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Books in Social sciences and humanities

Introductory Economics
1st Edition
May 10, 2014
Michael Veseth
English
Introductory Economics deals with the national economy as a whole—macroeconomics... in terms of inflation and unemployment. The book also discusses individual economic decision-makers—micr... in view of the problems of scarcity and choice. Macroeconomics uses the market model of demand and supply as a tool to analyze the causes of, and present some cures for modern economic ailments. The text examines the economics of government fiscal policies with the framework of an aggregate demand and supply model. The book compares monetary policy and fiscal policy, explains the monetarist model of economic activity, and also investigates the roles of money, credit, interest rates. These economic activities have international consequences such as in trade, exchange rates, and on prevailing and future national economic policies. In microeconomics, the book focuses on the economics of exchange, the market mechanisms that increase the gains from trade, and the problems of choice facing consumers and producers in a competitive market. The text also tackles the problems found in resource markets (labor, natural resources, energy), in market failure, as well as analyzes the role of government. Economists, sociologists, students of economics or business, general readers interested in real-world economics, and policy makers involved in national economic development will find the book valuable.
A Century of Controversy
Ethnological Issues from 1860 to 1960
1st Edition
May 10, 2014
Elman R Service
E. A. Hammel
English
A Century of Controversy: Ethnological Issues from 1860 to 1960 is an assessment of the history of ethnology in terms of its intellectual progress, with emphasis on the controversial issues that were broached between 1860 and 1960. Two related philosophical or theoretical poses that characterized the prominent ethnological thinkers of this period, and earlier, are related to this phenomenon. One was the prevalent positivism, the other the belief in human progress as a form of social, cultural, and mental evolution. Comprised of 19 chapters, this volume begins by looking at several eminent scholars dealing more closely with the subject of ethnology, including Henry Maine and John F. McLennan in Great Britain; Johann J. Bachofen in Switzerland; and Fustel de Coulanges in France. In particular, the chapter examines the disagreement among Maine, Bachofen, McLennan, and Fustel de Coulanges as to the nature of the earliest society and its form of marriage; the nature of the evolutionary transformations of society (especially from primitive society to civilization); and the actual meaning and function of kinship terminology. The next two chapters describe the positive, useful discoveries as well as the mistakes and weaknesses of Lewis H. Morgan's work, with particular reference to his classificatory kinship nomenclature. Subsequent sections focus on controversies surrounding kinship terminology; social structure; the origins of government; the economic life of primitive peoples; and society and culture. This book will be of interest to scholars of anthropology, archaeology, and ethnology.
The Australopithecine Face
1st Edition
May 10, 2014
Yoel Rak
English
The Australopithecine Face provides an introduction to the interpretation of the facial skeleton of Australopithecus, a part of the anatomy well represented in the African collections. This book presents important morphological differences between the early hominid taxa and interprets them in a biochemical, functional, evolutionary framework. Organized into seven chapters, this book begins with an overview of the description of the face of the four species of Australopithecus, extending to comparisons both within the genus and with other primates. This text then provides an analysis of the facial morphology of Australopithecus in terms of structural significance. Other chapters consider the taxonomic and phylogenetic status of the australopithecine species in light of the description and comparison. This book discusses as well the changes in the morphology and topography of the facial mask. The final chapter deals with the phylogenetic assignment of the different species. This book is a valuable resource for anthropologists.
Adolescent Socialization in Cross-Cultural Perspective
Planning for Social Change
1st Edition
May 10, 2014
Irving Tallman + 2 more
Peter H. Rossi
English
Adolescent Socialization in Cross-Cultural Perspective: Planning for Social Change presents a theory of socialization and explains how the theory was formed, developed, and changed. This book describes a cross-sectional research project that uses innovative research methods for comparing people from vastly different cultures. Organized into seven chapters, this book begins with an overview of the premise that the better one learns how to solve problems in one's environment, the better one is able to cope with a rapidly changing society as one grows older. This text then proposes that the family provide an initial arena within which the needs of the individual and the rudiments of the social structure are confronted. Other chapters consider the approach to solving the methodological problems posed by attempting to test the theory by means of a cross-national study. The final chapter deals with the results of the cross-national study. This book is a valuable resource for sociologists.
Social Learning and Cognition
1st Edition
May 10, 2014
Ted L. Rosenthal + 1 more
English
Social Learning and Cognition examines the cognitive mechanisms of social learning and the social learning determinants of cognitive competencies. The explanatory principles of social learning are applied to the highest manifestations of human intellect: judgment, language, and thought. The book also explicates a social learning perspective on the social origins of complex abilities, and how these progressively evolve as children grow older. Comprised of four chapters, this book begins with a discussion on the interrelationships among cognition, behavior change, and social learning. Cognitive explanations for human behavior, and the kinds of evidence cited by cognitive theorists in support of their position, are considered, along with the major psychological theories that address abstract, rule-governed activities. The second chapter deals with children's acquisition and refinement of language, paying particular attention to the objections and misunderstandings raised by psycholinguists to counter modeling explanations of language learning. The third chapter examines relational judgments and categorical decisions and presents evidence showing that diverse modeling procedures can be powerful influences on language and verbal behavior. The final chapter summarizes and integrates research bearing upon the effect of modeling influences on a wide diversity of conceptual activities, ranging from the formation of simple concepts to elaborate intellectual demands that involve complex styles of reasoning and strategies for seeking and organizing information. This monograph is intended for advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals from such diverse fields as child development, social psychology, psychiatry, social work, clinical psychology, education, and rehabilitation.
The Functions of Language and Cognition
1st Edition
May 10, 2014
Grover J. Whitehurst + 1 more
English
The Functions of Language and Cognition provides a forum for articulating a functional approach to language and cognition. This book discusses the influence of structural approaches to language and thought. Organized into 10 chapters, this book begins with an overview of a comprehensive alternative treatment of cognitive and linguistic functioning from a social, functional perspective. This text then discusses some considerations for a theory of skills and of cognitive development in general. Other chapters focus on acquisition of perceptual concepts rather than logical, verbal, or mathematical concepts. This book examines as well each of the possible limits in terms of their potential effects on cognitive development and in terms of the evidence regarding their actual effects. The final chapter deals with the influence of personal standards and strategies on therapy outcomes. This book is a valuable resource for graduate and upper-level undergraduate students in developmental psychology, clinical psychology, cognitive psychology, education, and rehabilitation.
The Export—Import Bank
An Economic Analysis
1st Edition
May 10, 2014
David P. Baron
Karl Shell
English
The Export—Import Bank: An Economic Analysis provides a critical analysis of the export financing issue and the Eximbank's performance in fulfilling its congressional mandate. The analysis is based on extensive interviews with Eximbank officials and on numerous internal documents in addition to published materials. This book is composed of 11 chapters that reflect the three perspectives on Eximbank’s performance. First, an analysis of the need for such financing is presented in conjunction with an assessment of the competitiveness of U.S. programs compared with those provided by other nations. Second, Eximbank performance is evaluated in terms of the cost of its programs, their potential welfare impacts, and the likely impact on U.S. exports. Third, an evaluation is provided of the Eximbank's decision making and its methodology for evaluating the impact of its direct credit program. Recommendations are made concerning U.S. export financing objectives, strategies for achieving those objectives, and Eximbank administrative procedures. This work also provides an economic analysis of Eximbank financing and includes a case study of Eximbank decision making in the granting of a $200 million aircraft credit to Ansett Airlines of Australia. This book will prove useful to those who are interested in international trade and finance, as well as those concerned more broadly with government intervention in markets.
Foundations of Supply-Side Economics
Theory and Evidence
1st Edition
May 10, 2014
Victor A. Canto + 2 more
English
Foundations of Supply-Side Economics: Theory and Evidence is composed of a series of papers containing both theoretical and empirical analyses of a set of issues in government fiscal policy. The type of analysis employed in the book is standard neoclassical economics, and this analysis is used to study the macroeconomic incentive effects of taxation. The book contains contributions that cover the analysis of the effects of taxes imposed purely for generating revenues; the process of capital formation; and an attempt to integrate supply-side analysis into a traditional macroeconomic framework. Reports on the empirical evidence on taxation and economic activity and the estimation of a small macroeconomic model of the United States for the postwar period; description of a method of calculating effective marginal tax rates on factor incomes using available U.S. data; and the estimation of the effect of fiscal policy on private investment in plant and equipment are presented as well. Economists will find the book highly insightful.
Communication and Affect
Language and Thought
1st Edition
May 10, 2014
Patricia Pliner + 2 more
English
Communication and Affect: Language and Thought is a collection of papers presented at the second symposium on Communication and Affect held at Erindale College, University of Toronto, in March 1972. This volume contains a series of papers dealing with neobehavioristic approach to language and thought. The individual papers represent a broad spectrum of topics that are linked by their common neobehavioristic methodology and by their subject matter dealing with human verbal and symbolic behavior. Topics discussed in the compendium include the linguistic concept of marked and unmarked attributes and its relation to cognitive structure and affect; a comparison of the pictorial and verbal modes of representing information; the evolution of human cognition; empirical and theoretical approaches to the question of localization of language functions in the human brain; and the nature of implicit communications in experimental situations. Psychologists, behavioral scientists, linguists, and researchers in the field of human communication will find the book invaluable.
Parmana
Prehistoric Maize and Manioc Subsistence Along the Amazon and Orinoco
1st Edition
May 10, 2014
Anna Curtenius Roosevelt
English
Parmana: Prehistoric Maize and Manioc Subsistence along the Amazon and Orinoco argues for a reinterpretation of prehistoric subsistence in the Greater Amazonian region of South America. Based on the preliminary results of an archaeological fieldwork in Parmana of the Orinoco basin, Venezuela, the book re-evaluates some of the assumptions made by anthropologists about human adaptation and the development of aboriginal culture in Amazonia. Comprised of six chapters, this volume begins with a review of the theories of five scholars of aboriginal Amazonia in terms of logic and documentation: Julian Steward, Betty Meggers, Robert Carneiro, Donald Lathrap, and Daniel Gross. The next chapter presents an alternative theory, the hypothesis of technological change, and explains its theoretical framework. The demographic theory of cultural evolution is discussed, and its basis in general evolutionary theory is explained. Subsequent chapters focus on the empirical evidence for the hypothesis in studies of tropical resources, with emphasis on the productivity of tropical lowland soils and Amazonian faunal resources as well as the roles of maize and manioc in prehistoric Amazonian subsistence; the physical and biological characteristics of the Parmana region as an environment for prehistoric human adaptation; and the history of subsistence and population growth in prehistoric Parmana. The final chapter suggests possible directions for future research on the development of aboriginal culture in Amazonia. The book is illustrated with numerous maps, tables, and photographs, most of them never published before. This monograph should be of interest to archaeologists and anthropologists.

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