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From Geometry to Behavior: An Introduction to Spatial Cognition
by Hanspeter A. MallotAn overview of the mechanisms and evolution of spatial cognition, integrating evidence from psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, and computational geometry.Understanding how we deal with space requires input from many fields, including ethology, neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science, linguistics, geography, and spatial information theory. In From Geometry to Behavior, cognitive neuroscientist Hanspeter A. Mallot provides an overview of the basic mechanisms of spatial behavior in animals and humans, showing how they combine to support higher-level performance. Mallot explores the biological mechanisms of dealing with space, from the perception of visual space to the constructions of large space representations: that is, the cognitive map. The volume is also relevant to the epistemology of spatial knowledge in the philosophy of mind.Mallot aims to establish spatial cognition as a scientific field in its own right. His general approach is psychophysical, in that it focuses on quantitative descriptions of behavioral performance and their real-world determinants, thus connecting to the work of theorists in computational neuroscience, robotics, and computational geometry. After an overview of scientific thinking about space, Mallot covers spatial behavior and its underlying mechanisms in the order of increasing memory involvement. He describes the cognitive processes that underlie advanced spatial behaviors such as directed search, wayfinding, spatial planning, spatial reasoning, object building and manipulation, and communication about space. These mechanisms are part of the larger cognitive apparatus that also serves visual and object cognition; understanding events, actions, and causality; and social cognition, which includes language. Of all of these cognitive domains, spatial cognition most likely occurred first in the course of evolution and is the most widespread throughout the animal kingdom.
From Gravity to Thermal Gauge Theories: The AdS/CFT Correspondence
by Eleftherios PapantonopoulosThe AdS/CFT correspondence is a powerful tool in studying strongly coupled phenomena in gauge field theories, using results from a weakly coupled gravity background studied in the realm of string theory. AdS/CFT was first successfully applied to the study of phenomena such as the quark-gluon plasma produced in heavy ions collisions. Soon it was realized that its applicability can be extended, in a more phenomenological approach, to condensed matter systems and to systems described by fluid dynamics. The set of tutorial reviews in this volume is intended as an introduction to and survey of the principle of the AdS/CFT correspondence in its field/string theoretic formulation, its applicability to holographic QCD and to heavy ions collisions, and to give a first account of processes in fluid dynamics and condensed matter physics, which can be studied with the use of this principle. Written by leading researchers in the field and cast into the form of a high-level but approachable multi-author textbook, this volume will be of benefit to all postgraduate students, and newcomers from neighboring disciplines wishing to find a comprehensive guide for their future research.
From Hamiltonian Chaos to Complex Systems: A Nonlinear Physics Approach
by Xavier Leoncini Marc LeonettiFrom Hamiltonian Chaos to Complex Systems: A Nonlinear Physics Approach collects contributions on recent developments in non-linear dynamics and statistical physics with an emphasis on complex systems. This book provides a wide range of state-of-the-art research in these fields. The unifying aspect of this book is demonstration of how similar tools coming from dynamical systems, nonlinear physics, and statistical dynamics can lead to a large panorama of research in various fields of physics and beyond, most notably with the perspective of application in complex systems.
From Hand to Mouth: The Origins of Language
by Michael C. CorballisIt is often said that speech is what distinguishes us from other animals. But are we all talk? What if language was bequeathed to us not by word of mouth, but as a hand-me-down? The notion that language evolved not from animal cries but from manual and facial gestures--that, for most of human history, actions have spoken louder than words--has been around since Condillac. But never before has anyone developed a full-fledged theory of how, why, and with what effects language evolved from a gestural system to the spoken word. Marshaling far-flung evidence from anthropology, animal behavior, neurology, molecular biology, anatomy, linguistics, and evolutionary psychology, Michael Corballis makes the case that language developed, with the emergence of Homo sapiens, from primate gestures to a true signed language, complete with grammar and syntax and at best punctuated with grunts and other vocalizations. While vocal utterance played an increasingly important complementary role, autonomous speech did not appear until about 50,000 years ago--much later than generally believed. Bringing in significant new evidence to bolster what has been a minority view, Corballis goes beyond earlier supporters of a gestural theory by suggesting why speech eventually (but not completely!) supplanted gesture. He then uses this milestone to account for the artistic explosion and demographic triumph of the particular group of Homo sapiens from whom we are descended. And he asserts that speech, like written language, was a cultural invention and not a biological fait accompli. Writing with wit and eloquence, Corballis makes nimble reference to literature, mythology, natural history, sports, and contemporary politics as he explains in fascinating detail what we now know about such varied subjects as early hominid evolution, modern signed languages, and the causes of left-handedness. From Hand to Mouth will have scholars and laymen alike talking--and sometimes gesturing--for years to come.
From Headwaters to the Ocean: Hydrological Change and Water Management - Hydrochange 2008, 1-3 October 2008, Kyoto, Japan
by Makoto Taniguchi Martin Haigh William C. Burnett Yoshihiro Fukushima Yu UmezawaThe vulnerability of water resources due to climate change and human activities is globally increasing. The phenomenon of hydrological change is complicated because of the combinations and interactions between natural climate fluctuation, global warming and human activities including changes in land utilization. The impact areas of hydrological cha
From Here to Infinity: A Vision for the Future of Science
by Martin ReesOne of our greatest scientific minds reflect on the role of science in the twenty-first century. Science is often portrayed as an obscure, difficult discipline, governed by elite researchers and inaccessible to the general public. In this riveting, inspiring new book, preeminent astrophysicist Martin Rees overturns this view, urging improved communication between researchers and laypeople. In order to shape debates over healthcare, energy policy,space travel, and other vital issues, ordinary citizens must develop a "feel" for science--the one truly global culture--and engage directly with research rather than relying on pundits' and politicians' interpretations. Recognized as an expert on the political and ethical impact of science, Rees demonstrate show we must solve the new challenges we face--from population growth to climate change--by devising strategies with a long-term, global perspective. In the process, he offers insights into the prospects for future discoveries while also explaining science's intrinsic limits. Just as importantly, Rees reminds us that science should be a source of pleasure and wonder for specialists and nonspecialists alike.
From Here to There: Inventions That Changed the Way the World Moves
by Gilbert Ford Vivian KirkfieldCelebrating the invention of vehicles, this collective biography tells the inspiring stories of the visionaries who changed the way we move across air, water, and land. Perfect for fans of Mistakes that Worked and Girls Think of Everything.In a time when people believed flying was impossible, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier proved that the sky wasn&’t the limit. When most thought horseback was the only way to race, Bertha and Karl Benz fired up their engines. From the invention of the bicycle and the passenger steam locomotive, to the first liquid-fuel propelled rocket and industrial robot, inventors across the world have redefined travel. Filled with informative sidebars and colorful illustrations, this collective biography tells the story of the experiments, failures, and successes of visionaries who changed the way the world moves.
From Here to There: The Art and Science of Finding and Losing Our Way
by Michael BondA wise and insightful exploration of human navigation, what it means to be lost, and how we find our way. How is it that we can walk unfamiliar streets while maintaining a sense of direction? Come up with shortcuts on the fly, in places we’ve never traveled? The answer is the complex mental map in our brains. This feature of our cognition is easily taken for granted, but it’s also critical to our species’ evolutionary success. In From Here to There Michael Bond tells stories of the lost and found—Polynesian sailors, orienteering champions, early aviators—and surveys the science of human navigation. Navigation skills are deeply embedded in our biology. The ability to find our way over large distances in prehistoric times gave Homo sapiens an advantage, allowing us to explore the farthest regions of the planet. Wayfinding also shaped vital cognitive functions outside the realm of navigation, including abstract thinking, imagination, and memory. Bond brings a reporter’s curiosity and nose for narrative to the latest research from psychologists, neuroscientists, animal behaviorists, and anthropologists. He also turns to the people who design and expertly maneuver the world we navigate: search-and-rescue volunteers, cartographers, ordnance mappers, urban planners, and more. The result is a global expedition that furthers our understanding of human orienting in the natural and built environments. A beguiling mix of storytelling and science, From Here to There covers the full spectrum of human navigation and spatial understanding. In an age of GPS and Google Maps, Bond urges us to exercise our evolved navigation skills and reap the surprising cognitive rewards.
From Hiroshima to Fukushima to You: A Primer on Radiation and Health
by Florian Oelck Dale DewarThe bombing of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, brought radiation to international attention but the exact nature of what had been unleashed was still unclear to most. The 1986 meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear plant again made headlines with estimates of fatalities ranging from 4000 to almost a million deaths. By the time of the shocking 2011 disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant social media meant governments and corporations no longer had a monopoly over the release of information, but transparency remains low on the agenda. Meanwhile, few physicians give thought to the delayed health effects of radiation. It has been the bold physician who has challenged the potential overuse of chest X-rays, CT scanning, or PET scans. This book provides clear and accurate information about radiation so that we can all make informed choices. In clear language it offers answers to citizens’ questions: What is radiation? Where do we encounter it? What are the benefits and risks? How do we develop a responsible future around the uses and abuses of radioactivity?
From Hiroshima to the Iceman: The Development and Applications of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry
by Harry E GoveFrom Hiroshima to the Iceman: The Development and Applications of Accelerator Mass Spectrometry presents a fascinating account of a breakthrough in science and the insights it has brought that would not have been possible without it. Involved since its invention, Harry Gove recounts the story of the development of accelerator mass spectrometry and its use as an ultrasensitive detection technique in many fields of science and the arts. A key advantage of the technique is that it requires only very small samples of material. The book explores the areas where the technique has increased understanding and provided solutions to problems, including the clean-up and storage of nuclear waste, the effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, biomedical research, the settling of the Americas, and carbon dating of many precious artifacts. Objects dated include the Turin Shroud, the Iceman, the elephant bird egg, and the Dead Sea scrolls.
From Hysteria to Hormones: A Rhetorical History (RSA Series in Transdisciplinary Rhetoric #7)
by Amy KoerberIn From Hysteria to Hormones, Amy Koerber examines the rhetorical activity that preceded the early twentieth-century emergence of the word hormone and the impact of this word on expert understandings of women’s health.Shortly after Ernest Henry Starling coined the term “hormone” in 1905, hormones began to provide a chemical explanation for bodily phenomena that were previously understood in terms of “wandering wombs,” humors, energies, and balance. In this study, Koerber posits that the discovery of hormones was not so much a revolution as an exigency that required old ways of thinking to be twisted, reshaped, and transformed to fit more scientific turn-of-the-century expectations of medical practices. She engages with texts from a wide array of medical and social scientific subdisciplines; with material from medical archives, including patient charts, handwritten notes, and photographs from the Salpêtrière Hospital, where Dr. Jean Charcot treated hundreds of hysteria patients in the late nineteenth century; and with current rhetorical theoretical approaches to the study of health and medicine. In doing so, Koerber shows that the boundary between older, nonscientific ways of understanding women’s bodies and newer, scientific understandings is much murkier than we might expect.A clarifying examination of how the term “hormones” preserves key concepts that have framed our understanding of women’s bodies from ancient times to the present, this innovative book illuminates the ways in which the words we use today to discuss female reproductive health aren’t nearly as scientifically accurate or socially progressive as believed. Scholars of rhetoric, gender studies, and women’s health will find Koerber’s work provocative and valuable.
From Imagination to Innovation
by A. Coskun SamliIt is impossible to measure the full economic and psychological benefits of the sewing machine, the polio vaccine, or the Internet. What we know is that these products have changed our lives for the better, generating net benefits well beyond the metric of corporate profits. As forces such as financial market volatility and fragmented markets demonstrate the fragility of the global economy, the imperative to develop products and services that contribute to the well-being of the many--rather than the few--is more pronounced than ever. In this book, A. Coskun Samli explores this imperative of an "innovation culture" and how it can be encouraged at all levels, from the individual to the nation or region. He argues that without a global innovation culture, committed to generating socially valuable products, we are likely to face a deteriorating quality of life, as wealth is concentrated at the top. Integrating insights from management, economics, policy, and psychology, Samli demonstrates how creativity can be channeled into innovation and innovation can be channeled, in turn, toward economic development. He discusses how national policies can be oriented toward encouraging such socially beneficial innovations as sustainable energy, communication technology, and medical discoveries. The aim is to promote the development of products and services that improve quality of life and generate profits for those who invest in them. He argues that all innovations, whether radical or incremental, must demonstrate social value in order to be truly profitable.
From Influence to Inhabitation: The Transformation of Astrobiology in the Early Modern Period (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des idées #228)
by James E. ChristieThis book describes how and why the early modern period witnessed the marginalisation of astrology in Western natural philosophy, and the re-adoption of the cosmological view of the existence of a plurality of worlds in the universe, allowing the possibility of extraterrestrial life. Founded in the mid-1990s, the discipline of astrobiology combines the search for extraterrestrial life with the study of terrestrial biology – especially its origins, its evolution and its presence in extreme environments. This book offers a history of astrobiology's attempts to understand the nature of life in a larger cosmological context. Specifically, it describes the shift of early modern cosmology from a paradigm of celestial influence to one of celestial inhabitation. Although these trends are regarded as consequences of Copernican cosmology, and hallmarks of a modern world view, they are usually addressed separately in the historical literature. Unlike others, this book takes a broad approach that examines the relationship of the two. From Influence to Inhabitation will benefit both historians of astrology and historians of the extraterrestrial life debate, an audience which includes researchers and advanced students studying the history and philosophy of astrobiology. It will also appeal to historians of natural philosophy, science, astronomy and theology in the early modern period.
From Insurgency to Stability: Insights from Selected Case Studies
by Peter Chalk Angel Rabasa John Gordon Audra K. Grant K. Scott McmahonThis book examines six case studies of insurgencies from around the world to determine the key factors necessary for a successful transition from counterinsurgency to a more stable situation. The authors review the causes of each insurgency and the key players involved, and examine what the government did right--or wrong--to bring the insurgency to an end and to transition to greater stability.
From Insurgency to Stability: Key Capabilities and Practices
by Peter Chalk Angel Rabasa Christopher S. Chivvis John Gordon Audra K. GrantThis book identifies the procedures and capabilities that the U.S. Department of Defense, other agencies of the U.S. government, U.S. allies and partners, and international organizations require in order to support the transition from counterinsurgency, when the military takes primary responsibility for security and economic operations, to stability and reconstruction, when police and civilian government agencies take the lead.
From Intrinsic to Extrinsic Design of Lithium-Ion Battery Layered Oxide Cathode Material Via Doping Strategies (Springer Theses)
by Chul-Ho JungThis book addresses the comprehensive understanding of Ni-rich layered oxide of lithium-ion batteries cathodes materials, especially focusing on the effect of dopant on the intrinsic and extrinsic effect to its host materials. This book can be divided into three parts, that is, 1. overall understanding of layered oxide system, 2. intrinsic effect of dopant on layered oxides, and 3. extrinsic effect of dopant on layered oxides. To truly understand and discover the fundamental solution (e.g. doping) to improve the Ni-rich layered oxides cathodic performance, understanding the foundation of layered oxide degradation mechanism is the key, thus, the first chapter focuses on discovering the true degradation mechanisms of layered oxides systems. Then, the second and third chapter deals with the effect of dopant on alleviating the fundamental degradation mechanism of Ni-rich layered oxides, which we believe is the first insight ever been provided. The content described in this book will provide research insight to develop high-performance Ni-rich layered oxide cathode materials and serve as a guide for those who study energy storage systems.
From Kinetic Models to Hydrodynamics
by Matteo ColangeliFrom Kinetic Models to Hydrodynamics serves as an introduction to the asymptotic methods necessary to obtain hydrodynamic equations from a fundamental description using kinetic theory models and the Boltzmann equation. The work is a survey of an active research area, which aims to bridge time and length scales from the particle-like description inherent in Boltzmann equation theory to a fully established "continuum" approach typical of macroscopic laws of physics.The author sheds light on a new method--using invariant manifolds--which addresses a functional equation for the nonequilibrium single-particle distribution function. This method allows one to find exact and thermodynamically consistent expressions for: hydrodynamic modes; transport coefficient expressions for hydrodynamic modes; and transport coefficients of a fluid beyond the traditional hydrodynamic limit. The invariant manifold method paves the way to establish a needed bridge between Boltzmann equation theory and a particle-based theory of hydrodynamics. Finally, the author explores the ambitious and longstanding task of obtaining hydrodynamic constitutive equations from their kinetic counterparts. The work is intended for specialists in kinetic theory--or more generally statistical mechanics--and will provide a bridge between a physical and mathematical approach to solve real-world problems.
From Land Disputes to Sustainable Environmental Development: A Near East Perspective
by Ozay Mehmet Vedat YorucuThis book is written to transform land disputes toward win-win outcomes utilizing the latest sustainable development theory. Land has always been a source of conflict, a contest of competing homelands and ideologies, but it can also act as an agency of peace-making, promoting economic and social development. This dualism will be the theme of this book as there is a dearth of studies exclusively focused on land. The book's coverage is comprehensive, examining land and property disputes with case studies in modern times along with a problem-solving approach utilizing such economic theorems as Location and Growth Poles theories. The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will be used as our over-arching framework. The overall aim of the book is to transform land disputes toward win-win outcomes utilizing latest sustainable development theory.
From Landfill Gas to Energy: Technologies and Challenges
by Vasudevan Rajaram Faisal Zia Siddiqui M. Emran KhanConverting old landfills to energy producing sites, while capturing emitted greenhouse gases, has faced numerous technical, financial and social challenges and developments lately. Also, the re-mining of landfills to recover useful land in dense urban areas and proper landfill closure has been a subject of discussion and investigation. Designed as
From Life to Architecture, to Life (Biosemiotics #27)
by Tim IrelandThe book establishes a correlation between architectural theory and the biosemiotic project, and suggest how this coupling establishes a framework leading to an architectural-biosemiotic paradigm that puts biosemiotic theory at the heart of cognising the built environment, and offers an approach to understanding and shaping the built environment that supports (and benefits) human, and organismic, spatial intelligence.
From Linear Operators to Computational Biology
by Martin Davis Edmond SchonbergIn his rich and varied career as a mathematician, computer scientist, and educator, Jacob T. Schwartz wrote seminal works in analysis, mathematical economics, programming languages, algorithmics, and computational geometry. In this volume of essays, his friends, students, and collaborators at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences present recent results in some of the fields that Schwartz explored: quantum theory, the theory and practice of programming, program correctness and decision procedures, dextrous manipulation in Robotics, motion planning, and genomics. In addition to presenting recent results in these fields, these essays illuminate the astonishingly productive trajectory of a brilliant and original scientist and thinker.
From Linear to Circular Food Supply Chains: Achieving Sustainable Change
by Stella Despoudi Uthayasankar Sivarajah Manoj DoraThis book aims to provide the reader with an understanding of the concept of the circular economy, in relation to food supply chains. The current food supply chain system, based upon the linear supply chain model, is unquestionably unsustainable: make, use, dispose. The circular supply chain model, on the other hand, aims to keep resources in use for as long as possible, while regenerating products/materials at the end of their service life. In short: reduce, reuse, recycle.This book puts forwards the circular economy as an alternative to the traditional supply chain management models. The circular economy aims to minimise material, energy and environmental damage without restricting economic growth and social and technological progress. It involves transition to renewable energy sources, and it builds on economic, natural and social capital. This shortform monograph will appeal to academics working in the fields of supply chain logistics, operation management, agricultural management, and sustainability more broadly.Dr. Stella Despoudi is Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management at Aston University, UK and Adjunct Lecturer in Supply Chain Management at University of Western Macedonia, Greece.Prof. Uthayasankar Sivarajah is Head of School of Management and Professor of Technology Management and Circular Economy at the School of Management, University of Bradford, UK.Dr Manoj Dora is Director of Collaborative Projects and Outreach at Brunel Business School, UK. Manoj's areas of specialisation are Sustainable Value Chain and Quality Management, with a focus on Lean Six Sigma in the agro-food sector.
From MEMS to Bio-MEMS and Bio-NEMS: Manufacturing Techniques and Applications
by Marc J. MadouFrom MEMS to Bio-MEMS and Bio-NEMS: Manufacturing Techniques and Applications details manufacturing techniques applicable to bionanotechnology. After reviewing MEMS techniques, materials, and modeling, the author covers nanofabrication, genetically engineered proteins, artificial cells, nanochemistry, and self-assembly. He also discusses scaling la
From Madman to Crime Fighter: The Scientist in Western Culture
by Roslynn D. HaynesThe story of the scientist in Western culture, from medieval images of alchemists to present-day depictions of cyberpunks and genetic engineers.They were mad, of course. Or evil. Or godless, amoral, arrogant, impersonal, and inhuman. At best, they were well intentioned but blind to the dangers of forces they barely controlled. They were Faust and Frankenstein, Jekyll and Moreau, Caligari and Strangelove—the scientists of film and fiction, cultural archetypes that reflected ancient fears of tampering with the unknown or unleashing the little-understood powers of nature.In From Madman to Crime Fighter, Roslynn D. Haynes analyzes stereotypical characters—including the mad scientist, the cold-blooded pursuer of knowledge, the intrepid pathbreaker, and the bumbling fool—that, from medieval times to the present day, have been used to depict the scientist in Western literature and film. She also describes more realistically drawn scientists, characters who are conscious of their public responsibility to expose dangers from pollution and climate change yet fearful of being accused of lacking evidence.Drawing on examples from Britain, America, Germany, France, Russia, and elsewhere, Haynes explores the persistent folklore of mad doctors of science and its relation to popular fears of a depersonalized, male-dominated, and socially irresponsible pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. She concludes that today’s public response to science and scientists—much of it negative—is best understood by recognizing the importance of such cultural archetypes and their significance as myth. From Madman to Crime Fighter is the most comprehensive study of the image of the scientist in Western literature and film.
From Madman to Crime Fighter: The Scientist in Western Culture
by Roslynn D. HaynesA study of the scientist in Western culture, from medieval images of alchemists to present-day depictions of cyberpunks and genetic engineers.They were mad, of course. Or evil. Or godless, amoral, arrogant, impersonal, and inhuman. At best, they were well intentioned but blind to the dangers of forces they barely controlled. They were Faust, Frankenstein, Jekyll, Moreau, Caligari, Strangelove—the scientists of film and fiction, cultural archetypes that reflected ancient fears of tampering with the unknown or unleashing the little-understood powers of nature.In From Madman to Crime Fighter, Roslynn D. Haynes analyzes stereotypical characters—including the mad scientist, the cold-blooded pursuer of knowledge, the intrepid pathbreaker, and the bumbling fool—that, from medieval times to the present day, have been used to depict the scientist in Western literature and film. She also describes more realistically drawn scientists, characters who are conscious of their public responsibility to expose dangers from pollution and climate change yet fearful of being accused of lacking evidence.Drawing on examples from Britain, America, Germany, France, Russia, and elsewhere, Haynes explores the persistent folklore of mad doctors of science and its relation to popular fears of a depersonalized, male-dominated, and socially irresponsible pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. She concludes that today’s public response to science and scientists—much of it negative—is best understood by recognizing the importance of such cultural archetypes and their significance as myth. From Madman to Crime Fighter is the most comprehensive study of the image of the scientist in Western literature and film.