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Books in Social sciences and humanities

  • Psychology of Music

    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • Diana Deutsch
    • English
    The Psychology of Music draws together the diverse and scattered literature on the psychology of music. It explores the way music is processed by the listener and the performer and considers several issues that are of importance both to perceptual psychology and to contemporary music, such as the way the sound of an instrument is identified regardless of its pitch or loudness, or the types of information that can be discarded in the synthetic replication of a sound without distorting perceived timbre. Comprised of 18 chapters, this book begins with a review of the classical psychoacoustical literature on tone perception, focusing on characteristics of particular relevance to music. The attributes of pitch, loudness, and timbre are examined, and a summary of research methods in psychoacoustics is presented. Subsequent chapters deal with timbre perception; the subjective effects of different sound fields; temporal aspects of music; abstract structures formed by pitch relationships in music; different tests of musical ability; and the importance of abstract structural representation in understanding how music is performed. The final chapter evaluates the relationship between new music and psychology. This monograph should be a valuable resource for psychologists and musicians.
  • Sociology Since Midcentury

    Essays in Theory Cumulation
    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • Randall Collins
    • English
    Sociology Since Midcentury: Essays in Theory Cumulation is a collection of essays dealing with major intellectual developments in sociology since the mid-twentieth century. Topics covered include a macrohistorical theory of geopolitics, intended somewhat as an alternative to the Wallerstein economic theory of world-systems; a microtheory that provides a basis for linking up to and reconstructing macrosociological theories; structuralism, ritual violence, and solidarity; and the symbolic economy of culture. Comprised of 20 chapters, this book begins with an introduction to the major historical and comparative sociologies, the traditions of Karl Marx and Max Weber with their subsequent transformations. The next section is devoted to structuralism and conflict that includes a discussion on a theory of violence and Claude Lévi-Strauss's structural history. Subsequent chapters explore the sociology of education and consider class, codes, and control; cultural capitalism and symbolic violence; schooling in capitalist America; breakthroughs in microsociology; and the microfoundations of macrosociology. Erving Goffman's scholarly methods and the theoretical traditions to which he contributes are also examined. This monograph will be of interest to sociologists.
  • Role Theory

    Expectations, Identities, and Behaviors
    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • Bruce J. Biddle
    • English
    Role Theory: Expectations, Identities, and Behaviors presents the applications of role concepts for education, social work, and clinical practice. This book examines the advantages as well as the shortcomings of the role stance. Organized into nine chapters, this book begins with an overview of behaviors that are characteristics of persons within contexts and the various processes that are employed to explain and predict those behaviors. This text then examines the concepts of the role field and discovers their applications to social problems of pressing concern. Other chapters consider the empirical evidence that has been developed within the role orientation concerning social problems. This book discusses as well the behavioral comparability, behavior linkage, behavioral effects, and complex linking concepts for behaviors. The final chapter discusses how contexts may affect the behaviors of persons and how those behaviors may have subsequent functions. This book is a valuable resource for anthropologists, sociologists, and social psychologists.
  • The Social Self

    Pergamon General Psychology Series
    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • Robert C. Ziller
    • Arnold P. Goldstein + 1 more
    • English
    The Social Self is a multifaceted analysis of the self concept based on the social nature of the self. The emphasis is on self-esteem along with self-centrality, self-complexity, social interest, identification, power, marginality, openness, and majority identification. The book relies on an approach based upon non-verbal measures of the self concept and in which the individual is asked to locate himself in relation to a field of significant others, represented in a variety of geometric arrangements using symbols of the self and others. Comprised of nine chapters, this book begins with a description of some of the basic components of the self system including self-esteem, social interest, and marginality. The discussion moves toward more complex analyses including the alienation syndrome and the political personality involving two or more of the components of the social self. The next section focuses on the development of the self concept and examines such variables as socioeconomic background and the history of geographic mobility of the child. A theory of self-other orientation is also considered, along with a helical theory of personal change. This monograph is intended for students of social psychology, personality, sociology, and education who are interested in the self concept, its measurement, and theoretical considerations.
  • Readings in Child Socialization

    The Commonwealth and International Library: Readings in Sociology
    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • K. Danziger
    • English
    Readings in Child Socialization is a collection of papers that covers concerns in sociological science, particularly those that involve children. The book presents 14 materials that tackle issues in human society. The text first details the concept of society and socialization, and then proceeds to presenting sociological studies, such as a developmental study of the effects of sex of the dominant parent on sex role preference, identification, and imitation in children; social origins and consequences of elaborated and restricted codes; and sex, age, and state as determinants of mother-infant interaction. The book will be of great interest to researchers and practitioners of sociology and other related disciplines, such as social psychology.
  • Knowledge and Inference

    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • Makoto Nagao
    • English
    Knowledge and Inference discusses an important problem for software systems: How do we treat knowledge and ideas on a computer and how do we use inference to solve problems on a computer? The book talks about the problems of knowledge and inference for the purpose of merging artificial intelligence and library science. The book begins by clarifying the concept of ""knowledge"" from many points of view, followed by a chapter on the current state of library science and the place of artificial intelligence in library science. Subsequent chapters cover central topics in the artificial intelligence: search and problem solving, methods of making proofs, and the use of knowledge in looking for a proof. There is also a discussion of how to use the knowledge system. The final chapter describes a popular expert system. It describes tools for building expert systems using an example based on Expert Systems—A Practical Introduction by P. Sell (Macmillian, 1985). This type of software is called an ""expert system shell."" This book was written as a textbook for undergraduate students covering only the basics but explaining as much detail as possible.
  • Fragments of a Revolution

    Essays on Indian Problems
    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • M. Chalapathi Rau
    • English
  • Cognitive Development and Epistemology

    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • Theodore Mischel
    • English
    Cognitive Development and Epistemology is a collection of papers delivered at a conference attended by psychologists and philosophers to explore broad issues relating to the conceptual framework needed for the explanation of human actions. The meeting is held at the State University of New York at Binghamton in September 1969. The compendium is divided into three sections. Part I deals with the relevance which the genetic study of concept development may have for the analysis of concepts. This sets the framework for subsequent discussion. The second part examines some of the specific issues in intellectual, moral, and emotional development with which a theory of cognitive development must deal. The last part seeks to assess the adequacy and relevance of this genetic developmental approach for an understanding of adult cognitive behavior. Philosophers and psychologists in the field of cognitive development and epistemology will find the text insightful.
  • An Introduction to Sociology

    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • Bryan S. R. Green + 1 more
    • English
    An Introduction to Sociology presents the theoretical approaches, the methods of inquiry, and the concepts with which sociologists attempt to order the intricate phenomena of social interaction. This book provides an illustration of particular investigations that may provide some insights into substantive features of society and social behavior. Organized into six chapters, this book starts with an overview of scientific proposition, which is the statement of a relationship between specified properties of events and objects. This text then explains the fundamental concepts that appear in the empirical and theoretical writings of sociologists. Other chapters present a discussion of what sociologists actually study, which includes the substantive areas of investigation and the aims of the investigation. This book discusses as well the institutionalized areas of society, including the family, the economy, and the polity. The final chapter deals with the theories of the middle-range. This book is a valuable resource for sociologists.
  • Progress in Behavior Modification

    Volume 19
    • 1st Edition
    • October 22, 2013
    • Michel Hersen + 2 more
    • English
    Progress in Behavior Modification, Volume 19 covers the developments in the study of behavior modification. The book discusses neuropsychology and behavior therapy; the progress in parent training; and the nature and measurement of agoraphobia. The text also describes childhood and adolescent obesity, with emphasis on the progress in behavioral assessment and treatment; the conceptualization, assessment, and intervention in fire emergencies; and behavioral pediatrics. The assessment of anorexia nervosa and bulimia is also considered. Psychologists, psychiatrists, and pediatricians will find the book invaluable.