Telecommunications: A Beginner's Guide

Book Description

Written by the seasoned telecommunications training experts at Hill Associates, this book provides you with a step-by-step introduction to the industry, and includes practical hands-on tips and techniques on implementing key technologies. Covers emerging topics such as optical networking, wireless communication, and convergence, and contains blueprints that help bring the technology to life.

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This book provides you with a step-by-step introduction to the industry, and includes practical hands-on tips and techniques on implementing key technologies.

Customer Reviews:

real, down to earth...guide.......2007-04-11

I just started to read this book. Very good book...I have few books on TCP/IP... and Telephone Infrastructure..If you want to know more about Telephone networking, and protocols...look no further...

Aquaintance to the world of telecommunication.......2005-08-12

It is idle time for understanding a management will allow you to accustom to a developing area of telecommunications quickly. Written by skilled experts of company Hill Associates - the leading company on preparation of technical experts in the field of telecommunications, this book contains the technical information necessary for understanding and application of key technologies.

best intro to voice and data communications.......2005-06-14

If you only can read one book on the subject, this is it.
Written by experts in the field of computer networking and telco engineers it gives clear explanation of POTS infrastructure and data networking fundamentals, including the internet architecture. A lot of pages are devoted to "dying" technologies, such as X.25, ATM, and frame relay. Hot topics such as TCP/IP and Ethernet don't get enough coverage in my opinion. Even so, the book deserves 5 stars because even though it may not have everything, it does cover a lot and it does it well and with some sense of humor. There is no "filler" in this book. Besides, other books on the subject are ether too light (Dodd and Golenievsky), too technical (Freeman and Minoli) or
too wordy and biased towards telco point of view (Bates and Horak)
I must say I liked Horak's "Communications systems and networks" too -- it has a lot of complimentary and interesting details, historical notes and is written in a warm and loving style. I recommend you to read it before Hill's book if you are really interested in telecommunications.

Dreams, "Evolution", and Value Fulfillment, Vol. 1: A Seth Book

Average customer rating:

Darwin had it wrong, and the Creationists also have it wrong
Too much verbiage that isn't Seth
Dreams, 'Evolution', and Value Fulfillment: A Seth Book
Seth's masterwork
Very advanced and theoretical Seth material

Dreams, "Evolution", and Value Fulfillment, Vol. 1: A Seth Book
Seth , and Jane Roberts
Manufacturer: Amber-Allen Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Dreams, "Evolution" and Value Fulfillment, Vol. 2: A Seth Book
The "Unknown" Reality, Vol. 2: A Seth Book
The Nature of the Psyche: Its Human Expression (Seth Book)
The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events (A Seth Book)
The "Unknown" Reality, Vol. 1: A Seth Book

ASIN: 1878424270

Customer Reviews:

Darwin had it wrong, and the Creationists also have it wrong.......2005-09-01

Well, perhaps "wrong" is too strong a word, since there are truths embedded in each of the belief systems (or theories, if you'd like). But Seth's more all-encompassing explanation -- best read if you've started out with other Seth books first like "Seth Speaks" -- is shattering in its implications. Once you get your mind around the entire framework of it, it's also absolutely the most logical explanation, too, in my opinion.

Both Darwin and the literal Bible interpreters (Creationists) were/are working through a set of filters and by default, a more limited awareness of the true nature of reality. Seth's explanation, even if you don't buy into it 100% on the first read, is nonetheless extremely fascinating.

Also a comment on the excess verbiage by Robert Butts: Yes, sometimes he goes on too long with details such as, "Jane woke from trance a bit groggy." But all of Butts' comments are in italics, and I've learned from reading the other Seth books to just fast-forward over the italics. It's not that big of a deal once you program yourself to do that.

Too much verbiage that isn't Seth.......2003-08-30

All the Seth books are worthwhile, arguably profound and life-changing, and this is no exception. At times Seth takes wing and, as usual, presents very original arguments ...at times with a concision and eloquence that itself suggests that Seth is an essence from another dimension (as he says he is). But the book suffers from too much comment (in footnotes and an epistle of an introduction) by Robert Butts, the husband of Jane Roberts and the person who actually produced the text dictated by Jane. Robert Butts seems not to realise that what he has to say is infinitely inferior to what Seth says...and yet Butts goes on at far too great length. Stick to Seth if you want the essence of these books.

Dreams, 'Evolution', and Value Fulfillment: A Seth Book.......2002-10-14

Having read hundreds of books on the qualities of consciousness, there are NONE superior to Seth's. My first book on the subject back in the 1970's was Seth and still, though many are fabulous, none compare to the DEPTH of Seth.

Seth's masterwork.......1999-06-02

Seth at one point referred to this book as his masterpeice, the one that all of the others have been building up to. The concepts that he tries to get across here are actually pretty simple once you get your mind to thinking that way--it's a way of viewing oneself, the planet, and the interconnectedness of all relationships (sentiant and otherwise). All of his books are profound, so it would be redundant to say this one is too (but it is). A story within the book is Jane's rapid and dramatic physical deterioration, and Seth's dictation at times takes a back seat to Rob's records of her physical and mental state, and his notes about Three Mile Island and the Iran hostage crisis. When I reread, I will probably skip the notes and just read the dictation, if only to get a clearer flow.

Very advanced and theoretical Seth material.......1998-05-27

Where do we come from and why are we here. This book deals with the origin of mankind and the creation of this world in dreams. I'd not recommend it if you do not know other Seth books, and also not if you are looking of ways of how to improve your life situation (get Nature of Personal Reality in that case). However, it's excellent if you enjoyed Seth Speaks and Unknown Reality.

Average customer rating:

Helps you see what you have not seen.
but within our understanding
A must-read for "Diversity in the Workplace"
UNDERSTANDING OUR WORLD
Chapter 1: Education doesn't necessarily mean Learning

Beyond Culture
Edward T. Hall
Manufacturer: Anchor
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

The Silent Language
The Hidden Dimension
The Dance of Life: The Other Dimension of Time
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Understanding Cultural Differences: Germans, French, and Americans

ASIN: 0385124740
Release Date: 1976-12-07

Book Description

Edward T. Hall opens up new dimensions of understanding and perception of human experience by helping us rethink our values in constructive ways.

Customer Reviews:

Helps you see what you have not seen........2006-01-09

I have read it at least 6 times since it was originally published.

It speaks to the current world scene each time and probably will for the next 50 years.

Hall is one of the 20th century's great geniuses.

but within our understanding.......2004-11-22

This is not Hall's best known book but it incorporates many of the ideas that were originally presented in the Silent Language and applies them to culture. The idea of monochronic (M-Time) and polychronic time (P-Time) are briefly summarised as well. The underlying concept of Beyond Culture is that man is an evolutionary being and although we cannot evolve to adapt to our environment at the rate of insects we can continue to evolve through extensions. These extensions are the things we create such as fire and tools at the basic level and cars, computers, and mobile phones at the more complex level. In this way we have continued to evolve beyond the limits of our biology.

In a similar sense, culture is an extension of our personal being and is used to prevent us from having to explain every little detail. Regardless of whether a culture is "high" or "low" it contains a body of knowledge that provides for ease of communication among members. He develops this idea in the concept of action chains which is a sequence in which several people participate. Culture is by its nature participatory and understanding action chains within a culture can help us to understand how to prevent ourselves from running aground in a culture different from our own.

He also looks at culture and education and lampoons the current state of higher education in the western context. I find this somewhat unwarranted. He concludes with chapters on the irrationality of culture and our identification with culture. However irrational a culture may be to those who identify with it it makes perfect sense.

I do not always agree with the interpretation of cultural examples that he cites but his ideas are interesting and can be helpful in understanding cross/intercultural experiences. I would recommend this book to those who are, at least in passing, with his overall concepts of culture.

A must-read for "Diversity in the Workplace".......2003-08-07

Since other reviewers have summarized this book, my suggestion is to read it with present-day work environments in mind. There is an increasing emphasis of Diversity and Globalization in the workplace. This book can be difficult to wade through, but the concepts stick with you. It was very easy to take the concepts and compare them to the daily situations of working in a multi-cultural corporate environment. Sometimes the best information, is from an original source or work. I would suggest reading this, just because Hall's premises still bear the brunt of time and provide that "ah-ha" awareness to an experience.

UNDERSTANDING OUR WORLD.......2001-10-10

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I HAVE READ THE BOOK. THE LAST TIME WAS A 110 YEARS AGO IN COLLEGE. MR. HALL MAKES US THINK ABOUT OTHER CULTURES AND ESPECIALLY OUR OWN CULTURE. IN THESE AWFUL TIMES IT IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND OURSELVES AND ONE ANOTHER. MR HALL'S BOOKS HELP WITH THIS. IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO UNDERSTAND A CULTURE'S LANGUAGE AND DRESS. TIME, SPACE, AND OTHER CONTINGENTS ARE JUST OR MORE IMPORTANT.

Chapter 1: Education doesn't necessarily mean Learning.......2001-08-18

I read this book for the first time over 20 years ago after I graduated from college with an unrelated science major which I found loathesome and never used. I had already read "The Hidden Dimension" when working with an architect. I am not about to read this one again due to its complexity and the fact it "sunk in" then. Here are some of Hall's highlights:

Ch. 1 (The Paradox of Culture): "One wonders how many individuals who have been forced to adjust to eight-hour, nine-to-five schedules have sacrificed their creativity, and what the social and human cost of this sacrifice has been."

Ch. 3 (Consistency and Life): "He is forced into the position of thinking and feeling that anyone whose behavior is not predictable or is peculiar in any way is slightly out of his mind, improperly brought up, irresponsible, psychopathic, politically motivated to a point beyond all redemption, or just plain inferior."

Ch. 7 (Contexts, High and Low): "... in high context systems, people in places of authority are personally and truly (not just in theory) responsible for the actions of subordinates down to the lowest man. In low context systems, responsibility is diffused throughout the system and difficult to pin down ..."

Ch. 11 (Covert Culture and Action Chains): "The investigation of out-of-awareness culture can be accomplished only by actual observation of real events in normal settings and contexts. ... Culture is therefore very closely related to if not synonymous with what has been defined as "mind".

Ch. 12 (Imagery and Memory): "Our problems in education are exacerbated by eductional systems and philosophies that stress verbal facility at the expense of other important parts of man's mind ..."

Ch. 13 (Cultural and Primate Bases of Education): "One reason psychotherapy is so slow is that in order to change one thing it is necessary to alter the entire psyche, because the different parts of the psyche are functionally interrelated."

Ch. 13: Over bureaucratization: "The problem with bureaucracies is that they have to work hard and long to keep from substituting self-serving survival and growth for their original primary objective. ... Bureaucracies have no soul, no memory and no conscience."

Book Description

GSM, GPRS and EDGE Performance - Second Edition provides a complete overview of the entire GSM system. GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is the digital transmission technique widely adopted in Europe and supported in North America. It features comprehensive descriptions of GSM’s main evolutionary milestones - GPRS, (General Packet Radio Services) is a packet-based wireless communication service that promises data rates from 56 up to 114 Kbps and continuous connection to the Internet for mobile phone and computer users. AMR and EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment), and such developments have now positioned GERAN (GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network) as a full 3G radio standard. The radio network performance and capabilities of GSM, GPRS, AMR and EDGE solutions are studied in-depth by using revealing simulations and field trials.

Cellular operators must now roll out new 3G technologies capable of delivering wireless Internet based multimedia services in a competitive and cost-effective way and this volume, divided into three parts, helps to explain how:

1. Provides an introduction to the complete evolution of GSM towards a radio access network that efficiently supports UMTS services (GERAN).

2. Features a comprehensive study of system performance with simulations and field trials. Covers all the major features such as basic GSM, GPRS, EDGE and AMR and the full capability of the GERAN radio interface for 3G service support is envisaged.

3. Discusses different 3G radio technologies and the position of GERAN within such technologies.

Featuring fully revised and updated chapters throughout, the second edition contains 90 pages of new material and features the following new sections, enabling this reference to remain as a leading text in the area:

Expanded material on GPRS
Includes IMS architecture (Rel’5) and GERAN (Rel’6) features
Presents field trial results for AMR and narrowband
Provides EGPRS deployment guidelines
Features a new chapter on Service Performance

An invaluable reference for Engineering Professionals, Research and Development Engineers, Business Development Managers, Technical Managers and Technical Specialists working for cellular operators

Download Description

"GSM, GPRS and EDGE Performance - Second Edition provides a complete overview of the entire GSM system. GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) is the digital transmission technique widely adopted in Europe and supported in North America. It features comprehensive descriptions of GSM’s main evolutionary milestones - GPRS, (General Packet Radio Services) is a packet-based wireless communication service that promises data rates from 56 up to 114 Kbps and continuous connection to the Internet for mobile phone and computer users. AMR and EDGE (Enhanced Data GSM Environment), and such developments have now positioned GERAN (GSM/EDGE Radio Access Network) as a full 3G radio standard. The radio network performance and capabilities of GSM, GPRS, AMR and EDGE solutions are studied in-depth by using revealing simulations and field trials.

1. Provides an introduction to the complete evolution of GSM towards a radio access network that efficiently supports UMTS services (GERAN).

3. Discusses different 3G radio technologies and the position of GERAN within such technologies.

Customer Reviews:

It's mostly a reference manual.......2005-07-21

For me personaly it's too complicated.
This book mostly intends for high level specialists and can be used as a reference manual.
If you already know about GSM and only want to understand what is GPRS and how it's differ from GSM, this book is not for you.

Great Book.......2003-03-31

All my CDMA Engineers really like this book

This is a very good and serious book........2003-02-07

I don't agree with the previous reviewer. It is a serious book with wealth of information and it is not a marketing info book. It covers GSM basics, detailed GPRS and EDGE information and an intro on 3G technologies. GPRS and EDGE chapters particularly good and contain a lot of simulation results also. Warmly recommended.

Marketing information.......2002-09-24

Not a very interesting book. Reading it is like reading pure marketing material from Nokia.

Required reading.......2002-08-15

I cannot recommend this book enough. We have several copies in our company library, all of which are out. Permanently. Today, when requested to return a copy I had, I learned a new BCCH optimisation technique while reading a page in the elevator to the library....
Go get it!

Handbook of Telecommunications Economics, Volume 2: Technology Evolution and the Internet (Handbook of Telecommunications Economics)

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Handbook of Telecommunications Economics, Volume 2: Technology Evolution and the Internet (Handbook of Telecommunications Economics)

Manufacturer: North Holland
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0444514236

Book Description

The objective of the second volume of the Handbook of Telecommunications Economics is to highlight the economic aspects of the evolution of communications technologies beyond the basic fixed-line telephony infrastructure that was covered in Volume 1. In that book, structural, regulatory and competition policy issues with respect to a well-known technology were covered. Yet, technological options have increased in a quantum manner. Fuelled by the creativity of entrepreneurs and policy-makers world wide, it is safe to infer that a process of creative destruction is well underway. Volume 2 covers the major technological developments and tracks the changes in these developments linking them to the ways that both communications can take place and that institutions and policies can evolve. Written by world leading scholars in a manner that will be appreciated by a wide audience of academics and professionals, the fifteen detailed reviews that make up this book provide an academic perspective on these contemporary changes.

The Evolution of Communication (Bradford Books)

Average customer rating:

EOC -- Brings Animal Cognition to the forefront.

The Evolution of Communication (Bradford Books)
Marc D. Hauser
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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On Nature and Language

ASIN: 0262581558

Book Description

Bound to become a classic and to stimulate debate and research, The Evolution of Communication looks at species in their natural environments as a way to begin to understand what the real units of analysis of communicating systems are, using arguments about design and function to illuminate both the origin and subsequent evolution of each system. It lights the way for a research program that seriously addresses the problem of how communication systems, including language, have been designed over the course of evolution.

Customer Reviews:

EOC -- Brings Animal Cognition to the forefront........2000-03-30

The Evolution of Communication gives a distintive opinion of evolutionary psychology, animal cognition, and cognitive neuroscience. Easy to read and understand, many of the hypotheses and comments of Marc Hauser are now being applied to larger academic issues, such as the "concept acquisition" problem in philosophy. The strengths of this book lie in its overarching predictions, and the supplemental and thorough examples.

Dreams, "Evolution" and Value Fulfillment, Vol. 2: A Seth Book

Average customer rating:

Very advanced and sometimes abstract Seth knowledge

Dreams, "Evolution" and Value Fulfillment, Vol. 2: A Seth Book
Seth , and Jane Roberts
Manufacturer: Amber-Allen Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Personal Transformation | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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The "Unknown" Reality, Vol. 1: A Seth Book

ASIN: 1878424289

Customer Reviews:

Very advanced and sometimes abstract Seth knowledge.......1998-05-27

Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind

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Scientific Approach
How to Make Friends and Influence People
I never lie....
Know Thy Lying Self
This could be a lie...

Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind
David Livingstone Smith
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0312310390

Book Description

Why We Lie The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the Unconscious Mind David Livingstone Smith 'Self-deception is one of the most powerful ideas in psychology and [this book] is an excellent synthesis of this crucial topic. The biology is up-to-date and accurate, the psychological implications are clearly worked out, and the writing is inviting and accessible.' -Steven Pinker, author of The Blank Slate ince our species first evolved, lying and deceit have been an integral part of our social existence. Now, for the first time, philosopher and evolutionary psychologist David Livingstone Smith elucidates the essential role that deception and self-deception have played in human evolution and shows that the very structure of our minds has been shaped by the need to deceive. Readers of Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker will find this a fascinating book, which declares that our extraordinary ability to deceive others, and even deceive our own selves 'lies' at the heart of our humanity. 'Written with snap, panache, and the sort of insights that stop you in your tracks.' -Howard Bloom, author of Global Brain 'David Smith has pulled off a beaut. Why We Lie is a wonderfully blended cluster of arguments to support the painful truth that we are a species whose skill at deceiving others is matched only by our ability to deceive ourselves.' -Arthur S. Reber, author of The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology DAVID LIVINGSTONE SMITH is currently professor of philosophy and co-founder and director of the Institute for Cognitive Science and Evolutionary Psychology at the University of New England. He lives in Scarborough, Maine. Science 0-312-31039-0 $24.95 $36.95 Canadian 51/2" x 81/4" / 256 pages July

Customer Reviews:

Scientific Approach.......2007-06-07

This book described exactly what its title claims. It methodically analyzes how we tend to operate on two levels with a clear and direct writing style. There is a whole unconscious level of communication that is more honest but less admitted in most of our interactions. Smith explains how this has supported our survival over time. Personally, I'm more interested in becoming more conscious of those processes, but the book only peripherally addresses increasing our awareness.

How to Make Friends and Influence People .......2007-03-23

Now here's a familiar scenario: when I was growing up, my parents, teachers and other such authority figures every now and then found it fit to scold me for lying -- and made it sound like a character flaw, a fearful sin. Of course, they were absolutely right and managed to pass on a very valuable lesson: if you want to survive in this world, you've got to cheat in a way that makes you sound/appear totally honest!

And here is a book that can teach you everything you need to know about the origins, mechanisms and usefulness of lying to ourselves and each other. Far from being a morally dubious trait in some "bad" people, it turns out that this is one of our most vital survival strategies.

Smith makes some very important contributions to the understanding of our minds from an evolutionary point of view. He convincingly portrays social life as a highly competitive system, and our cooperation with others as a form of allegiance against competitors/enemies. But because it is so difficult and draining to make reliable friends and influence the right people (as you might have noticed after any cocktail party or family gathering), our brains have evolved mechanisms to do most of the job unconsciously, while we merrily engage in (mostly elevating) self-deception and apparently boring small-talk.

In fact, recovering some of Freud's most enlightening hypotheses, Smith (along with many other evolutionists quoted in his book) argues that our conscious mind is not at all responsible for making decisions: "only results become conscious". We're like the user-friendly computer screen, as opposed to the hard disk, where all the real important information gets processed. Which means that what's going on even in our yapping heads is not really under our "control" -- at best we are informed of the final verdict (though we actually tend to be given false information by our unconscious!).
This split between conscious and unconscious, Smith argues, actually helps us blissfully cheat and manipulate each other without noticing it (thus avoiding unnecessary and possibly violent conflict) -- except when we, all too often, betray ourselves. The book is full of witty and convincing examples of situations in which the gap between our real but unconscious opinions/intentions and our fake but morally/socially acceptable actions becomes visible.

With all this social poker taking place on a daily basis, it becomes clear that society itself is mainly sustained by lies and deception, from religion through the judicial system to elections -- like a collective hallucination. (Which would really explain why politicians, celebrities, the media, schools, etc can come up with the greatest imaginable nonsense without anyone feeling particularly insulted -- it's just normal, after all.)

Thus, Smith's book may lead to two basic conclusions:
1) Either you are totally honest with yourself (if this were possible at all) and must therefore bluntly and unashamedly lie to others;
2) Or, far more likely, you mostly deceive yourself about your true opinions/intentions, in order to keep the conviction that you can be totally honest with others (just like mum and dad and all the other grown-ups taught us).

In any case, reading Why We Lie might give you some valuable hints about how to go on participating in this farce called life -- and enjoy the brief moments of enlightenment that may follow, once we understand that we are swimming in a sea of fables... starting with our own minds.

I never lie...........2006-07-01

Reading the LA paper tonight on the Star Jones /Barbara Walters lie/truth/lie things....bored.. I was reminded of this book and pulled it from my shelf and reacquainted myself with the text. On some level I thought...is this for real or is it really a lie? No, just lying, I didn't. I really thought about the state of our world, journalism....
Actually what I thought was popular culture is so terrifically difficult for kids, I'm a teacher, to contextualize around the issue of lies or lying. Other reviews here give remarkably good insight into the content of the book. I will tell you why I, a school teacher, enjoyed the book. Practcally I wanted to understand the issue better. It's one thing to find yourself telling white lies to explain that Coach purse you snuck in for yourself for your birthday or participating in something like NCLB which seems embedded in bigger societal lying, but it's another issue altogether understanding the issue in children. From time to time a child perplexes me when using falsity as a coping mechanism,or in a situation where it seems so much a fabric of their particular interface caught between school culture and home culture-creation of lying seeming a way to cope- or simply let's say within my work I need a frame for understanding the issue. It happens I ran into the book at one of those times when a student seemed to use untruth to their own detriment.This was a child with many issues, anorexia, poverty, large family, extremely ill parent and I was feeling so sad both for the child and for how her coping was making it all so much harder. I really didn't get the answers to that child here in regard to that specific incident-seeking out some psych reading/thinking/people in the field later-but I did get a remarkable insight into my simple question(why is this child lying?)as being such a complex part of human development. I found many references and forward sending pointers, it helped me be a better thinker about an issue that is with us every moment. In fact just sitting here I thought how difficult it is to move thought or feeling or experience even of my own working with this issue in school to word, how removed it is from intial experience. As an artist as well as teacher, who then creates work third removed -it begins to be truth several times away from that experience (wasn't that Aristotle?) and yet....who is to say it might not be less the lie more the truth. I once debated that this notion of truth as lie, lie as truth.I know working with the student I often debated whether her inner world wasn't the more real to her and often felt she was too fragile to deal with my dealing with the untruth. The book gives a very good account of deception.. biologic foundation to self deception. I enjoyed it .
I recommend this to all readers. Really.

Know Thy Lying Self.......2006-06-24

David Livingstone Smith presents Why We Lie as a beginning step in the direction of an evolutionary psychology of deception. "Nature is awash with deceit," he claims. He produces many fascinating examples of deceit in nature (jumping spiders, for example) as a survival strategy and points out that "although we claim to value truth above all else, we are also at least dimly aware that there is something antisocial about too much honesty."

Smith gives an evolutionary account that in a nut shell goes as follows. As our evolutionary ancestors began to gather in larger and larger groups, the increasing complexity of group dynamics led to an "arms race between deception and detection [that had] huge implications for the evolution of human intelligence." The advent of language upset the balance between deception and detection and gave a huge advantage to the liar. "Most of us are embarrassingly inept at spotting liars." The problem is that we tend to privilege speech over raw observation, and thereby miss the clues that give the liar away. "Once our ancestors learned to gossip, they could form secret alliances, deceive each other far more effectively about where they stood in relation to other community members, and stab each other in the back."

Under Smith's account "the power to deceive is our main weapon in the struggle for social survival." Self-deception was an adaptation that enabled us to better deceive others. The result for us today? Not so good. "Self-deception has been a wonderful gift, but it is now destroying us. Our taste for it resembles our craving for sugar and animal fat." Further, "the most dangerous forms of self-deception are the collective ones. Patriotism, moral crusades, and religious fervor across nations like plagues, slicing the world into good and evil, defender and aggressor, right and wrong."

Smith's book is, as he admits, thin on evidence and light on research. Even so, it is a quick, easy read with enough interesting insights to nudge the reader a little closer to that ever elusive goal of self-knowledge. After all, shouldn't you know whether, at the most fundamental level, you are a self-deciever? It's worth thinking about.

This could be a lie..........2006-04-23

This could be a lie, but I found this book to be fairly interesting, yet poorly written. The author sometimes writes his opinions as if they are blunt facts. I enjoyed the bits of information on animal behaviour, but again poorly written. There is a lot here to make a more interesting read out of. I really felt sometimes as if I was reading a high school student's extended essay. He did his research, he had some interesting things to think about, he put it together and got a B+ (for a high school student).

This book really has potential. I'd say pull it from the shelves, rewrite it, then resell it. More money for the author and publishers, more fun for more readers.

Regardless, it's a book to be taken with a grain of salt. Enjoy the stories, disregard the opinions.

The Evolution of Animal Communication: Reliability and Deception in Signaling Systems (Monographs in Behavior and Ecology)

Average customer rating:

Undeceived

The Evolution of Animal Communication: Reliability and Deception in Signaling Systems (Monographs in Behavior and Ecology)
William A. Searcy , and Stephen Nowicki
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Hormones and Animal Social Behavior (Monographs in Behavior and Ecology)
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Principles of Animal Communication

ASIN: 0691070954

Book Description

Gull chicks beg for food from their parents. Peacocks spread their tails to attract potential mates. Meerkats alert family members of the approach of predators. But are these--and other animals--sometimes dishonest? That's what William Searcy and Stephen Nowicki ask in The Evolution of Animal Communication. They take on the fascinating yet perplexing question of the dependability of animal signaling systems.

The book probes such phenomena as the begging of nesting birds, alarm calls in squirrels and primates, carotenoid coloration in fish and birds, the calls of frogs and toads, and weapon displays in crustaceans. Do these signals convey accurate information about the signaler, its future behavior, or its environment? Or do they mislead receivers in a way that benefits the signaler? For example, is the begging chick really hungry as its cries indicate or is it lobbying to get more food than its brothers and sisters?

Searcy and Nowicki take on these and other questions by developing clear definitions of key issues, by reviewing the most relevant empirical data and game theory models available, and by asking how well theory matches data. They find that animal communication is largely reliable--but that this basic reliability also allows the clever deceiver to flourish. Well researched and clearly written, their book provides new insight into animal communication, behavior, and evolution.

Customer Reviews:

Undeceived.......2007-05-22

Searcy and Nowicki are two of the best behaviorists anywhere who study animal communication. This book is a thorough examination of signals that "must be" truthful by their nature and those than the sender can fake. Everyone interested in animal signaling should read this book.

The cdma2000 System for Mobile Communications: 3G Wireless Evolution (Prentice Hall Communications Engineering and Emerging Technologies Series)

Average customer rating:

More than a good reference for practitioners
The Way to Learn About cdma2000
Timely Book

The cdma2000 System for Mobile Communications: 3G Wireless Evolution (Prentice Hall Communications Engineering and Emerging Technologies Series)
Vieri Vanghi , Aleksandar Damnjanovic , and Branimir Vojcic
Manufacturer: Prentice Hall PTR
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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CDMA2000 Evolution: System Concepts and Design Principles
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ASIN: 0131416014

Customer Reviews:

More than a good reference for practitioners.......2004-05-08

This book is a useful guide to those that want to learn about CDMA systems, as well as a reference to practitioners. It is well organized and not only it covers lot of ground, but it does so without sacrificing discussion of the details.

I found this book to be more than about summarizing the 1000s of pages of the cdma2000 specifications. It gives insight of the rationale behind protocol design and explains the trade-offs involved. System implementation details and algorithms are explained. The chapters on power control, handovers, and packet data operation are well written and very insightful. The chapter on the signaling layer has useful call flows and is an excellent reference. I found the last chapter on end-to-end network operations a bit unique and very useful. But I must say that this chapter could use some more details in the text describing the call flows.

If you need a reference book on cdma2000 or if you are new to this technology and need a guide book, this book is the best available in my opinion.

The Way to Learn About cdma2000.......2004-05-06

The cdma2000 system is enormously complicated. The standards are publically available---all many thousands of pages of them. (Amazon does not like URLs in reviews but if you go to 3gpp2 dot com you can find the standards.) The standards are designed to tell the reader what must be implemented to conform with the standard---they generally lack any discussion of context or motivation. For example, the standards just present the rules for open loop power control without explanation. (See Physical Standard for cdma2000 Spread Spectrum Systems, Release A, 2.1.2.3.1.2 Open Loop Output Power When Transmitting on the Enhanced Access Channel.)

In contrast, this book provides three pages of explanation and motivation before presenting the open loop power control algorithm. That explanation is well written and easy to follow.

The information in this book can be absorbed much more quickly and easily than in the standards. I suspect that many who have to interpert those standards will buy a copy of this book to serve the role of "cheat sheet" or "cliff notes" or "experienced guide" to the wilds of the standards themselves.

I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to understand how cdma2000 works. The book assumes that the reader is generally familiar with communications engineering but does not presuppose knowledge of mobile communications. Although the book is targeted at engineering professionals, many sections of the book are accessible without substantial prior engineering knowledge.

Modern wireless systems are one of the wonders of our age---they are invisible cathedrals in the sky. This book provides an excellent route for one to gain an appreciation of the complexity and beauty of these systems. This book is also an excellent tool for engineers who work with cdma2000 systems or otherwise need to understand cdma2000.

Timely Book.......2004-05-06

This is a very timely book for those in the wireless communication industry involved in the design and testing of cdma2000 1x and 1xEV-DV products (chips, handsets, base stations).

It not only covers cdma2000 1x at a level of detail that is not available in other books on cdma2000, but also goes into the details of 1x EV-DV, which is currently being designed by various companies worldwide.

In particular, the chapters on Layer 2 and 3 protocol, power control, handoff, and packet data operation cover material not available in other textbooks. The authors also explain the reasoning behind design choices in cdma2000/1xEV-DV, which I found helpful.

Compared with Lee and Miller's "CDMA System Engineering Handbook", this textbook covers a broader scope of material, but with a less analytical approach.

Overall, highly recommend this textbook. I found it to be the best and most accurate one dealing with the practical issues of cdma2000 and 1xEV-DV.

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