Written by a star cast of contributors, this introductory undergraduate text provides students with a rich, stimulating and authoritative account of key debates and issues in sociology today. Carefully structured and edited to take account of the undergraduate student reader's needs, the essays explore sociological understandings of a range of core topics and critically examines what key issues have emerged for debate from past and current research.

Historians and archaeologists define primary states-"cradles of civilization" from which all modern nation states ultimately derive-as significant territorially-based, autonomous societies in which a centralized government employs legitimate authority to exercise sovereignty. The well-recognized list of regions that witnessed the development of primary states is short: Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, China, Mesoamerica, and Andean South America. Drawing on archaeological and ethnohistorical sources, Robert J. Hommon demonstrates that Polynesia, with primary states in both Hawaii and Tonga, should be added to this list. The Ancient Hawaiian State is a study of the ancient Hawaiians' transformation of their Polynesian chiefdoms into primary state societies, independent of any pre-existing states. The emergence of primary states is one of the most revolutionary transformations in human history, and Hawaii's metamorphosis was so profound that in some ways the contact-era Hawaiian states bear a closer resemblance to our world than to that of their closely-related East Polynesian contemporaries, 4,000 kilometers to the south. In contrast to the other six regions, in which states emerged in the distant, pre-literate past, the transformation of Hawaiian states are documented in an extensive body of oral traditions preserved in written form, a rich literature of early post-contact eyewitness accounts of participants and Western visitors, as well as an extensive archaeological record. Part One of this book describes three competing Hawaiian states, based on the islands of Hawai`i, Maui, and O`ahu, that existed at the time of first contact with the non-Polynesian world (1778-79). Part Two presents a detailed definition of state society and how contact-era Hawaii satisfies this definition, and concludes with three comparative chapters summarizing the Tongan state and chiefdoms in the Society Islands and Marquesas Archipelagos of East Polynesia. Part Three provides a model of the Hawaii State Transformation across a thousand years of history. The results of this significant study further the analysis of political development throughout Polynesia while profoundly redefining the history and research of primary state formation.

Understand: Dare: Thrive, how to have your best career from today is essential reading for all women, and all champions of equity, diversity and inclusion. Every insight and answer that matters is here, in one place. In this ground-breaking book, leading authority Diana Parkes - business guru, psychologist and social entrepreneur - cuts through the complexity of workplace dynamics and human psychology to share what really works. She provides everything you need to know to thrive throughout your career, at the pace you choose, with the recognition and rewards you deserve. Comprehensive, proven strategies for success Real stories - in the words of women who've cracked it! Practical examples of how to handle everyday challenges 24 powerful self-assessment and planning tools Incisive coaching questions in every chapter

Flannery O'Connor is considered one of America's greatest fiction writers. The immensely talented Robert Giroux, editor-in-chief of Harcourt, Brace & Company and later of Farrar, Straus; Giroux, was her devoted friend and admirer. He edited her three books published during her lifetime, plus Everything that Rises Must Converge, which she completed just before she died in 1964 at the age of thirty-nine, the posthumous The Complete Stories of Flannery O'Connor, and the subsequent award-winning collection of her letters titled The Habit of Being. When poet Robert Lowell first introduced O'Connor to Giroux in March 1949, she could not have imagined the impact that meeting would have on her life or on the landscape of postwar American literature. Flannery O'Connor and Robert Giroux: A Publishing Partnership sheds new light on an area of Flannery O'Connor's life-her relationship with her editors-that has not been well documented or narrated by critics and biographers. Impressively researched and rich in biographical details, this book chronicles Giroux's and O'Connor's personal and professional relationship, not omitting their circle of friends and fellow writers, including Robert Lowell, Caroline Gordon, Sally and Robert Fitzgerald, Allen Tate, Thomas Merton, and Robert Penn Warren. As Patrick Samway explains, Giroux guided O'Connor to become an internationally acclaimed writer of fiction and nonfiction, especially during the years when she suffered from lupus at her home in Milledgeville, Georgia, a disease that eventually proved fatal. Excerpts from their correspondence, some of which are published here for the first time, reveal how much of Giroux's work as editor was accomplished through his letters to Milledgeville. They are gracious, discerning, and appreciative, just when they needed to be. In Father Samway's portrait of O'Connor as an extraordinarily dedicated writer and businesswoman, she emerges as savvy, pragmatic, focused, and determined. This engrossing account of O'Connor's publishing history will interest, in addition to O'Connor's fans, all readers and students of American literature.

Charities in Britain contribute over GBP40 billion to the economy. More than a million people serve as trustees in a wide range of not-for-profit organisations. Yet there are almost no books to help them perform this important task. In this book, the author brings a fresh perspective to the role of trustee. He provides a range of practical advice to help and guide you to become a successful and confident trustee, including tips on developing strategy, handling governance issues, forming good communications and ensuring you are informed about what is happening within the charity. There are chapters on finance and on handling fraud. Written in a jargon-free style, it should become the go-to book for those who want to put their skills to use serving as a trustee in a not-for-profit organisation.

Everyone in the neighborhood was getting ready for the party.
Everyone knew somebody on the guest list. . . .
This was the day the dead returned.

There's a party tonight, but Cala doesn't want to go. While her family prepares for the celebration, Cala grieves her grandfather and tries to pretend she's not afraid.

But when she is separated from her family at the cemetery, Cala encounters four mysterious riders who will show her she is actually quite brave after all.

Brimming with magic and humor, The Invisible Parade is the first picture-book collaboration between award-winner John Picacio and New York Times bestselling Leigh Bardugo. Set on the night of Día de Muertos, Cala's story is one of love, loss, and the courage that can be found in unexpected places.

In the mountains of northern New Mexico above Taos Pueblo lies a deep, turquoise lake which was taken away from the Taos Indians, for whom it is a sacred life source and the final resting place of their souls. The story of their struggle to regain the lake is at the same time a story about the effort to retain the spiritual life of this ancient community. Marcia Keegan's text and historic photographs document the celebration in 1971, when the sacred lake was returned to Taos Pueblo after a sixty year struggle with the Federal government.

This revised and expanded edition celebrates the 40th anniversary of this historic event, and includes forwards from the 1971 edition by Frank Waters, and from the 1991 20th anniversary edition by Stewart L. Udall. Also contained here is new material: statements from past and current tribal leaders, reflections from Pueblo members, historic tribal statements made at the 1970 Congressional hearings and a 1971 photograph o

Music Downtown Eastside draws on two decades of research in one of North America's poorest urban areas to illustrate how human rights can be promoted through music. Harrison's examination of how gentrification, grant funding, and community organizations affect the success or failure of human rights-focused musical initiatives offers insights into the complex relationship between culture, poverty, and human rights that have global implications and applicability. The book takes the reader into popular music jams and music therapy sessions offered to the poor in churches, community centers and health organizations. Harrison analyzes the capabilities music-making develops, and musical moments where human rights are respected, promoted, threatened, or violated. The book offers insights on the relationship between music and poverty, a social deprivation that diminishes capabilities and rights. It contributes to the human rights literature by examining critically how human rights can be strengthened in cultural practices and policy.

This exciting new book is both practical and theoretical. It is a pioneering work of integrated praxis, situating theory within a participatory worldview and grounding practice in the important issues of our times - social justice and sustainability. Ledwith and Springett's ideas are founded on two premises. Firstly, transformative practice begins in the stories of people's everyday lives, and practical theory generated from these narratives is the best way to inform both policy and practice. This innovative approach bridges the divide between ideas and practice, and allows the development of the knowledge needed to bring about transformative social change. Secondly, participatory approaches to practice allow practitioners not only to critically examine the world, but also to reflect on the way in which they view the world in order to situate their local practice more relevantly within bigger social issues. Participatory practice is structured in an unfolding and engaging way. It is divided into two major sections: the first, 'A Participatory Paradigm', considers theory in relation to current times, and the second, 'Participatory Practice', develops skills related to this thinking. The book will be of interest to both academics and community-based practitioners.

In Successful Women Think Differently, Valorie Burton helps women create new thought processes that empower them to succeed in their relationships, finances, work, health, and spiritual life. In this powerful and practical guide, women will gain insight into who they really are and receive the tools, knowledge, and understanding to succeed.

You Are Capable of Far More Than You Know

The most successful women make decisions differently, set goals differently, and bounce back from adversity differently. The difference is not so much about the steps they take, but how they think in the face of obstacles and opportunities on the path to success. The truth is, scientific studies are proving what the ancient wisdom of Scripture has shown all along: You are what you think.

Award-winning author and life coach Valorie Burton teaches research-based, spiritually grounded habits that help you:

• Identify and enhance your thinking style and mindset
• Unlock the resilience-boosting power of positive emotion
• Replace overwhelm and regret with clarity and contentment
• Become more decisive and confident
• Bounce back from setbacks faster and stronger than ever

With over 100 self-coaching questions, this book helps you lay the foundation for authentic success – a life of true purpose, resilience and joy.

The gripping, behind-the scenes story of one of the most sophisticated surveillance weapons ever created, which is threatening democracy and human rights.

Pegasus is widely regarded as the most powerful cyber-surveillance system on the market – available to any government that can afford its multimillion-dollar price tag. The system’s creator, the NSO group, a private corporation headquartered in Israel, boasts about its ability to thwart terrorists and criminals: ‘Thousands of people in Europe owe their lives to hundreds of our company employees’, they declared in 2019. That may be true – but the Pegasus system doesn’t just catch bad guys.

Pegasus has been used by repressive regimes to spy on thousands of innocent people around the world: heads of state, diplomats, human rights defenders, lawyers, political opponents, and journalists. Virtually undetectable, the system can track a person’s daily movement in real time, gain control of the device’s microphones and cameras at will, and capture all videos, photos, emails, texts, and passwords – encrypted or not. Its full reach is not even known.

This is the gripping story of how Pegasus was uncovered, written by Laurent Richard and Sandrine Rigaud, the two intrepid reporters who revealed the scandal in collaboration with an international consortium of journalists. They received a leaked list of 50,000 mobile phone numbers, but they needed to prove NSO’s involvement. After a dangerous and secretive investigation spanning the globe, their findings shook the world. Tense and compelling, Pegasus reveals how thousands of lives have been turned upside down by this unprecedented threat, and exposes the chilling new ways governments and corporations are laying waste to human rights – and silencing innocent citizens.

The Sacred is the Profane collects nine essays written over several years by William Arnal and Russell McCutcheon, specialists in two very different areas of the field (one, a scholar of Christian origins and the other working on the history of the modern study of religion). They share a convergent perspective: not simply that both the category and concept "religion" is a construct, something that we cannot assume to be "natural" or universal, but also that the ability to think and act "religiously" is, quite specifically, a modern, political category in its origins and effects, the mere by-product of modern secularism. These collected essays, substantially rewritten for this volume, advance current scholarly debates on secularism-debates which, the authors argue, insufficiently theorize the sacred/secular, church/state, and private/public binaries by presupposing religion (often under the guise of such terms as "religiosity," "faith," or "spirituality") to historically precede the nation-state. The essays return, again and again, to the question of what "religion"-word and concept-accomplishes, now, for those who employ it, whether at the popular, political, or scholarly level. The focus here for two writers from seemingly different fields is on the efficacy, costs, and the tactical work carried out by dividing the world between religious and political, church and state, sacred and profane. As the essays make clear, this is no simple matter. Part of the reason for the incoherence and at the same time the stubborn persistence of both the word and idea of "religion" is precisely its multi-faceted nature, its plurality, its amenability to multiple and often self-contradictory uses. Offering an argument that builds as they are read, these papers explore these uses, including the work done by positing a human orientation to "religion," the political investment in both the idea of religion and the academic study of religion, and the ways in which the field of religious studies works to shape, and stumbles against, its animating conception.

At a time when democracies seem paralyzed by fear and populations are turning inward, award-winning journalist John Kampfner travels to ten countries confronting our shared challenges with bravery and imagination.

- Taiwan's health system achieves 90% patient satisfaction at a fraction of the cost of the British NHS.
- Moroccan solar panels in the Sahara produce enough clean energy to power two million homes.
- Estonia has transformed itself into a digital pioneer in a single generation - becoming the world's first fully digital government where 97.6% of citizens access state services online.
- Costa Rica has tripled its economy while doubling its forest cover, proving that green policies can pay direct dividends.

What unites these countries, and more, is a refusal to accept that difficult problems are unsolvable. The places showing true innovation are often those with their backs against the wall - not wealthy nations assuming they have all the answers.

Braver New World is an urgent reminder that solutions exist. The question is whether we have the courage to learn.

This collection of new essays examines philosophical issues at the intersection of feminism and autonomy studies. Are autonomy and independence useful goals for women and subordinate persons? Is autonomy possible in contexts of social subordination? Is the pursuit of desires that issue from patriarchal norms consistent with autonomous agency? How do emotions and caring relate to autonomous deliberation? Contributors to this collection answer these questions and others, advancing central debates in autonomy theory by examining basic components, normative commitments, and applications of conceptions of autonomy. Several chapters look at the conditions necessary for autonomous agency and at the role that values and norms - such as independence, equality, inclusivity, self-respect, care and femininity - play in feminist theories of autonomy. Whereas some contributing authors focus on dimensions of autonomy that are internal to the mind - such as deliberative reflection, desires, cares, emotions, self-identities and feelings of self-worth - several authors address social conditions and practices that support or stifle autonomous agency, often answering questions of practical import. These include such questions as: What type of gender socialization best supports autonomous agency and feminist goals? When does adapting to severely oppressive circumstances, such as those in human trafficking, turn into a loss of autonomy? How are ideals of autonomy affected by capitalism? and How do conceptions of autonomy inform issues in bioethics, such as end-of-life decisions, or rights to bodily self-determination?

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This timely Advanced Introduction explores the links between housing and households, including the complex process of how people sort themselves into houses and neighborhoods. It covers the choices that households make, why these choices are made, and the constraints faced in achieving housing aspirations, with a particular focus on the contemporary difficulties facing young adults and those unable to buy a house despite a reasonable income. Key features include: using the concept of the life course to analyse residential decisions and choices discussing tenure choice, affordability and social housing, as well as how neighborhoods matter in urban studies reviewing what is known about how the housing market operates, and how families and individuals engage with the process of becoming homeowners providing new information on the urban housing environment in a time of rising inequality, low income growth and extensive regulation in the housing market. Advanced students and professionals of geography, planning, demography and economics will find this an invigorating read on how housing markets operate and the role of individual decisions about homeownership and residential space.