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Practical Reasons (practical + reason)
Selected AbstractsTHE ,SHOULD' OF FULL PRACTICAL REASONANALYTIC PHILOSOPHY, Issue 2 2007Julie Tannenbaum First page of article [source] Theories of Practical ReasonMETAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 4 2002Eric Wiland Leading theories of practical reason can be grouped into one of four families: psychologism, realism, compatibilism, and Aristotelianism. Although there are many differences among the theories within each family, I ignore these in order to ask which family is most likely to deliver a satisfactory philosophical account of reasons for action. I articulate three requirements we should expect any adequate theory of practical reason to meet: it should account for (1) how reasons explain action, (2) how reasons justify action, and (3) how an agent can act for the reason that justifies her action. Only the Aristotelian theory, however, can meet all three requirements. It avoids the problems that plague the other theories by grounding reasons neither in psychological states nor in facts totally independent of the agent in question, but in the nature of the kind of creature the agent is. Our explanations of action need descend to the biographical only when explaining why a human being does not act in ways characteristic of her kind. The Aristotelian view of practical reason, then, appears to be the most promising program for future work. [source] Emotions and Practical Reason: Rethinking Evaluation and MotivationNOUS, Issue 2 2001Bennett W. Helm First page of article [source] What is Sidgwick's Dualism of Practical Reason?PACIFIC PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2000Owen McLeod Sidgwick's ,Dualism of Practical Reason' has attracted the attention of many interpreters, and the Dualism itself seems to be an historically important version of the view, recently defended by Thomas Nagel, Susan Wolf, and others, that there exists a fundamental fragmentation of value , that the ,cosmos of duty is reduced to chaos,' in Sidgwick's words. In this paper, I consider and reject the leading interpretations of Sidgwick's Dualism, and propose an alternative reading. I conclude by offering what I hope is a plausible but Sidgwickian way out of the Dualism. [source] Practical Reason and ,Companions in Guilt'PHILOSOPHICAL INVESTIGATIONS, Issue 4 2003James Harold First page of article [source] Knowledge and Practical ReasonPHILOSOPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 6 2008Jessica Brown It has become recently popular to suggest that knowledge is the epistemic norm of practical reasoning and that this provides an important constraint on the correct account of knowledge, one which favours subject-sensitive invariantism over contextualism and classic invariantism. I argue that there are putative counterexamples to both directions of the knowledge norm. Even if the knowledge norm can be defended against these counterexamples, I argue that it is a delicate issue whether it is true, one which relies on fine distinctions among a variety of relevant notions of propriety which our intuitions may reflect. These notions variously apply to the agent herself, her character traits, her beliefs, her reasoning and any resultant action. Given the delicacy of these issues, I argue that the knowledge norm is not a fixed point from which to defend substantive and controversial views in epistemology. Rather, these views need to be defended on other grounds. [source] Realism and Anti-Realism in Kant's Second CritiquePHILOSOPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 5 2006Patrick Kain This article surveys recent work on Kant's Critique of Practical Reason, with a particular focus on his doctrine of the fact of reason and his doctrine of the practical postulates, assessing the implications of such work for the debate about realism and antirealism in Kant's moral philosophy. Section 1 briefly surveys some salient considerations raised by Kant's first Critique and Groundwork. In section 2, I survey recent work on the Kant's doctrine of the fact of reason and argue that it does not support an anti-realist interpretation of Kant's ethics. In section 3, I argue that recent work on Kant's doctrine of the practical postulates does not support an anti-realist interpretation of Kant's ethics. [source] Non-Individualism, Rights, and Practical ReasonRATIO JURIS, Issue 1 2008GEORGE PAVLAKOS Adopting a meta-ethical approach, it moves on to argue that the impasse arises from a philosophical confusion surrounding the role of rights as normative reasons. In dispelling the confusion, an account of reasons is put forward that attempts to capture their normativity by relating them to a reflexive public practice. Two key outcomes are identified as a result of this explication: first, that normative practices are instances of rule-following; and second, that agents partaking of normative practices possess absolute value (i.e., acquire the status of persons). In light of this explication, rights acquire the status of the most general reasons that purport to guarantee the content of personhood by specifying and safeguarding conditions which enable agents to participate in public practices of universalisation. [source] Keynes and Practical ReasonTHE POLITICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2007Article first published online: 17 APR 200 No abstract is available for this article. [source] What is Sidgwick's Dualism of Practical Reason?PACIFIC PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2000Owen McLeod Sidgwick's ,Dualism of Practical Reason' has attracted the attention of many interpreters, and the Dualism itself seems to be an historically important version of the view, recently defended by Thomas Nagel, Susan Wolf, and others, that there exists a fundamental fragmentation of value , that the ,cosmos of duty is reduced to chaos,' in Sidgwick's words. In this paper, I consider and reject the leading interpretations of Sidgwick's Dualism, and propose an alternative reading. I conclude by offering what I hope is a plausible but Sidgwickian way out of the Dualism. [source] Constructivism about Practical Reasons,PHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2007AARON JAMES Philosophers commonly wonder what a constructivist theory as applied to practical reasons might look like. For the methods or procedures of reasoning familiar from moral constructivism do not clearly apply generally, to all practical reasons. The paper argues that procedural specification is not necessary, so long as our aims are not first-order but explanatory. We can seek to explain how there could be facts of the matter about reasons for action without saying what reasons we have. Explanatory constructivism must assume constructive "norms of practical reasoning" which yield particular truths without assuming them. But philosophers often mistakenly assume that only "formal" norms of reasoning could fulfill this role. The paper describes a further possibility: norms of reasoning can be "situation-specific" and yet retain truth-independent authority. Though we might doubt whether such norms can be independently defended, we should not doubt the possibility or coherence of constructivism about practical reasons. [source] PUTTING PARTICULARISM IN ITS PLACEPACIFIC PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2008JOSHUA GERT In the epistemic domain, there are two related notions: truth and the rationality of belief. Epistemic reasons are related to the rationality of belief, and not directly to truth. In the domain of practical reasons, however, the role of truth is taken by the notion of objective rationality. Practical reasons are directly relevant to this objective notion, and therefore the reasons to expect holism and particularism in the epistemic domain do not transfer to the domain of practical rationality. [source] Laser plasma EUV sources for Lithography , Diode pump technology offers new applicationsLASER TECHNIK JOURNAL, Issue 2 2005Martin Richardson The study of high-temperature plasmas produced by pulsed laser systems has for a long time been associated with esoteric applications such as laser fusion, x-ray lasers, space propulsion and the like. There are several reasons for this, but one practical reason was simply that the lasers required to produce these plasmas were large, unwieldy and generally singleshot devices (at least minutes between shots). This technology did not lend itself towards applications that were compact, reproducible and potentially automated. However, this is now no longer the case. High-power diode pump technology has transformed the architecture of solid state lasers, reducing by many factors the required thermal dissipation, and therefore allowing higher repetition rates. Coupled with more compact designs and reduced costs, commercial applications of high-power pulsed lasers, and even laserproduced plasmas are now emerging. Chief among the applications of laser plasmas is now its potential as a light source for what is now called Extreme UV Lithography, or EUVL. [source] Theories of Practical ReasonMETAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 4 2002Eric Wiland Leading theories of practical reason can be grouped into one of four families: psychologism, realism, compatibilism, and Aristotelianism. Although there are many differences among the theories within each family, I ignore these in order to ask which family is most likely to deliver a satisfactory philosophical account of reasons for action. I articulate three requirements we should expect any adequate theory of practical reason to meet: it should account for (1) how reasons explain action, (2) how reasons justify action, and (3) how an agent can act for the reason that justifies her action. Only the Aristotelian theory, however, can meet all three requirements. It avoids the problems that plague the other theories by grounding reasons neither in psychological states nor in facts totally independent of the agent in question, but in the nature of the kind of creature the agent is. Our explanations of action need descend to the biographical only when explaining why a human being does not act in ways characteristic of her kind. The Aristotelian view of practical reason, then, appears to be the most promising program for future work. [source] Feeling Pain for the Very First Time: The Normative Knowledge ArgumentPHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2010GUY KAHANE In this paper I present a new argument against internalist theories of practical reason. My argument is inpired by Frank Jackson's celebrated Knowledge Argument. I ask what will happen when an agent experiences pain for the first time. Such an agent, I argue, will gain new normative knowledge that internalism cannot explain. This argument presents a similar difficulty for other subjectivist and constructivist theories of practical reason and value. I end by suggesting that some debates in meta-ethics and in the philosophy of mind might be more closely intertwined than philosophers in either area would like to believe. [source] Universalizability for Collective Rational Agents: A Critique of AgentrelativismPHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2005MICHAEL RIDGE This paper contends that a Kantian universalizability constraint on theories of practical reason in conjunction with the possibility of collective rational agents entails the surprisingly strong conclusion that no fully agent-relative theory of practical reason can be sound. The basic point is that a Kantian universalizability constraint, the thesis that all reasons for action are agent-relative and the possibility of collective rational agents gives rise to a contradiction. This contradiction can be avoided by either rejecting Kantian universalizability, the possibility of collective rational agents, or the tenability of a fully agent-relative theory of practical reason; we cannot have all three. [source] Contributions of the Law to Political Deliberation.RATIO JURIS, Issue 4 2001Comments on Peter Fitzpatrick's "Consolations of the Law" In this paper the author discusses Peter Fitzpatrick's conception of deliberative politics (Fitzpatrick 2001), defining him as both a moderate optimist and a sceptic. For Fitzpatrick the deliberation is a process intrinsically incomplete; the law shows and compensates for the limits of deliberative politics and gives the political decision its legitimate form. Starting from Fitzpatrick's position, the author dwells, in particular, upon the relationship between law and deliberative decision making in politics showing that the essential question is how to handle deliberative discussion and not what the limits that law posits to deliberation are. Therefore he stresses that the success of deliberation depends not only on sound procedure, but, rather on political convictions, the belief in practical reason and a sense of community and proportionality (in other words, the spirit of democratic government and a critical public opinion) which play a decisive role in deliberative processes. [source] Perspectivism, Criticism and Freedom of SpiritEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PHILOSOPHY, Issue 1 2000Bernard Reginster The paper examines the view that Nietzsche's perspectivism about practical judgments, understood as a form of internalism about practical reasons, implies that any legitimate criticism of judgments emanating from a foreign perspective must be in terms that are internal to this perspective. Insofar as it is thought to be motivated by certain general theoretical strictures of perspectivism, this view is incoherent. The paper argues that, on the contrary Nietzsche's recourse to a strategy of internal criticism is motivated by his own particular commitment to preserving the freedom of spirit of his interlocutors. The paper concludes with a discussion of how freedom of spirit is preserved by internal criticism, and how the nature of freedom of spirit affects the particular form such criticism will assume. [source] Factors affecting participation in Sure Start programmes: a qualitative investigation of parents' viewsHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 3 2007Mark Avis BA(Hons) MSc RN RNT Cert Ed Abstract The objectives of the present study were to examine the factors that parents identify as promoting or hindering participation in Sure Start programmes, and to identify methods for enhancing parents' engagement with Sure Start. A qualitative, in-depth interview study was conducted with parents registered with two local Sure Start programmes based in the East Midlands, UK, and located in inner city areas with a range of health and social problems associated with social exclusion and disadvantage. Sixty parents, guardians or carers of children living in both Sure Start areas were recruited during autumn of 2004 on the basis of whether they were identified as a ,frequent user' or ,non-frequent user' of Sure Start services. The data were analysed using a thematic approach supported by NVivo computer software, and explanatory themes were subsequently tested for completeness and adequacy. The results of the study indicated that parents who used Sure Start services were positive about the benefits that they obtained for themselves and their children, in particular in overcoming a sense of isolation. Parents who were non-frequent users identified a number of practical reasons that prevented them using Sure Start services, although parents also recognised a loss of confidence and trust in the local communities summarised in the phrase ,keeping myself to myself'. Parents' awareness of the targeted nature of Sure Start can also lead to stigma and reluctance to use services. It is concluded that continued investment of time and effort in maintaining communication networks between Sure Start staff and local parents is vital if parents and children are to make the best use of Sure Start services. [source] A comparison of Granger causality and coherency in fMRI-based analysis of the motor systemHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 11 2009Andrew S. Kayser Abstract The ability of functional MRI to acquire data from multiple brain areas has spurred developments not only in voxel-by-voxel analyses, but also in multivariate techniques critical to quantifying the interactions between brain areas. As the number of multivariate techniques multiplies, however, few studies in any modality have directly compared different connectivity measures, and fewer still have done so in the context of well-characterized neural systems. To focus specifically on the temporal dimension of interactions between brain regions, we compared Granger causality and coherency (Sun et al., 2004, 2005: Neuroimage 21:647,658, Neuroimage 28:227,237) in a well-studied motor system (1) to gain further insight into the convergent and divergent results expected from each technique, and (2) to investigate the leading and lagging influences between motor areas as subjects performed a motor task in which they produced different learned series of eight button presses. We found that these analyses gave convergent but not identical results: both techniques, for example, suggested an anterior-to-posterior temporal gradient of activity from supplemental motor area through premotor and motor cortices to the posterior parietal cortex, but the techniques were differentially sensitive to the coupling strength between areas. We also found practical reasons that might argue for the use of one technique over another in different experimental situations. Ultimately, the ideal approach to fMRI data analysis is likely to involve a complementary combination of methods, possibly including both Granger causality and coherency. Hum Brain Mapp, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Sarcoidosis of the skin , A dermatological puzzle: important differential diagnostic aspects and guidelines for clinical and histopathological recognitionJOURNAL OF THE EUROPEAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY & VENEREOLOGY, Issue 2 2010G Tchernev Abstract Sarcoidosis of the skin may have an extremely heterogeneous clinical presentation, so that the definitions of ,great imitator' and ,clinical chameleon' have long been used. There is, in fact, a large group of skin diseases that can enter the differential diagnosis with cutaneous sarcoid manifestations, either clinically or/and pathologically. As the clinical consequences and the prognosis of these groups of diseases are often very different, it is important to correctly plan the diagnostic workup. The diagnostic process in this case often presents a challenge as no single test is sufficiently specific, so that a certain diagnosis can be only made in the presence of a compatible clinical and radiographic picture, along with histopathological evidence of non-necrotizing, epithelioid cell granulomas, and exclusion of other potential aetiologies. For practical reasons, four main groups of skin conditions capable of mimicking sarcoidosis can be identified: (i) transmissible, infectious diseases; (ii) allergic and immunological manifestations of various aetiologies; (iii) granulomatous diseases of various aetiologies; and (iv) lymphomas and pseudolymphomas. The aim of this article is to describe the main clinical and histopathological findings of such disease entities, and to discuss the role of those features (morphological, pathological and laboratory) that can help distinguish them from sarcoidosis of the skin. [source] Advances in transmission electron microscopy: In situ straining and in situ compression experiments on metallic glassesMICROSCOPY RESEARCH AND TECHNIQUE, Issue 3 2009Jeff Th.M. De Hosson Abstract In the field of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), fundamental and practical reasons still remain that hamper a straightforward correlation between microscopic structural information and deformation mechanisms in materials. In this article, it is argued that one should focus in particular on in situ rather than on postmortem observations of the microstructure. This viewpoint has been exemplified with in situ straining and in situ compression studies on metallic glasses. In situ TEM straining of amorphous metals permits an evaluation of the thickness of the liquid-like layer (LLL) formed because of heat evolution after shear band development. The experimental evaluation confirms that the thickness of a LLL present at the last moment of fracture substantially exceeds the generally accepted thickness of a shear band. In situ TEM and in situ SEM compression experiments on metallic glass pillars lead to the conclusion that smaller sized pillars deform more homogeneously than larger sized pillars. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] LEXICAL PRIORITY AND THE PROBLEM OF RISKPACIFIC PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2010MICHAEL HUEMER Some theories of practical reasons incorporate a lexical priority structure, according to which some practical reasons have infinitely greater weight than others. This includes absolute deontological theories and axiological theories that take some goods to be categorically superior to others. These theories face problems involving cases in which there is a non-extreme probability that a given reason applies. In view of such cases, lexical-priority theories are in danger of becoming irrelevant to decision-making, becoming absurdly demanding, or generating paradoxical cases in which each of a pair of actions is permissible yet the pair is impermissible. [source] PUTTING PARTICULARISM IN ITS PLACEPACIFIC PHILOSOPHICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2008JOSHUA GERT In the epistemic domain, there are two related notions: truth and the rationality of belief. Epistemic reasons are related to the rationality of belief, and not directly to truth. In the domain of practical reasons, however, the role of truth is taken by the notion of objective rationality. Practical reasons are directly relevant to this objective notion, and therefore the reasons to expect holism and particularism in the epistemic domain do not transfer to the domain of practical rationality. [source] Constructivism about Practical Reasons,PHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2007AARON JAMES Philosophers commonly wonder what a constructivist theory as applied to practical reasons might look like. For the methods or procedures of reasoning familiar from moral constructivism do not clearly apply generally, to all practical reasons. The paper argues that procedural specification is not necessary, so long as our aims are not first-order but explanatory. We can seek to explain how there could be facts of the matter about reasons for action without saying what reasons we have. Explanatory constructivism must assume constructive "norms of practical reasoning" which yield particular truths without assuming them. But philosophers often mistakenly assume that only "formal" norms of reasoning could fulfill this role. The paper describes a further possibility: norms of reasoning can be "situation-specific" and yet retain truth-independent authority. Though we might doubt whether such norms can be independently defended, we should not doubt the possibility or coherence of constructivism about practical reasons. [source] Kant on Transcendental Freedom,PHILOSOPHY AND PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH, Issue 3 2006Derk PEREBOOM Transcendental freedom consists in the power of agents to produce actions without being causally determined by antecedent conditions, nor by their natures, in exercising this power. Kant contends that we cannot establish whether we are actually or even possibly free in this sense. He claims only that our conception of being transcendentally free involves no inconsistency, but that as a result the belief that we have this freedom meets a pertinent standard of minimal credibility. For the rest, its justification depends on practical reasons. I argue that this belief satisfies an appropriately revised standard of minimal credibility, but that the practical reasons Kant adduces for it are subject to serious challenge. [source] A new method to determine the feto-placental volume based on dilution of fetal haemoglobin and an estimation of plasma fluid loss after intrauterine intravascular transfusionBJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 10 2002M. Hoogeveen Objectives (1) To calculate the feto-placental volume (FPV), using the haematocrit (Ht) values and the percentages of fetal haemoglobin (HbF), before and after red blood cell transfusion. (2) To estimate the transfusion-induced loss of plasma fluid. Design Retrospective analysis of data of 42 anaemic fetuses at the first transfusion [gestational age (GA) 19,36 weeks]. Setting Department of Obstetrics, Leiden University Medical Centre, The Netherlands. Sample Fifteen hydropic and 27 non-hydropic fetuses. Methods Donor blood volume (Vdonor) and Ht (Htdonor), fetal pre- and post-transfusion Ht values (Htinitial, Htfinal) and percentages of HbF (HbFinitial and HbFfinal) were used to calculate the FPV. The total red cell volume after transfusion (RCVfinal) and Htfinal were used to estimate the plasma fluid loss. Main outcome measures Feto-placental blood volume and loss of plasma fluid. Results The equations that use Htfinal over-estimate the FPV when the formula does not account for the difference between donor and post-transfusion Ht (FPVHt= 21.36 * GA , 390; r= 0.89). FPV is under-estimated (FPVHt= 9.90 * GA , 172; r= 0.84) when the blood volume increases with a volume less than the added donor blood volume. The calculation of FPV, using HbF percentages and the initial fetal RCV, is independent of volume changes (FPVHbF= 15.10 * GA , 279; r= 0.85). Comparing RCVfinal and Htfinal values showed that 31.1 ± 14.5% of the transfused volume was lost. Results of the hydropic fetuses did not differ from those of the non-hydropic fetuses. Conclusions FPV values based on Ht values are less reliable than those based on RCV and HbF findings. When, for practical reasons, Ht values have to be used, we propose an adapted equation for the calculation of the necessary volume of donor blood: Vdonor= FPVHbF* (Htfinal, Htinitial) / (Htdonor, 0.70 * Htfinal). [source] Chronological aspects of ultrasonic, hormonal, and other indirect indices of ovulationBJOG : AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS & GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 8 2001René Ecochard Objective To improve prediction of ovulation in normal cycles. Design Collection of women's characteristics and their menstrual cycles. Monitoring and analysis of time relationships between several indicators of ovulation: transvaginal ultrasonography, cervical mucus, basal body temperature, urinary luteinising hormone, and ratio of urinary oestrogen to progesterone metabolites. Setting Each of eight natural family planning clinics was to study 12 women for at least three cycles. Population One hundred and seven normally fertile and cycling women aged 18 to 45. Methods Daily measurements of urinary luteinising hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, oestrone-3-glucuronide and pregnanediol-3, -glucuronide. Basal body temperature recording and cervical mucus checking. Transvaginal ultrasound examination of the ovaries. Main outcome measures Delays between the expected day of ovulation according to the luteinising hormone peak or to ultrasound evidence and the expected days according to the other indices of ovulation. Results Ultrasonography was able to show evidence of ovulation in 283 out of 326 cycles. The average time lag between luteinising hormone peak and ultrasound evidence was less than one day (+0.46) but premature and late luteinising hormone-expected date of ovulation were observed in nearly 10% and 23% of cycles, respectively. Basal body temperature rise was observed in 98% of cycles. Cervical mucus peak symptom, rapid drop in the ratio of urinary metabolites, and luteinising hormone initial rise were all close to ultrasonographic evidence in more than 72% of cycles. Conclusions For accuracy and practical reasons, the cervical mucus peak symptom, the ratio of urinary metabolites and luteinising hormone initial rise might be better indices of ovulation than the luteinising hormone peak. [source] Colonic ischaemia and intra-abdominal hypertension following open repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysmBRITISH JOURNAL OF SURGERY (NOW INCLUDES EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SURGERY), Issue 6 2009K. Djavani Background: The aim was to investigate the association between colonic ischaemia and intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) after surgery for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA). Methods: Sigmoid colon perfusion was monitored with an intramucosal pH (pHi) tonometer. Patients with a pHi of 7·1 or less were treated for suspected hypovolaemia with intravenous colloids and colonoscopy. IAP was measured every 4 h. Patients with an IAP of 20 mmHg or more had neuromuscular blockade, relaparotomy or both. Results: A total of 52 consecutive patients had open rAAA repair; 30-day mortality was 27 per cent. Eight patients died shortly after surgery. Fifteen were not monitored for practical reasons; mortality in this group was 33 per cent. IAP and pHi were measured throughout the stay in intensive care in the remaining 29 patients. Monitoring led to volume resuscitation in 25 patients, neuromuscular blockade in 16, colonoscopy in 19 and relaparotomy in two. One patient died in this group. Twenty-three of 29 patients had a pHi of 7·1 or less, of whom 15 had a pHi of 6·9 or less. Sixteen had an IAP of 20 mmHg or more, of whom ten also had a pHi below 6·90. Peak IAP values correlated with the simultaneously measured pHi (r = ,0·39, P = 0·003). Conclusion: Raised IAP is an important mechanism behind colonic hypoperfusion after rAAA repair. Monitoring IAP and timely intervention may improve outcome. Copyright © 2009 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] |