Best of
Technology

1982

Orality and Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word


Walter J. Ong - 1982
    Ong offers fascinating insights into oral genres across the globe and through time, and examines the rise of abstract philosophical and scientific thinking. He considers the impact of orality-literacy studies not only on literary criticism and theory but on our very understanding of what it is to be a human being, conscious of self and other.This is a book no reader, writer or speaker should be without.

Diffusion of Innovations


Everett M. Rogers - 1982
    It has sold 30,000 copies in each edition and will continue to reach a huge academic audience.In this renowned book, Everett M. Rogers, professor and chair of the Department of Communication & Journalism at the University of New Mexico, explains how new ideas spread via communication channels over time. Such innovations are initially perceived as uncertain and even risky. To overcome this uncertainty, most people seek out others like themselves who have already adopted the new idea. Thus the diffusion process consists of a few individuals who first adopt an innovation, then spread the word among their circle of acquaintances--a process which typically takes months or years. But there are exceptions: use of the Internet in the 1990s, for example, may have spread more rapidly than any other innovation in the history of humankind. Furthermore, the Internet is changing the very nature of diffusion by decreasing the importance of physical distance between people. The fifth edition addresses the spread of the Internet, and how it has transformed the way human beings communicate and adopt new ideas.

The Pursuit of Power


William H. McNeill - 1982
    McNeill explores a whole millennium of human upheaval and traces the path by which we have arrived at the frightening dilemmas that now confront us. McNeill moves with equal mastery from the crossbow—banned by the Church in 1139 as too lethal for Christians to use against one another—to the nuclear missile, from the sociological consequences of drill in the seventeenth century to the emergence of the military-industrial complex in the twentieth. His central argument is that a commercial transformation of world society in the eleventh century caused military activity to respond increasingly to market forces as well as to the commands of rulers. Only in our own time, suggests McNeill, are command economies replacing the market control of large-scale human effort. The Pursuit of Power does not solve the problems of the present, but its discoveries, hypotheses, and sheer breadth of learning do offer a perspective on our current fears and, as McNeill hopes, "a ground for wiser action." "No summary can do justice to McNeill's intricate, encyclopedic treatment. . . . McNeill's erudition is stunning, as he moves easily from European to Chinese and Islamic cultures and from military and technological to socio-economic and political developments. The result is a grand synthesis of sweeping proportions and interdisciplinary character that tells us almost as much about the history of butter as the history of guns. . . . McNeill's larger accomplishment is to remind us that all humankind has a shared past and, particularly with regard to its choice of weapons and warfare, a shared stake in the future."—Stuart Rochester, Washington Post Book World "Mr. McNeill's comprehensiveness and sensitivity do for the reader what Henry James said that Turgenev's conversation did for him: they suggest 'all sorts of valuable things.' This narrative of rationality applied to irrational purposes and of ingenuity cannibalizing itself is a work of clarity, which delineates mysteries. The greatest of them, to my mind, is why human beings have never learned to cherish their own species."—Naomi Bliven, The New Yorker

U.S. Destroyers: An Illustrated Design History, Revised Edition


Norman Friedman - 1982
    The revised edition includes the two eventful decades of designs since the Spruance and Perry classes. The design evolution of the Arleigh Burke class, which has become the standard U.S. surface combatant, is described in detail for the first time, based on official sources. Friedman also describes the attempts to develop a follow-on class, beginning in the late 1980s and culminating in the current DD(X) program. Abortive attempts to develop new frigates are also detailed.Friedman provides fully detailed and illustrated descriptions of all classes of U.S. destroyers, from their torpedo boat forebears onward. Detailed ship profiles by the renowned naval expert A. D. Baker III are included, along with section views that show internal arrangements. Engineering plant features and complete descriptions of antiaircraft and antisubmarine weapon systems also are given. An entire chapter is devoted to destroyer combat experience in World War II, which had a major influence on ship design and development. As the only history of U.S. destroyers based on internal, formerly classified papers of the U.S. Navy, the book is vital reading for all who have served on board these ships and for all who would like to understand the origins of the present destroyer force and its future.

An Album of Fluid Motion


Milton Van Dyke - 1982
    Flows ranging from creeping to hypersonic speeds, in both the laboratory and Nature, are observed directly, or made visible using smoke, ink, bubbles, particles, shadographs, schlieren, interferometry, and other techniques. Succinct captions describe the essential features of each flow.

The Space Shuttle Operator's Manual


Kerry Mark Joels - 1982
    Soar into the sky consulting the authentic gatefold reproduction of the Shuttle's instrument panel. Operate the remote manipulator arm, the space telescope, and the data relay satellite as you communicate with ground control. Chart your space flight using the authentic fold-out orbital map. Hurtle back through the Earth's atmosphere to land the aircraft gently like a glider.Congratulations! We hope your mission is rewarding and fascinating!Sincerely,Directorate for Crew TrainingWritten for the layperson by curators at the National Air and Space Museum, with colorful illustrations throughout, THE SPACE SHUTTLE OPERATOR'S MANUAL takes the reader through all the motions of an actual mission -- from preparation to takeoff to orbit to re-entry.

The Disappearance of Childhood


Neil Postman - 1982
    But now these divisions are eroding under the barrage of television, which turns the adult secrets of sex and violence into popular entertainment and pitches both news and advertising at the intellectual level of ten-year-olds.

Quality, Productivity, and Competitive Position


W. Edwards Deming - 1982
    As one of the foremost minds in creating the concept of continuous improvement, Deming writes about how to build quality productivity and competitive position.

Rethinking Systems Analysis and Design


Gerald M. Weinberg - 1982
    This unique book tackles crucial analysis and design issues that are glossed over in conventional texts. It recognizes that while many problems are solved with systems analysis and design, many problems are also created.Using a short, highly readable essay format, Rethinking Systems Analysis & Design presents readers with both the logical and the more intuitive aspects of the analysis/design process. The book is not intended as an alternative to structured analysis and design, but rather as a supplement for those who must deal with the less structured processes of analysis and design.A witty and illustrative fable concludes each of this engaging book's seven parts. Among the informative topics are-- mastering complexity-- general systems thinking-- observing and interviewing-- trading off quality versus cost-- understanding the designer's mind-- design philosophy.

Selected Writings on Computing: A Personal Perspective


Edsger W. Dijkstra - 1982
    The daily routine changed: instead of going to the University each day, where I used to spend most of my time in the company of others, I now went there only one day a week and was most of the time -that is, when not travelling!- alone in my study. In my solitude, mail and the written word in general became more and more important. The circumstance that my employer and I had the Atlantic Ocean between us was a further incentive to keep a fairly complete record of what I was doing. The public part of that output found its place in what became known as "the EWD series," which can be viewed as a form of scientific correspondence, possible since the advent of the copier. (That same copier makes it hard to estimate its actual distribution: I myself made about two dozen copies of my texts, but their recipients were welcome to act as further nodes of the distribution tree. ) The decision to publish a se1ection from the EWD series in book form was at first highly embarrassing, but as the months went by I got used to the idea. As soon as some guiding principles had been adopted -preferably not published elsewhere, as varied and as representative as possible, etc.

Augustine's Laws


Norman R. Augustine - 1982
    Augustine sets forth 52 laws that cover every area of business in an entertaining, informative manner.

Understanding the Professional Programmer


Gerald M. Weinberg - 1982
    - become a professional- get a little respect- survive in a bureaucracy- think more effectively- discover what kind of thinker you are- envision the future of the professional programmer

The Radio Amateur's Handbook


American Radio Relay League - 1982
    

Engines, Energy, And Entropy: A Thermodynamics Primer


John B. Fenn - 1982
    He lucidly explains the laws of thermodynamics, examines their origins, their meaning, and their application to familiar situations. His wry presentation includes frequent insights into the history of the subject, and a whimsical character named Charlie the Caveman as an early Everyman, highlighting the applications of the laws. End-of-chapter exercises permit readers to test their comprehension of the material.

Analysis, Manifolds and Physics Revised Edition: Volume I


Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat - 1982
    The present edition is a thorough revision of the first, including a new chapter entitled ``Connections on Principle Fibre Bundles'' which includes sections on holonomy, characteristic classes, invariant curvature integrals and problems on the geometry of gauge fields, monopoles, instantons, spin structure and spin connections. Many paragraphs have been rewritten, and examples and exercises added to ease the study of several chapters. The index includes over 130 entries.

Introduction to Radio Frequency Design


Wes H. Hayward - 1982
    Simple circuit models are used to prepare you to actually design HF, VHF and UHF equipment. Book includes a CD-ROM with ARRL MicroSmith Smith Chart simulation software, and a suite of design and analysis software (for IBM PCs and compatibles).

Hardware Interfacing with the TRS-80


John E. Uffenbeck - 1982
    

The Scythe Book: Mowing Hay, Cutting Weeds, and Harvesting Small Grains with Hand Tools


David Tresemer - 1982
    Now Peter Vido, who has written two outstanding articles for Small Farmer's Journal on the use of the scythe, has contributed an addendum for this book on the practical use of the scythe based on his own extensive research and experience.

Variety Meats (The Good Cook) (Illustrated)


Editors of Time Life Books - 1982