Students’ school motivation and engagement are key contributors to the quality of their academic learning and performance, as well as growth in other important areas of life (social, emotional, and physical health). Fostering motivation and engagement is thus a meaningful educational purpose, both in and of itself and as a pathway to holistic student development. However, motivation and engagement do not develop in a vacuum, and effort seeking to facilitate them cannot be effectively pursued without understanding their underpinning sociocultural influences. In the first edition of this volume, “Big Theories Revisited” (McInerney & Van Etten, 2004), authors of major models of school motivation and engagement were ‘challenged’ to look into their theoretical work through a sociocultural lens. The volume has been well received as objectively reflected in the number of citations of its chapters. Significant progress has since been made in the theorizing and research of ‘big theories’ of school motivation and engagement. In this volume, we invited a group of internationally-renowned scholars to re-examine their theoretical and conceptual work by highlighting the ‘what’ (factors) and ‘how’ (processes) of sociocultural influences in association with the key motivation and/or engagement construct(s) of their expertise. We made it clear to our contributors that we solicited new chapters rather than chapters with merely rehashed materials. As a result, this volume, “Big Theories Revisited 2” (Liem & McInerney, 2018) contains chapters that critically discuss sociocultural influences on school motivation and engagement constructs as viewed from focal theories including self-determination theory, achievement goal theory, personal investment theory, expectancy value theory, self-efficacy theory, self- and co-regulated learning models, and many others. Whereas some of the chapter topics covered in the initial edition are also part of this edition, some are new and provide fresh sociocultural angles on achievement-relevant processes and outcomes. Likewise, whereas some of the authors contributed to the earlier edition of the Volume, many of them are different. What appears to be the same across the two editions is the scholarly distinction of the authors and the substantive rigor of the chapters in advancing our current understanding of this field of enquiry. Readers will learn much from and be inspired by stimulating ideas presented in this volume.

Every time the economy goes through a period of crisis, Keynes’ name is called upon by economists and politicians from diverse backgrounds. However, 70 years after the publication of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, specialists are still far—maybe everyday further—from reaching agreement about the genuine contents of Keynes’ most important work. This controversy has been marked by a paradoxical turn: it is above all the literature about Keynes which, in the last decades, has imposed the terms of the debate, while The General Theory lacks readers. Accused by both its detractors and admirers of being a confusing book that is inconsistent and even plagued with logical errors, the most important contribution of the most influential economist of the 20th century has been condemned to be forgotten or, at best, to live uncomfortably in the voices of those who have spoken on his behalf. This book is the result of rigorous critical research which reconstructs the spectrum of discussion surrounding Keynes’ main work. The book begins by describing the historical background and the state of the pre-Keynesian economic theory, subsequently immersing the reader in a concise but detailed—as well as innovative— interpretation of the original text. The revision of some of the main interpretative currents prepares the field for the book’s ultimate contribution: the identification of the fundamentals that sustain the analytical structure of The General Theory. At the same time, this exploration of the theoretical fundamentals of The General Theory makes this book an original intervention on the genesis and relevance of the divide between micro and macroeconomics—a division that has been fully accepted by contemporary macro theorists.

Robert H. MacArthur and Edward O. Wilson's The Theory of Island Biogeography, first published by Princeton in 1967, is one of the most influential books on ecology and evolution to appear in the past half century. By developing a general mathematical theory to explain a crucial ecological problem--the regulation of species diversity in island populations--the book transformed the science of biogeography and ecology as a whole. In The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited, some of today's most prominent biologists assess the continuing impact of MacArthur and Wilson's book four decades after its publication. Following an opening chapter in which Wilson reflects on island biogeography in the 1960s, fifteen chapters evaluate and demonstrate how the field has extended and confirmed--as well as challenged and modified--MacArthur and Wilson's original ideas. Providing a broad picture of the fundamental ways in which the science of island biogeography has been shaped by MacArthur and Wilson's landmark work, The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited also points the way toward exciting future research.

Modernization has effected a profound change in human civilizations and is a global trend since the 18th century. It includes not only the great change and transformation from traditional to modern politics, economies, societies and cultures, but also all human development and protection of the natural environment. Almost all nations in the world are undergoing some kind of modernization consciously or unconsciously, and the modernization drive can also be set as a national goal if they will. The first International Modernization Forum: Modernization and Global Change was held in Beijing in 2013. This volume, emanating from invaluable discussions at the forum, covers research on global modernization, multiple modernities, modernization theory, modernization science, modernization policy, and world modernization indexes.Global Modernization Review offers a collective understanding of the modernization phenomenon and provides invaluable guidance for further study, and significant international and interdisciplinary cooperation for researches on modernization.

This title was first published in 2001. An important critical study of the theories of dependency both past and present. Since the theories of dependency are based on the Marxian notion of exploitation and backwardness, the book starts with the elaboration of the Marxian theory of development and underdevelopment. The book analyses various concepts and precepts of dependency as well as critically discussing the individual theories of Baran, Frank, Amin, Emmanuel, Prebisch and Singer. The contributions of more recent writers including Furtado, Kay, Wallerstein and Marini are also considered. The main focus of the book lies in the thorough analysis of all the important traditional as well as modern theories of dependency. The main message of the present book is that the phenomenology of dependency is still relevant as a methodology of study of development and underdevelopment. The book incorporates some pressing contemporary issues to give fresh flavour to the old dependency debate. A special feature of the book lies in the critical appraisal for each of the theories studied. The book is designed to serve as a valuable compendium for students of economic development and political economy and for those interested in the study of the economic backwardness of the Third World countries.

Modeled after the 1961 ground-breaking book The Genesis Flood by Drs. Whitcomb and Morris, this detailed work builds on that classic volume with new insights from decades of work by the author, Dr. Andrew Snelling, and numerous colleagues. This recent revolution in geology and the explosion in geological research have established an even firmer basis for understanding the biblical Flood with a God-honoring foundation — the absolute authority and inerrancy of God’s Word. Examine details of the Creation Week as it builds a solid scriptural case for the Flood’s catastrophic nature and global extent. Find decisive answers to many questions about the Flood and Noah’s Ark, its construction, and the animals taken onboard. Delve deeply into astonishing geological details that unfold from the early chapters of Genesis, including the Creation Week and the pre-Flood world. Explore detailed evidence and a concise, informative 30-page color section with diagrams, maps, and more! Dr. Snelling jettisons the faulty evolutionary-uniformitarian assumptions used by most geologists and instead, interprets compelling new geological and observed field data within the biblical framework for the earth’s history. He also demonstrates that fossils were catastrophically buried in sedimentary layers being deposited rapidly on a global scale on the continental plates derived from the violent rifting apart of the original supercontinent. His work demolishes radiometric dating, the icon of the millions of years dogma, and builds a thoroughly powerful case for a young earth that explains many geological features such as varves, evaporites, coal, oil, chalk, granites, and more that biblical skeptics sadly have used to scoff at God’s Word. Discover the powerful truth behind the earth’s most enduring mysteries!

The contributions in this volume go beyond the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor complementing it in a number of relevant ways. Some of the papers argue for a more dynamic, interdisciplinary approach to metaphor looking into it from semiotic, psychological and socio-cultural perspectives. Other contributions focus on the crucial role played by metaphor and metonymy in meaning construction at a discourse/textual level. Finally, the volume also includes proposals which revolve around the alleged universal nature of metaphorical mappings and their suitability to account for grammatical phenomena. The contributions in this volume display an ample gamut of theoretical approaches pointing to the viability of taking a functional-cognitive stance on the analysis of metaphor and metonymy in contrast to a purely cognitive one. This book is structured into three major sections: i) the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor: revisions and recent developments; ii) metaphor and/or metonymy across different discourse/genre types; and iii) the Contemporary Theory of Metaphor: current applications. Originally published in Review of Cognitive Linguistics 9:1 (2011).

The sodium theory revisited (45 years of a full time CNRS neurophysiologist). The sodium theory has been elegantly proposed by Hodkin, Huxley and Katz in the early fifties, after their experiments on Plymouth squids, to account for the role of sodium and potassium ions in nerve activity. Since then, the electrophysiological techniques and the data acquisition techniques have known an amazing development. In this short paper, Yves Pichon wants to give an account of what happened since then in different laboratories (mostly marine) with a variety invertebrate species and mostly insects. One of the most important technical development has been the use of single cockroach axons which have been found to behave very much like squid axons. Another, almost simultaneous development which revealed extremely useful for the understanding of the nerve function was "in situ" microelectrode recording which enables an indirect analysis of the extraaxonal environement. Experiments on several species indicate that the CNS is protected from the ionic environment by a blood-brain barrier. On the other hand, quite unexpectedly, little ion accumation is detected in the vicinity of the axonal membrane in physiological conditions. Another innovating technique was the 'patch-clamp' technique which enables the recording of the activity of individual ionic channels in cultured neurones. The last chapter of this report is devoted to different mechansims leading to repetitive activity through modificatrion of the sodium and potassium axonal conductances.

This book explores foundational theories that have been applied in open and distance education (ODE) research and refined to reflect advances in research and practice. In addition, it develops new theories emerging from recent developments in ODE. The book provides a unique and up-to-date source of information for ODE scholars and graduate students, enabling them to make sense of essential theory, research and practice in their field, and to comprehend the gaps in, and need for further enquiry into, theoretical approaches in the digital era. It also offers theory-based advice and guidelines for practitioners, helping them make and justify decisions and actions concerning the development, implementation, research and evaluation of ODE.

Sponsored by Division 15 of APA, the second edition of this groundbreaking book has been expanded to 41 chapters that provide unparalleled coverage of this far-ranging field. Internationally recognized scholars contribute up-to-date reviews and critical syntheses of the following areas: foundations and the future of educational psychology, learners’ development, individual differences, cognition, motivation, content area teaching, socio-cultural perspectives on teaching and learning, teachers and teaching, instructional design, teacher assessment, and modern perspectives on research methodologies, data, and data analysis. New chapters cover topics such as adult development, self-regulation, changes in knowledge and beliefs, and writing. Expanded treatment has been given to cognition, motivation, and new methodologies for gathering and analyzing data. The Handbook of Educational Psychology, Second Edition provides an indispensable reference volume for scholars, teacher educators, in-service practitioners, policy makers and the academic libraries serving these audiences. It is also appropriate for graduate level courses devoted to the study of educational psychology.