Silent Hill: The Terror Engine (Landmark Video Games) by Bernard Perron (University of Michigan Press) (130 Reviews)    Price verified 2 hours ago

Silent Hill: The Terror Engine, the second of the two inaugural studies in the Landmark Video Games series from series editors Mark J. P. Wolf and Bernard Perron, is both a close analysis of the first three Silent Hill games and a general look at the whole series. Silent Hill, with its first title released in 1999, is one of the most influential of the horror video game series. Perron situates the games within the survival horror genre, both by looking at the history of the genre and by comparing Silent Hill with such important forerunners as Alone in the Dark and Resident Evil. Taking a transmedia approach and underlining the designer's cinematic and literary influences, he uses the narrative structure; the techniques of imagery, sound, and music employed; the game mechanics; and the fiction, artifact, and gameplay emotions elicited by the games to explore the specific fears survival horror games are designed to provoke and how the experience as a whole has made the Silent Hill series one of the major landmarks of video game history.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Control Center (Book 1) : THE CHINA AFFAIRS by Brad Good (134 Reviews)    Price verified 8 hours ago

"A high-stakes political thriller with a deeply romantic undertone... With the way this book ended, I'm eager to find out what happens next." Independent Book Review A chance meeting one night in Shanghai introduces American banker Jack Gold to an Israeli man named Ari, who has a stunning proposition: Help Israel and the United States infiltrate China's heavily guarded Control Center and address the nation with the truth they deserve to hear. China, a country of 1.4 billion citizens, is an existential threat to itself and the rest of the world. With its news and media censored through the Control Center before being broadcast to viewers, the people of China have no hope of realizing their government is only looking to enrich and reward its most prominent leaders. But getting into the Control Center is not going to be easy. And even if such a dangerous undertaking proves successful, though, there is no guarantee that the growing tensions between China and the United States can be quelled. But Jack's love for China, and the beautiful artist he meets one night, pushes him to the brink as he risks everything to help a nation of people whose lives and livelihoods have been stifled by government control. Written by Brad Good, who started living and working in the People's Republic of China in 1988, THE CHINA AFFAIRS is a series of four novels that take place in China. Good brings rare on-the-ground knowledge of contemporary Chinese political, social, and cultural issues, and associated international affairs. Jack Gold is an American in China who is recruited by an Israeli agent to penetrate the Control Center, China's broadcasting hub. (Book 1) Next, at great personal threat, China and the United States solicit his leadership in creating a new trade deal between the countries. (Book 2) Jack is then recruited by the President of China, with the use of artificial intelligence, to transform China and the lives of its citizens. (Book 3) After China elects a new ...

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Existence & Consciousness: A Theory of Naturalistic Idealism by Richard Lucido (28 Reviews)    Price verified 8 hours ago

Existence and Consciousness presents us with a world without space, a world that consists only of information, consciousness, and time. It offers a theory of idealism from an existentialist perspective. Matter, energy, and space are viewed as holding on to no existence outside of their essence (i.e., their defining properties). This is what precludes them from objectively persisting in time. Only consciousness, broken down into its smallest units, is capable of existing beyond its essence. This is what makes it a necessary constituent of reality, for without it the world would be merely an abstraction. Free of new age spiritualism, Existence and Consciousness is a sober and naturalistic attempt at conceptualizing a reality whose primary constituent is consciousness. The book presents its original insights within a broad multidisciplinary backdrop where ideas from contemporary analytical philosophy, existential philosophy, and ancient philosophy are related to empirical findings from psychology, physics, and neuroscience. Its ideas are presented plainly and are intended for a broad educated audience. No prior experience is necessary to engage with this most perplexing and fundamental question: what is the nature of reality? This second edition is updated to include empirical findings that have occurred since the original version was published in 2017.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Trans: a satire by Jen Celador Price verified 5 hours ago

Wally has courageously rejected the species identity arbitrarily assigned to him at birth by his bigoted parents. Now he wants them to pay for his species affirmation surgery, but his cishuman father isn't convinced. Things don't look good for Wally, and his transitional journey appears to be at an end until NAFPA - the National Association of Feelings and Personal Affirmation - gets involved and convinces Wally's parents to support his identity for the sake of his mental health. The good news is that Wally doesn't have to undertake his journey alone. He has a whole group of transspecies friends at his side: there's Kitty the tabby-cat, Rover the rottweiler, and Erica the transsexual kangaroo who aren't about to let any biological facts stand in the way as they shake off the shackles of oppressive species bigotry to forge their own identity. Things really heat up, however, when a teacher questions their true identity - igniting a firestorm of outrage all over social media demanding that the transphobic teacher be fired. While these brave heroes face a lot of resistance from transphobic cisspecies humans, they also encounter unexpected resistance from bigoted hippos (the real ones) who are reluctant to accept a trans-hippo into their herd. Naturally this raises the all-important question on everyone's mind: What exactly is a hippo? Wally eventually actualizes his true species identity, becoming a social media star in the process. But his moment in the sun is soon overshadowed by another trans hero who undertakes a new and innovative transition even more brave and revolutionary than Wally's. What happens next is enough to make even his LGBTQ allies transphobic... Join Wally and his Furry friends as they transition from being human to the species of their choice.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

CREEP: A Short Psychological Thriller by William Cook (King Billy Publications) (85 Reviews)    Price verified 55 minutes ago

A dark story of a young woman's date with death! CREEP is a short psychological thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Serial Killers don't always get away with murder, no matter how hard they try. Includes bonus short story - Legacy. From CREEP: "Cassandra pounded on the window and frantically tried to push the rear doors open, first with her shoulders and then with her heels, to no avail. She peered into the dark confines of the garage and saw nothing except her frightened reflection looking back at her in the window, bathed in the dim yellow interior light of the cab. She cupped her neatly manicured hand across her brow and looked out the window again, her button nose touching the smeared glass as she did so. She thought she heard a deep growling noise somewhere nearby outside the cab and then her window was filled with bared teeth and the blackest, evil eyes, she'd ever seen. The huge head of the Rottweiler retreated into the shadows before launching itself back at the vehicle, the razor sharp canines crunching against the window and sending a trail of cracks across the glass. Steaming froth and saliva dripped down the webbed glass as the dog began to bark and thud its massive head against the side of the cab. Cassandra scuttled across the back seat as she wet herself, waves of fear shrinking her into a ball, as the crazed dog leaped at the cab again... " "William Cook tells a gruesome story with a sense of authenticity that makes you question with considerable unease if it really is fiction, after all." - Graham Masterton, author of The Manitou and Descendant "This man is simply scary. There is both a clinical thoroughness and a heartfelt emotional thoroughness to his writing. He manages to shock as well as empathize, to scare as well as acclimatize, yet beneath it all is a well read intelligence that demands to be engaged. I loved Blood Related. Ordinarily I hate serial killer stories, but William Cook won me over. He is a unique and ...

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

How to Become President: A Practical Handbook by Felix Petitzon (11 Reviews)    Price verified one hour ago

From classical basis through to contemporary examples, expert Felix Petitzon clinically analyses which steps successful candidates undertook to reach the presidency. Witty, yet serious - this manual outlines how to achieve the highest office. It is the 21st century equivalent of Machiavelli The Prince; not eschewing controversial methods, the author sets morality aside and focuses on what is required to win.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Handbook for the Anti-Islamic Resistance by George R. Walters (12 Reviews)    Price verified 7 hours ago

It is not just rhetoric to note that a state of war between Islam and the non-Muslim world already exists. Islam is and for nearly its entire history been at war with the non-Muslim world. Thus a defacto state of war exists regardless of the lack of or confused and ineffective response from the those being attacked. For more and more of us the need for an international anti-Islamic resistance is self evident. Many of us already recognize that the Islamic ideology is fascism in a religious context. Islam benefits only a small and brutal oligarchy. Islam is also an existential threat to all non-Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Bahai's, atheists, agnostics, etc. That threat is becoming increasingly aggressive and will continue to do so in the future. Unfortunately, despite the fact that ordinary Muslims do not benefit from the Islamic ideology, the record of the non-Islamic world in turning back growing Islamic influence and eventual takeover has been dismal in most cases. Clearly more must be done if we are reverse this ominous trend. To many of us the absolute necessity of resistance to the Islamic ideology and its agenda of global conquest is so self-evident that it hardly bears repeating. Unfortunately, however, it has not been in the interests of even the non-Muslim elites and the media that service those elites to admit the obvious. As a result we must necessarily address and re-address truths that may be instinctively and widely held by many, if not most. Of course those truths, no matter how well documented, will be vigorously denied by Islamists, their "useful idiots," and those who are either willfully ignorant or seeking advantage from enabling Islamist conquest. Yet even if Western governments finally admit the obvious and attempt to address the threat to our societies posed by Islam, success is far from guaranteed. This is both because Western societies present such a variety of targets and the "rules of engagement" that governments ...

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

We'll All Be Murdered in our Beds: The shocking history of crime reporting in Britain by Duncan Campbell (78 Reviews)    Price verified 55 minutes ago

'If it bleeds, it leads' - this maxim is as true now as it was 300 years ago. Crime is the staple of the news, and our appetite for these dark and dangerous stories shows no sign of abating. In this colourful history of crime reporting since 1700, Duncan Campbell reveals what it's really like to deal with murderers, gangsters, robbers, cat burglars, victims, informers and detectives. He introduces us to the 'hacks in the macs' and the 'Murder Gang', who would go to any lengths to get a story - and serve it up to an ever-eager reading public. At a time when the relationships between the press, public, police and criminals are being questioned as never before, We'll All Be Murdered in Our Beds tells the compelling, sometimes scandalous tale of the stories and storytellers that have entertained, shocked and appalled us - and will continue to do so. Praise for We'll All Be Murdered in Our Beds: 'Duncan Campbell remains one of the very few journalists who has retained the criminal fraternity's trust and respect... He is engagingly clever and writes like a dream' - Howard Marks, author of Mr Nice 'When it comes to stellar crime reporting, Duncan Campbell is the absolute maestro. He captures the colour of the courts, the drama of events and the lives of those who appear there, in the most elegant and authentic way. A fascinating read' - Helena Kennedy, QC Duncan Campbell is former crime correspondent of the Guardian, former chairman of the Crime Reporters' Association and winner of the Bar Council's newspaper journalist of the year. He has written for the Observer, New Statesman, LRB, Oldie, Esquire and British Journalism Review. He has presented Crime Desk on BBC Radio 5 Live and the Radio 4 documentary Bandits of the Blitz, has appeared on the Today programme, LBC radio and numerous TV documentaries, and has lectured widely on crime reporting. He is the author of seven books including the bestselling The Underworld and an acclaimed crime novel, If ...

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Critical Nuclear War Survival Skills Guide: Essential Tactics and Strategies for Immediate Family Safety and Security in a Post-Apocalyptic World by Carlos Mack (104 Reviews)    Price verified 55 minutes ago

Are you concerned about the possibility of a nuclear war and what it would mean for your family? In today's uncertain world, it's essential to be ready for anything! Whether you're facing a nuclear attack, an EMP strike, or a military invasion on U.S. soil, you need to know how to survive. The thought of surviving a post-apocalyptic world can be daunting, but with the right knowledge and preparation, you can increase your chances of survival. That's where Carlos Mack's Critical Nuclear War Survival Skills Guide comes in. Discover these key benefits: ? Learn how to build a secure shelter that will protect you and your family from the fallout of a nuclear attack ?Discover the essential tools and supplies you need to stockpile to ensure your survival in the aftermath of a disaster ? Master the skills you need to defend yourself and your loved ones against looters and other threats in a lawless society ? Get historical perspective on nuclear war policies and tips and tricks from survivors who have been there and done that ? Develop the mental toughness and resilience necessary to survive and thrive in a harsh new reality This comprehensive playbook will provide your family all the information needed to prepare for and survive a worst-case scenario event. I've got you covered! Everything from the basics of survival, to advanced techniques for staying alive in the most challenging conditions are inside to discover. Prepare yourself to be more self-sufficient and thrive in uncertain times. Your family's future depends on it! So what are you waiting for? If you want to be better prepared for the Apocalypse, then scroll up and click the "ADD TO CART" button.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Other Shoes of Larry Martin: Book Two: On Becoming Laurie Roberts (Larry Martin Novel Series) by Pavane Ravel (Pavane Ravel Press) (3 Reviews)    Price verified 6 hours ago

Readers will highly enjoy Book Two of The Other Shoes of Larry Martin, a novel series with more political intrigue, family drama, and suspense. Another Best-Seller by Author Pavane Ravel! Larry Martin, in his quiet, kind, and mystical way, continues his journey to a new life, a new vision, and a new understanding. Larry has become a rising star in the world of progressive journalism. While only a few short months after being homeless, jobless, and friendless, Larry has acquired a family and friends. He's fallen in love with a brilliant and beautiful woman who loves him in return. Even though Larry is now the most important journalist for a major liberal website in New York City, he has taken on a second full-time position at a prestigious architectural firm in Atlanta. Yet, in spite of all his good fortune, this kind, talented, and generous young man is soon to face insidious lies, outrageous betrayal, and horrific danger, and that is only the tip of the dramatic iceberg! Now Awarded A 5-Star Reader's Favorite 2023 Editorial Book Review!

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Dear Barb:: Answers to Your Everyday Questions (Dear Barb: Words of Wisdom Book 1) by Barbara Godin (9 Reviews)    Price verified 12 hours ago

"Dear Barb: Answers to Your Everyday Questions" advice columnist Barbara Godin shares her wisdom and insights on a wide range of topics. From relationships and family issues to career and personal growth, Barb offers practical and compassionate advice for navigating life's challenges. With over 20 years of experience as an advice columnist, Barbara Godin has heard it all and provides thoughtful responses to even the toughest questions. This book is perfect for anyone looking for guidance and support in their daily life and is packed with helpful tips and insights that readers can apply to their own situations. Whether you're struggling with a difficult decision or simply looking for some words of encouragement, "Dear Barb" has the answers you need.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Congo's Children by Kem Knapp Sawyer (Pulitzer Center) (3 Reviews)    Price verified 5 hours ago

Children in the Democratic Republic of Congo have seen their lives threatened, their families torn apart, their schools destroyed, and their futures compromised. Many are homeless -- abandoned street children, some accused of witchcraft, others born of rape or orphaned by war. But while children are the most vulnerable segment of a broken society, they are also among the most resilient. Congo's Children tells their stories, accompanied by vivid photography and video and drawing on reporting that has appeared in PBS NewsHour, The Washington Post, TruthAtlas, and other outlets. "The stunning photographs and deeply moving text of this book offer a fine introduction to the suffering -- and hopes -- of people in a part of the world we know far too little about." -- Adam Hochschild, author, King Leopold's Ghost "Here's the Congo that doesn't make the news clips or TV screens. The everyday Congo, with people managing to organize, create art, and educate each other despite the odds. A touching paean to the country's resilience." -- Jason Stearns, author, Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa "The Sawyers' book on Congo's Children is a powerful tool for students of all ages to begin to understand complex issues of poverty and conflict through seeing how knowing people as individuals is a first step in protecting human rights and resolving disputes." -- John B. Hardman, president and chief executive of the Carter Center

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Macroeconomics, Agriculture, and Food Security: A Guide to Policy Analysis in Developing Countries by Eugenio Díaz-Bonilla (International Food Policy Research Institute) (3 Reviews)    Price verified 4 hours ago

Why write a book on macroeconomic policies and their links to agriculture and food security in developing countries? The food price spikes of the years just prior to 2010 and the economic, political, and social dislocations they generated refocused the attention of policymakers and development practitioners on the agricultural sector and food security concerns. But even without those traumatic events, the importance of agriculture for developing countries -- and for an adequate functioning of the world economy -- cannot be denied. First, although declining over time, primary agriculture still represents important percentages of developing countries' overall domestic production, exports, and employment. If agroindustrial, transportation, commercial, and other related activities are also counted, then the economic and social importance of agriculture-based sectors increases significantly. Furthermore, large numbers of the world's poor still live in rural areas and work in agriculture. Through the links via production, trade, employment, and prices, agricultural production is also crucial for national food security. Second, it has been shown that agriculture in developing countries has important growth and employment multipliers for the rest of the economy, and agriculture seems to have larger positive effects in reducing poverty than growth in other sectors. Third, agriculture is not only important for individual developing countries, but it has global significance, considering the large presence of developing countries in world agricultural production and the increasing participation in international trade of those products (these three points will be covered in greater detail in Chapter 1).

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Foliage: An International Banking Spy Thriller (A Louise Moscow Novel Book 1) by Lorraine Evanoff (230 Reviews)    Price verified 11 hours ago

BOOK EXCELLENCE AWARD FINALIST, HISTORICAL FICTION NEW APPLE AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE SHELF UNBOUND BEST INDIE BOOK, NOTABLE INDIE AWARD READERS' FAVORITE BOOK AWARD FINALIST Investment banker Louise Moscow is sexy, brazen and fearless in business and in love. With a high-profile dream job wooing rich clientele in late 1980s Paris, she enjoys a lavish lifestyle in a glamorous city. When she stumbles upon criminal activity at her company, the FBI and CIA force her to cooperate and bring down the underhanded bankers in what turns out to be one of the greatest scandals of the twentieth century. Perfect for fans of Erik Larson, Jack Slater and Kathy Reichs, Foliage: An International Banking Spy Thriller (A Louise Moscow Novel Book 1) is the first installment in this highly addictive, suspenseful thriller series by award-winning author Lorraine Evanoff. Buy Foliage today and discover an exciting new mystery you won't be able to put down. What readers are saying about Foliage: - "Great read, beautifully written, I highly recommend." ~ Matthew J. Dowd, Chief Political Analyst, ABC News - "It starts off fast and keeps you hooked." ~ Nelle L'Amour, New York Times Bestselling Author - Evanoff does her homework, and is able to deliver complex material in a light and readable fashion." ~ Patrick "Ubercritic" McDonald, Hollywood Chicago Magazine

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Misreading the Bengal Delta: Climate Change, Development, and Livelihoods in Coastal​ Bangladesh (Culture, Place, and Nature) by Camelia Dewan (1 Review)    Price verified 10 hours ago

Perilously close to sea level and vulnerable to floods, erosion, and cyclones, Bangladesh is one of the top recipients of development aid earmarked for climate change adaptation. Yet to what extent do adaptation projects address local needs and concerns? Combining environmental history and ethnographic fieldwork with development professionals, rural farmers, and landless women, Misreading the Bengal Delta critiques development narratives of Bangladesh as a "climate change victim." It examines how development actors repackage colonial-era modernizing projects, which have caused severe environmental effects, as climate-adaptation solutions. Seawalls meant to mitigate against cyclones and rising sea levels instead silt up waterways and induce drainage-related flooding. Other adaptation projects, from saline aquaculture to high-yield agriculture, threaten soil fertility, biodiversity, and livelihoods. Bangladesh's environmental crisis goes beyond climate change, extending to coastal vulnerabilities that are entwined with underemployment, debt, and the lack of universal healthcare. This timely book analyzes how development actors create flawed causal narratives linking their interventions in the environment and society of the Global South to climate change. Ultimately, such misreadings risk exacerbating climatic threats and structural inequalities. Misreading the Bengal Delta is available in an open access edition through the Sustainable History Monograph Pilot, thanks to the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Open access edition: DOI 10.6069/9780295749624

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Library of Congress Workshop on Etexts by Library of Congress Price verified 2 hours ago

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

On The Human Species: A Philosophy on Reason and the Emergence of Civilized Humanity by Anthony Pellegrino (14 Reviews)    Price verified 8 hours ago

On the Human Species is a philosophical and psychological discourse that charts the origin and evolution of our species. The book is an inspired combination of science and philosophy, a brilliant canvas of intellectual thought and discerning anthropology. In this work, Mr. Pellegrino delves within the origin of our species from the conception of reason to the creation of religion. The book also explains human emotions, the origin of vice, and an illusory morality that manifests itself as accountability, but also differentiates our species from the remainder of the animal kingdom.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Putting Federalism in Its Place: The Territorial Politics of Social Policy Revisited by Scott L. Greer (University of Michigan Press) Price verified 7 hours ago

What does federalism do to welfare states? This question arises in scholarly debates about policy design as well as in discussions about the right political institutions for a country. It has frustrated many, with federalism seeming to matter in all sorts of combinations with all sorts of issues, from nationalism to racism to intergovernmental competition. The diffuse federalism literature has not come to compelling answers for very basic questions. Scott L. Greer, Daniel Béland, André Lecours, and Kenneth A. Dubin argue for a new approach -- one methodologically focused on configurations of variables within cases rather than a fruitless attempt to isolate "the" effect of federalism; and one that is substantively engaged with identifying key elements in configurations as well as with when and how their interactions matter. Born out of their work on a multi-year, eleven-country project (published as Federalism and Social Policy: Patterns of Redistribution in Eleven Countries, University of Michigan Press, 2019), this book comprises a methodological and substantive agenda. Methodologically, the authors shift to studies that embraced and understood the complexity within which federal political institutions operate. Substantively, they make an argument for the importance of plurinationalism, changing economic interests, and institutional legacies.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

A Moment of Clarity by Cliff Lengkono (1 Review)    Price verified 55 minutes ago

Have you been having trouble coping with loss? Do you want to be prepared for marriage and family? Are you wondering how you are going to deal with parenting? Is it hard for you to start and maintain a relationship? Could it be that there is more about love that you are yet to learn? You have found the book that cover all of those issues and many more. It takes no more than one book for you to have knowledge of and the solution to various problems that everybody faces in their life. A Moment of Clarity gives you the opportunity to see stages of life all at once because there are as many as six distinct sections in it, which are self, dating, relationship, marriage, parenthood, and farewell. It shows you what you can learn from the past, it enables you to make sense and deal with what is happening in your life, and it allows you to know and prepare for what is ahead. After looking inside life and yourself, you will be able to choose or tell what you want, to find ways and to do whatever it takes to get it, to overcome difficulties and tests, and to deal with things greater than yourself. It is easy to understand, it is useful for many people and occasions, it is filled with things you can learn, teach, suggest, and advise. There are many things this book offers you including, but not limited to truth, comfort, solutions, reminder, advice, warning, hope, answers, alternatives, knowledge, signs, ideas, insights, confidence, certainties, explanations, help, courage, strength, motivation, changes, and lessons. To read this book is to see life, humans, and the world like you have never seen before.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Step One: Save the World: The Journey of a Water Protector by DJ Rankin (3 Reviews)    Price verified 4 hours ago

??This is a cookbook. This is an adventure novel. This is a love story. This is a tale of survival. This is a spiritual journey. This is a catalog of the oppressions and destructions perpetrated by the machine of mankind. This is a handbook on standing up to the tyranny enacted by a corrupt government through the mechanism of fear. This is a recruitment manual for a global movement of resistance. We are winning. It is time to stand up. Enough is enough. Do what feels right. ??Last winter I was called to Standing Rock to protect the water and my entire world was flipped upside down. I lived in the most amazing, love based, frozen tipi utopia, where I connected with the greatest human beings imaginable, and connected to myself and the universe through the ceremonies of the Lakota people, and through science. I was simultaneously exposed to not only the long list of evils unleashed on our species and planet in the name of money, but witnessed this first hand through a cloud of tear gas and militarized police. It was the greatest experience ever. I mean, I was grilling steaks in a forty below lightening blizzard. You should come over for dinner sometime.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Agricultural Extension: Global Status and Performance in Selected Countries by Kristin Davis (1 Review)    Price verified 9 hours ago

Agricultural transformation and development are critical to the livelihoods of more than a billion small-scale farmers and other rural people in developing countries. Extension and advisory services play an important role in such transformation and can assist farmers with advice and information, brokering and facilitating innovations and relationships, and dealing with risks and disasters. In Agricultural Extension: Global Status and Performance in Selected Countries, researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute and other experts provide a global overview of agricultural extension and advisory services, assesses and compare extension systems at the national and regional levels, examine the performance of extension approaches in a selected set of country cases, and shares lessons and policy insights. Drawing on both primary and secondary data, the authors apply a common and comprehensive framework -- the "best-fit" approach -- to assessments of extension systems, which allows for comparison across cases and geographies. Insights from the research support reforms -- in governance, capacity, management, and advisory methods -- to improve outcomes, enhance financial sustainability, and achieve greater scale. Agricultural Extension should be a valuable resource for policymakers, extension practitioners, and others concerned with agricultural development.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Essays on Suffering-Focused Ethics by Magnus Vinding Price verified 7 hours ago

Essays on Suffering-Focused Ethics is a collection of 34 essays that explore various questions related to the reduction of suffering. Some of the essays provide novel arguments in favor of suffering-focused moral views, while others explore urgent practical questions about how we can best reduce the torment of sentient beings. Taken together, these essays make the case for a principled yet nuanced approach to the prevention of extreme suffering.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Disarticulate: Language, Disability, and the Narratives of Modernity (Cultural Front Book 8) by James Berger (NYU Press) (1 Review)    Price verified 3 hours ago

Language is integral to our social being. But what is the status of those who stand outside of language? The mentally disabled, "wild" children, people with autism and other neurological disorders, as well as animals, infants, angels, and artificial intelligences, have all engaged with language from a position at its borders. In the intricate verbal constructions of modern literature, the 'disarticulate' -- those at the edges of language -- have, paradoxically, played essential, defining roles. Drawing on the disarticulate figures in modern fictional works such as Billy Budd, The Sound and the Fury, Nightwood, White Noise, and The Echo Maker, among others, James Berger shows in this intellectually bracing study how these characters mark sites at which aesthetic, philosophical, ethical, political, medical, and scientific discourses converge. It is also the place of the greatest ethical tension, as society confronts the needs and desires of "the least of its brothers." Berger argues that the disarticulate is that which is unaccountable in the discourses of modernity and thus stands as an alternative to the prevailing social order. Using literary history and theory, as well as disability and trauma theory, he examines how these disarticulate figures reveal modernity's anxieties in terms of how it constructs its others.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

European Strategic Autonomy and Small States' Security: In the Shadow of Power (Routledge Studies in European Security and Strategy) by Giedrius Česnakas (1 Review)    Price verified 8 hours ago

This book analyses whether the EU's drift towards European strategic autonomy presents a challenge or a window of opportunity for its small member states to advance their security interests. The volume presents small states' perceptions of European strategic autonomy, highlighting their expectations and concerns. The chapters focus on the depth and breadth of European strategic autonomy, national security considerations, assessment of the impact on transatlantic relations, the expected outputs, and its potential impact on the EU's institutional structure. It also shows how systemic circumstances and the interests of powerful states, either belonging to the EU (France, Germany, and Poland) or having a significant say in European security architecture (the US), establish opportunities and constraints for the small states to shape European strategic autonomy. In particular, the study focuses on the diverging interests of the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania), Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Hungary, and the Netherlands. It demonstrates that, in most cases, European strategic autonomy is perceived not as an alternative to NATO but as a supplementary element that could facilitate the development of national military capabilities, indigenous defence industries and resilience to non-military threats. Ultimately, the book suggests that national approaches towards European strategic autonomy mainly stem from pragmatic national security and foreign policy considerations, while largely ignoring grand strategic ideas. This book will be of much interest to students of European politics, security studies, and international relations. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Foreigners in Their Own Country: Identity and Rejection in France by Lawrence M. Martin (Berghahn Books) Price verified 5 hours ago

Based on in-depth interviews with people throughout France who trace their origins to non-European countries, Foreigners in Their Own Country reports on the experience of not being seen as "French" because of one's physical appearance. Paying close attention to how individuals speak about themselves and their feelings of acceptance or rejection, this book provides an intimate account of the challenges faced by the millions of people in France -- and throughout Western Europe -- who fully participate in the life of their country but are often not seen as belonging there.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

How To Save Jobs: Reinventing Business, Reinvigorating Work, and Reawakening the American Dream by David Gewirtz (4 Reviews)    Price verified 4 hours ago

A shocking and disturbing look into how changes worldwide have created enormous disruption in the very nature of jobs in America. Ideas, strategies, and innovative approaches for policy change that could make a real difference and help save and create jobs in America. Powerfully effective hands-on tips, techniques, and strategies that you personally can take to keep and create jobs, without waiting for politicians to get their act together.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Winning Hearts and Minds: Public Diplomacy in ASEAN by Sue-Ann Chia (1 Review)    Price verified 9 hours ago

When we think of diplomacy, we often envisage Heads of State at formal settings or official meetings. In reality though, everyone can play a positive role in diplomacy.Public diplomacy, also referred to as people diplomacy, is about building friendships and understanding between peoples of different countries. Traditionally meant to promote national interests and advance foreign policy goals, public diplomacy today has evolved to embrace both formal and informal efforts by non-governmental organisations and institutions to cultivate meaningful connections.Winning Hearts and Minds: Public Diplomacy in ASEAN explores how countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) approach public diplomacy and the strategies that they employ to bridge gaps, enrich mutual understanding, and deepen relationships with the rest of the world.This book, launched in commemoration of the Singapore International Foundation's 30th anniversary, offers inspiring essays from 11 leading scholars, diplomats and distinguished figures in the region. They offer a glimpse into how historical developments have shaped the way each ASEAN country views public diplomacy, the motivations behind their global engagement efforts, and suggestions for the way forward. Contents: • Foreword (Tharman Shanmugaratnam) • Introduction (Ong Keng Yong) • Singapore and Public Diplomacy (Alan Chong) • A Bruneian Approach: Forging Friendships as Global Partners (Hafimi Abdul Haadii) • Cambodia's Changing Public Diplomacy and Nation Branding (Chheang Vannarith) • Indonesia's Public Diplomacy: The Growing Role of Optics in Foreign Policy (Dino Patti Djalal) • From Spectator to Player: Laos' Diplomacy and Cultural Engagement (Anoulak Kittikhoun and Aditta Kittikhoun) • Rethinking Public Diplomacy in Malaysia (Michael O K Yeoh and Zaim Mohzani) • Myanmar's Public Diplomacy Experience and Challenges: Can ASEAN Make a Difference? (Moe Thuzar) • Public Diplomacy in the Age of ...

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Mission AI: The New System Technology (Research for Policy) by Haroon Sheikh (Springer) (2 Reviews)    Price verified 2 hours ago

This open access book offers a strategic perspective on AI and the process of embedding it in society. ?After decades of research, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now entering society at large. Due to its general purpose character, AI will change society in multiple, fundamental and unpredictable ways. Therefore, the Netherlands Scienti?c Council for Government Policy (WRR) characterizes AI as a system technology: a rare type of technologies that have a systemic impact on society. Earlier system technologies include electricity, the combustion engine and the computer. The history of these technologies provides us with useful insights about what it takes to direct the introduction of AI in society. The WRR identifies five key tasks to structurally work on this process: demystification, contextualisation, engagement, regulation and positioning. By clarifying what AI is (demystification), creating a functional ecosystem (contextualisation), involving diverse stakeholders (engagement), developing directive frameworks (regulation) and engaging internationally (positioning), societies can meaningfully influence how AI settles. Collectively, these activities steer the process of co-development between technology and society, and each representing a different path to safeguard public values. Mission AI - The New System Technology was originally published as an advisory report for the government of the Netherlands. The strategic analysis and the outlined recommendations are, however, relevant to every government and organization that aims to take up 'misson AI' and embed this newest system technology in our world.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Concierge Class: How an unseen army of fixers is undermining democracy on behalf of corporations and the rich. And what we can do about it. by Kit Sadgrove (1 Review)    Price verified 6 hours ago

Every day, an unseen army is working to advance the aims of corporations and the rich. From accountants to trade associations, and from scientists to think tanks, the members of the concierge class serve their masters diligently, devising ways to help them evade taxes, change legislation, and sway public opinion. And the result is more profit for the rich, a widening of inequality, and a weakening of democracy. The Concierge Class is the first book to explain the inner workings of concierge capitalism. It shows how the affluent co-opt skilled professionals into hiding their cash, pushing their agenda, and whispering in the ears of politicians. The book reveals who is doing the wealthy's dirty work, how they do it, and the steps we can take to stop it.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Work and Livelihoods: History, Ethnography and Models in Times of Crisis (Routledge Studies in Anthropology) by Susana Narotzky (Routledge) (1 Review)    Price verified 5 hours ago

Winner of the Society for the Anthropology of Work book prize 2017 This volume presents a global range of ethnographic case studies to explore the ways in which - in the context of the restructuring of industrial work, the ongoing financial crisis, and the surge in unemployment and precarious employment - local and global actors engage with complex social processes and devise ideological, political, and economic responses to them. It shows how the reorganization and re-signification of work, notably shifts in the perception and valorization of work, affect domestic and community arrangements and shape the conditions of life of workers and their families.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Urban Living Lab for Local Regeneration: Beyond Participation in Large-scale Social Housing Estates (The Urban Book Series) by Nele Aernouts (Springer) (1 Review)    Price verified 11 hours ago

This open access book provides an integrated overview of the challenges and resources of large-scale social housing estates in Europe and outlines possible interdisciplinary approaches and tools to promote their regeneration. It especially focuses on the tool of urban living labs, as promising in promoting new and more effective local governance and in including the different actors into the planning process. The book combines theory and practice, since it is the result of action-research conducted in different social housing estates all over Europe. Building on the results of the SoHoLab project (2017-2020), the book benefits from a multidisciplinary perspective, since the researchers involved belong to the fields of anthropology, urban planning, architecture, urban sociology. The project combined theoretical reflections with the installation and/or the consolidation of Urban Living Labs, run by universities, in large social housing estates in three European cities: Brussels, Milan and Paris.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Chasing Greatness: On Russia's Discursive Interaction with the West over the Past Millennium (Configurations: Critical Studies Of World Politics) by Anatoly Reshetnikov (1 Review)    Price verified 55 minutes ago

Over the last two decades, it has become clear that Russia insists on its great power status, even at considerable cost. Chasing Greatness provides an interpretive explanation of the tacit rules that shape Russia's great power identity today. Anatoly Reshetnikov argues that this never-ending chase for greatness is a result of how Russia and its predecessors -- including the USSR, Russian Empire, Muscovy, and Kievan Rus' -- historically interacted with its neighbors to the east, the south, and particularly the west. By analyzing an extensive amount of original source material, including primary sources that have not been previously translated into English, he is able to reconstruct a millennial history of the Russian concepts that express political greatness. He also traces numerous encounters between Russia and the West, as well as Russia's troubled integration into the European society of states in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, to show how these concepts have affected Russia's interaction with international society. Despite its substantive historical depth, Chasing Greatness is not a book of history. Rather, it is a synthesizing social science work inspired by the continental tradition of the critical history of modernity. As such, the book is more about the present than about the past. Its main aim is to expose and explain the rich conceptual baggage behind Russia's unceasing great power rhetoric (domestic and international) and how this rhetoric drives the current international crises involving Russia.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims Volume I (of II) by Andrew Steinmetz (1 Review)    Price verified 7 hours ago

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Comparing Food and Cash Transfers to the Ultra Poor in Bangladesh by Elizabeth Bryan Price verified 5 hours ago

Bangladesh has some social safety net programs that transfer food to the poor, some that transfer cash, and some that provide a combination of both. This study evaluates the relative impacts of food and cash transfers on food security and livelihood outcomes among the ultra poor in Bangladesh. The programs impacts are evaluated according to various measures, including how well transfers are delivered; which transfers beneficiaries prefer; how accurately the programs target the extremely poor; effects on food security, livelihoods, and women's empowerment; and cost effectiveness. The report identifies what has and has not worked in food and cash transfers and recommends ways of improving these programs. This study will be valuable to policymakers and others concerned with poverty reduction in Bangladesh and elsewhere.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

New Social Mobility: Second Generation Pioneers in Europe (IMISCOE Research Series) by Jens Schneider (Springer) (1 Review)    Price verified 12 hours ago

This open access book comparatively analyses intergenerational social mobility in immigrant families in Europe. It is based on qualitative in-depth research into several hundred biographies and professional trajectories of young people with an immigrant working-class background, who made it into high-prestige professions. The biographies were collected and analysed by a consortium of researchers in nine European countries from Norway to Spain. Through these analyses, the book explores the possibilities of cross-country comparisons of how trajectories are related to different institutional arrangements at the national and local level. The analysis uncovers the interaction effects between structural/institutional settings and specific individual achievements and family backgrounds, and how these individuals responsed to and navigated successfully through sector-specific pathways into high-skilled professions, such as becoming a lawyer or a teacher. By this, it also explains why thesetrajectories of professional success and upward mobility have been so exceptional in the second generation of working-class origins, and it tells us a lot also about exclusion mechanisms that marked the school and professional careers of children of immigrants who went to school in the 1970s to 2000s in Europe - and still do.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Social Policies and Institutional Reform in Post-COVID Cuba by Bert Hoffmann (1 Review)    Price verified 8 hours ago

Die tiefe Wirtschaftskrise in Folge der Corona-Pandemie stellt Kubas Sozialismus vor eine ungeahnte Belastungsprobe. Die Regierung in Havanna hat eine grundlegende Reform von Wirtschaft, Institutionengefüge und Sozialsystem auf die Agenda gesetzt. Der Band vereint Beiträge führender internationaler Experten und von der Insel selbst, die aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven die Herausforderungen analysieren, vor denen Kuba heute steht.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Bending Over Backwards: Essays on Disability and the Body (Cultural Front) by Lennard J. Davis (4 Reviews)    Price verified 7 hours ago

With the advent of the human genome, cloning, stem-cell research and many other developments in the way we think of the body, disability studies provides an entirely new way of thinking about the body in its relation to politics, the environment, the legal system, and global economies. Bending Over Backwards reexamines issues concerning the relationship between disability and normality in the light of postmodern theory and political activism. Davis takes up homosexuality, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the legal system, the history of science and medicine, eugenics, and genetics. Throughout, he maintains that disability is the prime category of postmodernity because it redefines the body in relation to concepts of normalcy, which underlie the very foundations of democracy and humanistic ideas about the body. Bending Over Backwards argues that disability can become the new prism through which postmodernity examines and defines itself, supplanting the categories of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Love the Least (A Lot) by Michael Spielman (46 Reviews)    Price verified 5 hours ago

Abort73.com founder and director, Michael Spielman, explains why abortion-vulnerable children are as qualified to wear the "least of these" label as any victim class in the world. Whatever we fail to do in their defense, we fail to do for Christ.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Judicial Governance and Democracy in Europe (SpringerBriefs in Law) by Pablo Castillo-Ortiz (Springer) (1 Review)    Price verified 9 hours ago

This is an Open Access book. Amid the growing debate about models of judicial governance and their relationship to democratic quality, this book offers a systematic and empirical study of this relationship. The book thereby contributes to filling in this gap for the European continent. Taking an interdisciplinary politics and law perspective, and combining empirical and theoretical considerations, the book addresses the important link between democracy and judicial governance. In particular, it provides for three interconnected contributions. First, the book provides for a comprehensive classification of European countries into different models of judicial governance. Second, the book analyses empirically the relationship between the design of judicial governance and the quality of democracy. Third, building on those findings, the book presents policy reflections for the reform and improvement of mechanisms for judicial governance in European countries. The book seeks to refine our knowledge about the relationship between judicial governance and democracy, making an important academic and social contribution. In an era in which many democracies backslide and deconsolidate, it assesses to what extent existing mechanisms for judicial governance have contributed to the stability and quality of democratic systems in which they are implemented. Furthermore, the book puts forward reflections to improve the role of organs for judicial governance in fostering the quality of democracy. Since the book introduces in an accessible form key concepts of Judicial Governance, it will be of interest for the general public as well as academics and students in the fields of Law and Political Science. The book also addresses policy makers, as based on our empirical knowledge about the interaction judicial governance and democracy it puts forward ideas for a design of judicial governance that is more capable of protecting democratic systems of government.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Integrationism and the Self: Reflections on the Legal Personhood of Animals (Routledge Advances in Communication and Linguistic Theory) by Christopher Hutton (Routledge) Price verified 10 hours ago

In recent years a set of challenging questions have arisen in relation to the status of animals; their treatment by human beings; their cognitive abilities; and the nature of their feelings, emotions, and capacity for suffering. This ground-breaking book draws from integrational semiology to investigate arguments around the rights of certain animals to be recognized as legal persons, thereby granting them many of the protections enjoyed by humans. In parallel with these debates, the question of the legal personality of artificial intelligence (AI) systems has moved to the forefront of legal debate, with entities such as robots, cyborgs, self-driving cars, and genetically engineered beings under consideration. Integrationism offers a framework within which the wider theoretical and practical issues can be understood. Law requires closure and categorical answers; integrationism is an open-ended form of inquiry that is seen as removed from particular controversies. This book argues that the two domains can be brought together in a challenging and productive synthesis. A much-needed resource to examine the heart of this fascinating debate and a must-read for anyone interested in semiology, linguistics, philosophy, ethics, and law. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

I Am Vietnamese by Huy Pham (11 Reviews)    Price verified 10 hours ago

Think Pho Ga for the Vietnamese soul. This is an edgy collection of 70+ English short stories from Vietnamese people across the world about our struggles with cultural identity, failure, parents, expectations, and life itself. Contributing authors include best-sellers Madeline Truong, Andrew Pham, Andrew Lam, and MasterChef Christine Ha, and many talented amateurs. Author proceeds go to charity! Within these 300 pages, you will find 70+ English short stories of a Vietnamese generation full of optimism and angst. These edgy stories run the gamut from quirky parents, cultural confusion, child abuse, bi-cultural marriage, and sexuality. This book will make you laugh and cry. The Vietnamese living overseas are a special group of people. We are a people without a land. But, that doesn't mean we don't have a culture. Regardless of our varying grasps of the Vietnamese language and our cultural heritage, we are bounded by our struggles, our values, and our parents' quirkiness. In our hearts, if nowhere else, we are Vietnamese. The I Am Vietnamese anthology aims to inspire and connect those like us to provide a sense of community while we struggle on own personal journeys, and to remind to us that we are not alone. We share the same hardships -- overprotective parents, the inability to communicate, the struggle to incorporate western and eastern ideals, and the fear of disappointing others. As we read personal accounts of those like us, we feel inspired, connected, and like we belong. DISCLAIMER: Media content will be available only on restricted kindle devices/applications.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

All sciences. №9, 2023: International Scientific Journal by Aliyev Ibratjon Xatamovich (1 Review)    Price verified 4 hours ago

The international scientific journal "All Sciences", created at Electron Laboratory LLC and the Scientific School "Electron", us a scientific publication that published the latest scientific results in various fields of science and technology, which is also a collection of publications on the above topics by a board of authors and reviewed by the editorial Board (academic Council) of the Scientific School "Electron" and on the Ridero platform monthly.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Vision Zero Handbook: Theory, Technology and Management for a Zero Casualty Policy by Karin Edvardsson Björnberg (Springer) (1 Review)    Price verified 9 hours ago

This open access handbook provides a comprehensive treatment of Vision Zero, an innovative policy on public road safety developed in Sweden. Covering all the major topics of the subject, the book starts out with a thorough examination of the philosophy, ideas and principles behind Vision Zero. It looks at conditions for the effectiveness of the policy, principles of safety and responsibility as well as critique on the policy. Next, the handbook focuses on how the Vision Zero ideas have been received and implemented in various legislations and countries worldwide. It takes into account the way Vision Zero is looked at in the context of international organizations such as the WHO, the UN, and the OECD. This allows for a comparison of systems, models and effects. The third part of the handbook discusses the management and leadership aspects, including ISO standards, equity issues, other goals for traffic and transportation, and opportunities for the car industry. Part four delves intotools, technologies and organizational measures that contribute to the implementation of Vision Zero in road traffic. Examples of specific elements discussed are urban and rural road designs, human factor designs, and avoiding drunk and distracted driving. The final part of the handbook offers perspectives on the transfer of Vision Zero policy to other areas, ranging from air traffic to suicide prevention and nuclear energy. Vision Zero is a public road safety policy including both a long-term goal that no one shall be killed or seriously injured as a consequence of accidents in road traffic and a safety principle stating that the design and function of the road transport system shall be adapted to meet the requirements that follow from that goal. It is a new road safety paradigm which has resulted in new types of responsibilities among stakeholders, technological innovations, and new strategies and organizational measures to achieve a safe system. The road safety work based on Vision ...

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Beyond Bars: A Path Forward from 50 Years of Mass Incarceration in the United States by Kristen M. Budd (Policy Press) Price verified 3 hours ago

Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. The year 2023 marks 50 years of mass incarceration in the United States. This timely volume highlights and addresses pressing social problems associated with the US's heavy reliance on mass imprisonment. In an atmosphere of charged political debate, including tough on crime rhetoric, the editors bring together scholars and experts in the criminal justice field to provide the most up-to-date science on mass incarceration and its ramifications on justice-impacted people and our communities. This book offers practical solutions for advocates, policy and lawmakers, and the wider public for addressing mass incarceration and its effects to create a more just, fair and safer society.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Violence of the Letter: Toward a Theory of Writing by Melanie McMahon (University of Michigan Press) (1 Review)    Price verified 12 hours ago

The emergence of the alphabet in ancient Greece, usually heralded as the first step in the inexorable march toward reason and progress, in fact signaled the introduction of a chance technology that hijacked the future, with devastating consequences for humanity. By investigating an array of cultural artifacts, ranging from Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey to the Oracle at Delphi to Luther's challenge to the Church, this book demonstrates how the apparently benign emergence of writing made possible far-ranging systems of organized domination and unprecedented levels of violence. The Violence of the Letter considers how a twenty-six-letter code changed the face of the world, and not always for the better.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Theory of Everybody by Robert Fuller (21 Reviews)    Price verified 6 hours ago

The Theory of Everybody explores, in a variety of genres, the advent of robots that do everything we do as well or better. Jennifer and God on Mount Palomar is a conversation between a young astrophysicist and God--as He faces retirement. Genomes, Menomes, Wenomes: Neuroscience and Human Dignity traces the development of mechanistic models of the body and the mind. When Robots Reign: Getting Along with Robo Sapiens is an interview with one of humanity's new overlords, Robo Sapiens, who is more agreeable than we might expect. The Epic of Gilbert Mesh is a retelling of Gilgamesh.6 Reasons You Can't Win (and 3 Reasons You Can Anyway) is a "listicle" that enumerates the limitations of our concept of self and shows how reconceiving selfhood can change the game so everyone wins. Interstellar Wormhole Tweets (How to Dodge Extinction) imagines how more advanced beings might help us navigate the transition from a predatory to a dignitarian civilization. The Moral Arc of History explains why Martin Luther King, Jr. was right when he said, "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." A New Age of Enlightenment proposes a sequel to the 18th century Age of Enlightenment.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Overcome Yourself: How to Be Human pt. 2 by Jacob Kilgore (10 Reviews)    Price verified 9 hours ago

This second installment to the How to Be Human series includes insights that will help you to refine yourself even further. In order to help you overcome false efficiency, Jacob Kilgore has provided alphabetically ordered essays with insights gained from pushing off our primordial impulses to do no more than remain simple and survive. A must read for any who aim to put into the world the beauty that humans are capable of.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Europeanization in Sweden: Opportunities and Challenges for Civil Society Organizations (Studies on Civil Society Book 10) by Anna Meeuwisse (Berghahn Books) (1 Review)    Price verified 8 hours ago

Notwithstanding its many successes since 1945, the project of European integration currently faces major difficulties, from financial crises and mass immigration to the departure of the UK from the European Union. At the same time, these challenges have spurred civil society organizations within and across Europe, revealing a shared public sphere in which citizens can mobilize around refugee rights, opposition to austerity policies, and other issues. Europeanization in Sweden assembles new empirical research on how these processes have played out in one of the continent's wealthiest nations, providing insights into whether, and how, the "Swedish model" can guide European integration.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

2011 Global Hunger Index: The Challenge of Hunger: Taming Price Spikes and Excessive Food Price Volatility by Klaus von Grebmer (1 Review)    Price verified 5 hours ago

The Global Hunger Index is a comprehensive measure of hunger worldwide and by country and region. Although the proportion of hungry people around the world has declined since 1990, global hunger remains at a level characterized as "serious." Global Hunger Index scores vary greatly across regions and countries. This year's report gives special attention to the issue of food prices. In recent years, world food markets have been characterized by rising and more volatile prices that leave many poor people unable to pay for all the goods and services they need. Price increases can also lead poor people to shift to cheaper, less nutritious foods. Addressing the problem of food price spikes and excessive volatility requires action both to reduce volatility and to buffer the most vulnerable people from the worst effects of higher and more variable prices. By drawing attention to the countries and regions most severely affected by hunger, the Global Hunger Index, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in collaboration with Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe, aims to trigger action to reduce hunger.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: Building Collaboration for Action by Amelie G. Ramirez (Springer) Price verified 55 minutes ago

This open access book is a collection of articles based on presentations from the 2020 Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos conference that gives an overview of conference outcomes. The vision of the conference has been to unite researchers, scientists, physicians and other healthcare professionals, patient advocates, and students from across the world to discuss research advancements, identify gaps, and develop actionable goals to translate basic research findings into clinical best practices, effective community interventions, and professional training programs to decrease cancer risks and eliminate cancer disparities for Latinos. This conference comes at an especially important time when Latinos - the largest and youngest minority group in the U.S. - are expected to face a 142% rise in cancer cases in the coming years. Disparities continue to impact this population in critical areas: access to preventive and clinical care, changeable risk behaviors, quality of life, and mortality. Each chapter summarizes the presentation and includes current knowledge in the specific topic areas, identified gaps, and opportunities for future research. Topics explored include: • Applying an Exposome-Wide (ExWAS) Approach to Latino Cancer Disparities • Supportive Care Needs and Coping Strategies Used by Latino Men Cancer Survivors • Optimizing Engagement of the Latino Community in Cancer Research • Latino Population Growth and the Changing Demography of Cancer • Implementation Science to Enhance the Value of Cancer Research in Latinos • A Strength-Based Approach to Cancer Prevention in Latinxs • Overcoming Clinical Research Disparities by Advancing Inclusive Research Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos: Building Collaboration for Action will appeal to a wide readership due to its comprehensive coverage of topics ranging from basic science and community prevention research to clinical practice to policy. The book is an essential resource for ...

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Logic of Causation by Avi Sion Price verified 5 hours ago

The Logic of Causation is a treatise of formal logic and of aetiology. It is an original and wide-ranging investigation of the definition of causation (deterministic causality) in all its forms, and of the deduction and induction of such forms. The work was carried out in three phases over a dozen years (1998-2010), each phase introducing more sophisticated methods than the previous to solve outstanding problems. This study was intended as part of a larger work on causal logic, which additionally treats volition and allied cause-effect relations (2004).

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Beyond Hashtags: Racial Politics and Black Digital Networks (Critical Cultural Communication Book 19) by Sarah Florini (NYU Press) (4 Reviews)    Price verified 6 hours ago

How black Americans use digital networks to organize and cultivate solidarity Unrest gripped Ferguson, Missouri, after Mike Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson in August 2014. Many black Americans turned to their digital and social media networks to circulate information, cultivate solidarity, and organize during that tumultuous moment. While Ferguson and the subsequent protests made black digital networks visible to mainstream media, these networks did not coalesce overnight. They were built and maintained over years through common, everyday use. Beyond Hashtags explores these everyday practices and their relationship to larger social issues through an in-depth analysis of a trans-platform network of black American digital and social media users and content creators. In the crucial years leading up to the emergence of the Movement for Black Lives, black Americans used digital networks not only to cope with day-to-day experiences of racism, but also as an incubator for the debates that have since exploded onto the national stage. Beyond Hashtags tells the story of an influential subsection of these networks, an assemblage of podcasting, independent media, Instagram, Vine, Facebook, and the network of Twitter users that has come to be known as "Black Twitter." Florini looks at how black Americans use these technologies often simultaneously to create a space to reassert their racial identities, forge community, organize politically, and create alternative media representations and news sources. Beyond Hashtags demonstrates how much insight marginalized users have into technology.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Politosophy: A handbook on philosophy and politics (Principlopedia 1) by Warisa Roongaraya (1 Review)    Price verified 12 hours ago

Explore theories and principles about society, ranging from economics to politics. Learn more about issues and standpoints around us in this book

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Pandemic Ethics: 8 Big Questions of COVID-19 by Ben Bramble (15 Reviews)    Price verified 8 hours ago

PANDEMIC ETHICS is a clear and provocative introduction to the ethics of COVID-19 from a leading contemporary moral philosopher. It is suitable for university-level students, academics, and policymakers, as well as the general reader. It is also an original contribution to the emerging literature on this important topic. The author has made it available Open Access, so that it can be downloaded and read for free by all those who are interested in these issues. Key features include: * A neat organisation of the ethical issues raised by the pandemic. * An exploration of the many complex interconnections between these issues. * A succinct case for a continued lockdown until we develop a vaccine. * An original account of the Deep Moral Problem of the Pandemic, and a Revolutionary Argument for how we should change society post-pandemic. * References to, and engagement with, many of the best writings on the pandemic so far (both in popular media and academic journals).

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Law of Mind in Action: Unlocking the Power of the Mind by Fenwicke L. Holmes (Namaskar Books) (12 Reviews)    Price verified 11 hours ago

Discover the transformative potential of your mind and unlock the power within with "The Law of Mind in Action: Unlocking the Power of the Mind" by Fenwicke L. Holmes. Delve into the profound teachings of Holmes and embark on a journey towards personal and spiritual growth. As Holmes' insights unfold, immerse yourself in the intricate workings of the mind and its influence on every aspect of your life. Learn to harness the power of your thoughts and beliefs to create the reality you desire. But amidst the exploration of the mind's potential lies a fundamental question: Are you ready to awaken to the limitless possibilities that lie within you? Holmes' teachings challenge you to break free from limiting beliefs and tap into the boundless power of your subconscious mind. Experience the profound impact of mind mastery as Holmes' wisdom guides you on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. Let this guide be your roadmap to living a life of abundance, joy, and fulfillment. Are you prepared to harness the power of your mind and unlock the secrets to personal and spiritual transformation with "The Law of Mind in Action"? Join Holmes on a transformative journey towards self-realization as you learn to harness the power of your mind to manifest your desires and achieve your goals. Let this guide be your companion as you unlock the door to a life of unlimited potential. Now is the time to embrace the power of your mind and unleash your true potential. Begin your journey with "The Law of Mind in Action" today. Seize the opportunity to transform your life from within and unlock the power to create the life you truly desire. Purchase your copy now and embark on a journey of personal and spiritual growth.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

After Race: Racism After Multiculturalism by Antonia Darder (NYU Press) (5 Reviews)    Price verified 12 hours ago

After Race pushes us beyond the old "race vs. class" debates to delve deeper into the structural conditions that spawn racism. Darder and Torres place the study of racism forthrightly within the context of contemporary capitalism. While agreeing with those who have argued that the concept of "race" does not have biological validity, they go further to insist that the concept also holds little political, symbolic, or descriptive value when employed in social science and policy research. Darder and Torres argue for the need to jettison the concept of "race," while calling adamantly for the critical study of racism. They maintain that an understanding of structural class inequality is fundamentally germane to comprehending the growing significance of racism in capitalist America.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Fiery World III (The Agni Yoga Series Book 11) by Agni Yoga Society (24 Reviews)    Price verified 4 hours ago

Fiery World III is the eleventh book from the Agni Yoga Series which is composed of fourteen books. In them is found a synthesis of ancient Eastern beliefs and modern Western thought and a bridge between the spiritual and the scientific. Unlike previous yogas, Agni Yoga is a path not of physical disciplines, meditation, or asceticism -- but of practice in daily life. It is the yoga of fiery energy, of consciousness, of responsible, directed thought. It teaches that the evolution of the planetary consciousness is a pressing necessity and that, through individual striving, it is an attainable aspiration for mankind. It affirms the existence of the Hierarchy of Light and the center of the Heart as the link with the Hierarchy and with the far-off worlds. Though not systematized in an ordinary sense, Agni Yoga is a Teaching that helps the discerning student to discover moral and spiritual guide-posts by which to learn to govern his or her life and thus contribute to the Common Good. For this reason Agni Yoga has been called a "living ethics."Agni Yoga Society, Inc., New York

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Revitalizing Collegiality: Restoring Faculty Authority in Universities (Research in the Sociology of Organizations Book 87) by Kerstin Sahlin (Emerald Publishing Limited) (1 Review)    Price verified 6 hours ago

The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online. The higher education and research system faces a constant dilemma. On the one hand, research and higher education are run by autonomous, interrelated academic communities, often described as collegial governance. On the other hand, they are an instrument for the fulfillment of goals that are often external to the academic community. What, then, is the role of academics and academic knowledge in governance of higher education and research, and how does this reflect on and impact their aims and overall place in society? Fostered through joint workshops and an open dialogue, this double volume of Research in the Sociology of Organizations develops a deeper understanding of collegiality, examining through a unique comparative perspective how it is translated and practiced in different settings across the world. Considering ways in which collegiality can be revitalized, this second installment argues for reintroducing collegiality both in analyzing the development of higher education systems and research and in the actual governing of universities. Revealing the globalization, homogenization and variation that have come to characterize the collegiate system, Revitalizing Collegiality critically considers the state of and future of the higher education system, and how we can consciously shape it moving forward.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Material Acts in Everyday Hindu Worlds (SUNY Press Open Access) by Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger (1 Review)    Price verified 6 hours ago

In Material Acts in Everyday Hindu Worlds, Joyce Burkhalter Flueckiger analyzes the agency of materiality -- the ability of materials to have an effect on both humans and deities -- beyond human intentions. Using materials from three regions where Flueckiger conducted extensive fieldwork, she begins with Indian understandings of the agency of ornaments that have the desired effects of protecting women and making them more auspicious. Subsequent chapters bring in examples of materiality that are agentive beyond human intentions, from a south Indian goddess tradition where female guising transforms the aggressive masculinity of men who wear saris, braids, and breasts to the presence of cement images of Ravana in Chhattisgarh, which perform alternative theologies and ideologies to those of dominant textual traditions of the Ramayana epic. Deeply ethnographic and accessibly written, Material Acts in Everyday Hindu Worlds expands our understanding of material agency as well as the parameters of religion more broadly. This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to the National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships Open Book Program -- a limited competition designed to make outstanding humanities books available to a wide audience. Learn more at the Fellowships Open Book Program at https://www.neh.gov/grants/odh/FOBP, and access the book online at the SUNY Open Access Repository at https://soar.suny.edu/handle/20.500.12648/8716.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Young Knights of the Empire : Their Code, and Further Scout Yarns by Sir Robert Baden-Powell (9 Reviews)    Price verified 9 hours ago

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Estetica come scienza dell'espressione e linguistica generale. English by Benedetto Croce (3 Reviews)    Price verified 3 hours ago

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

We so loved Open Access by Abel Packer Price verified 3 hours ago

The SciELO Program was created in the late 1990s when the idea of free access to scholarly content began to gain momentum, even before the term "open access" had been coined. At that time, access to academic publications was limited and costly, restricted to university libraries and the collections they subscribed to. With the emergence of the World Wide Web, electronic access to academic information became practically possible, allowing for wider and faster dissemination of scientific publications. However, the restricted access publishing system still dominated. In this book, the origins and evolution of the open access movement are explored from the perspective of individuals who actively participated. These pioneers of open access shared their experiences, successes, collaborations, and visions for the future on the occasion of SciELO's 25th anniversary. The book pays tribute to their pioneering efforts and the crucial role played by SciELO in supporting open access and spotlighting regions of the world that were previously underrepresented in global academic communication. This celebration demonstrates how SciELO firmly placed these regions on the map of global academic communication and contributed to strengthening the open access movement throughout its successful journey.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Traditions of the Tinguian: a Study in Philippine Folk-Lore by Fay-Cooper Cole (3 Reviews)    Price verified 6 hours ago

This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

PRETENDING: … a way of wasting our lives by Adrian Gabriel Dumitru Price verified 5 hours ago

All my writings are kind of a... self therapy And i was writing on and on and on... defining my feelings and thoughts... But it was a little bit funny realizing the contradiction between what i thought, what i felt deep inside of my soul... and how i was acting on the stage of life... analyzing and defining myself... the one that i thought i was... deep into my soul... and the one from the outside world... i was realizing it's such a huge difference. And still... i was trying to be better... but all i was doing was... pretending... on and on and on. But why?! Why... this huge different between my inner self and the one from the stage of life?! I knew the theory... and knew all i had to do... and i was really pretending... i was doing the right thing, but... Well... most probably my real problem... which was a huge one... was probably that i was disconnected from my inner self. I knew about that self. I knew it exists... and i had to be one with it... and even if i was pretending i was doing the right thing... it was all a lie. I was lying myself... pretending... on and on and on... Why?! Why?! Why?! Until one day... when i decided that i need to stop doing that... and practicing the process of self therapy... i started to be more honest in front of myself. Cause... I was simple... wasting my life... pretending... and i really had to redefine myself.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Learning Disability and Inclusion Phobia: Past, Present, Future (Routledge Advances in the Medical Humanities) by C. F. Goodey (Routledge) (1 Review)    Price verified 9 hours ago

The social position of learning disabled people has shifted rapidly over the last 20 years, from long-stay institutions, first into community homes and day centres, and now to a currently emerging goal of "ordinary lives" for individuals using person-centred support and personal budgets. These approaches promise to replace a century and a half of "scientific" pathological models based on expert assessment, and of the accompanying segregated social administration which determined how and where people led their lives, and who they were. This innovative volume explains how concepts of learning disability, intellectual disability and autism first came about, describes their more recent evolution in the formal disciplines of psychology, and shows the direct relevance of this historical knowledge to present and future policy, practice and research. Goodey argues that learning disability is not a historically stable category and different people are considered "learning disabled" as it changes over time. Using psychological and anthropological theory, he identifies the deeper lying pathology as "inclusion phobia", in which the tendency of human societies to establish an in-group and to assign out-groups reaches an extreme point. Thus the disability we call "intellectual" is a concept essential only to an era in which to be human is essentially to be deemed intelligent, autonomous and capable of rational choice. Interweaving the author's historical scholarship with his practice-based experience in the field, Learning Disability and Inclusion Phobia challenges myths about the past as well as about present-day concepts, exposing both the historical continuities and the radical discontinuities in thinking about learning disability.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Target Iran: Drawing Red Lines in the Sand by William John Cox (Mindkind Publications) (2 Reviews)    Price verified 12 hours ago

At 60 manuscript pages and based on 100 sources, Target Iran is of the new genre of eBooks on critical political subjects written for the modern on-the-go reader who wants reliable background information to reach an informed opinion, but whose time is too limited to go to the library or conduct independent research. A history of Iran and its conflict with the United States and Israel over its uranium enrichment program, a discussion of the likelihood of war between the parties and a peaceful solution that offers a comprehensive nuclear weapons policy for all nations. Iran, the last remnant of the ancient Persian Empire, is presently threatened by the greatest superpower in history ? the United States of America. Rather than attack, or allow Israel to attack, the United States should immediately reestablish diplomatic relations with Iran, negotiate unconditionally and ensure the protection of Iran from armed attack by Israel or any other nation. The U.S. should adopt a comprehensive policy that seeks to avoid the expansion of nuclear weapons to Iran and all other nations. The ultimate goal of the policy should be the elimination of all nuclear weapons by every nation, including Israel, within ten years. Resolution of the existing crisis requires a clear understanding of the history of the Iranian people and the steps and missteps that have led to the crisis.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Bombs, Bugs, Drugs, and Thugs: Intelligence and America's Quest for Security (Fast Track Books) by Loch K. Johnson (8 Reviews)    Price verified 7 hours ago

An "experienced overseer of intelligence" maps out the future of American intelligence and security Recent years have seen numerous books about the looming threat posed to Western society by biological and chemical terrorism, by narcoterrorists, and by the unpredictable leaders of rogue nations. Some of these works have been alarmist. Some have been sensible and measured. But none has been by Loch Johnson. Johnson, author of the acclaimed Secret Agencies and "an experienced overseer of intelligence" (Foreign Affairs), here examines the present state and future challenges of American strategic intelligence. Written in his trademark style--dubbed "highly readable" by Publishers Weekly--and drawing on dozens of personal interviews and contacts, Johnson takes advantage of his insider access to explore how America today aspires to achieve nothing less than "global transparency," ferreting out information on potential dangers in every corner of the world. And yet the American security establishment, for all its formidable resources, technology, and networks, currently remains a loose federation of individual fortresses, rather than a well integrated "community" of agencies working together to provide the President with accurate information on foreign threats and opportunities. Intelligence failure, like the misidentified Chinese embassy in Belgrade accidentally bombed by a NATO pilot, is the inevitable outcome when the nation's thirteen secret agencies steadfastly resist the need for central coordination. Ranging widely and boldly over such controversial topics as the intelligence role of the United Nations (which Johnson believes should be expanded) and whether assassination should be a part of America's foreign policy (an option he rejects for fear that the U.S. would then be cast not only as global policeman but also as global godfather), Loch K. Johnson here maps out a critical and prescriptive vision of the future of American intelligence.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism: The Hidden Costs of Being Black in America (Critical America Book 32) by Jody David Armour (NYU Press) (21 Reviews)    Price verified 12 hours ago

Tackling the ugly secret of unconscious racism in American society, this book provides specific solutions to counter this entrenched phenomenon.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Diversity and Discrimination in Research Organizations by Clemens Striebing (Emerald Publishing Limited) (1 Review)    Price verified 8 hours ago

The ebook edition of this title is Open Access and freely available to read online. The era of team science has long since dawned. However, in order for the individual members of a team to work well, research organizations need to provide a productive and naturally non-discriminatory working environment. Bringing together and integrating researchers and their diverse backgrounds in effective teams does not happen on its own. To harness the positive effects of diversity, it must be understood and managed proactively. The edited collection Diversity and Discrimination in Research Organizations provides researchers with empirical studies on the question of whether and to what extent the social identity of the academic workforce affects their individual integration in research organizations. Practitioners receive guidance and suggestions on possible starting points and requirements for programmes to improve equal opportunities and work climate in their research organizations. The articles can be roughly divided into two categories according to the guiding questions of this edited collection: macro studies surveying the extent of discrimination and harassment in research organizations and micro studies exploring the influence of the specific cultural contextual conditions of the academic workplace on experiences of discrimination and harassment related to the diversity of the workforce.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

“At This Defining Moment”: Barack Obama’s Presidential Candidacy and the New Politics of Race by Enid Lynette Logan (4 Reviews)    Price verified 12 hours ago

In January 2009, Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. In the weeks and months following the election, as in those that preceded it, countless social observers from across the ideological spectrum commented upon the cultural, social and political significance of "the Obama phenomenon." In "At this Defining Moment," Enid Logan provides a nuanced analysis framed by innovative theoretical insights to explore how Barack Obama's presidential candidacy both reflected and shaped the dynamics of race in the contemporary United States. Using the 2008 election as a case study of U.S. race relations, and based on a wealth of empirical data that includes an analysis of over 1,500 newspaper articles, blog postings, and other forms of public speech collected over a 3 year period, Logan claims that while race played a central role in the 2008 election, it was in several respects different from the past. Logan ultimately concludes that while the selection of an individual African American man as president does not mean that racism is dead in the contemporary United States, we must also think creatively and expansively about what the election does mean for the nation and for the evolving contours of race in the 21st century.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Genders 22: Postcommunism and the Body Politic by Ellen E. Berry (NYU Press) Price verified 10 hours ago

The epidemic of mass rape in the former Yugoslavia has illustrated once again, and in particularly brutal fashion, the inextricable relationship between national politics, sexual politics, and body politics. The nexus of these three forces is highly charged in any culture, at any time in history, but especially so among cultures in which rapid, even cataclysmic, changes in material realities and national self-conceptions are eroding or overwhelming previously secure boundaries. The postcommunist moment in the so-called Second World--Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union--has dramatically exposed the opportunities and dangers that arise when the political, cultural, and economic foundations of a society are de- and then re-structured. Gender roles and relations, expressions of sexuality or attempts to recontain them, representations of the body, especially the female body, and the larger, cultural meanings it assumes, are particularly marked sites to witness the performance of complex national dramas of crisis and change. This groundbreaking volume turns its attention to the Second World, specifically to such subjects as the birth of the sex media and porn industry in Russia; Russian women and alcoholism; cinema in post-communist Hungary; patriotism and gender in Poland; sexual dissidence in Eastern Europe; and women in the former Yugoslavia. >[ go to the Genders website ]

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

To Be An American: Cultural Pluralism and the Rhetoric of Assimilation (Critical America Book 17) by Bill Ong Hing (NYU Press) (1 Review)    Price verified 8 hours ago

The impetus behind California's Proposition 187 clearly reflects the growing anti-immigrant sentiment in this country. Many Americans regard today's new immigrants as not truly American, as somehow less committed to the ideals on which the country was founded. In clear, precise terms, Bill Ong Hing considers immigration in the context of the global economy, a sluggish national economy, and the hard facts about downsizing. Importantly, he also confronts the emphatic claims of immigrant supporters that immigrants do assimilate, take jobs that native workers don't want, and contribute more to the tax coffers than they take out of the system. A major contribution of Hing's book is its emphasis on such often-overlooked issues as the competition between immigrants and African Americans, inter-group tension, and ethnic separatism, issues constantly brushed aside both by immigrant rights groups and the anti-immigrant right. Drawing on Hing's work as a lawyer deeply involved in the day-to-day life of his immigrant clients, To Be An American is a unique blend of substantive analysis, policy, and personal experience.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Inner City Kids: Adolescents Confront Life and Violence in an Urban Community (Qualitative Studies in Psychology Book 4) by Alice Mcintyre (NYU Press) (3 Reviews)    Price verified 6 hours ago

Urban teens of color are often portrayed as welfare mothers, drop outs, drug addicts, and both victims and perpetrators of the many kinds of violence which can characterize life in urban areas. Although urban youth often live in contexts which include poverty, unemployment, and discrimination, they also live with the everydayness of school, friends, sex, television, music, and other elements of teenage lives. Inner City Kids explores how a group of African American, Jamaican, Puerto Rican, and Haitian adolescents make meaning of and respond to living in an inner-city community. The book focuses on areas of particular concern to the youth, such as violence, educational opportunities, and a decaying and demoralizing urban environment characterized by trash, pollution, and abandoned houses. McIntyre's work with these teens draws upon participatory action research, which seeks to codevelop programs with study participants rather than for them.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

As Long as We Both Shall Love: The White Wedding in Postwar America by Karen M. Dunak (1 Review)    Price verified 8 hours ago

In As Long as We Both Shall Love, Karen M. Dunak provides a nuanced history of the American wedding and its celebrants. Blending an analysis of film, fiction, advertising, and prescriptive literature with personal views from letters, diaries, essays, and oral histories, Dunak demonstrates the ways in which the modern wedding epitomizes a diverse and consumerist culture and aims to reveal an ongoing debate about the power of peer culture, media, and the marketplace in America.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Makeover: Reality Television and Reflexive Audiences (Critical Cultural Communication Book 26) by Katherine Sender (1 Review)    Price verified 8 hours ago

The first book to consider the rapid rise of makeover shows from the perspectives of their viewers Watch this show, buy this product, you can be a whole new you! Makeover television shows repeatedly promise self-renewal and the opportunity for reinvention, but what do we know about the people who watch them? As it turns out, surprisingly little. The Makeover is the first book to consider the rapid rise of makeover shows from the perspectives of their viewers. Katherine Sender argues that this genre of reality television continues a long history of self-improvement, shaped through contemporary media, technological, and economic contexts. Most people think that reality television viewers are ideological dupes and obliging consumers. Sender, however, finds that they have a much more nuanced and reflexive approach to the shows they watch. They are critical of the instruction, the consumer plugs, and the manipulative editing in the shows. At the same time, they buy into the shows' imperative to construct a reflexive self: an inner self that can be seen as if from the outside, and must be explored and expressed to others. The Makeover intervenes in debates about both reality television and audience research, offering the concept of the reflexive self to move these debates forward.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Neither Fugitive nor Free: Atlantic Slavery, Freedom Suits, and the Legal Culture of Travel (America and the Long 19th Century Book 8) by Edlie L. Wong (NYU Press) Price verified 4 hours ago

Part of the American Literatures Initiative Series Neither Fugitive nor Free draws on the freedom suit as recorded in the press and court documents to offer a critically and historically engaged understanding of the freedom celebrated in the literary and cultural histories of transatlantic abolitionism. Freedom suits involved those enslaved valets, nurses, and maids who accompanied slaveholders onto free soil. Once brought into a free jurisdiction, these attendants became informally free, even if they were taken back to a slave jurisdiction -- at least according to abolitionists and the enslaved themselves. In order to secure their freedom formally, slave attendants or others on their behalf had to bring suit in a court of law. Edlie Wong critically recuperates these cases in an effort to reexamine and redefine the legal construction of freedom, will, and consent. This study places such historically central anti-slavery figures as Frederick Douglass, Olaudah Equiano, and William Lloyd Garrison alongside such lesser-known slave plaintiffs as Lucy Ann Delaney, Grace, Catharine Linda, Med, and Harriet Robinson Scott. Situated at the confluence of literary criticism, feminism, and legal history, Neither Fugitive nor Free presents the freedom suit as a "new" genre to African American and American literary studies.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Anti-Americanism by Andrew Ross (NYU Press) Price verified 7 hours ago

Ever since George Washington warned against "foreign entanglements" in his 1796 farewell speech, the United States has wrestled with how to act toward other countries. Consequently, the history of anti-Americanism is as long and varied as the history of the United States. In this multidisciplinary collection, seventeen leading thinkers provide substance and depth to the recent outburst of fast talk on the topic of anti-Americanism by analyzing its history and currency in five key global regions: the Middle East, Latin America, Europe, East Asia, and the United States. The commentary draws from social science as well as the humanities for an in-depth study of anti-American opinion and sentiment in different cultures. The questions raised by these essays force us to explore the new ways America must interact with the world after 9/11 and the war against Iraq. Contributors: Greg Grandin, Mary Louise Pratt, Ana Maria Dopico, George Yudice, Timothy Mitchell, Ella Shohat, Mary Nolan, Patrick Deer, Vangelis Calotychos, Harry Harootunian, Hyun Ok Park, Rebecca E. Karl, Moss Roberts, Linda Gordon, and John Kuo Wei Tchen.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Japanese Lessons: A Year in a Japanese School Through the Eyes of An American Anthropologist and Her Children by Gail R. Benjamin (NYU Press) (11 Reviews)    Price verified 55 minutes ago

Benjamin dismantles Americans' preconceived notions of the Japanese education system "Gail R. Benjamin reaches beyond predictable images of authoritarian Japanese educators and automaton schoolchildren to show the advantages and disadvantages of a system remarkably different from the American one... " -- The New York Times Book Review Americans regard the Japanese educational system and the lives of Japanese children with a mixture of awe and indignance. We respect a system that produces higher literacy rates and superior math skills, but we reject the excesses of a system that leaves children with little free time and few outlets for creativity and self-expression. In Japanese Lessons, Gail R. Benjamin recounts her experiences as a American parent with two children in a Japanese elementary school. An anthropologist, Benjamin successfully weds the roles of observer and parent, illuminating the strengths of the Japanese system and suggesting ways in which Americans might learn from it. With an anthropologist's keen eye, Benjamin takes us through a full year in a Japanese public elementary school, bringing us into the classroom with its comforting structure, lively participation, varied teaching styles, and non-authoritarian teachers. We follow the children on class trips and Sports Days and through the rigors of summer vacation homework. We share the experiences of her young son and daughter as they react to Japanese schools, friends, and teachers. Through Benjamin we learn what it means to be a mother in Japan--how minute details, such as the way mothers prepare lunches for children, reflect cultural understandings of family and education.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

Black Television Travels: African American Media around the Globe (Critical Cultural Communication Book 16) by Timothy Havens (3 Reviews)    Price verified 11 hours ago

"Black Television Travels provides a detailed and insightful view of the roots and routes of the televisual representations of blackness on the transnational media landscape. By following the circulation of black cultural products and their institutionalized discourses -- including industry lore, taste cultures, and the multiple stories of black experiences that have and have not made it onto the small screen -- Havens complicates discussions of racial representation and exposes possibilities for more expansive representations of blackness while recognizing the limitations of the seemingly liberatory spaces created by globalization." -- Bambi Haggins, Associate Professor of Film and Media Studies at Arizona State University "A major achievement that makes important contributions to the analysis of race, identity, global media, nation, and television production cultures. Discussions of race and television are too often constricted within national boundaries, yet this fantastic book offers a strong, compelling, and utterly refreshing corrective. Read it, assign it, use it." -- Jonathan Gray, author of Television Entertainment, Television Studies, and Show Sold Separately Black Television Travels explores the globalization of African American television and the way in which foreign markets, programming strategies, and viewer preferences have influenced portrayals of African Americans on the small screen. Television executives have been notoriously slow to recognize the potential popularity of black characters and themes, both at home and abroad. As American television brokers increasingly seek revenues abroad, their assumptions about saleability and audience perceptions directly influence the global circulation of these programs, as well as their content. Black Television Travels aims to reclaim the history of African American television circulation in an effort to correct and counteract this predominant industry lore. Based on interviews with television ...

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences

The Americanization of the Jews (Reappraisals Jewish Social History) by Robert Seltzer (NYU Press) Price verified 4 hours ago

How did Judaism, a religion so often defined by its minority status, attain equal footing in the trinity of Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism that now dominates modern American religious life? THE AMERICANIZATION OF THE JEWS seeks out the effects of this evolution on both Jews in America and an America with Jews. Although English, French, and Dutch Jewries are usually considered the principal forerunners of modern Jewry, Jews have lived as long in North America as they have in post- medieval Britain and France and only sixty years less than in Amsterdam. As one of the four especially creative Jewish communities that has helped re-shape and re-formulate modern Judaism, American Judaism is the most complex and least understood. German Jewry is recognized for its contribution to modern Jewish theology and philosophy, Russian and Polish Jewry is known for its secular influence in literature, and Israel clearly offers Judaism a new stance as a homeland. But how does one capture the interplay between America and Judaism? Immigration to America meant that much of Judaism was discarded, and much was retained. Acculturation did not always lead to assimilation: Jewishness was honed as an independent variable in the motivations of many of its American adherents- -and has remained so, even though Jewish institutions, ideologies, and even Jewish values have been reshaped by America to such an degree that many Jews of the past might not recognize as Jewish some of what constitutes American Jewishness. This collection of essays explores the paradoxes that abound in the America/Judaism relationship, focusing on such specific issues as Jews and American politics in the twentieth century, the adaptation of Jewish religious life to the American environment, the contributions and impact of the women's movement, and commentaries on the Jewish future in America.

Genre: Politics & Social Sciences