Science & Nature Books
Oneworld Publications Pink Brain, Blue Brain: How Small Differences
Book SynopsisTurning conventional thinking about gender differences on its head, Lise Eliot issues a call to close the troubling gaps between boys and girls and help all children reach their fullest potential. Drawing on years of exhaustive research and her own work in the field of neuroplasticity, Eliot argues that infant brains are so malleable that small differences at birth become amplified over time as parents, teachers, and the culture at large unwittingly reinforce gender stereotypes. Indicating points of intervention where social pressures can be minimised, she offers concrete solutions for helping everyone grow into wellrounded individuals.Trade Review“A refreshingly reasonable and reassuring look at recent alarming studies about sex differences in determining the behavior of children … Eliot's work demonstrates a remarkable clarity of purpose.” * Publishers Weekly *“This is an important book and highly recommended for parents, teachers, and anyone who works with children.” * Library Journal *"Read her masterful book and you'll never view the sex-differences debate the same way again." * Newsweek *"This meticulous book should challenge everyone's assumption about the role of sex and gender." Sue Blackmore * BBC Focus *“Gender is strongly affected by environment and stereotyping after all, [Eliot] maintains in this absorbing book.” * The Bookseller *"A passionate plea for all of us to look beyond the confines of the pink/blue tyranny of childhood... To use the latest brain science to maximise outcomes for both genders, to the greater glorification of both." * Culture (supplement to the Sunday Times) *"Read her masterful book and you'll never view the sex-differences debate the same way again." * Newsweek *“A refreshingly reasonable and reassuring look at recent alarming studies about sex differences in determining the behavior of children … Eliot's work demonstrates a remarkable clarity of purpose.” * Publishers Weekly *“This is an important book and highly recommended for parents, teachers, and anyone who works with children.” * Library Journal *"[a] sharp, information-packed, and worderfully readable book" * Mother Jones *10 out of 10 review: "it is difficult to see how Pink Brain, Blue Brain can become anything other than the definitive text on sex differences." * The Times Higher Educational Supplement *"She tells her story authoritatively but modestly, with frequent references to her experience as a mother, and illuminates a very accessible pathway through the science." Marek Kohn * The Independent *"She tells her story authoritatively but modestly, with frequent references to her experience as a mother, and illuminates a very accessible pathway through the science." Marek Kohn * The Independent *10 out of 10 review: "it is difficult to see how Pink Brain, Blue Brain can become anything other than the definitive text on sex differences." * The Times Higher Educational Supplement *
£11.69
Royal Society of Chemistry Sticking Together: The Science of Adhesion
Book SynopsisThis popular science title covers adhesion science in an easily accessible entertaining manner. As well as outlining types of adhesion and their importance in everyday life, the book covers interesting future applications of adhesion and inspiration taken from nature. Ideal for students and the scientifically minded reader this book provides a fascinating introduction to the science of what makes things stick.Trade ReviewThe reason this book is excellent is that we totally under-appreciate how important adhesives are in our everyday lives. -- Brian Clegg * Popular Science *Table of ContentsIntroduction; Background Ideas; Sticking like a Gecko; How Stuck is Stuck?; Strong Adhesion; Strong Adhesion with Weak Polymers; Sticking Other Things Together; Watching Paint Dry; Sticking in 3D; Not Sticking; How Nature Sticks Things
£999.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Mark Carwardines Guide To Whale Watching In
Book SynopsisWhales, dolphins and porpoises are among the world''s most mysterious and beautiful animals, and there are many opportunities to see them in the seas around Europe. This comprehensive and authoritative guide covers everything you need to know about where, when and how to watch them. Packed with useful information and top tips to help you get the most out of your trip, it includes a thorough account of whale-watching opportunities in every European country where organised whale-watching takes place, as well as detailed accounts of every cetacean species found in Europe and a fascinating introduction to their world.Whether you want to watch Blue Whales in Iceland, Bottlenose Dolphins in Wales, Narwhal in Greenland or Sperm Whales in Greece, this comprehensive guide is the ideal companion.
£20.90
Macmillan Learning Evolution
Book Synopsis
£60.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Pigeons and Doves: A Guide to the Pigeons and
Book SynopsisThis volume is dedicated to the field identification of pigeons and doves, and it incorporates much recent information on the family. Pigeons and doves are a large family of birds occurring throughout the world. Many species are specialist frugivores, while others feed on seeds. Most are arboral and the tropical species in particular are often brightly coloured. The family includes gregarious migratory species, as well as shy, ground-dwelling forms such as the exotic crowned pigeons of New Guinea.
£61.75
Profile Books Ltd Why Does the World Exist?: One Man's Quest for
Book Synopsis'Why is there a world rather than nothing at all?' remains the most curious and most enduring of all metaphysical mysteries. Moving away from the narrower paths of Christopher Hitchens, Roger Penrose and Stephen Hawking, the celebrated essayist Jim Holt now enters this fascinating debate with his broad, lively and deeply informed narrative that traces all our efforts to grasp the origins of the universe. With sly humour and a highly original personal approach Holt takes on the role of cosmological detective. Suggesting that we might have been too narrow in limiting our suspects to God and the Big Bang, he tracks down, among others, an eccentric Oxford philosopher, a Nobel Laureate physicist, a French Buddhist monk, and John Updike just before he died, to pursue this cosmic puzzle from every angle. As he pieces together a solution - while offering useful insights into time, consciousness, and eternity - he sheds fascinating new light on the meaning of existence. A New York Times bestseller on first publication, this new paperback edition provides a much-needed new take on history's greatest conundrum, in the vein of previous bestsellers like Michael Brooks' 13 Things that Don't Make Sense.Trade ReviewWhy Does The Word Exist? is more fun than a book this serious has any right to be. Holt has written a metaphysical page-turner and a triumph of intellectual liveliness. -- Rebecca Goldstein, author of 36 Arguments for the Existence of GodThere is no more entertaining, sure-footed, and witty guide to the big questions that we must all ponder than Jim Holt. Join him * Daily Beast *Praise for Stop Me If You've Heard This: 'Sweet, witty and intelligent ... I only wish that, unlike a good joke, it was longer. -- William Leith * Guardian *If Jim Holt's deft and consuming "Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story" has anything to tell us, it's that such a comment is less about literary riffing than deep philosophy. * LA Times *Holt brings both complexity and clarity to his subject ... it does what real science writing should: It helps us feel the fullness of the problem. * Vulture *There is no more entertaining, sure-footed, and witty guide to the big questions that we must all ponder than Jim Holt. Join him. * The Daily Beast *It's philosophy of a high level, pursued in an unusual and personal manner, and it's a pleasure to follow along with the author as he tells a fascinating and thought-provoking story. -- Peter Woit, Department of Mathamatics, ColumbiaHumorous yet deeply profound * New Scientist *There's no denying the pleasures to be had from tagging along as Holt soars away into the heavens of our cosmic enigmas ... a wonderful book * Daily Express *An elegant and witty writer...I can imagine few more enjoyable ways of thinking than to read this book -- Sarah Bakewell, author of How to LiveWhat is special about Why Does the World Exist? is that Holt and the experts he talks to apply humour, good sense and a dose of incredulity and wonder to the problem * Independent *An eclectic mix of theology, cutting-edge science (of the cosmological and particle-physics variety) and extremely abstract philosophising, rendered (mostly) accessible by Mr Holt's facility with analogies and clear, witty language * Economist *
£10.44
In Easy Steps Limited Electronics in Easy Steps
Book SynopsisEver wanted to know how things work, especially electronic devices? Electronics in easy steps tells you all about the building blocks that make up electronic circuits and the components that make an electronic device tick. It explains electronics in an easy to understand way and then takes you through some simple but useful circuits that you can build for yourself. Areas covered include:the basic fundamentals of electricitygetting started in electronicselectronic theory explainedresistors and capacitors what they dotransistors how they workcrystals and coilsbasic electronic building blockssimple circuits described and explainedhow a radio worksdesigning simple circuitscircuit design softwaremaking printed circuit boardsbuilding electronic circuitssoldering techniquestest equipmentcircuit testing and fault findingElectronics in easy steps is ideal for anyone who has always wanted to know how electricity works and what electronic components do from simple theory through to actually building, testing and troubleshooting useful and interesting circuits. Suitable for: StudentsDIY and Electronics enthusiastsHobbyistsRadio HobbyistsShort Wave Listeners and Radio Amateur Foundation Exam studentsMembers of the Cadets, Scouts, etc. and anyone with an inquisitive mind who wants to know how electricity and electronics works!
£10.44
Gill Microscopic Marvels
Book SynopsisGet colouring and let yourself be inspired by the marvels of the microscopic world as you make your way through this fascinating and important book.' Professor Luke O'NeillThis distinctive colouring book explores the beauty of microscopic life, from vaccines and viruses to protozoa and algae. Go on a journey of scientific discovery as your colours illuminate a hidden world beyond the limits of our own vision.Bring to life the nucleocapsid protein of the Covid-19 virus, the overlapping frill of the delphinium peregrinum seed and the shell-like carapace of a water-flea as you discover the startling and unexpected beauty of life under the lens.Containing over 60 detailed illustrations from the natural world, including a coronavirus vaccine on the cover and inside, this book is a calming celebration of small science.
£10.79
MIT Press Once Upon an Algorithm
Book Synopsis
£999.99
CABI Publishing Tropical Fruits, Volume 2
Book SynopsisVolume 2 of this revised edition of Tropical Fruits examines the more specialist tropical fruits such as guava, durian, mangosteen, passion fruits and palm fruits. With growing interest in the cultivation, production, study, sales and marketability of these specialist fruits, this is a timely and informative book. Topics like botany, soil and climate requirements, cultivar development, world production and harvesting and postharvest handling are covered in-depth for each crop. This practical and accessible book is an ideal text for Horticulture academics, researchers, extension workers, students, breeders, growers and policy makers.Table of Contents1: Annonas: Soursop and Rollinia 2: Breadfruit, Jackfruit, Chempedak and Marang 3: Carambola and Bilimbi 4: Durian 5: Guava 6: Mangosteen 7: Rambutan and Pulasan 8: Passion Fruit and Giant Passion Fruit 9: Palms 10: Other African Fruits: Tamarind, Marula and Ackee 11: Other Tropical Asian and Pacific Fruit 12: American Fruit 13: Index
£50.49
MIT Press The Cortex and the Critical Point Understanding
Book SynopsisHow the cerebral cortex operates near a critical phase transition point for optimum performance.Individual neurons have limited computational powers, but when they work together, it is almost like magic. Firing synchronously and then breaking off to improvise by themselves, they can be paradoxically both independent and interdependent. This happens near the critical point: when neurons are poised between a phase where activity is damped and a phase where it is amplified, where information processing is optimized, and complex emergent activity patterns arise. The claim that neurons in the cortex work best when they operate near the critical point is known as the criticality hypothesis. In this book John Beggs—one of the pioneers of this hypothesis—offers an introduction to the critical point and its relevance to the brain.Drawing on recent experimental evidence, Beggs first explains the main ideas underlying the criticality hypotheses and emerge
£43.20
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Sticky
Book SynopsisYou are surrounded by stickiness. With every step you take, air molecules cling to you and slow you down; the effect is harder to ignore in water. When you hit the road, whether powered by pedal or engine, you rely on grip to keep you safe. The Post-it note and glue in your desk drawer. The non-stick pan on your stove. The fingerprints linked to your identity. The rumbling of the Earth deep beneath your feet, and the ice that transforms waterways each winter. All of these things are controlled by tiny forces that operate on and between surfaces, with friction playing the leading role. In Sticky, Laurie Winkless explores how friction shapes both the manufactured and natural worlds, and describes how our understanding of surface science has given us an ability to manipulate stickiness, down to the level of a single atom. But this apparent success doesn't tell the whole story. Each time humanity has pushed the boundaries of science and engineering, we've discovered that friction still hTrade ReviewI am in awe of Laurie Winkless: of her ability to take something as seemingly plain as a tire, as overlooked as the dimples on a golf ball, and produce from it a surprising, fascinating narrative, one that effortlessly reveals the astonishing science of the world around us. * Mary Roach, author of Stiff and Fuzz *An absolutely wild ride ... bright and interesting. [Sticky] is a book for the 2020s ... truly great popular science for anyone who wants to know more about how we interact with our world -- young or old, beginner or experienced scientist. * Nature *Through a wide range of topics, including some that are likely to be less well known, Sticky offers readers an insider’s guide to the secret science of surfaces. * Science *A beautifully-written, utterly fascinating book that had me glued throughout. Like the very best science writing, Sticky helps you see the world from a different perspective. I couldn't recommend it more. * Angela Saini, science journalist and author *If you’ve ever wondered why some glues work better than others, or been puzzled why there are so many different types of car tire, or been amazed at the ease in which a gecko can run up the wall, then this wonderful book is for you. * Mark Miodownik, author of Stuff Matters *The excellence of [Sticky] shines through. Stickiness may not be something that we often think of as a science issue, but Winkless both shows how interesting it can be, and also how much there is still to learn in this topic that affects all our everyday lives. * Brian Clegg, PopScienceBooks *An enthusiastic exploration of how surfaces interact. * Nature *Table of ContentsHello 1 To Stick or Not to Stick 2 A Gecko’s Grip 3 Gone Swimming 4 Flying High 5 Hit the Road 6 These Shaky Isles 7 Break the Ice 8 The Human Touch 9 Close Contact Further Reading Acknowledgements Index
£10.44
Royal Society of Chemistry Green Chemistry: An Introductory Text
Book SynopsisSustainable development, the circular economy and environmental issues are at the forefront of public and Government concern. The field of green chemistry aims to provide environmentally benign products from sustainable resources, using processes that do not harm people or the environment at the same time as helping solve key societal problems such as climate change. Updated throughout, this third edition features an expanded section on legislation, a revised chapter on measurement, and a completely re-written chapter on renewable resources, bringing readers the latest developments in this quickly-growing area. Case studies now include more recent examples of real-world applications from industry to demonstrate how the techniques of green chemistry work in practice. This fascinating textbook is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate courses covering green chemistry, and it encourages new ways of thinking about how products and processes are developed.Trade ReviewAlthough the title is accurate, it rather underplays the objectives and purpose of the book. The title could just as easily have read “How to minimise cost, maximise safety and improve energy efficiency”, thereby possibly widening the interest of potential readers who base their reading purely on a title. The overall text is based on the M.Sc. course “Clean Chemical Technology” at York University; its success can be judged from the fact that this is the third edition. The author suggests that it may be of interest to research and industrial chemists, engineers, and managers wishing to learn more about green chemistry—again, a very modest statement when virtually every aspect of chemistry can utilise most of the principles outlined. The whole is based on the concepts, as described in 12 principles, first outlined in “Green Chemistry Theory and Practice”, and published in 1998. Most importantly, the modern business term TBL (Triple Bottom Line) has also been incorporated, where the three strands of social, environmental, and financial accountability are interlinked to provide a long term means of sustainability, so much so that major companies now include the concept and its meaning into their annual reports. However, as with most good intentions, once Public Relations departments get to work, the approach can become somewhat mangled and the real significance diluted. Fortunately, some companies have evolved specialist teams that have now become the driving force for change, minimising waste, energy use, and environmental impact. The division of the subject matter into ten chapters allows readers to switch easily between subject areas. These deal with waste (production problems and prevention), environmental performance (measurement and control), catalysis, organic solvents, renewables (biomass, energy, alternative economies, and biorefining), emerging green technologies and the design of greener processes, finalising with examples of specific industrial case studies, and future predictions. Perhaps, more emphasis could have been placed on Syngas economy, more specifically gasoline products, which is very well developed, and set for a resurgence as fracked gas, already available at massively reduced cost in the US, becomes global. Recent UK acts aimed at reducing environmental pollution [Industrial Emissions Directive, Air and Water Acts, and Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation of Chemicals (REACH), and others] are dwarfed by the four laws on CO2 emissions passed into law from 2010 onwards in the UK. These badly thought-out laws have massively impacted, and massively distorted, the UK’s energy market to such an extent that both industrial and domestic user’s costs are substantial higher than those found in competitive countries, compounded by being largely hidden from users by a raft of hard-to-locate subsidies. The author was indeed being modest in his claims. There can be little doubt that all chemical companies, large and small, would find benefit in applying at least some of the principles described here. -- Ken Jones * Chromatographia (2017) 80:1597 *Table of ContentsPrinciples and Concepts of Green Chemistry; Waste: Production, Problems, and Prevention; Measuring and Controlling Environmental Performance; Catalysis and Green Chemistry; Organic Solvents: Environmentally Benign Solutions; Renewable Resources; Alternative Greener Technologies and Alternative Energy Sources; Designing Greener Processes; Industrial Case Studies; The Futures' Green: An Integrated Approach to a Greener Chemical Industry.
£34.19
CABI Publishing Rabbit Behaviour, Health and Care
Book SynopsisThis book is an essential, thorough, very practical guide to understanding and caring for your rabbit. By following the advice in this book, both rabbit owners and veterinary health professionals report healthier and more content rabbits. Developed from the successful Norwegian text Den Store Kaninboka by the award-winning author Marit Emilie Buseth, Rabbit Behaviour, Health and Care will help you: - develop an understanding of the rabbit's nature, which will help you to spot normal and abnormal behaviour; - learn about the correct living conditions in which to keep domestic rabbits, in terms of their behavioural, physical and social needs; - acquire essential knowledge about rabbit nutrition, dentistry and disease; - discover a new and improved approach to rabbit-keeping through stories and case examples of real rabbits; - gain a rewarding owner-pet relationship. Rabbits are extremely popular pets, but misconceptions about their care and behaviour are widespread. Most illnesses or behaviour problems are a direct or indirect result of poor nutrition and care. This book helps veterinarians and rabbit owners to overcome these challenges by understanding the rabbit's nature and needs.Table of Contents1: Introduction 2: Origins and Development of Rabbits 3: Rabbits as Companion Animals 4: Behaviour, Learning and Communication 5: The Social Rabbit 6: From Nose to Tail 7: Rabbit Nutrition 8: Neutering 9: Cleanliness and Hygiene 10: Rabbit Housing and Conditions 11: House Rabbits and Rabbit Proofing of the Home 12: Life Outdoors 13: World Wide Rabbits 14: Rabbit Reproduction and Breeding Control
£21.90
Verso Books Genes, Cells and Brains: The Promethean Promises
Book SynopsisOur fates lie in our genes and not in the stars, said James Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. But Watson could not have predicted the scale of the industry now dedicated to this new frontier. Since the launch of the multibillion-dollar Human Genome Project, the biosciences have promised miraculous cures and radical new ways of understanding who we are. But where is the new world we were promised? Now updated with a new afterword, Genes, Cells and Brains asks why the promised cornucopia of health benefits has failed to emerge and reveals the questionable enterprise that has grown out of bioethics. The authors, feminist sociologist Hilary Rose and neuroscientist Steven Rose, examine the establishment of biobanks, the rivalries between public and private gene sequencers, and the rise of stem cell research. The human body is becoming a commodity, and the unfulfilled promises of the science behind this revolution suggest profound failings in genomics itself.Trade ReviewFascinating, lucid and angry. -- Steven Poole * Guardian *On my must-read list! Genes, Cells, Brains ... the rundown on the hype. -- Margaret AtwoodWhatever else we may need for the public understanding of science, we certainly do need the facts contained in this book. The Roses show how rapidly the ideal of disinterested scientific research has been evaporating since Mammon has been welcomed into the laboratory. Immense and still increasing profits have been made by people who have repeatedly promised various holy grails-discoveries expected to arise from genetic and cerebral research-but comparatively little of real use has emerged from that quarter. In particular, Genes, Cells and Brains shows how the recent expansion of the neurosciences, which was widely hailed as the dawn of a new psychiatry, has actually had little effect. Plainly this research has done little to check the steadily continuing increase in mental illness. Altogether, this is a rather blood-curdling but fascinating book and a much-needed alarm call! -- Mary Midgley, author of Animals and Why They MatterGenes, Cells and Brains is an angry book. It is also an important one ... contains wonderful descriptions of the science behind the new biology. -- W. F. Bynum * Times Literary Supplement *While I generally turn down requests for an endorsement of a book, I must make an exception for the superb analysis of a very important topic by Hilary Rose and Steve Rose. Genes, Cells and Brains refutes with authority the extravagant claims that everything that ails us will be cured by modern molecular and cellular biology. They show that despite the self-serving hype produced by both academic and entrepreneurial science, we still do not understand how the brain works nor can we avoid the thousand shocks that flesh is heir to. -- Richard Lewontin, author of The Triple HelixA scathing account of the failure of recent projects in biology to provide significant new knowledge ... the Roses provide thought-provoking and interesting contrasts to the secular, neoliberal view that predominates at present. * Nature *Rose and Rose provide incisive analyses of the successes of the new biology at improving corporate profits while failing to do much to improve human health. This is a valuable therapy for all of us suffering from the inflated promises and huge costs of the new biology, and a splendid resource for reinvigorating the Radical Science Movement in today's global political economy. -- Sandra Harding, UCLA Professor and author of The Science Question in FeminismGenes, Cells and Brains offers a complex, compelling picture of the social and political challenges emerging around biotechnological investment, promise and hype. -- Maureen McNeil, Professor and Associate Director, Cesagen: ESRC Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of GenomicsI have just started Genes, Cells and Brains and I can hardly put it down. What clarity and insights, what history and up to the minute perceptiveness. And what brilliant and unpretentious writing. I think this is an important book. -- Sian Ede, Director of the Gulbenkian FoundationWhat brilliant and energetic warriors Hilary Rose and Steven Rose have been! Reading this book is to visit the innumerable battlefields on which they have fought over half a century. The battle cries have now softened into gentler irony, but the pace of the writing is superb. Anybody who wants an incisive and radical perspective on the excessive claims made for human genome project, sociobiology, neurosciences, or human discrimination against other humans, should read this book. -- Patrick Bateson, author (with Peter Gluckman) of Plasticity, Robustness, Development and Evolution[The Roses] unwind the myriad assumptions about technology as the engine of improvement in our lives and offer a powerful argument against the sociopolitical machinery behind these dream disciplines. -- Michael Thomsen * The Daily Beast *[Hilary Rose and Stephen Rose] unwind the myriad assumptions about technology as the engine of improvement in our lives and offers a powerful argument against the sociopolitical machinery behind these dream disciplines. -- Michael Tomsen * The Daily Beast *The authors (professors emeriti of sociology and neuroscience at, respectively, Bradford U. and the Open U., England) place contemporary developments in the biotechnosciences of genomics, regenerative medicine, and the neurosciences (the 'genes, cells, and brains' of their title) within the context of the global neoliberal economy and culture of the 21st century. * Book News *[Genes, Cells and Brains is] a detailed and acerbic history of 20th-century genetics: its uneasy dance in and out of the arms of eugenics, its stumbles on the envisioned road to decoding and commodifying human nature, and its upstaging-after the Human Genome Project disappointed hopes for disease cures-by neuroscience, which, in turn, has fallen short of its promises to find and fix the psyche in the brain. * The Scientist *
£12.34
Harvard University Press The Sentinel State
Book SynopsisRising prosperity was supposed to bring democracy to China, yet the Communist Party’s political monopoly endures. How? Minxin Pei looks to the surveillance state. Though renowned for high-tech repression, China’s surveillance system is above all a labor-intensive project. Pei delves into the human sources of coercion at the foundation of CCP power.Trade ReviewAn authoritative study of China’s surveillance system and its ability to strangle any possible dissent…Pei reveals the vast machinery of surveillance and repression in China, fueled by leaders’ fear, distrust, and paranoia. * Kirkus Reviews *Pei ably untangles and demystifies the Chinese surveillance system: for all its obscure and sinister aura, he paints it as the work of harried bureaucrats who struggle with glitchy equipment and unproductive employees…It adds up to a clear-eyed account of China’s surveillance crusade. * Publishers Weekly *An instant classic, offering a peerless and encompassing explanation for a great puzzle of the twenty-first century: How did China’s autocratic regime outlast its peers? Through painstaking research, Minxin Pei has reverse-engineered the hidden system of preventive repression, exposing a world that is essential to understanding China’s past and, indeed, its future. -- Evan Osnos, author of the National Book Award–winning Wildland: The Making of America’s FuryA brilliantly researched and eye-opening masterpiece on modern China’s subtle power dynamics. Shining a light on the masterful strategy of ‘preventive repression,’ Pei offers a riveting exploration of China’s covert surveillance mechanisms. -- Yuhua Wang, author of The Rise and Fall of Imperial China: The Social Origins of State DevelopmentA timely, important book on a subject that has received little attention in Western literature. Pei offers both an illuminating analysis of the surveillance state’s historical evolution and a broad overview of its operations across different sectors in contemporary China. Theoretically informed and empirically rich, this is a welcome contribution. -- Lynette Ong, author of Outsourcing Repression: Everyday State Power in Contemporary ChinaChina’s development of high-tech surveillance is crucial to understanding Beijing’s domestic aims and international goals, yet it is still poorly understood. Pei brings together sharp and cogent analysis with deep research to illuminate one of the most important issues of today. -- Rana Mitter, author of China’s Good War: How World War II Is Shaping a New NationalismAn incisive analysis of a remarkably durable system of state power. Pei argues that China’s already formidable apparatus of political control, augmented with new resources and cutting-edge technologies, has become the most effective surveillance state in history. -- Andrew G. Walder, author of Agents of Disorder: Inside China’s Cultural Revolution
£26.96
John Wiley & Sons Inc Density Functional Theory
Book SynopsisDensity Functional Theory A concise and rigorous introduction to the applications of DFT calculations In the newly revised second edition of Density Functional Theory: A Practical Introduction, the authors deliver a concise and easy-to-follow introduction to the key concepts and practical applications of density functional theory (DFT) with an emphasis on plane-wave DFT. The authors draw on decades of experience in the field, offering students from a variety of backgrounds a balanced approach between accessibility and rigor, creating a text that is highly digestible in its entirety. This new edition: Discusses in more detail the accuracy of DFT calculations and the choice of functionals Adds an overview of the wide range of available DFT codes Contains more examples on the use of DFT for high throughput materials calculations Puts more emphasis on computing phase diagrams and on open ensemble methods widely used in elTable of Contents1 What Is Density Functional Theory? 1.1 How to Approach This Book 1.2 Examples of DFT in Action 1.2.1 Ammonia Synthesis by Heterogeneous Catalysis 1.2.2 Embrittlement of Metals by Trace Impurities 1.2.3 Materials Properties for Modeling Planetary Formation 1.2.4 High Throughput/Big Data Case Study 1.3 The Schrödinger Equation 1.4 Density Functional Theory—From Wave Functions to Electron Density 1.5 Exchange– Correlation Functional 1.6 The Quantum Chemistry Tourist 1.6.1 Localized and Spatially Extended Functions 1.6.2 Wave-Function-Based Methods 1.6.3 Hartree– Fock Method 1.6.4 Beyond Hartree–Fock 1.7 What Can DFT Not Do? 1.8 Which DFT Code Should I Use? 1.9 Density Functional Theory in Other Fields 1.10 How to Approach This Book 2 DFT Calculations for Simple Solids 2.1 Periodic Structures, Supercells, and Lattice Parameters 2.2 Face-Centered Cubic Materials 2.3 Hexagonal Close-Packed Materials 2.4 Crystal Structure Prediction 2.5 Phase Transformations Exercises 3 Nuts and Bolts of DFT Calculations 3.1 Reciprocal Space and k Points 3.1.1 Plane Waves and the Brillouin Zone 3.1.2 Integrals in k Space 3.1.3 Choosing k Points in the Brillouin Zone 3.1.4 Metals—Special Cases in k Space; DFT+U 3.1.5 Summary of k Space 3.2 Energy Cutoffs 3.2.1 Pseudopotentials 3.3 Numerical Optimization 3.3.1 Optimization in One Dimension 3.3.2 Optimization in More than One Dimension 3.3.3 What Do I Really Need to Know about Optimization? 3.4 DFT Total Energies—An Iterative Optimization Problem 3.5 Geometry Optimization 3.5.1 Internal Degrees of Freedom 3.5.2 Geometry Optimization with Constrained Atoms 3.5.3 Optimizing Supercell Volume and Shape Appendix: Calculation Details 4 Thinking About Accuracy and Choosing Functionals for DFT Calculations 4.1 How Accurate Are DFT Calculations? 4.2 Choosing a Functional 4.3 Examples of Physical Accuracy 4.3.1 Benchmark Calculations for Molecular Systems—Energy and Geometry 4.3.2 Benchmark Calculations for Molecular Systems—Vibrational Frequencies 4.3.3 Crystal Structures and Cohesive Energies 4.3.4 Adsorption Energies and Bond Strengths 4.4 How to Use the Rest of this Book 5 DFT Calculations for Surfaces of Solids and Interfaces in Crystals 5.1 Importance of Surfaces 5.2 Periodic Boundary Conditions and Slab Models 5.3 Choosing k Points for Surface Calculations 5.4 Classification of Surfaces by Miller Indices 5.5 Surface Relaxation 5.6 Calculation of Surface Energies 5.7 Symmetric and Asymmetric Slab Models 5.8 Surface Reconstruction 5.9 Adsorbates on Surfaces 5.9.1 Accuracy of Adsorption Energies 5.10 Effects of Surface Coverage 5.11 Grain Boundaries in Solids Exercises Appendix: Calculation Details 6 DFT Calculations of Vibrational Frequencies 6.1 Isolated Molecules 6.2 Vibrations of a Collection of Atoms 6.3 Molecules on Surfaces 6.4 Zero-Point Energies 6.5 Phonons and Delocalized Modes Exercises 7 Calculating Rates of Chemical Processes Using Transition State Theory 7.1 One-Dimensional Example 7.2 Multidimensional Transition State Theory 7.3 Finding Transition States 7.3.1 Elastic Band Method 7.3.2 Nudged Elastic Band Method and the Dimer Method 7.3.3 Initializing NEB Calculations 7.4 Finding the Right Transition States 7.5 Connecting Individual Rates to Overall Dynamics 7.6 Quantum Effects and Other Complications 7.6.1 High Temperatures/Low Barriers 7.6.2 Quantum Tunneling 7.6.3 Zero-Point Energies Exercises Appendix: Calculation Details 8 Equilibrium Phase Diagrams and Electrochemistry with Open Ensemble Methods 8.1 Stability of Bulk Metal Oxides 8.1.1 Examples Including Disorder—Configurational Entropy 8.2 Stability of Metal and Metal Oxide Surfaces 8.3 Multiple Chemical Potentials and Coupled Chemical Reactions 8.4 DFT for Electrochemistry Exercises Appendix: Calculation Details 9 Electronic Structure and Magnetic Properties 9.1 Electronic Density of States 9.2 Local Density of States and Atomic Charges 9.3 Magnetism Exercises 10 Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics 10.1 Classical Molecular Dynamics 10.1.1 Molecular Dynamics with Constant Energy 10.1.2 Molecular Dynamics in the Canonical Ensemble 10.1.3 Practical Aspects of Classical Molecular Dynamics 10.2 Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics: Gaussian Basis Sets in Non-Plane Wave Codes 10.3 Applications of Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics 10.3.1 Exploring Structurally Complex Materials: Liquids and Amorphous Phases 10.3.2 Exploring Complex Energy Surfaces 10.4 Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory Exercises Appendix: Calculation Details 11 Methods beyond “Standard” Calculations 11.1 Choosing a Functional (Revisited) 11.2 Estimating Uncertainties in DFT Results Using the BEEF Approach 11.3 DFT+X Methods for Improved Treatment of Electron Correlation 11.3.1 Dispersion Interactions and DFT-D and D2, D3, TS methods 11.4 Self-Interaction Error, Strongly Correlated Electron Systems, and DFT+U 11.5 RPA 11.6 Larger System Sizes with Linear Scaling Methods and Classical Force Fields 11.7 Conclusion
£84.56
John Wiley & Sons Inc Physics International Adaptation
Book SynopsisTable of Contents1 Introduction and Mathematical Concepts 1 2 Kinematics in One Dimension 33 3 Kinematics in Two Dimensions 65 4 Forces and Newton’s Laws of Motion 95 5 Dynamics of Uniform Circular Motion 141 6 Work and Energy 169 7 Impulse and Momentum 203 8 Rotational Kinematics 231 9 Rotational Dynamics 255 10 Simple Harmonic Motion and Elasticity 291 11 Fluids 329 12 Temperature and Heat 375 13 The Transfer of Heat 413 14 The Ideal Gas Law and Kinetic Theory 435 15 Thermodynamics 463 16 Waves and Sound 501 17 The Principle of Linear Superposition and Interference Phenomena 537 18 Electric Forces and Electric Fields 565 19 Electric Potential Energy and the Electric Potential 601 20 Electric Circuits 633 21 Magnetic Forces and Magnetic Fields 679 22 Electromagnetic Induction 721 23 Alternating Current Circuits 761 24 Electromagnetic Waves 787 25 The Reflection of Light: Mirrors 817 26 The Refraction of Light: Lenses and Optical Instruments 843 27 Interference and Diffraction 891 28 Special Relativity 925 29 Waves and Particles 953 30 The Nature of the Atom 979 31 Nuclear Physics and Radioactivity 1013 32 Ionizing Radiation, Nuclear Energy, and Elementary Particles 1043
£55.99
Atlantic Books The Arbornaut: A Life Discovering the Eighth
Book SynopsisOne of the world's first tree-top scientists, Meg Lowman is both a pioneer in her field - she invented one of the first treetop walkways - and a tireless advocate for the planet. In a voice as infectious in its enthusiasm as in its practical optimism, The Arbornaut chronicles her irresistible story. From climbing solo hundreds of feet into Australia's rainforests to measuring tree growth in the northeastern United States, from searching the redwoods of the Pacific coast for new life to studying leaf-eaters in Scotland's Highlands, from a bioblitz in Malaysia to conservation planning in India to collaborating with priests in Ethiopia's last forests, Lowman launches us into the life and work of a scientist and ecologist. She also offers hope, specific plans and recommendations for action; despite devastation across the world, we can still make an immediate and lasting impact against climate change.Trade ReviewThe Arbornaut captures the magic of that little-known world with its pioneering stories and clear, informative text. Readers everywhere will be fascinated and inspired to learn more about nature, and especially about how we need to conserve the world's forests. -- Jane GoodallThe Arbornaut is about a shy girl who loved to play outdoors and became a scientist who educated the world about the abundant life in the treetops. I loved it. -- Temple GrandinThe Arbornaut is, true to its name, an account of intrepid exploration at the upper reaches of terrestrial life, where branches and foliage touch the sky and all creatures awake to the first morning rays of the sun. -- Wade Davis, author of INTO THE SILENCEThis is the most exciting and innovative way of introducing science that I have seen in many years. Everyone will want to read this book. Meg Lowman is starting a whole new movement exploring the treetops! -- E. O. Wilson, author of HALF-EARTH: OUR PLANET'S FIGHT FOR LIFEA passionate look at the 'unexplored wonderland' of trees... Lowman shines in her ability to combine accessible science with exciting personal anecdotes that effectively convey the "thrill of aerial exploration" and bolster her case that trees - and sustainable ecosystems - are worth studying, protecting, and preserving. Nature lovers will find much to consider. * Publishers Weekly *Table of Contents1: from wildflower to wallflower: a girl naturalist in rural america 2: becoming a forest detective: first encounters with temperate trees from new england to scotland 3: one hundred feet in the air: finding a way to study leaves in the australian rain forests 4: who ate my leaves?: tracking-and discovering!-australian insects 5: dieback in the outback: juggling marriage and investigations of gum tree death in australia's sheep country 6: hitting the glass canopy: how strangler figs and tall poppies taught me to survive as a woman in science 7: arbornauts for a week: citizen scientists explore the amazon jungles 8: tiger tracks, tree leopards, and vedippala fruits: exporting my toolkit to train arbornauts in india 9: a treetop bioblitz: counting 1,659 species in malaysia's tropical forests in ten days 10: building trust between priests and arbornauts: saving the forests of ethiopia, one church at a time 11: classrooms in the sky-for everyone!: wheelchairs and water bears in the treetops 12: can we save our last, best forests?: promoting conservation through mission green
£10.44
Springer International Publishing AG The First City on Mars: An Urban Planner’s Guide
Book SynopsisHundreds of novels, films, and TV shows have speculated about what it would be like for us Earthlings to build cities on Mars. To make it a reality, however, these dreamers are in sore need of additional conceptual tools in their belt—particularly, a rich knowledge of city planning and design. Enter award-winning author and Tufts University professor, Justin Hollander. In this book, he draws on his experience as an urban planner and researcher of human settlements to provide a thoughtful exploration of what a city on Mars might actually look like. Exploring the residential, commercial, industrial, and infrastructure elements of such an outpost, the book is able to paint a vivid picture of how a Martian community would function – the layout of its public spaces, the arrangement of its buildings, its transportation network, and many more crucial aspects of daily life on another planet. Dr. Hollander then brings all these lessons to life through his own rendered plan for “Aleph,” one of many possible designs for the first city on Mars. Featuring a plethora of detailed, cutting-edge illustrations and blueprints for Martian settlements, this book at once inspires and grounds the adventurous spirit. It is a novel addition to the current planning underway to colonize the Red Planet, providing a rich review of how we have historically overcome challenging environments and what the broader lessons of urban planning can offer to the extraordinary challenge of building a permanent settlement on Mars. Trade Review“Throughout the book, Hollander applies his knowledge in an accessible way, illustrating points with figures from historical sources, as well as images of possible settlements pulled (with permission) from the latest studies on the subject. Overall, the book provides a highly researched and perfectly timed foundation into how humans can anticipate the needs of the future, and plan off-world colonies that are humane, sustainable, and beautiful places to live.” (nature astronomy, Vol. 7, May, 2023)“The book is rich and detailed, yet easy-to-read – and certain to engage any space enthusiast” (Ian Randall, physicsworld.com, March 15, 2023)Table of Contents1. Welcome to Mars 2. Learning from Earth’s Colonization 3. Lessons from Six Decades of Space Exploration4. Designing Mars for Humans: The First Principle 5. Transportation Dimensions6. Residential, Commercial, and Industrial Dimensions7. Non-Transportation Infrastructure Dimensions8. Mars Planning Precedents9. Other Off-World Planning Precedents 10. Template for a Mars Colony11. Conclusion
£26.17
Oxford University Press The Black Book of Quantum Chromodynamics A
Book SynopsisThe Black Book of Quantum Chromodynamics is an in-depth introduction to the particle physics of current and future experiments at particle accelerators. The book offers the reader an overview of practically all aspects of the strong interaction necessary to understand and appreciate modern particle phenomenology at the energy frontier. It assumes a working knowledge of quantum field theory at the level of introductory textbooks used for advanced undergraduate or in standard postgraduate lectures. The book expands this knowledge with an intuitive understanding of relevant physical concepts, an introduction to modern techniques, and their application to the phenomenology of the strong interaction at the highest energies. Aimed at graduate students and researchers, it also serves as a comprehensive reference for LHC experimenters and theorists.This book offers an exhaustive presentation of the technologies developed and used by practitioners in the field of fixed-order perturbation theory and an overview of results relevant for the ongoing research programme at the LHC. It includes an in-depth description of various analytic resummation techniques (which form the basis for our understanding of the QCD radiation pattern and how strong production processes manifest themselves in data) and a concise discussion of numerical resummation through parton showers. This forms the basis of event generators for the simulation of LHC physics, and their matching and merging with fixed-order matrix elements. It also gives a detailed presentation of the physics behind the parton distribution functions (which are a necessary ingredient for every calculation relevant for physics at hadron colliders such as the LHC) and an introduction to non-perturbative aspects of the strong interaction, including inclusive observables such as total and elastic cross sections, and non-trivial effects such as multiple parton interactions and hadronization. The book concludes with a useful overview contextualising data from previous experiments such as the Tevatron and the Run I of the LHC which have shaped our understanding of QCD at hadron colliders.Trade ReviewThe three authors are leading world experts in the field and have produced an authoritative and comprehensive text on the subject. There is a wealth of information for students of particle physics and for researchers in high energy physics which has never before been collected together in one place. * Alan D. Martin, Contemporary Physics *A comprehensive overview of the physics of the strong interaction. * Virginia Greco, CERN Courier *
£41.99
Rocky Mountain Books Drawing Botany Home: A Rooted Life
Book SynopsisA beautifully illustrated natural history memoir that reminds the reader that re-storying our relationship with the plants of home can be our first step in restoring the world.In a world made precarious by human mobility, all of us can learn from those who root in place. Plants surround us, yet all too often we ignore their quiet and complex lives. When a new job brings botanist and artist Lyn Baldwin back to her childhood home in southern British Columbia, she is challenged to confront both the cost of her mobility and the assumptions of her profession. If nearly three decades spent in motion gave Lyn scientific credentials and a career, it also made her a stranger to home and country. Lonely and homesick, Lyn runs outside. She doesn't go farrarely more than a day's drive from Kamloops, BCbut within the pages of her field journal, the slow confluence of art and science allows Lyn to learn not just about but from the green wisdom of her neighbours.Tutored by the plants of forest and garden, wilderness and wetland, Lyn realizes that her botany never has been, and never will be, a placeless science. Instead, Drawing Botany Home gives Lyn the metaphors to reconcile the dark horror of settler/Indigenous relations and the hard edges of her own childhood: poverty, a traumatic fire, unwanted stepfathers, a hippie mother.
£19.79
Taylor & Francis Ltd Unlocking the Nature of Human Aggression
Book SynopsisUnlocking the Nature of Human Aggression is a neuropsychoanalytic and scientific exploration of aggression and argues for its central role in psychopathology and the genesis of individual symptoms, as well as in broader systemic conflicts and violence. Adrian Perkel creates a unique theoretical approach to the various manifestations we encounter of individual, group, and geo-political aggression and destructiveness. Based on psychoanalytic investigations of this dynamic and Freud's incomplete exploration of this human drive, this book seeks to understand the science of aggression that Freud himself suggested would be possible with time and scientific development. Perkel investigates the commonplace inversion of the perpetrator and victim narratives, navigating through the complexity of how the aggressive drive, often driven by feelings aimed at homeostatic regulation, challenges the perception of any objective view of who is perpetrator and who victim. He includes hiTrade Review"This book is an essential read for clinicians who work psychotherapeutically with individuals, couples and families, as well as for academics and the general reader interested in deepening their understanding of how the two psychic drives, sexuality and aggression, interact and can affect individuals, communities, and humanity as a whole. The author presents complex psychoanalytic and neuroscientific ideas in an uncomplicated and straightforward way, effortlessly deepening our understanding of historical and current geo-political aggressions from a theoretical and neurobiological viewpoint."Dr Amita Sehgal, MA, PhD, Couple Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist, The Balint Consultancy, London. "Dr Perkel offers us an outstanding exploration of human aggression that draws on selected psychoanalytic and neuroscientific sources. Particularly impressive is the way in which he weaves clinical and sociohistorical material into his theoretical discussion. Sophisticated in its arguments yet eminently readable, this book will be of great value to students and practitioners in the mental health professions and the social sciences.Dr Barnaby B Barratt, PhD, DHS, ABPP, IPA Psychoanalyst (Research & Training), Sexuality Consultant - Somatic Psychologist.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Chapter 1: Freud’s Incomplete Theory Chapter 2: The Development of Subject – "I" Chapter 3: Beyond the Pleasure Principle Chapter 4: Science and the Psyche Chapter 5: Perversion of the Inner Guardian Chapter 6: Geopolitics Meets Freud Chapter 7: A Unifying Theory – Symptoms and Implications Chapter 8: Concluding Comments
£29.99
Princeton University Press Dynamics of Planetary Systems
Book Synopsis
£52.70
The New Press Who’s Raising the Kids?: Big Tech, Big Business,
Book SynopsisFrom a world-renowned expert on creative play and the impact of commercial marketing on children, a timely investigation into how big tech is hijacking childhood—and what we can do about it“Engrossing and insightful . . . rich with details that paint a full portrait of contemporary child-corporate relations.” —Zephyr Teachout, The New York Times Book ReviewEven before COVID-19, digital technologies had become deeply embedded in children’s lives, despite a growing body of research detailing the harms of excessive immersion in the unregulated, powerfully seductive world of the “kid-tech” industry.In the “must read” (Library Journal, starred review) Who’s Raising the Kids?, Susan Linn—one of the world’s leading experts on the impact of Big Tech and big business on children—weaves an “eye-opening and disturbing exploration of how marketing tech to children is creating a passive, dysfunctional generation” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). From birth, kids have become lucrative fodder for tech, media, and toy companies, from producers of exploitative games and social media platforms to “educational” technology and branded school curricula of dubious efficacy. Written with humor and compassion, Who’s Raising the Kids? is a unique and highly readable social critique and guide to protecting kids from exploitation by the tech, toy, and entertainment industries. Two hopeful chapters—“Resistance Parenting” and “Making a Difference for Everybody’s Kids”—chart a path to allowing kids to be the children they need to be.Trade ReviewPraise for Who's Raising the Kids:“Engrossing and insightful. . . . [Who's Raising the Kids?] is rich with details that paint a full portrait of contemporary child-corporate relations.”—The New York Times Book Review“An impassioned indictment of tech companies making big money off exploiting the minds of our children.”—New York Post“A guide on changing course both individually and as a society, by an experienced activist; a must-read.”—Library Journal (starred review) “A stunning examination of how marketing, technology, and consumer capitalism impact the well-being of children. . . . This is a must-read for parents and educators.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)“A must-read for any parent.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)“Pioneer researcher and activist Susan Linn shows that we have been passive as our children were shaped into the selves that tech companies wanted them to be; adults have not met their duty of care. Who’s Raising the Kids? is a call to arms and a core text for a necessary national conversation.”—Sherry Turkle, professor, MIT, and author of Alone Together, Reclaiming Conversation, and The Empathy Diaries “An invaluable response for parents at an impossible moment—and for those of us whose kids are already grown, a great guide to resisting the platforms and apps that are constricting the life of our society in ever more painful ways.”—Bill McKibben, author of The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened “Who’s Raising the Kids? is a book about a dangerous divergence—between the profit-maximizing strategies of companies that market toys, apps, and social media to children, on the one hand, and the actual needs of children, on the other. Drawing from an impressive collection of studies and stories, Linn illuminates the harms of what she aptly calls ‘a corporate takeover of childhood’ and shows us what we can do to protect all our kids.”—Alfie Kohn, author of The Schools Our Children Deserve and Punished by Rewards “Every child needs an advocate like Susan Linn; every parent—a wise friend like her; every politician and corporate leader—a bold challenger like her. And every reader needs this book—a passionate and supremely practical reckoning with one of the great dilemmas of the age.”—James Carroll, author of The Truth at the Heart of the Lie “Brava to Susan Linn! This is a timely and profoundly important book. Children are being transformed into passive consumers by advertisers and social media companies who view them as easy targets for their attention and desires. More often than not, parents are allowing this to happen without thinking about the consequences to their children’s development. Who’s Raising the Kids? is a reminder to parents and all who care, that children are vulnerable and can be easily preyed upon by profiteering businesses who see them only as consumers. If we truly cherish and value our children we must heed Linn’s warning, not allow our kids to be exploited, and keep a close eye on how they grow, develop and are influenced on their way to adulthood.”—Pedro Noguera, dean, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California “In this unsparing account of what it means to raise children in a commercial society, Susan Linn issues a clarion call to governments, schools, and parents to push back—against the relentless marketing, the false promises, the saturation of tech into our most intimate and private moments. With practical advice on how parents can navigate this morass, her expertise and research-backed conclusions also serve as a real source of comfort: children, she rightly insists, are born with all the skills they need to succeed in life—no toy, app, or flashy screen required.”—Sophie Brickman, author of Baby, Unplugged “Susan Linn is every parent’s hero. Her work calls out the manipulative marketing tactics that Big Tech and big business direct toward our children, strategies designed to exploit their vulnerabilities and ours as parents. Who’s Raising the Kids? explores the pervasive and often covert commercialism in digital child culture and the negative influences corporate profiteers have on our children’s values, learning, emotional health, and relationships. This is an eye-opening, at times unnerving read and a hopeful call to action with practical advice for weakening the forces of consumerist culture in our families and how we can advocate for a freer childhood for our kids.”—Janet Lansbury, bestselling author of No Bad Kids and Elevating Child Care “Today’s kids are tomorrow’s adults. If you love children and care about the future (and who doesn’t?), Susan Linn’s Who’s Raising the Kids? is a terrifying book. The digital conquest of our progeny’s hearts and minds is nearly complete, and if she’s right, it’s almost too late to take back what’s been surrendered. This book is a much-needed call to arms.”—Russell Banks, author of Rule of the Bone, Continental Drift, and other works of fiction
£13.29
Oxford University Press Biodiversity Conservation A Very Short
Book SynopsisVery Short Introductions: Brilliant, Sharp, Inspiring Extinction is a natural process. In geological time there have been several periods of mass extinction. One of these periods is unfolding right now but all the evidence suggests that current extinction rates are between a hundred and a thousand times greater than the background rate. To put this in to context, a quarter of all known mammalian species is at risk. The current extinction crisis is unique, because it is caused by the impact of one species, humans, on all others. This acceleration of species loss, and the much more widespread reductions in the populations of many species, is not merely a tragedy in aesthetics, it is also a threat to the quality of human life, indeed to the entire human enterprise. Biodiversity, the diversity of life, is not only fascinating and beautiful, it is the engine of all the world''s natural cycles, and the source of many of the resources on which humanity depends. Concern about biodiversity conservation is, therefore, not merely the preoccupation of a few enthusiastic naturalists - it is the lifeline business of everybody. In this Very Short Introduction, David Macdonald introduces the concept of biodiversity and the basic biological processes that it involves - evolutionary, ecological, and behavioral. He considers the various threats to biodiversity, their impacts, and some of the solutions to the problems; concluding by considering the future of biodiversity conservation.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.Table of Contents1: What is biodiversity, and why does it matter? 2: What's the problem? 3: What is the purpose of biodiversity conservation? 4: Invasive species 5: Wildlife trade 6: Zoonotic disease 7: Human wildlife conflict and coexistence 8: Climate change 9: Who pays, and how? 10: Restoring the balance - what next?
£9.49
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd The Algorithm: How AI Can Hijack Your Career and
Book SynopsisArtificial intelligence is being used, on a massive scale, to decide who gets hired, fired and promoted. Through whistleblower exclusives, leaked internal documents and astonishing real-world practices, journalist Hilke Schellmann reveals the secret rise of AI in the world of work. Testing them herself, she discovers that many algorithms making these high-stakes calculations do more harm than good, and traces their origins to troubling pseudoscientific ideas about people’s ‘true’ essence. Interviewing experts, developers and ordinary workers, The Algorithm offers fascinating and alarming truths. From software analysing interviewees’ facial expressions and tone of voice, to video games assessing their performance, to ‘personality profiles’ built from candidates’ social media, almost all major employers use AI in recruitment. Programmes track their staff’s activity, group dynamics and physical health, identifying who is productive, a bully, worth long-term investment, or likely to quit. But can we trust them? In a world of severe job insecurity, workplace algorithms are on the brink of dominating or even threatening us—if we don’t fight back.Trade Review‘The best available case study [of] … the use of artificial intelligence by human resource departments.' -- The New York Times, 'Top 5 Books on Artificial Intelligence'‘Focuses on how the technology is already deployed in personnel decisions in the workplace — with alarming results.’ -- Financial Times'Schellmann pulls the curtain back on the AI-driven "HR tech" revolution taking over hiring and managing employees, and finds tools that are arbitrary, ineffective, discriminatory and likely unlawful. Reads like a dozen scandals waiting to erupt.' -- Gavin Mueller, author of 'Breaking Things at Work''A disturbing investigation into use of AI systems in hiring, firing, and employee surveillance. As Schellmann demonstrates, AI has moved into crucial areas of our lives, but the process has been so fast and silent that its influence is almost invisible. She argues that HR managers should be required to understand how their algorithms work, and there must be greater human input to personnel decisions. This eye-opening book makes it hard to disagree.' -- 'Kirkus Reviews''In "The Algorithm", Hilke Schellmann has done the impossible: she has rendered the baffling 'Wild West' of AI immensely readable and approachable. Schellmann gives us the dark and hidden history of tech innovation and the marketplace through the stories of those whose lives have been smashed by its glitches.' -- Eliza Griswold, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 'Amity and Prosperity''One of the most important topics of our time--one that impacts all of us more than we realise. The book takes a balanced approach to illuminating the current state of AI in the workplace. It's not just about incredible benefits or doomsday scenarios, but a real look into the current state of these tools, the incentive systems driving their proliferation, the mixed results they provide, and how we might ensure better outcomes. Highly recommended.' -- Ryan Fuller, former vice president for workplace intelligence, Microsoft'A fresh, important perspective on how AI is changing many critical workplace decisions in organizations. Schellmann's research is thorough and clever, and exposes the many of problems that AI and its proponents have already created for companies and employees.' -- David Futrell, former senior director of organization performance, Walmart'Hilke Schellmann was one of the first journalists to understand the dangers of AI passing judgement on workers, and The Algorithm is an absolutely vital book about the risks and harms of the systems already operating--on us--today.' -- Clay Shirky, author of "Cognitive Surplus" and "Here Comes Everybody"
£20.90
Natural History Museum Fossils
Book Synopsis
£17.00
Icon Books The Milky Way Smells of Rum and Raspberries:
Book SynopsisAn offbeat guided tour of the Universe, focusing on weird and wonderful facts.Astrophysicist Dr Jillian Scudder knows more than most of us what a surreal place the Universe can be. In this light-hearted book she delves into some of the more arcane facts that her work has revealed, and tells us how we have actually managed to discover these amazing truths.Did you know: the galaxy is flatter than a credit card; supermassive black holes can sing a super-low B flat; it rains iron on a brown dwarf, and diamonds on Neptune; you could grow turnips on Mars if its soil weren't full of rocket fuel; the Universe is beige, on average; Jupiter's magnetic field will short-circuit your spacecraft - and, of course, the Milky Way smells of rum and raspberries.Trade Review[An] entertaining romp ... Armchair astronomers will come away with a renewed sense of wonder at the strangeness of the universe. * Publishers Weekly *Aiming to intrigue general readerships about astrophysics, The Milky Way Smells of Rum and Raspberries is full of the energy and excitement of discovery. * Foreword Reviews *
£10.44
Oxford University Press Our Changing Views of Photons A Tutorial Memoir
Book SynopsisAdvances in technology often rely on a world of photons as the basic units of light. Increasingly one reads of photons as essential to enterprises in Photonics and Quantum Technology, with career and investment opportunities. Notions of photons have evolved from the energy-packet crowds of Planck and Einstein, the later field modes of Dirac, the seeming conflict of wave and particle photons, to the ubiquitous laser photons of today. Readers who take interest in contemporary technology will benefit from learning what photons are now considered to be, and how our views of photons have changed -- in learning about the various operational definitions that have been used for photons and their association with a variety of quantum-state manipulations that include Quantum Information, astronomical sources and crowds of photons, the boxed fields of Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics and single photons on demand, the photons of Feynman and Glauber, and the photon constituents of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. The narrative points to contemporary photons as causers of change to atoms, as carriers of messages, and as subject to controllable creation and alteration -- a considerable diversity of photons, not just one kind. Our Changing Views of Photons: A Tutorial Memoir presents those general topics as a memoir of the author''s involvement with physics and the photons of theoretical Quantum Optics, written conversationally for readers with no assumed prior exposure to science. It offers lay readers a glimpse of scientific discovery -- of how ideas become practical, as a small scientific community reconsiders its assumptions and offers the theoretical ideas that are then developed, revised, and adopted into technology for daily use. For readers who want a more detailed understanding of the theory, three substantial appendices provide tutorials that, assuming no prior familiarity, proceed from a very elementary start to basics of discrete states and abstract vector spaces; Lie groups; notions of quantum theory and the Schrödinger equation for quantum-state manipulation; Maxwell''s equations for electromagnetism, with wave modes that become photons, possibly exhibiting quantum entanglement; and the coupling of atoms and fields to create quasiparticles. The appendices can be seen as a companion to traditional textbooks on Quantum Optics.Trade ReviewUnderstandable by anyone with an interest in science. * Christian Brosseau, Optics and Photonics News, Nov 2021 *Table of ContentsPreface The Cartoons Introduction Section 1: Basic Background: Everyday Physics and Its Maths Section 2: The Photons of Planck, Einstein and Bohr Section 3: The Photons of Dirac Section 4: Photons as Population Changers Section 5: Photon Messengers Section 6: Manipulating Photons Section 7: Overview; Ways of Regarding Photons Section 8: Finale Appendix A: Atoms and Their Mathematics Appendix B: Radiation and Photons Appendix C: Couples Atom and Field Equations References Index
£27.50
Oxford University Press Statistical Mechanics Theory and Molecular
Book SynopsisScientists are increasingly finding themselves engaged in research problems that cross the traditional disciplinary lines of physics, chemistry, biology, materials science, and engineering. Because of its broad scope, statistical mechanics is an essential tool for students and more experienced researchers planning to become active in such an interdisciplinary research environment. Powerful computational methods that are based in statistical mechanics allow complex systems to be studied at an unprecedented level of detail. This book synthesizes the underlying theory of statistical mechanics with the computational techniques and algorithms used to solve real-world problems and provides readers with a solid foundation in topics that reflect the modern landscape of statistical mechanics. Topics covered include detailed reviews of classical and quantum mechanics, in-depth discussions of the equilibrium ensembles and the use of molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo to sample classical and quantum ensemble distributions, Feynman path integrals, classical and quantum linear-response theory, nonequilibrium molecular dynamics, the Langevin and generalized Langevin equations, critical phenomena, techniques for free energy calculations, machine learning models, and the use of these models in statistical mechanics applications. The book is structured such that the theoretical underpinnings of each topic are covered side by side with computational methods used for practical implementation of the theoretical concepts.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition A good contribution to scholarship in this area. * Paul Madden, University of Oxford *Addresses an important area in a nicely coherent and systematic way. * Marshall Stoneham, University College London *A welcome addition to the literature. * Daan Frenkel, University of Cambridge *Table of Contents1: Classical mechanics 2: Theoretical foundations of classical statistical mechanics 3: The microcanonical ensemble and introduction to molecular dynamics 4: The canonical ensemble 5: The isobaric ensembles 6: The grand canonical ensemble 7: Monte Carlo 8: Free-energy calculations 9: Quantum mechanics 10: Quantum ensembles and the density matrix 11: The quantum ideal gases: Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein statistics 12: The Feynman path integral 13: Classical time-dependent statistical mechanics 14: Quantum time-dependent statistical mechanics 15: The Langevin and generalized Langevin equations 16: Discrete models and critical phenomena 17: Introduction to machine learning in statistical mechanics Free
£61.75
HarperCollins Publishers Mars
Book SynopsisThe perfect gift for anyone eager to learn more about the Red PlanetDiscover all you need to know about Mars including the historic, cultural and scientific background and exploratory missions with this accessible guide for aspiring and seasoned astronomers, packed full of stunning images. Learn about humanity's fascination with Mars from antiquity to the modern day Read about the evolution of the planet, its moons and all the facts and figures Discover how to study Mars with the essential equipment for observation and photography Comes with an Atlas to help you find your way around the planet when looking at images Includes resources for further study and a glossary of key termsMars gives you a complete understanding of one of the true wonders of our Solar System and leaves you prepared for the adventure of a lifetime, including what the future holds and the potential for manned missions.
£8.54
Cambridge University Press An Introduction to Genetic Engineering
Book SynopsisThe fourth edition of this popular textbook retains its focus on the fundamental principles of gene manipulation, providing an accessible and broad-based introduction to the subject for beginning undergraduate students. It has been brought thoroughly up to date with new chapters on the story of DNA and genome editing, and new sections on bioethics, significant developments in sequencing technology and structural, functional and comparative genomics and proteomics, and the impact of transgenic plants. In addition to chapter summaries, learning objectives, concept maps, glossary and key word lists the book now also features new concluding sections, further reading lists and web-search activities for each chapter to provide a comprehensive suite of learning resources to help students develop a flexible and critical approach to the study of genetic engineering.Trade Review'Genetic engineering represents a toolbox that all students within the basic and applied biology fields must get acquainted with. The fourth edition of An Introduction to Genetic Engineering is an excellent up-to-date version of a classic textbook. This ambitious book excellently balances the molecular biology knowledge required to grasp the comprehensive gene technology toolbox with a discussion of its impact on society.' Per Amstrup Pedersen, University of Copenhagen'As a biomedical engineering professor teaching an undergraduate Genetic Engineering course for close to 10 years, I use Dr Nicholl's An Introduction to Genetic Engineering as my go-to textbook. It is not one of those overly thick textbooks that overwhelm students. Its comprehensiveness captures readers' attention with succinct fundamental concepts that truly promote one's interest in exploring the wonder of many genetic engineering techniques and applications. To facilitate that further, the material provided at the end of each chapter encourages readers to expand their learning with relevant resources … Many of my students become so interested that they pursue graduate degrees and have a career in this field. Dr Nicholl's textbook has a long-term influence on its readers.' M. Ete Chan, State University of New York at Stony Brook'Dr Nicholl's book covers all the basic material that one would expect from its title, but what particularly impressed me was how it isn't afraid to move into political and socio-economic arenas. In Chapter 16, for example, balanced arguments are presented for and against the development of transgenic organisms, and these don't always come out in favour of the science.' Neil Crickmore, University of SussexTable of ContentsPreface; Part I. Genetic Engineering in Context: 1. Introduction; 2. The story of DNA; 3. Brave new world or genetic nightmare?; Part II. The Basis of Genetic Engineering: 4. Introducing molecular biology; 5. The tools of the trade; 6. Working with nucleic acids; Part III. The Methodology of Gene Manipulation: 7. Host cells and vectors; 8. Cloning strategies; 9. The polymerase chain reaction; 10. Selection, screening and analysis of recombinants; 11. Bioinformatics; 12. Genome editing; Part IV. Genetic Engineering in Action: 13. Investigating genes, genomes and 'otheromes'; 14. Genetic engineering and biotechnology; 15. Medical and forensic applications of gene manipulation; 16. Transgenic plants and animals; 17. The other sort of cloning; Glossary; Index.
£42.74
The Experiment LLC The Science of Cleaning
Book SynopsisThe only book on cleaning you'll ever need, offering practical, evidence-based advice on picking products and optimising every aspect of housekeeping the scientific way.
£16.79
Field Studies Council Distinctive gilled fungi: 2023
Book Synopsis
£6.73
Llewellyn Publications,U.S. Crows and Ravens
Book Synopsis
£16.19
The Natural History Museum Snakes
Book SynopsisA guide to the global diversity of snakes with insights from Natural History Museum experts.
£13.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Osprey
Book SynopsisA highly readable Poyser monograph on one of the most widespread raptors.The Osprey is a large, fish-eating bird of prey. Distinctively marked in deep brown and white, with a piercing yellow eye and powerful hooked bill, the Osprey snatches its prey in spectacular swoops above lakes and wetlands around the world it is one of the most widespread of all birds. Persecuted mercilessly in Britain, it became extinct in the 1890s before returning to the famous Loch Garten in Scotland in the 1950s. The return of the bird has been slow, but reintroduction programmes elsewhere notably at Rutland Water have been successful, and this remarkable raptor is an increasingly common sight in our skies. This Poyser monograph is dedicated to this fine species and includes more than 150 colour photographs. The Osprey looks at the distribution, foraging ecology, migration, breeding behaviour and population dynamics of this spectacular bird, with emphasis placed on conserv
£33.25
Pushkin Children's Books The Case of the Haunted Wardrobe
Book SynopsisThe second book in Kereen Getten's action-packed mystery series for younger readers! Fayson has been dreaming of going back to the island ever since she left. But no sooner is she reunited with Di Island Crew than a mysterious case comes their way - a haunted wardrobe that keeps making a spine-chilling sound! And to make matters worse, the crew have all received a letter threatening to reveal their deepest secrets. With the clock ticking, Fayson must rally her friends and take charge of the detective agency to solve the eerie mystery. But with tensions rising and friendship squabbles getting in the way, can they work together to crack the case and keep their secrets safe? __________ READERS ARE LOVING Di ISLAND CREW: 'So much fun' 'I really enjoyed this mystery story and read it from start to finish in one sitting' 'A fun adventure with just the right amount of fear and peril... I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for the rest of the series' 'Great characters, brilliantly paced and a big fat recommendation from my daughter'Trade Review'- - Praise for Di Island Crew Investigates series:' - -'Like Enid Blyton with a social conscience, this marks the start of an addictive new series for 8+' - Guardian'A charming plot... ideal for confident younger readers' - Booktrust'Exploring themes of family and friendship, this is great for fans of mystery adventure stories' - The Week Junior, Book of the Week''Absolutely excellent' - Fleur Hitchcock
£7.59
Princeton University Press Free Agents
Book SynopsisTrade Review"A New Statesman Best Book of the Academic Presses""A highly original and very persuasive book. . . .Carefully argued and fair-minded but forceful in its conclusions, Free Agents is interdisciplinary research at its best."---Joe Humphreys, Irish Times"Mitchell's compelling and absorbing book acts both as a synthesizing primer about evolution and a powerful argument for free will. Its importance and quality are undeniable. A bold, brilliant must-read that should reach a large audience." * Kirkus Reviews, starred review *"An eloquent defense of our common-sense understanding of the mind. . . . [E]xcellent."---Andrew Crumey, Wall Street Journal"[Mitchell] makes a powerful case that history of life, in all its complex grandeur, cannot be appreciated until we understand the evolution of agency—and then, in creatures of sufficient complexity, the evolution of conscious free will. . . . [Free Agents] builds an argument that is methodical and crisp, and cuts through years of disputation like a knife through cotton candy."---James Gleick, New York Review of Books"Provocative." * Publishers Weekly *"Mitchell’s naturalization of free will shows that it need not be some mysterious non-physical force, but instead a cognitive phenomenon in which all manner of influences. . .are integrated into decisions to act, formulated with varying degrees of conscious awareness (of genuine will, you might say). “You” don’t generate free will; rather, the mental processes of deliberation are a part of what makes you."---Philip Ball, Times Literary Supplement"Humans are not, says Kevin Mitchell, the playthings of predestination. Millennia of evolution means that our nervous systems have given us the wherewithal both to imagine and to predict. Mitchell explains how this power came about and why it matters." * New Statesman *"Two popular books. . . have breathed new life into the ancient debate over whether we have free will. In Free Agents, Kevin Mitchell argues that we do, and in Determined, Robert Sapolsky argues that we don’t. To be blunt, on the big issue at hand – Mitchell is right and Sapolsky is wrong. . . . [H]ow can the information in our brains come together to form a coherent and causally potent self? Mitchell offers a strikingly lucid evolutionary story of how such a self emerged. "---Oliver Waters, Three Quarks Daily"Mitchell persuasively develops a more modest conception of free will that entails the evolved ability to make real choices in the service of our goals—that is, to act for our own reasons. This carefully argued, information-dense book will put a dent in any intellectual predilection toward determinism that some readers may have. It certainly did mine."---Ronald Bailey, Reason"A challenge to neuro-reductionism. . . . As Mitchell explains the growth of agency across 12 penetrating and fluent chapters, they read not like a series of academic lectures but rather a stimulating conversation where a reader’s next question is anticipated and answered."---Peter Sterling, Current Biology"A sophisticated, scientific response to determinism. . . . [A] provocative and special contribution to the discourse on free will."---Stetson Thacker, Holodoxa"Ground-breaking. . . .A significant contribution to the free will debate." * Paradigm Explorer *"Mitchell’s retelling of life’s history turns out to be a fascinating exercise with relevance far beyond the free will debate. . . . Free Agents is a tightly argued and compelling case in favour of free will. Mitchell proves himself an able wordsmith who crams profound ideas in short sentences that benefit from reading and unpacking slowly. . . . [A] spectacular read."---Leon Vlieger, Inquisitive Biologist
£22.50
Oxford University Press Quantum Information Science
Book SynopsisThis book provides an introduction to quantum information science, the science at the basis of the new quantum revolution of this century. It teaches the reader to build and program a quantum computer and leverage its potential. Aimed at quantum physicists and computer scientists, the book covers several topics, including quantum algorithms, quantum chemistry, and quantum engineering of superconducting qubits. Written by two professionals in the experimental and theoretical fields of quantum information science and containing over 200 figures and 100 exercises with solutions and summaries at the end of each chapter, this book is set to become a new standard in the field.Trade ReviewManenti and Motta provide a tour-de-force of quantum information science. This is the first textbook that I have seen that comprehensively begins with mathematics, moves on to quantum physics, and via quantum algorithms ends up in the discussion of hardware implementations. With detailed explanations, modern references, and further reading tips this book is poised to become one of the classics in every quantum information scientist's bookshelf * Alan Aspuru-Guzik, Professor of Chemistry and Computer Science, University of Toronto and Scientific Advisor, Zapata Computing *Manenti and Motta have navigated the vast field of quantum information science to create a well-rounded and accessible textbook. Though the subject is too broad to be covered in its entirety, the authors have carefully selected key topics and provide clear explanations including advanced topics on quantum simulation and superconducting devices. This is an excellent resource for anyone starting a career in this field. * Jay Gambetta, IBM Fellow and Vice President of IBM Quantum *The text 'Quantum Information Science' is an admirable attempt by these two authors, a theorist and an experimentalist in the quantum information field, to guide readers from the very basics to the frontiers of research. The unusual breadth of topics ensures that every reader will learn something new and the inclusion of a large number of problems with detailed solutions means that this work is suitable for instructional use in graduate classes. A much needed and unique tour-de-force. * Garnet Kin-Lic Chan, Bren Professor of Chemistry, Caltech *Manenti and Motta have made a great effort to introduce the basic concepts in the rapidly growing field of quantum information science and technology. With numerous exercises and references, this book will not only be a valuable resource for current students, but also serve as a foundation for the next generation of quantum engineers. * Yasunobu Nakamura, Professor of Quantum Information Physics, University of Tokyo *Table of ContentsPART I - FOUNDATIONS 1: Mathematical tools 2: Computational models 3: Linear algebra 4: Quantum mechanics 5: Quantum circuits PART II - MODERN QUANTUM MECHANICS 6: Density operators 7: Quantum maps 8: Decoherence PART III - APPLICATIONS 9: Entanglement 10: Early quantum algorithms 11: Quantum simulation of Hamiltonian dynamics 12: Quantum simulation of Hamiltonian eigenstates PART IV - QUANTUM ENGINEERING OF SUPERCONDUCTING DEVICES 13: Microwave resonators for superconducting devices 14: Superconducting qubits Appendix A: The rotating wave approximation Appendix B: Advanced quantum mechanics Appendix C: The quantum Fourier transform Appendix D: The molecular Hamiltonian in second quantization
£52.25
Oxford University Press Inc Evolution
Book SynopsisAddresses major themes: including the history of evolution, evolutionary processes, adaptation, and evolution as an explanatory framework-at levels of biological organization ranging from genomes to ecological communities. Extensively revised for clarity and currency, this new edition of Evolution presents this field of evolution as a living, breathing science. Updated coverage in evolutionary genetics and genomics illustrates the rapidly moving science of evolution and emphasizes the interplay between theory and empirical tests of hypotheses, acquainting students with the process of science. Written for undergraduate students in Psychology and Biology, the text is available in a dynamic and interactive Enhanced eBook that allows student to hone their problem solving and data analysis skills while seeing Evolution in the context of their life through video, animations and more.Trade ReviewEvolution is good at providing a lot of empirical examples for each major concept, and I generally like the organization, particularly in the early units, where chapters build on each other in a good natural progression. * Jeremy Yoder, CSU Northridge *Very good combination of large-scale evolutionary trends and overview of our understanding of evolution of Homo sapiens. * Alyssa Bell, Cal Poly Pomona *Generally quite well-organized and clearly written. Important topics are generally covered to a level that I would feel is appropriate for students in my class. The examples are generally interesting and well-illustrated. * Rene Malenfant, University of New Brunswick *Very well written and is probably the best textbook on evolution on the market right now. Full of data, including recent findings. * Mark Sturtevant, Oakland University *Table of ContentsChapter 1: An Idea that Changed the World Chapter 2: The Tree of Life Chapter 3: Natural Selection and Adaptation Chapter 4: Mutation and Variation Chapter 5: The Genetical Theory of Natural Selection Chapter 6: Genetic Drift: Evolution at Random Chapter 7: Quantitative Traits Chapter 8: Evolution in Space Chapter 9: Species and Speciation Chapter 10: The Evolution of Genes and Genomes Chapter 11: Evolution and Development Chapter 12: All about Sex Chapter 13: Cooperation and Conflict Chapter 14: Evolutionary Ecology: How to be Fit Chapter 15: Interactions among Species Chapter 16: Phylogeny: The Unity and Diversity of Life Chapter 17: The History of Life Chapter 18: The Geography of Evolution Chapter 19: Macroevolution: Evolution above the Species Level Chapter 20: The Evolutionary Story of Homo sapiens Chapter 21: Evolution and Society Chapter 22: A Statistics Primer
£175.74
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Strahans Mammals of Australia
Book SynopsisFully updated and with completely reworked text and images, this is the Fourth Edition of the acclaimed The Mammals of Australia. Strahan''s Mammals of Australia is the best book available on the subject, being the most definitive, comprehensive and up-to-date. It provides a written account of every species of native mammal known to have existed in Australia since European settlement, with 403 species covered in total. It is beautifully illustrated with more than 1,500 colour photographs, while each species account includes a detailed description of the animal and its behaviour. Species covered range from marsupials, monotremes and rodents through to bats, seals and whales.The new edition sees the addition of 14 newly described species and includes all the latest taxonomic treatments and many changes to names (common and scientific) and other features that have been accepted in the 14 years that have passed since the publication of the Third Edit
£80.75
Princeton University Press The Lives of Spiders
Book Synopsis
£27.00
Penguin Books Ltd The Facemaker
Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLERBest Books of the Year, GuardianThe poignant story of the visionary surgeon who rebuilt the faces of the First World War''s injured heroes, and in the process ushered in the modern era of plastic surgeryFrom the moment the first machine gun rang out over the Western Front, one thing was clear: mankind''s military technology had wildly surpassed its medical capabilities. The war''s new weaponry, from tanks to shrapnel, enabled slaughter on an industrial scale, and given the nature of trench warfare, thousands of soldiers sustained facial injuries. Medical advances meant that more survived their wounds than ever before, yet disfigured soldiers did not receive the hero''s welcome they deserved.In The Facemaker, award-winning historian Lindsey Fitzharris tells the astonishing story of the pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies, who dedicated himself to restoring the faces - and the identities - of a brutalized generation. Gillies, a Cambridge-educated New Zealander, became interested in the nascent field of plastic surgery after encountering the human wreckage on the front. Returning to Britain, he established one of the world''s first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction in Sidcup, south-east England. There, Gillies assembled a unique group of doctors, nurses and artists whose task was to recreate what had been torn apart. At a time when losing a limb made a soldier a hero, but losing a face made him a monster to a society largely intolerant of disfigurement, Gillies restored not just the faces of the wounded but also their spirits.Meticulously researched and grippingly told, The Facemaker places Gillies''s ingenious surgical innovations alongside the poignant stories of soldiers whose lives were wrecked and repaired. The result is a vivid account of how medicine and art can merge, and of what courage and imagination can accomplish in the presence of relentless horror.Trade ReviewIn this fascinating book, Fitzharris reminds us there is nothing superficial about plastic surgery's ability to heal minds as well as bodies. Five stars -- Kathryn Hughes * Mail on Sunday *Scholarly yet deeply moving... This is a fascinating book about a remarkable man, and of how teamwork is such an important part of good surgery. Despite the grim subject matter, it is a deeply moving and uplifting story -- Henry Marsh * New Statesman *Careful... sensitive... [Fitzharris] has successfully pieced together the story of a team of doctors, hospital workers and patients "battling" together during the First World War to modernize reconstructive plastic surgery... Fitzharris constructs a variegated and tender account of the First World War, its brutality and its narratives of human redemption... Tenderness and pathos pervade the personal stories of surgery and recovery, as well as Fitzharris's engagement with the ethics of facial difference and display -- Christine Slobogin * TLS *The Facemaker is an engaging biography of a masterful surgeon as well as a heartening account of medical progress * Economist *Meticulously researched... Five stars -- Catharine Arnold * Telegraph *Sometimes distressing, sometimes thrilling, The Facemaker had me gripped; it is elegantly written and endlessly fascinating. Employing just the right balance between diligent research and ingenious reanimation, Fitzharris brings to life a neglected slice of medical history, telling both Gillies' story as well as that of many of the men whose faces - and lives - he saved -- Lucy Scholes * Financial Times *Engrossing... Fitzharris presents an intensely moving and hugely enjoyable story about a remarkable medical pioneer and the men he remade -- Wendy Moore * Guardian *A skilled storyteller, Fitzharris takes the reader back to the front, making them trudge and slide through mud filled with missing limbs to find the people who stagger into Gillies's casebooks... Properly contextualised, these faces become not objects of horror or surgery, as they have been all too often used, but pathways into understanding what it is to lose a face, and with it, not only the ability to eat, drink and breathe, but also social acceptance and love -- Fay Bound Alberti * The Lancet *With rich, glossy strokes The Facemaker restores a sense of immediacy to the daily struggles facing Gillies and his colleagues as they improvised under constant pressure -- James Riding * The Times *Out of war's most awful wounds, out of gore and terror and pain, Lindsey Fitzharris has - like Sir Harold Gillies himself - crafted something inspiring and downright miraculous. I cannot imagine the sweat and sleuthing and doggedness that went into gathering the details and building the narratives of these men's struggles. This book is riveting. It is gruesome but it is also uplifting. For as much as there is blood and bone and pus in these pages, there is heart. As Fitzharris shows us, the scalpel is mightier than the grenade, and the pen is mightiest of all. What a triumph this book is -- Mary RoachLike Harold Gillies himself, Lindsey Fitzharris has taken something we might think of as grim and transformed it into something beautiful. Gillies will be an unsung hero no more -- Sam KeanWow, what a book. Enthralling. Harrowing. Heartbreaking. And utterly redemptive. Lindsey Fitzharris hit this one out of the park -- Erik Larson, author of THE SPLENDID AND THE VILEHere is that rare thing: a little-known story of the Great War, featuring a pioneering surgeon every bit as daring as the soldiers he saved. Beautifully written, illuminating, and bursting with fascinating detail, The Facemaker is a groundbreaking work that deserves its own genre: medical noir. You won't be able to put it down -- Karen Abbott, author of THE GHOSTS OF EDEN PARKI was an admirer of Fitzharris's award-winning first book, The Butchering Art, about Joseph Lister. This is her absorbing account of another surgeon: Harold Gillies, who established one of the world's first hospitals dedicated entirely to facial reconstruction -- Editor's pick * The Bookseller *Equal parts devastating and inspiring. The horrors of war are laid bare here, but the stories of each of the soldiers, doctors, nurses, and artists are incredibly poignant and fascinating. I couldn't put it down -- Jenny LawsonAn extraordinary story about a remarkable man whose work, determination and skill changed countless lives -- Peter Frankopan, author of THE SILK ROADSGraphic yet inspiring, engaging... [Fitzharris] delivers a consistently vivid account... An excellent biography of a genuine miracle worker -- Starred review * Kirkus *Wonderful... It was written with a clarity that I loved - although the book is packed with fascinating information, it read as easily as a novel... It is really inspiring and beautifully written -- Lucy Nathan * Bookbrunch *A fascinating portrait of pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies and the soldiers whose faces he rebuilt during WWI... Meticulously researched and compulsively readable, this exceptional history showcases how compassion and innovation can help mitigate the terrible wounds of war * Starred Review, Publishers Weekly *Sometimes, you just know. From the moment I read The Facemaker's excellent prologue, I knew I had a book on my hands... Fitzharris is a gifted storyteller and delights in just about the right amount of detail -- Matthew Shipsey * Irish Times *Informative... A powerful portrait of a gifted man -- Oliver-James Campbell * New Scientist *The Facemaker conveys the emotional, physical and psychical effects of having an injured and altered face, directly from those who had to deal with them... Powerful -- Sharrona Pearl * Washington Post *In The Facemaker, Fitzharris rescues another vital yet largely forgotten figure from history. Blending scrupulous research with a novelist's eye, the author charts Gillies's extraordinary contribution to reconstructive surgery and weaves in touching accounts of the soldiers he treated. Stark and occasionally unsettling, the book reveals Gillies as both a craftsman and an artist, and underlines how by restoring the faces of the maimed Gillies was also restoring their lives and identities -- Brendan Daly * Business Post *Vividly thrilling * Nature *
£10.44
Jessica Kingsley Publishers Success with Sensory Supports: The ultimate guide
Book SynopsisSensory needs are being recognised as a vital part of learning, development and engagement within the classroom and are being used more often to make education both accessible and fun. To harness the full potential of sensory supports, using these strategies correctly is key!This is the essential guide to using sensory strategies successfully with school children, from occupational therapist, Kim Griffin, who has 20 years of experience supporting sensory needs.As you make your way through the book, you will be joined by Isla and Noah, two children whose stories will help illustrate how information in the book can be used practically. In addition, the book includes personal anecdotes from Kim, links to further reading, reflective questions and teacher perspectives to show how a teacher might use the information in the classroom. These features will help you easily identify sensory needs and use sensory tools effectively.Trade ReviewThis sensational book for school staff provides a deeply grounded introduction to sensory processing and self-regulation. Readers are guided through the process of positive change and given many practical activities and strategies to support students with differences in the classroom. -- Susan Allen, Senior Lecturer in Occupational Therapy, Oxford Brookes UniversityKim presents a super simple, step by step introduction to sensory support strategies for anyone to pick up and use. Sign posting provided will allow curious readers to find out more about topics they encounter. Kim shows an awareness and respect for contemporary understandings of neurodiversity and guides readers around common misunderstandings. On every page theoretical knowledge is linked with real world situations that bring the information to life. -- Joanna Grace, Sensory Engagement and Inclusion Specialist, Doctoral Researcher and Founder of The Sensory Projects.What a gem of a book! Kim (a SEND Station presenter) has put together a resource that is relatable to everyone, so comprehensive and accessible in its format. Fantastic for practitioners and parents to understand and then dip into, to best support their children. We love the visuals too! -- Sarah Singleton – Specialist Teacher/SEND Consultant (SEND Station Ltd)Classroom teachers will find this text extremely supportive of their work in two primary ways (1) providing a variety of helpful strategies to address students' sensory-related behaviors AND (2) providing clear explanations for those sensory-related behaviors and strategies. This book provides the background and training teachers need to implement sensory strategies in the classroom with care and understanding. -- Heather Kuhaneck, Professor and Program Director of Ocupational Therapy, Southern Connecticut State University
£17.89
Oxford University Press Why Ecosystems Matter
Book SynopsisHow our growing knowledge of the evolution of complex ecosystems, using the latest genetic tools, can help us heal them - and surviveThis is not another Chicken Little book about the environment. Every reader already knows how overpopulation, ignorance and tribalism are contributing to environmental destruction and breakdowns in public health. We are all aware of the grim possibility that during our lifetimes the Earth might flip to a new ecological equilibrium, threatening our very survival.Why Ecosystems Matter explores an exciting new way to avoid such threats, by using our exponentially-growing knowledge of how evolution has shaped and is continuing to shape the complex communities of living ecosystems on which we all depend. Throughout this book we will visit ecosystems where the author has worked or has had direct experience, beginning with a tour of the amazing series of ecosystems that span the entire eastern slope of the Peruvian Andes. This journey provides a vivid glimpse of ecosystems'' diversity and capacity for rapid change. Next, we trace how Darwin gained a fundamental insight about the origins of such ecosystem complexity. He realized that, when subgroups of the same species inhabit even slightly different ecosystems, these subgroups will evolve in diverging directions. This divergent evolution is primarily driven by interactions with the many other species in each ecosystem, which are themselves evolving in different directions in the different ecosystems. We explore how this subtle and fascinating concept lies at the heart of the evolutionary ferment that powers ecosystem diversity and resilience - the bubbling evolutionary cauldrons of the book''s title. This ferment pervades ecosystems, but it is especially active in their microorganism communities. We then examine the evolutionary forces that power these cauldrons, starting with between-species interactions and tunnelling down to their causes. Using real-world examples, we explore how the technologies available for measuring these changes are increasing exponentially in precision and scope. We show how this deluge of new genetic and environmental information can be used to protect and restore a wide variety of damaged ecosystems. Ecosystems have survived dramatic changes in the past, often becoming even more wondrous and diverse than before. We are now learning how this happens, and how we can preserve this astounding ability.
£33.25
Oxford University Press River Ecology
Book SynopsisRivers have been vitally important to human populations worldwide for millennia as highways for inland travel, and as sources of water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, manufacturing, irrigation, and power generation, as well as repositories for human, animal, and industrial wastes. This accessible textbook takes a broad approach to river ecology, covering the basics but going beyond by including topics that are often overlooked such as blackwater streams and rivers, tidal creek ecosystems, and reservoir limnology. Since most running water (lotic) systems have been altered or impacted by human activities, there is significant emphasis on anthropogenic impacts, including sedimentation, nutrient pollution and related eutrophication issues as well as the effects of dams and river fragmentation, power plant operations, chemical contamination, wastewater treatment discharges, industrial scale livestock production, invasive species, and rural and urban storm water runoff on river ecosystems. Table of ContentsIntroduction 1: The Physical Nature of River Ecosystems 2: Nutrients and River Ecosystems 3: Lotic Primary Producers: Phytoplankton and Periphyton 4: Lotic Primary Producers: Macroalgae and Macrophytes 5: Stream and River Invertebrate Communities 6: Feeding the River: Unifying Concepts 7: Riverine Fishes and Other Vertebrate Communities 8: Blackwater Streams and Rivers 9: The Ecology of Tidal Creeks 10: Altering the Natural Flow: Dams and River Fragmentation 11: Reservoir Limnology 12: Industrial Pollution of Streams and Rivers 13: Human Wastewater Treatment and Industrial Livestock Production Wastes 14: Species Loss and Impacts of Invasive Species 15: Ecology and Pollution of Urban Streams 16: Protecting and Restoring Streams and Rivers 17: Floods, Hurricanes, and Climate Change
£37.99