Recent Advances in Humanities and Social Sciences

This book presents a collection of papers written by educators and researchers. The topics include the analysis of social science textbooks, the teacher image in newspapers, the relationship between self-efficacy and cognitive level and the role of organizational silence on the loneliness of academics in work life.

An examination of emerging forms of knowledge creation using Web-based technologies, analyzed from an interdisciplinary perspective. Today we are witnessing dramatic changes in the way scientific and scholarly knowledge is created, codified, and communicated. This transformation is connected to the use of digital technologies and the virtualization of knowledge. In this book, scholars from a range of disciplines consider just what, if anything, is new when knowledge is produced in new ways. Does knowledge itself change when the tools of knowledge acquisition, representation, and distribution become digital? Issues of knowledge creation and dissemination go beyond the development and use of new computational tools. The book, which draws on work from the Virtual Knowledge Studio, brings together research on scientific practice, infrastructure, and technology. Focusing on issues of digital scholarship in the humanities and social sciences, the contributors discuss who can be considered legitimate knowledge creators, the value of “invisible” labor, the role of data visualization in policy making, the visualization of uncertainty, the conceptualization of openness in scholarly communication, data floods in the social sciences, and how expectations about future research shape research practices. The contributors combine an appreciation of the transformative power of the virtual with a commitment to the empirical study of practice and use. Contributors Anne Beaulieu, Sarah de Rijcke, Bas van Heur, Smiljana Antonijević, Stefan Dormans, Sally Wyatt, Matthijs Kouw, Charles van den Heuvel, Andrea Scharnhorst, Rebecca Moody, Victor Bekkers, Clement Levallois, Stephanie Steinmetz, Paul Wouters, Clifford Tatum, Nicholas W. Jankowski, Jan Kok

Global society has always been impacted by the perception of gender. While gender roles may differ in certain cultures, many cultures around the world have allowed for the disempowerment and objectification of women. Women today still struggle for gender equality whether it be professionally, socially, or even legally. To examine feminism thoroughly, however, thorough analysis must be conducted on all genders and perceptions. The Research Anthology on Feminist Studies and Gender Perceptions explores the application of feminist theory and women empowerment in the 21st century and the role that gender plays in society. This book analyzes media representation, gender performativity, and theory to present a comprehensive view of gender and society. Covering topics such as masculinity, women empowerment, and gender equality, this two-volume comprehensive major reference work is an essential resource for sociologists, community leaders, human resource managers, activists, students and professors of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

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'. - Proposes a new route direction for media and information literacy - Combines critical histories of media literacy and information literacy - Integrates an account of technological development as a key driver to educational activities while retaining core progressive intents - International in scope with recognition of international agencies, such as UNESCO and the UN

In the United States, broad study in an array of different disciplines â€"arts, humanities, science, mathematics, engineeringâ€" as well as an in-depth study within a special area of interest, have been defining characteristics of a higher education. But over time, in-depth study in a major discipline has come to dominate the curricula at many institutions. This evolution of the curriculum has been driven, in part, by increasing specialization in the academic disciplines. There is little doubt that disciplinary specialization has helped produce many of the achievement of the past century. Researchers in all academic disciplines have been able to delve more deeply into their areas of expertise, grappling with ever more specialized and fundamental problems. Yet today, many leaders, scholars, parents, and students are asking whether higher education has moved too far from its integrative tradition towards an approach heavily rooted in disciplinary "silos". These "silos" represent what many see as an artificial separation of academic disciplines. This study reflects a growing concern that the approach to higher education that favors disciplinary specialization is poorly calibrated to the challenges and opportunities of our time. The Integration of the Humanities and Arts with Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Higher Education examines the evidence behind the assertion that educational programs that mutually integrate learning experiences in the humanities and arts with science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) lead to improved educational and career outcomes for undergraduate and graduate students. It explores evidence regarding the value of integrating more STEMM curricula and labs into the academic programs of students majoring in the humanities and arts and evidence regarding the value of integrating curricula and experiences in the arts and humanities into college and university STEMM education programs.

This book examines very important issues in research evaluation in the Social Sciences and Humanities. It is based on recent experiences carried out in Italy (2011-2015) in the fields of research assessment, peer review, journal classification, and construction of indicators, and presents a systematic review of theoretical issues influencing the evaluation of Social Sciences and Humanities. Several chapters analyse original data made available through research assessment exercises. Other chapters are the result of dedicated and independent research carried out in 2014-2015 aimed at addressing some of the debated and open issues, for example in the evaluation of books, the use of Library Catalog Analysis or Google Scholar, the definition of research quality criteria on internationalization, as well as opening the way to innovative indicators. The book is therefore a timely and important contribution to the international debate.

Studies in the humanities and the social sciences can be enhanced through the use of geographic information systems (GIS). However, this computer-aided method of analysis is worthless unless researchers can devote the time necessary to learn what it is, what it can do, and how to use it. Resulting from a six-year project entitled Spatial Inf