The scene is a cobblestone road on the outskirts of Ancient Rome, at about the time of Caesar. An impeccably uniformed young Centurion drives a chariot erratically at full speed for a hundred meters or so, then, he stops, gets out and kicks the bloody body tied to the chariot. He again mounts the chariot, and whips the horses to a sudden start hoping to break the neck of the victim and bring this cruel ordeal to an end. Finally, the body fails to respond to the kicks.

Standing beside the once handsome body of a powerful athlete, but unseen to his executioner, is the indwelling spirit of Antonius giving thanks to the gods that his ordeal is finally over. He takes one last look at what had been his body, sadly turns his back on the world of flesh with all its pain and blends with the light of the unfamiliar realm of the gods.

For the past half-hour, Anne Armstrong, a petite young woman (my wife, Anne Armstrong), affectionately known to her friends and husband as Eddie, had lain upon a couch in the suburbs of Sacramento, California nearly 2,000 years later, reliving every excruciating moment of the torture.

Part II
"If I, Kundalini, appear reluctant, when you begin to re-direct me to the higher centers, it is because I wish to experience the most powerful expression of which I am capable. So I ask, how am I to be used? If I am to move up the spine, will I be given the proper encouragement and dedication that is necessary for me, Kundalini, to achieve my purpose? If this is not a serious intent there will be reluctance on my part to even listen. For I want to express myself in the most powerful way. At a personality level I really have no preference as to how I express myself-at the sexual level or as illumination. I am energy and I want my potency to be used in its entirely.

Children with life-threatening and terminal illnesses- and their families- require a unique kind of care to meet a wide variety of needs. This book, now in its third edition, provides an authoritative source for the many people involved in the care of dying children. Written by leading authorities in pediatrics and palliative medicine, this comprehensive resource emphasizes practical topics and covers the entire range of issues related to the hospice care from psychological stress to pain and symptom management. The text has been fully updated and includes an international perspective chapter and a chapter written cy Children's Hospice International with detailed all-inclusive care plans.

Understanding the Social Economy of the United States is a comprehensive introduction to the operation and study of organizations with social goals - public sector nonprofits, civil society organizations, social enterprises, cooperatives and other organizations with a social mission - under the rubric of the social economy. This text is rich in examples and case studies that explain the social economy framework in the context of the United States. The book not only highlights the differences between these organizations and traditional businesses, but also provides applied chapters on organizational development, strategic management and leadership, human resources, finance, and social accounting and accountability in social economy organizations. The perfect introduction to the social economy framework for students of nonprofit management, business, social entrepreneurship, and public policy, Understanding the Social Economy of the United States an invaluable resource for the classroom and for practitioners working in the social economy sector.

When, in May 1835, the orphaned Will Smythe is sent from the Poor House to live and work at Stower Farm, it looks as if there could be a rosy future ahead of him. Elderly Farmer and Missus Stower are childless; and local folk speculate that Will may inherit the farm, one day. These imagined future prospects encourage the impoverished Wyles family to plan for the improvement of their own situation through the marriage of Will to Betsy Wyles, the youngest of Widow Wyles' daughters. All seems to go according to plan, until - as the farmer predicts - the inevitable disappointments and trials of life spoil the picture, in the same way that thistles, and other weeds, spoil a field of corn. This is the story of Will and Betsy's struggle against the thistles in the corn. They discover that there is no escape from Fate: what the farmer calls "the nature of things". Can it really be possible that an impoverished orphan boy and the daughter of a harlot will achieve the status of being Farmer and Mrs Smythe of Stower Farm?

Sarcastic by nature, Lily Aster's morning just went from bad to worse. A dead body has been discovered-by employee, Joey Emerson-in her family's flower shop's greenhouse. Greeting Lily as she tries to get inside, is Detective Anthony Falcetti, the guy in charge . . . now. Lily instantly falls into extreme dislike for the man and the feelings are quite mutual. Her sister Angelica simply wants to get inside, clean up the place and get on with their work day. Not today Owen and Iris Aster own Aster's Offerings and have spent more than thirty-five years building it up to the tremendous success it is. Problem? Dead bodies tend to bring business to a screeching halt. Add to that a daughter who is hell-bent on finding out who is responsible while trying to outdo and out-sleuth a seasoned detective, and finding herself oddly attracted to him. Something she is not very proud of. Lily finds herself knee-deep in an investigation Detective Falcetti is trying his best to keep her as far away from as is humanly possible. Personalities clash, clues are uncovered, feelings are hurt, emotions are set on high and lust is in the air. With a quick wit and sharpened tongue, Lily Aster brings readers into her world and gives them something to laugh at while enjoying a great, old-fashioned who-dun-it

The scene is a cobblestone road on the outskirts of Ancient Rome, at about the time of Caesar. An impeccably uniformed young Centurion drives a chariot erratically at full speed for a hundred meters or so, then, he stops, gets out and kicks the bloody body tied to the chariot. He again mounts the chariot, and whips the horses to a sudden start hoping to break the neck of the victim and bring this cruel ordeal to an end. Finally, the body fails to respond to the kicks.

Standing beside the once handsome body of a powerful athlete, but unseen to his executioner, is the indwelling spirit of Antonius giving thanks to the gods that his ordeal is finally over. He takes one last look at what had been his body, sadly turns his back on the world of flesh with all its pain and blends with the light of the unfamiliar realm of the gods.

For the past half-hour, Anne Armstrong, a petite young woman (my wife, Anne Armstrong), affectionately known to her friends and husband as Eddie, had lain upon a couch in the suburbs of Sacramento, California nearly 2,000 years later, reliving every excruciating moment of the torture.

Part II
"If I, Kundalini, appear reluctant, when you begin to re-direct me to the higher centers, it is because I wish to experience the most powerful expression of which I am capable. So I ask, how am I to be used? If I am to move up the spine, will I be given the proper encouragement and dedication that is necessary for me, Kundalini, to achieve my purpose? If this is not a serious intent there will be reluctance on my part to even listen. For I want to express myself in the most powerful way. At a personality level I really have no preference as to how I express myself-at the sexual level or as illumination. I am energy and I want my potency to be used in its entirely.

In Understanding the Social Economy, Jack Quarter, Laurie Mook, and Ann Armstrong integrate a wide array of organizations founded upon a social mission - social enterprises, nonprofits, co-operatives, credit unions, and community development associations - under the rubric of the 'social economy.' This framework facilitates a comprehensive study of Canada's social sector, an area often neglected in the business curricula despite the important role that these organizations play in Canada's economy.

Invaluable for business programs that address issues such as community economic development, co-operatives, and nonprofit studies and management, Understanding the Social Economy presents a unique set of case studies as well as chapters on organizational design and governance, social finance and social accounting, and accountability. The examples provide much needed context for students and allow for an original and in-depth examination of the relationships between Canada's social infrastructure and the public and private sectors. With this work, Quarter, Mook, and Armstrong illuminate a neglected facet of business studies to further our understanding of the Canadian economy.

Suitable for courses addressing community economic development, non-profit organizations, co-operatives and the social economy more broadly, the second edition of Understanding the Social Economy expands on the authors' ground-breaking examination of organizations founded on a social mission - social enterprises, non-profits, co-operatives, credit unions, and community development organizations. While the role of the private and public sectors are very much in the public light, the social economy is often taken for granted. However, try to imagine a society without the many forms of organizations that form the social economy: social service organizations, arts and recreation organizations, ethno-cultural associations, social clubs, self-help groups, universities and colleges, hospitals and other healthcare providers, foundations, housing co-operatives, or credit unions. Not only do these organizations provide valuable services, but they employ many people, and purchase goods and services. They are both social and economic entities. Understanding the Social Economy illustrates how organizations in the social economy interact with the other sectors of the economy and highlights the important social infrastructure that these organizations create. The second edition contains six new case studies as well three new chapters addressing leadership and strategic management, and human resources management. A much-needed work on an important but neglected facet of organizational studies, Understanding the Social Economy continues to be an invaluable resource for the classroom and for participants working in the social sector.

The purpose of Communicating in the Anthropocene: Intimate Relations is to tell a different story about the world. Humans, especially those raised in Western traditions, have long told stories about themselves as individual protagonists who act with varying degrees of free will against a background of mute supporting characters and inert landscapes. Humans can be either saviors or destroyers, but our actions are explained and judged again and again as emanating from the individual. And yet, as the coronavirus pandemic has made clear, humans are unavoidably interconnected not only with other humans, but with nonhuman and more-than-human others with whom we share space and time. Why do so many of us humans avoid, deny, or resist a view of the world where our lives are made possible, maybe even made richer, through connection? In this volume, we suggest a view of communication as intimacy. We use this concept as a provocation for thinking about how we humans are in an always-already state of being-in-relation with other humans, nonhumans, and the land.

The purpose of Communicating in the Anthropocene: Intimate Relations is to tell a different story about the world. Humans, especially those raised in Western traditions, have long told stories about themselves as individual protagonists who act with varying degrees of free will against a background of mute supporting characters and inert landscapes. Humans can be either saviors or destroyers, but our actions are explained and judged again and again as emanating from the individual. And yet, as the coronavirus pandemic has made clear, humans are unavoidably interconnected not only with other humans, but with nonhuman and more-than-human others with whom we share space and time. Why do so many of us humans avoid, deny, or resist a view of the world where our lives are made possible, maybe even made richer, through connection? In this volume, we suggest a view of communication as intimacy. We use this concept as a provocation for thinking about how we humans are in an always-already state of being-in-relation with other humans, nonhumans, and the land.

Education reform and policy making have captured the attention of the American public. In a highly politicized agenda, federal and state improvement plans have become touted national education platforms with stiff penalties for schools and teachers who don't 'make the grade'. A system of controls is in place that has revolutionized how we organize, present, and evaluate education. Test-driven curriculum reflects new standards of what will be taught and assessed at each grade level. Through all of this, classroom teachers have been identified as the reason for our failing schools and the focus for improved school performance. Between 1998 and 2006, Penny Ann Armstrong interviewed over 300 classroom teachers and administrators in Minnesota, New Hampshire, and Texas about the effects of the national reform initiatives in their schools. This book tells their stories. Their narratives are candid, often impassioned, and many times troubling. They describe what is really happening as they work to accommodate federal reform policy. These teachers describe reform efforts that may be well-intentioned but have resulted in serious and far-reaching consequences. They feel they have been robbed of their professional authority in their classrooms and they feel many of the changes they are required to assimilate are limiting their opportunities to teach and compromising learning for students. This book brings the reader into the classroom to see from the teachers' perspective what is really happening in our schools today and why the current reform efforts cannot succeed.

In Understanding the Social Economy, Jack Quarter, Laurie Mook, and Ann Armstrong integrate a wide array of organizations founded upon a social mission - social enterprises, nonprofits, co-operatives, credit unions, and community development associations - under the rubric of the 'social economy.' This framework facilitates a comprehensive study of Canada's social sector, an area often neglected in the business curricula despite the important role that these organizations play in Canada's economy. Invaluable for business programs that address issues such as community economic development, co-operatives, and nonprofit studies and management, Understanding the Social Economy presents a unique set of case studies as well as chapters on organizational design and governance, social finance and social accounting, and accountability. The examples provide much needed context for students and allow for an original and in-depth examination of the relationships between Canada's social infrastructure and the public and private sectors. With this work, Quarter, Mook, and Armstrong illuminate a neglected facet of business studies to further our understanding of the Canadian economy.