The reach of the social and behavioral sciences is currently so broad and interdisciplinary that staying abreast of developments has become a daunting task. The thirty papers that constitute Leading Edges in Social and Behavioral Science provide a unique composite picture of recent findings and promising new research opportunities within most areas of social and behavioral research. Prepared by expert scholars under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences, these timely and well-documented reports define research priorities for an impressive range of topics: Part I: Mind and Brain Part II: Behavior in Social Context Part III: Choice and Allocation Part IV: Evolving Institutions Part V: Societies and International Orders Part VI: Data and Analysis

This is an exploration of the creative work done by leading sociologists who were inspired by the scholarship of Neil Smelser.

From the 1960s onwards, the clothing industry in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the European Union, experienced a deep crisis. Numerous went bankrupt and, even more so, workers lost their jobs. Imports from low wage countries started providing the bulk of retailers' collections.

The social sciences rely more on the comparative method than on experimental data mainly because the latter is difficult to acquire amongst human populations. The International Social Survey Programme has played a pioneering role in creating and sustaining methodologically-sophisticated mass attitude surveys across the globe. Starting in 1984 with five nations, it now encompasses forty-five nations spread over five continents, each administering an identical annual survey to a random sample of their population. Analyses of the data or descriptions of the methodology already appear in over 3,000 publications. This book contains new contributions from three dozen eminent scholars who analyse and compare the perceptions and attitudes of citizens across all five continents, nations and over time. Subjects range from inequality and the role of the state; ethnic, national and global identities; the changing relevance of religion, beliefs and practices; gender roles, family values and work orientations; household and society. Some chapters focus on methodological issues; others focus on substantive findings. This book sets new standards for cross-cultural research.

This volume explores the scientific frontiers and leading edges of research across the fields of anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, history, business, education, geography, law, and psychiatry, as well as the newer, more specialized areas of artificial intelligence, child development, cognitive science, communications, demography, linguistics, and management and decision science. It includes recommendations concerning new resources, facilities, and programs that may be needed over the next several years to ensure rapid progress and provide a high level of returns to basic research.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second Symposium on Intelligence and Security Informatics, ISI 2004, held in Tucson, AZ, USA in June 2004. The 29 revised full papers and 12 revised short papers presented together with 6 extended abstracts of posters and 3 panel discussion summaries were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in the book. The papers are organized in topical sections on bioterrorism and disease informatics; data access, privacy, and trust management; data management and mining; deception detection; information assurance and infrastructure protection; monitoring and surveillance; security policies and evaluation; and social network analysis.

"Neil J. Smelser, one of the most important and influential American sociologists, traces the discipline of sociology from 1969 through the early twenty-first century. By examining sociology as a vocation and building on the work of Talcott Parsons, Smelser discusses his views on the discipline of sociology and how his perspective of the field has evolved in the postwar era"--

Covers the latest methodologies and research on international comparative surveys with contributions from noted experts in the field Advances in Comparative Survey Methodology examines the most recent advances in methodology and operations as well as the technical developments in international survey research. With contributions from a panel of international experts, the text includes information on the use of Big Data in concert with survey data, collecting biomarkers, the human subject regulatory environment, innovations in data collection methodology and sampling techniques, use of paradata across the survey lifecycle, metadata standards for dissemination, and new analytical techniques. This important resource: Contains contributions from key experts in their respective fields of study from around the globe Highlights innovative approaches in resource poor settings, and innovative approaches to combining survey and other data Includes material that is organized within the total survey error framework Presents extensive and up-to-date references throughout the book Written for students and academic survey researchers and market researchers engaged in comparative projects, this text represents a unique collaboration that features the latest methodologies and research on global comparative surveys.