Economic Systems of Foraging, Agricultural, and Industrial Societies

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Drawing from economics, anthropology, statistics, and history to examine large samples of foraging (hunting, gathering and fishing), agricultural and industrial societies, Frederic L. Pryor isolates their economic systems. He explores why certain societies or nations have one system rather than another, examines the impact of these economic systems on the societies' welfare and studies their development and changes. The book presents a broad framework for understanding economic systems and provides considerable evidence on both preindustrial and industrial systems.

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Drawing upon the disciplines of economics, anthropology, statistics, and history, and employing a new and unified analytic approach, Frederic L. Pryor reformulates in this book the entire field of comparative economic systems. He examines large samples of foraging (hunting, gathering and fishing), agricultural, and industrial economies to explore four key questions: What are the distinct economic systems found in each group? Why do certain societies or nations have one economic system rather than another? What impact do economic systems have on the performance of the economy? How do these economic systems develop and change? The results provide a context that allows us to move beyond the chaos of case studies and ideological assertions to gain an overview of the development of economic systems over the millennia. It also raises a series of new analytic and empirical issues that have not hitherto been systematically explored.

Economic Systems of Foraging, Agricultural, and Industrial Societies [A book review from: Economic Systems]

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Economic Systems of Foraging, Agricultural, and Industrial Societies [A book review from: Economic Systems]
B. Dallago
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

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ASIN: B000RR5XUS

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This digital document is a journal article from Economic Systems, published by Elsevier in . The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

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The Economic Systems of Foraging, Agricultural, and Industrial Societies.(Book Review) : An article from: Journal of Economic Issues

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The Economic Systems of Foraging, Agricultural, and Industrial Societies.(Book Review) : An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
Thomas R. DeGregori
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B000E4FKUC
Release Date: 2006-01-09

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This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Thomson Gale on December 1, 2005. The length of the article is 702 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Economic Systems of Foraging, Agricultural, and Industrial Societies.(Book Review)
Author: Thomas R. DeGregori
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 39 Issue: 4 Page: 1088(2)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Book Description

This book is a case study of the integration of two financial services companies, Century Companies of America and CUNA Mutual Insurance Group. The combining of the two organizations is positioned in the book as a special case of large-scale organizational transformation. The events described took place between 1988 and 1995. While the story contains enough technical detail to make the events understandable, its focus is on the human and psychological aspects of the undertaking. The tumultuous changes that took place in the financial services industry in the early 1980s caused both companies to realize that they needed to undertake substantially different strategies than they had previously utilized. Cowritten by Century Companies' CEO, the book describes how the boards and executives of the two companies reached the conclusion that affiliation with another company was the best strategy, how they selected each other as partners, how they accomplished the integration of the two organizations, the challenges they faced in doing so, and the lessons learned in the process.

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This book deals with the appearance and management of plants with different traits occurring as weeds on arable land. It describes and discusses matters and relationships that are important as a basis for understanding the varying occurrence of weeds in different crops and cropping systems and, the response of different weeds to specified management measures.

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"It is an extraordinary coincidence," writes English physiologist Frances Ashcroft, "that the highest peak on Earth is also about the highest point at which humans can survive unaided." A coincidence, to be sure, and, like many other milestones of the limits of human endurance, one known to us through the joint efforts of scientists, mountain climbers, explorers, and athletes.

Ashcroft's book is a thoroughly engaging survey of those limits and their origins in the nature of things, of what happens to human beings in the most difficult environmental conditions. She writes, for instance, of why it is that astronauts have trouble standing after returning to Earth (because, in part, their leg muscles quickly atrophy outside of terrestrial gravity); of how the famed Japanese pearl divers condition themselves to attain such extraordinary underwater depths; of how and why the consumption of carbohydrates and caffeine can improve athletic performance; of why British children so easily suffer heat exhaustion on trips to such semitropical venues as, say, Disneyworld, whereas young Saudis can tolerate much higher temperatures (but would likely not thrive in an English winter).

Backed by extensive field research--the author has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, sweated it out in Japanese hot tubs, and run after her share of buses--as well as by a wealth of laboratory studies, Ashcroft's book is of great appeal to anyone who wishes to test the world's limits--or their own. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

The challenge of scaling the highest mountain, exploring the deepest ocean, crossing the hottest desert, or swimming in near-freezing water is irresistible to many people. Life at the Extremes is an engrossing exploration of what happens to our bodies in these seemingly uninhabitable environments. Frances Ashcroft weaves stories of extraordinary feats of endurance with historical material and the latest scientific findings as she investigates the limits of human survival and the remarkable adaptations that enable us to withstand extreme conditions.
What causes mountain sickness? How is it possible to reach the top of Everest without supplementary oxygen, when passengers in an airplane that depressurized at the same altitude would lose consciousness in seconds? Why do divers get the bends but sperm whales do not? How long you can survive immersion in freezing water? Why don't penguins get frostbite? Will men always be faster runners than women? How far into deep space can a body travel?
As she considers these questions, Ashcroft introduces a cast of extraordinary scientific personalities--inventors and explorers who have charted the limits of human survival. She describes many intriguing experiments and shows how scientific knowledge has enabled us to venture toward and beyond ever greater limits. Life at the Extremes also considers what happens when athletes push their bodies to the edge, and tells of the remarkable adaptations that enable some organisms to live in boiling water, in highly acidic lakes, or deep in the middle of rocks.
Anyone who flies in an airplane, sails the high seas, goes skiing or walking in the mountains, or simply weathers subzero winters or sweltering summers will be captivated by this book. Full of scientific information, beautifully written, and packed with many fascinating digressions, Life at the Extremes lures us to the very edge of human survival.

Customer Reviews:

An outstanding and accessible science book.......2003-07-24

I have always been fascinated with this topic, and this book opened my eyes to all kinds of interesting aspects of adaptation of animals (especially humans) to extreme conditions. Particularly interesting to me were the chapters on altitude and depth. Examples and sidebars were well chosen and well explained. I have used information from the book in lectures to students of physiology. Highly recommended.

Deceptive description, but still a good read.......2003-05-30

This book appealed to my inner nerd, and helped me understand from a physiological standpoint what is happening during when the body is put to the extreme test. It doesn't talk about when people are placed in extreme situations, which was the part I found pretty deceptive. But Dr. Ashcroft is an anatomy professor - that should have been my big clue. Still, a good read if you've got an interest in anatomy and physiology.

Almost An Adventure Book.......2002-04-16

I must admit that I was fooled by the description of this book on the dusk jacket. What I thought I was buying was a book that detailed what happened to individual people in extreme conditions, in space, tops of mountains etc. What the book provided me was a description of what happens to the human body in these extreme conditions. Overall the information was interesting, but this is not a book that would fall into the action / adventure category. You do not get the drama or tension of actual people being put in harms way. The book is well written, even in the parts that are medical descriptions. If you are interested in what happens to someone in extreme conditions or as a reference book next time you are reading an action / adventure book then this is the book for you.

What The Future May Bring.......2001-02-28

An amazing book for people who are into the possibility of extraterrestrial life and also those who fear that the demise of our own ecosystem will lead to an end to life on our planet as we know it. The best thing you can tell someone who insist life cannot exist outside our biosphere is "vent fish", these fish that live 5000 feet deep on the ocean floor where there is no light and the only source of food is the sulfur blowing from volcanic vents. This book is all about life in the harshest of places. This line from the introduction: "Environmental extremes are not the prerogative of the adventurous few - with the help of technology, all of us can tolerate severe conditions with equanimity." reminds me of the movie "True Stories" where John Goodman asked God to do something about all these malls and parking lots, so God created people who love malls and parking lots!!! Life At The Extremes might be a how-to guide to this uncertain future we are blindly racing into... It's a must read for environmentalists and ufologists alike. Remy C.

This is an excellent book for the curious-minded!.......2001-01-13

If you have ever wondered EXACTLY why and how humans get altitude sickness, what happens to the body when exposed to extreme heat or cold, why scuba divers sometime get the "bends," or what would happen to an astronaut if the Space Station developed a leak, this book is for you. Frances M. Ashcroft explains in complete detail - the detail that is so often lacking in the popular, dumbed-down modern media - why the body at high altitudes can't get the oxygen it needs, what happens to skin cells when you burn yourself or get frostbite, how nitrogen dissolves in your blood when diving deep in water, or how your blood would boil if exposed to the emptiness of space.

And she doesn't stop with humans. She examines the extremes of the animal world for creatures able to withstand and thrive in boiling cauldrons, the extreme depths of the oceans, or the extreme cold of Antarctica.

Book Description

In this revised, updated, two-color edition of the acclaimed text Animal Physiology, Knut Schmidt-Nielsen introduces and develops the fundamental principles of animal physiology according to major environmental features--oxygen, food and energy, temperature, and water. The book is structured the same as the previous edition, but every chapter has been updated to take into account recent developments, with numerous new references and figures. New and expanded features include: extensive modifications to the chapter on Movement, Muscle and Biomechanics; new material on respiratory pigments; feeding and digestion in shrimp and hoatzin; plant defense compounds; diving in seals; high temperature tolerance; the patch clamp method for ion channel research; the pineal gland and melatonin. Two-color throughout for clear description and illustration of fundamental principles.

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Customer Reviews:

Broad-Based Very Readable Reference.......2000-03-26

Covers a wealth of topics in a readable style with a well-organized format. Various sections deal with different largely independant subjects (Oxygen, Food & Energy, Temperature, & Water). Animals have found a plethora of different solutions for the many problems facing them, and while not ever one is covered, most of them are. The treatment of the osmoregulation was great (one of the reasons I got the book), as were the sections on the biomechanics of the animal world. I particularly liked the sections on bouancy control in marine animals, as well as the comparisions through the book on living in air verses water (very well done). The final part covers movement, information, & integration, and tries to pack a lot of material into perhaps too small a volume, but that's my only problem. And realisticly you have to stop writing a book somewhere, or you end up with a multi-volume set; Knut Schmidt-Nielson has done an excellent job of providing the basics at an advanced undergraduate level while making it interesting enough for almost anyone.

The book is very readable and useful for student and teacher.......1999-11-02

Animal physiology might be understood as a study which lead to our understanding on how animal strugle to survive in their particular environment and for its existence. The book try to explain the concept in such a way that even students with very limited understanding on physic and chemistry could grasp the main ideas. This is very useful for the student and also for the teacher.

November 1, 1999 edy -

dry, but informative.......1999-01-03

As an undergraduate, I used this book during my first animal physiology course. I found the book to be very dry and uninteresting. The material in the book was easy to read, perhaps too basic. I felt that at times there were gaps in the explanations.

Animal Physiology: Adaptation and Environment

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Animal Physiology: Adaptation and Environment

Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000EHIKWY

Adaptation to environment: Essays on the physiology of marine animals

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Adaptation to environment: Essays on the physiology of marine animals

Manufacturer: Butterworths
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Adaptation to thermal environment: Man and his productive animals (A Series of student texts in contemporary biology)

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Adaptation to thermal environment: Man and his productive animals (A Series of student texts in contemporary biology)
L. E Mount
Manufacturer: University Park Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Animal Life at Low Temperature
John Davenport
Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0412403501

Animal Physiology: Adaptation and Environment. Fourth Edition.

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Animal Physiology: Adaptation and Environment. Fourth Edition.
Knut Schmidt-Nielsen
Manufacturer: Publisher Unknown
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000UY7V1C

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Animal Physiology: Adaptation and Environment. Fourth Edition.

ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IBPNSK

Ecological Morphology: Integrative Organismal Biology

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Ecological Morphology: Integrative Organismal Biology

Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Biometry

ASIN: 0226869946

Book Description

Ecological morphology examines the relation between an animal's anatomy and physiology—its form and function—and how the animal has evolved in and can inhabit a particular environment. Within the past few years, research in this relatively new area has exploded. Ecological Morphology is a synthesis of major concepts and a demonstration of the ways in which this integrative approach can yield rich and surprising results.

Through this interdisciplinary study, scientists have been able to understand, for instance, how bat wing design affects habitat use and bat diet; how the size of a predator affects its ability to capture and eat certain prey; and how certain mosquitoes have evolved physiologically and morphologically to tolerate salt-water habitats. Ecological Morphology also covers the history of the field, the role of the comparative method in studying adaptation, and the use of data from modern organisms for understanding the ecology of fossil communities.

This book provides an overview of the achievements and potential of ecological morphology for all biologists and students interested in the way animal design, ecology, and evolution interact.

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Ecology of Sensing

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 3540669019

Book Description

Sense organs serve as a kind of biological interface between the environment and the organism. Therefore, the relationship between sensory systems and ecology is very close and its knowledge of fundamental importance for an understanding of animal behavior. The sixteen chapters of this book exemplify the diversity of the constraints and opportunities associated with the sensation of stimuli representing different forms of energy. The book stresses the events taking place in the sensory periphery where the animal is exposed to and gets in touch with its natural habitat and acquires the information needed to organize its interaction with its environment.
Ecology of Sensing brings together the leading experts in the field.

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