This book gathers selected original papers presented at the Sixth Beijing Normal University - University College London, Institute of Education International Conference in Education, a biennial event organised in partnership between this two universities. Readers will find a wealth of papers and reports on research involving schools and the initial and professional development of teachers, revealing links between research, policy and practice, while also analyzing key themes in education, including public goals and policies, pedagogy, curricula, organisation, resources and technologies, and institutional effectiveness. An essential guide for anyone who wishes to understand the main issues involved in mobilities of ideas, people and technology in the field of education, the book offers an extensive introduction, and can also be used as a resource for empirical and conceptual research into related issues.

Why did the world's strongest power intervene militarily in the tiny Commonwealth Caribbean island of Grenada in October 1983? This book focuses on United States-Grenada relations between 1979 and 1983 set against the wider historical context of US-Caribbean Basin relations. It presents an in-depth study of US policy during the Carter and Reagan presidencies and the deterioration of relations with the Marxist-Leninist People's Revolution Government (PRG) of Grenada. It considers in detail the murderous internal power struggle that destroyed the PRG and the decisionmaking process that resulted in a joint US-Caribbean military intervention.

A volume in International Social Studies Forum: The Series Series Editors Richard Diem, University of Texas at San Antonio and Jeff Passe, University of North Carolina, Charlotte January 2009 marked the 25th anniversary of one of the most famous three minutes of television history. It was during half-time of the 1984 Super Bowl that APPLE show cased its new Macintosh Computer in an avant-guard commercial. In the following three weeks sales of the new computer, in both the public and private sectors, took off leading some to note this occasion as the "true" start of the information age. At the same time schools joined this so-called information revolution and began to use the new technology, in various forms, in a much more serious manner. Given both the changing nature of technology, as well as its classroom applications, over the past quarter century this work's goal is to capture the historical trends of both use and application of information technology in the social studies during this era. This is done by providing a retrospective view, from 1984 through 2009, of where we've been, where we are, and a view of new tools and strategies and possible studies that are emerging that can enhance our understanding of the effects that technology has and will have on the social studies.

This book analyses the evidence for global change, and suggests that the Earth is going through a profound transformation, caused in large part by human action. Land, oceans, polar regions and the atmosphere are all being deeply affected by the human population's lifestyle: what should the educational response be to these various aspects of global change? To answer this, the values of an ecological response are developed, leading to the notion of an 'Ecological Social Imaginary', which looks at how humans can change their way of living to one that is more in harmony with the planet that they live on and depend upon. To enable this, an ecological form of education, Connective Education, is proposed. This focuses on how the human and natural world can be connected for the benefit of humankind and all living and non-living entities, joining head, hand, heart and spirit to the web of life. It is argued that through Connective Education, a particular type of person is formed: one who is able to take their place in the human and natural world, and in this way truly connect with their planet. The book will be essential reading for those working in the fields of Education and Environmental Studies.

This book shows how suburban sprawl is at least partially a consequence of government spending and regulation, and suggests anti-sprawl policies that can make government smaller and/or less intrusive. Thus, the book responds to the widely held view that automobile-dependent suburban development (also known as "suburban sprawl") is a natural result of the free market and of affluence, and accordingly cannot be altered without massive government regulation.

"Key Thinkers in the Sociology of Religion" takes a focused look at the foremost figures in the development of the field. From the groundbreaking work of Max Weber, right up to that of contemporary writers such as Peter Berger and Niklas Luhmann, this volume is an essential companion for the student of sociology of religion.Charting the development of theory in this area, each chapter looks at the life and work of an individual theorist, building to a picture of the field as it is today. Richard Fenn's book provides a route to a rounded understanding of the field, through the thought that defined it.

This book shows how research in linguistic pragmatics, philosophy of language, and rhetoric can be connected through argumentation to analyze a recognizably common strategy used in political and everyday conversation, namely the distortion of another's words in an argumentative exchange. Straw man argumentation refers to the modification of a position by misquoting, misreporting or wrenching the original speaker's statements from their context in order to attack them more easily or more effectively. Through 63 examples taken from different contexts (including political and forensic discourses and dialogs) and 20 legal cases, the book analyzes the explicit and implicit types of straw man, shows how to assess the correctness of a quote or a report, and illustrates the arguments that can be used for supporting an interpretation and defending against a distortion. The tools of argumentation theory, a discipline aimed at investigating the uses of arguments by combining insights from pragmatics, logic, and communication, are applied to provide an original account of interpretation and reporting, and to describe and illustrate tactics and procedures that can be used and implemented for practical purposes.. This book will appeal to scholars in the fields of political communication, communication in general, argumentation theory, rhetoric and pragmatics, as well as to people working in public speech, speech writing, and discourse analysis.

This is a provocative collection of timely reflections on the state of social democracy and its inextricable links to crime and justice. Authored by some of the world's leading thinkers from the UK, US, Canada and Australia, the volume provides an understanding of socially sustainable societies.

Critical studies of youth play an increasingly important role in educational research. This volume adds to that ongoing conversation by addressing the methodological lessons learned from key scholars in the field. With a focus on "the doing" of critical youth studies in ways that center praxis and relational care in work with youth and their communities, the volume showcases scholars discussing their research and reflecting on the practical strategies they have used to operationalize their conceptions of knowledge in youth-centered research projects. Each chapter addresses the research features, challenges, tensions, and debates of the project; engagement with communities; and relationality, reciprocity, and responsibility to participants. The focus throughout is on qualitative approaches that are humanizing, anti-colonial, and transformative.

With 70 per cent of its people under the age of 30, Africa is the world's youngest continent. African youngsters have been largely characterized as either vulnerable victims of the frequent humanitarian crises that plague their homelands, or as violent militarized youth and 'troubled' gang members. Young people's contributions to processes of educational provision, peace building and participatory human development in Africa are often ignored. While acknowledging the profound challenges associated with growing up in an environment of uncertainty and deprivation, African Childhoods sheds light on African children's often constructive engagement with a variety of societal conditions, adverse or otherwise, and their ability to positively influence their own lives and those of others.

"Globalization and Uncertainty in Latin America" gathers new scholarship on globalization and Latin America in an entertaining and well-researched volume. This balanced and innovative collection examines how rising levels of uncertainty affect daily life, as well as society, government, and culture. Well-known authors use different methodologies to approach the common theme of a region transformed in recent years by neoliberalism. Most of the contributors suggest that Latin America is experiencing rapid and unexpected change, and that its future looks much different than ever predicted. In total, the book suggests that high levels of uncertainty in the region have resulted in counterintuitive and, at times, innovative political outcomes.

This book explores how the cultural process of making any disease a "plague" results in discrimination against certain groups, as it has for those with AIDS in America. Gina M. Bright here captures the discrimination produced by plague-making in her analysis and her portraits of the people she has cared for with AIDS over the past quarter-century.

This book presents key issues in the teaching of Chinese as a second or foreign language (TCSL or TCFL). It investigates how multimedia can help to assist TCSL/TCFL and explores practical effects of multimedia-assisted teaching at secondary schools in the Philippines. It addresses the psychology of TCSL/TCFL and discusses various recurring foreign graduate students concerns when learning academic Chinese in graduate institutes in Taiwan. It examines issues of educational assessment and testing, analyzing the validity of a self-made placement test for an immigrant Chinese program, as well as the psychological characteristics of adult learners and their implications for immigrant Chinese curriculum design. As foreign learners of Chinese grow exponentially, this cutting edge read conceptualizes the educational philosophy of TCSL/TCFL as a distinctive discipline.

Latinos comprise the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, and this interdisciplinary anthology gathers the scholarship of early career and senior Latina/o scholars whose work explores the varied and unique "latinidades, "or Latino cultural identities, of this group. Using an interdisciplinary perspective, the authors deploy various theoretical tools to examine the realities and lived experience of Latinas/o in the United States. While the editors of the book in their method of organization seek to present a wide panoramic view of the Latina/o condition, the authors of the individual essays use specific methodologies: empirical, ethnographic, linguistic, and literary and textual analysis along with cultural studies and other appropriate approaches.

Tracing the evolution of French sociology from the early twentieth century to the present day, this insightful book brings to the fore the renowned origins but relatively slow development of the discipline in France. Divided into four chronological sections it focuses on the social changes and institutional transformations that have impacted on the history of sociology in France as it relates to both higher education and research. In doing so, it draws attention to three major features of French sociology: the imbalance between theory and method caused by its philosophical roots, the difficulty of locating it in relation to other disciplines, and the close links between sociology and political thought and action.

This book explores the politics of narco-killing and public attitudes to violence and death in the Mexican Drug War. It examines questions such as the culture of human sacrifice, the religious principles that sanction egregious violence and most importantly the society's complex response strategies towards such violence. Primarily a philosophical reflection, this study nonetheless uses anthropological, architectural and sociological methods to provide an interdisciplinary explanation to the visceral, commonplace violence taking place in contemporary Mexico.

WikiLeaks poses a unique challenge to state and commercial institutions. This book considers the whistleblower platform's ongoing importance, focusing on the informational and communicative paradoxes it faces, and the shifting strategies it has adopted over time. Attention to these matters provides insight into the nature of the contemporary networked, post-truth media environment, and the types of factors likely to affect the success of activist groups today. Chapter 1 introduces WikiLeaks' significance as a novel expression of counterpower, outlining the disclosures marking its career. Chapters 2 through 4 address the dilemmas confronting WikiLeaks in its attempts to engage the public with and without the cooperation of mainstream news organizations. Chapter 5 appraises how WikiLeaks has adjusted its strategies to take better advantage of a densely populated and globally networked media environment within the larger context of an ongoing political legitimation crisis. Chapter 6 extends this analysis to the case of Russiagate.

Money is an important instrument of calculation: as a unit of account and means of payment, it serves the purpose of exchange. Yet, it is increasingly becoming itself an object of exchange and calculation on financial markets, which tend less to the production and exchange of real goods. The question therefore is: has the economy lost its measure?

This book defends that math education should systematically start out from the diverse out-of-school knowledge of children and develop trajectories from there to the Academic Mathematics tower of knowledge. Learning theories of the sociocultural school (Vygotsky and on) are used here, and ethnographic knowledge from around the world is shown to offer a rich and varied base for curricula. The book takes a political stand against the exclusively western focus in OECD analyses and proposals on math education. This book aims at agents in education and social actions in every cultural environment. But it is also attractive to mathematicians, anthropologists and other specialists. It offers a broad and scholarly view of knowledge and culture and a very original transcultural and transdisciplinarian approach to education. Ubiratan D'Ambrosio, UNICAMP/Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil

If there's one thing that Americans have in common it's that the truth we seek is constantly being obscured. We are lied to. The lies come from commercials we watch, from politicians, from those like the tobacco company executives who swore that nicotine is not addictive, from fabrications suggesting that our children's lack of excelling on international tests somehow define us as second-class people, and from false statements declaring that American teachers are causal to the nation's educational problems. Unlike Jack Nicholson's angry declaration, "You can't handle the truth," as he played Colonel Nathan Jessup in the movie A Few Good Men, we think you can handle the truth. Therefore, this book is written. It's filled with stories and essays that tell the real truth about the plight of American education. Some of the stories will make you laugh, some make you cry. You will become angry, occasionally shocked. Each chapter will reveal deep problems and you will find yourself looking for easy answers. But there are none. What you will find are bold answers that will require the fighting spirit and courage of a nation. You will be challenged to join a "War worth Waging." We have not hesitated to identify, in addition to problems and bold solutions, the real villains, for there are villains. As the chapters undress them for you and expose their real identities, you will simultaneously be introduced to unsung heroes who teach in our nation's classrooms. They are heroes you will declare by book's end to be the cement that holds the nation together. They have never stopped teaching the skills and civility that the next generation needs to participate in and contribute to the perpetuation of the democracy. You will come to know, on a personal level, the American schoolteacher.

"Community Based System Dynamics" introduces researchers andpractitioners tothe design and application of participatory systems modeling with diverse communities. The book bridges community- based participatory research methods and rigorous computational modeling approaches to understanding communities as complex systems. It emphasizes the importance of community involvement both to understand the underlying system and to aid in implementation. Comprehensive in its scope, the volume includes topics that span the entire process of participatory systems modeling, from the initial engagement and conceptualization of community issues to model building, analysis, and project evaluation. "Community Based System Dynamics" is a highly valuable resource for anyone interested in helping to advance social justice using system dynamics, community involvement, and group model building, and helping to make communities a better place. "

In this book, retired banking CEO Bruce VonCannon considers the past, present and future of Hong Kong, the dynamic finance-driven autonomous city that is beset by global issues- US-China tension, income inequality, housing scarcity, climate change- within the microcosm of a small island archipelago and a hyper-specific local culture. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is today one of the world's foremost economic and financial hubs and a repository for 18% of the world's stored wealth, home to the region's most vibrant stock market, a major free trade port city and traditional gateway to mainland China, the world's 2nd largest economy. The recent street protests which broke out in June 2019 have been described as a pro-democracy movement. However, other analysts disagree and argue that the street protests have more in common with the populist movements springing up in other parts of the world as the result of a growing divide between rich and poor. This book delves into financial realities, Hong Kong's position within the new global competition between China and the United States, and as a model for the urbanization of the future.

This book contests the negative portrayal of African immigrants as people who are not valuable members of South African society. They are often perceived as a threat to South Africa and its patrimony, accused of committing crime, taking jobs and competing for resources with South African citizens. Unique in its deployment of a deconstructionist theoretical and analytical framework, this work argues that this is a simplistic portrayal of a complex reality. Inocent Moyo lays bare, not only the failings of an exclusivist narrative of belonging, but also a complex social reality around migration and immigration politics, belonging and exclusion in contemporary South Africa. Over seven chapters he introduces new perspectives on the negative portrayal of African immigrants and argues that to sustain a negative view of them as the 'threatening other' ignores complex people-place-space dynamics. For these reasons, the analytical, empirical and theoretical value of the project is that it broadens the study of migration related contexts in a South African setting. Academics, students, policy makers and activists focusing on the migration and immigration debate will find this book invaluable.