Books in Social sciences and humanities

The Czech Republic and Economic Transition in Eastern Europe

1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Jan Svejnar
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 8 9 2 3 6

The Czech Republic and Economic Transition in Eastern Europe is the first in-depth, comparative analysis of the Czech Republic's economic transition after the fall of the Communist bloc. Edited by Jan Svejnar,a principal architect of the Czech economic transformation and Economic Advisor to President Vaclav Havel, the book poses important questions about the Republic and its partners in Central and Eastern Europe. The thirty-five essayists describe the country's macroeconomic performance; its development of capital markets; the structure and performance of its industries; its unemployment, household behavior, and income distribution; and the environmental and health issues it faces.In this in-depth, comparative analysis of the Czech Republic's economic transition, an international team of thirty-five economists examine the Republic and its partners in Central and Eastern Europe. Important questions and issues permeate the essays. For example, prior to 1939 the Czech Republic possessed the most advanced economy in the region; is it capable of reestablishing its dominance? Relative to its neighbors, the Republic ranks especially high on some transition-related performance indicators but low on others. What economic effects are related to the 1993 dissolution of the Czech and Slovak governments? And what can be learned by comparing the economic outcomes of two countries that shared legal and institutional frameworks? Data describe the country's macroeconomic performance; its development of capital markets; the structure and performance of its industries; its unemployment, household behavior, and income distribution; and the environmental and health issues facing it. Its most important contributions are its clarifications of the transition process.The authors included in Transforming Czechoslovakia combine the best available data and techniques of economic analysis to assess the replacement of the inefficient but internally consistent central planning system with a more efficient market system. These authors, among whom are central European economic analysts, senior U.S. economists, and Czechoslovakian professors and economic researchers, discuss the country's macroeconomic performance; its development of capital markets; the structure and performance of its industries; its unemployment, household behavior, and income distribution; and the environmental and health issues facing it. The essays vary between presentations of history and policy and technical examinations of data. Together they offer the most comprehensive and detailed assessment of the country's economic transformation in print.This book is important because its essayists compile results and reach conclusions that are broad and credible. The empirical data were gathered on the ground and have been subjected to advanced methodologies, including game theory, industrial organization, and Granger-Sims causality.

Interlimb Coordination

1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Stephan P. Swinnen + 3 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 8 9 2 4 3

This comprehensive edited treatise discusses the neurological, physiological, and cognitive aspects of interlimb coordination. It is unique in promoting a multidisciplinary perspective through introductory chapter contributions from experts in the neurosciences, experimental and developmental psychology, and kinesiology. Beginning with chapters defining the neural basis of interlimb coordination in animals, the book progresses toward an understanding of human locomotor control and coordination and the underlying brain structures and nerves that make such control possible. Section two focuses on the dynamics of interlimb coordination and the physics of movement. The final section presents information on how practice and experience affect coordination, including general skill acquisition, learning to walk, and the process involved in rhythmic tapping.

Evolutionary History of the Primates

1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Frederick S. Szalay + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 8 9 2 5 0

Evolutionary History of the Primates presents a documentation and analysis of the fossil record and evolutionary history of the primates to facilitate the understanding of the genealogy, adaptations, dispersal, and taxonomy of the order. The book consists of 13 chapters; each chapter is devoted to a specific genera or higher taxa of primates. The chapters contain available information on the morphology, relationships, and adaptations of primate groups. The book clarifies discussed points or documents interpretations, and it indicates the type of fossil material available for each taxon. The text will be valuable to many researchers and students who need a source of data and interpretations about fossil primates.

Social Demography

1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Karl E. Taeuber + 2 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 6 0 9 1 4

Social Demography focuses on selected topics on social science research on population. The papers included in the book are compiled from a conference sponsored by the Center for Population Research, held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in June 1975. The book compiles various findings in social and behavioral research. Chapters explore topics on trend analysis; the sociological meaning of age, and the social-psychological processes of reproductive behavior; analysis of certain aspects of the spatial organization of metropolitan activities; the changing racial stratification; and the future of research in social demography. Demographers, sociologists, and political and economic policy makers will find the book as a good source of insights.

The Fear of Population Decline

1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Michael S. Teitelbaum
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 8 9 2 6 7

The Fear of Population Decline provides an elaborated discussion on the concept of population decline. The book is comprised of seven chapters that show the extent to which demographic developments form a part of a much longer continuum of discussion and behavior. In the opening chapter, the book discusses the nature of population decline, and then proceeds to demonstrate the complex ways in which fears of population decline emerged in the period 1870-1945. Chapter 4 details the advancement in the period 1945-1965, while Chapters 5 and 6 discuss the phenomenon of baby bust and policy responses to it. The last chapter talks about the nature and possible dangers of population decline. The text will be of great interest to readers who are concerned with the implication of population decline for the society as a whole.

Assessment Centers and Managerial Performance

1st Edition
October 22, 2013
George C. Thornton III + 1 more
Peter Warr
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 8 9 2 7 4

Assessment Centers and Managerial Performance presents the historical development of multiple assessment procedures with focus on those advances relevant to assessment centers. This book discusses the models of job analysis, the nature of managerial work, work-sampling assessment methods, and the process of human judgment based on the assessment center experience. Organized into 11 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the various methods to describe, evaluate, and predict management effectiveness. This text then describes a number of assessment programs, including the earliest assessment centers. Other chapters consider the five approaches to predicting managerial effectiveness, including psychometric testing, clinical evaluations by psychologists, supervisor's ratings of potentials background interviews, and assessment centers. This book discusses as well the three levels of managerial jobs, namely, supervisory, middle management, and executive. The final chapter deals with the development of standards for assessment center operations. This book is a valuable resource for psychologists.

Occupational Prestige in Comparative Perspective

1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Donald J. Treiman
Peter H. Rossi
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 5 8 3 5 5

Occupational Prestige in Comparative Perspective provides information pertinent to the study of the nature of inequality in human society. This book discusses that stratification is inevitable in complex societies as they are characterized by a highly developed division of labor into distinct occupational roles. Organized into five parts encompassing 10 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the nature of occupational prestige systems that is rooted in power relations. This text then examines the extent of intrasocial variation in occupational prestige evaluations. Other chapters consider the contrast between the consensus that characterizes occupational prestige evaluations and the lack of consensus that characterizes the evaluation of other social categories. This book discusses as well the basic pattern of occupational evaluations and the worldwide uniformity in occupational evaluations. The final chapter deals with the development of the occupational scale and discusses it potential uses. This book is a valuable resource for sociologists.

Analytical Methods For Geochemical Exploration

1st Edition
October 22, 2013
J. C. Van Loon + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 8 9 3 0 4

Written for the practicing analyst, Analytical Methods for Geochemical Exploration offers thoroughly tested chemical analysis methods for determining what base or precious metals are in geochemical exploration samples, such as rocks, soil, or sediment. Theory is kept to a minimum and complete procedures are provided so that no additional sources are needed to conduct analyses.

The Neuropsychology of Individual Differences

1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Philip A. Vernon
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 8 9 3 1 1

This handbook provides a comprehensive and up-to-date summary of neuropsychological approaches to the assessment and study of individual differences. The book covers individual differences in mental abilities such as intelligence, mental retardation, learning memory, language, and reading. In addition, it discusses neurological models of cognitive information processing individual differences in personality and temperament, and neuro-psychological approaches to the assessment of learning disabilities and psychopathological disorders.

Social Incentives

1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Joseph Veroff + 1 more
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 6 4 7 4 5

Social Incentives: A Life-Span Developmental Approach presents a developmental perspective about universal social goals, one that provides an examination of human motivation over the life span. The book aims to discover the kind of goals people display in their interactions with one another, how to understand them, how are they acquired, and how do they help in understanding human social behavior. Discussions on the theory of social incentives from the point of view of developmental psychology; social motivations during the different stages of life; and the socialization process based on a life-span developmental model of social motivation brings us closer to understanding the topic. Social and developmental psychologists, motivational experts, and clinicians will find the text invaluable.

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