Mining the Talk
Mining the Talk

Author: Scott Spangler

Publisher: Pearson Education

Published: 2007-07-19

Total Pages: 484

ISBN-13: 0132704358

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Leverage Unstructured Data to Become More Competitive, Responsive, and Innovative In Mining the Talk, two leading-edge IBM researchers introduce a revolutionary new approach to unlocking the business value hidden in virtually any form of unstructured data–from word processing documents to websites, emails to instant messages. The authors review the business drivers that have made unstructured data so important–and explain why conventional methods for working with it are inadequate. Then, writing for business professionals–not just data mining specialists–they walk step-by-step through exploring your unstructured data, understanding it, and analyzing it effectively. Next, you’ll put IBM’s techniques to work in five key areas: learning from your customer interactions; hearing the voices of customers when they’re not talking to you; discovering the “collective consciousness” of your own organization; enhancing innovation; and spotting emerging trends. Whatever your organization, Mining the Talk offers you breakthrough opportunities to become more responsive, agile, and competitive. Identify your key information sources and what can be learned about them Discover the underlying structure inherent in your unstructured information Create flexible models that capture both domain knowledge and business objectives Create visual taxonomies: “pictures” of your data and its key interrelationships Combine structured and unstructured information to reveal hidden trends, patterns, and relationships Gain insights from “informal talk” by customers and employees Systematically leverage knowledge from technical literature, patents, and the Web Establish a sustainable process for creating continuing business value from unstructured data Preface xv Acknowledgements xx Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Mining Customer Interactions 21 Chapter 3: Mining the Voice of the Customer 71 Chapter 4: Mining the Voice of the Employee 93 Chapter 5: Mining to Improve Innovation 111 Chapter 6: Mining to See the Future 133 Chapter 7: Future Applications 163 Appendix: The IBM Unstructured Information Modeler Users Manual 171

Bloodstoppers & Bearwalkers
Bloodstoppers & Bearwalkers

Author: Richard Mercer Dorson

Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 9780299227142

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Remote and rugged, Michigan's Upper Peninsula (fondly known as "the U.P.") has been home to a rich variety of indigenous peoples and Old World immigrants--a heritage deeply embedded in today's "Yooper" culture. Ojibwes, French Canadians, Finns, Cornish, Poles, Italians, Slovenians, and others have all lived here, attracted to the area by its timber, mineral ore, and fishing grounds. Mixing local happenings with supernatural tales and creatively adapting traditional stories to suit changing audiences, the diverse inhabitants of the U.P. have created a wealth of lore populated with tricksters, outlaws, cunning trappers and poachers, eccentric bosses of the mines and lumber camps, "bloodstoppers" gifted with the lifesaving power to stop the flow of blood, "bearwalkers" able to assume the shape of bears, and more. For folklorist Richard M. Dorson, who ventured into the region in the late 1940s, the U.P. was a living laboratory, a storyteller's paradise. Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers, based on his extensive fieldwork in the area, is his richest and most enduring work. This new edition, with a critical introduction and an appendix of additional tales selected by James P. Leary, restores and expands Dorson's classic contribution to American folklore. Engaging and well informed, the book presents and ponders the folk narratives of the region's loggers, miners, lake sailors, trappers, and townsfolk. Unfolding the variously peculiar and raucous tales of the U.P., Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers reveals a vital component of Upper Midwest culture and a fascinating cross-section of American society.