Download or read book Characterizing the Robustness of Science written by Léna Soler and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-03-23 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mature sciences have been long been characterized in terms of the “successfulness”, “reliability” or “trustworthiness” of their theoretical, experimental or technical accomplishments. Today many philosophers of science talk of “robustness”, often without specifying in a precise way the meaning of this term. This lack of clarity is the cause of frequent misunderstandings, since all these notions, and that of robustness in particular, are connected to fundamental issues, which concern nothing less than the very nature of science and its specificity with respect to other human practices, the nature of rationality and of scientific progress; and science’s claim to be a truth-conducive activity. This book offers for the first time a comprehensive analysis of the problem of robustness, and in general, that of the reliability of science, based on several detailed case studies and on philosophical essays inspired by the so-called practical turn in philosophy of science.

Download or read book Reproducibility and Replicability in Science written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2019-10-20 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the pathways by which the scientific community confirms the validity of a new scientific discovery is by repeating the research that produced it. When a scientific effort fails to independently confirm the computations or results of a previous study, some fear that it may be a symptom of a lack of rigor in science, while others argue that such an observed inconsistency can be an important precursor to new discovery. Concerns about reproducibility and replicability have been expressed in both scientific and popular media. As these concerns came to light, Congress requested that the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conduct a study to assess the extent of issues related to reproducibility and replicability and to offer recommendations for improving rigor and transparency in scientific research. Reproducibility and Replicability in Science defines reproducibility and replicability and examines the factors that may lead to non-reproducibility and non-replicability in research. Unlike the typical expectation of reproducibility between two computations, expectations about replicability are more nuanced, and in some cases a lack of replicability can aid the process of scientific discovery. This report provides recommendations to researchers, academic institutions, journals, and funders on steps they can take to improve reproducibility and replicability in science.

Download or read book Science after the Practice Turn in the Philosophy History and Social Studies of Science written by Léna Soler and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-03-21 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 1980s, philosophical, historical and social studies of science underwent a change which later evolved into a turn to practice. Analysts of science were asked to pay attention to scientific practices in meticulous detail and along multiple dimensions, including the material, social and psychological. Following this turn, the interest in scientific practices continued to increase and had an indelible influence in the various fields of science studies. No doubt, the practice turn changed our conceptions and approaches of science, but what did it really teach us? What does it mean to study scientific practices? What are the general lessons, implications, and new challenges? This volume explores questions about the practice turn using both case studies and theoretical analysis. The case studies examine empirical and mathematical sciences, including the engineering sciences. The volume promotes interactions between acknowledged experts from different, often thought of as conflicting, orientations. It presents contributions in conjunction with critical commentaries that put the theses and assumptions of the former in perspective. Overall, the book offers a unique and diverse range of perspectives on the meanings, methods, lessons, and challenges associated with the practice turn.

Download or read book Biological Robustness written by Marta Bertolaso and published by Springer. This book was released on 2019-01-04 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume reviews examples and notions of robustness at several levels of biological organization. It tackles many philosophical and conceptual issues and casts an outlook on the future challenges of robustness studies in the context of a practice-oriented philosophy of science. The focus of discussion is on concrete case studies. These highlight the necessity of a level-dependent description of robust biological behaviors.Experts from the neurosciences, biochemistry, ecology, biology, and the history and the philosophy of life sciences provide a multiplex perspective on the topic. Contributions span from protein folding, to cell-level robustness, to organismal and developmental robustness, to sensorimotor systems, up to the robustness of ecological systems.Several chapters detail neurobiological case-studies. The brain, the poster child of plasticity in biology, offers multiple examples of robustness. Neurobiology explores the importance of temporal organization and multiscalarity in making this robustness-with-plasticity possible. The discussion also includes structures well beyond the brain, such as muscles and the complex feedback loops involved in the peculiar robustness of music perception. Overall, the volume grounds general reflections upon concrete case studies, opening to all the life sciences but also to non-biological and bio-inspired fields such as post-modern engineering. It will appeal to researchers, students, as well as non-expert readers.

Download or read book The Tools of Neuroscience Experiment written by John Bickle and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-12-31 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume establishes the conceptual foundation for sustained investigation into tool development in neuroscience. Neuroscience relies on diverse and sophisticated experimental tools, and its ultimate explanatory target—our brains and hence the organ driving our behaviors—catapults the investigation of these research tools into a philosophical spotlight. The chapters in this volume integrate the currently scattered work on tool development in neuroscience into the broader philosophy of science community. They also present an accessible compendium for neuroscientists interested in the broader theoretical dimensions of their experimental practices. The chapters are divided into five thematic sections. Section 1 discusses the development of revolutionary research tools across neuroscience’s history and argues to various conclusions concerning the relationship between new research tools and theory progress in neuroscience. Section 2 shows how a focus on research tools and their development in neuroscience transforms some traditional epistemological issues and questions about knowledge production in philosophy of science. Section 3 speaks to the most general questions about the way we characterize the nature of the portion of the world that this science addresses. Section 4 discusses hybrid research tools that integrate laboratory and computational methods in exciting new ways. Finally, Section 5 extends research on tool development to the related science of genetics. The Tools of Neuroscience Experiment will be of interest to philosophers and philosophically minded scientists working at the intersection of philosophy and neuroscience.

Download or read book Essays in the Philosophy of Chemistry written by Eric Scerri and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016-04-10 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The philosophy of chemistry has emerged in recent years as a new and autonomous field within the Anglo-American philosophical tradition. With the development of this new discipline, Eric Scerri and Grant Fisher's "Essays in the Philosophy of Chemistry" is a timely and definitive guide to all current thought in this field. This edited volume will serve to map out the distinctive features of the field and its connections to the philosophies of the natural sciences and general philosophy of science more broadly. It will be a reference for students and professional alike. Both the philosophy of chemistry and philosophies of scientific practice alike reflect the splitting of analytical and continental scholastic traditions, and some philosophers are turning for inspiration from the familiar resources of analytical philosophy to influences from the continental tradition and pragmatism. While philosophy of chemistry is practiced very much within the familiar analytical tradition, it is also capable of trail-blazing new philosophical approaches. In such a way, the seemingly disparate disciplines such as the "hard sciences" and philosophy become much more linked.

Download or read book Metaphors and Analogies in Sciences and Humanities written by Shyam Wuppuluri and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-05-30 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this highly-interdisciplinary volume, we systematically study the role of metaphors and analogies in (mis)shaping our understanding of the world. Metaphors and Analogies occupy a prominent place in scientific discourses, as they do in literature, humanities and at the very level of our thinking itself. But when misused they can lead us astray, blinding our understanding inexorably. How can metaphors aid us in our understanding of the world? What role do they play in our scientific discourses and in humanities? How do they help us understand and skillfully deal with our complex socio-political scenarios? Where is the dividing line between their use and abuse? Join us as we explore some of these questions in this volume.

Download or read book Best Practice Approaches for Characterizing Communicating and Incorporating Scientific Uncertainty in Climate Decision Making Synthesis and Assessment Product 5 2 Report written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Mathematical Modelling in Science and Technology written by Xavier J.R. Avula and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2014-05-09 with total page 1023 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mathematical Modelling in Science and Technology: The Fourth International Conference covers the proceedings of the Fourth International Conference by the same title, held at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland on August 15-17, 1983. Mathematical modeling is a powerful tool to solve many complex problems presented by scientific and technological developments. This book is organized into 20 parts encompassing 180 chapters. The first parts present the basic principles, methodology, systems theory, parameter estimation, system identification, and optimization of mathematical modeling. The succeeding parts discuss the features of stochastic and numerical modeling and simulation languages. Considerable parts deal with the application areas of mathematical modeling, such as in chemical engineering, solid and fluid mechanics, water resources, medicine, economics, transportation, and industry. The last parts tackle the application of mathematical modeling in student management and other academic cases. This book will prove useful to researchers in various science and technology fields.

Download or read book Science Literacy written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-11-14 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Science is a way of knowing about the world. At once a process, a product, and an institution, science enables people to both engage in the construction of new knowledge as well as use information to achieve desired ends. Access to scienceâ€"whether using knowledge or creating itâ€"necessitates some level of familiarity with the enterprise and practice of science: we refer to this as science literacy. Science literacy is desirable not only for individuals, but also for the health and well- being of communities and society. More than just basic knowledge of science facts, contemporary definitions of science literacy have expanded to include understandings of scientific processes and practices, familiarity with how science and scientists work, a capacity to weigh and evaluate the products of science, and an ability to engage in civic decisions about the value of science. Although science literacy has traditionally been seen as the responsibility of individuals, individuals are nested within communities that are nested within societiesâ€"and, as a result, individual science literacy is limited or enhanced by the circumstances of that nesting. Science Literacy studies the role of science literacy in public support of science. This report synthesizes the available research literature on science literacy, makes recommendations on the need to improve the understanding of science and scientific research in the United States, and considers the relationship between scientific literacy and support for and use of science and research.

Download or read book Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 1028 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lists citations with abstracts for aerospace related reports obtained from world wide sources and announces documents that have recently been entered into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Database.

Download or read book Examining Robustness and Vulnerability of Networked Systems written by S. Butenko and published by IOS Press. This book was released on 2014-06-19 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Modern critical infrastructure is characterized by complex, heterogeneous and dynamically evolving networks. But these can be vulnerable to component failure, and this is a problem which must be addressed by realistic mathematical models. This book presents papers from the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), Examining Robustness and Vulnerability of Critical Infrastructure Networks, held in Kiev, Ukraine, in June 2013. Contributions were from workshop participants as well as invited experts in the field, and cover topics including: mathematical models; probability-based risk measures; algorithms for the design and detection of robust structures; identification of critical network components and case studies. This book will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and graduate students in the fields of mathematics, computer science and engineering.

Download or read book Introduction to Robust Estimation and Hypothesis Testing written by Rand R. Wilcox and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2012-01-12 with total page 713 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book focuses on the practical aspects of modern and robust statistical methods. The increased accuracy and power of modern methods, versus conventional approaches to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression, is remarkable. Through a combination of theoretical developments, improved and more flexible statistical methods, and the power of the computer, it is now possible to address problems with standard methods that seemed insurmountable only a few years ago"--

Download or read book Advances and Applications of Passive Seismic Source Characterization written by Lei Li and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2023-10-09 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Source characterization is a fundamental task of passive seismic monitoring. Spatial-temporal evolution of both, point sources and finite-fault source, provides essential information for timely seismic hazard management and advanced analysis of the seismicity in the monitored areas. In the last few decades, the rise of dense seismic arrays, increase of high-performance computing resources, and development of advanced array-based techniques lead to studies using recorded wavefields in great detail. Full waveform inversion can invert passive seismic source parameters with an iterative framework, which connects the delay-and-sum imaging technique and kernel-based inversion strategy. Moreover, emerging technologies like distributed acoustic sensing and machine learning also have great potential in advancing passive seismic imaging and source characterization. Besides, non-earthquake sources and ambient noise, as unconventional and passive sources, are also undergoing rapid development in infrastructure monitoring and subsurface imaging, due to the emergence of sensitive sensors and modern techniques like seismic interferometry.

Download or read book Extending Ourselves written by Paul Humphreys and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Computational methods have become the dominant technique in many areas of science. This book contains the first systematic philosophical account of these new methods and their consequences for scientific method. This book will be of interest to philosophers of science and to anyone interested in the role played by computers in modern science.

Download or read book Multimodal and Longitudinal Bioimaging Methods for Characterizing the Progressive Course of Dementia written by Javier Ramírez and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2019-08-12 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Advances and New Insights Into Cancer Characterization When Novel Imaging Meets Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers written by Guang Yang and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2022-11-29 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: