The Flaw of Averages: Why We Underestimate Risk in the Face of Uncertainty

Sam L. Savage
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A must-read for anyone who makes business decisions that have a major financial impact.

...  In The Flaw of Averages, Sam Savage­─known for his creative exposition of difficult subjects­─describes common avoidable mistakes in assessing risk in the face of uncertainty. Along the way, he shows why plans based on average assumptions are wrong, on average, in areas as diverse as healthcare, accounting, the War on Terror, and climate change. In his chapter on Sex and the Central Limit Theorem, he bravely grasps the literary third rail of gender differences.

Instead of statistical jargon, Savage presents complex concepts in plain English. In addition, a tightly integrated web site contains numerous animations and simulations to further connect the seat of the reader’s intellect to the seat of their pants.

The Flaw of Averages typically results when someone plugs a single number into a spreadsheet to represent an uncertain future quantity. Savage finishes the book with a discussion of the emerging field of Probability Management, which cures this problem though a new technology that can pack thousands of numbers into a single spreadsheet cell.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

她的城．張愛玲地圖

淳子 作
online access from iRead eBook
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總還有些什麼留下來的
她的城
她的房子
她的文字
她的悲涼

「舊家是張愛玲文字的原鄉。」作者淳子女士一語道盡了「張愛玲式的華麗與蒼涼」－－那絕美的文字，所謂何來。

張愛玲的創作與上海這座大城市是分不開的。透過描寫都市生活的繁華與墮落，以及城市男女的情愛與孤寂，張愛玲的心靈在文字中得到釋放。想要走進張愛玲的世界，唯有走進她曾駐足過的這座城市。

在無數的張愛玲追隨者中，淳子女士憑藉其對上海史的研究專業，以及對張愛玲作品透澈的理解與掌握，在一條條人事已非的弄堂、一棟棟人去樓空的建築，以及一份份片段瑣碎的歷史文獻中，戮力爬梳，細心彙整，將張愛玲的作品一一對照史料，重現張氏創作生涯的華采段落，繪製了這份專屬於張愛玲的城市地圖。

因為有淳子女士鍥而不捨地追尋，鉅細靡遺地考證，我們才能從《孽海花》裡，看見張愛玲如何在康樂村的童年時光中，不經意洩漏了戀父情結；從《易經》裡得知她對母親的愛恨矛盾，如何在開納公寓中一發不可收拾；又從《小團圓》裡體會讓她刻骨銘心的胡蘭成，如何在美麗園裡讓她不知所措。

這份地圖，標記了張愛玲一生的情感座標。隨著時光逝去，情淡人散，只剩下當年張愛玲的住所還在。唯有張愛玲的文字常駐，依然在後世讀者心中熠熠閃耀。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Picture Perfect Practice: A Self-Training Guide to Mastering the Challenges of Taking World-Class Photographs

Roberto Valenzuela
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Translating the chaos of the real world into a breathtakingly simple, beautiful photograph can often seem like an impossible task. With busy, cluttered backgrounds and subjects who don’t know how to pose, how can you take control and get a great shot no matter the situation? In Picture Perfect Practice, photographer Roberto Valenzuela breaks down the craft of photography into three key elements–locations, poses, and execution–that you can use to unlock the photographic opportunities lying beneath every challenging situation.

Valenzuela stresses the need for photographers to actively practice their craft every day–just like you would practice a musical instrument–in order to master the art of making great images. With chapters that offer practice exercises to strengthen your photographic abilities, you’ll learn how to approach a scene, break it down, and see your way to a great photograph. The Location section features chapters that cover symmetry, balance, framing, color elements, textures, and much more. The Posing section includes the Five Key Posing Techniques that Valenzuela uses every time he’s shooting people, as well as a complete list of poses and how to achieve, customize, and perfect them. The Execution portion, with sections like “Lighting through Direction” and “Simplicity through Subtraction,” reveals Valenzuela’s overall approach to getting the shot. The book also includes an inspiring and helpful chapter on deliberate practice techniques, where Valenzuela describes his system for practicing and analyzing his work, which leads to constant improvement as a photographer.

If you’ve been frustrated and overwhelmed by the challenges of real-world locations, posing your subjects, or executing a great image–or if you simply want to become a better shooter but don’t know where to start–Picture Perfect Practice gives you the tools and information you need to finally become the kind of photographer you’ve always wanted to be: the kind who can confidently walk into any location, under any lighting condition, with any subject, and know that you can create astonishing photographs that have a timeless impact.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

Portrait Photography
Portrait Painting
[Accessible on Campus Only]

攝影眼 : 視覺語言的字彙與文法 (Photographically Speaking)

David DuChemin 著
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拍出會說話的好照片，學習運用視覺語言的字彙和文法
在欣賞一張攝影作品時，我們的對話往往都從「我喜歡這張照片」開始，但不幸的是，也就這樣結束了。照理來說，下一個問題應該是「為什麼？」然而這問題總是少有人問得出口，也少有人答得出來。身為攝影師，我們常常無法好好談論影像，因為，老實說，我們根本不知該如何理解影像。若我們無法理解影像以及其中的「視覺語言」（影像是如何結構出來的、如何產生效果、又為何能產生效果），那麼當我們站在相機背後時，是否真能拍出最能傳達自身觀點、自身原始意圖的影像？觀點極為重要，但它並非攝影的終極目標，傳達才是目標。而為了能充分傳達自我，我們就必須學習並運用視覺語言的字彙和文法。

本書主要目的，是在學習攝影的視覺語言，以便更清楚地表達出影像成功的原因與方式，並進而有意識地運用該視覺語言來創作影像，使我們成為可充分傳達，且能徹底溝通自身觀點的優秀攝影師。透過將視覺語言分解成兩種主要要素（一是形成其字彙的「元素」，另一則是代表了文法的「決策」）之方式，本書將這些原本深奧、艱澀的內容，轉變成易懂又實用的內容，可讓您馬上吸收，並有效提升其攝影力。元素就是影像的「字彙」，是我們配置在畫面裡的東西，包括：線條、曲線、光線、色彩、對比等等；決策則是我們組合這些元素時，為了能充分傳達、溝通自身觀點而做的選擇，這些選擇包括了：取景方式、透視角度、觀看角度、平衡、對焦及曝光等等。

影像框架中的所有內容都有其意義，而 duChemin 主張，攝影師必須有意識地、謹慎地選擇要將哪些元素框入畫面，並決定畫面的結構與呈現方式。在本書後半部，duChemin 更進一步將這套方法應用在他自己的作品上，帶領你探索 20 張影像作品中的視覺語言，並討論那些刻意挑選的元素與決策，是如何進入了影像的創作之中，並為其成功帶來貢獻。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)

Featured Group: Photography
(Works by significant photographers from the late 19th century to the present, chronicling people, events, and places of our time, as well as images documenting the development of landmark processes and technologies, from early daguerreotypes to contemporary prints.)
[Accessible on Campus Only]

Say Anything to Anyone, Anywhere: 5 Keys To Successful Cross-Cultural Communication

Gayle Cotton
online access from ProQuest Ebook Central
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The five steps to successful selling, negotiating, and managing multi-culturally

Say Anything to Anyone, Anywhere gives readers five simple key guidelines to create rapport and organize strategies for success across different cultures. This book teaches to be proactive, not reactive, in your cross-cultural communications and shows how to use simple rapport tools to create trust with the cultures you work with or travel to. Learn how to organize productive interactions in person, on the phone, and by email. Discover interpersonal communication skills and virtual strategies that build strong relationships.

• Offers quick, accessible examples and clear guidelines about how to create an understanding between cultures
• Gives tips and strategies on how to communicate without offending
• Author Gayle Cotton is a Emmy Award Winner and a distinguished, highly sought after speaker, corporate trainer, and executive coach.

This step-by-step guide to cross-cultural business will help you build strong relationships and manage successfully, no matter the cultural differences.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

同工異曲 : 跨文化閱讀的啟示 = Unexpected Affinities : Reading Across Cultures

張隆溪 著
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這本小書的目的不僅在於展示東西方在觀念和主題表現上的契合，而且還要提出一個更強的觀點，即只有從東西方比較研究跨文化的視角，才可能獲得某些批評的洞見。 如果不超越單一文學傳統有限的視野，我們就不可能有開闊的眼光，來縱覽人類創造力的各種表現和無窮的可能性；而我們一旦跨越文化差異的鴻溝，有了開闊的眼光，再回過頭去反觀許多文學作品，就會發現有些東西我們過去竟然沒有留意到，也毫無批評的意識。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)