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Conclusion: Cultural Intersections

Cordelia Beattie

in Medieval Single Women: The Politics of Social Classification in Late Medieval England

This conclusion reflects on how the power of classification resides as much in language, in dominant cultural ideas that influence and inflect language use, as with individual classifiers. Key ... More

This conclusion reflects on how the power of classification resides as much in language, in dominant cultural ideas that influence and inflect language use, as with individual classifiers. Key factors affecting the cultural construction of categories include dominant religious and legal ideas in particular historical contexts, although the specific intentions of particular texts do affect how categories are deployed. The category ‘single woman’ has been shown to interact with those of ‘maiden’ and ‘widow’, whatever language is used, from the 13th century and into the 17th century. Its analysis pointed out various paths through the labyrinthine world of social classification, illustrating the interconnectedness of medieval culture, the complex relationship between representation and social reality, and the competing and overlapping nature of social categories.Less

Classification

Andrew J. Connolly, Jacob T. VanderPlas, Alexander Gray, Andrew J. Connolly, Jacob T. VanderPlas, and Alexander Gray

in Statistics, Data Mining, and Machine Learning in Astronomy: A Practical Python Guide for the Analysis of Survey Data

Chapter 6 described techniques for estimating joint probability distributions from multivariate data sets and for identifying the inherent clustering within the properties of sources. This approach ... More

Chapter 6 described techniques for estimating joint probability distributions from multivariate data sets and for identifying the inherent clustering within the properties of sources. This approach can be viewed as the unsupervised classification of data. If, however, we have labels for some of these data points (e.g., an object is tall, short, red, or blue) we can utilize this information to develop a relationship between the label and the properties of a source. We refer to this as supervised classification, which is the focus of this chapter. The motivation for supervised classification comes from the long history of classification in astronomy. Possibly the most well known of these classification schemes is that defined by Edwin Hubble for the morphological classification of galaxies based on their visual appearance. This chapter discusses generative classification, k-nearest-neighbor classifier, discriminative classification, support vector machines, decision trees, and evaluating classifiers.Less

All in the Brain?

Nikolas Rose and Joelle M. Abi-Rached

in Neuro: The New Brain Sciences and the Management of the Mind

This chapter focuses on the question of diagnosis of psychiatric disorders and examines the relationship between neuroscience and psychiatry from this perspective. Despite the penetrating gaze of ... More

This chapter focuses on the question of diagnosis of psychiatric disorders and examines the relationship between neuroscience and psychiatry from this perspective. Despite the penetrating gaze of neuroscience, which has opened up the brain to vision in so many ways, psychiatric classification remains superficial. This neuromolecular vision seems incapable of grounding the clinical work of psychiatry in the way that has become routine in other areas of medicine. Despite the conviction of most practitioners that they deal with conditions that have a corporeal seat in the brain of the afflicted individual, psychiatry has failed to establish the bridge that, from the nineteenth century on, underpinned the epistemology of modern clinical medicine—the capacity to link the troubles of the troubled and troubling individuals who are its subjects with the vital anomalies that underpin them.Less

Two Fundamental Types of Specification

Joseph Pilsner

in The Specification of Human Actions in St Thomas Aquinas

In order to understand the specification of human action, it is helpful to explore the specification of two other kinds of realities: natural corporeal beings and natural motions. For Aquinas, a ... More

In order to understand the specification of human action, it is helpful to explore the specification of two other kinds of realities: natural corporeal beings and natural motions. For Aquinas, a natural corporeal being is any creature having matter as a constituent, such as a plant or animal; a being of this kind receives its species from its form. A natural motion is any naturally occurring change, such as growing, becoming healthier, or going from one place to another. Aquinas says that any such motion receives its species from both its ‘terminus to which’ and its active principle. These two types of specification are significant for this present study not only because they reveal important information about specification, but also because Aquinas will use them as starting points from which to explain the specification of human action.Less

Derived Categories of Surfaces

D. Huybrechts

in Fourier-Mukai Transforms in Algebraic Geometry

This chapter completes the classification of algebraic surfaces from the point of view of their derived categories. Abelian, K3, and elliptic surfaces play a special role. For all other surfaces, the ... More

This chapter completes the classification of algebraic surfaces from the point of view of their derived categories. Abelian, K3, and elliptic surfaces play a special role. For all other surfaces, the derived category determines the isomorphism type. The reduction to minimal surfaces is due to Kawamata, and the case of elliptic surfaces was dealt with by Bridgeland and Maciocia.Less

Approaches to Difference in the US Environmental Movement: Classification Schemes, Hegemonic Definitions, and Singular Motivations

David Schlosberg

in Environmental Justice and the New Pluralism: The Challenge of Difference for Environmentalism

Attention to the environmental movement does not guarantee a sense of respect for its diversity, so this chapter is dedicated to a study of the limitations inherent in various approaches to the study ... More

Attention to the environmental movement does not guarantee a sense of respect for its diversity, so this chapter is dedicated to a study of the limitations inherent in various approaches to the study of environmentalism(s) in the United States. The argument here is that many examiners are more interested in building explanatory models than in understanding the diversity of environmentalism; hence, many models are built on a foundation of exclusion. The chapter first takes a brief look at the limits of standard histories of the environmental movement. It goes on to critically examine the current state of the literature on the environmental movement by investigating methods of classification of variety, the attempt to forge an environmental vanguard (hegemonic progressivism), and the myriad claims to unlocking the motivations of environmental actors. All of these approaches are described as having a tendency to exclude evidence, examples, or categories that do not fit the proposed model.Less

Conclusion

Benjamin Gidron, Stanley N. Katz, and Yeheskel Hasenfeld

in Mobilizing for Peace: Conflict Resolution in Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Israel/Palestine

This study of peace and conflict‐resolution organizations (P/CROs) in South Africa, Northern Ireland, and Israel/Palestine faced several methodological challenges: it had to define P/CROs, draw on ... More

This study of peace and conflict‐resolution organizations (P/CROs) in South Africa, Northern Ireland, and Israel/Palestine faced several methodological challenges: it had to define P/CROs, draw on both social movement and third‐sector theory, develop research tools to obtain data about P/CROs valid for regional and international analyses, and simultaneously understand P/CROs as a class with common attributes and appreciate differences amongst them. P/CROs are a new organizational classification, different from “peace movement organizations,” an existing classification. The study analyzed P/CROs from three perspectives: social movement theory, third‐sector theory, and the institutional theory of organizations. Four main findings emerged: (1) foreign funding was central to all P/CROs; (2) charismatic leadership was crucial; (3) almost all P/CROs became more professional and formal over time; and (4) while P/CROs played no direct role in the resolution of their respective conflicts, they made important indirect contributions. In particular, P/CROs helped to “sell” future settlements and agreements to their populations. Issues for further research include the preconditions for the emergence of P/CROs, and the assimilation of social movement and third‐sector research.Less

Basic concepts

Sergry V. Krivovichev

in Structural Crystallography of Inorganic Oxysalts

This chapter introduces basic concepts in structural chemistry relevant to the description and interpretation of structures of inorganic oxysalts. It starts from the structural classification of ... More

This chapter introduces basic concepts in structural chemistry relevant to the description and interpretation of structures of inorganic oxysalts. It starts from the structural classification of these materials using bond-valence theory and theory of mixed anionic radicals developed by the Moscow school of crystal chemistry. Typical bond lengths in inorganic oxysalts are tabulated and their behaviour is discussed. Some important parameters of hydrogen bonding are considered.Less

The Senior Civil Service in Belgium

Marleen Brans and Annie Hondeghem

in Bureaucratic Elites in Western European States: A Comparative Analysis of Top Officials

The Belgian senior civil service is in transition, with external pressures clearly pushing the government firmly towards a reform agenda and improving public confidence in the administrative system, ... More

The Belgian senior civil service is in transition, with external pressures clearly pushing the government firmly towards a reform agenda and improving public confidence in the administrative system, in terms of democracy and accountability and of economy and efficiency. In addition, budgetary pressures have combined with political will to ensure that the operation of the administration complies with the new managerialist paradigm. This chapter gives an overview of the position of senior civil servants in the Belgian federal ministries (the federal civil service). It consists of three main sections: the first describes the coexistence of two opposing civil service models, a formal bureaucratic one and an informal politicized one, and assesses the implications of the clash between these models for the position (job definition, classification, and security; the career ladder; salaries; political appointments; and ministerial cabinets) and role conceptions of top civil servants; the second addresses the issue of representativeness of the senior civil service in terms of education, language, and gender; the third deals with the two major challenges to the Belgian senior civil service (external pressure and internal constraints) and the resulting structural reform agenda.Less

Beyond the Catch‐All Party: Approaches to the Study of Parties and Party Organization in Contemporary Democracies

Steven B. Wolinetz

in Political Parties: Old Concepts and New Challenges

There are good reasons for re‐examining existing classifications of parties and seeing if others can be developed. However, reworking categories is a complex process, requiring further research and ... More

There are good reasons for re‐examining existing classifications of parties and seeing if others can be developed. However, reworking categories is a complex process, requiring further research and interaction between theory and data. This chapter is a preliminary effort, and focuses primarily on parties in established liberal democracies. The first half examines the adequacy of existing party categories in light of the literature in sections entitled: Categories and concepts in the comparative literature; Cadre versus mass parties; and Parties of mass integration, catch‐all parties, and beyond’ (to the cartel party). The second half considers ways in which contemporary parties might be compared in sections entitled: New bases for classification? Vote‐seeking, office‐seeking, and policy‐seeking parties; and Patterns of change in Western European parties.Less

Improving the Transfer of Explicit Knowledge

David W. DeLong

in Lost Knowledge: Confronting the Threat of an Aging Workforce

This chapter begins with a detailed explanation of the confusion surrounding different knowledge types. It includes a practical description using one form of knowledge classification, which includes ... More

This chapter begins with a detailed explanation of the confusion surrounding different knowledge types. It includes a practical description using one form of knowledge classification, which includes explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge, or know-how. But an argument is made that an overlooked and more useful hybrid concept is the notion of implicit knowledge. The three most common ways that explicit knowledge is likely to be transferred and retained are: documentation, interviews and debriefings, and training. Each section includes detailed implications for action when applying these solutions for knowledge transfer and knowledge retention.Less

Pay and Performance

Phil Almond, Michael Muller-Camen, David G. Collings, and Javier Quintanilla

in American Multinationals in Europe: Managing Employment Relations Across National Borders

This chapter analyses the management of pay and performance in the case study companies, against the background of the embedded systems of the USA and the host countries. Both wage classifications ... More

This chapter analyses the management of pay and performance in the case study companies, against the background of the embedded systems of the USA and the host countries. Both wage classifications and the issue of performance management are examined. Patterns of decision-making on both dimensions are found to be generally more centralized than is the case for other areas of HR policy. On the issue of wage classifications, patterns of broadbanding are examined, as well as the means by which US multinationals challenge sectorally-based pay determination in Germany. It then explores the issue of forms of individual and collective performance pay, looking at recent changes in the nature of merit pay, particularly the increasingly competitive nature of its allocation through mechanisms, such as forced distributions. It also reviews the extent to which performance management is used as a tool to ‘cull’ weaker performers, and suggests that the origins of such policies can be related to the societally-specific norm of ‘employment at will’.Less

“Our goal is to have one classification—American”: Vouchers for Schools and the Multiracial Census

Desmond S. King and Rogers M. Smith

in Still a House Divided: Race and Politics in Obama's America

This chapter considers two of the most important foundational systems in American life: public education, and governmental classification of the population in terms of race and ethnicity. Education ... More

This chapter considers two of the most important foundational systems in American life: public education, and governmental classification of the population in terms of race and ethnicity. Education is recognized as fundamental to developing capacities for responsible citizenship, marketable skills, and resources for personal fulfillment in modern America. Governmental racial and ethnic classifications not only determine such key issues as congressional district size, federal grants to states, and affirmative action, they help both to express and to constitute the senses of identity of many Americans. Neither the structure of modern American schooling nor its systems of racial classifications can be grasped without appreciating the roles the modern racial alliances play in the politics that have shaped current policies and practices on those issues.Less

The Chinese Buddhist Canon Through the Ages: Essential Categories and Critical Issues in the Study of a Textual Tradition

Jiang Wu

in Spreading Buddha's Word in East Asia: The Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon

Chapter 1 offers an overview of the canon in history and the basic knowledge about the Chinese canon to orient the reader.

Family Resemblances

Murray Campbell, Clive Greated, and Arnold Myers

in Musical Instruments: History, Technology, and Performance of Instruments of Western Music

This chapter reviews the ways in which musical instruments create their characteristic sounds, focusing on those factors which are common to instruments from a particular family. The Hornbostel-Sachs ... More

This chapter reviews the ways in which musical instruments create their characteristic sounds, focusing on those factors which are common to instruments from a particular family. The Hornbostel-Sachs classification scheme — extended to include the electrophone class — is explained and related to the more common musical classification into families of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Standing wave patterns in the air columns of different types of wind instrument are described, and the methods of sound generation in flutes, single and double reed woodwinds, and brass instruments are reviewed. The standing wave patterns created on the vibrating strings of bowed and plucked stringed instruments are described. Membranophones and idiophones are identified with the percussion family, and the differences between pitched and unpitched percussion instruments are explained. Finally, the class of electrophones is reviewed, distinguishing between electroacoustic, electromechanical, and electronic instruments.Less

Counting Confucians through Social Scientific Research

Anna Sun

in Confucianism as a World Religion: Contested Histories and Contemporary Realities

This chapter discusses the long-standing problem of identifying Confucians in China (and East Asia in general) through social science research methods—a problem deeply rooted in the ... More

This chapter discusses the long-standing problem of identifying Confucians in China (and East Asia in general) through social science research methods—a problem deeply rooted in the nineteenth-century conceptualization of Confucianism and the overall classification of Chinese religions. It investigates different types of empirical data—national censuses and surveys—from Mainland China, as well as from Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea, in order to answer two questions. First is about whether “Confucianism” is a category in religious classifications in these East Asian countries and regions; the second asks about how many people are counted as “Confucians” in China.Less