Социология

Различные книги в жанре Социология

A God of One's Own. Religion's Capacity for Peace and Potential for Violence

Beck Ulrich

Religion posits one characteristic as an absolute: faith. Compared to faith, all other social distinctions and sources of conflict are insignificant. The New Testament says: ‘We are all equal in the sight of God'. To be sure, this equality applies only to those who acknowledge God's existence. What this means is that alongside the abolition of class and nation within the community of believers, religion introduces a new fundamental distinction into the world the distinction between the right kind of believers and the wrong kind. Thus overtly or tacitly, religion brings with it the demonization of believers in other faiths. The central question that will decide the continued existence of humanity is this: How can we conceive of a type of inter-religious tolerance in which loving one's neighbor does not imply war to the death, a type of tolerance whose goal is not truth but peace? Is what we are experiencing at present a regression of monotheistic religion to a polytheism of the religious spirit under the heading of ‘a God of one's own'? In Western societies, where the autonomy of the individual has been internalized, individual human beings tend to feel increasingly at liberty to tell themselves little faith stories that fit their own lives to appoint ‘Gods of their own'. However, this God of their own is no longer the one and only God who presides over salvation by seizing control of history and empowering his followers to be intolerant and use naked force.

Human Brain Evolution. The Influence of Freshwater and Marine Food Resources

Stewart Kathlyn

The evolution of the human brain and cognitive ability is one of the central themes of physical/biological anthropology. This book discusses the emergence of human cognition at a conceptual level, describing it as a process of long adaptive stasis interrupted by short periods of cognitive advance. These advances were not linear and directed, but were acquired indirectly as part of changing human behaviors, in other words through the process of exaptation (acquisition of a function for which it was not originally selected). Based on studies of the modem human brain, certain prerequisites were needed for the development of the early brain and associated cognitive advances. This book documents the energy and nutrient constraints of the modern brain, highlighting the significant role of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) in brain development and maintenance. Crawford provides further emphasis for the role of essential fatty acids, in particular DHA, in brain development, by discussing the evolution of the eye and neural systems. This is an ideal book for Graduate students, post docs, research scientists in Physical/Biological Anthropology, Human Biology, Archaeology, Nutrition, Cognitive Science, Neurosciences. It is also an excellent selection for a grad student discussion seminar.

Identities in Context. Individuals and Discourse in Action

McKinlay Andrew

Identities in Context is a comprehensive guide to contemporary discursive research on issues relating to identity across a variety of contexts. Provides a comprehensive guide to contemporary discursive research on identity Introduces themes and concepts in a structured way that allows readers to easier assimilate the different aspects of discourse and identity Offers a narrative account of how discursive research has contributed to the understanding of various phenomena, such as interactions in legal and health care settings Features several reader-friendly aids, including chapter outlines and a glossary of terms and concepts

Modeling Urban Dynamics

Rosiers François Des

The field of Urban Dynamics itself is based on the systems engineering concept that all complex systems (and cities and urban areas are no exception) are comprised of independent and often smaller, more understandable sub-components with relationships to one another. This allows for the system as a whole to be modeled, using knowledge of the individual subsystems and their behaviors. In this instance, urban dynamics allows for the modeling and understanding of land use, the attractiveness of space to residents, and how the ageing and obsolescence of buildings affects planning and economic development, as well as population movements, with the urban landscape. The book adopts a trans-disciplinary approach that looks at the way residential mobility, commuting patterns, and travel behavior affect the urban form. It addresses a series of issues dealing with the accessibility of urban amenities, quality of life, and assessment of landscape residential choices, as well as measurement of external factors in the urban environment and their impact on property values.

A Companion to Diaspora and Transnationalism

Quayson Ato

A Companion to Diaspora and Transnationalism offers a ground-breaking combined discussion of the concepts of diaspora and transnationalism. Newly commissioned essays by leading scholars provide interdisciplinary perspectives that link together the concepts in new and important ways. A wide-ranging collection which reviews the most significant developments and provides valuable insights into current key debates in transnational and diaspora studies Contains newly commissioned essays by leading scholars, which will both influence the field, and stimulate further insight and discussion in the future Provides interdisciplinary perspectives on diaspora and transnationalism which link the two concepts in new and important ways Combines theoretical discussion with specific examples and case studies

Investigating Culture. An Experiential Introduction to Anthropology

Kaspin Deborah

In its new Second Edition, the innovative and ever-popular Investigating Culture has been updated and revised to incorporate new teacher and student feedback. Carol Delaney and Deborah Kaspin provide an expanded introduction to cultural anthropology that is even more accessible to students. Revised and enhanced new edition that incorporates additional material and classroom feedback Accessible to a wider range of students and educational settings Provides a refreshing alternative to traditional textbooks by challenging students to think in new ways and to apply ideas of culture to their own lives Focuses on the ways that humans orient themselves, e.g., in space and time, according to language, food, the body, and the symbols provided by public myth and ritual Includes chapters that frame the central issues and provide examples from a range of cultures, with selected readings, additional suggested readings, and student exercises

Africa's Information Revolution. Technical Regimes and Production Networks in South Africa and Tanzania

Murphy James T.

Africa’s Information Revolution was recently announced as the 2016 prizewinner of the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences – congratulations to the authors James T. Murphy and Padraig Carmody! Africa’s Information Revolution presents an in-depth examination of the development and economic geographies accompanying the rapid diffusion of new ICTs in Sub-Saharan Africa. Represents the first book-length comparative case study ICT diffusion in Africa of its kind Confronts current information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) discourse by providing a counter to largely optimistic mainstream perspectives on Africa’s prospects for m- and e-development Features comparative research based on more than 200 interviews with firms from a manufacturing and service industry in Tanzania and South Africa Raises key insights regarding the structural challenges facing Africa even in the context of the continent’s recent economic growth spurt Combines perspectives from economic and development geography and science and technology studies to demonstrate the power of integrated conceptual-theoretical frameworks Include maps, photos, diagrams and tables to highlight the concepts, field research settings, and key findings

Fashioning Globalisation. New Zealand Design, Working Women and the Cultural Economy

Larner Wendy

Drastic changes in the career aspirations of women in the developed world have resulted in a new, globalised market for off-the-peg designer clothes created by independent artisans. This book reports on a phenomenon that seems to exemplify the twin imperatives of globalisation and female emancipation. A major conceptual contribution to the literatures on globalisation, fashion and gender, analysing the ways in which women’s entry into the labour force over the past thirty years in the developed world has underpinned new forms of aestheticised production and consumption as well as the growth of ‘work-style’ businesses A vital contribution to the burgeoning literature on culture and creative industries which often ignores the significant roles taken by women as entrepreneurs and designers rather than mere consumers Introduces fashion scholars and economic geographers to a paradigmatic example of the new designer fashion industries emerging in a range of countries not traditionally associated with fashion Takes a fresh perspective on an industry in which Third World garment workers have been the subject of exhaustive analysis but first world women have been largely ignored

Liquid Surveillance. A Conversation

Bauman Zygmunt

‘Today the smallest details of our daily lives are tracked and traced more closely than ever before, and those who are monitored often cooperate willingly with the monitors. From London and New York to New Delhi, Shanghai and Rio de Janeiro, video cameras are a familiar and accepted sight in public places. Air travel now commonly involves devices such as body-scanners and biometric checks that have proliferated in the wake of 9/11. And every day Google and credit-card issuers note the details of our habits, concerns and preferences, quietly prompting customized marketing strategies with our active, all too often zealous cooperation. In today’s liquid modern world, the paths of daily life are mobile and flexible. Crossing national borders is a commonplace activity and immersion in social media increasingly ubiquitous. Today’s citizens, workers, consumers and travellers are always on the move but often lacking certainty and lasting bonds. But in this world where spaces may not be fixed and time is boundless, our perpetual motion does not go unnoticed. Surveillance spreads in hitherto unimaginable ways, responding to and reproducing the slippery nature of modern life, seeping into areas where it once had only marginal sway. In this book the surveillance analysis of David Lyon meets the liquid modern world so insightfully dissected by Zygmunt Bauman. Is a dismal future of moment-by-moment monitoring closing in, or are there still spaces of freedom and hope? How do we realize our responsibility for the human beings before us, often lost in discussions of data and categorization? Dealing with questions of power, technology and morality, this book is a brilliant analysis of what it means to be watched – and watching – today.

Commodity Chains and World Cities

Witlox Frank

Transnational spatial relations offer a key point from which to study the geographies of contemporary globalization. This book assesses the possible cross-fertilization between two of the most notable analytical frameworks – the world city network framework and the global commodity chain framework. Transnational spatial relations have become a key analytical lens through which to study the geographies of contemporary globalization Brings together contributions of key researchers from different backgrounds and different parts of the world Offers a set of original approaches to the study of the networked geography of globalization