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Books in Social sciences and humanities

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    • International Conflict Resolution Using System Engineering (SWIIS)

      • 1st Edition
      • July 4, 2014
      • H. Chestnut + 2 more
      • English
      • eBook
        9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 9 8 2 7 6
      Finding an alternative to supplement military ways of resolving international conflicts has been taken up by many people skilled in various areas such as political science, economics, social studies, modelling and simulation, artificial intelligence and expert systems, military strategy and weaponry as well as private business and industry. The Workshop will therefore be of use as it looks at various control methods which would create a conciliatory social and political environment or climate for seeking and obtaining non-military solutions to international conflicts and to solutions to national conflicts which may lead to international conflicts.

    • Stability of Happiness

      • 1st Edition
      • July 2, 2014
      • Kennon M Sheldon + 1 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 8 1 0 2 4 9 7
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 1 1 4 7 8 4
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 1 0 5 3 8 6
      The right to "pursue happiness" is one of the dominant themes of western culture, and understanding the causes of happiness is one of the primary goals of the positive psychology movement. However, before the causality question can even be considered, a more basic question must be addressed: CAN happiness change? Reasons for skepticism include the notion of a "genetic set point" for happiness, i.e. a stable personal baseline of happiness to which individuals will always return, no matter how much their lives change for the better; the life-span stability of happiness-related traits such as neuroticism and extraversion; and the powerful processes of hedonic adaptation, which erode the positive effects of any fortuitous life change. This book investigates prominent theories on happiness with the research evidence to discuss when and how happiness changes and for how long.

    • The Changing Landscape of China’s Consumerism

      • 1st Edition
      • July 2, 2014
      • Alison Hulme
      • English
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 1 8 4 3 3 4 7 6 1 3
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 0 8 1 0 1 5 0 8 7
      • eBook
        9 7 8 1 7 8 0 6 3 4 4 2 5
      Consumerism in China has developed rapidly. The Changing Landscape of China's Consumerism looks at the growth of consumerism in China from both a socio-economic and a political/cultural angle. It examines changing trends in consumption in China as well as the impact of these trends on society, and the politics and culture surrounding them. It examines the ways in which, despite needing to "unlock" the spending power of the rural provinces, the Chinese authorities are also keen to maintain certain attitudes towards the Communist Party and socialism "with Chinese Characteristics." Overall, it aims to show that consumerism in China today is both an economic and political phenomenon and one which requires both surrounding political culture and economic trends for its continued establishment. The ways in which this dual relationship both supports and battles with itself are explored through apposite case studies including the use of New Confucianism in the market context, the commodification of Lei Feng, the new Chinese tourist as a diplomatic tool in consumption, the popularity of Shanzhai (fake product) culture, and the conspicuous consumption of China's new middle class.

    • Laboratory Experiments in the Social Sciences

      • 2nd Edition
      • July 1, 2014
      • Murray Webster + 1 more
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 8 1 0 1 2 8 5
      • Hardback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 0 4 6 8 1 8
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 0 5 1 8 6 7
      While there are many books available on statistical analysis of data from experiments, there is significantly less available on the design, development, and actual conduct of the experiments. Laboratory Experiments in the Social Sciences summarizes how to design and conduct scientifically sound experiments, be they from surveys, interviews, observations, or experimental methods. The book encompasses how to collect reliable data, the appropriate uses of different methods, and how to avoid or resolve common problems in experimental research. Case study examples illustrate how multiple methods can be used to answer the same research questions and what kinds of outcome would result from each methodology. Sound data begins with effective data collection. This book will assist students and professionals alike in sociology, marketing, political science, anthropology, economics, and psychology.

    • Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches

      • 2nd Edition
      • June 30, 2014
      • Ruth A. Baer
      • English
      • Paperback
        9 7 8 0 1 2 4 1 6 0 3 1 6
      • eBook
        9 7 8 0 1 2 3 9 1 4 5 2 1
      The second edition of Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches discusses the conceptual foundation, implementation, and evidence base for the four best-researched mindfulness treatments: mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Eastern spiritual traditions have long maintained that mindfulness meditation can improve well-being. More recently, mindfulness-based treatment approaches have been successfully utilized to treat anxiety, depressive relapse, eating disorders, psychosis, and borderline personality disorder. All chapters in this new edition are written by researchers with extensive clinical experience. Each chapter includes the conceptual rationale for using a mindfulness-based treatment and a review of the relevant evidence base. A detailed case study illustrates how the intervention is implemented in "real life," exploring the clinical and practical issues that may arise and how they can be managed. This book will be of use to clinicians and researchers interested in understanding and implementing mindfulness based treatments.

    • Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory

      • 1st Edition
      • June 30, 2014
      • Michael B Schiffer
      • English
      • eBook
        9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 1 4 8 1 8
      Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 4 presents the progressive explorations in methods and theory in archeology. This book discusses the increasing application of surface collection in cultural resource management. Organized into eight chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the fundamental aspects of archeoastronomy and explains what kinds of testable hypotheses that archeoastronomy generates. This text then examines the general implications for the study of cultural complexity. Other chapters consider the use of surface artifacts by archeologists to locate sites, establish regional culture histories, and to know where to excavate within sites. This book discusses as well the interpretative interfaces between archeology on the one hand, and ethnohistory and ethnology on the other, that is based on a theoretical stance advocating a fundamental holistic approach to anthropology. The final chapter deals with understanding the ecology of ancient organisms. This book is a valuable resource for archeologists and anthropologists.

    • Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory

      • 1st Edition
      • June 30, 2014
      • Michael B Schiffer
      • English
      • eBook
        9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 1 4 8 4 9
      Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 9 is a collection of papers that describes protohuman culture, pastoralism, artifact classification, and the use of materials science techniques to study the construction of pottery. Some papers discuss contingency tables, geophysical methods of archaeological site surveying, and predictive models for archaeological resource location. One paper reviews the methodological and theoretical advances in the archaeological studies of human origins, particularly covering the Plio-Pleistocene period. Another paper explains the historic and prehistoric development of pastoralism through archaeological investigation. One paper traces the three phases of artifact classification, each being a representation of a different attitude and approach. Another paper evaluates pottery artifacts using a number of basic materials-science concepts and analytic approaches, toward the study of their mechanical strength; and also reviews their use in archaeological studies of pottery production and organization. To investigate archaeological intrasites, the archaeologist can use different specialized methods such as seismic, electromagnetic, resistivity, magnetometry, and radar. Another paper describes various empiric correlative models for locational prediction developed in both contexts of cultural resource management and academic research. Sociologists, anthropologist, ethnographers, museum curators, professional or amateur archaeologists will find the collection immensely valuable.

    • Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory

      • 1st Edition
      • June 30, 2014
      • Michael B Schiffer
      • English
      • eBook
        9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 1 4 8 5 6
      Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 11 is a collection of papers that discusses world systems theory, modeling interregional interaction in prehistory, and the archaeological analysis of ceramics. Some papers review dating and weathering of inorganic materials, strategies for paleo-environmental reconstruction, as well as deposits and depositional events. One paper reviews the Old World state formation that occurred in West Asia during the fourth and third millennia B.C. Another paper examines the role of interactions among societies in the process of local social change, and the need for archaeologists to develop a framework in which to analyze intersocietal interaction processes. The presence of items such as ceramics is associated directly to factors of availability, functions, economic values, or ethnic affiliation. As an example, one paper cites the use and misuse of English and American ceramics in archaeological analysis in identifying cultural patterns and human behavior. Another paper notes that each biological or mechanical agent of transport and deposition has its own respective attributes on a deposit where the attributes of sedimentary particles on the deposit can be defined. From such definitions, the archaeologists can make observations and inferences. Sociologists, anthropologist, ethnographers, museum curators, professional or amateur archaeologists, and academicians studying historical antiquities will find the collection very useful.

    • Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory

      • 1st Edition
      • June 30, 2014
      • Michael B Schiffer
      • English
      • eBook
        9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 1 4 8 3 2
      Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 8 is a collection of papers that discusses postprocessual archaeology, bone technology, and tree-ring dating in Eastern North America. One paper discriminates between the process and norm, and eliminates the dichotomy by locating human agency and the active. It focuses on monitoring individuals as being in the center of social theory. Another paper discuses the physical model and the textual model that describe the basic components of an archaeological record. For example, the first model implies that archaeological inferences move from material components of the record to material phenomena in the past. The second model assumes that archaeological inference should move from material phenomena to mental phenomena, from material symbols to the ideas and beliefs they encode. Another paper explains the use of analogy as a useful tool in archaeological considerations. One paper investigates bones as a material for study, including the analysis of carnivore-induced fractures or hominid-induced modifications from using bones as tools. The collection is suitable for sociologists, anthropologist, professional or amateur archaeologists, and museum curators studying archaeological artifacts.

    • Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory

      • 1st Edition
      • June 30, 2014
      • Michael B Schiffer
      • English
      • eBook
        9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 1 4 8 0 1
      Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory, Volume 3 presents the progressive explorations in methods and theory in archeology. This book discusses the general cultural significance of cult archeology. Organized into nine chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the spectrum of professional reactions to cult archeology. This text then examines the applicability of evolutionary theory to archeology. Other chapters consider the fundamental principles of adaptation as applied to human behavior and review the state of application of adaptational approaches in archeology. This book discusses as well the convergence of evolutionary and ecological perspectives in anthropology that has given rise to a distinct concept of culture. The final chapter deals with obsidian dating as a chronometric method and explains the problems that limit its effectiveness. This book is a valuable resource for archeologists and anthropologists. Graduate students and archeology students will also find this book extremely useful.

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