Books about Reinforcement from Amazon.com

A Better Way to Better Behavior

Karen Pryor's clear and entertaining explanation of behavioral training methods made Don't Shoot the Dog! a bestselling classic. Now this revised edition presents more of her insights into animal--and human--behavior.

A groundbreaking behavioral scientist and dynamic animal trainer, Karen Pryor is a powerful proponent of the principles and practical uses of positive reinforcement in teaching new behaviors. Here are the secrets of changing behavior in pets, kids--even yourself--without yelling, threats, force, punishment, guilt trips...or shooting the dog:

The principles of the revolutionary "clicker training" method, which owes its phenomenal success to its immediacy of response--so there is no question what action you are rewarding
8 methods of ending undesirable habits--from furniture-clawing cats to sloppy roommates
The 10 laws of "shaping" behavior--for results without strain or pain through "affection training"
Tips for house-training the dog, improving your tennis game, or dealing with an impossible teen
Explorations of exciting new uses for reinforcement training

Learn why pet owners rave, "This book changed our lives!" and how these pioneering techniques can work for you too..
Price: $7.79 [Notify me when price goes down.]

This revised edition features almost 40 new pages and is even easier to follow with the addition of an index and a simplified page and chapter numbering system. New topics covered include: MIDI, Synchronization, and an Appendix on Logarithms..
Price: $19.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

The classic bestseller on performance management is updated to reflect changes in today's working environment. When an employer needs to know how to gain maximum performance from employees, renowned behavioral psychologist--Aubrey Daniels is the man to consult. What has made Daniels the man with the answers? His ability to apply scientifically based behavioral stimuli to the workplace while making it fun at the same time.

Now Daniels updates his ground-breaking book with the latest and best motivational methods, perfected at such companies as Xerox, 3M, and Kodak. All-new material shows how to: create effective recognition and rewards systems in line with today's employees want; Stimulate innovations and creativity in new and exciting ways; overcome problems associated with poorly educated workers; motivate young employees from the minute they join the workforce..
Price: $9.44 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Study Guide and Reinforcement Worksheets allow for differentiated instruction through a wide range of question formats. There are worksheets and study tools for each section of the text that help teachers track students' progress toward understanding concepts. Guided Reading Activities help students identify and comprehend the important information in each chapter..
Price: $10.78 [Notify me when price goes down.]

With this definitive guide to sound reinforcement design and optimization, Bob McCarthy shares his expert knowledge and effective methodology developed from decades of field and teaching experience. This book is written for the field professional as well as the consultant or student, in a clear and easy-to-read style and illustrated with color diagrams and screenshots throughout. McCarthy's unique guide reveals the proven techniques to ensure that your sound system design can be optimized for maximum uniformity over the space.

The book follows the audio signal path from the mix console to the audience and provides comprehensive information as to how the sound is spread over the listening area. The complex nature of the physics of speaker interaction over a listening space is revealed in terms readily understandable to audio professionals. Complex speaker arrays are broken down systematically and the means to design systems that are capable of being fully optimized for maximum spatial uniformity is shown.
The methods of alignment are shown, including measurement mic placement, and step-by-step recipes for equalization, delay setting, level setting, speaker positioning and acoustic treatment. These principles and techniques are applicable to the simplest and most complex systems alike, from the single speaker to the multi-element line array.

* The first book devoted exclusively to the emerging field of sound system optimization using modern tools and practices.
* Offers you expert guidance on the popular tools of the trade, including line arrays and digital signal processors
* Color images and diagrams throughout aid understanding and clearly illustrate topics within the book.
Price: $52.32 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Get ready to learn live sound reinforcement using the best-selling title on the subject available! The simple language, detailed illustrations, and concrete examples in this book are suitable for novice to intermediate-level users. "Live Sound Reinforcement" outlines all aspects of P.A. system operation and commonly encountered sound system design concerns. Topics include microphones, speaker systems, equalizers, mixers, signal processors, amplifiers, system wiring and interfaces, indoor and outdoor sound considerations and psychoacoustics..
Price: $17.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

KEEP YOUR PARROT STIMULATED AND ACTIVE, AND HE WILL KEEP YOU ENTERTAINED!

By nature, parrots are inquisitive, intelligent, and social animals You can capitalize on these characteristics and obedience train your bird, teaching him behaviors that will make your life and his more enjoyable—behaviors such as stepping on your hand or wrist on command, and going to a designated perch. Then you can progress to teach him all kinds of tricks. He'll love the attention, communication, and socialization. From the essential basics of obedience training to awesome tricks that will amuse and amaze your friends, Parrot Tricks covers:

• Techniques to use during the "get acquainted" period
• Setting up a training area and using food as a training tool
• Training basics such as targeting, luring, and using cues
• Necessary obedience skills such as step up, come, perch, and stay
• The basic retrieve command, the foundation of many tricks
• Simple tricks such as shake hands, high five, kiss, and take a bow
• Tricks based on the retrieve command, including basketball, ring on the peg, and stacking cups
• Advanced tricks such as pulling a wagon, pushing a grocery cart, raising a flag, and riding a skateboard
• Innovative tricks that showcase your bird's natural abilities
• Chaining tricks, such as recycling and going to the mailbox
• Verbalizations and talking using the Rival/Model Method or the Positive Reward Method
• Directions for making simple props

With this book, patience, and practice, you'll build your understanding of and relationship with your bird as you build a repertoire of tricks. You can get your parrot to jump through hoops for you—literally!.
Price: $11.21 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Mustin's part-by-part look at hull, deck, rig, and machinery is both a minicourse for transforming used-boat shopping from a game of craps to a science, and the first step in a holistic boat maintenance program. His discussion of the significance of cracks found in aging hulls and decks is the most thorough in print. He is not shy in assessing the lack of regulation of professional surveyors, nor does he shrink from pointing a finger at shoddy building practices.

Having a used boat surveyed is a critical prelude to buying it. Yet a professional survey is expensive--several hundred dollars. Surveying Fiberglass Sailboats will enable you to conduct your own surveys while narrowing the field, then monitor a professional surveyor's performance when selecting your target boat..
Price: $9.32 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Reinforcement learning, one of the most active research areas in artificial intelligence, is a computational approach to learning whereby an agent tries to maximize the total amount of reward it receives when interacting with a complex, uncertain environment. In Reinforcement Learning, Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto provide a clear and simple account of the key ideas and algorithms of reinforcement learning. Their discussion ranges from the history of the field's intellectual foundations to the most recent developments and applications. The only necessary mathematical background is familiarity with elementary concepts of probability.

The book is divided into three parts. Part I defines the reinforcement learning problem in terms of Markov decision processes. Part II provides basic solution methods: dynamic programming, Monte Carlo methods, and temporal-difference learning. Part III presents a unified view of the solution methods and incorporates artificial neural networks, eligibility traces, and planning; the two final chapters present case studies and consider the future of reinforcement learning..
Price: $43.32 [Notify me when price goes down.]