Thoroughness in Explanation of Substructure-Superstructure Relations in Introductory Sociology Textbooks

The introductory sociology course is typically the only course most students take in sociology; hence, the introductory textbook becomes the only sociology textbook they may ever read as college students. The textbook, however, often lacks rigor in explaining concepts. This study focused on the thoroughness of explanations of the relations of substructure and superstructure of society by Karl Max (economic determinism) and Max Weber (ideological determinism) in a sample of introductory sociology textbooks. We found only one textbook to be consistently thorough in explaining both determinisms, and most textbooks were rated as low in their explanations of both concepts. We argue for greater thoroughness in introductory sociology textbooks, especially in the interest of students who participate in online learning and those who may not take another course in sociology and whose impression of the discipline would be framed by the introductory textbook.

Undergraduate Textbook Representations of Meiosis Neglect Essential Elements

The process of meiosis is an essential topic that secondary and postsecondary students struggle with. The important meiosis-related concepts of homology, ploidy, and segregation can be described using the DNA Triangle framework, which connects them to the multidimensional nature of DNA (chromosomal, molecular, and informational levels). We have previously established that undergraduate biology students typically fail to describe and/or link appropriate levels to their explanations of meiosis. We hypothesize that students' understanding mirrors the resources they are given – in other words, textbook figures often lack many of the important connections that experts include when talking about meiosis. Prior work showed that text in meiosis chapters typically fails to include many concepts that experts consider important, so we examined how textbook figures present meiosis concepts. We found that almost all textbook representations include the chromosomal level of DNA, but few include the other levels, even to illustrate concepts that are rooted in informational and/or molecular levels. In particular, the molecular level of DNA was absent from nearly all introductory textbook figures examined, and the informational level was seldom depicted in mid/upper-level textbook figures. The previously established deficits in text portions of textbooks are clearly not compensated by their accompanying illustrations.

Understanding Significance Testing as the Quantification of Contradiction: Conceptual and Practical Foundations of Statistics in the Context of Experimental Research

This evolving document is my combination essay-tutorial-manifesto on foundational concepts of statistics for experimental research, primarily meant to help strengthen statistical thinking using programming and simulated experiments to make concepts concrete, rather than formal mathematics. It further aims to explain and justify the role of null hypothesis significance testing in experimental research. It’s not an introductory textbook, but more something to read alongside or after undergraduate modules. It also provides an introduction to data analysis and simulation using Python and NumPy.

A toolkit to get insights into evolutionary process in the past, presence and future

I reviewed a book Population Genomics that fills in the noticeable lack of a general introductory textbook to population genomics, one of the most exciting and rapidly developing branches of life sciences nowadays. Highly recommended to everybody willing to broaden knowledge about basics of genomics and get recent exciting insights into many evolutionary questions not possible to be answered before.

Gaius (c.110–c.180)

Gaius was a great but not a typical classical Roman jurist. His Institutes (c.ad 161), an introductory textbook, is the first known attempt to see Roman law as a systematic whole. His scheme was used by Justinian and so played a central role in subsequent European thought on the classification of law.

Criminology

Criminology is a core, introductory textbook on the field of crime and criminology. It starts by looking at what crime is and the theories that try to explain it. It then considers society's response to crime. It shows how to carry out independent research and plan first steps in a career. The critical, applied approach is emphasized through some of the many features that are integrated throughout the book. These include conversations with authentic voices from the field, compelling personal insights, and challenges to the reader to question assumptions, apply knowledge, and critically reflect on their personal viewpoints. Topics covered include crime statistics, the media, victimology, youth crime, sociological positivism, crime control, punishment, and rehabilitation. The last part of the text applies theories of criminology to the real world and introduces the reader to what might be involved in a career in criminology research.