Research Collaboration
Collaboration is a defining feature of 21st-century research, with more and more people routinely traversing formal disciplinary boundaries in the quest for fundamental and applied scientific discovery - even when it takes them beyond their core domain knowledge and expertise. This book takes a practical approach to support researchers in their collaborative practice. This book will help readers to overcome common barriers to research collaboration, preparing them to form high-quality collaborations within a supportive organisational culture. Suitable for researchers at all levels, this book serves a global audience. It is as relevant for PhD students and postdoctoral scientists as it is to senior research managers working across academia, government agencies and industry. It also provides an invaluable reference for key stakeholders in the wider ecosystem supporting and facilitating research and innovation.Key Features: Timeliness and relevance for 21st-century research teams Suitable for researchers in all disciplines and at all career stages - i.e. PhD student through to senior research management By authors with unique real-world experience of facilitating and supporting research collaborations Aiming to give readers tools and approaches that they can use and apply to develop their own research practice/behaviours.
Unintended Dystopia
Social media, shopping experiences, and mapping programs might not seem like they have much in common, but they are all built on neurodigital media. What is neurodigital media? It lives at the intersection of the Californian Ideology, the digital computing revolution, network ecosystems, the nudge, and a naturalistic view of the person. The Californian Ideology holds individuals should be reshaped, naturalism says individuals may be reshaped, and digital computing provides the tools, through network ecosystems theory and the nudge, that can reshape individuals. This book explores the history and impact of neurodigital media in the lives of everyday users.
National Parks
In this book, Francis Lovett examines public parks, especially those administered by the National Park Service, from a communitarian perspective. The author views the parks as an example of a common good_something which is valued for its service to a community or society at large, and not merely for the benefits it brings to individuals or sub-groups. In all public spaces, such as parks, there arise issues regarding the proper balance between individual and sub-group rights and interests on the one hand, and the needs and value of community on the other. Lovett explores these issues in light of the communitarian idea of a common good, and suggests guidelines for the resolutions of these public policy problems. With an extensive introduction by Amitai Etzioni, founder of the Communitarian Network.
Scientonomy
During the so-called 'historical turn' in the philosophy of science, philosophers and historians boldly argued for general patterns throughout the history of science. From Kuhn's landmark "Structure of Scientific Revolutions" until the "Scrutinizing Science" project led by Larry Laudan, there was optimism that there could be a general theoretical approach to understanding the process of scientific change. This optimism gradually faded as historians and philosophers began to focus on the details of specific case studies located within idiosyncratic historical, cultural, and political contexts, and abandoned attempts to uncover general patterns of how scientific theories and methods change through time. Recent research has suggested that while we have learned a great deal about the diversity and complexity of scientific practices across history, the push to abandon hope for a broader understanding of scientific change was premature. Because of this, philosophers, historians, and social scientists have become interested in reviving the project of understanding the mechanism of scientific change while respecting the diversity and complexity that has been unveiled by careful historical research over the past few decades. The chapters in this volume consider a particular proposal for a general theory of how scientific theories and methods change over time, first articulated by Hakob Barseghyan in "The Laws of Scientific Change" and since developed in a series of papers by a variety of members of the scientonomy community. The chapters consider a wide range of issues, from conceptual and historical challenges to the posited intellectual patterns in the history of science, to the possibility of constructing a general theory of scientific change, to begin with. Offering a new take on the project of constructing a theory of scientific change and integrating historical, philosophical, and social studies of science, this volume will be of interest to historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science.
Unsettling Responsibility in Science Education
This open access book engages with the response-ability of science education to Indigenous ways-of-living-with-Nature. Higgins deconstructs the ways in which the structures of science education--its concepts, categories, policies, and practices--contribute to the exclusion (or problematic inclusion) of Indigenous science while also shaping its ability respond. Herein, he undertakes an unsettling homework to address the ways in which settler colonial logics linger and lurk within sedimented and stratified knowledge-practices, turning the gaze back onto science education. This homework critically inhabits culture, theory, ontology, and history as they relate to the multicultural science education debate, a central curricular location that acts as both a potential entry point and problematic gatekeeping device, in order to (re)open the space of responsiveness towards Indigenous ways-of-knowing-in-being.
Embracing Scientific Realism
This book provides philosophers of science with new theoretical resources for making their own contributions to the scientific realism debate. Readers will encounter old and new arguments for and against scientific realism. They will also be given useful tips for how to provide influential formulations of scientific realism and antirealism. Finally, they will see how scientific realism relates to scientific progress, scientific understanding, mathematical realism, and scientific practice.
Clinical Trial
When Professor Laura Ranum received an offer from the University of Florida to found and direct a new Center for NeuroGenetics, her husband and the author of this book, Bert Ranum, concluded he couldn't stand in the way of such a great opportunity even though a move would require that he take the Florida bar exam and impose a significant risk to his law practice. In these pages, Bert tells the story of how that move to Florida turned into an odyssey of science, hope and love as he and Laura confronted his diagnosis with ALS, the disease that had killed his mother and several members of his extended family.Bert describes the clinical trial for a new drug that he hopes will save his life. As you learn about the science behind that drug and ALS, you'll discover the amazing intersection between Laura's decades of research and Bert's disease and wonder with Bert whether this is just coincidence or the hand of God or the unknowable synchronicity of the universe. Bert recounts how he and Laura met and fell in love and introduces you to their family. It is this family that sustains Bert and gives him strength for what lies ahead.
Active Materials
What are active materials? This book aims to introduce and redefine conceptions of matter by considering materials as entities that 'sense' and respond to their environment. By examining the modeling of, the experiments on, and the construction of these materials, and by developing a theory of their structure, their collective activity, and their functionality, this volume identifies and develops a novel scientific approach to active materials. Moreover, essays on the history and philosophy of metallurgy, chemistry, biology, and materials science provide these various approaches to active materials with a historical and cultural context. The interviews with experts from the natural sciences included in this volume develop new understandings of 'active matter' and active materials in relation to a range of research objects and from the perspective of different scientific disciplines, including biology, physics, chemistry, and materials science. These insights are complemented by contributions on the activity of matter and materials from the humanities and the design field. Discusses the mechanisms of active materials and their various conceptualizations in materials science. Redefines conceptions of active materials through interviews with experts from the natural sciences. Contextualizes, historizes, and reflects on different notions of matter/materials and activity through contributions from the humanities. A highly interdisciplinary approach to a cutting-edge research topic, with contributions from both the sciences and the humanities.
Bio-Inspired Information and Communications Technologies
This book constitutes the refereed conference proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Bio-inspired Information and Communications Technologies, held in September 2021. Due to the safety concerns and travel restrictions caused by COVID-19, BICT 2021 took place online in a live stream. BICT 2021 aims to provide a world-leading and multidisciplinary venue for researchers and practitioners in diverse disciplines that seek the understanding of key principles, processes and mechanisms in biological systems and leverage those understandings to develop novel information and communications technologies (ICT). The 20 full and 2 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 47 submissions. The papers are organized thematically in tracks as follows: Bio-inspired network systems and applications; Bio-inspired information and communication; mathematical modelling and simulations of biological systems.
Psilocybin Mushrooms of The United States
This book's purpose is to provide a quick visual reference for readers interested in psilocybin mushrooms of the United States. The book's layout and format were organized to achieve that intent. Over 35 species of mushrooms are presented, along with images of each, their morphological characteristics, their range in the United States, and descriptions of their psychoactive properties. All regions of the U.S. are included, making this book useful for all amateur mycologists and mushroom foragers in the United States.
General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine (Volume III)
The book "" General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine (Volume III), has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies and hence the text is clear and readable.
General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine (Volume II)
The book "" General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine (Volume II), has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies and hence the text is clear and readable.
The Birth of History and Philosophy of Science
Nicholas Jardine offers here an edition and the first translation into English of Johannes Kepler's A Defence of Tycho against Ursus. He accompanies this with essays on the provenance of the treatise - the circumstances which provoked Kepler to write it, an analysis of its strategy, style and historical sources and of the contents of Ursus' Treatise on Astronomical Hypotheses to which Kepler was replying. Dr Jardine also provides three extended interpretive essays on the intrinsic interest and historical significance of the work.
General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine (Volume I)
The book "" General Anatomy, Applied to Physiology and Medicine (Volume I), has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies and hence the text is clear and readable.
Philosophy in Reality
Part I: Theory and Science.- Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Change in Reality: The I Ching.- Chapter 3. Logic in Reality.- Chapter 4. Change and Logic.- Chapter 5. Dialectics in Reality.- Chapter 6. Physics: External Reality - Time, Space and the Observer.- Chapter 7. Mathematics in Reality.- Chapter 8. Chemistry: Modeling Activation and Transition.- Part II: Toward a New Natural Philosophy.- Chapter 9. Semiotics and Semiosis: the Units and Dialectics of Meaning.- Chapter 10. Three Major Domains in Philosophy: Metaphysics, Metaphilosophy and Phenomenology.- Chapter 11. Information; Convergence of Science and Philosophy.- Chapter 12. Communication.- Chapter 13. Natural Philosophy.- Chapter 14. Anti-Philosophy.- Chapter 15. Philosophy in Reality as Process.​
Reason, Faith, and Purpose
Reason, Faith, and Purpose: The Ultimate Gamble is a guide for believers and inquiring skeptics. This book summarizes the scientific view of the origins of the universe and life and analyzes the question of the existence of god from philosophical, religious, and scientific perspectives.The material is presented in two parts. Part I presents the secular, scientific view of the origin and evolution of the physical universe and life. Part II introduces other perspectives that are representative of ideas historically prevalent around the world. The material in Reason, Faith, and Purpose is designed to provide insight into the choice each of us must make in this life: the ultimate gamble.
Beyond Uncertainty
The main aim of this Element is to introduce the topic of limited awareness, and changes in awareness, to those interested in the philosophy of decision-making and uncertain reasoning. While it has long been of interest to economists and computer scientists, this topic has only recently been subject to philosophical investigation. Indeed, at first sight limited awareness seems to evade any systematic treatment: it is beyond the uncertainty that can be managed. On the one hand, an agent has no control over what contingencies she is and is not aware of at a given time, and any awareness growth takes her by surprise. On the other hand, agents apparently learn to identify the situations in which they are more and less likely to experience limited awareness and subsequent awareness growth. How can these two sides be reconciled? That is the puzzle we confront in this Element.
The Dynamics of Science
Millions of scientific articles are published each year, making it difficult to stay abreast of advances within even the smallest subdisciplines. Traditional approaches to the study of science, such as the history and philosophy of science, involve closely reading a relatively small set of journal articles. And yet many questions benefit from casting a wider net: Is most scientific change gradual or revolutionary? What are the key sources of scientific novelty? Over the past several decades, a massive effort to digitize the academic literature and equip computers with algorithms that can distantly read and analyze a digital database has taken us one step closer to answering these questions. The Dynamics of Science brings together a diverse array of contributors to examine the largely unexplored computational frontiers of history and philosophy of science. Together, they reveal how tools and data from automated textual analysis, or machine "reading," combined with methods and models from game theory and cultural evolutionary theory, can begin to answer fundamental questions about the nature and history of science.
Epistemology of Experimental Physics
This Element introduces major issues in the epistemology of experimental physics through discussion of canonical physics experiments and some that have not yet received much philosophical attention. The primary challenge is to make sense of how physicists justify crucial decisions made in the course of empirical research. Judging a result as epistemically significant or as calling for further technical scrutiny of the equipment is one important context of such decisions. Judging whether the instrument has been calibrated, and which data should be included in the analysis are others. To what extent is it possible to offer philosophical analysis, systematization, and prescriptions regarding such decisions? To what extent can there be explicit epistemic justification for them? The primary aim of this Element is to show how a nuanced understanding of science in practice informs an epistemology of experimental physics that avoids strong social constructivism.
Once Can Be Enough
There has recently been considerable discussion of a "replication crisis" in some areas of science. In this book, the authors argue that replication is not a necessary criterion for the validation of a scientific experiment. Five episodes from physics and genetics are used to substantiate this thesis: the Meselson-Stahl experiment on DNA replication, the discoveries of the positron and the omega minus hyperon, Mendel's plant experiments, and the discovery of parity nonconservation. Two cases in which once wasn't enough are also discussed, the nondiscovery of parity nonconservation and the search for magnetic monopoles. Reasons why once wasn't enough are also discussed.
Conservation Technology
The global loss of biodiversity is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Despite the considerable effort devoted to conservation science and management, we still lack even the most basic data on the distribution and density of the majority of plant and animal species, which in turn hampers our efforts to study changes over time. In addition, we often lack behavioural data from the very animals most influenced by environmental changes; this is largely due to the financial and logistical limitations associated with gathering scientific data on species that are cryptic, widely distributed, range over large areas, or negatively influenced by human presence. To overcome these limitations, conservationists are increasingly employing technology to facilitate such data collection. Innovative solutions have been driven by dramatic advances in the conservation-technology interface. The use of camera traps, acoustic sensors, satellite data, drones, and computer algorithms to analyse the large datasets collected are all becoming increasingly widespread. Although specialist books are available on some of these individual technologies, this is the first comprehensive text to describe the breadth of available technology for conservation and to evaluate its varied applications, bringing together a team of international experts using a diverse range of approaches. Conservation Technology is suitable for graduate level students, professional researchers, practitioners and field managers in the fields of ecology and conservation biology.
Advances in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Brazilian Symposium on Bioinformatics, BSB 2021, held in November 2021. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually The 10 revised full papers and 5 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 28 submissions. The papers address a broad range of current topics in computational biology and bioinformatics.
Bioepoxy/Clay Nanocomposites
Chapter 1. Introduction1.1. Biopolymers1.5.1. Renewable polymers1.5.2. Petroleum-based biopolymers1.5.3. Biopolymers from mixed sources1.2. Nanofillers1.2.1. Nanoclay fillers1.2.1.1. Montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclays1.2.1.2. Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs)1.2.1.3. Immogolite nanotubes (INTs)1.2.2. Nanoclay modification1.2.3. Nanoclay dispersion status1.3. Fabrication of biopolymer/clay nanocomposites1.4. Optimization technique and effective synthesis1.5. Nanocomposite properties1.5.1. Mechanical properties1.5.2. Thermal properties1.5.3. Biodegradability1.5.4. Barrier properties and water absorptionChapter 2 Experimental design, fabrication and characterization techniques2.1. Design of Experiments (DoEs)2.1.1. Taguchi method2.1.2. Pareto analysis of variance (ANOVA)2.1.3. Confirmation tests2.2. Fabrication of bioepoxy/clay nanocomposites2.3. Experimental characterization2.3.1. Morphological structure analysis2.3.1.1. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis2.3.1.2. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM)2.3.1.3. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)2.3.1.4. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis2.3.2. Mechanical testing2.3.2.1. Tensile testing2.3.2.2. Flexural testing2.3.2.3. Charpy impact testing2.3.2.4. Durometer hardness testing2.3.3. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)2.3.4. Composting tests2.3.5. Water absorptionChapter 3 Optimization of material formulation and processing parameters of bioepoxy/clay nanocomposites3.1. Mechanical properties of bioepoxy/clay nanocomposites based on Taguchi DoEs3.2. Evaluation of significant factors3.3. Preferred combination factors3.4. Confirmation tests3.5. Structure-property relationshipChapter 4 Morphological structures of bioepoxy/clay nanocomposites with optimum formulation4.1. FTIR spectra4.2. XRD patterns4.2.1. Effect of clay content4.2.2. Effect of epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) content4.3. TEM observation4.4. SEM morphologyChapter 5 Material properties of bioepoxy/clay nanocomposites with optimum formulation5.1. Mechanical properties5.2. Thermal properties5.3. Biodegradation properties5.3.1. Water absorption5.3.2. BiodegradabilityChapter 6 Theoretical modeling of bioepoxy/clay nanocomposites6.1. Theoretical models6.1.1 Modulus of polymer particulate composites6.1.1.1 Rule of mixture (ROM)6.1.1.2 Modified rule of mixture (MROM)6.1.1.3 Hirsch model6.1.1.4 Halpin-Tsai model6.1.1.5 Hui-Shia model6.1.1.6 Laminate model6.1.2. Strength of polymer particulate composites6.1.2.1 Danusso-Tieghi (D-T) model6.1.2.2 Nicolais-Narkis (N-N) model6.1.2.3 Lu model6.1.2.4 Turcs獺nyi-Puk?nszky-T羹d繭s (T-P-T) model6.2. Estimation on tensile modulus of bioepoxy/clay nanocomposites6.2.1. The effect of clay content6.2.2. The effect of ESO content6.3. Estimation of tensile strength of bioepoxy/clay nanocomposites6.3.1. The effect of clay content6.3.2. The effect of ESO contentChapter 7 Nanocomposite applications7.1. Automotive applications7.2. Material packaging applications7.3. Medical applicationsReferencesAppendices
The Green Man of Horam
Walter John Campbell Murray was well known in Horam, East Sussex, as the Head Teacher of Murray's School. He was also a devoted naturalist, writer, photographer, lecturer and radio broadcaster. His best known book, Copsford, still has a small but devoted cult following.In this book Tom Wareham presents an outline of Walter Murray's life and work, and argues that a close reading of his writing provides strong and hitherto unrecognised evidence of his mystical relationship with Nature."An illuminating and important investigation into the 'lost' work and life of Walter Murray, landscape mystic, writer, broadcaster and pioneering 'nature writer' - if ever there was one. In this considered and thoroughly researched portrait, Wareham pieces together his writing and biography with a commendable passion, uncovering - in this time of schism - the thoughts and feelings of a man who saw '...the brotherhood of life in all living things'."Rob Cowen(Skimming Stones and Other Ways of Being in the Wild, Common Ground )
Conservation Technology
The global loss of biodiversity is occurring at an unprecedented pace. Despite the considerable effort devoted to conservation science and management, we still lack even the most basic data on the distribution and density of the majority of plant and animal species, which in turn hampers our efforts to study changes over time. In addition, we often lack behavioural data from the very animals most influenced by environmental changes; this is largely due to the financial and logistical limitations associated with gathering scientific data on species that are cryptic, widely distributed, range over large areas, or negatively influenced by human presence. To overcome these limitations, conservationists are increasingly employing technology to facilitate such data collection. Innovative solutions have been driven by dramatic advances in the conservation-technology interface. The use of camera traps, acoustic sensors, satellite data, drones, and computer algorithms to analyse the large datasets collected are all becoming increasingly widespread. Although specialist books are available on some of these individual technologies, this is the first comprehensive text to describe the breadth of available technology for conservation and to evaluate its varied applications, bringing together a team of international experts using a diverse range of approaches. Conservation Technology is suitable for graduate level students, professional researchers, practitioners and field managers in the fields of ecology and conservation biology.
Coastal Life of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
Get the tabbed guide to plants, animals, and sea shells of the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic. Beaches are the borders between two vastly different ecosystems. As such, they are teeming with a variety of fascinating life. Whether you're a tourist on vacation or a local resident on a day trip, keep this tabbed booklet close at hand. It features nearly 80 of the most common and important animals and plants to know--from birds and fish to crabs, sea turtles, and more! Plus, the quick guide includes other beachcombing finds--like sea shells and seaglass--as well as an introduction to different kinds of sand. The handy booklet is applicable to the coastlines of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. It is organized by group for quick and easy identification, and it offers the at-a-glance information that you want to know. The pocket-sized format is much easier to use than laminated foldouts, and the tear-resistant pages help to make the book durable in the field. As an added bonus, the guide includes tips and suggestions for helping coastal life to thrive in this essential habitat. Book Features: Pocket-sized format--easier than laminated foldouts Professional photos of each species Entries organized by group to ensure that you quickly find what you're looking for Easy-to-use information for even casual observers Tips for helping coastal life in their beach environments
Desert Oracle
The cult-y pocket-size field guide to the strange and intriguing secrets of the Mojave--its myths and legends, outcasts and oddballs, flora, fauna, and UFOs--becomes the definitive, oracular book of the desert For the past five years, Desert Oracle has existed as a quasi-mythical, quarterly periodical available to the very determined only by subscription or at the odd desert-town gas station or the occasional hipster boutique, its canary-yellow-covered, forty-four-page issues handed from one curious desert zealot to the next, word spreading faster than the printers could keep up with. It became a radio show, a podcast, a live performance. Now, for the first time--and including both classic and new, never-before-seen revelations--Desert Oracle has been bound between two hard covers and is available to you. Straight out of Joshua Tree, California, Desert Oracle is "The Voice of the Desert" a field guide to the strange tales, singing sand dunes, sagebrush trails, artists and aliens, authors and oddballs, ghost towns and modern legends, musicians and mystics, scorpions and saguaros, out there in the sand. Desert Oracle is your companion at a roadside diner, around a campfire, in your tent or cabin (or high-rise apartment or suburban living room) as the wind and the coyotes howl outside at night. From journal entries of long-deceased adventurers to stray railroad ad copy, and musings on everything from desert flora, rumored cryptid sightings, and other paranormal phenomena, Ken Layne's Desert Oracle collects the weird and the wonderful of the American Southwest into a single, essential volume.
Bioinformatics Research and Applications
This book constitutes the proceedings of the 17th International Symposium on Bioinformatics Research and Applications, ISBRA 2021, held in Shenzhen, China, in November 2021. The 51 full papers presented in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 135 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: AI and disease; computational proteomics; biomedical imaging; drug screening and drug-drug interaction prediction; Biomedical data; sequencing data analysis.
A Theory of Wonder
'A Theory of Wonder' aims to determine the best way science can satisfy our sense of wonder by exploring the world. Empiricism tells us that science succeeds because it follows the scientific method: Observation passes judgment on Theory - supporting or rejecting it. Much credit is given to the inventor of the method, Galileo, but when historically-minded philosophers of science like Kuhn and Feyerabend called our attention to what Galileo actually wrote and did, we were shocked to find out that Galileo instead drives a dagger through the heart of empiricism; he strikes down the distinction between theory and observation. Plain facts, like the vertical fall of a stone, ruled out the motion of the Earth. To conclude that the stone really falls vertically, however, we must assume that the Earth does not move. If it does move, then the stone only "seems" to fall vertically. Galileo then replaced the "facts" against the motion of the Earth with "facts" that included such motion. This process is typical during scientific revolutions. A good strategy for science is to elaborate radical alternatives; then, and on their basis, reconsider what counts as evidence. Feyerabend was called irrational for this suggestion; but looking at the practice of science from the perspective of evolution and neuroscience shows that the suggestion is very reasonable instead, and, moreover, explains why science works best as a radical form of knowledge. It also leads to a sensible biological form of relative truth, with preliminary drafts leading to exciting discussions with other researchers in the philosophy of science.This book will be of particular interest to university students, instructors and researchers in history or philosophy of science, as well as those with a general interest in the nature of science.
Man-Land Relations in Prehistoric Britain - the Dove-Derwent Interfluve, Derbyshire
Understanding the Present
In a brilliant and explosively controversial work, the author attacks modern science for destroying our spiritual sense of self. What is the role of science in present-day society? Should we be as dazzled as we are by the innovations, the insights, and the miraculous improvements in material life that science has wrought? Or is there a darker, more pernicious side to our scientific success? Renowned British science columnist Bryan Appleyard thoroughly explores each of these provocative topics in a book that has incited the ire of the scientific community. He points out that while scientists have shaped our lives and our beliefs, they have consistently failed to explain human consciousness, the soul, or the meaning of life. From Galileo to Darwin, from Copernicus to Oppenheimer, countless scientists have proclaimed a universe in which human beings are only an accidental presence. The unwitting result is that science has cast humankind adrift, paralyzing us with fear and cutting us off from personal or religious truth. In Appleyard's view, science has done us "appalling spiritual damage." These startling conclusions have prompted strong counterattacks from the scientific establishment. Yet regardless of where one falls in the debate, Understanding the Present forces readers to re-examine society's blind faith in the benevolence of modern science. "An exposition that is dazzling for its concrete illustrations and examples."--The New York Times "A withering indictment of modern science . . . This should crack a few test tubes."--Kirkus Reviews
Fly Agaric
With more than two-dozen contributors and over 450-pages of content Fly Agaric is the most comprehensive book on the iconic red and white-spotted mushroom ever assembled. In the 29 chapters contained herein the reader is taken on a journey through history, folklore, and the magical landscapes experienced under the influence of the Fly Agaric, and its many close relatives. The reader of this book will learn: How to recognize and identify over a dozen types of psychoactive Amanita species, subspecies, and varieties occurring in North America, and how to distinguish them from look-alikes.What psychoactive and other active compounds are found in psychoactive Amanitas, and how they affect the mind and body.The differences between the effects and experiences produced by psychoactive Amanitas and psychedelic Psilocybe mushrooms.How the Fly Agaric can be detoxified and safely prepared for the dinner table.The history of medicinal and homeopathic use of the Fly Agaric.How the Fly Agaric can be used topically and internally to treat conditions such as pain, inflammation, insomnia, and anxiety.Theories regarding the historical and religious use of psychoactive Amanitas around the world based on archaeological, folkloric, and other evidence.
Critical Questions in STEM Education
This edited volume offers a crosscutting view of STEM and is comprised of work by scholars in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. It offers a view of STEM from the disciplines that comprise it, while adhering to the idea that STEM itself is an interdisciplinary treatment of all the associated disciplines in a meaningful way. This book raises and answers questions regarding the meaning of STEM education and research.This volume is divided into three sections: the first one describes the nature of the component disciplines of STEM. The next section presents work from leaders representing all STEM disciplines and deals with aspects such as K-12 and post-secondary education. The last section draws conclusions regarding the natures of the disciplines, challenges and advantages of STEM education in terms of theoretical and practical implications. The two final chapters compile arguments from the research chapters, describing themes in research results, and making recommendations for best STEM education practice, and examining areas for future research in STEM education.
There Is Life After the Nobel Prize
One day in 1996, the neuroscientist Eric R. Kandel took a call from his program officer at the National Institute of Mental Health, who informed him that he had been awarded a key grant. Also, the officer said, he and his colleagues thought Kandel would win the Nobel Prize. "I hope not soon," Kandel's wife, Denise, said when she heard this. Sociologists had found that Nobel Prize winners often did not contribute much more to science, she explained. In this book, Kandel recounts his remarkable career since receiving the Nobel in 2000--or his experience of proving to his wife that he was not yet "completely dead intellectually." He takes readers through his lab's scientific advances, including research into how long-term memory is stored in the brain, the nature of age-related memory loss, and the neuroscience of drug addiction and schizophrenia. Kandel relates how the Nobel Prize gave him the opportunity to reach a far larger audience, which in turn allowed him to discover and pursue new directions. He describes his efforts to promote public understanding of science and to put brain science and art into conversation with each other. Kandel also discusses his return to Austria, which he had fled as a child, and observes Austria's coming to terms with the Nazi period. Showcasing Kandel's accomplishments, erudition, and wit, There Is Life After the Nobel Prize is a candid account of the working life of an acclaimed scientist.
Racism, Not Race
Winner, 2024 W.W. Howells Prize, American Anthropological Association, Biological Anthropology Section The science on race is clear. Common categories like "Black," "white," and "Asian" do not represent genetic differences among groups. But if race is a pernicious fiction according to natural science, it is all too significant in the day-to-day lives of racialized people across the globe. Inequities in health, wealth, and an array of other life outcomes cannot be explained without referring to "race"--but their true source is racism. What do we need to know about the pseudoscience of race in order to fight racism and fulfill human potential? In this book, two distinguished scientists tackle common misconceptions about race, human biology, and racism. Using an accessible question-and-answer format, Joseph L. Graves Jr. and Alan H. Goodman explain the differences between social and biological notions of race. Although there are many meaningful human genetic variations, they do not map onto socially constructed racial categories. Drawing on evidence from both natural and social science, Graves and Goodman dismantle the malignant myth of gene-based racial difference. They demonstrate that the ideology of racism created races and show why the inequalities ascribed to race are in fact caused by racism. Graves and Goodman provide persuasive and timely answers to key questions about race and racism for a moment when people of all backgrounds are striving for social justice. Racism, Not Race shows readers why antiracist principles are both just and backed by sound science.
Empiricist Theories of Space
Preface (Laura Berchielli).- Chapter 1. Introduction (Laura Berchielli).- Chapter 2. Hobbes on Space as Imaginary Space (Martine P矇charman).- Chapter 3. Space and Substance in Locke's Essay (Martha Bolton).- Chapter 4. Spacious Mind and Spatial Spirits. Locke on Space and Thought (Philippe Hamou).- Chapter 5. Berkeley's Theological Challenge of Absolute Space in the Principles of Human Knowledge (Luc Peterschmitt).- Chapter 6. The Consequences of the Consequences of the Principles for the Theory of the Principles (Margaret Atherton).- Chapter 7. Berkeleian Instrumentalism: From Substance to Space (Robert Schwartz).- Chapter 8. Berkeley's two Notions of Extension (Laura Berchielli).- Chapter 9. The Ideality of Space in Enlightenment Empiricism: The Id矇ologues' Contribution (Elizabeth Schwartz).
Methodological Prospects for Scientific Research
This book highlights the existence of a diversity of methods in science, in general, in groups of sciences (natural, social or the artificial), and in individual sciences. This methodological variety is open to a number of consequences, such as the differences in the research according to levels of reality (micro, meso and macro), which leads to multi-scale modelling and to questioning "fundamental" parts in the sciences, understood as the necessary support for the whole discipline. In addition, this volume acknowledges the need to assess the efficacy of procedures and methods of scientific activity in engendering high quality results in research made; the relevance of contextual factors for methodology of science; the existence of a plurality of stratagems when doing research in empirical sciences (natural, social and of the artificial); and the need for an ethical component while developing scientific methods, because values should have a role in scientific research. The book is of interest to a broad audience of philosophers, academics in various fields, graduate students and research centers interested in methodology of science.
Philosophy of Biology
This major new series in the philosophy of science aims to provide a new generation of textbooks for the subject. The series will not only offer fresh treatments of core topics in the theory and methodology of scientific knowledge, but also introductions to newer areas of the discipline. Furthermore, the series will cover topics in current science that raise significant foundational issues both for scientific theory and for philosophy more generally. Biology raises distinct questions of its own not only for philosophy of science, but for metaphysics, epistemology and ethics. This comprehensive new textbook for a rapidly growing field of study provides students new to the subject with an up-to-date presentation of the key philosophical issues. Care is taken throughout to keep the technicalities accessible to the non-biologist but without sacrificing the philosophical subtleties. The first part of the book covers the philosophical challenges posed by evolution and evolutionary biology, beginning with Darwin's central argument in the Origin of the Species. Individual chapters cover natural selection, the selfish gene, alternative units of selection, developmental systems theory, adaptionism and issues in macroevolution. The second part of the book examines philosophical questions arising in connection with biological traits, function, nature and nurture, and biological kinds. The third part of the book examines metaphysical questions, biology's relation with the traditional concerns of philosophy of science, and how evolution has been introduced into epistemological debates. The final part considers the relevance of biology to questions about ethics, religion and human nature.
The Handy Science Answer Book
Informative, easy-to-use guide to everyday science questions, concepts and fundamentals celebrates its twenty-fifth year and over one million copies sold! Science is everywhere, and it affects everything! DNA and CRISPR. Artificial sweeteners. Sea level changes caused by melting glaciers. Gravitational waves. Bees in a colony. The human body. Microplastics. The largest active volcano. Designer dog breeds. Molecules. The length of the Grand Canyon. Viruses and retroviruses. The weight of a cloud. Forces, motion, energy, and inertia. It can often seem complex and complicated, but it need not be so difficult to understand. The thoroughly updated and completely revised fifth edition of The Handy Science Answer Book makes science and its impact on the world fun and easy to understand. Clear, concise, and straightforward, this informative primer covers hundreds of intriguing topics, from the basics of math, physics, and chemistry to the discoveries being made about the human body, stars, outer space, rivers, mountains, and our entire planet. It covers plants, animals, computers, planes, trains, and cars. This friendly resource answers more than 1,600 of the most frequently asked, most interesting, and most unusual science questions, including ... When was a symbol for the concept of zero first used? How large is a google? Why do golf balls have dimples? What is a chemical bond? What is a light-year? What was the grand finale of the Cassini mission? How many exoplanets have been discovered? Where is the deepest cave in the United States? How long is the Grand Canyon? What is the difference between weather and climate? What causes a red tide? What is cell cloning and how is it used in scientific research? How did humans evolve? Do pine trees keep their needles forever? What is the most abundant group of organisms? How do insects survive the winter in cold climates? Which animals drink seawater? Why do geese fly in formation? What is FrogWatch? Why do cats' eyes shine in the dark? Which industries release the most toxic chemicals? What causes most wildfires in the United States? Which woman received the Nobel Prize in two different fields (two different years)? What is the difference between science and technology? For anyone wanting to know how the universe, Earth, plants, animals, and human beings work and fit into our world, this informative book also includes a helpful bibliography, and an extensive index, adding to its usefulness. It will help anyone's science questions!
Philosophical Perspectives on the Engineering Approach in Biology
This book provides a philosophical examination of what has been called the most powerful metaphor in biology: The machine metaphor. It discusses the idea that living systems can be understood through the lens of engineering methods and machine metaphors from both historical, theoretical, and practical perspectives.
Experiments on the Nervous System with Opium and Metalline Substances; Made Chiefly with the View of Determining the Nature and Effects of Animal Electricity
This book has been considered important throughout the human history, and so that this work is never forgotten we have made efforts in its preservation by republishing this book in a modern format for present and future generations. This whole book has been reformatted, retyped and designed. These books are not made of scanned copies and hence the text is clear and readable.
The Biology of Death
How does death help us understand the living? Death is more than the last event of life; it is interwoven into our growth, development, protection against disease, and more. It influences the direction of entire species via the cycle of a lifespan, and it involves asking many fascinating questions. How do we differentiate between life and death, though? How do we know when a person, animal, or cell is really dead? How much grey area is there in the science? Why do we age? Can we do anything about it? Scientifically, there's much we can learn about a living thing from its cells. In all living things, cells seem to carry "death" gene programs. Some living organisms have created systems to use these to their own advantage. Humans, for example, use the death of specific cells to hone our immune system and to give us fingernails and hair. Perhaps the most dramatic use occurs during the metamorphosis of insects and frogs. Even single-celled organisms use "quorum sensing" to eliminate some cells to ensure the overall survival of their colony in harsh environments. Thus, there is more to death than just dying. This latest book from science writer Gary C. Howard ties together the many ways that death helps us understand life. He synthesizes the involvement and relation of cells, tissues, organisms, and populations, explaining what happens at the end of life. Between discussions about popular topics such as the ethics of extending life and cell regeneration, Howard also answers fascinating questions about life and death. The resulting book examines how the end of life is determined and what we can learn from this process.
Ecosystem Engineering
Ecosystem engineering can be defined as any intervention in nature by living organisms to modify and alter a habitat. This book on ecosystem engineering discusses the various methods of interaction between humans and nature and its relation to restoration ecology, preservation and habitat management. The various advancements in ecosystem engineering are glanced at and their applications as well as ramifications are looked at on detail in this text. It aims to shed light on some of the unexplored aspects and recent researches in this field. Students and researchers in the field of biodiversity, wildlife preservation, microbiology and natural habitat management will find this book very useful. This book attempts to assist those with a goal of delving into the field of ecosystem engineering.
Understanding Aquatic Science
Aquatic science is an emerging field of study which is multidisciplinary in nature. It is the study of aquatic systems. It closely studies both freshwater and marine systems. This book explores the various factors causing degeneration to the aquatic life and ecosystem. Aquatic science is a discipline that integrates several fields such as biogeochemistry, oceanography, marine biology, hydrology etc. The topics including in this book are of utmost significance and bound to provide incredible insights to readers. It includes some of the vital pieces of work being conducted across the world, on various aspects related to aquatic science. Coherent flow of topics, student-friendly language and extensive use of examples make this book an invaluable source of knowledge.
Darwin's Argument by Analogy
In On the Origin of Species (1859), Charles Darwin put forward his theory of natural selection. Conventionally, Darwin's argument for this theory has been understood as based on an analogy with artificial selection. But there has been no consensus on how, exactly, this analogical argument is supposed to work - and some suspicion too that analogical arguments on the whole are embarrassingly weak. Drawing on new insights into the history of analogical argumentation from the ancient Greeks onward, as well as on in-depth studies of Darwin's public and private writings, this book offers an original perspective on Darwin's argument, restoring to view the intellectual traditions which Darwin took for granted in arguing as he did. From this perspective come new appreciations not only of Darwin's argument but of the metaphors based on it, the range of wider traditions the argument touched upon, and its legacies for science after the Origin.
The Causal Structure of Natural Selection
Recent arguments concerning the nature of causation in evolutionary theory, now often known as the debate between the 'causalist' and 'statisticalist' positions, have involved answers to a variety of independent questions - definitions of key evolutionary concepts like natural selection, fitness, and genetic drift; causation in multi-level systems; or the nature of evolutionary explanations, among others. This Element offers a way to disentangle one set of these questions surrounding the causal structure of natural selection. Doing so allows us to clearly reconstruct the approach that some of these major competing interpretations of evolutionary theory have to this causal structure, highlighting particular features of philosophical interest within each. Further, those features concern problems not exclusive to the philosophy of biology. Connections between them and, in two case studies, contemporary metaphysics and philosophy of physics demonstrate the potential value of broader collaboration in the understanding of evolution.
Nanoscience and Nanoengineering: Advances and Applications
Path-breaking studies in the field of nanoscience and nanoengineering are presented in this book. Nanoengineering and nanoscience are related fields which focus on the engineering methods practiced on a nanoscopic scale. Development in this field benefits various industries like automobile, chemicals, energy, etc. Analyzing material at nanoscale levels can give new insights into the formation and behavior of the materials that immensely benefits material scientists. This book traces the advances in this field. It also discusses the applications that help the reader to develop a comprehensive understanding of this field. A number of latest researches have been included to keep the readers up-to-date with the global concepts in this discipline.
Scanning Probe Microscopy
Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) involves forming images of surfaces using a physical scanning and detection method. The key subject of this text, scanning probe microscopy is a major tool for the progress of nanotechnology with functions in a multitude of study spheres. This book comprises of unique studies on the uses of SPM methods for the classification of physical attributes of various materials at the nano level. The various topics covered in this book vary from morphology of surfaces to analyzing thin films. The diversity of topics covered in this book reflects the prominent interdisciplinary trait of the study in the sphere of scanning probe microscopy.
