Understanding Contemporary Society


Book Description

Understanding Contemporary Society: Theories of the Present is a comprehensive textbook to guide students through the complexities of social theory today. Over 30 chapters, written by an international team of contributors, demonstrate clearly the practical applications of social theory in making sense of the modern world. Students are both introduced to the most significant theories and guided through the major social developments which shape our lives. Key features of the book are: clearly structured and readable prose; bullet pointed summaries and annotated further reading for each topic; makes complex issues accessible to undergraduates; focuses on relevance and practicality; chapter lay-out which is ideal for t




Advertising in Contemporary Society


Book Description

Why are critics upset about advertising? And why are its practitioners so defensive? Revised and extensively updated, this edition of the classic Advertising in Contemporary Society offers unique perspectives that will help the reader understand how and why the controversial American phenomenon of advertising generates so much heat and--though much of it is passive--so much acceptance.




Understanding Contemporary Society


Book Description

This is a practical guide to the application of social theory in understanding the complex modern world. A global perspective of the issues is provided by the contributors who cut through the confusion and upheavals in current thought and practice.




Understanding Contemporary China


Book Description

Understanding Contemporary China offers undergraduates a coherent assessment of the most crucial issues affecting China today. Designed as a core text for Introduction to Asia or Introduction to China courses, it can also be used in a wide variety of discipline-oriented curriculums.




Understanding Contemporary Brazil


Book Description

Understanding Contemporary Brazil is the perfect introduction to Brazil, and to its ongoing social, political, economic, and cultural complexities. Covering a range of issues this interdisciplinary book equips readers with the contextual understanding and critical insight to explore this fascinating country.




Contemporary Society


Book Description

This best-selling text emphasizes that social and cultural changes are the pervasive realities of our era. One of the main themes of Contemporary Society is that the transition from an industrial to a post-industrial order in the modern world is fraught with difficulties, as was the transition from an agricultural to an industrial order in an earlier era. Within this framework, we can observe the increasing fragmentation of the social order, which tends to lead people away from community and a common purpose and often invites conflict and disunity. At the same time, countervailing social forces are also at work, providing some stability, some shelter in the storm. Finally, societies are faced with the rapid and transformative power of information technology, a fact that propels separate groups of people into a global entity.




Gender and Sexuality


Book Description

This new introduction to the sociology of gender and sexuality provides fresh insight into our rapidly changing attitudes towards sex and our understanding of masculine and feminine identities, relating the study of gender and sexuality to recent research and theory, and wider social concerns throughout the world.




Information in Contemporary Society


Book Description

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Information in Contemporary Society, iConference 2019, held in Washington, DC, USA, in March/April 2019. The 44 full papers and 33 short papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 133 submitted full papers and 88 submitted short papers. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: Scientific work and data practices; methodological concerns in (big) data research; concerns about “smart” interactions and privacy; identity questions in online communities; measuring and tracking scientific literature; limits and affordances of automation; collecting data about vulnerable populations; supporting communities through public libraries and infrastructure; information behaviors in academic environments; data-driven storytelling and modeling; online activism; digital libraries, curation and preservation; social-media text mining and sentiment analysis; data and information in the public sphere; engaging with multi-media content; understanding online behaviors and experiences; algorithms at work; innovation and professionalization in technology communities; information behaviors on Twitter; data mining and NLP; informing technology design through offline experiences; digital tools for health management; environmental and visual literacy; and addressing social problems in iSchool research.




Understanding Contemporary Ethiopia


Book Description

"Seeks to dispel the myths and clichés surrounding contemporary perceptions of Ethiopia by providing a rare overview of the country's recent history, politics and culture. Explores the unique features of this often misrepresented country as it strives to make itself heard in the modern world"-- Publisher description.




Feudal America


Book Description

"Uses a feudal model to analyze contemporary American society, comparing its essential characteristics to those of medieval European societies"--Provided by publisher.