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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social research & statistics
This third out of four volumes by Richard Ned Lebow in this book series includes texts on psychology and international relations, causation, counterfactual analysis. The political psychology contributions draw on richer, ancient Greek understandings of the psyche and offer novel insights into strategies of conflict management, the role of emotions in international relations, and the modern fixation on identity.
This book addresses the impacts of various types of services such as infrastructure, platforms, software, and business processes that cloud computing and Big Data have introduced into business. Featuring chapters which discuss effective and efficient approaches in dealing with the inherent complexity and increasing demands in data science, a variety of application domains are covered. Various case studies by data management and analysis experts are presented in these chapters. Covered applications include banking, social networks, bioinformatics, healthcare, transportation and criminology. Highlighting the Importance of Big Data Management and Analysis for Various Applications will provide the reader with an understanding of how data management and analysis are adapted to these applications. This book will appeal to researchers and professionals in the field.
This book is an English language edition of the official social statistics compiled by the State Statistical Bureau of the People's Republic of China (SSB). It offers essential basic information on China's social development. In addition to the statistics, the book contains the SSB's Statistical Communique. The English language Editorial Board was responsible for the translation and annotation of this volume; it is composed of representatives of the China Statistical Information and Consultancy Service Center, an Affiliate of the SSB, and the China Statistical Archives, a research center of the University of Illinois at Chicago. This is the second volume of a series of statistical annuals being published by Praeger. The first in the series is China Statistical Abstract 1988, and future volumes will include China Urban Yearbook 1988, China Industrial Yearbook 1988, and China Price Yearbook 1988.
Public librarianship is a constantly changing field, and the direction of its development depends on theoretical and applied research. This book examines many of the research needs in public librarianship and discusses appropriate strategies to meet those needs. The chapters, written by active researchers in the public library field, reflect a variety of issues and opinions. Included are chapters on the evaluation of collections, community awareness of the library as an information source, models for library siting, and communication between librarians and public library educators. Recommendations for further investigations provided by the researchers identify possibilities for increasing knowledge in this field, and a bibliographic essay organizes and summarizes much of the work discussed in the text.
This Festschrift is published in honor of Alex C. Michalos, a great scholar and inspiration to many upcoming and famous academics and practitioners. The Festschrift celebrates his lifelong, outstanding scientific and cultural contribution to Quality of Life Research. It contains contributions written by the most prestigious and renowned scholars in the field of social indicators research and quality of life studies. Taken together, the contributions from scholars around the world reflect Michalos' stance that even though there may be differences in individual scientific positions, the language in the field of quality of life has no limits and boundaries.
This book presents a new economic theory developed from physical and biological principles. It explains how technology, social systems and economic values are intimately related to resources. Many people have recognized that mainstream (neoclassical) economic theories are not consistent with physical laws and often not consistent with empirical patterns, but most feel that economic activities are too complex to be described by a simple and coherent mathematical theory. While social systems are indeed complex, all life systems, including social systems, satisfy two principles. First, all systems need to extract resources from the external environment to compensate for their consumption. Second, for a system to be viable, the amount of resource extraction has to be no less than the level of consumption. From these two principles, we derive a quantitative theory of major factors in economic activities, such as fixed cost, variable cost, discount rate, uncertainty and duration. The mathematical theory enables us to systematically measure the effectiveness of different policies and institutional structures at varying levels of resource abundance and cost.The theory presented in this book shows that there do not exist universally optimal policies or institutional structures. Instead, the impacts of different policies or social structures have to be measured within the context of existing levels of resource abundance. As the physical costs of extracting resources rise steadily, many policy assumptions adopted in mainstream economic theories, and workable in times of cheap and abundant energy supplies and other resources, need to be reconsidered. In this rapidly changing world, the theory presented here provides a solid foundation for examining the long-term impacts of today's policy decisions.
This major textbook guides the reader through the basic definitions, fundamentals of design, and techniques of quantitative research. After an initial discussion on the nature of quantitative nursing research, the author explores research questions, hypotheses, causality, generalizability, and randomization. He then considers ethical issues in nursing research. After examining research designs, techniques for data gathering and analysis, and specialized techniques in quantitative research, the author proceeds to discuss the measurement of change, strategies for coping with missing data problems, and the dissemination of research results. Numerous examples, guides for further reading, and exercises to help the reader navigate the research literature are particular features of this textbook.
This volume provides a comprehensive analysis of why taxpayers behave the way they do. It reveals the motivations for why some taxpayers comply with the law while others choose not to comply. Given the current global financial climate there is a need for governments worldwide to increase their revenue collections via improving taxpayer compliance. Research into what shapes and influences taxpayer behavior is critical in that any marginal improvement in understanding and dealing with this behavior can potentially have a dramatic impact upon government revenue. Based on Australian data derived from the data bases of the Australian Taxation Office as an example, this book presents findings that provide lessons for tax systems around the world. Regardless of the type of tax system in place, taxpayers of all nationalities are concerned about how their tax authorities deal with non-compliance and in particular how the tax authorities go about encouraging compliance and ensuring a fair tax system for all. The book presents empirical evidence concerning taxpayer compliance behavior with particular attention being drawn to the moral values of taxpayers, the perceived fairness of the tax system and the deterrent measures undertaken by revenue authorities which influence that behavior. Other issues examined include the degree to which tax penalties operate as an effective deterrent to curbing behavior and how taxpayers' level of general tax knowledge and awareness also impacts upon their actions.
This book discusses the psychological traits associated with drug consumption through the statistical analysis of a new database with information on 1885 respondents and use of 18 drugs. After reviewing published works on the psychological profiles of drug users and describing the data mining and machine learning methods used, it demonstrates that the personality traits (five factor model, impulsivity, and sensation seeking) together with simple demographic data make it possible to predict the risk of consumption of individual drugs with a sensitivity and specificity above 70% for most drugs. It also analyzes the correlations of use of different substances and describes the groups of drugs with correlated use, identifying significant differences in personality profiles for users of different drugs. The book is intended for advanced undergraduates and first-year PhD students, as well as researchers and practitioners. Although no previous knowledge of machine learning, advanced data mining concepts or modern psychology of personality is assumed, familiarity with basic statistics and some experience in the use of probabilities would be helpful. For a more detailed introduction to statistical methods, the book provides recommendations for undergraduate textbooks.
University rankings have gained popularity around the world and are now a significant factor shaping reputation. This second edition updates Ellen Hazelkorn's first comprehensive study of rankings from a global perspective, drawing in new original research and extensive analysis. It is essential reading for policymakers, managers and scholars.
This proceedings book highlights the latest research and developments in psychometrics and statistics. Featuring contributions presented at the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Psychometric Society (IMPS), organized by the University of Zurich and held in Zurich, Switzerland from July 17 to 21, 2017, its 34 chapters address a diverse range of psychometric topics including item response theory, factor analysis, causal inference, Bayesian statistics, test equating, cognitive diagnostic models and multistage adaptive testing. The IMPS is one of the largest international meetings on quantitative measurement in psychology, education and the social sciences, attracting over 500 participants and 250 paper presentations from around the world every year. This book gathers the contributions of selected presenters, which were subsequently expanded and peer-reviewed.
This handbook presents a systematic overview of approaches to, diversity, and problems involved in interdisciplinary rating methodologies. Historically, the purpose of ratings is to achieve information transparency regarding a given body's activities, whether in the field of finance, banking, or sports for example. This book focuses on commonly used rating methods in three important fields: finance, sports, and the social sector. In the world of finance, investment decisions are largely shaped by how positively or negatively economies or financial instruments are rated. Ratings have thus become a basis of trust for investors. Similarly, sports evaluation and funding are largely based on core ratings. From local communities to groups of nations, public investment and funding are also dependent on how these bodies are continuously rated against expected performance targets. As such, ratings need to reflect the consensus of all stakeholders on selected aspects of the work and how to evaluate their success. The public should also have the opportunity to participate in this process. The authors examine current rating approaches from a variety of proposals that are closest to the public consensus, analyzing the rating models and summarizing the methods of their construction. This handbook offers a valuable reference guide for managers, analysts, economists, business informatics specialists, and researchers alike.
This volume was completed to offer essential basic information on China's economic and social development in 1989, and to illustrate the major trends in this development since 1978. "China Statistical Abstract 1990" contains key statistics for principal sections of the national economy by selected years since 1978. There are nine sections: General Survey; Population and Labor Force; Agriculture; Industry; Transportation, Postal and Telecommunication Services; Investment in Fixed Assets; Finance; Trade and Price; People's Livelihood; Education, Science, Culture, Public Health, and Sports. With the exception of the total surface area of the country, figures for Taiwan are not included in the national figures. Some figures in this survey are provisional, and the final ones will appear in the "Statistical Yearbook of China." This book is a revised English language edition of the official "China Statistical Abstract" published by the State Statistical Bureau of the People's Republic of China (SSB). The SSB compiled all the statistics contained in this edition. The reader should note some additions and corrections in "China Statistical Abstract 1990." For example, several tables in Section 1 contain Gross National Product statistics from 1978 to 1989. Some adjustments on data from 1978 to 1988 have also been made for three reasons. First, data in some tables have been adjusted in accord with changes in the definition of concepts and measurements. Second, because the information used in this volume is obtained from preliminary reports of branch sections of the SSB, data are revised after the final reports are completed. Third, some minor changes have been made due to rounding off of data published in previous years.
In Soviet literature, this theoretical study of the evolution of Third World countries represents one of the first efforts to deviate from dogmatic Stalinist methodology in analyzing Eastern and Western societies. Nodari Simonia compares two Western models of capitalist development and describes a third model in the developing countries when analyzing the processes of socio-economic and state-political development of countries in Asia and North Africa. Simonia also provides case studies of the third model--of parliamentary authoritarianism in India and Malaysia; of controlled democracy in Indonesia, Pakistan, and Egypt; and absolutist regimes in Saudi Arabia and Iran under the Shah. This unusual synthesis by a senior Soviet scholar should provoke considerable interest among academics and professionals engaged in Soviet, political theory, and social and economic development studies. This initial study in Greenwood's new Series on Soviet and American Studies on the Third World first defines the major characteristics of countries in Western Europe where the birth of capitalism was a spontaneous process, and then points to other countries where capitalism arrived later and transitional and catch up processes were needed. The first part of the book gives a historical explanation for much of what is happening in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe today. The second part discusses the emergence and development of capitalism in Eastern or Oriental countries and how capitalism was introduced and developed under external military-political pressures. Simonia also shows how colonialism was an objectively inevitable process. The author counters traditional Soviet views and also argues against some Western and Oriental scholars on questions concerning the synthesis of traditional and modern characteristics in Asia and North Africa. The third part of the book examines different versions of synthesis in these states. A short bibliography and index complete the book.
In The Rhythm of Modernization, Raul Tormos analyses the pace at which belief systems change across the developed world during the modernization process. It is often assumed that value change follows the slow rhythm of generational replacement. This book, however, reports trends that contradict this assumption in the field of values. Challenging Inglehart's modernization theory, the transition from traditional to modern values happens much quicker than predicted. Many "baby-boomers" who were church-going, morally conservative materialists when they were young, become unchurched and morally tolerant postmaterialists in their later years. Using surveys from multiple countries over many years, and applying cutting-edge statistical techniques, this book shows how citizens quickly adapt their belief systems to new circumstances throughout their lives.
This leading-edge study focuses on the latest techniques in analysing and representing the complex, multi-layered data now available to geographers studying urban zones and their populations. The volume tracks the successful results of the SPANGEO Project, which was set up in 2005 to standardize, and share, the syncretic, multinational mapping techniques already developed by geographers and computer scientists. SPANGEO sought new and responsive ways of visualising urban geographical and social data that reflected the fine-grained detail of the inputs. It allowed for visual representation of the large and complex networks and flows which are such an integral feature of the dynamism of urban geography. SPANGEO developed through the 'visual analytics loop' in which geographers collaborated with computer scientists by feeding data into the design of visualisations that in turn spawned the urge to incorporate more varied data into the visualisation. This volume covers all the relevant aspects, from conceptual principles to the tools of network analysis and the actual results flowing from their deployment. Detailed case studies set out in this volume include spatial multi-level analyses of flows in airports and sea ports, as well as the fascinating scientific networks in European cities. The volume shows how the primary concern of geography-the interaction of society with physical space-has been revivified by the complexities of new cartographical and statistical methodologies, which allow for highly detailed mapping and far more powerful computer analysis of spatial relationships."
This book gives a general view of sequence analysis, the statistical study of successions of states, events or actions, one of the most promising venues of social science methodology.It includesinnovative contributions on life course studies, transitions into and out of work, contemporaneous and historical careers, time use, residential trajectories and political careers. The approach presented in this book is now central to the life-course perspective and the study of other social processes. This book promotes the dialogue between approaches to sequence analysis that developed separately, within traditions contrasted in space and disciplines. It includes the latest developments about sequential concepts, coding, atypical datasets and time patterns, optimal matching and alternative algorithms, survey optimization and visualization. Field studies include original sequential material related to parenting in 19th-century Belgium, higher education and work in Finland and Italy, family formation before and after German reunification, French Jews persecuted in occupied France, long-term trends in electoral participation and regime democratization. Overall the book reassesses the classical uses of sequences as well as it promotes new ways of collecting, formatting, representing and processing them. The introduction provides basic sequential concepts and tools, as well as a history of the method. Chapters are presented in a way that is both accessible to the beginner and informative to the expert."
In Beyond Alternative Teacher Education, John Watzke and his fellow contributors present a bold vision for teacher education that moves the dialogue into new realms of inquiry. Pairing teacher reflective narratives with scholarly chapters, the volume presents the case for programs of teacher formation based in the communal, social and spiritual dimensions of teaching and educational leadership. Beginning with historical tradition and program design, the book also speaks to the importance of the work of program graduates, their professional preparedness, and leadership development. Beyond Alternative Teacher Education will challenge readers to reexamine their notions of what it means to be prepared for work in education and to serve society through education. "Beyond Alternative Teacher Education presents the case for ACE as the continuing of a tradition of 'service and justice' as carried out by the educational ministry of religious orders. The three 'pillars' of ACE, i.e., professional development, community and spirituality, show that ACE is more than simply an alternative teacher preparation program, it is a model of faith in action and a model of teacher formation." Thomas C. Hunt Professor of Education, University of Dayton Co-editor, Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry & Practice "Community, spirituality and leadership-these are not themes sounded frequently in discussions of teacher education. Beyond Alternative Teacher Education, however, puts them at the center, thereby creating a collection that offers new perspectives on what 'alternative' teacher education might mean. This is a book for all teacher educators." Anne Ruggles Gere Professor of English and Professor ofEducation, University of Michigan Past President, National Council of Teachers of English "Beyond Alternative Teacher Education makes an important and unique contribution to the field of teacher education. It moves this dialogue past the short-sighted political fray and into enduring, real and compelling issues of teacher formation. The volume's chapters effectively pair scholarship and practical experience. The ACE programmatic model, one that merges professional, communal, and spiritual traditions in Catholic education, has grown nationally as a movement in programs of teacher and leadership education. This work represents a foundational and significant contribution to the field of Catholic education and the study of teacher formation." Terry A. Osborn Professor and Chair, Division of Curriculum and Teaching, Fordham University
Research Justice (RJ) is a strategic framework and methodological intervention that seeks to transform structural inequities in research. Research Justice: Methodologies for Social Change builds upon the methodological frameworks developed by the national non-profit organization, DataCenter Research for Justice and is the first book to take a radical approach to socially just, community centred research. Challenging traditional models for conducting social science research within marginalized populations, it examines the relationships and intersections between research, knowledge construction, and political power/legitimacy in society. Presenting a new and highly innovative concept of Collective Ceremonial Research Responsiveness, it envisions equal political power and legitimacy for different forms of knowledge including the cultural, spiritual and experiential. The book examines how the co-existence of these various forms of knowledge can lead to greater equality in public policies and laws that rely on data and research to produce social change.Offering a much-needed analysis of the intersections between Research Methods, Public Policy, Cultural Studies, Anthropology, and Sociology, this unique book will be of wide interest to researchers and students in a variety of disciplines
This book draws on research in Australia, Canada, UK, and US into the experiences of doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers and new academics. Each chapter develops research-informed implications for policy and practice to support developing academics, and concludes with commentaries by early career academics, developers and administrators.
How accurately did Western political scientists portray the political, economic, and social developments in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe over the last forty years? How did scholars' perspectives, methods, and findings differ, and what were the principal research trends during the Communist era that recently ended in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union? This comprehensive and definitive critical history of Soviet Studies takes stock of the achievements and shortcomings in Western research on the region's politics. It serves as a who's who of Western Sovietologists, and it identifies many prominent political scientists from the former Communist states. This major reference opens with an overview of sources of research, an analysis of different approaches and perspectives to the study of the region since 1956, and an assessment of post-sovietological literature of the 1990s. The volume contains individual chapters on the former USSR and the eight East European states. Cross-national chapters include two on Soviet and East European international politics, two on Soviet and East European economic reforms, and one on comparative communist studies. An appendix points to Russian and East European research centers and programs around the world. A general index makes it easy to access the names of authors and subjects. This landmark reference should prove to be stimulating reading for the many political scientists, historians, sociologists, and economists, once engaged in Soviet studies and for the new generation of scholars who bring fresh analytical approaches to evaluating the region's politics. |
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