We can think of our lives as an interlinked mosaic of practices. A practice is an activity by which a practical task is accomplished according to shared standards of adequacy. Many, if not most such tasks, become routine. They are accomplished smoothly, or even inattentively: unlocking the front door, playing tennis, successfully cheating at cards, drawing hot, wet blood to cure a fever, and so on and so on. However, what must we know or presuppose in order to accomplish these tasks? This book proposes six bodies of knowledge and skill, under the generic concepts of practices and their associated propositions; affordances; causes; mereological rules for managing parts and wholes; fungibles; and perfectly interchangeable somethings, and the models of processes they populate. Each concept is introduced in detail in its own chapter.

The second edition of Strategy: Analysis and Practice provides up-to-date coverage of strategy with an incisive and analytical approach. The author team combines their extensive experience of teaching and consulting in strategy with cutting edge research to form a comprehensive text suitable for students studying strategic management, corporate strategy or business policy modules. The book sets out to provide students with an understanding of the core concepts and economics of strategy, laying the foundations for analysing strategy on a variety of levels. With a revised structure and fewer, more concise chapters, the second edition concentrates more strategic implementation and decision making. The theory is complemented by thorough pedagogy throughout and a range of excellent case examples and longer cases furnish students with the practical applications needed to fully appreciate the consequences of strategic decisions.

Qualitative content analysis is a powerful method for analyzing large amounts of qualitative data collected through interviews or focus groups. It is frequently employed by students, but introductory textbooks on content analysis have largely focused on the quantitative version of the method. In one of the first to focus on qualitative content analysis, Margrit Schreier takes students step-by step through: - creating a coding frame - segmenting the material - trying out the coding frame - evaluating the trial coding - carrying out the main coding - what comes after qualitative content analysis - making use of software when conducting qualitative content analysis. Each part of the process is described in detail and research examples are provided to illustrate each step. Frequently asked questions are answered, the most important points are summarized, and end of chapter questions provide an opportunity to revise these points. After reading the book, students are fully equiped to conduct their own qualitative content analysis. Designed for upper level undergraduate, MA, PhD students and researchers across the social sciences, this is essential reading for all those who want to use qualitative content analysis.

This book provides ten case studies with concise real-world examples illustrating how MAXQDA is used in practice. In each research example, the authors present their way of using MAXQDA, addressing a variety of practical questions, such as how the coding system was developed, how coded documents were analyzed, what tools were used, and how those tools informed the results. Embedded in the context of each research example, readers can follow analytical processes step-by-step and gain insights into efficient ways to use MAXQDA. Readers can benefit from this book in several ways: - Get inspirations and solutions for their own projects - Avoid pitfalls by considering the lessons learned from each author presented at the end of each chapter - Use the examples in teaching Audience: - All researchers who want to get to learn the potential of qualitative data analysis with MAXQDA - All users of MAXQDA who want to expand their knowledge and skills, no matter if they are novices or experts

The definitive guide on the roles and responsibilities of the business analyst Business Analysis offers a complete description of the process of business analysis in solving business problems. Filled with tips, tricks, techniques, and guerilla tactics to help execute the process in the face of sometimes overwhelming political or social obstacles, this guide is also filled with real world stories from the author's more than thirty years of experience working as a business analyst. Provides techniques and tips to execute the at-times tricky job of business analyst Written by an industry expert with over thirty years of experience Straightforward and insightful, Business Analysis is a valuable contribution to your ability to be successful in this role in today's business environment.

Compositional data are quantitative descriptions of the parts of some whole, conveying exclusively relative information. Examples are found in various fields, including geology, medicine, chemistry, agriculture, economics, social science, etc. This concise book presents a very applied introduction to compositional data analysis, focussing on the use of R for analysis. It includes lots of real examples, code snippets, and colour figures, to illustrate the methods.

Function Point Analysis: Measurement Practices for Successful Software Projects is a comprehensive presentation of the principles of function point analysis (FPA) and a guide to its effective use in managing the development and deployment of software. Written for both information technology (IT) practitioners and managers, it describes how to use this proven-but-underutilized software-sizing metric to achieve successful software projects. Completely up-to-date, the book introduces the latest rules and guidelines released in the International Function Point Users Group (IFPUG) Counting Practices Manual 4.1. Function Point Analysis presents fundamental counting techniques for basic-to-advanced technologies. It explains the calculations for determining function point size, an indication of a software application's overall functionality and complexity. Moving beyond mechanics, the book features the most common uses of FPA and reveals experience-based techniques for applying the methodology with success. The book covers such important topics as: An overview of FPA for the IT executive A description of software measurement, relating size to other software metrics Sizing data and transactional functions The application of general system characteristics Counting object-oriented, Web-based, client-server, and GUI applications Becoming a Certified Function Point Specialist (CFPS), using a practice exam The use of FPA for accurate project estimating, development and maintenance outsourcing, and performance productivity baselining FPA automation tools, including function point repository tools and function point- based project estimation tools The role of FPA in standardizing industry benchmarking data Numerous detailed examples and case studies demonstrate the FPA methodology in action. As a reference, tutorial, and practical guide, Function Point Analysis: Measurement Practices for Successful Software Projects raises the level of awareness and understanding of FPA and its role in bringing proven quality standards to the software development industry. 0201699443B04062001

Situational Analysis creates analytic maps of social processes and relationships identified using grounded theory. Creator of the method, award-winning sociologist Adele E. Clarke and two co-editors show how the method can be, and has been, used in a variety of critical qualitative studies. The book-Updates the basic concepts and methods of situational analysis, a methodology created by Clarke;-Provides five important case studies of its use in a variety of health and educational settings;-Offers reflections from the original researchers on the studies and their impact;-Includes lists of published articles and available websites focused on situational analysis.

Praise for the first edition: “This excellent text will be useful to everysystem engineer (SE) regardless of the domain. It covers ALLrelevant SE material and does so in a very clear, methodicalfashion. The breadth and depth of the author's presentation ofSE principles and practices is outstanding.” –Philip Allen This textbook presents a comprehensive, step-by-step guide toSystem Engineering analysis, design, and development via anintegrated set of concepts, principles, practices, andmethodologies. The methods presented in this text apply to any typeof human system -- small, medium, and large organizational systemsand system development projects delivering engineered systems orservices across multiple business sectors such as medical,transportation, financial, educational, governmental, aerospace anddefense, utilities, political, and charity, among others. Provides a common focal point for “bridgingthe gap” between and unifying System Users, System Acquirers,multi-discipline System Engineering, and Project, Functional, andExecutive Management education, knowledge, and decision-making fordeveloping systems, products, or services Each chapter provides definitions of key terms,guiding principles, examples, author’s notes, real-worldexamples, and exercises, which highlight and reinforce key SE&Dconcepts and practices Addresses concepts employed in Model-BasedSystems Engineering (MBSE), Model-Driven Design (MDD), UnifiedModeling Language (UMLTM) / Systems Modeling Language(SysMLTM), and Agile/Spiral/V-Model Development such asuser needs, stories, and use cases analysis; specificationdevelopment; system architecture development; User-Centric SystemDesign (UCSD); interface definition & control; systemintegration & test; and Verification & Validation(V&V) Highlights/introduces a new 21st Century SystemsEngineering & Development (SE&D) paradigm that is easy tounderstand and implement. Provides practices that are critical stagingpoints for technical decision making such as Technical StrategyDevelopment; Life Cycle requirements; Phases, Modes, & States;SE Process; Requirements Derivation; System ArchitectureDevelopment, User-Centric System Design (UCSD); EngineeringStandards, Coordinate Systems, and Conventions; et al. Thoroughly illustrated, with end-of-chapter exercises andnumerous case studies and examples, Systems EngineeringAnalysis, Design, and Development, Second Edition is a primarytextbook for multi-discipline, engineering, system analysis, andproject management undergraduate/graduate level students and avaluable reference for professionals.

Occupation Analysis in Practice is the essential book for all future and current occupational therapists. It offers a practical approach to the analysis of occupations in real world practice. The book frames occupation as the key component for analysis and builds upon previous work limited to analysis at the activity level. It examines the interests, goals, abilities and contexts of individuals, groups, institutions and communities, along with the demands of the occupation. It presents examples of occupation analysis in different practice context including working with children, health promotion, indigenous health, medico-legal practice; mental health and occupational rehabilitation. The book has four sections. Section 1 introduces theoretical perspectives of the concept of occupation analysis and how such analysis relates to particular models of Occupational Therapy practice and the generic World Health Organisation International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health. Section 2 discusses analysis of particular components of occupation that support practice. These include culture, spirituality, home and community environments as well as self-care and leisure. Section 3 applies analysis of occupations to particular specialties encountered in practice. Section 4 considers the application of Occupation Analysis within professional reasoning and goal setting. FEATURES International team of contributors Examples of occupation analysis proforma Application to a wide range of practice areas. Glossary of key terms Incudes the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.