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The question of whether biologists should continue to use the Linnaean hierarchy is a hotly debated issue. Invented before the introduction of evolutionary theory, Linnaeus' system of classifying organisms is based on outdated theoretical assumptions, and is thought to be unable to provide accurate biological classifications. Ereshefsky argues that biologists should abandon the Linnaean system and adopt an alternative that is more in line with evolutionary theory.He illustrates how the continued use of this system hampers our ability to classify the organic world, and then goes on to make specific recommendations for a post-Linnaean method of classification. ... Read more

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I have been waiting for this book in years
Gradually general principles of classification and knowledge organizations have become more clear to me. An important insight is that any classification of a domain must be based on theories or views of that domain. I try to verify this on different domains. This is not always easy, and some of the most influential classifications seems to contradict this principle. This is, for example, the case with Linnaean classification in biology, which was developed before Darvian and modern evolutionary theory and it is the case with the influential psychiatric classification DSM IV.
Ereshefskys book on the Linnaean classification in biology represents high class scholarship in both biology and philosophy and it is a goldmine of arguments for a general philosophy of classification. Besides it is an indication that philosophy can make itself a productive part of of specific specific scientific research. ... Read more

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Subjects: University of California, BerkeleyBotanists -- CaliforniaFree Speech Movement (Berkeley, Calif.)College administrators -- California BerkeleyNotes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

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This text aims to encourage communication among scientists exploring different areas of related research work, to bring important up-to-date scientific advancements on the subject together in a single volume for easy accessibility and to try to solve problems in taxonomy. ... Read more

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Offers comprehensive coverage of the latest developments in both biochemical and physiological approaches to fungal systematics. Incorporates recent advances in molecular biology into systematics methods that can revolutionize taxonomic schemes. ... Read more

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Good service!
The service is good. The only problem is my instructor does not have a ID to let me get onto the internet. Sherequired us to buy 1st edition, but I bought the 2nd edition for its internet feature. I have opened the student kit, so I cannot return the book. Can Amazon.com offer me a instrutor ID, so I can watch the animation on line?
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Zeneca Agrochemicals, Bracknell, U.K.Proceedings of a symposium held April 5-8, 1993, in Canterbury, England. Research on the fungus Aspergillus. 61 contributors, 14 U.S. ... Read more

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Although this book's emphasis is on taxonomy, information is also given on sapstain of logs, conifer diseases, and other plant diseases. ... Read more

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Discusses the subphylum of animals with backbones. ... Read more

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A ground-breaking new book, Beyond Human Error: Taxonomies and Safety Science deconstructs the conventional concept of "human error" and provides a whole new way of looking at accidents and how they might be prevented. Based on research carried out in the rail, nuclear, and defense industries, the authors show how, by concentrating solely on "human error," systems and sociological factors are frequently ignored in contemporary safety science. They also argue that the "information processing" view of human cognition, the foundation of the majority of safety science and ergonomics, is hopelessly simplistic and leads to ineffective or even misguided intervention strategies. Wallace and Ross explore how what they call the "technically rational" view of science can hamper the process of creating a taxonomy of error events, and the implications this has for the current orthodoxy. In laying out the limitations of the "technically rational" viewpoint, they clearly define their own alternative approach. They begin by demonstrating that the creation of reliable taxonomies is crucial and provide examples of how they created such taxonomies in the nuclear and rail industries. They go on to offer a critique of conventional "frequentist" statistics and provide coherent, easy to use alternatives. They conclude by re-analyzing infamous disasters such as the Space Shuttle Challenger accident to demonstrate how the "standard" view of these events ignores social and distributed factors. The book concludes with a stimulating and provocative description of the implications of this new approach for safety science, and the social sciences as a whole. While providing a clear and intelligible introduction to the theory of human error and contemporary thinking in safety science, Wallace and Ross mount a challenge to the old orthodoxy and provide a practical alternative paradigm. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Insight on human and system failures
This is a quality book, easy to read considering the deep philosophical and wide conceptual ground it covers. If you have enjoyed Reason, Perrow or Dekker discussing human error then I think you will find considerable value in this book. Excellent arguments about ecological validity, root cause, Heinrich's legacy, taxonomies, distributed cognition, normal accidents, psychology of risk, and on and on. Ultimately more questions than answers, but this caused me to understand how to question a lot of the more superficial texts and methods, which may lead in interesting directions.

Not an introductory text, but an excellent addition to the field that really ties together many ideas in the safety of complex systems. Fully indexed with complete references.
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Presents ten case studies and three examples designed to help students learn to make taxonomic judgments. Topics include: the significance of systematics and classification; explanation of the taxonomic hierarchy; collection and types of data used; and case studies. ... Read more