This book brings together a diverse, international array of contributors to explore the topics of news "quality" in the online age and the relationships between news organizations and enormously influential digital platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Twitter. Covering topics ranging from internet incivility, crowdsourcing, and YouTube politics to regulations, algorithms, and AI, this book draws the key distinction between the news that facilitates democracy from news that undermines it. For students and scholars as well as journalists, policymakers, and media commentators, this important work engages a wide range of methodological and theoretical perspectives to define the key concept of "quality" in the news media.

The purpose of this book is to demonstrate that it is possible to do meaningful, significant, and sophisticated analysis in social science when the variables under consideration are, given present knowledge, incapable of measurement. No effort to measure' the unmeasurable is attempted. Rather, techniques for model building, such as the construction of simultaneous and periodic relation systems that do not require the existence of measures are explored. In addition to presenting a methodology enabling the investigator to deal with the unmeasured, many examples are provided that illustrate how those methods may actually be used. In addition, the book addresses the following: Where has the overwhelming focus on the quantitative (often to the exclusion of the unmeasurable or qualitative) in social science in particular, and in modern societies in general, come from? How can the use of the formalizations of model building, both in the presence and absence of measurement, be justified in social science? What are the dangers of using proxy variables in general in the construction of models, and what are the dangers of treating variables that are only ordinally gauged as if they were cardinally or intervally measured? Finally, when only ordinal calibrations of some variables are available, what analytical methods may legitimately be employed to deal with them?

This volume of "Research in Community and Mental Health" is divided into two main sections: social networks within and between organizations and social networks and interpersonal relationships.

"Based on the views of teenagers across Europe and in the Far East, this book argues that we need to reconsider how we judge schools and what they are for. It shows that the treatment of pupils in schools makes more difference to teenagers views on society, and on what it means to be fair, than it does to differences in attainment"--Provided by publisher.

Researchers in education are interested in the study of learners, teachers, professional support staff, parents and other participants in schools and other educational institutions. To be effective, research needs to be carried out in a systematic way and should contribute to what is known. If you are interested in education research and want to learn how to become an effective researcher, then this step-by-step guide is for you. For many students the first research project is the most daunting but this book will help ensure its success. Beginning Research is a practical toolkit of resources that will enable students to plan, conduct and follow up research effectively. It contains information on the range of methods available to researchers and introduces some of the key concepts associated with education research and the theoretical background against which it currently takes place. Designed for anyone working in an education setting, by reading through each chapter and completing the associated tasks you will be able to work through each stage of the research process. This book is essential reading for students on all education courses who are engaging in research for the first time. It is particularly suitable for foundation degree students, as it acknowledges the constraints placed upon researchers who are also working and offers practical advice for managing the demands of employment, study and carrying out research.

How is the task of giving a presentation accomplished? In this insightful book Johanna Rendle-Short unpacks this seemingly simple task to show the complexity that underlies it. Examining the academic presentation as a case in point, she details how seminar presenters interact with the audience and objects around them to produce a coherent whole. Through detailed examination of talk-in-interaction the book throws light on one instance of talk as situated practice, demonstrating both the ordinariness of the academic presentation, and its intricate complexity. While audience members recognize that a seminar is underway, this book shows how this recognition comes about. The Academic Presentation will greatly interest scholars of talk and interaction analysis, situated talk, ethnomethodology and conversation analysis.

Semantic Network Analysis in Social Sciences introduces the fundamentals of semantic network analysis and its applications in the social sciences. Readers learn how to easily transform any given text into a visual network of words co-occurring together, a process that allows mapping the main themes appearing in the text and revealing its main narratives and biases. Semantic network analysis is particularly useful today with the increasing volumes of text-based information available. It is one of the developing, cutting-edge methods to organize, identify patterns and structures, and understand the meanings of our information society. The first chapters in this book offer step-by-step guidelines for conducting semantic network analysis, including choosing and preparing the text, selecting desired words, constructing the networks, and interpreting their meanings. Free software tools and code are also presented. The rest of the book displays state-of-the-art studies from around the world that apply this method to explore news, political speeches, social media content, and even to organize interview transcripts and literature reviews. Aimed at scholars with no previous knowledge in the field, this book can be used as a main or a supplementary textbook for general courses on research methods or network analysis courses, as well as a starting point to conduct your own content analysis of large texts.

Introduction to the Taxometric Method is a user-friendly, practical guide to taxometric research. Drawing from both classic and contemporary research, it provides a comprehensive introduction to the method. With helpful tools and guidance, the book is intended to teach those new to the method, as well as those already familiar with it, tips on how to conduct and evaluate taxometric investigations. The book covers a broad range of analytic techniques, describing their logic and implementation as well as what is known about their performance from systematic study. The book opens with the background material essential to understanding the research problems that the taxometric method addresses. The authors then explain the data requirements of taxometric analysis, the logic of each procedure, factors that can influence results and lead to misinterpretations, suggestions for choosing the best procedures, and methodological safeguards to prevent erroneous conclusions. Illustrative examples of each procedure and consistency test demonstrate how to perform analyses and interpret results using a variety of data sets. A checklist of conceptual and methodological issues that should be addressed in any investigation is included. The downloadable resources provide a variety of programs for performing taxometric analyses along with simulations and analyses of data sets. Introduction to the Taxometric Method is ideal for researchers and students conducting or evaluating taxometric studies in the social and behavioral sciences, especially those in clinical and personality psychology, as well as those in the physical sciences, education, biology, and beyond. The book also serves as a text for courses on this method, or as a supplement in psychological assessment, statistics, or research methods courses.Familiarity with taxometrics is not assumed.

This title is a Pearson Global Edition. The Editorial team at Pearson has worked closely with educators around the world to include content which is especially relevant to students outside the United States. This package includes MyLab. A practical, step-by-step core research text that balances coverage of qualitative, quantitative and combined methods Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research offers a truly balanced, inclusive, and integrated overview of the processes involved in educational research. This text first examines the general steps in the research process and then details the procedures for conducting specific types of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods studies. Direct guidance on reading research is offered throughout the text, and features provide opportunities for practice. Throughout the 6th Edition, examples are now drawn from a broad range of fields, including program evaluation, multicultural research, counseling, school psychology, and learning and cognition. In addition, enhanced coverage incorporates the latest technology-based strategies and online tools, and more information about single-subject research methods. Reach every student by pairing this text with Pearson MyLab Education MyLab (TM) is the teaching and learning platform that empowers you to reach every student. By combining trusted author content with digital tools and a flexible platform, MyLab personalizes the learning experience and improves results for each student. Pearson MyLab Education helps learners understand the basic vocabulary of educational research, acquire hands-on experience, and get guided practice in understanding research articles and in conducting and reporting their own research. Pearson MyLab Education should only be purchased when required by an instructor. Please be sure you have the correct ISBN and Course ID. Instructors, contact your Pearson representative for more information.

Program Evaluation 3rd edition has the hallmarks of thoroughness, insight and fluency of other editions but brings us up to date with a map of the evaluation territory new travelers will find invaluable.'Professor Murray Saunders, UK and European Evaluation Societies John Owen's Program Evaluation helps practitioners clarify distinctions between what we evaluate, the various motivations for conducting evaluation, and the approaches attendant to each. Timely evaluation examples liberally sprinkled throughout this book make it exceptionally useful and helpful to practitioners. I highly recommend Program Evaluation.'Professor Marvin Alkin, UCLA Graduate School of Education + Information StudiesEveryone involved with policy and program development and delivery is being asked to plan more carefully, reflect more critically and justify their decisions. The key to this is evaluation. Program Evaluation offers a conceptual yet straightforward and practical overview of the evaluation process for both beginners and experienced practitioners. It shows evaluators how to identify appropriate forms, approaches and methods, using an original framework. John Owen examines the contributions of evaluation to program provision, and offers proven techniques for involving stakeholders in the planning process and for disseminating the evaluation findings.This third edition has been thoroughly revised to incorporate recent research on evaluation and new examples of good practice. It includes sections of management of evaluation, negotiating evaluation plans, program logic and ex ante evaluation, evidence based practice, performance management and accountability.With international examples from a range of health, education, welfare, community and other settings, Program Evaluation is an essential reference for anyone involved in evaluation in both the public and private sectors.

Make the best use of measurement approaches that gauge social behavior Here is a state-of-the-art examination of various approaches to measuring and assessing client functioning and specific aspects of clients' social environments. It examines numerous age groups and ethnic populations and makes use of cutting-edge methodologies in its examinations of measuring depression in children, measuring the neighborhood from a child's perspective, measuring and assessing family functioning, measuring spirituality, and measuring psychosocial problems in seriously mentally ill families. Helpful tables in each chapter make complex information easy to access and understand. Inside Approaches to Measuring Human Behavior in the Social Environment you'll find: a psychometric evaluation of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Childhood Diagnoses (KID-SCID) (with 4 tables) a clinical/psychometric perspective on using self-rating scales for assessing severely mentally ill individuals (with a chapter appendix and 2 tables) vital information on assessing the influence of tradition upon Chinese elders in order to provide culturally sensitive services (with 4 tables) a report on the psychometric properties of the Rap Music Attitude and Perception (RAP) Scale, an instrument designed to measure attitudes toward and perceptions of rap music (with 6 tables) a report on the assessment of self-esteem in people with severe mental illness (with 2 figures and 4 tables) a qualitative study of fourth and fifth graders' views of the neighborhoods they live in (with 5 figures and 2 tables) an NIMH- and USDHHS-funded study examining the reliability and validity of the Preschool Symptom Self-Report (PRESS) which measures depression in maltreated young children (with 4 tables) a study of advances designed to improve the reliability/validity of the North Carolina Family Assessment Scale (NCFAS) as it relates to placement and the prediction of future placement within the context of Intensive Family Preservation Services (IFPS) (with 1 figure and 7 tables) conformatory factor analyses of the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS) (with 3 figures and 4 tables) a report illustrating the development and empirical testing of the Spiritual Strategies Scale (SSS)a measure of spiritual supports used by older adults in managing challenges in their lives (with 4 tables) an examination of the validity of college students' responses to the Scale for the Identification of Acquaintance Rape Attitudes (SIARA), a measure designed to assess attitudes believed to be supportive of sexual violence within dating relationships (with 3 figures and 5 tables) Approaches to Measuring Human Behavior in the Social Environment is vital reading for master's and PhD level social workers, psychologists, counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychiatrists, and researchers in these fields.

Conventional statistical methods have a very serious flaw. They routinely miss differences among groups or associations among variables that are detected by more modern techniques, even under very small departures from normality. Hundreds of journal articles have described the reasons standard techniques can be unsatisfactory, but simple, intuitive explanations are generally unavailable. Situations arise where even highly nonsignificant results become significant when analyzed with more modern methods.

Without assuming the reader has any prior training in statistics, Part I of this book describes basic statistical principles from a point of view that makes their shortcomings intuitive and easy to understand. The emphasis is on verbal and graphical descriptions of concepts. Part II describes modern methods that address the problems covered in Part I. Using data from actual studies, many examples are included to illustrate the practical problems with conventional procedures and how more modern methods can make a substantial difference in the conclusions reached in many areas of statistical research.

The second edition of this book includes a number of advances and insights that have occurred since the first edition appeared. Included are new results relevant to medians, regression, measures of association, strategies for comparing dependent groups, methods for dealing with heteroscedasticity, and measures of effect size.

This book is a sustained argument for a creative and progressive social science. Modern social theory, despite an optimistic gloss, is profoundly pessimistic about social life and social inquiry. This pessimism is traced to the explanatory failures of social theory: failures that are shared by apparently disparate schools of thought. The book traces these similarities across non-Marxist and Marxist writings and in British, continental European and North American authors. It also shows the persistence of negative features over time, tracing cycles of hope to despair in successive generations.;Specific examples of explanatory problems given unprogressive treatment are chosen from the mainstream of current sociology. How the re-definition of categories and processes can solve these problems progressively is demonstrated. The object is to turn social science towards the real problems of society whose creative solution will expand human competence and practical resources.

Declining incomes and growing income inequality have led to a rise in poverty in the transition economies of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. This study examines poverty and social assistance in six countries--Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Russia, and Kyrgyz Republic--to compare the poverty profiles and the correlates of poverty between the two regions. The study finds that the profile of poverty is more sharply defined in Eastern Europe than in the former Soviet Union, where poverty is more widespread. This holds the potential for better targeting of social assistance in Eastern Europe, and the study proposes a novel two-step approach to identify the poor.

This handbook for the Methodology of Societal Complexity describes the theoretical development of the field and lays the foundation for the application of the Compram Methodology in the context of addressing complex societal problems. As such, it offers a valuable resource for scientists, practitioners, politicians, master and PhD students in the fields of methodology, the social sciences, operational research, management and political science and for all others who are professionally involved in handling complex societal problems. These problems are the kind that fill the front page of quality newspapers; they have a huge impact on society, involve a variety of phenomena and actors, and are therefore difficult to handle. The structured Compram Methodology provides sound guidelines for handling real-life societal problems democratically, sustainably and transparently. Examples of the use of the Compram Methodology are provided in the domain of global safety with regard to healthcare, economics, climate change, terrorism, large city problems, large technological projects and floods.

Complex societal problems must be treated as multi-disciplinary, multi-actor, multi-level and often as multi-continental issues. As such, they call for a multi-disciplinary and multi-actor approach that takes into account the emotional aspects of the problem and the problem handling process, including the micro, meso and macro level, which can be accomplished using the methods, models and tools from the field of the Methodology of Societal Complexity.

The Compram Methodology improves the problem handling process and increases the quality of interventions and therefore the quality of life. Handling complex societal problems can reduce conflicts, save money and ultimately even save lives.

Dorien J. DeTombe is an internationally recognized expert and founder of the theory of the Methodology of Societal Complexity and the Compram Methodology.

Qualitative Research: The Essential Guide to Theory and Practice provides a one-stop resource for all those approaching qualitative research for the first time, as well as those revisiting core concepts and issues. It presents a comprehensive overview of this rapidly developing field of inquiry, cleverly combined with practical, hands-on advice on how to conduct a successful qualitative study. Written in an engaging and accessible style, the authors break through difficult terminology to guide readers through the choices they will face during research design, implementation, and beyond. Each chapter is then brought to life by an array of relevant, real-life examples from expert researchers around the globe. Divided into seven sections, this unique text covers: Considering perspectives Acknowledging a position Framing the study Choosing a research approach Collecting data Working with data and findings Writing about the research From the foundations of the subject through to its application in practice, Qualitative Research: The Essential Guide to Theory and Practice is an indispensable companion for qualitative researchers worldwide. VAT will be charged on this product for UK customers only. VAT is charged at standard rate on a part of this product only.

This book features interviews with 19 scholars who do research with children in a variety of contexts. It examines how these key scholars address research 'after the child' by exploring the opportunities and challenges of drawing on posthumanist and materialist methodologies that unsettle humanist research practices. The book reflects on how posthumanist and materialist approaches have informed research in relation to de-centering the child, re-thinking methodological concepts of voice, agency, data, analysis and representation. It also explores what the future of research after the child might entail and offers suggestions to new and emerging scholars involved in research with children. Reviewing how posthumanist and materialist approaches have informed authors' thinking about children, research and knowledge production, the book will appeal to graduate students and emerging scholars in the field of childhood studies who wish to experiment with posthumanist methodologies and materialist approaches.

This title consists of 19 essays dealing with the medical knowledge and beliefs of cultures outside of the United States and Europe. In addition to articles surveying Islamic, Chinese, Native American, Aboriginal Australian, Indian, Egyptian, and Tibetan medicine, the book includes essays on comparing Chinese and western medicine and religion. The essays address the connections between medicine and culture and relate the medical practices to the cultures which produced them. Each essay is well illustrated and contains an extensive bibliography. Because the geographic range is global, the book should fill a gap in both the history of medicine and in cultural studies. It should find a place on the bookshelves of advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and scholars, as well as in libraries serving those groups.

In an age when continued financial and other support for teaching and research in sociology cannot be taken for granted, sociologists have been surprisingly slow to provide a clear statement of the achievements of sociology in the western world since 1950. What Has Sociology Achieved? does this by assembling twelve essays specially commissioned from distinguished authors, to which the editors add an introduction setting out the issues and a concluding chapter which draws together recurrent themes.

Predictions about the world have the power to grip whole societies, and shape the actions of many groups whether working in politics, ecology or religion. At the end of epochs and eras humans tend to reflect on the shape of things to come. Most recently, fears about the 'millennium bug' had thousands rushing to stock up on candles and food in the weeks before New Year's Eve.
Concerns about the future have been expressed differently throughout history. This book explores the historical context surrounding various debates, decisions and beliefs about the future in recent centuries. Religious, political, literary and ecological visions of the future in America and Germany are addressed comparatively. In particular, scholars from the United States and Germany explore the meaning of eschatological and utopian thoughts pursued during the last three centuries and tackle subjects ranging from science fiction to religious radicalism, utopian social experiments, and visions of race relations. This book delves into the hopes and fears for the future that have shaped the past and will be of interest to comparative historians as well as to historians of Europe and the United States intrigued by the subject of utopias.

This book examines multilateral interventions in civil conflicts and the evolution of the role of such interventions in world politics. It focuses primarily on the Cold War and post-Cold War eras and the differences between them. It contests the notion that there is an emerging norm of humanitarian intervention in international politics, arguing that political interests remain essential to the practice of intervention.

This bibliography is a current source of information for researchers, practitioners, and planners interested in the older volunteer. The authors conducted an extensive search of material on the older volunteer, with emphasis on those works published between 1980 and 1991. After identifying approximately 700 sources, the authors selected nearly 400 for inclusion in this reference. The entries are grouped in seven topical chapters, and each entry includes a succinct annotation. Included are entries for books and articles on particular programs, characteristics of older volunteers, sources of statistical information, empirical research, and special population groups. Author and subject indexes conclude the work.

Hierdie boek behandel vier hooftemas:

Die toekoms van Afrikaners in `n uiters onseker land;

Die aard van Afrikaans-wees en Afrikaner-wees - verlede, hede en toekoms;

Sleutelvoorwaardes vir `n vooruitstrewende Suid-Afrika;

Wat staan ons as Afrikaners te doen om `n goeie toekoms te help skep?

Gini's mean difference (GMD) was first introduced by Corrado Gini in 1912 as an alternative measure of variability. GMD and the parameters which are derived from it (such as the Gini coefficient or the concentration ratio) have been in use in the area of income distribution for almost a century. In practice, the use of GMD as a measure of variability is justified whenever the investigator is not ready to impose, without questioning, the convenient world of normality. This makes the GMD of critical importance in the complex research of statisticians, economists, econometricians, and policy makers. This book focuses on imitating analyses that are based on variance by replacing variance with the GMD and its variants. In this way, the text showcases how almost everything that can be done with the variance as a measure of variability, can be replicated by using Gini. Beyond this, there are marked benefits to utilizing Gini as opposed to other methods. One of the advantages of using Gini methodology is that it provides a unified system that enables the user to learn about various aspects of the underlying distribution. It also provides a systematic method and a unified terminology. Using Gini methodology can reduce the risk of imposing assumptions that are not supported by the data on the model. With these benefits in mind the text uses the covariance-based approach, though applications to other approaches are mentioned as well.

This volume, from the Policy Studies Organization, examines the role of presidential leadership in the development and implementation of civil rights policy in the United States. Covering a broad time period, the work takes a social scientific approach to the understanding of civil rights, utilizing both quantitative and archival research. The editors attempt to place and analyze civil rights in context--as a policy arena representative of broader presidential leadership concerns--and look at the development of civil rights policy since Brown v. Board of Education from the perspectives of (1) the public, (2) government institutions, and (3) particular policy arenas.