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Hierarchy in Natural and Social Sciences
Hierarchy is a form of organisation of complex systems that rely on or produce a strong differentiation in capacity (power and size) between the parts of the system. It is frequently observed within the natural living world as well as in social institutions. According to the authors, hierarchy results from random processes, follows an intentional design, or is the result of the organisation which ensures an optimal circulation of energy for information. This book reviews ancient and modern representations and explanations of hierarchies, and compares their relevance in a variety of fields, such as language, societies, cities, and living species. It throws light on concepts and models such as...
Risk and Meaning
This richly illustrated book is an exploration of how chance and risk, on the one hand, and meaning or significance on the other, compete for the limelight in art, in philosophy, and in science. In modern society, prudence and probability calculation permeate our daily lives. Yet it is clear for all to see that neither cautious bank regulations nor mathematics have prevented economic crises from occurring time and again. Nicolas Bouleau argues that it is the meaning we assign to an event that determines the perceived risk, and that we generally turn a blind eye to this important fact, because the word "meaning" is itself awkward to explain. He tackles this fundamental question through examples taken from cultural fields ranging from painting, architecture, and music, to poetry, biology, and astronomy. This enables the reader to view overwhelming risks in a different light. Bouleau clarifies that the most important thing in a time of uncertainty is to think of prudence on a higher level, one that truly addresses the various subjective interpretations of the world.
Islands in the Rainforest
Stéphen Rostain’s book is a culmination of 25 years of research on the extensive human modification of the wetlands environment of Guiana and how it reshapes our thinking of ancient settlement in lowland South America and other tropical zones. Rostain demonstrates that populations were capable of developing intensive raised-field agriculture, which supported significant human density, and construct causeways, habitation mounds, canals, and reservoirs to meet their needs. The work is comparative in every sense, drawing on ethnology, ethnohistory, ecology, and geography; contrasting island Guiana with other wetland regions around the world; and examining millennia of pre-Columbian settlement and colonial occupation alike. Rostain’s work demands a radical rethinking of conventional wisdom about settlement in tropical lowlands and landscape management by its inhabitants over the course of millennia.
Modeling of Living Systems
Modeling is now one of the most efficient methodologies in life sciences. From practice to theory, this book develops this approach illustrated by many examples; general concepts and the current state of the art are also presented and discussed. An historical and general introduction informs the reader how mathematics and formal tools are used to solve biological problems at all levels of the organization of life. The core of this book explains how this is done, based on practical examples coming, for the most part, from the author’s personal experience. In most cases, data are included so that the reader can follow the reasoning process and even reproduce calculus. The final chapter is devoted to essential concepts and current developments. The main mathematical tools are presented in an appendix to the book and are written in an adapted language readable by scientists, professionals or students, with a basic knowledge of mathematics.
Ecological Moral Character
An ecological model through which we can imagine Aquinas' vision of moral character The images we use to think about moral character are powerful. They inform our understanding of the moral virtues and the ways in which moral character develops. However, this aspect of virtue ethics is rarely discussed. In Ecological Moral Character, Nancy M. Rourke creates an ecological model through which we can form images of moral character. She integrates concepts of ecology with Aquinas' vision and describes the dynamics of a moral character in terms of the processes and functions that take place in an ecosystem. The virtues, the passions, the will, and the intellect, are also described in terms of this model. Ecological Moral Character asks readers to choose deliberately the models we use to imagine moral character and offers this ecological virtue model as a vital framework for a period of environmental crisis.
Protecting the Last Frontier
Aerospace Law and Policy Series Space resource activities—better known as “space mining”—is the next step in humankind’s utilization of outer space. Previous space activities have belatedly caused us to realize that fragile environments do not end with Earth’s atmosphere. Today, the most striking problem is the agglomeration and increasing generation of nonfunctional space objects (space debris) in orbit. Tomorrow, with the development of new space activities, unanticipated environmental problems will arise beyond Earth orbit. This book seeks to anticipate the inevitable legal framework that will need to be put in place and, in particular, considers the necessity to create legal ...
Geographical Modeling
The modeling of cities and territories has progressed greatly in the last 20 years. This is firstly due to geographic information systems, followed by the availability of large amounts of georeferenced data both on the Internet and through the use of connected objects. In addition, the rise in performance of computational methods for the simulation and exploration of dynamic models has facilitated advancement. Geographical Modeling presents previously unpublished information on the main advances achieved by these new approaches. Each of the six chapters builds a bibliographic review and precisely describes the methods used, highlighting their advantages and discussing their interpretations. They are all illustrated by many examples. The book also explains with clarity the theoretical foundations of geographical analysis, the delicate operations of model selection, and the applications of fractals and scaling laws. These applications include gaining knowledge of the morphology of cities and the organization of urban transport, and finding new methods of building and exploring simulation models and visualizations of data and results.
Tools for Oceanography and Ecosystemic Modeling
Studying the Ocean Planet requires measuring and sampling instruments to feed models that take into account its complexity. This book presents the diversity of observation and monitoring techniques at various scales, but also different kinds of model that take into account some conceptual schemes incorporating various scientific knowledge. Sampling is approached via the efficiency of fishing gears; underwater acoustics is used to detect, count, identify and listen to live and mobile living resources. Bio-logging allows us to rely on the behavior of marine animals to help investigate environments that are difficult to sample by conventional means, while listing the physiological changes they undergo. Modeling is presented not only in a functional framework, but also in an exploratory design incorporating various scenarios for ecosystem changes under the pressure of global change. This ninth volume completes the "Seas and Oceans" Set that adopts a transversal approach leading to the governance and sustainable management of the marine environment.
Mining Massive Data Sets for Security
The real power for security applications will come from the synergy of academic and commercial research focusing on the specific issue of security. This book is suitable for those interested in understanding the techniques for handling very large data sets and how to apply them in conjunction for solving security issues.
The Modeling Process in Geography
This title focuses on the evolution of the modeling process and on new research perspectives in theoretical and applied geography, as well as spatial planning. In the last 50 years, the achievements of spatial analysis models opened the way to a new understanding of the relationship between society and geographical space. In this book, these models are confronted by the real conditions of territorial prospect, regional dynamism, cultural policy, HMO, and spatial segregation. This confrontation takes into account the instability of social behavior and the permanence of partial determinist trajectories.
