This book explores the implication of diversity for humanism. Through the insights of academics and activists, it highlights both the successes and failures related to diversity marking humanism in the US and internationally. It offers a timely depiction of how humanism in general as well as how particular humanist communities have wrestled with the nature of our changing world, and the issues that surface in relationship to markers of difference.

"Covalent Counsel: In Pursuit Of The Ultimate Intimate Spiritual Experience" is a bold and provocative spiritual direction for personal transformation that focuses solely on the accomplished work and prevailing power of Christ. The author/psychologist offers a clear and ever-present spiritual paradigm for counseling regarding intimacy with God and others. His four stages of covalence are groundbreaking for those who seek Christ and yearn for a deeper knowledge and experience of him. His biblically based presentation of spiritual healing and forgiveness in Christ shatter old notions on how to mend relationships. Knowing the power of "Christ in you" will cause your heart to leap for joy. The author stands on the biblically based belief that all love, power, faith, and hope are found in God through Christ. His "five life and death questions" elevate us to a higher level of spiritual thinking regarding the notion of death and life after death. Passionate about Christ as the center of relationships, the author offers greater hope for living in a dark and perverted world.

View the Table of Contentsbr>Read the Introduction.

"Both a scholarly book and a pleasurable read."
--"QBR"

"In moving beyond the common misconception that rap is simply a secular expression, this volume offers a refreshing discussion about the tensions that exist between the sacred and profane. It foregrounds the spiritual and religious dimensions of rap music and the genre's interpolation and critique of Buddhist, Islamic, Christian, Rastafarian, and Humanist thought in an unprecedented way."--Cheryl L. Keyes, author of "Rap Music and Street Consciousness"

"Cutting through the din of confusion and controversy surrounding hip-hop, "Noise and Spirit" illuminates the spiritual struggles a the root of the music and the culture. The essays collected here brim with the energy of discovery and engagement, and leave no doubt that Tupac, KRS-One, and Queen Latifah are carrying on the tradition of Al Green, Mahalia Jackson, and the 'black unknown bards' who forged a redemptive vision in the fires of a furnace that continues to burn."--Craig Werner, author of "Higher Ground: Aretha, Stevie, Curtis and America's Quest for Redemption"

""Noise and Spirit" is a thought provoking collection of empirical works that ultimately offer even the most reluctant of scholars a great vantage point from which to build on a continuing examination into, and further discussion of, the fragile and often contentious alliance between rap and religion. This is clearly a definitive work worth reading." --"The Sociology of Religion"

Rap music is often seen as a Black secular response to pressing issues of our time. Yet, like spirituals, the blues, and gospel music, rap has deep connections toAfrican American religious traditions.

Noise and Spirit explores the diverse religious dimensions of rap stemming from Islam (including the Nation of Islam and Five Percent Nation), Rastafarianism, and Humanism, as well as Christianity. The volume examines rap's dialogue with religious traditions, from the ways in which Islamic rap music is used as a method of religious and political instruction to the uses of both the blues and Black women's rap for considering the distinction between God and the Devil.

The first section explores rap's association with more easily recognizable religious traditions and communities such as Christianity and Islam. The next presents discussions of rap and important spiritual considerations, including on the topic of death. The final unit wrestles with ways to theologize about the relationship between the sacred and the profane in rap.

Most who think about African American religion limit themselves to black churches, or perhaps to aspects of Islamic thought and practice. But a close look at the religious landscape of African American communities presents a much more complex, thick, and layered religious reality comprising many competing faiths and practices. The African American Religious Experience in America provides readers with an introduction to the tremendous religious diversity of African American communities in the United States, with "snapshots" of 11 religious traditions practiced by African Americans--from Buddhism to Catholicism, from Judaism to Voodoo. Each snapshot provides readers a better understanding of how African Americans practice their faiths in the United States. The African American Religious Experience in America provides resources for students taking classes on the history of American religion, African American Studies, and on American Studies. In addition to the in-depth discussion of the "varieties of African American Religion," the volume includes a historical introduction to the development of African American Religion, a glossary of terms, a timeline of important events, a series of short biographies of important figures in the history of African American religion and a bibliography of sources for further study. Finally, the book includes a series of primary source documents that will provide students with first-person accounts of how religion is practiced in the African American community both today and in the past.

Who are the "Nones"? What does humanism say about race, religion and popular culture? How do race, religion and popular culture inform and affect humanism? The demographics of the United States are changing, marked most profoundly by the religiously unaffiliated, or what we have to come to call the "Nones". Spread across generations in the United States, this group encompasses a wide range of philosophical and ideological perspectives, from some in line with various forms of theism to those who are atheistic, and all sorts of combinations in between. Similar changes to demographics are taking place in Europe and elsewhere. Humanism: Essays on Race, Religion and Popular Culture provides a much-needed humanities-based analysis and description of humanism in relation to these cultural markers. Whereas most existing analysis attempts to explain humanism through the natural and social sciences (the "what" of life), Anthony B. Pinn explores humanism in relation to "how" life is arranged, socialized, ritualized, and framed. This ground-breaking publication brings together old and new essays on a wide range of topics and themes, from the African-American experience, to the development of humanist churches, and the lyrics of Jay Z.

Jonah Flood (an All-American basketball player) and DeMina Jacobs (his best friend) have survived thier mothers murders. Now that they are seniors in college DeMina wants to revisit their old neighborhood and their old homes. The mistake they both make is good inside the houses that they grew up in. They should learn to "Keep Closed Doors Shut"

Epidemiologic Studies in Cancer Prevention and Screening is the first comprehensive overview of the evidence base for both cancer prevention and screening. This book is directed to the many professionals in government, academia, public health and health care who need up to date information on the potential for reducing the impact of cancer, including physicians, nurses, epidemiologists, and research scientists. The main aim of the book is to provide a realistic appraisal of the evidence for both cancer prevention and cancer screening. In addition, the book provides an accounting of the extent programs based on available knowledge have impacted populations. It does this through: 1. Presentation of a rigorous and realistic evaluation of the evidence for population-based interventions in prevention of and screening for cancer, with particular relevance to those believed to be applicable now, or on the cusp of application 2. Evaluation of the relative contributions of prevention and screening 3. Discussion of how, within the health systems with which the authors are familiar, prevention and screening for cancer can be enhanced. Overview of the evidence base for cancer prevention and screening, as demonstrated in Epidemiologic Studies in Cancer Prevention and Screening, is critically important given current debates within the scientific community. Of the five components of cancer control, prevention, early detection (including screening) treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care, prevention is regarded as the most important. Yet the knowledge available to prevent many cancers is incomplete, and even if we know the main causal factors for a cancer, we often lack the understanding to put this knowledge into effect. Further, with the long natural history of most cancers, it could take many years to make an appreciable impact upon the incidence of the cancer. Because of these facts, many have come to believe that screening has the most potential for reduction of the burden of cancer. Yet, through trying to apply the knowledge gained on screening for cancer, the scientific community has recognized that screening can have major disadvantages and achieve little at substantial cost. This reduces the resources that are potentially available both for prevention and for treatment.

This book describes how one can use The Scientific Method to solve everyday problems including medical ailments, health issues, money management, traveling, shopping, cooking, household chores, etc. It illustrates how to exploit the information collected from our five senses, how to solve problems when no information is available for the present problem situation, how to increase our chances of success by redefining a problem, and how to extrapolate our capabilities by seeing a relationship among heretofore unrelated concepts.One should formulate a hypothesis as early as possible in order to have a sense of direction regarding which path to follow. Occasionally, by making wild conjectures, creative solutions can transpire. However, hypotheses need to be well-tested. Through this way, The Scientific Method can help readers solve problems in both familiar and unfamiliar situations. Containing real-life examples of how various problems are solved - for instance, how some observant patients cure their own illnesses when medical experts have failed - this book will train readers to observe what others may have missed and conceive what others may not have contemplated. With practice, they will be able to solve more problems than they could previously imagine.

This monograph presents a unified exposition of latin squares and mutually orthogonal sets of latin squares based on groups. Its focus is on orthomorphisms and complete mappings of finite groups, while also offering a complete proof of the Hall-Paige conjecture. The use of latin squares in constructions of nets, affine planes, projective planes, and transversal designs also motivates this inquiry. The text begins by introducing fundamental concepts, like the tests for determining whether a latin square is based on a group, as well as orthomorphisms and complete mappings. From there, it describes the existence problem for complete mappings of groups, building up to the proof of the Hall-Paige conjecture. The third part presents a comprehensive study of orthomorphism graphs of groups, while the last part provides a discussion of Cartesian projective planes, related combinatorial structures, and a list of open problems. Expanding the author's 1992 monograph, Orthomorphism Graphs of Groups, this book is an essential reference tool for mathematics researchers or graduate students tackling latin square problems in combinatorics. Its presentation draws on a basic understanding of finite group theory, finite field theory, linear algebra, and elementary number theory-more advanced theories are introduced in the text as needed.

This book interrogates the ways in which new technological advances impact the thought and practices of humanism. Chapters investigate the social, political, and cultural implications of the creation and use of advanced forms of technology, examining both defining benefits and potential dangers. Contributors also discuss technology's relationship to and impact on the shifting definitions we hold for humankind. International and multi-disciplinary in nature and scope, the volume presents an exploration of humanism and technology that is both racially diverse and gender sensitive. With great depth and self-awareness, contributors offer suggestions for how humanists and humanist organizations might think about and relate to technology in a rapidly changing world. More broadly, the book offers a critical humanistic interrogation of the concept of "progress" especially as it relates to technological advancement.

The new edition of Get ahead! Medicine: 150 EMQs for Finals has been completely updated by two junior doctors who have achieved recent success in their finals, overseen by the book's experienced author team. The 150 EMQ themes, each with five stems, are arranged as 10 practice papers, each containing 15 themes. All the main conditions are included as well as more detailed knowledge suitable for candidates aiming at the higher deciles. The questions are written to follow the house style of the Medical Schools Council Assessment Alliance EMQs and are therefore of a similar format to those you can expect in your exams. All the questions are accompanied by explanatory answers, including a succinct summary of the key features of each condition. Whether you work through the practice papers systematically or dip in and out by topic, this bestselling revision guide will offer a life rope for anyone preparing for undergraduate finals.

The papers in this book examine the changes and the problems emerging in the New Europe, assess some of the forces at work and discuss various outcomes and solutions. The areas covered include labour market, including migration, unemployment, bargaining and industrial relations; the integration of eastern Europe in the New Europe; the role of the private sector in saving, and of the public sector in mobilising domestic financial resources; and the fiscal policy of the single European Market.

Screening for cancer is an important focus of cancer control. Yet screening, as it involves administering a test to large segments of the population deemed to be at risk for the disease of interest, is potentially a major consumer of scarce health care resources. In addition, the benefits sought from cancer screening, particularly reduction in mortality from the disease, are not always realized, either for biological or organizational reasons. Thus, the paradigm that early detection must always be beneficial', taught to health care professionals, and publicized widely through the media to the public, has been challenged in the last two decades for a number of cancer sites. It is the purpose of Advances in Cancer Screening to determine the extent to which the requirements for the introduction of population-based screening programs have been met, as a result of extensive research on screening during the last two decades, with a major concentration on findings from the recent decade.

Kendrick Lamar has established himself at the forefront of contemporary hip-hop culture. Artistically adventurous and socially conscious, he has been unapologetic in using his art form, rap music, to address issues affecting black lives while also exploring subjects fundamental to the human experience, such as religious belief. This book is the first to provide an interdisciplinary academic analysis of the impact of Lamar's corpus. In doing so, it highlights how Lamar's music reflects current tensions that are keenly felt when dealing with the subjects of race, religion and politics. Starting with Section 80 and ending with DAMN., this book deals with each of Lamar's four major projects in turn. A panel of academics, journalists and hip-hop practitioners show how religion, in particular black spiritualties, take a front-and-center role in his work. They also observe that his astute and biting thoughts on race and culture may come from an African American perspective, but many find something familiar in Lamar's lyrical testimony across great chasms of social and geographical difference. This sophisticated exploration of one of popular culture's emerging icons reveals a complex and multi faceted engagement with religion, faith, race, art and culture. As such, it will be vital reading for anyone working in religious, African American and hip-hop studies, as well as scholars of music, media and popular culture.