Books in Social sciences and humanities

Thinking and Problem Solving

1st Edition
Volume 2
May 13, 1998
Robert J. Sternberg
English
Paperback
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eBook
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Thinking and Problem-Solving presents a comprehensive and up-to-date review of literature on cognition, reasoning, intelligence, and other formative areas specific to this field. Written for advanced undergraduates, researchers, and academics, this volume is a necessary reference for beginning and established investigators in cognitive and educational psychology. Thinking and Problem-Solving provides insight into questions such as: how do people solve complex problems in mathematics and everyday life? How do we generate new ideas? How do we piece together clues to solve a mystery, categorize novel events, and teach others to do the same?

The Economics of Complex Spatial Systems

1st Edition
May 5, 1998
A. Reggiani + 1 more
English
eBook
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This book argues that complexity theory offers new departures for (spatial-) economic modelling. It offers a broad overview of recent advances in non-linear dynamics (catastrophe theory, chaos theory, evolutionary theory and so forth) and illustrates the relevance of this new paradigm on the basis of several illustrations in the area of space-economy. The empirical limitations - inherent in the use of non-linear dynamic systems approaches - are also addressed. Next, the application potential of biocomputing (in particular, neural networks and evolutionary algorithms) is stressed, while various empirical model results are presented. The book concludes with an agenda for further research.

Advances in the Study of Behavior

1st Edition
Volume 27
May 4, 1998
Peter J.B. Slater + 2 more
English
eBook
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Advances in the Study of Behavior continues to serve scientists across a wide spectrum of disciplines. Focusing on new theories and research developments with respect to behavioral ecology, evolutionarybiology, and comparative psychology, these volumes foster cooperation and communication in these diverse fields.

Prejudice

1st Edition
April 27, 1998
Janet K. Swim + 1 more
English
eBook
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Prejudice: The Target's Perspective turns the tables on the way prejudice has been looked at in the past. Almost all of the current information on prejudice focuses on the person holding prejudiced beliefs. This book, however, provides the first summary of research focusing on the intended victims of prejudice. Divided into three sections, the first part discusses how people identify prejudice, what types of prejudice they encounter, and how people react to this prejudice in interpersonal and intergroup settings. The second section discusses the effect of prejudice on task performance, assessment of ones own abilities, self-esteem, and stress. The final section examines how people cope with prejudice, including a discussion of coping mechanisms, reporting sexual harassment, and how identity is related to effective coping.

System Theories and A Priori Aspects of Perception

1st Edition
Volume 126
April 21, 1998
J.S. Jordan
English
eBook
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This book takes as a starting point, John Dewey's article, The Reflex Arc Concept in Psychology, in which Dewey was calling for, in short, the utilisation of systems theories within psychology, theories of behaviour that capture its nature as a vastly-complex dynamic coordination of nested coordinations. This line of research was neglected as American psychology migrated towards behaviourism, where perception came to be thought of as being both a neural response to an external stimulus and a mediating neural stimulus leading to, or causing a muscular response. As such, perception becomes a question of how it is the perceiver creates neural representations of the physical world. Gestalt psychology, on the other hand, focused on perception itself, utilising the term Phenomenological Field; a term that elegantly nests perception and the organism within their respective, as well as relative, levels of organisation. With the development of servo-mechanisms during the second world war, systems theory began to take on momentum within psychology, and then in the 1970s William T Powers brought the notion of servo-control to perception in his book, Behavior: The Control of Perception. Since then, scientists have come to see nature not as linear chain of contingent cause-effect relationships, but rather, as a non linear, unpredictable nesting of self referential, emergent coordinations, best described as Chaos theory. The implications for perception are astounding, while maintaining the double-aspect nature of perception espoused by the Gestalt psychologists. In short, system theories model perception within the context of a functioning organism, so that objects of experience come to be seen as scale-dependent, psychophysically-neu... phenomenological transformations of energy structures, the dynamics of which are the result of evolution, and therefore, a priori to the individual case. This a priori, homological unity among brain perception and world is revealed through the use of systems theories and represents the thrust of this book. All the authors are applying some sort of systems theory to the psychology of perception. However, unlike Dewey we have close to a century of technology we can bring to bear upon the issue. This book should be seen as a collection of such efforts.

Risk Assessment and Management in the Context of the Seveso II Directive

1st Edition
Volume 6
February 18, 1998
Michalis D Christou + 1 more
Christian Kirchsteiger
English
Hardback
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eBook
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The assessment and management of risk to society from the operation of chemical process plants and other industrial activities in which dangerous substances are produced, used, handled or stored will remain a topic of great importance in the next decade. In order to evaluate this specific risk on a qualitative and/or quantitative basis, the concepts of risk analyses are linked together in this book.The "performance based" and "goal oriented" regulatory requirements of the European Council's new "Seveso II Directive" for the identification of large scale industrial hazards, prevention of sudden and uncontrolled releases of dangerous substances from industrial plants and mitigation of serious consequences of industrial accidents to people and the environment are examined. The fact that risk assessment and management are key elements to such forms of regulation is also demonstrated.While the "Seveso II Directive" defines "what" has to be achieved on the control of major hazards involving dangerous substances within the European Union, the methods of risk assessment and management give guidance on "how" to achieve it. The text provides a practical guide for decision-makers in regulatory bodies and companies with a non-technical background. Scientists and engineers who are not yet familiar with the concepts of risk assessment and who want a survey of some fundamentals of, and principal results from, risk assessment studies and approaches primarily for applications in the context defined by the "Seveso Directives" will also find this book invaluable.

Mental Health Outcome Evaluation

1st Edition
January 15, 1998
David C. Speer
English
Hardback
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eBook
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Mental Health Outcome Evaluation bridges the gap between traditional research and evaluation methods by presenting an alternative to the highly technical and statistical methods developed in the laboratory for mental health care professionals. It focuses on outcome evaluation of mental health services for adults, concentrating on the general principles that can be used to assess the service effectiveness of community health centers, clinics, and private practices. The book presents a formidable argument for descriptive outcome studies through its evaluation of the results and consequences of care and treatment as well as clinician ratings. It is written in a non-technical style, making it accessible to anyone in the mental health industry.

Financial Markets of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union

1st Edition
January 9, 1998
François Perquel
English
eBook
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The banking systems of eastern Europe and the states of the former Soviet Union have undergone dramatic change in recent years. This is the first book to provide a practical overview of the banking systems in the region. It describes the changes that have occurred and the differences that still remain. The author provides a full account of the various financial centres and the diversity of products that are available, including currencies, bonds, stocks, futures, coupons and certificates. The book covers financial internediaries, savings protection and corporate governance and concludes with a look at potential future developments. It will be essential reading for corporates, bankers, fund managers, investors and advisers involved in the region.

WISC-III Clinical Use and Interpretation

1st Edition
December 12, 1997
Aurelio Prifitera + 1 more
English
eBook
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The WISC-III is the most frequently used IQ assessment technique in the United States. This book discusses the clinical use of the WISC-III with respect to specific clinical populations, and covers research findings on the validity and reliability of the test. It also includes standardization data from the Psychological Corporation. Many of the contributors participated in the development of the WISC-III and are in a unique position to discuss the clinical uses of this measure. The book describes the WISC-III from scientist-practition... perspectives. It provides methods to aid in understanding and interpreting the WISC-III results for various groups of exceptional children. The book also presents detailed descriptions of behavior and achievement as well as recommendations for test interpreting standards.WISC-III Clinical Use and Interpretation has immediate and practical relevance to professionals who administer, interpret, or use the results of the WISC-III. The solid writing by leading experts makes the contents of this book an essential reference for WISC-III users.

Cognitive Science Perspectives on Personality and Emotion

1st Edition
Volume 124
December 11, 1997
G. Matthews
English
eBook
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This book aims to highlight the vigour, diversity and insight of the various cognitive science perspectives on personality and emotion. It aims also to emphasise the rigorous scientific basis for research to be found in the integration of experimental psychology with neuroscience, connectionism and the new evolutionary psychology. The contributors to this book provide a wide-ranging survey of leading-edge research topics. It is divided into three parts, on general frameworks for cognitive science, on perspectives from emotion research, and on perspectives from studies of personality traits.

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