David Noble

Focusing on the design and implementation of computer-based automatic machine tools, David F. Noble challenges the idea that technology has a life of its own. Technology has been both a convenient scapegoat and a universal solution, serving to disarm critics, divert attention, depoliticize debate, and dismiss discussion of the fundamental antagonisms and inequalities that continue to beset America. This provocative study of the postwar automation of the American metal-working industry—the heart of a modern industrial economy—explains how dominant institutions like the great corporations, the universities, and the military, along with the ideology of modern engineering shape, the development of technology. Noble shows how the system of "numerical control," perfected at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and put into general industrial use, was chosen over competing systems for reasons other than the technical and economic superiority typically advanced by its promoters. Numerical control took shape at an MIT laboratory rather than in a manufacturing setting, and a market for the new technology was created, not by cost-minded producers, but instead by the U. S. Air Force. Competing methods, equally promising, were rejected because they left control of production in the hands of skilled workers, rather than in those of management or programmers. Noble demonstrates that engineering design is influenced by political, economic, managerial, and sociological considerations, while the deployment of equipment—illustrated by a detailed case history of a large General Electric plant in Massachusetts—can become entangled with such matters as labor classification, shop organization, managerial responsibility, and patterns of authority. In its examination of technology as a human, social process, Forces of Production is a path-breaking contribution to the understanding of this phenomenon in American society.

A Social History of Industrial Automation

Forces of Production

Carol Kauffman

The best leaders, in the biggest moments, know how to read the situation, respond in the most effective way possible, and move forward. You can, too. The hardest part of leadership is mastering the inevitable high-risk, high-stakes challenges you will face. Whether you're making a split-second decision when your business is knocked sideways or you're finding the best strategy to navigate business-critical long-term circumstances, how can you be in peak form in those most crucial moments? Leadership coaching legends David Noble and Carol Kauffman show you how with their innovative new framework—MOVE—which equips you with the tactics you need to slow down high-stakes situations before they speed you up. You'll learn to master the moment, generate response options, and quickly evaluate those options before acting. As you get better and better at using the framework, you'll find you can recognize these moments as they arrive, like a great athlete who can read the field as a play unfolds or a great conductor who anticipates what's needed to deliver a great performance. Noble and Kauffman bring decades of experience coaching thousands of leaders, along with a deep base of research, to show why their unique two-on-one coaching method works and how it's done. The MOVE framework comes to life in these pages through the personal stories of real leaders living through their own crucible moments. Real-Time Leadership is a compelling and demystifying look at how the MOVE framework delivered positive results for them—and how it can for you, too.

Find Your Winning Moves When the Stakes Are High

Real-Time Leadership

Paul rossi

Improve your Italian reading, pronunciation and listening skills. Make learning new vocabulary easier with those horror and romantic stories. Learn Italian while having fun! The Italian audio is FREE! IMPORTANT: THE LINK TO DOWNLOAD THE MP3 CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THE EBOOK. This book has 4 main goals: Improve your underestanding of the language by listening to a native Italian speaker Improve your pronunciation, in the book you will find exercises where you will have the possibility to compare the written words with the correct pronunciation of the Italian speaker. Learn new words every day effortlessly! Forget about repeating one word 10 times until you remember it HAVE FUN!! Yes why not having fun while learning? How awesome is that?! INSIDE YOU WILL FIND 5 STORIES: Il Bracciale Stregato Il Campeggio Maledetto Il Gelato e la Biologia La Limonata più Dolce del Mondo La Spirale Infernale Before every story, we will analyse specific words and expressions, so as they will already sound familiar to you while listening to such tale. I will reveal some information in advance, to help you understand better everything that happens in the narrative. The sequence of the stories is intended to become more difficult as you proceed, starting from the easiest level; therefore, you should follow the pre-set order. After each tale, you will find 2 things: A collection of terms with their respective translation A series of multiple-choice questions that will help you understand the text The whole book is recorded by a native Italian speaker: At a natural speed for learners to understand what is being said. There is no need for a dictionary. Each story is broken down with an Italian and English glossary that introduces you to the words and phrases you might not understand. In this way you don't need to flip pages back and forward searching for any term you don't know. In all stories you will find a wide range of different words that you could easily use in your day-to-day conversations. WITH THIS BOOK + AUDIO YOU CAN START IMPROVING YOUR ITALIAN TODAY HAVING FUN IN THE SAMETIME! Now scroll up and get your own copy of Learn Italian with short stories for beginners!

David Noble

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