Other books that might interest you

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  Testimonies of Transition -...

  Marjory Harper

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  Marjory Harper explores the motives and experiences of migrants, settlers and returners by focusing on the personal testimonies of the two million men, women and children who left Scotland in the 20th century.

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  Serving God in a Migrant Crisis...

  Patrick Johnstone

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  "God has used migration for millennia to achieve his purposes for his people," writes Patrick Johnstone. "He is doing so again in our time."Millions are on the move, driven by war, drought, terrorism, poverty, failed states, environmental catastrophes, disease, revolutions, and the desire for a better life. Christians have a unique perspective on the migrant crisis: after all, Jesus was a refugee. So were Abraham, Joseph, and Moses.Today, some turn their backs on refugees. In Serving God in a Migrant Crisis, Patrick Johnstone and Dean Merrill help us understand what's causing today's refugee crisis, explore Christian theology and tradition on migration, and show us how Christian workers around the globe are opening their hearts to embrace these modern outcasts. "The world has literally come to our doorstep," they write. "Will we open the door?"

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  The Afghan War - Operation...

  Anthony Tucker-Jones

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  Drugs, war and terrorism were the unholy trinity that brought the US-led air campaign crashing down on the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in October 2001 in Operation Enduring Freedom, and this photographic history is a graphic introduction to it. The immediate aim was to eject the Taliban from power, and to capture or kill the al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his supporters whom the Taliban were sheltering. The decade-long war that followed, first against the Taliban regime, then against Taliban insurgents, is one of the most controversial conflicts of recent times. It has also seen the deployment of thousands of coalition troops and a huge range of modern military equipment, and these are the main focus of Anthony Tucker-Jones's account. He covers the entire course of the conflict, from the initial air war, the battle for the White Mountains and Tora Bora, the defeat of the Taliban, the escape of bin Laden and the grim protracted security campaign that followed  an asymmetrical war of guerrilla tactics and improvised explosive devices that is going on today.

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  Haircuts by Children and Other...

  Darren O'Donnell

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  A cultural planner's immodest proposal: change how we think about children and we just might change the world.
   
  We live in an ‘adultitarian’ state, where the rules are based on very adult priori- ties and understandings of reality. Young people are disenfranchised and power- less; they understand they’re subject to an authoritarian regime, whether they buy into it or not. But their unique perspectives also offer incredible potential for social, cultural and economic innovation.
   
  Cultural planner and performance director Darren O’Donnell has been collaborating with children for years through his company, Mammalian Diving Reflex; their most well-known piece, Haircuts by Children (exactly what it sounds like) has been performed internationally. O’Donnell suggests that working with children in the cultural industries in a manner that maintains a large space for their participation can be understood as a pilot for a vision of a very different role for young people in the world – one that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child considers a ‘new social contract.’
   
  Haircuts by Children is a practical proposal for the inclusion of children in as many realms as possible, not only as an expression of their rights, but as a way to intervene in the world and to disrupt the stark economic inequalities perpetuated by the status quo. Deeply practical and wildly whimsical, Haircuts by Children might actually make total sense.
   
  ‘No other playwright working in Toronto right now has O’Donnell’s talent for synthesizing psychosocial, artistic and political random thoughts and reflections into compelling analyses ... The world (not to mention the theatre world) could use more of this, if only to get us talking and debating.’
   
  – The Globe and Mail

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  Why I Read - The Serious...

  Wendy Lesser

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  “A delectably sophisticated inquiry into why reading is a constant source of pleasure and provocation.” —Booklist 
   
  “Reading Why I Read delivers all the pleasure of discussing one’s favorite books with a marvelously articulate, intelligent, opinionated friend. It’s like joining the book club of your dreams.” —Francine Prose 
   
  “Wendy Lesser’s extraordinary alertness, intelligence, and curiosity have made her one of America’s most significant cultural critics,” writes Stephen Greenblatt. In Why I Read, Lesser draws on a lifetime of pleasure reading and decades of editing to describe a life lived in and through literature. As she examines work from such perspectives as “Character and Plot,” “Novelty,” “Grandeur and Intimacy,” and “Authority,” the reader will discover a definition of literature that is as broad as it is broad-minded. In addition to novels and stories, Lesser explores plays, poems, and essays, along with mysteries, science fiction, and memoirs. Her passion for reading is infectious—and it resonates on every page. Iconoclastic, conversational, and full of insight, Why I Read will delight avid readers as well as neophytes in search of sheer literary fun. 
   
  “Everywhere in Why I Read lie ribbons of literary wisdom. . . . Lesser argues for the Great Books in words that might be engraved in granite.” —William Giraldi, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice) 
   
  “She offers insights into George Orwell and Henning Mankell, Emily Dickinson and Roberto Bolaño, J.R. Ackerley and Shakespeare, Henry James and Isaac Asimov—to name but a few. . . . The effect is rather as if Lesser were writing to a friend about the most fabulous literary party of all time, where she’d been in conversation not with authors but with their works.” —Claire Messud, Bookforum

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  The Mere Exposure Effect -...

  William Rands

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  The Mere Exposure Effect is a psychological phenomenon where repeated exposure to a stimulus leads to an increased preference for that stimulus. This effect occurs without any active engagement or deep processing from the individual. Simply put, the more we encounter something, the more likely we are to develop a liking for it, even if we don’t consciously realize why. This effect can apply to a wide range of stimuli, from people and objects to sounds, images, and even ideas. The central principle behind this concept is that familiarity breeds fondness. 
  First identified by psychologist Robert Zajonc in the 1960s, the Mere Exposure Effect has become a cornerstone of psychological research, illustrating the powerful impact that repeated exposure can have on human preferences. Zajonc’s studies showed that individuals tend to rate unfamiliar stimuli more favorably after repeated presentations, even when they are not consciously aware of the exposure. His work demonstrated that this preference for familiar stimuli occurs across various domains, from simple shapes to more complex social contexts. 
  The Mere Exposure Effect is often seen in everyday life. For example, we might find ourselves gravitating toward a particular song after hearing it multiple times on the radio, even if we initially didn’t like it. Similarly, we may develop stronger connections to people we encounter frequently, whether in our personal lives or in the workplace. This effect also plays a crucial role in the success of advertising campaigns, where repeated exposure to a brand or product can significantly influence consumer behavior, often leading to a preference for those products.

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