Friday, May 29, 2009

The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of the Capitalism


Max Weber is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is the most famous and widely read classic of Sociology. This is also a classic study of Religion and Economics.

A Better India : A Better World

With one of the highest GDP growth rates in the world and an array of recent achievements in technology, industry and entrepreneurship, India strides confidently towards the future. But, in the world's largest democracy, not everyone is equally fortunate. More than 300 million Indians are still prey to hunger, illiteracy and disease, and 51 per cent of India's children are still undernourished. What will it take for India to bridge this great divide? When will the fruits of development reach the poorest of the poor, and wipe the tears from the eyes of every man, woman and child, as Mahatma Gandhi had dreamt? And how should this, our greatest challenge ever, be negotiated? In this extraordinarily inspiring and visionary book, N.R. Narayana Murthy, who pioneered, designed and executed the Global Delivery Model that has become the cornerstone of India's success in information technology services outsourcing, shows us that a society working for the greatest welfare of the greatest number — samasta jananam sukhino bhavantu — must focus on two simple things: values and good leadership. Drawing on the remarkable Infosys story and the lessons learnt from the two decades of post-reform India, Narayana Murthy lays down the ground rules that must be followed if future generations are to inherit a truly progressive nation. Built on Narayana Murthy's lectures delivered around the world, A Better India : A Better World is a manifesto for the youth, the architects of the future, and a compelling argument for why a better India holds the key to a better world.

Friday, May 22, 2009

The Secret Life of Trees: How They Live and Why They Matter


The age of trees often inspires awe, from the redwoods of California to English oaks. We wonder how they live so long, and how they really work. This work explores the way trees work and what they are, finding out how they communicate, how they tell the time, how they came to exist, and much more.

The Secret Life of Trees
By Colin Tudge
451 pages

The Meme Machine

In The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins proposed the concept of the meme as a unit of culture, spread by imitation. Now Dawkins himself says of Susan Blackmore:
Showing greater courage and intellectual chutzpah than I have ever aspired to, she deploys her memetic forces in a brave--do not think foolhardy until you have read it--assault on the deepest questions of all: What is a self? What am I? Where am I? ... Any theory deserves to be given its best shot, and that is what Susan Blackmore has given the theory of the meme.
Blackmore is a parapsychologist who rejects the paranormal, a skeptical investigator of near-death experiences, and a practitioner of Zen. Her explanation of the science of the meme (memetics) is rigorously Darwinian. Because she is a careful thinker (though by no means dull or conventional), the reader ends up with a good idea of what memetics explains well and what it doesn't, and with many ideas about how it can be tested--the very hallmark of an excellent science book. Blackmore's discussion of the "memeplexes" of religion and of the self are sure to be controversial, but she is (as Dawkins says) enormously honest and brave to make a connection between scientific ideas and how one should live one's life. --Mary Ellen Curtin

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Five books released by CAM


Five books related to farm and rural journalism – ‘Guddada melina ekavyakti sainya’ authored by Shree Padre, ‘Jalanemmadiyatta Kakola – Teredabavi marupooranada yashogathe’ written by Poornaprajna Belur, ‘Oota Bharjari Hotte Khali’ by Shivaram Pailoor, ‘Kalluhasina mele hasiru hodike’ written by Anandateertha Pyati along with a collection of farmer friendly innovations published in Adike Patrike were released on the occasion. All the books are published by Centre for Agricultural Media.
Centre for Agricultural Media#119, 1st Main, 4th CrossNarayanapur, Dharwad 580 008Karnataka, INDIAwww.farmedia.orgagriculturalmedia@gmail.com

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