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Group Dynamics, Donelson R. Forsyth

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Offering the most comprehensive treatment of groups available, Group Dynamics, sixth edition, combines an emphasis on research, empirical studies supporting theoretical understanding of groups, and extended case studies to illustrate the application of concepts to actual groups. This best-selling book builds each chapter around a real-life case, drawing on examples from a range of disciplines including psychology, law, education, sociology, and political science. Tightly weaving concepts and familiar ideas together, the text takes students beyond simple exposure to basic principles and research findings to a deeper understanding of each topic.

[Introduction To] More Than Shelter: Activism And Community In San Francisco Public Housing, Amy L. Howard

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In the popular imagination, public housing tenants are considered, at best, victims of intractable poverty and, at worst, criminals. More Than Shelter makes clear that such limited perspectives do not capture the rich reality of tenants’ active engagement in shaping public housing into communities. By looking closely at three public housing projects in San Francisco, Amy L. Howard brings to light the dramatic measures tenants have taken to create—and sustain and strengthen—communities that mattered to them.

More Than Shelter opens with the tumultuous institutional history of the San Francisco Housing Authority, from its inception during the New Deal era, through …

[Introduction To] The Columbia Sourcebook Of Mormons In The United States, Terryl Givens, Reid L. Nielson

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This anthology offers rare access to key original documents illuminating Mormon history, theology, and culture in the United States from the nineteenth century to today. Brief introductions describe the theological significance of each text and its reflection of the practices, issues, and challenges that have defined and continue to define the Mormon community. These documents balance mainstream and peripheral thought and religious experience, institutional and personal perspective, and theoretical and practical interpretation, representing pivotal moments in LDS history and correcting decades of misinformation and stereotype.

The authors of these documents, male and female, not only celebrate but speak critically and …

[Introduction To] Identity And Leadership In Virtual Communities: Establishing Credibility And Influence, Dona J. Hickey, Joe Essid

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The presence and ubiquity of the internet continues to transform the way in which we identify ourselves and others both online and offline. The development of virtual communities permits users to create an online identity to interact with and influence one another in ways that vary greatly from face-to-face interaction.

Identity and Leadership in Virtual Communities: Establishing Credibility and Influence explores the notion of establishing an identity online, managing it like a brand, and using it with particular members of a community. Bringing together a range of voices exemplifying how participants in online communities influence one another, this book serves …

[Introduction To] The Cambridge Companion To Paradise Lost, Louis Schwartz

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This Companion presents fifteen short, accessible essays exploring the most important topics and themes in John Milton's masterpiece, Paradise Lost. The essays invite readers to begin their own independent exploration of the poem by equipping them with useful background knowledge, introducing them to key passages, and acquainting them with the current state of critical debates. Chapters are arranged to mirror the way the poem itself unfolds, offering exactly what readers need as they approach each movement of its grand design. Essays in Part I introduce the characters who frame the poem's story and set its plot and theological dynamics …

Rural America In A Globalizing World, Conner Bailey, Leif Jensen, Elizabeth Ransom

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This fourth Rural Sociological Society decennial volume provides advanced policy scholarship on rural North America during the 2010’s, closely reflecting upon the increasingly global nature of social, cultural, and economic forces and the impact of neoliberal ideology upon policy, politics, and power in rural areas.

The chapters in this volume represent the expertise of an influential group of scholars in rural sociology and related social sciences. Its five sections address the changing structure of North American agriculture, natural resources and the environment, demographics, diversity, and quality of life in rural communities.

[Introduction To] Believing Against The Evidence: Agency And The Ethics Of Belief, Miriam S. Mccormick

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The question of whether it is ever permissible to believe on insufficient evidence has once again become a live question. Greater attention is now being paid to practical dimensions of belief, namely issues related to epistemic virtue, doxastic responsibility, and voluntarism.

In this book, McCormick argues that the standards used to evaluate beliefs are not isolated from other evaluative domains. The ultimate criteria for assessing beliefs are the same as those for assessing action because beliefs and actions are both products of agency. Two important implications of this thesis, both of which deviate from the dominant view in contemporary philosophy, …

[Introduction To] The View From The Bench And Chambers: Examining Judicial Process And Decision Making On The U.S. Courts Of Appeals, Jennifer Barnes Bowie, Donald R. Songer, John Szmer

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For most of their history, the U.S. courts of appeals have toiled in obscurity, well out of the limelight of political controversy. But as the number of appeals has increased dramatically, while the number of cases heard by the Supreme Court has remained the same, the courts of appeals have become the court of last resort for the vast majority of litigants. This enhanced status has been recognized by important political actors, and as a result, appointments to the courts of appeals have become more and more contentious since the 1990s. This combination of increasing political salience and increasing political …

[Introduction To] Anti-Americanism And The Rise Of World Opinion, Monti Narayan Datta

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In recent years, the US has seen its public popularity ratings around the world plummet under the presidency of George W. Bush, and subsequently soar upon the election of Barack Obama. The issue of anti-Americanism has received considerable attention from policy-makers, pundits and scholars alike. It is perhaps surprising then that systematic empirical studies of its consequences are still few and far between. Drawing from a wealth of research data, interviews and surveys of social media, this book directly examines pro- and anti-American views and asks what we can learn about the nature and impact of world opinion. By treating …

[Introduction To] Universal Rights And The Constitution, Stephen A. Simon

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Are constitutional rights based exclusively in uniquely American considerations, or are they based at least in part on principles that transcend the boundaries of any particular country, such as the requirements of freedom or dignity? By viewing constitutional law through the prism of this fundamental question, Universal Rights and the Constitution exposes an overlooked difficulty with opinions rendered by the Supreme Court, namely, an inherent ambiguity about the kinds of arguments that count in constitutional interpretation, which weakens the foundations of our most cherished rights.

Rejecting current debates over constitutional interpretation as flawed, Stephen A. Simon offers an innovative framework …

[Introduction To] Ideals And Ideologies: A Reader, Terence Ball, Richard Dagger, Daniel O'Neill

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Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader is a comprehensive compilation of original readings representing all of the major 'isms". It offers students a generous sampling of key thinkers in different ideological traditions and places them in their historical and political contexts. Used on its own or with Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal, the title accounts for the different ways people use ideology and conveys the ongoing importance of ideas in politics.

[Introduction To] Ethics, The Heart Of Leadership, Joanne B. Ciulla

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If leaders were defined by their influence on history, Hitler would be on par with Gandhi, Lincoln, and Mother Theresa. Yet most of us believe that our superiors have a responsibility to exercise power with a purpose far greater than any political agenda and a motive more noble than personal gain. This thought-provoking collection of essays explores the ethical challenges that leaders face in their relationships with followers, the choices they make, and the ways in which they influence others.

Joanne B. Ciulla and her contributors examine the traits and characteristics of top-tier leaders. She questions the assumption that moral …

[Introduction To] Conceptions Of Leadership: Enduring Ideas And Emerging Insights, George R. Goethals, Scott T. Allison, Roderick M. Kramer, David M. Messick

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Conceptions of Leadership gathers together the latest work by distinguished leadership scholars in social psychology and related disciplines to explore classic conceptions of leadership, such as interpersonal influence, charisma, personality, and power, as well as recent perspectives on those enduring concerns. It includes contemporary departures from traditional approaches to leadership in considering gender, trust, narratives, and the complex relationships between leaders and followers. Together the chapters provide a wide-ranging and coherent account of how human beings get along and the ways they engage and work together to accomplish their goals.

[Introduction To] Un Libro Quemado, Mariela Méndez, Graciela A. Queirolo, Alicia N. Salomone

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Los escritos de Alfonsina Storni reunidos en este libro fueron publicados entre 1919 y 1921 en la revista La Nota y el diario La Nación. Sus títulos, como “¿Quién es el enemigo del divorcio?”, “Los defectos masculinos” o “¿Por qué las maestras se casan poco?”, dan cuenta de una mirada crítica e irreverente que desafió las costumbres y las normas de su época.

Usando como molde las típicas columnas femeninas que giran en torno al mundo doméstico, Storni dio un paso más allá e incorporó temas polémicos tales como la presencia de la mujer en el mercado de trabajo …

[Introduction To] Escrituras A Ras De Suelo: Crónica Latinoamericana Del Siglo Xx, Marcela Aguilar, Claudia Darrigrandi, Mariela Méndez, Antonia Viu

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El proyecto de publicar una colección de artículos sobre la crónica latinoamericana aparecida en el siglo xx, principalmente entre 1930 y 1970, intenta hacerse cargo de una producción mucho menos estudiada que la crónica modernista o que la crónica de las últimas décadas, problematizando las definiciones y fundamentos que se le han atribuido al género a partir de esas tradiciones. Más que una nueva revisión de tales concepciones de la crónica, lo que el lector encontrará en los escritos agrupados en las distintas secciones de este libro son elementos parciales y problemas concretos que surgen en muy distintos contextos y …

[Introduction To] Political Ideologies And The Democratic Ideal, Terence Ball, Richard Dagger, Daniel O'Neill

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Political Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal thoroughly analyzes and compares political ideologies to help readers understand these ideologies as acutely as a political scientist does. Used alone or with its companion Ideals and Ideologies: A Reader, this best-selling title promotes open-mindedness and develops critical thinking skills.