Download or read book Folkbiology written by Douglas L. Medin and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 1999-06-08 with total page 524 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The term "folkbiology" refers to people's everyday understanding of the biological world—how they perceive, categorize, and reason about living kinds. The study of folkbiology not only sheds light on human nature, it may ultimately help us make the transition to a global economy without irreparably damaging the environment or destroying local cultures. This book takes an interdisciplinary approach, bringing together the work of researchers in anthropology, cognitive and developmental psychology, biology, and philosophy of science. The issues covered include: Are folk taxonomies a first-order approximation to classical scientific taxonomies, or are they driven more directly by utilitarian concerns? How are these category schemes linked to reasoning about natural kinds? Is there any nontrivial sense in which folk-taxonomic structures are universal? What impact does science have on folk taxonomy? Together, the chapters present the current foundations of folkbiology and indicate new directions in research. Contributors Scott Atran, Terry Kit-fong Au, Brent Berlin, K. David Bishop, John D. Coley, Jared Diamond, John Dupré, Roy Ellen, Susan A. Gelman, Michael T. Ghiselin, Grant Gutheil, Giyoo Hatano, Lawrence A. Hirschfeld, David L. Hull, Eugene Hunn, Kayoko Inagaki, Frank C. Keil, Daniel T. Levin, Elizabeth Lynch, Douglas L. Medin, Julia Beth Proffitt, Bethany A. Richman, Laura F. Romo, Sandra R. Waxman

Download or read book Concepts in the Brain written by David Kemmerer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-02-21 with total page 444 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For most native speakers of English, the meanings of ordinary words like "blue," "cup," "stumble," and "carve" seem quite natural and self-evident. It turns out, however, that they are far from universal, as shown by recent research in the discipline known as semantic typology. To be sure, the roughly 6,500 languages around the world do have many similarities in the sorts of concepts they encode. But they also vary greatly in numerous ways, such as how they partition particular conceptual domains, how they map those domains onto syntactic categories, which distinctions they force speakers to habitually attend to, and how deeply they weave certain notions into the fabric of their grammar. Although these insights from semantic typology have had a major impact on the field of psycholinguistics, they have been mostly neglected by the branch of cognitive neuroscience that studies how concepts are represented, organized, and processed in our brains. In Concepts in the Brain, David Kemmerer exposes this oversight and demonstrates its significance. He argues that as research on the neural substrates of semantic knowledge moves forward, it should, to the extent possible, expand its purview to embrace the broad spectrum of cross-linguistic variation in the lexical and grammatical representation of meaning. Otherwise, it will never be able to achieve a truly comprehensive, pan-human account of the cortical underpinnings of concepts. Richly illustrated and written in an accessible interdisciplinary style, the book begins by elaborating the different perspectives on concepts that currently exist in the parallel fields of semantic typology and cognitive neuroscience. It then shows how a synthesis of these approaches can lead to a more unified and inclusive understanding of several domains of concrete meaning--specifically, objects, actions, and spatial relations. Finally, it explores a number of intriguing and controversial issues involving the interplay between language, cognition, and consciousness.

Download or read book How Maps Work written by Alan M. MacEachren and published by Guilford Press. This book was released on 2004-06-21 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now available in paperback for the first time, this classic work presents a cognitive-semiotic framework for understanding how maps work as powerful, abstract, and synthetic spatial representations. Explored are the ways in which the many representational choices inherent in mapping interact with information processing and knowledge construction, and how the resulting insights can be used to make informed symbolization and design decisions. A new preface to the paperback edition situates the book within the context of contemporary technologies. As the nature of maps continues to evolve, Alan MacEachren emphasizes the ongoing need to think systematically about the ways people interact with and use spatial information.

Download or read book Nature and Society written by Philippe Descola and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2003-12-16 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The contributors to this book focus on the relationship between nature and society from a variety of theoretical and ethnographic perspectives. Their work draws upon recent developments in social theory, biology, ethnobiology, epistemology, sociology of science, and a wide array of ethnographic case studies -- from Amazonia, the Solomon Islands, Malaysia, the Mollucan Islands, rural comunities from Japan and north-west Europe, urban Greece, and laboratories of molecular biology and high-energy physics. The discussion is divided into three parts, emphasising the problems posed by the nature-culture dualism, some misguided attempts to respond to these problems, and potential avenues out of the current dilemmas of ecological discourse.

Download or read book Perspectives on Language and Thought written by Susan A. Gelman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1991-10-25 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents current observational and experimental research on the links between thought and language in such children.

Download or read book Isolation Characterization and Therapeutic Applications of Natural Bioactive Compounds written by Singh, Ajeet and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2022-06-30 with total page 420 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Natural products have historically been key to drug discovery and therapeutic applications throughout many societies. In the modern era, natural bioactive compounds can be isolated, and their effects can be further studied for more successful outcomes. It is essential to study these natural bioactive compounds to enhance pharmaceuticals and drug discovery. Isolation, Characterization, and Therapeutic Applications of Natural Bioactive Compounds examines the applications of natural bioactive compounds from a health perspective. It discusses medicinal and therapeutic applications of natural bioactive molecules as well as the biological activities of different natural products and their properties. Covering topics such as drug discovery, government regulations, and phytochemical extraction, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for pharmacists, medical practitioners, phytologists, hospital administrators, government officials, faculty and students of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

Download or read book The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics written by James Mattingly and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2022-09-21 with total page 1057 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The SAGE Encyclopedia of Theory is a landmark work that examines theory in general and the broad split between the "hard" and "soft" sciences, a split that is being re-examined as approaches to scientific questions become increasingly multidisciplinary.

Download or read book Animal Classification in Central China written by Ningning Dong and published by International. This book was released on 2021-07-30 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, integrating multiple lines of evidence and their contextual information, attempts to investigate folk animal classification in central China during the late Neolithic to the early Bronze Age through archaeology.

Download or read book Japanese Review of Cultural Anthropology written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science Cognitive Processes written by and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-03-31 with total page 1120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essential reference for human development theory, updated and reconceptualized The Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, a four-volume reference, is the field-defining work to which all others are compared. First published in 1946, and now in its Seventh Edition, the Handbook has long been considered the definitive guide to the field of developmental science. Volume 2: Cognitive Processes describes cognitive development as a relational phenomenon that can be studied only as part of a larger whole of the person and context relational system that sustains it. In this volume, specific domains of cognitive development are contextualized with respect to biological processes and sociocultural contexts. Furthermore, key themes and issues (e.g., the importance of symbolic systems and social understanding) are threaded across multiple chapters, although every each chapter is focused on a different domain within cognitive development. Thus, both within and across chapters, the complexity and interconnectivity of cognitive development are well illuminated. Learn about the inextricable intertwining of perceptual development, motor development, emotional development, and brain development Understand the complexity of cognitive development without misleading simplification, reducing cognitive development to its biological substrates, or viewing it as a passive socialization process Discover how each portion of the developmental process contributes to subsequent cognitive development Examine the multiple processes – such as categorizing, reasoning, thinking, decision making and judgment – that comprise cognition The scholarship within this volume and, as well, across the four volumes of this edition, illustrate that developmental science is in the midst of a very exciting period. There is a paradigm shift that involves increasingly greater understanding of how to describe, explain, and optimize the course of human life for diverse individuals living within diverse contexts. This Handbook is the definitive reference for educators, policy-makers, researchers, students, and practitioners in human development, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and neuroscience.

Download or read book The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology written by Nancy Bonvillain and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-08-11 with total page 495 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology is a broad survey of linguistic anthropology, featuring contributions from prominent scholars in the field. Each chapter presents a brief historical summary of research in the field and discusses topics and issues of current concern to people doing research in linguistic anthropology. The handbook is organized into four parts – Language and Cultural Productions; Language Ideologies and Practices of Learning; Language and the Communication of Identities; and Language and Local/Global Power – and covers current topics of interest at the intersection of the two fields, while also contextualizing them within discussions of fieldwork practice. Featuring 30 contributions from leading scholars in the field, The Routledge Handbook of Linguistic Anthropology is an essential overview for students and researchers interested in understanding core concepts and key issues in linguistic anthropology.

Download or read book Wildlife and Landscapes in Malawi written by Brian Morris and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2009 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABOUT THE BOOK A pioneer ethnobiologist Brian Morris has been studying the wildlife of Malawi for over forty years, and has spent more than a decade of his life living and researching in the country. Always engaged in exploring the relationship of the matrilineal peoples of Malawi to its wildlife, Morris has written several important and seminal studies that focus on this relationship: "Common Weeds of Malawi"(1986) "Common Mushrooms of Malawi"(1987) "Chewa Medical Botany"(1996) "The Power of Animals"(1998) "Animals and Ancestors"(2000) And "Insects And Human Life"(2004) All his writings have aimed to bridge the divide between academic scholarship and a wider audience, and combine the perspectives of ethnobiology, environmental history and cultural anthropology. The present book consists of a collection of his various writings on the landscapes and wildlife of Malawi, written over the last forty years, forming the basis of his oral presentations to varied audiences, they are lucidly and engagingly written, and will appeal to scholars, students and all general readers interested in environmental issues and the wildlife of Africa. They represent an enduring contribution to the natural history of Malawi.

Download or read book The Discipline of Organizing Professional Edition written by Robert J. Glushko and published by "O'Reilly Media, Inc.". This book was released on 2014-08-25 with total page 743 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Note about this ebook: This ebook exploits many advanced capabilities with images, hypertext, and interactivity and is optimized for EPUB3-compliant book readers, especially Apple's iBooks and browser plugins. These features may not work on all ebook readers. We organize things. We organize information, information about things, and information about information. Organizing is a fundamental issue in many professional fields, but these fields have only limited agreement in how they approach problems of organizing and in what they seek as their solutions. The Discipline of Organizing synthesizes insights from library science, information science, computer science, cognitive science, systems analysis, business, and other disciplines to create an Organizing System for understanding organizing. This framework is robust and forward-looking, enabling effective sharing of insights and design patterns between disciplines that weren’t possible before. The Professional Edition includes new and revised content about the active resources of the "Internet of Things," and how the field of Information Architecture can be viewed as a subset of the discipline of organizing. You’ll find: 600 tagged endnotes that connect to one or more of the contributing disciplines Nearly 60 new pictures and illustrations Links to cross-references and external citations Interactive study guides to test on key points The Professional Edition is ideal for practitioners and as a primary or supplemental text for graduate courses on information organization, content and knowledge management, and digital collections. FOR INSTRUCTORS: Supplemental materials (lecture notes, assignments, exams, etc.) are available at http://disciplineoforganizing.org. FOR STUDENTS: Make sure this is the edition you want to buy. There's a newer one and maybe your instructor has adopted that one instead.

Download or read book Case Studies in Biocultural Diversity from Southeast Asia written by F. Merlin Franco and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-07-27 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book demonstrates the linkages between local languages, traditional knowledge, and biodiversity at the landscape level in Asia, providing a fresh approach to discussions on Asia’s biocultural diversity. The book carries forward earlier analyses but importantly focuses on ‘traditional ecological calendars,’ ‘folk medicine,’ and ‘folk names’ in the context of the vital importance of maintaining biological, cultural, and linguistic diversity. It does this by addressing a range of cases and issues in relation to Southeast Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and North-East India. The several chapters demonstrate the ways in which the various forms of knowledge of the environment and its categorizations are important in areas such as landscape and resource management and conservation. They also demonstrate that environmental knowledge and the practical skills which accompany it are not necessarily widely shared. This book sends important messages to those who care about the sustainability of our environment, the maintenance of its biocultural diversity, or at least the maintenance of what remains of it because much has changed. This interdisciplinary collection draws from a wide range of disciplines and is of appeal to students and scholars in anthropology, environmental studies, geography, biodiversity, and linguistics.

Download or read book The Ceramic Sequence of the Holmul Region Guatemala written by Michael G. Callaghan and published by University of Arizona Press. This book was released on 2016-11-29 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sequencing the ceramics in Guatemala’s Holmul region has the potential to answer important questions in Maya archaeology. The Holmul region, located in northeastern Guatemala between the central Peten lowlands to the west and the Belize River Valley to the east, encompasses roughly ten square kilometers and contains at least seven major archaeological sites, including two large ceremonial and administrative centers, Holmul and Cival. The Ceramic Sequence of the Holmul Region, Guatemala illustrates the archaeological ceramics of these prehistoric Maya sites in a study that provides a theoretical starting point for answering questions related to mid- and high-level issues of archaeological method and theory in the Maya area and larger Mesoamerica. The researchers’ ceramic sequence, which uses the method of type:variety-mode classification, spans approximately 1,600 years and encompasses nine ceramic complexes and one sub-complex. The highly illustrated book is formatted as a catalog of the types of ceramics in a chronological framework. The authors undertook this study with three objectives: to create a temporal-spatial framework for archaeological sites in the politically important Holmul region, to relate this framework to other Maya sites, and to use type:variety-mode data to address specific questions of ancient Maya social practice and process during each ceramic complex. Specific questions addressed in this volume include the adoption of pottery as early as 800 BC at the sites of Holmul and Cival during the Middle Preclassic period, the creation of the first orange polychrome pottery, the ideological and political influence from sites in Mexico during the Early Classic period, and the demographic and political collapse of lowland Maya polities between AD 800 and AD 830.

Download or read book Early Category and Concept Development written by David H. Rakison and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2008-12-30 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether or not infants' earliest perception of the world is a "blooming, buzzing, confusion," it is not long before they come to perceive structure and order among the objects and events around them. At the core of this process, and cognitive development in general, is the ability to categorize--to group events, objects, or properties together--and to form mental representations, or concepts, that encapsulate the commonalities and structure of these categories. Categorization is the primary means of coding experience, underlying not only perceptual and reasoning processes, but also inductive inference and language. The aim of this book is to bring together the most recent findings and theories about the origins and early development of categorization and conceptual abilities. Despite recent advances in our understanding of this area, a number of hotly debated issues remain at the center of the controversy over categorization. Researchers continue to ask questions such as: Which mechanisms for categorization are available at birth and which emerge later? What are the relative roles of perceptual similarity and nonobservable properties in early classification? What is the role of contextual variation in categorization by infants and children? Do different experimental procedures reveal the same kind of knowledge? Can computational models simulate infant and child categorization? How do computational models inform behavioral research? What is the impact of language on category development? How does language partition the world? This book is the first to address these and other key questions within a single volume. The authors present a diverse set of views representing cutting-edge empirical and theoretical advances in the field. The result is a thorough review of empirical contributions to the literature, and a wealth of fresh theoretical perspectives on early categorization.

Download or read book An Anthropology of Animism and Shamanism written by Takako Yamada and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Based upon her field trips since the 1980s among the Ladakhi in Western Tibet, the Ainu in Hokkaido, and the Sakha-Yakut in Eastern Siberia, the author reformulates the significance of animism and shamanism, considering them part of a comprehensive cognitive system of the phenomenal world including the universe, soul, spirits, and nature. For example, Yamada comes across references to Ainu names for plants and animals, and becomes aware of the Ainu's enormous knowledge of them and their belief they are kamui (deities). No information on the author except that she has been funded by an array of Japanese organizations. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.