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© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. This article proposes a Darwinian approach to examine the persistence and resilience of a peculiar set of misbeliefs that have flourished in intellectual circles over the last several decades. These misbeliefs, such as the prevailing antirational explanatory models within postmodern critical theory (PMCT), might be expected to perish under the weight of critical scrutiny; that is, selection pressures would tend to weed them out in a highly competitive and rigorous "marketplace of ideas" such as the academy. Given the flourishing of PMCT and its attendant communities of practice, political economies, tribalism and social signalling, it is suggested here that it should be approached in a new way: as a significant socio-cultural cluster of misbeliefs worthy of explanation with tools honed via evolutionary science. For example, the prominence of religious-like performativity and self-validating arguments associated with PMCT makes it suitable for study from perspectives such as memetics, evolutionary psychology (EP) and signalling theory, and Moral Foundations Theory (MFT). With these approaches, a hypothesis-driven research agenda could be developed to examine the deeply-rooted cognitive basis and adaptive socio-cultural drivers behind the spread of PMCT. It is proposed that formal and systematic programmes be established to research the phenomenon, and that – just as with the study of religion – we move beyond the now long-established emphasis on intellectual critique and instead establish a broad programme in the Evolutionary Studies of Postmodernism (ESPM).

Energy consumption is intimately bound up with the natural environment. As "green" issues come to the forefront of political debate energy consumption patterns should also come under close scrutiny. This paper describes the major links between commercial energy consumption and the environment, focussing especially on fossil fuels. It then looks at what would be the impact of the growth in world energy demand that is forecast by most "energy experts". The environmental consequences of such growth would in fact be catastrophic, with far- reaching economic consequences. The paper therefore considers ways in which these effects may be avoided. Fuel substitution can offer a partial solution, but it is argued that the easiest, the most effective, and the cheapest solution is energy conservation.

The essence of least cost planning is that in some circumstances it is more profitable for a utility to encourage its customers to use less electric power/water/gas than it is for the utility to sell a larger quantity of its product. The two parameters that define the circumstances when this may occur are the price at which the utility can sell its service; and the cost of investing in new or additional plant to meet growing demand, as compared to the cost of conservation measures. Capital costs of new plant have increased very sharply over recent decades, while prices charged by utilities are normally regulated, and political pressures limit the extent to which they can be increased - especially if there is evidence that conservation could remove the need for such large increases. This unusual combination of circumstances has led to the unexpected situation of utilities investing on behalf of their customers in conservation.

In recent decades, powerful telescopes have enabled astrophysicists to uncover startling new worlds and solar systems. An epochal moment came in 1995, when a planet - 51 Pegasi b - was located orbiting a star other than our own sun. Since then, thousands of new planets have followed, and the question of life beyond earth has become one of the principal topics in discussions between science and religion. Attention to this topic has a long history in Christian theology, but has rarely been pursued at any depth. Writing with both passion and precision, Andrew Davison brings his extensive knowledge of Christian thought to bear, drawing particularly on the thought of Thomas Aquinas, as well as his training as a scientist. No book to date better prepares the Christian community for responding to evidence of other life, if it is found. And yet, we do not need to wait for that to have happened before this book shows its worth. In thinking about planets, creatures, and ecosystems beyond our planet, Davison already reinvigorates our theology for the earth.

Soon after Rosanna Davison spoke publicly for the first time about the fourteen miscarriages she suffered before choosing to have a baby via gestational surrogate, she discovered she was pregnant with identical twin boys, conceived naturally! In this heartfelt and honest memoir, Rosanna reveals her difficult journey to motherhood and examines the stigma and silence that surrounds infertility. From the anguish of her multiple pregnancy losses to the decision to explore surrogacy, as well as the practical and emotional challenges involved in pursuing this route to parenthood, she reveals what it was like to find out she was expecting miracle twins soon after her daughter was born, and how she and her husband adjusted to becoming parents to three children within just months of each other! --

Seeking Urban Transformation. Alternative Urban Futures in Zimbabwe tells the stories of ordinary people's struggles to remake urban centres. It interrogates and highlights the principle conditions in which urban transformation takes place. The main catalysts of the transformation are social movements and planning institutions. Social movements pool resources and skills, acquire land, install infrastructure and build houses. Planning institutions change policies, regulations and traditions to embrace and support a new form of urban development driven by grassroots movements. Besides providing a comprehensive analysis of planning and housing in Zimbabwe, there is a specific focus on three urban centres of Harare, Chitungwiza and Epworth. In metropolitan Harare, the books examines new housing and infrastructure series to the predominantly urban poor population; vital roles played by the urban poor in urban development and the adoption by planning institutions of grassroots-centered, urban-planning approaches. The book draws from three case studies and in-depth interviews from diverse urban shapers i.e. representatives and members of social movements, urban planners, engineers, surveyors, policy makers, politicians, civil society workers and students to generate a varied selection of insights and experiences. Based on the Zimbabwean experience, the book illustrates how actions and power of ordinary people contributes to the transformation of African cities.

Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Introduction by Graeme Davison -- 1. Stretton on Himself -- Childhood -- Beliefs -- Ambitions -- Politics -- Knowledge -- Values -- 2. A Political Science of Society (1969) -- 3. Australia as a Tale of Three Cities (1970) -- Adelaide as an estate agency -- Melbourne as a private enterprise -- Sydney as the Magic Place -- 4. Australia as a Suburb (1970) -- 5. Who Is My Neighbour? (1970) -- 6. Ideologies (1970) -- 7. A Good Australian City (1972) -- 8. Advice to Activists (1972) -- 9. Planning to Break the Rules (1972) -- 10. Letter from Australia (1976) -- 11. Democracy and Home Ownership (1976) -- 12. Cities as Distributors (1976) -- 13. Social Implications of Technological Change (1978) -- 14. The Case Against Very Free Trade and Very Small Government (1980) -- 15. The Cult of Selfishness (1987) -- 16. Urban Consolidation (1988) -- Who consolidates who? -- An Australian achievement -- The South Australian achievement -- The lurch to the right -- Sprawl -- 17. A Use for History (1990) -- 18. Transport and the Structure of Australian Cities (1994) -- Environment -- Economy -- Equity -- Community -- Alternatives -- Fantasy -- Summary -- 19. The Future of Social Democracy (1994) -- Onwards -- Sideways -- Backwards -- Allocating Resources -- 20. Two Leaders (2000) -- 21. How Not to Argue (2001) -- Sources -- Select Bibliography -- Index -- Back Cover

Chapter Introduction -- part Part 1: Counter-Imagining Islam and Iran -- chapter 1 In the Absence of the Face -- chapter 4 The Power of Interpretation -- chapter 6 On Nations Without Borders -- part Part 2: Emancipatory Aesthetics -- chapter 8 Nima Yushij and the Constitution of a National Subject -- chapter 10 Kiarostami and Makhmalbaf.

A widow and her eight older children are uprooted from their Hampshire farm in 1850, and thrown together on an emigrant ship with 38 distressed needlewomen from London. How they came to be on the boat, and what happened on the high seas and afterwards in Australia, is a vivid tale of family ambitions and fears, successes and catastrophes ... In Lost Relations, historian Graeme Davison follows in his family's footsteps, from the picture-postcard village of Newnham to a prison cell in Maitland, from a London slum to a miner's tent in Castlemaine. He takes us back into worlds now largely forgotten, of water-powered mills, free selectors and Methodist evangelists. The Hewetts were not famous or distinguished, but their story reveals much about the foundations of Australia ... He writes, 'I did not look for skeletons in my family's cupboard, but once the cupboard was open, they simply fell out.'..'a quiet masterpiece' - Janet McCalman, University of Melbourne..'How to produce a good family history? Get a master historian to write about his own. History and family history are combined in this fascinating book' - John Hirst, LaTrobe University

Preface: It is necessary to thank many people at the end of a big project like writing a book. First, my thanks go to my patient editor Sunil Nair and his editorial assistants Rachel Holt and Sarah Gelson. Two anonymous reviewers made very thorough and useful comments on an earlier manuscript. Tao Luo and Sharon Wang typed and made figures for many versions of this book. Tao's valuable comments, mastery of visual basic, and untiring commitment were a particular help in both of the final pushes to completing this project. I have benefitted from teaching this material to many students over many years, beginning with many insightful master's and PhD students. Classroom versions of this content has been taught to the actuarial science, financial modeling, and applied mathematics students of AM3613b, AM9578b, AS9022a, SS4521 g, SS9521b, and SS3520b at Western University, to the HBA students of Bus4486 and MBA students of Bus9443 at the Richard Ivey School of Business, and to students at a course on interest rate models given at the Bank of Canada. Greg Sullivan and Kirk Cooper, then at Deutsche Bank Canada, were my first teachers in trading floor quant finance. Chris Essex, Henning Rasmussen, and Mark Reesor at Western, Adam Metzler at Wilfrid Laurier, Matt Thompson at Queens, Lindsay Anderson at Cornell, and Alejandro Garcia at the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, have all helped shape my thinking. Of course, any errors or omissions in this book are mine alone. The final thanks go to my wife Christine and my sons Liam and Shawn, without whom none of this would be worth doing.