Although almost a decade has passed since the second edition of this work was published, this encyclopedia's reputation as a high-quality scholarly work has not diminished. Guided by an advisory board comprising leading researchers (including eight Nobel laureates), editor in chief Meyers (Ramtech, Inc.) used a peer review process that produced over 780 articles written by experts. The coverage in this third edition has expanded to include molecular biology, biochemistry, and biotechnology. The decision to eliminate articles on military technology contributed to the deletion of about 200 articles; however, nearly 300 articles were added to cover new topics such as molecular electronics, nanostructured materials, tissue engineering, superstring theory, and the World Wide Web. The remaining articles were either updated or rewritten. Averaging 17-18 pages in length, the well-written articles present detailed information in a logical, organized manner. All follow a basic format: outline, glossary, defining statement, main body, cross references, and bibliography.
Dramatically updating and extending the first edition, published in 1995, the second edition of The Handbook of Brain Theory and Neural Networks
presents the enormous progress made in recent years in the many
subfields related to the two great questions: How does the brain work?
and, How can we build intelligent machines?
Once again, the
heart of the book is a set of almost 300 articles covering the whole
spectrum of topics in brain theory and neural networks. The first two
parts of the book, prepared by Michael Arbib, are designed to help
readers orient themselves in this wealth of material. Part I provides
general background on brain modeling and on both biological and
artificial neural networks. Part II consists of "Road Maps" to help
readers steer through articles in part III on specific topics of
interest. The articles in part III are written so as to be accessible
to readers of diverse backgrounds. They are cross-referenced and
provide lists of pointers to Road Maps, background material, and
related reading.
The second edition greatly increases the
coverage of models of fundamental neurobiology, cognitive neuroscience,
and neural network approaches to language. It contains 287 articles,
compared to the 266 in the first edition. Articles on topics from the
first edition have been updated by the original authors or written anew
by new authors, and there are 106 articles on new topics.
Comprehensive text charts the
progress made in recent years in answering the questions 'How does the
brain work?' and 'How can we build intelligent machines?' Articles are
presented in alphabetical order by title. Part one covers background,
part two, brain theory and neural networks, and part three includes the
articles. Previous edition: c1995.
This comprehensive survey of contemporary thought in biological, social and cultural anthropology sets the foundation for their future development and integration. The principal rationale behind the Encyclopedia is to overcome the division and fragmentation within the approaches of the humanities and natural sciences to anthropology. It emphasizes interconnections between perspectives and sub-disciplines, producing a complete perspective on what it means to be human.
Semantics: A Reader contains a broad selection of classic articles on
semantics and the semantics/pragmatics interface. Comprehensive in the
variety and breadth of theoretical frameworks and topics that it
convers, it includes articles representative of the major theoretical
frameworks within
semantics, including: discourse representation theory, dynamic
predicate logic, truth theoretic semantics, event semantics, situation
semantics, and cognitive semantics.
All the major topics in semantics are covered, including lexical
semantics and the semantics of quantified noun phrases, adverbs,
adjectives, performatives, and interrogatives. Included are classic
papers in the field of semantics as well as papers written especially
for the volume. The volume
comes with an extensive introduction designed not only to provide an
overview of the field, but also to explain the technical concepts the
beginner will need to tackle before the more demanding articles.
Semantics will have appeal as a textbook for upper level and graduate
courses and as a reference
for scholars of semantics who want to the classic articles in their field in one convenient place.
Most essays in this set are taken from Ready Reference: American
Indians (1995), Great Events from History: North America (rev. ed.,
1997), and Racial and Ethnic Relations in America (1999). Fifteen newly
commissioned articles on recent developments in American Indian history
also appear. All articles over 1,000 words offer annotated
bibliographies and the bibliographies of all previously published
essays have been updated.