Public Space

How much do you know about that three-pound hunk of tissue in your head - your brain? Its structure and function drive your behavior in profound ways. Scientists are studying the brain and its chemicals to find behavioral patterns, to figure out the sources of good moods and random outbursts, for example. This compilation from Science News for Students turns to brain science to answer all sorts of questions: Can you actually be addicted to your phone? Why is it so hard to sleep away from home?

The timeline of the book is a four-city lecture tour the author organized for Hawking in the early 1990s (Portland, Eugene, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC). Hawking's powerful meetings with students with disabilities, officially collateral events, were remarkable. However, the greater significance of these stories of the road is better appreciated in the context of the central narrative question of the book: the nature of the universe and our place/role in it.

Humans are heading up and out, and we’re taking our power struggles with us. Soon, what happens in space will shape human history as much the mountains, rivers and seas have on Earth. It’s no coincidence that Russia, China and the USA are leading the way. The next fifty years will change the face of global politics. In this gripping book, bestselling author Tim Marshall lays bare the new geopolitical realities to show how we got here and where we’re going.

In this fascinating foray into the centuries-old relationship between science and military power, acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and writer-researcher Avis Lang examine how the methods and tools of astrophysics have been enlisted in the service of war. "The overlap is strong, and the knowledge flows in both directions," say the authors, because astrophysicists and military planners care about many of the same things: multi-spectral detection, ranging, tracking, imaging, high ground, nuclear fusion, and access to space. Tyson and Lang call it a "curiously complicit" alliance.

With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson - one of our foremost thinkers on all things space - illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale.

Climate change has been a perplexing problem for years. Casey's research into the Sun's activity, which began almost a decade ago, resulted in discovery of a solar cycle that is now reversing from its global warming phase to that of dangerous global cooling for the next 30 years or more. This new cold climate will dramatically impact the world's citizens.

Historian Georgina Hickey investigates challenges to the code of urban gender segregation in the twentieth century, focusing on organized advocacy to make the public spaces of American cities accessible to women. She traces waves of activism from the Progressive Era, with its calls for public restrooms, safe and accessible transportation, and public accommodations, through and beyond second-wave feminism, and its focus on the creation of alternative, women-only spaces and extensive anti-violence efforts.

Kai Fletcher, small time criminal planner turned reluctant warship captain was drafted into a war older than him by several thousand millennia. While the Kholdrax grow stronger, Kai and his small band of warships must find the remnants of the Gardranian Armada that didn’t awaken with the rest of their fleet. Opposed at every turn by awakening Kholdrax forces, the Vakness Empire, and the space cops of the Dor’Anian Union, Kai is forced to split his small group to better their chances of finding their missing comrades.

Ex-maire de Huntingdon et figure publique bien connue, Stéphane Gendron rappelle dans cet ouvrage d’une belle profondeur les événements qui ont contribué à bâtir l’image de l’homme en colère qu’il a longtemps projetée. Issu d’une famille dysfonctionnelle où la violence était omniprésente, Gendron a grandi dans la hantise de la mort, au point où l’urgence de vivre a fini par étouffer sa vie. Emportement, agressivité et dépendance inconsciente au trash ont fait de lui un adepte de la haine et du négativisme.

Earth barely survived the 21st century. Now, in the 22nd, after unifying Earth, the UN controls all human colonies scattered through the galaxy by means of wormholes, warpdrive ships, and ruthless operatives. Operatives working to strengthen the UN. Or destroy it.

Although it is widely understood that energy and water are the world’s two most critical resources, their vital interconnections and vulnerabilities are less often recognized. This farsighted audiobook offers a new, holistic way of thinking about energy and water - a big picture approach that reveals the interdependence of the two resources, identifies the seriousness of the challenges, and lays out an optimistic approach with an array of solutions to ensure continuing sustainability.

With a focus on China, the United States, and India, this book examines the economic ambitions of the second space race. The authors argue that space ambitions are informed by a combination of factors, including available resources, capability, elite preferences, and talent pool. The authors demonstrate how these influences affect the development of national space programs as well as policy and law.