Hierarchy in Natural and Social Sciences

Hierarchy in Natural and Social Sciences PDF Author: Denise Pumain
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402041276
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
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 scaling laws, fractals and self-organisation that are fundamental in the dynamics and morphology of complex systems. At a time when networks are celebrated for their efficiency, flexibility and better social acceptance, much can be learned about the persistent universality and adaptability of hierarchies, and from the analogies and differences between biological and social organisation and processes. This book addresses a wide audience of biologists and social scientists, as well as managers and executives in a variety of institutions.

Hierarchy in Natural and Social Sciences

Hierarchy in Natural and Social Sciences PDF Author: Denise Pumain
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402041276
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 248

Get Book Here

Book Description
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 scaling laws, fractals and self-organisation that are fundamental in the dynamics and morphology of complex systems. At a time when networks are celebrated for their efficiency, flexibility and better social acceptance, much can be learned about the persistent universality and adaptability of hierarchies, and from the analogies and differences between biological and social organisation and processes. This book addresses a wide audience of biologists and social scientists, as well as managers and executives in a variety of institutions.

Laboratory Life

Laboratory Life PDF Author: Bruno Latour
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400820413
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
This highly original work presents laboratory science in a deliberately skeptical way: as an anthropological approach to the culture of the scientist. Drawing on recent work in literary criticism, the authors study how the social world of the laboratory produces papers and other "texts,"' and how the scientific vision of reality becomes that set of statements considered, for the time being, too expensive to change. The book is based on field work done by Bruno Latour in Roger Guillemin's laboratory at the Salk Institute and provides an important link between the sociology of modern sciences and laboratory studies in the history of science.

Digital Draw Connections

Digital Draw Connections PDF Author: Fabio Bianconi
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030597431
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 1137

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Book Description
This book stems from the seminal work of Robert Venturi and aims at re-projecting it in the current cultural debate by extending it to the scale of landscape and placing it in connection with representative issues. It brings out the transdisciplinary synthesis of a necessarily interdisciplinary approach to the theme, aimed at creating new models which are able to represent the complexity of a contradictory reality and to redefine the centrality of human dimension. As such, the volume gathers multiple experiences developed in different geographical areas, which come into connection with the role of representation. Composed of 43 chapters written by 81 authors from around the world, with an introduction by Jim Venturi and Cezar Nicolescu, the volume is divided into two parts, the first one more theoretical and the other one which showcases real-world applications, although there is never a total split between criticism and operational experimentation of research.

Free and Fair Elections

Free and Fair Elections PDF Author: Guy S. Goodwin-Gill
Publisher: Inter-Parliamentary Union
ISBN: 9291422770
Category : Election law
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description


Guidance for CITES Scientific Authorities

Guidance for CITES Scientific Authorities PDF Author:
Publisher: IUCN
ISBN: 283170684X
Category : Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
Languages : en
Pages : 12

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Book Description
Use of and trade in wildlife is a fact of life for human society around the globe. Article IV of the CITES Convention requires that exporting countries restrict trade in Appendix II species to levels that are not detrimental either to species? survival, or to their role within the ecosystems in which they occur (known as the ?non-detriment finding?). Based on two workshops convened by IUCN to develop some pragmatic assistance for Scientific Authorities, this publication presents the background to the development of the non-detriment finding checklist and explains how the checklist itself is designed to work, in the hope that Scientific Authority staff will take and develop the parts of the approach that they find useful.

Water & Heritage

Water & Heritage PDF Author: Willem Willems
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789088903861
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
Water is vital for life, and its availability has been a concern for mankind throughout the ages. Its presence has always been ascertained in a variety of ways and the development of human society everywhere is connected with various forms of water management. Man also needed to manage water to find protection from its dangers and the need for that is increasing. In the coming decades, the impact of climate change is expected to intensify floods and droughts, affect groundwater resources, raise sea levels, increase pollution and enhance the frequency and magnitude of disasters. Societies around the world are challenged to adapt to these threats to ensure water security, economic prosperity and environmental and cultural sustainability. This book deals with the heritage of water management and the use that was made of water, as well as the impact of water management on heritage. An example of the former may be an ancient irrigation system in the Filipines or in the Middle East that still functions today, while the latter may reflect the importance of maintaining groundwater levels for the preservation of organic remains on archaeological sites or of wooden piles underneath standing buildings. In either case the papers in this book reflect the dynamic nature of water, and hence the equally dynamic relation between water management and heritage. This publication follows up on a Heritage and Water conference in Amsterdam, the first of its kind. Its main purpose is to credibly present the importance and value of heritage and historical experience for water and sustainable development, and vice versa, present the importance of water management for the protection of heritage. It presents evolving insights and concepts about Water and about Heritage from a variety of disciplines, policy and public perspectives illustrated with cases studies and aims to connect decision makers with experts such as engineers, archaeologists, historians, geographers, ecologist and landscape architects

Social Innovations in the Urban Context

Social Innovations in the Urban Context PDF Author: Taco Brandsen
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319215515
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 309

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Book Description
This book addresses the practice of social innovation, which is currently very much in the public eye. New ideas and approaches are needed to tackle the severe and wicked problems with which contemporary societies are struggling. Especially in times of economic crisis, social innovation is regarded as one of the crucial elements needed to move forward. Our knowledge of its dynamics has significantly progressed, thanks to an abundance of studies on social innovation both general and sector-specific. However, despite the valuable research conducted over the past years, the systematic analysis of social innovation is still contested and incomplete. The questions asked in the book will be the following: 1. What is the nature of social innovations? 2.What patterns can be identified in social innovations emerging at the local level? 3.How is the emergence and spread of social innovations related to urban governance? More precisely, which conditions and arrangements facilitate and hinders social innovation? We explore these questions using different types of data and methods, and studying different contexts. In particular, we focus on innovations that aim at solving problems of the young unemployed, single parents and migrants. This analysis is based on original research carried out in the period 2010-2013 in the framework of a European project with a specific empirical research strategy. Research was carried out in 20 cities in 10 different European countries.

Creditor Rights and the Public Interest

Creditor Rights and the Public Interest PDF Author: Janis Pearl Sarra
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780802087546
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
Creditor Rights and the Public Interest supports the greater representation of non-traditional creditors in the process of insolvency restructuring in Canada, concentrating particularly on restructuring under the federal Companies' Creditors' Arrangement Act (CCAA). Arguing in favour of the representation of such non-traditional creditors as workers, consumers, trade suppliers, and local governments, Janis Sarra describes the existing process of addressing their interests, analyzes four case studies that focus on non-creditor groups, and compares the Canadian approach to that of several other countries, such as Germany, France, and the United States. Sarra draws on a comprehensive body of academic literature that covers a broad range of issues--insolvency theory, corporate governance theory, legislative history, and bankruptcy and insolvency practice. She further surveys the relevant legislation and supplements her analysis with insights drawn from extensive primary research of court records and personal interviews with lawyers, judges, and government officials. Creditor Rights and the Public Interest ultimately illustrates the way in which the concept of the public interest can be utilized to foreground the concerns of non-traditional stakeholders. Sarra provides a coherent account of the justification for recognizing these creditors by situating insolvency law in a legal regime that realizes a duty to maximize all of the interests and investments at stake in the corporation. In an academic field where scholarship is currently scarce, Sarra's text will be a welcome contribution.

Making Better International Law: The International Law Commission at 50 - Proceedings of the United Nations Colloquium on Progressive Development and Codification of International Law

Making Better International Law: The International Law Commission at 50 - Proceedings of the United Nations Colloquium on Progressive Development and Codification of International Law PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description


Trust in Numbers

Trust in Numbers PDF Author: Theodore M. Porter
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691210543
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
A foundational work on historical and social studies of quantification What accounts for the prestige of quantitative methods? The usual answer is that quantification is desirable in social investigation as a result of its successes in science. Trust in Numbers questions whether such success in the study of stars, molecules, or cells should be an attractive model for research on human societies, and examines why the natural sciences are highly quantitative in the first place. Theodore Porter argues that a better understanding of the attractions of quantification in business, government, and social research brings a fresh perspective to its role in psychology, physics, and medicine. Quantitative rigor is not inherent in science but arises from political and social pressures, and objectivity derives its impetus from cultural contexts. In a new preface, the author sheds light on the current infatuation with quantitative methods, particularly at the intersection of science and bureaucracy.