Revised and expanded reissues of textbooks as an optimal means for ensuring correspondence with the latest achievements in science and technology

In contrast to basic science, applied sciences develop and change very rapidly. For this reason the field of reinforced concrete design, for example, offers constantly new design standards or reissues old standards with the necessary corrections. As an example, design rules can be specified for the field of construction in seismic regions. In Israel, they appeared in 1995 and were reissued in 1998, 2004, 2009, and 2013. Today, we are already talking about the fifth reissue of standards in the past 20 years. In addition, scientific research is constantly evolving and it must also be taken into account in the educational process. For example, international conferences in the field of earthquake engineering are held every four years, and 200-300 reports are submitted to every conference. In these conditions, textbooks in the field of reinforced concrete structures become outdated rather quickly. At the same time, new textbooks find it hard to keep pace with the development of research and normative literature. Therefore, it is important to issue new revised and expanded versions of previous textbooks. The report analyzes revised versions of three textbooks written by the author for courses on pre-stressed concrete structures, spatial structures, and seismic resistance of structures. These books have already been revised 3-4 times. Thus, issuing revised editions of textbooks is a way of keeping them up to date, corresponding with the latest achievements in science and technology.