Rose Calamia is a first generation Italian American working girl in a 1945 aircraft plant, when she meets Iowa farm boy, Jack Conner. Jack has recently been discharged from the Army and is still licking his wounds from an all too familiar war time casualty--a "Dear John" followed by divorce. When their love affair leads to a wedding and a move to Jack's home community, Rose is totally unprepared for the life that awaits her in rural Iowa. Ever the sheltered daughter and sister in a family steeped in old world traditions, Rose is exposed to Jack's world which is the polar opposite. Living with her in-laws for the first few months of marriage, Rose is homesick and unsure of her hasty decision to move back to the Midwest with her husband of three months. On top of all the other adjustments (no modern conveniences like electricity and indoor plumbing) Rose harbors a secret, her pregnancy. Her mother-in-law, Bess is determined to sabotage Jack's marriage to this skinny foreigner and "city gal," whose skin is dark and ways unlike any she's familiar with. Rose's determination to endure and love her husband is tested when she is called home for her mother's funeral. Once back in warm, sunny California -- Iowa, Jack, and the harsh Midwest seem worlds away. Rose has to decide if what she wants is in Iowa with her husband or in the comfortable surroundings of California and family --and an old flame who awakens her heart in ways she thought were dead. Rose's struggle, like so many women of her generation, is a tug-of-war between what is expected and what desires are left over for her in the ash-heap of duty and subservience. Rose's final decision will test her character and surprise her harshest critiques.

This title was first published in 2001. This text brings together a collection of empirical studies focusing on the relationships which minority ethnic audiences have with and to media texts, both mainstream and minority. The media which comprise the focus for the essays include television, film, advertising, magazines and the press. The field of media studies has moved beyond the model of media consumer as passive recipient towards individuals and groups who are altogether more engaged, responsive and critical. But studies of the interactive media consumer often fail to consider the specific characteristics of "race" and ethnicity which come into play for minority ethnic audiences, and this book aims to add to the limited knowledge of the ways in which ethnic markers intervene in textual understanding and contestation.

As the level of distrust and alienation between Jews and Palestinians has risen over the past fif een years, the support for grassroots organizations' attempts to bring these two groups closer has stagnated. Jewish-Palestinian youth encounter programs that flourished in the wake of the Oslo Accords now struggleto find support, as their potential to create positive social change in Israeli society is still unknown. In Youth Encounter Programs in Israel, Ross attempts to assess that potential by considering the relationship between participation in Jewish-Palestinian encounters and the long-term worldview and commitment to social change of their participants. Taking a comparative approach, Ross examines the structure and pedagogical approaches of two organizations in Israel, Peace Child Israel and Sadaka Reut. In doing so, Ross explores how these different organizations shape participants' national identity, beliefs about social change, and motivation to continue engaging in peace-building activities. Based on more than one hundred interviews with program staff and former participants as well as more than two hundred hours of program observation, Ross's work fills an important gap in the literature and holds significant relevance for peace education and conflict esolution practitioners.

This edited collection draws on and expands the findings from a pan-European research project undertaken during 2012-13 which was funded by the European Institute for Gender Equality and aimed to explore three key issues in relation to gender and media: women's inclusion in decision-making positions within media industries; how women are represented in the media; and what policies and mechanisms are in place to support women's career development and promote gender equality. The research looked at 99 major media organisations across the EU including public and private sector broadcasters (TV and radio) as well as a number of major newspaper groups. Researchers also monitored TV programmes (factual only but including entertainment genres) across one week and coded 1200 hours of TV. In addition to elaborating the results from 16 of the participating nations, the collection includes a set of context-setting essays and a summarizing conclusion as well as a reflection on the purpose and utility of gender indicators. It is the first major work to look across the European media landscape and explore both employment and representation, providing a unique glimpse into the contemporary media scene in relation to gender equality, including examples of good and less good practice.

Gendered Media addresses the broad topic of gender and media, where 'gender' is not simply a shorthand for 'woman' but also embraces masculinitiy/ies, queer, lesbian and gay identities. Karen Ross provides the necessary historical context against which to read recent sex- and gender-based media phenomena such as Big Brother, Terminator, girls' use of mobile phones, women news editors, the Wonderbra generation, the Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin phenomena, and so on. The book is an overview of the various aspects of gender and media in one volume. The book provides introductory overviews to the various themes around women, men, sexuality and the ways in which these attributes are cross-cut by other demographics such as age, ethnicity and disability. In this way, the book genuinely tries to provide a broad introduction to the ways in which gender, in all its facets, engages with media, in one accessible volume.

Undertaker Nina Sherwood is full of good advice. For example, never wear lip gloss when you're scattering ashes. Nina is your average 30-year-old with a steady job, a nice home - and dead bodies in her basement. As an undertaker, she often prefers the company of the dead to the living - they're obliging, good listeners and take secrets to the grave. Nina is on a one-woman mission to persuade her peers that passing on is just another part of life. But the residents of Primrose Hill are adamant that a funeral parlour is the last thing they need... and they will stop at nothing to close down her dearly beloved shop. When Nina's 'big break' funeral turns out to be a prank, it seems like it's the final nail in the coffin for her new business. That is, until a (tall, dark and) mysterious investor shows up out of the blue, and she decides to take a leap of faith. Because, after all, it's her funeral... The perfect antidote to all those books about weddings, this book will make you laugh until you cry, perfect for fans of Zara Stoneley's Bridesmaids, Four Weddings and a Funeral and The Good Place. What readers are saying about Five Wakes and a Wedding: 'Uplifting with a smile' 'I thoroughly enjoyed reading it...a fun chick-lit with a completely different and unique premise.' 'This book intrigued me so much! The writing style was spot on and I really loved the pace, language, relatability and relationships throughout the book.'

This edited collection draws on and expands the findings from a pan-European research project undertaken during 2012-13 which was funded by the European Institute for Gender Equality and aimed to explore three key issues in relation to gender and media: women's inclusion in decision-making positions within media industries; how women are represented in the media; and what policies and mechanisms are in place to support women's career development and promote gender equality. The research looked at 99 major media organisations across the EU including public and private sector broadcasters (TV and radio) as well as a number of major newspaper groups. Researchers also monitored TV programmes (factual only but including entertainment genres) across one week and coded 1200 hours of TV. In addition to elaborating the results from 16 of the participating nations, the collection includes a set of context-setting essays and a summarizing conclusion as well as a reflection on the purpose and utility of gender indicators. It is the first major work to look across the European media landscape and explore both employment and representation, providing a unique glimpse into the contemporary media scene in relation to gender equality, including examples of good and less good practice.

"The Struggle For Kathy's Soul" is the story of two young social workers who meet in California in the 1970's. There is an immediate attraction between them, but Kathy's Christian background clashes with Susan's independence. Kathy wants marriage and a fa

Chianti Souls is a magical tale of love, surprises and fate...set in the heart of Tuscany, in Chianti...home of legendary wine and passionate Italian souls. When artist Mary Sarto visits for the first time she unexpectedly becomes tangled in vines of timeless love after she meets Luca Rusconi at a fifteenth-century Chianti farmhouse. An inexplicable connection rattles them, as if their love story continues from another lifetime...but neither is looking for love. Mary is visiting Italy with her boyfriend Garrett Hansen, who promised a dream vacation, and Luca is recovering from a recently broken engagement with his Florentine girlfriend. When Garrett is forced to return home early to Philadelphia for a work crisis, she boldly stays alone, and Luca shows her an enchanting Italy not found in a tour book. After the week in Italy, her heart is torn between the two men while her head is clouded with misjudgment of both, complicated by lies and betrayal. It is only when Mary discovers secrets hidden in two mysterious keepsakes she found in Tuscany and Venice that her destiny is love is revealed. Chianti Souls is a debut novel by Karen Ross, and will have you dreaming of falling in love, and even better, magically falling in love in Italy... In this romantic travelogue, Karen gives you an insider's view of beautiful Tuscan hill towns and villages that she has visited, and then she weaves them into a passionate tale of timeless love. Dare to turn the page...

Rose Calamia is a first generation Italian American working girl in a 1945 aircraft plant, when she meets Iowa farm boy, Jack Conner. Jack has recently been discharged from the Army and is still licking his wounds from an all too familiar war time casualty--a "Dear John" followed by divorce. When their love affair leads to a wedding and a move to Jack's home community, Rose is totally unprepared for the life that awaits her in rural Iowa. Ever the sheltered daughter and sister in a family steeped in old world traditions, Rose is exposed to Jack's world which is the polar opposite. Living with her in-laws for the first few months of marriage, Rose is homesick and unsure of her hasty decision to move back to the Midwest with her husband of three months. On top of all the other adjustments (no modern conveniences like electricity and indoor plumbing) Rose harbors a secret, her pregnancy. Her mother-in-law, Bess is determined to sabotage Jack's marriage to this skinny foreigner and "city gal," whose skin is dark and ways unlike any she's familiar with. Rose's determination to endure and love her husband is tested when she is called home for her mother's funeral. Once back in warm, sunny California -- Iowa, Jack, and the harsh Midwest seem worlds away. Rose has to decide if what she wants is in Iowa with her husband or in the comfortable surroundings of California and family --and an old flame who awakens her heart in ways she thought were dead. Rose's struggle, like so many women of her generation, is a tug-of-war between what is expected and what desires are left over for her in the ash-heap of duty and subservience. Rose's final decision will test her character and surprise her harshest critiques.

On August 7, 1969, when I and a half dozen other soldiers were cut off from other friendly forces and were nearly out of ammunition in a desperate fight with a much larger force of North Vietnamese regulars, I was not surprised to see Ross among the few who risked their lives to come to our assistance. Less than three months later Ross fell mortally wounded in still another battle. Karen Epp's] work to document her brother's life and death is a unique effort that contributes to the full story of a long, controversial war that still has major impact on our country today. It is a tribute to not only Stan and Karen's family, but also to all veterans. Michael Lee Lanning Author of The Only War We Had: A Platoon Leader's Journal Of Vietnam and Vietnam, 1969-1970: "A Commander's Journal" My gratitude to my brother and those brave service men and women can never be expressed in words. Stan and those like him still live on in our hearts. His courage should inspire all of us to do a better job of living. Karen Ross Epp Author, With Love Stan: A Soldier's Letters from Vietnam to The World

" "a simple yet excellent overview of the multilayered path of audience research, tracing its evolution over the last century..." European Journal of Communication"

*How has the concept of 'the audience' changed over the past 50 years?
*How do audiences become producers and not just consumers of media texts?
*How are new media affecting the ways in which audiences are researched?
The audience has been a central concept in both in media and cultural studies for some considerable time, not least because there seems little point exploring forms of increasingly global communication in terms of their content if the targets of media messages are not also the focus of study. This book ranges across a wide literature, taking both a chronological as well as thematic approach, in order to explore the ways in which the audience, as an analytical concept has changed, as well as examining the relationships which audiences have with texts and the ways in which they exert their power as consumers. We also look at the political economy of audiences and the ways in which they are 'delivered' to advertisers as well as attending to the ratings war being waged by broadcasters and the development of narrowcasting and niche audiences. Finally, the book looks ahead to the future of audience research, suggesting that new genres such as 'reality TV' and new ICTs such as the internet, are already revolutionising the way in which research with audiences is taking place in the 21st century, not least because of the level of interactivity enabled by new media.

Making Sense of Social Research Methodology: A Student and Practitioner Centered Approach introduces students to research methods by illuminating the underlying assumptions of social science inquiry. Authors Pengfei Zhao, Karen Ross, Peiwei Li, and Barbara Dennis show how research concepts are often an integral part of everyday life through illustrative common scenarios, like looking for a recipe or going on a job interview. The authors extrapolate from these personal but ubiquitous experiences to further explain concepts, like gathering data or social context, so students develop a deeper understanding of research and its applications outside of the classroom. Students from across the social sciences can take this new understanding into their own research, their professional lives, and their personal lives with a new sense of relevancy and urgency. This text is organized into clusters that center on major topics in social science research. The first cluster introduces concepts that are fundamental to all aspects and steps of the research process. These concepts include relationality, identity, ethics, epistemology, validity, and the sociopolitical context within which research occurs. The second and third clusters focus on data and inference. These clusters engage concretely with steps of the research process, including decisions about designing research, generating data, making inferences. Throughout the chapters, Pause and Reflect open-ended questions provide readers with the space for further inquiry into research concepts and how they apply to life. Research Scenario features in each chapter offer new perspectives on major research topics from leading and emerging voices in methods. Moving from this dialogic perspective to more actionable advice, You and Research features offer students concrete steps for engaging with research. Take your research into the world with Making Sense of Social Research Methodology: A Student and Practitioner Centered Approach.

Gendered Media addresses the broad topic of gender and media, where "gender" is not simply a shorthand for "woman" but also embraces masculinitiy/ies, queer, lesbian and gay identities. Karen Ross provides the necessary historical context against which to read recent sex- and gender-based media phenomena such as Big Brother, Terminator, girls' use of mobile phones, women news editors, the Wonderbra generation, the Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin phenomena, and so on. The book is an overview of the various aspects of gender and media in one volume. The book provides introductory overviews to the various themes around women, men, sexuality and the ways in which these attributes are cross-cut by other demographics such as age, ethnicity and disability. In this way, the book genuinely tries to provide a broad introduction to the ways in which gender, in all its facets, engages with media, in one accessible volume.

This report seeks to identify supply-demand mismatches in the legal marketplace and assesses the need for new initiatives. The project pursued four research objectives, including: developing a profile of practising attorneys, projecting future supply and demand, and exploring upcoming trends.

This collection of essays has its origins in the MeCCSA 2007 conference held in Coventry in January that year. Like most edited volumes which emerge from conference contexts, this one comprises a richly diverse set of original papers which span the various themes and topics which together make up the fascinating field of media and communication. The book is broadly divided into four sections: media/public; media workers and professional identity; media industries and policy concerns; and political communication. The first section looks at the transformation of the private and public spheres through new technologies, and the phenomenon and implications of audience-mediated genres such as reality TV. The second part of the book looks at media practice from the point of view of both content and the self-policing of professional norms. The third part considers media policy including gender issues within the Scottish creative industries, and the history and future of the BBC charter. The last section looks a political communication and essays here are concerned with elite political rhetoric, together with a consideration of the internet's impact on political activism. The editors believe that, within the wide-ranging subject matter our authors have considered, a common theme emerges. This is the way in which contemporary communication acts are structured by a number of closely related forces; capital, technology, social norms, resistive practices and gendered subjectivity all contribute to the production of public meaning.