To Define and Inform


Book Description

"To Inform and Define: An Analysis of Information Provided in Dictionaries Used by Learners of English in China and Denmark" presents a masterly synthesis of lexicographical theory in relation to bilingual and learner's dictionaries and advances a radical argument about how such dictionaries are used and how they should be improved for the convenience of students. By tracing the history of the terms 'semantic' and 'pragmatic' in linguistics and philosophy, Saihong Li shows the weakness of any conceptual distinction between them. She goes on to demonstrate how inappropriate these terms are for thinking about the ways in which words are defined and explained in dictionaries. The theoretical argument is supported by detailed and comparative empirical research: learners of English as a second language in both China and Denmark were interviewed about their experiences as users of standard learner's dictionaries. The results are presented in tabular form and their interpretation is statistically informed. This is a path-breaking study. Saihong Li makes an important contribution to lexicographical theory, and advances a sophisticated methodology for the comparative study of English-language leaning on an international scale and in the global marketplace of learner's dictionaries. Her work will be of great value for language teachers, lexicographers, and students of interpretation, translation and language pedagogies. "To Inform and Define" should also attract serious attention from editors and publishers of learner's dictionaries.







Handbook of Mathematical Models and Algorithms in Computer Vision and Imaging


Book Description

This handbook gathers together the state of the art on mathematical models and algorithms for imaging and vision. Its emphasis lies on rigorous mathematical methods, which represent the optimal solutions to a class of imaging and vision problems, and on effective algorithms, which are necessary for the methods to be translated to practical use in various applications. Viewing discrete images as data sampled from functional surfaces enables the use of advanced tools from calculus, functions and calculus of variations, and nonlinear optimization, and provides the basis of high-resolution imaging through geometry and variational models. Besides, optimization naturally connects traditional model-driven approaches to the emerging data-driven approaches of machine and deep learning. No other framework can provide comparable accuracy and precision to imaging and vision. Written by leading researchers in imaging and vision, the chapters in this handbook all start with gentle introductions, which make this work accessible to graduate students. For newcomers to the field, the book provides a comprehensive and fast-track introduction to the content, to save time and get on with tackling new and emerging challenges. For researchers, exposure to the state of the art of research works leads to an overall view of the entire field so as to guide new research directions and avoid pitfalls in moving the field forward and looking into the next decades of imaging and information services. This work can greatly benefit graduate students, researchers, and practitioners in imaging and vision; applied mathematicians; medical imagers; engineers; and computer scientists.










Brain Stimulation


Book Description

The consideration of ethical and social issues related to current uses of deep brain stimulation (DBS) as well as investigational uses should now be an integral part of contemporary DBS practice. Scholarship, interdisciplinary work groups, and peer processes have helped articulate standards that need to be respected and implemented in current DBS practice. Integrating new knowledge and interdisciplinary ethical perspectives could be considered a sign of the maturity and rigor of a DBS program. Still, investigational uses of DBS carry tremendous hope but also touch on sensitive and thorny ethical questions. These questions can benefit from the ethical wisdom generated for standard uses of DBS but also challenge current practices and professional conduct. Realizing this, interdisciplinary expert groups have been convened to identify and flesh out ethical guideposts for cutting-edge research in DBS. By implementing these ethical frameworks, DBS is an opportunity to develop promising treatments for a set of vulnerable and sometimes underserved patients while keeping their best interests in sight.




Autonomy, Informed Consent and Medical Law


Book Description

Alasdair Maclean examines the ethical basis for consent to medical treatment and offers proposals for reform.