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Books in Social sciences and humanities

  • Evaluation and Experiment

    Some Critical Issues in Assessing Social Programs
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Carl A. Bennett + 1 more
    • English
    Evaluation and Experiment: Some Critical Issues in Assessing Social Programs is a collection of papers presented at the 1973 symposium held at The Battelle Seattle Research Center. This book contains eight chapters that consider some selected aspects of the problems in evaluating the outcomes of socially important programs, such as those dealing with education, health, and economic policy. The first chapter provides an overview of the issues around the Social Program Evaluation. The next chapters deal with the successes and failures brought by social innovations; the quasi-experimental evaluation in compensatory education to estimate the true effects of such education programs; and the usefulness and validity of econometric and related nonexperimental approaches for assessing the effects of social programs. These topics are followed by surveys of a number of additional program-evaluation studies, particularly in the field of family planning or fertility control, mostly carried out as experiments or quasi-experiments in Asian and Latin American countries. Other chapters describe the decision processes that involve explicit assessment of the worth or merit of outcomes and employ multivalued utility analysis and outline the ways in which evaluative data are useful in providing feedback to program or institutional operations and decisions. The final chapter discusses resolutions for some of the disagreements expressed by others concerning the role of field experiments, constraints in their utilization, and other factors that enter into a comprehensive conception of program evaluation.
  • Hypnotic Suggestion

    Its Role in Psychoneurotic and Psychosomatic Disorders
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • S. J. Van Pelt
    • English
    Hypnotic Suggestion: Its Role in Psychoneurotic and Psychosomatic Disorders outlines the theories and methods of treatment by hypnotic suggestion, emphasizing its role in the etiology and treatment of psychoneuroses and psychosomatic disorders. This book is organized into three parts. Part 1begins with a preliminary introduction to hypnotic suggestion, followed by a discussion of the historical outline of hypnotism, nature of the hypnotic state, incidence of susceptibility to hypnosis, and methods of inducing hypnosis. The etiology and mechanism of the psychoneuroses and role of hypnotic suggestion in its treatment are covered in Part 2. Case histories that involve hypnotic treatment to disorders, such as neurasthenia, anxiety neurosis, reactive depression, insomnia, alcoholism, and impotence are also described. Part 3 provides the general summary of Parts 1 and 2. This publication is intended for psychotherapists and medical practitioners conducting work on the hypnotic treatments for psychoneuroses and psychosomatic disorders.
  • Infant Perception: from Sensation to Cognition

    Basic Visual Processes
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Leslie B. Cohen + 1 more
    • English
    Infant Perception: From Sensation to Cognition, Volume I: Basic Visual Processes focuses on the study and programmatic investigations of infant perception, examining early sensory, perceptual, and cognitive systems. This book is divided into five chapters. Chapter 1 analyzes the major physiological and behavioral techniques used to measure infant vision. Each technique is critically evaluated in terms of the method employed, type of data that can be obtained, and anatomy of the visual system. The neuronal model to explain developmental changes and techniques used to assess infant visual preferences for patterns varying in amount of contour are discussed in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 demonstrates the value of the corneal reflection technique for the study of infant attention and visual scanning patterns, while Chapter 4 examines the developmental changes and individual differences in early pattern perception. The last chapter concentrates on the evidence of infant visual preferences for novelty and on the implications of such evidence for models of early recognition memory. This publication is a good reference for pediatricians and clinicians concerned with infant perception.
  • Determinants of Behavioral Development

    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • F. J. Mönks + 2 more
    • English
    Determinants of Behavioral Development documents the proceedings of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development’s first symposium at the University of Nijmegen in The Netherlands, 4 July 1971. The symposium was planned under the general theme ""Genetic and Social Influences on Psychological Development."" Perhaps the major contribution of the Nijmegen Symposium, and of this volume, is the establishment of a new linkage between European and American research in developmental psychology. This volume contains 64 papers organized into eight parts. The papers in Part I deal with issues of research strategy. Part II presents studies on biological determinants of development. Part III examines cultural and societal factors in development while Part IV focuses on the concepts of deprivation and enrichment. Part V presents selected studies on infants. Part VI investigates cognitive process in child development. Part VII contains papers on socialization themes while Part VIII takes up adult development.
  • Pain

    A Psychophysiological Analysis
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Richard A. Sternbach
    • English
    Pain: A Psychophysiological Analysis focuses on the processes, mechanisms, and approaches in studying pain. The book first offers information on the problems of experimental pain and neurological activity. Topics include anxiety as an experimental variable, implications for experimental pain, pain stimuli, receptors, and fibers, dorsal roots and spinal cord, and sensory nerves. The text also ponders on physiological responses and overt pain behavior. Discussions focus on perceptual, cognitive, personality, family, and ethnic factors, aggression, adaptation and rebound, stress, and pain-specific responses. The publication takes a look at affective descriptions and insensitivity to pain. Concerns include interpersonal aspects of pain, subjective responses to pain, psychodynamics of pain responses, personality development without pain, and possible neural defects. Phantom pain and hypnotic and placebo effects are also elaborated. The manuscript is a vital source of data for psychiatrists, neurologists, psychologists, and physiologists.
  • Essentials of Psychology

    • 2nd Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • John P. Houston + 2 more
    • English
    Essentials of Psychology introduces contemporary psychological research and caters to the varied needs of students and instructors. The book is composed of 14 basic chapters, which provide comprehensive coverage of theories and research within each of the traditional areas of psychology. Chapters are dedicated to topics that discuss the major divisions of psychology; the physiological basis of behavior; the ways people change and the ways they stay the same over time; personality and behavior assessment; and treatment of psychological problems. Psychologists, students, and teachers of psychology will find this textbook very invaluable.
  • Language and Poverty

    Perspectives on a Theme
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Frederick Williams
    • English
    Language and Poverty: Perspectives on a Theme is a collection of papers that juxtaposes different perspectives on the definition of language and language behavior in relation to poverty. The book brings together a broad range of perspectives pertinent to language and poverty, specifically that of poor children. Topics on the language of the poor; how to construct effective language programs for the poverty child; biological and social factors in language development; and standardized assessment of the language of disadvantaged children are covered. Policy makers, social workers, language teachers, sociologists, psychologists, and educators will find the text invaluable.
  • The Illusory Freedom

    The Intellectual Origins and Social Consequences of the Sexual 'Revolution'
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Graham Heath
    • English
    The Illusory Freedom: The Intellectual Origins and Social Consequences of the Sexual "Revolution" describes the profound changes in sexual attitudes and sexual behavior in Britain and other Western countries. The book examines the reliability of the basis for the sexual revolution and whether its benefits outweigh the damages it has brought on society. The author reviews the influence of Dr. Alfred Kinsey's reports on over 12,000 humans subjects where Kinsey claims there is no "normality" or "abnormality" as regards sexual behavior. The author notes that some sexual studies involved some bias, the need to protect the family as an institution if society is to survive, and faithfulness has its long term rewards. His other findings show that no evidence points to sexual experimentation or promiscuity as causing long-term happier relationships, that media tends to present sexual anarchy as the norm, and that guidelines for adolescent and ideals for adults should be established. He notes, quite interestingly, that as the forces of sexual freedom are released by new regimes of generations, it become more apparent that sexual freedom is an illusory freedom. This book can prove interesting reading for feminists, psychiatrists, psychologists, parents, professionals and administrators of educational institutions, as well as heads of public commutations and media.
  • Underdevelopment and the Transition to Socialism

    Mozambique and Tanzania
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • James H. Mittelman
    • English
    Underdevelopment and the Transition to Socialism: Mozambique and Tanzania evaluates the promise and problems of socialism in the Third World by considering the political economies of Mozambique and Tanzania. The aim is to provide a basic account, for Marxists and non-Marxists alike, interested in alternative strategies of development in the Third World. It offers a materialist political economy approach that should be useful to an interdisciplinary group of scholars and practitioners. The book is organized into four parts. Part I maps out purposes and procedures. Part II on Mozambique is a factually grounded analysis of an initial conjuncture in the transition to socialism—the capture of state power by workers and peasants. Part III on Tanzania focuses on another vital step on the way to socialism—the nationalization of leading financial institutions and the attempt to place them under the aegis of the immediate producers. Part IV knits together the main strands of the foregoing analysis and ties them to the broad themes discussed at the beginning of this book.
  • Sexuality in the Later Years

    Roles and Behavior
    • 1st Edition
    • September 24, 2013
    • Ruth B. Weg
    • English
    Sexuality in the Later Years: Roles and Behavior pulls together evidence from the anthropological, psychological, social, and physiological disciplines and represents an effort to present a coherent picture of sexual roles and behavior in the later years. This work does not pretend to answer all questions that could be raised concerning sexuality and aging but attempts rather to concentrate on issues that have been relatively neglected, primarily options, potentials, and possibilities for the individualization and humanization of sex roles and sexual behavior of older persons. The book is organized into five parts. Part I examines concepts of sexuality in the later years, including cultural attitudes and behaviors towards sexuality, psychological and sociological perspectives, and a life-span model of sex-role development. Part II on life-styles deals with the impact of aging on the sexuality of those who are unmarried in later life; the relationship between interpersonal intimacy and adaptation to stress throughout adult life; and the range of sexual orientations in the later years, along with their incidence, their contributions to social adaptation, and the particular constraints surrounding them. Part III discusses issues in research and therapy while Part IV considers views of sexuality and aging in other countries, namely Canada and Sweden. Part V inquires into the problems associated with transitions in the later part of the life cycle of love.