Social Situations Books - Page 10

Postcards from Tomorrow Square: Reports from China (Vintage)

James Fallows

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Editorial Review:

“Americans need not be hostile toward China's rise, but they should be wary about its eventual effects. The United States is the only nation with the scale and power to try to set the terms of its interaction with China rather than just succumb. So starting now, Americans need to consider the economic, environmental, political, and social goals they care about defending as Chinese influence grows.”
—from “China Makes, the World Takes”

Since December 2006, The Atlantic Magazine's James Fallows has been writing some of the most discerning accounts of the economic and political transformation occurring in China. The ten essays collected here cover a wide-range of topics: from visionary tycoons and TV-battling entrepreneurs, to environmental pollution and how China subsidizes our economy. Fallows expertly and lucidly explains the economic, political, social, and cultural forces at work turning China into a world superpower at breakneck speed. This eye-opening and cautionary account is essential reading for all concerned not only with China's but America's future role in the world.

Communication Theories: Origins, Methods and Uses in the Mass Media (5th Edition)

Werner J. Severin, James W. Tankard

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

old and bad shape 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 17 people found this review helpful.

Book was old and in bad shape. Still the book has the information that I needed.

One of the best and most comprehensive books for communication theory 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

It provides a thoughtful review of communication theories (both critical and effects tradition) starting with Shannon and Weaver to Internet studies. The book also provides a chapter in communication methods, media conglomerates, and regulations. Too much better and less biased than Media and Society of Crouteau and MediaMaking from Grossberg.

Editorial Review:

The Fifth Edition addresses ongoing changes in mass communications and new developments in mass communications theory. The book also applies communication theories to the mass media with current examples from journalism, broadcasting, advertising and public relations to clarify the concepts. A new chapter on cyber communications explores the influential new medium, using discussions of mediamorphosis, hypertext, multimedia, interface design, Internet addiction and Internet dependency. An extensively rewritten chapter on media chains and conglomerates addresses key developments in the field. The book also includes unique coverage of media uses and institutions, meant as an alternative way to think about mass communication. For readers interested in exploring mass communication theory.

What Does China Think?

Mark Leonard

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Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

We know everything and nothing about China. We know that China is changing so fast that the maps in Shanghai need to be redrawn every two weeks. We know that China has brought 300 million people from agricultural backwardness into modernity in just thirty years, and that its impact on the global economy is growing at unprecedented speed. We have an image of China as a dictatorship; a nationalist empire that threatens its neighbors and global peace.

But how many people know about the debates raging within China? What do we really know about the kind of society China wants to become? What ideas are motivating its citizens? We can name America's neo-cons and the religious right, but cannot name Chinese writers, thinkers, or journalists—what is the future they dream of for their country, or for the world? Because China's rise— like the fall of Rome or the British Raj—will echo down generations to come, these are the questions we increasingly need to ask. Mark Leonard asks us to forget everything we thought we knew about China and start again. He introduces us to the thinkers who are shaping China's wide open future and opens up a hidden world of intellectual debate that is driving a new Chinese revolution and changing the face of the world.

Communication in History

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Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The previous edition contains an excellent selection 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 4 people found this review helpful.

The previous edition had an excellent selection of articles, chapters and exerpts. I have used it twice for a class I teach on information in society. I would consider using the new edition if it was available by October. When will it be published? Please let me know by email.

Editorial Review:

Communication in History's outstanding selection of readings from classic and contemporary sources gives an extensive overview of the most important ideas in the field. Encompassing topics as wide-ranging as the role of printing in the rise of the modern state and the role of the Internet in the Information Age, this anthology reveals how media have been influential both in maintaining social order and as powerful agents of change. Revised with new readings for the Fifth Edition, Communication in History continues to be, as one reviewer wrote, "the only text in the sea of History of Mass Communication texts that introduces students to a more expansive, intellectually enlivening study of the relationship between human history and communication history."

Bullies Are a Pain in the Brain

Trevor Romain

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 10 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Tool of Empowerment 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 7 people found this review helpful.

Bullying can range from the insidious, verbal cruelty and exclusion which girls are notorious for to full scale violence, which occurs among both sexes.

This book is a tool of empowerment for parents, educators and anybody involved with children on any level. One thing that is VITAL to keep in mind is NEVER make light of bullies and their cruelty. That will only make the child being bullied feel that the bullying behavior is being sanctioned and that recourse is out of the question. Making excuses for bullies also compromises respect; children are hard put to feel respect for an adult who exercises such poor judgment and appears to be taken in by bullies.

Condoning bullying behavior and mouthing platitudes to the bullied, such as "can't you take a joke/s/he's only kidding/work it out for yourself/you're too sensitive" is just as harmful as the bullying behavior. Platitudes of that ilk send out a "blame the victim" message and suggest that the bullying is not a serious matter when in fact it is. Recent events and relevant studies have shown that many school shooters were bullied.

Turning the other cheek means, I believe not responding to cruelty with cruelty. Self defense is an entirely different matter. Bullies will step up their abuse if they are not kept in check. They will continue to harass their targeted victims until they get the desired response. That is why telling children to ignore bullies does not work. Bullies don't let that one work.

Trevor Romain is a genius who clearly understands a myriad of dynamics among children. His clever cartoon pictures and his question and answer section open the doors to discourse and problem solving. I like the way he encourages readers to think of what they would do if they were being bullied and also to see if they are acting as bullies towards anyone else.

An excellent book to read with children and one they are sure to come back to enjoy.

Editorial Review:

Practical suggestions and humor help kids become "Bully-Proof, " stop bullies from hurting others, and know what to do in dangerous situations.

Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran

Azadeh Moaveni

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Total reviews: 55 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A young Iranian-American journalist returns to Tehran and discovers not only the oppressive and decadent life of her Iranian counterparts who have grown up since the revolution, but the pain of searching for a homeland that may not exist.

As far back as she can remember, Azadeh Moaveni has felt at odds with her tangled identity as an Iranian-American. In suburban America, Azadeh lived in two worlds. At home, she was the daughter of the Iranian exile community, serving tea, clinging to tradition, and dreaming of Tehran. Outside, she was a California girl who practiced yoga and listened to Madonna. For years, she ignored the tense stand off between her two cultures. But college magnified the clash between Iran and America, and after graduating, she moved to Iran as a journalist. This is the story of her search for identity, between two cultures cleaved apart by a violent history. It is also the story of Iran, a restive land lost in the twilight of its revolution.

Moaveni's homecoming falls in the heady days of the country's reform movement, when young people demonstrated in the streets and shouted for the Islamic regime to end. In these tumultuous times, she struggles to build a life in a dark country, wholly unlike the luminous, saffron and turquoise-tinted Iran of her imagination. As she leads us through the drug-soaked, underground parties of Tehran, into the hedonistic lives of young people desperate for change, Moaveni paints a rare portrait of Iran's rebellious next generation. The landscape of her Tehran-ski slopes, fashion shows, malls and cafes-is populated by a cast of young people whose exuberance and despair brings the modern reality of Iran to vivid life.

The Language of New Media

Lev Manovich

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Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

In this book Lev Manovich offers the first systematic and rigorous theory of new media. He places new media within the histories of visual and media cultures of the last few centuries. He discusses new media's reliance on conventions of old media, such as the rectangular frame and mobile camera, and shows how new media works create the illusion of reality, address the viewer, and represent space. He also analyzes categories and forms unique to new media, such as interface and database.

Manovich uses concepts from film theory, art history, literary theory, and computer science and also develops new theoretical constructs, such as cultural interface, spatial montage, and cinegratography. The theory and history of cinema play a particularly important role in the book. Among other topics, Manovich discusses parallels between the histories of cinema and of new media, digital cinema, screen and montage in cinema and in new media, and historical ties between avant-garde film and new media.

The Crowd

Gustave LeBon

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A very important book.. Influenced Lenin and Mussolini 5 out of 5 stars.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This is a very important book on political theory and tactics. Lebon presents a very incisive study of mass psychology. He's not a popular fellow with some in light of his cynical view of democracy. However, whether or not you agree with his views on this, his views on political tactics are brilliant. For more books on subjects like this including communism and fascism, see my profile.

The Irrationality of Crowds. 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

_The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind_ is an English translation of the classic work on crowd psychology of French theorist and social scientist Gustave le Bon first published in 1895. Gustave le Bon (1841 - 1931) was a French social theorist whose works played a prominent part in the understanding of nationality, racialism, herd behavior, and crowd psychology. Le Bon writes from the perspective of a rationalist and a skeptic (though he is also skeptical of the uses to which "reason" is put by crowds, such as occurred during the French revolution) and examines crowd psychology from a scientific perspective. Le Bon's understanding of crowd psychology reveals the irrationalism of crowds and the inadequacies of the democratic process. This work in particular played a prominent role in the formation of such psychoanalytic theorists of the unconscious as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung as well as in the leadership principle and crowd control of such figures as Benito Mussolini. As such, le Bon's work offers an important social, psychological, and political understanding of the processes that operate within crowds.

In his Preface, Le Bon lays out his understanding of the role of crowds, particularly as concerns the "present age" (his own time period). Le Bon explains the manner in which the unconscious activity of crowds has replaced the conscious activity of the individual. Le Bon also shows how he belongs to no particular school and thus claims that he is free from the biases of all such schools. Further, le Bon contends that the spirit of reform has guided crowds and that the era of crowds has replaced the divine right of kings. Following this, le Bon turns to "The Era of Crowds" in his Introduction. Le Bon explains how crowds have come to take a prominent place within national thought and that the modern age has become an era of crowds. Le Bon further offers that an understanding of crowds is essential for legislators and statesmen. The first "Book" of this book is entitled "The Mind of Crowds". Le Bon begins by considering the general characteristics of crowds. Le Bon defines the crowd in terms of psychology and distinguishes his definition from that of the commonplace understanding of the crowd. Le Bon further explains the "psychological law of the mental unity of crowds". Le Bon contends that in a crowd brain activity is reduced and there is a prominence of medullar activity, meaning that crowds act largely unconsciously. Following this, le Bon turns to the sentiments and morality of crowds. Le Bon contends that there is an impulsiveness, mobility, and irritability of crowds. Le Bon also contends that there are racial differences among crowds. Further, le Bon argues that crowds are credulous and readily influenced by suggestion. Le Bon also contends that crowds do not admit doubt or uncertainty and always head towards extremes. Further, le Bon contends that there is an intolerance, dictatorialness, and conservativism of crowds. In addition, le Bon contends that while crowds may act in accordance with a lower morality than that of the individual, it is also possible for crowds to have a higher morality than the individual and thus be prone to heroics. Following this, le Bon turns his attention to the ideas, reasoning power, and imagination of crowds. Le Bon contends that lofty ideas must be dumbed down before they can appeal to crowds. Le Bon further argues that crowds cannot be substantially influenced by reasoning and that their level of reasoning is entirely inferior to that of the individual. Finally, le Bon contends that crowds are prone to the imagination and they think in images, and that further the marvelous has always had some influence on crowds which is frequently linked to statesmen. Following this, le Bon turns his attention to the religious shape assumed by all the convictions of crowds. Le Bon argues that popular gods have never completely disappeared and that even atheism may take on a religious shape under the influence of crowds. Le Bon considers the religious shape of such historical occurrences as the Reformation, Saint Bartholomew, and the Terror following the French Revolution. Le Bon also considers the religious role of such great religions as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. The second "Book" of this book is entitled "The Opinions and Beliefs of Crowds". Here, le Bon begins by considering remote factors of the opinions and beliefs of crowds. Le Bon considers such factors as race, traditions, time, political and social institutions, and political and social institutions as they relate to instruction and education regarding the opinions and beliefs of crowds. Following this, le Bon turns his attention to the immediate factors of the opinions and beliefs of crowds. Le Bon considers such factors as images, words, and formulae, illusions, experience, and reason. Next, le Bon considers the leaders of crowds and their means of persuasion. Le Bon begins by arguing that there is an instinctive need of all crowds to obey a leader. Le Bon also considers various characteristics of such leaders. Further, le Bon considers the means of action of the leaders, which he classifies as affirmation, repetition, and contagion. Together these principles explain the actions of crowds under a leader. In addition, le Bon considers the prestige of a leader, arguing that a leader must possess a certain prestige. Le Bon defines prestige and argues that there are different kinds of prestige including acquired prestige and personal prestige, as well as showing how prestige is lost. Following this, le Bon considers limitations of the variability of the beliefs and opinions of crowds. Le Bon considers fixed beliefs of crowds, noting how they have formed, as well as the possibility of changeability of beliefs of crowds, arguing that beliefs of crowds have become more and more in flux and that further the beliefs of crowds tend towards indifference. The third "Book" of this book is entitled "The Classification and Description of the Different Kinds of Crowds". Le Bon begins by considering the classification of crowds into heterogeneous and homogeneous crowds. Le Bon argues that there are different races which constitute crowds and examines the effect of race and civilization in contrast to barbarism. Le Bon further argues that there are different kinds of homogeneous crowds including sects, castes, and classes. Following this, le Bon examines criminal crowds. Le Bon considers their psychology and the role of the unconscious. Le Bon further considers the role of crowds in the September massacre as well as other criminal crowds. Following this, le Bon considers criminal juries as crowds. Le Bon examines the role of juries arguing that they serve a useful purpose and should not be replaced by magistrates. Le Bon examines statistics on juries arguing that their decisions are often superior to those of experts or magistrates in that they are frequently more lenient and less prone to personal vendettas. Following this, le Bon considers electoral crowds. Le Bon points out some inferior points of democracy but notes that it also has some strong points as well. Le Bon notes the role of electoral crowds in the committees of the Revolution as well as the role of universal suffrage. Following this, le Bon ends by considering parliamentary assemblies, noting the roles of leaders and the progressive loss of liberties with the increase of state power. Le Bon ends by reflecting upon the rise and fall of civilizations and the passage into barbarism and relating this to his discussion of crowds.

This book offers a classic study of the crowd psychology. It was an important book for many during the early half of the Twentieth century during a period when totalitarianisms were developing and in which crowds arose led by powerful leaders. This book continues to be important though for what it has to say about the role of the crowd and large groups of people. It is recommended to those who want to understand mass psychology and the role that crowds play in society and politics.

Editorial Review:

One of the greatest and most influential books of social psychology ever written, brilliantly instructive on the general characteristics and mental unity of a crowd, its sentiments and morality, ideas, reasoning power, imagination, opinions and much more. A must-read volume not only for students of history, sociology, law and psychology, but for every politician, statesman, investor, and marketing manager.

The Cultural Dimension of International Business

Gary P. Ferraro

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Cultural Dimensions of Ferraro 4 out of 5 stars.
9 of 11 people found this review helpful.

Throughout this book Ferraro takes on the idea of being a theoretical observer of different characteristics that the typical North Amercian has in comparison to the rest of the world. He takes these dfferences and applies them usefully to the area of International Buisness. The book goes through many different catagories including language, communication (verbal and non-verbal), precise time reckoning, and even culture shock. As a student, I found this book to be very insubstantial for a textbook, but I believe that it would be a wonderful starting point for buisness people of any age to read before doing any international buisness realtions. I wish I had read this book before I went and lived in Europe for 5 months, I think I would have been able to communicate a little more easily.

Editorial Review:

Preparing future American businessmen and women to understand and cope with the cultural dimension of their professions, this book demonstrates how the theory and insights of cultural anthropology can positively influence the conduct of international business. It explores (1) general concepts about culture that can be applied to any cross-cultural situation; (2) the nature of communication, both linguistic and nonverbal; (3) contrasting value systems; and (4) a wide variety of sources for locating culture-specific information. A conceptual approach provides readers with the necessary framework for understanding the cultural dimension of the international business arena. For individuals seeking to understand any cross cultural business encounter they have had in the past or might have in the future.

Composing a Life

Mary Catherine Bateson

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Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Hopelessly out of date 1 out of 5 stars.
3 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This book was, I'm sure, timely 20 years ago, but you will struggle to get anything out of it this day in age. Plus, the author states in the introduction that she is not bitter about her time at Amherst, but the text of the book makes her seem extremely bitter.

Editorial Review:

This extraordinary book explores that act of creation that engages us all -- the composition of our lives. Through the comparative biographies of herself and four of her close friends, Mary Catherine Bateson provides a fascinating framework for her inquiry into the creative potential of complex lives, where energies are not narrowly focused toward a single ambition but rather are continually refocused and redefined. Each of the women in Composing a Life faced discontinuity at periods in her life, yet was rich in professional achievement and personal relationships. Bateson's life-affirming conclusion is that life is an improvisational art form, and that the interruptions, conflicted priorities, and exigencies that are a part of all our lives can and should be seen as a source of wisdom. Important and empowering, Composing a Life will change lives.