Compelling Confessions: The Politics of Personal Disclosure is a collection of essays whose shared purpose is to offer an accessible interdisciplinary exploration of the social dynamics behind confessional discourse. As various contributors to this collection demonstrate, confession is ubiquitous in contemporary culture, not only within psychological or therapeutic frameworks or literary analysis, but also in internet discussion groups, in the criminal justice system, in political rhetoric, in so-called "reality" and interview-style television programming, in writing pedagogy and, increasingly, in the testimonial strain observable in contemporary scholarship. Yet, "telling one's story" raises questions, not only about authorial intent or authenticity, but also about the pressures disclosure can impose upon its audiences. Far less ubiquitous than confessions themselves, as these contributors suggest, are the critical tools that general audiences might employ in order to better evaluate the rhetoric of personal disclosure. It is, in fact, the shortage of such tools - responses and procedures that could be stated plainly and implemented by any reader or viewer - that Compelling Confessions sets out to address.

Mathematical manipulative materials (manipulatives) invite students to explore and represent abstract mathematical concepts in varied, concrete, tactile, and visually rich ways. Considering the prominence of the use of mathematical manipulatives in current K-12 curricula, pedagogical resources and professional development, research studies show that few secondary school teachers use them. While these studies do not examine this issue from the teachers' perspective, they posit that some teachers lack the mathematical knowledge connected to manipulatives, are uncomfortable with or uncertain how to use them, or do not believe that manipulatives have value in the teaching of secondary school mathematics. This study supports the notion that the use of manipulatives in secondary school mathematics classrooms is influenced by teachers' views and experience with manipulatives. It highlights some of the challenges that teachers face, and supports from which they gain confidence and competence in their efforts to integrate the use of mathematical manipulatives into their teaching practice.