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Australian Caves and Karst Systems (Cave and Karst Systems of the World)
Par John Webb, Susan White, Garry K. Smith. 2023
This book, part of the series Cave and Karst Systems of the World, begins with a review of the interaction…
between people and caves in Australia (including conservation), followed by descriptions of the spectacular cave diving sites, before comprehensively covering all the major carbonate and noncarbonate karst areas, subdivided by rock type and region, and including the origin of the caves. This is followed by broad overviews of cave minerals and speleothems, cave biology and cave fossils. Each section was written by one or more specialists in the topic and is illustrated by clear diagrams and superb colour photos. The book emphasises the unique aspects of the Australian karst, including the variability in the age of the caves (very old to very young) and the impact of isolation on the stygofauna, as well as the vertebrate fossils preserved in the caves. Written in an easy-to-read style, the book is a primary reference guide to Australian karst and represents a valuable asset for anyone interested in the topic, not only cavers and academics.Unravelling Anti-Aging: A Critical Sociological Assessment (International Perspectives on Aging #41)
Par Jason L. Powell. 2024
In a society where youthfulness and vitality are highly valued, the quest for anti-aging solutions has become increasingly popularized in…
bio-medical gerontology. However, navigating the vast sea of information, products, and treatments can be overwhelming; there is limited academic rigor and theoretic critique from sociological perspectives. This book aims to demystify the concept of anti-aging and presents critical social approaches for maintaining a healthy life. By exploring the science, lifestyle factors, and power of bio-medicine, the book will provide readers with a comprehensive monograph to unlock the politics of anti-aging drawing from social approaches.Passages in Caregiving: Turning Chaos into Confidence
Par Gail Sheehy. 2010
“One of those rare books that can drastically lighten even the heaviest of loads.”—Rosalynn Carter“Trust me: there is no better…
guide to caregiving.” —Bill MoyersGail Sheehy, author of the groundbreaking Passages—which was a New York Times bestseller for more than three years—now brings us Passages in Caregiving. In this essential guide, the acclaimed expert on the now aging Baby Boomer generation outlines nine crucial steps for effective, successful family caregiving, turning chaos into confidence during this most crucial of life stages.Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe
Par Lisa Randall. 2015
In this brilliant exploration of our cosmic environment, the renowned particle physicist and New York Times bestselling author of Warped…
Passages and Knocking on Heaven’s Door uses her research into dark matter to illuminate the startling connections between the furthest reaches of space and life here on Earth.Sixty-six million years ago, an object the size of a city descended from space to crash into Earth, creating a devastating cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, along with three-quarters of the other species on the planet. What was its origin? In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Lisa Randall proposes it was a comet that was dislodged from its orbit as the Solar System passed through a disk of dark matter embedded in the Milky Way. In a sense, it might have been dark matter that killed the dinosaurs.Working through the background and consequences of this proposal, Randall shares with us the latest findings—established and speculative—regarding the nature and role of dark matter and the origin of the Universe, our galaxy, our Solar System, and life, along with the process by which scientists explore new concepts. In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Randall tells a breathtaking story that weaves together the cosmos’ history and our own, illuminating the deep relationships that are critical to our world and the astonishing beauty inherent in the most familiar things.History of Cenozoic Mammals from South America: A New Model (Springer Earth System Sciences)
Par Federico Agnolin. 2024
The Cenozoic history of South America faunas mainly rests on the evidence yielded by the study of fossil mammals. Following…
the seminal work of William D. Matthew, George G. Simpson established the slogan “Splendid Isolation” for describing the evolutionary history of South American faunas. He envisaged South America (as well as other Southern Hemisphere landmasses) as dead ends in the evolution and geographical expansion of animals and plants that since the Mesozoic come in successive migratory waves from the North.More than 40 years passed away from the last important contribution by Simpson (1980). Since then, in spite to the exponential increase in biological, paleontological and geological knowledge, and an incredibly new number of fossils, his scheme remained almost unpolluted and most recent books regarding the palaeobiogeography of South American vertebrates follow this paradigm nearly without criticism.However, the factthat South America was joined to Africa, Australia, Antarctica and India during most of the Cretaceous, and that it was still connected Australia (via Antarctica) and probably Africa up to the Paleogene, together with the large number of shared biotic components between these landmasses, point in favor of a different paleobiogeographical scenario.The book aims to demonstrate that during the Paleogene (and most of the Neogene) the nature and evolutionary history of South American vertebrates is by far much more intricate than previously envisaged. As will be shown, new evidence suggests that southern landmasses may have played an important role in the early evolution and radiation of extant mammal clades. This book is not written to conform with the ideal of a technical manual or a review, and is not carried forward to collect all that has been said before. The main goals are to criticize the current Palaeobiogeographic Model of Vertebrate Settlement of South America, and to propose a new vision based on the evidence provided by the natural world in the last decades.&“A manifesto to guide the longevity revolution&” (David Sinclair) for individuals, institutions, and society to adapt to the reality of living…
longer lives Thanks to increases in life expectancy, we can now expect to live for a long time. Most of us would welcome an extra day in the week, so why do so many of us view the prospect of additional years with fear and skepticism? The reason is simple: society is not currently structured to support long lives. Rather than thinking in terms of the needs of a rising number of older people, we must instead support the young and middle-aged to prepare differently for the longer futures they can expect. The Longevity Imperative outlines the innovations needed to make the most of these longer lives: substantial changes to our health system, economy, and financial sector, as well as in how we manage our careers, health, finances, and relationships. Instead of seeing longevity as a problem, economist Andrew J. Scott challenges us to view it as an opportunity. This book charts a course to address the individual, social, political, economic, and cultural changes required so that all of us—regardless of age—can live lives that are not just longer but healthier, happier, and more productive.Drawing on empirical research with older South Asian migrant women, this book puts forth new understandings on how older, settled,…
migrant women construct and understand age through recollections of key life course events that are structured around gendered positions. Divesting from a Western-centric view and applying a decolonial and Black feminist lens to ageing, the author presents intersectionality and transnational positionality as useful tools to connect old age, migration and memory in critical studies on aging. Chapters flesh out life course memories at different key stages and examines how the intersections of multiple markers of identity (race, gender, language, immigration status, age, etc.) shape how older South Asian migrant women understand and experience their lives. This book will be of interest to scholars with a focus on Gender Studies, Migration Studies, Ageing Studies, and Mobility Studies.Long Lives Are for the Rich: Aging, the Life Course, and Social Justice (ISSN)
Par Jan Baars. 2023
Long Lives Are for the Rich is the title of a silent ominous program that affects the lives of millions…
of people. In all developed countries disadvantaged and, especially, poor people die much earlier than the most advantaged. During these shorter lives they suffer ten to twenty years longer from disabilities or chronic disease. This does not happen accidentally: health inequalities – including those between healthy and unhealthy life styles – are mainly caused by social inequalities that are reproduced over the life course. This crucial function of the life course has become painfully visible during its neoliberal reorganization since the early 1980s. Studies about aging over the life course, from birth to death, show the inhumane consequences as people get older. In spite of the enormous wealth that has been piled up in the US for a dwindling percentage of the population, there has been growing public indifference about the needs of those in jobs with low pay and high stress, but also about citizens from a broad middle class who can hardly afford high quality education or healthcare. However, this ominous program affects all: recent mortality rates show that all Americans, including the rich, are unhealthier and dying earlier than citizens of other developed countries. Moreover, the underlying social inequalities are tearing the population apart with nasty consequences for all citizens, including the rich. Although the public awareness of the consequences has been growing, neoliberal policies remain tempting for the economic and political elites of the developed world because of the enormous wealth that is flowing to the top. All this poses urgent questions of social justice. Unfortunately, the predominant studies of social justice along the life course help to reproduce these inequalities by neglecting them. This book analyzes the main dynamics of social inequality over the life course and proposes a theory of social justice that sketches a way forward for a country that is willing to invest in its greatest resource: the creative potential of its population.Taxonomists specializing in different groups once based phylogenetic analysis only on morphological data; molecular data was used more rarely. Although…
molecular systematics is routine today, the use of morphological data continues to be important, especially for phylogenetic placement of many taxa known only from fossils and rare or difficult to collect species. In addition, morphological analyses help identify potential biases in molecular analyses. And finally, scenarios with respect to morphology continue to motivate biologists: the beauty of a cheetah or a baobab does not lie in their DNA sequence, but instead on what they are and do! This book is an up-to-date revision of methods and principles of phylogenetic analysis of morphological data. It is also a general guide for using the computer program TNT in the analysis of such data. The book covers the main aspects of phylogenetic analysis and general methods to compare classifications derived from molecules and morphology. The basic aspects of molecular analysis are covered only as needed to highlight the differences with methods and assumptions for analysis of morphological datasets.The Fossil Detectives: Discovering Prehistoric Britain
Par Douglas Palmer, Hermione Cockburn. 2008
Fossils provide us with a tantalizing glimpse of Britain's prehistoric past and hold the key to unlocking the secrets of…
life's history and evolution. Since the appearance of primitive organisms in Britain more than a billion years ago, oceans, deserts, swamps and vast mountains have come and gone in our corner of western Europe; forests of long-extinct trees, flowers and grasses have covered the land, and dinosaurs and other strange creatures have roamed across it. How do we know? The evidence is all around us - in the rocks and fossils that lie beneath the landscape.In this highly informative and practical book, which accompanies the BBC series, presenter Hermione Cockburn and renowned palaeontologist Douglas Palmer take an in-depth look at the most exciting fossil stories from around the country. When and why were dinosaur fossils first discovered in Britain? How was the biggest fish ever to have swum in the sea unearthed near Peterborough? What do modern medical techniques have to offer fossil hunters?Packed with colour photographs and illustrations, Fossils Detectives is full of surprising facts and features. And for those who want to try their hand at some fossil detecting of their own, the book includes an extensive regional gazetteer of fossil-hunting sites and places to visit, and guidance on identifying your fossil finds.Get ready for some time travel around Britain, with the Fossil Detectives!The honest, compassionate and vital guide to getting older, from dementia to finances, medication to care homes'The most important book…
about the second half of your life you'll ever read. I wish everyone in the UK could be under Dr Lucy's care' SANDI TOKSVIG'This warm and compassionate book gets to the heart of older age' THE BRITISH GERIATRICS SOCIETY________Now more than ever, we need to talk about getting older.Many of us are living to a very great age. But how do we give those we love, and eventually ourselves, long lives that are as happy and healthy as possible?Dr Lucy's book gives us answers to the questions we can voice - and those that we can't. This essential guide will guide you through those important conversations around growing older, answering every question you might have, including:· How do we start the conversation?· How do we ask whether it's worth taking seven different medicines?· Is it normal to find you're falling out of love with someone, as they disappear into dementia?· Should Dad be driving, and if not, who can stop him?· What are the secrets of the best care homes?· When does fierce independence become bad behaviour?· How do you navigate near-impossible discussions around resuscitation and intensity of treatments?· And who decides what happens when we become ill?Serious, funny, kind and knowledgeable, this readable book helps guide us through essential conversations about getting older that go straight to the heart of what matters most.Alternative Ageing: How To Stay Looking and Feeling Younger For Longer
Par Suzi Grant. 2006
'Suzi Grant knows the secrets of youth' The TimesLOOK AND FEEL YOUR BEST IN 2020 WITH ALTERNATIVE AGEING - THE…
NATURAL WAY TO FEEL YOUNG AGAINSuzi Grant is in her late sixties but you wouldn't know it. Still living life to the full, she knows the secrets of looking and feeling fabulous for ever. A leading blogger and researcher into ageing, Suzi has created this easy Alternative Ageing action plan to give you more energy and vitality. Inside you'll discover:- What foods to eat and avoid- How to keep your skin glowing- How to naturally boost your hormones- Easy fitness exercises- Simple stress busters- An average alternative-ageing day Follow the tips in Alternative Ageing and you'll soon discover a new you who looks and feels great and runs rings around your children - and even grandchildren.It's time to feel young all over again.Aliceheimer’s: Alzheimer’s Through the Looking Glass (Graphic Medicine)
Par Dana Walrath. 2016
“Alice was always beautiful—Armenian immigrant beautiful, with thick, curly black hair, olive skin, and big dark eyes,” writes Dana Walrath.…
Alice also has Alzheimer’s, and while she can remember all the songs from The Music Man, she can no longer attend to the basics of caring for herself. Alice moves to live with her daughter, Dana, in Vermont, and the story begins. Aliceheimer’s is a series of illustrated vignettes, daily glimpses into their world with Alzheimer’s. Walrath’s time with her mother was marked by humor and clarity: “With a community of help that included pirates, good neighbors, a cast of characters from space-time travel, and my dead father hovering in the branches of the maple trees that surround our Vermont farmhouse, Aliceheimer’s let us write our own story daily—a story that, in turn, helps rewrite the dominant medical narrative of aging.” In drawing Alice, Walrath literally enrobes her with cut-up pages from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. She weaves elements from Lewis Carroll’s classic throughout her text, using evocative phrases from the novel to introduce the vignettes, such as “Disappearing Alice,” “Missing Pieces,” “Falling Slowly,” “Curiouser and Curiouser,” and “A Mad Tea Party.” Walrath writes that creating this book allowed her not only to process her grief over her mother’s dementia, but also “to remember the magic laughter of that time.” Graphic medicine, she writes, “lets us better understand those who are hurting, feel their stories, and redraw and renegotiate those social boundaries. Most of all, it gives us a way to heal and to fly over the world as Alice does.” In the end, Aliceheimer’s is indeed strangely and utterly uplifting.You know you're having a senior moment when...... you decide it's time to pull up your socks, and realise you…
forgot to put any on.If this sounds all too familiar, read on to discover whether your marbles just need a spring clean or you've well and truly lost them!Who Cares: The Hidden Crisis of Caregiving, and How We Solve It
Par Emily Kenway. 2023
An intimate and deeply researched account of the experiences of unpaid caregivers, this &“beautiful book&” (Rob Delaney) calls for us…
all to put care at the center of our lives When Emily Kenway became the primary caregiver for her terminally ill mother, her life was changed forever. Although she was lonely, she was far from alone: millions of caregivers all around the world are silently suffering from poverty, isolation, and burnout. Saving their nations&’ economies billions by providing nonprofessional care, these people—primarily women—remain largely ignored by politicians, in part because the demands of care itself keep them from effectively advocating for their needs. In Who Cares, Kenway brings the caregiving crisis into the light. Blending expert research with insights from her own experience, Kenway shows us that building a world that cares for its caregivers requires us to fundamentally reimagine the role of care in our society, bringing it from the margins to the center of our collective life. Powerful and deeply reported, Who Cares is an essential read for anyone who has ever cared for, or will receive care from, another person—which is to say, for everyone.The Invention of Prehistory: Empire, Violence, and Our Obsession with Human Origins
Par Stefanos Geroulanos. 2024
“[A]n incisive and captivating reassessment of prehistory . . . In lucid prose, Geroulanos unspools an enthralling and detailed history…
of the development of modern natural science. It’s a must-read.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “An astute, powerfully rendered history of humanity.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review An eminent historian tells the story of how we came to obsess over the origins of humanity—and how, for three centuries, ideas of prehistory have been used to justify devastating violence against others. Books about the origins of humanity dominate bestseller lists, while national newspapers present breathless accounts of new archaeological findings and speculate about what those findings tell us about our earliest ancestors. We are obsessed with prehistory—and, in this respect, our current era is no different from any other in the last three hundred years. In this coruscating work, acclaimed historian Stefanos Geroulanos demonstrates how claims about the earliest humans not only shaped Western intellectual culture, but gave rise to our modern world. The very idea that there was a human past before recorded history only emerged with the Enlightenment, when European thinkers began to reject faith-based notions of humanity and history in favor of supposedly more empirical ideas about the world. From the “state of nature” and Romantic notions of virtuous German barbarians to theories about Neanderthals, killer apes, and a matriarchal paradise where women ruled, Geroulanos captures the sheer variety and strangeness of the ideas that animated many of the major thinkers of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Charles Darwin, and Karl Marx. Yet as Geroulanos shows, such ideas became, for the most part, the ideological foundations of repressive regimes and globe-spanning empires. Deeming other peoples “savages” allowed for guilt-free violence against them; notions of “killer apes” who were our evolutionary predecessors made war seem natural. The emergence of modern science only accelerated the West’s imperialism. The Nazi obsession with race was rooted in archaeological claims about prehistoric IndoGermans; the idea that colonialized peoples could be “bombed back to the Stone Age” was made possible by the technology of flight and the anthropological idea that civilization advanced in stages. As Geroulanos argues, accounts of prehistory tell us more about the moment when they are proposed than about the deep past—and if we hope to start improving our future, we would be better off setting aside the search for how it all started. A necessary, timely, indelible account of how the quest for understanding the origins of humanity became the handmaiden of war and empire, The Invention of Prehistory will forever change how we think about the deep past.Plains Vizcachas: Biology and Evolution of a Peculiar Neotropical Caviomorph Rodent
Par Luciano Luis Rasia, Claudio Gustavo Barbeito, Francisco Acuña. 2024
The plains vizcacha (Lagostomus maximus) is a remarkable rodent of the Neotropic given several peculiar aspects of its biology, some…
of them quite unique among rodents or even among mammals. This book gathers specialists studying plains vizcachas from very different approaches, including paleontology, systematics, morphology, physiology, development and conservation. It is divided in two Parts, 1) Evolutionary History, and 2) Morphology, Development and Physiology. It will surely be a required reading for any researcher working with caviomorph rodents, mastozoology of the Neotropics or internal anatomy and physiology of mammals.