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Books in Social sciences and humanities

Anticipatory Systems
Philosophical, Mathematical and Methodological Foundations
1st Edition
Volume 1
October 22, 2013
Robert Rosen
G. Klir
English
The first detailed study of this most important class of systems which contain internal predictive models of themselves and/or of their environments and whose predictions are utilized for purposes of present control. This book develops the basic concept of a predictive model, and shows how it can be embedded into a system of feedforward control. Includes many examples and stresses analogies between wired-in anticipatory control and processes of learning and adaption, at both individual and social levels. Shows how the basic theory of such systems throws a new light both on analytic problems (understanding what is going on in an organism or a social system) and synthetic ones (developing forecasting methods for making individual or collective decisions).
Soviet Economic Thought and Political Power in the USSR
Pergamon Policy Studies on The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe
1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Aron Katsenelinboigen
English
Soviet Economic Thought and Political Power in the USSR examines the evolution of economic theory in the Soviet Union from uniformity under Josef Stalin to diversity in the post-Stalin period. The reasons for uniformity and diversity in Soviet economics are analyzed, along with the structure of this diversity, the paradoxes in its development, and the conditions under which it will continue. The connection between leaders of Soviet economics and the Communist Party rulers is also discussed. Emphasis is placed on one of the principal trends in Soviet economics in the post-Stalin period: mathematical economics. This book is comprised of six chapters and begins with a discussion on the development of the economic-mathematica... trend in the USSR. The social environment in the Soviet Union is examined in macro terms, along with the role of various mutations among the economists and the institutionalization of such mutations, especially in the framework of the existing research institutes and universities. The book also considers the attitudes of various factions of economists such as reactionaries, conservatives, and modernizers toward the question of the limitation of the leaders' power and toward some areas of economics, such as problems of mathematical modeling and institutional economics, and toward the Marxist ideology. The final chapter highlights the confusing struggle among the various trends in Soviet economics and the ways in which this struggle is supported by the country's political leaders. This monograph will be of interest to economists, political scientists, politicians, and economic policymakers.
Polyvinylchloride — 2
Main Lectures Presented at the Second International Symposium on Polyvinylchloride, Lyon-Villeurbanne, France, 5 - 9 July 1976
1st Edition
October 22, 2013
A. Guyot
English
Polyvinylchloride - 2 (Lyon - Villeurbanne, 1976) is a collection of lectures presented at the Second International Symposium on Polyvinylchloride, held in Lyon-Villeurbanne, France on July 5-9, 1976. This book is divided into seven chapters and begins with a survey of chemical modifications for improved mechanical properties and thermal stability of polyvinylchloride (PVC), including crosslinking chlorination, graft polymerization, and stabilization. The subsequent chapters examine the solution properties, rheology, processing, and structure of PVC. These topics are followed by discussions of the effect of some defects on static strength and the stress-cracking resistance of rigid PVC, as well as the heat and light stabilization of PVC, particularly the mode of action of stabilizers. The final chapter considers the thermal decomposition and combustion mechanisms of PVC. This book will prove useful to polymer chemists, researchers, and students.
Prolonged Psychosocial Effects of Disaster
A Study of Buffalo Creek
1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Goldine C. Gleser + 2 more
David T. Lykken
English
Prolonged Psychosocial Effects of Disaster: A Study of Buffalo Creek disseminates the findings of an investigation into the psychosocial effects of a specific disaster - the collapse of a slag dam that inundated the valley of Buffalo Creek in West Virginia on February 26, 1972. Based on interviews with more than 600 men, women, and children for whom psychic impairment was claimed, this volume examines the relationships between the individual disaster experiences of the survivors and their later psychological functioning. Comprised of nine chapters, this volume begins with an overview of the psychosocial consequences of disasters and an account of the Buffalo Creek disaster itself, along with the subsequent lawsuit against the coal company. The next chapter explains how the psychopathology and stress of the survivors were scaled and gives some information regarding the reliability and validity of the data. Symptoms, sleep problems, family disruption, and traumatic dreams are considered. The findings on these data and the follow-up studies are discussed. The final chapter contains a summary of the findings and proposes specific suggestions as well as a model for future disaster studies. This book will be of most practical importance to mental health scientists and clinicians working with the victims of stress and disaster, and should also be of considerable interest to social and behavioral scientists and, more generally, to administrators of government activities.
Human Behavior and Public Policy
A Political Psychology
1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Marshall H. Segall
Arnold P. Goldstein + 1 more
English
Human Behavior and Public Policy: A Political Psychology examines knowledge about human behavior and its application to public policy analysis. It shows that the findings of psychological research provide information on how to better understand social problems and formulate and implement policies for the solution of such problems. Organized into nine chapters, the book first discusses how psychology can be used to shape society into a better home and then presents three models for political psychology. The next chapters deal with intellectual capacities, educability, and prejudice and discrimination in different groups of people. The book also explores violence and intergroup conflict resolutions and concludes with a proposal for a research design that serves as an example of political-psychologi... planning. Academic psychologists who teach interdisciplinary social sciences and courses concerned with public affairs will find this book invaluable.
The Nature of Theory and Research in Social Psychology
1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Clyde Hendrick + 1 more
English
The Nature of Theory and Research in Social Psychology aims to provide advanced undergraduate and graduate students with a solid foundation in the logic of theory construction and the experimental method; and to teach students how to read, critically evaluate, and appreciate professional literature in the behavioral sciences. The book is believed to be unique in this latter respect and that it will serve a vital need in several different courses. The book is organized into two parts. Part I contains a detailed exposition of the nature of theory and research. It discusses the nature of formal theory, derivation of hypotheses, and the testing of hypotheses. It explicates in great detail the experimental approach to hypothesis testing. Both formal and informal aspects of a psychological experiment are discussed. Part II includes five chapters that enable students to put their analytical skills to use. Five substantive areas from social psychology have been selected. Each chapter includes three reprinted journal articles, and the chapter may be considered a ""case study"" in the analysis of experimental research in a given problem area. The following topics are covered in this section: dissonance and disconfirmed expectancies; dissonance and severity of initiation, primary-recency in personality impression formation, forewarning and anticipatory attitude change, and dependency and helping.
The Language of Emotion
1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Joel R. Davitz
English
The Language of Emotion focuses on the inquiry on the language of emotion, as well as the systematic description of the language used to describe emotional states. The manuscript first offers information on the structure of emotional meaning, including cluster analysis of items, patterning of clusters in emotional states, and interrelationships among clusters. The text then takes a look at comments on the structure of emotional meaning. The publication examines studies on the language of emotion. Discussions focus on a comparison of emotional experiences reported by adolescents in Uganda and the United States; similarity of reported emotional experiences and genetic background; individual differences in reported emotional experiences and perceptual-cognitive style; and development of the language of emotion. The book is a vital reference for philosophers, psychiatrists, social workers, and educators interested in emotional phenomena.
Free and Ennobled
Source Readings in the Development of Victorian Feminism
1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Carol Bauer + 1 more
English
Free and Ennobled: Source Readings in the Development of Victorian Feminism covers the knowledge gap in the field of Victorian feminist studies. This book is the outgrowth of a college course on the Victorian Woman. This book is composed of ten chapters, and begins with an introduction to womanhood. The succeeding chapters deal with the emergence of feminism and the introduction of the Victorian Feminism movement as part of social adjustment. Other chapters are devoted to controversial issues in women's right, including education, emancipation, work, and political rights. The final chapters discuss the achievements of the Victorian Feminism movement. This book will prove useful to sociologists.
Nonconscious Social Information Processing
1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Pawel Lewicki
English
Nonconscious Social Information Processing presents a research program concerned with the processing of social information. It cannot be considered a typical social psychological research program, however, because it is not aimed at explaining any specific social psychological phenomena, nor are the cognitive processes studied specific to the processing of social information. The program explores complex or ""high level"" processing of information that is not mediated by conscious awareness, and social cognition seems to be an appropriate area in which to investigate this kind of processing. The research program began with observations which suggest that nonconscious acquisition and processing of information play a major role in human development and adjustment. The first two chapters discuss these observations and present preliminary theoretical assumptions. The subsequent chapters contain reports of 34 experiments on nonconscious information processing. The book is addressed not only to personality and social psychologists, but also to cognitive psychologists concerned with information processing in general. The former may find this research relevant because most of the experiments describe some mechanisms of acquisition and utilization of social information—problems they are working on themselves. The latter may want to ignore the specific stimulus material (i.e., social information) employed in most of the experiments and focus on the general nature of the cognitive mechanisms studied.
Nonverbal Behavior
Applications and Cultural Implications
1st Edition
October 22, 2013
Aaron Wolfgang
English
Nonverbal Behavior: Applications and Cultural Implications covers the role of nonverbal behavior in interpersonal and intercultural communications. The book discusses the emergence of an alternate epistemology in science and its application to the study of communication; the research on the measurement of the sensitivity to nonverbal communication; and the applications of nonverbal behavior in teaching. The text also describes some cultural sources of miscommunication in interracial interviews; the teacher and nonverbal behavior in the multicultural classroom; and the social contexts for ethnic borders and school failure. The implication of common misconceptions about nonverbal communication for training is also considered. Educators, practitioners, researchers, and students of human communication will find the book invaluable.

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