This book addresses some of the key questions facing contemporary social scientists. It does so by focusing on international research on identity and social inequality grounded in "race" and ethnic difference. The contributors to the volume, who are drawn from Europe, North America, South Africa, and Australia, reflect on questions from the position of "insiders", in the sense that they are active participants in the research cultures about which they are writing. They ask searching questions about the politics of research finding, the empowerment of minorities and the prospects for meaningful social change. In doing so we gain a fascinating insight into, for example, the position of social scientists in war-torn Serbia, in post-apartheid in South Africa, and in the contemporary US.

"Encyclopedia of the U.S. Census" represents a unique and definitive collaboration among more than 80 leading experts on all aspects of the U.S. Census. Drawing from academia, government, and the private sector, CQ Press and the editorial board have commissioned more than 100 concise, definitive articles on the decennial census and related topics. Subjects covered include: content of the census - what the census tracks, and when it began to ask specific questions, how questions are formulated, and factors that affect which questions are asked, and other types of censuses (housing, economic, and agricultural); procedure - how the census is planned, advertised, and conducted, state and local involvement, and how results are tabulated and stored; and uses of the census - publications, databases, and electronic products that provide census information for statistical and demographic research, and archiving of census records and genealogical use of census schedules. It also includes: census history - census taking in America from colonial times to the present and at each census, population trends over time, including changes in family composition, racial and ethnic groups, and the social, economic, and educational status of the population; politics of the census - effect of census data on congressional districts and funding of federal programs, controversies: from slavery and the three-fifths compromise in 1790, to the use of statistical sampling in 2000. Other features include a 16-page photo collection that visually shows the census evolution, and an extensive glossary of terms, as well as an appendix of useful information and a detailed index round out the volume. Most articles include references for further reading; many also point the reader to online resources for census information.

This book introduces the theory of stochastic processes with applications taken from physics and finance. Fundamental concepts like the random walk or Brownian motion but also Levy-stable distributions are discussed. Applications are selected to show the interdisciplinary character of the concepts and methods. In the second edition of the book a discussion of extreme events ranging from their mathematical definition to their importance for financial crashes was included. The exposition of basic notions of probability theory and the Brownian motion problem as well as the relation between conservative diffusion processes and quantum mechanics is expanded. The second edition also enlarges the treatment of financial markets. Beyond a presentation of geometric Brownian motion and the Black-Scholes approach to option pricing as well as the econophysics analysis of the stylized facts of financial markets, an introduction to agent based modeling approaches is given.

What factors influence the relationship of a newly married couple? Do these factors change as the marriage matures? The authors of this book examine the determinants of marital instability in the early years of marriage. Conclusions are based on the results of a survey of 199 black couples and 174 white couples throughout the first four years of marriage. Findings focus on attitudes, perceptions, and feelings spouses have for each other and the manner in which they interact. Some of the topics discussed in the survey include: length of courtship, educational differences, religion, and family involvement. The findings show what effect these and other factors have on a marriage.

This book presents a broad spectrum of problems related to statistics, mathematics, teaching, social science, and economics as well as a range of tools and techniques that can be used to solve these problems. It is the result of a scientific collaboration between experts in the field of economic and social systems from the University of Defence in Brno (Czech Republic), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy), Pablo de Olavid eUniversity of Sevilla (Spain), and Ovidius University in Constanta, (Romania). The studies included were selected using a peer-review process and reflect heterogeneity and complexity of economic and social phenomena. They and present interesting empirical research from around the globe and from several research fields, such as statistics, decision making, mathematics, complexity, psychology, sociology and economics. The volume is divided into two parts. The first part, "Recent trends in mathematical and statistical models for economic and social sciences", collects papers on quantitative matters, which propose mathematical and statistical models for social sciences, economics, finance, and business administration. The second part, "Recent trends in qualitative theories for economic and social sciences", includes papers on qualitative matters, which discuss social, economic, and teaching issues. It is an ideal reference work for all those researchers interested in recent quantitative and qualitative tools. Covering a wide range of topics, it appeals in equal measure to mathematicians, statisticians, sociologists, philosophers, and specialists in the fields of communication, social and political sciences.

The UK Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) worked for ten years to improve outcomes for learners in schools and other sectors through high quality research. One outcome of individual projects and across-Programme thematic work was the development of ten ?evidence-informed? principles for effective pedagogy. Synopses of these principles have been widely disseminated, particularly to practitioners. However, the evidence and reasoning underpinning them has not yet been fully explained. This book fills this gap by providing a scholarly account of the research evidence that informed the development of these principles, as well as offering some evidence of early take-up and impact. It also includes responses from highly-respected researchers throughout the world in order to locate the work in the broader international literature, to extend it by drawing on similar work elsewhere, to provide critique and to stimulate further development and debate. Principles for Effective Pedagogy contributes to international dialogue on effective teaching and learning, providing a focus for scholarly comment, sharing of expertise and knowledge accumulation.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Research Papers in Education.

Everyday Ethics: Reflections on Practice looks at the moments that demand moral consideration and ethical choice that arise as part of a researcher's daily practice. Drawing on principles of systematic inquiry as transparent and grounded in conceptual reasoning, it describes research as praxis and the researcher as practitioner. The researcher is a decision-maker for both procedural and ethical matters that attend the conduct of research, especially when the research is focused on human wellbeing. Every decision about data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation has moral dimensions. Morally compelling moments demand a reflexivity ('research praxis') - that is, informed action, the back-and-forth between reasoning and action. Methodological wisdom emerges during the cyclical process of inquiry that is doing, thinking about the doing through a moral lens, and doing again. This book invites us to deepen our understanding of everyday ethics, and contributes to the ongoing discourse about research as moral practice, conducted by such reflexive practitioners. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education.

Why do people rebel? This is one of the most important questions historians and social scientists have been grappling with over the years. It is a question to which no satisfactory answer has been found, despite more than a century of research. However, in most cases the research has focused on what people do if they rebel but hardly ever, why they rebel. The essays in this volume offer an alternative perspective, based on the question at what point families decided to add collective action to their repertoires of survival strategies, In this way this volume opens up a promising new field of historical research: the intersection of labour and family history. The authors offer fascinating case studies in several countries spanning over four continents during the last two centuries. In an extensive introduction the relevant literature on households and collective action is discussed, and the volume is rounded off by a conclusion that provides methodological and theoretical suggestions for the further exploration of this new field in social history.

Social problems are endemic to all societies. The UK is no exception and is grappling with a plethora of issues including poverty, family breakdown, domestic violence, teenage pregnancy, child abuse and neglect, youth offending, alcohol and drug misuse, mental health issues, homelessness, and ethnic and religious discrimination. These problems have huge implications for the individual, the family unit and society at large and take their toll on health, wellbeing, and community resources. They place an enormous amount of strain on government finances and the welfare state, and add to the burden on social institutions, such as the National Health Service and the social work and criminal justice systems. Contemporary Social Problems in the UK explores a wide range of social problems in the UK. Each social problem has been explored using a range of psychosocial theories to generate an understanding of various causal factors and to examine the linkages between different social problems. Government policy and legislation, remedial measures, preventive approaches, and strategies of intervention are also considered for each social problem that has been dealt with. Each chapter deals with a particular social problem and has been penned by an expert in that topic. The endeavour has been to provide a multi-dimensional overview of the social problem in a manner that is engaging and easy to read. The end-of-chapter content includes supplementary reading, useful topic related websites besides a quiz and individual / group activities to generate discussion and stimulate learning. This informative yet accessible textbook will be an invaluable resource for instructors and students in the social sciences as well as professionals who work with people who experience some of these problems.

Rigorous research is crucial to effective work with young people and increasingly youth practitioners need to be able to develop, review and evidence their work using a variety of research and assessment tools. This text equips students and practitioners with a thorough understanding of research design, practice and dissemination, as well as approaches to evidence-based practice.

A clear practice framework informs the book, outlining the significance of research to youth work, especially in relation to designing and developing services for young people. Research and Research Methods for Youth Practitioners:

• Analyses the research/practitioner role
• Explores the ethical context of research in youth work
• Offers a thorough analysis of key methodological questions in research in practice
• Provides a guide to data collection and analysis
• Presents five principal research strategies for youth work: ethnographic work and visual methods; interviewing and evaluation; surveys and evaluation; the use of secondary data and documentary analysis; and researching virtual and online settings
• Discusses the implications of research for work with young people as well as its dissemination.

Written by experienced researchers and practitioner-researchers, each chapter in this accessible textbook includes an overview, a critical discussion of the pros and cons of the particular method or approach, a case study, a practice-based task, a summary and suggestions for further reading. This textbook is invaluable for student and practising youth workers. It is also a useful reference for other practitioners working with young people.

This analysis of regional cultures is the 17th part in a series on social research. Topics covered include: the emergence of Wales and Saxony as modern regions in Europe; state support and literary regionalism in Norway and the US; and regional industrialization and political mobilization.

This book is concerned with the universality of wellbeing indicators. It provides contributions from international scholars in the field of quality of life and subjective well-being. The book provides substantial conceptual coverage on issues relating to the universality of subjective wellbeing including detailed discussion of central underlying mechanisms and processes involved in subjective wellbeing. The main topics covered include: the theoretical bases for the measurement of quality of life, the affective dimension in quality of life, the roles of homeostasis and personality in the processes of quality of life assessment and maintenance, the impact of factors including residential care, economic wealth, and work-related variables on subjective wellbeing. The book is of interest to all who want to develop their understanding of the universality, assessment, development and maintenance of subjective wellbeing.

Policy makers are increasingly demanding evidence from randomized trials. The book focuses on the design of rigorous trials rather than their statistical underpinnings or analyses. Consequently, statistical theory is absent and statistical methods are minimal. Few other texts go into such detailed description about randomization procedures and different trial designs within the same volume. The book has chapters on: pragmatic designs; placebo designs; preference approaches; unequal allocation; economics; analytical approaches; randomization methods.

This book pursues an interdisciplinary approach to open a discourse on innovative methodologies and practices associated with narrative and metaphor. Scholars from diverse fields in the humanities and social sciences report on how they use narrative and/or metaphor in their scholarship/research to arrive at new ways of seeing, thinking about and acting in the world. The book provides a range of methodological chapters for academics and practitioners alike. Each chapter discusses various aspects of the author's transformative methodologies and practices and how they contribute to the lives of others in their field. In this regard, the authors address traditional disciplines such as history and geography, as well as professional practices such as counselling, teaching and community work.

Prevent, Repent, Reform, Revenge is a study of the aims that people intend to achieve by the sanctions and treatments they recommend for wrongdoers. The book is designed to answer two main questions: What kind of analytical scheme can profitably reveal the nature of people's reasoning about the aims of sanctions they propose for perpetrators of crimes and misdeeds? In the aims that people express, what changes in overt moral reasoning patterns appear between later childhood and the early adult years? The authors conducted interviews with 136 youths between the ages of 9 and 21 to find out what sanctions and aims they felt were appropriate in three cases of wrongdoing. The resulting information provides an important insight into adolescent moral development. LC 95-16145.

"This compact, user-friendly book provides everything a teacher needs to know to conduct an action research project, in a clear, step-by-step presentation. "" "This book guides the learner through comprehension and interpretation of both qualitative and quantitative techniques in action research methods and then describes all phases of the process, including selecting a topic; collecting, analyzing, and reporting data; reviewing the literature; and presenting the report. There are many new strategies and examples of projects that can be used for professional growth and development included with this edition, as well as more examples, ideas for possible research questions, and many new forms and graphics are added.

Why doesn't self-help help? Millions of people turn to self-improvement when they find that their lives aren't working out quite as they had imagined. The market for self-improvement products-books, audiotapes, life-makeover seminars and regimens of all kinds-is exploding, and there seems to be no end in sight for this trend. In Self-Help, Inc.: Makeover Culture in American Life, cultural critic Micki McGee asks what our seemingly insatiable demand for self-help can tell us about ourselves at the outset of this new century. The answers are surprising. Rather than finding an America that is narcissistic or self-involved, as others have contended, McGee sees a nation relying on self-help culture for advice on how to cope in an increasingly volatile and competitive work world. For Americans today, a central component of working has become working on themselves. "Be all one can be," they are told. Build your own personal brand. As women have entered the paid labor force in growing numbers, the Protestant work ethic has been augmented by a Romantic imperative that one create a vision-a script-for one's life. More and more, Americans are compelled to regard themselves in effect as "human capital." No longer simply an enterprising or entrepreneurial individual, the new worker is the artist and the artwork, the "CEO of Me, Inc.," in Tom Peters' memorable phrase, and the central product line. Self-Help, Inc. reveals how makeover culture traps Americans in endless cycles of self-invention and overwork as they struggle to stay ahead of a rapidly restructuring economic order. A lucid and fascinating treatment of the modern obsession with work and self-improvement, this book will strike a chord with its diagnosis of the self-help trap and with its suggestions for how we can address the alienating conditions of modern work and family life.

Examining the increasingly powerful role of standards in the governing of economic, political and social life, this book draws upon governmentality and actor network theory to explore how standards and standardizing projects are articulated and rendered workable in practice, and the objects, subjects and forms of identity to which this gives rise.

Since initiating the journal Social Indicators Research in 1974, Alex C. Michalos has been a pioneer in social indicators and quality-of-life research. This collection of nineteen articles provides an overview of nearly 30 years of work, including papers drawn from diverse sources and papers never published before. The final paper, on multiple discrepancies theory (MDT), is the author's unique contribution to an empirically testable new foundation for theories of utility, satisfaction and happiness.

Over the last fifty years advanced mathematical tools have become an integral part in the development of modern economic theory. Economists continue to invoke sophisticated mathematical techniques and ideas in order to understand complex economic and social problems. In the last ten years the theory of Riesz spaces (vector lattices) has been successfully applied to economic theory. By now it is understood relatively well that the lattice structure of Riesz spaces can be employed to capture and interpret several economic notions. On April 16-20, 1990, a small conference on Riesz Spaces, Positive Opera tors, and their Applications to Economics took place at the California Institute of Technology. The purpose of the conference was to bring mathematicians special ized in Riesz Spaces and economists specialized in General Equilibrium together to exchange ideas and advance the interdisciplinary cooperation between math ematicians and economists. This volume is a collection of papers that represent the talks and discussions of the participants at the week-long conference. We take this opportunity to thank all the participants of the conference, especially those whose articles are contained in this volume. We also greatly ap preciate the financial support provided by the California Institute of Technology. In particular, we express our sincerest thanks to David Grether, John Ledyard, and David Wales for their support. Finally, we would like to thank Susan Davis, Victoria Mason, and Marge D'Elia who handled the delicate logistics for the smooth running of the confer ence."

As we head into the new millennium, we are witnessing a growing and heightened interest among organizational scholars on the topics of conflict and negotiation. New research questions are being identified, while new theory is being applied to "old" questions. The result is exciting research that has organizational and social relevance. The papers in this volume, which grew out of the eighth biannual Conference on Negotiation in Organizations, are representative of the provocative and "cutting edge" theory and research emerging in the area of conflict and negotiation.

Food Security, Poverty and Nutrition Policy Analysis: Statistical Methods and Applications, Third Edition combines statistical data analysis and computer literacy, applying the results to develop policy alternatives through a series of statistical methods for real world food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty problems. The book presents the latest uses of statistical methods for policy analysis using the open source statistical environment R, in addition to having the original Stata files and applications. A new chapter on obesity brings in new datasets for analysis to effectively demonstrate the use of such data for addressing policy issues. Finally, program evaluation methods which can be directly applied to the data on food security, nutrition, poverty indicators and causal factors are included. This unique, real-world data takes the reader through a "hands-on" approach toward econometric practice whereby they can also test the effects of policy and program interventions. Further, this is the first book to explore actual data with STATA and R statistical packages that also provides a line-by-line guide to the programming and interpretation of results.

This textbook is for graduate students and research workers in social statistics and related subject areas. It follows a novel curriculum developed around the basic statistical activities: sampling, measurement and inference. The monograph aims to prepare the reader for the career of an independent social statistician and to serve as a reference for methods, ideas for and ways of studying of human populations. Elementary linear algebra and calculus are prerequisites, although the exposition is quite forgiving. Familiarity with statistical software at the outset is an advantage, but it can be developed while reading the first few chapters.

While there are many ways to collect information, many students have trouble understanding how to employ various research methods effectively. Since everyone learns and processes information differently, instructing students on successfully using these methods continues to be a challenge. Teaching Research Methods in Public Administration combines empirical research and best practices on various research methods being employed by administrators. Emphasizing theoretical concepts, this publication is an essential reference source for academics, public administration practitioners, and students interested in how information is gathered, processed, and utilized.

With an annual output, Research in Rural Sociology and Development, publishes scholarly content at the cutting edge of rural sociology. Addressing issues such as rural development and growth, globalization, labour relations, agrarian dynamics, and social and personal implications of rural and agricultural change, this series provides in-depth and up to date research on the local and global systems affecting rural dynamics.