The papers collected in this volume focus on new perspectives on individuals, society, and science, specifically in the field of socio-economic systems. The book is the result of a scientific collaboration among experts from “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi (Romania), “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy), "University of Defence" of Brno (Czech Republic), and "Pablo de Olavide" University of Sevilla (Spain). The heterogeneity of the contributions presented in this volume reflects the variety and complexity of social phenomena. The book is divided in four Sections as follows. The first Section deals with recent trends in social decisions. Specifically, it aims to understand which are the driving forces of social decisions. The second Section focuses on the social and public sphere. Indeed, it is oriented on recent developments in social systems and control. Trends in quantitative theories and models are described in Section 3, where many new formal, mathematical-statistical tools for modelling complex social phenomena are presented. Finally, Section 4 shows integrative theories and models; particularly, it deals with the ethical, cultural and political approaches to social science, the pedagogical methods, and the relationship between literature, politics, religion and society. The book is addressed to sociologists, philosophers, mathematicians, statisticians, people interested in ethics, and specialists in the fields of communication, social, and political sciences.

This book presents a systemic perspective on the broadly perceived problem of social care, meant in terms of a network engaging balanced resources and actors to assure the functionality, in an integrative approach. The approach involves individual, institutional and organizational structures, at the micro, mezzo- and macro-levels, in their interrelations, with proper contexts for understandings, interpretations and actions by stakeholders. The papers presented suggest ways of changes, involving even participant actors as changing agents, taking into account evolving behaviors and human relations, policies and inter-institutional frameworks, from many points of view. In the first part, various aspects, notably economic and emotional, of innovative and integrated approaches to long-term care are dealt with. Different aspects are considered exemplified by legal, educational, economic, environmental, cultural and those related to the perception of aging, labor market for the elderly, perceived quality of life, etc. The planning and management of social services are discussed in terms of a functional, and effective and efficient system, with the identification and analysis of actors and processes, and transformation policies. This is done at the local, regional and global levels.

This book concisely presents a broad range of models and theories on social systems. Because of the huge spectrum of topics involving social systems, various issues related to Mathematics, Statistics, Teaching, Social Science, and Economics are discussed. In an effort to introduce the subject to a wider audience, this volume, part of the series “Studies in Systems, Decision and Control”, equally addresses the needs of mathematicians, statisticians, sociologists and philosophers. The studies examined here are divided into four parts. The first part, “Perusing the Minds Behind Scientific Discoveries”, traces the winding path of Syamal K. Sen and Ravi P. Agarwal’s scholarship throughout history, and most importantly, the thought processes that allowed each of them to master their subject. The second part covers “Theories in Social Systems” and the third discusses “Models in Social Systems”, while the fourth and final part is dedicated to “Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences”. Given its breadth of coverage, the book will offer inquisitive readers a valuable point of departure for exploring these rich, vast, and ever-expanding fields of knowledge.

Recent Trends in Social Learning Theory offers a convenient overview of the state of social learning theory. This book is organized into six chapters. Chapter 1 provides a detailed discussion of the social learning theory, followed by an analysis of the theoretical views on the social reinforcement issue in Chapter 2. The contiguity theory of modeling and important role played by symbolic coding processes in imitation are described in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 elaborates the developmental analysis of imitation, while Chapter 5 outlines an empirical and theoretical overview of the status of punishment and its role in the development of self-control in children. The last chapter summarizes the contributions compiled in this text. This publication is recommended for students and professionals in child development and social and clinical psychology.

The human aspect plays an important role in the social sciences. The behaviour of people has become a vital area of focus in the social sciences as well. Recent Trends in Social and Behaviour Sciences contains papers that were originally presented at the International Congress on Interdisciplinary Behavior and Social Sciences, held 4-5 November 201

Research into social systems is challenging due to their complex nature. Traditional methods of analysis are often difficult to apply effectively as theories evolve over time. This can be due to a lack of appropriate data, or too much uncertainty. It can also be the result of problems which are not yet understood well enough in the general sense so that they can be classified, and an appropriate solution quickly identified. Simulation is one tool that deals well with these challenges, fits in well with the deductive process, and is useful for testing theory. This field is still relatively new, and much of the work is necessarily innovative, although it builds upon a rich and varied foundation. There are a number of existing modelling paradigms being applied to complex social systems research. Additionally, new methods and measures are being devised through the process of conducting research. We expect that readers will enjoy the collection of high quality research works from new and accomplished researchers.