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CHEMISTRY
Polymer Membranes for Fuel CellsEDITORS: S.M. JAVAID ZAIDI, King Fahd University of Petroleum &
Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia and TAKESHI MATSUURA, University of Ottawa, ON, Canada
ISBN-13: 978-0-387-73531-3PAGES/ILLUS: approx. 550 p., 164 illus., HardcoverPRICE: $129.00AVAILABLE (US): October 2008
This book offers one of the most comprehensive reviews written by a large number of experts in the field of development of polymeric membranes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Readers of the book will feel tremendous enthusiasm that is caused when social necessity for alternative energy sources is combined with intellectual curiosity of researchers. The topics hence cover a very wide range, from the membranes developed in a large scale by industries to those developed in the academic laboratories. This book is unique since it is the first book exclusively dedicated for fuel cell membranes. The book is written for engineers, scientists, professors, graduate students as well as general readers in universities, research institutions and industries who are engaged in R & D.
SELLING POINTS: Offers one of the most comprehensive reviews written by a large number of experts
in the field of development of polymeric membranes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells
Fuel cell area is very timely, and the concentration on membranes will make the book particularly unique
The topic will appeal to a wide range of audiences both in industry and academics
MARKET:Polymer chemists, materials scientists, electrochemists, chemical engineers, environmental scientists and engineers, mechanical engineers (automobile engineers), electrical engineers (power engineers)
SUBJECTS: Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Polymer Sciences; Renewable Energy Sources
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Chemistry
RELATED TITLES:Srinivasan, Fuel Cells (978-0-387-25116-5, 2006, $99)Blomen, Fuel Cell Systems (978-0-306-44158-5, 1993, $339)
COMPETITION:Rapra Tech, The Polymers In Fuel Cells Collection (Rapra Technology, 1859574599,
2004, $180)
CHEMISTRY, FOOD SCIENCE
Sounding Out Food QualityUltrasonic Evaluation of Complex Biological Materials
AUTHORS: M. SCANLON, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada and J. PAGE, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
ISBN-13: 978-0-387-84797-9PAGES/ILLUS: approx. 450 p., 30 illus., HardcoverPRICE: approx. $139.00AVAILABLE (US): October 2008
Sounding Out Food Quality is focused on sound science-based description of ultrasonic techniques that can be used to analyze the material properties, the structure, and the dynamics of soft materials. The first section of the book provides a comprehensive overview of the basics of wave propagation, and the propagation of sound through single phase and multi-phase materials. A brief background in the second section covers the generation of ultrasound (basic hardware components), and how different waveforms from the transducer are controlled (electronic components).
SELLING POINTS: First comprehensive source to cover both the fundamentals but also to present
applications of ultrasonic techniques Resource for both the lab and the classroom The first book to comprehensively treat the area of ultrasound applied to food
MARKET:Scientists, researchers, academics in the areas of food quality and safety, industry
SUBJECTS: Food Science; Chemistry/Food Science, general; Ultrasound
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Chemistry,
RELATED TITLES:Mason & Povey, Ultrasound in Food Processing (0-7514-0429-2, 1998, 282pp., HC, $199.00)
COMPETITION:Irudayaraj, Nondestructive Testing of Food Quality (Wiley-Blackwell, 0813828856, 2008,
$184.99)Sun, Computer Vision Technology for Food Quality Evaluation (Academic Press,
0123736420, 2007, $139.00)
COMPUTER SCIENCE
Innovation TogetherMicrosoft Research Asia Academic Research Collaboration
EDITOR: LOLAN SONG, Microsoft Research Asia, China
ISBN-13: 978-0-387-87860-7PAGES/ILLUS: XVIII, 222 p., HardcoverPRICE: $119.00AVAILABLE (US): Available
Since its establishment in 1998, Microsoft Research Asia’s trademark and long term commitment has been to foster innovative research and advanced education in the Asia-Pacific region. Through open collaboration and partnership with universities, government and other academic partners, MSRA has been consistently advancing the state-of-the-art in computer science. This book was compiled to record these outstanding collaborations, as Microsoft Research Asia celebrates its 10th Anniversary.The selected papers are all authored or co-authored by faculty members or students through collaboration with MSRA lab researchers, or with the financial support of MSRA. Papers previously published in top-tier international conference proceedings and journals are compiled here into one accessible volume of outstanding research. Innovation Together highlights the outstanding work of Microsoft Research Asia as it celebrates ten years of achievement and looks forward to the next decade of success.
SELLING POINTS: Microsoft Research Asia is one of the most highly-regarded research labs in the
global Computer Science community This book represents highlights of the best research at MSRA of the past ten years Innovation Together is the first in an exciting future series of books from Microsoft
Research Asia
MARKET:Computer science researchers and practitioners
SUBJECTS: Computer Science, general; Software Engineering/Programming and Operating Systems; Operating Systems
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Computer Science
RELATED TITLES:Borbinha, Research and Advanced Technology for Digital Libraries (978-3-540-41023-2,
2000, $87.95)
COMPETITION:IDRC, Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2007/2008 (Sage, 0761936742, 2008, $42.95)Dutta, China's Industrial Revolution And Economic Presence (World Scientific,
9812564659, 2005, $85.00)
EDUCATION
Instructional Design: The ADDIE ApproachAUTHOR: ROBERT BRANCH, University of Georgia, Athens, GA,
USAISBN-13: 978-0-387-09505-9PAGES/ILLUS: approx. 200 p., HardcoverPRICE: approx. $69.95AVAILABLE (US): September 2009
The Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate (ADDIE) process is used to introduce an approach to instruction design that has a proven record of success. Instructional Design: The ADDIE Approach is intended to serve as an overview of the ADDIE concept. The primary rationale for this book is to respond to the need for an instruction design primer that addresses the current proliferation of complex educational development models, particularly non-traditional approaches to learning, multimedia development and online learning environments. Many entry level instructional designers and students enrolled in related academic programs indicate they are better prepared to accomplish the challenging work of creating effective training and education materials after they have a thorough understanding of the ADDIE principles. However, a survey of instructional development applications indicate that the overwhelming majority of instructional design models are based on ADDIE, often do not present the ADDIE origins as part of their content, and are poorly applied by people unfamiliar with the ADDIE paradigm.
SELLING POINTS: Utilizes a simple, yet robust organizing framework Uses a thematic approach to the content Presents the concept, theory and practice for
ADDIE Contains a glossary
MARKET: Graduate libraries, students, instructional design professors
SUBJECTS: Educational Technology; Instruction and Learning; Business/Management Science, general
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Education
RELATED TITLES:Seidel, From Principles of Learning to Strategies for Instruction-with Workbook
Companion (978-0-387-71085-3, 2007, $59.95)Addy, Effective IT Service Management: To ITIL and Beyond! (978-3-540-73197-9, 2007,
$69.95)
COMPETITION:Piskurich, Rapid Instructional Design (Wiley, 978-0787980733, 2006, $48.00)
Smith, Instructional Design, 1/e (Wiley, 978-0471393535, 2004, $94.98) Dick, The Systematic Design of Instruction (Harper Collins, 978-0205412747,
$109.33)
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
Heterogeneous Wireless Access NetworksArchitectures and Protocols
EDITOR: EKRAM HOSSAIN, University of Manitoba, Canada
ISBN-13: 978-0-387-09776-3PAGES/ILLUS: XXVIII, 460 p., 156 illus., HardcoverPRICE: $129.00AVAILABLE (US): October 2008
Heterogeneous wireless networking, which is sometimes referred to as the fourth-generation (4G) wireless, is a new frontier in the future wireless communications technology and there has been a growing interest on this topic among researchers and engineers in both academia and industry. This book will include a set of research and survey articles featuring the recent advances in theory and applications of heterogeneous wireless networking technology for the next generation (e.g., fourth generation) wireless communications systems. With the rapid growth in the number of wireless applications, services and devices, using a single wireless technology such as a second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) wireless system would not be efficient to deliver high speed data rate and quality-of-service (QoS) support to mobile users in a seamless way. Fourth generation (4G) wireless systems are devised with the vision of heterogeneity in which a mobile user/device will be able to connect to multiple wireless networks (e.g., WLAN, cellular, WMAN) simultaneously. This book intends to provide a unified view on the state-of-the-art of protocols and architectures for heterogeneous wireless networking. The contributed articles will cover both the theoretical concepts and system-level implementation issues related to design, analysis, and optimization of architectures and protocols for heterogeneous wireless access networks.
SELLING POINTS: A unified and comprehensive view of the architectures and protocols for
heterogeneous wireless access networks Comprehensive treatment of state-of-the-art research on heterogeneous wireless
networking technology Coverage of a wide range of topics starting from theoretical concepts to system-level
implementation issues Contributions from world-class researchers in this area Rich set of references in each of the contributed articles
MARKET:Graduate students, researchers in academia and industry, practitioners working in the area of wireless technology and telecommunications in general
SUBJECTS: Communications Engineering, Networks; Computer Communication Networks; Microwaves, RF and Optical Engineering
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Electrical Engineering
RELATED TITLES:Fathi, A Framework for VoIP in IP-based Wireless Heterogeneous Networks (978-1-4020-
6630-6, 2008, $109.00) Pupolin, Wireless Communications: 2007 CNIT Thyrrenian Symposium (978-0-387-
73824-6, 2008. $149.00)
COMPETITION:Xie, Heterogeneous Wireless Networks- Networking Protocol to Security (VDM Verlag Dr.
Mueller e.K., 978-3836419277, 2007, $89.00) Boukerche, Quality of Service in Heterogeneous Wired/Wireless Networks: Proceedings
(IEEE Computer Society Press, 978-0769522333, $N/K, 2005) Prasad, Towards the Wireless Information Society: Heterogeneous Networks (Artech
House Publishers, 978-1580533645, $164.00, 2005)
MATERIALS SCIENCE
Springer Handbook of Experimental Solid MechanicsEDITOR: WILLIAM N. SHARPE, JR., The Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, MD, USAISBN-13: 978-0-387-26883-5PAGES/ILLUS: XXX, 1096 p., 874 illus. in color, With DVD, HardcoverPRICE: $199.00AVAILABLE (US): October 2008
The Springer Handbook of Experimental Solid Mechanics documents both the traditional techniques as well as the new methods for experimental studies of materials, components, and structures. The emergence of new materials and new disciplines, together with the escalating use of on- and off-line computers for rapid data processing and the combined use of experimental and numerical techniques have greatly expanded the capabilities of experimental mechanics. New exciting topics are included on biological materials, MEMS and NEMS, nanoindentation, digital photomechanics, photoacoustic characterization, and atomic force microscopy in experimental solid mechanics. Presents complete instructions to various areas of experimental solid mechanics, guidance to detailed expositions in important references, and a description of state-of-the-art applications in important technical areas.
SELLING POINTS: Acts as a thorough, comprehensive reference on a wide range of areas within
experimental solid mechanics Provides a clear description of basic theory and explanation of applications of
experimental methods Covers the latest technologies within the field of experimental solid mechanics Written by internationally renowned experts
MARKET:Professional/technical readers, mechanical engineers, aeronautical and aerospace engineers, structural engineers, chemical engineers
SUBJECTS: Continuum Mechanics and Mechanics of Materials; Mechanics; Structural Materials
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Materials Science
RELATED TITLES:Berghaus, Numerical Methods for Experimental Mechanics (978-0-7923-7403-9, 2001, $225) Laermann, Optical Methods in Experimental Solid Mechanics (978-3-211-83325-4, 2000, $113) Post, High Sensitivity Moire (978-0-387-98220-5, 1997, $104)
COMPETITION:Blake, Handbook of Mechanics, Materials, and Structures (Wiley, 0471862398,
1985, $300)Holzapfel, Nonlinear Solid Mechanics (Wiley, 0471823198, 2000, $125)
MATHEMATICS
Combinatorics and Graph TheorySecond Edition
AUTHORS: JOHN HARRIS, Furman University, Greenville, SC, USA; JEFFRY L. HIRST, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA and MICHAEL MOSSINGHOFF, Davidson College, Davidson, NC, USA
ISBN-13: 978-0-387-79710-6(Replaces ISBN: 978-0-387-98736-1)
PAGES/ILLUS: approx. 400 p., 165 illus., HardcoverPRICE: $49.95AVAILABLE (US): Available
This book covers a wide variety of topics in combinatorics and graph theory. It includes results and problems that cross subdisciplines, emphasizing relationships between different areas of mathematics. In addition, recent results appear in the text, illustrating the fact that mathematics is a living discipline.
The second edition includes many new topics and features: (1) New sections in graph theory on distance, Eulerian trails, and hamiltonian paths. (2) New material on partitions, multinomial coefficients, and the pigeonhole principle. (3) Expanded coverage of Pólya Theory to include de Bruijn’s method for counting arrangements when a second symmetry group acts on the set of allowed colors. (4) Topics in combinatorial geometry, including Erdos and Szekeres’ development of Ramsey Theory in a problem about convex polygons determined by sets of points. (5) Expanded coverage of stable marriage problems, and new sections on marriage problems for infinite sets, both countable and uncountable. (6) Numerous new exercises throughout the book.
About the First Edition:
“. . . this is what a textbook should be! The book is comprehensive without being overwhelming, the proofs are elegant, clear and short, and the examples are well picked.” — Ioana Mihaila, MAA Reviews
SELLING POINTS: Includes useful pointers to further reading at the post-graduate
level Definitions are followed by representative examples contains numerous exercises, figures, and exposition More streamlined than most similar texts
MARKET: Undergraduate math students, graduate math students, mathematicians, computer scientists
SUBJECTS: Combinatorics; Mathematical Logic and Foundations
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Mathematic
s
RELATED TITLES:Diestel, Graph Theory, 3/e (3-540-26183-4, $49.95, 2006) Andreescu, A Path to Combinatorics for Undergraduates (0817642889, $39.95, 2003) Bollobas, Modern Graph Theory (0-387-984887, $49.95, 2002) Godsil, Algebraic Graph Theory (0387952209, $49.95, 2001)
COMPETITION:van Lint, A Course in Combinatorics (Cambridge, 0521006015, 2001, $55.00) Bogart, Introductory Combinatorics, 3/e (Brooks-Cole, 0121108309, 2000, $147.95) West, Introduction to Graph Theory, 2/e (Prentice-Hall, 0130144002, 2000, $106.67) Pach, Combinatorial Geometry (Wiley, 0471588903, 1995, $108.82)
MATHEMATICS
Lattices and Ordered SetsAUTHOR: STEVEN ROMAN, Irvine, CA, USAISBN-13: 978-0-387-78900-2PAGES/ILLUS: approx. 330 p., 43 illus.,
HardcoverPRICE: $69.95AVAILABLE (US): Available
This book is intended to be a thorough introduction to the subject of order and lattices and can be used for a course at the graduate or advanced undergraduate level or for independent study. Prerequisites consist mostly of a bit of mathematical maturity, such as that provided by a basic undergraduate course in abstract algebra.
SELLING POINTS: Written in an appealing style Will become a standard text and an invaluable guide Contains a plethora of exercises, examples, and
illustrations
MARKET:Advanced undergrads, graduate students
SUBJECTS: Order, Lattices, Ordered Algebraic Structures; Algebra
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Mathematics
RELATED TITLES:Blyth, Lattices and Ordered Algebraic Structures (978-1-85233-905-0, 2005, $79.95)Harzheim, Ordered Sets (978-0-387-24219-4, 2005, $159)Schroeder, Ordered Sets (978-0-8176-4128-3, 2002, $69.95)Grätzer, General Lattice Theory (978-3-7643-6996-5, 2003, $92)Grätzer, The Congruences of a Finite Lattice (978-0-8176-3224-3, 2005, $59.95)
COMPETITION:Davey, Introduction to Lattices and Order (Cambridge Univ Press, 978-0521784511, 2002, $45) Stern, Semimodular Lattices (Cambridge University Press, 978-0521461054, 1999, $120) Freese, Free Lattices (American Mathematical Society, 978-0821803899, 1995, $71)
MEDICINE, SURGERY
The SAGES ManualA Practical Guide to Bariatric Surgery
EDITORS: NINH T. NGUYEN, University of California, Irvine Medical Center, Orange, CA, USA; ERIC J. DEMARIA, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; SAYEED IKRAMUDDIN, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA and MATTHEW M. HUTTER, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
ISBN-13: 978-0-387-69170-1PAGES/ILLUS: approx. 650 p. 62 illus., SoftcoverPRICE: $59.95AVAILABLE (US): October 2008
Bariatric surgery is an increasingly common procedure, but far from an easy one. Patient assessment and selection must be careful. Complications can arise quite often. Training levels can be uneven among clinicians.
SELLING POINTS: The SAGES Manual of Bariatric Surgery bridges the gaps and serves as a practical
and concise starting point for the surgeon adding these procedures to his skill set The name you trust with the SAGES Manuals, providing a concise, practice-oriented
guide to the most current techniques in bariatric surgery
MARKET:General surgeons in practice; residents in general surgery; bariatric surgery fellows
SUBJECTS: Minimally Invasive Surgery; Abdominal Surgery; General Surgery
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Medicine, Surgery
RELATED TITLES:Scott-Conner, The SAGES Manual (978-0-387-23267-6, 2005, $64.95)Whelan, The SAGES Manual of Perioperative Care in Minimally Invasive Surgery (978-0-
387-23686-5, 2005, $59.95)Schauer, Minimally Invasive Bariatric Surgery (978-0-387-68058-3, 2007, $185)Shiffman, Liposuction (978-3-540-28042-2, 2006, $389)
COMPETITION:Farraye, Bariatric Surgery: A Primer for Your Medical Practice (Slack Inc, 1-55642-736-0,
2005, $71.95) Livingston, Bariatric Surgery, An Issue of Surgical Clinics (Saunders, 1-4160-2793-9,
2005, $60.95)
PHYSICS/ASTRONOMY
Physics of the Life SciencesAUTHOR: JAY NEWMAN, Union College, Schenectady, NY,
USAISBN-13: 978-0-387-77258-5PAGES/ILLUS: XVIII, 718 p., 1500 illus., 600 in color, HardcoverPRICE: $99.00AVAILABLE (US): October 2008
Originally developed for the author's course at Union College, this text is designed for life science students who need to understand the connections of fundamental physics to modern biology and medicine. Almost all areas of modern life sciences integrally involve physics in both experimental techniques and in basic understanding of structure and function. Physics of the Life Sciences is not a watered-down, algebra-based engineering physics book with sections on relevant biomedical topics added as an afterthought. This authoritative and engaging text, which is designed to be covered in a two-semester course, was written with a thoroughgoing commitment to the needs and interests of life science students.
SELLING POINTS: Course-tested text directed specifically at the needs of Life and Health Science and
Pre-medical students Fully integrates biology, biophysics and medical techniques into the presentation of
modern physics Profusely illustrated with many color photos and line drawings Chapters contain three types of learning aids for students: open-ended questions,
multiple-choice questions, and quantitative problems in addition to numerous worked examples
Solutions manual available for instructors
MARKET: Physics and biophysics students in the life and health sciences
SUBJECTS: Physics, general; Biophysics/Biomedical Physics
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Physics/Astronomy
RELATED TITLES:Istas, Mathematical Modeling for the Life Sciences (978-3-540-25305-1, 2005, $49.95)Hobbie, Intermediate Physics for Medicine and Biology (978-0-387-30942-2, 2007, $89.95)Herman, Physics of the Human Body (978-3-540-29603-4, 2007, $129)
COMPETITION:Cutnell & Johnson, Physics (Wiley, 978-0471663157, 2006, $130.00)
Davidovits, Physics in Biology and Medicine (Academic Press, 0122048407, 2001, $44.99) Walker, Physics (Benjamin Cummings, 978-0131536319, 2006, $158.67) Serway, College Physics (Brooks Cole, 978-0534999186, 2005, $132.95)
POPULAR SCIENCE IN ASTRONOMY
The Saturn V F-1 EnginePowering Apollo into History
AUTHOR: ANTHONY YOUNG, Miami, FL, USAISBN-13: 978-0-387-09629-2PAGES/ILLUS: approx. 335 p., 140 illus., 50 in color,
SoftcoverPRICE: $59.95AVAILABLE (US): October 2008
The launch of Sputnik in 1957 not only began the space age, it also showed that Soviet rockets were more powerful than American ones. Within months, the US Air Force hired Rocketdyne for a feasibility study of an engine capable of delivering at least 1 million pounds of thrust. Later, NASA ran the development of this F-1 engine in order to use it to power the first stage of the Saturn V rocket that would send Apollo missions to the Moon. It is no exaggeration to say that without the F-1 engine NASA would not have been able to achieve President Kennedy’s 1961 challenge to his nation to land a man on the Moon before the decade was out.
SELLING POINTS: The first book devoted to the development of the Rocketdyne F-1 engine and its
integration into the five-engine cluster that would power the first stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle
Includes many color and black and white photographs, never before published, taken during the development and testing of the F-1 engine
Draws on original documents and highlights interviews with some of the engineers and managers who worked on the program
The author includes development of the hydrogen-burning J-2 engine, thus bringing rocket engine development up to the present
MARKET:Space exploration enthusiasts, space historians, students and engineers in the aviation industry and space agencies
SUBJECTS: Popular Science in Astronomy; Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Sciences
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Astronomy, Engineering
RELATED TITLES:Shayler, Apollo (978-1-85233-575-5, 2002, $49.95)Evans, Space Shuttle Columbia (978-0-387-21517-4, 2005, $52.95)Schmitt, Return to the Moon (978-0-387-24285-9, 2005, $25)Shayler, Gemini (978-1-85233-405-5, 2001, $49.95)Ulivi, Lunar Exploration-Human Pioneers, Robotic Suveyors (978-1-85233-746-9, 2004, $49.95)
COMPETITION:Bilstein, Stages to Saturn (Univ Press Florida, 0813026911, 2003, $39.95) Lawrie, Saturn (Collector's Guide Publishing , 1894959191, 2005, $27.95)
PSYCHOLOGY
Bayesian Evaluation of Informative HypothesesEDITORS: HERBERT HOIJTINK, University of Utrecht, The
Netherlands; IRENE KLUGKIST, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands and PAUL A. BOELEN, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
ISBN-13: 978-0-387-09611-7PAGES/ILLUS: XII, 364 p., HardcoverPRICE: $79.95AVAILABLE (US): October 2008
This book presents an alternative for traditional null hypothesis testing. It builds on the idea that researchers usually have more informative research-questions than the "nothing is going on" null hypothesis, or the "something is going on" alternative hypothesis. To be more precise, researchers often express their expectations in terms of expected orderings in parameters, for instance, in group means. This book introduces a novel approach, wherein theories or expectations of empirical researchers are translated into one or more so-called informative hypotheses, i.e., hypotheses imposing inequality constraints on (some of) the model parameters. As a consequence, informative hypotheses are much closer to the actual questions researchers have and therefore make optimal use of the data to provide more informative answers to these questions.
SELLING POINTS: Provides a step-by-step explanation aimed mainly at social scientists, of how to
formulate and evaluate a set of informative hypotheses (including references to software)
Contains numerous illustrations, all in the context of psychology A Bayesian approach is used for the evaluation of informative hypotheses and is
introduced at a non-technical level in the context of analysis of variance models
MARKET: Social scientists, students, researchers
SUBJECT: Statistics for Social Science, Education, Public Policy, and Law
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Psychology
RELATED TITLES:Hamada, Bayesian Reliability (978-0-387-77948-5, 2008, $89.95)
COMPETITION:Silvapulle, Constrained Statistical Inference, (Wiley, ISBN: 0471208272, 532, 2004, $105.00.)Gelman, Bayesian Data Analysis (CRC, 158488388X, 2003, $69.95)
SOCIAL SCIENCES
People and ThingsA Behavioral Approach to Material Culture
AUTHORS: JAMES SKIBO, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA and MICHAEL B. SCHIFFER, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
ISBN-13: 978-0-387-77132-8PAGES/ILLUS: XIV, 170 p., 16 illus., SoftcoverPRICE: $34.95AVAILABLE (US): October 2008
The core of archaeology is the relationship between people and things. Left without informants and, in many cases, textual data, archaeologists strive to reconstruct past life through the window of artifacts: things made, used, and modified by individuals while participating in the activities of everyday life. According to behavioral archaeologists, our ability to understand the relationship between people and things in the present is the foundation for archaeological reconstruction of the past.This comprehensive text sets forth a theory for understanding the relationship between people and things. Humans, whether in the distant past or in our current world, make choices while inventing, developing, replicating, adopting, and using their technologies. A wide arc of factors, from utilitarian to social and religious can affect these choices. The theoretical model presented here provides the means to understand how people, whether it be Paleolithic stone tool makers or 21st century computer designers and users, negotiate these myriad factors throughout the artifact’s life history. While setting forth a behavioral theory, the book also engages the ideas of other competing theories, focusing especially on agency, practice, and selectionism.
SELLING POINTS: Definitive guide to the theory of behavioral archaeology First time these six diverse case studies have been published together Compares and contrasts behavioral archaeology with other prevailing theoretical
models to fully explain the theory
MARKET: Academic archaeologists, archaeological theorists, graduate-level archaeology students
SUBJECTS: Archaeology; Anthropology
LOCATION IN BOOKSTORE: Social Sciences,
RELATED TITLES:Lock, Confronting Scale in Archaeology (978-0-387-32772-3, 2006, $104)Skibo, Pottery Function (978-0-306-44159-2, 1992, $84.95)Funari, Global Archaeological Theory (978-0-306-48650-0, 2005, $149)
COMPETITION:Vanpool, Essential Tensions in Archaeological Method and Theory (Univ of Utah Press,
978-0874807639, 2003, $55.00)Hodder, Reading the Past: Current Approaches to Interpretation in
Archaeology(Cambridge Univ Press, 978-0521821322, 2004, $79.00) Schiffer, Behavioral Archaeology (Univ of Utah Press; 978-0874805017, 2002, $25.00)