· 1995
In the grand tradition of popular exposition, astrophysicist Hubert Reeves explains current scientific understanding of the deepest mysteries of the universe in terms that will excite, stimulate, and educate the nonscientific reader. When it was first published in France in 1981, this book quickly became a best-seller and was avidly embraced by the popular press. The reviewer for L'Express, for example, wrote that "Reeves turns astrophysics into an epic saga, a metaphysical fresco, a story in the fullest sense of the word. [He can do this] because he forgets to be a professor. Facing the sky, his eternal home, he recounts the titanic struggle of primordial forces that, over the course of billions of years, formed the cosmos and all it contains...." The book falls into three broad sections. The first explores the implications of the discovery that the universe does indeed have a history - that the night sky that so excites our wonder is not static but has both a beginning and an end. The second uncovers the layers of evolution that comprise that history, from the cosmic phase in the first few moments of the universe when energy first transformed itself into matter, to the biological phase when matter transformed itself into life. The third goes behind the scenes of the universal drama to examine such basic concepts as time, energy, and chance. Reeves' style is metaphorical, determinedly naive, and even slightly anthropomorphic. Music becomes a metaphor for all of the orderliness in the universe that might just as easily have been cosmic "noise" if there had been no guiding principles at work. To understand those guiding principles, and to gain a fuller appreciation of the music that they produce, is` the goal of this enlightening and poetic book.
· 1990
Discusses the emerging role of microcomputer systems in criminal justice agencies (CJ). Focuses on the four types of microcomputers in existence today. Several general applications now found in CJ agencies are discussed in detail. Database management systems are the most visible application and an entire chapter is devoted to it, in addition to describing seven specific applications. Electronic Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) and advanced applications on microcomputers, including expert systems are also discussed. A final chapter presents conclusions on the impact of microcomputers in CJ agencies.
Technological advances in computer mapping and information systems as well as theoretical innovation in crime prevention have combined to bring crime mapping to the centre for crime prevention practice and policy. The contributors in this book from criminologists, geographers and crime analysts, demonstrate the important role that crime maps have begun to play in crime prevention theory and applications. They show how crime mapping can be used in crime prevention programmes and point to its future applications.