2. What robots do now
Alan Winfield
in Robotics: A Very Short Introduction
‘What robots do now’ looks at robots in industry and our lives today. Assembly line robots, or robot arms, lie on the unglamorous end of the robot family. These robots are effective as they ...
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7. Family, group, and interactive therapies
Tom Burns and Eva Burns‐Lundgren
in Psychotherapy: A Very Short Introduction
‘Family, group, and interactive therapies’ considers and describes the widely established practice of systemic family therapy, couples therapy, and group therapy, and also introduces ...
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8. Where next for family law?
Jonathan Herring
in Family Law: A Very Short Introduction
‘Where next for family law?’ turns towards the future for family law as family life continues to go through many changes. The law is struggling to keep up with these changes. There are ...
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1. Beginnings
Frank A. J. L. James
in Michael Faraday: A Very Short Introduction
The family origins of Michael Faraday are traced in ‘Beginnings’. Born in London in 1791, his family had moved from Westmorland to find work. His father worked as an ironmonger and the ...
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7. From monk to family man
Scott H. Hendrix
in Martin Luther: A Very Short Introduction
The Reformation was borne out of the crucial disputes of the era. For reformers, the right of clergy to marry would avert the hypocrisy of sexual practices of clergy living under the vow of ...
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1. What is psychotherapy and who is it for?
Tom Burns and Eva Burns‐Lundgren
in Psychotherapy: A Very Short Introduction
Psychotherapy involves using an agreed relationship between a trained practitioner and a patient to obtain relief from emotional suffering. Most Western psychotherapies are based on talking ...
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7. Pluralism: is causation many different things?
Stephen Mumford and Rani Lill Anjum
in Causation: A Very Short Introduction
‘Pluralism: is causation many different things?’ proposes that no single theory can explain all cases of causation. Socrates' belief that there is a single essence to something is compared ...
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7. Alimony and financial orders
Jonathan Herring
in Family Law: A Very Short Introduction
‘Alimony and financial orders’ considers how disputes over financial issues are debated and resolved in family law. There is a widespread perception that divorce causes financial ruin for ...
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4. Fernando Seeks a Wife: Sex and Blood
John Monaghan and Peter Just
in Social and Cultural Anthropology: A Very Short Introduction
‘Fernando Seeks a Wife’ examines the ways in which human beings form social ties through ties of blood and marriage. Using examples from the Mixtec and Dou Donggo, the importance of ...
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8. Of molecules and man
Keith Thomson
in Fossils: A Very Short Introduction
‘Of molecules and man’ considers human evolution and the use of modern DNA analysis to fill in the gaps in the phylogeny of Homo sapiens. Human fossils show us how our forebears lived, ...
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6. Reflections on ageing and future directions
Nancy A. Pachana
in Ageing: A Very Short Introduction
‘Reflections on ageing and future directions’ considers some of the new directions in geriatric research and clinical practice; exciting developments in healthcare and technology, including ...
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1. Introduction
Philip N. Jefferson
in Poverty: A Very Short Introduction
Poverty is a global issue. There are people in every country with a standard of living that is significantly lower than that of others. Nevertheless, the absolute number of people living in ...
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4. Migration and development
Khalid Koser
in International Migration: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Migration and development’ assesses the effect of migration on development in origin countries. The main benefit to origin nations is remittance of money back to migrants’ families. This ...
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4. Psychoanalysis and psychotherapy
Tom Burns
in Psychiatry: A Very Short Introduction (2nd edn)
‘Psychoanalysis and psychotherapy’ considers the contribution of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy to the field of psychiatry. It discusses Sigmund Freud and the origins of psychoanalysis, ...
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5. Music as culture
Timothy Rice
in Ethnomusicology: A Very Short Introduction
‘Music as culture’ examines the connections that ethnomusicologists make between music and culture. Culture, in an ethnomusicologist sense, refers to all forms of human knowledge, ...
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1. Marriage, civil partnership, and cohabitation
Jonathan Herring
in Family Law: A Very Short Introduction
‘Marriage, civil partnership, and cohabitation’ examines the changes that have recently taken place in the composition and nature of the family unit and asks: what is a family? Over recent ...
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1. The Diplomat
Quentin Skinner
in Machiavelli: A Very Short Introduction
‘The Diplomat’ describes the insight that Machiavelli gained during his diplomatic career. Machiavelli became second chancellor of the Florentine Republic aged 29, despite lacking previous ...
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5. Robustness
David Muir Wood
in Civil Engineering: A Very Short Introduction
The consequences of structural failure can be high in terms of human life and economic impact. ‘Robustness’ examines the elements involved in minimising such failures through the ...
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4. Concept – technology – realization
David Muir Wood
in Civil Engineering: A Very Short Introduction
Engineering is concerned with finding solutions to problems. How the civil engineer goes about that process is examined in ‘Concept — technology — realization’. The interplay of these three ...
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2. Playing philosophically
Rob Iliffe
in Newton: A Very Short Introduction
‘Playing philosophically’ considers Newton's early life, describing how his immersion in worlds of practical ingenuity not only offered portents of his great future, but led directly to it. ...
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