Book Description
Loaded with meaty trivia and tasty, bite-sized facts!
mental_floss is proud to offer a delicious, hearty helping of brain-food that's sure to fire up your neurons and tantalize your synapses. Condensed Knowledge is a mouthwatering mix of intriguing facts, lucid explanations, and mind-blowing theories that will satisfy even the hungriest mind!
Ingredients include:
5 tiny nations that get no respect • 4 civilizations nobody remembers • 5 classics written under the influence • 4 things your boss has in common with slime mold • 3 schools of thought that will impress the opposite sex • 4 things Einstein got wrong • 5 classical tunes you know from the movies • 3 famous studies that would be illegal today • 2 religious mysteries solved by chemistry • 5 scandals that rocked art, and much more ...
Customer Reviews:
great book.......2007-07-29
simply a delight to read. it's great to cram all of these random facts in when you have nothing else to do. even would make a great book for the loo.
just as it says.......2007-03-22
Just as it promises, this is a fine book to get condensed knowledge on just about anything. It also stimulates you to research further on the subjects that intrigue you. Hmmm, I might have to pass this on to my teenage son and see if it stimulates his curiousity beyond video games...
Disappointed.......2007-02-09
I read this entire book and it became a chore after a while. Another reviewer wrote "Fluffy and Bland" when describing this book. I think that is an apt description. The book reads like those "Factoids" in USA Today. I don't feel like I learned a whole lot by reading it.
Ok, not great.......2006-12-06
I had a hard time getting through this book because, although it was entertaining enough I guess, it was mostly stuff that I had known at one time and forgotten rather than containing much that was new and fascinating. I was really hoping for some uncommon and entertaining tidbits to add to my collection of useless trivia, but was fairly disappointed.
I dont feel smarter, really. But I am sure I become less foolish!.......2006-10-06
When I picked it up, I was very skeptical. In this internet age I could simply search and browse for anything I can think of, or simply go to Wikipedia, if not a volume of Britannica. Luckily enough, the Campbell Soup like front cover gave me the final purchase push.
IMHO, it's not easy to edit a good book of this encyclopedia genre. Too long you will easily get bored. Too short you will deem it shallow and useless. Thanks to the editors, this 323 content page book of 15 topics delivers exactly the right stuff. It's concise, informative, interesting and definitely a page turner, a valuable attribute not commonly found in a non fiction type of book. Reviewer "Christina Lockstein" simply described it as the "Perfect Bathroom Book", a praise that I can agree no more. In short, highly recommended!
Average customer rating:
|
Women's Work and Public Policy: A History of the Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor, 1945-1970
Kathleen A. Laughlin
Manufacturer: Northeastern
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding
 Labor & Industrial Relations
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Unemployment
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Industrial Relations
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Public Policy
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Federal Government
| Government
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Labor & Industrial Relations
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Women's Studies
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
History
| Women's Studies
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Public Administration
| Political Science
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Labor & Employment
| Business
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Employment
| English Law
| Law
| Subjects
| Books
Labor & Employment
| Business
| Law
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Italy
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
All Titles
| Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007
| Stores
| Books
ASIN: 1555534449 |
Book Description
For over seventy-five years, the Women's Bureau, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, has played a major part in the struggle for equal rights. In this institutional history, Kathleen A. Laughlin offers the fullest account to date of the Women's Bureau during the post-World War II era, showing how its long tradition of linking government with grassroots constituents supported and sustained the political milieu for women's rights activism in the 1940s and 1950s, and set the foundation for resurgent feminism in the 1960s.
This insightful study chronicles how the federal agency's quiet, backstage activism promoted an economic agenda for women and paved the way for more public, center stage feminist advocacy. It challenges traditional beliefs that women's activism was dormant during the 1940s and 1950s, and makes a significant contribution to revisionist scholarship on social and political reform movements in the postwar decades.
Average customer rating:
|
Food and Beverage Market Place - Suppliers Edition, 1999/2000
Manufacturer: Grey House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Hospitality, Travel & Tourism
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Directories
| Catalogs & Directories
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Reference
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 189148270X |
Book Description
This brand new title offers comprehensive, in-depth coverage of the suppliers to the food industry. Food and Beverage Market Place - Suppliers Edition provides needed information on companies providing Contract Processing, Contract Research, Ingredients, Laboratory and Analytical Equipment, Packaging Equipment and Materials, Product Development Services, Processing Equipment, Quality Assurance and Semi-Finished Products. Each entry provides company name and address, key executive contact names, phone and fax numbers, websites and email addresses, as well as product descriptions. For anyone in the food industry, this will become the source for supplier information. Food and Beverage Market Place - Suppliers Edition contains three indexes: product Category Index, Geographic Index and Executive Name Index. An ideal acquisition for Purchasing Managers, Directors of Research and Development, Manufacturing Managers and Executive Recruiters.
Average customer rating:
|
Guerra De Los Sexos (Humor)
Gabriela Acher
Manufacturer: Sudamericana
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Spain
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Humor
| Entretenimiento
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
España
| Europa
| Historia
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
General
| Mundial
| Historia
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
No-Ficción
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
| Automotriz
| Ciencias Sociales
| Crimen y Criminales
| Educación
| Estudios de la Mujer
| Feriados
| Filosofía
| Gobierno
| Hechos Verídicos
| Planeamiento Urbano y Desarrollo
| Política
| Sucesos de Actualidad
| Transportación
ASIN: 9500714906 |
Average customer rating:
|
La Guerra de Los Sexos Esta Por Acabar (La Mandibula Mecanica)
Gabriela Acher
Manufacturer: Planeta
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Humor
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Humor
| Entretenimiento
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
No-Ficción
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
| Automotriz
| Ciencias Sociales
| Crimen y Criminales
| Educación
| Estudios de la Mujer
| Feriados
| Filosofía
| Gobierno
| Hechos Verídicos
| Planeamiento Urbano y Desarrollo
| Política
| Sucesos de Actualidad
| Transportación
ASIN: 9507422811 |
Average customer rating:
|
Sexos En Guerra
Michael Sky
Manufacturer: Gaia
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Parenting & Families
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Padres y familia
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
No-Ficción
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
| Automotriz
| Ciencias Sociales
| Crimen y Criminales
| Educación
| Estudios de la Mujer
| Feriados
| Filosofía
| Gobierno
| Hechos Verídicos
| Planeamiento Urbano y Desarrollo
| Política
| Sucesos de Actualidad
| Transportación
ASIN: 8488242492 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Thomson Gale on April 27, 2007. The length of the article is 1503 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: El lobby gay impone su agenda: llega la 'identidad de género': los principios acordados en Yakarta se traducirán en leyes: para introducir la identidad de género en el mundo, en un seminario internacional celebrado en Yakarta se han elaborado 21 puntos. El autor, teólogo, desenmascara al grupo de presión y desmonta los argumentos de la nueva ideología.
Author: Manuel Guerra
Publication:
Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: April 27, 2007
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Issue: 1147
Page: 60(4)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Thomson Gale on January 31, 2003. The length of the article is 477 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: La guerra de los sexos: en sus celebres paginas sobre Macbeth y su esposa, el escritor senala, con ironia, que ambos personajes representan el ser femenino y el ser masculino y su constante pugna. (Pensamiento El Rincon de Chesterton).
Author: G.K. Chesterton
Publication:
Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 31, 2003
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Page: 67(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Siempre!, published by Edicional Siempre on October 1, 1998. The length of the article is 737 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: La guerra del sexo. (investigación de Bill Clinton, presidente de los Estados Unidos)(TT: The sex war) (TA: Bill Clinton's investigation, president of the US)
Author: Camilo José Cela Conde
Publication:
Siempre! (Refereed)
Date: October 1, 1998
Publisher: Edicional Siempre
Volume: v45
Issue: n2363
Page: p42(1)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Proceso, published by CISA Comunicacion e Informacion, S.A. de C.V. on February 15, 2004. The length of the article is 2322 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: La guerra homofóbica de Bush.(oposición a matrimonio entre homosexuales)
Author: Sanjuana Martínez
Publication:
Proceso (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 15, 2004
Publisher: CISA Comunicacion e Informacion, S.A. de C.V.
Issue: 1424
Page: 52(3)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on August 9, 2002. The length of the article is 1392 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: La guerra más antigua del mundo: la guerra más antigua del mundo, la de los sexos, se recrudece con el ascenso de la mujer. Los últimos partes de guerra en forma de libros dan fe de ello. (sociedad).(TT: Mankind's most ancient of wars: the war of the sexes. In modern times, this power struggle has turned downright vicious. These books will tell you all about it. (Society).)
Author: Ángel Vivas
Publication:
Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 9, 2002
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Page: 58(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Proceso, published by CISA Comunicacion e Informacion, S.A. de C.V. on August 10, 2003. The length of the article is 1122 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: La Iglesia y Bush en guerra con los homosexuales.(George W. Bush, presidente de Estados Unidos)(movimiento contra matrimonio entre homosexuales )
Author: Ignacio Solares
Publication:
Proceso (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 10, 2003
Publisher: CISA Comunicacion e Informacion, S.A. de C.V.
Issue: 1397
Page: 54(2)
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Epoca, published by Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA) on August 23, 1999. The length of the article is 998 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: SIEMPRE ASI "EN NUESTRO GRUPO NO HAY GUERRA DE SEXOS".(TT: In our group there are not gender wars.)
Author: Gustavo Canino
Publication:
Epoca (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 23, 1999
Publisher: Difusora de Informacion Periodica, S.A. (DINPESA)
Page: 74
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Amazon.com
When a Princeton-trained ethnomusicologist returns to follow up his studies in the Central Asian nations east of China and north of Afghanistan, he stumbles into a cornucopia of music, history, and religion. With a trusty guide called OM, Theodore Levin travels back and forth through the newly liberated cities and countryside of an ancient land that is home to such exotic names as Tashkent and Samarkand. Levin writes not only about his successes in identifying and recording the musical traditions of the area but also of the experiences of the people under Soviet rule, the myths that are kept alive through music, and the healers that use music as therapy. Levin finds a complex and colorful mix of ethnic and religious traditions where music unites Jew, Muslim, and shaman. The Hundred Thousand Fools of God is more than just a travel diary: it is a snapshot of an evolving culture. And the accompanying CD is divine. --Brian Bruya
Book Description
"This erudite, absorbing volume chronicles the travels of ethnomusicologist Theodore Levin through urban and rural Transoxania . . . He writes in evocative, imaginative, personalized prose that vividly captures the flavor of his everyday experiences, providing plush visual detail, trenchant character profiles, attention to perplexing local hospitality codes and the shaping hand of gender, throughout." --Slavic Review
". . . extremely informative, using music as a platform for a much wider discussion of cultural and political issues." --Times Literary Supplement, London
"The subject is music, but Levin uses it to cast a wider light, revealing places of considerable sorrow long hidden in the shadows of Soviet power, and to create a travelogue with wide potential appeal. . . . Candor about his own uncertainties and personal struggles helps make this a personal as well as a scholarly adventure." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Not to be missed by those interested in music and world culture . . . " --Library Journal
". . . may be destined to become the definitive work on the music of this newly accessed region." --Dirty Linen
The Hundred Thousand Fools of God assembles a living musical and ethnographic map by highlighting the fate of traditions, beliefs, and social relationships in Muslim and Jewish Central Asian cultures during and after seventy years of Soviet rule. Theodore Levin evokes the spectacular physical and human geography of the area and weaves a rich ethnography of the life styles, values, and art of the musical performers. Photographs, maps, and an accompanying CD (featuring 24 on-site recordings) make The Hundred Thousand Fools of God a unique reading and listening experience.
Customer Reviews:
Tunes and Tales from the Heart of Asia.......2004-03-25
Six years ago, I wrote my first review for Amazon, of Richard N. Frye's "Bukhara: The Medieval Achievement". Frye's work, concentrating mostly on the 10th and 11th centuries, described in detail how Turkic-speaking nomads combined with Iranian city dwellers and Arab bringers of a new religion to create a new synthesis in Islam in Central Asia, particularly in the city of Bukhara. That syncretic Islam later became most instrumental in the development of the Muslim faith in the Indian subcontinent. Levin's THE HUNDRED THOUSAND FOOLS OF GOD mainly describes the condition of music and musicians in the 1990s in the modern republics of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. That same Richard N. Frye provides a strong endorsement on the back cover. I too find that this volume is a worthy successor in the on-going "project" of bringing Central Asian history and culture before Western eyes. The musical world of Central Asia still involves synthesis and syncretism---between the West and tradition, between new conservatism and older tolerance, between Soviet atheism and local spirituality, between Islam and older religions which we might label shamanistic, and between so-called ethnic groups like Uzbeks and Tajiks.
Levin travelled around the region with a musical companion, Otanazar Matyakubov, who provided endless contacts and insights. Together they interviewed and listened to all the varied performers of Central Asian music, from a female pop singer to humble performers of classical styles, from healers in remote villages who used music in their rituals to performers at schmaltzy Jewish weddings in the transplanted Bukharan Jewish community in Queens, New York. Levin describes the surroundings in which he found each musician, tells of his travels in decrepit cars between ancient cities or by donkey through the dramatic mountain scenery of remotest Tajikistan. While a certain amount of detail may be of interest chiefly to fellow ethnomusicologists, those specialized observations are spaced throughout the text in such a way that the non-professional reader never feels overwhelmed. Levin provides a number of excellent photographs, maps, and most importantly, a brilliant CD which illustrates all the styles and instruments he discusses. The effect of 70 years of Soviet policies is often mentioned, and a reader can deduce the results of this assault on local culture, though I would have liked more direct comment. Moscow's insistence on creating discrete "nationalities" created virulent brands of Uzbek and Tajik (and so many other) nationalism where none had existed. It created separate, ethnic-based countries where none had ever existed. It even created "Uzbek" and "Tajik" music out of a formerly seamless Central Asian tradition. This Soviet policy ultimately resulted in the squeezing out of Bukharan Jews-prominent in the Central Asian musical world for centuries---because they were deemed insufficiently "Uzbek" by newly nationalistic authorities.
In short, this is one of the best books of ethnomusicology I have ever read. It would be of interest to anyone trying to learn more about Central Asia and must be required reading for anthropologists concerned with the area. THE HUNDRED THOUSAND FOOLS OF GOD also brings the region to life and underlines the difference between the materialistic, narrowly nationalistic present and the past in which musicians played out of devotion and love of God without trying to fit into some culture apparatchik's idea of "national music".
Fascinating.......2001-05-30
This book is a many faceted report on the state of music in the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union, especially Uzbekistan. The author did his Ph.D. research in ethnomusicology in Tashkent on traditional court music called Shash maqam in 1977-1978. At the time, Levin was not as interested in this music as he had expected, which he later attributed to the Soviet cultural policies which extinguished the spark of vivacity from the Uzbek music. This book details many of the author's subsequent travels to Central Asia in search of traditional musicians who managed somehow to develop their unique talents within the stifling socialist milieu.
Levin provides much information about the artists, their music, and their poetry, which can all be heard on the accompanying CD. In the text itself, he rarely describes the instruments played by the musicians, referring to them merely with their local names. However, descriptions of the instruments can be found in the glossary at the end of the book, which I unfortunately didn't notice until I had finished reading. Occasionally, Levin's musicology terms get a little too thick for the general reader, but on the whole, the book is quite accessible.
The strongest aspect of the book is its description of the culture history of music in the Soviet Union. In my own brief travels to the Soviet Union, I was struck by how many people there were acquainted with classical music--how an appreciation of classical music stretched across the entire society. I never saw the dark side of this, however. In this book, Levin describes how centralized state policies governed even the field of music, changing and obliterating centuries' old traditions.
Excellent exploration of music and culture in Central Asia.......1998-08-06
Mr. Levin writes about cultural survival and cultural decay in Transoxiana, as seen from the vantage point of traditional musicians. Combining his own traveler's tales with detailed but accessible musicological analysis, he examines the role of the traditional performing arts in the modern world of Uzbekistan, and the way that they have been subverted by the Soviet and successor governments. Engagingly written, without condescension towards the reader or the people of whom he writes, this book will reward readers interested in the cultural life of the region.
Levin sets quite a standard!.......1998-03-31
Mr. Levin has truly accomplished something noteworthy in this book. It is perhaps the best book from the often boring realm of ethnomusicological research that I have read in recent years. The breadth of understanding and acute cultural awareness brought out in the book is fantastic. It should find an audience among music scholars as well as the average reader, especially given the uncomplicated way Levin tells his tale. The addition of the CD to the book is truly complimentary unlike many of the other "multi-media" gimmicks so often offered to entice the buyer. This book is essential for anyone who seeks a clarity in writing about the musics of another culture.
Book Description
Contrary to today's widespread emphasis on cultural diversity, the United States has become not a multicultural society but the world's first post-cultural society. Cultures, Christopher Clausen argues, have lost power over both public and private behavior. This largely unrecognized transformation has enormous importance for every area of American life, from marriage to politics. One of its most prevalent social expressions is an aimless, conformist individualism--because there is no longer any source of authority or value outside the self. The multiculturalism of leftist politics and the family values of the right are both futile expressions of nostalgia for a world (differently interpreted, of course) that is gone forever. In Faded Mosaic, Mr. Clausen brings his analysis down to earth with telling illustrations from contemporary life. He demonstrates how the moral demands and collective identities of America's native and immigrant cultures have vanished. In striking contrast to societies of the past, he declares, the United States today has neither one big culture nor many smaller ones, only a dizzying mixture of freedom and nostalgia. Original and penetrating, a serious critique.... It is the great virtue of Faded Mosaic that Mr. Clausen describes our present condition without hysterics or posturing--but with the caution, objectivity and concern that the subject deserves. --Eric Cohen, Wall Street Journal
Customer Reviews:
The Culture of Cultural Oblivion.......2001-09-18
This is a great book, almost a respite from the culture war histrionics that dominate media and academic discourse. In it Clausen talks about "post-culturalism," yet another insipid term for which he apologizes at the book's beginning. It's just gotta be like that, I guess. As a good explanation of his thesis, I'll describe the cover:
People are going about their business outside a small restaurant, everything's normal. The restaurant is called "Log Cabin Pizza" and specializes in burgers, tacos, and italian beef. The specials are corned beef sandwiches and Cantonese stirfry. Next to the Log Cabin is a store specializing in religious artifacts and trinkets, of "all religions." Heterogeneity and homogeneity have become the same thing.
Clausen has an excellent critique of multiculturalism's theoretical permutations, and its significance for our society. He sort of downplays the idea of any sort of genuine "culture war," however, saying that cultures --and the very term culture-- are just methods to conveniently construct the present, and genuinely signify little in America. He is rather scathing talking about some of the Indian (he insists on calling them Indians) reconstructions of the past to "preserve their culture." All in all a great book for people interested in understanding the paths of American social development, and for those looking for a critique of the culture-vulture flame wars.
Another nice thing is that the book is short. It is not some plodding monstrosity of an author's effort to demonstrate he is well read. Instead, Clausen has written a clear and concise book that does not fall into the short book trap of polemics.
Excellent, incisive portrait of postmodern America.......2000-11-14
This book is one of the best I've read since college on American "culture" and the so-called "culture wars". Clausen defines what he means by culture and post-culture, then shows that America no longer has a culture. What is called "multiculturalism" is racial/racist/victimology pandering manufactured for political use. America today, and increasingly the rest of the civilized world, are monocultural.
Post-cultural society is one without authority, either as persons or ideals. But it is also a society of conformist, pseudo-individualists, dominated by narcissism: rejection of fact and rational thought, historically illiterate. What's left of real historical cultures in America has been cannibalized for commercial, political, or academic purposes. Clausen takes an especially fascinating and decisive look at the anthropological concept of "culture", why it applies only to isolated primitive societies, and why cultural "relativism" never made any sense.
Our state, outlined by Clausen, was prophesied over a century ago by Tocqueville and Nietzsche, as the "tyranny of the majority" or the mentally enfeebled "last man". It's here, and it's the way we live now, like it or not. It does not bode well for individual freedom or democratic self-government.
Informative, intimate analysis of American culture wars........2000-06-04
Faded Mosaic considers modern American culture, presented by the author as the first post-cultural society existing after the death of culture: after defining the state of post-culturalism, Clausen argues that its effects are transforming American life and creating conformist individuals who don't believe in outer authority figures. Both causes and effects of these culture wars receive intimate analysis in a title recommended for college-level students of sociology.
America, the graveyard of cultures.......2000-05-31
This book will change the way you think about contemporary American society. With acid wit and one arresting phrase after another, Christopher Clausen shows that the ferocious debate over multiculturalism misses the point. Culture is disappearing in America. Far from being multicultural, America has been a "graveyard of cultures." Ethnic studies programs in American universities "dot the academic world like grave markers after a plague." In what Clausen calls "post-cultural" America, the very word culture has lost its meaning and multiculturalism is little more than a code word for racial identity politics. After reading Clausen's analysis of how modern American usage has emptied culture of its meaning, I have tried to eliminate the word from my vocabulary. But culture babble is so pervasive in our society that it isn't easy. Globalization, pop culture (there's that word again!), and especially mass individualism have caused the death of culture in America. If each individual is free to create himself on whatever model he chooses, culture has lost its function. Clausen is ambivalent about post-cultural America. Although he is pained by the narcissism of modern individualism, the blandness of "McWorld," and the moral paralysis of relativism, he is completely free of nostalgia for imagined pasts. Rather he sees the death of culture in America as a consequence of the struggle for freedom that has been the theme of American history. In any case, there is no going back. Clausen's book, full of insight and wisdom, will help us find our way in post-cultural America.
Average customer rating:
|
The BBC Book of Royal Memories: 1947-1990
Manufacturer: BBC Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Royalty
| Leaders & Notable People
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
| Charles II
| Edward VII
| Elizabeth I
| Elizabeth II
| General
| Henry V
| Henry VIII
| Prince Charles
| Princess Diana
| Victoria
General Broadcasting
| Radio
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Television
| Entertainment
| Subjects
| Books
General
| England
| Europe
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0563360089 |
Book Description
Much of the discussion about new technologies and social equality has focused on the oversimplified notion of a "digital divide." Technology and Social Inclusion moves beyond the limited view of haves and have-nots to analyze the different forms of access to information and communication technologies. Drawing on theory from political science, economics, sociology, psychology, communications, education, and linguistics, the book examines the ways in which differing access to technology contributes to social and economic stratification or inclusion. The book takes a global perspective, presenting case studies from developed and developing countries, including Brazil, China, Egypt, India, and the United States.
A central premise is that, in today's society, the ability to access, adapt, and create knowledge using information and communication technologies is critical to social inclusion. This focus on social inclusion shifts the discussion of the "digital divide" from gaps to be overcome by providing equipment to social development challenges to be addressed through the effective integration of technology into communities, institutions, and societies. What is most important is not so much the physical availability of computers and the Internet but rather people's ability to make use of those technologies to engage in meaningful social practices.
Customer Reviews:
A good intro to "digital divide" issues........2005-02-23
This book is somewhat dry, but does present alot of information and data concerning the digital divide in countries all over the world. For those unfamiliar with what the digital divide is, it is the lack of "information and communication technology" in developing countries and in underprivedged sections of developed countries.
Warschauer does a good job of presenting the problems and probable causes. He then presents many different types of solutions that have been attempted, their successes and failures, and why they either worked or not. He finally discusses why we should now view this problem as a digital inequality instead of a digital divide.
If you are unfamiliar with this topic, I believe this would be a good breadth-type introduction.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Australian Library Journal, published by Thomson Gale on August 1, 2005. The length of the article is 962 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Social theory and empirical observation: hard to beat it.(Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide)(Book Review)
Author: G.E. Gorman
Publication:
The Australian Library Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: August 1, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 54
Issue: 3
Page: 313(3)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Average customer rating:
|
Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide.(Book Review): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
Jerry Gray
Manufacturer: Association for Evolutionary Economics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
| Automotive
| Books on CD
| Books on Cassette
| Crime & Criminals
| Current Events
| Economics
| Education
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Government
| Holidays
| Law
| Philosophy
| Politics
| Social Sciences
| Transportation
| True Accounts
| Urban Planning & Development
| Women's Studies
History of Technology
| Technology
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Nonfiction
| HTML
| Formats
| e-Docs
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: B0008266QC
Release Date: 2005-07-31 |
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Association for Evolutionary Economics on March 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1023 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide.(Book Review)
Author: Jerry Gray
Publication:
Journal of Economic Issues (Refereed)
Date: March 1, 2004
Publisher: Association for Evolutionary Economics
Volume: 38
Issue: 1
Page: 294(3)
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Books:
- Merriam Webster Children's Dictionary
- Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 Kick Start
- Mind: A Brief Introduction (Fundamentals of Philosophy)
- Mosby's 2005 Nursing Drug Reference
- My Boys Can Swim!: The Official Guy's Guide to Pregnancy
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees: Eastern Region (Eastern)
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Weather
- Natural Horse-Man-Ship: Six Keys to a Natural Horse-Human Relationship
- Nurses: Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes: 2005 Day-to-Day Calendar
- Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Design for Six Sigma : A Roadmap for Product Development
- Designing with Succulents
- Discovering The Maltese Falcon and Sam Spade: The Evolution of Dashiell Hammett's Masterpiece, Inclu
- Costa Rican Spanish: Lonely Planet Phrasebook
- Conversations with God : An Uncommon Dialogue
- Everyday Food: Great Food Fast
- Comparative Aspects of Neuropeptide Function
- Accountants' Handbook, 2 Volume Set
- Accounting Problems and How to Solve Them
- Comercializacion Int. y Desarrollo Exportaci
mental floss presents Forbidden Knowledge: A Wickedly Smart Guide to History's Naughtiest Bits (Mental Floss Presents)
mental floss presents Instant Knowledge (Collins Gem) (Collins Gem)
Oxymoronica: Paradoxical Wit & Wisdom From History's Greatest Wordsmiths
Mental Floss
An Underground Education : The Unauthorized and Outrageous Supplement to Everything You Thought You Knew About Art, Sex, Business, Crime, Science, Medicine, and Other Fields of Human
