2002 IEEE-USAB Award for Distinguished Literary Contributions Furthering Engineering Professionalism

Over the past thirty years, many people have proclaimed the imminent arrival of the paperless office. Yet even the World Wide Web, which allows almost any computer to read and display another computer’s documents, has increased the amount of printing done. The use of e-mail in an organization causes an average 40 percent increase in paper consumption. In The Myth of the Paperless Office, Abigail Sellen and Richard Harper use the study of paper as a way to understand the work that people do and the reasons they do it the way they do. Using the tools of ethnography and cognitive psychology, they look at paper use from the level of the individual up to that of organizational culture.

Central to Sellen and Harper’s investigation is the concept of "affordances"—the activities that an object allows, or affords. The physical properties of paper (its being thin, light, porous, opaque, and flexible) afford the human actions of grasping, carrying, folding, writing, and so on. The concept of affordance allows them to compare the affordances of paper with those of existing digital devices. They can then ask what kinds of devices or systems would make new kinds of activities possible or better support current activities. The authors argue that paper will continue to play an important role in office life. Rather than pursue the ideal of the paperless office, we should work toward a future in which paper and electronic document tools work in concert and organizational processes make optimal use of both.

There’s a good reason Dilbert and The Office are so popular: today’s most popular sport is mocking life on the job. After all, the average work environment is filled with undesirable people, unpleasant situations, and hours of clock-watching boredom. So what’s a person to do but get this subversively funny gift book? It’s a sanity-salvaging guide for someone on the fast track to burnout. Waiting for the copy machine? Stuck in a claustrophobic cubicle? Then pillage the supply closet, and make the most of a bad situation by creating projects that range from the ridiculous to the sublime. Relieve cubicle hell with post-it note mosaics or a privacy “curtain” made from key rings and ID tags. Deem yourself Employee of the Month, and craft a glittering crown embellished with colored paper clips and highlighters. Help pass the afternoon with a game of “Boss Phrase Bingo.” From beauty pick-ups (a liquid paper manicure) to novel ways to get even with an evil co-worker, these fabulous activities could be considered brilliant exercises of whimsy…or grounds for termination. Tongue-in-cheek, on-location office photography will have readers laughing out loud.

Christmas is a time of seasonal cheer, family get-togethers, holiday parties, and-gift giving. Lots and lots—and lots—of gift giving. It's hard to imagine any Christmas without this time-honored custom. But let's stop to consider the gifts we receive—the rooster sweater from Grandma or the singing fish from Uncle Mike. How many of us get gifts we like? How many of us give gifts not knowing what recipients want? Did your cousin really look excited about that jumping alarm clock? Lively and informed, Scroogenomics illustrates how our consumer spending generates vast amounts of economic waste—to the shocking tune of eighty-five billion dollars each winter. Economist Joel Waldfogel provides solid explanations to show us why it's time to stop the madness and think twice before buying gifts for the holidays.

When we buy for ourselves, every dollar we spend produces at least a dollar in satisfaction, because we shop carefully and purchase items that are worth more than they cost. Gift giving is different. We make less-informed choices, max out on credit to buy gifts worth less than the money spent, and leave recipients less than satisfied, creating what Waldfogel calls "deadweight loss." Waldfogel indicates that this waste isn't confined to Americans—most major economies share in this orgy of wealth destruction. While recognizing the difficulties of altering current trends, Waldfogel offers viable gift-giving alternatives.

By reprioritizing our gift-giving habits, Scroogenomics proves that we can still maintain the economy without gouging our wallets, and reclaim the true spirit of the holiday season.

A New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller!

Are you tired of the way you're living? Are you fed up with everyone trying to take your most valuable possessions—your money and assets—away? Are you sick of having creditors, the IRS, or a vindictive ex-spouse nipping at your heels? If only you could disappear without a trace...if only you could resurface in some exotic foreign place with a whole new identity and a brand-spanking new life.

And on the other side, how would you like to track down that ex (and his assets) who owes you money? Want to know his tricks?

For most people, this is just a fantasy. But it doesn't have to be. In Hide Your Assets and Disappear, one of the nation's top-ten-rated private investigators, Edmund J. Pankau, reveals all the tricks of his trade to show you how to hide it all or find someone who has. An experienced tracker who has worked for the government to recover missing assets, Pankau explains step-by-step how to successfully get away or find someone who has.

Filled with vivid real-life stories of both successes and failures as well as an Internet research guide, this invaluable guide outlines exactly what you should know before you go, including the ever-increasing difficulties you will face as the world becomes more tightly linked through electronic networks. Pankau shows you how to pay attention to prevent slip-ups that can give you away, from birthday phone calls to magazine subscriptions to an off-the-cuff comment to a stranger. He prepares you logistically and psychologically to successfully make the transition to your new life and new self in a new world, and gives you the best information on how to go, where to go, how to live, how to behave, and even who to become once you get there.

Should I keep my assets here or move them abroad? How do I create a new identity? How do I stay lost? Can I ever go back? How can I avoid anyone who might be looking for me? And how can I find someone who's disappeared on me? How do people fake their own deaths? What can the government do to catch a concealer? Pankau has the answer for all these questions and many more, and provides the tiny, often overlooked details that can make the difference between lounging on a tropical beach or ending up on the wrong side of the law.

Whether you're in search of a new life or someone who has hidden their assets and disappeared and left you in the lurch, listen to Edmund J. Pankau. With his unique, entertaining, eye-opening guide, he shows you how to go from victim to victor.

Thinking of disappearing without a trace? Want to find someone who has? Consider these questions...

Which is the better place to go, New Zealand or Panama?

How much cash you can legally take out of the country?

What are the hot spots the Customs Department targets as suspicious entrance points?

What is FinCEN and how can it ruin your plans?

Where is it better to keep money, the Cayman Islands, Bermuda, or Switzerland?

Should you seek out the expatriates in your new country or lay low?

What should you do if someone recognizes you in your new home?

What happens if you get sick abroad?

In the third edition of this bestselling book—in print since 1977—Lichello provides a revolutionary investment method that overcomes the vagaries and risks of both the market and individual judgement. Automatic Investment Management (AIM) is designed to work in any kind of market with any size investment. Reissue.

A straightforward guide to modern instructional techniques for professional and part-time trainers
Professionals called upon to provide training may know everything about the subject they teach, but that doesn't mean that they know how to teach it. Training For Dummies offers proven techniques of instructional design, giving trainers the tools they need to craft truly effective training courses. They'll learn how to size-up the audience, determine the type of training needed, deliver it effectively, and also measure the training's overall success. For the estimated 300,000 professional trainers who lack training in instructional design, Training For Dummies offers a fun and easy approach.

Elaine Biech (Norfolk, VA) is President and Managing Principal of ebb associates, inc., a strategic implementation, leadership development, and experiential learning consulting firm. Known as "the trainer's trainer," she is active in the American Society for Training & Development, and has been featured in such publications as The Wall Street Journal and Fortune magazine.

This comprehensive companion volume to the bestselling ASTD Training and Development Handbook (Craig, ed.) helps trainers design classroom, self-study, or technology-based training programs. Delivering the latest information on how adults learn best and human performance technology, it shows trainers how to prepare lesson plans, create visual aids, and deliver highly memorable presentations.

This book is an entertaining and practical guide for every trainer and performance improvement professional as it tackles the three universal and persistent questions of the profession—how do learners learn, why do learners learn, and how do you ensure that learning sticks. This interactive book with it fun and breezy style illustrate the authors' point of view that learning should be active and enjoyable. Playful illustrations demonstrate the solid research that back up the authors' contentions and help readers separate learning myth from fact to dispel beliefs and practices that often harm the instructional process.

A Treasure of Performance-Boosting Tricks for Trainers! The best training and development handbook ever published just got bigger and better! The ASTD Training and Development Handbook, Fourth Edition, by Robert L. Craig, is bursting with great new training ideas that'll help you work your magic in your organization. Top industry leaders give 100s of practice-proven techniques you can use right now to: Develop effective leadership skills; Exploit self-directed learning to meet empowerment, continuous improvement and other quality goals; Maximize an increasingly diverse workforce; Select and develop professional training staff; Design customized instructional systems; Build employee participant and involvement; Promote computer literacy in your workplace; Prepare for organizational development and change; Sell management on the importance your HR programs; Measure and evaluate training results; Much more!

Charles J. Givens' Wealth Without Risk has become a classic in the field of financial self-help books for one simple reason: it works. His safe, legal, and proven approach has already started millions of Americans on the road to accumulating wealth through better strategies for personal finance, tax reduction, and investment. More Wealth Without Risk keeps you at the cutting edge of practical, easy-to-use financial techniques. Givens delivers more than 350 low-risk financial strategies — with special sections on protecting your credit and keeping the IRS's hands out of your wallet — including how and why to:

* Get your next raise totally tax-free
* Make your vacations and trips tax-deductible
* Get your retirement-plan money tax- and penalty-free before age 59 1/2
* Use high-powered, little-known strategies for getting out of debt and rebuilding credit
* Get next year's tax refund this year

And much, much more!

The Memory Jogger II is an easy-to-use pocket guide that describes tools to help you make continuous improvements in an organization. The tools help people at all levels participate in identifying and solving problems; eliminating rework; streamlining processes; improving cross-functional communication; decreasing costs; and measuring results. The guide supports organization-wide consistency and participation in creating organizational breakthroughs and improvements. It measures 3.5" x 5.5".

From the publishers of Writer's Market comes a comprehensive guide specifically for the science fiction marketplace! This authoritative reference provides detailed information on: nearly 100 SF/Fantasy magazinesdozens of market listings for publishing housesprofiles of major magazines and their editorslistings of agentsinformation on SF/Fantasy organizations, book clubs, on-line services, awards, workshops and more.