Natural Science

While the conventions for evaluating information systems case studies conducted according to the natural science model of social science are now widely accepted, this is not the case for interpretive field studies. A set of principles for the conduct and evaluation of interpretive field research in information systems is proposed, along with their philosophical rationale. The usefulness of the principles is illustrated by evaluating three published interpretive field studies drawn from the IS research literature. The intention of the paper is to further reflection and debate on the important subject of grounding interpretive research methodology.

Much of the spread of participatory rural appraisal (PRA) as an emerging family of approaches and methods has been lateral, South-South, through experiential learning and changes in behavior, with different local applications. Rapid spread has made quality assurance a concern, with dangers from "instant fashion", rushing, formalism and ruts. Promising potentials include farmers' own farming systems research, alternatives to questionnaire surveys, monitoring, evaluation and lateral spread by local people, empowerment of the poorer and weaker, and policy review. Changes in personal behavior and attitudes, and in organizational cultures, are implied. PRA parallels and resonates with paradigm shifts in the social and natural sciences, business management, and development thinking, supporting decentralization, local diversity, and personal responsibility.

We calculate correlation functions in minimal topological field theories. These twisted version of N = 2 minimal models have recently been proposed to describe d < 1 matrix models, once coupled to topological gravity. In our calculation we make use of the Landau-Ginzburg formulation of the N = 2 models, and we find a direct relation between the Landau-Ginzburg superpotential and the KdV differential operator. Using this correspondence we show that the minimal topological models are in perfect agreement with the matrix models as solved in terms of the KdV hierarchy. This proves the equivalence at tree-level of topological and ordinary string theory in d < 1. * permanent address: School of Natural Sciences, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ 08540 * As an aside we note that the algebra (2.6) is present in any conformal invariant theory with a BRST symmetry, so in particular in the bosonic string where G = b, J = bc and d = −3.

Objectives: The aim of this position paper is to consider the decision-making process as an integral part of goal-directed behaviour influenced by functional constraints at the scale of the environment-athlete relationship. To achieve this aim we discuss relevant theoretical ideas from ecological psychology, focusing particularly on ecological dynamics, as a contrast to more traditional perspectives on decision making behaviour. To support the argumentation we briefly describe some recent empirical data from studies of sports that emphasize this alternative perspective on decision making. We conclude that traditional approaches analyse decisions as if they were not grounded, i.e., expressed behaviourally through actions in performance contexts. It is argued that an ecological approach should analyse affordances or action possibilities, when studying cognition in sport, demanding an integration of theories and ideas from the natural sciences in order to understand concepts like information and intentionality.

The hypothesis of a Hierarchy of the Sciences with physical sciences at the top, social sciences at the bottom, and biological sciences in-between is nearly 200 years old. This order is intuitive and reflected in many features of academic life, but whether it reflects the ''hardness'' of scientific research-i.e., the extent to which research questions and results are determined by data and theories as opposed to non-cognitive factors-is controversial. This study analysed 2434 papers published in all disciplines and that declared to have tested a hypothesis. It was determined how many papers reported a ''positive'' (full or partial) or ''negative'' support for the tested hypothesis. If the hierarchy hypothesis is correct, then researchers in ''softer'' sciences should have fewer constraints to their conscious and unconscious biases, and therefore report more positive outcomes. Results confirmed the predictions at all levels considered: discipline, domain and methodology broadly defined. Controlling for observed differences between pure and applied disciplines, and between papers testing one or several hypotheses, the odds of reporting a positive result were around 5 times higher among papers in the disciplines of Psychology and Psychiatry and Economics and Business compared to Space Science, 2.3 times higher in the domain of social sciences compared to the physical sciences, and 3.4 times higher in studies applying behavioural and social methodologies on people compared to physical and chemical studies on non-biological material. In all comparisons, biological studies had intermediate values. These results suggest that the nature of hypotheses tested and the logical and methodological rigour employed to test them vary systematically across disciplines and fields, depending on the complexity of the subject matter and possibly other factors (e.g., a field's level of historical and/or intellectual development). On the other hand, these results support the scientific status of the social sciences against claims that they are completely subjective, by showing that, when they adopt a scientific approach to discovery, they differ from the natural sciences only by a matter of degree. Citation: Fanelli D (2010) ''Positive'' Results Increase Down the Hierarchy of the Sciences. PLoS ONE 5(4): e10068.

Russian measurements of the quality factor (Q) of sapphire, made 20 years ago, have only just been repeated in the West. Shortfalls in tacit knowledge have been partly responsible for this delay. The idea of `tacit knowledge&#39;, first put forward by the physical chemist Michael Polanyi, has been studied and analysed over the last two decades. A new classification of tacit knowledge (broadly construed) is offered here and applied to the case of sapphire. The importance of personal contact between scientists is brought out and the sources of trust described. It is suggested that the reproduction of scientific findings could be aided by a small addition to the information contained in experimental reports. The analysis is done in the context of fieldwork conducted in the USA and observations of experimental work at Glasgow University.

Peer review is the engine of scholarship where new knowledge is legitimized. Despite technological advances in publishing and communication, the process of review has not changed since it became prevalent over 100 years ago. This paper describes how information technology can be used to improve the peer review process. Taking a combined design science and natural science approach, we design and test a prototype system based on the principles of structured communication. Through an exploratory study, we find that our proposed system is viewed more favorably by both authors and reviewers across several dimensions, including fairness, convenience, and value.

This book, explores a subject of growing significance. Acknowledging that the use of monetary value as a measuring rod is of limited applicability in assessing environmental and resource questions, "Ecological Economics" focuses instead on the crucial role played by the flows of energy and materials in the economy. Despite the dramatic increase in attention paid to ecological economics by mainstream economists since the first energy crisis of the early 1970s the subject is by no means as new as is often supposed. On the contrary, as Dr Martinez-Alier shows, it has a long and distinguished history and an extensive literature, much of it generated by the physicists, biologists and chemists of the 19th century. His discussion of these writers brings into the open for the first time a tradition of investigation and analysis which is of great contemporary relevance.

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Agricultural energetics. The 'entropy law' and the economic process. Social-darwinism and ecology. Ecological and pecuniary economics. 'Social engineering' and the 'history of the future'. 'Modern' agriculture: a source of energy? Ethanol form sugar cane. The energy cost of modernizing chinese agriculture. The energy balances of Spanish agriculture (1950s - 1970s). Boussingault, liebig, guano and agrarian chemistry. The history of agricultural energitics: podolinsky. One of the Narodniki. Eduard Sacher's formulation of Podolinsky's principle. Rudolf Clausius: 'On the energy stocks in nature'. The electrical revolution. The club of ideologists. The kaiser's birthday. The coal question. Patrick geddes' critique of economics. Ruskin and geddes. An ecological critique of industrial urbanization. The carrying capacity of the earth, according to pfaundler. The energy cost of horizontal transport. The availability of energy and the energy requirements of humankind. Limits of the growth of food production. A simple account of the second law of thermodynamics. Henry adams''Law of acceleration' in the use of energy. Life against entropy. Soddy's critique of the theory of economic growth. Lancelot Hogben v. Hayek. Methodological individualism and inter-generational allocation. Neo-corporatist and neo-liberal macro-economics. Externalities. Max Weber's chrematistic critique of wilhelm ostwald. Ecological utopianism: popper-lynkeus nad ballod-atlanticus. The history of the future. Marxism and ecology. Political epilogue.

We studied the phylogeny of avian haemosporidian parasites, Haemoproteus and Plasmodium , in a number of African resident and European migratory songbird species sampled during spring and autumn in northern Nigeria. The phylogeny of the parasites was constructed through sequencing part of their mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. We found eight parasite lineages, five Haemoproteus and three Plasmodium , infecting multiple host species. Thus, 44% of the 18 haemospiridian lineages found in this study were detected in more than one host species, indicating that host sharing is a more common feature than previously thought. Furthermore, one of the Plasmodium lineages infected species from different host families, Sylviidae and Ploceidae, expressing exceptionally large host range. We mapped transmission events, e.g. the occurrence of the parasite lineages in resident bird species in Europe or Africa, onto a phylogenetic tree. This yielded three clades, two Plasmodium and one Haemoproteus , in which transmission seems to occur solely in Africa. One Plasmodium clade showed European transmission, whereas the remaining two Haemoproteus clades contained mixes of lineages of African, European or unknown transmission. The mix of areas of transmission in several branches of the phylogenetic tree suggests that transmission of haemosporidian parasites to songbirds has arisen repeatedly in Africa and Europe. Blood parasites could be viewed as a cost of migration, as migratory species in several cases were infected with parasite lineages from African resident species. This cost of migration could have considerable impact on the evolution of migration and patterns of winter distribution in migrating birds.

While leadership scholars increasingly acknowledge the influence of followers in the leadership process, less attention has been paid to their role in the destructive leadership process. Specifically, the current debate lacks a broad-based understanding of different susceptible follower types that synthesizes related research across academic domains. Expanding on Padilla, Hogan, and Kaiser's (2007) toxic triangle model of destructive leadership, we integrate research and theory across various academic literatures to derive a cohesive taxonomy of vulnerable followers that we call the susceptible circle. We describe the core characteristics of each follower type, drawing on Barbuto's (2000) theory of follower compliance to highlight the psychological processes that motivate each follower to comply with destructive leaders. We then conclude by discussing theoretical and practical implications, as well as avenues for future research.

We embed a simple linear model of the carbon cycle in a standard neoclassical growth model where one input to the production function, oil, is non&#x27;renewable. The use of oil generates carbon emission, the key input in the carbon cycle. Changes in the amount of carbon in the ...

The advancement of wireless and mobile technologies has enabled students to learn in an environment that combines learning resources from both the real world and the digital world. Although such an approach has been recognized as being innovative and important, several problems have been revealed in practical learning activities. One major problem is owing to the lack of proper learning strategies or tools for assisting the students to acquire knowledge in such a complex learning scenario. Students might feel excited or engaged when using the mobile devices to learn in the real context; nevertheless, their learning achievements could be disappointing. To deal with this problem, this study presents a mobile learning system that employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to detect and examine real-world learning behaviors of students. This study also utilizes each student's responses from a twotier test (i.e., multiple-choice questions in a two-level format) to provide personalized learning guidance (called two-tier test guiding, T 3 G). The experimental results from a natural science course of an elementary school show that this innovative approach is able to improve the learning achievements of students as well as enhance their learning motivation.

During the second half of the 20th century the global food production more than doubled and thus responded to the doubling of world population. But the gains in food production came at a cost, leaving a significant environmental footprint on the ecosystem. Global cropland, plantations and pastures expanded, with large increases in fossil energy, water, and fertilizer inputs, imprinting considerable footprint on the environment. Information from pre eminent publications such as Nature, Science, PNAS and scholarly journals is synthesized to assess the water and energy footprints of global food production. The data show that the footprints are significant, both locally, national and globally and have consequences for global food security and ecosystem health and productivity. The literature nearly agrees that global food production system generates considerable environmental footprints and the situation would likely get worrisome, as global population grows by 50% by 2050. Investments are needed today to buffer the negative impacts of food production on the environment. Investments to boost water productivity and improve energy use efficiency in crop production are two pathways to reduce the environmental footprint.

Using N-1 superfields, we investigate the duality between chiral multiplets and tensor. multiplets. We find that the relation can be expressed in terms of a Legendre transform. We use this relation to construct new N-2 non-linear o-models correspoDdln~ to new Einstein-K~aler manifolds. We prove a no-go theorem for the N -2 hypermultiplet and give off-shell formulations of the existing non-linear o-models in terms of tensor multiplets.

The mechanisms underlying the production of thoughts by exceedingly complex cellular networks that construct the human brain constitute the most challenging problem of natural sciences. Our understanding of the brain function is very much shaped by the neuronal doctrine that assumes that neuronal networks represent the only substrate for cognition. These neuronal networks however are embedded into much larger and probably more complex network formed by neuroglia. The latter, although being electrically silent, employ many different mechanisms for intercellular signalling. It appears that astrocytes can control synaptic networks and in such a capacity they may represent an integral component of the computational power of the brain rather than being just brain "connective tissue". The fundamental question of whether neuroglia is involved in cognition and information processing remains, however, open. Indeed, a remarkable increase in the number of glial cells that distinguishes the human brain can be simply a result of exceedingly high specialisation of the neuronal networks, which delegated all matters of survival and maintenance to the neuroglia. At the same time potential power of analogue processing offered by internally connected glial networks may represent the alternative mechanism involved in cognition.

Recent developments in computing and mobile technologies have enabled the mobile and ubiquitous learning approach, which situates students in an environment that combines real-world and digitalworld learning resources. Although such an approach seems to be innovative and interesting, several problems have been revealed when applying it to practical learning activities. One major problem is owing to the lack of proper learning strategies or tools that can guide or assist the students to learn in such a complex learning scenario. Students might feel excited or interested when using the mobile devices to learn in the real world; however, their learning achievements could be disappointing. To cope with this problem, in this study, a knowledge engineering approach is proposed to develop Mindtools for such innovative learning scenarios. Experimental results from a natural science course of an elementary school show that this innovative approach not only enhances learning motivation, but also improves the learning achievements of the students.

Different disciplines have landscape as the focal point of their research. They are successful in presenting new ®ndings about landscapes within their specialisation, but collaborationÐand thus, transfer of knowledge across disciplinary boundariesÐis seldom realised because a common approach that bridges the gaps between disciplines is missing. Instead, different landscape concepts exist side by side. Yet, cooperation is required to tackle the various environmental and social problems related to landscapes. This paper provides an overview of the historical development of landscape concepts originating from different cultural and scienti®c trends, and presents a new complex concept of landscape, which is designed to enable transdisciplinary landscape research. The transdisciplinary landscape concept is based on ®ve dimensions of landscapes: the spatial entity, the mental entity, the temporal dimension, the nexus of nature and culture, and the systemic properties of landscapes. In contrast to other approaches, it unites dimensions that are usually the domain of individual disciplines and makes it, thus, possible to capitalise on plurality in landscape research. The concept promotes landscape as the combination of the subsystems known as the geo-, bio-and noo-sphere, and is illustrated by the people±landscape interaction model. The concept can be applied to all human±landscape-related research, but is exempli®ed by two studies that have investigated the relationship between landscape and second-home tourism, and landscape and farming, respectively.

Herbivory is a fundamental process that controls primary producer abundance and regulates energy and nutrient flows to higher trophic levels. Despite the recent proliferation of small-scale studies on herbivore effects on aquatic plants, there remains limited understanding of the factors that control consumer regulation of vascular plants in aquatic ecosystems. Our current knowledge of the regulation of primary producers has hindered efforts to understand the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems, and to manage such ecosystems effectively. We conducted a global meta-analysis of the outcomes of plant–herbivore interactions using a data set comprised of 326 values from 163 studies, in order to test two mechanistic hypotheses: first, that greater negative changes in plant abundance would be associated with higher herbivore biomass densities; second, that the magnitude of changes in plant abundance would vary with herbivore taxonomic identity. We found evidence that plant abundance declined with increased herbivore density, with plants eliminated at high densities. Significant between-taxa differences in impact were detected, with insects associated with smaller reductions in plant abundance than all other taxa. Similarly, birds caused smaller reductions in plant abundance than echinoderms, fish, or molluscs. Furthermore, larger reductions in plant abundance were detected for fish relative to crustaceans. We found a positive relationship between herbivore species richness and change in plant abundance, with the strongest reductions in plant abundance reported for low herbivore species richness, suggesting that greater herbivore diversity may protect against large reductions in plant abundance. Finally, we found that herbivore–plant nativeness was a key factor affecting the magnitude of herbivore impacts on plant abundance across a wide range of species assemblages. Assemblages comprised of invasive herbivores and native plant assemblages were associated with greater reductions in plant abundance compared with invasive herbivores and invasive plants, native herbivores and invasive plants, native herbivores and mixed-nativeness plants, and native herbivores and native plants. By contrast, assemblages comprised of native herbivores and invasive plants were associated with lower reductions in plant abundance compared with both mixed-nativeness herbivores and native plants, and native herbivores and native plants. However, the effects of herbivore–plant nativeness on changes in plant abundance were reduced at high herbivore densities. Our mean reductions in aquatic plant abundance are greater than those reported in the literature for terrestrial plants, but lower than aquatic algae. Our findings highlight the need for a substantial shift in how biologists incorporate plant–herbivore interactions into theories of aquatic ecosystem structure and functioning. Currently, the failure to incorporate top-down effects continues to hinder our capacity to understand and manage the ecological dynamics of habitats that contain aquatic plants.

A sample of factors presumed relevant to the time required to complete doctoral degrees (TTC) was explored in a survey of 154 recent graduates of Natural Science, Social Science, and Humanities doctoral programs at York University. In addition to the variables of gender and discipline, characteristics of the supervisory relationship, as well as the graduate's financial situation and enrollment status, were investigated. On average, respondents took 5.94 years to complete their degrees with students in the Natural Sciences the fastest completers. Although there were no significant gender differences in TTC, male graduates were more satisfied with their doctoral education overall and the quality of supervision they received (from both their supervisors and their supervisory committees) than were females. Males were also more likely to collaborate with their supervisors in the preparation of research papers. With respect to financial support, respondents who were slower completers reported receiving more years of teaching assistantships. Additionally, respondents from the Natural Sciences reported receiving more years of teaching assistantships and research assistantships than respondents from the other disciplines. A multiple regression analysis revealed that the following combination of variables accounted for 30% of the variance in TTC: beginning the dissertation research early in the program, remaining with the original topic and supervisor, meeting frequently with supervisor, and collaborating with supervisor on conference papers.

Mobile and wireless communication technologies not only enable anytime and anywhere learning, but also provide the opportunity to develop learning environments that combine real-world and digitalworld resources. Nevertheless, researchers have indicated that, without effective tools for helping students organize their observations in the field, the mobile learning performance could be disappointing. To cope with this problem, this study proposes an interactive concept map-oriented approach for supporting mobile learning activities. An experiment has been conducted on an elementary school natural science course to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The experimental results show that the proposed approach not only enhances learning attitudes, but also improves the learning achievements of the students.

150 References 151 Nomenclature b Stoichiometric coefficient f Porosity (m 3 m À3 ) r Specific mineral density (m 3 g À1 ) v Solid-state weathering velocity (m s À1 ) V Thermodynamic saturation state DG Excess free energy of reaction (kJ mol À1 ) =H Hydraulic gradient (m m À1 ) t j Mass transfer coefficient DM Change in mass due to weathering (mol) r p Density of regolith (g cm À3 ) r w Density of protolith (g cm À3 ) b solid Solid weathering gradient (m kg mol À1 ) b solute Solute weathering gradient (m l mol À1 ) c Concentration of weatherable component in solute (molar) C i,p Initial concentration of inert component i in protolith (mol m À3 ) C i,w Final concentration of inert component i in regolith (mol m À3 ) Treatise on Geochemistry 2nd Edition http://dx.

The need for integrated methodological framework for sustainability assessment has been widely discussed and is urgent due to increasingly complex environmental system problems. These problems have impacts on ecosystems and human well-being which represent a threat to economic performance of countries and corporations. Integrated assessment crosses issues; spans spatial and temporal scales; looks forward and backward; and incorporates multi-stakeholder inputs. This study aims to develop an integrated methodology by capitalizing the complementary strengths of different methods used by industrial ecologists and biophysical economists. The computational methodology proposed here is systems perspective, integrative, and holistic approach for sustainability assessment which attempts to link basic science and technology to policy formulation. The framework adopts life cycle thinking methods-LCA, LCC, and SLCA; stakeholders analysis supported by multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA); and dynamic system modelling. Following Pareto principle, the critical sustainability criteria, indicators and metrics (i.e., hotspots) can be identified and further modelled using system dynamics or agent based modelling and improved by data envelopment analysis (DEA) and sustainability network theory (SNT). The framework is being applied to development of biofuel supply chain networks. The framework can provide new ways of integrating knowledge across the divides between social and natural sciences as well as between critical and problem-solving research. OPEN ACCESS Sustainability 2011, 3 470

Data from a study of mother–infant pairs of low socioeconomic status living in Albany County, NY, were analyzed to determine the influence of diet and nutrition on the blood lead level of infants during the first year of life. Children's diets were assessed at 3-month intervals using a 24-h diet recall as reported by the primary caregiver. The potential impact of dietary consumption of protein, iron, zinc, calcium, vitamin D, and fat, as well as serum vitamin D and ferritin on blood lead levels at 6 and 12 months of age was examined with multivariable statistical analyses, controlling for other influences on lead levels. Neonates’ blood lead levels were low at birth (geometric mean=1.6 μg/dL), and none were elevated (⩾10 μg/dL). By 12 months, the mean blood lead for this sample was 5.1 μg/dL, and 18% of the sample had an elevated blood lead level. We observed significant inverse relationships between infants’ 6-month lead level and their intake of zinc, iron, and calcium. At 12 months, low iron intake continued to be associated with higher lead levels, although zinc and calcium did not. Protein had a paradoxical effect, being associated with lower lead at 6 months, but higher lead at 12 months. Serum vitamin D and ferritin were not associated with lead levels, nor was vitamin supplement use. The results reported here emphasize the value of key minerals in the diet to reduce lead absorption during early infancy.

Qualitative methods have much to offer those studying health care and health services. However, because these methods have traditionally been employed in the social sciences, they may be unfamiliar to health care professionals and researchers with a biomedical or natural science background. Indeed, qualitative methods may seem alien alongside the experimental and observational quantitative methods used in clinical, biological and epidemiological research.

The lifestyle of people living in urban areas has profound direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity. However, the role of urban lifestyle as a driving force of biodiversity change is not very well understood. This is partly because there is a gap between a social science approach focusing on lifestyle and a natural science approach focusing on biodiversity. We propose that the concept of ecological services and disservices is useful in connecting these approaches. Ecosystem services produced by urban green areas are the focus of a wide range of environmental studies, but disservices -such as safety issues in dark parks or pollen causing health problems -have gained only sporadic attention in environmental studies focused on urban ecosystems. We review and discuss different urban ecosystem disservices from a Northern European perspective. We conclude by addressing the key limitations and possibilities of the use of the concept of ecological disservices in urban biodiversity studies.

The Report contains an introduction to the physics of the lepton-nucleon scattering in the first three resonance regions, which correspond to the range of invariant masses W from 1.1 to ∼ 2 GeV. It is emphasized, that large uncertainty in the determination of the limits of the validity of the perturbative QCD is related with poor understanding of the evolution of a resonance structure as a function of W and Q 2 . The study of the VCS reaction and of its W dependence relatively to the π 0 electroproduction can have a number of advantages in pursuing the problem of the resonance structure evolution.

Apart from an early case report from China (13th century) and later artistic contributions, the ®rst observations on insects and other arthropods as forensic indicators were documented in Germany and France during mass exhumations in the late 1880s by Reinhard and Hofmann, whom we propose recognizing as co-founders of the discipline. After the French publication of Me Âgnin's popular book on the applied aspects of forensic entomology, the concept quickly spread to Canada and the US. At the time, researchers recognized that the lack of systematic observations of forensically important insects stood in the way of their use as indicators of postmortem interval. General advances in insect taxonomy, and ecology helped close this gap over the following decades.

We present a model for the development of sustainable urban forests. The model applies general principles of sustainabilit y to urban trees and forests. The central tenet of the model is that sustainable urban forests require a healthy tree and forest resource, community-wide support and a comprehensive management approach. For each of these components, we present criteria and indicators for

The potential of mathematical models is widely acknowledged for examining components and interactions of natural systems, estimating the changes and uncertainties on outcomes, and fostering communication between scientists with different backgrounds and between scientists, managers and the community. For favourable reception of models, a systematic accrual of a good knowledge base is crucial for both science and decision-making. As the roles of models grow in importance, there is an increase in the need for appropriate methods with which to test their quality and performance. For biophysical models, the heterogeneity of data and the range of factors influencing usefulness of their outputs often make it difficult for full analysis and assessment. As a result, modelling studies in the domain of natural sciences often lack elements of good modelling practice related to model validation, that is correspondence of models to its intended purpose. Here we review validation issues and methods currently available for assessing the quality of biophysical models. The review covers issues of validation purpose, the robustness of model results, data quality, model prediction and model complexity. The importance of assessing input data quality and interpretation of phenomena is also addressed. Details are then provided on the range of measures commonly used for validation. Requirements for a methodology for assessment during the entire model-cycle are synthesised. Examples are used from a variety of modelling studies which mainly include agronomic modelling, e.g. crop growth and development, climatic modelling, e.g. climate scenarios, and hydrological modelling, e.g. soil hydrology, but the principles are essentially applicable to any area. It is shown that conducting detailed validation requires multi-faceted knowledge, and poses substantial scientific and technical challenges. Special emphasis is placed on using combined multiple statistics to expand our horizons in validation whilst also tailoring the validation requirements to the specific objectives of the application. accuracy / modelling / multiple statistics / validation Contents

... and natural sciences in investigating landscapes and is illustrated with a people-landscape interaction model and two examples that show how landscape research can ... a practical example of the application of an integrative approach bridging natural and cultural aspects of ...

Wilson’s book is an attempt to demonstrate the unifying potential of natural science, particularly of modern biology, as a general paradigm for all of science, on the grounds that all living activities are ruled by information in the genes. Wilson’s attempt for proposing a unifying conception of science, to counteract the prevailing mainstream fragmentation and specialization of disciplines, has found

After a general introduction on the kind of models and the use of models in the natural sciences, the main body of this paper reviews potential properties of structure based surface EMG (sEMG) models. The specific peculiarities of the categories (i) source description, (ii) motor unit structure, (iii) volume conduction, (iv) recording configurations and (v) recruitment and firing behaviour are discussed. For a specific goal, not all aspects conceivable have to be part of a model description. Therefore, finally an attempt is made to integrate the 'question level' and the 'model property level' in a matrix providing direction to the development and application of sEMG models with different characteristics and varying complexity. From this overview it appears that the least complex are models describing how the morphological muscle features are reflected in multi-channel EMG measurements. The most challenging questions in terms of model complexity are related to supporting the diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders.

Background: Intricate maps of science have been created from citation data to visualize the structure of scientific activity. However, most scientific publications are now accessed online. Scholarly web portals record detailed log data at a scale that exceeds the number of all existing citations combined. Such log data is recorded immediately upon publication and keeps track of the sequences of user requests (clickstreams) that are issued by a variety of users across many different domains. Given these advantages of log datasets over citation data, we investigate whether they can produce high-resolution, more current maps of science.

In 1881, Darwin (1809-1882) published his last scientific book entitled "The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms with observations on their habits", the result of several decades of detailed observations and measurements on earthworms and the natural sciences. The work was considered a "best-seller" at the time, with 3500 copies sold immediately and 8500 in less than 3 years which, at the time, rivaled the sale of his most well known book "On the origin of species". The book covers the importance of earthworm activity on a variety of topics: pedogenesis and weathering processes, soil horizon differentiation and the formation of vegetable mould (topsoil), the role of earthworm burrowing and casting (bioturbation) in soil fertility and plant growth, the burial of organic materials and soil enrichment with mineral elements, the global cycle of erosion-sedimentation with hydrologic and aerial transfers of fine particles brought up to the soil surface by earthworms and the protection of archaeological remains through their burial. Finally, Darwin also performed a series of original experiments to determine if earthworms possessed, or not, a certain "intelligence". This part of the book was, among others, one of the main reasons for its success. In this article we analyze the success (past and present) of this book, Darwin's own opinion of his book and the general contents of the work. Throughout, we discuss the main lessons to be learned from his 'little' (as he called it) book and provide brief historic reviews of major literary works on earthworms, both contemporary and posterior to Darwin, emphasizing his role as precursor and/or founder of various scientific disciplines (ethology, soil ecology and pedology). However, despite Darwin's clear demonstrations of the importance of biological activities (earthworms) in the maintenance of soil fertility, his book on worms has been mostly neglected by agronomists and soil scientists, primarily due to the predominant soil fertility and management paradigms of the 19th and 20th centuries.