Few books have attempted to contextualize the importance of video game play with a critical social, cultural and political perspective that raises the question of the significance of work, pleasure, fantasy and play in the modern world. The study of why video game play is "fun" has often been relegated to psychology, or the disciplines of cultural anthropology, literary and media studies, communications and other assorted humanistic and social science disciplines. In Utopic Dreams and ...

Introducing Survival Analysis and Event History Analysis is an accessible, practical and comprehensive guide for researchers and students who want to understand the basics of survival and event history analysis and apply these methods without getting entangled in mathematical and theoretical technicalities. Inside, readers are offered a blueprint for their entire research project from data preparation to model selection and diagnostics.Engaging, easy to read, functional and packed ...

Great leaps forward in scientific understanding have, throughout history, engendered similar leaps forward in how we understand ourselves. Now, the new hybrid disciplines of evolutionary biology and social physics are making the next leap possible -- and fundamentally altering our notions of individual identity. If identity is a fact not derived from within the individual, but conferred on an individual by a group, or network, a host of assumptions about how governments work, how conflicts...

A frustrating war and an endless occupation. The very real prospect of more conflict overseas. A military stretched beyond its breaking point. The stage is set for the resumption of the draft. Now, in an explosive and provocative book, Philip Gold, a former Marine and a disaffected conservative, reveals why selective service should never come to pass–but might.In The Coming Draft, Gold charts the path that brought us to this treacherous point and posits an “exit strategy” for Ameri...

A veteran science reporter's investigation into the fascinating and distinctive nature of women's friendshipsIn Girl Talk, New York Times science reporter Jacqueline Mroz takes on the science of female friendship -- a phenomenon that's as culturally powerful as it is individually mysterious. She examines friendship from a range of angles, from the historical to the experiential, with a scientific analysis that reveals new truths about what leads u...

A trend expert predicts what's next for fields like education and government while sharing how readers can shape their own futures.Epiphany Z is a dynamic approach to envisioning, comprehending, and ultimately thriving in the radically different futures emerging around us at the speed of light.Distilling decades of research, experience, and proven success in correctly identifying and accurately extrapolating today's trends and innovations into tomorr...

No Man is an IslandIn our modern age, that applies to women too.It doesn't matter who you are, at some point you are going to need someone other than yourself to make your business successful.While there are more opportunities out there for success these days, there is more competition than ever!Take a look around your sphere of influence and see who is absolutely kicking it in terms of success.Is it someone you think may have born w...

Design Research is a new interdisciplinary research area with a social science orientation at its heart, and this book explores how scientific knowledge can be put into practice in ways that are at once ethical, creative, helpful, and extraordinary in their results.In order to clarify the common aspects – in terms of features and approaches – that characterize all strands of research disciplines addressing design, Design Research undertakes an in-depth exploration...

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com.Knowing, measuring and understanding media audiences have become a multi-billion dollar business. But the convention that underpins that business, audience ratings, is in crisis. Rating the Audience is the first book to show why and how audience ratings research became a convention, an agreement, and the first to interrogate...

At the turn of the millennium, Mexico seemed to have finally found its path to political and economic modernization; a state which had been deeply embedded in society was being pulled out, with new political leaders allowing market forces to play a greater role in guiding the nation’s economic development, and allowing old patron-client networks to crumble. At the same time, many hoped that political and legal reforms would increase the state’s capacity to provide prosperity, security, and...

Women at Risk brilliantly recasts the debate about violence against women and makes a major contribution to feminist thinking about women′s health. Practitioners and theorists who want to understand women′s health issues from a stunning new perspective must read this book. --Heidi Hartmann, Ph.D., President, Institute for Women′s Policy Research, Washington, DC "Women at Risk is a unique and important blend of research, practice, and advocacy. This volume makes a significant contribution t...

To live forever is one of man's oldest aspirations--and it might be become a reality. With advances in medicine and new gene research, human life span could extend into hundreds of years. But is this life extension a good thing? "Cheating Death" examines every side of the dilemma of aging and longevity--from improvements in diet and medicine to the grander promises of science to the consequences of incredibly long life.