Items related to Science and Its Times: 1950-Present
Synopsis
The histories of science, technology and mathematics merge with the study of humanities and social science in this interdisciplinary reference work. Combining essays on people, theories, discoveries and concepts with overviews, primary documents and chronological elements, Science and Its Times offers students a fascinating way to understand the impact of science on the course of human history and how science affects everyday life.
With coverage from about 2000 B.C. through the end of the 20th century, Science and Its Times features approximately 2, 000 entries representing people and developments throughout the world. Examples include:
- The role of the Silk Road on the transfer of technology from Asia to Europe
- The impact of the Gutenberg press on the development of literacy in Europe
- Influence of Darwins theory of natural selection on 19th-century views on society
- Efforts of Albert Einstein and other nuclear physicists in limiting the spread of nuclear weapons
- And many others
The sets eight volumes are divided by time period and each includes the same broad subject chapters and features. Central to each chapter are topical subchapters on physical sciences, life sciences, technology, mathematics, medicine and health. Each of these features 25-30 essays of 1, 500 to 3, 000 words, 30 biographical entries of 500 to 1, 000 words and about 100 brief biographical profiles.
Volumes al
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Reviewed with American Women's History.
Facts On File has created two appealing electronic reference sources with its comprehensive, multidimensional databases of American women\rquote s and American Indian history. Content is drawn from a variety of the publisher\rquote s print titles. In the case of American Women\rquote s History, these include the complete texts of A to Z of American Women Writers [RBB Je 1 & 15 00], The Encyclopedia of Women\rquote s History in America (1996), and Women Scientists (1991), among others, plus excerpts from many more. American Indian History and Culture is drawn from A to Z of Native American Women (1998), Atlas of the North American Indian [RBB S 1 00], and Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes [RBB Ap 1 99], to name a few. Both databases feature clear fonts, simple directions, immediate response without screen shuffling, and an appreciation of the difficulties of looking up data on so wide a range of people. Framing is attractive, spare, and color balanced for contrast. Search variables appear to the left, with results, definitions, and essays covering most of the screen at right.
The researcher can search American Women\rquote s History in its entirety or by section (Timeline, Biographies, Subject Entries, Historical Documents, Gallery, Maps and Charts). Sections in American Indian History and Culture are similar, with the addition of a glossary. Search capabilities include, in most cases, topic, era, and word or phrase, along with a browsable list of all the entries in the section or in the entire database. A customized search feature allows the user to combine additional terms. The content of American Indian can also be searched by tribe or culture area.
Presentation of a wide range of biographical entries is straightforward: name, date, achievement or skill, and a clearly written essay. Information includes background details, such as political situations. At the end of each entry, bibliographical sources suggest more possibilities to the researcher. Emphasis is on print books rather than magazine, newspaper, or journal articles or electronic materials.
The strengths of the databases include ample cross-referencing and well-researched time lines with hypertext leading to fuller understanding of particulars. Presentation of historical documents such as, in American Indians, recent speeches made by President Bill Clinton to Sioux and Navajo gatherings begins with an overview of time, place, and motivation and concludes with full text. Entries on tribes, events, and important Native Americans are well written, although coverage focuses on the U.S. The content of American Women\rquote s History, in particular, outdistances the predictable, pedestrian databases currently cropping up from large publishing houses by moving beyond the usual. Rather than camp out on the worn doorstep of Sacajawea or Pocahontas for Native American women, it highlights the warrior Lozen, activist Milly Francis, and potters Nampeyo and Nora Noranjo. Entries recover the importance of Stagecoach Mary, Dorothy Day, and Polly Bemis, who have dwelt in the backwaters of male-dominated historical compendia, if they are mentioned at all. Bibliographical sources stress landmark works by women: Mary Hunter Austin\rquote s The Basket Woman and Hisaye Yamamoto\rquote s The Pleasure of Plain Rice. Coverage is spotty in some fields, for example, contributions of female cooks and such cookbook authors as Martha Custis Washington, Mary Randolph, and Julia Child.
The search engine retrieves rapidly, although certain terms produce confusing results; for example, a search for cooking in American Indian netted information about places and people named Cook, including Captain James Cook and Cook Inlet. Search results would elucidate selection by categorizing the contribution of each heading, such as identifying Rita Moreno as an actress and dancer or Rachel Carson as an author and conservationist. Variant spellings, a vital element in electronic searches, are omitted. Thus, looking up basket-maker Datsolali in American Indian produces no results: the database user must know that the engine recognizes only Datsolalee. The American Indian glossary is pitifully thin. Explanations of chickee, cradleboard, jerky, and mocuck are elementary, and there are no entries at all for agave, bowdrill, mescal, plankhouse, ramada, or pulque.
Overall, the quality of presentation makes up for such quirks. For the school or public library, these above-average databases are keepers. REVWR
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- PublisherGale Research Inc
- Publication date2000
- ISBN 10 0787639397
- ISBN 13 9780787639396
- BindingHardcover
- LanguageEnglish
- Edition number1
- Number of pages624
- EditorSchlager Neil, Lauer Josh
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Science and Its Times: 1950-Present
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