Un gran libro de tips para aprovechar lo que te quedo de comer, la ropa que no necesitas...
But you'll live BETTER AND save MUCH MORE MONEY
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Textbooks are unfortunately often written by professionals who seem more interested in impressing their colleagues with the elegance of their explanations than in presenting their material in an easy-to-understand way for students. What we teachers usually end up with in those cases are texts that make our job more difficult, forcing us to re-explain material that students have already paid lots of money to read. This book does a good job of keeping that to a minimum.
This is not an easy task with a subject like evolution. First, evolution is not simply "survival of the fittest". In fact, it's hardly that at all. It is vastly more complex; it is a very elegant process by which much of the complexity of our universe, particularly living systems, came to be.
Second, evolution has been so misunderstood, and misrepresented, both intentionally and unintentionally, for so long, that it is often difficult for the uninitiated to understand what biologists really mean when we talk about it. This is becoming even more of a problem as other fields of study, particularly the Social Sciences, see it's utility and begin using it without always understanding it completely. The result of all this is that the common view of evolution bears little, if any, resemblance to the scientific theory.
I used an earlier edition of this book in my first undergraduate class in the subject, and today as a professional Evolutionary Biologist I still keep it on the shelf over my desk as a reference and teaching aid. I recommend this book to anyone who seriously wants to understand evolution and why all modern biology is built upon this single theory.
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Knowing a little about man's history with elephants, I assumed-even daresay expected-that at least some parts of the book would be dedicated to the kind of finger-pointing induction of guilt that has come to be seen as a means to inspire action on the part of the general public. Refreshingly, there is none of that to be found here, yet the final emotions that the reader comes away with are no less strong. Chadwick does not trivialize the fact that, for him, writing The Fate of the Elephant was as much a personal exploration of a subject of lifetime interest as a travel adventure undertaken for the sake of National Geographic. His frankly portrayed moments of sheer joy and of utter frustration become highs and lows for the reader as well.
Along these same lines, Chadwick skillfully avoids simplifying those engaged in the struggle over what should be done with elephants into "good guy" and "bad guy" camps. Though having just seen the body of a faceless and bloody young bull elephant lying in the bush, he does not celebrate when reports of killed poachers come across his radio. Likening poaching to the illegal drug trade, he knows that the crises of a burgeoning population have pushed many of those living on the margins into these high-risk jobs, while those orchestrating it all sit out of the way in relative safety. The ever-growing human population also drives habitat degradation, the other main threat to African wildlife. It comes as a shot of realism when Chadwick points out that these days, even Africans have to go to parks and zoos to see African wildlife.
Describing the World War I bolt-action guns with which many park rangers must ridiculously face off against AK-47-toting poachers, Chadwick highlights one of the great challenges to wildlife conservation: economics. Not only does poaching rob resources from local economies, but even legal industries such as tourism pay few monetary returns at the local level. He advocates the need to make conservation economically viable to local people, not just something imposed by the government of the moment.
Chadwick integrates scientific concepts in a subtle way that guarantees that even those simply looking for a good "animal tale" will come away as more knowledgeable armchair naturalists. Judging from the brevity of his bibliography relative to the amount of material packed into the book, this integrated approach may be the same way that Chadwick picked up much of his technical knowledge of elephants-not by purely poring over scientific texts as much as by living alongside some of the best in the field, in the field.
The only missing element in Chadwick's work seems to be information about the time period in which he was in each place. While perhaps intended as a testament to the timeless quality of life spent in elephants' presence, it seemed most peculiar in a book whose message was a sense of urgency, that time was of the utmost importance.
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At the core of Christian/Jewish Theology is the belief that God is the creator of all - absolutely all - and he continues to be in complete control of his creation. The firm belief in the absolute deity of God has given rise to Levenson's view of the universe. The problem confronting Levenson is the concealment or hiddenness of God when Evil not only persists but prevails. Levenson, wrestles empirically with the questions "What kind of God is this God who fails to do what he is obligated by character to do?" and "Is a concealed God, a nonexistent God?". Because of the dreadful cognitive dissidence between faith and fatalism Levenson is forced to come up with an answer that a least adequately helps him and us get through our despair, pain and injustice and survive the respective nights of isolation.
The Theology of the Limited God....
Provocative in proposing that God fails, that God can be faulted and even goaded Levenson push his readers to consider the theological construct - the theology of the limited God. Levenson in his reflection on "creation theology" sees God as the creator of both the world and all forces of evil that oppose him within the world, IE: disorder, injustice, affliction and chaos are to viewed as much a part of God as is His creation. He goes on to say "God is the author of everything, even of evil." God created these forces to demonstrate His dominant mastery over them. For God's Lordship is meaningful only if the powers he subjugates are formidable. Levenson underscores this thought by comparing God to an emperor who has vanquished his foes, "No emperor will achieve heroic status in the eyes of his subjects if all he forces to march through his streets is a sunken-chested weakling."
To Levenson, God created this world out of disorder, injustice affliction and chaos; and thus when "justice replaces oppression, when disease and death yield to vitality and longevity, this is the creation of something out of nothing." For Levenson creation still goes on each and every time good prevails and evil fails, thus "we are a junior partner in his continual ordering of the world".
In the face of evil, when the suffering does not end, when God's silence and inactivity prevails, when all the "how to" books fail and the popular confessional theologies are but vain and useless incantations Levenson gives us three options... 1) Argue with God in the hope that God maybe "cajoled, flattered, shamed or threatened into action", 2) Abandon God and find another god that may resolve your suffering, 3) Retain your confession in God, believing that God's deliverance of you from your suffering is not a precondition of your faith as exemplified by Shadrach, Meshach and Abend-nego (Dan. 3:16-18) when they entered the flames of the king's furnace. Thus, to retain your confession you must also be willing to face and even embrace imminent suffering and possibly death.
In Levenson mind we can become co-creators along with God when we partake in reordering the world, by creating good out of evil, or creatio ex nihilo. We are enabled by faith in God to not only cope with evil but to transform evil into good. It is through our obedience and confession of allegiance to the divine creator that we too become co-creators, even gods. Our continued faith in God, a God who may even be absent from us in the face of evil, is part of the confession of a co-creator. We, in our frail humanity, are called to partake in the creative reordering of this world and ultimately witness, celebrate God's victory. Chaos and evil are dependent on God and God alone will annihilate them. He will do that by transforming rather than destroying chaos and evil and we are called to be His witnesses.
This is not an easy book in any respect. I thought I had a fairly workable theological vocabulary until the list of terms I had to look up filled an entire page. The section about the heptadic structure of creation and the Temple as an idealized microcosm of the created world was particularly difficult going. But it was well worth the effort; this is one of the most exciting and insightful books I have read in a long time.
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Before suggesting directions and solutions, they provide helpful perspective by taking a giant step backward and tracing our modern roots from the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century through the American Restoration Movement of the 19th century. In doing this they demonstrate that at least some of our perspectives and distinctive doctrines were influenced by people and historical forces much more recent than the first century.
After that, the authors get to "the crux of the matter," retrace the current crisis of identity, diversity, and change in the church, and attempt to offer some directions for the future. Chief among these is a call to re-focus attention on the "core" of the gospel: "the story of our creator God's actions to save us from sin and death, culminating in the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of Christ." This focus, they submit, provides the best platform for biblical interpretation, individual growth and congregational unity.
On the issue of biblical interpretation, for example, the authors contend that good interpretation acknowledges the core as a "center of gravity, allowing that core to govern both the reading of the text and its application." This approach de-emphasizes a search for "rules" and "patterns" and re-focuses on broader aspects of the text: purpose, theme, genre, context, and principle.
The authors acknowledge that the book is not intended as a fully-developed theology, but as a starting point for further thought and discussion. From that standpoint, I would highly recommend it as a very interesting and thought-provoking read.
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John Kotter's Leading Change is very useful as a pragmatic guide to the strategic steps necessary in creating change. Strategy, alone, cannot ensure cultural change. What Phegan does is put strategy in the context of what he calls the "Five Levels of Evolution, Culture, and Leadership." According to Phegan, there are five areas in organizational culture that require balance: physics, life, competition, language, and experience. In most companies the organizational cultures are strong in some areas, weak in others. In order to align a "cultural change" strategy in a way to create meaningful change, there must be leadership to balance out these areas.
5. Experience-feelings, trust, fear, caring, values, involvement, satisfactionThere is always experience, but in most organizations the quality of it is poor. You cannot get to this directly, only through actions at level 4.
4. Language-communications, listening, meaning, understanding, relationships, teamwork, consensus, win-winThis is the thinnest area in most organizational cultures. Communications, understanding, relationships, and teamwork are usually weak. +
3. Competition-economics, authority, control, politics, win-lose, rules, information, productivity, profits, decisionsAlthough not always discussed, openly, this level is overemphasized in most organizational cultures.
2. Life-systems and processes, biology, operational procedures and methods, training, software, efficiencyOperating systems are often poorly developed. There is usually plenty of room for process improvements. *
1. Physics-chemistry, equipment, hardware, engineering, technologyIn most organizations, this level is fine. It is easier to talk about equipment than the more productive areas of processes (2), or communications (4). The table below (page 53 of text) points to the fact that the largest opportunity to develop changes in the work culture lies in language-which has been broken down into communications, listening, meaning, understanding-basically relationship building. The next largest opportunity lies in tackling problems in processes and procedures.
While I am sure that this makes intuitive sense to you, the task becomes how to document and put together a means to actively measure the actions you are taking and how they affect the bottom line or the goals and objectives by which you are to be measured while leading this imitative. Phegan does not offer any solution to that dilemma. What he does, however, is offer a template to improve the areas that need the attention. The most effective strategy that Barry Phegan advocates is the use of an informal interview. He provides a template for an interview format that will allow organizational leaders to get clearer understanding of the framework of the organizations employees. It is from these "non-agenda-conversations"-not "fireside chats" relationships are built, the "true" picture of the existing culture can be drawn, and human beings can feel individual and valuable. This is where he claims you get the biggest return on your cultural change investment.
The book is full of information regarding group dynamics, the art of negotiating, and skillful tips to managers. What is somewhat discouraging is that after several pages of information, guidance, and helpful hints, he ends his book with a section called Reflections where he points out that "work cultures are very stable. Sometimes they would rather die than change." He outlines why managers resist employee involvement in cultural change initiatives. Perhaps the knowledge of why there is resistance is helpful, but he does not offer any solutions to this aspect of human management nature. He even encourages external consultants to work in teams, "culture consultants should always work as a team. Work cultures are simply too seductive."
As you go forward with the task at hand to lead or create cultural change, don't get discouraged. Remember, each positive conversation, change, meeting does have a ripple effect. Phegan encourages you as a cultural leader to look for "pockets of readiness" and to encourage them. Work and gain momentum with those who "get it" and allow the change to evolve over time. It cannot be forced.
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And I've found it, I recommend this book strongly to everybody who loves the DC 8 and the early jetliners.
jump on the chance! You will be glad you did. Believable plot,and characters team up to provide a great story that you will find hard to put down. If you have ever thought of flying a plane this really puts you in the pilot's seat! I read this several times years ago but lost my copy in moving. Glad to see there are resources on the 'net to get it. Enjoy!
Set in a post-nuclear, Russian controlled u.s., its a gripping visualization of life might have been like had the Russians won a real war against us.
You will love this book if you like action, what if? scenerios of u.s. history, and great stories.
y LOS CONSEJOS Y TIPS DE ESTE LIBRO ME HAN AHORRADO UN BUEN BILLETE...
Te lo recomiendo para ahorrar. Mi esposo me super felicita