Michael Barber has spent many years advising governments, businesses and major sporting teams around the world on how to achieve ambitious goals on time. In this inspiring and practical guide he applies the wisdom he has gained from dealing with large, complex organizations and elite athletes to help anyone tackle their most challenging goals.

Drawing on the stories of historic visionaries and modern heroes - from Galileo to Rosa Parks, Harold Macmillan to Paula Radcliffe - Barber uses personal anecdote and proven strategy to map the route to success and navigate the difficulties that arise along the way.

Whatever it is that you aspire to do - run a marathon, transform a school or provide a business of public service to millions - this book will inspire you to get going and to bridge the gap between hope and reality.

Originally written after four years of the National Curriculum, at a time when adjustments and radical changes were being implemented, this book analyses from various points of view what is wrong with the National Curriculum and presents a series of options for putting it right.

This book illustrates how non-pragmatic finite provinces of meaning emancipate one from pragmatic everyday pressures. Barber portrays everyday life originally, as including the interplay between intrinsic and imposed relevances, the unavoidable pursuit of pragmatic mastery, and the resulting tensions non-pragmatic provinces can relieve. But individuals and groups also inevitably resort to meta-level strategies of hyper-mastery to protect set ways of satisfying lower-level relevances-strategies that easily augment individual anxiety and social pathologies. After creatively interpreting the Schutzian dialectic between the world of working and non-pragmatic provinces, Barber describes the experience of reality in the finite provinces of religion and humor. Schutz, who only mentioned these provinces, laid out the six features of the cognitive style that characterize any finite province of meaning. This book is the first to follow up on these suggestions and depict two new finite provinces of meaning beyond those in "On Multiple Realities." While entrance into these provinces reduces everyday life tensions, it does not suffice since pragmatic relevances infiltrate the provinces, as when one uses humor to belittle competing cultural groups or one deploys religion only as an instrument to ensure crop productivity. Instead, liberation from anxieties and pathologies is brought to completion when the ego agens, the 0-point of all its coordinates, discovers its value in relation to the transcendent, even if it fails to realize its pragmatic purposes, or when one becomes comical to oneself through the eyes of another different from oneself. This book, aimed at advanced undergraduate, graduate, or scholarly audiences, presents stimulating analyses of the religious "appresentative mindset" or of the healing potential of interracial humor. Drawing heavily on interdisciplinary resources, the book also illustrates the relevance of phenomenological methods and concepts for concrete human experience. Barber offers a fresh understanding of pragmatic everyday life, original descriptions of the religious and humorous provinces of meaning, and a picture of how the overarching intentional stances of meaning-provinces, along with exposure to another perspective, can diminish the pressures everyday life engenders.

This book features papers written by renowned international scholars that analyze the interdependence of art, phenomenology, and social science. The papers show how the analysis of the production as well as the perception and interpretation of art work needs to take into consideration the subjective viewpoint of the artist in addition to that of the interpreter. Phenomenology allows a description of the subjectively centered life-world of the individual actor-artist or interpreter-and the objective structures of literature, music, and the aesthetic domain in general. The perspective of social science serves to reconstruct the socio-historical structure involved in the creation and reception of the art work. The authors concentrate on this specific theoretical focus which combines both phenomenology and social science and offers an innovative framework for the analysis of works of art from the fields of literature, music, visual arts, photography, and film. Some of the contributions present creative interpretations of a variety of distinct art works in addition to the realization of theoretical reflections on the interdependence of arts, phenomenology, and social science. This book features papers that were presented at the international and interdisciplinary conference Phenomenology, Social Sciences, and the Arts, held at the University of Konstanz, May 2009, in commemoration of philosopher and social scientist Alfred Schutz, the developer of phenomenologically oriented sociology. It will appeal to researchers, scholars, and students in phenomenology, social sciences, art theory, and the arts.

Gathering field work from almost twenty countries along with in-depth analysis and case studies, Religious Radicalism after the Arab Uprisings explores how radical groups, governments, and publics have responded to the Arab uprisings of 2011 and how conflicts that many thought were coming to an end are likely to continue indefinitely. Leading experts from the Center for Strategic & International Studies explore how radical groups have combined techniques learned from more liberal counterparts with a simultaneous decline in police capacity to construct an effective threat against established powers. The book also examines how governments have responded to unprecedented challenges to their authority by attacking a wide range of religiously inspired groups. It concludes that to face the current threats, governments need analyze the effectiveness of existing tools, discarding those that are outdated and adopting the new strategies to counter the ever-mounting radical presence.

Phenomenological sociology and ethnomethodology have many adherents and practitioners throughout the world. The international character of interest in these two areas is exemplified by the scholars from Canada, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, and the United States who contributed to this collection. Together they exemplify the kinds of theoretical and research issues that arise in seeking to explore the social world in ways that respect what Edmund Husserl referred to as "the original right" of all data. These chapters were inspired in various ways by the work of George Psathas, professor emeritus of Boston University, a renowned phenomenological sociologist and ethnomethodologist as well as a fundamental contributor to phenomenological sociology and ethnomethodology movements both in the United States and throughout the world. The collection consists of three parts: phenomenological sociology as an intellectual movement, phenomenological considerations, and ethnomethodological explorations, all areas to which Professor Psathas has made significant contributions. A phenomenological sociology movement in the US is examined as an intellectual movement in itself and as it is influenced by a leader's participation as both scholar and teacher. Phenomenological sociology's efficacy and potential are discussed in terms of a broad range of theoretical and empirical issues: methodology, similarities and differences between phenomenological sociology and ethnomethodology, embodied sociality, power, trust, friendship, face-to-face interaction, and interactions between children and adults. Theoretical articles addressing fundamental features of ethnomethodology, its development, and its relation to process-relational philosophy are balanced by empirical articles founded on authors' original ethnomethodological research-activities of direction-giving and direction-following, accounts for organizational deviance, garden lessons, doing being friends, and the crafting of musical time. Through these chapters readers can come to understand the theoretical development of phenomenological sociology and ethnomethodology, appreciate their achievements and their promise, and find inspiration to pursue their own work in these areas.

Originally written after four years of the National Curriculum, at a time when adjustments and radical changes were being implemented, this book analyses from various points of view what is wrong with the National Curriculum and presents a series of options for putting it right.

'Excellent . . . reveals that high accomplishment has a signature pattern that reoccurs from sport to politics to business to government' Matthew Syed There is no secret formula for success, especially when tackling a new challenge. But what if there were a pattern you could follow? A way of mapping the route and navigating the obstacles that arise? Michael Barber has spent many years advising governments, businesses and major sporting teams around the world on how to achieve ambitious goals on time. Drawing on stories of historic visionaries and modern heroes - from Mary Fischer and Rosa Parks to Paula Radcliffe and Gareth Southgate - Barber presents a unique combination of personal anecdote, historical evidence and interviews from inspirational figures to unpack the route to success.

This book features papers written by renowned international scholars that analyze the interdependence of art, phenomenology, and social science. The papers show how the analysis of the production as well as the perception and interpretation of art work needs to take into consideration the subjective viewpoint of the artist in addition to that of the interpreter. Phenomenology allows a description of the subjectively centered life-world of the individual actor—artist or interpreter—and the objective structures of literature, music, and the aesthetic domain in general.  The perspective of social science serves to reconstruct the socio-historical structure involved in the creation and reception of the art work. The authors concentrate on this specific theoretical focus which combines both phenomenology and social science and offers an innovative framework for the analysis of works of art from the fields of literature, music, visual arts, photography, and film. Some of the contributions present creative interpretations of a variety of distinct art works in addition to the realization of theoretical reflections on the interdependence of arts, phenomenology, and social science. This book features papers that were presented at the international and interdisciplinary conference Phenomenology, Social Sciences, and the Arts, held at the University of Konstanz, May 2009, in commemoration of philosopher and social scientist Alfred Schutz, the developer of phenomenologically oriented sociology. It will appeal to researchers, scholars, and students in phenomenology, social sciences, art theory, and the arts. ​

In this fascinating CD series, three renowned Catholic speakers present the Biblical evidence and Church teachings on the subject of the End Times.

Politics in the Roman Republic rewrites the field's modern historiographical narrative through critical re-examinations of four foundational historians: Barthold Niebuhr, Theodor Mommsen, Friedrich Munzer, and Matthias Gelzer. Each chapter traces these scholars' impact and offers novel (re)interpretations of their enduring frameworks, conceptual and methodological alike.

*Joan Bocher was burned to death in England in 1550 AD. Her crime? The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1964) says: "She was condemned for open blasphemy in denying the Trinity, the one offence which all the church had regarded as unforgivable ever since the struggle with Arianism." *On October 27th, 1553, Michael Servetus, a medical practitioner, was burned at the stake at Geneva, Switzerland, for denying the doctrine of the Trinity. *In 1693, a pamphlet attacking the Trinity was burned by order of the House of Lords, and the following year its printer and author were prosecuted. The finest scholarship on biblical manuscripts and on Hebrew and Greek language syntax and word morphology is introduced and quoted throughout this work, demonstrating effectively that the linguistic and contextual considerations for each passage of scripture are in agreement in their refutation of the Trinitarian view.

The road to acceptance for the theory of Darwin's Evolution has been a rocky one. But today it is under attack more than ever before. These attacks are no longer just from the religious arena, they are coming from the scientific community, and from highly respected individuals. This work postulates a new scientific theory, 'Dynamic Evolution', the ideas of which are demonstrated to be superior to the precepts of Darwin's theories. This is not a religious or philosophical approach. You will find within these pages a sound, scientifically based theory that will have no less an effect than to put the final nail in the coffin of Darwinian Evolution! This book offers a comprehensive challenge to the Darwinian premise that the diversity of life is explained solely by the natural selection and survival of the fittest. It will become apparent from a complete study of this work that the principles of Darwinian Evolution fall under the shadow of the complete picture provided by Dynamic Evolution.

Dr Victor Frankenstein is shocked when his fiancee Elizabeth visits him suddenly. She is not the sweet, quiet girl he expects to spend the rest of his life with but a worse for wear corpse. The real shock comes however, when she gives him an ultimatum. She announces that he is not the world's greatest scientist but a character in a book that made a monster. He treated the monster so badly, it killed their family and friends, including her. Elizabeth warns Victor that he must love the monster like a son to change the story; otherwise they will have no future together. Frankenstein is adamant that if he is only a character in the book, then everything that has happened is the fault of the author. He believes that he can force Mary Shelley to write that he creates a perfect human being instead of a monster; then Elizabeth will be his forever. His servant, Toadstool has ulterior motives and eggs Frankenstein on to get his revenge on Mary Shelley. Frankenstein and Toadstool send a Georgian debt collector, a 19th C American showman and a modern day boy who thinks he is Sherlock Holmes to make Mary Shelley suffer in the same way that Frankenstein has in the book. Can Frankenstein force Mary Shelley to re-write her novel and so make Elizabeth his forever ? or do things go dreadfully wrong?

Discover the secret riches of the Psalms. Christians know the Psalms. singthe Psalms, and pray the Psalms. Yet believers have lost the big picture -the single sense that unites all the Psalms as one coherent book.

The 1944 Education Act was a crucial piece of British legislation - one of the most important of this century. It was passed against a background of war and growing popular demand for social reform. It provideda framework for the education service which remained largely intct for almost fifty years. Since 1988, however, with the introduction of a National Curriculum and competition between schools, the workings of the Act have been largely dismantled. In The Making of the 1944 Education Act, Michael Barber presents a lively evaluation of the Act - its background, passage and effect fifty years after it was introduced. He looks briefly at the frustrated attempts at reform between the wars and how the upheaval of World War II created the right conditions for successful legislation. The book then follows the passage of reform and quotes liberally from contemporary sources such as the Times Educational Supplement and Hansard to illustrate its narrative. It is a fascinating history of educational policy and of British culture and politics towards the end of the war. Michael Barber sees the 1944 Act as a triumph of clear purpose and acknowledges the wisdom and political acumen of R.A.Butler, then President of the Board of Education. The Making of the 1944 Education Act offers an excellent history and evalutaion of an important piece of legislation and its legacy. It will be of great interest to teachers, student teachers, policy-makers and political historians. Michael Barber is Professor of Education at Keele University.

Billions of citizens around the world are frustrated with their governments. Why is this? And what can we do about it? In this groundbreaking book Michael Barber draws on his wealth of international experience advising political leaders, to show how those in power can make good on their promises. 'Refreshingly ruthless ... has an uplifting brio to it' Economist 'Michael Barber is a source of inspiration and wisdom' Andrew Adonis, New Statesman 'Excellent ... there is a lot of common sense and practical wisdom ... a breath of fresh air' David Willetts,Standpoint 'Barber is the global overlord of public policy ... a record around the world of actually achieving change' Philip Collins, Prospect

Gathering field work from almost twenty countries along with in-depth analysis and case studies, Religious Radicalism after the Arab Uprisings explores how radical groups, governments, and publics have responded to the Arab uprisings of 2011 and how conflicts that many thought were coming to an end are likely to continue indefinitely. Leading experts from the Center for Strategic & International Studies explore how radical groups have combined techniques learned from more liberal counterparts with a simultaneous decline in police capacity to construct an effective threat against established powers. The book also examines how governments have responded to unprecedented challenges to their authority by attacking a wide range of religiously inspired groups. It concludes that to face the current threats, governments need analyze the effectiveness of existing tools, discarding those that are outdated and adopting the new strategies to counter the ever-mounting radical presence.

'Michael Barber's pioneering work as head of my Delivery Unit helped ensure real progress, not just with our education reforms, but with healthcare and policing too. It attracted worldwide attention. This guide distils the wisdom he gained at that time and has refined since. I strongly recommend it.' - Tony Blair, Former UK Prime Minister 1997-2007 A step-by-step approach to delivering results Michael Barber, former chief advisor on delivery to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and his colleagues Andy Moffit and Paul Kihn thoroughly describe Barber's proven reform delivery processes in this practical field guide. The timing is ideal, as Barack Obama's administration prioritizes education reform. Citing education reform case studies from more than 20 countries, the authors assert that most previous reforms were unsuccessful due to failed implementation. This book focuses on how to accomplish meaningful results, including: - Significant and ongoing education reform - Excellence and equity across public education The authors illustrate a field-tested program that ensures reform is achieved in the most profound sense, with students able to see, feel, and reap the benefits of a high-quality education. It is based not only on the experience of the Blair administration but also on case studies of successful implementation of reform in the U.S. and elsewhere. Listen as Barber describes the importance of the book: