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2068 results in Cambridge Elements

Page 4 of 104

An Introduction to String Diagrams for Computer Scientists

An Introduction to String Diagrams for Computer Scientists
  • Robin Piedeleu, Fabio Zanasi
  • Published online:
    01 May 2025
    Print publication:
    29 May 2025
    • Element
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  • String diagrams are a powerful graphical language used to represent computational phenomena across diverse scientific fields, including computer science, physics, linguistics, amongst others. The appeal of string diagrams lies in their multi-faceted nature: they offer a simple, visual representation of complex scientific ideas, while also allowing rigorous mathematical treatment. Originating in category theory, string diagrams have since evolved into a versatile formalism, extending well beyond their abstract algebraic roots, and offering alternative entry points to their study. This text provides an accessible introduction to string diagrams from the perspective of computer science. Rather than starting from categorical concepts, the authors draw on intuitions from formal language theory, treating string diagrams as a syntax with its own semantics. They survey the basic theory, outline fundamental principles, and highlight modern applications of string diagrams in different fields. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.
Divination

Divination
  • A Cognitive Perspective
  • Ze Hong
  • Published online:
    29 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • This Element adopts a naturalistic, cognitive perspective to understand divination. Following an overview of divination and the historical background of its scholarly study, Section 2 examines various definitions and proposes a working definition that balances common usage with theoretical coherence. Section 3 surveys existing theories of divination, including symbolic and functional perspectives, while critiquing their limitations. Section 4 argues for the primacy of cognition in divinatory practices, emphasizing the role of universal cognitive mechanisms and culturally specific worldviews in shaping their plausibility and persistence. Expanding on these ideas, Section 5 investigates the interplay between individual cognition and societal processes, highlighting socio-cultural factors such as the preferential reporting of successful outcomes that bolster divination's perceived efficacy. Finally, Section 6 concludes by summarizing the Element's key arguments and identifying open questions for future research on the cognitive dimension of divination.
The Metaphysics of Divine Participation

The Metaphysics of Divine Participation
  • Alexander J. B. Hampton
  • Published online:
    28 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • Participation has been central to the story of Western philosophy and theology for at least two millennia. It has been employed to conceptualise the relationship between God and creation, between universals and particulars, and between the One and the many. This Element approaches the concept systematically to acquire an appreciation of its breadth and depth under four fundamental themes: creation and the divine ideas, incarnation and salvation, being and multiplicity, and the human activities of naming, knowing and making. In doing so it examines some of the key thinkers in the participatory tradition, including Augustine, Irenaeus, Aquinas and Nicholas of Cusa. Readers will be introduced to the key contours and manifestations of participatory metaphysics, and its role in Christianity's self-articulation. Together, these considerations will demonstrate how the metaphysics of participation has shaped the Christian tradition.
Monarchies and the Organization of Power

Monarchies and the Organization of Power
  • Ancient Egypt and Babylonia Compared (2100–1750 BC)
  • Juan Carlos Moreno García, Seth Richardson
  • Published online:
    28 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • This Element explores the organization of power in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia and the interaction of diverse social actors between 2100 and 1750 BC. On the one hand, the forms of integration of towns and villages in larger political entities and the role played by local authorities, with a focus on local agency, the influence of mobile populations, the exercise of power in small localities, and the contrast between power reality and royal ideological claims, be they legal, divinely sanctioned, or other. On the other hand, the modalities of penetration of the royal authority in the local sphere, the alliances that linked court dignitaries and local potentates, and the co-option of local leaders. Finally, the influence of such networks of power on the historical evolution of the monarchies and the adaptability of the latter in coping with the challenges they faced to assert and reproduce their authority.
The Epistemologies of Progress

The Epistemologies of Progress
  • Richard Adelman
  • Published online:
    28 April 2025
    Print publication:
    29 May 2025
  • The Epistemologies of Progress brings together two recent critical trends to offer a new understanding of Scottish-Enlightenment narratives of progress. The first trend is the new consideration of the ambiguities inherent in eighteenth-century thought on this subject. The second is the fast-growing body of scholarship identifying the surprising role of scepticism in Enlightenment philosophy across Europe. The author's analysis demonstrates that stadial history is best understood through the terms of contemporary scepticism, and that doing so allows for the identification of structural reasons why such thought has been characterized by its ambiguities. Seen in this light, contemporary accounts of progress form a spectrum of epistemological rigour. At one end of this spectrum all knowledge is self-reflexively recognized to be analogy, surmise, 'speculation', and 'conjecture', untethered from lay-conceptions facticity. At the other end stand quotidian political claims, but made alongside reference to the sceptical conception of knowledge and argumentation.
Patient with Suspected Cauda Equina Syndrome

Patient with Suspected Cauda Equina Syndrome
  • Gabriel Metcalf-Cuenca, Patrick F. X. Statham
  • Published online:
    26 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • Cauda equina syndrome is the clinical syndrome seen when there is acute compression of the cauda equina nerve roots and is a rare neurosurgical emergency. The approximate incidence in patients presenting with low back pain is 0.27% but delays in investigation and treatment can result in life-changing permanent disability. The best practice for patients presenting with potential cauda equina syndrome is urgent MRI imaging at the presenting hospital to avoid delays in diagnosis. Patients with a positive finding of cauda equina compression should proceed to decompressive surgery to restore the diameter of the spinal canal urgently to reduce the risk of developing a permanent deficit.
The Revue in Twentieth-Century Budapest

The Revue in Twentieth-Century Budapest
  • From Cosmopolitan Night-Clubs to Stalinist Dogma
  • Dániel Molnár
  • Published online:
    25 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • Since the introduction of modern revues in 1925, the genre faced near-constant political scrutiny in Budapest. Yet by the 1930s, the city had become the capital of Central European cosmopolitan nightlife. The closure of Hungary's borders after World War II ended any hope of reclaiming this international status. Under communism and the Stalinist totalitarian regime, the revue—despite its popularity—remained politically stigmatized. For the first time, entertainment was treated as a cultural matter rather than merely a law enforcement issue, but it was forced to conform to ideological expectations. Three attempts to legitimize the genre in the 1950s ultimately failed, shaping the trajectory of live entertainment in the era. By the 1960s, revues were officially accepted, yet their cultural significance had faded amid the rise of new entertainment forms.
Gypsy and the Broadway Musical Madwoman

Gypsy and the Broadway Musical Madwoman
  • A Feminist Analysis
  • Mary Beth Sheehy
  • Published online:
    25 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • Gypsy, the groundbreaking 1959 Broadway musical by Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents, introduced the world of musical theater to one of the most formidable female characters ever to strut onto the stage: Madam (Momma) Rose. She embodies the archetypal “stage mother” whose lifelong journey to achieve fame, enacted vicariously through her daughters and their vagabond life across America, drives her to a “madness” akin to that of the quintessential operatic madwoman. Her famous mad scene, “Rose's Turn,” demonstrates the many analytical possibilities intrinsic to this character definition. The creators of Gypsy's Rose thus showcased the “Broadway musical madwoman” type: a female character who, like her foremother the operatic madwoman, is rife with gendered complexity that creates a fascinating opportunity for feminist analytical study. This Element's two-pronged approach uses the frameworks of feminist theory and musicological analysis to consider the importance, legacy, and reception of Rose's journey.
Heidegger and His Platonic Critics

Heidegger and His Platonic Critics
  • Antoine Pageau-St-Hilaire
  • Published online:
    25 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • This Element introduces the arguments of three prominent Platonic critics of Heidegger – Leo Strauss (1899–1973), Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002), and Jan Patočka (1907–1977) – with the aim of evaluating the trenchancy of their criticisms. The author shows that these three thinkers uncover novel ways of reading Plato non-metaphysically (where metaphysics is understood in the Heideggerian sense) and thus of undermining Heidegger's narrative concerning Platonism as metaphysics and metaphysics as Platonism. In their readings of the Platonic dialogues, Plato emerges as a proto-phenomenologist whose attention to the ethical-political facticity of human beings leads to the acknowledgment of human finitude and of the fundamental elusiveness of Being. These Platonic critics of Heidegger thus invite us to see in the dialogues a lucid presentation of philosophic questioning rather than the beginning of distorting doctrinal teachings.
Sustainable Inclusion through Performance-Driven Practices

Sustainable Inclusion through Performance-Driven Practices
  • An Evidence-Based, Dynamic Systems Framework
  • Ruth Sessler Bernstein, Paul Salipante
  • Published online:
    24 April 2025
    Print publication:
    24 April 2025
  • How can organizations better achieve inclusion, equity, and superior performance from diversity? Decades of stalled progress require a wider range of policies. Applying a system thinking approach to a transdisciplinary synthesis of research findings, the authors' comprehensive framework guides inquiry and practice by identifying problematic dynamics. Comparative case studies reveal, in contrast, favorable dynamics of intergroup contact that result from an evolved elaboration of practices for inclusive interactions, socialization, and accountability. Over time, when promoted for mission attainment, applied to all members, and customized to the workgroup, the practices generate inclusion, equity, and superior performance.
Shared Leadership 2.0

Shared Leadership 2.0
  • Taking Stock and Looking Forward
  • Christina L. Wassenaar, Craig L. Pearce, Natalia Lorinkova
  • Published online:
    24 April 2025
    Print publication:
    24 April 2025
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  • Shared leadership entails a dynamic, interactive influence process among groups and teams. Whereas traditional models of leadership emphasize the importance of vertical leadership as a role occupied by an individual in a designated position, shared leadership emphasizes the importance of leadership as an unfolding social process, shifting the influence to the person with the most relevant knowledge, skills and abilities, juxtaposed against the emerging task related requirements. Research shows that shared leadership is a robust predictor of group, team and organizational outcomes across a variety of organizations, industries and cultural contexts. In fact, shared leadership is a better predictor of outcomes than vertical leadership. This Element provides a comprehensive review of the research on shared leadership, and points to promising directions for the future, in terms of both research and the practical application of shared leadership in action. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Clinical Microsystems and Team Coaching

Clinical Microsystems and Team Coaching
  • Steve Harrison, Rachael Finn, Marjorie M. Godfrey
  • Published online:
    24 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
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  • Microsystems are the building blocks of the healthcare system. They are the small functional frontline units that provide most healthcare to most people, be it a clinic or a ward. The microsystem improvement approach engages teams at the frontline of care with patients and families in a structured process to improve the quality of care and outcomes. This Element offers an overview of the theory of the microsystems, mesosystems, and team coaching improvement approaches, using case studies to demonstrate how the approaches have been used in practice. A critique of the emerging evidence base and the strengths and limitations of the approach is given. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.
Shifting Allegiances

Shifting Allegiances
  • The Election of Latino Republicans to Congress and State Legislatures
  • Robert D. Alvarez, Jason P. Casellas
  • Published online:
    21 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • Shifting Allegiances provides a comprehensive analysis of the increasing presence and influence of Latino Republicans in Congress and state legislatures. Contrary to past assumptions, this Element reveals that Latino Republicans are a diverse group, no longer confined to Cuban Americans in South Florida. By examining election data and candidate characteristics since 2018, the authors uncover the factors contributing to the success of Latino Republicans, including district demographics, conservative values, and strategic campaigning. This shift in political dynamics highlights a broader trend of ideological realignment and offers insights into the evolving landscape of Latino political representation in the United States.
A Sense of the Divine

A Sense of the Divine
  • An Affective Model of General Revelation from the Reformed Tradition
  • N. Gray Sutanto
  • Published online:
    21 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • How should one make sense of the Christian confession that God has instilled a 'sense of divinity' in every person? While other approaches have identified the sense with a perceptual or cognitive faculty or with the empirical reports of theistic belief, this Element advances an affective model of general revelation, which draws from the writings of the neo-Calvinist branch of the Reformed tradition. The author argues that the sense of divinity refers to an implanted 'feeling of divinity', a sensus numinis, and that this model makes better sense of the Christian witness, theologically re-orients the empirical findings from the cognitive science of religion, and eludes influential objections against the doctrine of general revelation.
Climate Adaptation and Conflict Mitigation

Climate Adaptation and Conflict Mitigation
  • The Case of South Sudan
  • Ore Koren, Jerry Urtuzuastigui
  • Published online:
    21 April 2025
    Print publication:
    12 June 2025
  • As climate change intensifies, conflict-prone tropical regions face heightened vulnerabilities, yet little is known about how climate adaptation and food security efforts affect conflict dynamics. Using South Sudan – a country highly susceptible to climate stress and conflict – as a test case, this Element analyzes how international nongovernmental organizations' (INGO) climate adaptation interventions influence civil war and local social conflicts. It develops a theoretical framework linking climate adaptation to conflict, positing both positive and negative externalities. Drawing on original high-resolution data on INGO-driven adaptation and food security efforts, alongside climate, conflict, and development data, findings are substantiated with interviews from policy workers in South Sudan. The results indicate that while adaptation generally does not reduce conflict, interventions that promote preparedness and are implemented during periods of high climate stress can mitigate social conflicts between militias, pastoralists, and farmers. These insights provide guidance for designing climate adaptation strategies that reduce conflict risks.
Philosophy of Mathematics from the Pythagoreans to Euclid

Philosophy of Mathematics from the Pythagoreans to Euclid
  • Barbara M. Sattler
  • Published online:
    21 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • This Element looks at the very beginning of the philosophy of mathematics in Western thought. It covers the first reflections on attempts to untie mathematics from its practical usage in administration, commerce, and land-surveying and discusses the first ideas to see mathematical structures as constituents underlying the physical world in the Pythagoreans. The first two sections focus on the epistemic status of mathematical knowledge in relation to philosophical knowledge and on the various ontological positions ancient Greek philosophers in early and classical times ascribe to mathematical objects – from independent and separate entities to mere abstractions and idealisations. Section 3 discusses the paradigmatic role mathematical deductions have played for philosophy, the role of mathematical diagrams, and mathematical methods of interest for philosophers. Section 4, finally, investigates a couple of individual concepts that are fundamental for both philosophy and mathematics, such as infinity.
Gender and Literary Geography

Gender and Literary Geography
  • Elizabeth F. Evans, Matthew Wilkens
  • Published online:
    21 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • Our analysis of over 20,000 books published in Britain between 1800 and 2009 compares the geographic attention of fiction authored by women and by men; of books that focus on women and men as characters; and of works published in different eras. We find that, while there were only modest differences in geographic attention in books by men and women authors, there were dramatic geographic differences in books with highly gendered character space. Counter to expectation, the geographic differences between differently gendered characters were remarkably stable across these centuries. We also examine and complicate the power attributed to separate-sphere ideology. And we demonstrate a surprising reversal of critical expectation: in fiction, broadly natural spaces were more strongly associated with men, while urban spaces were more aligned with women. As it uncovers spatial patterns in literary history, this study casts new light on well-known texts and reimagines literature's broader engagement with gender and geography.
Decolonizing Russia?

Decolonizing Russia?
  • Disentangling Debates
  • Adam Lenton
  • Published online:
    21 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 radically changed the way many viewed the nature of the Russian state. The centrality of resentment and imperial nostalgia in Russian narratives led many to argue that Russian imperialism was a key force behind the invasion. By extension, this led to the idea that decolonization – largely in scholarship, but also among some policy circles – offered a way to better understanding Russia in this new context. To this end, this Element examines the debates over decolonization in the Russian case. It begins by contextualizing these debates through an examination of Russia's historical development as an empire. It then identifies and disentangles three key focal points: decolonization as domestic Russian politics, the transnational politics of decolonization, and decolonization as a scholarly endeavor. By doing so, this Element shows where decolonization has merit, but also where it is contested or limited.
Family Taxation

Family Taxation
  • Patricia Apps, Ray Rees
  • Published online:
    21 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • This Element seeks to provide an in-depth survey of the papers written on the optimal taxation of the incomes of the members of family households, as opposed to households with just a single individual, over the period beginning with the early 1980s and ending in the late 2010s.This literature, solidly within the public finance tradition, is not large, and so the Element gives quite a full exposition and discussion of the main contributions. The papers are grouped according to the type of tax system they have dealt with: linear, piecewise linear and non-linear taxation.
Neo-Aristotelian Metaphysics

Neo-Aristotelian Metaphysics
  • Phil Corkum
  • Published online:
    21 April 2025
    Print publication:
    22 May 2025
  • Contemporary metaphysicians who might be classified as 'neo-Aristotelian' tend towards positions reminiscent of Aristotle's metaphysics – such as category theory, trope theory, substance ontology, endurantism, hylomorphism, essentialism, and agent causation. However, prima facie it seems that one might hold any one of these positions while rejecting the others. What perhaps unifies a neo-Aristotelian approach in metaphysics, then, is not a shared collection of positions so much as a willingness to engage with Aristotle and to view this historical figure as providing a fruitful way of initially framing certain philosophical issues. This Element will begin with a methodological reflection on the contribution historical scholarship on Aristotle might make to contemporary metaphysics. It will then discuss as case studies category theory, properties, substance theory, and hylomorphism. The aim of the Element is to make the relevant exegetical questions accessible to contemporary metaphysicians, and the corresponding contemporary topics accessible to historians.

Page 4 of 104