Comments for Digital Science

Comment on Digital Cellular Radio (The Artech House Telecommunication Library) Reviews by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 01:35:25 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent perspective of Radio Technology, June 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Digital Cellular Radio (The Artech House Telecommunication Library) (Hardcover)

In short time I had to learn Radio Technology. As usual when approaching new subject I bought and borrowed a dozen of books. The problem with most books is as usual, that you already have to know the subject in order to benefit from them. Not so with this book. I've read it just like a crime novel and I think I've got better understanding of the subject than I've got from rest of the books. So start with this book and then you will be ready to attack any of the other books from authors like Sklar, Proakis, Miller and Blake.

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Comment on Digital Transmission Systems by Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:33:00 +0000

A very very useful book, April 17, 2002

"yrcoworker" (P.R.China) -

This review is from: Digital Transmission Systems (Hardcover)

It is written well and very useful for my study and job.

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Comment on Coding for Digital Recording by Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 02:04:58 +0000

1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

una revision en espanol, March 30, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Coding for Digital Recording (Paperback)

este es un excelente libro para aquellos que comienza en el excelente y virtuoso mundo de el audio, y en especial para aquellos que lo llevamos en el corazon. la forma en que explica el autor es bastante comprensible y con ejemplos bastante ilustrativos. si lo tuyo es un hoby compralo pero si buscas algo mas profesional este libro no es para ti.

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Comment on The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate by Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 03:05:47 +0000

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Good Start, Though Some Questions Remain, September 11, 2010

Kevin L. Nenstiel "omnivore" (Kearney, Nebraska) -

This review is from: The Civic Potential of Video Games (Kindle Edition)

Kahane, Middaugh, and Evans point out that the bulk of America's discussion about the public consequences of video game play have been mainly moralistic, not rational. Scare-mongers warn of isolated, maladjusted youth failing to engage with our public sphere, while digital media boosters extol technology's equalizing traits, but "the relationship of [video game play] to adolescent development has not been fully explored." These authors purpose to remedy this oversight.

Our authors point out that certain video games, like "SimCity" and "Quest Atlantis," have been used productively in school environments to teach public interest and engage youth in civic engagement and public discourse. By engaging students in intricate simulations of democratic institutions, these games teach youth to care about living issues and real-world concerns. From this, the authors extrapolate that other games which rely on complex relationships with other humans and with technology, like running a guild in World of Warcraft, may teach engagement with democratic institutions. As they say, "the same kinds of experiences that foster civic outcomes in well-controlled classroom studies may achieve similar results in gaming environments."

On the one hand, I have no trouble believing this. My grade school teachers used this same basic claim in explaining why I should play "Oregon Trail" on the Apple IIe. And I can see where guild organization can teach youth to love the social contract just as my generation learned from Student Council elections. On the other hand, our authors haven't yet proven to my satisfaction that, just because kids could possibly learn civic responsibility from games, a sufficient mass of them actually do.

Still, I'm willing to suspend judgment and hear these authors out for two reasons. First, they acknowledge the important role teachers play. Unlike tech cheerleaders who claim the web renders classrooms obsolete, these authors admit that teaching through games requires the concerted involvement of teachers, parents, and game designers. They even spend time on questions of reconciling technology to the classroom, and on teaching parents and teachers what we need to know.

Second, the authors admit the limitations of their own study. Rather than elevating themselves and their conclusions as other studies in this series have done, our authors concede that they have proven correlation without proving cause; that in some cases they have been unable to prove aything statistically significant; and that their biggest discovery is how much research still remains to do. Even if I can't completely get behind all their conclusions, I can appreciate their honesty and admire their rigor. And that more warmly inclines me toward these authors' conclusons.

Perhaps we can best regard this white paper as a prolegomena to future research in a developing field. The authors' last big section discusses several domains still open to new discovery. I look forward to seeing how (and if!) games really do help students' civic education, and how I might incorporate such new discoveries into my own classroom.

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Comment on The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate by Kevin L. Nenstiel "omnivore"

Kevin L. Nenstiel "omnivore" — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 02:24:01 +0000

Excellent transaction!!, April 22, 2011

Pati Hensley -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Civic Potential of Video Games (John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning) (Paperback)

The Civic Potential of Video Games (John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning - good book!!

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Comment on The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate by Dr. Bojan Tunguz

Dr. Bojan Tunguz — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 01:50:54 +0000

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

An Interesting Insight into the Potential Value of Video Games, September 8, 2010

Dr. Bojan Tunguz (Indiana, USA) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: The Civic Potential of Video Games (Kindle Edition)

Video Games are one of the most widespread and enjoyed forms of entertainment amongst the young people today. In recent years the video game industry has been quietly outpacing the movie industry in terms of total number of titles and the revenue. Video games have, for better or worse, become a part of mainstream. And just like any other form of entertainment in the past that was disruptive enough to change the whole way that we spend our leisure time, the ascendance of the video games has been greeted with its own share of controversy. Many societal ills have been purportedly traced to the increased play of video games, and several high-profile crimes involved individuals who had were known to have spent many hours playing very violent games. And yet, it is far from clear that the effect of video games on the society is exclusively, or even primarily, a negative one. In this short book the authors are drawing on their own research in order to show some very positive effects that video games have on the civic engagement of youth. It is a fascinating work that will hopefully challenge some misconceptions and provide a more positive and balanced outlook on this topic.

For some games it is intuitively plausible that they may have a positive impact on the civic engagement. The most obvious example is SimCity, where the player assumes the role of a mayor and tries to develop the city in the most optimal way. However, the research presented in this book shows that even playing certain games like Halo has a significant correlation with the civic engagement.

The authors of this book distinguish between social and civic behavior. They show that the vast majority of kids play games with others at least some of the time, but this does not necessarily translate into a civic engagement. In order to measure the actual civic engagement several measures are employed and described.

The single biggest finding that is presented here is that kids who are very frequent players of video games are actually slightly more likely to be civically engaged. The authors are careful to point out that this is only a correlation, and leave the possible connection between the two for some other study. Even so, this finding is very important as it challenges the preconceived notion that gaming and civic engagement are antithetical to each other.

The book ends with a few suggestions for parents, teachers, youth and the game developers. Based on the findings presented here and a few sensible principles the authors make recommendations on how to make the gaming experience more useful and relevant for the civic engagement of the young people.

Even though this book is written from a very strong social-science perspective, it is very accessible and should appeal to the general audience. In fact, I hope that a lot of people do read it as it will certainly contribute to the public discussion of the role that video games play in the society.

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Comment on The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate by Stefan Klose "Ecologist"

Stefan Klose "Ecologist" — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 01:35:08 +0000

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent work, February 25, 2007

Stefan Klose "Ecologist" (Ulm, Germany) -

This review is from: The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate (Paperback)

How does science work? And how do politics work? How does it all fit together with the data that has come from various sources all over the planet - and is climate change real? All these questions are addressed in an easy read, very neutral. The authors take a firm stand on the issue finally, from a scientific perspective, and the result is clear: Yes, it is real, and it is coming at us, while politicans are incapable and totally overwhelmed by the problem. It is a new kind of threat nobody can deal with, thus we ignore it. Too much for us. Surprising to read from two high profile, Ex-NASA scientists from the US themselves. Alerting at the same time. A must read to be up to date with the debate or quickly get an overview. Stefan Klose - University of Ulm - Germany

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Comment on The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate by JBOZE

JBOZE — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:50:46 +0000

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

A must-have for your collection, August 7, 2006

JBOZE -

This review is from: The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate (Paperback)

This is an excellent way into the subject for the beginner. There's some very sound science, most of which is agreed upon and a good understanding of how policy making works, or doesn't. The two ideas are brought together along with a discussion as to how we might proceed. One of the strengths of the book is the frequent use of boxes to put alternative viewpoints and summaries to show where we are in the debate. The overall effect is one of the most lucid and readable introductory accounts of the topic that has been published in some while. As such it should be seen as a 'must-buy' and an essential addition to the library.

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Comment on Digital Astrophotography: The State of the Art (Patrick Moore’s Practical Astronomy Series) by G. Yanez

G. Yanez — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 02:37:05 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Good reference for particular imaging techniques, June 15, 2009

G. Yanez (Montréal, Quebec Canada) -

This review is from: Digital Astrophotography: The State of the Art (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) (Paperback)

IMHO this book is much better than it is described by earlier reviewers. It is a compilation of articles and it must be understood that way. Readers that are looking for an introductory book may look elsewhere but for those who have at least a very basic idea of astrophotography may find this compilation very useful. Now in 2009, the articles may look outdated and a new verion of this book would be a valuable addition but in the meantime, it is worth having a look at. There are very good articles such as out-smarting light pollution, high resoltion ccd imaging, a brief description of Iris sftware by its developer and the wonderful hybird imaging article written by Robert Gendler who has, in my opinion, imaged the best Orion mosaic I have ever seen.
Bottom line, a must for astrophotographers but beginners should probably start with a book that is aimed at beginners.

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Comment on Digital Astrophotography: The State of the Art (Patrick Moore’s Practical Astronomy Series) by ad_astera

ad_astera — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 02:03:53 +0000

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

Dissapointing, July 25, 2006

ad_astera (Oregon) -

This review is from: Digital Astrophotography: The State of the Art (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series) (Paperback)

More like a small coffe table book than a comprehensive treatment of the subject. I expected more detail about How To and less glitsey pictures: Book is filled with " Here's a picture of...." and then a nice color photo. I'm returning this one.
Don

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