peter lang peter lang dez 2007 (323 results)

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Bringing Memory Forward looks at the application of the method of currere to storied formation. Research tells us that white teachers are among the most recalcitrant of learners when it comes to challenging their own memories and experiences of privilege and race. This book examines how white teachers can recognize and critique their constructions of «difference», and asks what it is that white teachers are so attached to that makes such critique difficult. The book goes on to discuss the processes that might be set in motion to bring these attachments into question in such a way that the learner (namely, the teacher) does not feel alienated and paralyzed by her «thoughtlessness» but instead is moved to think and act. Through elaborating a method called «bringing memory forward» that emerged from self-study methodologies and a teacher action research project, Teresa Strong-Wilson draws attention to the significance of stories, and critical engagement with stories, in social justice education with teachers. 200 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -The EU Expansion analyzes the communication strategies of candidates and parties in the 2004 European Parliamentary elections. These elections marked the first opportunity for the selection of representatives to the enlarged European Parliament. They also provided an important opportunity to study how candidates and parties strike a balance between communicating the need to preserve the sovereignty and culture of their countries with the increasing realization that Europe can only preserve its significance in the world by forging a unified economic and political federation. Research and analysis from both longstanding EU nations and those entering for the first time are provided. Chapters focus on the background and significance of the elections; the content of the party and candidate communications in representative countries; news media coverage of the elections; the effects of these communications on voters; and the unique perspectives of how the elections were covered and perceived around the world. 264 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -How do people have relationships when they are apart, or develop them when they've never even met From MySpace and weblogs to romance and sexuality, this book draws together a range of studies on «remote relationships», investigating the intricate, intimate ways that people forge connections online. The term 'remote' refers to the technologies that facilitate forms of communication, and also underlines the lack of physicality involved in these relationships, developed at a distance. Using empirical data, these collected essays explore a wide variety of relationships, examining the methodological and ethical issues that researchers face. Remote Relationships in a Small World, part of a new generation of online studies, responds to the need for research that focuses on social relationships. 304 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -A Call to Action challenges current and future teachers to take seriously the philosophical implications of being an educator on land indigenous to a particular human group with both Native and non-Native students. Readers are introduced to the interrelated histories of education, philosophy, and Native and non-Native peoples in North America. These discussions point to the advancement of a critical pedagogy for Native North America. This book should be read by any teacher or student who is or will be involved with cultural studies, especially in the area of Native Americans. 248 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Media, Learning, and Sites of Possibility provides new insights into the relationships between youth, pedagogy, and media, and points to unexamined possibilities for teaching, learning, and ethnographic research that emerge when media ¿ including computer technologies, photography, popular music, and film ¿ become central features of learning spaces that youth occupy. Through six empirically driven essays, all written by new scholars in the fields of literacy, media, technology, and youth culture, this book surveys a variety of learning environments, methodological approaches, and forms of media engagement.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 270 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -This book challenges the dominant view that the first Liberian civil war was caused by ethno-cultural antagonisms between and among the country's various ethnic groups. Alternatively, the book argues that the war was the consequence of the multifaceted crises of underdevelopment - cultural, economic, political, and social - generated by the neo-colonial Liberian State. 226 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Ideologies in Education: Unmasking the Trap of Teacher Neutrality powerfully exposes the invisible yet pervasive nature of oppressive dominant ideologies, the urgent need to articulate their existence, and the harmful impact they have on education. The solutions to many of the educational challenges facing subordinated students are not purely technical or methodological in nature, but are instead rooted in commonly unacknowledged discriminatory ideologies and practices. The invisible foundation (hegemonic ideologies that inform our perceptions and treatment of subordinated students) needs to be made explicit and studied critically in order to comprehend the challenges presented in minority education ¿ and possible solutions ¿ more accurately. This book confronts the continuing existence and vigorous resurgence of not-easily-named discriminatory perspectives toward students from subordinated cultural groups, as well as their numerous manifestations in schools, and identifies the measures necessary to neutralize unequal material conditions and biased beliefs. Contributors courageously address these issues and ideologies at both the practical and theoretical levels. Ideologies in Education is indispensable for courses that examine multiculturalism, the sociocultural dimensions of education, minority educational issues, and cultural studies.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 324 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Highly active citizens assume responsibility in politics and the civil society; for example, by organising social groups and activities, and lobbying on government policies. Although first-generation immigrant activists are a small minority in European societies, they are of critical importance for the receiving societies' democratic development. The POLITIS project conducted the first study that focused exclusively on this crucial group. This book both provides an overview of theoretical discussions and empirical conditions that frame immigrants' activities and presents the major results of the study based on extensive interviews with more than 170 immigrants active in 24 EU member states. The book's final section offers careful reflections on the study's results and considers implications for social scientists, policy makers, and activists in NGOs and immigrant organisations. 252 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Reference is often made to small companies, but little is known about them, especially regarding industrial relations. How can small companies be defined Is their small size a sufficient feature for them to be considered the same If they are different from each other, what makes them so Is the distinction between them and other companies ¿ big ones ¿ relevant In what way is life organised in such units, where employer and employees are in very close contact with each other In order to answer these questions, the authors of this innovative book carried out surveys together in France, Sweden and Germany. They met employers, employees, union members and industrial relations specialists. Comparisons of these three national cases show that small companies do have common features that transcend frontiers. They do, however, also have national characteristics. They, therefore, warrant being analysed and understood in something other than merely negative terms. It thus appears that small companies are not so far off resembling big ones. 234 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -This book investigates a proposal by K. Stenring that the main chronology of the Old Testament is based on three different calendars. Complete agreement with given periods and dates in the Hebrew version of the Old Testament has been reached in this way. The solution is tested from mathematical and statistical viewpoints, its dates are compared with text information concerning seasons and Sabbaths and remarkable connections with ¿sacred¿ periods and festival dates are found. The conclusion is that it must have been used in twelve books at a common redaction but then consciously concealed. The book further discusses ambitions of the system, specific chronology of the Divided Kingdom and relations to the Septuagint and to great historians of the time. 132 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -This book is a collection of essays offering analysis of the experience of contemporary Christianity in the UK 'from below', from the perspectives of real situations and people. The authors come from a range of traditions, 'evangelical' to 'liberal' to Catholic, but all from within the practise and discipline of missiology/anthropology. God at Ground Level aims to discern new insights into the contemporary missiological, theological and ecclesiological debate of today's church. The crisis of contemporary Christianity is certainly recognised, for it is experienced deeply by many of the contributors to this project. But, each contributor also reveals signs of adaptation to the demands laid on contemporary Christianity that challenge the dominant narrative about church decline. This gives way to a lively, thoughtful and, sometimes, controversial series of perspectives on God and contemporary church that gives us another route into the debates of Christianity, Western culture and Mission. 140 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Musical Work Analysis is a holistic approach to the cognitive theory of the musical work. The book develops some of Roman Ingarden¿s concepts on the epistemology of an actually existing work of music. The author outlines an epistemological theory of the musical work by discussing the role of musical analysis in modern musicology, defining sources and objects of epistemological activity, formulating a systematization of analytical terms, issues and methods, both normative and descriptive, and addressing the relation between analysis and interpretation of a musical work. The book was published in Polish language in edition of the Foundation for Polish Science (Wroc¿aw University Press, Wroc¿aw 2003) and awarded by the Polish Ministry of National Education (2004). 218 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -The continuous interest in medieval literature, history and culture, has resulted in a significant number of works on medievalism. Medievalism, however, has many faces, which range from motifs and themes loosely connected with the Middle Ages, to works set in the period. This book explores all such diverse aspects of medievalism and attempts to show the different ways in which consecutive literary periods appropriated medieval literature and culture. 232 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Anorexia is one of the most puzzling illnesses of our time. Recent decades have seen a growth in the disorder which now affects more than one in 100 women. This book presents compelling new data from 104 anorexics that challenges established opinion about what kind of people contract the disorder. Writing from a sociological perspective, the author asks if medical definitions of anorexia always reflect patients' experiences and if the 'stereotype' of the anorexic as a 'fat phobic', middle-class adolescent is genuinely supported by data. By combining moving testimony in patients' own words together with demographic findings and sociological comment, the author demonstrates that all kinds of women from all sorts of backgrounds can and do develop anorexia. The author offers a new perspective that demands a more inclusive definition of the disorder, which reflects the moving accounts presented in this book. She shows that the causes of anorexia are as varied as the patients who experience it. 268 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -We are living in the Age of Interruption; modern technology is changing our forms of attention, everyday life is subject to more disruption than ever before. As the pattern of our lives changes so dramatically so too does our sense of continuity and tradition. In a series of essays by distinguished writers from diverse fields this book explores how the idea of Interruption constitutes our sense of ourselves, often without our noticing. Interruption has become part of the new order of our lives, both a threat and a promise. These eloquent and searching accounts give interruption its place as a powerful figure and force. 154 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -This book explores the creation of knowledge in applied mathematics. It mainly analyses applications of mathematical theories in several contexts.The author analyses the generation of advanced theories that enable people to understand problems in a scientific way, and proposes cognitive models dealing with the observation of human behaviour and its abstraction into comprehensible mathematical models, as this is a main problem in our modern world.This work is directed at people concerned with understanding cognitive processes when tackling complex problems, as it shows the building of knowledge in the making of scientific approaches to any discipline.Using a cross-disciplinary approach, he focuses on the key issues of theories and technologies applicable in a wide variety of contexts, for example in military organizations, in research and development departments and in general strategic planning, as shown in applied cases in Latin America. 290 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -In this book, Hussam S. Timani compiles and assesses the modern literature on the Kharijites, a seventh-century Islamic sect. He discusses the importance of the Kharijites in the Islamic heritage (turath) and provides profiles of the turath scholars who have either concerned themselves with the study of the Kharijites or have incorporated the Kharijites in their work on the turath. This groundbreaking book makes available to Western scholars a large body of Arabic-Islamic literature that is still unknown in the Western world and shows how modern scholars have offered different interpretations and analyses of the Kharijites¿ origins, religio-political beliefs, and their place in Islamic history. Modern Intellectual Readings of the Kharijites is essential for scholars and students of Islamic civilization and culture and is highly recommended for graduate courses in classical Islam. 158 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -This volume contains a selection of papers presented at the Medieval English Studies Symposium held in Poznan, Poland in November 2006. The papers cover a wide range of topics in the areas of Old and Middle English language and literature: from language contact and Middle English syntax to pragmatics, and from Chaucer to Middle English religious and secular discourse. 148 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Equity in health is endorsed by most governments. But there is no progress in reducing the relative differences between different socioeconomic groups linked to the professional status. There are obvious reasons for class differences that include poverty, low education and certain life style factors. But do we know the true background of the differences Why do blue-collar workers have less favourable health than white-collar workers Is it due to selection of unhealthy workers to bad workplaces or due to the working conditions This volume provides an overview of the importance of working conditions for social class differences in health. The magnitude of social class differences in health and the importance of working conditions for these differences are described for seven European countries and Massachusetts, USA. In a summary chapter conclusions are drawn regarding to what extent social class differences in health can be explained by working conditions. An agenda for future research is presented. 544 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -When Europe was Western Europe and socially rather cohesive, the question of economic integration through free market exchanges for labour, commodities and services was not a major problem. The integration of markets was hardly recognised as a real threat to social cohesion.Europe became EU27 and may become EU30: the economic market integration underpins the social problems because of the much bigger differences in Europe in terms of social standards. Capital looking for cheap labour could of course mitigate the differences over time. Job opportunities in low wage parts of Europe might imply unemployment in the high wage part, but in the long run standard differences will decrease. Hence the theory. However, such a scenario will include difficulties which affect the legitimacy of building a European polity.What are ¿ against the backdrop of these difficulties ¿ the prospects of a European social polity where the growing European inequalities are confronted politically at a European level This is the key question of this book.The book discusses the tensions between a market Europe and a social Europe, between politics of social dumping and politics of social protectionism, and between Europe as a possibility and as a threat. It examines the tensions and contentions of the concepts of solidarity and social Europe against the backdrop of the perceptions of dramatically growing social differences after the enlargements to EU25 and 27. And it reflects on the prospects of political management of the European economy. 362 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -The public understanding of law is gleaned from the cultural representation of justice which, in turn, reflects popular culture. Movies, caricatures, portrayal of trials by media or crime fiction shape the image of justice. However these representations play an important role in the legal system itself through the representation of truth as conveyed by litigating parties in their arguments. Studying how justice is represented in society is thus interesting for citizens who want to understand the popular culture but also for lawyers who want to understand theirs clients' expectations. This book explores in a multidisciplinary way the aspects of those representations of justice in their various forms in popular culture and in economics. 346 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -The impact of recent shifts in global geopolitics and economic markets has led to the re-conceptualization of national borders. Scholars have shifted their analysis away from the narrow idea of «borders», and moved their attention towards the wider view of «borderlands», «border regions», and «border zones», thus, leading to the conceptual re-definition of border politics. These recent approaches have identified border areas as socially constructed territories that demonstrate many of the characteristics of independent polities. Border communities seem to have come to life, creating a degree of autonomy and separation from central state actors.While the rich literature in border studies identifies important changes in local political and economic systems, it does not necessarily identify the mechanisms that create these changes: Why has integration occurred in some border regions while others are being reinforced Why has integration failed in some cases where opportunity structures are positive, while it has succeeded in others saddled with more limited constraints The essays in this volume address such fundamental questions. 236 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -This collection of essays looks at the most recent work of Juan Goytisolo from a variety of perspectives and critical stances. The contributors, all specialists in the work of the Spanish author, employ theories of intertextuality, postmodernist irony, queer ethics and even the esoteric science of Huru¿sm to uncover the complexities of Goytisolös creative practice, in particular his radical blurring of the generic boundaries between fiction, autobiography and literary criticism. Such challenging of genre conventions is seen as both integral to the author¿s own questioning of his identity as an expression of his radical dissidence and essential to the response his work evokes in the reader. Life and writing, autobiography and ¿ction, constitute the interconnecting poles of Goytisolös artistic universe. The essays included in this volume explore the varying patterns of con¿uence of these twin strands in the writer¿s later work as a whole, but particularly in novels such as Las semanas del jardín (1997) and Carajicomedia (2000). The essays are set in context by a contribution from Juan Goytisolo himself in which he sums up his philosophy of life and writing as a pursuit of ¿non-prötable knowledge¿. 208 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -This book aims at deepening our understanding of concrete, topical developments in the growth of social partnership economies. Inspired by the theory of ¿policy learning¿, it discusses the impact of potential triggers, such as wars and economic crises, on the development of consultative arrangements, questioning how policy adjustments came about and what exactly made them possible. What is the space for policy learning in institutional environments that are notorious for immobility and path-dependency Different national case studies analyse the origins and development of different social practices and relations between the state and social partners with regard to the organisation of the economy and the labour market within Western Europe. Special emphasis is given to Belgium, the «quintessential European state», and to the Netherlands, the home of the illustrious «polder model» in the 1990s. Several studies highlight the role of social pacts and planning as expressions of effective social partnerships. 270 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -When we use a language we are always aware of our audience. This awareness is reflected, for example, in changes to the way we speak to the same person in different contexts or to different people in the same context. This book explores the way in which test takers' language can change in test events depending on either real or perceived similarities or differences between themselves and their interlocutors. The series of five studies reported are designed to explore aspects of test-taker performance on tests of speaking, and in doing so provide evidence in support of a proposed model of speaking test performance. Though the studies focus primarily on the effect on test-taker performance of characteristics associated with their interlocutor, they also provide empirical evidence of interactions between the factors. There are clear implications from the findings for all of those people involved in language testing and in researching spoken language. 278 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Martyrdom, Murder, and Magic: Child Saints and Their Cults in Medieval Europe is a comprehensive history of child saints and their cults from late Antiquity to the end of the fifteenth century. The child martyrs of the persecutions, including the Holy Innocents, were the first child saints recognized by the Church and their cults spread throughout Europe in the early Middle Ages. Alongside these cults, medieval society also venerated child «martyrs», victims of political or domestic violence. The increasing role of the papacy in the canonization process after the tenth century resulted in the veneration of saintly child confessors in the high Middle Ages, but from the end of the twelfth century, most children worshipped as saints were the alleged victims of ritual murder by Jews. This book considers the formation and transformation of child saints and their cults in the context of popular belief and the history of childhood. 214 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Häd Bouazza is a highly in¿uential and celebrated author in the Netherlands today. In the context of contemporary Dutch literature, Bouazzäs Moroccan background still marks a divergence from the born-and-bred Dutch norm. Authors with a bi- or multicultural background are still often cast in the role of ¿exotic outsider¿. Bouazza both challenges and uses this position to the full. His writing demonstrates that the perceived us-them or self-other positions are questionable ideological constructs. He undermines the concept of a uni¿ed culture and the wholeness of the self. He explores and exploits stereotypical beliefs held on both sides of the East¿West divide. The result is a magical realist setting that both puzzles and enchants. This book offers a reading of Bouazzäs literary prose that responds to the interpretative opportunities offered by an author who skilfully and creatively explores his peculiar freedom in his Homeless Entertainment. 256 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -The idea that religion has to succeed in a «market», selling «salvation goods», has proved to be extremely attractive to scholars in sociology and the study of religion. Max Weber used the term «salvation good» to compare different religious traditions. Pierre Bourdieu employed the term in order to analyze «religious economy». And recently, an American group of researchers advocating «rational choice of religion» put the theme at the forefront of current debates.This book ¿ the fruit of an International Congress in Lausanne in April 2005 ¿ brings together leading specialists in the fields of sociology and the study of religion who discuss the terms «salvation goods» (or religious goods) and «religious market». The authors test the applicability of these concepts by using specific examples and they either deliberately advocate or criticize Weberian, Bourdieusian or rational-choice perspectives.Books on Demand GmbH, Überseering 33, 22297 Hamburg 288 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -Community health insurance (CHI) has recently been valued as a promising health financing alternative for low and middle income countries. Field experience, however, demonstrates that CHI does not live up to its expectations, mainly because of the widespread problem of low enrolment, meaning that too few people choose to join emerging CHI schemes. This book presents a scientific investigation into the decision to enrol in CHI in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Specifically, through the joint application of quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis, the study explores the experience of one emerging scheme in Burkina Faso. On this basis, specific recommendations for future research and a series of detailed policy guidelines are proposed to inform and reform the implementation of CHI in Burkina Faso as well as elsewhere in SSA.Lang, Peter GmbH, Gontardstraße 11, 10178 Berlin 304 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. Neuware -The book deals with product recommendations generated by information systems referred to as recommender systems. Recommender systems assist consumers in making product choices by providing recommendations of the range of products and services offered in an online purchase environment. The quantitative research study investigates the influence of psychographic and sociodemographic determinants on the interest of consumers in personalized online book recommendations. The author presents new findings regarding the interest in recommendations, importance of product reviews for the decision process, motives for submitting ratings as well as comments, and the delivery of recommendations. The results show that opinion seeking, opinion leading, domain specific innovativeness, online shopping experience, and age are important factors in respect of the interest in personalized recommendations. 224 pp. Englisch.