The death and devastation wrought by the tsunami in South Asia, Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf states, the earthquake in Pakistan, the mudslides in the Philippines, the tornadoes in the American Midwest, another earthquake in Indonesia-these are only the most recent acts of God to cause people of faith to question God's role in the physical universe. Volcanic eruptions, wildfires, epidemics, floods, blizzards, droughts, hailstorms, and famines can all raise the same questions: Can God intervene in natural events to prevent death, injury, sickness, and suffering? If so, why does God not act? If not, is God truly the All-Loving, All-Powerful, and All-Present Being that many religions proclaim? Grappling with such questions has always been an essential component of religion, and different faiths have arrived at wildly different answers. To explore various religious explanations of the tragedies inflicted by nature, author Gary Stern has interviewed 43 prominent religious leaders across the religious spectrum, among them Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People; Father Benedict Groeschel, author of Arise from Darkness; The Rev. James Rowe Adams, founder of the Center for Progressive Christianity; Kenneth R. Samples, vice president of Reason to Believe; Dr. James Cone, the legendary African American theologian; Tony Campolo, founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education; Dr. Sayyid Syeed, general secretary of the Islamic Society of North America; Imam Yahya Hendi, the first Muslim chaplain at Georgetown University; Dr. Arvind Sharma, one of the world's leading Hindu scholars; Robert A. F. Thurman, the first American to be ordained a Tibetan Buddhist monk; David Silverman, the national spokesman for American Atheists; and others—rabbis, priests, imams, monks, storefront ministers, itinerant holy people, professors, and chaplains—Jews, Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants, evangelical Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Atheists-people of belief, and people of nonbelief, too. Stern asked each of them probing questions about what their religion teaches and what their faith professes regarding the presence of tragedy. Some feel that the forces of nature are simply impersonal, and some believe that God is omniscient but not omnipotent. Some claim that nature is ultimately destructive because of Original Sin, some assert that the victims of natural disasters are sinners who deserve to die, and some explain that natural disasters are the result of individual and collective karma. Still others profess that God causes suffering in order to test and purify the victims. Stern, an award-winning religion journalist, has extensive experience in this type of analytical journalism. The result is a work that probes and challenges real people's beliefs about a subject that, unfortunately, touches everyone's life.

In all its diversity, Christianity has been a powerful force in South African life. From the history of colonial missions, through the development of denominations, to the emergence of African initiated churches, Christianity has assumed a variety of distinctively South African forms. This comprehensive guide offers detailed reviews of over 600 works that have established the importance of Christianity in South African history, society, and religious experience. Of interest to scholars and students of religious studies, cultural anthropology, African Studies, and history, this volume, together with "African Traditional Religion in South Africa" and "Islam, Hinduism, and Judaism in South Africa" (both Greenwood, 1997), will become the standard reference work on South African religions.

In each section-Christian Missions, Christian Denominations, and African Initiated Churches-an introductory essay identifies significant themes in the literature. The annotations are concise yet detailed essays, written in an engaging and accessible style and supported by an exhaustive index. The book therefore provides a full and complex profile of Christianity as a religious tradition in South Africa.

Choosing the right college is a big decision for most people. American Indian and Alaska Natives are no exception, but finding a college that offers a good educational program in their major plus a strong support system for tribal traditions makes that decision even more complex. This volume will help Native people clarify their postsecondary aspirations, improve their college choice, and increase their success in college. After a thorough examination of the issues that should be considered, Pavel and Inglebret present the different types of colleges available, programs and services to meet the special needs of Native students, and financial aid options. By answering many of the basic questions students have about going to college, Pavel and Inglebret help to demystify the process and encourage more Native students to pursue a college education. Special features include: -A list of colleges with Native American studies, and those most friendly to Native Americans' needs -A list of sources for financial aid, with contact information -Interviews with Native American students on all aspects of their college experiences -Suggestions for students on how to balance their new college experiences with their community and heritage

Written by an expert in media, popular culture, gender, and sexuality, this book surveys the common archetypes of Internet users—from geeks, nerds, and gamers to hackers, scammers, and predators—and assesses what these stereotypes reveal about our culture's attitudes regarding gender, technology, intimacy, and identity. The Internet has enabled an exponentially larger number of people—individuals who are members of numerous and vastly different subgroups—to be exposed to one other. As a result, instead of the simple "jocks versus geeks" paradigm of previous eras, our society now has more detailed stereotypes of the undesirable, the under-the-radar, and the ostracized: cyberpervs, neckbeards, goths, tech nerds, and anyone with a non-heterosexual identity. Each chapter of this book explores a different stereotype of the Internet user, with key themes—such as gender, technophobia, and sexuality—explored with regard to that specific characterization of online users. Author Lauren Rosewarne, PhD, supplies a highly interdisciplinary perspective that draws on research and theories from a range of fields—psychology, sociology, and communications studies as well as feminist theory, film theory, political science, and philosophy—to analyze what these stereotypes mean in the context of broader social and cultural issues. From cyberbullies to chronically masturbating porn addicts to desperate online-daters, readers will see the paradox in popular culture's message: that while Internet use is universal, actual Internet users are somehow subpar—less desirable, less cool, less friendly—than everybody else.

Syria has served as a major crossroads in the Middle East since prehistoric times, leaving it open to change and passing customs from other societies. Syria's melting pot of cultures has led it to become an ethnically diverse country, sometimes leading to turbulence among other countries as well as within its own borders. Focusing on contemporary traditions, topics such as religion, cuisine, fashion, music, and art unveil Syria's true modern-day culture. Readers will discover how Syrians live today-what they eat, what they wear, and how they celebrate life in today's conflicted Middle East. Ideal for high school students and general readers, Culture and Customs of Syria serves as a staple for all library shelves.

Nearly eight out of ten homeless and runaway young girls between the ages of 13 and 20 have given birth to at least one child. Social Bonds and Teen Pregnancy reports on a recent study of pregnant and parenting runaway and homeless girls found on American streets. Authors LaWanda Ravoira and Andrew Cherry examine the factors that shape these girls' decisions and life experiences, including family, individual, and community bonds; religiosity; parental and individual attitudes toward premarital sex; tolerance for minor deviance; feelings of self-worth; and sense of power over one's own life. Contrary to prior research, which characterizes sexually active girls as dependent or victimized, this study suggests that girls who have had sexual intercourse before age sixteen are more mature and in control of their lives than their peers.

Social Bond theory is used to provide a framework for thinking about the development of prevention and intervention programs for at-risk girls, as well as for the development of national policies to address the long-term negative consequences of adolescent pregnancy and parenting. Ravoira and Cherry provide an overview of youth services, along with an appraisal of the impact of current government policies, in order to highlight gaps in services at the national and local levels. A review of the antecedents of teen pregnancy and a critique of the theoretical literature suggest numerous psychosocial reasons for the growing phenomenon of earlier pregnancy and parenting. Excerpts from and summaries of actual case studies and tape-recorded personal accounts of teenage mothers bring the research to life.

The essays in this collection explore taboo and controversial humour in traditional scripted (sitcoms and other comedy series, animated series) and non-scripted forms (stand-up comedy, factual and reality shows, and advertising) both on cable and network television.  Whilst the focus is predominantly on the US and UK, the contributors also address more general and global issues and different contexts of reception, in an attempt to look at this kind of comedy from different perspectives. Over the last few decades, taboo comedy has become a staple of television programming, thus raising issues concerning its functions and appropriateness, and making it an extremely relevant subject for those interested in how both humour and television work. 

Adler, Freud, and Jung were the key figures in the development of psychology as we know it. Yet, while Freud and Jung are widely studied and debated, Adler is far less well known. Nonetheless, as Loren Grey demonstrates, some of Adler's novel early precepts are valuable tools for personality diagnosis, even to this day. Examples include his belief in the social equality of all human beings, regardless of race, position, class, or gender; that all human behavior is logical--however bizarre or psychotic its goal may be; that mistaken precepts about others, being learned, can be unlearned; and in the importance of understanding the dynamics behind the family interactions with particular emphasis on the ordinal position of each child in the family constellation. Many of these ideas, though ignored or rejected by the early Freudians and Jungians, have become part of the post-Freudian movements in psychology and counseling. In this book, Grey systematically examines the life and ideas of Alfred Adler as well as the approaches taken by his leading students. Many of Adler's early supporters felt that he was 100 years ahead of his time; Grey demonstrates that many of his approaches can serve humanity well in the new millennium. This text provides an important survey for students, scholars, and practitioners of psychology.

This interdisciplinary collection is a new landmark in the study of the world's pilgrimage traditions. Experts from many disciplines approach the subject from a variety of perspectives that are designed to lead to the understanding of pilgrimage in general. Specific case studies represent most of the major religious traditions of the world. Anthropologists, historians, sociologists, social psychologists, and students of religion will find that these theoretical and case studies suggest new areas for further research. Alan Morinis presents a many faceted examination of sacred journeys in India, Southeast Asia, the Pacific, West Asia, Africa, North America, and the Caribbean. The introduction provides a framework for the case studies which follow. In-depth accounts of patterns of pilgrimage ranging from Hindu practices to a comparison of Catholic and Baptist pilgrimage in Haiti and Trinidad, to a narration of a Maori sacred journey, provide valuable comparative information. Pilgrimage is viewed in relation to methodological issues, and an analysis is offered showing how pilgrimage and tourism are related. Victor Turner's foreword and Colin Turnbull's postscript lend authoritative weight to this increasingly significant field of study.

Dr. Alexis Brooks De Vita takes up the challenge to develop culturally relevant modes of literary analysis of African/Diaspora literatures by identifying traditional African and Diaspora figures of myth, religion, legend, and history that interact with African and Diaspora literary heroines and their authors. Following upon Karla Holloway's arguments in "Moorings and Metaphors" that African American and West African women share strong traits of storytelling that both isolate and identify their literatures, Brooks De Vita traces these traits to their religious, legendary, and historical sources, identifying African and Diaspora female figures of power whose interaction with literary protagonists places personal stories among the collective historical and spiritual African/Diaspora experience, broadening and deepening each authorial voice by demonstrating how it breaks free of the European perspective of linear time and resonates in a timeless community whose members ceaselessly interact.

African/Diaspora women's symbols of power assert their autonomous definitions of good and evil, enabled by decolonialist analysis as expounded by theorists such as Chinweizu, Jemie, and Madubuike to be separated from universalizing, Eurocentric or masculinist assessments. Symbols of inherent, rootedness and empowerment are clearly identified, allowing the reader to perceive tales of salvation and success underlying and further developing literal tales of suffering, surrender, or loss. Will be of particular interest to students, scholars, and researchers of comparative literature as well as African American literature and African/Diaspora and Women's Studies.

Practical Research is an engaging, cross-disciplinary guide to research methodology. The text is your do-it-yourself, how-to manual for planning and conducting research. Suitable for a wide variety of courses in basic research methodology, the book uses a conversational tone, step-by-step instructions, and practical suggestions to guide you from the selection of a problem to the preparation of a completed report. The 13th Edition includes the latest technology-based strategies and tools for conducting and planning research. Other key updates include a greater focus on the ethics of research, new illustrative examples from a range of disciplines, expanded discussions of action research and participatory designs, and more.

Emphasizing diagnosis, causality, and holistic treatment, this is the only book offering a full discussion of Avoidant Personality Disorder for therapists and sufferers. Avoidant Personality Disorder (AvPD) is an extremely widespread, devastating disorder that generally goes unrecognized or misrepresented by what little scientific literature there is on the topic. Therapists are left mystified about how to diagnose and treat it, and patients and other sufferers are at a loss as to what is wrong and how to go about correcting it. The Essential Guide to Overcoming Avoidant Personality Disorder is the only book available to guide both patients and those trying to help them. This thorough and much-needed volume explores the development of AvPD and presents a holistic view of its causes from the psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioral, and interpersonal perspectives. It offers an extensive section on diagnostic criteria that will be useful to sufferers and therapists, and it discusses the various therapies for AvPD. Finally, and perhaps most critically, the book provides a section intended as a guide for psychiatrists—and a self-help guide for sufferers—including a day-by-day, one-step-at-a-time, monthly guide on how to overcome AvPD.

Today, in Western countries, we are seeing both the fragmentation of the gender binary (the division of the social world into two and only two genders) and its persistence. Multiple genders, gender-neutral pronouns and bathrooms, X designations, and other manifestations of degendering are becoming common, and yet the two-gender structure of our social world persists. Underneath the persistence of the binary and its discriminatory norms and expectations lurks the continuance of men’s power and privilege. So there is the continued need to valorize the accomplishments of women, especially those of denigrated groups. This succinct and thoughtful book by one of the world’s foremost sociologists of gender shines a light on both sides of this paradox – processes in the fragmentation of gender that are undermining the binary and processes in the performance of gender that reinforce the binary, and the pros and cons of each. The conclusion of the book discusses why we haven’t had a gender revolution and how degendering would go a long way in creating gender equality.

A pioneering contribution to the field of juvenile corrections and organizational development, this volume documents the organizational change process which transformed Glen Mills Schools, America's oldest juvenile correctional institution, from a physically deteriorating, ineffective institution into one of the most successful residential programs for delinquents in the nation. Of particular interest to practitioners, policymakers, researchers and students of juvenile justice, the volume provides both a theoretical model and practical guidelines for the effective reform of juvenile facilities. Documentation of Glen Mills' success includes the most extensive recidivism study ever conducted on an American correctional institution.

"Without Locks and BarS" demonstrates that the normative culture residential treatment approach for juvenile offenders can and does work at costs below most traditional programs. The authors describe the theory, beliefs, and values which underlie the formal treatment system at the Glen Mills Schools and the process through which the psychosocial environment (normative culture) is shaped into a potent treatment tool. Especially helpful for practitioners at similar facilities is a detailed discussion of the major steps that must be taken to replicate the Glen Mills model. Based upon the observed effects of the Glen Mills experience, the authors challenge some widely held assumptions in the field. They conclude that most delinquents have far greater potential for positive behavioral change and educational achievement than is generally believed; that most, including serious and repeat offenders, can be treated in an institution where physical security is not necessary and that, if properly managed, large residential facilities may be the placement of choice for most institutionalized delinquent offenders.

This book provides a vivid examination of the issue of consumer inequality in America—one of society's most under-discussed and critical issues—through the evaluation of real-life cases, the trend of consumers suing companies for discrimination, and the application of novel frameworks to establish legitimate consumer equality. Everyone—regardless of race, gender, or other appearance-based factors—should receive equal access and equal treatment in businesses open to the public. Unfortunately, consumer equality has yet to be achieved. In fact, marketplace discrimination remains a pervasive problem in the United States, in spite of racial inroads on other fronts—employment and housing, for example. Consumer Equality: Race and the American Marketplace is the first book to elucidate how consumer discrimination remains an unresolved, pressing, and complex issue. Written by three well-established experts on consumer discrimination and business law who have presented their research and opinions to national and local media and as expert witnesses in court cases, this book examines the multilayered problem that results in citizens being suspected of committing a crime or detained by police or security personnel because of their ethno-racial background. This book could be considered required reading for representatives of large corporations, small businesses, and any organization interested in avoiding charges of marketplace discrimination as well as civil rights groups, community organizations, and organizations concerned about social justice.

How did California become the amazing state that it is today you may wonder? "More than Petticoats: Remarkable California Women" recognizes the women who shaped the Golden State. The lives of female teachers, writers, entrepreneurs, and artists from across the state are illuminated through short biographies.

Over ten years since his death, Biggie Smalls, also known as The Notorious B.I.G., is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, a credit continually given by numerous hip-hop artists. Raised in Brooklyn during the crack-cocaine boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Smalls (born Christopher Wallace) worked as a drug dealer before ultimately deciding to become a rapper. With Sean "Puffy" Combs and Bad Boy Entertainment, Biggie rocketed to fame as one of hip hop's most popular artists. But with the success came controversy: the friendship-turned-feud between Biggie and Tupac fueled the rivalry between East Coast and West Coast hip hop, a gangsta-rap battle that many believe led to the murder of both rappers. While still unsolved, the murder of Biggie in 1997 sparked numerous investigations, litigation, and the dismantling of a Los Angeles Police Department task force in what is considered the largest scandal in LAPD history. Ten years later, Biggie is celebrated as the King of East Coast hip hop. In this biography author Holly Lang recounts the life, music, and legacy of Biggie and investigates the events surrounding his murder.

This book offers a look at how the lives of women changed in the era when the United States emerged. Spanning the broad spectrum of Colonial-era life, Women's Roles in Eighteenth-Century America is a revealing exploration of how 18-century American women of various races, classes, and religions were affected by conditions of the times—war, slavery, religious awakenings, political change, perceptions about gender—as well as how they influenced the world around them. Women's Roles in Eighteenth-Century America covers the area of North America that became the United States and follows the transformation of the British colonies into a new nation. The book is organized thematically to examine marriage and the family, the law, work, travel, war, religion, and education and the arts. Each chapter combines current research and primary sources to offer authoritative portraits of real lives of the everyday women during this pivotal early era in our history.

“Ferranti continues to amaze us with the most infamous OGs and their unfathomable street life.�—The Source “Seth Ferranti is one of the most prolific true-crime writers of our era. He knows the street game inside and out. From the streets to the penitentiary, nobody rates better.�—“White Boy Rick� Wershe From the penitentiary to the streets, it’s on and popping. Thug life is more than spitting rhymes or hustling on the corner. Thugs live and die on the streets or end up in the “belly of the beast.� Rappers name-drop guns by model number and call out drug dealers by name. Gangsta rap is crack-era nostalgia taken to the extreme. It’s a world where rappers emulate their favorite hood stars in videos, celebrate their names in verse, and make ghetto heroes out of gangsters. But what happens when hip-hop and organized crime collide? From the blocks in Queens where Supreme and Murder Inc. held court to the neighborhoods of Los Angeles where Harry-O and Death Row made their names to Rap-A-Lot Records and J Prince in Houston, whenever rap moguls rose the street legends weren’t far behind. From Bad Boy Records and Anthony “Wolf� Jones in New York to Gucci Mane and the Black Mafia Family in Atlanta to Too Short and Daryl Reed in the Bay Area, thug life wasn’t glamorous. The shit on the street was real. In the game there was a common struggle to get out of the gutter. Cats were trying to get their piece of the American Dream by any means necessary. Drug game equals rap game equals hip-hop hustler. In Thug Life, Seth Ferranti takes you on a journey to a world where gangsterism mixes with hip-hop, a journey of pimps, stick-up kids, numbers men, drug dealers, thugs, players, gangstas, hustlers, and of course the rappers who live dual lives in entertainment and crime. The common denominator? Money, power, and respect.

How the fear of malpractice affects mothers and reproductive choices Giving birth is a monumental event, not only in the personal life of the woman giving birth, but as a medical process and procedure. In The Business of Birth, Louise Marie Roth explores the process of giving birth, and the ways in which medicine and law interact to shape maternity care. Focusing on the United States, Roth explores how the law creates an environment where medical providers, malpractice attorneys, and others limit women’s rights and choices during birth. She shows how a fear of liability risk often drives the decision-making process of medical providers, who prioritize hospital efficiency over patient safety, to the detriment of mothers themselves. Ultimately, Roth advocates for an approach that protects the reproductive rights of mothers. A comprehensive overview, The Business of Birth provides valuable insight into the impact of the law on mothers, medical providers, maternity care practices, and others in the United States.

Jazz and Death: Reception, Rituals, and Representations critically examines the myriad and complex interactions between jazz and death, from the New Orleans "jazz funeral" to jazz in heaven or hell, final recordings, jazz monuments, and the music’s own presumed death. It looks at how fans, critics, journalists, historians, writers, the media, and musicians have narrated, mythologized, and relayed those stories. What causes the fascination of the jazz world with its deaths? What does it say about how our culture views jazz and its practitioners? Is jazz somehow a fatal culture? The narratives surrounding jazz and death cast a light on how the music and its creators are perceived. Stories of jazz musicians typically bring up different tropes, ranging from the tragic, misunderstood genius to the notion that virtuosity somehow comes at a price. Many of these narratives tend to perpetuate the gendered and racialized stereotypes that have been part of jazz’s history. In the end, the ideas that encompass jazz and death help audiences find meaning in a complex musical practice and come to grips with the passing of their revered musical heroes -- and possibly with their own mortality.

What is the right pedagogical distance for learning to take place? What should be the teacher's role concerning a student's desire? Ethically speaking, how are we to understand the dialectic between desire and the drive? Are we obligated to help students mourn the knowledge that they must let go? Can ignorance (which sounds pejorative) be pedagogically useful as that which is unsaid and repressed? When the pedagogical distance collapses and seduction takes place, can such behavior be excused? These are just some of the questions that are raised throughout this collection by the authors. Lacanian psychoanalysis presents a challenge to our usual understanding of the subject as formulated by ego psychology, as well as the discursive subject of postmodernism. Can Lacan's tripartite psychic registers of the Real, Imaginary, and the Symbolic present the subject in unending intrapsychic conflict? Can pedagogy address this struggle? How do we, as educators, take the notion of the unconscious seriously into account? The authors of this collection engage themselves in such questioning, in some cases examining their own practices and in other cases developing possible strategies with a view of understanding the psychic life of teaching.

Contains 66 short plays organized across curriculum areas, for students in grades 5-10. Scripts relate to NCTE, NCTSS, and NSF standards and the Big6 approach to information problem-solving. Increase your students' interest in good books with minimal effort and a minimal amount of preparation!