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.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Britain stood at the forefront of science and statistics and had a long and respected tradition of social investigation and reform. But it still did not yet have a 'science of society.' When, in the early 1900s, a small band of enthusiasts got together to address this situation, the scene was set for a grand synthesis. No such synthesis ever took place and, instead, British sociology has followed a resolutely non-statistical path. Sociology and Statistics in Britain, 1833-1979 investigates how this curious situation came about and attempts to explain it from an historical perspective. It uncovers the prevalence of a deep and instinctive distrust within British sociology of the statistical methodology and mindset, resulting in a mix of quiet indifference and active hostility, which has persisted from its beginnings right up to the present day. While British sociology has thrived institutionally since the post-war expansion of higher education, this book asks whether or not it is poorer for having failed to recognise that statistics provides the foundations for the scientific study of society and for having missed opportunities to build upon those foundations. Ultimately, this important, revealing and timely book is about British sociology's refusal to come to grips with a modern scientific way of thinking which no discipline that aspires to an effective study of society can afford to ignore.

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.

This book focuses on the reality of China's modern judiciary, systematically demonstrating and discussing the judicial philosophy and judicial ethics as applied by Chinese courts and judges. In order to illustrate the methods of jurisprudence and sociology of law in the context of China's judicial practice and practicability of applicable laws, it also addresses judicial methodology and Chinese judges' trial methods. Based on comparative study and aiming at global judicial reform, the book provides valuable guidance and insights for readers pursuing a detailed understanding of modern Chinese judiciary, Chinese judges and Chinese rule of law. The book is intended to primarily serve the need of legal professionals around the world, in particular those who are interested in China's judicial system.

This book sets out a new and distinctive means of conceptualising research in the field of Education: 'Freedom Research'. Freedom research is a conceptual understanding of research free from the strictures of orthodoxy; which adapts or knowingly critiques conventions about the ways in which research should be conducted. Underpinning this concept is the argument that the conventions of traditional approaches to research in education may be both confidence-sapping and constrictive to both the early career and mature educational researcher. By critiquing the boundaries of a socially constructed discipline, the researcher may then be liberated to research with freedom, creativity and innovation. This pioneering volume will assist the researcher to become more autonomous, and by extension more confident, in their own research practice. It will be of appeal to scholars, students and researchers in Education, of all stages of their career.

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 summarizes the international evidence on methodological issues in standard setting in education. By critically discussing the standard-setting practices implemented in the Nordic countries and by presenting new methodological approaches, it offers fresh perspectives on the current research. Standard setting targets crucial societal objectives by defining educational benchmarks at different achievement levels, and provides feedback to policy makers, schools and teachers about the strengths and weaknesses of a school system. Given that the consequences of standard setting can be dramatic, the quality of standard setting is a prime concern. If it fails, repercussions can be expected in terms of arbitrary evaluations of educational policy, wrong turns in school or teacher development or misplacement of individual students. Standard setting therefore needs to be accurate, reliable, valid, useful, and defensible. However, specific evidence on the benefits and limits of different approaches to standard setting is rare and scattered, and there is a particular lack with respect to standard setting in the Nordic countries, where the number of national tests is increasing and there are concerns about the time and effort spent on testing at schools without feedback being provided. Addressing this gap, the book offers a discussion on standard setting by respected experts as well as profound and innovative insights into fundamental aspects of standard setting including conclusions for future methodological and policy-related research.

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.

Over the past decades Europe has witnessed fundamental changes of its population dynamics and population structure. Fertility has fallen below replacement level in almost all European countries, while childbearing behavior and family formation have become more diverse. Life expectancy has increased in Western Europe for both females and males, but has been declining for men in some Eastern European countries. Immigration from non-European countries has increased substantially, as has mobility within Europe. These changes pose major challenges to population studies, as conventional theoretical assumptions regarding demographic behavior and demographic development seem unfit to provide convincing explanations of the recent demographic changes. This book, derived from the symposium on "The Demography of Europe" held at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany in November 2007 in honor of Professor Jan M. Hoem, brings together leading population researchers in the area of fertility, family, migration, life-expectancy, and mortality. The contributions present key issues of the new demography of Europe and discuss key research advances to understand the continent's demographic development at the turn of the 21st century.

The book explores different approaches towards the 'entrepreneurial university' paradigm, explores channels and mechanism used by universities to implement the paradigm and contributes to the public discussion on the impact of commercialization on university research and knowledge. It argues that different types of university-industry interaction may have repercussions even on funding of basic research if an appropriate balance is ensured between the two. University activities - both research and education in all forms - should provide economic and social relevance directed towards open science and open innovation. This book adds value to current knowledge by presenting both a conceptual framework and case studies which describe different contexts.

This book presents various recently developed and traditional statistical techniques, which are increasingly being applied in social science research. The social sciences cover diverse phenomena arising in society, the economy and the environment, some of which are too complex to allow concrete statements; some cannot be defined by direct observations or measurements; some are culture- (or region-) specific, while others are generic and common. Statistics, being a scientific method - as distinct from a 'science' related to any one type of phenomena - is used to make inductive inferences regarding various phenomena. The book addresses both qualitative and quantitative research (a combination of which is essential in social science research) and offers valuable supplementary reading at an advanced level for researchers.

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 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.

What are the common challenges that researchers face when designing and performing research? What are the choices and trade-offs that social scientists encounter when seeking to implement a fascinating idea? This volume brings together world-leading scholars from a range of political research methodologies and sub-areas in order to show how they have dealt with these challenges during the research process. Looking at every stage of the research process, Political Science Research Methods in Action showcases common problems that affect diverse research approaches and shows how they were encountered and resolved. Aiming to help researchers - whether new or experienced - to take control of their research, this volume brings the research process to life and shows how actual research is 'done' within the frameworks of core methodological principles that guide research design.

The use of mixed methods designs for conducting research has become a major trend in social science research. Renowned methodological experts Janice Morse and Linda Niehaus present a guide to intermediate and experienced researchers on the possibilities inherent in mixed method research. They offer the basic principles of conducting this kind of study, then examine a wide variety of design options available to the researcher, including their strengths and weaknesses and when to use them. Providing examples from a variety of disciplines, examining potential threats to validity, and showing the relationship between method and theory, the book will be a valuable addition to the methodologist's library and a useful text in courses in research design.

*A WATERSTONES 'BEST POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR'* *A TIMES 'BEST PHILOSOPHY AND IDEAS' BOOK OF 2021* *A GUARDIAN 'BEST POLITICS BOOKS OF THE YEAR'* LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 BUSINESS BOOK AWARD 'A brilliant manifesto explaining why women are still so underestimated and overlooked in today's world, but how we can also be hopeful for change' - Philippa Perry 'An impassioned, meticulously argued and optimistic call to arms for anyone who cares about creating a fairer society' - Observer __________ Imagine living in a world in which you were routinely patronised by women. Imagine having your views ignored or your expertise frequently challenged by them. Imagine people always addressing the woman you are with before you. Now imagine a world in which the reverse of this is true. The Authority Gap provides a startling perspective on the unseen bias at work in our everyday lives, to reveal the scale of the gap that still persists between men and women. Would you believe that US Supreme Court Justices are interrupted four times more often than male ones... 96% of the time by men? Or that British parents, when asked to estimate their child's IQ will place their son at 115 and their daughter at 107? Marshalling a wealth of data with precision and insight, and including interviews with pioneering women such as Baroness Hale, Mary Beard and Bernadine Evaristo, Mary Ann exposes unconscious bias in this fresh feminist take on how to address and counteract systemic sexism in ways that benefit us all. Includes interviews with pioneering women such as: Baroness Hale Mary Beard Bernadine Evaristo Mary McAleese Julia Gillard Dolly Alderton and Pandora Sykes Cherie Blair Liz Truss Amber Rudd Frances Morris Laura Bates __________ 'Hugely exciting' - Emily Maitlis 'Deeply researched, profoundly thoughtful and a book very much for the here and now: Mary Ann Sieghart's The Authority Gap is the book she was probably born to write' - Andrew Marr 'At last here is a credible roadmap that is capable of taking women from the margins to the centre by bridging the authority gap that holds back even the best and most talented of women. - Mary McAleese, Former President of Ireland

R is a powerful and free software system for data analysis and graphics, with over 5,000 add-on packages available. This book introduces R using SAS and SPSS terms with which you are already familiar. It demonstrates which of the add-on packages are most like SAS and SPSS and compares them to R's built-in functions. It steps through over 30 programs written in all three packages, comparing and contrasting the packages' differing approaches. The programs and practice datasets are available for download. The glossary defines over 50 R terms using SAS/SPSS jargon and again using R jargon. The table of contents and the index allow you to find equivalent R functions by looking up both SAS statements and SPSS commands. When finished, you will be able to import data, manage and transform it, create publication quality graphics, and perform basic statistical analyses. This new edition has updated programming, an expanded index, and even more statistical methods covered in over 25 new sections.

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."

Feminist researchers have produced a large body of critical scholarship on methodologies as they pertain to the study of women. However, questions about issues such as power, positionality and ethics in research related to men and masculinities have remained largely unaddressed. This is despite the fact that research on men and masculinities has grown exponentially in recent years, as is evidenced by the increasing number of scholarly books and journals on the subject. In this book researchers reflect on their experiences of studying men and masculinities from the perspective of topics ranging from internet dating and violence to social inclusion and rock climbing. They also canvass how we can address difference and diversity amongst men and between masculinities in our methodological approaches. Through the lens of masculinity studies the authors contribute to broader methodological debates about subjects such as field access, insider-outsider positioning and qualitative versus quantitative approaches.

Research as a Tool for Empowerment: Theory Informing Practice will be an edited volume that will include an array of research-based chapters that not only further the field of second/foreign language research, but that also provide practical implications to language classrooms in international and national settings. Unlike previous anthologies in second/foreign language research, this proposed volume will present studies from various research paradigms: quantitative, qualitative, teacher-research, and mixed-methods research. Each of these three sections is tied together by the overall theme of empowerment.

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.

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 explores the concept of nation branding - what it is and how it works - through an instructive case of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, where 190 countries showcased their national cultures to a predominantly Chinese audience. The comparative analysis of national pavilions (including Brazil, India, Israel, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and the United States) demonstrates how a place-branding activity, such as the World Expo, facilitates communication to build a nation's image, thereby enhancing its soft power. As nation-branding efforts will only increase in the coming years, this study forms an important basis for future inquiry.