This book presents the human, cultural, and scientific contributions of professor Eliano Pessa, who recently passed away. His research interests and activities were varied, some of which included quantum physics, cognitive science and psychology, systems science, artificial intelligence, and alpinism. They were never disciplinary-separated issues, but rather some coherent dimensions of his interests in life. He lived and not only practiced interdisciplinarity and multiple dimensions; he considered it unacceptable to do only one thing in life. The contributors in this volume consider, discuss, interpret, and represent the multiplicity and interdisciplinarity experienced, lived and applied by Pessa. The chapters are inspired by, rebuild, and retrace such networked interests lived by him from the personal, cultural, and scientific points of view of the authors. This is true interdisciplinarity and usage of non-equivalences, honoring the richness of Pessa's contributions.

The idea that research should become more interdisciplinary has become commonplace. According to influential commentators, the unprecedented complexity of problems such as climate change or the social implications of biomedicine demand interdisciplinary efforts integrating both the social and natural sciences. In this context, the question of whether a given knowledge practice is too disciplinary, or interdisciplinary, or not disciplinary enough has become an issue for governments, research policy makers and funding agencies. Interdisciplinarity, in short, has emerged as a key political preoccupation; yet the term tends to obscure as much as illuminate the diverse practices gathered under its rubric. This volume offers a new approach to theorising interdisciplinarity, showing how the boundaries between the social and natural sciences are being reconfigured. It examines the current preoccupation with interdisciplinarity, notably the ascendance of a particular discourse in which it is associated with a transformation in the relations between science, technology and society. Contributors address attempts to promote collaboration between, on the one hand, the natural sciences and engineering and, on the other, the social sciences, arts and humanities. From ethnography in the IT industry to science and technology studies, environmental science to medical humanities, cybernetics to art-science, the collection interrogates how interdisciplinarity has come to be seen as a solution not only to enhancing relations between science and society, but the pursuit of accountability and the need to foster innovation. Interdisciplinarity is essential reading for scholars, students and policy makers across the social sciences, arts and humanities, including anthropology, geography, sociology, science and technology studies and cultural studies, as well as all those engaged in interdisciplinary research. It will have particular relevance for those concerned with the knowledge economy, science policy, environmental politics, applied anthropology, ELSI research, medical humanities, and art-science.

This book explores the history of interdisciplinary relationships between archaeology and other branches of knowledge in Europe and elsewhere. This is a largely untold history that needs to be unpacked. This book brings to light some of the events leading towards interdisciplinary relations in archaeology from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. It encompasses ten scholarly contributions that offer a critical overview of this complex, dynamic and long-lasting transformative process. This is a pioneering project in the field of the history of archaeology, as it is the first to examine the inclusion into archaeological practice of various disciplines categorized under the umbrella of hard, natural and social sciences, as well as the humanities. The authors of this volume include internationally acknowledged scholars of the history of archaeology, such as Margarita Díaz-Andreu, Nathan Schlanger and Oscar Moro, as well as other well-established authors in the field from Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Switzerland. The chapters cover a wide range of topics. Several of them deal with interdisciplinarity in archaeology on a more general level by analysing its relationship with other sciences in specific countries. Other chapters discuss the incorporation of disciplines such as palynology and zoology into archaeology, either on a wider scale or using certain countries as case studies. Some authors focus on the work of scholars as starting points for examining the intersection between antiquarianism, archaeology, the natural sciences and numismatics, while others theorize on the influence of epistemology and philosophy of science on archaeological theory and practice. Finally, the influence of the army is also discussed in the development of archaeology.

Interdisciplinarity and Climate Change is a major new book addressing one of the most challenging questions of our time. Its unique standpoint is based on the recognition that effective and coherent interdisciplinarity is necessary to deal with the issue of climate change, and the multitude of linked phenomena which both constitute and connect to it. In the opening chapter, Roy Bhaskar makes use of the extensive resources of critical realism to articulate a comprehensive framework for multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity and cross-disciplinary understanding, one which duly takes account of ontological as well as epistemological considerations. Many of the subsequent chapters seek to show how this general approach can be used to make intellectual sense of the complex phenomena in and around the issue of climate change, including our response to it. Among the issues discussed, in a number of graphic and compelling studies, by a range of distinguished contributors, both activists and scholars, are: The dangers of reducing all environmental, energy and climate gas issues to questions of carbon dioxide emissions The problems of integrating natural and social scientific work and the perils of monodisciplinary tunnel vision The consequences of the neglect of issues of consumption in climate policy The desirability of a care-based ethics and of the integration of cultural considerations into climate policy The problem of relating theoretical knowledge to practical action in contemporary democratic societies Interdisciplinarity and Climate Change is essential reading for all serious students of the fight against climate change, the interactions between governmental bodies, and critical realism.

This book considers scientific performances across two centuries, from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Performances include demonstrations of technologies, experiments that look like theatre, theatre that looks like science, tourist representations and natural history film-making. Its key aim is to open debate on how scientific activity, both historical and contemporary, might be understood in the context of performance studies and the imaginative acts required to stage engaging performances. Scientific performances have become increasingly of interest to historians of science, literature and science scholars, and in the field of science studies. As yet, however, no work has sought to examine a range of scientific performances with the aim of interrogating and illuminating the kinds of critical and theoretical practices that might be employed to engage with them. With scientific performance likely to become ever more central to scholarly study in the next few years this volume offer a timely, and early, intervention in the existing debates, and aims, too, to be a touchstone for future work.

This book presents the proceedings of the Eighth National Conference of the Italian Systems Society. The contributions underline the need for Systemics and Systems Science in order to address multiple, changing systems involving several coherent versions. The conference focused on identifying, discussing, and understanding possible interrelationships between fundamental theoretical advances in different disciplines. Given their scope, these proceedings represent a valuable asset for all researchers whose work involves multiple systems.

Big data and machine learning are driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution. With the age of big data upon us, we risk drowning in a flood of digital data. Big data has now become a critical part of both the business world and daily life, as the synthesis and synergy of machine learning and big data has enormous potential. Big data and machine learning are projected to not only maximize citizen wealth, but also promote societal health. As big data continues to evolve and the demand for professionals in the field increases, access to the most current information about the concepts, issues, trends, and technologies in this interdisciplinary area is needed. The Encyclopedia of Data Science and Machine Learning examines current, state-of-the-art research in the areas of data science, machine learning, data mining, and more. It provides an international forum for experts within these fields to advance the knowledge and practice in all facets of big data and machine learning, emphasizing emerging theories, principals, models, processes, and applications to inspire and circulate innovative findings into research, business, and communities. Covering topics such as benefit management, recommendation system analysis, and global software development, this expansive reference provides a dynamic resource for data scientists, data analysts, computer scientists, technical managers, corporate executives, students and educators of higher education, government officials, researchers, and academicians.