CHOICE Wonderful Instructional Title for 2009
"This flooring-breaking helpful useful resource is strongly useful for all libraries and nicely being and welfare institutional depots; essential for school collections, notably these catering to social analysis packages."
—Library Journal, STARRED Evaluation
Kids and adults spend an unimaginable deal of time in actions we anticipate of as “play,” along with video video games, sports activities actions, and hobbies. With out keen about it very deeply, nearly everyone would agree that such actions are gratifying, pleasurable, and entertaining. However, play has many features that run so much deeper than straightforward entertainment. For kids, play has quite a few options resembling rivals, following tips, accepting defeat, choosing leaders, exercising administration, working in the direction of grownup roles, and taking risks in order to reap rewards. For adults, many video video games and sports activities actions perform harmless releases of feelings of aggression, rivals, and intergroup hostility.
The Encyclopedia of Play in At this time’s Society explores the thought of play in historic previous and stylish society in the USA and internationally. Its scope encompasses leisure and leisure actions of kids and adults all by way of the ages, from dice video video games in the Roman Empire to video video video games proper now. With higher than 450 entries, these two volumes do not embrace protection of expert sports activities actions and sport groups nevertheless, instead, cowl the an entire lot of video video games carried out to not earn a dwelling nevertheless as informal exercise. All parts of play—from learning to rivals, mastery of nature, socialization, and cooperation—are included. Merely adequate, this Encyclopedia explores play carried out for the gratifying of it!
Key FeaturesAvailable in every print and digital formatsProvides entry to the fascinating literature that has explored questions of psychology, learning precept, game precept, and historic previous in depthConsiders the impacts of play on child and grownup enchancment, notably on properly being, creativity, and imaginationContains entries that describe every grownup and childhood play and video video games in dozens of cultures throughout the world and all via historyExplores the delicate analyses of social thinkers similar to Huizinga, Vygotsky, and Sutton-Smith, in addition to the big choice of video video games, toys, sports activities actions, and entertainments found throughout the worldPresents cultures as quite a few as the normal Middle East, fashionable Russia, and China and in nations as faraway as India, Argentina, and France
Key ThemesAdult GamesBoard and Card GamesChildren’s GamesHistory of PlayOutdoor Video video games and Novice SportsPlay and EducationPlay Throughout the WorldPsychology of PlaySociology of PlayToys and BusinessVideo and On-line Video video games
For a subject we principally ponder light-hearted, play as a evaluation matter has generated an in depth and sophisticated literature, exploring a spread of penetrating questions. This two-amount set serves as a primary, nontechnical helpful useful resource for academics, researchers, and school college students alike. It is an necessary addition to any instructional library.