Altruistically Inclined?: The Behavioral Sciences, Evolutionary Theory, and the Origins of Reciprocity (Economics, Cognition, and Society)

Book Description

Alexander J. Field is the Michel and Mary Orradre Professor of Economics at Santa Clara University.

Customer Reviews:

Behave Yourself.......2003-02-01

In Altruistically Inclined, Alex Field presents a superbly dense and provocative exploration of individual behavior and reasoning. From a background of economics, his deconstruction and reassembling of our understanding of what is rational is an ambitious challenge that Prof. Field manages to tackle and push forward without descending into the excess of intellectual obfuscation. Not that Prof. Field entirely avoids drilling so deep into subject matter that we find ourselves immersed in annotation and data such that we must occasionally come up for air before choking on the dust left by a speeding intellect. It's a delicate dance and Prof. Field is to be commended for offering his thesis not as a debunking but as a methodical enhancement to current and classical science. His map of what might be referred to as a behavioral genome is hugely detailed and while he doesn't seek to redraw the boundaries, he offers topography within those lines that suggest vastly different interpretations than prior snapshots of the surface revealed. The author succeeds in arguing his thesis from multiple perspectives and applying a command of interdisciplinary reasoning. The effect is an elegant and compelling essay that sketches a portrait of our brain that is both an x-ray into evolutionary development and a broader credible reflection that speaks to the puzzles of social and political intercourse . As Behavior sciences lean toward inexactness, Mr. Field has been able to apply formula and rigor in measuring and testing traits characterized by nuance. That Mr. Field is an economist is evidenced throughout this book - His presentation of the data leaves the reader with an audit trail and confidence that support his theory and anticipate challenges occurring to the engaged reader. Beware though, this book is not a summer breeze. Though not without humor this book is a serious tome, and not written for "the layman" . As prefaced remarks so often allude to an effort by the author to make content more accessible to the non-disciplined reader, it is refreshing that Prof. Field avoids this dumbing down pitfall and engages readers as fellow academicians. That being said, this "layman" found his way through the material and can recommend Altruistically Inclined to others inclined toward the informative.

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Seeing "achievement" with a new perspective

Achievement: Measuring Progress; Celebrating Success (Diversity Breakthrough! Strategic Action Series) (Diversity Breakthrough!)
Debbe Kennedy
Manufacturer: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Company Profiles | Biography & History | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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Similar Items:

Acceptance: Developing Support for Change (Diversity Breakthrough! Strategic Action Series) (Diversity Breakthrough!)

Diversity Breakthrough! Strategic Action Series: More Action: Keeping Momentum Alive! (Diversity Breakthrough!)

Accountability: Establishing Shared Ownership (Diversity Breakthrough! Strategic Action Series) (Diversity Breakthrough!)

Action: Moving Forward (Diversity Breakthrough! Strategic Action Series) (Diversity Breakthrough!)

ASIN: 1583760547

Amazon.com

Yet another component in Debbe Kennedy's easy-to-use and refreshingly straightforward Diversity Breakthrough! Strategic Action series, Achievement profiles organizations that have launched diversity-promoting efforts to monitor, measure, and even celebrate progress as they work to create an inclusive organization.

Like all the booklets in Kennedy's goal-oriented series, this one comes with self-assessment tools, concrete action strategies to mobilize change, and fun, quick action-planning worksheets, all in a concise 64-page format that's as adaptable to an organization-wide initiative or a small group effort as it is to a single individual's nighttime reading and enrichment (where organizational change, after all, often begins). And as part of the real-life, first-person accounts that make all these booklets so lively, this edition includes real-life stories from such diverse organizations as Hewlett-Packard, IBM, the U.S. Army, and the Burgundy Group on diversity challenges and solutions.

Readers can use this booklet alone or in conjunction with others in the series, each of which focuses on a crucial phase in what author Kennedy, a veteran consultant and a former manager of Equal Opportunity and human resources at IBM, calls the "imperfect circle" of change: "Assessment," "Acceptance," "Action," "Accountability," "Achievement," and--you guessed it--"More Action." The Breakthrough system also includes a pack of 52 cards, each of which spells out a specific diversity roadblock (starting with "Our leadership team does not reflect our stated commitment to inclusion."). Passed around in group format, they allow participants to literally "put their cards on the table" about internal issues they'd rather not bring up aloud--making for not just a brilliant icebreaker on a touchy subject but a crucial first step in isolating strengths and weaknesses in the realm of diversity.

Whether read alone or as part of the integrated whole, this well-thought-out booklet may be just the thing for HR managers, trainers, and consultants lamenting the dearth of quality material on this perilous subject. --Timothy Murphy

Book Description

This book focuses on how-to monitor, measure and celebrate progress as you work to create a diverse, inclusive environment in your organization, business, workplace or community, so you can reflect the marketplaces and communities of the 21st Century. Includes organizational self-assessment tools to help you determine where you are now and what you can do action strategies and ideas for what and how to monitor, measure and celebrate achievement and progress in regards to leadership, culture, involvement, the business, strategies and measures, staffing and development and ownership. Additionally, there are inspiring personal stories from executives from IBM, Hewlett-Packard, U.S. Army, Leap Wireless International, The Burgundy Group, best-selling Australian author, Catherine DeVrye, as well as an action planning guide and a call to action. Twenty-five illustrations; two-color format. Designed for anyone with the responsibility of setting an example and leading change in your organization.

Customer Reviews:

Seeing "achievement" with a new perspective.......2000-02-13

Our organization has been trying to become inclusive for some time. The stories in this book are inspiring and the ideas for measuring and celebrating helped me see "achievement" with a new perspective. Recommended!

Average customer rating:
Aerial agriculture in Australia: A history of the use of aircraft in agriculture and forestry
Derrick Rolland
Manufacturer: Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0646248405

Book Description

This beautiful art book tells the story of the "other Southwest," tracing the history of centuries of conflict and resolution between Natives, Hispanics, and Anglos, as well as their respective artistic accomplishments. This far-reaching collection of artifacts invites you to explore the achievements and art of cultures that overcame unfathomable obstacles to build the Southwest that we know today.

Customer Reviews:

OFF THE COFFEE TABLE AND INTO YOUR PSYCHE.......2007-08-07

Was the movie Chinatown fact or fiction? In The Desert Southwest: Four Thousand Years of Life and Art, Allan and Carol Hayes tell you the real story behind the water deal that turned Los Angeles into what it is today -- and about the century after century of history that preceded it.

In school, you were told that the valleys of the Nile, the Tigris and the Euphrates were the "cradles of
civilization," but did anyone ever tell you that the southern Arizona desert is considered the cradle of civilization in the United States?

Recent excavations indicate that people began living an agriculture-based lifestyle in the Tuscon basin four thousand years ago. Why and how did the dry, hard-edged, hostile desert become the place where millions of Americans want to live today .. a place where, for centuries, talented artists, engineers and craftsmen have created everything from sophisticated irrigation systems to magnificent pottery.

Don't be misled -- this book would look terrific on your coffee table with its stunning photographs by John
Blom. But what's best about it is not what it shows you but what it tells you. This is much more than a coffee table book -- the words and pictures leap off the page and into your psyche.

Read it and you will never feel the same about the desert southwest again.

A wonderful read.......2006-12-05

This is a treasure book for anyone living in Arizona or trying to know it better. What a great read: funny and studious. The authors present their opinions with joy and research and tell you why they ended up where they are.

A great keeper and a great gift.

History that reads like a Tony Hillerman novel, only funnier ...........2006-11-22

This is not a coffee-table book, although it would look good on any coffee table. It's a meticiously researched
history-anthropology-archeology book that reads like a Tony Hillerman novel, only funnier. And it's filled with wonderful photographs (both historical and contemporary),some of which show things like things you could actually buy.

Many people think the history of the Desert Southwest began with the Pueblos and ended with Indian Gaming,
but this book traces its history, art and culture back for more than 4000 years. And it takes the reader far beyond New Mexico and Arizona to amazing sites in Utah, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, Southern California and Northern Mexico.

My husband and I lived in the Southwest for many years and thought we knew a lot about the area -- but this
book opened our eyes. We lent it to Hispanic and Native neighbors, who said the same thing. I reccommend it to anyone as a fresh, readable exploration of a fascinating subject. And as a terrific take-along travel guide
to anyone planning a trip to the Desert Southwest.

By the way, if you're already into Pueblo Pottery, check out the first Hayes-Blom book, Southwestern Pottery: Anasazi to Zuni.

A Gem of a Book.......2006-11-21

A great book with lots of beautiful photos of new and ancient Southwestern pottery. The history of the Southwest's peoples is covered along with some photos. Overall, this book offers useful information for the novice as well as the professional. It is a must for anyone seeking to invest in ancient Southwest pottery.

Soft Child: How Rattlesnake Got its Fang

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Soft Child: How Rattlesnake Got its Fang
Kay Sather
Manufacturer: Roberts Rinehart Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Literature | Children's Books | Subjects | Books

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Accessories:

ASIN: 0943173892

Book Description

A Native American legend tells how Sky God helped Rattlesnake to defend himself. Ages 4-8.

Prehistory Of Carson Desert & Stillwater: Anthropological Paper 123 (University of Utah Anthropological Paper)

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Prehistory Of Carson Desert & Stillwater: Anthropological Paper 123 (University of Utah Anthropological Paper)
Robert Kelly
Manufacturer: University of Utah Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Not a distinquished series

People of the Desert (American Indians)

Manufacturer: Time-Life Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0809494124

Customer Reviews:

Not a distinquished series.......2007-05-06

This Time-Life series on Native Americans (American Indians) is not at all distinquished. The text is sketchy at best -- aimed for a general audience -- which makes it a brief introduction to the peoples studied. The photographs are sometimes striking, sometimes extremely poor. The most interesting part of these books are the good color photographs of art and artifacts, which may be of some use to artists.

Yank: Memoir of a World War II Soldier (1941-1945) - From the Desert War of North Africa to the Allied Invasion of Europe, From German POW Camp to Home Again

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YANK: An experience so unbelievable, you must read it!
COMPELLING, FIRST-HAND WWII ACCOUNT

Yank: Memoir of a World War II Soldier (1941-1945) - From the Desert War of North Africa to the Allied Invasion of Europe, From German POW Camp to Home Again
Ted Ellsworth
Manufacturer: Thunder's Mouth Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1560258349

Book Description

Ted Ellsworth was a young Dartmouth grad in 1941. In the years before the U.S. joined the Second World War effort, American men who wished to fight against Hitler were granted permission from President Roosevelt and the U.S. Congress to join the British army. In normal circumstance, fighting for another nation's army would be an automatic forfeiture of U.S. citizenship (as noted on U.S. passports).

Yank begins with goodbyes to Ellworth's young wife and family. It covers his crossing to Britain, initial stay in London, assignment to a North African tank regiment and the campaign there, participation in the invasion of Italy and the second wave of D-Day, accounts of fierce battles, being taken prisoner by the Germans and shipped to a POW camp, the camp deprivations, liberation by the Russians, and finally, the year Ellsworth spent wandering eastern Europe with no dog-tags, after the war had ended, trying to reach a city from which he could ship back home. Ellsworth had been officially MIA for over two years, and everyone assumed he was dead.

The final pages detail Ellsworth's homecoming when his wife hand-delivers the beautiful and intimate note that she'd written him when he was first reported missing.

Customer Reviews:

YANK: An experience so unbelievable, you must read it!.......2006-05-31

Ted Ellsworth's World War II memoir YANK is simply amazing. Ted is able to write in a balanced manner about the actual events of the war and his own actions and feelings. The memoir is truly incredible. Ted takes the reader with him through his journey as a solider, from fighting for the British in Africa, to Italy, to France and Poland. Ted having been captured with his fellow American soldiers, is brought to a POW camp in Poland, where he vividly illustrates his life in the POW camp. Ted faces death many times but he always escapes it, and eventually returns home to his wife Barbara in his small hometown of Dubuque, Iowa. Ted's experience is remarkable and YANK captures the thoughts, questions, beliefs, and raw emotions of a young American World War II solider.

COMPELLING, FIRST-HAND WWII ACCOUNT.......2006-04-24

"Yank", the late Ted Ellsworth's memoir of his World War II service, is a compelling, first-hand account of a soldier's life in those dangerous times. Newly married, Ellsworth and his friend Tom Braden joined the British Army in the autumn of 1941, before America had officially entered the hostilities. He served under General Montgomery in Africa, then transferred to the American Army and saw action in Italy and France and spent time in a German POW camp in Poland, before being liberated by the Russians. His travails after liberation are as tense and grueling as what he had faced fighting against the Germans.
The book covers nearly four years of Ellsworth's life, in which he experienced more danger and excitement than most of us will encounter in our entire lifetimes. The prose is not flowery or literary, but it is literate and honest and gives the reader a chance to see those difficult years through the eyes of someone who was there, and who lived them. At times, particularly in the first half of the book, there are passages that seem like stream of consciousness collages of things that happened or things he observed that he recalled but apparently felt did not merit detailed examination. This helps to quicken the pace of the book; Ellsworth glides through the less important events to get to the ones that matter, the accounts of making friends - and losing them - in the maelstrom of war. Once begun, this is an impossible book to put down, and an important reminder of the sacrifices of previous generations.

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The North American Deserts
Edmund Jaeger
Manufacturer: Stanford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Deserts | Ecosystems | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0804704988

North American Desert Life Coloring Book

Average customer rating:

great book!

North American Desert Life Coloring Book
Ruth Soffer
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486282341

Book Description

Over 40 illustrations: Gila monster, kit fox, prairie dog, other animals; also plants: cactus, rice grass, saltbush, many more.

Customer Reviews:

great book!.......2005-09-27

This coloring book gives a VERY nice overview of desert plants and animals. Not only are the illustrations done very well, but there is a short paragraph at the bottom of each page that explains about the scene. My kids had a great time coloring their favorite animals, and learning at the same time.

Daughters of the Desert: Women Anthropologists and the Native American Southwest, 1880-1980

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Daughters of the Desert: Women Anthropologists and the Native American Southwest, 1880-1980
Barbara A. Babcock , and Nancy J. Parezo
Manufacturer: Univ of New Mexico Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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