Social research efforts are often more concerned with basic social processes or patterns than with the dynamic relationship between social processes and social institutions. In this classic collection, contributors posit generalizations drawn from contemporary sociology. Their analyses go beyond elementary principles - they interpret them, qualify them, or state them more precisely. Each of the contributors focuses on the modern American social structure, and they are either explicitly comparative or have made observations that clearly are meant to apply to many countries.This volume both embodies and draws attention to newer developments in sociology. Like most steps forward in an advancing science, this orientation does not reject the older knowledge accumulated during earlier generations, but incorporates and expands upon it. The differences are in emphasis rather than any denial of the main body of accepted theory. On the other hand, the collection may be said to represent a response to the many criticisms, by humanists and sociologists alike, of the mainstream of contemporary sociology as it existed at the time of original publication in the late 1960s.Inquiries into social changes, like sociological studies of historical phenomena, may be viewed as modes of a comparative sociology: They permit us to test more fully sociological generalizations. The emphasis in this volume on historical and comparative studies and on social change parallels the growing attention of sociology to these problems. During the 1960s, social science turned from a nearly exclusive preoccupation with middle-class populations to a concern with social relations in other societies, past as well as present. In addition to enriching our knowledge, this broader view has increased both the precision and generalizing power of sociological principles.

This book brings together, in systematic and generalized form, the main outlines of a conceptual scheme for the analysis of the structure and processes of social systems. It carries out Pareto's intention by using the "structural-functional" level of analysis.

This classic work is a revised and abridged version, in a single volume, of the work which more than any other catapulted Pitirim Sorokin into being one of the most famed figures of twentieth-century sociology. Its original publication occurred before World War II. This revised version, written some twenty years later, reflects a postwar environment. Earlier than most, Sorokin took the consequences of the breakdown of colonialism into account in discussing the renaissance of the great cultures of African and Asian civilization. Other than perhaps F.S.C. Northrop, no individual better incorporated the new role of the Indian, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic peoples in this postwar world. Sorokin came to view social and cultural dynamics in terms of three major processes: a major shift of mankind's creative center from Europe to the Pacific; a progressive disintegration of the sensate culture; and finally the first blush of the emergence and growth of a new idealistic sociocultural order. This volume is perhaps most famous for revealing Sorokin's remarkable efforts to understand the relationship of war and peace to the process of social and political change. Contrary to received wisdom, he shows that the magnitude and depth of war grows in periods of social, cultural, and territorial expansion by the nation. In short, war is just as often a function of development as it is of social decay. This long-unavailable volume remains one of the major touchstones by which we can judge efforts to create an international social science. There are few areas of social or cultural life that are not covered—from painting, art, and music, to the ethos of universalism and particularism. These are terms which Sorokin introduced into the literature long before the rise of functional doctrines. For all those interested in cultural and historical processes, this volume provides the essence of Sorokin's remarkably prescient effort to achieve sociological transcendence, by takin

The eagerly anticipated second edition of this popular textbook captures the excitement and relevance to everyday life of the fascinating and fast-moving field of social psychology. This book is a comprehensive and lively guide to the subject that extensively reappraises classic studies, highlights cutting-edge areas of research and provides fascinating examples of how social psychological theory and research apply to a wide range of real-world issues such as fake news, internet addiction and cyberbullying. Innovative interactive features, including 'exploring further' activities, 'applying social psychology' exercises and 'student project spotlights', place the student experience at the heart of this book. Its engaging and inclusive approach helps students to develop a strong and nuanced understanding of key topics in social psychology and also encourages broader skills that will help not only in their studies but their future careers. This is the ideal textbook for students studying social psychology. New to this Edition: - Thoroughly revised to highlight the most up-to-date research in the discipline and re-appraise classic studies, theories and perspectives on topics such as obedience, bystander intervention and the Stanford Prison Experiment. - The introductory chapter includes a new guide to critical thinking which outlines theory and research on what critical thinking involves and provides useful guidance for students on how to become effective critical thinkers. - Important coverage of the reproducibility of social psychological research. - More examples of how social psychological theory and research apply to current real-world issues such as fake news, internet addiction, human-animal relations, intergroup conflict, cyberbullying and politics. - Up-to-date coverage of the impact of online communication and social media on social psychological phenomena. - A distinctive final chapter summarising key points of wisdom in social psychology and skills that students can gain from their studies. Accompanying online resources for this title can be found at bloomsburyonlineresources.com/social-psychology-2e. These resources are designed to support teaching and learning when using this textbook and are available at no extra cost.

Addresses current issues of research into socio-technical systems (STSs). Provides suggestions on how social knowledge can synergize with technical knowledge.

Introduces students to legalistic, theoretical, empirical, comparative and cross-disciplinary research methods, grounded in working examplesNew for this editionNew chapter on inter- and cross-disciplinary research essential reading for international students and students with a non-law first degree undertaking research in the areas of law, criminology, psychology and sociologyResearch ethics has been expanded to a full chapter that includes current plagiarism and imperfect disclosureBrings existing chapters up to date with the newest thinking in legal researchDrawing on actual research projects, Research Methods for Law discusses how legal research as process impacts on research as product. The author team has a broad range of teaching and research experience in law, criminal justice and socio-legal studies, and give examples from real-life research products to illustrate the theory.

This book explores the epistemology and the methodology of political knowledge and social inquiry: what can we know, and how do we know? Contributing authors offer answers, addressing the purpose and methods of research and analyzing concepts, including the relationship of theory and evidence and the importance of medicine to social science.

Over the last decade, the study of shark biology has benefited from the development, refinement, and rapid expansion of novel techniques and advances in technology. These have given new insight into the fields of shark genetics, feeding, foraging, bioenergetics, imaging, age and growth, movement, migration, habitat preference, and habitat use. This pioneering book, written by experts in shark biology, examines technologies such as autonomous vehicle tracking, underwater video approaches, molecular genetics techniques, and accelerometry, among many others. Each detailed chapter offers new insights and promises for future studies of elasmobranch biology, provides an overview of appropriate uses of each technique, and can be readily extended to other aquatic fish and marine mammals and reptiles. Including chapter authors who were pioneers in developing some of the technologies discussed in the book, this book serves as the first single-source reference with in-depth coverage of techniques appropriate for the laboratory and field study of sharks, skates, and rays. It concludes with a unique section on Citizen Science and its application to studies of shark biology. This is a must-read for any marine biologist or scientist working in the field of shark biology, as well as marine biology students and graduates.

This volume examines all aspects of using agent or individual-based simulation. This approach represents systems as individual elements having their own set of differing states and internal processes. The interactions between elements in the simulation represent interactions in the target systems. What makes this "social" is that it can represent an observed society. Social systems include all those systems where the components have individual agency but also interact with each other. This includes human societies and groups, but also increasingly socio-technical systems where the internet-based devices form the substrate for interaction. These systems are central to our lives, but are among the most complex known. This poses particular problems for those who wish to understand them. The complexity often makes analytic approaches infeasible but, on the other hand, natural language approaches are also inadequate for relating intricate cause and effect. This is why individual and agent-based computational approaches hold out the possibility of new and deeper understanding of such systems. This handbook marks the maturation of this new field. It brings together summaries of the best thinking and practices in this area from leading researchers in the field and constitutes a reference point for standards against which future methodological advances can be judged. This second edition adds new chapters on different modelling purposes and applying software engineering methods to simulation development. Revised existing content will keep the book up-to-date with recent developments. This volume will help those new to the field avoid "reinventing the wheel" each time, and give them a solid and wide grounding in the essential issues. It will also help those already in the field by providing accessible overviews of current thought. The material is divided into four sections: Introduction, Methodology, Mechanisms, and Applications. Each chapter starts with a very brief section called ‘Why read this chapter?’ followed by an abstract, which summarizes the content of the chapter. Each chapter also ends with a section on ‘Further Reading’. Whilst sometimes covering technical aspects, this second edition of Simulating Social Complexity is designed to be accessible to a wide range of researchers, including both those from the social sciences as well as those with a more formal background. It will be of use as a standard reference text in the field and also be suitable for graduate level courses.