The Age of Wonder is a colorful and utterly absorbing historyof the men and women whose discoveries and inventions at the end ofthe eighteenth century gave birth to the Romantic Age ofScience. When young Joseph Banks stepped onto a Tahitian beach in 1769, hehoped to discover Paradise. Inspired by the scientific fermentsweeping through Britain, the botanist had sailed with Captain Cookin search of new worlds. Other voyages of discovery—astronomical,chemical, poetical, philosophical—swiftly follow in RichardHolmes's thrilling evocation of the second scientific revolution.Through the lives of William Herschel and his sister Caroline, whoforever changed the public conception of the solar system; ofHumphry Davy, whose near-suicidal gas experiments revolutionizedchemistry; and of the great Romantic writers, from Mary Shelley toColeridge and Keats, who were inspired by the scientificbreakthroughs of their day, Holmes brings to life the era in whichwe first realized both the awe-inspiring and the fr
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.
How do plant and animal populations change genetically toevolve and adapt to their local environments? How do populationsgrow and interact with one another through competition andpredation? How does behaviour influence ecology and evolution?Introduction to Population Biology covers all these areas and more.Taking a quantitative and Darwinian perspective, the basic theoryof population processes is developed using mathematical models. Toallow students of biology, ecology and evolution to gain a realunderstanding of the subject, key features include: ? step-by-stepinstructions for spreadsheet simulations of many basic equations toexplore the outcomes or predictions of models ? worked examplesshowing how the equations are applied to biological questions ?problem sets together with detailed solutions to help the readertest their understanding ? real-life examples to help the readerrelate the theory to the natural world
