Our species long lived on the edge of starvation. Now we produce enough food for all 7 billion of us to eat nearly 3,000 calories every day. This is such an astonishing thing in the history of life as to verge on the miraculous. "The Big Ratchet" is the story of how it happened, of the ratchets--the technologies and innovations, big and small--that propelled our species from hunters and gatherers on the savannahs of Africa to shoppers in the aisles of the supermarket.
The Big Ratchet itself came in the twentieth century, when a range of technologies--from fossil fuels to scientific plant breeding to nitrogen fertilizers--combined to nearly quadruple our population in a century, and to grow our food supply even faster. To some, these technologies are a sign of our greatness; to others, of our hubris. MacArthur fellow and Columbia University professor Ruth DeFries argues that the debate is the wrong one to have. Limits do exist, but every limit that has confronted us, we have surpassed. That cycle of crisis and growth is the story of our history; indeed, it is the essence of "The Big Ratchet." Understanding it will reveal not just how we reached this point in our history, but how we might survive it.

Some of the most intriguing issues in the study of cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development arise in the debate over nature versus nurture; a debate difficult to resolve because it is difficult to separate the respective contributions of genes and environment to development.

The most powerful approach to this separation is through longitudinal adoption studies. The Colorado Adoption Project (CAP) is the only longitudinal adoption study in existence examining development continuously from birth to adolescence, which makes it a unique, powerful, and tremendously valuable resource. CAP is an ongoing assessment of 245 adopted children and 245 biological control children assessed from birth to early adolescence.

This book is the fourth in a series describing CAP results. This latest volume, edited by four eminent researchers in developmental psychology, builds on the large body of research already generated by investigating the role of genes and environments on early adolescent development.

Originally published in 1936, this book is a detailed guide to the cultivation of the mushroom. Full of detailed information and instruction on growing and harvesting, this book is still of great practical use to today's grower. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents Include: Introduction - The Nature of the Mushroom - Site and Soil - Buildings - Manures - Spawns - Making up Beds - Care of Beds - Diseases and Pests and Their Control - Picking and Packing - Exhibiting - Some Companion Crops - Marketing and Costings - Cooking Recipes

Not long ago, the future seemed predictable. Now, certainty about the course of civilization has given way to fear and doubt. Raging fires, ravaging storms, political upheavals, financial collapse, and deadly pandemics lie ahead—or are already here. The world feels less comprehensible and more dangerous, and no one, from individuals to businesses and governments, knows how to navigate the path forward. Ruth DeFries argues that a surprising set of time-tested strategies from the natural world can help humanity weather these crises. Through trial and error over the eons, life has evolved astonishing and counterintuitive tricks in order to survive. DeFries details how a handful of fundamental strategies—investments in diversity, redundancy over efficiency, self-correcting feedbacks, and decisions based on bottom-up knowledge—enable life to persist through unpredictable, sudden shocks. Lessons for supply chains from a leaf’s intricate network of veins and stock market-saving “circuit breakers” patterned on planetary cycles reveal the power of these approaches for modern life. With humility and willingness to apply nature’s experience to our human-constructed world, DeFries demonstrates, we can withstand uncertain and perilous times. Exploring the lessons that life on Earth can teach us about coping with complexity, What Would Nature Do? offers timely options for civilization to reorganize for a safe and prosperous future.

This volume brings together a variety of views of and approaches to some of the central issues currently under scrutiny in the area of human sexuality. These articles by clinicians and academicians focus on topics such as gender identity, sexual orientation, AIDs, sleep psychology, and ethics. The collection is divided into four sections, covering female sexual issues; gender identity and psychotherapy; medical and psychological aspects of sexual behavior; and attitudes, values, and ethics.

What so strongly attracted the author in Patrick Geddes when she came to know him in India was, not his scientific achievements, but, on the contrary, the rare fact of the fullness of his personality rising far above his science. Whatever subjects he has studied and mastered have become vitally one with his humanity. He has the precision of the scientist and the vision of the prophet; and at the same time, the power of the artist to make his ideas visible through the language of symbols. His love of Man has given him the insight to see the truth of Man, and his imagination to realize in the world the infinite mystery of life and not merely its mechanical aspect.

From Book's Foreward What so strongly attracted me in Patrick Geddes when I came to know him in India was, not his scientific achievements, but, on the contrary, the rare fact of the fullness of his personality rising far above his science. Whatever subjects he has studies and mastered have become vitally one with his humanity. He has the precision of the scientist and the vision of the prophet; and at the same time, the power of the artist to make his ideas visible through the language of symbols. His love of Man has given him the insight to see the truth of Man, and his imagination to realize in the world the infinite mystery of life and not merely its mechanical aspect.

This work examines the attitudes of the Conservative Party towards Jews in Britain, Palestine and elsewhere from 1900-1948. It aims to show how the Conservative Party in the first half of the 20th century regarded both itself and British society on the one hand, and Britain's role on the other. It discusses Conservative responses to Jewish immigration into Britain from both Eastern Europe in the first decades of the century and from Central Europe in the 1930s. Conservative attitudes to the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine are examined from its nascent stage up until the establishment of the State of Israel. The author argues, in conclusion, that the generally held view that the Conservative party is, and always was, anti-Semitic is too simplistic an analysis of a complex group of people during a period which saw changes in the Party, in British society and in the Jewish community.

This work examines the attitudes of the Conservative Party towards Jews in Britain, Palestine and elsewhere from 1900-1948. It aims to show how the Conservative Party in the first half of the 20th century regarded both itself and British society on the one hand, and Britain's role on the other.

Not long ago, the future seemed predictable. Now, certainty about the course of civilization has given way to fear and doubt. Raging fires, ravaging storms, political upheavals, financial collapse, and deadly pandemics lie ahead-or are already here. The world feels less comprehensible and more dangerous, and no one, from individuals to businesses and governments, knows how to navigate the path forward. Ruth DeFries argues that a surprising set of time-tested strategies from the natural world can help humanity weather these crises. Through trial and error over the eons, life has evolved astonishing and counterintuitive tricks in order to survive. DeFries details how a handful of fundamental strategies-investments in diversity, redundancy over efficiency, self-correcting feedbacks, and decisions based on bottom-up knowledge-enable life to persist through unpredictable, sudden shocks. Lessons for supply chains from a leaf's intricate network of veins and stock market-saving "circuit breakers" patterned on planetary cycles reveal the power of these approaches for modern life. With humility and willingness to apply nature's experience to our human-constructed world, DeFries demonstrates, we can withstand uncertain and perilous times. Exploring the lessons that life on Earth can teach us about coping with complexity, What Would Nature Do? offers timely options for civilization to reorganize for a safe and prosperous future.

Quantitative genetics offers a general theory of the development of individual differences that suggests novel concepts and research strategies: the idea that genetic influences operate in age-to-age change as well as in continuity for example. Quantitative genetics also provides powerful methods to address questions of change and continuity, including model-fitting approaches that test the fit between a specific model of genetic and environmental influences and observed correlations among family members, which are here helpfully introduced. A simple parent and offspring model is extended to include longitudinal and multivariate analyses. Longitudinal quantitative genetic research is essential to the understanding of developmental change and continuity. The largest and longest longitudinal adoption study is the Colorado Adoption Project, which has generated much of the rich data on the progress from infancy to early childhood on which the authors draw throughout this 1988 book. Their conclusions about what we know, and what we need to learn, about the origins of individual differences will interest a wide range of readers.

Quantitative genetics offers a general theory of the development of individual differences that suggests novel concepts and research strategies: the idea that genetic influences operate in age-to-age change as well as in continuity for example. Quantitative genetics also provides powerful methods to address questions of change and continuity, including model-fitting approaches that test the fit between a specific model of genetic and environmental influences and observed correlations among family members, which are here helpfully introduced. A simple parent and offspring model is extended to include longitudinal and multivariate analyses. Longitudinal quantitative genetic research is essential to the understanding of developmental change and continuity. The largest and longest longitudinal adoption study is the Colorado Adoption Project, which has generated much of the rich data on the progress from infancy to early childhood on which the authors draw throughout this 1988 book. Their conclusions about what we know, and what we need to learn, about the origins of individual differences will interest a wide range of readers.

Originally published in 1936, this book is a detailed guide to the cultivation of the mushroom. Full of detailed information and instruction on growing and harvesting, this book is still of great practical use to today's grower. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork. Contents Include : Introduction - The Nature of the Mushroom - Site and Soil - Buildings - Manures - Spawns - Making up Beds - Care of Beds - Diseases and Pests and Their Control - Picking and Packing - Exhibiting - Some Companion Crops - Marketing and Costings - Cooking Recipes

Our choices drive our lives. The best choices = the best life and business. Written with an everyday life, business and spiritual foundation, this book aims to help us understand choices, so that we have the insight to make our best choices. Recognising there is no word for making choices, Andrea created the name Choiceables(R).This beautifully presented, encouraging new book, describes Andrea's simple and profound Choiceables(R) Model, for making choices in life and business. A quick read in under an hour, with images and powerful quotes, the reader will receive:* A clear and structured new model to help make choices * Insight into why and how we make choices, so the best choices can be made* A new approach to making choices that can be used in life and business.

It's not every day you get a friend request from a dead girl. I_am_Kronos is a thrilling blend of gaming, sci-fi, and supernatural romance. Keven Meyers, gamer and classic underachiever on the fringe of cool, gets a friend request from Sierra Sands, recently deceased and haunting his video games. Sierra is stuck in the Nexus, the center where all the universes and realities collide. She desperately needs Keven's help to stop Silas, another lost soul using his diabolical understanding of the world between the worlds to prey on gamers. When Silas attacks Keven in his video game, Sierra drags Keven's soul through the game and into the safety of the Nexus where he becomes painfully aware that he is inextricably connected, across universes and realities, to this dead girl. But with the infinite possibilities of multiple realities come options--options like his best friend Lexy Granger. Only the strength of the ties that bind Keven, Sierra, and Lexy, on multiple levels, in and out of existences, are strong enough to overthrow Silas. Rachel DeFriez, author of the chilling zombie romance, Grey Matters, brings us a spine-tingling supernatural thriller that delves into the metaphysical world of the multi-verse.