Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
16,840
result(s) for
"Progress In Science"
Sort by:
Enlightenment now : the case for reason, science, humanism, and progress
Is the world really falling apart? Is the ideal of progress obsolete? Cognitive scientist Steven Pinker urges us to step back from the headlines and prophecies of doom and instead follow the data. In seventy-five graphs, he posits that life, health, prosperity, safety, peace, knowledge, and happiness are on the rise, not just in the West, but worldwide. This progress is not the result of some cosmic force. It is a gift of the Enlightenment: the conviction that reason and science can enhance human flourishing. Far from being a naïve hope, the Enlightenment, Pinker believes, has worked.
BOOK
Give one species the task to come up with a theory that spans them all: what good can come out of that?
Does the progress in understanding evolutionary theory depend on the species that is doing the investigation? This question is difficult to answer scientifically, as we are dealing with an n = 1 scenario: every individual who has ever written about evolution is a human being. I will discuss, first, whether we get the correct answer to questions if we begin with ourselves and expand outwards, and second, whether we might fail to ask all the interesting questions unless we combat our tendencies to favour taxa that are close to us. As a whole, the human tendency to understand general biological phenomena via ‘putting oneself in another organism's shoes’ has upsides and downsides. As an upside, our intuitive ability to rethink strategies if the situation changes can lead to ready generation of adaptive hypotheses. Downsides occur if we trust this intuition too much, and particular danger zones exist for traits where humans are an unusual species. I argue that the levels of selection debate might have proceeded differently if human cooperation patterns were not so unique, as this brings about unique challenges in biology teaching; and that theoretical insights regarding inbreeding avoidance versus tolerance could have spread faster if we were not extrapolating our emotional reactions to incest disproportionately depending on whether we study animals or plants. I also discuss patterns such as taxonomic chauvinism, i.e. less attention being paid to species that differ more from human-like life histories. Textbooks on evolution reinforce such biases insofar as they present, as a default case, systems that resemble ours in terms of life cycles and other features (e.g. gonochorism). Additionally, societal norms may have led to incorrect null hypotheses such as females not mating multiply.
Journal Article
Any change in the Methodology of field studies on bird Migration? A comparison of methods used in 1994-2003 and a Quarter Century earlier
The holistic approach to the study of bird migration observed in the past decades and the huge advancement in technology should be seen in the numbers and types of methods used in field studies for this phenomenon. To check this assumption, we compared field methods used in the studies on bird migration published in international journals in 1994-2003 (N = 570 papers) and in 1967-1976 (N = 394 papers). We noted an increase in the mean number of methods per a single paper (from 1.49 in the former of these decades to 1.98 in the latter) and a change in the frequency of each method. In recent years, methods such as satellite telemetry, DNA or isotope proportions analyses have been developed. An increase in the mean number of methods as well as changes of the most frequently used methods were more apparent in journals indexed on the ISI Master Journal List in 2003 than in other current journals, where the methods were often found to be similar to those applied a quarter century earlier, which surprised us.
Journal Article
The WheelCams on the IDEFIX rover
IDEFIX, the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission Phobos rover, will be the first of its kind to attempt wheeled-locomotion on a low-gravity surface. The IDEFIX WheelCams, two cameras placed on the underside of the rover looking at the rover wheels, provide a unique opportunity to study the surface properties of Phobos, regolith behaviour on small-bodies and rover mobility in low-gravity. The information gained about Phobos’ surface will be of high importance to the landing and sampling operations of the main MMX spacecraft, in addition to being valuable for understanding the surface processes and geological history of Phobos. Here we introduce the WheelCam science objectives, the instrument and the characterisation activities. We also discuss the on-going preparations linked to the analysis and interpretation of the WheelCam images on the surface of Phobos.
Journal Article
Science after Progress. Reflexive Methodology in Computational Modelling and Sustainable Chemistry
This paper explores the concept of science after progress, challenging the traditional Western notion of progress as a linear, upward trajectory. Starting from a reading of reflexive methodology, the paper introduces two case studies: situated modelling and sustainable chemistry. Situated modelling emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary reflection and highlights the need for models to reflect the complex interactions between social and material factors. In sustainable chemistry, socio-molecular studies alters the design of new molecules. It advocates for an approach that co-develops issue publics and molecular design aiming to create chemicals that are benign by design and aligned with principles of sustainability and circular economy. The paper concludes by arguing for a science that is more responsive to the terrestrial conditions of the Anthropocene. It calls for a public science that embraces diverse ecologies of expertise and addresses the naturecultural legacies of late industrialism. By differentiating reflexive methodologies, the paper outlines a path towards a science after progress that can navigate the complexi-ties of a permanently polluted world and contribute to sustainable futures.
Journal Article
Science operations of IDEFIX, the MMX Phobos rover
IDEFIX, a rover to be delivered to the martian moon Phobos, is part of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. MMX will explore both moons of Mars remotely but will also land on Phobos and collect samples from its surface and return them back to Earth. The IDEFIX rover will be released from the main spacecraft during its landing rehearsal at an altitude of about 40 m. It will fall to the surface, probably bounce several times and upright itself after having come to rest by applying an autonomous sequence of the deployment of its locomotion system. This sequence is followed by deployment of the solar generator and recharging of the batteries. After commissioning, on-Phobos operations are planned for at least 100 (Earth-) days. Sequences of science operations (instrument measurements), driving, battery charging and communications with Earth (via the main spacecraft) will alternate in a way to maximize scientific return and fulfill technical demonstration goals. IDEFIX accommodates a payload of four scientific instruments: a Raman spectrometer (RAX), a stereo pair of cameras looking forwards (NavCams; also used for navigation), a radiometer (miniRAD), and two cameras looking at the wheel-surface interface (WheelCams). MMX will be launched in autumn 2026, the Rover delivery to Phobos is currently planned for late 2028, before the first touch down of the spacecraft and sample collection. The Rover is a contribution by the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) with additional contributions from INTA (Spain) and JAXA (Japan).
Journal Article
Analysis of groundwater level trend and groundwater drought using Standard Groundwater Level Index: a case study of an eastern river basin of West Bengal, India
Global water demand has far exceeded the total available water resources which in turn have put a serious concern on food security. Changes in the land use and land cover scenario and rapid population growth are putting unavoidable stress over the water resources of the nation. The Indian aquifer system is facing an acute crisis due to the unscientific abstraction of groundwater for agricultural, industrial and domestic sector by the 1.3 billion growing population. To investigate the groundwater degradation, 20 wells from a river basin of West Bengal have been selected to study their seasonal groundwater level trend using Mann–Kendall test statistics from 1996 to 2018 where 60% of the wells are showing a decline in water level particularly in post-monsoon season. These wells are mainly located near the agricultural land where extraction of groundwater from submersible pumping wells is extensive as observed from socio-economic survey. Agglomerated hierarchical cluster analysis has been executed to classify the wells based on their magnitude of fluctuation. The wells have been classified in four clusters where cluster I consists most of the wells about 15 numbers whose fluctuation ranged between 1.8 and 4.33 m below groundwater level (mbgl). Finally, Standard Groundwater Level Index has been applied to understand the groundwater drought years. Well locations like Simlapal, Bheduasol and Neradeul have a higher frequency of drought years. The recharge potential of the wells is now decreasing day by day. Such kind of studies is required and will help the stakeholders to focus on sustainable management of this valuable water resource.
Journal Article