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** NEW IN SHRINKWRAP!!! ** BUSINESS BOOK:WORLD GLOBAL SALES JUMPSTART-BOOST REVENUE-INTERNATIONAL MARKETING >GLOBAL SALES JUMPSTART-EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP/MARKETING BUSINESS MANAGEMENT BOOK< Global Jumpstart: The Complete Resource! Expanding Small And Midsize Businesses Paperback using INTERNATIONAL GLOBAL SALES Despite a world of opportunities, many entrepreneurs are paralysed when it comes to the prospect of expanding overseas. In this book, the authors take the mystery out of going global. Drawing upon years of helping companies expand into new markets, they present a comprehensive and practical guide for establishing a global mindset, undertaking research, building competitive intelligence, assessing customer needs, and evaluating a wide variety of expansion options, from exporting to franchising to joint ventures. Packed with solid, up-to-date information, and featuring the "global marketing audit", this book should be an essential resource for any entrepreneur with global ambitions. For business large and small, a global marketplace represents a source of great promise - and peril. While trade barriers have come down, and advances in communication and information technology have made new markets accessible as never before, one false move can spell disaster, especially for small and midsize companies. Nevertheless, with a combination of ambitious vision and careful planning, even the smallest businesses can expand far beyond their home country's borders. Product Details Paperback: 224 pages Publisher: Basic Books (January 14, 2000) Language: English ISBN-10: 073820160X ISBN-13: 978-0738201603 Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 5.9 x 8.9 inches Editorial Reviews From Booklist The authors offer a complete resource guide for small to midsize companies that are contemplating expanding their business globally, those companies that have taken some initial steps as well as those which have never entered global markets. They provide a detailed approach to research and analysis of global business opportunities, which include conducting market research within an appropriate budget, assessing internal resources, getting a company ready to export, and adopting a global mind-set. Global sales projections, market-share analysis, and the efficiency and effectiveness of the marketing program must be constantly monitored and fine-tuned to ensure progress and profitability. The hurdles in international markets are daunting for companies of all sizes, but small companies often need additional insight and preparation, and the authors provide them with a useful road map. As we learn, "the question is not whether to go global, but when to go global." -by Mary Whaley About the Author Ruth Stanat is President and CEO of SIS International. Author of The Intelligent Corporation and Global Gold, she lectures around the world on international business issues and was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense to the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. She lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Chris West is Managing Director of London-based Marketing Intelligence Services Ltd. An expert on marketing, market research, and competitive intelligence, he is the author of Marketing Research. He lives in Chipstead, Surrey. Absorb, Digest, and Then Do It I am convinced that E-Everything includes E-Everyone. That is to say, directly or indirectly, every company (regardless of size or nature) is involved in globalization. This book may not be "the complete resource for expanding small and midsize businesses" but I know of no other single volume which offers more and better guidance. The authors organize their material within nine chapters which range from "The Global Business" to "Measuring Your Success." They then provide an excellent Appendix which discusses "Five Stages of Organizational Development for Small Firms" followed by a second Appendix which explains how to create a "Global Marketing Plan." If your organization is unsure as to how to proceed, here is my suggestion. Select key people and purchase for each a copy of this book. Next, select a date and an off-site location to conduct a rigorous workshop during which this book serves as the agenda. Insist that all participants read the book in advance. Finally, make it crystal clear that you expect the group to formulate a "Game Plan" to implement. Build into that plan measurement and accountability devices. Don't expect superior performance. Demand it! Why accept less? SOME GENERAL INFO ABOUT Ruth Stanat & SIS International Research From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia SIS International Research Type Private Industry Marketing research Founded 1984 Headquarters New York, NY Area served Worldwide Products Research Marketing research Business-to-Business research Market Intelligence Website sismarketresearch.com SIS International Research is a global market research firm headquartered in New York City. The company provides full-service custom market research services, on-demand intelligence answering services and global research media. SIS International was founded in 1984 and initially provided syndicated market intelligence reports. Beginning in 1990, the company expanded its operations in Europe and further expanded into Asia, including China. SIS International continuously conducts ad hoc custom research in over 120 countries for over 50 industries.[1][2][3] Contents 1 Organization 2 Services 3 History 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 External links Organization[edit source | editbeta] The company is organized into three divisions. SIS International Custom Research. Its flagship full-service Market Research division, SIS International Custom Research, conducts custom Qualitative Market Research & Quantitative Market Research, Emerging Markets Research, Business Intelligence, Competitive Intelligence, Focus Groups, Strategic Planning and Political Polling. The division's specialties have traditionally been Market feasibility/entry research, Business-to-Business research and Market Sizing studies. SIS Global Research Media. The division provides the Global Market Intelligence Tracking Service, custom industry tracking services, the Marketintelligences blog, the Industry Synthesis Blog, webinars, published books, Worldwide Intelligence Library and other research products. The Global Market Intelligence Tracking Service (GMITS) is a quarterly analysis of 13 industries in terms of competitive movements, mergers & acquisitions, strategic analysis, opportunities and challenges. SIS GRM has published over 4 books, including "China's Generation Y:Understanding the Future Leaders of the World's Next Superpower," "Global Gold," "Global Jump Start" and "The Intelligent Corporation." SIS Intelligence Answering. The division offers on-demand intelligence services for companies and executives. Services[edit source | editbeta] SIS International Research is specialized in providing insight into diverse areas of the business landscape. Consumer, B2B, Industrial, IT & Medical Market Research: SIS provides market research solutions such as segmentation, fieldwork, data collection, satisfaction and loyalty research, behavior usage & attitude, data collection, emerging markets research, product research, branding, competitive intelligence, pricing, usability testing, stakeholder audits and market entry/sizing. Strategic Research Services: SIS has a strategic research business unit specialized on C-Suite decision-making and issues relating to growth, competitiveness, and market movements. Key solutions include Market Assessment / Entry / Sizing / Opportunity, Competitive Intelligence, ROI Analysis, Sales and Demand forecasting and Strategic Planning. SIS Global Growth: SIS Global Growth was launched to provide business support solutions worldwide, including growth solutions, problem solving, research, implementation support, management, and development and training solutions. SIS Global Growth is focused across a variety of functional disciplines, such as Growth, Strategy, Operations, Logistics, Supply Chain, Corporate Social Responsibility, Intellectual property, and the broader market landscape. Key solutions include Market Entry Strategy & Consulting, Emerging Markets Business Development, Strategic planning & consulting, Expert sourcing and Theft Intelligence. Analytics: SIS provides analytics, statistics and tools for data, including statistical analysis, modeling, scenario planning, neuro-research tools and online analytics. History[edit source | editbeta] The Early Years (1980s) • Ruth Stanat founded SIS International Research, Inc. in 1984 on Madison Avenue in New York City as a syndicated market research report company. SIS offered monthly research reports to companies during this period of relatively scarce information on global markets. Key products included the following: • TECH-SCAN: SIS launched TECH-SCAN, a monthly scanning and research service that reviewed and analyzed the key articles from the vast array of computer and technical journals available. • SMART OLLIETM: SIS has developed SMART OLLIETM using a data base from Weiner, Edrich & Brown, Inc. WEB. The system, a total Strategic Intelligence System designed for research professionals and librarians, consisted of a comprehensive data base that drew upon the knowledge and abstract data base of the WEB organization. • In 1986, SIS International became a founding member of the Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP). • Consulting Services and Systems: SIS launched a methodology that identified and extracted relevant “soft” information from both external and internal organization sources and translated this information into “executive intelligence.” • Productivity Improvement of Information Management: SIS provided Productivity Improvement Programs for Information Management. The concepts and methods employed in these programs focused on combining business analysis with the creative application of data processing technologies in a results-oriented, operational program. • "INTELLI-SCAN": INTELLI-SCAN was a network that offered rapid, cost-efficient access to information in the following areas: Competitive Analysis, Product Intelligence, Environmental Scanning, New Business Development, and Technology Assessment. The 1990s • In 1990, Ruth Stanat (founder of SIS) published The Intelligent Corporation, a book that expounded on effective strategic planning and building the intelligent corporate intranet. • The “One-Stop Shopping” Service: In the early 1980s, this international research service provided clients with cost-effective and timely research covering North America, Latin and South America, Asia and Western and Eastern Europe, Middle East. • In 1998, Ruth Stanat published Global Gold: Panning for Profits in Foreign Markets. • In 1999, Ruth Stanat published her third book, Global Jumpstart : The Complete Resource for Expanding Small and Mid-Sized Businesses. • In the late 1990s, the SIS global research network spanned over 70 countries and had over 200 local research partners, covering North America, Latin and South America, Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. SIS served several industries, including the consumer industries, food, pharmaceutical, healthcare, technology, communications and the automotive industry. • Until the early 1990s, SIS offered a series of syndicated market research reports that included Individual and Multi-Country Studies, Qualitative and Quantitative Surveys, Ad Hoc Research, Competitive Intelligence Monitoring, Customer Satisfaction Surveys, Market Size/Market Potential Surveys, New Product Development Projects, Consumer Attitudes, Advertising Response Testing. 2000s to now • SIS’ global headquarters expands in the trendy Flatiron district of New York City, offering a global call center, research labs, and expanded international focus group facilities. • In 2002, the company transformed its logo into a light blue and silver globe. • In 2005, the company published one of the first books on China's Generation Y. • In August 2007, the company adopted the slogan "Navigate the Global Economytm". • In December 2007, the company launched webinar services on global market issues, such as the Middle Eastern market. • SIS launched SIS Global Growth tm to support clients in their global market expansion with on-the-ground consulting services across different functions. • In 2012, SIS International Research has conducted research in over 120 countries for over 50 industries. • SIS launched key regional research hubs in London, Toronto, Mexico City, Sao Paulo and Shanghai. • SIS has developed a series of web journals, including The Market Intelligence Journal, The Market Research Journal, Consumer Insights, The Industrial & Business-to-Business Journal, and many more. • SIS celebrated its 30 year anniversary with a gala at Trump World Bar in New York City, drawing over 150 people from over 4 continents attending. See also[edit source | editbeta] List of marketing research firms Information industry China's Generation Y References[edit source | editbeta] Jump up ^ SIS International Research - Company Overview - Hoover's Jump up ^ GreenBook: SIS International Research Jump up ^ Quirks.com - Researcher Sourcebook Company Details Sources[edit source | editbeta] Stanat, Ruth. Global Gold. New York: AMACOM, 1998. "SIS International." Greenbook. April 2008. External links[edit source | editbeta] SIS International Official Website Market Intelligence Journal Greenbook Company profile Hoovers Company profile SIS China's Generation Y book page Marketresearch.com's Description of SIS International Research Company Listing SIS ----------------------------------- SOME GENERAL INFO ABOUT Marketing intelligence From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Marketing intelligence (MI) is the everyday information relevant to a company’s markets, gathered and analyzed specifically for the purpose of accurate and confident decision-making in determining market opportunity, market penetration strategy, and market development metrics. Marketing intelligence is necessary when entering a foreign market. Marketing intelligence determines the intelligence needed, collects it by searching environment and delivers it to marketing managers who need it. Marketing intelligence software can be deployed using an on-premises or software as a service (SaaS, or cloud-based) model. These systems take data from disparate data sources, like web analytics, business intelligence, call center and sales data, which often come separate reports, and put them into a single environment. In order to collect marketing intelligence, marketing managers must be in constant touch with relevant books, newspapers and trade publications. They must talk to various stakeholders like customers, distributors and suppliers.In addition to this they must also monitor social media and carry out online discussions. Marketing managers can design reports that correlate and visualize data coming from a variety of departments and sources (even, in some cases, external data.) This allows them to see current key performance indicators in real time (or as quickly as sources provide data) and analyze trends, rather than wait for analysts to deliver periodic reports. Marketing intelligence systems are designed to be used by marketing managers and often viewed by employees throughout an organization. They may have user interfaces that closer resemble consumer software than the software around individual data sources, which are designed for use by analysts. Business intelligence for example, can collect highly accurate, timely, granular data, but often requires IT support to build and edit custom reports. Organizationally, marketing intelligence can be the name of the department that performs both the market intelligence and competitor analysis roles. Business intelligence of any kind may also be their responsibility, in tandem with (or solely performed by) the Finance department, for measuring market share and setting growth targets, the mergers and acquisitions group for exploring acquisition opportunities, the legal department to protect the organization's assets or research and development for cross-company comparison of innovation trends and the discovery of opportunities through innovative differentiation. Steps to be taken by a Company to improve its Marketing Intelligence (1) Train and Motivate Sales Force: A company's sales force can be an excellent source of information about the current trends in the market. They are the "intelligence gatherers" for the company. The acquired facts can be regarding the company's market offerings, whether any improvements are required or not or is there any opportunity for new products, etc. It can also provide credible source to know about competitor activities, consumers, distributors and retailers. (2) Motivate Distributors, retailers, and other intermediaries to pass along important intelligence: Specialists are hired by companies to gather marketing intelligence. In order to measure the quality of production, the way the employees are behaving with customers, quality of facilities being provided; retailers and service providers send mystery shoppers. Firms can also assess the quality of customer experience with the shops with the use of mystery shoppers. (3) Network Externally: Every firm must keep a tab on its competitors. Competitive intelligence describes the broader discipline of researching, analyzing and formulating data and information from the entire competitive environment of any organization. This can be done by purchasing the competitor's products, checking the advertising campaigns, the press media coverage, reading their published reports, etc. Competitive intelligence must be legal and ethical. (4) Set up a customer advisory panel: Companies can set up panels consisting of customers. They can be the company's largest customers or representatives of customers or the most outspoken customers. Many business schools set up panels consisting of alumni who provide their knowledge and expertise and help in constituting the course curriculum. (5) Optimal usage of Government data resources: Governments of almost all countries publish reports regarding the population trends, demographic characteristics, agricultural production and a lot of other such data. All this data must be or can be referred to as base data. It can help in planning and formulating policies for the companies. (6) Information bought from external suppliers: Certain agencies sell data that can be useful to other companies. For example, television channels will require information on the number of viewership, ratings of TV programs, etc. An agency which calculates this information and generates this data will provide it to companies that need it. (7) Collect Competitive Intelligence through online customer feedback: Customer's view about a product is most essential for any company. Ultimately it's the customer who's buying the product. Hence customer feedback must be taken. Online platforms like chat rooms, blogs, discussion forums, customer review boards can be used to generate customer feedback. This enables the firm to understand customer experiences and impressions. It becomes easier for companies to apply a structured system to do so as it can then scan out the relevant messages without much of a trouble. With the above steps being applied, a company's marketing intelligence system will prove to be beneficial to its effective functioning. In 1982, business guru Tom Peters co-authored In Search of Excellence, one of the most influential business guides of all time. More recently, through 400 seminars in 47 states and 22 countries, Peters reexamined, refined and reinvented his views on innovation--the #1 survival strategy, he asserts, for businesses of the next millennium. The Circle of Innovation brings these seminars--and Peters' contagious passion--to the reader in a landmark book. Through bold graphics, astounding facts and figures, and quotes whose sources range from Emile Zola to Steve Jobs, Peters blows the lid off accepted management styles. Here is a book that will open your eyes to new ways of envisioning the challenges of today's world. Here, too, is a practical guide that will teach you how to: - reverse the rising tide of product and service "commoditization" and foster uniqueness - capitalize on the skyrocketing purchasing power of women - convert sluggish staff into vital centers of intellectual capital accumulation - build systems of elegance and beauty - liberate your creativity and individual leadership style Whether you manage a six-person department or a 60,000-body behemoth, The Circle of Innovation empowers you to transform your organization, your career, yourself. Inspiring, timely, this blueprint for success is pure Peters--a handbook as energetic as it is profound. Review Business guru Tom Peters has been recognized for his originality and perception since coauthoring one of the most influential management books of all time: 1982's In Search of Excellence. Now, in his seventh work, The Circle of Innovation: You Can't Shrink Your Way to Greatness, he presents a provocative new vision for prospering in the "permanent state of flux" ruling today's business world. By juxtaposing short text passages and bold graphic images, Peters simply but passionately offers his prescription--perpetual innovation--in a nontraditional manner intended to foster individual interpretation. From Library Journal Peters (The Pursuit of Wow! LJ 2/15/95) advances here a barrage of ideas on what it takes to succeed in an ever-changing marketplace. His book, derived from 60 or so iterations of his seminars, has a frenetic, almost attention-deficit quality, taking a decidedly McLuhan-like approach and, like McLuhan, proving prophetic and poignant even if, in the final analysis, it is wrong. A shrewd observer, Peters offers trenchant observations. For example, he gloms onto the interesting idea of great design as the corporate advantage over quality and price. This book will have wide appeal, and more than one organization will attempt to experiment with some of the author's theses. Biography Tom Peters is co-author of In Search of Excellence--the book that changed the way the world does business, and often tagged as the best business book ever. Sixteen books and almost thirty years later, he's still at the forefront of the "management guru industry" he single-handedly invented. What's new? A lot. As CNN said, "While most business gurus milk the same mantra for all its worth, the one-man brand called Tom Peters is still reinventing himself." His most recent effort, released in March 2010: The Little BIG Things: 163 Ways to Pursue Excellence. Tom's bedrock belief: "Execution is strategy--it's all about the people and the doing, not the talking and the theory." (Keep up with Tom at tompeters.com, ranked #9 among "The Top 150 Management and Leadership Blogs.") SOME GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT BUSINESS Business From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Business (disambiguation). "Firm" redirects here. For other uses, see The Firm. Companies law Company Business Business entities Sole proprietorship Partnership Corporation Cooperative European Union / EEA EEIG SCE SE SPE UK / Ireland / Commonwealth Community interest company Limited company by guarantee by shares Proprietary Public Unlimited company United States Benefit corporation C corporation LLC Series LLC LLLP S corporation Delaware corporation Delaware statutory trust Massachusetts business trust Nevada corporation Additional entities AB AG ANS A/S AS GmbH K.K. N.V. Oy S.A. more Doctrines Business judgment rule Corporate governance De facto corporation and corporation by estoppel Internal affairs doctrine Limited liability Piercing the corporate veil Rochdale Principles Ultra vires Corporate laws United States Canada United Kingdom Germany France South Africa Australia Vietnam Related areas Civil procedure Contract v t e A business (also known as enterprise or firm) is an organization involved in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers.[1] Business plan and Business model determine the outcome of an active business operation. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to provide service to its customers. Businesses may also be not-for-profit or state-owned. A business owned by multiple individuals may be referred to as a company, although that term also has a more precise meaning. The etymology of "business" relates to the state of being busy either as an individual or society, as a whole, doing commercially viable and profitable work. The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope — the singular usage to mean a particular organization; the generalized usage to refer to a particular market sector, "the music business" and compound forms such as agribusiness; and the broadest meaning, which encompasses all activity by the community of suppliers of goods and services. However, the exact definition of business, like much else in the philosophy of business, is a matter of debate and complexity of meanings. Contents 1 Basic forms of ownership 2 Classifications 3 Management 3.1 Reforming state enterprises 4 Organization and government regulation 4.1 Commercial law 4.2 Capital 4.3 Intellectual property 5 See also 6 References Basic forms of ownership Although forms of business ownership vary by jurisdiction, several common forms exist: Sole proprietorship: A sole proprietorship is a business owned by one person for-profit. The owner may operate the business alone or may employ others. The owner of the business has unlimited liability for the debts incurred by the business. Partnership: A partnership is a business owned by two or more people. In most forms of partnerships, each partner has unlimited liability for the debts incurred by the business. The three typical classifications of for-profit partnerships are general partnerships, limited partnerships, and limited liability partnerships. Corporation: A corporation is a limited liability business that has a separate legal personality from its members. Corporations can be either government-owned or privately owned, and corporations can organize either for-profit or not-for-profit. A privately owned, for-profit corporation is owned by shareholders who elect a board of directors to direct the corporation and hire its managerial staff. A privately owned, for-profit corporation can be either privately held or publicly held. Cooperative: Often referred to as a "co-op", a cooperative is a limited liability business that can organize for-profit or not-for-profit. A cooperative differs from a for-profit corporation in that it has members, as opposed to shareholders, who share decision-making authority. Cooperatives are typically classified as either consumer cooperatives or worker cooperatives. Cooperatives are fundamental to the ideology of economic democracy. Classifications Agriculture and mining businesses is concerned with the production of raw material, such as plants or minerals. Financial businesses include banks and other companies that generate profit through investment and management of capital. Information businesses generate profits primarily from the resale of intellectual property and include movie studios, publishers and packaged software companies. Manufacturers produce products, from raw materials or component parts, which they then sell at a profit. Companies that make physical goods, such as cars or pipes, are considered manufacturers. Real estate businesses generate profit from the selling, renting, and development of properties comprising land, residential homes, and other kinds of buildings. Retailers and distributors act as middle-men in getting goods produced by manufacturers to the intended consumer, generating a profit as a result of providing sales or distribution services. Most consumer-oriented stores and catalog companies are distributors or retailers. Service businesses offer intangible goods or services and typically generate a profit by charging for labor or other services provided to government, other businesses, or consumers. Organizations ranging from house decorators to consulting firms, restaurants, and even entertainers are types of service businesses. Transportation businesses deliver goods and individuals from location to location, generating a profit on the transportation costs. Utilities produce public services such as electricity or sewage treatment, usually under a government charter. There are many other divisions and subdivisions of businesses. The authoritative list of business types for North America is generally considered to be the North American Industry Classification System, or NAICS. The equivalent European Union list is the Statistical Classification of Economic Activities in the European Community (NACE).Mill, Management Main article: Management The efficient and effective operation of a business, and study of this subject, is called management. The major branches of management are financial management, marketing management, human resource management, strategic management, production management, operations management, service management and information technology management.[citation needed] Owners engage in business administration either directly or indirectly through the employment of managers. Owner managers, or hired managers administer to three component resources that constitute the business' value or worth: financial resources, capital or tangible resources, and human resources. These resources are administered to in at least five functional areas: legal contracting, manufacturing or service production, marketing, accounting, financing, and human resourcing.[citation needed] Reforming state enterprises In recent decades, assets and enterprises that were run by various states have been modeled after business enterprises. In 2003, the People's Republic of China reformed 80% of its state-owned enterprises and modeled them on a company-type management system.[2] Many state institutions and enterprises in China and Russia have been transformed into joint-stock companies, with part of their shares being listed on public stock markets. Business process management (BPM) is a holistic management approach[1] focused on aligning all aspects of an organization with the wants and needs of clients. It promotes business effectiveness and efficiency while striving for innovation, flexibility, and integration with technology. BPM attempts to improve processes continuously. It can therefore be described as a "process optimization process." It is argued that BPM enables organizations to be more efficient, more effective and more capable of change than a functionally focused, traditional hierarchical management approach. Organization and government regulation Main article: Theory of the firm Most legal jurisdictions specify the forms of ownership that a business can take, creating a body of commercial law for each type. The major factors affecting how a business is organized are usually: The size and scope of the business firm and its structure, management, and ownership, broadly analyzed in the theory of the firm. Generally a smaller business is more flexible, while larger businesses, or those with wider ownership or more formal structures, will usually tend to be organized as corporations or (less often) partnerships. In addition, a business that wishes to raise money on a stock market or to be owned by a wide range of people will often be required to adopt a specific legal form to do so. The sector and country. Private profit-making businesses are different from government-owned bodies. In some countries, certain businesses are legally obliged to be organized in certain ways. Limited Liability Companies (LLC), limited liability partnerships, and other specific types of business organization protect their owners or shareholders from business failure by doing business under a separate legal entity with certain legal protections. In contrast, unincorporated businesses or persons working on their own are usually not so protected. Tax advantages. Different structures are treated differently in tax law, and may have advantages for this reason. Disclosure and compliance requirements. Different business structures may be required to make less or more information public (or report it to relevant authorities), and may be bound to comply with different rules and regulations. Many businesses are operated through a separate entity such as a corporation or a partnership (either formed with or without limited liability). Most legal jurisdictions allow people to organize such an entity by filing certain charter documents with the relevant Secretary of State or equivalent and complying with certain other ongoing obligations. The relationships and legal rights of shareholders, limited partners, or members are governed partly by the charter documents and partly by the law of the jurisdiction where the entity is organized. Generally speaking, shareholders in a corporation, limited partners in a limited partnership, and members in a limited liability company are shielded from personal liability for the debts and obligations of the entity, which is legally treated as a separate "person". This means that unless there is misconduct, the owner's own possessions are strongly protected in law if the business does not succeed. Where two or more individuals own a business together but have failed to organize a more specialized form of vehicle, they will be treated as a general partnership. The terms of a partnership are partly governed by a partnership agreement if one is created, and partly by the law of the jurisdiction where the partnership is located. No paperwork or filing is necessary to create a partnership, and without an agreement, the relationships and legal rights of the partners will be entirely governed by the law of the jurisdiction where the partnership is located. A single person who owns and runs a business is commonly known as a sole proprietor, whether that person owns it directly or through a formally organized entity. A few relevant factors to consider in deciding how to operate a business include: General partners in a partnership (other than a limited liability partnership), plus anyone who personally owns and operates a business without creating a separate legal entity, are personally liable for the debts and obligations of the business. Generally, corporations are required to pay tax just like "real" people. In some tax systems, this can give rise to so-called double taxation, because first the corporation pays tax on the profit, and then when the corporation distributes its profits to its owners, individuals have to include dividends in their income when they complete their personal tax returns, at which point a second layer of income tax is imposed. In most countries, there are laws which treat small corporations differently than large ones. They may be exempt from certain legal filing requirements or labor laws, have simplified procedures in specialized areas, and have simplified, advantageous, or slightly different tax treatment. To "go public" (sometimes called IPO) -- which basically means to allow a part of the business to be owned by a wider range of investors or the public in general—you must organize a separate entity, which is usually required to comply with a tighter set of laws and procedures. Most public entities are corporations that have sold shares, but increasingly there are also public LLCs that sell units (sometimes also called shares), and other more exotic entities as well (for example, real estate investment trusts in the USA, unit trusts in the UK). However, you cannot take a general partnership "public." Commercial law Main article: Commercial law Offices in the Los Angeles Downtown Financial District Most commercial transactions are governed by a very detailed and well-established body of rules that have evolved over a very long period of time, it being the case that governing trade and commerce was a strong driving force in the creation of law and courts in Western civilization. As for other laws that regulate or affect businesses, in many countries it is all but impossible to chronicle them all in a single reference source. There are laws governing treatment of labour and generally relations with employees, safety and protection issues (Health and Safety), anti-discrimination laws (age, gender, disabilities, race, and in some jurisdictions, sexual orientation), minimum wage laws, union laws, workers compensation laws, and annual vacation or working hours time. In some specialized businesses, there may also be licenses required, either due to special laws that govern entry into certain trades, occupations or professions, which may require special education, or by local governments. Professions that require special licenses range from law and medicine to flying airplanes to selling liquor to radio broadcasting to selling investment securities to selling used cars to roofing. Local jurisdictions may also require special licenses and taxes just to operate a business without regard to the type of business involved. Some businesses are subject to ongoing special regulation. These industries include, for example, public utilities, investment securities, banking, insurance, broadcasting, aviation, and health care providers. Environmental regulations are also very complex and can affect many kinds of businesses in unexpected ways. Capital Mexican Stock Exchange in Paseo de la Reforma, Mexico City When businesses need to raise money (called capital), they sometimes offer securities for sale. Capital may be raised through private means, by public offer (Initial Public Offering - IPO) on a stock exchange, or in many other ways. Major stock exchanges include the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq (USA), the London Stock Exchange (UK), the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Japan), Bombay Stock Exchange(India) and so on. Most countries with capital markets have at least one. Businesses that have gone "public" are subject to regulations concerning their internal governance (such as how executive officers' compensation is determined) and when and how information is disclosed to the public and their shareholders. In the United States, these regulations are primarily implemented and enforced by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other Western nations have comparable regulatory bodies. The regulations are implemented and enforced by the China Securities Regulation Commission (CSRC), in China. In Singapore, the regulation authority is Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and in Hong Kong, it is Securities and Futures Commission (SFC). As noted at the beginning, it is impossible to enumerate all of the types of laws and regulations that affect business today. In fact, these laws have become so numerous and complex, that no business lawyer can learn them all, forcing increasing specialization among corporate attorneys. It is not unheard of for teams of 5 to 10 attorneys to be required to handle certain kinds of corporate transactions, due to the sprawling nature of modern regulation. Commercial law spans general corporate law, employment and labor law, health-care law, securities law, M&A law (who specialize in acquisitions), tax law, ERISA law (ERISA in the United States governs employee benefit plans), food and drug regulatory law, intellectual property law (specializing in copyrights, patents, trademarks and such), telecommunications law, and more. Intellectual property Businesses often have important "intellectual property" that needs protection from competitors for the company to stay profitable. This could require patents, copyrights, trademarks or preservation of trade secrets. Most businesses have names, logos and similar branding techniques that could benefit from trademarking. Patents and copyrights in the United States are largely governed by federal law, while trade secrets and trademarking are mostly a matter of state law. Because of the nature of intellectual property, a business needs protection in every jurisdiction in which they are concerned about competitors. Many countries are signatories to international treaties concerning intellectual property, and thus companies registered in these countries are subject to national laws bound by these treaties. In order to protect trade secrets, companies may require employees to sign non-compete clauses which will impose limitations on an employees interactions with stakeholders, and competitors. See also Main article: Outline of business Book: Business Business and economics portal Accounting List of accounting topics Advertising Banking Big business Business acumen Business broker Business ethics Social responsibility Business hours List of business law topics Business mediator Business schools Business trip Capitalism Change management analyst Commerce Company Corporate law Corporation Cooperative Cost overrun Economics Economic democracy Financial economics List of economics topics Electronic commerce Electronic business Entrepreneurship List of business films Finance List of finance topics Franchising Government ownership Human Resources Industry Insurance Intellectual property Interim Management International trade List of international trade topics Investment Job creation program Labour economics Limited liability List of oldest companies Management List of management topics Management information systems Manufacturing List of production topics Marketing List of marketing topics Money Organizational studies Profit (disambiguation) Partnership Real Estate List of real estate topics Renewable Energy Revenue shortfall Small business Sole proprietorship Strategic Management Strategic Planning Types of business entity Trade name ------------------------------------------------------------------ SOME GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT Education From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Education (disambiguation). School children sitting in the shade of an orchard in Bamozai, near Gardez, Paktya Province, Afghanistan. Students at the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria Students in Kagugu Primary School of Rwanda. File:US Navy 100305-N-7676W-182 Cmdr. Jim Grove, from the Office of Naval Research Navy Reserve Program 38, left, helps students from McKinley Technology High School make adjustments to their robot.jpg Student participants in the FIRST Robotics Competition, Washington, D.C. Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic.[1] Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. Contents 1 Etymology 2 The role of government 3 Type of education 3.1 Formal education 3.1.1 Curriculum 3.1.2 Preschools 3.1.3 Primary schools 3.1.4 Secondary schools 3.1.5 Special 3.2 Non-formal education 3.2.1 Anarchistic free schools 3.2.2 Alternative 3.2.3 Autodidacticism 3.2.4 Vocational 3.3 Informal education 3.3.1 Indigenous 3.3.2 Education through recreation 4 Systems of higher education 4.1 University systems 4.2 Open 4.3 Liberal arts colleges 4.4 Community colleges 5 Technology 6 Adult 7 Learning modalities 8 Instruction 9 Theory 10 Economics 11 History 11.1 Modern times 12 Philosophy 12.1 Criticism 12.2 Purpose of schools 13 Psychology 14 Sociology 15 Developing countries 15.1 Development goals and issues 15.2 Education and technology in developing countries 16 Internationalization (Globalization and Education) 17 See also 18 References 19 Further Reading 20 External links 21 Videos Etymology Etymologically, the word "education" is derived from the Latin educatio ("A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing") from educo ("I educate, I train") which is related to the homonym educo ("I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect") from e- ("from, out of") and duco ("I lead, I conduct").[2] The role of government A right to education has been created and recognized by some jurisdictions: Since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. It does not however guarantee any particular level of education of any particular quality.[3] At the global level, the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under Article 13.[4] Type of education School children line, in Kerala, India There are three forms of learning defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): formal education, informal education and non-formal education. Formal education Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. Schools systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula. Curriculum Main articles: Curriculum, Curriculum theory, and List of academic disciplines School children in Durban, South Africa. In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their content offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[5] Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12 grade curricula or within majors at colleges and universities as electives. The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater.[6] Preschools Main article: Preschool education The term preschool refers to a school for children who are not old enough to attend kindergarten. It is a nursery school. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate.[citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is "to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the child's physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them."[7] Primary schools Main article: Primary education Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842. Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.[8] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Secondary schools Main article: Secondary education Students working with a teacher at Albany Senior High School, New Zealand Students in a classroom at Samdach Euv High School, Cambodia In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, "post-secondary", or "higher" education (e.g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history. A violin student receiving music education at the Royal Academy of Music, London, 1944. Special Main article: Special education In the past, those who were disabled were often not eligible for public education. Children with disabilities were often educated by physicians or special tutors. These early physicians (people like Itard, Seguin, Howe, Gallaudet) set the foundation for special education today. They focused on individualized instruction and functional skills. Special education was only provided to people with severe disabilities in its early years, but more recently it has been opened to anyone who has experienced difficulty learning.[9] Non-formal education Anarchistic free schools Main article: Anarchistic free school An anarchistic free school (also anarchist free school and free school) is a decentralized network in which skills, information, and knowledge are shared without hierarchy or the institutional environment of formal schooling. Free school students may be adults, children, or both. This organisational structure is distinct from ones used by democratic free schools which permit children's individual initiatives and learning endeavors within the context of a school democracy, and from free education where 'traditional' schooling is made available to pupils without charge. The open structure of free schools is intended to encourage self-reliance, critical consciousness, and personal development. Free schools often operate outside the market economy in favor of a gift economy.[citation needed] Nevertheless, the meaning of the "free" of free schools is not restricted to monetary cost, and can refer to an emphasis on free speech and student-centred education.[citation needed] Alternative Main article: Alternative education Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, is a broad term that may be used to refer to all forms of education outside of traditional education (for all age groups and levels of education). This may include not only forms of education designed for students with special needs (ranging from teenage pregnancy to intellectual disability), but also forms of education designed for a general audience and employing alternative educational philosophies and methods. Alternatives of the latter type are often the result of education reform and are rooted in various philosophies that are commonly fundamentally different from those of traditional compulsory education. While some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, others are more informal associations of teachers and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of traditional education. These alternatives, which include charter schools, alternative schools, independent schools, homeschooling and autodidacticism vary, but often emphasize the value of small class size, close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community. Alternative education may also allow for independent learning and engaging class activities.[10] Autodidacticism Main article: Autodidacticism Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is self-directed learning that is related to but different from informal learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is "learning on your own" or "by yourself", and an autodidact is a self-teacher. Autodidacticism is a contemplative, absorbing process. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. One may become an autodidact at nearly any point in one's life. While some may have been informed in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to inform themselves in other, often unrelated areas. Notable autodidacts include Abraham Lincoln (U.S. president), Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician), Michael Faraday (chemist and physicist), Charles Darwin (naturalist), Thomas Alva Edison (inventor), Tadao Ando (architect), George Bernard Shaw (playwright), Frank Zappa (composer, recording engineer, film director),and Leonardo da Vinci (engineer, scientist, mathematician). Vocational Main article: Vocational education Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture and the arts. Informal education Indigenous Main article: Indigenous education Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge and language through the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities to "reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students."[11] Education through recreation Education through recreation can be physical, mental, or both. Here, a boy attempts to make an arched bridge using slightly tapered blocks. This construction challenge was one of many hands-on activities offered at a "Discovery Days" festival held by Big Brother Mouse, a literacy project. Although his first attempt was a bit weak, half an hour later the boy had made a solid bridge. The concept of education through recreation was first applied to childhood development in the 19th century.[12] In the early 20th century, the concept was broadened to include young adults but the emphasis was on physical activities.[13] Educationalist Lawrence L.P. Jacks, who was also an early proponent of lifelong learning, best described the modern concept of education through recreation in the following quotation "A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. Enough for him that he does it well."(Jacks, 1932).[14] Education through recreation is the opportunity to learn in a seamless fashion through all of life's activities.[15] The concept has been revived by the University of Western Ontario to teach anatomy to medical students.[15] Systems of higher education Main article: Higher education The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning. Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school or secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees. Higher education generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy. University systems Lecture at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, CTU in Prague. University education includes teaching, research, and social services activities, and it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Universities are generally composed of several colleges. In the United States, universities can be private and independent, like Yale University, they can be public and State governed, like the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, or they can be independent but State funded, like the University of Virginia. Open Higher education in particular is currently undergoing a transition towards open education, elearning alone is currently growing at 14 times the rate of traditional learning.[16] Open education is fast growing to become the dominant form of education, for many reasons such as its efficiency and results compared to traditional methods.[17] Cost of education has been an issue throughout history, and a major political issue in most countries today. Open education is generally significantly cheaper than traditional campus based learning and in many cases even free. Many large university institutions are now starting to offer free or almost free full courses such as Harvard, MIT and Berkeley teaming up to form edX Other universities offering open education are Stanford, Princeton, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Edinburgh, U.Penn, U. Michigan, U. Virginia, U. Washington, Caltech. It has been called the biggest change in the way we learn since the printing press.[18] Many people despite favorable studies on effectiveness may still desire to choose traditional campus education for social and cultural reasons.[19] The conventional merit system degree is currently not as common in open education as it is in campus universities. Although some open universities do already offer conventional degrees such as the Open University in the United Kingdom. Currently many of the major open education sources offer their own form of certificate. Due to the popularity of open education these new kind of academic certificates are gaining more respect and equal "academic value" to traditional degrees.[20] Many open universities are working to have the ability to offer students standardized testing and traditional degrees and credentials.[citation needed] There has been a culture forming around distance learning for people who are looking to enjoy the shared social aspects that many people value in traditional on campus education that is not often directly offered from open education.[citation needed] Examples of this are people in open education forming study groups, meetups and movements such as UnCollege. Liberal arts colleges Saint Anselm College, a traditional New England liberal arts college. A liberal arts institution can be defined as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum."[21] Although what is known today as the liberal arts college began in Europe,[22] the term is more commonly associated with Universities in the United States.[citation needed] Community colleges Main article: community colleges A nonresidential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. Technology Main article: Educational technology One of the most substantial uses in education is the use of technology. Also technology is an increasingly influential factor in education. Computers and mobile phones are used in developed countries both to complement established education practices and develop new ways of learning such as online education (a type of distance education). This gives students the opportunity to choose what they are interested in learning. The proliferation of computers also means the increase of programming and blogging. Technology offers powerful learning tools that demand new skills and understandings of students, including Multimedia, and provides new ways to engage students, such as Virtual learning environments. One such tool is a virtual manipulative, which is an "interactive, Web-based visual representation of a dynamic object that presents opportunities for constructing mathematical knowledge" (Moyer, Bolyard, & Spikell, 2002). In short, virtual manipulatives are dynamic visual/pictorial replicas of physical mathematical manipulatives, which have long been used to demonstrate and teach various mathematical concepts. Virtual manipulatives can be easily accessed on the Internet as stand-alone applets, allowing for easy access and use in a variety of educational settings. Emerging research into the effectiveness of virtual manipulatives as a teaching tool have yielded promising results, suggesting comparable, and in many cases superior overall concept-teaching effectiveness compared to standard teaching methods.[citation needed] Technology is being used more not only in administrative duties in education but also in the instruction of students. The use of technologies such as PowerPoint and interactive whiteboard is capturing the attention of students in the classroom. Technology is also being used in the assessment of students. One example is the Audience Response System (ARS), which allows immediate feedback tests and classroom discussions.[23] American students in 2001, in a computer fundamentals class taking a computer-based test Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a "diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information."[24] These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television), and telephony. There is increasing interest in how computers and the Internet can improve education at all levels, in both formal and non-formal settings.[25] Older ICT technologies, such as radio and television, have for over forty years been used for open and distance learning, although print remains the cheapest, most accessible and therefore most dominant delivery mechanism in both developed and developing countries.[26] In addition to classroom application and growth of e-learning opportunities for knowledge attainment, educators involved in student affairs programming have recognized the increasing importance of computer usage with data generation for and about students. Motivation and retention counselors, along with faculty and administrators, can impact the potential academic success of students by provision of technology based experiences in the University setting.[27] The use of computers and the Internet is in its infancy in developing countries, if these are used at all, due to limited infrastructure and the attendant high costs of access. Usually, various technologies are used in combination rather than as the sole delivery mechanism. For example, the Kothmale Community Radio Internet uses both radio broadcasts and computer and Internet technologies to facilitate the sharing of information and provide educational opportunities in a rural community in Sri Lanka.[28] The Open University of the United Kingdom (UKOU), established in 1969 as the first educational institution in the world wholly dedicated to open and distance learning, still relies heavily on print-based materials supplemented by radio, television and, in recent years, online programming.[29] Similarly, the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India combines the use of print, recorded audio and video, broadcast radio and television, and audio conferencing technologies.[30] The term "computer-assisted learning" (CAL) has been increasingly used to describe the use of technology in teaching. Classrooms of the 21st century contain interactive white boards, tablets, mp3 players, laptops, etc. Wiki sites are another tool teachers can implement into CAL curricula for students to understand communication and collaboration efforts of group work through electronic means.[citation needed] Teachers are encouraged to embed these technological devices and services in the curriculum in order to enhance students learning and meet the needs of various types of learners. Adult Main article: Adult education Adult learning, or adult education, is the practice of training and developing skills in adults. It is also sometimes referred to as andragogy (the art and science of helping adults learn).Adult education has become common in many countries. It takes on many forms, ranging from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning and e-learning. A number of career specific courses such as veterinary assisting, medical billing and coding, real estate license, bookkeeping and many more are now available to students through the Internet. With the boom of information from availability of knowledge through means of internet and other modern low cost information exchange mechanisms people are beginning to take an attitude of Lifelong learning. To make knowledge and self improvement a lifelong focus as opposed to the more traditional view that knowledge and in particular value creating trade skills are to be learned just exclusively in youth. Learning modalities Students in laboratory, Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University. There has been work on learning styles over the last two decades. Dunn and Dunn[31] focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli[32] recommended varying teaching strategies. Howard Gardner[33] identified individual talents or aptitudes in his Multiple Intelligences theories. Based on the works of Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter[34] focused on understanding how people's personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc's Type Delineator[35] follows a similar but more simplified approach. It is currently fashionable to divide education into different learning "modes". The learning modalities[36] are probably the most common: Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned. Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information. Kinesthetic: learning based on hands-on work and engaging in activities. Although it is claimed that, depending on their preferred learning modality, different teaching techniques have different levels of effectiveness,[37] recent research has argued "there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning styles assessments into general educational practice."[38] A consequence of this theory is that effective teaching should present a variety of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them.[39] Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VAK are helpful, particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict learning.[40][41] Instruction Teacher in a classroom in Madagascar Instruction is the facilitation of another's learning. Instructors in primary and secondary institutions are often called teachers, and they direct the education of students and might draw on many subjects like reading, writing, mathematics, science and history. Instructors in post-secondary institutions might be called teachers, instructors, or professors, depending on the type of institution; and they primarily teach only their specific discipline. Studies from the United States suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor affecting student performance, and that countries which score highly on international tests have multiple policies in place to ensure that the teachers they employ are as effective as possible.[42][43] With the passing of NCLB in the United States (No Child Left Behind), teachers must be highly qualified. A popular way to gauge teaching performance is to use student evaluations of teachers (SETS), but these evaluations have been criticized for being counterproductive to learning and inaccurate due to student bias.[44] Theory Main article: Education theory Education theory can refer to either a normative or a descriptive theory of education. In the first case, a theory means a postulation about what ought to be. It provides the "goals, norms, and standards for conducting the process of education."[45] In the second case, it means "an hypothesis or set of hypotheses that have been verified by observation and experiment."[46] A descriptive theory of education can be thought of as a conceptual scheme that ties together various "otherwise discrete particulars ... For example, a cultural theory of education shows how the concept of culture can be used to organize and unify the variety of facts about how and what people learn."[47] Likewise, for example, there is the behaviorist theory of education that comes from educational psychology and the functionalist theory of education that comes from sociology of education.[48] Economics Main article: Economics of education Students on their way to school, Hakha, Chin State, Myanmar It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth.[49] Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical prediction that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries. However, technology transfer requires knowledgeable managers and engineers who are able to operate new machines or production practices borrowed from the leader in order to close the gap through imitation. Therefore, a country's ability to learn from the leader is a function of its stock of "human capital". Recent study of the determinants of aggregate economic growth have stressed the importance of fundamental economic institutions[50] and the role of cognitive skills.[51] At the individual level, there is a large literature, generally related back to the work of Jacob Mincer,[52] on how earnings are related to the schooling and other human capital of the individual. This work has motivated a large number of studies, but is also controversial. The chief controversies revolve around how to interpret the impact of schooling.[53][54] Economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis famously argued in 1976 that there was a fundamental conflict in American schooling between the egalitarian goal of democratic participation and the inequalities implied by the continued profitability of capitalist production on the other.[55] History Main article: History of education Nalanda ancient center for higher learning. Plato's academy, mosaic from Pompeii. The history of education according to Dieter Lenzen, president of the Freie Universitat Berlin 1994, "began either millions of years ago or at the end of 1770". Education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before. Adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on. The evolution of culture, and human beings as a species depended on this practice of transmitting knowledge. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. Oral language developed into written symbols and letters. The depth and breadth of knowledge that could be preserved and passed soon increased exponentially. When cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond the basic skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious practices, etc., formal education, and schooling, eventually followed. Schooling in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC.[citation needed] The first large established university is thought to be Nalanda established in 427 A.D in India.[56][unreliable source?] At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Greece, and Persia. The first university establishments in the western world are thought to be University of Bologna (founded in 1088) and later Oxford university (founded around 1096). A depiction of the University of Bologna, Italy, founded in 1088. Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclid's Elements published in 1607. In the West, Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Plato was the Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician and writer of philosophical dialogues who founded the Academy in Athens which was the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Inspired by the admonition of his mentor, Socrates, prior to his unjust execution that "the unexamined life is not worth living", Plato and his student, the political scientist Aristotle, helped lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science.[57] The city of Alexandria in Egypt was founded in 330BC, became the successor to Athens as the intellectual cradle of the Western World. The city hosted such leading lights as the mathematician Euclid and anatomist Herophilus; constructed the great Library of Alexandria; and translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek (called the Septuagint for it was the work of 70 translators). Greek civilization was subsumed within the Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire and its new Christian religion survived in an increasingly Hellenised form in the Byzantine Empire centered at Constantinople in the East, Western civilization suffered a collapse of literacy and organization following the fall of Rome in AD 476.[58] In the East, Confucius (551-479), of the State of Lu, was China's most influential ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and neighbours like Korea, Japan and Vietnam. He gathered disciples and searched in vain for a ruler who would adopt his ideals for good governance, but his Analects were written down by followers and have continued to influence education in the East into the modern era. In Western Europe after the Fall of Rome, the Catholic Church emerged as the unifying force. Initially the sole preserver of literate scholarship in Western Europe, the church established Cathedral schools in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education. Some of these ultimately evolved into medieval universities and forebears of many of Europe's modern universities.[58] During the High Middle Ages, Chartres Cathedral operated the famous and influential Chartres Cathedral School. The medieval universities of Western Christendom were well-integrated across all of Western Europe, encouraged freedom of enquiry and produced a great variety of fine scholars and natural philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas of the University of Naples, Robert Grosseteste of the University of Oxford, an early expositor of a systematic method of scientific experimentation;[59] and Saint Albert the Great, a pioneer of biological field research[60] The University of Bologne is considered the oldest continually operating university. Elsewhere during the Middle Ages, Islamic science and mathematics flourished under the Islamic caliphate established across the Middle East, extending from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus in the east and to the Almoravid Dynasty and Mali Empire in the south. The Renaissance in Europe ushered in a new age of scientific and intellectual inquiry and appreciation of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press, which allowed works of literature to spread more quickly. The European Age of Empires saw European ideas of education in philosophy, religion, arts and sciences spread out across the globe. Missionaries and scholars also brought back new ideas from other civilisations — as with the Jesuit China missions who played a significant role in the transmission of knowledge, science, and culture between China and the West, translating Western works like Euclids Elements for Chinese scholars and the thoughts of Confucius for Western audiences. The Enlightenment saw the emergence of a more secular educational outlook in the West. Modern times Nowadays some kind of education is compulsory to all people in most countries. Due to population growth and the proliferation of compulsory education, UNESCO has calculated that in the next 30 years more people will receive formal education than in all of human history thus far.[61] Philosophy Main article: Philosophy of education John Locke's work Some Thoughts Concerning Education was written in 1693 and still reflects traditional education priorities in the Western world. As an academic field, philosophy of education is "the philosophical study of education and its problems ... its central subject matter is education, and its methods are those of philosophy".[62] "The philosophy of education may be either the philosophy of the process of education or the philosophy of the discipline of education. That is, it may be part of the discipline in the sense of being concerned with the aims, forms, methods, or results of the process of educating or being educated; or it may be metadisciplinary in the sense of being concerned with the concepts, aims, and methods of the discipline."[63] As such, it is both part of the field of education and a field of applied philosophy, drawing from fields of metaphysics, epistemology, axiology and the philosophical approaches (speculative, prescriptive, and/or analytic) to address questions in and about pedagogy, education policy, and curriculum, as well as the process of learning, to name a few.[64] For example, it might study what constitutes upbringing and education, the values and norms revealed through upbringing and educational practices, the limits and legitimization of education as an academic discipline, and the relation between education theory and practice. Criticism Chesterton said, "Modern education means handing down the customs of the minority, and rooting out the customs of the majority."[65] Purpose of schools Main article: Education theory#Normative theories of education Individual purposes for pursuing education can vary. However, in early age, the focus is generally around developing basic Interpersonal communication and literacy skills in order to further ability to learn more complex skills and subjects. After acquiring these basic abilities, education is commonly focused towards individuals gaining necessary knowledge and skills to improve ability to create value and a livelihood for themselves.[66] Satisfying personal curiosities (Education for the sake of itself) and desire for personal development, to "better oneself" without career based reasons for doing so are also common reasons why people pursue education and use schools.[67] Psychology Main article: Educational psychology A class size experiment in the United States found that attending small classes for 3 or more years in the early grades increased high school graduation rates of students from low income families.[68] Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms "educational psychology" and "school psychology" are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists. Educational psychology is concerned with the processes of educational attainment in the general population and in sub-populations such as gifted children and those with specific disabilities. Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology. Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialties within educational studies, including instructional design, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and classroom management. Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences. In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks (Lucas, Blazek, & Raley, 2006). Sociology Main article: Sociology of education School children in Laos The sociology of education is the study of how social institutions and forces affect educational processes and outcomes, and vice versa. By many, education is understood to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and status for all (Sargent 1994). Learners may be motivated by aspirations for progress and betterment. Learners can also be motivated by their interest in the subject area or specific skill they are trying to learn. In fact, learner-responsibility education models are driven by the interest of the learner in the topic to be studied.[44] Education is perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potentialities.[69] The purpose of education can be to develop every individual to their full potential. The understanding of the goals and means of educational socialization processes differs according to the sociological paradigm used. Developing countries World map indicating Education Index (according to 2007/2008 Human Development Report) Development goals and issues Universal Primary Education is one of the eight international Millennium Development Goals, towards which progress has been made in the past decade, though barriers still remain.[70] Securing charitable funding from prospective donors is one particularly persistent problem. Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute have indicated that the main obstacles to receiving more funding for education include conflicting donor priorities, an immature aid architecture, and a lack of evidence and advocacy for the issue.[70] Additionally, Transparency International has identified corruption in the education sector as a major stumbling block to achieving Universal Primary Education in Africa.[71] Furthermore, demand in the developing world for improved educational access is not as high as foreigners have expected. Indigenous governments are reluctant to take on the recurrent costs involved. There is economic pressure from those parents who prefer their children to earn money in the short term rather than work towards the long-term benefits of education. A study conducted by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning indicates that stronger capacities in educational planning and management may have an important spill-over effect on the system as a whole.[72] Sustainable capacity development requires complex interventions at the institutional, organizational and individual levels that could be based on some foundational principles: national leadership and ownership should be the touchstone of any intervention; strategies must be context relevant and context specific;[clarification needed] they should embrace an integrated set of complementary interventions, though implementation may need to proceed in steps;[clarification needed] partners should commit to a long-term investment in capacity development, while working towards some short-term achievements; outside intervention should be conditional on an impact assessment of national capacities at various levels. Russia has more academic graduates than any other country in Europe. (Note, chart does not include population statistics.) [when?] Removal of a certain percentage of students for improvisation of academics (usually practiced in schools, after 10th grade) Education and technology in developing countries The OLPC laptop being introduced to children in Haiti Technology plays an increasingly significant role in improving access to education for people living in impoverished areas and developing countries. There are charities dedicated to providing infrastructures through which the disadvantaged may access educational materials, for example, the One Laptop per Child project. The OLPC foundation, a group out of MIT Media Lab and supported by several major corporations, has a stated mission to develop a $100 laptop for delivering educational software. The laptops were widely available as of 2008. They are sold at cost or given away based on donations. In Africa, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has launched an "e-school program" to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years.[73] An International Development Agency project called nabuur.com,[74] started with the support of former American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development. India is developing technologies that will bypass land-based telephone and Internet infrastructure to deliver distance learning directly to its students. In 2004, the Indian Space Research Organization launched EDUSAT, a communications satellite providing access to educational materials that can reach more of the country's population at a greatly reduced cost.[75] Internationalization (Globalization and Education) Education is becoming increasingly international. The most represented case is the spread of mass schooling. Mass schooling has implanted the fundamental concepts that everyone has a right to be educated regardless of his/her cultural background and gender differences. The system has also promoted the global rules and norms of how the school should operate and what is education.[76] Though the system can have variations in local, regional, and country level, the similarities — in systems or even in ideas — that schools share also enable the exchange among students at all levels which are also playing an increasingly important role in globalization process. In Europe, for example, the Socrates-Erasmus Program[77] stimulates exchanges across European universities. Also, the Soros Foundation[78] provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Programs such as the International Baccalaureate have contributed to the internationalization of education. Some scholars argue that, regardless of whether one system is considered better or worse than another, experiencing a different way of education can often be considered to be the most important, enriching element of an international learning experience.[79] The global campus online, led by American universities, allows free access to class materials and lecture files recorded during the actual classes. This facilitates the globalization of education. ------------------------------------------------------------------ SOME GENERAL INFO ABOUT Books From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Book (disambiguation). Books Literature Major forms Novel Poem Drama Short story Novella Genres Comedy Drama Epic Erotic Nonsense Lyric Mythopoeia Romance Satire Tragedy Tragicomedy Media Performance (play) Book Techniques Prose Verse History and lists Outline of literature Glossary of terms History (modern) Books Writers Literary / Poetry awards Discussion Criticism Theory Sociology Magazines Literature portal v t e A book is a set of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of ink, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page. A set of text-filled or illustrated pages produced in electronic format is known as an electronic book, or e-book. Books may also refer to works of literature, or a main division of such a work. In library and information science, a book is called a monograph, to distinguish it from serial periodicals such as magazines, journals or newspapers. The body of all written works including books is literature. In novels and sometimes other types of books (for example, biographies), a book may be divided into several large sections, also called books (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, and so on). An avid reader of books is a bibliophile or colloquially, bookworm. A shop where books are bought and sold is a bookshop or bookstore. Books can also be borrowed from libraries. Google has estimated that as of 2010, approximately 130,000,000 unique titles had been published.[1] Contents 1 Etymology 2 History of books 2.1 Antiquity 2.1.1 Tablet 2.1.2 Scroll 2.1.3 Codex 2.2 Middle Ages 2.2.1 Manuscripts 2.2.2 Arab printing techniques 2.2.3 Wood block printing 2.2.4 Movable type and incunabula 2.3 Modern world 3 Book manufacture in modern times 3.1 Current processes 3.2 Finishing 4 Digital printing 4.1 E-book 5 Information explosion 6 Book design 7 Sizes 8 Types 8.1 By Content 8.1.1 Fiction 8.1.2 Non-fiction 8.1.3 Other types 8.2 By physical format 9 Libraries 10 Identification and classification 10.1 Classification systems 11 Uses 12 Paper and conservation 13 See also 14 References 15 External links Etymology The word comes from Old English "boc" which (itself) comes from the Germanic root "*bok-", cognate to beech.[2] Similarly, in Slavic languages (for example, Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) "?????" (bukva—"letter") is cognate with "beech". In Russian and in Serbian and Macedonian, another Slavic languages, the words "???????" (bukvar') and "??????" (bukvar), respectively, refer specifically to a primary school textbook that helps young children master the techniques of reading and writing. It is thus conjectured that the earliest Indo-European writings may have been carved on beech wood.[3] Similarly, the Latin word codex, meaning a book in the modern sense (bound and with separate leaves), originally meant "block of wood". History of books Main article: History of books Antiquity Sumerian language cuneiform script clay tablet, 2400–2200 BC When writing systems were invented/created in ancient civilizations, nearly everything that could be written upon—stone, clay, tree bark, metal sheets—was used for writing.The study of such inscriptions forms a major part of history. The study of inscriptions is known as epigraphy. Alphabetic writing emerged in Egypt about 5,000 years ago. The Ancient Egyptians would often write on papyrus, a plant grown along the Nile River. At first the words were not separated from each other (scriptura continua) and there was no punctuation. Texts were written from right to left, left to right, and even so that alternate lines read in opposite directions. The technical term for this type of writing is 'boustrophedon,' which means literally 'ox-turning' for the way a farmer drives an ox to plough his fields. Tablet A tablet might be defined as a physically robust writing medium, suitable for casual transport and writing. See also stylus. Clay tablets were just what they sound like: flattened and mostly dry pieces of clay that could be easily carried, and impressed with a ( possible dampened) stylus. They were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. Wax tablets were wooden planks covered in a thick enough coating of wax to record the impressions of a stylus. They were the normal writing material in schools, in accounting, and for taking notes. They had the advantage of being reusable: the wax could be melted, and reformed into a blank. The custom of binding several wax tablets together (Roman pugillares) is a possible precursor for modern books (i.e. codex).[4] The etymology of the word codex (block of wood) also suggests that it may have developed from wooden wax tablets.[5] Scroll Main article: Scroll Egyptian papyrus showing the god Osiris and the weighing of the heart. Papyrus, a thick paper-like material made by weaving the stems of the papyrus plant, then pounding the woven sheet with a hammer-like tool, was used for writing in Ancient Egypt, perhaps as early as the First Dynasty, although the first evidence is from the account books of King Nefertiti Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty (about 2400 BC).[6] Papyrus sheets were glued together to form a scroll. Tree bark such as lime and other materials were also used.[7] According to Herodotus (History 5:58), the Phoenicians brought writing and papyrus to Greece around the 10th or 9th century BC. The Greek word for papyrus as writing material (biblion) and book (biblos) come from the Phoenician port town Byblos, through which papyrus was exported to Greece.[8] From Greek we also derive the word tome (Greek: ?????), which originally meant a slice or piece and from there began to denote "a roll of papyrus". Tomus was used by the Latins with exactly the same meaning as volumen (see also below the explanation by Isidore of Seville). Whether made from papyrus, parchment, or paper, scrolls were the dominant form of book in the Hellenistic, Roman, Chinese, Hebrew, and Macadonian cultures. The more modern codex book format form took over the Roman world by late antiquity, but the scroll format persisted much longer in Asia. Codex A Chinese bamboo book meets the modern definition of Codex Main article: Codex In the 5th century, Isidore of Seville explained the then-current relation between codex, book and scroll in his Etymologiae (VI.13): "A codex is composed of many books; a book is of one scroll. It is called codex by way of metaphor from the trunks (codex) of trees or vines, as if it were a wooden stock, because it contains in itself a multitude of books, as it were of branches." Modern usage differs. A codex (in modern usage) is the first information repository that modern people would recognize as a "book": leaves of uniform size bound in some manner along one edge, and typically held between two covers made of some more robust material. The first written mention of the codex as a form of book is from Martial, in his Apophoreta CLXXXIV at the end of the century, where he praises its compactness. However, the codex never gained much popularity in the pagan Hellenistic world, and only within the Christian community did it gain widespread use.[9] This change happened gradually during the 3rd and 4th centuries, and the reasons for adopting the codex form of the book are several: the format is more economical, as both sides of the writing material can be used; and it is portable, searchable, and easy to conceal. The Christian authors may also have wanted to distinguish their writings from the pagan texts written on scrolls. Middle Ages Manuscripts Main article: Manuscript Folio 14 recto of the 5th century Vergilius Romanus contains an author portrait of Virgil. Note the bookcase (capsa), reading stand and the text written without word spacing in rustic capitals. The fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century A.D. saw the decline of the culture of ancient Rome. Papyrus became difficult to obtain due to lack of contact with Egypt, and parchment, which had been used for centuries, became the main writing material. Monasteries carried on the Latin writing tradition in the Western Roman Empire. Cassiodorus, in the monastery of Vivarium (established around 540), stressed the importance of copying texts.[10] St. Benedict of Nursia, in his Regula Monachorum (completed around the middle of the 6th century) later also promoted reading.[11] The Rule of St. Benedict (Ch. XLVIII), which set aside certain times for reading, greatly influenced the monastic culture of the Middle Ages and is one of the reasons why the clergy were the predominant readers of books. The tradition and style of the Roman Empire still dominated, but slowly the peculiar medieval book culture emerged. Before the invention and adoption of the printing press, almost all books were copied by hand, which made books expensive and comparatively rare. Smaller monasteries usually had only a few dozen books, medium-sized perhaps a few hundred. By the 9th century, larger collections held around 500 volumes and even at the end of the Middle Ages, the papal library in Avignon and Paris library of Sorbonne held only around 2,000 volumes.[12] Burgundian author and scribe Jean Mielot, from his Miracles de Notre Dame, 15th century. The scriptorium of the monastery was usually located over the chapter house. Artificial light was forbidden for fear it may damage the manuscripts. There were five types of scribes: Calligraphers, who dealt in fine book production Copyists, who dealt with basic production and correspondence Correctors, who collated and compared a finished book with the manuscript from which it had been produced Illuminators, who painted illustrations Rubricators, who painted in the red letters The bookmaking process was long and laborious. The parchment had to be prepared, then the unbound pages were planned and ruled with a blunt tool or lead, after which the text was written by the scribe, who usually left blank areas for illustration and rubrication. Finally, the book was bound by the bookbinder.[13] Desk with chained books in the Library of Cesena, Italy. Different types of ink were known in antiquity, usually prepared from soot and gum, and later also from gall nuts and iron vitriol. This gave writing a brownish black color, but black or brown were not the only colors used. There are texts written in red or even gold, and different colors were used for illumination. For very luxurious manuscripts the whole parchment was colored purple, and the text was written on it with gold or silver (for example, Codex Argenteus).[14] Irish monks introduced spacing between words in the 7th century. This facilitated reading, as these monks tended to be less familiar with Latin. However, the use of spaces between words did not become commonplace before the 12th century. It has been argued that the use of spacing between words shows the transition from semi-vocalized reading into silent reading.[15] The first books used parchment or vellum (calf skin) for the pages. The book covers were made of wood and covered with leather. Because dried parchment tends to assume the form it had before processing, the books were fitted with clasps or straps. During the later Middle Ages, when public libraries appeared, up to 18th century, books were often chained to a bookshelf or a desk to prevent theft. These chained books are called libri catenati. At first, books were copied mostly in monasteries, one at a time. With the rise of universities in the 13th century, the Manuscript culture of the time led to an increase in the demand for books, and a new system for copying books appeared. The books were divided into unbound leaves (pecia), which were lent out to different copyists, so the speed of book production was considerably increased. The system was maintained by secular stationers guilds, which produced both religious and non-religious material.[16] Judaism has kept the art of the scribe alive up to the present. According to Jewish tradition, the Torah scroll placed in a synagogue must be written by hand on parchment, and a printed book would not do, though the congregation may use printed prayer books, and printed copies of the Scriptures are used for study outside the synagogue. A sofer (scribe) is a highly respected member of any observant Jewish community. Arab printing techniques This section may contain inappropriate or misinterpreted citations that do not verify the text. Please help improve this article by checking for inaccuracies. (help, talk, get involved!) (September 2010) Arabs also produced and bound books in the medieval Islamic world, developing advanced techniques in (Arabic calligraphy), miniatures and bookbinding. A number of cities in the medieval Islamic world had book production centers and book markets. Marrakech, Morocco, had a street named Kutubiyyin or book sellers which contained more than 100 bookshops in the 12th century[citation needed]; the famous Koutoubia Mosque is named so because of its location in this street. The medieval Islamic world also used a method of reproducing reliable copies of a book in large quantities, known as check reading, in contrast to the traditional method of a single scribe producing only a single copy of a single manuscript. In the check reading method, only "authors could authorize copies, and this was done in public sessions in which the copyist read the copy aloud in the presence of the author, who then certified it as accurate."[17] With this check-reading system, "an author might produce a dozen or more copies from a single reading," and with two or more readings, "more than one hundred copies of a single book could easily be produced."[18] Wood block printing In woodblock printing, a relief image of an entire page was carved into blocks of wood, inked, and used to print copies of that page. This method originated in China, in the Han dynasty (before 220AD), as a method of printing on textiles and later paper, and was widely used throughout East Asia. The oldest dated book printed by this method is The Diamond Sutra (868 AD). The method (called Woodcut when used in art) arrived in Europe in the early 14th century. Books (known as block-books), as well as playing-cards and religious pictures, began to be produced by this method. Creating an entire book was a painstaking process, requiring a hand-carved block for each page; and the wood blocks tended to crack, if stored for long. The monks or people who wrote them were paid highly. Movable type and incunabula A 15th-century incunabulum. Notice the blind-tooled cover, corner bosses and clasps. Main articles: Movable type and Incunabulum "Selected Teachings of Buddhist Sages and Son Masters", the earliest known book printed with movable metal type, 1377. Bibliotheque nationale de France. The Chinese inventor Bi Sheng made movable type of earthenware circa 1045, but there are no known surviving examples of his printing. Around 1450, in what is commonly regarded as an independent invention, Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type in Europe, along with innovations in casting the type based on a matrix and hand mould. This invention gradually made books less expensive to produce, and more widely available. Early printed books, single sheets and images which were created before 1501 in Europe are known as incunabula. "A man born in 1453, the year of the fall of Constantinople, could look back from his fiftieth year on a lifetime in which about eight million books had been printed, more perhaps than all the scribes of Europe had produced since Constantine founded his city in A.D. 330."[19] Modern world Steam-powered printing presses became popular in the early 19th century. These machines could print 1,100 sheets per hour, but workers could only set 2,000 letters per hour.[citation needed] Monotype and linotype typesetting machines were introduced in the late 19th century. They could set more than 6,000 letters per hour and an entire line of type at once. The centuries after the 15th century were thus spent on improving both the printing press and the conditions for freedom of the press through the gradual relaxation of restrictive censorship laws. See also intellectual property, public domain, copyright. In mid-20th century, European book production had risen to over 200,000 titles per year. Book manufacture in modern times Main article: Bookbinding See also: Publishing The spine of the book is an important aspect in book design, especially in the cover design. When the books are stacked up or stored in a shelf, the details on the spine is the only visible surface that contains the information about the book. In stores, it is the details on the spine that attract buyers' attention first. The methods used for the printing and binding of books continued fundamentally unchanged from the 15th century into the early 20th century. While there was more mechanization, a book printer in 1900 had much in common with Gutenberg. Gutenberg's invention was the use of movable metal types, assembled into words, lines, and pages and then printed by letterpress to create multiple copies. Modern paper books are printed on papers designed specifically for printed books. Traditionally, book papers are off-white or low-white papers (easier to read), are opaque to minimise the show-through of text from one side of the page to the other and are (usually) made to tighter caliper or thickness specifications, particularly for case-bound books. Different paper qualities are used depending on the type of book: Machine finished coated papers, woodfree uncoated papers, coated fine papers and special fine papers are common paper grades. Today, the majority of books are printed by offset lithography. When a book is printed the pages are laid out on the plate so that after the printed sheet is folded the pages will be in the correct sequence. Books tend to be manufactured nowadays in a few standard sizes. The sizes of books are usually specified as "trim size": the size of the page after the sheet has been folded and trimmed. The standard sizes result from sheet sizes (therefore machine sizes) which became popular 200 or 300 years ago, and have come to dominate the industry. British conventions in this regard prevail throughout the English-speaking world, except for the USA. The European book manufacturing industry works to a completely different set of standards. Current processes Book covers Some books, particularly those with shorter runs (i.e. fewer copies) will be printed on sheet-fed offset presses, but most books are now printed on web presses, which are fed by a continuous roll of paper, and can consequently print more copies in a shorter time. As the production line circulates, a complete "book" is collected together in one stack, next to another, and another. A web press carries out the folding itself, delivering bundles of signatures (sections) ready to go into the gathering line. Notice that when the book is being printed it is being printed one (or two) signatures at a time, not one complete book at a time. Excess numbers are printed to make up for any spoilage due to "make-readies" or test pages to assure final print quality. A make-ready is the preparatory work carried out by the pressmen to get the printing press up to the required quality of impression. Included in make-ready is the time taken to mount the plate onto the machine, clean up any mess from the previous job, and get the press up to speed. As soon as the pressman decides that the printing is correct, all the make-ready sheets will be discarded, and the press will start making books. Similar make readies take place in the folding and binding areas, each involving spoilage of paper. After the signatures are folded and gathered, they move into the bindery. In the middle of last century there were still many trade binders – stand-alone binding companies which did no printing, specializing in binding alone. At that time, because of the dominance of letterpress printing, typesetting and printing took place in one location, and binding in a different factory. When type was all metal, a typical book's worth of type would be bulky, fragile and heavy. The less it was moved in this condition the better: so printing would be carried out in the same location as the typesetting. Printed sheets on the other hand could easily be moved. Now, because of increasing computerization of preparing a book for the printer, the typesetting part of the job has flowed upstream, where it is done either by separately contracting companies working for the publisher, by the publishers themselves, or even by the authors. Mergers in the book manufacturing industry mean that it is now unusual to find a bindery which is not also involved in book printing (and vice versa). If the book is a hardback its path through the bindery will involve more points of activity than if it is a paperback. Unsewn binding, is now increasingly common. The signatures of a book can also be held together by "Smyth sewing" using needles, "McCain sewing", using drilled holes often used in schoolbook binding, or "notch binding", where gashes about an inch long are made at intervals through the fold in the spine of each signature. The rest of the binding process is similar in all instances. Sewn and notch bound books can be bound as either hardbacks or paperbacks. Finishing Book pages "Making cases" happens off-line and prior to the book's arrival at the binding line. In the most basic case-making, two pieces of cardboard are placed onto a glued piece of cloth with a space between them into which is glued a thinner board cut to the width of the spine of the book. The overlapping edges of the cloth (about 5/8" all round) are folded over the boards, and pressed down to adhere. After case-making the stack of cases will go to the foil stamping area for adding decorations and type. Digital printing Recent developments in book manufacturing include the development of digital printing. Book pages are printed, in much the same way as an office copier works, using toner rather than ink. Each book is printed in one pass, not as separate signatures. Digital printing has permitted the manufacture of much smaller quantities than offset, in part because of the absence of make readies and of spoilage. One might think of a web press as printing quantities over 2000, quantities from 250 to 2000 being printed on sheet-fed presses, and digital presses doing quantities below 250. These numbers are of course only approximate and will vary from supplier to supplier, and from book to book depending on its characteristics. Digital printing has opened up the possibility of print-on-demand, where no books are printed until after an order is received from a customer. E-book Main article: e-book The term e-book is a contraction of "electronic book"; it refers to a book-length publication in digital form.[20] An e-book is usually made available through the internet, but also on CD-ROM and other forms. E-Books may be read either via a computer or by means of a portable book display device known as an e-book reader, such as the Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook or the Amazon Kindle. These devices attempt to mimic the experience of reading a print book. Information explosion Throughout the 20th century, libraries have faced an ever-increasing rate of publishing, sometimes called an information explosion. The advent of electronic publishing and the internet means that much new information is not printed in paper books, but is made available online through a digital library, on CD-ROM, or in the form of e-books. An on-line book is an e-book that is available online through the internet. Though many books are produced digitally, most digital versions are not available to the public, and there is no decline in the rate of paper publishing.[21] There is an effort, however, to convert books that are in the public domain into a digital medium for unlimited redistribution and infinite availability. This effort is spearheaded by Project Gutenberg combined with Distributed Proofreaders. There have also been new developments in the process of publishing books. Technologies such as POD or "print on demand", which make it possible to print as few as one book at a time, have made self-publishing much easier and more affordable. On-demand publishing has allowed publishers, by avoiding the high costs of warehousing, to keep low-selling books in print rather than declaring them out of print. Book design Main article: Book design Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components of a book into a coherent whole. In the words of Jan Tschichold, book design "though largely forgotten today, methods and rules upon which it is impossible to improve have been developed over centuries. To produce perfect books these rules have to be brought back to life and applied." Richard Hendel describes book design as "an arcane subject" and refers to the need for a context to understand what that means. Sizes Main article: Book size Real-size facsimile of Codex Gigas The world's largest book The size of a modern book is based on the printing area of a common flatbed press. The pages of type were arranged and clamped in a frame, so that when printed on a sheet of paper the full size of the press, the pages would be right side up and in order when the sheet was folded, and the folded edges trimmed. The most common book sizes are: Quarto (4to): the sheet of paper is folded twice, forming four leaves (eight pages) approximately 11-13 inches (ca 30 cm) tall Octavo (8vo): the most common size for current hardcover books. The sheet is folded three times into eight leaves (16 pages) up to 9 3/4 " (ca 23 cm) tall. DuoDecimo (12mo): a size between 8vo and 16mo, up to 7 3/4 " (ca 18 cm) tall Sextodecimo (16mo): the sheet is folded four times, forming 16 leaves (32 pages) up to 6 3/4 " (ca 15 cm) tall Sizes smaller than 16mo are: 24mo: up to 5 3/4 " (ca 13 cm) tall. 32mo: up to 5" (ca 12 cm) tall. 48mo: up to 4" (ca 10 cm) tall. 64mo: up to 3" (ca 8 cm) tall. Small books can be called booklets. Sizes larger than quarto are: Folio: up to 15" (ca 38 cm) tall. Elephant Folio: up to 23" (ca 58 cm) tall. Atlas Folio: up to 25" (ca 63 cm) tall. Double Elephant Folio: up to 50" (ca 127 cm) tall. The largest extant medieval manuscript in the world is Codex Gigas 92 x 50 x 22 cm. The world's largest book made of stone is in Kuthodaw Pagoda (Burma). The longest book title in the world is 670 words long. Types By Content Novels in a Polish bookstore A common separation by content are fiction and non-fiction books. This simple separation can be found in most collections, libraries, and bookstores. Fiction Many of the books published today are fiction, meaning that they are in-part or completely untrue. Historically, paper production was considered too expensive to be used for entertainment. An increase in global literacy and print technology led to the increased publication of books for the purpose of entertainment, and allegorical social commentary. Most fiction is additionally categorized by genre. The novel is the most common form of fiction book. Novels are stories that typically feature a plot, setting, themes and characters. Stories and narrative are not restricted to any topic; a novel can be whimsical, serious or controversial. The novel has had a tremendous impact on entertainment and publishing markets.[22] A novella is a term sometimes used for fiction prose typically between 17,500 and 40,000 words, and a novelette between 7,500 and 17,500. A Short story may be any length up to 10,000 words, but these word lengths vary. Comic books or graphic novels are books in which the story is illustrated. The characters and narrators use speech or thought bubbles to express verbal language. Non-fiction A page from a dictionary In a library, a reference book is a general type of non-fiction book which provides information as opposed to telling a story, essay, commentary, or otherwise supporting a point of view. An almanac is a very general reference book, usually one-volume, with lists of data and information on many topics. An encyclopedia is a book or set of books designed to have more in-depth articles on many topics. A book listing words, their etymology, meanings, and other information is called a dictionary. A book which is a collection of maps is an atlas. A more specific reference book with tables or lists of data and information about a certain topic, often intended for professional use, is often called a handbook. Books which try to list references and abstracts in a certain broad area may be called an index, such as Engineering Index, or abstracts such as chemical abstracts and biological abstracts. An atlas Books with technical information on how to do something or how to use some equipment are called instruction manuals. Other popular how-to books include cookbooks and home improvement books. Students typically store and carry textbooks and schoolbooks for study purposes. Elementary school pupils often use workbooks, which are published with spaces or blanks to be filled by them for study or homework. In US higher education, it is common for a student to take an exam using a blue book. A page from a notebook used as hand written diary There is a large set of books that are made only to write private ideas, notes, and accounts. These books are rarely published and are typically destroyed or remain private. Notebooks are blank papers to be written in by the user. Students and writers commonly use them for taking notes. Scientists and other researchers use lab notebooks to record their notes. They often feature spiral coil bindings at the edge so that pages may easily be torn out. A Telephone Directory, with business and residence listings. Address books, phone books, and calendar/appointment books are commonly used on a daily basis for recording appointments, meetings and personal contact information. Books for recording periodic entries by the user, such as daily information about a journey, are called logbooks or simply logs. A similar book for writing the owner's daily private personal events, information, and ideas is called a diary or personal journal. Businesses use accounting books such as journals and ledgers to record financial data in a practice called bookkeeping. Other types There are several other types of books which are not commonly found under this system. Albums are books for holding a group of items belonging to a particular theme, such as a set of photographs, card collections, and memorabilia. One common example is stamp albums, which are used by many hobbyists to protect and organize their collections of postage stamps. Such albums are often made using removable plastic pages held inside in a ringed binder or other similar smolder. Picture books are books for children with little text and pictures on every page. Hymnals are books with collections of musical hymns that can typically be found in churches. Prayerbooks or missals are books that contain written prayers and are commonly carried by monks, nuns, and other devoted followers or clergy. By physical format Hardcover books Paperback books Hardcover books have a stiff binding. Paperback books have cheaper, flexible covers which tend to be less durable. An alternative to paperback is the glossy cover, otherwise known as a dust cover, found on magazines, and comic books. Spiral-bound books are bound by spirals made of metal or plastic. Examples of spiral-bound books include: teachers' manuals and puzzle books (crosswords, sudoku). Publishing is a process for producing pre-printed books, magazines, and newspapers for the reader/user to buy. Publishers may produce low-cost, pre-publication copies known as galleys or 'bound proofs' for promotional purposes, such as generating reviews in advance of publication. Galleys are usually made as cheaply as possible, since they are not intended for sale. Libraries Main article: Library Celsus Library was built in 135 AD and could house around 12,000 scrolls. Private or personal libraries made up of non-fiction and fiction books, (as opposed to the state or institutional records kept in archives) first appeared in classical Greece. In ancient world the maintaining of a library was usually (but not exclusively) the privilege of a wealthy individual. These libraries could have been either private or public, i.e. for people who were interested in using them. The difference from a modern public library lies in the fact that they were usually not funded from public sources. It is estimated that in the city of Rome at the end of the 3rd century there were around 30 public libraries. Public libraries also existed in other cities of the ancient Mediterranean region (for example, Library of Alexandria).[23] Later, in the Middle Ages, monasteries and universities had also libraries that could be accessible to general public. Typically not the whole collection was available to public, the books could not be borrowed and often were chained to reading stands to prevent theft. The beginning of modern public library begins around 15th century when individuals started to donate books to towns.[24] The growth of a public library system in the United States started in the late 19th century and was much helped by donations from Andrew Carnegie. This reflected classes in a society: The poor or the middle class had to access most books through a public library or by other means while the rich could afford to have a private library built in their homes. In the United States the Boston Public Library 1852 Report of the Trustees established the justification for the public library as a tax-supported institution intended to extend educational opportunity and provide for general culture.[25] The advent of paperback books in the 20th century led to an explosion of popular publishing. Paperback books made owning books affordable for many people. Paperback books often included works from genres that had previously been published mostly in pulp magazines. As a result of the low cost of such books and the spread of bookstores filled with them (in addition to the creation of a smaller market of extremely cheap used paperbacks) owning a private library ceased to be a status symbol for the rich. In library and booksellers' catalogues, it is common to include an abbreviation such as "Crown 8vo" to indicate the paper size from which the book is made. When rows of books are lined on a book holder, bookends are sometimes needed to keep them from slanting. Identification and classification During the 20th century, librarians were concerned about keeping track of the many books being added yearly to the Gutenberg Galaxy. Through a global society called the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), they devised a series of tools including the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD). ISBN with barcode Each book is specified by an International Standard Book Number, or ISBN, which is unique to every edition of every book produced by participating publishers, world wide. It is managed by the ISBN Society. An ISBN has four parts: the first part is the country code, the second the publisher code, and the third the title code. The last part is a check digit, and can take values from 0–9 and X (10). The EAN Barcodes numbers for books are derived from the ISBN by prefixing 978, for Bookland, and calculating a new check digit. Commercial publishers in industrialized countries generally assign ISBNs to their books, so buyers may presume that the ISBN is part of a total international system, with no exceptions. However, many government publishers, in industrial as well as developing countries, do not participate fully in the ISBN system, and publish books which do not have ISBNs. A large or public collection requires a catalogue. Codes called "call numbers" relate the books to the catalogue, and determine their locations on the shelves. Call numbers are based on a Library classification system. The call number is placed on the spine of the book, normally a short distance before the bottom, and inside. Institutional or national standards, such as ANSI/NISO Z39.41 - 1997, establish the correct way to place information (such as the title, or the name of the author) on book spines, and on "shelvable" book-like objects, such as containers for DVDs, video tapes and software. Books on library shelves with bookends, and call numbers visible on the spines One of the earliest and most widely known systems of cataloguing books is the Dewey Decimal System. Another widely known system is the Library of Congress Classification system. Both systems are biased towards subjects which were well represented in US libraries when they were developed, and hence have problems handling new subjects, such as computing, or subjects relating to other cultures.[citation needed] Information about books and authors can be stored in databases like online general-interest book databases. Metadata about a book may include its ISBN or other classification number (see above), the names of contributors (author, editor, illustrator) and publisher, its date and size, and the language of the text. Classification systems Bliss bibliographic classification (BC) Chinese Library Classification (CLC) Colon Classification Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) Harvard-Yenching Classification Library of Congress Classification (LCC) New Classification Scheme for Chinese Libraries Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) Uses Aside from the primary purpose of reading them, books are also used for other ends: A book can be an artistic artifact, a piece of art; this is sometimes known as an artists' book. A book may be evaluated by a reader or professional writer to create a book review. A book may be read by a group of people to use as a spark for social or academic discussion, as in a book club. A book may be studied by students as the subject of a writing and analysis exercise in the form of a book report. Books are sometimes used for their exterior appearance to decorate a room, such as a study. Paper and conservation Main articles: Paper#Paper stability and Conservation-restoration Halfbound book with leather and marbled paper. Paper was first made in China as early as 200 B.C., and reached Europe through Muslim territories. At first made of rags, the industrial revolution changed paper-making practices, allowing for paper to be made out of wood pulp. papermaking in Europe began in the 11th century, although vellum was also common there as page material up until the beginning of 16th century, vellum being the more expensive and durable option. Printers or publishers would often issue the same publication on both materials, to cater to more than one market. Paper made from wood pulp became popular in the early 20th century, because it was cheaper than linen or abaca cloth-based papers. Pulp-based paper made books less expensive to the general public. This paved the way for huge leaps in the rate of literacy in industrialised nations, and enabled the spread of information during the Second Industrial Revolution. However pulp paper contained acid, that eventually destroys the paper from within. Earlier techniques for making paper used limestone rollers, which neutralized the acid in the pulp. Books printed between 1850 and 1950 are at risk; more recent books are often printed on acid-free or alkaline paper. Libraries today have to consider mass deacidification of their older collections. Stability of the climate is critical to the long-term preservation of paper and book material.[26] Good air circulation is important to keep fluctuation in climate stable. The HVAC system should be up to date and functioning efficiently. Light is detrimental to collections. Therefore, care should be given to the collections by implementing light control. General housekeeping issues can be addressed, including pest control. In addition to these helpful solutions, a library must also make an effort to be prepared if a disaster occurs, one that they cannot control. Time and effort should be given to create a concise and effective disaster plan to counteract any damage incurred through "acts of god" therefore an emergency management plan should be in place. See also Main article: Outline of books Artist's book Audiobook Book burning Lists of books Bibliodiversity ------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------ SOME GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT Education From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Education (disambiguation). School children sitting in the shade of an orchard in Bamozai, near Gardez, Paktya Province, Afghanistan. Students at the Technical University of Sofia, Bulgaria Students in Kagugu Primary School of Rwanda. File:US Navy 100305-N-7676W-182 Cmdr. Jim Grove, from the Office of Naval Research Navy Reserve Program 38, left, helps students from McKinley Technology High School make adjustments to their robot.jpg Student participants in the FIRST Robotics Competition, Washington, D.C. Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but may also be autodidactic.[1] Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. Contents 1 Etymology 2 The role of government 3 Type of education 3.1 Formal education 3.1.1 Curriculum 3.1.2 Preschools 3.1.3 Primary schools 3.1.4 Secondary schools 3.1.5 Special 3.2 Non-formal education 3.2.1 Anarchistic free schools 3.2.2 Alternative 3.2.3 Autodidacticism 3.2.4 Vocational 3.3 Informal education 3.3.1 Indigenous 3.3.2 Education through recreation 4 Systems of higher education 4.1 University systems 4.2 Open 4.3 Liberal arts colleges 4.4 Community colleges 5 Technology 6 Adult 7 Learning modalities 8 Instruction 9 Theory 10 Economics 11 History 11.1 Modern times 12 Philosophy 12.1 Criticism 12.2 Purpose of schools 13 Psychology 14 Sociology 15 Developing countries 15.1 Development goals and issues 15.2 Education and technology in developing countries 16 Internationalization (Globalization and Education) 17 See also 18 References 19 Further Reading 20 External links 21 Videos Etymology Etymologically, the word "education" is derived from the Latin educatio ("A breeding, a bringing up, a rearing") from educo ("I educate, I train") which is related to the homonym educo ("I lead forth, I take out; I raise up, I erect") from e- ("from, out of") and duco ("I lead, I conduct").[2] The role of government A right to education has been created and recognized by some jurisdictions: Since 1952, Article 2 of the first Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights obliges all signatory parties to guarantee the right to education. It does not however guarantee any particular level of education of any particular quality.[3] At the global level, the United Nations' International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 guarantees this right under Article 13.[4] Type of education School children line, in Kerala, India There are three forms of learning defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD): formal education, informal education and non-formal education. Formal education Systems of schooling involve institutionalized teaching and learning in relation to a curriculum, which itself is established according to a predetermined purpose of the schools in the system. Schools systems are sometimes also based on religions, giving them different curricula. Curriculum Main articles: Curriculum, Curriculum theory, and List of academic disciplines School children in Durban, South Africa. In formal education, a curriculum is the set of courses and their content offered at a school or university. As an idea, curriculum stems from the Latin word for race course, referring to the course of deeds and experiences through which children grow to become mature adults. A curriculum is prescriptive, and is based on a more general syllabus which merely specifies what topics must be understood and to what level to achieve a particular grade or standard. An academic discipline is a branch of knowledge which is formally taught, either at the university–or via some other such method. Each discipline usually has several sub-disciplines or branches, and distinguishing lines are often both arbitrary and ambiguous. Examples of broad areas of academic disciplines include the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences, humanities and applied sciences.[5] Educational institutions may incorporate fine arts as part of K-12 grade curricula or within majors at colleges and universities as electives. The various types of fine arts are music, dance, and theater.[6] Preschools Main article: Preschool education The term preschool refers to a school for children who are not old enough to attend kindergarten. It is a nursery school. Preschool education is important because it can give a child the edge in a competitive world and education climate.[citation needed] While children who do not receive the fundamentals during their preschool years will be taught the alphabet, counting, shapes and colors and designs when they begin their formal education they will be behind the children who already possess that knowledge. The true purpose behind kindergarten is "to provide a child-centered, preschool curriculum for three to seven year old children that aimed at unfolding the child's physical, intellectual, and moral nature with balanced emphasis on each of them."[7] Primary schools Main article: Primary education Primary school in open air. Teacher (priest) with class from the outskirts of Bucharest, around 1842. Primary (or elementary) education consists of the first 5–7 years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or eight years of schooling starting at the age of five or six, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 89% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising.[8] Under the Education For All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior school. In India, compulsory education spans over twelve years, out of which children receive elementary education for 8 years. Elementary schooling consists of five years of primary schooling and 3 years of upper primary schooling. Various states in the republic of India provide 12 years of compulsory school education based on national curriculum framework designed by the National Council of Educational Research and Training. Secondary schools Main article: Secondary education Students working with a teacher at Albany Senior High School, New Zealand Students in a classroom at Samdach Euv High School, Cambodia In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education comprises the formal education that occurs during adolescence. It is characterized by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, "post-secondary", or "higher" education (e.g. university, vocational school) for adults. Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States, Canada and Australia primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1–13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession. The emergence of secondary education in the United States did not happen until 1910, caused by the rise in big businesses and technological advances in factories (for instance, the emergence of electrification), that required skilled workers. In order to meet this new job demand, high schools were created, with a curriculum focused on practical job skills that would better prepare students for white collar or skilled blue collar work. This proved to be beneficial for both employers and employees, for the improvement in human capital caused employees to become more efficient, which lowered costs for the employer, and skilled employees received a higher wage than employees with just primary educational attainment. In Europe, grammar schools or academies date from as early as the 16th century, in the form of public schools, fee-paying schools, or charitable educational foundations, which themselves have an even longer history. A violin student receiving music education at the Royal Academy of Music, London, 1944. Special Main article: Special education In the past, those who were disabled were often not eligible for public education. Children with disabilities were often educated by physicians or special tutors. These early physicians (people like Itard, Seguin, Howe, Gallaudet) set the foundation for special education today. They focused on individualized instruction and functional skills. Special education was only provided to people with severe disabilities in its early years, but more recently it has been opened to anyone who has experienced difficulty learning.[9] Non-formal education Anarchistic free schools Main article: Anarchistic free school An anarchistic free school (also anarchist free school and free school) is a decentralized network in which skills, information, and knowledge are shared without hierarchy or the institutional environment of formal schooling. Free school students may be adults, children, or both. This organisational structure is distinct from ones used by democratic free schools which permit children's individual initiatives and learning endeavors within the context of a school democracy, and from free education where 'traditional' schooling is made available to pupils without charge. The open structure of free schools is intended to encourage self-reliance, critical consciousness, and personal development. Free schools often operate outside the market economy in favor of a gift economy.[citation needed] Nevertheless, the meaning of the "free" of free schools is not restricted to monetary cost, and can refer to an emphasis on free speech and student-centred education.[citation needed] Alternative Main article: Alternative education Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, is a broad term that may be used to refer to all forms of education outside of traditional education (for all age groups and levels of education). This may include not only forms of education designed for students with special needs (ranging from teenage pregnancy to intellectual disability), but also forms of education designed for a general audience and employing alternative educational philosophies and methods. Alternatives of the latter type are often the result of education reform and are rooted in various philosophies that are commonly fundamentally different from those of traditional compulsory education. While some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, others are more informal associations of teachers and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of traditional education. These alternatives, which include charter schools, alternative schools, independent schools, homeschooling and autodidacticism vary, but often emphasize the value of small class size, close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community. Alternative education may also allow for independent learning and engaging class activities.[10] Autodidacticism Main article: Autodidacticism Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) is self-directed learning that is related to but different from informal learning. In a sense, autodidacticism is "learning on your own" or "by yourself", and an autodidact is a self-teacher. Autodidacticism is a contemplative, absorbing process. Some autodidacts spend a great deal of time reviewing the resources of libraries and educational websites. One may become an autodidact at nearly any point in one's life. While some may have been informed in a conventional manner in a particular field, they may choose to inform themselves in other, often unrelated areas. Notable autodidacts include Abraham Lincoln (U.S. president), Srinivasa Ramanujan (mathematician), Michael Faraday (chemist and physicist), Charles Darwin (naturalist), Thomas Alva Edison (inventor), Tadao Ando (architect), George Bernard Shaw (playwright), Frank Zappa (composer, recording engineer, film director),and Leonardo da Vinci (engineer, scientist, mathematician). Vocational Main article: Vocational education Vocational education is a form of education focused on direct and practical training for a specific trade or craft. Vocational education may come in the form of an apprenticeship or internship as well as institutions teaching courses such as carpentry, agriculture, engineering, medicine, architecture and the arts. Informal education Indigenous Main article: Indigenous education Indigenous education refers to the inclusion of indigenous knowledge, models, methods and content within formal and non-formal educational systems. Often in a post-colonial context, the growing recognition and use of indigenous education methods can be a response to the erosion and loss of indigenous knowledge and language through the processes of colonialism. Furthermore, it can enable indigenous communities to "reclaim and revalue their languages and cultures, and in so doing, improve the educational success of indigenous students."[11] Education through recreation Education through recreation can be physical, mental, or both. Here, a boy attempts to make an arched bridge using slightly tapered blocks. This construction challenge was one of many hands-on activities offered at a "Discovery Days" festival held by Big Brother Mouse, a literacy project. Although his first attempt was a bit weak, half an hour later the boy had made a solid bridge. The concept of education through recreation was first applied to childhood development in the 19th century.[12] In the early 20th century, the concept was broadened to include young adults but the emphasis was on physical activities.[13] Educationalist Lawrence L.P. Jacks, who was also an early proponent of lifelong learning, best described the modern concept of education through recreation in the following quotation "A master in the art of living draws no sharp distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence through whatever he is doing and leaves others to determine whether he is working or playing. To himself he always seems to be doing both. Enough for him that he does it well."(Jacks, 1932).[14] Education through recreation is the opportunity to learn in a seamless fashion through all of life's activities.[15] The concept has been revived by the University of Western Ontario to teach anatomy to medical students.[15] Systems of higher education Main article: Higher education The University of Cambridge is an institute of higher learning. Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school or secondary school. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees. Higher education generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy. University systems Lecture at the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering, CTU in Prague. University education includes teaching, research, and social services activities, and it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Universities are generally composed of several colleges. In the United States, universities can be private and independent, like Yale University, they can be public and State governed, like the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, or they can be independent but State funded, like the University of Virginia. Open Higher education in particular is currently undergoing a transition towards open education, elearning alone is currently growing at 14 times the rate of traditional learning.[16] Open education is fast growing to become the dominant form of education, for many reasons such as its efficiency and results compared to traditional methods.[17] Cost of education has been an issue throughout history, and a major political issue in most countries today. Open education is generally significantly cheaper than traditional campus based learning and in many cases even free. Many large university institutions are now starting to offer free or almost free full courses such as Harvard, MIT and Berkeley teaming up to form edX Other universities offering open education are Stanford, Princeton, Duke, Johns Hopkins, Edinburgh, U.Penn, U. Michigan, U. Virginia, U. Washington, Caltech. It has been called the biggest change in the way we learn since the printing press.[18] Many people despite favorable studies on effectiveness may still desire to choose traditional campus education for social and cultural reasons.[19] The conventional merit system degree is currently not as common in open education as it is in campus universities. Although some open universities do already offer conventional degrees such as the Open University in the United Kingdom. Currently many of the major open education sources offer their own form of certificate. Due to the popularity of open education these new kind of academic certificates are gaining more respect and equal "academic value" to traditional degrees.[20] Many open universities are working to have the ability to offer students standardized testing and traditional degrees and credentials.[citation needed] There has been a culture forming around distance learning for people who are looking to enjoy the shared social aspects that many people value in traditional on campus education that is not often directly offered from open education.[citation needed] Examples of this are people in open education forming study groups, meetups and movements such as UnCollege. Liberal arts colleges Saint Anselm College, a traditional New England liberal arts college. A liberal arts institution can be defined as a "college or university curriculum aimed at imparting broad general knowledge and developing general intellectual capacities, in contrast to a professional, vocational, or technical curriculum."[21] Although what is known today as the liberal arts college began in Europe,[22] the term is more commonly associated with Universities in the United States.[citation needed] Community colleges Main article: community colleges A nonresidential junior college offering courses to people living in a particular area. Technology Main article: Educational technology One of the most substantial uses in education is the use of technology. Also technology is an increasingly influential factor in education. Computers and mobile phones are used in developed countries both to complement established education practices and develop new ways of learning such as online education (a type of distance education). This gives students the opportunity to choose what they are interested in learning. The proliferation of computers also means the increase of programming and blogging. Technology offers powerful learning tools that demand new skills and understandings of students, including Multimedia, and provides new ways to engage students, such as Virtual learning environments. One such tool is a virtual manipulative, which is an "interactive, Web-based visual representation of a dynamic object that presents opportunities for constructing mathematical knowledge" (Moyer, Bolyard, & Spikell, 2002). In short, virtual manipulatives are dynamic visual/pictorial replicas of physical mathematical manipulatives, which have long been used to demonstrate and teach various mathematical concepts. Virtual manipulatives can be easily accessed on the Internet as stand-alone applets, allowing for easy access and use in a variety of educational settings. Emerging research into the effectiveness of virtual manipulatives as a teaching tool have yielded promising results, suggesting comparable, and in many cases superior overall concept-teaching effectiveness compared to standard teaching methods.[citation needed] Technology is being used more not only in administrative duties in education but also in the instruction of students. The use of technologies such as PowerPoint and interactive whiteboard is capturing the attention of students in the classroom. Technology is also being used in the assessment of students. One example is the Audience Response System (ARS), which allows immediate feedback tests and classroom discussions.[23] American students in 2001, in a computer fundamentals class taking a computer-based test Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a "diverse set of tools and resources used to communicate, create, disseminate, store, and manage information."[24] These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television), and telephony. There is increasing interest in how computers and the Internet can improve education at all levels, in both formal and non-formal settings.[25] Older ICT technologies, such as radio and television, have for over forty years been used for open and distance learning, although print remains the cheapest, most accessible and therefore most dominant delivery mechanism in both developed and developing countries.[26] In addition to classroom application and growth of e-learning opportunities for knowledge attainment, educators involved in student affairs programming have recognized the increasing importance of computer usage with data generation for and about students. Motivation and retention counselors, along with faculty and administrators, can impact the potential academic success of students by provision of technology based experiences in the University setting.[27] The use of computers and the Internet is in its infancy in developing countries, if these are used at all, due to limited infrastructure and the attendant high costs of access. Usually, various technologies are used in combination rather than as the sole delivery mechanism. For example, the Kothmale Community Radio Internet uses both radio broadcasts and computer and Internet technologies to facilitate the sharing of information and provide educational opportunities in a rural community in Sri Lanka.[28] The Open University of the United Kingdom (UKOU), established in 1969 as the first educational institution in the world wholly dedicated to open and distance learning, still relies heavily on print-based materials supplemented by radio, television and, in recent years, online programming.[29] Similarly, the Indira Gandhi National Open University in India combines the use of print, recorded audio and video, broadcast radio and television, and audio conferencing technologies.[30] The term "computer-assisted learning" (CAL) has been increasingly used to describe the use of technology in teaching. Classrooms of the 21st century contain interactive white boards, tablets, mp3 players, laptops, etc. Wiki sites are another tool teachers can implement into CAL curricula for students to understand communication and collaboration efforts of group work through electronic means.[citation needed] Teachers are encouraged to embed these technological devices and services in the curriculum in order to enhance students learning and meet the needs of various types of learners. Adult Main article: Adult education Adult learning, or adult education, is the practice of training and developing skills in adults. It is also sometimes referred to as andragogy (the art and science of helping adults learn).Adult education has become common in many countries. It takes on many forms, ranging from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning and e-learning. A number of career specific courses such as veterinary assisting, medical billing and coding, real estate license, bookkeeping and many more are now available to students through the Internet. With the boom of information from availability of knowledge through means of internet and other modern low cost information exchange mechanisms people are beginning to take an attitude of Lifelong learning. To make knowledge and self improvement a lifelong focus as opposed to the more traditional view that knowledge and in particular value creating trade skills are to be learned just exclusively in youth. Learning modalities Students in laboratory, Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University. There has been work on learning styles over the last two decades. Dunn and Dunn[31] focused on identifying relevant stimuli that may influence learning and manipulating the school environment, at about the same time as Joseph Renzulli[32] recommended varying teaching strategies. Howard Gardner[33] identified individual talents or aptitudes in his Multiple Intelligences theories. Based on the works of Jung, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Keirsey Temperament Sorter[34] focused on understanding how people's personality affects the way they interact personally, and how this affects the way individuals respond to each other within the learning environment. The work of David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc's Type Delineator[35] follows a similar but more simplified approach. It is currently fashionable to divide education into different learning "modes". The learning modalities[36] are probably the most common: Visual: learning based on observation and seeing what is being learned. Auditory: learning based on listening to instructions/information. Kinesthetic: learning based on hands-on work and engaging in activities. Although it is claimed that, depending on their preferred learning modality, different teaching techniques have different levels of effectiveness,[37] recent research has argued "there is no adequate evidence base to justify incorporating learning styles assessments into general educational practice."[38] A consequence of this theory is that effective teaching should present a variety of teaching methods which cover all three learning modalities so that different students have equal opportunities to learn in a way that is effective for them.[39] Guy Claxton has questioned the extent that learning styles such as VAK are helpful, particularly as they can have a tendency to label children and therefore restrict learning.[40][41] Instruction Teacher in a classroom in Madagascar Instruction is the facilitation of another's learning. Instructors in primary and secondary institutions are often called teachers, and they direct the education of students and might draw on many subjects like reading, writing, mathematics, science and history. Instructors in post-secondary institutions might be called teachers, instructors, or professors, depending on the type of institution; and they primarily teach only their specific discipline. Studies from the United States suggest that the quality of teachers is the single most important factor affecting student performance, and that countries which score highly on international tests have multiple policies in place to ensure that the teachers they employ are as effective as possible.[42][43] With the passing of NCLB in the United States (No Child Left Behind), teachers must be highly qualified. A popular way to gauge teaching performance is to use student evaluations of teachers (SETS), but these evaluations have been criticized for being counterproductive to learning and inaccurate due to student bias.[44] Theory Main article: Education theory Education theory can refer to either a normative or a descriptive theory of education. In the first case, a theory means a postulation about what ought to be. It provides the "goals, norms, and standards for conducting the process of education."[45] In the second case, it means "an hypothesis or set of hypotheses that have been verified by observation and experiment."[46] A descriptive theory of education can be thought of as a conceptual scheme that ties together various "otherwise discrete particulars ... For example, a cultural theory of education shows how the concept of culture can be used to organize and unify the variety of facts about how and what people learn."[47] Likewise, for example, there is the behaviorist theory of education that comes from educational psychology and the functionalist theory of education that comes from sociology of education.[48] Economics Main article: Economics of education Students on their way to school, Hakha, Chin State, Myanmar It has been argued that high rates of education are essential for countries to be able to achieve high levels of economic growth.[49] Empirical analyses tend to support the theoretical prediction that poor countries should grow faster than rich countries because they can adopt cutting edge technologies already tried and tested by rich countries. However, technology transfer requires knowledgeable managers and engineers who are able to operate new machines or production practices borrowed from the leader in order to close the gap through imitation. Therefore, a country's ability to learn from the leader is a function of its stock of "human capital". Recent study of the determinants of aggregate economic growth have stressed the importance of fundamental economic institutions[50] and the role of cognitive skills.[51] At the individual level, there is a large literature, generally related back to the work of Jacob Mincer,[52] on how earnings are related to the schooling and other human capital of the individual. This work has motivated a large number of studies, but is also controversial. The chief controversies revolve around how to interpret the impact of schooling.[53][54] Economists Samuel Bowles and Herbert Gintis famously argued in 1976 that there was a fundamental conflict in American schooling between the egalitarian goal of democratic participation and the inequalities implied by the continued profitability of capitalist production on the other.[55] History Main article: History of education Nalanda ancient center for higher learning. Plato's academy, mosaic from Pompeii. The history of education according to Dieter Lenzen, president of the Freie Universitat Berlin 1994, "began either millions of years ago or at the end of 1770". Education as a science cannot be separated from the educational traditions that existed before. Adults trained the young of their society in the knowledge and skills they would need to master and eventually pass on. The evolution of culture, and human beings as a species depended on this practice of transmitting knowledge. In pre-literate societies this was achieved orally and through imitation. Story-telling continued from one generation to the next. Oral language developed into written symbols and letters. The depth and breadth of knowledge that could be preserved and passed soon increased exponentially. When cultures began to extend their knowledge beyond the basic skills of communicating, trading, gathering food, religious practices, etc., formal education, and schooling, eventually followed. Schooling in this sense was already in place in Egypt between 3000 and 500BC.[citation needed] The first large established university is thought to be Nalanda established in 427 A.D in India.[56][unreliable source?] At its peak, the university attracted scholars and students from as far away as Tibet, China, Greece, and Persia. The first university establishments in the western world are thought to be University of Bologna (founded in 1088) and later Oxford university (founded around 1096). A depiction of the University of Bologna, Italy, founded in 1088. Matteo Ricci (left) and Xu Guangqi (right) in the Chinese edition of Euclid's Elements published in 1607. In the West, Ancient Greek philosophy arose in the 6th century BC. Plato was the Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician and writer of philosophical dialogues who founded the Academy in Athens which was the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Inspired by the admonition of his mentor, Socrates, prior to his unjust execution that "the unexamined life is not worth living", Plato and his student, the political scientist Aristotle, helped lay the foundations of Western philosophy and science.[57] The city of Alexandria in Egypt was founded in 330BC, became the successor to Athens as the intellectual cradle of the Western World. The city hosted such leading lights as the mathematician Euclid and anatomist Herophilus; constructed the great Library of Alexandria; and translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek (called the Septuagint for it was the work of 70 translators). Greek civilization was subsumed within the Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire and its new Christian religion survived in an increasingly Hellenised form in the Byzantine Empire centered at Constantinople in the East, Western civilization suffered a collapse of literacy and organization following the fall of Rome in AD 476.[58] In the East, Confucius (551-479), of the State of Lu, was China's most influential ancient philosopher, whose educational outlook continues to influence the societies of China and neighbours like Korea, Japan and Vietnam. He gathered disciples and searched in vain for a ruler who would adopt his ideals for good governance, but his Analects were written down by followers and have continued to influence education in the East into the modern era. In Western Europe after the Fall of Rome, the Catholic Church emerged as the unifying force. Initially the sole preserver of literate scholarship in Western Europe, the church established Cathedral schools in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education. Some of these ultimately evolved into medieval universities and forebears of many of Europe's modern universities.[58] During the High Middle Ages, Chartres Cathedral operated the famous and influential Chartres Cathedral School. The medieval universities of Western Christendom were well-integrated across all of Western Europe, encouraged freedom of enquiry and produced a great variety of fine scholars and natural philosophers, including Thomas Aquinas of the University of Naples, Robert Grosseteste of the University of Oxford, an early expositor of a systematic method of scientific experimentation;[59] and Saint Albert the Great, a pioneer of biological field research[60] The University of Bologne is considered the oldest continually operating university. Elsewhere during the Middle Ages, Islamic science and mathematics flourished under the Islamic caliphate established across the Middle East, extending from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus in the east and to the Almoravid Dynasty and Mali Empire in the south. The Renaissance in Europe ushered in a new age of scientific and intellectual inquiry and appreciation of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg developed a printing press, which allowed works of literature to spread more quickly. The European Age of Empires saw European ideas of education in philosophy, religion, arts and sciences spread out across the globe. Missionaries and scholars also brought back new ideas from other civilisations — as with the Jesuit China missions who played a significant role in the transmission of knowledge, science, and culture between China and the West, translating Western works like Euclids Elements for Chinese scholars and the thoughts of Confucius for Western audiences. The Enlightenment saw the emergence of a more secular educational outlook in the West. Modern times Nowadays some kind of education is compulsory to all people in most countries. Due to population growth and the proliferation of compulsory education, UNESCO has calculated that in the next 30 years more people will receive formal education than in all of human history thus far.[61] Philosophy Main article: Philosophy of education John Locke's work Some Thoughts Concerning Education was written in 1693 and still reflects traditional education priorities in the Western world. As an academic field, philosophy of education is "the philosophical study of education and its problems ... its central subject matter is education, and its methods are those of philosophy".[62] "The philosophy of education may be either the philosophy of the process of education or the philosophy of the discipline of education. That is, it may be part of the discipline in the sense of being concerned with the aims, forms, methods, or results of the process of educating or being educated; or it may be metadisciplinary in the sense of being concerned with the concepts, aims, and methods of the discipline."[63] As such, it is both part of the field of education and a field of applied philosophy, drawing from fields of metaphysics, epistemology, axiology and the philosophical approaches (speculative, prescriptive, and/or analytic) to address questions in and about pedagogy, education policy, and curriculum, as well as the process of learning, to name a few.[64] For example, it might study what constitutes upbringing and education, the values and norms revealed through upbringing and educational practices, the limits and legitimization of education as an academic discipline, and the relation between education theory and practice. Criticism Chesterton said, "Modern education means handing down the customs of the minority, and rooting out the customs of the majority."[65] Purpose of schools Main article: Education theory#Normative theories of education Individual purposes for pursuing education can vary. However, in early age, the focus is generally around developing basic Interpersonal communication and literacy skills in order to further ability to learn more complex skills and subjects. After acquiring these basic abilities, education is commonly focused towards individuals gaining necessary knowledge and skills to improve ability to create value and a livelihood for themselves.[66] Satisfying personal curiosities (Education for the sake of itself) and desire for personal development, to "better oneself" without career based reasons for doing so are also common reasons why people pursue education and use schools.[67] Psychology Main article: Educational psychology A class size experiment in the United States found that attending small classes for 3 or more years in the early grades increased high school graduation rates of students from low income families.[68] Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. Although the terms "educational psychology" and "school psychology" are often used interchangeably, researchers and theorists are likely to be identified as educational psychologists, whereas practitioners in schools or school-related settings are identified as school psychologists. Educational psychology is concerned with the processes of educational attainment in the general population and in sub-populations such as gifted children and those with specific disabilities. Educational psychology can in part be understood through its relationship with other disciplines. It is informed primarily by psychology, bearing a relationship to that discipline analogous to the relationship between medicine and biology. Educational psychology in turn informs a wide range of specialties within educational studies, including instructional design, educational technology, curriculum development, organizational learning, special education and classroom management. Educational psychology both draws from and contributes to cognitive science and the learning sciences. In universities, departments of educational psychology are usually housed within faculties of education, possibly accounting for the lack of representation of educational psychology content in introductory psychology textbooks (Lucas, Blazek, & Raley, 2006). Sociology Main article: Sociology of education School children in Laos The sociology of education is the study of how social institutions and forces affect educational processes and outcomes, and vice versa. By many, education is understood to be a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and status for all (Sargent 1994). Learners may be motivated by aspirations for progress and betterment. Learners can also be motivated by their interest in the subject area or specific skill they are trying to learn. In fact, learner-responsibility education models are driven by the interest of the learner in the topic to be studied.[44] Education is perceived as a place where children can develop according to their unique needs and potentialities.[69] The purpose of education can be to develop every individual to their full potential. The understanding of the goals and means of educational socialization processes differs according to the sociological paradigm used. Developing countries World map indicating Education Index (according to 2007/2008 Human Development Report) Development goals and issues Universal Primary Education is one of the eight international Millennium Development Goals, towards which progress has been made in the past decade, though barriers still remain.[70] Securing charitable funding from prospective donors is one particularly persistent problem. Researchers at the Overseas Development Institute have indicated that the main obstacles to receiving more funding for education include conflicting donor priorities, an immature aid architecture, and a lack of evidence and advocacy for the issue.[70] Additionally, Transparency International has identified corruption in the education sector as a major stumbling block to achieving Universal Primary Education in Africa.[71] Furthermore, demand in the developing world for improved educational access is not as high as foreigners have expected. Indigenous governments are reluctant to take on the recurrent costs involved. There is economic pressure from those parents who prefer their children to earn money in the short term rather than work towards the long-term benefits of education. A study conducted by the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning indicates that stronger capacities in educational planning and management may have an important spill-over effect on the system as a whole.[72] Sustainable capacity development requires complex interventions at the institutional, organizational and individual levels that could be based on some foundational principles: national leadership and ownership should be the touchstone of any intervention; strategies must be context relevant and context specific;[clarification needed] they should embrace an integrated set of complementary interventions, though implementation may need to proceed in steps;[clarification needed] partners should commit to a long-term investment in capacity development, while working towards some short-term achievements; outside intervention should be conditional on an impact assessment of national capacities at various levels. Russia has more academic graduates than any other country in Europe. (Note, chart does not include population statistics.) [when?] Removal of a certain percentage of students for improvisation of academics (usually practiced in schools, after 10th grade) Education and technology in developing countries The OLPC laptop being introduced to children in Haiti Technology plays an increasingly significant role in improving access to education for people living in impoverished areas and developing countries. There are charities dedicated to providing infrastructures through which the disadvantaged may access educational materials, for example, the One Laptop per Child project. The OLPC foundation, a group out of MIT Media Lab and supported by several major corporations, has a stated mission to develop a $100 laptop for delivering educational software. The laptops were widely available as of 2008. They are sold at cost or given away based on donations. In Africa, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has launched an "e-school program" to provide all 600,000 primary and high schools with computer equipment, learning materials and internet access within 10 years.[73] An International Development Agency project called nabuur.com,[74] started with the support of former American President Bill Clinton, uses the Internet to allow co-operation by individuals on issues of social development. India is developing technologies that will bypass land-based telephone and Internet infrastructure to deliver distance learning directly to its students. In 2004, the Indian Space Research Organization launched EDUSAT, a communications satellite providing access to educational materials that can reach more of the country's population at a greatly reduced cost.[75] Internationalization (Globalization and Education) Education is becoming increasingly international. The most represented case is the spread of mass schooling. Mass schooling has implanted the fundamental concepts that everyone has a right to be educated regardless of his/her cultural background and gender differences. The system has also promoted the global rules and norms of how the school should operate and what is education.[76] Though the system can have variations in local, regional, and country level, the similarities — in systems or even in ideas — that schools share also enable the exchange among students at all levels which are also playing an increasingly important role in globalization process. In Europe, for example, the Socrates-Erasmus Program[77] stimulates exchanges across European universities. Also, the Soros Foundation[78] provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Programs such as the International Baccalaureate have contributed to the internationalization of education. Some scholars argue that, regardless of whether one system is considered better or worse than another, experiencing a different way of education can often be considered to be the most important, enriching element of an international learning experience.[79] The global campus online, led by American universities, allows free access to class materials and lecture files recorded during the actual classes. This facilitates the globalization of education. ------------------------------------------------------------------ SOME GENERAL INFO ABOUT Books From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Book (disambiguation). Books Literature Major forms Novel Poem Drama Short story Novella Genres Comedy Drama Epic Erotic Nonsense Lyric Mythopoeia Romance Satire Tragedy Tragicomedy Media Performance (play) Book Techniques Prose Verse History and lists Outline of literature Glossary of terms History (modern) Books Writers Literary / Poetry awards Discussion Criticism Theory Sociology Magazines Literature portal v t e A book is a set of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of ink, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf, and each side of a leaf is called a page. A set of text-filled or illustrated pages produced in electronic format is known as an electronic book, or e-book. Books may also refer to works of literature, or a main division of such a work. In library and information science, a book is called a monograph, to distinguish it from serial periodicals such as magazines, journals or newspapers. The body of all written works including books is literature. In novels and sometimes other types of books (for example, biographies), a book may be divided into several large sections, also called books (Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, and so on). An avid reader of books is a bibliophile or colloquially, bookworm. A shop where books are bought and sold is a bookshop or bookstore. Books can also be borrowed from libraries. Google has estimated that as of 2010, approximately 130,000,000 unique titles had been published.[1] Contents 1 Etymology 2 History of books 2.1 Antiquity 2.1.1 Tablet 2.1.2 Scroll 2.1.3 Codex 2.2 Middle Ages 2.2.1 Manuscripts 2.2.2 Arab printing techniques 2.2.3 Wood block printing 2.2.4 Movable type and incunabula 2.3 Modern world 3 Book manufacture in modern times 3.1 Current processes 3.2 Finishing 4 Digital printing 4.1 E-book 5 Information explosion 6 Book design 7 Sizes 8 Types 8.1 By Content 8.1.1 Fiction 8.1.2 Non-fiction 8.1.3 Other types 8.2 By physical format 9 Libraries 10 Identification and classification 10.1 Classification systems 11 Uses 12 Paper and conservation 13 See also 14 References 15 External links Etymology The word comes from Old English "boc" which (itself) comes from the Germanic root "*bok-", cognate to beech.[2] Similarly, in Slavic languages (for example, Russian, Bulgarian, Macedonian) "?????" (bukva—"letter") is cognate with "beech". In Russian and in Serbian and Macedonian, another Slavic languages, the words "???????" (bukvar') and "??????" (bukvar), respectively, refer specifically to a primary school textbook that helps young children master the techniques of reading and writing. It is thus conjectured that the earliest Indo-European writings may have been carved on beech wood.[3] Similarly, the Latin word codex, meaning a book in the modern sense (bound and with separate leaves), originally meant "block of wood". History of books Main article: History of books Antiquity Sumerian language cuneiform script clay tablet, 2400–2200 BC When writing systems were invented/created in ancient civilizations, nearly everything that could be written upon—stone, clay, tree bark, metal sheets—was used for writing.The study of such inscriptions forms a major part of history. The study of inscriptions is known as epigraphy. Alphabetic writing emerged in Egypt about 5,000 years ago. The Ancient Egyptians would often write on papyrus, a plant grown along the Nile River. At first the words were not separated from each other (scriptura continua) and there was no punctuation. Texts were written from right to left, left to right, and even so that alternate lines read in opposite directions. The technical term for this type of writing is 'boustrophedon,' which means literally 'ox-turning' for the way a farmer drives an ox to plough his fields. Tablet A tablet might be defined as a physically robust writing medium, suitable for casual transport and writing. See also stylus. Clay tablets were just what they sound like: flattened and mostly dry pieces of clay that could be easily carried, and impressed with a ( possible dampened) stylus. They were used as a writing medium, especially for writing in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. Wax tablets were wooden planks covered in a thick enough coating of wax to record the impressions of a stylus. They were the normal writing material in schools, in accounting, and for taking notes. They had the advantage of being reusable: the wax could be melted, and reformed into a blank. The custom of binding several wax tablets together (Roman pugillares) is a possible precursor for modern books (i.e. codex).[4] The etymology of the word codex (block of wood) also suggests that it may have developed from wooden wax tablets.[5] Scroll Main article: Scroll Egyptian papyrus showing the god Osiris and the weighing of the heart. Papyrus, a thick paper-like material made by weaving the stems of the papyrus plant, then pounding the woven sheet with a hammer-like tool, was used for writing in Ancient Egypt, perhaps as early as the First Dynasty, although the first evidence is from the account books of King Nefertiti Kakai of the Fifth Dynasty (about 2400 BC).[6] Papyrus sheets were glued together to form a scroll. Tree bark such as lime and other materials were also used.[7] According to Herodotus (History 5:58), the Phoenicians brought writing and papyrus to Greece around the 10th or 9th century BC. The Greek word for papyrus as writing material (biblion) and book (biblos) come from the Phoenician port town Byblos, through which papyrus was exported to Greece.[8] From Greek we also derive the word tome (Greek: ?????), which originally meant a slice or piece and from there began to denote "a roll of papyrus". Tomus was used by the Latins with exactly the same meaning as volumen (see also below the explanation by Isidore of Seville). Whether made from papyrus, parchment, or paper, scrolls were the dominant form of book in the Hellenistic, Roman, Chinese, Hebrew, and Macadonian cultures. The more modern codex book format form took over the Roman world by late antiquity, but the scroll format persisted much longer in Asia. Codex A Chinese bamboo book meets the modern definition of Codex Main article: Codex In the 5th century, Isidore of Seville explained the then-current relation between codex, book and scroll in his Etymologiae (VI.13): "A codex is composed of many books; a book is of one scroll. It is called codex by way of metaphor from the trunks (codex) of trees or vines, as if it were a wooden stock, because it contains in itself a multitude of books, as it were of branches." Modern usage differs. A codex (in modern usage) is the first information repository that modern people would recognize as a "book": leaves of uniform size bound in some manner along one edge, and typically held between two covers made of some more robust material. The first written mention of the codex as a form of book is from Martial, in his Apophoreta CLXXXIV at the end of the century, where he praises its compactness. However, the codex never gained much popularity in the pagan Hellenistic world, and only within the Christian community did it gain widespread use.[9] This change happened gradually during the 3rd and 4th centuries, and the reasons for adopting the codex form of the book are several: the format is more economical, as both sides of the writing material can be used; and it is portable, searchable, and easy to conceal. The Christian authors may also have wanted to distinguish their writings from the pagan texts written on scrolls. Middle Ages Manuscripts Main article: Manuscript Folio 14 recto of the 5th century Vergilius Romanus contains an author portrait of Virgil. Note the bookcase (capsa), reading stand and the text written without word spacing in rustic capitals. The fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century A.D. saw the decline of the culture of ancient Rome. Papyrus became difficult to obtain due to lack of contact with Egypt, and parchment, which had been used for centuries, became the main writing material. Monasteries carried on the Latin writing tradition in the Western Roman Empire. Cassiodorus, in the monastery of Vivarium (established around 540), stressed the importance of copying texts.[10] St. Benedict of Nursia, in his Regula Monachorum (completed around the middle of the 6th century) later also promoted reading.[11] The Rule of St. Benedict (Ch. XLVIII), which set aside certain times for reading, greatly influenced the monastic culture of the Middle Ages and is one of the reasons why the clergy were the predominant readers of books. The tradition and style of the Roman Empire still dominated, but slowly the peculiar medieval book culture emerged. Before the invention and adoption of the printing press, almost all books were copied by hand, which made books expensive and comparatively rare. Smaller monasteries usually had only a few dozen books, medium-sized perhaps a few hundred. By the 9th century, larger collections held around 500 volumes and even at the end of the Middle Ages, the papal library in Avignon and Paris library of Sorbonne held only around 2,000 volumes.[12] Burgundian author and scribe Jean Mielot, from his Miracles de Notre Dame, 15th century. The scriptorium of the monastery was usually located over the chapter house. Artificial light was forbidden for fear it may damage the manuscripts. There were five types of scribes: Calligraphers, who dealt in fine book production Copyists, who dealt with basic production and correspondence Correctors, who collated and compared a finished book with the manuscript from which it had been produced Illuminators, who painted illustrations Rubricators, who painted in the red letters The bookmaking process was long and laborious. The parchment had to be prepared, then the unbound pages were planned and ruled with a blunt tool or lead, after which the text was written by the scribe, who usually left blank areas for illustration and rubrication. Finally, the book was bound by the bookbinder.[13] Desk with chained books in the Library of Cesena, Italy. Different types of ink were known in antiquity, usually prepared from soot and gum, and later also from gall nuts and iron vitriol. This gave writing a brownish black color, but black or brown were not the only colors used. There are texts written in red or even gold, and different colors were used for illumination. For very luxurious manuscripts the whole parchment was colored purple, and the text was written on it with gold or silver (for example, Codex Argenteus).[14] Irish monks introduced spacing between words in the 7th century. This facilitated reading, as these monks tended to be less familiar with Latin. However, the use of spaces between words did not become commonplace before the 12th century. It has been argued that the use of spacing between words shows the transition from semi-vocalized reading into silent reading.[15] The first books used parchment or vellum (calf skin) for the pages. The book covers were made of wood and covered with leather. Because dried parchment tends to assume the form it had before processing, the books were fitted with clasps or straps. During the later Middle Ages, when public libraries appeared, up to 18th century, books were often chained to a bookshelf or a desk to prevent theft. These chained books are called libri catenati. At first, books were copied mostly in monasteries, one at a time. With the rise of universities in the 13th century, the Manuscript culture of the time led to an increase in the demand for books, and a new system for copying books appeared. The books were divided into unbound leaves (pecia), which were lent out to different copyists, so the speed of book production was considerably increased. The system was maintained by secular stationers guilds, which produced both religious and non-religious material.[16] Judaism has kept the art of the scribe alive up to the present. According to Jewish tradition, the Torah scroll placed in a synagogue must be written by hand on parchment, and a printed book would not do, though the congregation may use printed prayer books, and printed copies of the Scriptures are used for study outside the synagogue. A sofer (scribe) is a highly respected member of any observant Jewish community. Arab printing techniques This section may contain inappropriate or misinterpreted citations that do not verify the text. Please help improve this article by checking for inaccuracies. (help, talk, get involved!) (September 2010) Arabs also produced and bound books in the medieval Islamic world, developing advanced techniques in (Arabic calligraphy), miniatures and bookbinding. A number of cities in the medieval Islamic world had book production centers and book markets. Marrakech, Morocco, had a street named Kutubiyyin or book sellers which contained more than 100 bookshops in the 12th century[citation needed]; the famous Koutoubia Mosque is named so because of its location in this street. The medieval Islamic world also used a method of reproducing reliable copies of a book in large quantities, known as check reading, in contrast to the traditional method of a single scribe producing only a single copy of a single manuscript. In the check reading method, only "authors could authorize copies, and this was done in public sessions in which the copyist read the copy aloud in the presence of the author, who then certified it as accurate."[17] With this check-reading system, "an author might produce a dozen or more copies from a single reading," and with two or more readings, "more than one hundred copies of a single book could easily be produced."[18] Wood block printing In woodblock printing, a relief image of an entire page was carved into blocks of wood, inked, and used to print copies of that page. This method originated in China, in the Han dynasty (before 220AD), as a method of printing on textiles and later paper, and was widely used throughout East Asia. The oldest dated book printed by this method is The Diamond Sutra (868 AD). The method (called Woodcut when used in art) arrived in Europe in the early 14th century. Books (known as block-books), as well as playing-cards and religious pictures, began to be produced by this method. Creating an entire book was a painstaking process, requiring a hand-carved block for each page; and the wood blocks tended to crack, if stored for long. The monks or people who wrote them were paid highly. Movable type and incunabula A 15th-century incunabulum. Notice the blind-tooled cover, corner bosses and clasps. Main articles: Movable type and Incunabulum "Selected Teachings of Buddhist Sages and Son Masters", the earliest known book printed with movable metal type, 1377. Bibliotheque nationale de France. The Chinese inventor Bi Sheng made movable type of earthenware circa 1045, but there are no known surviving examples of his printing. Around 1450, in what is commonly regarded as an independent invention, Johannes Gutenberg invented movable type in Europe, along with innovations in casting the type based on a matrix and hand mould. This invention gradually made books less expensive to produce, and more widely available. Early printed books, single sheets and images which were created before 1501 in Europe are known as incunabula. "A man born in 1453, the year of the fall of Constantinople, could look back from his fiftieth year on a lifetime in which about eight million books had been printed, more perhaps than all the scribes of Europe had produced since Constantine founded his city in A.D. 330."[19] Modern world Steam-powered printing presses became popular in the early 19th century. These machines could print 1,100 sheets per hour, but workers could only set 2,000 letters per hour.[citation needed] Monotype and linotype typesetting machines were introduced in the late 19th century. They could set more than 6,000 letters per hour and an entire line of type at once. The centuries after the 15th century were thus spent on improving both the printing press and the conditions for freedom of the press through the gradual relaxation of restrictive censorship laws. See also intellectual property, public domain, copyright. In mid-20th century, European book production had risen to over 200,000 titles per year. Book manufacture in modern times Main article: Bookbinding See also: Publishing The spine of the book is an important aspect in book design, especially in the cover design. When the books are stacked up or stored in a shelf, the details on the spine is the only visible surface that contains the information about the book. In stores, it is the details on the spine that attract buyers' attention first. The methods used for the printing and binding of books continued fundamentally unchanged from the 15th century into the early 20th century. While there was more mechanization, a book printer in 1900 had much in common with Gutenberg. Gutenberg's invention was the use of movable metal types, assembled into words, lines, and pages and then printed by letterpress to create multiple copies. Modern paper books are printed on papers designed specifically for printed books. Traditionally, book papers are off-white or low-white papers (easier to read), are opaque to minimise the show-through of text from one side of the page to the other and are (usually) made to tighter caliper or thickness specifications, particularly for case-bound books. Different paper qualities are used depending on the type of book: Machine finished coated papers, woodfree uncoated papers, coated fine papers and special fine papers are common paper grades. Today, the majority of books are printed by offset lithography. When a book is printed the pages are laid out on the plate so that after the printed sheet is folded the pages will be in the correct sequence. Books tend to be manufactured nowadays in a few standard sizes. The sizes of books are usually specified as "trim size": the size of the page after the sheet has been folded and trimmed. The standard sizes result from sheet sizes (therefore machine sizes) which became popular 200 or 300 years ago, and have come to dominate the industry. British conventions in this regard prevail throughout the English-speaking world, except for the USA. The European book manufacturing industry works to a completely different set of standards. Current processes Book covers Some books, particularly those with shorter runs (i.e. fewer copies) will be printed on sheet-fed offset presses, but most books are now printed on web presses, which are fed by a continuous roll of paper, and can consequently print more copies in a shorter time. As the production line circulates, a complete "book" is collected together in one stack, next to another, and another. A web press carries out the folding itself, delivering bundles of signatures (sections) ready to go into the gathering line. Notice that when the book is being printed it is being printed one (or two) signatures at a time, not one complete book at a time. Excess numbers are printed to make up for any spoilage due to "make-readies" or test pages to assure final print quality. A make-ready is the preparatory work carried out by the pressmen to get the printing press up to the required quality of impression. Included in make-ready is the time taken to mount the plate onto the machine, clean up any mess from the previous job, and get the press up to speed. As soon as the pressman decides that the printing is correct, all the make-ready sheets will be discarded, and the press will start making books. Similar make readies take place in the folding and binding areas, each involving spoilage of paper. After the signatures are folded and gathered, they move into the bindery. In the middle of last century there were still many trade binders – stand-alone binding companies which did no printing, specializing in binding alone. At that time, because of the dominance of letterpress printing, typesetting and printing took place in one location, and binding in a different factory. When type was all metal, a typical book's worth of type would be bulky, fragile and heavy. The less it was moved in this condition the better: so printing would be carried out in the same location as the typesetting. Printed sheets on the other hand could easily be moved. Now, because of increasing computerization of preparing a book for the printer, the typesetting part of the job has flowed upstream, where it is done either by separately contracting companies working for the publisher, by the publishers themselves, or even by the authors. Mergers in the book manufacturing industry mean that it is now unusual to find a bindery which is not also involved in book printing (and vice versa). If the book is a hardback its path through the bindery will involve more points of activity than if it is a paperback. Unsewn binding, is now increasingly common. The signatures of a book can also be held together by "Smyth sewing" using needles, "McCain sewing", using drilled holes often used in schoolbook binding, or "notch binding", where gashes about an inch long are made at intervals through the fold in the spine of each signature. The rest of the binding process is similar in all instances. Sewn and notch bound books can be bound as either hardbacks or paperbacks. Finishing Book pages "Making cases" happens off-line and prior to the book's arrival at the binding line. In the most basic case-making, two pieces of cardboard are placed onto a glued piece of cloth with a space between them into which is glued a thinner board cut to the width of the spine of the book. The overlapping edges of the cloth (about 5/8" all round) are folded over the boards, and pressed down to adhere. After case-making the stack of cases will go to the foil stamping area for adding decorations and type. Digital printing Recent developments in book manufacturing include the development of digital printing. Book pages are printed, in much the same way as an office copier works, using toner rather than ink. Each book is printed in one pass, not as separate signatures. Digital printing has permitted the manufacture of much smaller quantities than offset, in part because of the absence of make readies and of spoilage. One might think of a web press as printing quantities over 2000, quantities from 250 to 2000 being printed on sheet-fed presses, and digital presses doing quantities below 250. These numbers are of course only approximate and will vary from supplier to supplier, and from book to book depending on its characteristics. Digital printing has opened up the possibility of print-on-demand, where no books are printed until after an order is received from a customer. E-book Main article: e-book The term e-book is a contraction of "electronic book"; it refers to a book-length publication in digital form.[20] An e-book is usually made available through the internet, but also on CD-ROM and other forms. E-Books may be read either via a computer or by means of a portable book display device known as an e-book reader, such as the Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook or the Amazon Kindle. These devices attempt to mimic the experience of reading a print book. Information explosion Throughout the 20th century, libraries have faced an ever-increasing rate of publishing, sometimes called an information explosion. The advent of electronic publishing and the internet means that much new information is not printed in paper books, but is made available online through a digital library, on CD-ROM, or in the form of e-books. An on-line book is an e-book that is available online through the internet. Though many books are produced digitally, most digital versions are not available to the public, and there is no decline in the rate of paper publishing.[21] There is an effort, however, to convert books that are in the public domain into a digital medium for unlimited redistribution and infinite availability. This effort is spearheaded by Project Gutenberg combined with Distributed Proofreaders. There have also been new developments in the process of publishing books. Technologies such as POD or "print on demand", which make it possible to print as few as one book at a time, have made self-publishing much easier and more affordable. On-demand publishing has allowed publishers, by avoiding the high costs of warehousing, to keep low-selling books in print rather than declaring them out of print. Book design Main article: Book design Book design is the art of incorporating the content, style, format, design, and sequence of the various components of a book into a coherent whole. In the words of Jan Tschichold, book design "though largely forgotten today, methods and rules upon which it is impossible to improve have been developed over centuries. To produce perfect books these rules have to be brought back to life and applied." Richard Hendel describes book design as "an arcane subject" and refers to the need for a context to understand what that means. Sizes Main article: Book size Real-size facsimile of Codex Gigas The world's largest book The size of a modern book is based on the printing area of a common flatbed press. The pages of type were arranged and clamped in a frame, so that when printed on a sheet of paper the full size of the press, the pages would be right side up and in order when the sheet was folded, and the folded edges trimmed. The most common book sizes are: Quarto (4to): the sheet of paper is folded twice, forming four leaves (eight pages) approximately 11-13 inches (ca 30 cm) tall Octavo (8vo): the most common size for current hardcover books. The sheet is folded three times into eight leaves (16 pages) up to 9 3/4 " (ca 23 cm) tall. DuoDecimo (12mo): a size between 8vo and 16mo, up to 7 3/4 " (ca 18 cm) tall Sextodecimo (16mo): the sheet is folded four times, forming 16 leaves (32 pages) up to 6 3/4 " (ca 15 cm) tall Sizes smaller than 16mo are: 24mo: up to 5 3/4 " (ca 13 cm) tall. 32mo: up to 5" (ca 12 cm) tall. 48mo: up to 4" (ca 10 cm) tall. 64mo: up to 3" (ca 8 cm) tall. Small books can be called booklets. Sizes larger than quarto are: Folio: up to 15" (ca 38 cm) tall. Elephant Folio: up to 23" (ca 58 cm) tall. Atlas Folio: up to 25" (ca 63 cm) tall. Double Elephant Folio: up to 50" (ca 127 cm) tall. The largest extant medieval manuscript in the world is Codex Gigas 92 x 50 x 22 cm. The world's largest book made of stone is in Kuthodaw Pagoda (Burma). The longest book title in the world is 670 words long. Types By Content Novels in a Polish bookstore A common separation by content are fiction and non-fiction books. This simple separation can be found in most collections, libraries, and bookstores. Fiction Many of the books published today are fiction, meaning that they are in-part or completely untrue. Historically, paper production was considered too expensive to be used for entertainment. An increase in global literacy and print technology led to the increased publication of books for the purpose of entertainment, and allegorical social commentary. Most fiction is additionally categorized by genre. The novel is the most common form of fiction book. Novels are stories that typically feature a plot, setting, themes and characters. Stories and narrative are not restricted to any topic; a novel can be whimsical, serious or controversial. The novel has had a tremendous impact on entertainment and publishing markets.[22] A novella is a term sometimes used for fiction prose typically between 17,500 and 40,000 words, and a novelette between 7,500 and 17,500. A Short story may be any length up to 10,000 words, but these word lengths vary. Comic books or graphic novels are books in which the story is illustrated. The characters and narrators use speech or thought bubbles to express verbal language. Non-fiction A page from a dictionary In a library, a reference book is a general type of non-fiction book which provides information as opposed to telling a story, essay, commentary, or otherwise supporting a point of view. An almanac is a very general reference book, usually one-volume, with lists of data and information on many topics. An encyclopedia is a book or set of books designed to have more in-depth articles on many topics. A book listing words, their etymology, meanings, and other information is called a dictionary. A book which is a collection of maps is an atlas. A more specific reference book with tables or lists of data and information about a certain topic, often intended for professional use, is often called a handbook. Books which try to list references and abstracts in a certain broad area may be called an index, such as Engineering Index, or abstracts such as chemical abstracts and biological abstracts. An atlas Books with technical information on how to do something or how to use some equipment are called instruction manuals. Other popular how-to books include cookbooks and home improvement books. Students typically store and carry textbooks and schoolbooks for study purposes. Elementary school pupils often use workbooks, which are published with spaces or blanks to be filled by them for study or homework. In US higher education, it is common for a student to take an exam using a blue book. A page from a notebook used as hand written diary There is a large set of books that are made only to write private ideas, notes, and accounts. These books are rarely published and are typically destroyed or remain private. Notebooks are blank papers to be written in by the user. Students and writers commonly use them for taking notes. Scientists and other researchers use lab notebooks to record their notes. They often feature spiral coil bindings at the edge so that pages may easily be torn out. A Telephone Directory, with business and residence listings. Address books, phone books, and calendar/appointment books are commonly used on a daily basis for recording appointments, meetings and personal contact information. Books for recording periodic entries by the user, such as daily information about a journey, are called logbooks or simply logs. A similar book for writing the owner's daily private personal events, information, and ideas is called a diary or personal journal. Businesses use accounting books such as journals and ledgers to record financial data in a practice called bookkeeping. Other types There are several other types of books which are not commonly found under this system. Albums are books for holding a group of items belonging to a particular theme, such as a set of photographs, card collections, and memorabilia. One common example is stamp albums, which are used by many hobbyists to protect and organize their collections of postage stamps. Such albums are often made using removable plastic pages held inside in a ringed binder or other similar smolder. Picture books are books for children with little text and pictures on every page. Hymnals are books with collections of musical hymns that can typically be found in churches. Prayerbooks or missals are books that contain written prayers and are commonly carried by monks, nuns, and other devoted followers or clergy. By physical format Hardcover books Paperback books Hardcover books have a stiff binding. Paperback books have cheaper, flexible covers which tend to be less durable. An alternative to paperback is the glossy cover, otherwise known as a dust cover, found on magazines, and comic books. Spiral-bound books are bound by spirals made of metal or plastic. Examples of spiral-bound books include: teachers' manuals and puzzle books (crosswords, sudoku). Publishing is a process for producing pre-printed books, magazines, and newspapers for the reader/user to buy. Publishers may produce low-cost, pre-publication copies known as galleys or 'bound proofs' for promotional purposes, such as generating reviews in advance of publication. Galleys are usually made as cheaply as possible, since they are not intended for sale. Libraries Main article: Library Celsus Library was built in 135 AD and could house around 12,000 scrolls. Private or personal libraries made up of non-fiction and fiction books, (as opposed to the state or institutional records kept in archives) first appeared in classical Greece. In ancient world the maintaining of a library was usually (but not exclusively) the privilege of a wealthy individual. These libraries could have been either private or public, i.e. for people who were interested in using them. The difference from a modern public library lies in the fact that they were usually not funded from public sources. It is estimated that in the city of Rome at the end of the 3rd century there were around 30 public libraries. Public libraries also existed in other cities of the ancient Mediterranean region (for example, Library of Alexandria).[23] Later, in the Middle Ages, monasteries and universities had also libraries that could be accessible to general public. Typically not the whole collection was available to public, the books could not be borrowed and often were chained to reading stands to prevent theft. The beginning of modern public library begins around 15th century when individuals started to donate books to towns.[24] The growth of a public library system in the United States started in the late 19th century and was much helped by donations from Andrew Carnegie. This reflected classes in a society: The poor or the middle class had to access most books through a public library or by other means while the rich could afford to have a private library built in their homes. In the United States the Boston Public Library 1852 Report of the Trustees established the justification for the public library as a tax-supported institution intended to extend educational opportunity and provide for general culture.[25] The advent of paperback books in the 20th century led to an explosion of popular publishing. Paperback books made owning books affordable for many people. Paperback books often included works from genres that had previously been published mostly in pulp magazines. As a result of the low cost of such books and the spread of bookstores filled with them (in addition to the creation of a smaller market of extremely cheap used paperbacks) owning a private library ceased to be a status symbol for the rich. In library and booksellers' catalogues, it is common to include an abbreviation such as "Crown 8vo" to indicate the paper size from which the book is made. When rows of books are lined on a book holder, bookends are sometimes needed to keep them from slanting. Identification and classification During the 20th century, librarians were concerned about keeping track of the many books being added yearly to the Gutenberg Galaxy. Through a global society called the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), they devised a series of tools including the International Standard Bibliographic Description (ISBD). ISBN with barcode Each book is specified by an International Standard Book Number, or ISBN, which is unique to every edition of every book produced by participating publishers, world wide. It is managed by the ISBN Society. An ISBN has four parts: the first part is the country code, the second the publisher code, and the third the title code. The last part is a check digit, and can take values from 0–9 and X (10). The EAN Barcodes numbers for books are derived from the ISBN by prefixing 978, for Bookland, and calculating a new check digit. Commercial publishers in industrialized countries generally assign ISBNs to their books, so buyers may presume that the ISBN is part of a total international system, with no exceptions. However, many government publishers, in industrial as well as developing countries, do not participate fully in the ISBN system, and publish books which do not have ISBNs. A large or public collection requires a catalogue. Codes called "call numbers" relate the books to the catalogue, and determine their locations on the shelves. Call numbers are based on a Library classification system. The call number is placed on the spine of the book, normally a short distance before the bottom, and inside. Institutional or national standards, such as ANSI/NISO Z39.41 - 1997, establish the correct way to place information (such as the title, or the name of the author) on book spines, and on "shelvable" book-like objects, such as containers for DVDs, video tapes and software. Books on library shelves with bookends, and call numbers visible on the spines One of the earliest and most widely known systems of cataloguing books is the Dewey Decimal System. Another widely known system is the Library of Congress Classification system. Both systems are biased towards subjects which were well represented in US libraries when they were developed, and hence have problems handling new subjects, such as computing, or subjects relating to other cultures.[citation needed] Information about books and authors can be stored in databases like online general-interest book databases. Metadata about a book may include its ISBN or other classification number (see above), the names of contributors (author, editor, illustrator) and publisher, its date and size, and the language of the text. Classification systems Bliss bibliographic classification (BC) Chinese Library Classification (CLC) Colon Classification Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) Harvard-Yenching Classification Library of Congress Classification (LCC) New Classification Scheme for Chinese Libraries Universal Decimal Classification (UDC) Uses Aside from the primary purpose of reading them, books are also used for other ends: A book can be an artistic artifact, a piece of art; this is sometimes known as an artists' book. A book may be evaluated by a reader or professional writer to create a book review. A book may be read by a group of people to use as a spark for social or academic discussion, as in a book club. A book may be studied by students as the subject of a writing and analysis exercise in the form of a book report. Books are sometimes used for their exterior appearance to decorate a room, such as a study. Paper and conservation Main articles: Paper#Paper stability and Conservation-restoration Halfbound book with leather and marbled paper. Paper was first made in China as early as 200 B.C., and reached Europe through Muslim territories. At first made of rags, the industrial revolution changed paper-making practices, allowing for paper to be made out of wood pulp. papermaking in Europe began in the 11th century, although vellum was also common there as page material up until the beginning of 16th century, vellum being the more expensive and durable option. Printers or publishers would often issue the same publication on both materials, to cater to more than one market. Paper made from wood pulp became popular in the early 20th century, because it was cheaper than linen or abaca cloth-based papers. Pulp-based paper made books less expensive to the general public. This paved the way for huge leaps in the rate of literacy in industrialised nations, and enabled the spread of information during the Second Industrial Revolution. However pulp paper contained acid, that eventually destroys the paper from within. Earlier techniques for making paper used limestone rollers, which neutralized the acid in the pulp. Books printed between 1850 and 1950 are at risk; more recent books are often printed on acid-free or alkaline paper. Libraries today have to consider mass deacidification of their older collections. Stability of the climate is critical to the long-term preservation of paper and book material.[26] Good air circulation is important to keep fluctuation in climate stable. The HVAC system should be up to date and functioning efficiently. Light is detrimental to collections. Therefore, care should be given to the collections by implementing light control. General housekeeping issues can be addressed, including pest control. In addition to these helpful solutions, a library must also make an effort to be prepared if a disaster occurs, one that they cannot control. Time and effort should be given to create a concise and effective disaster plan to counteract any damage incurred through "acts of god" therefore an emergency management plan should be in place. See also Main article: Outline of books Artist's book Audiobook Book burning Lists of books Bibliodiversity SOME GENERAL INFO ABOUT THRILLERS Celebrate the Great American Wiknic in 20+ cities around June 23. Thriller (genre) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thriller is a broad genre of literature, film, and television programming that uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements.[1] Thrillers heavily stimulate the viewer's moods giving them a high level of anticipation, ultra-heightened expectation, uncertainty, surprise, anxiety and/or terror. Thriller films tend to be adrenaline-rushing, gritty, rousing and fast-paced. Literary devices such as red herrings, plot twists and cliffhangers are used extensively. A thriller is villain-driven plot, whereby he or she presents obstacles that the hero must overcome.[2][3] The aim for thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape, a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a thriller film falls into, it will emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The tension with the main problem is built on throughout the film and leads to a highly stressful climax. The cover-up of important information from the viewer, and fight and chase scenes are common methods in all of the thriller subgenres, although each subgenre has its own unique characteristics and methods.[4] Common subgenres are psychological thrillers, crime thrillers and mystery thrillers.[5] After the assassination of President Kennedy, the political thriller and the paranoid thriller genre became very popular.[6] Another common subgenre of thriller is the spy genre which deals with fictional espionage. Successful examples of thrillers are the films of Alfred Hitchcock. The horror and action genres often overlap with the thriller genre.[7] In 2001, the American Film Institute in Los Angeles made its definitive selection of the top 100 greatest American "heart-pounding" and "adrenaline-inducing" films of all time. To be eligible, the 400 nominated films had to be American-made films, whose thrills have "enlivened and enriched America's film heritage". AFI also asked jurors to consider "the total adrenaline-inducing impact of a film's artistry and craft".[8][9] Homer's Odyssey is one of the oldest stories in the Western world and is regarded as an early prototype of the thriller. One of the earliest thriller movies was Harold Lloyd's comic Safety Last! (1923), with a character performing a daredevil stunt on the side of a skyscraper. Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz Lang helped to shape the modern-day thriller genre beginning with The Lodger (1926) and M (1931), respectively.[2] Contents 1 Characteristics 1.1 Definition of thriller 1.2 Themes and characters 1.3 Story and setting 1.4 Thriller and mystery 1.5 Thriller and crime 2 History 2.1 History in literature 2.2 History in film 2.2.1 Early thrillers, 1920s–1930s 2.2.2 1940s 2.2.3 1950s 2.2.4 1960s 2.2.5 1970s and 1980s 2.2.6 1990s to present 3 Sub-genres in film 4 Notable contributors to the thriller genre 4.1 Fiction and literature 4.2 Film 5 Television 6 See also 7 References 8 External links Characteristics Definition of thriller A thriller provides the sudden rush of emotions, excitement, sense of suspense and exhilaration that drive the narrative, sometimes subtly with peaks and lulls, sometimes at a constant, breakneck pace thrills. In this genre, the objective is to deliver a story with sustained tension, surprise, and a constant sense of impending doom. It keeps the audience cliff-hanging at the "edge of their seats" as the plot builds towards a climax. Thrillers tend to be fast-moving, psychological and threatening, mysterious and at times involve larger-scale villainy such as espionage, terrorism and conspiracy. Thrillers may be defined by the primary mood that they elicit: fearful excitement. In short, if it "thrills", it is a thriller. As the introduction to a major anthology explains: “ ...Thrillers provide such a rich literary feast. There are all kinds. The legal thriller, spy thriller, action-adventure thriller, medical thriller, police thriller, romantic thriller, historical thriller, political thriller, religious thriller, high-tech thriller, military thriller. The list goes on and on, with new variations constantly being invented. In fact, this openness to expansion is one of the genre's most enduring characteristics. But what gives the variety of thrillers a common ground is the intensity of emotions they create, particularly those of apprehension and exhilaration, of excitement and breathlessness, all designed to generate that all-important thrill. By definition, if a thriller doesn't thrill, it's not doing its job. ” —James Patterson, June 2006, "Introduction," Thriller[10] Writer Vladimir Nabokov, in his lectures at Cornell University, said: "In an Anglo-Saxon thriller, the villain is generally punished, and the strong silent man generally wins the weak babbling girl, but there is no governmental law in Western countries to ban a story that does not comply with a fond tradition, so that we always hope that the wicked but romantic fellow will escape scot-free and the good but dull chap will be finally snubbed by the moody heroine."[11] Themes and characters Common methods and themes in crime thrillers are mainly ransoms, captivities, heists, revenge, kidnappings. . More common in mystery thrillers are investigations and the whodunit technique. Common elements in psychological thrillers are mind games, psychological themes, stalking, confinement/deathtraps, horror-of-personality, and obsession. Elements such as fringe theories, false accusations and paranoia are common in paranoid thrillers. Threats to entire countries, spies, espionage, conspiracies, assassins and electronic surveillance are common in spy thrillers[12] The primary elements of the thriller genre: The protagonist(s) faces death, either their own or somebody else's. The force(s) of antagonism must initially be cleverer and/or stronger than the protagonist's. The main storyline for the protagonist is either a quest or a character who cannot be put down. The main plotline focuses on a mystery that must be solved. The film's narrative construction is dominated by the protagonist's point of view. All action and characters must be credibly realistic/natural in their representation on screen. The two major themes that underpin the thriller genre are the desire for justice and the morality of individuals. One small, but significant, aspect of a thriller is the presence of innocence in what is seen as an essentially corrupt world. The protagonist(s) and antagonist(s) may battle not just on a physical level, but on a mental one as well. Either by accident or their own curiousness, characters are dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve. Characters include criminals, stalkers, assassins, innocent victims (often on the run), menaced women, characters with deep dark pasts, psychotic individuals, serial killers, sociopaths, agents, terrorists, cops and escaped cons, private eyes, people involved in twisted relationships, world-weary men and women, psycho-fiends, and more. The themes frequently include terrorism, political conspiracy, pursuit, or romantic triangles leading to murder.[13] The protagonists are frequently ordinary citizens unaccustomed to danger, although commonly in crime thrillers, they may also be "hard men" accustomed to danger such as police officers and detectives. While protagonists of thrillers have traditionally been men, women lead characters are increasingly common.[14] In psychological thrillers, the protagonists are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with the antagonist or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind. The suspense often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state[14][15] Story and setting Plots of thrillers involve characters which come into conflict with each other or with outside forces – the threat is sometimes abstract or unseen. An atmosphere of creepy menace and sudden violence, such as crime and murder, characterize thrillers. Thrillers often present the world and society as dark, corrupt and dangerous. But in Hollywood they usually feature upbeat endings in which evil is overcome. The tension usually arises when the character(s) is placed in a menacing situation, a mystery, or a trap from which escaping seems impossible. Life is threatened, usually because the principal character is unsuspectingly or unknowingly involved in a dangerous or potentially deadly situation.[16] Thrillers emphasize the puzzle aspect of the plot. There are clues and the viewer/reader should be able to determine the solution at about the same times as the main character. In thrillers the compelling questions isn’t necessarily who did it but whether the villain will be caught before committing another crime. Hitchcock's films often placed an innocent victim (an average, responsible person) into a strange, life-threatening or terrorizing situation, in a case of mistaken identity, misidentification or wrongful accusation.[17] Thrillers take place mostly in ordinary suburbs and cities, although sometimes they may take place wholly or partly in exotic settings such as foreign cities, deserts, polar regions, or the high seas. Usually, tough, resourceful, but essentially ordinary heroes are pitted against villains determined to destroy them, their country, or the stability of the free world. Often in a thriller the protagonist is faced with what seem to be insurmountable problems in his mission, carried out against a ticking clock, the stakes are high and although resourceful they face personal dilemmas along the way forcing them to make sacrifices for others. Thriller and mystery Thrillers often overlap with mystery stories but are distinguished by the structure of their plots. In a thriller, the hero must stop the plans of an enemy rather than uncover a crime that has already happened. Mystery thrillers also occur on a much grander scale: the crimes that must be prevented are serial or mass murder, terrorism, assassination, or the overthrow of governments. Jeopardy and violent confrontations are standard plot elements in the mystery-thriller genre (i.e., Triangle), unlike in the mystery genre where the story is more downbeat and dramatic (i.e., Changeling). While a mystery climaxes when the mystery is solved (i.e., Gosford Park), a mystery thriller climaxes when the hero finally defeats the villain (after reveal), saves his own life and often the lives of others (i.e., Oldboy). There is very little violence, menace and threat in mystery/detective films (especially between the villain and other innocent people), whilst the violence is quite intense in thrillers and the villain is more ruthless. In thrillers influenced by film noir and tragedy, the compromised hero is often killed in the process. A thriller isn't just about someone being murdered. There is always something bigger and more important at stake behind the murder that may endanger more lives. Where in a mystery the motive for a crime such as insurance fraud can be greed, in a thriller mere money doesn't come across as believable for all the terrible things the antagonist will do. Thriller and crime Often the two overlap. However, pure crime films/novels focus on a specific crime or set of crimes, and solving the mystery or tracking down the criminal(s), with no or little violence but more drama throughout. Thrillers are usually fiction-based and fast in pace, while crime fiction tend to be more leisurely paced, dramatic and realistic. Generally, violence is also lacking in a crime fiction, but this depends if the work is based on the mafia, where violence is intense.[18] Some crime films showcase more on the gangster life, personal drama of the criminals and even their biopic (i.e., The Godfather). Crime-thrillers, on the other hand, have more threat and suspense in them and may involve espionage (spying), frequent killings and other non-criminal conflicts (i.e., Heat). Unlike crime thrillers, crime films usually offer a more serious, grim and realistic portrayal of the criminal environment, emphasizing character development and complex narratives over suspense sequences, chase scenes and violence.[19] In crime fiction, the hero might be a police officer, or a private eye, who can still be tough and resourceful. He is pitted against villains determined to destroy him, although, unlike in thrillers, not necessarily other people, the country or the stability of the free world. Unlike in crime fiction, thrillers keep the emphasis away from the gangster, melodrama or the detective in the crime-related plot, and rather focus more on the suspense and danger that is generated. History History in literature Ancient epic poems such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, Homer's Odyssey and the Mahabharata use similar narrative techniques as modern thrillers. In the Odyssey, the hero Odysseus makes a perilous voyage home after the Trojan War, battling extraordinary hardships in order to be reunited with his wife Penelope. He has to contend with villains such as the Cyclops, a one-eyed giant, and the Sirens, whose sweet singing lures sailors to their doom. In most cases, Odysseus uses cunning instead of brute force to overcome his adversaries. The Three Apples, a tale in the One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights), is the earliest known murder mystery[20] and suspense thriller with multiple plot twists[21] and detective fiction elements.[22] In this tale, a fisherman discovers a heavy locked chest along the Tigris river and he sells it to the Abbasid Caliph, Harun al-Rashid, who then has the chest broken open only to find inside it the dead body of a young woman who was cut into pieces. Harun orders his vizier, Ja'far ibn Yahya, to solve the crime and find the murderer within three days. This whodunit mystery may be considered an archetype for detective fiction.[20][23] The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) is a swashbuckling revenge thriller about a man named Edmond Dantes who is betrayed by his friends and sent to languish in the notorious Chateau d'If. His only companion is an old man who teaches him everything from philosophy to mathematics to swordplay. Just before the old man dies, he reveals to Dantes the secret location of a great treasure. Shortly after, Dantes engineers a daring escape and uses the treasure to reinvent himself as the Count of Monte Cristo. Thirsting for vengeance, he sets out to punish those who destroyed his life. The Riddle of the Sands (1903) is "the first modern thriller", according to Ken Follett, who described it as "an open-air adventure thriller about two young men who stumble upon a German armada preparing to invade England". Heart of Darkness (1903) is a first-person within a first-person account about a man named Marlowe who travels up the Congo River in search of an enigmatic Belgian trader named Kurtz. Layer by layer, the atrocities of the human soul and man's inhumanity to man are peeled away. Marlowe finds it increasingly difficult to tell where civilization ends and where barbarism begins. Today this might be described as a psychological thriller. The Thirty-Nine Steps (1915) is an early thriller by John Buchan, in which an innocent man becomes the prime suspect in a murder case and finds himself on the run from both the police and enemy spies. The Manchurian Candidate (1959) is a classic of Cold War paranoia. A squad of American soldiers are kidnapped and brainwashed by Communists. False memories are implanted, along with a subconscious trigger that turns them into assassins at a moment's notice. They are soon reintegrated into American society as sleeper agents. One of them, Major Bennett Marco, senses that not all is right, setting him on a collision course with his former comrade Sergeant Raymond Shaw, who is close to being activated as an assassin. The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963) by John le Carre is set in the world of Cold War espionage and helped to usher in an era of more realistic thriller fiction, based around professional spies and the battle of wits between rival spymasters. The Bourne Identity (1980) is one of the first thrillers to be written in the modern style that we know today. A man with gunshot wounds is found floating unconscious in the Mediterranean Sea. Brought ashore and nursed back to health, he wakes up with amnesia. Fiercely determined to uncover the secrets of his past, he embarks on a quest that sends him spiraling into a web of violence and deceit. He is astounded to learn that knowledge of hand-to-hand combat, firearms, and trade craft seem to come naturally to him. History in film Early thrillers, 1920s–1930s Alfred Hitchcock began his career with his first silent film The Lodger (1926), a suspenseful Jack the Ripper story, followed by his next thriller Blackmail (1929), his first sound film. However, of Hitchcock's fifteen major features made between 1925 and 1935, he only made five thrillers, the two mentioned above plus Number Seventeen, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and The 39 Steps (his 1930 film Murder is technically a whodunit). One of the earliest spy films was Fritz Lang's Spies (1928), the director's first independent production, with an anarchist international conspirator and criminal spy character named Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), who was pursued by good-guy Agent No. 326 (Willy Fritsch) (aka Det. Donald Tremaine, English version) - this film anticipated the James Bond films of the future. Another was Greta Garbo's portrayal of the real-life, notorious, seductive German double agent code-named Mata Hari (Gertrud Zelle) in WWI in Mata Hari (1932), who performed a pearl-draped dance to entice French officers to divulge their secrets. The chilling German film M (1931) directed by Fritz Lang, starred Peter Lorre (in his first film role) as a criminal deviant who preys on children. The film's story was based on the life of serial killer Peter Kurten (known as the 'Vampire of Dusseldorf'). Edward Sutherland's crime thriller Murders in the Zoo (1933) from Paramount starred Lionel Atwill as a murderous and jealous zoologist. Other British directors, such as Walter Forde, Victor Saville, George A. Cooper, and even the young Michael Powell made more thrillers in the same period; Forde made nine, Vorhaus seven between 1932 and 1935, Cooper six in the same period, and Powell the same. Hitchcock was following a strong British trend in his choice of genre. Notable examples of Hitchcock's early British suspense-thriller films include The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), his first spy-chase/romantic thriller, The 39 Steps (1935) with Robert Donat handcuffed to Madeleine Carroll and The Lady Vanishes (1938). 1940s Hitchcock continued to perfect his recognizable brand of suspense-thriller, producing Foreign Correspondent (1940), the haunting Oscar-nominated Rebecca (1940) which is about the unusual romance between a young woman (Joan Fontaine) and an emotionally-distant rich widower (Laurence Olivier) – overshadowed by a vindictive housekeeper (Judith Anderson), Suspicion (1941) about a woman in peril from her own husband (Cary Grant), Saboteur (1942) and Shadow of a Doubt (1943), which was Hitchcock's own personal favorite and based upon the actual case of a 1920s serial killer known as The Merry Widow Murderer. Director George Cukor's psychological thriller Gaslight (1944) featured a scheming husband (Charles Boyer) plotting to make his innocent young wife (Ingrid Bergman) go insane, in order to acquire her inheritance. The film noir, Laura (1944) was about a thrilling murder investigation made by a police detective (Dana Andrews), with suspects including a columnist (Clifton Webb) and a fiancee (Vincent Price). In The Spiral Staircase (1946), a mute domestic servant (Dorothy McGuire) in a house was terrorized by a serial murderer, thinking she was the next victim. In a thriller starring Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth titled The Lady From Shanghai (1948), a woman, her crippled lawyer/husband and his partner, and an Irish sailor ended up involved in a murder scheme. In Sorry, Wrong Number (1948), an invalid woman (Barbara Stanwyck) overheard a murder plot on the phone – against herself. The Third Man (1949), told the story of a writer (Joseph Cotten) in post-World War II Vienna who found out that his old friend (Orson Welles), a black marketeer, was not dead after all. Spy films of the '40s included Fritz Lang's atmospheric post-war spy melodrama Cloak and Dagger (1946), with Gary Cooper starring as atomic scientist and physics professor Alvah Jasper (a character based upon A-bomb co-developer J. Robert Oppenheimer), on a mission to discover Germany's secret plans to build an A bomb. Henry Hathaway's 13 Rue Madeleine (1947), a documentary-style wartime espionage tale with James Cagney (as Bob Sharkey), an O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services) agent sent into occupied France to uncover the site of a German missile silo before the Allied landing at Normandy on D-Day. 1950s In the 1950s, Hitchcock added technicolor to his thrillers, now with exotic locales and glamorous stars. He reached the zenith of his career with a succession of classic films such as, Strangers on a Train (1951) which is about two train passengers: tennis pro Guy (Farley Granger) and Bruno (Robert Walker) who staged a battle of wits and traded murders with each other, Dial M For Murder (1954) with Ray Milland as a villainous husband who attempts to murder his wealthy wife (Grace Kelly), Rear Window (1954) which is about man (James Stewart) being convinced that his neighbour is a killer, To Catch a Thief (1955), a lightweight thriller set in South of France, Vertigo (1958), with James Stewart as a retired police detective who becomes obsessed with the disturbed enigmatic 'wife' (Kim Novak) of an old friend, and North by Northwest in which an advertising executive (Cary Grant) is mistaken for a non-existent spy and chased across the country while aided by a mysterious woman (Eva Marie Saint). Non-Hitchcock thriller of the 50's include, the film-noirish Niagara (1953) by Henry Hathaway, with Marilyn Monroe as the trashy femme fatale who schemes to kill her unstable husband (Joseph Cotten), director Robert Aldrich's violent and fast-paced film Kiss Me Deadly (1955) featured Ralph Meeker as fictional detective Mike Hammer encountering nuclear apocalypse, The Night of the Hunter (1955), director Charles Laughton's only film, with Robert Mitchum playing a Bible-thumping, homicidal preacher victimizing two young children with a secret about the location of stolen money. Orson Welles' unique crime thriller, Touch of Evil (1958) with a pre-Psycho Janet Leigh as a terrorized wife, Charlton Heston as a Mexican narcotics agent, and the director himself as an evil border-town cop. The spy films in the 50's included Henry Hathaway's Diplomatic Courier (1952), with Tyrone Power as an undercover secret agent in search of documents with details of the Russian invasion of Yugoslavia and Joseph Mankiewicz's 5 Fingers (1952) with James Mason as undercover agent Ulysses Diello (code-named Cicero), working in the British embassy in Turkey during WWII, selling secrets to the Nazis. The film was based upon the novel Operation Cicero by real-life "Cicero" L.C. Moyzisch. 1960s Director Michael Powell's tense Peeping Tom (1960), with Carl Boehm as a psychopathic cameraman – the film was released prior to Hitchcock's Psycho (1960). After Hitchcock's classic films of the 1950s, he produced the shocking and engrossing thriller Psycho (1960) about a loner mother-fixated motel owner and taxidermist. J. Lee Thompson's Cape Fear (1962) with Robert Mitchum had a menacing ex-con seeking revenge at an attorney (Gregory Peck) and his family, director Stanley Donen's stylish, romantic thriller Charade (1963), which had numerous plot twists, Identity changes, and a search for hidden loot that stars the pair of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn on location in Paris. Roman Polanski's first film in English, the frightening and surrealistic Repulsion (1965) – with Catherine Deneuve as a young woman who goes increasingly mad. A famous thriller of its release date was Wait Until Dark (1967) by director Terence Young with Audrey Hepburn as a victimized blind woman in her Manhattan apartment and Alan Arkin as the evil and sadistic con man searching for drugs (hidden in a doll). The 007 films inspired other spy films like the 'Harry Palmer' spy mystery trilogy featured a reluctant, bespectacled, unglamorous British secret serviceman (Michael Caine) (from the best-selling novel by Len Deighton) in The Ipcress File (1965), Funeral in Berlin (1967) and Billion Dollar Brain (1967). More spy films spawned; Richard Burton was British undercover agent Alec Leamas (code-named Expendable) in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1965) and Sidney Lumet's The Deadly Affair (1967), Terence Young's The Triple Cross (1967), based on a true story, starred Christopher Plummer as Eddie Chapman, a safe-cracker who joined with the Germans during the war, and then became a British double-agent. 1970s and 1980s The decade saw a violent start in the thriller genre, with Frenzy (1972), Hitchcock's first British film in almost two decades, being given an R rating for its vicious and explicit strangulation scene. Steven Spielberg's low-budget early TV movie Duel (1971), which got a cult following, was about road rage between a hapless traveling salesman (Dennis Weaver) and the unseen, relentless driver of a truck. One of the first films about a fan being disturbingly obsessed with their idol was Clint Eastwood's directorial debut film, Play Misty for Me (1971), about a California disc jockey pursued by a disturbed female listener (Jessica Walter). John Boorman's Deliverance (1972) followed the perilous fate of four Southern businessmen during a weekend's trip. Director Nicolas Roeg's edgy, puzzling and macabre Don't Look Now (1973), a tale of despair in Venice, with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as a couple grieving the drowning death of their daughter. In Francis Ford Coppola's tense character study/spy thriller, The Conversation (1974), a bugging-device expert (Gene Hackman) systematically uncovered a covert murder while he himself was being spied upon. Directed by Irvin Kershner, The Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) was yet another stalker themed thriller, starring Faye Dunaway as the title character – a stalked photographer. Director Brian De Palma's earliest, heavily-stylistic films (often with reconstructed scenes from other films) are particularly reminiscent of Hitchcock's tense thrillers, with themes of guilt, voyeurism, paranoia and obsession. Similar plot elements include killing off a main character early on, switching points of view, and dream-like sequences. His films include, the psycho-thriller Sisters (1973), a film about dual personalities and with music from Hitchcock's frequent and favorite collaborator, composer Bernard Herrmann, Obsession (1976) which was somewhat inspired by Vertigo, Dressed to Kill (1980), the assassination thriller Blow Out (1981) told about a sound-effects man who witnessed the 'accidental' killing of the governor and the erotic Body Double (1984) which was about a struggling B-movie actor who became involved in a tale of intrigue and mystery involving his erotic next-door 'body double' neighbor. Spy and conspiracy films were scattered throughout the two decades. Don Siegel's The Black Windmill (1974), derived from the Clive Egleton novel Seven Days to a Killing, with Michael Caine as MI-5 operative John Tarrant, an espionage agent whose son has been kidnapped. Alan Pakula's The Parallax View (1974) told of a conspiracy, led by the Parallax Corporation, surrounding the assassination of a US Senator running for President that was witnessed by investigative reporter Joseph Frady (Warren Beatty). Peter Hyam's science-fiction thriller Capricorn One (1978) proposed the government conspiracy-theory idea that the first mission to Mars landing was a complete fake. Sam Peckinpah's final film, the plot twisting spy film The Osterman Weekend (1983), was based on Robert Ludlum's best-selling novel and starred John Hurt as creepy CIA agent-spy Lawrence Fassett. UK's political conspiracy thriller Defence of the Realm (1985), featured Gabriel Byrne as a reporter investigating a covert operation. John Mackenzie's spy thriller The Fourth Protocol (1987), derived from a script by the original novelist Frederick Forsyth, featured Michael Caine as British intelligence agent John Preston and Pierce Brosnan as bad-guy Russian agent Maj. Valeri Petrofsky. The decade ended with Phillip Noyce's Dead Calm (1989), a psychological thriller with Nicole Kidman, who must fight for her life on a yacht against a crazed castaway (Billy Zane). This thriller had elements of obsession and trapped protagonists who must find a way to escape the clutches of the villain – these devices influenced a number of thrillers in the following years, the early 90's. 1990s to present The decade started with Rob Reiner's Misery (1990), based on the book by Stephen King, with Kathy Bates as an unbalanced fan named Annie who terrorizes, in her care, an incapacitated author named Paul (James Caan); in one horrifying scene, she 'hobbles' his ankles so that he can't escape, a battered wife who left her sadistic husband to find a better life was vengefully pursued in Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), Curtis Hanson's The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), with Rebecca De Mornay as a nanny intent on seeking revenge against her dead obstetrician husband's patient (Annabella Sciorra), Unlawful Entry (1992) with Ray Liotta as cop being obsessed with a woman he saved, Barbet Schroeder's suspenseful Single White Female (1992), with Bridget Fonda and her obsessed roommate-from-hell Jennifer Jason Leigh, Harold Becker's Malice (1993) with Alec Baldwin and Nicole Kidman, and lastly Anthony Minghella's psychological thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) with Matt Damon being obsessed with, and then assuming the identity of, Jude Law.[24] However, despite how common the obsession theme was in this decade, there was another popular theme of the thriller genre – detectives/FBI agents hunting down a serial killer. The famous was Jonathan Demme's highly-acclaimed Best Picture-winning crime thriller The Silence of the Lambs (1991) where a young FBI agent Jodie Foster in a psychological war against a cannibalistic psychiatrist named Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), while tracking down transgender serial killer Buffalo Bill and David Fincher's crime thriller Se7en (1995), which was about the search for a serial killer who re-enacts the seven deadly sins. Until today, thrillers do borrow themes and elements from those in the past decades. However, to cut the repetitiveness, there are a number of recent thrillers that maintain the aspects of the horror genre; having more gore/sadistic violence, brutality, terror and body counts. The recent thrillers which took this approach include Eden Lake (2008), The Last House on the Left (2009), P2 (2007), Captivity (2007) and Funny Games (2008). Even action scenes have gotten more elaborate in thriller films within the past 10 years, especially in spy thrillers. Thrillers such as Joy Ride (2001), Unknown (2011), Hostage (2005), Cellular (2006), A History of Violence (2005) and Firewall (2006) were borderline-action. Sub-genres in film See also: List of thriller films The thriller genre can include the following sub-genres,[25] which may include elements of other genres: Conspiracy thriller: In which the hero/heroine confronts a large, powerful group of enemies whose true extent only s/he recognizes. The Chancellor Manuscript and The Aquitaine Progression by Robert Ludlum fall into this category, as do films such as Awake, Snake Eyes, The Da Vinci Code, Edge of Darkness,[26] Absolute Power, Marathon Man, In the Line of Fire, Capricorn One, and JFK.[27] Crime thriller: This particular genre is a hybrid type of both crime films and thrillers that offers a suspenseful account of a successful or failed crime or crimes. These films often focus on the criminal(s) rather than a policeman. Central topics of these films include serial killers/murders, robberies, chases, shootouts, heists and double-crosses. Some examples of crime thrillers involving murderers include, Seven,[28] No Country for Old Men, Silence of the Lambs, Untraceable, Mindhunters,[29] Kiss the Girls, Along Came a Spider and Copycat.[30] Examples of crime thrillers involving heists or robberies includes The Asphalt Jungle,[31] The Score,[32] Rififi, Entrapment[33] and The Killing. Erotic thriller: A type of thriller that has an emphasis on eroticism and where a sexual relationship plays an important role in the plot. It has become popular since the 1980s and the rise of VCR market penetration. The genre includes such films as Basic Instinct,[34] Chloe, Color of Night, Dressed to Kill, Eyes Wide Shut, In the Cut, Lust, Caution and Single White Female. Political thriller: In which the hero/heroine must ensure the stability of the government that employs him. The success of Seven Days in May (1962) by Fletcher Knebel, The Day of the Jackal (1971) by Frederick Forsyth, and The Manchurian Candidate (1959) by Richard Condon established this sub-genre. Examples include, Topaz, Notorious, The Man Who Knew Too Much, The Interpreter,[35] Proof of Life,[36] State of Play and The Ghost Writer. Psychological thriller: In which (until the often violent resolution) the conflict between the main characters is mental and emotional, rather than physical. Characters, either by accident or their own curiousness, are dragged into a dangerous conflict or situation that they are not prepared to resolve. Characters are not reliant on physical strength to overcome their brutish enemies, but rather are reliant on their mental resources, whether it be by battling wits with a formidable opponent or by battling for equilibrium in the character's own mind. At times, the characters attempt solving, or are involved in, a mystery. The suspense created by psychological thrillers often comes from two or more characters preying upon one another's minds, either by playing deceptive games with the other or by merely trying to demolish the other's mental state.[37] The Alfred Hitchcock films Suspicion, Shadow of a Doubt, and Strangers on a Train and David Lynch's bizarre and influential Blue Velvet are notable examples of the type, as are The Talented Mr. Ripley, The Machinist, Don't Say A Word,[38] House of 9, Trapped, Flightplan, Shutter Island, Secret Window, Identity, Red Eye,[39] Phone Booth, Psycho, The River Wild,[40] Nick of Time,[41] P2,[42] Breakdown, Panic Room,[43] Misery, Cape Fear, The Collector, Frailty,[44] The Good Son and Funny Games.[45] Spy thriller: In which the protagonist is generally a government agent who must take violent action against agents of a rival government or (in recent years) terrorists. The subgenre usually deals with the subject of fictional espionage in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John Le Carre). It is a significant aspect of British cinema,[46] with leading British directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed making notable contributions and many films set in the British Secret Service. The spy film usually fuses the action and science fiction genres, however, some spy films fall safely in the action genre rather than thriller (e.i. James Bond), especially those having frequent shootouts, car chases and such (see the spy entry in the subgenres of action film).[47] Thrillers within this subgenre include Spy Game, Hanna, Traitor, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Tourist, The Parallax View, The Tailor of Panama, Taken, Unknown, The Recruit, The Debt, The Good Shepherd and Three Days of the Condor.[3] Supernatural thriller: In which the film brings in an otherworldly element mixed with tension, suspense and plot twists. Sometimes the hero and/or villain has some psychic ability. Examples include, Lady in the Water, Fallen,[48] Frequency, Knowing, In Dreams,[49] Flatliners, Jacob's Ladder, The Skeleton Key,[50] What Lies Beneath, Unbreakable, The Gift[51] and The Dead Zone. Techno thriller: A suspense film in which the manipulation of sophisticated technology plays a prominent part. There is a bit of action and science fiction.[52] Examples include The Thirteenth Floor, Jurassic Park, I, Robot, Eagle Eye, Hackers, The Net, Futureworld, eXistenZ and Virtuosity. Notable contributors to the thriller genre Fiction and literature See also: List of thriller writers Novelists closely associated with the genre include Eric Ambler, Ted Bell, Dan Brown, Lincoln Child, Tom Clancy, Clive Cussler, Michael Crichton, Nelson DeMille, Ian Fleming, Ken Follett, Frederick Forsyth, Graham Greene, John Grisham, Robert Ludlum, Alistair MacLean, Andy McNab, David Morrell, James Phelan, Douglas Preston, and Matthew Reilly. Film D.J. Caruso Henri-Georges Clouzot Joel and Ethan Coen Jonathan Demme Brian De Palma David Fincher John Frankenheimer William Friedkin Alfred Hitchcock Gregory Hoblit Stephen Hopkins John Huston Peter Jackson Philip Kaufman Stanley Kubrick Michael Mann John McTiernan Christopher Nolan Phillip Noyce Wolfgang Petersen Roman Polanski Sydney Pollack Carol Reed Joel Schumacher Ridley Scott Tony Scott M. Night Shyamalan Don Siegel Steven Soderbergh Steven Spielberg Quentin Tarantino Tom Tykwer Orson Welles Billy Wilder Television There have been at least two television series called simply Thriller, one made in the U.S. in the 1960s and one made in the UK in the 1970s. Although in no way linked, both series consisted of one-off dramas, each utilising the familiar motifs of the genre. 24 is a fast-paced television series with a premise inspired by the War on Terror. Each season takes place over the course of twenty-four hours, with each episode happening in "real time". Featuring a split-screen technique and a ticking onscreen clock, 24 follows the exploits of federal agent Jack Bauer as he races to foil terrorist threats. Lost, which deals with the survivors of a plane crash, sees the castaways on the island forced to deal with a monstrous being that appears as a cloud of black smoke, a conspiracy of "Others" who have kidnapped or killed their fellow castaways at various points, a shadowy past of the island itself that they are trying to understand, polar bears, and the fight against these and other elements as they struggle simply to stay alive and get out of the island. Prison Break follows Michael Scofield, an engineer who has himself incarcerated in a maximum-security prison in order to break out his brother, who is on death row for a crime he did not commit. In the first season Michael must deal with the hazards of prison life, the other inmates and prison staff, and executing his elaborate escape plan, while outside the prison Michael's allies investigate the conspiracy that led to Lincoln being framed. In the second season, Michael, his brother and several other inmates escape the prison and must evade the nationwide manhunt for their re-capture, as well as those who want them dead. Other examples include, Dexter, Breaking Bad, Criminal Minds, Without a Trace, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The 4400, Medium, Numb3rs, The Twilight Zone and The X-Files. See also Adventure novel International Thriller Writers THANKS FOR LOOKING !!! telewh

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