Social sciences and humanities print books and ebooks | Elsevier

Foreign Language Learning, Today and Tomorrow

1st Edition
May 19, 2014
Jermaine D. Arendt + 2 more
English
Paperback
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 7 3 4 1 2
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 8 9 2 2 2

Foreign Language Learning, Today and Tomorrow is a collection of papers that attempts to shed lights into the concerns and issues that will be encountered by foreign language instructors. The title first deals with the futurism in foreign language learning, and then proceeds to humanism in learning foreign languages. Next, the selection presents a thematic approach in learning a second language. The text then covers the individualization of foreign language learning. Chapter 5 cites some studies, which claim that children can learn to read far earlier. The selection also covers the system for evaluation of a foreign language program, along with the sequence of learning activities that work well in the classroom. Chapter 8 talks about possibility of language learning thrive as an elective in American schools, while Chapter 9 deals with individualizing and sequencing training for inter-cultural communication. The last two chapters detail the alternatives in education and suggestions for the continuing development of pre- and in-service programs for teachers of second languages. The book will be of great use to foreign language instructors. Individuals who are involved in the design and implementation of school curriculum will also benefit from the text.

Critical Issues in Competency Based Education

1st Edition
May 19, 2014
Susan V. Monjan + 1 more
English
Paperback
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 2 9 6 2 4
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 6 2 0 4 1

Critical Issues in Competency Based Education focuses on the primary facets of competency-based education, emphasizing the setting of goals and assessment procedures in education. The manuscript first highlights the value of setting objectives in the educational process, including art appreciation and participatory citizenship. The text then underscores the importance of behaviorally defined goals and evaluation of competencies, as well as planning a course in research design and accuracy and significance of assessment procedures. The publication examines the impact on the educational community of behaviorally defined goals; clarification against specification of standards; and the role of students in choosing educational pathways. The possible effects for students, faculty, and administrators and impacts of the standard statements on the education and evaluation process are elaborated. The book also takes a look at process-oriented and core competencies, early childhood education competencies, and elective competencies. The text is highly recommended for readers interested in the facets of competency-based education.

Learning, Speech and Thought in the Mentally Retarded

1st Edition
May 19, 2014
A. D. B. Clarke + 1 more
English
Paperback
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 3 1 8 0 1
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 6 4 2 2 9

Learning, Speech and Thought in the Mentally Retarded contains the proceedings of Symposia 4 and 5 held at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School in London on October 31, 1969 and March 20, 1970, respectively, under the auspices of the Institute for Research into Mental Retardation. This monograph presents topical problems in mental retardation, with emphasis on learning processes, speech, and thought. The application of operant learning techniques to the development of language in the retarded is highlighted. This book is comprised of four chapters and begins by outlining directions in research on learning deficits, followed by a discussion on teaching processes in the care of severely retarded children. The next chapter deals with speech and thought in the mentally retarded, with particular reference to two basic problems: the relative priority of language or thought and the selection processes underlying language. The final chapter explores language delay and language deviation in mentally retarded children. Throughout the book, the focus is on language: its nature, its development in the constitutionally normal and handicapped, some theoretical controversies among experts in this field, and the development of appropriate techniques for teaching language to the mentally retarded. This monograph will be useful to psychologists and clinicians working in the field of mental retardation.

Linguistic Evidence

1st Edition
May 19, 2014
William M. O'Barr
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 9 7 7 1 2

With the permission of a North Carolina court, more than 150 hours of courtroom speech were recorded for this study. These tapes provided a rich archive for a variety of different types of inquiry, including the ethnography of courtroom speech and social psychological experiments focused on effects of different modes of presenting information in courts of law. Four sets of linguistic variables and related experimental studies have constituted a major portion of the research: (1) "powerful" versus "powerless" speech; (2) hypercorrect versus formal speech; (3) narrative versus fragmented testimony, and (4) simultaneous speech by witnesses and lawyers. All four sets of studies focus on the central question of importance of form over content of testimony.

Word Order Universals

1st Edition
May 19, 2014
John A Hawkins
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 9 6 6 0 9

Word Order Universals is a detailed account of word order universals and their role in theories of historical change. The starting point is the Greenberg data set, which is comprised of a sample of 142 languages for certain limited co-occurrences of basic word orders, and a 30-language sample for more detailed information. In the Language Index, the 142 have been expanded to some 350 languages. Using the original Greenberg samples and the Expanded Sample, an alternative set of descriptive word order statements is provided. Comprised of eight chapters, this book begins with an introduction to the theory of word order universals, encompassing topics such as word order variation across languages and theories of universal grammar. The reader is then introduced to the work of Joseph Greenberg and Theo Vennemann on word order universals; implicational universals in Greenberg's data and the Expanded Sample; and the predictions made by implicational and distributional universals for word order change. Reformulated universals for historical reconstruction are also discussed, along with some laws of reconstruction derived from synchronic universals. The final chapter is devoted to the Expanded Sample, with particular reference to its quantities as well as its typological and genetic classification. This monograph will be a useful resource for specialists in grammar and linguistics.

The Criminal's Image of the City

1st Edition
May 19, 2014
Ronald L. Carter + 1 more
English
Paperback
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 2 1 8 4 0
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 5 4 2 6 8

The Criminal’s Image of the City focuses on the factors influencing the increase in crimes in cities, taking into consideration the behavior patterns of criminals. The manuscript first details approaches on the spatial and environmental analyses of crimes. The text then takes a look at the conceptual framework needed in understanding the spatial activity of criminals through their environmental perceptions. Considerations include criminals’ evaluation of their environments, distinguishing property crime and property criminals, and offender and non-offender samples. The publication examines how criminals perceive the different areas of cities and how they assess such areas as targets for the commission of crimes. The text also reviews the relationship of public policy and criminal behavior with area images, including approaches to crime prevention, crime and environmental design, predicting locales for crime, relationship between images and behavior, and implementation problems. The book is a useful reference for readers wanting to dig deeper into the behavior of criminals.

Developing Country Debt

1st Edition
May 19, 2014
Lawrence G. Franko + 1 more
English
Paperback
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 2 5 4 2 8
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 5 7 8 4 9

Developing Country Debt presents a variety of views and perspectives on the topic of debt in developing countries, with emphasis on the revolutionary effects of the post-1973 OPEC oil prices on the world's economic system. The book shows how the problem of developing country debt has become inexorably intertwined with the successful functioning of the global economic system. This book is comprised of 14 chapters and opens with a historical overview of developing nations' debt before turning to LDC debt since the 1973 OPEC price increases and the developing countries' abilities to carry debt. The myths of debt are also analyzed from a banker's perspective. The next section presents case studies detailing the economic and political conditions of selected countries with substantial debt and varying degrees of economic difficulty, including the Philippines, Jamaica, Turkey, and Peru. The remaining chapters examine alternative proposals for debt relief and place the analysis of developing country debt in a broader, global context. LDC debt is considered from three perspectives: the development needs of LDCs; the safety and soundness of United States banks; and the U.S. national interest. The role of the International Monetary Fund as a lender of last resort is also considered. The final chapter assesses the implications of debt for trade and the prospects for world economic growth. This monograph will be of interest to economists, bankers, politicians, and policymakers.

Education Policy and Evaluation

1st Edition
May 19, 2014
Louise K. Comfort
English
Paperback
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 2 1 1 2 3
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 1 5 3 5 4 4

Education Policy and Evaluation: A Context for Change offers one perspective in defining the problems of public policy in education and some suggestions for redirection. Based on research conducted at five major school districts in California, this book reveals children's expectations for public education, as well as the performance of public schools and their vision for the future. The areas of strength and weakness in educational policy are discussed, along with the needs for revision in educational policy and performance. Comprised of seven chapters, this book begins with an assessment of serious failure in public education, citing the proliferation of programs, personnel and administrative structures in public education without adequate design, coordination, implementation, evaluation, or adaptation to meet basic educational needs or to solve the complex problems implicit in the delivery of public educational services. Subsequent chapters focus on the concept of social innovation and the role of the federal government as an agent of educational change; the tension between structure and process in educational policy; the problem of specification in the implementation of educational policy; and evaluation as an instrument for educational change. This monograph will be of interest to students, parents, educators, community leaders, legislators, scholars, school administrators, and educational policymakers.

The Sociolinguistics of the Deaf Community

1st Edition
May 19, 2014
Ceil Lucas
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 9 6 3 9 5

This is a unified collection of the best and most current empirical studies of socio-linguistic issues in the deaf community, including topics such as studies of sign language variation, language contact and change, and sign language policy.Established linguistic concerns with deaf language are reexamined and redefined, and several new issues of general importance to all sociolinguists are raised and explored. This is a book which interests all sociolinguists as well as deaf professionals, teachers of the deaf, sign language interpreters, and anyone else dealing on a day-to-day basis with the everyday language choices that deaf persons must make.

Advances in Archaeological Method and Theory

1st Edition
May 19, 2014
Michael B. Schiffer
English
eBook
9 7 8 1 4 8 3 2 9 9 0 9 9

Advances in Archeological Method and Theory: Selections for Students from Volumes 1 through 4 provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of archeological method and theory. This book covers a variety of topics, including cult archeology, cultural evolution, models of hunter–gatherer adaptation, and archeobotany. Organized into 13 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the general cultural significance of cult archeology, from their political and economic aspect to their symbolic meanings. 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 adaptation approaches in archeology. This book discusses as well the research on hunter–gatherer adaptation. The final chapter describes the kinds of studies of modern material culture that archeologists are doing and their reasons for doing them. This book is a valuable resource for archeologists and anthropologists.

Life Sciences

Physical Sciences & Engineering

Social Sciences & Humanities

Health

Books in Social sciences and humanities