Eduard Feireisl
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198528388
- eISBN:
- 9780191713590
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198528388.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Applied Mathematics
The book presents and develops the most recent ideas and concepts of the mathematical theory of viscous, compressible, and heat conducting fluids. Two main objectives are pursued: (i) global ...
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The book presents and develops the most recent ideas and concepts of the mathematical theory of viscous, compressible, and heat conducting fluids. Two main objectives are pursued: (i) global existence theory within the framework of variational solutions for the full Navier-Stokes-Fourier system supplemented with large data, and (ii) optimal existence results for barotropic flows with respect to the available a priori estimates.Less
The book presents and develops the most recent ideas and concepts of the mathematical theory of viscous, compressible, and heat conducting fluids. Two main objectives are pursued: (i) global existence theory within the framework of variational solutions for the full Navier-Stokes-Fourier system supplemented with large data, and (ii) optimal existence results for barotropic flows with respect to the available a priori estimates.
Andreas Herberg‐Rothe
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199202690
- eISBN:
- 9780191707834
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199202690.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Clausewitz intended at the end of his life to write a different chapter on polarity in which he would have disclosed the secret of his method, as Raymond Aron saw it. But this secret is not hidden in ...
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Clausewitz intended at the end of his life to write a different chapter on polarity in which he would have disclosed the secret of his method, as Raymond Aron saw it. But this secret is not hidden in the concept of polarity itself, but within what Clausewitz called the ‘true logical antithesis’ of defence and attack. Clausewitz's proposition, ‘that defense is the stronger form of fighting with the negative purpose, attack the weaker form with the positive purpose’ reveals the true secret of his method. By differentiating this proposition, many transitions and intersections between these contrasts are exposed, which enables the formulation of a particular, Clausewitzian sort of dialectic. With the help of Clausewitz's treatment of the ‘true logical antithesis’ of defence and attack, we are able to validate that his different conceptualizations of war are really antithetical tendencies in every war.Less
Clausewitz intended at the end of his life to write a different chapter on polarity in which he would have disclosed the secret of his method, as Raymond Aron saw it. But this secret is not hidden in the concept of polarity itself, but within what Clausewitz called the ‘true logical antithesis’ of defence and attack. Clausewitz's proposition, ‘that defense is the stronger form of fighting with the negative purpose, attack the weaker form with the positive purpose’ reveals the true secret of his method. By differentiating this proposition, many transitions and intersections between these contrasts are exposed, which enables the formulation of a particular, Clausewitzian sort of dialectic. With the help of Clausewitz's treatment of the ‘true logical antithesis’ of defence and attack, we are able to validate that his different conceptualizations of war are really antithetical tendencies in every war.
V. F. Gantmakher
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198567561
- eISBN:
- 9780191718267
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198567561.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Condensed Matter Physics / Materials
This book contains modern concepts about the physics of electrons in solids. It is written using a minimum of mathematics, with the emphasis on various physical models aimed at stimulating creative ...
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This book contains modern concepts about the physics of electrons in solids. It is written using a minimum of mathematics, with the emphasis on various physical models aimed at stimulating creative thinking. The book aims to aid in the choice of the most efficient scheme of an experiment or the optimal algorithm of a calculation. Boltzmann and hopping types of conductivity are compared. The qualitative theory of weak localization is presented and its links with the true localization and metal-insulator transitions. Processes that determine the structure of impurity bands are revealed. The concepts introduced in this book are applied to descriptions of granular metals and quasicrystals, as well as the integer quantum Hall effect, emphasizing their universality.Less
This book contains modern concepts about the physics of electrons in solids. It is written using a minimum of mathematics, with the emphasis on various physical models aimed at stimulating creative thinking. The book aims to aid in the choice of the most efficient scheme of an experiment or the optimal algorithm of a calculation. Boltzmann and hopping types of conductivity are compared. The qualitative theory of weak localization is presented and its links with the true localization and metal-insulator transitions. Processes that determine the structure of impurity bands are revealed. The concepts introduced in this book are applied to descriptions of granular metals and quasicrystals, as well as the integer quantum Hall effect, emphasizing their universality.
Alfred R. Mele
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199896134
- eISBN:
- 9780199949533
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199896134.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind
This concluding chapter explains why readers who are not skeptics about free will are in a position to conclude that core weak-willed actions are not only psychologically possible but actual as well. ...
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This concluding chapter explains why readers who are not skeptics about free will are in a position to conclude that core weak-willed actions are not only psychologically possible but actual as well. If the author is right, we should believe that core weak-willed actions occur, and our theories about the springs of action, the power of better judgments, human agency, human rationality, and practical reasoning should accommodate their occurrence. As we improve our understanding of why core weak-willed actions occur, we will be better equipped to deal with practical problems that such actions pose.Less
This concluding chapter explains why readers who are not skeptics about free will are in a position to conclude that core weak-willed actions are not only psychologically possible but actual as well. If the author is right, we should believe that core weak-willed actions occur, and our theories about the springs of action, the power of better judgments, human agency, human rationality, and practical reasoning should accommodate their occurrence. As we improve our understanding of why core weak-willed actions occur, we will be better equipped to deal with practical problems that such actions pose.
Samir Okasha
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199267972
- eISBN:
- 9780191708275
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199267972.003.0006
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This chapter examines the notorious issue of group selection in behavioural ecology, one of the mainstays of the traditional levels of selection debate. The history of the group selection controversy ...
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This chapter examines the notorious issue of group selection in behavioural ecology, one of the mainstays of the traditional levels of selection debate. The history of the group selection controversy is briefly traced. The relationship between group selection, kin selection, and evolutionary game theory is discussed. An important debate between Sober and Wilson and Maynard Smith concerning the correct way to conceptualize group selection is explored. Lastly, some arguments of L. Nunney concerning the distinction between weak and strong altruism, and how individual and group selection should be defined, are examined.Less
This chapter examines the notorious issue of group selection in behavioural ecology, one of the mainstays of the traditional levels of selection debate. The history of the group selection controversy is briefly traced. The relationship between group selection, kin selection, and evolutionary game theory is discussed. An important debate between Sober and Wilson and Maynard Smith concerning the correct way to conceptualize group selection is explored. Lastly, some arguments of L. Nunney concerning the distinction between weak and strong altruism, and how individual and group selection should be defined, are examined.
Gautam Desiraju and Thomas Steiner
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198509707
- eISBN:
- 9780191708206
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198509707.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Crystallography
The weak hydrogen bond, also known as non-conventional hydrogen bond, has been the subject of intense scrutiny over recent years in several fields, in particular structural chemistry, structural ...
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The weak hydrogen bond, also known as non-conventional hydrogen bond, has been the subject of intense scrutiny over recent years in several fields, in particular structural chemistry, structural biology, and the pharmaceutical sciences. Today, there is a large body of experimental and theoretical evidence confirming that hydrogen bonds like C-H···O, N-H···π, C-H···π and even bonds like O-H··· metal play distinctive roles in molecular recognition, guiding molecular association, and in determining molecular and supramolecular architectures. The relevant compound classes include organometallic complexes, organic and bio-organic systems, as well as DNA and proteins.Less
The weak hydrogen bond, also known as non-conventional hydrogen bond, has been the subject of intense scrutiny over recent years in several fields, in particular structural chemistry, structural biology, and the pharmaceutical sciences. Today, there is a large body of experimental and theoretical evidence confirming that hydrogen bonds like C-H···O, N-H···π, C-H···π and even bonds like O-H··· metal play distinctive roles in molecular recognition, guiding molecular association, and in determining molecular and supramolecular architectures. The relevant compound classes include organometallic complexes, organic and bio-organic systems, as well as DNA and proteins.
Vladimir Mau and Irina Starodubrovskaia
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199241507
- eISBN:
- 9780191599835
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199241503.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Russia's current travails should be construed as a revolution in progress. This book analyses the causes, processes, and consequences of Russia's post‐communist development, and argues that it ...
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Russia's current travails should be construed as a revolution in progress. This book analyses the causes, processes, and consequences of Russia's post‐communist development, and argues that it exemplifies a general theory of revolution based on the concept of the ‘weak state’, sharing the same logic as the great revolutions of the past.Less
Russia's current travails should be construed as a revolution in progress. This book analyses the causes, processes, and consequences of Russia's post‐communist development, and argues that it exemplifies a general theory of revolution based on the concept of the ‘weak state’, sharing the same logic as the great revolutions of the past.
Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195144260
- eISBN:
- 9780199833931
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195144260.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Most studies of Islamism have focused on the role of oppositional forces. Increasingly, states are also important Islamist actors. States pursue Islamization not only in reaction to Islamist ...
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Most studies of Islamism have focused on the role of oppositional forces. Increasingly, states are also important Islamist actors. States pursue Islamization not only in reaction to Islamist challenges but also because in Islamism they see the opportunity to address the inherent weaknesses of the postcolonial state structure, and to significantly increase the power and capacity of the state. This trend is most evident in Pakistan and Malaysia where both the weakness of the postcolonial state and the opportunity inherent in Islamization have been greatest. These cases deviate from other models of state formation in the Muslim world, and provide new insights not only into state formation in the Muslim world but also into the study of the role of religion in state expansion in comparative politics.Less
Most studies of Islamism have focused on the role of oppositional forces. Increasingly, states are also important Islamist actors. States pursue Islamization not only in reaction to Islamist challenges but also because in Islamism they see the opportunity to address the inherent weaknesses of the postcolonial state structure, and to significantly increase the power and capacity of the state. This trend is most evident in Pakistan and Malaysia where both the weakness of the postcolonial state and the opportunity inherent in Islamization have been greatest. These cases deviate from other models of state formation in the Muslim world, and provide new insights not only into state formation in the Muslim world but also into the study of the role of religion in state expansion in comparative politics.
Christopher Hood
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198297659
- eISBN:
- 9780191599484
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198297653.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
In the four chapters of Part II, public management ideas that loosely correspond to each of the four polar world views identified by cultural theory are discussed; here the cultural‐theory framework ...
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In the four chapters of Part II, public management ideas that loosely correspond to each of the four polar world views identified by cultural theory are discussed; here the cultural‐theory framework is mixed with a historical perspective to survey recurring approaches to public management that can be loosely characterized as hierarchist (Ch. 4), individualist (Ch. 5), egalitarian (this chapter), and fatalist (Ch. 7). Like individualism and hierarchism, egalitarianism embodies a particular vision of control of public management both within organizations and by the society at large, and that approach to organization can be linked to a broader vision of good government that takes groupism rather than bossism, choicism, or chancism as the point of departure or central organizing principle for co‐operative behaviour. The egalitarian approach to organization involves at least three closely interrelated elements: these are group self‐management, control by mutuality, and maximum face‐to‐face accountability. A fourth idea often associated with egalitarianism is the view that the process by which decisions are reached in an organization or group is just as important, if not more so, than the results or outcomes in a narrow sense—i.e. the achievement of the substantive policy goals of egalitarians is not held to be more important than reaching the process goal of decision‐making through high‐participation weak‐leadership structures. The main sections are: What Egalitarians Believe; The Managerial Critique of Egalitarianism; and Varieties of Egalitarianism.Less
In the four chapters of Part II, public management ideas that loosely correspond to each of the four polar world views identified by cultural theory are discussed; here the cultural‐theory framework is mixed with a historical perspective to survey recurring approaches to public management that can be loosely characterized as hierarchist (Ch. 4), individualist (Ch. 5), egalitarian (this chapter), and fatalist (Ch. 7). Like individualism and hierarchism, egalitarianism embodies a particular vision of control of public management both within organizations and by the society at large, and that approach to organization can be linked to a broader vision of good government that takes groupism rather than bossism, choicism, or chancism as the point of departure or central organizing principle for co‐operative behaviour. The egalitarian approach to organization involves at least three closely interrelated elements: these are group self‐management, control by mutuality, and maximum face‐to‐face accountability. A fourth idea often associated with egalitarianism is the view that the process by which decisions are reached in an organization or group is just as important, if not more so, than the results or outcomes in a narrow sense—i.e. the achievement of the substantive policy goals of egalitarians is not held to be more important than reaching the process goal of decision‐making through high‐participation weak‐leadership structures. The main sections are: What Egalitarians Believe; The Managerial Critique of Egalitarianism; and Varieties of Egalitarianism.
Eduard Feireisl
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198528388
- eISBN:
- 9780191713590
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198528388.003.0002
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Applied Mathematics
The basic mathematical concepts used in the book are presumed in this chapter. The necessary function spaces framework — Lebesgue spaces, Sobolev spaces, and spaces of continuous functions — are ...
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The basic mathematical concepts used in the book are presumed in this chapter. The necessary function spaces framework — Lebesgue spaces, Sobolev spaces, and spaces of continuous functions — are introduced here. In order to underline the physical background of the function spaces, the exact definitions introduced in Chapter 2 are followed by the energy estimates deduced in Chapter 3 directly for any smooth solution of the underlying equations (a priori estimates). Several other fundamental concepts are also treated at length: average continuity of weak solutions, renormalized solutions of the continuity equation, and instantaneous values of the state variables.Less
The basic mathematical concepts used in the book are presumed in this chapter. The necessary function spaces framework — Lebesgue spaces, Sobolev spaces, and spaces of continuous functions — are introduced here. In order to underline the physical background of the function spaces, the exact definitions introduced in Chapter 2 are followed by the energy estimates deduced in Chapter 3 directly for any smooth solution of the underlying equations (a priori estimates). Several other fundamental concepts are also treated at length: average continuity of weak solutions, renormalized solutions of the continuity equation, and instantaneous values of the state variables.
Meira Levinson
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199250448
- eISBN:
- 9780191599750
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199250448.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Discusses contemporary liberalism's meaning, character, and justification. Section 1.1 argues that three constitutive commitments define contemporary liberalism and distinguish it from other ...
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Discusses contemporary liberalism's meaning, character, and justification. Section 1.1 argues that three constitutive commitments define contemporary liberalism and distinguish it from other theories. Section 1.2 demonstrates that, contrary to political liberalism's claims, these three commitments are best linked by the value of autonomy. Hence, contemporary liberalism is best understood as displaying weak perfectionism. Section 1.3 analyses autonomy more carefully, developing it as a substantive notion of higher‐order preference formation within a context of cultural coherence, plural constitutive personal values and beliefs, openness to other's evaluations of oneself, and a sufficiently developed moral, spiritual or aesthetic, intellectual, and emotional personality.Less
Discusses contemporary liberalism's meaning, character, and justification. Section 1.1 argues that three constitutive commitments define contemporary liberalism and distinguish it from other theories. Section 1.2 demonstrates that, contrary to political liberalism's claims, these three commitments are best linked by the value of autonomy. Hence, contemporary liberalism is best understood as displaying weak perfectionism. Section 1.3 analyses autonomy more carefully, developing it as a substantive notion of higher‐order preference formation within a context of cultural coherence, plural constitutive personal values and beliefs, openness to other's evaluations of oneself, and a sufficiently developed moral, spiritual or aesthetic, intellectual, and emotional personality.
Juan Luis Vázquez
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199202973
- eISBN:
- 9780191707919
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199202973.003.0009
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Applied Mathematics
This chapter studies two transition situations where non-uniqueness plays an important role. The first deals with the range -1 < m ≤ 0 in n = 1, which looks like supercritical but contains the ...
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This chapter studies two transition situations where non-uniqueness plays an important role. The first deals with the range -1 < m ≤ 0 in n = 1, which looks like supercritical but contains the non-uniqueness phenomenon for the Cauchy problem. The second is the study of logarithmic diffusion in the plane, i.e., the case m = 0 for n = 2 which has many appealing features for the analyst and the geometer.Less
This chapter studies two transition situations where non-uniqueness plays an important role. The first deals with the range -1 < m ≤ 0 in n = 1, which looks like supercritical but contains the non-uniqueness phenomenon for the Cauchy problem. The second is the study of logarithmic diffusion in the plane, i.e., the case m = 0 for n = 2 which has many appealing features for the analyst and the geometer.
Paul Mitchell
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198297840
- eISBN:
- 9780191602016
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829784X.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
The Irish state inherited many features of the Westminster parliamentary system, but with some important divergences: a written constitution protected by a Supreme Court, a proportional ...
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The Irish state inherited many features of the Westminster parliamentary system, but with some important divergences: a written constitution protected by a Supreme Court, a proportional representation electoral system with a single transferable vote, and a directly elected President as Head of State. Irish political parties are cohesive, disciplined, and centralized under the direction of the party leaderships. The electoral system allows the electorate to vote directly for individual candidates in multimember constituencies, which increases the individual accountability of legislators and helps to contain agency loss. Irish governments have not been heavily constrained or monitored by other institutions or agents, including Parliament.Less
The Irish state inherited many features of the Westminster parliamentary system, but with some important divergences: a written constitution protected by a Supreme Court, a proportional representation electoral system with a single transferable vote, and a directly elected President as Head of State. Irish political parties are cohesive, disciplined, and centralized under the direction of the party leaderships. The electoral system allows the electorate to vote directly for individual candidates in multimember constituencies, which increases the individual accountability of legislators and helps to contain agency loss. Irish governments have not been heavily constrained or monitored by other institutions or agents, including Parliament.
Marcus Kreuzer and Ina Stephan
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199260362
- eISBN:
- 9780191601873
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199260362.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
French politicians became skilled political entrepreneurs much earlier than their European counterparts, but their professionalization was shaped by the fact that it took place within a centralized ...
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French politicians became skilled political entrepreneurs much earlier than their European counterparts, but their professionalization was shaped by the fact that it took place within a centralized state bureaucracy characterized by a strong anti-republicanism. As a result of the bureaucracy’s various obstructionist tactics, disciplined political parties developed very slowly, thereby delaying the professionalization of certain aspects of parliamentary and electoral politics. Until today, the cumulation of national with (sometimes several) local mandates is a common way to live off politics in France. The image of a corrupt political class has intensified since the end of the 1980s, but ensuing reforms were for the most part a reaction to public pressure and not so much results of an explicit reformist intention.Less
French politicians became skilled political entrepreneurs much earlier than their European counterparts, but their professionalization was shaped by the fact that it took place within a centralized state bureaucracy characterized by a strong anti-republicanism. As a result of the bureaucracy’s various obstructionist tactics, disciplined political parties developed very slowly, thereby delaying the professionalization of certain aspects of parliamentary and electoral politics. Until today, the cumulation of national with (sometimes several) local mandates is a common way to live off politics in France. The image of a corrupt political class has intensified since the end of the 1980s, but ensuing reforms were for the most part a reaction to public pressure and not so much results of an explicit reformist intention.
GAUTAM R. DESIRAJU and THOMAS STEINER
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780198509707
- eISBN:
- 9780191708206
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198509707.003.0006
- Subject:
- Physics, Crystallography
The weak hydrogen bond was first identified in 1935, but it was only in the early 1990s that it really permeated into the consciousness of chemists and biologists. It only seems natural that this ...
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The weak hydrogen bond was first identified in 1935, but it was only in the early 1990s that it really permeated into the consciousness of chemists and biologists. It only seems natural that this interaction was explored first using spectroscopy, followed by crystallography. In structural supramolecular chemistry, a crystal structure is often not the result of hierarchic interaction preferences but a convolution of a large number of strong and weak interactions, each of which affect the rest intimately. Methods for codification of crystal structures must take this into account if they are to be accurate and useful. Of course, the goal of a subject like crystal engineering is to design systems where the interaction preferences are hierarchic, or in other words where the interaction interference is at a minimum. However, most crystal structures are not so predictable and the challenge posed by weak hydrogen bonding effects to the dogma of crystal engineering remains a real one.Less
The weak hydrogen bond was first identified in 1935, but it was only in the early 1990s that it really permeated into the consciousness of chemists and biologists. It only seems natural that this interaction was explored first using spectroscopy, followed by crystallography. In structural supramolecular chemistry, a crystal structure is often not the result of hierarchic interaction preferences but a convolution of a large number of strong and weak interactions, each of which affect the rest intimately. Methods for codification of crystal structures must take this into account if they are to be accurate and useful. Of course, the goal of a subject like crystal engineering is to design systems where the interaction preferences are hierarchic, or in other words where the interaction interference is at a minimum. However, most crystal structures are not so predictable and the challenge posed by weak hydrogen bonding effects to the dogma of crystal engineering remains a real one.
Pedro Rosas and Felix A. Wichmann
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195387247
- eISBN:
- 9780199918379
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195387247.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter briefly introduces the robust-weak-fusion model, which offers an exceptionally clear and elegant framework within which to understand empirical studies on cue combination. Research on ...
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This chapter briefly introduces the robust-weak-fusion model, which offers an exceptionally clear and elegant framework within which to understand empirical studies on cue combination. Research on cue combination is an area in the cognitive neurosciences where quantitative models and predictions are the norm rather than the exception—and this is certainly a development that this book welcomes wholeheartedly. What they view critically, however, is the strong emphasis on so-called optimal cue combination. Optimal in the context of human cue combination typically refers to the minimum-variance unbiased estimator for multiple sources of information, corresponding to maximum-likelihood estimation when the probability distribution of the estimates based on each cue are Gaussian, independent, and the prior of the observer is uniform (noninformative). The central aim of this chapter is to spell out worries regarding both the term optimality as well as against the use of the minimum-variance unbiased estimator as the statistical tool to go from the reliability of a cue to its weight in robust weak fusion.Less
This chapter briefly introduces the robust-weak-fusion model, which offers an exceptionally clear and elegant framework within which to understand empirical studies on cue combination. Research on cue combination is an area in the cognitive neurosciences where quantitative models and predictions are the norm rather than the exception—and this is certainly a development that this book welcomes wholeheartedly. What they view critically, however, is the strong emphasis on so-called optimal cue combination. Optimal in the context of human cue combination typically refers to the minimum-variance unbiased estimator for multiple sources of information, corresponding to maximum-likelihood estimation when the probability distribution of the estimates based on each cue are Gaussian, independent, and the prior of the observer is uniform (noninformative). The central aim of this chapter is to spell out worries regarding both the term optimality as well as against the use of the minimum-variance unbiased estimator as the statistical tool to go from the reliability of a cue to its weight in robust weak fusion.
Scott Atran
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195179675
- eISBN:
- 9780199869794
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179675.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter focuses on the issue of methodological usefulness of a strong versus weak adaptationist position in attempting to gain significant insight and to make scientifically important advances ...
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This chapter focuses on the issue of methodological usefulness of a strong versus weak adaptationist position in attempting to gain significant insight and to make scientifically important advances and discoveries in human cognition. Strong adaptationism holds that complex design is best explained by task-specific adaptations to particular ancestral environments; whereas weak adaptationism claims that we should not assume that complex design is the result of such narrowly determined task- or niche-specific evolutionary pressures in the absence of substantial corroborating evidence. It argues that in cases of certain domain-specific cognitive competencies (e.g., folk biology) strong adaptationism has proven useful but not necessary to recent progress in the field. In other cases (e.g., language), a weak adaptationist strategy has been arguably most productive in advancing scientific understanding, without precluding that the structures uncovered by other means are actually adaptations.Less
This chapter focuses on the issue of methodological usefulness of a strong versus weak adaptationist position in attempting to gain significant insight and to make scientifically important advances and discoveries in human cognition. Strong adaptationism holds that complex design is best explained by task-specific adaptations to particular ancestral environments; whereas weak adaptationism claims that we should not assume that complex design is the result of such narrowly determined task- or niche-specific evolutionary pressures in the absence of substantial corroborating evidence. It argues that in cases of certain domain-specific cognitive competencies (e.g., folk biology) strong adaptationism has proven useful but not necessary to recent progress in the field. In other cases (e.g., language), a weak adaptationist strategy has been arguably most productive in advancing scientific understanding, without precluding that the structures uncovered by other means are actually adaptations.
Norrin M. Ripsman and T. V. Paul
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195393903
- eISBN:
- 9780199776832
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195393903.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
This chapter explores a final category of states: weak, failing, and failed states. It focuses on the states in the sub-Saharan African region, based on a belief that the African continent contains ...
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This chapter explores a final category of states: weak, failing, and failed states. It focuses on the states in the sub-Saharan African region, based on a belief that the African continent contains more weak states than any other region and, therefore, offers sufficient diversity in terms of cases. On the whole, the weak, failing, and failed states category presents mixed evidence for the globalization school. These states clearly have changed the type of wars they fight, and have reached out to nonstate actors and institutions to help them achieve their security objectives. In addition, there does indeed seem to be an increase in non-traditional security threats in sub-Saharan Africa, although traditional interstate threats persist. The majority of the states in the region, though, have not reduced their armed forces or defense expenditures, nor have they abandoned traditional security concerns to address new threats. Furthermore, they continue to pursue strategies at odds with the prevailing view of globalization, including hard-balancing against regional opponents and military offense.Less
This chapter explores a final category of states: weak, failing, and failed states. It focuses on the states in the sub-Saharan African region, based on a belief that the African continent contains more weak states than any other region and, therefore, offers sufficient diversity in terms of cases. On the whole, the weak, failing, and failed states category presents mixed evidence for the globalization school. These states clearly have changed the type of wars they fight, and have reached out to nonstate actors and institutions to help them achieve their security objectives. In addition, there does indeed seem to be an increase in non-traditional security threats in sub-Saharan Africa, although traditional interstate threats persist. The majority of the states in the region, though, have not reduced their armed forces or defense expenditures, nor have they abandoned traditional security concerns to address new threats. Furthermore, they continue to pursue strategies at odds with the prevailing view of globalization, including hard-balancing against regional opponents and military offense.
Franck Courchamp, Luděk Berec, and Joanna Gascoigne
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780198570301
- eISBN:
- 9780191717642
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198570301.003.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Biodiversity / Conservation Biology
This first chapter acts as an introduction to the book. It explains what an Allee effect is, provides a clear definition of the main concept and of its nuances, and briefly explains how it works both ...
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This first chapter acts as an introduction to the book. It explains what an Allee effect is, provides a clear definition of the main concept and of its nuances, and briefly explains how it works both at the individual and population levels. The first part of the chapter describes the progression of the ideas in ecology that led a mostly ‘competition’ oriented view of both behavioural ecology and population dynamics to standpoint where cooperation plays a more appropriate role. This helps to illustrate the concepts that have historically emerged with the works of Professor Warder Clyde Allee, and how studies about Allee effects have evolved both in numbers and orientations over the decades. By explaining the notions related to Allee effects — mostly the two major distinctions (weak/strong and demographic/component Allee effects) and the boundaries of the concept — the book's structure and framework is described.Less
This first chapter acts as an introduction to the book. It explains what an Allee effect is, provides a clear definition of the main concept and of its nuances, and briefly explains how it works both at the individual and population levels. The first part of the chapter describes the progression of the ideas in ecology that led a mostly ‘competition’ oriented view of both behavioural ecology and population dynamics to standpoint where cooperation plays a more appropriate role. This helps to illustrate the concepts that have historically emerged with the works of Professor Warder Clyde Allee, and how studies about Allee effects have evolved both in numbers and orientations over the decades. By explaining the notions related to Allee effects — mostly the two major distinctions (weak/strong and demographic/component Allee effects) and the boundaries of the concept — the book's structure and framework is described.
Mario Luis Small
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195384352
- eISBN:
- 9780199869893
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195384352.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
This chapter examines the closeness of the friendships that mothers tended to make in centers—that is, whether they were generally weak or strong ties. Using national survey data, it finds that most ...
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This chapter examines the closeness of the friendships that mothers tended to make in centers—that is, whether they were generally weak or strong ties. Using national survey data, it finds that most mothers who made friends in centers made close friends, not merely acquaintances. However, deeper probing based on in‐depth interviews finds that the friendships were close, or intimate, in two different senses. Some mothers made standard intimate ties, family‐like relations that served as sources of all‐around support. These relations exhibited the characteristics that network sociologists have associated with “strong” ties. Other mothers made compartmentally intimate ties, relations that, violating expectations of some network theorists, were both strong and domain‐specific, with talk, conversation, and activity strictly limited to the domain of families, children, and the center. The chapter shows that compartmentally intimate ties were made possible because the organizational context, through the institutions shaping interactions in the centers, performed much of the work required to sustain strong relations, while providing a focus of activity.Less
This chapter examines the closeness of the friendships that mothers tended to make in centers—that is, whether they were generally weak or strong ties. Using national survey data, it finds that most mothers who made friends in centers made close friends, not merely acquaintances. However, deeper probing based on in‐depth interviews finds that the friendships were close, or intimate, in two different senses. Some mothers made standard intimate ties, family‐like relations that served as sources of all‐around support. These relations exhibited the characteristics that network sociologists have associated with “strong” ties. Other mothers made compartmentally intimate ties, relations that, violating expectations of some network theorists, were both strong and domain‐specific, with talk, conversation, and activity strictly limited to the domain of families, children, and the center. The chapter shows that compartmentally intimate ties were made possible because the organizational context, through the institutions shaping interactions in the centers, performed much of the work required to sustain strong relations, while providing a focus of activity.
