Mit Press Ltd (Over 25,000 results)

Hardback. Condition: Good. How information can make us happy or miserable, and why we sometimes avoid it and sometimes seek it out.How much information is too much? Do we need to know how many calories are in the giant vat of popcorn that we bought on our way into the movie theater? Do we want to know if we are genetically predisposed to a certain disease? Can we do anything useful with next week's weather forecast for Paris if we are not in Paris? In Too Much Information, Cass Sunstein examines the effects of information on our lives. Policymakers emphasize "the right to know," but Sunstein takes a different perspective, arguing that the focus should be on human well-being and what information contributes to it. Government should require companies, employers, hospitals, and others to disclose information not because of a general "right to know" but when the information in question would significantly improve people's lives. Sunstein argues that the information on warnings and mandatory labels is often confusing or irrelevant, yielding no benefit. He finds that people avoid information if they think it will make them sad (and seek information they think will make them happy). Our information avoidance and information seeking is notably heterogeneous-some of us do want to know the popcorn calorie count, others do not. Of course, says Sunstein, we are better off with stop signs, warnings on prescriptions drugs, and reminders about payment due dates. But sometimes less is more. What we need is more clarity about what information is actually doing or achieving.…

Hardback. Condition: Good. How to educate the next generation of college students to invent, to create, and to discover--filling needs that even the most sophisticated robot cannot.Driverless cars are hitting the road, powered by artificial intelligence. Robots can climb stairs, open doors, win Jeopardy, analyze stocks, work in factories, find parking spaces, advise oncologists. In the past, automation was considered a threat to low-skilled labor. Now, many high-skilled functions, including interpreting medical images, doing legal research, and analyzing data, are within the skill sets of machines. How can higher education prepare students for their professional lives when professions themselves are disappearing? In Robot-Proof, Northeastern University president Joseph Aoun proposes a way to educate the next generation of college students to invent, to create, and to discover--to fill needs in society that even the most sophisticated artificial intelligence agent cannot.A robot-proof education, Aoun argues, is not concerned solely with topping up students' minds with high-octane facts. Rather, it calibrates them with a creative mindset and the mental elasticity to invent, discover, or create something valuable to society--a scientific proof, a hip-hop recording, a web comic, a cure for cancer. Aoun lays out the framework for a new discipline, humanics, which builds on our innate strengths and prepares students to compete in a labor market in which smart machines work alongside human professionals. The new literacies of Aoun's humanics are data literacy, technological literacy, and human literacy. Students will need data literacy to manage the flow of big data, and technological literacy to know how their machines work, but human literacy--the humanities, communication, and design--to function as a human being. Life-long learning opportunities will support their ability to adapt to change.The only certainty about the future is change. Higher education based on the new literacies of humanics can equip students for living and working through change.…

Hardback. Condition: Very Good. How to educate the next generation of college students to invent, to create, and to discover--filling needs that even the most sophisticated robot cannot.Driverless cars are hitting the road, powered by artificial intelligence. Robots can climb stairs, open doors, win Jeopardy, analyze stocks, work in factories, find parking spaces, advise oncologists. In the past, automation was considered a threat to low-skilled labor. Now, many high-skilled functions, including interpreting medical images, doing legal research, and analyzing data, are within the skill sets of machines. How can higher education prepare students for their professional lives when professions themselves are disappearing? In Robot-Proof, Northeastern University president Joseph Aoun proposes a way to educate the next generation of college students to invent, to create, and to discover--to fill needs in society that even the most sophisticated artificial intelligence agent cannot.A robot-proof education, Aoun argues, is not concerned solely with topping up students' minds with high-octane facts. Rather, it calibrates them with a creative mindset and the mental elasticity to invent, discover, or create something valuable to society--a scientific proof, a hip-hop recording, a web comic, a cure for cancer. Aoun lays out the framework for a new discipline, humanics, which builds on our innate strengths and prepares students to compete in a labor market in which smart machines work alongside human professionals. The new literacies of Aoun's humanics are data literacy, technological literacy, and human literacy. Students will need data literacy to manage the flow of big data, and technological literacy to know how their machines work, but human literacy--the humanities, communication, and design--to function as a human being. Life-long learning opportunities will support their ability to adapt to change.The only certainty about the future is change. Higher education based on the new literacies of humanics can equip students for living and working through change.…

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. 'This work is a fascinating discussion of the strange ways in which solids form, an excellent hobby book describing ways of growing crystals, and a lucid, penetrating introduction to solid state physics. It can be read on any of these levels, or ideally, on all.[the book] should prove a delight to all readers.'--Science.…

Hardback. Condition: Very Good. Why higher education in the United States has lost its way, and how universities and colleges can focus sharply on their core mission. For The Real World of College, Wendy Fischman and Howard Gardner analyzed in-depth interviews with more than 2,000 students, alumni, faculty, administrators, parents, trustees, and others, which were conducted at ten institutions ranging from highly selective liberal arts colleges to less selective state schools. What they found challenged characterizations in the media: students are not preoccupied by political correctness, free speech, or even the cost of college. They are most concerned about their GPA and their resumes; they see jobs and earning potential as more important than learning. Many say they face mental health challenges, fear that they don't belong, and feel a deep sense of alienation. Given this daily reality for students, has higher education lost its way? Fischman and Gardner contend that US universities and colleges must focus sharply on their core educational mission. Fischman and Gardner, both recognized authorities on education and learning, argue that higher education in the United States has lost sight of its principal reason for existing: not vocational training, not the provision of campus amenities, but to increase what Fischman and Gardner call higher education capital--to help students think well and broadly, express themselves clearly, explore new areas, and be open to possible transformations. Fischman and Gardner offer cogent recommendations for how every college can become a community of learners who are open to change as thinkers, citizens, and human beings. …

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Cutting through the hype, a practical guide to using artificial intelligence for business benefits and competitive advantage. In The AI Advantage, Thomas Davenport offers a guide to using artificial intelligence in business. He describes what technologies are available and how companies can use them for business benefits and competitive advantage. He cuts through the hype of the AI craze-remember when it seemed plausible that IBM's Watson could cure cancer?-to explain how businesses can put artificial intelligence to work now, in the real world. His key recommendation: don't go for the "moonshot" (curing cancer, or synthesizing all investment knowledge); look for the "low-hanging fruit" to make your company more efficient. Davenport explains that the business value AI offers is solid rather than sexy or splashy. AI will improve products and processes and make decisions better informed-important but largely invisible tasks. AI technologies won't replace human workers but augment their capabilities, with smart machines to work alongside smart people. AI can automate structured and repetitive work; provide extensive analysis of data through machine learning ("analytics on steroids"), and engage with customers and employees via chatbots and intelligent agents. Companies should experiment with these technologies and develop their own expertise. Davenport describes the major AI technologies and explains how they are being used, reports on the AI work done by large commercial enterprises like Amazon and Google, and outlines strategies and steps to becoming a cognitive corporation. This book provides an invaluable guide to the real-world future of business AI. A book in the Management on the Cutting Edge series, published in cooperation with MIT Sloan Management Review.…

Hardback. Condition: Good. Get a science-based introduction to cultural and human evolution-and discover a blueprint for a better future-in this fascinating book for fans of Sapiens and Guns, Germs, and Steel. Who are we, and what makes us different from other species? Playing on the phrase "a theory of everything" from physics, Michael Muthukrishna's ambitious, original, and deeply hopeful book A Theory of Everyone draws on the most recent research from across the sciences, humanities, and the emerging field of cultural evolution to paint a panoramic picture of who we are and what exactly makes human beings different from all other forms of life on the planet. Muthukrishna argues that it is our unique ability to create culture, a shared body of knowledge, skills, and experience passed on from generation to generation, that has enabled our current dominance. But it is only by understanding and applying the laws of life-the need for energy, innovation, cooperation, and evolution-that we can solve the practical and existential challenges we face as a species. A Theory of Everyone attempts to provide solutions for the most pressing problems of our collective future, such as polarization, inequality, the "great stagnation" in productivity, and the energy crisis. Casting a bold and wide net, Muthukrishna's book is a must-read for anyone interested in a better future for ourselves and for generations to come.…

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. From one of the earliest feminist science fiction writers, a novel that envisions the fall of civilization?and the plight of the modern woman in a post-apocalyptic wilderness.When war breaks out in Europe, British civilization collapses overnight. The ironically named protagonist must learn to survive by his wits in a new Britain. When we first meet Theodore Savage, he is a complacent civil servant, primarily concerned with romancing his girlfriend. During a brief war in which both sides use population displacement as a terrible strategic weapon, Savage must battle his fellow countrymen. He shacks up with an ignorant young woman in a forest hut?a kind of inverse Garden of Eden, where no one is happy. Eventually, he sets off in search of other survivors . . . only to discover a primitive society where science and technology have come to be regarded with superstitious awe and terror. A pioneering feminist, Hamilton offers a warning about the degraded state of modern women, who?being ?unhandy, unresourceful, superficial??would suffer a particularly sad fate in a postapocalyptic social order.…

Paperback. Condition: Good. How to succeed in an era of ecosystem-based disruption: strategies and tools for offense, defense, timing, and leadership in a changing competitive landscape.The basis of competition is changing. Are you prepared? Rivalry is shifting from well-defined industries to broader ecosystems: automobiles to mobility platforms; banking to fintech; television broadcasting to video streaming. Your competitors are coming from new directions and pursuing different goals from those of your familiar rivals. In this world, succeeding with the old rules can mean losing the new game. Winning the Right Game introduces the concepts, tools, and frameworks necessary to confront the threat of ecosystem disruption and to develop the strategies that will let your organization play ecosystem offense. To succeed in this world, you need to change your perspective on competition, growth, and leadership. In this book, strategy expert Ron Adner offers a new way of thinking, illustrating breakthrough ideas with compelling cases. How did a strategy of ecosystem defense save Wayfair and Spotify from being crushed by giants Amazon and Apple? How did Oprah Winfrey redraw industry boundaries to transition from television host to multimedia mogul? How did a shift to an alignment mindset enable Microsoft's cloud-based revival? Each was rooted in a new approach to competitors, partners, and timing that you can apply to your own organization. For today's leaders the difference between success and failure is no longer simply winning, but rather being sure that you are winning the right game.…

Paperback. Condition: Good. Advances in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining brings together the latest research--in statistics, databases, machine learning, and artificial intelligence--that are part of the exciting and rapidly growing field of Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining.Advances in Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining brings together the latest research--in statistics, databases, machine learning, and artificial intelligence--that are part of the exciting and rapidly growing field of Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining. Topics covered include fundamental issues, classification and clustering, trend and deviation analysis, dependency modeling, integrated discovery systems, next generation database systems, and application case studies. The contributors include leading researchers and practitioners from academia, government laboratories, and private industry. The last decade has seen an explosive growth in the generation and collection of data. Advances in data collection, widespread use of bar codes for most commercial products, and the computerization of many business and government transactions have flooded us with data and generated an urgent need for new techniques and tools that can intelligently and automatically assist in transforming this data into useful knowledge. This book is a timely and comprehensive overview of the new generation of techniques and tools for knowledge discovery in data. Distributed for AI Press.…

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Current debates about the nature of international politics have centered on the clash between supporters and critics of realism. The Perils of Anarchy brings together a number of recent essays written in the realist tradition. It includes realist interpretations of the collapse of the Cold War order and of the emerging order that has replaced it, the sources of alignment and aggression, and the causes of peace. A final section provides a counterpoint by raising criticisms of and alternatives to the realist approach.ContributorsCharles L. Glaser, Christopher Layne, Peter Liberman, Lisa L. Martin, John J. Mearsheimer, Paul Schroeder, Randall Schweller, Stephen M. Walt, Kenneth N. Waltz, William C. Wohlforth, Fareed Zakaria. An International Security Reader.…

Hardback. Condition: Good. In 1978, while collecting documentary photographs of the artists' community in Montparnasse from the first decades of the century, Billy Kl ver discovered that some previously unassociated photographs fell into significant groupings. One group in particular, showing Picasso, Max Jacob, Mo se Kisling, Modigliani, and others at the Caf de la Rotonde and on Boulevard du Montparnasse, all seemed to have been taken on the same day. The people were wearing the same clothes in each shot and had the same accessories. Their ties were knotted the same way and their collars had the same wrinkles. A total of twenty-four photographs--four rolls of film with six photographs each--were eventually found. With the challenge of identifying the date, photographer, and circumstances, Kl ver embarked on an inquiry that would illuminate the minute texture of that time and place.Biographical research into the subjects' lives led Kl ver to focus on the summer of 1916 as the likely time the photos were taken. He then measured buildings and plotted angles and lengths of shadows in the photographs to narrow the time frame to a spread of three weeks. Further investigation eventually allowed Kl ver to identify the photographer as Jean Cocteau and to determine the day that Cocteau had taken the photographs: August 12, 1916. A computer printout of the sun's positions on that date, obtained from the Bureau des Longitudes, together with the length of the shadows, enabled Klver to calculate the time of day of each photograph, and thus to put them in proper sequence.In a tour de force of art historical research, Kl ver then reconstructed a scenario of the events of the four hours depicted in the photographs. With evocative attention to detail--noting when Picasso is no longer carrying an envelope or Max Jacob has acquired a decoration in his lapel--Kl ver recreates a single afternoon in the lives of Picasso and friends, a group of remarkable people in early twentieth-century Paris.Besides the central portfolio of photographs by Cocteau, the book contains additional photographs and drawings, short biographies of all the subjects, and a historical section on the events and activities in the Paris art world at the time.…

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Hardback. Condition: Good. Why higher education in the United States has lost its way, and how universities and colleges can focus sharply on their core mission. For The Real World of College, Wendy Fischman and Howard Gardner analyzed in-depth interviews with more than 2,000 students, alumni, faculty, administrators, parents, trustees, and others, which were conducted at ten institutions ranging from highly selective liberal arts colleges to less selective state schools. What they found challenged characterizations in the media: students are not preoccupied by political correctness, free speech, or even the cost of college. They are most concerned about their GPA and their resumes; they see jobs and earning potential as more important than learning. Many say they face mental health challenges, fear that they don't belong, and feel a deep sense of alienation. Given this daily reality for students, has higher education lost its way? Fischman and Gardner contend that US universities and colleges must focus sharply on their core educational mission. Fischman and Gardner, both recognized authorities on education and learning, argue that higher education in the United States has lost sight of its principal reason for existing: not vocational training, not the provision of campus amenities, but to increase what Fischman and Gardner call higher education capital--to help students think well and broadly, express themselves clearly, explore new areas, and be open to possible transformations. Fischman and Gardner offer cogent recommendations for how every college can become a community of learners who are open to change as thinkers, citizens, and human beings. …

Paperback. Condition: Fair. 'This work is a fascinating discussion of the strange ways in which solids form, an excellent hobby book describing ways of growing crystals, and a lucid, penetrating introduction to solid state physics. It can be read on any of these levels, or ideally, on all.[the book] should prove a delight to all readers.'--Science. …

Hardback. Condition: Fair. What is language? How does it relate to the world? How does it relate to the mind? Should our view of language influence our view of the world? These are among the central issues covered in this spirited and unusually clear introduction to the philosophy of language. Making no pretense of neutrality, Michael Devitt and Kim Sterelny take a definite theoretical stance. Central to that stance is naturalism--that is, they treat a philosophical theory of language as an empirical theory like any other and see people as nothing but complex parts of the physical world. This leads them, controversially, to a deflationary view of the significance of the study of language: they dismiss the idea that the philosophy of language should be preeminent in philosophy. This highly successful textbook has been extensively rewritten for the second edition to reflect recent developments in the field. …

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Paperback. Condition: Good. The intellectual and human story of a mathematical proof that transformed our ideas about mathematics. In 1824 a young Norwegian named Niels Henrik Abel proved conclusively that algebraic equations of the fifth order are not solvable in radicals. In this book Peter Pesic shows what an important event this was in the history of thought. He also presents it as a remarkable human story. Abel was twenty-one when he self-published his proof, and he died five years later, poor and depressed, just before the proof started to receive wide acclaim. Abel's attempts to reach out to the mathematical elite of the day had been spurned, and he was unable to find a position that would allow him to work in peace and marry his fiance. But Pesic's story begins long before Abel and continues to the present day, for Abel's proof changed how we think about mathematics and its relation to the "real" world. Starting with the Greeks, who invented the idea of mathematical proof, Pesic shows how mathematics found its sources in the real world (the shapes of things, the accounting needs of merchants) and then reached beyond those sources toward something more universal. The Pythagoreans' attempts to deal with irrational numbers foreshadowed the slow emergence of abstract mathematics. Pesic focuses on the contested development of algebra-which even Newton resisted-and the gradual acceptance of the usefulness and perhaps even beauty of abstractions that seem to invoke realities with dimensions outside human experience. Pesic tells this story as a history of ideas, with mathematical details incorporated in boxes. The book also includes a new annotated translation of Abel's original proof.…

Paperback. Condition: Good. Over the past two decades, Ray Jackendoff has persistently tackled difficult issues in the theory of mind and related theories of cognitive processing. Chief among his contributions is a formal theory that elaborates the nature of language and its relationship to a broad set of other domains.Languages of the Mind provides convenient access to Jackendoff's work over the past five years on the nature of mental representations in a variety of cognitive domains, in the context of a detailed theory of the level of conceptual structure developed in his earlier books Semantics and Cognition and Consciousness and the Computational Mind. The first two chapters summarize the theory of levels of mental representation (languages of the mind) and their relationships to each other and show how conceptual structure can be approached along lines familiar from syntactic and phonological theory. From this background, subsequent chapters develop issues in word learning (and its pertinence to the Piaget-Chomsky debate) and the relation of conceptual structure to the understanding of physical space.Further chapters apply the theory to domains outside of traditional cognitive science. They include an approach to social and cultural cognition modeled on first principles of linguistic theory, the beginnings of a formal description of psychodynamic phenomena, and a discussion of musical parsing and its relation to musical affect that bears on current disputes in linguistic parsing. The final chapter takes up a long-standing conflict between philosophical and psychological approaches to the study of mind, arguing that mental representations should be regarded purely in terms of the combinatorial organization of brain states, and that the philosophical insistence on the intentionality of mental states should be abandoned.…

Paperback. Condition: Good. 12 award-winning science fiction authors from around the world offer original tales of relationships in a future world of evolving technology. For fans of anthologies like Soonish and Netflix's Black Mirror In a future world dominated by the technological, people will still be entangled in relationships-in romances, friendships, and families. This volume in the Twelve Tomorrows series considers the effects that scientific and technological discoveries will have on the emotional bonds that hold us together. The strange new worlds in these stories feature AI family therapy, floating fungitecture, and a futuristic love potion. Imagine genetic alterations to code for altruism, or digital avatars that can interface with other avatars on dating sites, running sample conversations to find appropriate matches, or artificial assistance animals. Contributions include Xia Jia's novelette set in a Buddhist monastery, translated by the Hugo Award-winning writer Ken Liu; and a story by Nancy Kress, winner of 6 Hugos and 2 Nebulas. A full story list: James Patrick Kelly, Your Boyfriend Experience Mary Robinette Kowal, A Little Wisdom Nancy Kress, Invisible People Rich Larson, Echo the Echo Sam J. Miller, The Nation of the Sick Annalee Newitz, The Monogamy Hormone Suzanne Palmer, Don't Mind Me Cadwell Turnbull, Mediation Nick Wolven, Sparklybits Xia Jia, The Monk of Lingyin Temple, translated by Ken Liu Also includes an interview with Nancy Kress by Lisa Yaszek, and Tatiana Plakhova's beautiful "data abstract" illustrations serve as frontispiece to each of the stories. Plakhova, Tatiana (illustrator).…

Hardback. Condition: Good. How intermittent fasting can enhance resilience, improve mental and physical performance, and protect against aging and disease. Most of us eat three meals a day with a smattering of snacks because we think that's the normal, healthy way to eat. This book shows why that's not the case. The human body and brain evolved to function well in environments where food could be obtained only intermittently. When we look at the eating patterns of our distant ancestors, we can see that an intermittent fasting eating pattern is normal--and eating three meals a day is not. In The Intermittent Fasting Revolution, prominent neuroscientist Mark Mattson shows that intermittent fasting is not only normal but also good for us; it can enhance our ability to cope with stress by making cells more resilient. It also improves mental and physical performance and protects against aging and disease. Intermittent fasting is not the latest fad diet; it doesn't dictate food choice or quantity. It doesn't make money for the pharmaceutical, processed food, or health care industries. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that includes frequent periods of time with little or negligible amounts of food. It is often accompanied by weight loss, but, Mattson says, studies show that its remarkable beneficial effects cannot be accounted for by weight loss alone.Mattson--whose pioneering research uncovered the ways that the brain responds to fasting and exercise--explains how thriving while fasting became an evolutionary adaptation. He describes the specific ways that intermittent fasting slows aging; reduces the risk of diseases, including obesity, Alzheimer's, and diabetes; and improves both brain and body performance. He also offers practical advice on adopting an intermittent fasting eating pattern as well as information for parents and physicians.…

Hardback. Condition: Very Good. The stages of the creative process--from unlearning to beginning again--seen through examples from the practice of artists, architects, poets, and others. Although each instance of creativity is singular and specific, Kyna Leski tells us, the creative process is universal. Artists, architects, poets, inventors, scientists, and others all navigate the same stages of the process in order to discover something that does not yet exist. All of us must work our way through the empty page, the blank screen, writer's block, confusion, chaos, and doubt. In this book, Leski draws from her observations and experiences as a teacher, student, maker, writer, and architect to describe the workings of the creative process. Leski sees the creative process as being like a storm; it slowly begins to gather and take form until it overtakes us--if we are willing to let it. It is dynamic, continually in motion; it starts, stops, rages and abates, ebbs and flows. In illustrations that accompany each chapter, she maps the arc of the creative process by tracing the path of water droplets traveling the stages of a storm.Leski describes unlearning, ridding ourselves of preconceptions; only when we realize what we don't know can we pose the problem that we need to solve. We gather evidence--with notebook jottings, research, the collection of objects--propelling the process. We perceive and conceive; we look ahead without knowing where we are going; we make connections. We pause, retreat, and stop, only to start again. To illustrate these stages of the process, Leski draws on examples of creative practice that range from Paul Klee to Steve Jobs, from the discovery of continental drift to the design of Antoni Gaud 's Sagrada Familia. Creativity, Leski tells us, is a path with no beginning or end; it is ongoing. This revelatory view of the creative process will be an essential guide for anyone engaged in creative discovery. The Creative ProcessUnlearningProblem MakingGathering and TrackingPropellingPerceiving and ConceivingSeeing AheadConnectingPausingContinuing.…

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Paperback. Condition: Good. This important new text provides a clear, comprehensive, and accessible overview of major economic issues facing Latin America today, including balance of payments problems, inflation, stabilization, poverty, inequality, and land reform. It captures trends and common issues and at the same time illustrates the diversity of national experiences.Each chapter centers around an economic problem from such new topics as debt to more enduring issues like poverty and agrarian reform--and presents major economic theories on the causes and solutions to the problem. Complex equations and formulas are omitted; instead, the discussion focuses on the underlying logic of contending policy prescriptions. Cardoso and Helwege provide numerous cross-country examples and tables to demonstrate how individual countries are affected differently by economic trends or policies, gradually building a sense of the complexity of the Latin American economy and the policy implications behind economic solutions. Chapters also include helpful summaries and ideas on what the future may hold.…

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. Exploring the creativity of mind through children's language: how the tiniest utterances can illustrate the simple but abstract principles behind modern grammar-and reveal the innate structures of the mind. Every sentence we hear is instantly analyzed by an inner grammar; just as a prism refracts a beam of light, grammar divides a stream of sound, linking diverse strings of information to different domains of mind-memory, vision, emotions, intentions. In The Prism of Grammar, Tom Roeper brings the abstract principles behind modern grammar to life by exploring the astonishing intricacies of child language. Adult expressions provide endless puzzles for the child to solve. The individual child's solutions ("Don't uncomfortable the cat" is one example) may amuse adults but they also reveal the complexity of language and the challenges of mastering it. The tiniest utterances, says Roeper, reflect the whole mind and engage the child's free will and sense of dignity. He offers numerous and novel "explorations"-many at the cutting edge of current work-that anyone can try, even in conversation around the dinner table. They elicit how the child confronts "recursion"-the heartbeat of grammar-through endless possessives ("John's mother's friend's car"), mysterious plurals, contradictory adjectives, the marvels of ellipsis, and the deep obscurity of reference ("there it is, right here"). They are not tests of skill; they are tools for discovery and delight, not diagnosis. Each chapter on acquisition begins with a commonsense look at how structures work-moving from the simple to the complex-and then turns to the literary and human dimensions of grammar. One important human dimension is the role of dialect in society and in the lives of children. Roeper devotes three chapters to the structure of African-American English and the challenge of responding to linguistic prejudice. Written in a lively style, accessible and gently provocative, The Prism of Grammar is for parents and teachers as well as students-for everyone who wants to understand how children gain and use language-and anyone interested in the social, philosophical, and ethical implications of how we see the growing mind emerge.…

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Paperback. Condition: Fair. This Report of the Study of Critical Environmental Problems (SCEP) presents the results of a one-month interdisciplinary examination of the global climatic and ecological effects of man's activities.This Report of the Study of Critical Environmental Problems (SCEP) presents the results of a one-month, interdisciplinary examination of the global climatic and ecological effects of man's activities. The disciplines represented by the fifty full-time participants include meteorology, oceanography, ecology, engineering, economics, social sciences, and law. The Study, which was sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was conducted during the month of July 1970 at Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.The focus was on those environmental problems whose cumulative effects on ecological systems are so large and prevalent that they have worldwide significance. Thus the Study was primarily concerned with the effects of pollution on man through changes in climate, ocean ecology, and large terrestrial ecosystems.Some of the following subjects were investigated by the Work Groups: Climatic Effects: Increasing carbon dioxide content of the atmosphereParticle load of the atmosphereContamination of the troposphere and stratosphere by subsonic and supersonic aircraftEcological Effects: DDT and other pesticidesMercury and other toxic heavy metalsOil in the oceansNutrients in estuariesOn these topics several general questions were addressed, such as, What can we say? Where are the gaps in our knowledge? What action programs are needed. …

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Paperback. Condition: Very Good. A leading international economist looks at many of the key issues of trade policy now confronting the United States and the world in this timely book. Clear, informative, and witty, Jagdish Bhagwati provides the best available analysis of the protection debate and offers a prescription for reform in this turbulent area of trade policy. Bhagwati identifies new and powerful interests and ideologies that are likely to dominate the outcome of the debate. He argues that opposing tendencies can be identified in trade-related ideologies and in the national and sectional interests that lobby on trade policy in pluralistic societies. He offers the prognosis that the forces favoring freer trade are more robust and more fundamental than the forces of protectionism, and that pro trade forces are likely to triumph in the end but only if we adapt appropriately the institutions within which these ideologies and interests must function. Through an appealing combination of text, quotations, cartoons, tables, charts, and graphs, Bhagwati provides a masterly and entertaining look at the forces for and against protection.Protectionism is based on the inaugural series of Ohlin Lectures, which he delivered at the Stockholm School of Economics in October of 1987.…