- Table View
- List View
The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind
by Michio Kaku#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The renowned theoretical physicist and national bestselling author of The God Equation tackles the most fascinating and complex object in the known universe: the human brain.&“Compelling…Kaku thinks with great breadth, and the vistas he presents us are worth the trip.&” —The New York Times Book ReviewThe Future of the Mind brings a topic that once belonged solely to the province of science fiction into a startling new reality. This scientific tour de force unveils the astonishing research being done in top laboratories around the world—all based on the latest advancements in neuroscience and physics—including recent experiments in telepathy, mind control, avatars, telekinesis, and recording memories and dreams. The Future of the Mind is an extraordinary, mind-boggling exploration of the frontiers of neuroscience. Dr. Kaku looks toward the day when we may achieve the ability to upload the human brain to a computer, neuron for neuron; project thoughts and emotions around the world on a brain-net; take a &“smart pill&” to enhance cognition; send our consciousness across the universe; and push the very limits of immortality.
The Future of the Past: Paths towards Participatory Governance for Cultural Heritage
by Gabriela GarcíaThe Future of the Past is a biennial conference generally carried out during the commemoration date of the incorporation of Santa Ana de Los Ríos de Cuenca Ecuador as a World Heritage Site (WHS). It initiated in 2014, organized by the City Preservation Management research project (CPM) of the University of Cuenca, to create a space for dialoguing among interested actors in the cultural heritage field. Since then, this space has served to exchange initiatives and to promote coordinated actions based on shared responsibility, in the local context. The third edition of this conference took place in the context of the 20th anniversary of being listed as WHS and a decade of CPM as the Southern host of the PRECOM³OS UNESCO Chair (Preventive Conservation, Maintenance and Monitoring of Monuments and Sites). For the very first time, and thanks to the collaboration with the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation of the University of Leuven (Belgium), the conference expanded its local scope. On this occasion, contributions reflected round a worldwide challenge in the cultural field: revealing the paths towards participatory governance of cultural heritage. Participatory governance is understood as institutional decision-making structures supported by shared responsibilities and rights among diverse actors.
The Future of the Red-legged Partridge: Science, Hunting and Conservation (Wildlife Research Monographs #6)
by Fabián Casas Jesús T. GarcíaThere has been a recent upsurge of red-legged partridge research in most countries where the species is distributed, but no comprehensive review of that fresh and relevant multidisciplinary and international knowledge is available. In fact, this is probably the first scientific book on this important species, apart from Dick Potts’ excellent works on British-introduced population, or ONCFS’s (Office Nationale de la Chasse et le Faune Sauvage, France) older technical reports. This is in strong contrast with a plethora of literature in hunting magazines or non-academic books, not often precise, realistic, or well informed. Thus, the book fills a great bibliography gap that could have important social impact. The common thread of the book is the prominent role a species like this may play for research, from basic physiological or ecological knowledge to socio-economics of hunting and the rural world. The general framework of the book [I1] is the important role that hunting and game management may play in both rural economies and biodiversity conservation, with the partridge as flag species, and also in identifying the “dark drift” that industrial, incorrectly deployed management, or hunting vision may have on both sustainability of resources and nature conservation at large. The final aim of the book is identifying the best future scenario, both for partridge hunters and managers as well as the general public.
The Future of the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Business Perspectives for Global Development in 2030 (CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance)
by Samuel O. Idowu René Schmidpeter Liangrong ZuThis book provides a business-oriented analysis of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In order to assess their impact on businesses and corporations, the book addresses all 17 goals and a broad range of industries. Gathering contributions from Africa, Europe and Asia, it presents both critical reviews and case studies. In turn, the book seeks to predict likely developments during the next decade. To do so, it examines evidence from today’s business world and how companies and corporations have been adopting the SDGs since their release. In this regard, it discusses the changes that will be required and how the agenda will affect the continent’s development path. An underlying theme throughout the book is the role of monetary value and investment for sustainable development: whether through financing, enhanced turnaround resulting from a more educated population, or more socially innovative entrepreneurs.
The Future of the Universe
by Raman PrinjaExperience the explosive and colourful future of the cosmos, zooming trillions of years ahead in time with Professor Raman Prinja, published in association with Royal Observatory Greenwich.The Future of the Universe starts the future clock NOW and rockets readers along a forward time line to discover what scientists predict will happen to the universe, including a shiny new ring on Mars, Earth's axis flip and a dramatic galaxy crash!This is the first book of its kind for this age - putting all the future events into one place along a clear timeline, from the return of famous comets in a few decades, to the dark end of the Universe a nonillion years from now.Professor Raman Prinja is the international, multi-award-winning Head of Department for Physics and Astronomy at University College London and a celebrated children's author of many books, including Planetarium and Wonders of the Night Sky. Illustrator Jan Bielecki's action-packed, vivid artwork plucks these astonishing phenomena out of the distant future, and explodes them on the page - sizzling red giant stars and deep, mysterious dark energy; doomed moons and trailing comets - they're all inside The Future of the Universe!Professor Prinja pens this unique look at the Universe's future as his follow-up to the definitive and exciting Wonders of the Night Sky, which introduces anyone with a patch of sky and a curious mind to exploring the marvels on display in today's Universe. The next generation of Universe explorers can easily engage with astronomy through these stunning books, no expensive equipment needed.
The Future: 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know
by Richard WatsonA dynamic insight into how science will shape human destiny over the coming century.What will the world look like in 2020, 2030 or even 2100? How will progress in scientific research affect human life in the areas of health and lifestyle, energy and the environment, politics and conflict, space exploration and even the ultimate questions of existence? This book offers an electrifying trip through the wonders - and terrors - awaiting us over the next hundred years.
The Future: 50 Ideas You Really Need to Know (50 Ideas You Really Need to Know series)
by Richard WatsonA dynamic insight into how science will shape human destiny over the coming century.What will the world look like in 2020, 2030 or even 2100? How will progress in scientific research affect human life in the areas of health and lifestyle, energy and the environment, politics and conflict, space exploration and even the ultimate questions of existence? This book offers an electrifying trip through the wonders - and terrors - awaiting us over the next hundred years.
The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change
by Al GoreFrom the former vice president and #1 New York Times bestselling author comes An Inconvenient Truth for everything--a frank and clear-eyed assessment of six critical drivers of global change in the decades to come. Ours is a time of revolutionary change that has no precedent in history. With the same passion he brought to the challenge of climate change, and with his decades of experience on the front lines of global policy, Al Gore surveys our planet's beclouded horizon and offers a sober, learned, and ultimately hopeful forecast in the visionary tradition of Alvin Toffler's Future Shock and John Naisbitt's Megatrends. In The Future, Gore identifies the emerging forces that are reshaping our world: * Ever-increasing economic globalization has led to the emergence of what he labels "Earth Inc."--an integrated holistic entity with a new and different relationship to capital, labor, consumer markets, and national governments than in the past. * The worldwide digital communications, Internet, and computer revolutions have led to the emergence of "the Global Mind," which links the thoughts and feelings of billions of people and connects intelligent machines, robots, ubiquitous sensors, and databases. * The balance of global political, economic, and military power is shifting more profoundly than at any time in the last five hundred years--from a U.S.-centered system to one with multiple emerging centers of power, from nation-states to private actors, and from political systems to markets. * A deeply flawed economic compass is leading us to unsustainable growth in consumption, pollution flows, and depletion of the planet's strategic resources of topsoil, freshwater, and living species. * Genomic, biotechnology, neuroscience, and life sciences revolutions are radically transforming the fields of medicine, agriculture, and molecular science--and are putting control of evolution in human hands. * There has been a radical disruption of the relationship between human beings and the earth's ecosystems, along with the beginning of a revolutionary transformation of energy systems, agriculture, transportation, and construction worldwide. From his earliest days in public life, Al Gore has been warning us of the promise and peril of emergent truths--no matter how "inconvenient" they may seem to be. As absorbing as it is visionary, The Future is a map of the world to come, from a man who has looked ahead before and been proven all too right.
The G.O.D. Experiments: How Science Is Discovering God in Everything, Including Us
by William L. Simon Gary E. SchwartzDOES GOD EXIST ONLY IN OUR HEARTS? According to highly esteemed scientist Gary E. Schwartz, Ph. D. , there is compelling scientific evidence that we no longer have to accept God on faith alone. Through a multidisciplinary approach, Harvard University-educated Dr. Schwartz blends psychology, quantum physics, and mathematics to examine the science of spirit. Faith and science are not mutually exclusive, and a better understanding of their relationship can lead us to recognize how God operates in everything. Trained in the scientific method as an "open-minded skeptic," Dr. Schwartz was taught how to raise questions, turn them into hypotheses, and design experiments to test them. He was not trained to consider the nature of God. And yet, his scientific research led him directly to the discovery of God's existence in intelligent evolution and everyday life. Scientifically rigorous and spiritually reassuring, this eye-opening book is a wake-up call for anyone who wonders about life's true meaning and who longs to believe in the existence of a universal intelligence.
The GEO Handbook on Biodiversity Observation Networks
by Michele Walters Robert J. ScholesBiodiversity observationsystems are almost everywhere inadequate to meet local, national andinternational (treaty) obligations. As a result of alarmingly rapid declines inbiodiversity in the modern era, there is a strong, worldwide desire to upgradeour monitoring systems, but little clarity on what is actually needed and howit can be assembled from the elements which are already present. This bookintends to provide practical guidance to broadly-defined biodiversityobservation networks at all scales, but predominantly the national scale andhigher. This is a practical how-to book with substantial policy relevance. Itwill mostly be used by technical specialists with a responsibility forbiodiversity monitoring to establish and refine their systems. It is written ata technical level, but one that is not discipline-bound: it should beintelligible to anyone in the broad field with a tertiary education.
The GMO Deception: What You Need to Know about the Food, Corporations, and Government Agencies Putting Our Families and Our Environment at Risk
by Ralph Nader Sheldon Krimsky Jeremy GruberSeventy-five percent of processed foods on supermarket shelves-from soda to soup, crackers to condiments-contain genetically engineered ingredients. The long-term effects of these foods on human health and ecology are still unknown, and public concern has been steadily intensifying.This new book from the Council for Responsible Genetics gathers the best, most thought-provoking essays by the leading scientists, science writers, and public health advocates. Collectively, they address such questions as:Are GM foods safe and healthy for us?Will GM food really solve world hunger?Who really controls the power structure of food production?Are GM foods ecologically safe and sustainable?Why is it so difficult to get GM foods labeled in the US?What kinds of regulations and policies should be instituted?How is seed biodiversity, of lack thereof, affecting developing countries?Should animals be genetically modified for food?How are other countries handling GM crops?Ultimately, this definitive book encourages us to think about the social, environmental, and moral ramifications of where this particular branch of biotechnology is taking us, and what we should do about it.
The Gadget War
by Betsy DuffeyMEET THE GADGET WHIZ.. Kelly Sparks has forty-three inventions to her credit -- and she's only in third grade! Just name a problem, and in no time Kelly will come up with a gadget to solve it. But when Albert Einstein Jones walks into Kelly's class, he becomes Kelly's stickiest problem yet! Albert's been to Young Inventor's Camp, and he's determined to prove who the real gadget whiz is. This is sure to be a mastermind fight to the finish!
The Galapagos Marine Reserve
by Judith Denkinger Luis VinuezaThis book focuses on how marine systems respond to natural and anthropogenic perturbations (ENSO, overfishing, pollution, tourism, invasive species, climate-change). Authors explain in their chapters how this information can guide management and conservation actions to help orient and better manage, restore and sustain the ecosystems services and goods that are derived from the ocean, while considering the complex issues that affect the delicate nature of the Islands. This book will contribute to a new understanding of the Galapagos Islands and marine ecosystems.
The Galileo Affair: A Documentary History
by Maurice A. FinocchiaroThis book provides a documentary history of the series of developments which began in 1613 and culminated in 1633 with the trial and condemnation of Galileo.
The Gang Life: Suppression and Prevention
by Robert Matthew Brzenchek Ben Pieper Garrick PlonczynskiThe Gang Life: Laugh Now, Cry Later examines the criminal gangster mindset and offers gang prevention strategies, using real-world examples to demonstrate a holistic approach toward combatting this surging societal problem. The text outlines the evolution of gang membership from a state of interest, to association, to hardcore "O.G." (Original Gangster) status, and explores the evolution of law enforcement’s multi-pronged approach to combating criminal street gang violence, from the catch-and-release mentality of the 1970s and 1980s to today’s collaboration with private organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs. In-depth profiles, case studies, and lengthy histories of gangs, gang members, and their transformations are provided to demonstrate the deleterious effect of gangs on society. Designed for criminal justice students and for practitioners in the field, this text offers readers a holistic approach toward gang prevention from three nationally awarded educators and gang investigators.
The Ganga
by Pranab Kumar ParuaThe geo-hydro-morphometry of the river Ganges has a history of long and wide variations as the river is continuously fed by the high Himalayas hill ranges, the highest in the world. The river is categorized as an international one, passing through several independent countries. The major flow of the river used to flow through the branch river, Bhagirathi-Hooghly on the banks of which both city and port of Calcutta (now renamed Kolkata) are situated. However, due to massive tectonic and morphological changes, the flow through the branch river has gradually decreased resulting in enormous damages to the port and the city. After more than a century of investigations on the probable causes of deterioration and its remedies, a barrage across the river had been constructed near a place called Farakka in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal, India for diversion of a part of lean season flow (40,000 cu secs) from the parent river to the branch river for the resuscitation of the branch river and revitalization of the port of Calcutta. The turmoil started since the construction of barrage between 1965-1975 and the major neighbouring countries, India and Bangladesh, were locked in the dispute over sharing the water of the parent river. After several rounds of discussions at different levels between the two countries, short-term agreements were signed two times, one in 1977 and the other in 1985, and finally one long term Treaty was signed in 1996 between the two countries in an atmosphere of peaceful co-existence. Audience: The book will be of interest to researchers and scientists, professionals and policymakers in water resources management and environmental science, conservation policy and development research.
The Gap: The Science of What Separates Us from Other Animals
by Thomas SuddendorfThere exists an undeniable chasm between the capacities of humans and those of animals, but what exactly is the difference between our minds and theirs? In "The Gap," psychologist Thomas Suddendorf provides a definitive account of what makes human minds unique and how this disparity arose. He proposes that two innovations account for all of the ways in which our minds appear so distinct: our open-ended ability to imagine and reflect, and our insatiable drive to link our minds together. It is not language or morality that set us apart, but the ability to consider a range of scenarios, real and imagined, past and future. A provocative argument for reconsidering our place in nature, "The Gap" is essential reading for anyone interested in our evolutionary origins and our relationship with the rest of the animal kingdom.
The Garbage Crawler, The Prophetess of York, A Pitman in Atlantis
by John CritchleyThe Garbage Crawler, The Prophetess of York, A Pitman in Atlantis are an enthralling trio of plays set for the radio and the stage, concerning myth, legend and science fiction. In The Garbage Crawler, we find Zachery, who has only ever known his room and the robotic voice that controls his life. He escapes into a sea of rat-infested, foul-smelling garbage through a chute, where he is discovered by a Finder. His destiny and that of the city he comes to come into question as he becomes a Finder himself and looks to liberate the city. Set in York in 1833, The Prophetess of York is 19-year-old Hannah Beedham, a self-professed 'common sinner'. She experiences a glorious vision of God himself, but the people of York denounce her as a drunk and a witch. However, local man James Sturdy believes her, as do some from all over who pay tribute to the 'Prophetess'. A Pitman in Atlantis sees John Bell fall from a sea defence wall in Yorkshire and wake up in a foreign hospital, only to find he has landed in Atlantis. He begins working in a silver mine in the underwater city while fellow Englishmen work to try and find a way for John to return to his wife and the world on the surface.
The Garden (Early Reader Non Fiction)
by Louisa LeamanEarly Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A green Early Reader is a first factbook.It's never too early to find out about... The Garden.Bugs and beetles, birds and plants, there's a world to be discovered and it's right on your doorstep. Beautifully illustrated in full colour on every page, this new Early Reader will show you the amazing possibilities of the great outdoors!
The Garden Politic: Global Plants and Botanical Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century America (America and the Long 19th Century #27)
by Mary KuhnHow worldwide plant circulation and new botanical ideas enabled Americans to radically re-envision politics and societyThe Garden Politic argues that botanical practices and discourses helped nineteenth-century Americans engage pressing questions of race, gender, settler colonialism, and liberal subjectivity. In the early republic, ideas of biotic distinctiveness helped fuel narratives of American exceptionalism. By the nineteenth century, however, these ideas and narratives were unsettled by the unprecedented scale at which the United States and European empires prospected for valuable plants and exchanged them across the globe. Drawing on ecocriticism, New Materialism, environmental history, and the history of science—and crossing disciplinary and national boundaries—The Garden Politic shows how new ideas about cultivation and plant life could be mobilized to divergent political and social ends. Reading the work of influential nineteenth-century authors from a botanical perspective, Mary Kuhn recovers how domestic political issues were entangled with the global circulation and science of plants. The diversity of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s own gardens contributed to the evolution of her racial politics and abolitionist strategies. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s struggles in his garden inspired him to write stories in which plants defy human efforts to impose order. Radical scientific ideas about plant intelligence and sociality prompted Emily Dickinson to imagine a human polity that embraces kinship with the natural world. Yet other writers, including Frederick Douglass, cautioned that the most prominent political context for plants remained plantation slavery. The Garden Politic reveals how the nineteenth century’s extractive political economy of plants contains both the roots of our contemporary environmental crisis and the seeds of alternative political visions.
The Garden in the Machine: The Emerging Science of Artificial Life (Princeton Science Library #121)
by Claus EmmecheWhat is life? Is it just the biologically familiar--birds, trees, snails, people--or is it an infinitely complex set of patterns that a computer could simulate? What role does intelligence play in separating the organic from the inorganic, the living from the inert? Does life evolve along a predestined path, or does it suddenly emerge from what appeared lifeless and programmatic? In this easily accessible and wide-ranging survey, Claus Emmeche outlines many of the challenges and controversies involved in the dynamic and curious science of artificial life. Emmeche describes the work being done by an international network of biologists, computer scientists, and physicists who are using computers to study life as it could be, or as it might evolve under conditions different from those on earth. Many artificial-life researchers believe that they can create new life in the computer by simulating the processes observed in traditional, biological life-forms. The flight of a flock of birds, for example, can be reproduced faithfully and in all its complexity by a relatively simple computer program that is designed to generate electronic "boids." Are these "boids" then alive? The central problem, Emmeche notes, lies in defining the salient differences between biological life and computer simulations of its processes. And yet, if we can breathe life into a computer, what might this mean for our other assumptions about what it means to be alive? The Garden in the Machine touches on every aspect of this complex and rapidly developing discipline, including its connections to artificial intelligence, chaos theory, computational theory, and studies of emergence. Drawing on the most current work in the field, this book is a major overview of artificial life. Professionals and nonscientists alike will find it an invaluable guide to concepts and technologies that may forever change our definition of life.
The Gardener's Botanical: An Encyclopedia of Latin Plant Names - with More than 5,000 Entries
by The Gardener's B Ross BaytonThe definitive guide to botanical Latin. Unlock the secrets of botanical Latin with this beautifully illustrated encyclopedia. The Gardener's Botanical contains definitions of more than 5,000 plant names—from abbreviatus ("shortened") to zonatus ("with bands")—along with more than 350 color illustrations. Scientific plant names are an invaluable tool for those who understand them. Formed from Greek and, more commonly, from Latin root words, not only do they make it possible for gardeners and botanists to communicate, they also contain a wealth of hidden information. The Gardener's Botanical is the key to unlocking these secrets. This guide contains a breathtaking array of botanical names in alphabetical order. Each word is listed with a pronunciation guide, definition, example plant, and, where appropriate, etymology. Also included in this illuminating guide are special features on important plant genera, fact boxes, essays focusing on the history and importance of Latin names and botanical illustrations, and an index of common names with more than 2,000 popular plants, cross-referenced with their binomial name in Latin.
The Gardener's Guide to Prairie Plants (Emersion: Emergent Village Resources For Communities Of Faith Ser.)
by Neil Diboll Hilary CoxA comprehensive and beautifully illustrated reference for all gardeners passionate about native plants and prairie restoration. The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants is the one-stop compendium for all gardeners aspiring to use native prairie plants in their gardens. Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox—two renowned prairie gardeners—compile more than four decades’ worth of research to offer a wide-ranging and definitive reference for starting and maintaining prairie and meadow gardens and restorations. Alongside detailed synopses of plant life cycles, meticulous range maps, and sweeping overviews of natural history, Diboll and Cox also include photographs of 148 prairie plants in every stage of development, from seedling to seedhead. North America’s grasslands once stretched from the Blue Ridge to the Rocky Mountains, and from Texas to Manitoba, blanketing the mid-continent with ecologically important, garden-worthy, native species. This book provides all the inspiration and information necessary for eager native planters from across the country to welcome these plants back to their landscapes. The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants is a must-have reference for gardeners, restorationists, and every flora fan with a passion for native plants, prairies and meadows.
The Gardener's Guide to Prairie Plants (Emersion: Emergent Village Resources For Communities Of Faith Ser.)
by Neil Diboll Hilary CoxA comprehensive and beautifully illustrated reference for all gardeners passionate about native plants and prairie restoration. The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants is the one-stop compendium for all gardeners aspiring to use native prairie plants in their gardens. Neil Diboll and Hilary Cox—two renowned prairie gardeners—compile more than four decades’ worth of research to offer a wide-ranging and definitive reference for starting and maintaining prairie and meadow gardens and restorations. Alongside detailed synopses of plant life cycles, meticulous range maps, and sweeping overviews of natural history, Diboll and Cox also include photographs of 148 prairie plants in every stage of development, from seedling to seedhead. North America’s grasslands once stretched from the Blue Ridge to the Rocky Mountains, and from Texas to Manitoba, blanketing the mid-continent with ecologically important, garden-worthy, native species. This book provides all the inspiration and information necessary for eager native planters from across the country to welcome these plants back to their landscapes. The Gardener’s Guide to Prairie Plants is a must-have reference for gardeners, restorationists, and every flora fan with a passion for native plants, prairies and meadows.
The Gardener's Guide to Weather and Climate: How to Understand the Weather and Make It Work for You (Science For Gardeners Ser.)
by Michael Allaby“We owe it to our plants to read this book. After all, while we just live with the weather, our plants have to survive it.” —The Washington Post All gardeners are at the whim of Mother Nature, and so are our plants. Whether it’s coping with extreme drought or record-breaking snow fall, gardeners—and gardens—across the country are fighting against the elements. Instead of just reacting to the weather, Michael Allaby suggests that gardeners use knowledge about how the weather works to create the best growing conditions for their plants. Allaby brings big-picture atmospheric concepts to life with a comprehensive introduction to how weather works and explanations climate change, weather systems, and microclimates. The Gardener’s Guide to Weather and Climate proves that instead of gardening at the mercy of the weather, knowledgeable gardeners can make the weather work for them