301 Top Tips for Design Engineers

This book is aimed at new mechanical design engineers – to improve your employability and to help you ‘hit the ground running’.

It also contains useful information and checklists for more experienced designers.

It’s a quick read, listing real-world, non-academic, practical experiences which you won’t find in an engineer’s technical reference book.

It includes design and drafting guides, good advice for everyday design and general office life, advice on job interviews, how to handle meetings, insights into other departments, looking after yourself in a work environment and more.

A Broad View of Educational Perspectives

A Broad View of Educational Perspectives is for teachers and school leaders working in English as a Second Language. It is a comprehensive textbook written by Nicola Walsh, an experienced educator from Yorkshire, England. With a hands-on approach to education and a focus on what truly makes a difference in the lives of children and their families, this book is designed for teachers and school leaders working in English as a Second Language. It covers a wide range of topics, from language acquisition to classroom management, and assessment strategies to cultural considerations. The book is organized in chapters that are easy to read and understand, making it an ideal resource for educators at all levels. It offers a great way to explore and gain an understanding of the latest thinking in the field of English as a Second Language education, by choosing a topic and diving in. It is written in a simple and engaging style, with practical examples and case studies, making it an essential guide for any teacher or school leader working in this field. 

A Companion Workbook for Can We Do Better

If you have read Can We Do Better? and feel compelled to make a contribution to community and the environment, then this Companion Workbook is for you. It provides a practical, hands-on opportunity to refine your insights into us humans; and to clarify your intentions to build decency, integrity, and accountability within your spheres of influence. The book’s activities will enable you to examine our egoic ‘man-made world’ of dogmas, ideologies, myths, and institutions. It urges readers to confront ‘inconvenient truths’ about various problematic and harmful aspects of historical and contemporary masculinity. This companion workbook is your opportunity to embrace facts and critical thinking, especially in the face of today’s religious, political, and conspiratorial distortions of key human and environmental issues. This book can help you be better-informed; and be strategically values-based, clear-minded and purposeful in your citizenship, stewardship and leadership. Every chapter invites you to reflect deeply with the intention of becoming robustly aware, constructive, responsive, and effective.

This workbook invites readers to develop a systems-awareness of the earth, its ecologies and its peoples. It encourages us to learn from and internalize yin-based, right-hemisphere, First People wisdom. It encourages women and First Peoples to step forward as educators, leaders and role models of Custodianship and care of Country. The Workbook urges us to foster strategic, holistic, and symbiotic ‘Earth-Mother’ principles and priorities as a means of reducing longstanding harms to people and environments. This workbook is a timely, compelling, and practical read for those who want to make a difference.

A Guide to Successful Substitute Teaching

This book is intended to be used by individuals, which have entered the educational field, who must go through the substitute teaching experience. In order to obtain a contracted position, individuals must gain experience only obtainable through substitute teaching.

All You Need to Know Before Commencing Higher Education

How do we ensure that people undertake higher education (HE) only when they have adequate information? Why are there higher numbers of people enrolling into HE studies than ever before? Why are there so many students dropping out of so many institutions? How do we balance learning in HE with our private life? What skills are acquired in HE? What are the challenges associated with learning in HE? These are among the questions the book will attempt to respond to.

Indeed, several people begin HE with little or no information about the structure, changes, and practices in HE. Some are not even aware of the skills they desire to acquire and that will be required of them in the job market. People commence HE blindly, partly due to external pressure and partly due to the availability of financial support through scholarships, among other things. This unawareness of what it takes to be a student and the current complexity of HE learning environment have become a stumbling block for many students.

This book is designed to provide HE stakeholders (parents, students, institutions, supervisors, teachers, governments, and donor agencies) with information on HE that is otherwise missing. It will help people to make better decisions on whether they need a degree in the first place, and if they do, what kind of skills they will require. The book consists of information that no institution, counsellor, academic supervisor, or scholarly literature will provide to you. (This is the main reason which motivated the author to write this book.)

The author has collected useful data from diverse sources and from people who are responsible for implementing the required practices in HE. Moreover, she was able to capture testimony from students who dropped out of higher education. Their experiences will educate and inform readers about situations that may lead to failure or success in higher education learning.

It is important to have the right information at the right time and from a reliable source such as this book, and the information in this book will surely benefit the readers to make better decisions before engaging in high-demand HE business, as well as supporting those who decide to join HE to be more conscious about what they need and what is expected of them. Similarly, by reading this book, some may find that they probably do not need the degree they are about to embark on. Information is power!

An Idiot's Love of Idioms

Ever wondered where the sayings we commonly use originate from?

Sometimes the things we say, if we really think about it, make absolutely no logical sense.

Why on earth has a cat got my tongue? Why does a wall have ears? And why the heck are my ears burning? Why would I possibly want to break a leg?

If you think you know the answers, you might be close but have no cigar and if you don’t want to wake up on the wrong side of the bed or even worse, wait until you kick the bucket then you may want to step up to the plate and read on.

Now I certainly don’t want to read the Riot Act on you and I think by hook or by crook if you read this book you’ll be happy as Larry and as pleased as Punch.

I don’t want to be a clever clogs but by and large I think you’ll have a field day with what you’ll discover, if you catch my drift?

Apprentips

Looking for a book that goes beyond the basics of apprenticeships? Look no further than Apprentips. Drawing on my personal experiences of completing two very different apprenticeships, I’ve compiled 20 honest and insightful tips to help you navigate the challenges and maximize the benefits of this unique learning experience.

From life at the bottom to finding your own way of working, Apprentips offers advice on topics that aren’t always discussed in relation to apprenticeships. I’ve avoided generic guidance and focused on sharing the things I wish I’d known before starting my own apprenticeships, including the importance of perseverance and the dangers of being too easily offended.

This isn’t a huge book, but that’s intentional. I wanted to create something you can read from cover to cover in a day or two, packed with as much valuable information as possible. And even if you’re not planning on becoming an apprentice, the lessons in Apprentips are applicable to anyone starting out in their career.

Bonus Tip: Writing a book is hard work, but I’m proud of what I’ve created with Apprentips. So whether you’re considering an apprenticeship or simply looking for some guidance as you embark on your career journey, I hope you’ll find this book to be a valuable resource.

Basic Italian for English Speakers

The aim of the book is to teach basic Italian in fifteen lessons. Readers will learn the language by building sentences and phrases as they proceed through the lessons. Italian grammar is quite complicated so grammar rules have been simplified where possible and are used in exercises, comprehension and even games so that the reader can practice immediately and in a fun way.

Explanations begin in English, but as the book progresses, the English language is gradually phased out and Italian is used primarily to explain and elaborate.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive Italian grammar book. Its objective is to present basic Italian in an easily understandable way for English-speaking people who may want to holiday, spend longer periods, or even decide to set up home in this truly beautiful country.

Child Centered Education

Children are the harbingers of the propositions advanced in Child Centered Education with a primordial-connection to the world, with an urge to belong, explore and experiment. Primed to learn, from their first moments, the ensuing adventures could be what will set your child on the road to discovery, happiness and personal well-being. Whether grappling with the mysteries of Language or Mathematics; transfixed at the awesomeness of life; singing to his heart’s content; or immersed in nature, every opportunity must be wholeheartedly embraced. Copper-fastened by a discipline, redolent of expectation, challenge and surprise, teaching, is as variegated, as the imagination is creative. Acquiring those fundamental skills of engagement, in the process, may be what will ultimately enable them to navigate their way between the cognitively demanding, the spiritually uplifting and the social, seamlessly and effortlessly.

How to Lead a School

Targeted primarily at those running a school, or contemplating doing so, this book talks frankly about the pleasures and pitfalls of the job, common to all schools across the world. Each chapter considers in detail the different constituencies a Principal or Head will encounter.

The book endorses good practice, highlights some tricks of the trade, asks questions to provoke thinking, and includes imaginary case studies.

Covid-19 may have disrupted conventional ways of education but has not significantly re-defined school leadership. Rather, it has put even greater pressure on school leaders to meet the demands of their existing constituencies. So this is a handy ‘go-to’ guide, written from experience of over 20 years in senior leadership, as a school inspector and as a member of several school boards.

It’s not another manual on leadership theory because it concentrates on immediate practical responses to the landscape a school leader will face, including a final chapter on personal well-being and how to survive the unexpected.

It's All An Act

From trainee teachers to veteran, battle-hardened staff, the recurring nightmare is of a class of teenagers who simply will not do as they are told. The stomach-clenching, hand-trembling, knee-jittering question we ask ourselves at the start of each new year is, ‘What if the pupils walk all over me?’ No matter how confident we are in our own abilities, regardless of our position in the school, irrespective of the reputation we have built for ourselves, if we do not ask ourselves that question, then sooner or later we are in for a nasty shock. When it comes to classroom management, we are all in the same boat. We all experience classroom management challenges.

It’s All An Act offers a range of practical, no-nonsense, pragmatic strategies and techniques to try out, practise, adapt or abandon. It works on the premise that, to a great extent, classroom management is something we can do with pupils rather than to them. In response to the cry of, ‘What’s the point? That would never work!’ the reply is, ‘Give it a go. What have you got to lose?’ For colleagues under the cosh of lesson preparation, marking, administration, meetings and deadlines, it’s an easy read. What have you got to lose?

Leak Testing Made Easy

Leak testing has become a major aspect of many processes in a wide range of industries, from castings to crisp packets. But it seems it is often shrouded in “secret formulas” and specialist knowledge, known only to the leak test manufacturers.

Have you ever asked:

· What is my leak specification?

· Can I set up my air pressure tester myself?

· How do I check/calibrate my leak test machine?

· Would a helium test be better?

· Why is my leak test failing good parts?

· What are the problems I need to be aware of?

· Who can I ask for honest help and advice?

Many of you will already know the wealth of knowledge the author brings to this subject, and how he makes even the complicated easy to understand. Now retired from industry, Barry wanted to share his knowledge with anyone who wants to be an expert in this field or simply has an interest and wants to know more.

With this easy-to-follow guide, you can call on all of Barry’s vast experience in all aspects of leak testing, including air under water, pressure decay, flow measurement, helium leak testing, gas sniffers and many more.

The book guides you through all you need to know, from the basic mathematics, through developing your leak specifications, selection and setting up your leak test, right through to fault diagnosis and effective maintenance.

Leak Testing Made Easy does exactly what it says, taking the mystery of the subject, and making it simple and practical to understand, with many pictorial examples, along with lots of practical analogies to common-day things that you already know about.

Packed with look-up tables and charts, this book is a must for any specifiers and users of leaks and leak testing equipment, or simply for those who would like to know more.