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Elsevier

Books in Social sciences

The Social Sciences collection forms a definitive resource for those entering, researching, or teaching in any of the many disciplines making up this interdisciplinary area of study. Written by experts and researchers from both Academic and Commercial domains, titles offer global scope and perspectives.

Key subject areas include: Library and Information Science; Transportation; Urban Studies; Geography, Planning, and Development; Security; Emergency Management.

  • Inherent Strategies in Library Management

    • 1st Edition
    • Masanori Koizumi
    • English
    Inherent Strategies in Library Management describes general and specific strategies for libraries based on core library values, and does so through concrete research. Many strategic management books for libraries introduce concepts of business management to the library world, but often neglect traditional library culture and core values. This book reexamines management through the lens of libraries themselves, rather than relying on strategies borrowed from the business world, in an attempt to bring to light the factors and decision-making processes behind how librarians have run their libraries over the past fifty decades. In other words, their decisions can be regarded as inherent management, born naturally from the core foundations, considerations, and operations of libraries. In addition, this book investigates the broad influences of business management theories on libraries, including a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of their use.

  • Media and Information Literacy

    An Integrated Approach for the 21st Century
    • 1st Edition
    • Marcus Leaning
    • English
    Media and Information Literacy: An Integrated Approach for the 21st Century provides a novel rationale for the integration of media and information literacy and gives direction to contemporary media and information literacy education. The book takes a synthetic approach to these two areas, presenting critical histories of both. The book explores the influence of political forces and educational practice on media literacy and the contemporary media environment, focusing on computing and mobile technology as a platform for existing and non-computational media. The final section considers a new rationale for the adjustment of content and activities into a combined project, building on a range of skills from contemporary media, reconsidering the mission of media literacy, and advocating that media and information literacy be expanded out of the classroom and positioned as a ‘public pedagogy'.

  • Digital Disruption and Electronic Resource Management in Libraries

    • 1st Edition
    • Nihar K. Dr. Patra
    • English
    Digital Disruption and Electronic Resource Management in Libraries identifies issues in the management of e-resources. The paradigm shift from Electronic Resources to Electronic Resource Management (ERM) has meant significant change for libraries and their users. One of the most important functions of a library is to provide information in electronic format. Libraries provide access to a wide variety of resources. A major challenge for libraries and librarians is therefore the management of this diversity of e-resources. ERM has emerged in this context. This book gives theoretical and practical information to assist librarians with ERM. It discusses broad trends and specific topics in the current landscape. It is devoted to theory, history, lifecycle, ERM systems, and the management of e-resources.

  • Teaching Information Literacy in Higher Education

    Effective Teaching and Active Learning
    • 1st Edition
    • Mariann Lokse + 4 more
    • English
    Why do we teach information literacy? This book argues that the main purpose of information literacy teaching in higher education is to enhance student learning. With the impact of new technologies, a proliferation of information sources and a change in the student demography, information literacy has become increasingly important in academia. Also, students that know how to learn have a better chance of adapting their learning strategies to the demands of higher education, and thus completing their degree. The authors discuss the various aspects of how academic integrity and information literacy are linked to learning, and provide examples on how our theories can be put into practice. The book also provides insight on the normative side of higher education, namely academic formation and the personal development process of students. The cognitive aspects of the transition to higher education, including learning strategies and critical thinking, are explored; and finally the book asks how information literacy teaching in higher education might be improved to help students meet contemporary challenges.

  • Digital Forensics Trial Graphics

    Teaching the Jury through Effective Use of Visuals
    • 1st Edition
    • John Sammons + 1 more
    • English
    Digital Forensics Trial Graphics: Teaching the Jury Through Effective Use of Visuals helps digital forensic practitioners explain complex technical material to laypeople (i.e., juries, judges, etc.). The book includes professional quality illustrations of technology that help anyone understand the complex concepts behind the science. Users will find invaluable information on theory and best practices along with guidance on how to design and deliver successful explanations.

  • Staff-Less Libraries

    Innovative Staff Design
    • 1st Edition
    • Carl Gustav Johannsen
    • English
    Staff-Less Libraries: Innovative Staff Design considers the challenges of this approach, its pros and cons, identifies international experiences, and discusses best practices. It presents a step-by-step approach to implementing a staffless library and/or services, and seeks to inspire professionals to share experiences and optimize their library. Staff-less public libraries, enabled by technological developments, represent a significant and innovative aspect of the development of public libraries. The concept radically enlarges the availability of user access to public libraries. Some Danish public library branches have, for example, increased their weekly opening hours from 20 to 80 hours per week. In Denmark, the concept has been quite successful, increasing the number of staff-less libraries from 81 public library units in 2011 to 260 in 2014. From a longer view, however, the staff-less library concept contributes to the modernization of public libraries by further opening the library. Many library professionals have been surprised by the near absence of vandalism through the staffl-ess opening hours. According to the latest trend, the staffless library model is gradually moving from thinly populated rural areas and suburban neighborhoods to urban contexts. This book explores the concept, hence furthering the debate.

  • Collective Action 2.0

    The Impact of Social Media on Collective Action
    • 1st Edition
    • Shaked Spier
    • English
    Collective Action 2.0 explores the issues related to information and communication technologies (ICTs) in detail, providing a balanced insight into how ICTs leverage and interact with collective action, which will have an impact on the current discourse. Recent events in different authoritarian regimes, such as Iran and Egypt, have drawn global attention to a developing phenomenon in collective action: People tend to organize through different social media platforms for political protest and resistance. This phenomenon describes a change in social structure and behavior tied to ICT. Social media platforms have been used to leverage collective action, which has in some cases arguably lead, to political revolution. The phenomenon also indicates that the way information is organized affects the organization of social structures with which it interoperates. The phenomenon also has another side, which is the use of social media for activist suppression, state and corporate surveillance, commodifi cation of social processes, demobilization, or for the mobilization of collective action toward undesirable ends.

  • Innovation in Public Libraries

    Learning from International Library Practice
    • 1st Edition
    • Kirstie Nicholson
    • English
    Innovation in Public Libraries: Learning from International Library Practice examines the recent activities of successful and innovative libraries around the world, presenting their initiatives in areas including library design, events and programs, and creating customer experiences. This timely guide provides an overview of these libraries’ successful experiences and identifies emerging global trends and themes. The author offers library practitioners guidance on how to pursue these trends in their own library environment, identifying achievable goals when planning building and design improvements, and developing customer interactions in order to emulate the experiences of international libraries.

  • Human Remains: Another Dimension

    The Application of Imaging to the Study of Human Remains
    • 1st Edition
    • Tim Thompson + 1 more
    • English
    Human Remains – Another Dimension: The Application of 3D Imaging in the Funerary Contextbrings together scattered literature on the topic, assimilating disparate pieces that relate to the novel use of non-invasive three-dimensional imaging techniques in the forensic context. All chapters are written by specialists in the field who use these types of imaging techniques within their research, bringing an engaging and comprehensive view that demonstrates the current use of 3D non-invasive imaging techniques using case studies. In addition, the advantages for using such methods, their current limitations, and possible solutions are also reviewed.

  • Boundaries of Self and Reality Online

    Implications of Digitally Constructed Realities
    • 1st Edition
    • Jayne Gackenbach + 1 more
    • English
    As technology continues to rapidly advance, individuals and society are profoundly changed. So too are the tools used to measure this universe and, therefore, our understanding of reality improves. Boundaries of Self and Reality Online examines the idea that technological advances associated with the Internet are moving us in multiple domains toward various "edges." These edges range from self, to society, to relationships, and even to the very nature of reality. Boundaries are dissolving and we are redefining the elements of identity. The book begins with explorations of the digitally constructed self and the relationship between the individual and technological reality. Then, the focus shifts to society at large and includes a contribution from Chinese researchers about the isolated Chinese Internet. The later chapters of the book explore digital reality at large, including discussions on virtual reality, Web consciousness, and digital physics.

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