Speleology meteorology and cartography to develop portraits of caves as complex, evolving systems. Prior to the mid-nineteenth century the scientific value of caves was considered only in its contribution to other branches of science, and cave studies were considered part of the larger disciplines of geography, geology or archaeology. Very little cave-specific study was undertaken prior to the work of Édouard-Alfred Martel (1859–1938), the 'father of modern speleology', who through his extensive and well-publicised cave explorations introduced in France the concept of speleology as a distinct area of study. In 1895 Martel founded the Société de Spéléologie, the first organization devoted
Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness has organised annual conferences to promote interaction and spread knowledge of scientific and philosophical advances in the field of consciousness research. The 2008 meeting was organized by Allen Houng and Ralph Adolphs, and held between the 19th and 22 June at the Gis Convention Center, National Taiwan University in Taipei. The June 2009 meeting was held in Berlin, and organized by Patrick Wilken and Michael Pauen. In addition to organizing annual meetings, the association promotes the academic study of consciousness in a number of other ways: Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness The Association for the Scientific Study of