The Art and Science of Working Together: Practising Group Analysis in Teams and Organizations is a primary resource for anyone wishing to learn more about the complex unconscious dynamics of organizations, providing a practical guide for organizational work, a guide to how to improve things, and a strong theoretical foundation in the group analytic concept of the ‘tripartite matrix’. Group analysis is a highly developed science of group relationships, which allows complexity and systems perspectives to be held in mind alongside organizational psychology, strategic development and business wisdom. Organized into eight sections, the book describes the essence of organizational group analysis, including the art of conversation, leadership, ethical issues in team working, and working with whole organizations. It addresses issues such as ‘us-and-them’ dynamics, the nature of systems boundaries, and the relationship between an organization and its context. Leaders and leading consultants give case studies, describing their thinking as they work, to illustrate the theory in action. This essential new resource will allow clinically trained practitioners to extend their scope into organizational work, and all coaches and leaders to benefit from knowledge of the group analytic discipline. It is essential reading for consultants and coaches working with teams and organizations, and for leaders within organizations.

Team Being is a book about creative collaboration—what it is, how it works and how to maximize chances of doing it well. The book is built upon years of experience working with thousands of nascent teams from education, business and government where participants were expected to generate results in formations from two to twenty-five people. The book shares complex insights on collaboration combining direct observations of creative teams in action, extensive reviews of ground-breaking research in the field and insights from leaders of professional creative teams. Team Being goes beyond other teamwork books incorporating compelling insights and perspectives from psychodynamics, neuroscience and quantum physics, all of which help to illuminate the often-hidden forces at work in collaborative environments. The more aware leaders are of these forces, the more empowered they are to lead teams by influence rather than blind authority. Learning how to work well with others is an inconvenience, not unlike what grammar is to writing. Teamwork is an essential skill for the 21st century work force, but there is currently no natural, convenient or effective place to learn it in most institutions of education.

"OFFERS TOOLS AND INSPIRATION TO HEAL OUR NATIONAL DIVIDE." DAVID BORNSTEIN, NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST. Based on a successful workshop that has engaged diverse audiences around the country, Difficult Conversations: The Art and Science of Working Together explores a powerful set of research-based principles and strategies that will allow you to engage in meaningful dialogue with anyone. Unleash your natural capacity for compassion, collaboration, and creativity, and help create a nation-and a world-that works for all of us.

Drawing is not a talent, it's a skill anyone can learn. This is the philosophy of drawing instructor Brent Eviston based on his more than twenty years of teaching. He has tested numerous types of drawing instruction from centuries old classical techniques to contemporary practices and designed an approach that combines tried and true techniques with innovative methods of his own. Now, he shares his secrets with this book that provides the most accessible, streamlined, and effective methods for learning to draw.

Taking the reader through the entire process, beginning with the most basic skills to more advanced such as volumetric drawing, shading, and figure sketching, this book contains numerous projects and guidance on what and how to practice. It also features instructional images and diagrams as well as finished drawings. With this book and a dedication to practice, anyone can learn to draw!

Today’s complex, information-intensive problems often require people to work together. Mostly these tasks go far beyond simply searching together; they include information lookup, sharing, synthesis, and decision-making. In addition, they all have an end-goal that is mutually beneficial to all parties involved. Such “collaborative information seeking” (CIS) projects typically last several sessions and the participants all share an intention to contribute and benefit. Not surprisingly, these processes are highly interactive. Shah focuses on two individually well-understood notions: collaboration and information seeking, with the goal of bringing them together to show how it is a natural tendency for humans to work together on complex tasks. The first part of his book introduces the general notions of collaboration and information seeking, as well as related concepts, terminology, and frameworks; and thus provides the reader with a comprehensive treatment of the concepts underlying CIS. The second part of the book details CIS as a standalone domain. A series of frameworks, theories, and models are introduced to provide a conceptual basis for CIS. The final part describes several systems and applications of CIS, along with their broader implications on other fields such as computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW) and human-computer interaction (HCI). With this first comprehensive overview of an exciting new research field, Shah delivers to graduate students and researchers in academia and industry an encompassing description of the technologies involved, state-of-the-art results, and open challenges as well as research opportunities.

In Interop, technology experts John Palfrey and Urs Gasser explore the immense importance of interoperability -- the standardization and integration of technology -- and show how this simple principle will hold the key to our success in the coming decades and beyond. The practice of standardization has been facilitating innovation and economic growth for centuries. The standardization of the railroad gauge revolutionized the flow of commodities, the standardization of money revolutionized debt markets and simplified trade, and the standardization of credit networks has allowed for the purchase of goods using money deposited in a bank half a world away. These advancements did not eradicate the different systems they affected; instead, each system has been transformed so that it can interoperate with systems all over the world, while still preserving local diversity. As Palfrey and Gasser show, interoperability is a critical aspect of any successful system -- and now it is more important than ever. Today we are confronted with challenges that affect us on a global scale: the financial crisis, the quest for sustainable energy, and the need to reform health care systems and improve global disaster response systems. The successful flow of information across systems is crucial if we are to solve these problems, but we must also learn to manage the vast degree of interconnection inherent in each system involved. Interoperability offers a number of solutions to these global challenges, but Palfrey and Gasser also consider its potential negative effects, especially with respect to privacy, security, and co-dependence of states; indeed, interoperability has already sparked debates about document data formats, digital music, and how to create successful yet safe cloud computing. Interop demonstrates that, in order to get the most out of interoperability while minimizing its risks, we will need to fundamentally revisit our understanding of how it works, and how it can allow for improvements in each of its constituent parts. In Interop, Palfrey and Gasser argue that there needs to be a nuanced, stable theory of interoperability -- one that still generates efficiencies, but which also ensures a sustainable mode of interconnection. Pointing the way forward for the new information economy, Interop provides valuable insights into how technological integration and innovation can flourish in the twenty-first century.

A smart and concise guide to staying together that draws on scientific findings, expert advice, and years in the marital trenches to explain why marriage is better for your health, your finances, your kids, and your happiness Like you, probably, Belinda Luscombe would rather have had her eyes put out than read a book about marriage; they all seemed full of advice that was obvious, useless, or bad. Plus they were boring. But after covering the relationship beat for Time magazine for ten years, she realized there was a surprisingly upbeat and little-known story to tell about the benefits of staying together for the long haul. Casting a witty, candid, and probing eye on the latest behavioral science, Luscombe has written a fresh and persuasive report on the state of our unions, how they’ve changed from the marriages of our parents’ era, and what those changes mean for the happiness of this most intimate and important of our relationships. In Marriageology Luscombe examines the six major fault lines that can fracture contemporary marriages, also known as the F-words: familiarity, fighting, finances, family, fooling around, and finding help. She presents facts, debunks myths, and provides a fascinating mix of research, anecdotes, and wisdom from a wide range of approaches—from how properly dividing up chores can result in a better sex life to the benefits of fighting with your spouse (though not in the car) to whether or not to tell your partner that you lost $70,000. (The last one is from firsthand experience.) Marriageology offers simple, actionable, maybe even borderline fun techniques and tips to try, whether the relationship in question is about to conk out or just needs a little grease and an oil change. The best news of all is that sticking together is easier than it looks. Praise for Marriageology “Drawn from what she learned covering the relationship beat for Time, Luscombe’s how-not-to-split-up manual is witty and wise.”—People “People are still getting married, and this book is here to help. . . . A warm and companionable volume . . . [Luscombe has a] wry touch, a gift for scene-setting, and an endearingly even temper.”—The New Yorker “Few things are more important than the quality of our relationships—and especially the one we build with our life partners. Belinda Luscombe has written a smart and funny book to help anyone work toward a stronger and more fulfilling marriage.”—Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and founder of LeanIn and OptionB

Presents a model for ensuring quality teaching that balances the necessity of research-based data with the equally vital need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of individual students.

The authors' groundbreaking approach to working with children and their parents or caregivers places motivation at the heart of all encounters and therapeutic activities. The book provides readers with both a theoretical and practical understanding of methods for engaging and working successfully with children with a range of difficulties, from physical disabilities to learning disabilities and emotional and behavioral difficulties. The authors present an innovative new paradigm - the model of Synthesis of Child, Occupational Performance and Environment - In Time (SCOPE-IT) - for working with these groups to enhance motivation and engagement and to achieve the best possible treatment outcomes. The challenges professionals may face are clearly addressed, and the contributors also explain how the therapist's use of language may influence motivation. Engaging clinical examples bring to life the SCOPE-IT model, and the book closes with an extended case study of the therapeutic journey of one individual, his parents and a therapist, placing the key concepts from the preceding chapters in a richly human and personal context. Combining research-based theory with a wealth of tools and strategies for practice, this book will be inspiring reading for all those working therapeutically with children and young people, including occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, counselors, psychologists and psychotherapists.

The intent of this volume is to provide an enticing review, for a general audience, of the very broad topic of connections between art and science; and the writing is deliberately casual and narrative rather than scholarly or encyclopedic. The scope is narrowed somewhat by emphasis on Western culture (with some examples from other civilizations) and by exclusion of literature. After overview chapters, the author delves into some specifics of architecture, decoration, painting and cognition, graphic design, and the performing arts, before concluding with a chapter on art and science symbiosis. The text is attractively produced and illustrated with some 200 (small) diagrams, photos, and reproductions. Strosberg is co-founder of Recontres Art et Science, an association in Paris that sponsors conferences and other events in collaboration with UNESCO. This work was originally published in French, in Paris, in 1999 by UNESCO (although its connection with that agency's mission is not entirely clear). c. Book News Inc.