There is a great deal of controversy about how to deal with man-made chemicals. Environmentalists and industrialists throughout the world clash on such subjects as chlorine, PVC, endocrine disrupters and the precautionary principle. In this book Tukker untangles the controversy. Three chapters relate to long-term evaluations into two hot-spots in the toxicity controversy -- the debates on chlorine in the Netherlands and PVC in Sweden. The book adopts a political-philosophical view, presenting a thorough theoretical analysis of the potential of scientific research to solve controversies, and evaluating the history of the chlorine and PVC controversies. The book combines the quantitative analytical approaches of environmental science with qualitative approaches of policy sciences and the philosophy of science (frame analysis, cultural theory, discourse theory, etc.). It is an accessible analysis of the toxicity debate that will enable scientists, policy makers and others to place their roles in a much wider context within the decision-making process.

In Reflections on Judging, Richard Posner distills the experience of his thirty-one years as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Surveying how the judiciary has changed since his 1981 appointment, he engages the issues at stake today, suggesting how lawyers should argue cases and judges decide them, how trials can be improved, and, most urgently, how to cope with the dizzying pace of technological advance that makes litigation ever more challenging to judges and lawyers. For Posner, legal formalism presents one of the main obstacles to tackling these problems. Formalist judges--most notably Justice Antonin Scalia--needlessly complicate the legal process by advocating "canons of constructions" (principles for interpreting statutes and the Constitution) that are confusing and self-contradictory. Posner calls instead for a renewed commitment to legal realism, whereby a good judge gathers facts, carefully considers context, and comes to a sensible conclusion that avoids inflicting collateral damage on other areas of the law. This, Posner believes, was the approach of the jurists he most admires and seeks to emulate: Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louis Brandeis, Benjamin Cardozo, Learned Hand, Robert Jackson, and Henry Friendly, and it is an approach that can best resolve our twenty-first-century legal disputes.

In the 1820s, several years before Braille was invented, Therese-Adele Husson, a young blind woman from provincial France, wrote an audacious manifesto about her life, French society, and her hopes for the future. Through extensive research and scholarly detective work, authors Catherine Kudlick and Zina Weygand have rescued this intriguing woman and the remarkable story of her life and tragic death from obscurity, giving readers a rare look into a world recorded by an unlikely historical figure. Reflections is one of the earliest recorded manifestations of group solidarity among people with the same disability, advocating self-sufficiency and independence on the part of blind people, encouraging education for all blind children, and exploring gender roles for both men and women. Resolutely defying the sense of "otherness" which pervades discourse about the disabled, Husson instead convinces us that that blindness offers a fresh and important perspective on both history and ourselves. In rescuing this important historical account and recreating the life of an obscure but potent figure, Weygand and Kudlick have awakened a perspective that transcends time and which, ultimately, remaps our inherent ideas of physical sensibility

A repackaged edition of the revered author’s moving theological work in which he considers the most poetic portions from Scripture and what they tell us about God, the Bible, and faith. In this wise and enlightening book, C. S. Lewis—the great British writer, scholar, lay theologian, broadcaster, Christian apologist, and bestselling author of Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and many other beloved classics—examines the Psalms. As Lewis divines the meaning behind these timeless poetic verses, he makes clear their significance in our daily lives, and reminds us of their power to illuminate moments of grace.

A Ram Dass-themed journal for contemplation and reflection, featuring inspiring quotes from Ram Dass that offer writers and seekers a tool for cultivating honesty, compassion and love. Reflections on the Journey is a Ram Dass-inspired journal containing 12 contemplative quotes by Ram Dass and 190 lined pages for writing and reflection. The quotes are carefully curated to inspire readers and writers to search deeper within themselves to witness the truth of their being. Each quote contains loving and heartening Ram Dass wisdom, offering readers and writers a resonant tool to help them follow their life path with honesty, compassion and love.

"'We exhort you to read this book... It is the first book we have seen that invites LIS practitioner-researchers to tell the stories behind their research findings.' --from the Foreword by Kristine R. Brancolini and Marie R. Kennedy. A practitioner-researcher is an information professional who may not have formal training in using research methods and is learning how to use these methods during their busy, complex job. Reflections on Practitioner Research: A Practical Guide for Information Professionals can help information professionals build an understanding of the research process as applied to our field and address the challenges of undertaking research as a practitioner, as well offer support and advice for all stages of a research project, from writing the proposal to collecting the data to disseminating the findings. Twenty-five chapters from a blend of novice and experienced practitioner-researchers are divided into three thorough sections: * Section 1: Research Process. Grapples with various aspects of the overall research process, from topic selection to research design to time frame. How do you set a research agenda? What happens when your plans get derailed? How do you approach a topic that may be controversial?* Section 2: Research Methods. How information professionals use specific qualitative and quantitative research methods in their projects. * Section 3: Relationships. Investigates the ways in which relationships form and how they can impact the research process, and strategies that can help make your collaborative efforts successful rather than stressful. Reflections on Practitioner Research attempts to capture the actual experience of doing research and the lessons that can be gained from that experience. Projects and studies are not always as linear or without hiccups as the published literature may lead us to believe, and this book shows and celebrates the complexity of information professionals using a research design by picking up these skills along the way."--

Presents a cultural, historical, and pictorial history of giraffes, describing their biology and behavior and demonstrating their grace and elegance through over one hundred photographs.