threw open the doors of the Catholic Church to the 20th century, they sowed seeds of disorder throughout the Society. The call for renewal, to become attuned to the world of today, turned the congregation upside down. Lives that had been restrained by the rule of cloister and the monastic traditions of the past were not easily adaptable to the freedom of the new edicts. The nuns suffered an unplanned- for defection from their ranks and many of their well-known and exclusive academies were forced to close. In 1988, more than 20 years after having shed their traditional habits and adjusting to the new ways of the Church, the modern Sisters have re-evaluated and rebuilt the very foundations of their lives. "Changing Habits" is an interesting journey from the traditional "Convent of the Sacred Heart School" that the author attended,to the modern experience of both students and nuns today. Gone are the nuns in their beautiful traditional religious habits ~~ long gone are the days when they were known as "Mothers" in those beautiful mansion schools that educated the wealthy elite. There are several great photos from the author's days at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, and of the Madames of the Sacred Heart in their elegant Traditional habits to the modified habits of the 60's to no habits at all today. Also included are pictures of other Mansions used as Convent schools around the world. "Changing Habits" is the story of how the absolute strictures of one religious congregation of nuns dissolved and dramatically affected a worldwide community of 7,000 nuns on five continents ~~ as well as the many generations of women whose lives these nuns had touched deeply. "Changing Habits" recreates the mysterious world inside an exclusive convent school ~ a world gone forever. If you have ever been curious about life behind the convent walls, this book will answer that curiosity.

It was a way of seeing thru the eyes of a Child of the Sacred Heart. Being a male I would never be able to experience what it would be like to attend a Convent of the Sacred Heart School. Beautiful mansions around the world that serve as boarding schools. V.V. brings life to the Society of the Sacred Heart, the nuns who educated the elite women in society to become leaders of justice and human rights. Its an interesting journey she takes you on from the traditional "Convent of the Sacred Heart school" that she attended,to the modern experience of both students and Sisters today, which has updated it self to the point of no traditons, as in the early days. Gone are the nuns in the beautiful habit, now you dont know if your talking to a nun or a lay person. They seldom use their honored title of Sister, and long gone are the days when they were known as "Mothers" in these beautiful mansion schools that educated the wealthy elite. Very interesting journey for any former Catholic school child or those interested in what a bording school experience- run by nuns was like. Great pictures from her days at Torresdale, Pa Convent of the Sacred Heart, and of the Mothers of the Sacred Heart in the elegant Traditional habit to the modified habit of the 60's to no habits. Pictures of other Mansions used as Convent schools around the world like the famous New York City school. The book takes the reader from the origins of the order by foundress St. Madeline Sophie Barat to the coming of America.

I enjoyed the format of this book. Each chapter was written by a different person on an experiential basis. Very well written and useful for all educators. I'll keep it close by for reference.

this book offers the hope that educational leaders who engage in lifelong learning have the potential to create opportunities for increased student success in their schools. Such leaders, by undertaking to change themselves, can change the world as well.

The review written by "A reader Rockford, IL" is a very accurate review and this book is definitely five star quality. If you didn't believe there are suffering souls in purgatory prior to reading this book you will truely be a believer after reading this book.

Father John A. Nageleisen has written the best book on Purgatory ever to come into our hands. Unbelievable the amount of knowledge and facts it contains. Proofs from Scripture on the existence, location and spiritual torments of Purgatory. Tells what the fire is like, how it torments, etc. Extremely sobering. Gives the conditions of the Suffering Souls as to pain, sense, consolations, position, and unknown punishments in Purgatory. Analyzes the credibility of departed souls that have returned to warn those on earth. Includes the means of relieving the Poor Souls - holy water, candles, mass, prayers, alms, fasting, Holy Communion, the Blessed Mother, the saints, etc. Covers the motives for helping the Poor Souls, and how they assist their benefactors in both spiritual and temporal affairs. How they assist us in death and before the Tribunal of Judgement if we have helped them. Contains novenas, prayers, litanies, rosaries and the Seven Offerings of the Most Precious Blood for the Suffering Souls. They await our charity. Beautiful illustrations. Imprimatur of several bishops.