James Russell - Böcker

Autism continues to fascinate researchers because it is both debilitating in its effects and complex in its nature and origins. The prevalent theory is that autism is primarily characterised by difficulties in understanding mental concepts, but the contributors to this book present new and compelling arguments for an alternative theory. Their research points strongly to the idea that autism is primarily a disorder of "executive functions", those involved in the control of action and thought. As such, the book provides a new and controversial perspective on this important question.

Language development is one of the major battle grounds within the humanities and sciences. This is the first time that the three major theories in language development research have been fully described and compared within the covers of a single book. The three approaches: (1) The rationalism of Chomsky and the syntactic nativism that it entails; (2) The empiricism instinct in connectionist modelling of syntactic development; (3) The pragmatism of those who see the child as actively 'constructing' a grammatical 'inventory' piece-by-piece through recruiting general learning abilities and socio-cognitive knowledge. The book is unique in striking a balance between broad philosophical assessment of these three theories and fine-grain, fairly technical, accounts of how they fare at the empirical and linguistic 'coal faces'.In Part 1, the kind of psychology to which rationalism, empiricism, and pragmatism give rise are described with reference to philosophers such as Fodor, Hume, and the American pragmatists from Peirce, to Rorty and Brandom. After an introduction to the syntactic analysis of the sentence, Part 2 continues with an account of the evolution of Chomskyan theory from its inception to the present day, followed by a review of developmental research inspired by it. Part 3 takes a sceptical look at connectionist modelling of syntactic development. Part 4 describes the kind of linguistic theories that the socio-cognitive approach finds sympathetic, reviewing its empirical progress (e.g. the work of Tomasello), ending with a comparison of how the generativists and functionalists tackle the evolution of syntax.Clearly and accessibly written, the book will be an important text for developmental psychologists, linguists, and philosophers working on language.

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Within a year of President George W. Bush announcing the end of major combat operations in Iraq in May 2003, dozens of attacks by insurgents had claimed hundreds of civilian and military lives. Through 2004 and 2005, accounts from returning veterans presaged an unfolding strategic debacle—potentially made worse by U.S. tactics being focused on extending conventionally oriented military operations rather than on adapting to the insurgency. By 2007, however, a sea change had taken place, and some U.S. units were integrating counterinsurgency tactics and full-spectrum operations to great effect. In the main, the government and the media cited three factors for having turned the tide on the battlefield: the promulgation of a new joint counterinsurgency doctrine, the "surge" in troop numbers, and the appointment of General David Petraeus as senior military commander. James Russell, however, contends that local security had already improved greatly in Anbar and Ninewah between 2005 and 2007 thanks to the innovative actions of brigade and company commanders—evidenced most notably in the turning of tribal leaders against Al Qaeda. In Innovation, Transformation, and War, he goes behind the headlines to reveal—through extensive field research and face-to-face interviews with military and civilian personnel of all ranks—how a group of Army and Marine Corps units successfully innovated in an unprecedented way: from the bottom up as well as from the top down. In the process they transformed themselves from organizations structured and trained for conventional military operations into ones with a unique array of capabilities for a full spectrum of combat operations. As well as telling an inspiring story, this book will be an invaluable reference for anyone tasked with driving innovation in any kind of complex organization.

Within a year of President George W. Bush announcing the end of major combat operations in Iraq in May 2003, dozens of attacks by insurgents had claimed hundreds of civilian and military lives. Through 2004 and 2005, accounts from returning veterans presaged an unfolding strategic debacle—potentially made worse by U.S. tactics being focused on extending conventionally oriented military operations rather than on adapting to the insurgency. By 2007, however, a sea change had taken place, and some U.S. units were integrating counterinsurgency tactics and full-spectrum operations to great effect. In the main, the government and the media cited three factors for having turned the tide on the battlefield: the promulgation of a new joint counterinsurgency doctrine, the "surge" in troop numbers, and the appointment of General David Petraeus as senior military commander. James Russell, however, contends that local security had already improved greatly in Anbar and Ninewah between 2005 and 2007 thanks to the innovative actions of brigade and company commanders—evidenced most notably in the turning of tribal leaders against Al Qaeda. In Innovation, Transformation, and War, he goes behind the headlines to reveal—through extensive field research and face-to-face interviews with military and civilian personnel of all ranks—how a group of Army and Marine Corps units successfully innovated in an unprecedented way: from the bottom up as well as from the top down. In the process they transformed themselves from organizations structured and trained for conventional military operations into ones with a unique array of capabilities for a full spectrum of combat operations. As well as telling an inspiring story, this book will be an invaluable reference for anyone tasked with driving innovation in any kind of complex organization.

"The Historical Epic in Contemporary Hollywood" seeks to document and explain a recent revival of historical epic films in Hollywood. Rather than relying on abstract theoretical approaches, James Russell employs empirical historical techniques to explore how industrial conditions and the agendas of key directors, writers and producers led to the increased production of historical epics such as "Dances With Wolves" (1990), "Titanic" (1997), "Gladiator" (2000) and "The Passion of the Christ" (2004). The book begins by exploring the careers of filmmakers like Steven Spielberg, James Cameron and Mel Gibson during the 1990s. Russell looks in detail at their agendas, the production of their films and at the content of the films themselves. As the book progresses, he goes on to address the activities of the major studios, in terms of production and marketing, and looks at changing industrial conditions, such as the emergence of DVD. Finally, Russell examines social trends, particularly increasing levels of religious commitment and political division in America."The Historical Epic in Contemporary Hollywood", which has been thoroughly researched in archival collections in Los Angeles and New York, deliberately focuses on the activities of individuals working in the Hollywood film industry the result is an original and interesting account of the ways that contemporary epic films get made, and speak to modern audiences. Ultimately, the book argues that historical epics reappeared in the 1990s partly as a result of changing industrial conditions, but mainly because a generation of filmmakers, all born during the so-called 'baby boom,' began to seek out meaningful ways of passing on historical knowledge to younger generations as they grew older. The epics released in the 1950s and 1960s, when Spielberg, Cameron, et al were children, constitute a key reference point in this process of renewal and reinvention in Hollywood.

Solar Energy in the Winemaking Industry fully documents all aspects of the modern solar winery, beginning with the main drivers (environmental, economic and political) and detailing the current winemaking industry and solar technologies available. It details the various energy demands in the winemaking process from harvest to bottling and beyond.Solar Energy in the Winemaking Industry catalogues the range of wineries globally that have installed a substantial solar collecting system and uses case study material to give the reader an appreciation of the diversity of solar winery facilities. From large industrial-style wineries to boutique family-run wineries; from new state-of-the-art facilities to 15th-century palaces, the application for solar is limitless.The book deals finally with the physical design, installation and operation of the solar system within the winery environment, detailing the equipment, methodologies, processes and concerns that must be addressed in their creation. This presents the reader with a range of solar design and system options, including: generic system type; installation; mounting arrangements; operation; different module and inverter components and configurations; connection; and finance.Owners, managers and planners involved in the design, building or management of a winemaking facility will derive particular benefit from Solar Energy in the Winemaking Industry, but it will also be of interest to anyone with an interest in the wine or solar industries.

The idea behind this book is that developing a conception of the physical world and a conception of mind is impossible without the exercise of agency, meaning "the power to alter at will one's perceptual inputs". The thesis is derived from a philosphical account of the role of agency in knowledge.; The book is divided into three parts. In Part One, the author argues that "purely representational" theories of mind and of mental development have been overvalued, thereby clearing the ground for the book's central thesis. In Part Two, he proposes that, because objective experience depends upon the experience of agency, the development of the "object concept" in human infants is grounded in the development of executive-attentional capacities. In Part Three, an analysis of the links between agency and self-awareness generates an original theory of the nature of certain stage-like transitions in mental functioning and of the relationship between executive and mentalizing defects in autism.; The book should be of interest to students and researchers in cognitive- developmental psychology, to philosophers of mind, and to anybody with an interest in cognitive science.