Pat Willmer
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691128610
- eISBN:
- 9781400838943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691128610.003.0027
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
This chapter examines pollination that occurs in different kinds of ecosystems and habitats, along with the implications for plant–pollinator interactions. It begins with a discussion of pollination ...
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This chapter examines pollination that occurs in different kinds of ecosystems and habitats, along with the implications for plant–pollinator interactions. It begins with a discussion of pollination in deserts and semiarid systems, taking into account habitat characteristics, flora and pollinating fauna, problems with triggering and timing of flowering, problems of highly dispersed flowers, increased reproductive allocation in plants, and issues of energetics, heat overload, and water balance for desert plants and animals. The chapter proceeds by considering pollination in Mediterranean ecosystems, humid tropics, and at high latitude and high altitude. Finally, it describes pollination on islands such as the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, Hawaii, Madagascar, and Faroe Islands.Less
This chapter examines pollination that occurs in different kinds of ecosystems and habitats, along with the implications for plant–pollinator interactions. It begins with a discussion of pollination in deserts and semiarid systems, taking into account habitat characteristics, flora and pollinating fauna, problems with triggering and timing of flowering, problems of highly dispersed flowers, increased reproductive allocation in plants, and issues of energetics, heat overload, and water balance for desert plants and animals. The chapter proceeds by considering pollination in Mediterranean ecosystems, humid tropics, and at high latitude and high altitude. Finally, it describes pollination on islands such as the Galapagos Islands, New Zealand, Hawaii, Madagascar, and Faroe Islands.
Dale H. Vitt
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195168662
- eISBN:
- 9780199790128
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195168662.003.0006
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
Bryophytes and lichens comprise a high proportion of biomass and primary production in many high latitude ecosystems. This chapter outlines the special problems encountered and approaches available ...
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Bryophytes and lichens comprise a high proportion of biomass and primary production in many high latitude ecosystems. This chapter outlines the special problems encountered and approaches available for quantifying primary production in tundra, peatlands, and the ground vegetation of taiga forests dominated by these taxa. A primer on the terminology and growth patterns in these plants is provided. The use of a variety of innate and surrogate markers for quantifying annual growth is described. The problems of relating growth to primary production and of scaling these estimates for larger landscapes are detailed.Less
Bryophytes and lichens comprise a high proportion of biomass and primary production in many high latitude ecosystems. This chapter outlines the special problems encountered and approaches available for quantifying primary production in tundra, peatlands, and the ground vegetation of taiga forests dominated by these taxa. A primer on the terminology and growth patterns in these plants is provided. The use of a variety of innate and surrogate markers for quantifying annual growth is described. The problems of relating growth to primary production and of scaling these estimates for larger landscapes are detailed.
Robert R. Dunn, Benoit Guénard, Michael D. Weiser, and Nathan J. Sanders
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199544639
- eISBN:
- 9780191720192
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199544639.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Animal Biology
One of the key questions in ecology is what drives species diversity patterns. Generally ant diversity decreases with increasing latitude, and elevation. While a host of mechanisms to explain these ...
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One of the key questions in ecology is what drives species diversity patterns. Generally ant diversity decreases with increasing latitude, and elevation. While a host of mechanisms to explain these patterns has been proposed, the six most likely hypotheses include differences in speciation and extinction rates, geographic area, geometric constraints, species‐energy theory, and effective evolutionary age. Not only does ant diversity vary with latitude and elevation but there are also gradients in ant life history traits. Although there are only a handful of studies on ants, range size was found to increase with increasing elevation in accordance with Rapoport's rule predictions. Similarly in accordance with Bergmann's rule, ant body size tends to increase with latitude and elevation. Gradients in diversity can have consequences for predation rates, and mutualisms.Less
One of the key questions in ecology is what drives species diversity patterns. Generally ant diversity decreases with increasing latitude, and elevation. While a host of mechanisms to explain these patterns has been proposed, the six most likely hypotheses include differences in speciation and extinction rates, geographic area, geometric constraints, species‐energy theory, and effective evolutionary age. Not only does ant diversity vary with latitude and elevation but there are also gradients in ant life history traits. Although there are only a handful of studies on ants, range size was found to increase with increasing elevation in accordance with Rapoport's rule predictions. Similarly in accordance with Bergmann's rule, ant body size tends to increase with latitude and elevation. Gradients in diversity can have consequences for predation rates, and mutualisms.
Michael J. Angilletta
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780198570875
- eISBN:
- 9780191718748
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198570875.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology, Animal Biology
Organisms continuously exchange heat with their environment by radiation, conduction, convection, and evaporation. The net effect of these processes on the steady-state temperature of an organism can ...
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Organisms continuously exchange heat with their environment by radiation, conduction, convection, and evaporation. The net effect of these processes on the steady-state temperature of an organism can be modelled mathematically, leading to the concept of an operative environmental temperature. The operative environmental temperature describes the deviation of body temperature from air temperature, which stems from radiative and convective exchanges of heat. On a global scale, latitudinal and altitudinal clines in solar radiation and air temperature lead to clines in operative environmental temperature. On a local scale, micrometeorological and topographical conditions cause complex patterns of operative temperatures over space and time. Biologists can map local variation in operative environmental temperatures with mathematical, physical, or statistical models. The spatial and temporal patterns of thermal heterogeneity in each environment create unique selective pressures.Less
Organisms continuously exchange heat with their environment by radiation, conduction, convection, and evaporation. The net effect of these processes on the steady-state temperature of an organism can be modelled mathematically, leading to the concept of an operative environmental temperature. The operative environmental temperature describes the deviation of body temperature from air temperature, which stems from radiative and convective exchanges of heat. On a global scale, latitudinal and altitudinal clines in solar radiation and air temperature lead to clines in operative environmental temperature. On a local scale, micrometeorological and topographical conditions cause complex patterns of operative temperatures over space and time. Biologists can map local variation in operative environmental temperatures with mathematical, physical, or statistical models. The spatial and temporal patterns of thermal heterogeneity in each environment create unique selective pressures.
Alan C. Bowen and Robert B. Todd
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520233256
- eISBN:
- 9780520928510
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520233256.003.0004
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This chapter shows that the latitudes of the Earth have differing seasons caused by the motion of the Sun in the zodiacal circle. The lengthening of daytimes causes the seasons to be reversed in the ...
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This chapter shows that the latitudes of the Earth have differing seasons caused by the motion of the Sun in the zodiacal circle. The lengthening of daytimes causes the seasons to be reversed in the temperate zones. Since the equinoctial circle is a great circle, it also maintains the same position relative [to the Earth] even in the temperate zones, whereas the [successive circles] that proceed from it toward the poles do not. The daytime gets continually shorter until the Sun approaches the winter tropic, while the nighttime remains longer than the daytime until, after the solstice at the winter tropic, the Sun provides a daytime that gets longer by turning back from this tropic to approach the equinoctial circle and causes the vernal equinox.Less
This chapter shows that the latitudes of the Earth have differing seasons caused by the motion of the Sun in the zodiacal circle. The lengthening of daytimes causes the seasons to be reversed in the temperate zones. Since the equinoctial circle is a great circle, it also maintains the same position relative [to the Earth] even in the temperate zones, whereas the [successive circles] that proceed from it toward the poles do not. The daytime gets continually shorter until the Sun approaches the winter tropic, while the nighttime remains longer than the daytime until, after the solstice at the winter tropic, the Sun provides a daytime that gets longer by turning back from this tropic to approach the equinoctial circle and causes the vernal equinox.
William L. Harper
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199570409
- eISBN:
- 9780191728679
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199570409.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
Part I gives background on Huygens’ theory-mediated measurement of gravity. It reviews his reaction to differing pendulum measurements from different latitudes and his application of rotation to give ...
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Part I gives background on Huygens’ theory-mediated measurement of gravity. It reviews his reaction to differing pendulum measurements from different latitudes and his application of rotation to give an empirical argument that the earth is oblate rather than spherical. It quotes Huygens’ rejection of universal gravity for violating the mechanical philosophy and gives an account of his proposal for a contact action cause of gravity. It also reviews Huygens’ positive comments on Newton’s moon-test inference and inferences to inverse-square gravity toward the sun and planets. Part II makes clear that the moon-test does not depend on limiting the pendulum estimates to the very precise measurements from pendulums at Paris. It also explores the contrast between Newton’s extension of inverse-square gravity toward the earth to arbitrarily great distances and Huygens’ appeal to his hypothesis about the cause of gravity to limit such extensions.Less
Part I gives background on Huygens’ theory-mediated measurement of gravity. It reviews his reaction to differing pendulum measurements from different latitudes and his application of rotation to give an empirical argument that the earth is oblate rather than spherical. It quotes Huygens’ rejection of universal gravity for violating the mechanical philosophy and gives an account of his proposal for a contact action cause of gravity. It also reviews Huygens’ positive comments on Newton’s moon-test inference and inferences to inverse-square gravity toward the sun and planets. Part II makes clear that the moon-test does not depend on limiting the pendulum estimates to the very precise measurements from pendulums at Paris. It also explores the contrast between Newton’s extension of inverse-square gravity toward the earth to arbitrarily great distances and Huygens’ appeal to his hypothesis about the cause of gravity to limit such extensions.
Norvin Richards
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199731749
- eISBN:
- 9780199866311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199731749.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Parents have considerable latitude in the way they treat their children but are not free to abuse the children or to neglect them. But what should count as abuse or neglect, and what should determine ...
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Parents have considerable latitude in the way they treat their children but are not free to abuse the children or to neglect them. But what should count as abuse or neglect, and what should determine the ways in which the state intervenes when it occurs? This chapter offers a way to understand negligence on a single occasion on the model of Learned Hand's formula for negligence in tort law. It also offers a way to determine what counts as neglect over longer periods of time, and what should constitute abusing a child. All three accounts are sensitive to the several distinct purposes we might have for intervening on a child's behalf, and all three emphasize seeing the behavior in terms of what it reveals about the parent.Less
Parents have considerable latitude in the way they treat their children but are not free to abuse the children or to neglect them. But what should count as abuse or neglect, and what should determine the ways in which the state intervenes when it occurs? This chapter offers a way to understand negligence on a single occasion on the model of Learned Hand's formula for negligence in tort law. It also offers a way to determine what counts as neglect over longer periods of time, and what should constitute abusing a child. All three accounts are sensitive to the several distinct purposes we might have for intervening on a child's behalf, and all three emphasize seeing the behavior in terms of what it reveals about the parent.
Norvin Richards
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199731749
- eISBN:
- 9780199866311
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199731749.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
What is required by the parental obligation to raise our children? The answer must balance claims that the larger society has in the matter, claims that the child has while still a child, claims that ...
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What is required by the parental obligation to raise our children? The answer must balance claims that the larger society has in the matter, claims that the child has while still a child, claims that he or she will have after becoming an adult (once characterized by Joel Feinberg as a right to an open future), and claims that the parents have to a certain latitude in the way they raise their child. The chapter argues that these are properly balanced if (l) the parental goal is to equip the child to be a good person whose life does well at delivering what he or she wants, is reasonably happy with that life, and has a reasonable sense of his or her possibilities, and (2) the child participates in the way this goal is sought, in a manner described.Less
What is required by the parental obligation to raise our children? The answer must balance claims that the larger society has in the matter, claims that the child has while still a child, claims that he or she will have after becoming an adult (once characterized by Joel Feinberg as a right to an open future), and claims that the parents have to a certain latitude in the way they raise their child. The chapter argues that these are properly balanced if (l) the parental goal is to equip the child to be a good person whose life does well at delivering what he or she wants, is reasonably happy with that life, and has a reasonable sense of his or her possibilities, and (2) the child participates in the way this goal is sought, in a manner described.
Tom Güldemann and Harald Hammarström
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- October 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780198723813
- eISBN:
- 9780191791154
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198723813.003.0004
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Language Families, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
Taking up Diamond’s (1999) geographical axis hypothesis regarding the different population histories of continental areas, Güldemann (2008, 2010) proposed that macro-areal aggregations of linguistic ...
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Taking up Diamond’s (1999) geographical axis hypothesis regarding the different population histories of continental areas, Güldemann (2008, 2010) proposed that macro-areal aggregations of linguistic features are influenced by geographical factors. This chapter explores this idea by extending it to the whole world in testing whether the way linguistic features assemble over long time spans and large space is influenced by what we call “latitude spread potential” and “longitude spread constraint.” Regarding the former, the authors argue in particular that contact-induced feature distributions as well as genealogically defined language groups with a sufficient geographical extension tend to have a latitudinal orientation. Regarding the latter, the authors provide first results suggesting that linguistic diversity within language families tends to be higher along longitude axes. If replicated by more extensive and diverse testing, the authors’ findings promise to become important ingredients for a comprehensive theory of human history across space and time within linguistics and beyond.Less
Taking up Diamond’s (1999) geographical axis hypothesis regarding the different population histories of continental areas, Güldemann (2008, 2010) proposed that macro-areal aggregations of linguistic features are influenced by geographical factors. This chapter explores this idea by extending it to the whole world in testing whether the way linguistic features assemble over long time spans and large space is influenced by what we call “latitude spread potential” and “longitude spread constraint.” Regarding the former, the authors argue in particular that contact-induced feature distributions as well as genealogically defined language groups with a sufficient geographical extension tend to have a latitudinal orientation. Regarding the latter, the authors provide first results suggesting that linguistic diversity within language families tends to be higher along longitude axes. If replicated by more extensive and diverse testing, the authors’ findings promise to become important ingredients for a comprehensive theory of human history across space and time within linguistics and beyond.
Daniel A. Crane
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195372656
- eISBN:
- 9780199893287
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372656.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Competition Law
This chapter considers ways to enhance the enforcement powers of the two agencies: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division, without changing the institutional status quo. It ...
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This chapter considers ways to enhance the enforcement powers of the two agencies: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division, without changing the institutional status quo. It turns out that the FTC has more to say than the Antitrust Division. There is more latitude for experimentation here. Primarily this concerns the improvements on the norm-creation capabilities and powers in relation to the roles of institutional players such as generalist judges, private litigants, and the juries. The FTC is analyzed as a distinct antitrust institution but the judicial deference raises issues not distinctive to the FTC, rather they are a part of the broader fabric of administrative law.Less
This chapter considers ways to enhance the enforcement powers of the two agencies: the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Antitrust Division, without changing the institutional status quo. It turns out that the FTC has more to say than the Antitrust Division. There is more latitude for experimentation here. Primarily this concerns the improvements on the norm-creation capabilities and powers in relation to the roles of institutional players such as generalist judges, private litigants, and the juries. The FTC is analyzed as a distinct antitrust institution but the judicial deference raises issues not distinctive to the FTC, rather they are a part of the broader fabric of administrative law.
Lorene M. Nelson, Caroline M. Tanner, Stephen K. Van Den Eeden, and Valerie M. McGuire
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195133790
- eISBN:
- 9780199863730
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195133790.003.08
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
This chapter provides information on the epidemiology of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common disabling neurological disease in young adults. It describes the clinical and pathologic features of ...
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This chapter provides information on the epidemiology of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common disabling neurological disease in young adults. It describes the clinical and pathologic features of MS and how these features pose challenges for clinical diagnosis and case definition criteria. Information is provided regarding the descriptive epidemiology of MS, including studies of incidence, prevalence, and temporal trends in MS frequency. Also included is a discussion of the interesting geographical features of the MS distribution, including MS disease clusters, the latitude gradient in disease risk, and migrant studies of individuals who move from high-risk to low-risk regions. Other sections of the chapter cover evidence regarding the infectious etiology of MS, including the important role that Epstein-Barr virus appears to play in disease susceptibility. The role of lifestyle factors is receiving increasing emphasis in MS epidemiologic studies, and evidence is summarized regarding the potential role of cigarette smoking, diet, and hormonal factors.Less
This chapter provides information on the epidemiology of multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common disabling neurological disease in young adults. It describes the clinical and pathologic features of MS and how these features pose challenges for clinical diagnosis and case definition criteria. Information is provided regarding the descriptive epidemiology of MS, including studies of incidence, prevalence, and temporal trends in MS frequency. Also included is a discussion of the interesting geographical features of the MS distribution, including MS disease clusters, the latitude gradient in disease risk, and migrant studies of individuals who move from high-risk to low-risk regions. Other sections of the chapter cover evidence regarding the infectious etiology of MS, including the important role that Epstein-Barr virus appears to play in disease susceptibility. The role of lifestyle factors is receiving increasing emphasis in MS epidemiologic studies, and evidence is summarized regarding the potential role of cigarette smoking, diet, and hormonal factors.
Freya Johnston and Lynda Mugglestone
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199654345
- eISBN:
- 9780191745003
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199654345.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 18th-century Literature
Describing Samuel Johnson's prose style, William Hazlitt turned to the image of the pendulum. It is depicted by him as oscillating with predictable regularity, its movement inflexible as well as ...
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Describing Samuel Johnson's prose style, William Hazlitt turned to the image of the pendulum. It is depicted by him as oscillating with predictable regularity, its movement inflexible as well as circumscribed within a narrow axis. Johnson's metaphorical pendulum is, for Hazlitt, rendered incapable of latitude and compromise. In this light, patterns of opposition and contrast in Johnson's prose merely represent a mechanical reflex rather than creative response and control. This opening chapter to the volume argues, however, that both Johnson and the pendulum merit rereading and further scrutiny. Eighteenth-century writing (including evidence from Johnson's Dictionary) reveals that the pendulum was often used to suggest movement, variation, and mutability in ways which set up their own oppositions to Hazlitt's often-cited assumptions. Similarly, rather than being trapped in a rigid pattern of balance and opposition, Johnson's ability to embrace rival impulses emerges as a positive feature of his life, work, and reception. The introduction concludes with a discursive summary of the ensuing 15 chapters, arguing that each of them demonstrates that Hazlitt's brilliantly flawed reading of Johnson's pendulum remains open to dispute and critical revision.Less
Describing Samuel Johnson's prose style, William Hazlitt turned to the image of the pendulum. It is depicted by him as oscillating with predictable regularity, its movement inflexible as well as circumscribed within a narrow axis. Johnson's metaphorical pendulum is, for Hazlitt, rendered incapable of latitude and compromise. In this light, patterns of opposition and contrast in Johnson's prose merely represent a mechanical reflex rather than creative response and control. This opening chapter to the volume argues, however, that both Johnson and the pendulum merit rereading and further scrutiny. Eighteenth-century writing (including evidence from Johnson's Dictionary) reveals that the pendulum was often used to suggest movement, variation, and mutability in ways which set up their own oppositions to Hazlitt's often-cited assumptions. Similarly, rather than being trapped in a rigid pattern of balance and opposition, Johnson's ability to embrace rival impulses emerges as a positive feature of his life, work, and reception. The introduction concludes with a discursive summary of the ensuing 15 chapters, arguing that each of them demonstrates that Hazlitt's brilliantly flawed reading of Johnson's pendulum remains open to dispute and critical revision.
Richard J. A. Talbert
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190273484
- eISBN:
- 9780190273507
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190273484.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Archaeology: Classical
In a premodern, largely unscientific era, when maps were rarities, how did Romans envisage their far-flung empire? By various means for certain, which Talbert now supplements with an investigation of ...
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In a premodern, largely unscientific era, when maps were rarities, how did Romans envisage their far-flung empire? By various means for certain, which Talbert now supplements with an investigation of clues that have attracted minimal attention. They derive from miniature portable sundials—crafted in bronze and fitted with adjustable parts to accommodate the changes of latitude likely to occur on long journeys. As Romans knew, to function effectively any sundial must be set for the latitude where it is used. So, for rapid reference, these portable ones incorporate a list of twenty to thirty names and latitudes of cities or regions chosen by the maker or owner. Each list offers unique insight into the mental world maps of individual Romans who between them somehow developed the capacity to visualize the empire latitudinally. Comparison with modern calculations demonstrates that the latitude figures listed are often incorrect, so the sundials may not tell the time reliably. But here the nature of Romans’ time consciousness (or lack of it) must be taken into consideration. Talbert conjectures that owners might prize these sundials not so much for practical use, but rather as status symbols attesting to shared scientific awareness as well as imperial mastery of time and space. In retrospect they may be seen as Roman forerunners of comparable Islamic and European instruments from the Middle Ages onward, even of today’s luxury watches, which display their purchasers’ wealth, sophistication, and cosmopolitanism.Less
In a premodern, largely unscientific era, when maps were rarities, how did Romans envisage their far-flung empire? By various means for certain, which Talbert now supplements with an investigation of clues that have attracted minimal attention. They derive from miniature portable sundials—crafted in bronze and fitted with adjustable parts to accommodate the changes of latitude likely to occur on long journeys. As Romans knew, to function effectively any sundial must be set for the latitude where it is used. So, for rapid reference, these portable ones incorporate a list of twenty to thirty names and latitudes of cities or regions chosen by the maker or owner. Each list offers unique insight into the mental world maps of individual Romans who between them somehow developed the capacity to visualize the empire latitudinally. Comparison with modern calculations demonstrates that the latitude figures listed are often incorrect, so the sundials may not tell the time reliably. But here the nature of Romans’ time consciousness (or lack of it) must be taken into consideration. Talbert conjectures that owners might prize these sundials not so much for practical use, but rather as status symbols attesting to shared scientific awareness as well as imperial mastery of time and space. In retrospect they may be seen as Roman forerunners of comparable Islamic and European instruments from the Middle Ages onward, even of today’s luxury watches, which display their purchasers’ wealth, sophistication, and cosmopolitanism.
Alan C. Bowen and Robert B. Todd
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780520233256
- eISBN:
- 9780520928510
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520233256.003.0005
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Greek, Roman, and Early Christian Philosophy
This chapter reviews the lengths of daytimes and nighttimes and states that they differ at differing latitudes because of the motion of the Sun in the zodiacal circle. The Sun provides daytimes that ...
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This chapter reviews the lengths of daytimes and nighttimes and states that they differ at differing latitudes because of the motion of the Sun in the zodiacal circle. The Sun provides daytimes that increase in length when it turns back from the winter tropic to the northern [parts] of the heavens, and [daytimes] decrease in length when the Sun goes down in the opposite direction from the summer tropic to the south and the winter tropic. While daytime lengthens and shortens over the same time period for everyone occupying the temperate zone, the addition and subtraction [of daytime] is still not equal at all [latitudes]. The longest daytimes at each latitude are made equal to the longest nighttimes, and neither the darkenings nor illuminations of the air exceed one another, but the year as a whole divides them equally.Less
This chapter reviews the lengths of daytimes and nighttimes and states that they differ at differing latitudes because of the motion of the Sun in the zodiacal circle. The Sun provides daytimes that increase in length when it turns back from the winter tropic to the northern [parts] of the heavens, and [daytimes] decrease in length when the Sun goes down in the opposite direction from the summer tropic to the south and the winter tropic. While daytime lengthens and shortens over the same time period for everyone occupying the temperate zone, the addition and subtraction [of daytime] is still not equal at all [latitudes]. The longest daytimes at each latitude are made equal to the longest nighttimes, and neither the darkenings nor illuminations of the air exceed one another, but the year as a whole divides them equally.
Fredrik Albritton Jonsson
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300162547
- eISBN:
- 9780300163742
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300162547.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Environmental History
This chapter begins with the story of a dry, sulfurous fog that enveloped Europe in the summer of 1783. The fog was bitter to the taste, stung the eyes, and degraded plants with an acidic bite. The ...
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This chapter begins with the story of a dry, sulfurous fog that enveloped Europe in the summer of 1783. The fog was bitter to the taste, stung the eyes, and degraded plants with an acidic bite. The chapter considers the broader controversies surrounding the issue of climate in the age of the Enlightenment. The conventional identification of climate with latitude competed with neo-Hippocratic views that stressed its contingency and complexity. Many natural historians contended that human settlement might alleviate, and eventually improve, a bad climate. A minority of observers sought to quantify the physical parameters of climate by collecting meteorological data, but most preferred to discuss climate in qualitative terms. Interest in species mobility and ecological exchange often overshadowed concerns regarding the climate's physical characteristics. In all of these, the Scottish Highlands offered a laboratory for rival hypotheses.Less
This chapter begins with the story of a dry, sulfurous fog that enveloped Europe in the summer of 1783. The fog was bitter to the taste, stung the eyes, and degraded plants with an acidic bite. The chapter considers the broader controversies surrounding the issue of climate in the age of the Enlightenment. The conventional identification of climate with latitude competed with neo-Hippocratic views that stressed its contingency and complexity. Many natural historians contended that human settlement might alleviate, and eventually improve, a bad climate. A minority of observers sought to quantify the physical parameters of climate by collecting meteorological data, but most preferred to discuss climate in qualitative terms. Interest in species mobility and ecological exchange often overshadowed concerns regarding the climate's physical characteristics. In all of these, the Scottish Highlands offered a laboratory for rival hypotheses.
Edward Jones-Imhotep (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036511
- eISBN:
- 9780262341318
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036511.003.0003
- Subject:
- History, Russian and Former Soviet Union History
This chapter sets the stage for DRTE’s linking of nature and technology by examining anxieties about ionosondes — the chief instruments of ionospheric research. The ionosondes that emerged from World ...
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This chapter sets the stage for DRTE’s linking of nature and technology by examining anxieties about ionosondes — the chief instruments of ionospheric research. The ionosondes that emerged from World War II could not be trusted to capture rapidly-changing high-latitude phenomena. The chapter focuses on the efforts of Frank Davies and the Radio Physics Laboratory to create a coherent group of instruments, collectively responsible for mapping northern sectors of the global ionosphere. In doing so, it illustrates how efforts to standardize ionospheric equipment, as well as the multiple meanings of that standardization, opened up important possibilities for variation and difference in international collaborations. For Frank Davies and his group, the machines and the records they produced became a way of solving all-too-local problems with the North as a place of experiment and with the people occupying it.Less
This chapter sets the stage for DRTE’s linking of nature and technology by examining anxieties about ionosondes — the chief instruments of ionospheric research. The ionosondes that emerged from World War II could not be trusted to capture rapidly-changing high-latitude phenomena. The chapter focuses on the efforts of Frank Davies and the Radio Physics Laboratory to create a coherent group of instruments, collectively responsible for mapping northern sectors of the global ionosphere. In doing so, it illustrates how efforts to standardize ionospheric equipment, as well as the multiple meanings of that standardization, opened up important possibilities for variation and difference in international collaborations. For Frank Davies and his group, the machines and the records they produced became a way of solving all-too-local problems with the North as a place of experiment and with the people occupying it.
Edward Jones-Imhotep (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036511
- eISBN:
- 9780262341318
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036511.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Russian and Former Soviet Union History
This chapter examines the efforts to make the high-latitude ionogram legible, tracing the effects of that new legibility into wider, resonant views of the relationship between the North and ...
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This chapter examines the efforts to make the high-latitude ionogram legible, tracing the effects of that new legibility into wider, resonant views of the relationship between the North and communication failures. It first focuses on the transformations in the way the high-latitude ionogram was read. The same geophysical phenomena that disrupted Northern radio communications made high-latitude ionograms unreadable using standard techniques. Led by one of its founding members, Jack Meek, the Radio Physics Laboratory developed a set of reading regimes that would make these records readable for the first time. The second part of the chapter investigates how the connections built up through these techniques resonated far beyond the laboratory. By linking Northern geophysics and communications disruptions, the Laboratory furnished visual arguments for how defining elements of Canada’s northern-ness threatened reliable communications, feeding back into broader cultural narratives put forward by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the geographer Louis-Edmond Hamelin.Less
This chapter examines the efforts to make the high-latitude ionogram legible, tracing the effects of that new legibility into wider, resonant views of the relationship between the North and communication failures. It first focuses on the transformations in the way the high-latitude ionogram was read. The same geophysical phenomena that disrupted Northern radio communications made high-latitude ionograms unreadable using standard techniques. Led by one of its founding members, Jack Meek, the Radio Physics Laboratory developed a set of reading regimes that would make these records readable for the first time. The second part of the chapter investigates how the connections built up through these techniques resonated far beyond the laboratory. By linking Northern geophysics and communications disruptions, the Laboratory furnished visual arguments for how defining elements of Canada’s northern-ness threatened reliable communications, feeding back into broader cultural narratives put forward by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and the geographer Louis-Edmond Hamelin.
David Clarke
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780748678891
- eISBN:
- 9780748689286
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748678891.003.0009
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Scottish Studies
Professor Ludwig Becker's incumbency followed a series of tribulations. After an early mark as a solar spectroscopist under the Earl of Crawford's patronage, he worked at the new Royal Observatory ...
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Professor Ludwig Becker's incumbency followed a series of tribulations. After an early mark as a solar spectroscopist under the Earl of Crawford's patronage, he worked at the new Royal Observatory Edinburgh for a short time before coming to Glasgow in 1893. His forte was observational astronomy. Although he had reasonable success with planetary and novae spectroscopy, Horselethill Observatory proved inadequate for his work on the aberration constant. Remarkably he determined his instrument's latitude to an accuracy of ±1 metre. Three submissions were made for new facilities away from the West End urban smokey environment - each rejected by the University. Personal attacks on his integrity developed with the advent of World War I. Born in Germany, suspicion was on him, although he held a Regius Chair and had naturalised citizenship for 20 years. The war years were spent in the highlands. On his return, tired of the strain of observing in poor circumstances, his interests turned to theoretical topics. Despite his personal trials, bitterness never showed and he taught classes which were the largest in the UK. Retiring in 1935, he held an affectionate place in the hearts and minds of students, several later making their mark in the subject.Less
Professor Ludwig Becker's incumbency followed a series of tribulations. After an early mark as a solar spectroscopist under the Earl of Crawford's patronage, he worked at the new Royal Observatory Edinburgh for a short time before coming to Glasgow in 1893. His forte was observational astronomy. Although he had reasonable success with planetary and novae spectroscopy, Horselethill Observatory proved inadequate for his work on the aberration constant. Remarkably he determined his instrument's latitude to an accuracy of ±1 metre. Three submissions were made for new facilities away from the West End urban smokey environment - each rejected by the University. Personal attacks on his integrity developed with the advent of World War I. Born in Germany, suspicion was on him, although he held a Regius Chair and had naturalised citizenship for 20 years. The war years were spent in the highlands. On his return, tired of the strain of observing in poor circumstances, his interests turned to theoretical topics. Despite his personal trials, bitterness never showed and he taught classes which were the largest in the UK. Retiring in 1935, he held an affectionate place in the hearts and minds of students, several later making their mark in the subject.
Jeffrey C. Nekola, Gary M. Barker, Robert A. D. Cameron, and Beata M. Pokryszko
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780226012148
- eISBN:
- 9780226012285
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226012285.003.0003
- Subject:
- Biology, Evolutionary Biology / Genetics
This chapter examines the nature and underlying mechanisms for body size vs. latitude relationships in land snail populations and communities observed across large extents (>2,500 km) in northwestern ...
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This chapter examines the nature and underlying mechanisms for body size vs. latitude relationships in land snail populations and communities observed across large extents (>2,500 km) in northwestern Europe, eastern North America, and New Zealand. It addresses the following four questions: does individual body size within a species positively correlate with latitude? Are communities of high latitude represented by a greater proportion of large taxa? Are communities of high latitude represented by a greater proportion of large individuals? Does altitudinal variation in community body size mimic latitudinal relationships?Less
This chapter examines the nature and underlying mechanisms for body size vs. latitude relationships in land snail populations and communities observed across large extents (>2,500 km) in northwestern Europe, eastern North America, and New Zealand. It addresses the following four questions: does individual body size within a species positively correlate with latitude? Are communities of high latitude represented by a greater proportion of large taxa? Are communities of high latitude represented by a greater proportion of large individuals? Does altitudinal variation in community body size mimic latitudinal relationships?
Wilberth Herrera
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780226121505
- eISBN:
- 9780226121642
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226121642.003.0002
- Subject:
- Biology, Ecology
Integrated climatological research is needed to better understand the full impact of modern climate change on Costa Rican ecosystems and human society. Costa Rica’s orography, latitude, and nature as ...
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Integrated climatological research is needed to better understand the full impact of modern climate change on Costa Rican ecosystems and human society. Costa Rica’s orography, latitude, and nature as an isthmus are the main determinants of its climate. A central mountain range dividing the country into two parts of almost equal size, and other orographic systems that run parallel to the coastline and intercept air masses coming from both oceans, produce a wide variety of climatic characteristics. Consequently, 95 Climate Groups and 55 Biotic Units have been identified in the country despite its small size, ranging from the dry and very warm climate of the lowlands of Guanacaste Province to the very wet, cold climate of the Talamanca Mountain Range. The specific effects of the country’s latitudinal position as well as those of various interacting air masses and atmospheric systems are outlined. Finally, the chapter summarizes the expected effects of climate change on Costa Rica.Less
Integrated climatological research is needed to better understand the full impact of modern climate change on Costa Rican ecosystems and human society. Costa Rica’s orography, latitude, and nature as an isthmus are the main determinants of its climate. A central mountain range dividing the country into two parts of almost equal size, and other orographic systems that run parallel to the coastline and intercept air masses coming from both oceans, produce a wide variety of climatic characteristics. Consequently, 95 Climate Groups and 55 Biotic Units have been identified in the country despite its small size, ranging from the dry and very warm climate of the lowlands of Guanacaste Province to the very wet, cold climate of the Talamanca Mountain Range. The specific effects of the country’s latitudinal position as well as those of various interacting air masses and atmospheric systems are outlined. Finally, the chapter summarizes the expected effects of climate change on Costa Rica.
