Disciplinary psychology has failed to achieve a coherent conception of human agency. Instead, it oscillates between two differing conceptions of agency that are equally untenable: a scientistic, reductive approach to choice and action, and an instrumental approach that celebrates a romantic notion of free will. This book examines theoretical, philosophical psychology and argues for a historically and socioculturally situated human capacity for choosing and acting in ways not entirely determined by culture and/or biology. The authors present a detailed developmental theory of how agentic capability emerges from the pre-reflective activity of humans in a real physical and social world.

1. The use of memoir as a structure for disciplinary criticism is innovative and creative. 2. The field of humanistic psychology is growing, and this book will be an important contribution by one of the field's respected scholars. 3. Provides examples and illustrations of the ways in which professional associations, academic publishers, university administrators, and granting agencies fit into and help constitute the lives and development of academic psychologists

At its core, psychology is about persons: their thinking, their problems, the improvement of their lives. The understanding of persons is crucial to the discipline. But according to this provocative new book, between current essentialist theories that rely on biological models, and constructionist approaches based on sociocultural experience, the concept of the person has all but vanished from psychology. Persons: Understanding Psychological Selfhood and Agency recasts theories of mind, behavior, and self, synthesizing a range of psychologists and philosophers to restore the centrality of personhood-especially the ability to make choices and decisions-to the discipline. The authors' unique perspective de-emphasizes method and formula in favor of moral agency and life experience, reveals frequently overlooked contributions of psychology to the study of individuals and groups, and traces traditions of selfhood and personhood theory, including: The pre-psychological history of personhood, a developmental theory of situated, agentive personhood, the political disposition of self as a kind of understanding, Human agency as a condition of personhood, Emergentist theories in psychology, the development of the perspectival self. Persons represents an intriguing new path in the study of the human condition in our globalizing world. Researchers in developmental, social, and clinical psychology as well as social science philosophers will find in these pages profound implications not only for psychology but also for education, politics, and ethics.

A Spectroscopic Atlas of the Stars: A Pocket Field Guide is a standard reference book for all amateur astronomers interested in practical spectroscopy or spectrography. For the first time in one place, it identifies more than 70 (northern hemisphere) bright stars that are suitable observational targets for both amateurs and astronomy students.

Finder charts are provided for locating these sometimes-familiar stars. Data for each star includes labelled stellar spectra, a spectral profile with spectral lines identified. These are conveniently laid out on a single page, opposite tables of spectroscopic properties, and lines and wavelengths identified.

This is the first Spectral Atlas designed for amateur astronomers. It is equally relevant to college undergraduates, being intended to familiarize astronomers of any age and level of knowledge with labelled stellar spectra and their different properties. It contains much information about stars which is hard to find or inaccessible to most people.

At its core, psychology is about persons: their thinking, their problems, the improvement of their lives. The understanding of persons is crucial to the discipline. But according to this provocative new book, between current essentialist theories that rely on biological models, and constructionist approaches based on sociocultural experience, the concept of the person has all but vanished from psychology.

Persons: Understanding Psychological Selfhood and Agency recasts theories of mind, behavior, and self, synthesizing a range of psychologists and philosophers to restore the centrality of personhood-especially the ability to make choices and decisions-to the discipline. The authors' unique perspective de-emphasizes method and formula in favor of moral agency and life experience, reveals frequently overlooked contributions of psychology to the study of individuals and groups, and traces traditions of selfhood and personhood theory, including: The pre-psychological history of personhood, a developmental theory of situated, agentive personhood, the political disposition of self as a kind of understanding, Human agency as a condition of personhood, Emergentist theories in psychology, the development of the perspectival self.

Persons represents an intriguing new path in the study of the human condition in our globalizing world. Researchers in developmental, social, and clinical psychology as well as social science philosophers will find in these pages profound implications not only for psychology but also for education, politics, and ethics.

In this set of insightful essays, the concept of the psychological humanities is defined and explored. A clear rationale is provided for its necessity in the study and understanding of the individual and identity in a discipline that is occupied largely by empirical studies that report aggregated data and its analysis. Contributors to this volume are leading scholars in theoretical psychology who believe that psychology must be about persons and their lives. In these essays, they draw from a variety of disciplines that include art, literature, life writing, and history to make a case for the psychological humanities. A final chapter provides a critical commentary on the value of the psychological humanities. The chapter argues that psychology must draw on the knowledge and practices of the humanities, as well as the sciences and social sciences, in order to attain a greater understanding of personhood. This book is aimed at upper-level undergraduate and postgraduate students and scholars of psychology, particularly theoretical psychology, philosophy of the mind, and those from a humanities background interested in exploring the concept of the psychological humanities.

Naturally self-effacing and deferential, Captain John Reynolds Hughes is not as famous today as his publicity-hog contemporary Captain Bill McDonald. Yet, Texas Rangers of the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries considered him an authentic hero, a straight-ahead lawman that did his job and left the talking to journalists. Hughes became a ranger in 1887, serving in the celebrated Frontier Battalion. In 1900, he won appointment as captain in command of Company D. During his long career he served primarily along the Texas-Mexico border where his word became law. State offi cials subsequently promoted him senior captain, moving his headquarters to Austin. Hughes retired in 1915-having served as ranger and captain longer than any man on the force. This State House Press reprint of Border Boss makes this Texas classic available to a new generation of readers and introduces them to one of the bravest rangers who ever sported the cinco peso.

The sociocultural turn in psychology treats psychological subjects, such as the mind and the self, as processes that are constituted, or "made up," within specific social and cultural practices. In other words, though one's distinct psychology is anchored by an embodied, biological existence, sociocultural interactions are integral to the evolution of the person.

Only in the past two decades has the sociocultural turn truly established itself within disciplinary and professional psychology. Providing advanced students and practitioners with a definitive understanding of these theories, Suzanne R. Kirschner and Jack Martin, former presidents of the American Psychological Association's Division of the Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology, assemble a collection of essays that describes the discursive, hermeneutic, dialogical, and activity approaches of sociocultural psychology. Each contribution recognizes psychology as a human science and supports the individual's potential for agency and freedom. At the same time, they differ in their understanding of a person's psychological functioning and the best way to study it. Ultimately the sociocultural turn offers an alternative to overly biological or interiorized theories of the self, emphasizing instead the formation and transformation of our minds in relation to others and the world.

Demon worship calls for sacrifice. It's Gabe's job to stop it. Alyssa escapes with her little girl from the clutches of the cult leader Walton. She races off into the night determined to keep her daughter from becoming his next victim. As Walton pursues her, Alyssa meets a handsome truck driver named Gabe, who is the most beautiful man she's even seen. His courage and selfless kindness sends ripples of emotion throughout Alyssa's petite form. Emotions she's never felt before. But will his courage be enough to protect her from the evil that pursues her?

The story is set during the closing years of the eighteenth dynasty in ancient Egypt. It covers the rise of an ambitious child of a farmer, as he successfully climbs the ladder of power, until he wears the crown of the Pharaoh of all Egypt. During his rise, the novel tries to follow the accepted history of the known rulers. We meet Akhenaton and Nefertiti, Tutankhamen, and Ankhesenamun, and also Horemheb and Mutnedjmet. Many more known and unknown characters appear as we tie the story together. There is intrigue, treachery, and murder, as well as love, sadness, and joy. It's a bit of a saga as individuals come and go. This era of Egyptian history, for all of its study, has many blanks, and this story attempts to fill them in. It is my hope that you will read it with interest and pleasure.

The story is set during the closing years of the eighteenth dynasty in ancient Egypt. It covers the rise of an ambitious child of a farmer, as he successfully climbs the ladder of power, until he wears the crown of the Pharaoh of all Egypt. During his rise, the novel tries to follow the accepted history of the known rulers. We meet Akhenaton and Nefertiti, Tutankhamen, and Ankhesenamun, and also Horemheb and Mutnedjmet. Many more known and unknown characters appear as we tie the story together. There is intrigue, treachery, and murder, as well as love, sadness, and joy. It's a bit of a saga as individuals come and go. This era of Egyptian history, for all of its study, has many blanks, and this story attempts to fill them in. It is my hope that you will read it with interest and pleasure.

Amid the tensions of Reconstruction, a Civil War veteran and presidential agent hunts down violent threats and secretive hidden enemies . . .   The Civil War ended four years ago—but that doesn’t mean that peace rules the land. Confederate veterans have formed a secret organization, the Ku Klux Klan, to fight what they perceive as unjust oppression, violently attacking former slaves and attempting to sabotage the government’s authority in the South. To address the danger they pose, President Ulysses S. Grant turns to his most trusted agent: Maj. Alphonso Brutus Clay.   The goal is to end the mayhem without sparking a renewal of hostilities and plunging the nation into bloodshed again. With the help of a friend, Ambrose Bierce, and the fierce Teresa Duval, Clay must confront a corrupt cabal intent on controlling this still-fragile Union—a threat to not only the United States but the world.   “I can’t wait to read the next Alphonso Clay book.� —RP Dahlke, author of the Dead Red Mysteries

As Sherman moves toward Atlanta, an agent searches for traitors among the troops in this compelling Civil War thriller . . . When Sherman’s army hits a wall of resistance at Kennesaw Mountain in the summer of 1864—despite what seemed to be highly reliable intelligence—he’s convinced by one of the Union nurses to call in Maj. Alphonso Clay to hunt for a saboteur. With his scout Ambrose Bierce badly wounded and a general murdered in the midst of battle, he summons Clay, who soon joins him on his march through Georgia.  But as Clay investigates the situation—and tries to prevent any further unwelcome surprises from the Confederates—it becomes apparent that there may be more than one person betraying the Union . . . “I can’t wait to read the next Alphonso Clay book.� —RP Dahlke, author of the Dead Red Mysteries