As the National Technical Committee Chairman for the Precision Machining Technology portion of the Skills USA-VICA championships I get to see students of varying levels of competence compete each year. Each year my Industry committee works very hard to design a competition that is challenging but fair. Since both Secondary and Post-Secondary...

Almost everyone loves a good mystery, and mysteries are the meat of forensic science. The study of forensic science involves the analysis and interpretation of evidence for use in a court of law. Unlike 'pure' disciplines, forensics is an applied science that uses scientific principles to meet specific goals. Many of the principles and...

The message in this book is likely to be a revelation for anyone who makes presentations. The possibilities described may surprise, but they are real and – very important – they are tried and tested. They can turn many a pedestrian event into something special and, above all, can maximise effectiveness in a way that directly builds...

Environmental engineering's future seems boundless because it is based in the myriad ways in which nature solves its own engineering challenges. People have yet to design a system that pumps water 200 feet straight up toward the sky in a system that is silent, requires no mechanical pumps, and never malfunctions, yet giant sequoia trees do this...

Students with a basic understanding of the environment and concern for its future know the importance of preserving biological diversity. Biodiversity is the variety of living things on Earth or in a specific area. This definition seems simple enough to understand, yet the concept of biodiversity has deeper meanings that challenge even trained...

In labs, clinics, and companies around the world, an amazing revolution in our understanding of life has taken place. This revolution makes the news nearly every day and has dramatically changed the way medicine is practiced, but the headlines often seem mysterious and scary. Today, discoveries are made at such a dizzying pace that even...

Conservation refers to the careful and controlled use of natural resources for the purpose of extending the time they are available as well as retaining biodiversity. Conservation does not prevent the loss of plants, trees, land, water, or habitat; it simply slows the rate of degradation of these things. This new book explores aspects of...

This book is a selective historical and critical study of moral philosophy in the Socratic tradition, with special attention to Aristotelian naturalism. It discusses the main topics of moral philosophy as they have developed historically, including: the human good, human nature, justice, friendship, and morality; the methods of moral inquiry;...

Discussion of natural law reaches a new level of sophistication in Suarez’s elaborate and careful treatment. He takes account of Aquinas, Scotus, Ockham, and their successors, and claims to defend Aquinas’ views on the main issues. Since his discussion is usually fuller than Aquinas’ discussion, and explores questions that...

Animal life, now and over the past half billion years, is incredibly diverse. Describing and understanding the evolution of this diversity of body plans - from vertebrates such as humans and fish to the numerous invertebrate groups including sponges, insects, molluscs, and the many groups of worms - is a major goal of evolutionary biology. In...

John Cort explores the narratives by which the Jains have explained the presence of icons of Jinas (their enlightened and liberated teachers) that are worshiped and venerated in the hundreds of thousands of Jain temples throughout India. Most of these narratives portray icons favorably, and so justify their existence; but there are also...