This book covers all of the major library classification schemes in use in Europe, UK and US; it includes practical exercises to demonstrate their application. Importantly, classifying electronic resources is also discussed. The aim of the book is to demystify a very complex subject, and to provide a sound theoretical underpinning, together with practical advice and development of practical skills. The book fills the gap between more complex theoretical texts and those books with a purely practical approach. Chapters concentrate purely on classification rather than cataloguing and indexing, ensuring a more in-depth coverage of the topic. Covers the latest Dewey Decimal Classification, 22nd edition Provides practical advice on which schemes will be most suitable for different types of library collection Covers classification of electronic resources and taxonomy construction

Following on from the first edition of this book, the second edition fills the gap between more complex theoretical texts and those books with a purely practical approach. The book looks at major library classification schemes in use in Europe, UK and the USA, and includes practical exercises to demonstrate their application. Importantly, classifying electronic resources is also discussed. Classification in Theory and Practice aims to demystify a very complex subject, and to provide a sound theoretical underpinning, together with practical advice and development of practical skills. Chapters concentrate purely on classification rather than cataloguing and indexing, ensuring a more in-depth coverage of the topic. covers the latest Dewey Decimal Classification, 23rd edition provides practical advice on which schemes will be most suitable for different types of library collection covers classification of digital resources explores recent developments in digital resources and tagging

Classification is the essential first step in science. The study of science, as well as the practice of science, will thus benefit from a detailed classification of different types of science. In this book, science - defined broadly to include the social sciences and humanities - is first unpacked into its constituent elements: the phenomena studied, the data used, the theories employed, the methods applied, and the practices of scientists. These five elements are then classified in turn. Notably, the classifications of both theory types and methods allow the key strengths and weaknesses of different theories and methods to be readily discerned and compared. Connections across classifications are explored: should certain theories or phenomena be investigated only with certain methods? What is the proper function and form of scientific paradigms? Are certain common errors and biases in scientific practice associated with particular phenomena, data, theories, or methods? The classifications point to several ways of improving both specialized and interdisciplinary research and teaching, and especially of enhancing communication across communities of scholars. The classifications also support a superior system of document classification that would allow searches by theory and method used as well as causal links investigated.

Advances in shape analysis impact a wide range of disciplines, from mathematics and engineering to medicine, archeology, and art. Anyone just entering the field, however, may find the few existing books on shape analysis too specific or advanced, and for students interested in the specific problem of shape recognition and characterization, traditio

This edited volume of 13 new essays aims to turn past discussions of natural kinds on their head. Instead of presenting a metaphysical view of kinds based largely on an unempirical vantage point, it pursues questions of kindedness which take the use of kinds and activities of kinding in practice as significant in the articulation of them as kinds. The book brings philosophical study of current and historical episodes and case studies from various scientific disciplines to bear on natural kinds as traditionally conceived of within metaphysics. Focusing on these practices reveals the different knowledge-producing activities of kinding and processes involved in natural kind use, generation, and discovery. Specialists in their field, the esteemed group of contributors use diverse empirically responsive approaches to explore the nature of kindhood. This groundbreaking volume presents detailed case studies that exemplify kinding in use. Newly written for this volume, each chapter engages with the activities of kinding across a variety of disciplines. Chapter topics include the nature of kinds, kindhood, kinding, and kind-making in linguistics, chemical classification, neuroscience, gene and protein classification, colour theory in applied mathematics, homology in comparative biology, sex and gender identity theory, memory research, race, extended cognition, symbolic algebra, cartography, and geographic information science. The volume seeks to open up an as-yet unexplored area within the emerging field of philosophy of science in practice, and constitutes a valuable addition to the disciplines of philosophy and history of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Because the properties of objects are largely determined by their geometric features, shape analysis and classification are essential to almost every applied scientific and technological area. A detailed understanding of the geometrical features of real-world entities (e.g., molecules, organs, materials and components) can provide important clues about their origin and function. When properly and carefully applied, shape analysis offers an exceedingly rich potential to yield useful applications in diverse areas ranging from material sciences to biology and neuroscience. Get Access to the Authors’ Own Cutting-Edge Open-Source Software Projects—and Then Actually Contribute to Them Yourself! The authors of Shape Analysis and Classification: Theory and Practice, Second Edition have improved the bestselling first edition by updating the tremendous progress in the field. This exceptionally accessible book presents the most advanced imaging techniques used for analyzing general biological shapes, such as those of cells, tissues, organs, and organisms. It implements numerous corrections and improvements—many of which were suggested by readers of the first edition—to optimize understanding and create what can truly be called an interactive learning experience. New Material in This Second Edition Addresses Graph and complex networks Dimensionality reduction Structural pattern recognition Shape representation using graphs Graphically reformulated, this edition updates equations, figures, and references, as well as slides that will be useful in related courses and general discussion. Like the popular first edition, this text is applicable to many fields and certain to become a favored addition to any library. Visit http://www.vision.ime.usp.br/~cesar/shape/ for Useful Software, Databases, and Videos

A revealing and surprising look at how classification systems can shape both worldviews and social interactions. What do a seventeenth-century mortality table (whose causes of death include "fainted in a bath," "frighted," and "itch"); the identification of South Africans during apartheid as European, Asian, colored, or black; and the separation of machine- from hand-washables have in common? All are examples of classification—the scaffolding of information infrastructures. In Sorting Things Out, Geoffrey C. Bowker and Susan Leigh Star explore the role of categories and standards in shaping the modern world. In a clear and lively style, they investigate a variety of classification systems, including the International Classification of Diseases, the Nursing Interventions Classification, race classification under apartheid in South Africa, and the classification of viruses and of tuberculosis. The authors emphasize the role of invisibility in the process by which classification orders human interaction. They examine how categories are made and kept invisible, and how people can change this invisibility when necessary. They also explore systems of classification as part of the built information environment. Much as an urban historian would review highway permits and zoning decisions to tell a city's story, the authors review archives of classification design to understand how decisions have been made. Sorting Things Out has a moral agenda, for each standard and category valorizes some point of view and silences another. Standards and classifications produce advantage or suffering. Jobs are made and lost; some regions benefit at the expense of others. How these choices are made and how we think about that process are at the moral and political core of this work. The book is an important empirical source for understanding the building of information infrastructures.