1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910465254903321

Titolo

Animal thinking : contemporary issues in comparative cognition / / edited by Randolf Menzel and Julia Fischer

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, Massachusetts ; ; London, England : , : The MIT Press, , 2011

©2011

ISBN

0-262-29898-8

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (355 p.)

Collana

Strüngmann Forum Reports

Disciplina

591.5/13

Soggetti

Cognition in animals

Animal navigation

Decision making in animals

Social behavior in animals

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

"Eighth Ernst Strüngmann Forum held Sep. 26-Oct. 1, 2010, Frankfurt am Main."

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; The Ernst Strüngmann Forum; List of Contributors; 1 Animal Thinking: An Introduction; Navigation; 2 Navigation and Communication in Honeybees; 3 Navigating in a Three-Dimensional World; 4 Making the Case for the Intelligence of Avian Navigation; 5 Animal Navigation: A Synthesis; Decision Making and Planning; 6 Goal-Directed Behavior and Future Planning in Animals; 7 Mechanisms for Decisions about the Future; 8 Status of Nonhuman Memory Monitoring and Possible Roles in Planning and Decision Making; 9 Planning, Memory, and Decision Making; Communication

10 Where Is the Information in Animal Communication?11 Communication in Social Insects: Sophisticated Problem Solving by Groups of Tiny-Brained Animals; 12 Language and Episodic Sharing; 13 Communication; Knowledge; 14 How Intelligent Is Machiavellian Behavior?; 15 Simple Reactions to Nearby Neighbors and Complex Social Behavior in Primates; 16 Cooperation in Nonhuman Primates: Function and Cognition; 17 How Folk Psychology Ruined Comparative Psychology: And How Scrub Jays Can Save It; 18 Social Knowledge;



Acknowledgments; Bibliography; Subject Index

Sommario/riassunto

"Do animals have cognitive maps? Do they possess knowledge? Do they plan for the future? Do they understand that others have mental lives of their own? This volume provides a state-of-the-art assessment of animal cognition, with experts from psychology, neuroscience, philosophy, ecology, and evolutionary biology addressing these questions in an integrative fashion. It summarizes the latest research, identifies areas where consensus has been reached, and takes on current controversies. Over the last thirty years, the field has shifted from the collection of anecdotes and the pursuit of the subjective experience of animals to a rigorous, hypothesis-driven experimental approach. Taking a skeptical stance, this volume stresses the notion that in many cases relatively simple rules may account for rather complex and flexible behaviors. The book critically evaluates current concepts and puts a strong focus on the psychological mechanisms that underpin animal behavior. It offers comparative analyses that reveal common principles as well as adaptations that evolved in particular species in response to specific selective pressures. It assesses experimental approaches to the study of animal navigation, decision making, social cognition, and communication and suggests directions for future research. The book promotes a research program that seeks to understand animals' cognitive abilities and behavioral routines as individuals and as members of social groups"--MIT CogNet.



2.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910141795503321

Autore

Bainton Nicholas A.

Titolo

The Lihir destiny : cultural responses to mining in Melanesia / / Nicholas A. Bainton

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory : , : Australian National University E Press, , 2010

ISBN

1-921666-84-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (254 pages) : illustrations (some colour); digital file(s)

Collana

Asia-Pacific Environment Monographs ; ; 5

Disciplina

995.0049912

Soggetti

Papuans - Social life and customs

Lihirians - Social life and customs

Lihir (Papua New Guinean people) - Social life and customs

Mineral industries - Social aspects - Papua New Guinea - Lihir Islands

Lihir Islands (Papua New Guinea) Social life and customs

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references.

Sommario/riassunto

The people of the Lihir Islands in Papua New Guinea have long held visions of a prosperous new future, often referred to by local leaders as the ‘Lihir Destiny’. When large-scale gold mining activities commenced on the main island of Lihir in 1995, many hoped that this new world had finally arrived. The Lihir Destiny provides a nuanced account of the social structural and cultural transformations engendered by large-scale resource extraction. Tracing the history of Lihirian engagement with outside forces, from the colonial period through to recent mining activities, this book brings new light to bear on the bigger question of what ‘development’ means in contemporary Melanesia. The Lihir Destiny explores how Lihirian leaders devised future plans for a cultural revolution based upon the maximisation of mining activities and the influential philosophies of the Personal Viability movement. However, reaching the ‘Lihir Destiny’ is no simple affair, and many Lihirians find themselves negotiating divergent formulations of culture, sociality and economic engagement. The Lihir Destiny will appeal to readers interested in the social impacts of large-scale resource development,



the processes of cultural continuity and change and the ways in which modernity is configured in local terms.