1,721,060 research outputs found
Human Choice and Climate Change
No full textThis is four-part work providing an international view of climate change which is designed to complement the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Second Assessment report. The complete work is a benchmark document summarising current understanding of of the contributions of the social sciences to the interdisciplinary issues of global climate change. It brings together widely scattered information and highlights both current research strengths and key areas for further research. The books survey the state of the art of the social sciences with regard to global climate change research; recognise global climate change research as policy relevant; review what is currently known, uncertain, and unknown in the social science areas relevant to global change; assemble and summarise findings from the international research community; report these findings within behavioural and interpretive frameworks as appropriate; and assemble this information to enlighten the future formulation and conduct of policy-relevant scientific research. The volumes in this four-part work cover resources and technology (Volume 2); tools for policy analysis (Volume 3); and, in Volume 1, begin with the societal framework. Volume 4 is presented as a readable summary for non-professionals. The first chapter of Volume 4 comprises the introductory section of each of the three more specialist volumes
Unnatural Selection: The Challenges of Engineering Tomorrow's People
No full textWith ever-advancing scientific understanding and technological capabilities, humanity stands on the brink of the potential next stage of evolution: evolution engineered by us. Nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive science offer the possibility to enhance human performance, lengthen life-span and reshape our inherited physical, cognitive and emotional identities. But with this promise come huge risks, complex choices and fundamental ethical questions: about evolution; about what it is to be human; and about control over, and the distribution of benefits from, new technology. Written by a range of experts in science, technology, bioethics and social science, Unnatural Selection examines the range of technological innovations offering lives that purport to be longer, stronger, smarter and happier, and asks whether their introduction is likely to lead to more fulfilled individuals and a fairer world. The breadth of approaches and perspectives make important reading for anyone who cares about the implications of humanity engineering its own evolution
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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