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Books in Social sciences and humanities

Computer-Mediated Communication Systems
Status and Evaluation
1st Edition
September 3, 2013
Elaine B. Kerr + 1 more
Peter R. Monge
English
Computer-Mediated Communication Systems: Status and Evaluation synthesizes current knowledge about computerized conferencing systems, electronic mail, and office information-communic... systems. It should be of interest both to students and researchers studying this new form of electronic communication and to organizations that are planning the installation of electronic mail or other computer-mediated communication systems and that need to be aware of the information gleaned from the studies presented here. The book is organized into four main sections, focusing on the following issues: (1) What are the important considerations in designing software or choosing a system from the many available options and capabilities? (2) What factors determine whether such systems are likely to be accepted or rejected? (3) What are the likely impacts of such systems upon the individuals, groups, and organizations which use them? It is not the economic costs and benefits, but the social problems and ""payoffs"" in the form of enhanced performance and organizational efficiency that should be the main considerations in deciding whether or not to use a computer-mediated communication system. (4) Given the conditional nature of many of the possible impacts, no system should be implemented without formal evaluation and feedback from users to guide the implementation. The major kinds of evaluational strategies that have been successfully employed are described in this book.
The Economics of Urban Amenities
1st Edition
September 3, 2013
Douglas B. Diamond + 1 more
English
The Economics of Urban Amenities discusses amenities through a conceptual, methodological, and empirical basis. The text also defines amenities in a wide variety of human well-being. This collection of papers starts with a review of the concept of amenity. This book contains papers that discuss the economic roles of urban amenities and the resident’s site choice. This text also discusses the methods of amenity market analysis including assumptions of hedonic prices and residential location, the exogeneity issues, applications of the limited Box-Cox search, and the Hausman test. Several papers describe urban amenity markets considering options such as building heights, viewing, expressway noise, recreational centers, and neighborhood composition. This book also analyzes the market for regional amenities and covers subjects such as urban structure, wage rates, and migration. One paper shows that theoretically, differences in income and employment affect the control of amenities as these amenities in turn reflect “real utility differentials.” This book is suitable for urban and city planners, sociologists, economies, researchers and academicians involved in demographics, and environmentalists.
Politics as Symbolic Action
Mass Arousal and Quiescence
1st Edition
September 3, 2013
Murray Edelman
English
Politics as Symbolic Action: Mass Arousal and Quiescence deals with the dynamics of development of political threats related to political behavior. The book discusses the conditions under which the dynamics related to political behavior are the prior causes of political arousal, violence, and quiescence. The text examines the influence of governmental activity on people's beliefs and perceptions—how non-empirical cognitions become the resistant basis of change. The text also examines how the individual phenomenon and the group phenomenon become linked through symbol formation and myths. The book discusses emotion as a catalyst of political ritual and political violence as inferred from Theodore Sarbin's role theory. The use of metaphors, language forms, and mass tensions can all be social-psychological and political processes that can lead to political arousal or quiescence. The book also explains major violent disturbances as having patterns reflective of organization, disorganization, or by leadership example; the book notes the popular notion that the organization or the leader's direction starts or worsens the violence as very simplistic. The book then proposes that political perceptions and beliefs are changeable and that phenomenological perceptions of specific groups of people can identify which political behavior are systematic. The text is suitable for political analysts, political scientists, sociologists, and educators involved in group psychology and analyses.
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences
1st Edition
September 3, 2013
Jacob Cohen
English
Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, Revised Edition emphasizes the importance of statistical power analysis. This edition discusses the concepts and types of power analysis, t test for means, significance of a product moment rs, and differences between correlation coefficients. The test that a proportion is .50 and sign test, differences between proportions, and chi-square tests for goodness of fit and contingency tables are also elaborated. This text likewise covers the F tests of variance proportions in multiple regression/correlati... analysis and computational procedures. This publication is intended for behavioral and biosocial scientists who use statistical inference, but also serves as a supplementary textbook for intermediate level courses in applied statistics in behavioral/biosocial science.
The Economic Consequences of Slowing Population Growth
1st Edition
September 3, 2013
Thomas J. Espenshade + 1 more
English
The Economic Consequences of Slowing Population Growth is a collection of papers dealing with the economic implications of a sustained low fertility rate on an industrialized country. The book reviews the situation prevailing in the United States including the country's demographic trends and prospects. The text also presents the uncertainties, the unknown, and the known economic consequences of low fertility as analyzed from previous generations. One paper examines the lessons that can be learned from a zero population growth in Europe by comparing theory and reality. This paper expounds on the social and economic effects while transitioning to a zero growth rate. Other papers examine the inter-relationships between unemployment, inflation, and economic policy. These papers also give recommendations to cut unemployment levels without causing inflation in the process. Other papers discuss social security and other needs of an aging population. One paper examines rising concerns over population movements in times of slower U.S. population growth; the author cites data reflecting migration trends and population declines in several metropolitan areas. The text can prove useful for sociologists, social workers, public health services officers, and public economists.
Über Deutschland
A Reader on German Affairs
1st Edition
September 3, 2013
C. H. Moore
W. D. Halls + 1 more
English
Uber Deutschland: A Reader on German Affairs is a collection of articles and essays from various German sources that can be used by students learning the German language. The book contains a variety of extracts from public speeches, official reports, essays, newspaper articles, and interviews. The text offers general knowledge and information on German affairs and public life. These subjects of interests cover the social, political, legal, economic, and cultural scene in the German republic. Some chapters contain English sentences that the student can use as an exercise in translating to German. Each of the chapters includes a vocabulary list, while an appendix at the end of the book contains a wider word list. The book also presents a general view of the structure of government of Germany. The selection can be used by students learning advanced German. The text is designed to build the student's vocabulary and give him a balanced perspective of German affairs.
Technology, the University and the Community
A Study of the Regional Role of Engineering Colleges
1st Edition
September 3, 2013
George Bugliarello + 1 more
English
Technology, the University and the Community: A Study of the Regional Role of Engineering Colleges focuses on the regional role of engineering colleges and suggests some mechanisms for increasing the interaction between the universities, or their colleges of engineering, and the local region. The study examines the problem of not effectively tapping the potential of state universities to bring applied science to the service of state governments. Comprised of four chapters, this book begins with an overview of the engineering college and its environments, together with its two main resources: human beings and information. Traditional views on the roles of engineering colleges are considered, and their impacts on regional development are examined. The next chapter deals with dimensions and models for the various roles of the engineering college and how the activities of the people of the college, including faculty and students, constitute the main areas of impact upon the region. The obstacles that must be overcome to increase the regional involvement of engineering colleges are then discussed by thinking of the university in terms of human and information resources. The final chapter describes some mechanisms for increasing the regional involvement of engineering colleges. This monograph will be of interest to university administrators, local government officials, and educational policymakers.
Going North
Migration of Blacks and Whites from the South, 1900—1950
1st Edition
September 3, 2013
Neil Fligstein
Peter H. Rossi
English
Going North: Migration of Blacks and Whites from the South, 1900—1950 discusses the historical, demographic, sociological, and economic reasons for black and white migrations. The book explains the transition from a rural, extractive economy to an urban, industrial and service economy, with emphasis on the effects on the Southern rural population. After the Civil War, emerging business concerns became politically and economically significant, making the South a source for needed resources. 1930 was a defining year. Before 1930, migration reflected the growth and contraction of cotton agriculture in the South. After 1930, the transition from a tenant, labor-intensive cotton agriculture economy to a capitalist machine-driven economy caused the black and white migration to the north. American development was not a simple process—it shows how northern business interests defeated southern planters. This transformation has created a permanent underclass in society that can be found in the cities of the South, North, and Midwest regions of America today. Sociologists, economists, academicians doing sociological research, and students of U.S. history can benefit from reading the book.
Local Provision of Public Services
The Tiebout Model After Twenty-Five Years
1st Edition
September 3, 2013
George R. Zodrow
English
Local Provision of Public Services: The Tiebout Model after Twenty-Five Years describes several theoretical and empirical branches of economic research related to Charles Tiebout's provocative hypothesis that consumer mobility and interjurisdictional competition result in an efficient allocation of resources to the local public sector. The book provides insights on the issues being considered in policy debates regarding the appropriate means of providing essential public services. Chapters in the book include an overview of the Tiebout model; income redistribution in a federal system; empirical relationships in the political economy of local public finance; and two conflicting views of the incidence of the property tax. Economists, local government leaders, and experts in public finance will find the book very insightful.
The Politics of Inflation
A Comparative Analysis
1st Edition
September 3, 2013
Richard Medley
English
The Politics of Inflation: A Comparative Analysis is a collection of papers that covers the inflation trend of various countries. The emphasis of this title is on the domestic and international causes of each country's level and duration of inflation. The text first covers the aspects of the interplay among economic and political systems and processes, and then proceeds to tackling the politics of inflation in historical perspective. Next, the selection talks about the transatlantic aspects of inflation, along with the inflation fighting in Britain, Italy, and Portugal. The book also details the politics of inflation in the U.S. and the inflation policy in Germany. Chapter 7 tackles the inflation and politics in U.K., while Chapter 8 covers the political causes and effects of Argentine inflammation. The last chapter deals with inflation and democratic transition in Spain. The book will be of great use to economists, political scientists, and individuals concerned with the global economy.

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