springer netherlands springer netherlands jul 2015 (159 résultats)

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book provides insight into the Life Cycle Management (LCM) concept and the progress in its implementation. LCM is a management concept applied in industrial and service sectors to improve products and services, while enhancing the overall sustainability performance of business and its value chains. In this regard, LCM is an opportunity to differentiate through sustainability performance on the market place, working with all departments of a company such as research and development, procurement and marketing, and to enhance the collaboration with stakeholders along a company¿s value chain. LCM is used beyond short-term business success and aims at long-term achievements by minimizing environmental and socio-economic burden, while maximizing economic and social value.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 372 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book presents a revised history of early biogeography and investigates the split in taxonomic practice, between the classification of taxa and the classification of vegetation. It moves beyond the traditional belief that biogeography is born from a synthesis of Darwin and Wallace and focuses on the important pioneering work of earlier practitioners such as Zimmermann, Stromeyer, de Candolle and Humboldt.Tracing the academic history of biogeography over the decades and centuries, this book recounts the early schisms in phyto and zoogeography, the shedding of its bonds to taxonomy, its adoption of an ecological framework and its beginnings at the dawn of the 20th century. This book assesses the contributions of key figures such as Zimmermann, Humboldt and Wallace and reminds us of the forgotten influence of plant and animal geographers including Stromeyer, Prichard and de Candolle, whose early attempts at classifying animal and plant geography would inform later progress.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 188 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This anthology is about the signal change in Leibniz¿s metaphysics with his explicit adoption of substantial forms in 1678-79. This change can either be seen as a moment of discontinuity with his metaphysics of maturity or as a moment of continuity, such as a passage to the metaphysics from his last years.Between the end of his sejour at Paris (November 1676) and the first part of the Hanover period, Leibniz reformed his dynamics and began to use the theory of corporeal substance. This book explores a very important part of the philosophical work of the young Leibniz.Expertise from around the globe is collated here, including Daniel Garber¿s work based on the recent publication of Leibniz's correspondence from the late 1690s, examining how the theory of monads developed during these crucial years. Richard Arthur argues that the introduction of substantial forms, reinterpreted as enduring primitive forces of action in each corporeal substance, allows Leibniz to found the reality of the phenomena of motion in force and thus avoid reducing motion to a mere appearance.Amongst other themes covered in this book, Pauline Phemister¿s paper investigates Leibniz¿s views on animals and plants, highlighting changes, modifications and elaborations over time of Leibniz¿s views and supporting arguments and paying particular attention to his claim that the future is already contained in the seeds of living things. The editor, Adrian Nita, contributes a paper on the continuity or discontinuity of Leibniz¿s work on the question of the unity and identity of substance from the perspective of the relation with soul (anima) and mind (mens).Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 188 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book advances understandings about and practices for effectively integrating practice-based (e.g. workplace) experiences in higher education programs. This issue is becoming of increasing salient because higher education programs globally are increasingly focussing on preparing students for specific occupations. Such imperatives are reflected in the cooperative education movement in North America, the foundation degree programs of the United Kingdom, the work integrated learning approach within Australian higher education and initiatives in a range of other countries. There are clear and growing expectations that graduates from such should be able to move smoothly into being effective in their occupational practice. These expectations rise from the imperatives and interest of government, employers, community and students themselves. The book achieves a number of important goals. Firstly, it identifies and delineates the educational worth of students and engagement in practice-based experiences and their integration within their programs of study. Secondly, it advances conceptions of the integration of such experiences that is essential to inform how these programs might be enacted. Thirdly, drawing on the findings of two teaching fellowships, it proposed bases and propositions for how experiences in higher education programs might be organised and augmented to support effective learning. Fourthly pedagogic practices seen to be effective in maximising the learning from those practice experiences and integrating them within the curriculum are identified and discussed. Fifthly, a particular focus is given to students¿ personal epistemologies and how these might be developed and directed towards supporting effective learning within practice settings and the integration of that learning in their university programs.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 280 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book brings together the relevant interdisciplinary and method elements needed to form a conceptual framework that is both pragmatic and rigorous. By using the best and often the latest, work in thanatology, psychology, neuroscience, sociology, physics, philosophy and ethics, it develops a framework for understanding both what death is ¿ which requires a great deal of time spent developing definitions of the various types of identity-in-the-moment and identity-over-time ¿ and the values involved in death. This pragmatic framework answers questions about why death is a form of loss; why we experience the emotional reactions, feelings and desires that we do; which of these reactions, feelings and desires are justified and which are not; if we can survive death and how; whether our deaths can harm us; and why and how we should prepare for death. Thanks to the pragmatic framework employed, the answers to the various questions are more likely to be accurate and acceptable than those with less rigorous scholarly underpinnings or which deal with utopian worlds.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 328 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book focuses on descriptions of the developments in legal frameworks and policies regarding the human rights of older persons. First, it covers the policies adopted and practices developed at the universal system, particularly within the sphere of the United Nations. Second, it includes a side-by-side comparison of the work of regional human rights mechanisms, which have picked up some momentum in the past decade. Through its inclusion of law, policy, and current processes, the widest net possible has been cast to collect a descriptive resource for advocates.Overall, we hope that this book contributes to a better understanding of the current limitations and possibilities that international institutions offer to uphold the human rights of older persons. We expect that this information will allow states and other policy makers to move forward with the international recognition of the human rights of older persons. We know this is only a first effort in compiling and reporting the standards that are being produced by different international institutions. But we have no doubt that many others will follow with their expert analysis of these emerging standards, and that the ongoing discussion will finally crystalize in international human rights binding instruments explicitly recognizing the universal rights of older persons.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 364 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This volume presents two Leibnizian writings, the Specimen of Philosophical Questions Collected from the Law and the Dissertation on Perplexing Cases. These works, originally published in 1664 and 1666, constitute, respectively, Leibniz¿s thesis for the title of Master of Philosophy and his doctoral dissertation in law. Besides providing evidence of the earliest development of Leibniz¿s thought and amazing anticipations of his mature views, they present a genuine intellectual interest, for the freshness and originality of Leibniz¿s reflections on a striking variety of logico-philosophical puzzles drawn from the law. The Specimen addresses puzzling issues resulting from apparent conflicts between law and philosophy (the latter broadly understood as comprising also mathematics, as well as empirical sciences). The Dissertation addresses cases whose solution is puzzling because of the convoluted logical form of legal dispositions and contractual clauses, or because of conflicting priorities between concurring parties. In each case, Leibniz dissects the problems with the greatest ingenuity, disentangling their different aspects, and proposing solutions always reasonable and sometimes surprising. And he does not refrain from peppering his intellectual acrobatics with some humorous comments.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 264 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This handbook covers social movement activities in Latin American countries that have had profound consequences on the political culture of the region. It examines the developments of the past twenty years, such as a renewed upswing in popular mobilization, the ending of violent conflicts and military governments, new struggles and a relatively more democratic climate. It shows that, from southern Chiapas to Argentina, social movements in the 1990s and especially in the 2000s, have reached new heights of popular participation.There is a lack of research on the politics of this region in the contemporary era of globalization, this volume partially fills the void and offers a rich resource to students, scholars and the general public in terms of understanding the politics of mass mobilization in the early twenty-first century.The contributors each address social movement activity in their own nation and together they present a multidisciplinary perspective on the topic. Each chapter uses a case study design to bring out the most prominent attributes of the particular social struggle(s), for instance the main protagonists in the campaigns, the grievances of the population and the outcomes of the struggles.This Handbook is divided into seven substantive themes, providing overall coherence to a broad range of social conflicts across countries, issues and social groups. These themes include: 1) theory of Latin American social movements; 2) neoliberalism; 3) indigenous struggles; 4) women¿s movements; 5) movements and the State; 6) environmental movements; and 7) transnational mobilizations.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 392 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This volume brings together studies from various disciplines of the social sciences and humanities ( anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, history and literary theory) that shed light on the equestrian world as a historically gendered and highly dynamic field of contemporary sport and culture. From high level international dressage and jumping, polo and the turf, to the rodeo world of the Americas and popular forms of equestrian sport and culture, we are introduced to a range of issues that are played out at local and global, national and international levels. Students and scholars of gender, culture and sport will find much of interest in this original look at contemporary issues such as ¿engendered¿ (women¿s and men¿s) identities/subjectivities as equestrians, representations of girls, horses and the world of adventure in juvenile fiction; the current ¿feminization¿ of particular equestrian activities (and where boys and men stand in relation to this); how broad forms of social inequality and stratification play themselves out within gendered equestrian contexts; men and women and their relation to horses within the framework of current discussions on the relation of animals to humans (which may include not only love and care, but also exploitation and violence), among others. Singular contributions show how equestrian activities contribute to historical and current constructions of embodied ¿femininities¿ and ¿masculinities¿, reflecting a world that has been moving ¿beyond the binaries¿ while continuing to be enmeshed in their persistent and contradictory legacy. ¿Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 224 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Biomedical research is increasingly carried out in low- and middle-income countries. International consensus has largely been achieved around the importance of valid consent and protecting research participants from harm. But what are the responsibilities of researchers and funders to share the benefits of their research with research participants and their communities After setting out the legal, ethical and conceptual frameworks for benefit sharing, this collection analyses seven historical cases to identify the ethical and policy challenges that arise in relation to benefit sharing. A series of recommendations address possible ways forward to achieve justice for research participants in low- and middle-income countries.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 264 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book presents an overview of smart camera systems, considering practical applications but also reviewing fundamental aspects of the underlying technology. It introduces in a tutorial style the principles of sensing and signal processing, and also describes topics such as wireless connection to the Internet of Things (IoT) which is expected to be the biggest market for smart cameras.It is an excellent guide to the fundamental of smart camera technology, and the chapters complement each other well as the authors have worked as a team under the auspice of GFP(Global Frontier Project), the largest-scale funded research in Korea. This is the third of three books based on the Integrated Smart Sensors research project, which describe the development of innovative devices, circuits, and system-level enabling technologies. The aim of the project was to develop common platforms on which various devices and sensors can be loaded, and to create systems offering significant improvements in information processing speed, energy usage, and size.This book contains extensive reference lists, introduces the reader to the subject in a tutorial style and also reviews state-of-the-art results, which allows it to be used as a guide for starting researchers.Springer-Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 372 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This volume presents a suite of detailed stratigraphic and sedimentologic investigations of the Eocene Green River Formation of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah, one of the world¿s foremost terrestrial archives of lacustrine and alluvial deposition during the warmest portion of the early Cenozoic. Its twelve chapters encompass the rich and varied record of lacustrine stratigraphy, sedimentology, geochronology, geochemistry and paleontology. Chapters 2-9 provide detailed member-scale synthesis of Green River Formation strata within the Greater Green River, Fossil, Piceance Creek and Uinta Basins, while its final two chapters address its enigmatic evaporite deposits and ichnofossils at broad, interbasinal scale.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 364 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This volume contains studies on the evolution and function of lightweight constructions of planktonic and other organisms, and examples of how they can be used to create new solutions for radical innovations of lightweight constructions for technological application. The principles and underlying processes responsible for evolution and biodiversity of marine plankton organisms are highly relevant and largely unresolved issues in the field of marine science. Amongst the most promising objects for the study of evolution of stable lightweight constructions are marine organisms such as diatoms or radiolarians. Research in these fields requires interdisciplinary expertises such as in evolutionary modelling, paleontology, lightweight optimization, functional morphology, and marine ecology. Considerable effort and expert knowledge in production engineering or lightweight optimization is necessary to transfer knowledge on biogenic structures and evolutionary principles into new lightweight solutions. This book show methods and examples of how this can be achieved efficiently.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 224 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -When considering biosphere¿atmosphere exchange of trace gases and volatile aerosols, significant advances have been made both from an experimental and modelling point of view and on several scales. This was particularly stimulated by the availability of new datasets generated from improvements in analytical methods and flux measurement techniques. Recent research advances allow us, not only to identify major mechanisms and factors affecting the exchanges between the biosphere and the atmosphere, but also to recognize several gaps in the methodologies used in accounting for emissions and deposition in landscape and global scale models. This work aims at (i) reviewing exchange processes and modelling schemes, parameterisations and datasets, (ii) presenting a common conceptual framework to model soil-vegetation-atmosphere exchange of reactive trace gases and aerosols accounting for in-canopy transfer chemical interactions and (iii) discussing the key elements of the agreed framework.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 248 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The book contains state-of the-art reviews in the area of effective properties of heterogeneous materials - the classical field at interface of materials science and solid mechanics. The primary focus is on thermo-mechanical properties, materials science applications, as well as computational aspects and new opportunities provided by rapidly increasing computer powers. The reviews are at the level that is appropriate for a substantial community of researchers working in this field, both at universities and in the industry, and to graduate students. The book can be used as supplementary reading to graduate level courses.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 400 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book analyses the deep interaction between the world¿s environmental crises, energy production, conversion and use, and global regulation policies.Bringing together experts from a wide range of scientific fields, it offers the reader a broad scope of knowledge on such topics as: climate change and exhaustion of resourcesthe relationship between basic science and the development of sustainable energy technologiesthe relationship between global and local environmental policiesthe possible competition between foodstuff production and that of agro-fuelsurban adaptationnegotiations at the international levelfinancial rulesThis book invites the reader to consider the multidisciplinary aspects of these urgent energy/environmental issues.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 320 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book describes the human amniotic membrane from its origin, characterization and medical applications, summarizing all the latest developments and findings related to this tissue with contributions from some of the leading researchers in the field. The book addresses issues for its preservation, separation and identification of amniotic membrane-derived cells, as well as the potential ethical issues involved in their use. The topic of this book is particularly pertinent for clinicians and researchers involved in the research and use of this tissue.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 264 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book describes the development of core technologies to address two of the most challenging issues in research for future IT platform development, namely innovative device design and reduction of energy consumption. Three key devices, the FinFET, the TunnelFET, and the electromechanical nanoswitch are described with extensive details of use for practical applications. Energy issues are also covered in a tutorial fashion from material physics, through device technology, to innovative circuit design. The strength of this book lies in its holistic approach dealing with material trends, state-of-the-art of key devices, new examples of circuits and systems applications.This is the first of three books based on the Integrated Smart Sensors research project, which describe the development of innovative devices, circuits, and system-level enabling technologies. The aim of the project was to develop common platforms on which various devices and sensors can be loaded, and to create systems offering significant improvements in information processing speed, energy usage, and size.The book contains extensive reference lists and with over 200 figures introduces the reader to the general subject in a tutorial style, also addressing the state-of-the-art, allowing it to be used as a guide for starting researchers in these fields.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 300 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This edited volume critically examines the link between area based policies, neighbourhood based problems, and neighbourhood effects: the idea that living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods has a negative effect on residents¿ life chances over and above the effect of their individual characteristics. Over the last few decades, Western governments have persistently pursued area based policies to fight such effects, despite a lack of evidence that they exist, or that these policies make a difference. The first part of this book presents case studies of perceived neighbourhood based problems in the domains of crime; health; educational outcomes; and employment. The second part of the book presents an international overview of the policies that different governments have implemented in response to these neighbourhood based problems, and discusses the theoretical and conceptual processes behind place based policy making. Case studies are drawn from a diverse range of countries including the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Australia, Canada, and the USA.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 308 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Shaping Rural Areas in Europe. Perceptions and Outcomes on the Present and the Future sets out to investigate the effect of urban perceptions about the rural and consequent demands on rurality on the present and future configurations of rural territories in Europe in the early twenty-first century. This volume presents and discusses a broad range of case studies and theoretical and methodological approaches from different academic fields, mainly Anthropology, Sociology and Geography.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 280 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book is based on the premise that marketing is central to understanding and advancing companies, businesses, countries, major economic areas and every-day problems. It opposes the view held by some social scientists that the positive effects of marketing in a society are a product of capitalist enterprises and that marketing involves excessive exploitation and is a tool for creating and maintaining their power structures. To illustrate its point, the book examines successful marketing practices with implications for consumers¿ quality of life. Its compilation of cases from all over the world provides a unique and concise review of best practices in marketing and their impact on QOL. Each case in the book presents a specific social problem and discusses details of the marketing strategy adopted to resolve it, as well as the results obtained both for society at large and in terms of the citizens¿ quality of life. In addition, each case addresses the theoretical background of thespecific area of marketing used in the case.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 276 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book provides a fresh analysis of the demography, health and well-being of a major African city. It brings a range of disciplinary approaches to bear on the pressing topics of urban poverty, urban health inequalities and urban growth. The approach is primarily spatial and includes the integration of environmental information from satellites and other geospatial sources with social science and health survey data. The authors Ghanaians and outsiders, have worked to understand the urban dynamics in this burgeoning West African metropolis, with an emphasis on urban disparities in health and living standards. Few cities in the global South have been examined from so many different perspectives. Our analysis employs a wide range of GIScience methods, including analysis of remotely sensed imagery and spatial statistical analysis, applied to a wide range of data, including census, survey and health clinic data, all of which are supplemented by field work, including systematic socialobservation, focus groups, and key informant interviews. This book aims to explain and highlight the mix of methods, and the important findings that have been emerging from this research, with the goal of providing guidance and inspiration for others doing similar work in cities of other developing nations.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 232 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book brings together a representative set of Earth System Science (ESS) applications of the neural network (NN) technique. It examines a progression of atmospheric and oceanic problems, which, from the mathematical point of view, can be formulated as complex, multidimensional, and nonlinear mappings. It is shown that these problems can be solved utilizing a particular type of NN ¿ the multilayer perceptron (MLP). This type of NN applications covers the majority of NN applications developed in ESSs such as meteorology, oceanography, atmospheric and oceanic satellite remote sensing, numerical weather prediction, and climate studies. The major properties of the mappings and MLP NNs are formulated and discussed. Also, the book presents basic background for each introduced application and provides an extensive set of references.¿This is an excellent book to learn how to apply artificial neural network methods to earth system sciences. The author, Dr. Vladimir Krasnopolsky, is a universally recognized master in this field. With his vast knowledge and experience, he carefully guides the reader through a broad variety of problems found in the earth system sciences where neural network methods can be applied fruitfully. (.) The broad range of topics covered in this book ensures that researchers/graduate students from many fields (.) will find it an invaluable guide to neural network methods.¿ (Prof. William W. Hsieh, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada)¿Vladimir Krasnopolsky has been the ¿founding father¿ of applying computation intelligence methods to environmental science; (.) Dr. Krasnopolsky has created a masterful exposition of a young, yet maturing field that promises to advance a deeper understanding ofbest modeling practices in environmental science.¿ (Dr. Sue Ellen Haupt, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, USA)¿Vladimir Krasnopolsky has written an important and wonderful book on applications of neural networks to replace complex and expensive computational algorithms within Earth System Science models. He is uniquely qualified to write this book, since he has been a true pioneer with regard to many of these applications. (.) Many other examples of creative emulations will inspire not just readers interested in the Earth Sciences, but any other modeling practitioner (.) to address both theoretical and practical complex problems that may (or will!) arise in a complex system.' ¿ (Prof. Eugenia Kalnay, University of Maryland, USA)Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 212 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Interest in relations between knowledge, power, and space has a long tradition in a range of disciplines, but it was reinvigorated in the last two decades through critical engagement with Foucault and Gramsci. This volume focuses on relations between knowledge and power. It shows why space is fundamental in any exercise of power and explains which roles various types of knowledge play in the acquisition, support, and legitimization of power. Topics include the control and manipulation of knowledge through centers of power in historical contexts, the geopolitics of knowledge about world politics, media control in twentieth century, cartography in modern war, the power of words, the changing face of Islamic authority, and the role of Millennialism in the United States. This book offers insights from disciplines such as geography, anthropology, scientific theology, Assyriology, and communication science.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 360 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This distinctive volume expands our understanding of couple resilience by identifying and exploring specific mechanisms unique to intimate relationships that facilitate positive adaptation to life challenges. Committed partnerships represent a unique form of relational alliance that offers an opportunity and challenge to go beyond the self - to develop as individuals and as a relationship. The contributors to this volume represent a range of perspectives that integrate conventional relationship science and innovative empirical and theoretical work on the importance of meaning-making, narrative construction, intersubjectivity, forgiveness, and positive emotion in couple life. The volume also offers a unique anchor point - ¿We-ness¿ as it relates to the intersection between shared, personal identity and well-being. Under-examined relational contexts such as resilience among LGBT partners and sexual resilience during illness adds further refinement of thought and application.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 232 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The chapters included in this book address two major questions: what are some of the methodological and theoretical issues in sociocultural research in urban education and science education and what sort of questions do technological and virtual contexts raise for these types of research perspectives. The chapters build off Ken Tobin's personal history of sociocultural research in science education and as they do each chapter asks philosophical, sociological and/or methodological questions that inform our understanding of the challenges associated with conducting research in experiential and virtual contexts.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 340 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -The critical analysis of science textbooks is vital in improving teaching and learning at all levels in the subject, and this volume sets out a range of academic perspectives on how that analysis should be done. Each chapter focuses on an aspect of science textbook appraisal, with coverage of everything from theoretical and philosophical underpinnings, methodological issues, and conceptual frameworks for critical analysis, to practical techniques for evaluation.Contributions from many of the most distinguished scholars in the field give this collection its sure-footed contemporary relevance, reflecting the international standards of UNESCO as well as leading research organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science (whose Project 2061 is an influential waypoint in developing protocols for textbook analysis). Thus the book shows how to gauge aspects of textbooks such as their treatment of controversial issues, graphical depictions, scientific historiography, vocabulary usage, accuracy, and readability. The content also covers broader social themes such as the portrayal of women and minorities.'Despite newer, more active pedagogies, textbooks continue to have a strong presence in classrooms and to embody students¿ socio-historical inheritance in science. Despite their ubiquitous presence, they have received relatively little on-going empirical study. It is imperative that we understand how textbooks influence science learning. This book presents a welcome and much needed analysis.'Tina A. GrotzerHarvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USAThe present book provides a much needed survey of the current state of research into science textbooks, and offers a widerange of perspectives to inform the 'science' of writing better science textbooks.Keith S TaberUniversity of Cambridge, Cambridge, United KingdomSpringer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 320 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Reflecting the very latest theory on diversity issues in science education, including new dialogic approaches, this volume explores the subject from a range of perspectives and draws on studies from around the world. The work discusses fundamental topics such as how we conceptualize diversity as well as examining the ways in which heterogeneous cultural constructs influence the teaching and learning of science in a range of contexts.Including numerous strategies ready for adoption by interested teachers, the book addresses the varied cultural factors that influence engagement with science education. It seeks answers to the question of why increasing numbers of students fail to connect with science education in schools and looks at the more subtle impact that students¿ individually constructed identities have on the teaching and learning of science. Recognizing the diversity of its audience, the book covers differing levels and science subjects, and examines material from a range of viewpoints that include pedagogy, curricula, teacher education, learning, gender, religion, and ICT, as well as those of in-service and trainee teachers at all levels.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 400 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -This book offers a challenge to traditional approaches to classroom teaching and pedagogy. The SPRinG (Social Pedagogic Research into Groupwork) project, part of a larger research programme on teaching and learning funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), was developed to enhance the learning potential of pupils working in classroom groups by actively involving teachers in a programme designed to raise levels of group work during typical classroom learning activities. Internationally, the SPRinG project is the largest evaluation of effective group working methods in comparison to traditional teaching, with findings that show raised levels of pupil achievement and a doubling of sustained, active engagement in learning.The opening chapters present arguments regarding the relationship of social interaction and children¿s cognitive development and examine theories that explain why social interactional processes should be integrated into primary school pedagogic practices.Next, the book describes the conceptual and methodological basis for the SPRinG studies, especially its focus on the relational approach, the type of involvement of teachers and classroom planning. Further chapters present key results and describe the background and methods used to establish SPRinG-based effects on pupil progress in mathematics, literacy and science, including both macro and micro assessments; how the SPRinG approach affected pupil-pupil interactions and teacher-pupil interactions, as measured by systematic on-the-spot observations and analyses of videotapes of groups working on specially designed tasks work; and effects on pupil self-completed measures of motivation and attitudes to group work.The book also analyses reflections of teachers who have worked with SPRinG: moving from theory to practice as well as adding insights associated with implementing SPRinG principles in schools. Drawing upon developmental psychological, socialpsychological and classroom research, it develops a new and ambitious social pedagogic approach to classroom learning, with a stress on group work, which will be of interest to researchers, teachers and policy-makers.This bookincludes contributions fromAndrew Tolmie andEd Baines, who were also involved inthe ScotSPRinG and SPRinG projects.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 232 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Etat : Neu. Neuware -Concepts like Health and Well-being are not exclusive products of the Western culture. Research has widely demonstrated that the representation of the body and of its pathologies, as well as treatment and healing practices vary across cultures in relation to social norms and beliefs.The culture of India is a melting pot of nine main Darshanas, or philosophical systems, that share the common core of a realization of the self in society. Indiäs traditional health system, Ayurveda, is a result of the practical application of the Darshanas to the observation of human nature and behavior. Ayurveda conceptualizes health, disease and well-being as multidimensional aspects of life, and it seeks to preserve a balance in individuals among their biological features, their psychological features and their environmental demands. The Ayurveda approach to health is remarkably similar to the eudaimonic conceptualization of well-being proposed by positive psychology, and the basic tenets of Ayurveda are deeply consistent with the latest developments of modern physics, which stresses the substantial interconnectedness among natural phenomena and their substrates. This text shows how the approach to health developed in Ayurveda can be fruitfully integrated in a general view of health and well-being that encompasses cultural and ideological boundaries. Specifically, it details the conceptualization of health as an optimal and mindful interaction between individuals and their environment.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 224 pp. Englisch.