From Publishers Weekly In this lively volume, Cambridge physicist Barrow (The Book ofNothing) considers the natural constants-the handful of seeminglyeternal numerical values, such as the speed of light, the weight ofthe proton, Planck's constant or the four dimensions of space andtime-that constitute the "bedrock" of physical reality. Theseconstants quantify some of the simplest statements that sciencemakes about the world, but as this fascinating work of popularscience demonstrates, they have profound implications for the fateof the universe and our place within it. And, Barrow hints, theymight not be truly constant. He traces scientists' evolvingunderstanding of the natural constants as they grew to assume acentral role in modern relativity theory and quantum mechanics, andoutlines ongoing attempts to determine whether they are justinexplicable facts of nature or the logical consequence of somefundamental Theory of Everything. He also raises importantphilosophical and even religious questions. The n

Controversial in nature, this book demonstrates that the UnitedStates did not need to use the atomic bomb against Japan.Alperovitz criticizes one of the most hotly debated precursoryevents to the Cold War, an event that was largely responsible forthe evolution of post-World War II American politics andculture.

Research clearly indicates that ethnic groups differsignificantly on levels of mental and physical health, antisocialbehavior, and educational attainment. This book explains thesevariations among ethnic groups with respect to their psychologicaland social functioning and tests competing hypotheses about themechanisms that might cause the functioning to be better, worse, ordifferent in pattern from other groups. Attention is paid toeducational attainments, antisocial behavior, schizophrenia andsuicide, and to the complex and changing patterns of ethnicidentity. The book also focuses on evidence on risk and protectivefactors that is used systematically to ask whether such factorsmight account for the differences in both migration histories andethnic mixture. It concludes with a discussion of the multiplemeanings of ethnicity, the major variations among ethnic groups,and the policy implications of the findings discussed in thebook.

One of the major neuropsychological models of personality,developed by world-renowned psychologist Professor Jeffrey Gray, isbased upon individual differences in reactions to punishing andrewarding stimuli. This biological theory of personality - nowwidely known as 'Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory' (RST) - has hada major influence on motivation, emotion and psychopathologyresearch. In 2000, RST was substantially revised by Jeffrey Gray,together with Neil McNaughton, and this revised theory proposedthree principal motivation/emotion systems: the'Fight-Flight-Freeze System' (FFFS), the 'Behavioural ApproachSystem' (BAS) and the 'Behavioural Inhibition System' (BIS). Thisis the first book to summarise the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theoryof personality and bring together leading researchers in the field.It summarizes all of the pre-2000 RST research findings, explainsand elaborates the implications of the 2000 theory for personalitypsychology and lays out the future research agenda for RST.