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Books in Social sciences

The Social Sciences collection forms a definitive resource for those entering, researching, or teaching in any of the many disciplines making up this interdisciplinary area of study. Written by experts and researchers from both Academic and Commercial domains, titles offer global scope and perspectives.

Key subject areas include: Library and Information Science; Transportation; Urban Studies; Geography, Planning, and Development; Security; Emergency Management.

  • Solving Disputes for Regional Cooperation and Development in the South China Sea

    A Chinese Perspective
    • 1st Edition
    • September 30, 2013
    • Shicun Wu
    • English
    This book discusses the South China Sea dispute from a Chinese perspective with regards to history, law, international politics, the economy, diplomacy and military affairs. Not only does it detail China’s official position on the sovereignty and maritime disputes in the South China Sea, but also provides analyses of the related factors influencing the origin and development of these disputes. It further assesses the complexity, internationalisation and long-term struggle over the South China Sea and China’s efforts in dispute resolution.Solving Disputes for Regional Cooperation and Development aims to help readers better understand a Chinese perspective on the complexity of the South China Sea disputes, including competition over the sovereignty of the islets, islands regime and its impact on maritime delimitation, overlapping maritime claims, and how the adjacent states can cooperate for resource development in the South China Sea.This title is highly pertinent in the context of the growing attention paid to potential international conflicts in the South China Sea, and covers a wide range of topics including history, law, international politics, economy, diplomacy and military affairs.

  • The Librarian's Guide to Academic Research in the Cloud

    • 1st Edition
    • September 30, 2013
    • Steven Ovadia
    • English
    The cloud can be a powerful tool for conducting and managing research. The Librarian’s Guide to Academic Research in the Cloud is a practical guide to using cloud services from a librarian’s point of view. As well as discussing how to use various cloud-based services, the title considers the various privacy and data portability issues associated with web-based services. This book helps readers make the most of cloud computing, including how to fold mobile devices into the cloud-based research management equation. The book is divided into several chapters, each considering a key aspect of academic research in the cloud, including: defining the cloud; capturing information; capturing and managing scholarly information; storing files; staying organized, communicating; and sharing. The book ends by considering the future of the cloud, examining what readers can expect from cloud services in the next few years, and how research might be changed as a result.

  • The Theory and Practice of the Dewey Decimal Classification System

    • 2nd Edition
    • September 30, 2013
    • M. P. Satija
    • English
    The Dewey Decimal Classification system (DDC) is the world’s most popular library classification system. The 23rd edition of the DDC was published in 2011. This second edition of The Theory and Practice of the Dewey Decimal Classification System examines the history, management and technical aspects of the DDC up to its latest edition. The book places emphasis on explaining the structure and number building techniques in the DDC and reviews all aspects of subject analysis and number building by the most recent version of the DDC. A history of, and introduction to, the DDC is followed by subject analysis and locating class numbers, chapters covering use of the tables and subdivisions therein, multiple synthesis, and using the relative index. In the appendix, a number of academically-interes... questions are identified and answered.

  • The Patron-Driven Library

    A Practical Guide for Managing Collections and Services in the Digital Age
    • 1st Edition
    • September 30, 2013
    • Dee Ann Allison
    • English
    Libraries in the USA and globally are undergoing quiet revolution. Libraries are moving away from a philosophy that is collection-centered to one focused on service. Technology is key to that change. The Patron Driven Library explores the way technology has moved the focus from library collections to services, placing the reader at the center of library activities. The book reveals the way library users are changing, and how social networking, web delivery of information, and the uncertain landscape of e-print has energized librarians to adopt technology to meet a different model of the library while preserving core values. Following an introduction, the first part begins with the historical milieu, and moves on to current challenges for financing and acquiring materials, and an exploration of why the millennial generation is transformational. The second part examines how changes in library practice can create a culture for imagining library services in an age of information overflow. The final chapter asks: Whither the library?

  • Optimizing Academic Library Services in the Digital Milieu

    Digital Devices and their Emerging Trends
    • 1st Edition
    • September 30, 2013
    • Brendan Ryan
    • English
    The digital is the new milieu in which academic libraries must serve their patrons; but how best to utilize the slew of digital devices and their surrounding trends? Optimizing Academic Library Services in the Digital Milieu identifies best practices and strategies for using digital devices (such as tablets, e-readers, and smartphones) and copyrighted materials in academic libraries. Special consideration is given to e-books, iBooks, e-journals, and digital textbooks. This title describes how academic libraries can remain current, nimbly addressing user needs. An introduction gives an overview of technology in academic libraries, including the foundations of copyright law and user behavior in relation to digital content. Three parts then cover: digital rights management (DRM); practical approaches to e-content for librarians; and emerging pedagogy and technology. Finally, the book concludes by telling libraries how to remain agile and adaptable as they navigate the digital milieu.

  • Leadership in Academic and Public Libraries

    A Time of Change
    • 1st Edition
    • September 30, 2013
    • Petra Düren
    • English
    In a time when libraries have to face constant change, this book provides examples and advises on how to lead when change is needed (for example, when quality management is implemented or when libraries have to merge or to relocate). Engaging with how constant change affects leadership in libraries and how leaders in libraries act in times of change, this book is aimed at practitioners and students of Library and Information Science (LIS) alike, and is based on both theory and expert interviews from leaders in academic and public libraries that are in the midst, or are now coming out of a process of change.

  • Conflict Management for Security Professionals

    • 1st Edition
    • September 28, 2013
    • Andrew A. Tufano
    • English
    Effectively resolving conflict prevents violence, reduces incidents, improves productivity, and contributes to the overall health of an organization. Unlike the traditionally reactive law enforcement approach to resolving conflict, Conflict Management for Security Professionals provides a proven, reliable, business-focused approach that teaches security personnel to diffuse situations before they escalate when dealing with uncooperative, dangerous, or violent individuals. Covering everything from policies and procedures to security tactics and business impact, Conflict Management for Security Professionals uniquely addresses conflict resolution from a security perspective for managers, policy makers, security officials, or anyone else who interacts with people every day. This book helps organizations create and maintain safe environments without interfering with their ability to remain profitable, competitive, and relevant.

  • Perceptual Ecology

    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Edward C. Carterette + 1 more
    • English
    Handbook of Perception, Volume X: Perceptual Ecology, deals with perceptual aspects of the study of interaction of persons with their environment. The book is organized into six parts. Part I examines an ecological approach to the perceptual systems and cultural differences in perception. Part II is devoted to impaired perception and action. It includes studies on perception by the deaf and blind, and outlines the intellectual principles necessary for understanding sensory aids. Part III on aesthetics covers central problem of aesthetic theories and the generation and measurement of aesthetic forms. Part IV on architecture, music, art, and cinema discusses the perceptual aspects of architecture; the psychology of music; and the perception of art and motion pictures. Part V deals with the role of olfactory hedonics in perfumery and the assessment and abatement of noxious odors; and food habits, gastronomy, and analysis of flavors and foods. Part VI focuses on parapsychology. It reviews experimental evidence on telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinesis in order to assess the status of parapsychology and show why it is paradoxy, outside of accepted opinion, after some 100 years of psychic research.

  • The Illusory Freedom

    The Intellectual Origins and Social Consequences of the Sexual 'Revolution'
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Graham Heath
    • English
    The Illusory Freedom: The Intellectual Origins and Social Consequences of the Sexual "Revolution" describes the profound changes in sexual attitudes and sexual behavior in Britain and other Western countries. The book examines the reliability of the basis for the sexual revolution and whether its benefits outweigh the damages it has brought on society. The author reviews the influence of Dr. Alfred Kinsey's reports on over 12,000 humans subjects where Kinsey claims there is no "normality" or "abnormality" as regards sexual behavior. The author notes that some sexual studies involved some bias, the need to protect the family as an institution if society is to survive, and faithfulness has its long term rewards. His other findings show that no evidence points to sexual experimentation or promiscuity as causing long-term happier relationships, that media tends to present sexual anarchy as the norm, and that guidelines for adolescent and ideals for adults should be established. He notes, quite interestingly, that as the forces of sexual freedom are released by new regimes of generations, it become more apparent that sexual freedom is an illusory freedom. This book can prove interesting reading for feminists, psychiatrists, psychologists, parents, professionals and administrators of educational institutions, as well as heads of public commutations and media.

  • Physical Security Strategy and Process Playbook

    • 1st Edition
    • September 23, 2013
    • John Kingsley-Hefty
    • English
    The Physical Security Strategy and Process Playbook is a concise yet comprehensive treatment of physical security management in the business context. It can be used as an educational tool, help a security manager define security requirements, and serve as a reference for future planning. This book is organized into six component parts around the central theme that physical security is part of sound business management. These components include an introduction to and explanation of basic physical security concepts; a description of the probable security risks for more than 40 functional areas in business; security performance guidelines along with a variety of supporting mitigation strategies; performance specifications for each of the recommended mitigation strategies; guidance on selecting, implementing, and evaluating a security system; and lists of available physical security resources. The Physical Security Strategy and Process Playbook is an essential resource for anyone who makes security-related decisions within an organization, and can be used as an instructional guide for corporate training or in the classroom. The Physical Security Strategy and Process Playbook is a part of Elsevier’s Security Executive Council Risk Management Portfolio, a collection of real world solutions and "how-to" guidelines that equip executives, practitioners, and educators with proven information for successful security and risk management programs.

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