New Books, Winter/Spring 2007
Bread and roses : mills, migrants, and the struggle for the American dream
Author: Watson, Bruce
Imprint: Viking, c2005.
Abstract: The 1912 textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts was a watershed moment in labor history as significant as the Haymarket bombing in Chicago and the Triangle fire in New York. In Bread and Roses, veteran journalist Bruce Watson provides a long-overdue account of the strike that began when textile workers stormed out of the mills in Lawrence on a frigid January day. Despite owners' predictions to the contrary, the walkout soon became a protracted Dickensian drama that included twenty-three thousand strikers from fifty-one nations singing as they paraded through Lawrence, bayonet-toting militiamen patrolling the streets, and the daring evacuation of the strikers' tattered and hungry children to Manhattan, where they lived with strangers and wrote loving letters to their parents on the picket line.
Based on newspaper accounts, magazine reportage, and oral histories, Bread and Roses is vividly narrated and teeming with colorful characters, including rags-to-riches mill owner William Wood and radical labor leader 'Big Bill' Haywood. A rousing history with the narrative drive of a novel, Bread and Roses is the true-to-life tale of a strike that became the fabric of a community and an inspiration to workers around the world.
The Chicago guide to communicating science
Author: Montgomery, Scott L.
Imprint: University of Chicago Press, 2003
Abstract: In this straightforward and accessible guide, Scott L. Montgomery offers detailed, practical advice on crafting every sort of scientific communication, from research papers and conference talks to review articles, interviews with the media, e-mail messages, and more. Montgomery avoids the common pitfalls of other guides by focusing not on rules and warnings but instead on how skilled writers and speakers actually learn their trade-by imitating and adapting good models of expression. Moving step-by-step through samples from a wide variety of scientific disciplines, he shows precisely how to choose and employ such models, where and how to revise different texts, how to use visuals to enhance your presentation of ideas, why writing is really a form of experimentation, and more.
Don't make me think: a common sense approach to web usability
Author: Krug, Steve
Edition: 2nd
Imprint: New Riders Publishing, 2006
Abstract: Usability design is one of the most important--yet often least attractive--tasks for a Web developer. In Don't Make Me Think, author Steve Krug lightens up the subject with good humor and excellent, to-the-point examples.
The title of the book is its chief personal design premise. All of the tips, techniques, and examples presented revolve around users being able to surf merrily through a well-designed site with minimal cognitive strain. Readers will quickly come to agree with many of the book's assumptions, such as "We don't read pages--we scan them" and "We don't figure out how things work--we muddle through." Coming to grips with such hard facts sets the stage for Web design that then produces topnotch sites.
Using an attractive mix of full-color screen shots, cute cartoons and diagrams, and informative sidebars, the book keeps your attention and drives home some crucial points. Much of the content is devoted to proper use of conventions and content layout, and the "before and after" examples are superb. Topics such as the wise use of rollovers and usability testing are covered using a consistently practical approach.
Environmental Economics & Policy
Author: Tietenberg, Tom
Imprint: Pearson Addison Wesley, 2007
Abstract: An introductory environmental economics text for non-majors. Includes: * Clear, concise introduction to the economic theory students need to understand the environmental policy issues * Integration of the latest environmental research such as renewable portfolio standards, the role of hydrogen as a fuel source, and the impact of electrical deregulation * Increased international focus, including coverage of the economic cost of the Kyoto Protocol, the Prototype Carbon Fund of the World Bank, and Sweden's nitrogen oxide charge * Interdisciplinary discussions that incorporate insights from other disciplines such as, literature, history, and the natural, physical and political science.
Environmental management systems: a step-by-step guide to implementation and maintenance /
Author: Sheldon, Christopher; Yoxon, Mark
Imprint: Earthscan, 2006.
Abstract: The authors explain the importance of carrying out an initial environmental review, identifying cause and effect, understanding legislative and regulatory issues, developing a policy and defining objectives and targets. They also describe how to design an effective environmental management program and implement a successful audit and review.
Gone tomorrow: the hidden life of garbage
Author: Rogers, Heather
Imprint: New Press, 2005
Abstract: Eat a take-out meal, buy a pair of shoes, or read a newspaper, and you’re soon faced with a bewildering amount of garbage. The United States is the planet’s number-one producer of trash. Each American throws out 4.5 pounds daily. But garbage is also a global problem; the Pacific Ocean is today six times more abundant with plastic waste than zooplankton. How did we end up with this much rubbish, and where does it all go? Journalist and filmmaker Heather Rogers answers these questions by taking readers on a grisly, oddly fascinating tour through the underworld of garbage.
Hazardous chemicals in products and processes: substitution as an innovative process
Author: Ahrens, Andreas; Braun, Angelika; von Gleich, Arnim; Heitmann, Kerstin; Lissner, Lothar
Imprint: Physica-Verlag, 2006
Abstract: Substitution of hazardous substances is a prioritised objective in chemical regulation and risk management. However, it is experienced as a tough task with often inconsistent results. Based on thirteen case studies, this book analyzes substitution as an innovation process and attempts to give answers to the following questions: Why and under which circumstances are companies able and willing to substitute hazardous substances? What are the main drivers and the main barriers? In which way can communication along the supply chain support environmental innovation? How can risk management appropriately deal with the lack of knowledge, with uncertainties and incomplete knowledge about the possible effects of different substances? Recommendations for action are provided for commercial and state institutions and consumers and thus for all actors engaged in the European reform of chemicals policy following the REACH system.
How everyday products make people sick: toxins at home and in the workplace
Author: Blanc, Paul D.
Imprint: University of California Press, 2007
Abstract: This book reveals the hidden health dangers in many of the seemingly innocent products we encounter every day--a tube of glue in a kitchen drawer, a bottle of bleach in the laundry room, a rayon scarf on a closet shelf, a brass knob on the front door, a wood plank on an outdoor deck. A compelling exposé, written by a physician with extensive experience in public health and illustrated with disturbing case histories, How Everyday Products Make People Sick is a rich and meticulously documented account of injury and illness across different time periods, places, and technologies. It presents a picture not of one exceptional or corrupt industry but rather of how run-of-the-mill manufacturing processes and consumer marketing expose workers and the general public alike to toxic hazards.
Nanotechnology and the environment : applications and implications /
Author: Karn, Barbara
Imprint: American Chemical Society : Distributed by Oxford University Press, c2005.
Abstract: Nanotechnology and the Environment: Applications and Implications showcases the latest research in nanotechnology that has both environmental applications and implications. This book serves as a complete reference framework on how nanotechnology relates to the environment. Book sections cover important research topics relating to how nanotechnology can be used to protect the environment and how nanotechnology might affect the environment or human health. Topics include toxicology and biological interactions of nano-materials, nanoparticle geochemistry in water and air, metrology for nano-sized materials, nanotechnology-based sensors for biological and chemical parameters of environmental interest, environmentally benign manufacturing of nanomaterials, nanotechnology-enabled green energy and power sources, and treatment and remediation of waste streams and polluted sites.
Small is beautiful : economics as if people mattered : 25 years later ... with commentaries
Author: Schumacher, E. F.
Imprint: Hartley & Marks Publishers, 1999.
Abstract: This updated release of the classic handbook on human-scale economics features the original text written by E.F. Schumacher, along with fresh commentary by contemporary advocates and leaders of the livable-economies, simplicity, conscious-enterprise, sustainability and other movements geared toward fostering healthier, more community friendly and sustainable business norms and cultures. The forward is written by author and entrepreneur Paul Hawken.
Sustainable by design : explorations in theory and practice /
Author: Walker, Stuart
Imprint: Earthscan, c2006.
Abstract: This book offers an innovative, design-centered approach that explores the meaning and practice of sustainable design. The author looks at the design process in the context of sustainability.
Sustainable energy : choosing among options
Author: Tester, Jefferson W.; Drake, Elisabeth M.; Golay, Michael W.; Driscoll, Michael J.; Peters, William A.
Imprint: MIT Press, 2005.
Abstract: Human survival depends on a continuing energy supply, but the need for ever-increasing amounts of energy poses a dilemma: How can we provide the benefits of energy to the population of the globe without damaging the environment, negatively affecting social stability, or threatening the well-being of future generations? The solution will lie in finding sustainable energy sources and more efficient means of converting and utilizing energy. This textbook is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as others who have an interest in exploring energy resource options and technologies with a view toward achieving sustainability. It clearly presents the trade-offs and uncertainties inherent in evaluating and choosing different energy options and provides a framework for assessing policy solutions.
This page updated Thursday October 11 2007