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Books in Arts and humanities

Elsevier's Arts and Humanities titles encompass a rich spectrum of scholarship that explores human culture, history, philosophy, and creative expression. These works offer deep insights into language, literature, visual arts, and critical theory, supporting the academic community in understanding diverse perspectives and cultural legacies. Designed for scholars, educators, and students, this collection bridges classic studies with contemporary issues, fostering a deeper appreciation and knowledge of the human experience.

  • Science Policy Perspectives

    USA–Japan
    • 1st Edition
    • September 25, 2013
    • Arthur Gerstenfeld
    • English
    Science Policy Perspectives: USA-Japan is a collection of papers from the "Second Seminar on Science Policy" under the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Science Program held in Hawaii in August 1981. This collection presents an exchange of ideas between the Japan and the United States on each other's science policies. One paper confers the belief that basic and applied scientific research in America are fundamentally distinct. Political and administrative considerations influence perceptions of basic and applied research. Those responsible for framing and implementing science policies should have an alternative, two-dimensional view where basic and applied science does not exclude each other. In Japan, basic research is done in universities, applied research is made in national research institutes, while research and development is carried out by the private sector. Other papers address the policies of resource allocation in basic and applied research in the two countries, the practices of their respective governments, the cooperation of universities and industry, as well as patent policies for government supported research. This collection can prove useful for engineers, inventors, investigators in both government and privately funded research, and policy makers in government dealing with scientific research and development.
  • A Theory of Economic Systems

    • 1st Edition
    • September 25, 2013
    • Manuel Gottlieb
    • Charles Tilly + 1 more
    • English
    A Theory of Economic Systems is a systematic inquiry into the nature of historical economic systems, their relationships to each other, their peripheral areas, and the ways in which they and their components have evolved over time. Topics covered include modes of production; coordination of resource use; functions of the state in the economy; and the institutions of money and property. Comprised of nine chapters, this book begins with a brief introduction to the frame of reference; basic definitions of the terms used in economic systems; methodological issues; and the bounds of the inquiry. The next chapters are devoted to modes of production or forms of productive organization. Ten distinct modes of production are identified, with different modes sometimes dominant in different fields of economic activity (agriculture, industry, wholesale trade, urban services, etc.). The way the use of economic resources is coordinated both within and between modes is considered, with particular reference to markets, rationing, and central planning. Subsequent chapters focus on the role of the state and the public economy in economic systems; money and property; the ways in which separate economic systems may be drawn into meaningful multinational gestalts or orders; and problems of system classification. The book concludes by listing eight broad family types of systems into which most, if not all, historically experienced systems may fit. This monograph should appeal to social scientists in varied fields of specialization such as geography, sociology, economic history, political science, and economics.
  • Life-Span Developmental Psychology

    Research and Theory
    • 1st Edition
    • September 25, 2013
    • L. R. Goulet + 1 more
    • English
    Life-Span Development Psychology: Research and Theory covers the issues and problems associated with a life-span conceptualization of developmental psychology. The book discusses the status,issues, and antecedents of life-span developmental psychology; an approach to theory construction in the psychology of development and aging; and models and theories of development. The text also describes the methodology and research strategy in the study of developmental change; the application of multivariate strategies to problems of measuring and structuring long-term change; and the mechanisms required for the operation of perception and recognition. Learning and retention; language; and intellectual abilities are also considered. Developmental psychologists will find the study invaluable.
  • Energy Economics and Policy

    • 2nd Edition
    • September 25, 2013
    • James M. Griffin + 1 more
    • English
    Energy Economics and Policy, Second Edition presents a unified analysis of energy economics and energy policy. This book deals with energy economics. It discusses the dimension of the energy problem—the role of energy in economic development, energy consumption patterns, energy supply, and oil prices. In dealing with equilibrium of energy demand and supply, the authors note that efficiency and equity considerations should be considered simultaneously using the income tax or welfare system to redress burdens imposed on the poor. The authors also analyze OPEC behavior and oil prices and notes six keys to the long-run viability of OPEC and their implications for future prices in oil. The authors present the environmental issues in energy development and the economics of pollution control. The authors cite the efficiency of low-cost emitters that receive incentives to control more compared to high-cost emitters. As regards conservation schemes, the authors note that prorationing polices seek to remedy symptoms of over drilling, excessive production, and flaring of natural gas—instead of addressing unified and efficient contracting systems. This book can prove beneficial to economists, environmentalists, and policy makers involved in oil and energy regulation and use.
  • Humor and Aging

    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Lucille Nahemow + 2 more
    • English
    Humor and Aging deals with humor throughout the life span, although primary attention is given to humor about and by the elderly. The book contains theoretical and review material from infancy to old age and includes empirical studies of death and dying in both our own and other societies. The book is divided into four parts. Part I considers theoretical models of humor development across the life span and discusses physiological, psychological, and sociological processes. Part II deals with ways of considering humor and aging from different vantage points. These include (1) humor about people of different ages; (2) humor for people of different ages; and (3) humor by people of different ages. Part III addresses the grim subject of death and dying and how it lends itself to humorous treatment in our own and other societies. Part IV contains brief empirical reports. Since scientific research in humor and aging is only beginning, it seems important to discuss pilot work in hopes that others will follow. Finally, an epilogue by Loeb and Wood presents a compelling theoretical approach.
  • An Analysis of the Determinants of Occupational Upgrading

    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Duane E. Leigh
    • English
    An Analysis of the Determinants of Occupational Upgrading presents a study that focuses on occupational mobility as a proxy measure for job upgrading. This monograph was first prepared in 1975 as a final report to the Manpower Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor. It is the second monograph of the Institute for Research on Poverty to deal with black-white income differentials and is also part of a growing Institute literature on the dual labor market theories and occupational mobility. The book contains seven chapters and begins with an overview of occupational mobility in the United States. The next chapter considers previous attempts to test the dual labor market hypothesis and presents a model of occupational mobility to be used in testing five hypotheses on the determinants of occupational upgrading. Subsequent chapters discuss the Census and NLS samples and outline the empirical variables used to measure the variables specified in the model; the impact on occupational upgrading of formal vocational training, industry structure, and job tenure; and the impact of interfirm and interindustry mobility on occupational progression. The final chapter summarizes the empirical findings with respect to each of the five testable hypotheses and considers some policy conclusions drawn from the analysis.
  • Introduction to Urban Economics

    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Douglas M. Brown
    • English
    Introduction to Urban Economics offers a complete and self-contained coverage of urban economics. This book analyzes the economic rationale and growth and development of cities, theory and empirical analysis of urban markets, and problems and policies of urban economies. This text is divided into inter- and intra-urban analysis. Discussions on inter-urban analysis comprise Chapters 1 to 3 that include an introduction to urban economics, economic history of urban areas, and economics of urban growth. The rest of the chapters that cover intra-urban analysis describe the theories of urban markets, empirical tests of the theories, and implications of the empirical findings for policy decisions. This publication is valuable to students with a background in economic principles.
  • Evaluation and Experiment

    Some Critical Issues in Assessing Social Programs
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Carl A. Bennett + 1 more
    • English
    Evaluation and Experiment: Some Critical Issues in Assessing Social Programs is a collection of papers presented at the 1973 symposium held at The Battelle Seattle Research Center. This book contains eight chapters that consider some selected aspects of the problems in evaluating the outcomes of socially important programs, such as those dealing with education, health, and economic policy. The first chapter provides an overview of the issues around the Social Program Evaluation. The next chapters deal with the successes and failures brought by social innovations; the quasi-experimental evaluation in compensatory education to estimate the true effects of such education programs; and the usefulness and validity of econometric and related nonexperimental approaches for assessing the effects of social programs. These topics are followed by surveys of a number of additional program-evaluation studies, particularly in the field of family planning or fertility control, mostly carried out as experiments or quasi-experiments in Asian and Latin American countries. Other chapters describe the decision processes that involve explicit assessment of the worth or merit of outcomes and employ multivalued utility analysis and outline the ways in which evaluative data are useful in providing feedback to program or institutional operations and decisions. The final chapter discusses resolutions for some of the disagreements expressed by others concerning the role of field experiments, constraints in their utilization, and other factors that enter into a comprehensive conception of program evaluation.
  • Pain

    A Psychophysiological Analysis
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Richard A. Sternbach
    • English
    Pain: A Psychophysiological Analysis focuses on the processes, mechanisms, and approaches in studying pain. The book first offers information on the problems of experimental pain and neurological activity. Topics include anxiety as an experimental variable, implications for experimental pain, pain stimuli, receptors, and fibers, dorsal roots and spinal cord, and sensory nerves. The text also ponders on physiological responses and overt pain behavior. Discussions focus on perceptual, cognitive, personality, family, and ethnic factors, aggression, adaptation and rebound, stress, and pain-specific responses. The publication takes a look at affective descriptions and insensitivity to pain. Concerns include interpersonal aspects of pain, subjective responses to pain, psychodynamics of pain responses, personality development without pain, and possible neural defects. Phantom pain and hypnotic and placebo effects are also elaborated. The manuscript is a vital source of data for psychiatrists, neurologists, psychologists, and physiologists.
  • Language and Poverty

    Perspectives on a Theme
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Frederick Williams
    • English
    Language and Poverty: Perspectives on a Theme is a collection of papers that juxtaposes different perspectives on the definition of language and language behavior in relation to poverty. The book brings together a broad range of perspectives pertinent to language and poverty, specifically that of poor children. Topics on the language of the poor; how to construct effective language programs for the poverty child; biological and social factors in language development; and standardized assessment of the language of disadvantaged children are covered. Policy makers, social workers, language teachers, sociologists, psychologists, and educators will find the text invaluable.