The realm of higher education, much like everything else in a global and mobile world, has rapidly altered in the last few decades. More and more universities and seats of higher education are using strategies towards ' 'internationalization'; by increasing heterogeneity in rank, student composition, resource endowments, faculty profiles, and their social spaces. The essays in this volume take a critical look at universities across South Asia, more specifically, at the dynamics of student mobility and mobilizations existing in such localized social spaces, and compares these with their counterparts in universities across the world. While elite universities in South Asia, as elsewhere, have been caught in a stiff international competition and are aspiring for the highest ranks, students from the most excluded communities and remote parts of the country seek entry to badly endowed universities, facing obstacles during their courses, and upon seeking entry into employment. The volume evaluates such universities as spaces for mobility opportunity and mobilizations in a globally networked world. It combines local and international perspectives with thorough observations of the dynamics in localized university spaces while embedding them in transnational processes.

'Any student undertaking a politics degree at graduate level will find this book an indispensible introduction to the subject they are approaching and it will also be useful for teachers seeking to orientate themselves within the discipline as a whole. This is particularly true because of the supporting detail the book provides and the way it links up technical exposition to fundamental philosophical questions. From a student point of view it does not shrink from providing useful practical tips on how to present and publish research results and how to check out established themes with new data. This is a book which political scientists at all levels will benefit from reading. It should also stimulate them to take a fresh look both at their own work and that of others - and - who knows? - perhaps forge some of that unity across the discipline which is the main subject of its discussion.' - Colin Hay, University of Sheffield, UK and L'Institut d'Etudes Politiques at Sciences Po, France 'This Handbook provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date account of the current state of empirical-analytical political science. The contributions share a systemic and multi-layered approach combining political actors, organizations, and institutions. In addition, types of data and data collection as well as advanced types of data analysis are described and explained. Finally, much can be learned about the evaluation of research output and publication strategies. The editors have motivated a stellar set of 40 authors to contribute to the 33 chapters of the Handbook. The index makes it easy to navigate the vast ocean of results and ideas. The Handbook is a ''must have'' for scholars interested in what political science can contribute to reliably answer the most important questions facing the complex world of politics today.' - Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (Berlin Social Science Center), Germany This Handbook offers a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art research methods and applications currently in use in political science. It combines theory and methodology (qualitative and quantitative), and offers insights into the major approaches and their roots in the philosophy of scientific knowledge. Including a comprehensive discussion of the relevance of a host of digital data sources, plus the dos and don'ts of data collection in general, the book also explains how to use diverse research tools and highlights when and how to apply these techniques. With wide-ranging coverage of general political science topics and systemic approaches to politics, the editors showcase research methods that can be used at the micro, meso and macro levels. Chapters explore applied and fundamental knowledge, approaches and their usefulness, meta-theoretical issues, and the art and practice of undertaking research. This highly accessible book provides hands-on information on research topics and methods, and offers the reader extensive bibliographies for in-depth exploration of cutting edge techniques. Finally, it discusses the relevance of political science research, as well as the art of publishing, reporting and submitting your research findings. An essential tool for researchers in political science, public administration and international relations, this book will be an important reference for academics and students employing research methods and techniques across the social sciences, including sociology, anthropology and communication studies.

Given the recent re-evaluation of research funding policy as an issue central to national governments and the EU, it is imperative that underlying rationales and channels for investment in research and development are examined. A pioneering analysis of the complexity, allocation and management of public funding of research, this Handbook explores the strategies whereby research can be successfully targeted and supported to resolve problems of broad public concern. Used effectively, the Handbook finds, research has the potential to support economic growth, create jobs, enhance social welfare, protect the environment and expand the frontiers of human knowledge. Taking a multi-level approach, chapters strategise ways to address various funding objectives through analysis of policy design, policy instruments, research organisations, and researchers, while remedying disparities resulting from the distribution of research funds. The Handbook's expansive scope, which covers variation in goals and instrument management over time and across countries, facilitates an approach that not only scrutinises existing paradigms of public research funding but also looks to the future. With authoritative analysis and theoretical frameworks by leading scholars, the Handbook employs an interdisciplinary approach that combines sociology of sciences, political sciences and economics. It will prove a useful resource for scholars and researchers in science policy studies, alongside policy analysts in ministries and research funding organisations seeking to better understand their working environment.

We are living in a digital era in which most of our daily activities take place online. This has created a big data phenomenon that has been subject to scientific research with increasingly available tools and processing power. As a result, a growing number of social science scholars are using computational methods for analyzing social behavior. To further the area, these evolving methods must be made known to sociological research scholars. Opportunities and Challenges for Computational Social Science Methods focuses on the implementation of social science methods and the opportunities and challenges of these methods. This book sheds light on the infrastructure that should be built to gain required skillsets, the tools used in computational social sciences, and the methods developed and applied into computational social sciences. Covering topics like computational communication, ecological cognition, and natural language processing, this book is an essential resource for researchers, data scientists, scholars, students, professors, sociologists, and academicians.

Updates the premier textbook for students and librarians needing to know the landscape of current databases and how to search them. Librarians need to know of existing databases, and they must be able to teach search capabilities and strategies to library users. This practical guide introduces librarians to a broad spectrum of fee-based and freely available databases and explains how to teach them. The updated 6th edition of this well-regarded text covers new databases on the market as well as updates to older databases. It also explains underlying information structures and demonstrates how to search most effectively. It introduces readers to several recent changes, such as the move away from metadata-based indexing to full text indexing by vendors covering newspaper content. Business databases receive greater emphasis. As in the previous edition, this book takes a real-world approach, covering topics from basic and advanced search tools to online subject databases. Each chapter includes a thorough discussion, a recap, concrete examples, exercises, and points to consider, making it an ideal text for courses in database searching as well as a trustworthy professional resource. Helps librarians and students understand the latest developments in library databases Looks not only at textual databases but also numerical, image, video, and social media resources Includes changes and trends in database functionality since the 5th edition

While some social scientists may argue that we have always been networked, the increased visibility of networks today across economic, political, and social domains can hardly be disputed. Social networks fundamentally shape our lives and social network analysis has become a vibrant, interdisciplinary field of research. In The Oxford Handbook of Social Networks, Ryan Light and James Moody have gathered forty leading scholars in sociology, archaeology, economics, statistics, and information science, among others, to provide an overview of the theory, methods, and contributions in the field of social networks. Each of the thirty-three chapters in this Handbook moves through the basics of social network analysis aimed at those seeking an introduction to advanced and novel approaches to modeling social networks statistically. They cover both a succinct background to, and future directions for, distinctive approaches to analyzing social networks. The first section of the volume consists of theoretical and methodological approaches to social networks, such as visualization and network analysis, statistical approaches to networks, and network dynamics. Chapters in the second section outline how network perspectives have contributed substantively across numerous fields, including public health, political analysis, and organizational studies. Despite the rapid spread of interest in social network analysis, few volumes capture the state-of-the-art theory, methods, and substantive contributions featured in this volume. This Handbook therefore offers a valuable resource for graduate students and faculty new to networks looking to learn new approaches, scholars interested in an overview of the field, and network analysts looking to expand their skills or substantive areas of research.

SIMSOC: Participant's Manual

SIMSOC (which is pronounced sim-sock and stands for simulated society) is a dynamic group simulation game that forces participants to cope with the daily problems of governing society. Assuming a variety of roles, the players grapple with issues like abuse of power, justice, diversity, trust, and leadership as they negotiate their way through labor-management strife, political turmoil, and natural disasters. SIMSOC imposes few rules and restrictions upon its participants. There is no programmed outcome. Success or failure is dependent upon decisions made by players and the creativity of the group. To be successful, players must utilize every basic social process from cooperation and reward to threat and punishment. SIMSOC will make participants ask questions about social control, and bring everyday experience and deeper understanding to even the most arcane social and organizational theory.

Included in this Fifth Edition of SIMSOC's Participant's Manual are instructions for playing, materials for play, study questions based on participation, and selected readings about simulation games, leadership, and social processes. New to the Fifth Edition are additional size levels to accommodate larger groups, simplified rules, and readings by authors from Nicholas Lemann to Robert Putnam.

Each SIMSOC participant should have a copy of the Participant's Manual and the instructor a copy of SIMSOC's Coordinator's Manual, which contains additional materials needed for play and directions on how to set up and run SIMSOC. One Coordinator's Manual will be needed for each SIMSOC exercise of up to ninety participants. It can be obtained, for a $5.00 fee, by writing, on letterhead, to:

The Free Press
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Faculty Service Desk
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

While there are many ways to collect information, students have trouble understanding how to employ various research methods effectively, since everyone learns and processes information differently. Instructing students on successfully using research methods is a continual challenge in education. The Handbook of Research on Students' Research Competence in Modern Educational Contexts is a scholarly resource that examines the critical analysis of the development of research competence in students. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics, such as educational technologies, cognitive interest, and research capacity, this book is geared towards academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on the development of research competence.

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This state-of-the-art book takes a forward-looking perspective on the field of Human Resource Management (HRM). Each contribution takes a view, or position, on the likely development of the HR function, and identifies interesting areas and subjects of research that would help address this future positioning. The book's expert contributors provide short and succinct reviews of 12 key topics in strategic HRM, including HR strategy and structure, talent management, selection, assessment and retention, employee engagement, workplace well-being, leadership, HR analytics, productivity, innovation, and globalisation. Each chapter identifies the strengths and gaps in our knowledge, maps out the important intellectual boundaries for their field, and outlines current and future research agendas and how these should inform practice. In examining these strategic topics the authors point to the key interfaces between the field of HRM and cognate disciplines, enabling researchers and practitioners to understand the models and theories that help tie this agenda together. Offering a comprehensive guide to current research and pioneering perspectives for future avenues of inquiry, this Research Agenda will be essential reading for academics, practitioners and researchers in the field of HRM. Contributors include: J.W. Boudreau, C. Brewster, S. Cartwright, W.F. Cascio, A.H. Church, J. Coetsee, D.G. Collings, C. Cooper, P.C. Flood, J.A. Gruman, A. Hesketh, K. Jiang, J. Kautz, D. Lepak, V. Lin, A. McDonnell, J. McMackin, W. Mayrhofer, L. Otaye-Ebede, R.E. Ployhart, A.M. Saks, K. Sanders, H. Shipton, A. Smale, P. Sparrow, H. Yang

‘Mr Watson, come here, I want to see you.’

It’s been almost 150 years since Alexander Graham Bell said these immortal words on the first ever phone call, to his assistant in the next room. Between 10 March 1876 and now, the world has changed beyond recognition. And telecommunications, which has played a fundamental role in this change, has itself evolved into an industry that was the sole preserve of science fiction.

When the world’s first modern mobile telephone network was launched in 1979, there were just over 300 million telephones. Today, there are more than eight billion, most of which are mobile. Most people in most countries can now contact each other in a matter of seconds. Soon we’ll all be connected, to each other, and to complex computer networks that provide us with instant information, but also observe and record our actions. No other phenomenon touches so many of us, so directly, each and every day of our lives.

This book describes how this transformation came about. It considers the technologies that underpin telecommunications – microcircuits, fibre-optics and satellites – and touches on financial aspects of the industry: privatisations, mergers and takeovers that have helped shape the $2-trillion telecom market. But for the most part, it’s a story about us and our need to communicate.

The number of practice-based or practice-led doctorate programs continues to grow across the U.S. Doctoral students who seek a terminal practitioner doctorate typically conduct practice-based research within the dissertation research used as the culmination of the degree program. These terminally degreed graduates return to educational practice to improve practice, impact innovation, and solve the complex problems of practice through research-based decision making. Practice-Based and Practice-Led Research for Dissertation Development provides the most current research, innovation, and insights into practice-based research conducted within U.S. practitioner doctorate programs across fields that include management, education, computer science, health sciences, and social and behavioral sciences. The book illustrates the latest uses of practitioner research and highlights current findings for the dissemination and use of practice-based and practice-led research within these settings. Covering topics that include self-inquiry methods, action research, and high-impact writing support, this book is an ideal reference source for doctoral scholars, doctoral research supervisors, faculty, program deans, higher education leadership, and doctorate program developers.

Advances in students' educational experiences are regularly studied, documented, and improved upon. However, to provide the best foundation for students, professional educators must also continue their own education in order to perfect their teaching abilities. Personalized Professional Learning for Educators: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an advanced scholarly reference source that discusses the most effective methods and techniques that can provide educators with a strong path for continuing their education. Featuring insights on relevant topics such as digital learning, educational coaching, personalized learning, and pedagogical practices, this publication is an ideal resource for professional educators, students, and researchers interested in upcoming trends in teacher education.