In this book, David E. Brandt examines the legal, psychological, and cultural issues relevant to understanding antisocial behavior in adolescence. Based on his own research and a broad analysis of recent work in the field, Brandt identifies the factors that are common in cases of delinquency. The discussion considers the long-term effects of social issues such as poverty as well as psychological issues such as the high levels of stress and anxiety suffered during childhood by many delinquents. He shows how a failure to meet the developmental needs of children—at both the family level and at a broader social and political level—is at the core of the problem of juvenile delinquency. Brandt concludes with an inquiry into how best to prevent delinquency. Programs that address the developmental needs of children, Brandt argues, are more effective than policing, juvenile courts, or incarceration.

This volume assembles recent perspectives and fresh approaches in the field of criminology. It gives an overview of new paths that criminologists take to meet the challenges of social dynamics in different fields of the discipline. Scholars of criminology and sociol-legal studies have contributed to the volume thus furthering an integrative and complex perspective on crime and control. This volume includes the papers from a conference that took place at the International Institute for the Sociology of Law at Onati, Spain, from 23 to 24 October 1997. The VW-Foundation in Germany generously funded the conference. We are in particular indebted to Dr Hagen Hof of the VW-Foundation for his advice and support. We owe further thanks to the staff of the International Institute at Onati, especially Mrs Malen Gordoa, who all contributed to the perfect organisation and the inspiring atmosphere of the workshop.

This is a book about social change in the United States during the twentieth century. It relies on statistical trends to tell that awesome story. The twentieth century was the first century that could be measured in a systematic manner. Those who saw it coming included President James A. Garfield who, while still a congressman in 1869, observed in a speech to the U.S. House of Representatives: The developments of statistics are causing history to be rewritten. Till recently, the historian studied nations in the aggregate, and gave us only the story of princes, dynasties, sieges, and battles…. Now, statistical inquiry leads him into the hovels, homes, workshops, mines, fields, prisons, hospitals, and all other places where human nature displays its weakness and its strength. In these explorations he discovers the seeds of national growth and decay, and thus becomes the prophet of his generation.

In Natural Ethical Facts William Casebeer argues that we can articulate a fully naturalized ethical theory using concepts from evolutionary biology and cognitive science, and that we can study moral cognition just as we study other forms of cognition. His goal is to show that we have "softly fixed" human natures, that these natures are evolved, and that our lives go well or badly depending on how we satisfy the functional demands of these natures. Natural Ethical Facts is a comprehensive examination of what a plausible moral science would look like.Casebeer begins by discussing the nature of ethics and the possible relationship between science and ethics. He then addresses David Hume's naturalistic fallacy and G. E. Moore's open-question argument, drawing on the work of John Dewey and W. V. O. Quine. He then proposes a functional account of ethics, offering corresponding biological and moral descriptions. Discussing in detail the neural correlates of moral cognition, he argues that neural networks can be used to model ethical function. He then discusses the impact his views of moral epistemology and ontology will have on traditional ethical theory and moral education, concluding that there is room for other moral theories as long as they take into consideration the functional aspect of ethics; the pragmatic neo-Aristotelian virtue theory he proposes thus serves as a moral "big tent." Finally, he addresses objections to ethical naturalism that may arise, and calls for a reconciliation of the sciences and the humanities. "Living well," Casebeer writes, "depends upon reweaving our ethical theories into the warp and woof of our scientific heritage, attending to the myriad consequences such a project will have for the way we live our lives and the manner in which we structure our collective moral institutions."

How did the replication bomb we call ”life” begin and where in the world, or rather, in the universe, is it heading? Writing with characteristic wit and an ability to clarify complex phenomena (the New York Times described his style as ”the sort of science writing that makes the reader feel like a genius”), Richard Dawkins confronts this ancient mystery.

Richard Dawkins' brilliant reformulation of the theory of natural selection has the rare distinction of having provoked as much excitement and interest outside the scientific community as within it. His theories have helped change the whole nature of the study of social biology, and have forced thousands of readers to rethink their beliefs about life. In his internationally bestselling, now classic volume, The Selfish Gene, Dawkins explains how the selfish gene can also be a subtle gene. The world of the selfish gene revolves around savage competition, ruthless exploitation, and deceit, and yet, Dawkins argues, acts of apparent altruism do exist in nature. Bees, for example, will commit suicide when they sting to protect the hive, and birds will risk their lives to warn the flock of an approaching hawk. This 30th anniversary edition of Dawkins' fascinating book retains all original material, including the two enlightening chapters added in the second edition. In a new Introduction the author presents his thoughts thirty years after the publication of his first and most famous book, while the inclusion of the two-page original Foreword by brilliant American scientist Robert Trivers shows the enthusiastic reaction of the scientific community at that time. This edition is a celebration of a remarkable exposition of evolutionary thought, a work that has been widely hailed for its stylistic brilliance and deep scientific insights, and that continues to stimulate whole new areas of research today.

What exotic creatures does tomorrow hold? Dougal Dixon's classic work of speculative anthropology blends science and fantasy in a stunning zoology of the future.

This edition helps fill that niche with more than 400 scholarly articles written by experts from around the world. Intended for students and researchers, it provides a glimpse into the effects of major scientific discoveries on world religions. The multidisciplinary scope extends coverage into the social sciences and humanities, which results in a wide spectrum of entries, such as "Buddhism," "Economics," "Evil and Suffering," "Language," "Reproductive Technology," and "String Theory." The articles range from 100-word definitions of key terms to 4000-word essays on broader topics containing background information and discussions of the religious and scientific perspectives of the issues. The longer articles include bibliographies, and there is a separate annotated bibliography for the reader who wants to explore further some of the major themes covered here. The alphabetical arrangement, synoptic outline, numerous cross references, and detailed index make this encyclopedia easy to use. While lay readers will find The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition, edited by Gary B. Ferngren and others, more accessible, the Encyclopedia of Science and Religion includes more contemporary issues, Eastern traditions, and disciplines outside of science and religion. However, both resources complement each other well. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries.

Ideas about heredity and evolution are undergoing a revolutionary change. New findings in molecular biology challenge the gene-centered version of Darwinian theory according to which adaptation occurs only through natural selection of chance DNA variations. In Evolution in Four Dimensions, Eva Jablonka and Marion Lamb argue that there is more to heredity than genes. They trace four "dimensions" in evolution—four inheritance systems that play a role in evolution: genetic, epigenetic (or non-DNA cellular transmission of traits), behavioral, and symbolic (transmission through language and other forms of symbolic communication). These systems, they argue, can all provide variations on which natural selection can act. Evolution in Four Dimensions offers a richer, more complex view of evolution than the gene-based, one-dimensional view held by many today. The new synthesis advanced by Jablonka and Lamb makes clear that induced and acquired changes also play a role in evolution.

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The world's most revered and eloquent interpreter of evolutionary ideas offers here a work of explanatory force unprecedented in our time--a landmark publication, both for its historical sweep and for its scientific vision. With characteristic attention to detail, Stephen Jay Gould first describes the content and discusses the history and origins of the three core commitments of classical Darwinism: that natural selection works on organisms, not genes or species; that it is almost exclusively the mechanism of adaptive evolutionary change; and that these changes are incremental, not drastic. Next, he examines the three critiques that currently challenge this classic Darwinian edifice: that selection operates on multiple levels, from the gene to the group; that evolution proceeds by a variety of mechanisms, not just natural selection; and that causes operating at broader scales, including catastrophes, have figured prominently in the course of evolution.

This volume provide readers with analytically sound and well documented empirical information about the significant positive and negative effects mass immigration has on the Country's well being and that of their offspring.

Throughout the 20th century, psychology generally and social psychology in particular has been dominated by individualism. It has focused on the subject as ultimately biological to the neglect of the subject as a social being. In the late 1960’s, this emphasis led to the eruption of a "crisis" in social psychology, a crisis which has yet to be resolved. The most significant response to this crisis has been the development of social constructionism. This approach emphasizes the historicity, context-dependence, and socio-linguistically constituted character of all matters bearing on human activity. Many versions extend this emphasis to the conceptual and methodological practices of psychologists and to the epistemological assumptions which ground these practices, to the "meta-issues" of the discipline. It is these versions of social constructionism which this book addresses, that is, social constructionism as an epistemology (as an alternative to positivism and realism) as well as a theory of the social character of human activity.

The human species is relatively new to the planet in geologic terms. With origins reaching back only a few million years, the rise of humans from primate ancestors is a remarkable evolutionary success story. Early Humans traces the beginnings of the human species, its success and adaptability, and the development of such innovations as human language and culture. In exploring human origins, provocative questions arise concerning the human species: how are we different from each other, is there a biological basis for race, and what does the future hold for human evolution?

The foundations of functional programming languages are examined from both historical and technical perspectives. Their evolution is traced through several critical periods: early work on lambda calculus and combinatory calculus, Lisp, Iswim, FP, ML, and modern functional languages such as Miranda1 and Haskell. The fundamental premises on which the functional programming methodology stands are critically analyzed with respect to philosophical, theoretical, and pragmatic concerns. Particular attention is paid to the main features that characterize modern functional languages: higher-order functions, lazy evaluation, equations and pattern matching, strong static typing and type inference, and data abstraction. In addition, current research areas—such as parallelism, nondeterminism, input/output, and state-oriented computations—are examined with the goal of predicting the future development and application of functional languages.