An in-depth look at the intersection of judgment and statistics in baseball Scouting and scoring are considered fundamentally different ways of ascertaining value in baseball. Scouting seems to rely on experience and intuition, scoring on performance metrics and statistics. In Scouting and Scoring, Christopher Phillips rejects these simplistic divisions. He shows how both scouts and scorers rely on numbers, bureaucracy, trust, and human labor to make sound judgments about the value of baseball players. Tracing baseball’s story from the nineteenth century to today, Phillips explains that the sport was one of the earliest fields to introduce numerical analysis, and new methods of data collection were supposed to enable teams to replace scouting with scoring. But that’s not how things turned out. From the invention of official scorers and Statcast to the creation of the Major League Scouting Bureau, Scouting and Scoring reveals the inextricable connections between human expertise and data science, and offers an entirely fresh understanding of baseball.

By the winners of the Association for Talent Development's 2022 Thought Leader award! Prove your effectiveness to anyone-and achieve professional success-by adopting the same ROI methods and metrics that leading companies use. In an era of evidence-based inquiry, people need to be able to demonstrate the value of their projects credibly. But how do you do that when there isn't an obvious measure connected to the project, like increased sales? In their new book Patti and Jack Phillips, the cofounders of ROI Institute, show how you can adopt the same methodology used by more than 6,000 organizations in seventy countries to evaluate large institutional initiatives. By following their six-step process, you can build a case for any project, process, or intervention, even so-called soft programs. For example, the first case study in the book involves successfully demonstrating the effectiveness of chaplaincy in an intensive care unit. The authors explain how to link your project to a meaningful business outcome, make sure your project will actually influence that outcome, identify metrics that will show if you're making progress, collect and analyze data, and use the results to build support. This book includes extensive examples from a wide range of organizations: businesses, nonprofits, schools, law enforcement, and more. It provides diagnostic tools and supportive practices and even offers advice on how to find a positive interpretation for results that don't conform to your anticipated outcome. Answering the question Is it worth it? defines the ultimate value of any project. Using the methodology this book presents will keep your work relevant, your career on track, and your organization healthy.

The first section deals with workplace issues and experiences, based on empirical data - actual experiences through the eyes and ears of someone who was really there. The second section deals with personal observations, musings, anecdotes, and life lessons. All are based on the author’s perspective. Technocrat or technopeasant, Luddite or geek - here you can find the author's pensive insights, observations, experiences, musings, and anecdotes of a life working in high tech from Boston to Silicon Valley, from South Florida to Southern California, in Asia and various lands in between.

The Bible tells us that "the disciple whom Jesus loved" was the author of the book that is today called the Gospel of John. But the Biblical evidence revealed in the scriptures is actually able to prove that this beloved disciple could not have been the apostle John. From the Mount of Transfiguraton to Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, from the Last Supper to the Garden of Gethsemane, this Bible study book answers the question "who wrote the Gospel of John" - "who was the disciple that Jesus loved" - using nothng but God's Word.149 pages, including a topical index and a scripture index.

The Value of Learning is a hands-on guide for the implementation of learning and development programs that can be applied across all types of programs, ranging from leadership development to basic skills training for new employees. In this book, Patti Phillips and Jack J. Phillips offer a proven approach to measurement and evaluation for learning and development that can be replicated throughout an organization, enable comparisons of results from one program to another, and ultimately improve ROI.

Communication and Implementation Communication and Implementation is the sixth of six books in the Measurement and Evaluation Series from Pfeiffer. The proven ROI Methodology--developed by the ROI Institute--provides a practical system for evaluation planning, data collection, data analysis, and reporting. All six books in the series offer the latest tools, most current research, and practical advice for measuring ROI in a variety of settings. Communication and Implementation explores two important topics that are vital to the ROI Methodology--reporting results and sustaining the process. The authors show how to report results that will ensure that the audience has the information needed so that the improvement processes will be implemented successfully. The book explores the range of reporting methods, including face-to-face meetings, brief reports, one-page summaries, routine communication, mass-audience techniques, and electronic communications. The authors offer suggestions for determining the best methods to employ. In addition, Communication and Implementation contains information on how to keep the ROI process going for the long haul and how to make it a valued process for any organization.

It has become commonplace to employ dialogue-based approaches in producing and communicating knowledge in diverse fields. Here, “dialogue” has become a buzzword that promises democratic, participatory processes of mutual learning and knowledge co-production. But what does “dialogue” actually entail in the fields in which it is practised and how can we analyse those practices in ways that take account of their complexities? The Promise of Dialogue presents a novel theoretical framework for analysing the dialogic turn in the production and communication of knowledge that builds bridges across three research traditions - dialogic communication theory, action research, and science and technology studies. It also provides an empirically rich account of the dialogic turn through case studies of how dialogue is enacted in the fields of planned communication, public engagement with science and collaborative research. A critical, reflexive approach is taken that interrogates the complexities, tensions and dilemmas inherent in the enactment of “dialogue” and is oriented towards further developing dialogic practices from a position normatively supportive of the dialogic turn.

Lying at the edge of the Rift Valley in Saudi Arabia is perhaps one of the most stunning places uncovered in history. Rediscovered in May of 2007, the Gold Fields of Ophir had once disappeared from man, hiding a veritable treasure trove of ancient history. The Muslim Empire gives us a closer look at the history and geography of this ancient Biblical culture.

The final orbit of Venus by the Magellan spacecraft in October 1994 brought to a close an exciting period of Venus reconnaissance and exploration. The scientific studies resulting from data collected by the Magellan, Galileo, and Pioneer missions are unprecedented in their detail for any planet except Earth. Venus II re-evaluates initial assessments of Venus in light of these and other spacecraft missions and ground-based observations conducted over the past 30 years. More than a hundred contributors summarize our current knowledge of the planet, consider points of disagreement in interpretation, and identify priorities for future research. Topics addressed include geology, surface processes, volcanism, tectonism, impact cratering, geodynamics, upper and lower atmospheres, and solar wind environment. The diversity of the coverage reflects the interdisciplinary nature of Venus science and the breadth of knowledge that has contributed to it. A CD-ROM developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory accompanies the book and incorporates text, graphics, video, software, and various digital products from selected contributors to the text. A multimedia interface allows users to navigate the text and the extensive databases included on the disk. Venus II is the most authoritative single volume available on the second planet. Its contents will not only help shape the goals of future Venus missions but will also enhance our understanding of current Mars explorations.