Thriving Across the Lifespan and Around the Globe: Day in the Life Visual Research Approach is the result of several decades of international, pan-disciplinary research-team collaborations using quasi-ecological visual methodologies to investigate the psychosocial development of children in diverse communities. The initial studies highlighted in this work involved filming a ‘Day in the Life’ of toddlers and primary school children, their families, and schools in diverse communities in Asia, South and North America, and Europe. Filmed in their homes and communities for an entire day, the youngest participants were commonly seen to be thriving in diverse psychosocial domains, such as in their security strivings, emergent literacy and graphic representations, and musicality. Research shows that the nature of a child's development can vary in as many ways as there are diverse contexts. Thriving in the transition from home to primary school is a second developmental milestone investigated in the research. The book serves as an account of the lived experiences of thriving children,among their families, their schools and their communities. The contents give an invaluable insight into the psychology of early childhood while giving the reader an opportunity to understand the resilience of mobile early teenagers as well as independent older adults. The contributions in the book also provide an additional layer to our understanding of visual ethnography by covering such phenomena as agency and communitarianism, spirituality, and the place of humour in the context of challenges encountered across the lifespan. Through presenting quasi-ecological experimental approaches, this reference enhances the reader’s insight into the texture and nature of thriving in situ, in natural contexts.

Based on six years of extended ethnography in multiple agricultural areas of the Eastern United States, Down Country Lanes, Behind Abandoned Houses is a monograph which explores the lives of migrant and seasonal farm workers. The six-year study secured multi-setting field data in primary, secondary and casual sites, and audio-taped narrative life stories from men and women who harvest and perform the related tasks that help to make the many foods which we enjoy in abundance. The study presented in this book elaborates vignettes from field observations with a focus on workers who use drugs and alcohol, and is complemented by formal (narrative life stories) and informal interviews. The author explores diverse field data that reveal the hardships, exclusion and social adversities that migrant farm workers experience many times more often than any other social group with considerable susceptibility to drug / alcohol use. Down Country Lanes, Behind Abandoned Houses gives readers a perspective about farm workers’ social vulnerability across multiple agricultural areas, while comparing willful neglect and social non-existence experienced by farm workers to a gray zone of contemporary horrors in the way that these men and women have been viewed and treated over many decades. The monograph is an invaluable reference for the study of social problems, substance abuse, trans-national migratory experiences and field methods in sociology. The book also serves as a contemporary handbook on the anthropology of American agricultural labor.

The Abu Serga Church is one of the oldest known Coptic churches in Egypt, with a history of almost 1700 years. This reference work presents a comprehensive geotechnical and geophysical survey of the vicinity of the Abu Serga Church. The book details the information of the survey using classical and modern methods of geotechnical engineering while keeping contemporary issues faced by site investigators in view. Chapters provide the data of the church site while covering topics of interest to students such as seismic analysis, 3-D modeling and historical preservation principles. Advanced methods of interest to engineers such as mathematical analysis using finite element methods are also covered. This work provides key data about the Abu Sega Church site and is of interest to scholars and engineers involved in conservation engineering of architectural heritage (or built heritage), as well as readers interested in church studies.

Serial Killers Around the World: The Global Dimensions of Serial Murder compiles serial murder case studies from several countries - from Australia to Great Britain, and from Japan to Pakistan. The author has covered accounts on a wide array of serial killers including some well known felons namely Jack the Ripper, The Butcher of Mons, Martin & Marie Dumollard, as well as some of the lesser known serial slayers such as Daisy DeMelker, Yoshio Kodaira, Javed Iqbal and many more. The book highlights six dimensions of each case: the killer(s), the serial murders, other crimes, communication, the investigation and trial and punishment of the accused. Readers, both general and aspiring criminologists alike, will find Serial Killers Around the World an interesting resource for critical information on serial murders committed in nations around the world.

The story of the unidentified serial killer in London’s Whitechapel district - known as Jack The Ripper – has been the subject of interest to researchers for over 120 years. The name ascribed to the individual was from a letter sent to the Central News Agency in London on 27 September 1888. Initially thought to be a hoax, the letter gained much publicity when the writer’s promise of clipping a lady’s ears off manifested after the discovery of the body of Catherine Eddowes with an ear lobe severed, 3 days after the letter was received. Several letters followed this and borrowed elements from the earlier correspondences. Jack the Writer: A Verbal & Visual Analysis of the Ripper Correspondence is a different approach to the subject of ‘Ripperology’. In this book, the author, Dirk Gibson, provides a quantitative content analysis of the letters. Gibson first grounds this study of the Jack the Ripper letters in an analysis of the legitimacy of the documents. The dialectic method is used to carefully consider the authenticity of these letters. The largest extant collection of Jack the Ripper letters is provided in this book, approximately 250 in number. The most significant part of this book is a trio of content analyses quantifying the themes, subjects, people and linguistic mannerisms mentioned in the Ripper letters; the analyses describe precisely what was and was not in these missives. The letters are described and presented in the context of their content, with the valid letters presented in chronological order. Jack the Writer: A Verbal & Visual Analysis of the Ripper Correspondence will give readers, whether generally interested in the ripper correspondence or undertaking courses in criminology or abnormal psychology, a glimpse of the cultural context of a serial murderer’s communication with the public and the press in Victorian times.

This book covers some recent researches on the interface between drug misuse and crime and demonstrates that some types of violent crimes are more intimately related to alcohol and / or drug consumption. It is written for researchers, health and law professionals engaged in the evaluation, management and treatment of different types of offenders. It is organized by a number of phenomena that are known (or supposed) to link drugs and crime. This book shows that the application of punishment under the guise of deterrence, despite its ineffectiveness, is frequently preferred to a more adequate management for some types of offenders. This book provides ten manuscripts that describe different aspects of the relationship between drugs and crimes, always focusing on Brazilian reality. It shows that a partnership between specialized mental health professionals, lawyers and policy makers is urgent with respect to this subject in Brazil and other countries.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has prompted educators to utilize online learning resources in order to comply with public health and social distancing mandates. The transition to virtual classrooms has created several opportunities and challenges for all stakeholders involved in the educational ecosystem. The ability of the classroom instructor to impart learning to students requires considerable adjustments from both students and teachers, which can be a new experience for educational professionals. Virtual and Classroom Learning in Higher Education serves as a handy guide for instructors to effective online teaching with a focus on higher education. The book presents reviews on different aspects of online teaching, distilling key findings in an easy to understand manner for the reader. It provides educators with knowledge which familiarizes them with online teaching models and concepts (such as micro-learning, synchronous and asynchronous learning, online pedagogy, dynamic learning experience and more). Chapters are contributed by experts in online learning and cover the topic from different angles, giving the reader a broad perspective on virtual classrooms. Virtual and Classroom Learning in Higher Education is an essential read for administrators and educators involved in higher education settings, and general readers who are interested in widening their view of the online teaching model.

This reference presents information about quality benchmarks of Indian higher education institute (HEI) accreditation bodies namely, the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF). The objective of the book is to enlighten stakeholders working in Indian HEIs on the recently revised accreditation and ranking processes, which are crucial to the career prospects of students. The contributors of each chapter include experienced NAAC assessors and educationalists. The authors present their own experiences in the light of the accreditation process and suggestions for the improvement of rankings in their institutes. Topics such as the student feedback system, student perception on private and public universities, student mentoring system, usage of ICT methods in teaching learning process, and integration of life skills into curriculum are discussed in this book. The information is presented in a simple, structured manner and is an informative resource for personnel involved in administrative and policy making roles in higher educational settings, with a focus on the Indian higher education system.

Physics Education for Students: An Interdisciplinary Approach is a compilation of reviews that highlight new approaches and trends in teaching and learning specific topics on physics to high school and university students. The reviews cover different areas of physics education (laboratory activities, mathematics, philosophy and history) and the ways that learning outcomes can be improved. These distinguished areas can generate complexities and difficulties for students in learning some concepts since the same topics are often presented while following approaches that do not highlight the existing correlations among the involved disciplines. The reviewers discuss an integrated framework for readers with the objective to promote the inclusion of specific laboratory activities and mathematics contents for physics courses addressed to university students, with evidence of the importance of combining a historical and philosophical approach as well. Specific topics in this book include the benefits of active learning in physics education, dialogic best practices in science education, research-based proposals on optical spectroscopy in secondary schools, didactic principles and e-learning in physics and expansive framing in physics laboratories. Physics Education for Students: An Interdisciplinary Approach, with its selection of expert reviews is an interesting read for academics and researchers involved in STEM education, at the school or college level.

This discourse on the concept of the ‘new university’ encompasses a number of interconnected topics, ranging from the impacts of the market forces on the old academic territory to current perceptions about relationships between teachers and students. The book focuses on the inside features of the new academia. Some examples of issues and questions covered include: - New media in education, which present opportunities and challenges for both learning students and teachers. But are these new possibilities for all, or just for members of the current ‘internet generation’? Moreover, How can new media be arranged to support a process of generic, collaborative learning? - A discourse on the ‘new student’. Nowadays, terms such as rationality and ‘Bildung’ have emerged coupled with a trend for searching for shortcuts and denying one’s interests in deeper understanding of subjects. But does there really exist a new student on a qualitative level? - Free dialogue has been brought forward by many educationalists as one important way to promote academic knowledge. How does free dialogue really contribute to this objective? The e-book relates such issues to the specific features of the ‘new university’. For a broad insight into the issues forming the education of the future generation, Inside the New University offers important clues for the understanding of the ‘new university’ concept to readers - including educationalists and government policy makers - interested in the qualitative evolution of contemporary educational institutions.