Introduction to computer theory 2nd edition pdf download

Modeling and Simulation in Python is an introduction to modeling and simulation of physical systems using the Python programming language.

This book uses Python code instead of math, and discrete approximations instead of continuous mathematics. As a result, what would be an integral in a math book becomes a summation, and most operations on probability distributions are simple loops. It emphasizes simple techniques you can use to explore real data sets and answer interesting questions.

The book presents a case study using data from the National Institutes of Health. Functionalists view society as a system in which all parts work — or function — together to create society as a whole.

In this way, societies need culture to exist. Cultural norms function to support the fluid operation of society, and cultural values guide people in making choices. By focusing on the function that culture plays in maintaining the stable equilibrium of society as a whole, functionalism can often provide interesting insights into cultural activities that seem irrational and bizarre on the surface.

Bronislaw Malinowski — described the way that the Trobriand Islanders of New Guinea used magic at each stage of preparation for fishing From a rationalized, calculative point of view, magic ritual has nothing to do with the ability to catch fish.

Fishing is a practical activity. However, as Malinowski pointed out, fishing for the Trobriand Islanders was also a risky and uncertain activity.

It was dangerous; weather was unpredictable; the whereabouts of fish variable. Magic provided the fishermen with a sense of control over their environment and a sense of confidence that enabled them to venture out into the dangerous waters day after day.

It provided a stable pattern of meaning that empowered the fishermen to risk their lives to bring back an essential food resource. Functionalists argue that cultural practices play a similar role in modern societies. The game of hockey, for example, in which highly-skilled men and women chase a disk of rubber around a frozen sheet of ice, risking injury and expending energy for nonproductive purposes, is on the surface of it an irrational and crazy activity.

Hockey is both, practically speaking, useless and yet clearly a highly valued activity. As Durkheim argued with respect to religious rituals and totems, when people come together and focus their attention on a common object — in this case, a disk of rubber — thoughts and feelings pass back and forth between them until they take on a supra-individual force, detached from the individuals themselves.

A pre-rational collective consciousness emerges that provides the basis for group solidarity or a moral sense of group togetherness. In addition, many people point to the latent functions of hockey, in that it provides an outlet for energies that might otherwise be directed to negative activities: It provides the basis for the cultivation of the self in the pursuit of excellence; it provides important lessons on the value of team play; and it provides an exercise activity that contributes to the health of the population.

As many Canadians know, it is often easier to get a good physical workout when you are chasing a puck or a hockey ball than it is to convince yourself to go jogging in the cold or to do another repetition down at the gym. Symbolic interactionism is a sociological perspective that is most concerned with the face-to-face interactions between members of society.

Proponents of this theory conceptualize human interactions as a continuous process of deriving meaning from both objects in the environment and the actions of others. Every object and action has a symbolic meaning, and language serves as a means for people to represent and communicate their interpretations of these meanings to others. Those who believe in symbolic interactionism perceive culture as highly dynamic and fluid, as it is dependent on how meaning is interpreted and how individuals interact when conveying these meanings.

A symbolic interactionist approach to fashion, for example, would emphasize that fashion is a language that we use to interpret who others are and communicate who we are. Clothing fashions in particular represent an extremely intricate language of interpersonal communication, as anyone who has gone shopping for clothes with a friend is well aware.

Georg Simmel noted that, while extremely transitory, the establishment of fashions always has to contend with two seemingly contradictory tendencies — the desire of individuals to fit in and conform to what is fashionable, and the desire of individuals to stand out as individuals Being fashionable involves a highly nuanced negotiation between these two poles. Critical sociologists view social structure as inherently unequal and based on power differentials related to issues like class, gender, race, and age.

For a critical sociologist, culture is not a unified tradition that is experienced the same way by all people in a society. The female genital mutilation practiced by several social groups in Africa and Asia is a cultural practice that is rooted in gender inequality.

It is an example of a cultural practice that reinforces and perpetuates inequalities and differences in power. Some norms, formal and informal, are practiced at the expense of others.

Following Confederation in , women were not allowed to vote in federal elections in Canada until , and it was not until that they could vote in provincial elections in Quebec.

Women property owners had been able to vote prior to Confederation. It was not until and that Canadians of Japanese, Chinese, and South Asian origins were permitted to vote. Aboriginal Canadians, who had been able to vote in some regions up until , had their rights revoked and were not permitted to vote federally again until Because of prevailing paternalistic and racist attitudes, it was argued that Aboriginal people would somehow be more susceptible to manipulation by politicians than other Canadians.

Culture in general is a site of two opposing tendencies: One is the way that cultures around the world lay down sets of rules or norms which constrain, restrict, habitualize and fix forms of life; the other is the way that cultures produce endlessly innovative and diverse solutions to problems like nutrition. We began this chapter by asking what is culture.

Culture comprises all the practices, beliefs, and behaviours of a society. Because culture is learned, it includes how people think and express themselves. While we may like to consider ourselves unique individuals, we must acknowledge the impact of culture; we inherit thought and language that shapes our perceptions and patterns our behaviour, including about issues of family and friends, and faith and politics.

In this sense culture defines the normative patterns that constrain us to live according to the given rules. On the other hand, the incredible variety of ways of thinking, ways of being, and ways of orienting oneself on the Earth, which Wade Davis calls the ethnosphere, attests to the endlessly innovative responses to the human condition that culture affords. Human possibilities are not determined by society or biology. Culture also reflects the imaginative capacity of human beings to go beyond what is given.

To an extent, culture is a social comfort. After all, sharing a similar culture with others is precisely what defines societies. Nations would not exist if people did not coexist culturally. There could be no societies if people did not share heritage and language, and civilization would cease to function if people did not agree to similar values and systems of social control. Culture is preserved through transmission from one generation to the next, but it also evolves through processes of innovation, discovery, and cultural diffusion.

We may be restricted by the confines of our own culture, but also we have the ability to question values and make conscious decisions. No better evidence of this freedom exists than the amount of cultural diversity within our own society and around the world.

The more we study another culture, the better we become at understanding our own. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis: The idea that people understand the world based on their form of language. What Is Culture? A society is a group of people sharing a community and culture.

Culture generally describes the shared behaviours and beliefs of these people, and includes material and nonmaterial elements. Our experience of cultural difference is influenced by our ethnocentrism and androcentrism.

Elements of Culture A culture consists of many elements, such as the values and beliefs of its society. Culture is also governed by norms, including laws, mores, and folkways. The symbols and language of a society are key to developing and conveying culture. Pop Culture, Subculture, and Cultural Change Sociologists recognize high culture and popular culture within societies. Societies also comprise many subcultures—smaller groups that share an identity. Countercultures reject mainstream values and create their own cultural rules and norms.

Through invention or discovery, cultures evolve via new ideas and new ways of thinking. In many modern cultures, the cornerstone of innovation is technology; the rapid growth of which can lead to cultural lag. Technology is also responsible for the spread of both material and nonmaterial culture that contributes to globalization. Theoretical Perspectives on Culture There are three major theoretical approaches toward the interpretation of culture.

An interactionist is primarily interested in culture as experienced in the daily interactions between individuals and the symbols that make up a culture. Critical sociologists see culture as inherently unequal, based on factors like gender, class, race, and age. The American flag is a material object that denotes the United States of America; however, there are certain connotations that many associate with the flag, like bravery and freedom. In this example, what are bravery and freedom?

Rodney and Elise are American students studying abroad in Italy. When they are introduced to their host families, the families kiss them on both cheeks.

Where he is from, unless they are romantically involved, men do not kiss one another. This is an example of:. Most cultures have been found to identify laughter as a sign of humour, joy, or pleasure. Likewise, most cultures recognize music in some form. Music and laughter are examples of:. Elements of Culture 6. The notion that people cannot feel or experience something that they do not have a word for can be explained by:. Pop Culture, Subculture, and Cultural Change Your year-old grandmother has been using a computer for some time now.

As a way to keep in touch, you frequently send emails of a few lines to let her know about your day. She calls after every email to respond point by point, but she has never emailed a response back. This can be viewed as an example of:.

Some jobs today advertise in multinational markets and permit telecommuting in lieu of working from a primary location. This broadening of the job market and the way that jobs are performed can be attributed to:. Theoretical Perspectives on Culture A sociologist conducts research into the ways that Hispanic American students are historically underprivileged in the American education system.

What theoretical approach is the sociologist using? The Occupy Wall Street movement of grew to be an international movement. Supporters believe that the economic disparity between the highest economic class and the mid to lower economic classes is growing at an exponentially alarming rate. A sociologist who studies that movement by examining the interactions between members at Occupy camps would most likely use what theoretical approach?

What theoretical perspective views society as having a system of interdependent inherently connected parts? In January , a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America presented evidence indicating that the hormone oxytocin could regulate and manage instances of ethnocentrism. Delaney was based upon the principles of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Pop Culture, Subculture, and Cultural Change The Beats were a counterculture that birthed an entire movement of art, music, and literature—much of which is still highly regarded and studied today.

The man responsible for naming the generation was Jack Kerouac; however, the man responsible for introducing the world to that generation was John Clellon Holmes, a writer often lumped in with the group. Popular culture meets counterculture as Oprah Winfrey interacts with members of the Yearning for Zion cult.

Barger, K. Barthes, R. Berger, P. The sacred canopy: Elements of a theory of religion. New York, NY: Doubleday.

Darwin, C. The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. London, UK: John Murray. DuBois, C. Fritz, T. Koelsch, S. Universal recognition of three basic emotions in music. Current Biology, 19 7. Kymlicka, W. Multiculturalism: Success, failure, and the future. Oberg, K. Cultural shock: Adjustment to new cultural environments.

Practical Anthropology, 7, — Smith, D. The everyday world as problematic: A feminist sociology. Sumner, W. Folkways: A study of the sociological importance of usages, manners, customs, mores, and morals. Angelini, P. Race and ethnicity: The obvious diversity. In Paul Angelini Ed. Toronto, ON: Nelson. Cook, J. A voyage to the Pacific Ocean. London, UK: W.

Lipset, S. Continental divide: The values and institutions of the United States and Canada. McRoberts, K. Misconceiving Canada: The struggle for national unity. Mash potato. In Oxford English Dictionary online. Passero, K. Global travel expert Roger Axtell explains why. Biography, pp. Statistics Canada. Languages in Canada: census [PDF]. Catalogue no. Swoyer, C. The linguistic relativity hypothesis. Zalta Ed.

Knox, J. Poll: B. Times Colonist , p. Weber, B. Harold Garfinkel, a common-sense sociologist, dies at The New York Times. Westcott, K. BBC News. Appadurai, A. Modernity at large: Cultural dimensions of globalization. Bosker, B. Original copies: Architectural mimicry in contemporary China.

Friesen, J. Tim Hortons: How a brand became part of our national identity. The Globe and Mail. Greif, M. The hipster in the mirror. Marx, K. The eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte. McLellan Ed. Original work published Scheuerman, W.

Crompton, S. Main sources of stress among workers [PDF]. Statistics Canada catalogue no. General social survey — overview of the time use of Canadians: Highlights. Perceived life stress, Weber, M. The Protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism. Science as a vocation. The permanent character of the bureaucratic machine.

A history of the vote in Canada. Malinowski, B. Magic, science and religion. Simmel, G. Levine Ed. Figure 3. She wears bright clothes, large glasses, knee high socks and an owl backpack. Skip to content Main Body. Learning Objectives 3. Differentiate between culture and society.

Distinguish between biological and cultural explanations of human behaviour. Compare and contrast cultural universalism, cultural relativism, ethnocentrism, and androcentrism. Examine the policy of multiculturalism as a solution to the problem of diversity. Elements of Culture Understand the basic elements of culture: values, beliefs, and norms.

Explain the significance of symbols and language to a culture. Describe the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Distinguish material and nonmaterial culture. Discuss the distinction between high culture, pop culture, and postmodern culture. Differentiate between subculture and counterculture.

Understand the role of globalization in cultural change and local lived experience. Culture as Restriction: Rationalization and Commodification Describe culture as a form of restriction on social life. Explain the implications of rationalization and consumerism.

Theoretical Perspectives on Culture Discuss the major theoretical approaches to cultural interpretation. Pollan, Levenstein as cited in Pollan, We are forced to conclude that human nature is almost unbelievably malleable, responding accurately and contrastingly to contrasting cultural conditions.

The differences between individuals who are members of different cultures, like the differences between individuals within a culture, are almost entirely to be laid to differences in conditioning, especially during early childhood, and the form of this conditioning is culturally determined As a result the perspectives, concerns, and interests of only one sex and class are represented as general.

Only one sex and class are directly and actively involved in producing, debating, and developing its ideas, in creating its art, in forming its medical and psychological conceptions, in framing its laws, its political principles, its educational values and objectives.

Thus a one-sided standpoint comes to be seen as natural, obvious, and general, and a one-sided set of interests preoccupy intellectual and creative work. Smith, Multiculturalism tree planted in Stanley Park to bring B. Critics of multiculturalism identify four related problems: Multiculturalism only superficially accepts the equality of all cultures while continuing to limit and prohibit actual equality, participation, and cultural expression.

Multiculturalism obliges minority individuals to assume the limited cultural identities of their ethnic group of origin, which leads to stereotyping minority groups, ghettoization, and feeling isolated from the national culture. Multiculturalism causes fragmentation and disunity in Canadian society.

Minorities do not integrate into existing Canadian society but demand that Canadians adopt or accommodate their way of life, even when they espouse controversial values, laws, and customs like polygamy or sharia law.

Multiculturalism is based on recognizing group rights which undermines constitutional protections of individual rights. Our symbols are universal. You cannot say anything that is absolutely particular, anything you say that has any meaning at all is universal.

Mind, Self and Society, Nowadays, many signs—on streets and in stores—are multilingual. What effect does this have on members of society? What effect does it have on our culture? Photo courtesy of William P. Other Useful Links. Best Power Electronics Books Collection. Advances in Power Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering. Alternative Energy in Power Electronics. Power Electronics. Digital Power Electronics and Applications.

Introduction to Modern Power Electronics. Power Electronic Modules: Design and Manufacture. Complete the form to collaborate and provide files to all users. Discover our Glossary of authors, and browse among the different texts that we have published for each of them. Section with answers to the most frequently asked questions about the site, including; how to download books on this site.

Featured book. Wolfgang Bauer 0. Milo D. Koretsky 0. Randall D. Knight 0. George Odian 0. John Kenkel 0. Trott 0. Carl S. Warren 2. Warren 0. Abraham Silberschatz 1. Frederick S. Hillier 1. William Stallings 1.