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Books > History > History of specific subjects > General
From Jedediah Smith's final moments and persistent rumors of
Bigfoot, to the rise of an unlikely uranium magnate and the
mysterious end of Butch Cassidy, this selection of twelve stories
from Utah's past explores some of the Beehive State's most
compelling mysteries and debunks some of its most famous myths.
In the series: Advances in Cultural Psychology, Jaan Valsiner
Memory construction and national identity are key issues in our
societies, as well as it is patriotism. How can we nowadays believe
and give sense to traditional narrations that explain the origins
of nations and communities? How do these narrations function in a
process of globalization? How should we remember the recent past?
In the construction of collective memory, no doubt history taught
at school plays a fundamental role, as childhood and adolescence
are periods in which the identity seeds flourish vigorously. This
book analyses how history is far more than pure historical contents
given in a subject matter; it studies the situation of school
history in different countries such as the former URSS, United
States, Germany, Japan, Spain and Mexico, making sensible
comparisons and achieving global conclusions. The empirical part is
based on students interviews about school patriotic rituals, very
close to the teaching of history, specifically carried out in
Argentina but very similar to these rituals in other countries. The
author analizes in which ways that historical knowledge is
understood by students and its influence on the construction of
patriotism. This book--aside from making a major contribution to
the cultural psychology field--should be of direct interest and
relevance to all people interested in the ways education succeeds
in its variable functions. As a matter of fact, it is related to
other IAP books as Contemporary Public Debates Over History
Education (Nakou & Barca, 2010) and What Shall We Tell the
Children? International Perspectives on School History Textbooks
(Foster & Crawford, 2006).
The computer is the great technological and scientific innovation
of the last half of the twentieth century. It has revolutionized
how we organize information, how we communicate with each other,
and even the way that we think about the human mind. Computers have
eased the drudgery of such tasks as calculating sums and clerical
work, making them both more bearable and more efficient. The
computer has become ubiquitous in many aspects of business,
recreation, and everyday life, and the trend is that they are
becoming both more powerful and easier to use. Computers: The Life
Story of a Technology provides an accessible overview of this ever
changing technology history, giving students and lay readers an
understanding of the complete scope of its history from ancient
times to the present day. In addition to providing a concise
biography of how this technology developed, this book provides
insights into how the computer has changed our lives: *
Demonstrates how, just as the invention of the steam engine in the
1700s stimulated scientists to think of the laws of nature in terms
of machines, the success of the computer in the late 1900s prompted
scientists to think of the basic laws of the universe as being
similar to the operation of a computer. * Provides a worldwide
examination of computing, and how such needs as security and
defense during the Cold War drove the development of computing
technology. * Shows how the computer has entered almost every
aspect of daily life in the 21st century The volume includes a
glossary of terms, a timeline of important events, and a selected
bibliography of useful resources for further information.
Starting with the creation of the early technical schools before
the First Wold War and finishing with John Patten's policies as
Secretary of State for Education in 1993, Sanderson examines the
development of the technical school sector and the factors which
weakened it and led to its demise. The book argues that the neglect
of technical schools has resulted in poor levels of skill formation
and industrial performance in Britain, especially since the Second
World War.
This book is both a concise history of British universities and
their place in society over eight centuries, and a penetrating
analysis of current university problems and policies as seen in the
light of that history. It explains how the modern university system
has developed since the Victorian era, and gives special attention
to changes in policy since the Second World War, including the
effects of the Robbins report, the rise and fall of the binary
system, the impact of the Thatcher era, and the financial crises
which have beset universities in recent years. A final chapter on
the past and the present shows the continuing relevance of the
ideals inherited from the past, and makes an important contribution
to current controversies by identifying a distinctively British
university model and discussing the historical relationship of
state and market.
The visual turn recovers new pasts. With education as its theme,
this book seeks to present a body of reflections that questions a
certain historicism and renovates historiographical debate about
how to conceptualize and use images and artifacts in educational
history, in the process presenting new themes and methods for
researchers. Images are interrogated as part of regimes of the
visible, of a history of visual technologies and visual practices.
Considering the socio-material quality of the image, the analysis
moves away from the use of images as mere illustrations of written
arguments, and takes seriously the question of the life and death
of artifacts - that is, their particular historicity. Questioning
the visual and material evidence in this way means considering how,
when, and in which regime of the visible it has come to be
considered as a source, and what this means for the questions
contemporary researchers might ask.
Daniel Dumile Qeqe (1929–2005), ‘Baas Dan’, ‘DDQ’. He was the Port Elizabeth leader whose struggles and triumphs crisscrossed the entire gamut of political, civic, entrepreneurial, sports and recreational liberation activism in the Eastern Cape. Siwisa tells the story of Qeqe’s life and times and at the same time has written a social and political biography of Port Elizabeth – a people’s history of Port Elizabeth. As much as Qeqe was a local legend, his achievements had national repercussions and, indeed, continue to this day.
Central to the transformation of sports towards non-racialism, Qeqe paved the way for the mainstreaming and liberation of black rugby and cricket players in South Africa. He co-engineered the birth of the KwaZakhele Rugby Union (Kwaru), a pioneering non-racial rugby union that was more of a political and social movement. Kwaru was a vehicle for political dialogues and banned meetings, providing resources for political campaigns and orchestrations for moving activists into exile.
This story is an attempt at understanding a man of contradictions. In one breath, he was generous and kind to a fault. And yet he was the indlovu, an imposing authoritarian elephant, decisively brutal and aggressive. Then there was Qeqe, the man whose actions were not in keeping with the struggle. This story narrates his role in ‘collaborationist’ civic institutions and in courting reactionary homeland structures, yet through all that he was the signal actor in the emancipation of rugby in South Africa.
Brodsky contends that three factors--constitutional, commercial,
and technological--in turn, have caused Britain to raise large
citizen forces. Because Britain traditionally has been an
unmilitary state which has not maintained large standing armies,
this ethos of amateurism merged with the professionalism of the
Regular Army. He argues that it is this unique influence of
amateurism which historically has been central to the British
profession of arms and vital to its spirit of service. A wide range
of prose and poetry illustrates that spirit and the military
cultural experience in which it evolved in Great Britain from the
Restoration through World War II. In an overview of later
developments, including the Falklands War, Brodsky enunciates the
challenge facing the traditional ethos in the nuclear age.
Analyzing the effect of the literary idiom, he questions the future
direction of representative literature.
The already vibrant charitable sector in the US is in the midst of
a transformation that is altering both the manner in which
donations occur and the causes that are supported. Philanthropy in
Transition examines the unique role that charitable giving has
played in the US, from colonial times to the present. The rising
importance of new means of contributing, particularly giving
through buying or investing, is considered. These new models of
philanthropy have expanded the ways by which ethical consumers or
investors can support a cause. Although these innovations represent
a revolution in the structure of philanthropy, they introduce
significant complexity to the act of giving - donors are far
removed from recipients - and this may weaken the impact of
contributing. This transformation is also likely to accelerate the
rising importance of web-based promotion and fund-raising, as
traditional nonprofits compete with social market enterprises and
social impact investments for funds.
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