Automation is nothing new to industry. It has a long tradition on the factory floor, where its constant objective has been to increase the productivity of manufacturing processes. Only with the advent of computers could the focus of automation widen to include administrative and information-handling tasks. More recently, automation has been extended to the more intellectual tasks of production planning and control, material and resource planning, engineering design, and quality control. New challenges arise in the form of flexible manu facturing, assembly automation, and automated floor vehicles, to name just a few. The sheer complexity of the problems as well as the state of the art has led scientists and engineers to concentrate on issues that could easily be isolated. For example, it was much simpler to build CAD systems whose sole objective was to ease the task of drawing, rather than to worry at the same time about how the design results could be interfaced with the manufacturing or assembly processes. It was less problematic to gather statistics from quality control and to print reports than to react immediately to first hints of irregularities by inter facing with the designers or manufacturing control, or, even better, by auto matically diagnosing the causes from the design and planning data. A heav- though perhaps unavoidable - price must today be paid whenever one tries to assemble these isolated solutions into a larger, integrated system."

"Shakespeare's Widows" moves thirty-one characters appearing in twenty plays to center stage. Through nuanced analyses, grounded in the widows' material circumstances, Kehler uncovers the plays' negotiations between the opposed poles of residual Catholic precept and Protestant practice--between celibacy and remarriage. Reading from a feminist materialist perspective, this book argues that Shakespeare's insights into the political and economic pressures the widows face allow them to elude mechanistic ideology. Kehler's book provides extensive historical background into the various religious and cultural attitudes towards widows in early modern England.

This book offers an illuminating analysis of the theories, politics, and realities of boys? education around the world -- an insightful and often disturbing account of various educational systems? successes and failings in fostering intellectual and social growth in male students. Examining original research on the impact of implementing boys? education programs in schools, the book also discusses the role of male teachers in educating boys, strategies for aiding marginalized boys in the classroom, and the possibilities for gender reform in schools that begins at the level of pedagogy.

Complete with case studies of various classrooms, school districts, and governmental policy programs, the detailed essays collected provide a look into education's role in the development of masculinities, paying special attention to the ways in which these masculinities intersect with race, class, and sexuality to complicate the experience of boys within and outside of a classroom setting.

This book offers an illuminating analysis of the theories, politics, and realities of boys' education around the world -- an insightful and often disturbing account of various educational systems' successes and failings in fostering intellectual and social growth in male students. Examining original research on the impact of implementing boys' education programs in schools, the book also discusses the role of male teachers in educating boys, strategies for aiding marginalized boys in the classroom, and the possibilities for gender reform in schools that begins at the level of pedagogy.

Complete with case studies of various classrooms, school districts, and governmental policy programs, the detailed essays collected provide a look into education's role in the development of masculinities, paying special attention to the ways in which these masculinities intersect with race, class, and sexuality to complicate the experience of boys within and outside of a classroom setting.

Automation is nothing new to industry. It has a long tradition on the factory floor, where its constant objective has been to increase the productivity of manufacturing processes. Only with the advent of computers could the focus of automation widen to include administrative and information-handling tasks. More recently, automation has been extended to the more intellectual tasks of production planning and control, material and resource planning, engineering design, and quality control. New challenges arise in the form of flexible manu facturing, assembly automation, and automated floor vehicles, to name just a few. The sheer complexity of the problems as well as the state of the art has led scientists and engineers to concentrate on issues that could easily be isolated. For example, it was much simpler to build CAD systems whose sole objective was to ease the task of drawing, rather than to worry at the same time about how the design results could be interfaced with the manufacturing or assembly processes. It was less problematic to gather statistics from quality control and to print reports than to react immediately to first hints of irregularities by inter facing with the designers or manufacturing control, or, even better, by auto matically diagnosing the causes from the design and planning data. A heav- though perhaps unavoidable - price must today be paid whenever one tries to assemble these isolated solutions into a larger, integrated system.

"The Blackwell Handbook of Judgment and Decision Making" is a state-of-the art overview of current topics and research in the study of how people make evaluations, draw inferences, and make decisions under conditions of uncertainty and conflict. Chapters are contributed by experts in the field from various disciplines such as psychology, cognitive science, business, and law. The selection of topics reflects current trends and controversies in judgment and decision-making research. Each chapter provides an overview of important past research and a report on current research and future directions in various areas in the study of human judgment and decision making.

The book:
provides a glimpse at the many approaches that have been taken in the study of judgment and decision making, including bounded rationality, computational modelling, and the heuristics and biases approach
portrays the major findings in the field and covers topics such as probablistic reasoning, hypothesis testing, multiattribute choice, and decision making under risk and uncertainty
presents examinations of the broader roles of social, emotional, and cultural influences on decision making
explores applications of judgment and decision-making research to important problems in a variety of professional contexts, including finance, accounting, medicine, public policy, and the law.

"The Blackwell Handbook of Judgment and Decision Making" is a state-of-the art overview of current topics and research in the study of how people make evaluations, draw inferences, and make decisions under conditions of uncertainty and conflict. Chapters are contributed by experts in the field from various disciplines such as psychology, cognitive science, business, and law. The selection of topics reflects current trends and controversies in judgment and decision-making research. Each chapter provides an overview of important past research and a report on current research and future directions in various areas in the study of human judgment and decision making.

The book:
provides a glimpse at the many approaches that have been taken in the study of judgment and decision making, including bounded rationality, computational modelling, and the heuristics and biases approach
portrays the major findings in the field and covers topics such as probablistic reasoning, hypothesis testing, multiattribute choice, and decision making under risk and uncertainty
presents examinations of the broader roles of social, emotional, and cultural influences on decision making
explores applications of judgment and decision-making research to important problems in a variety of professional contexts, including finance, accounting, medicine, public policy, and the law.

This practical resource gives secondary teachers and counselors 95 ready-to-use lessons with reproducible activity sheets to promote healthy character development in secondary students. The activities are drawn from First-Class, one of the most successful character education programs in the country, and can be used as is or adapted to fit the needs in any junior or senior high school.

The lessons first focus on defining the nature and aspects of good character and cover a wide range of topics, from behavior in the auditorium and corridors to attitudes regarding a variety of personal and social issues such as managing anger and stress, and family roles, violence, and the impact of television.

For easy use, materials are organized into eight sections and printed in a big 8 ?" x 11" lay-flat binding for photocopying of the activity pages as many times as needed. Here's just an overview of the lessons/activities in each section:

1. IN THE BEGINNING: Assessing Student Needs ... Identifying the Essentials: Start With Yourself ... Good Character: What Is It? ... The Facets of Good Character
2. STUDENT BEHAVIOR & CHARACTER: First Impressions ... Adult/Student Relationships ... To Be or Not to Be ... It's Cool to Be First-Class ... Guidelines for Appropriate Public Behavior ... Student Evaluation of the Rules ... Student Feedback
3. INTEGRATING SOCIAL PRINCIPLES: Let's Talk Social Principles ... Principles to Build On ... When You Look at My Principles ... To Know or Not to Know (cheating) ... We're in This Together: A Look at Love and Marriage ... Name Your Poison! (drugs)
4. DEALING WITH EMOTIONAL ISSUES: Attitude: It's Your Call ... Stepping Up (facing adversity)... Failure Is My Friend ... Rejecting Rejection ... Stress ... Handling Anger ... Take Your Pick (right and wrong) ... Handling Anger ... Leadership
5. DEALING WITH SOCIAL ISSUES: Family Roles ... Get It Right (rules of etiquette) ... Gossip ... Peer Pressure ... Positive Interdependence ... Competition vs. Cooperation ... Handling Bullying ...Violence ... Hate ... Let's Take a Closer Look at Television
6. UNDERSTANDING & CELEBRATING DIFFERENCES IN MYSELF: Taking a Closer Look at Me ... Finding the Real Me ... Self-Acceptance ... Self-Criticism ... A Bump on the Way (failure) ... Building a Better Me ... To Get Friends, Be One
7. BEHAVING IN A FIRST-CLASS WAY: The First-Class Pledge ... Bring the Outside In ... Volunteering ... A Teenager's Declaration of Independence ... School Washrooms ... Word Choice ... Considerate Communication ... First Impressions (Appearance)

You'll also find a special Epilogue with activities for teachers, whose involvement is critical to the success of the program. These promote ownership, teacher evaluation, and processes for promoting change.

In short, First-Class Character Education Activities Program places in you hands a unique store of ready-to-use lessons and activities to help students in grades 7-12 develop character. All have been tested and are equally appropriate for use in homerooms or regular classrooms with students of varying ability.