Change Directions

After a period of relative confidence about the future of modernizing societies, scholars are now questioning with renewed urgency the directions of the modernization trend. This book, the result of nearly a decade of collaborative efforts by scholars in twelve countries, examines the modernization process with particular attention to how it is affected by cultural–and especially socioeconomic–variables. The authors describe major theoretical approaches to the idea of modernity and point to the sociological issues interlinked with modernization. They also consider specific factors such as nationalism, ethnicity, and traditional institutions and show how they can determine differing modernization trajectories. The concluding section of the book focuses on nation- and culture-specific examples of modernization, presenting case studies that illustrate the range of modernization attempts. The authors also explore the extent to which modernization may in fact be a generalization of the American way of life.

This volume based on recent fieldwork by distinguished specialists includes information on the changing economic situation in the countryside, particularly after the 'owners and tenants' law of 1992. Along with the effects of structural adjustment on agriculture, marketing, and rural life, several chapters address the declining trend of rural Egyptians to emigrate. Other chapters examine changes in consumption patterns and health, various rural social processes and the 'new lands' being reclaimed in Egypt's desert areas, representations of the rural population in the media and in statistics, and their own changing self-image. What emerges is a picture of a rural Egypt that is full of life, dramatically evolving, and treading a delicate line between progress and impoverishment. Although nothing is typical of rural Egypt, these papers provide a revealing account of the struggles and rewards that characterize the Egyptian countryside today. Contributors: Mohamed Hassan Abdel Aal, Lila Abu-Lughod, Soraya Altorki, Kamran Asdar Ali, Kirsten Haugaard Bach, Ray Bush, Donald Cole, Nicholas Hopkins, François Ireton, Sohair Mehanna, Günter Meyer, Timothy Mitchell, Mohamed M. Mohieddin, Detlef Müller-Mahn, Hans-Christian Korsholm Nielsen, Malak Rouchdy, Reem Saad, Hania Sholkamy, James Toth, Kirsten Westergaard, Peter Winch, Ahmed Zayed.

Future Directions of Educational Change brings together timely discussions on social justice, professional capital, and systems change from some of the leading scholars in the field of education. Engaging in theory and evidence-based debates covering issues such as literacy education, whole system reform, and teacher leadership, this volume argues that quality and equity are equally important in reshaping existing education systems both within the United States and globally. The authors offer contextual analyses of current educational research and practice while looking toward the future and offering thought-provoking arguments for challenging and rectifying the systemic inequalities within education today.

Systems Engineering for Business Process Change: New Directions is a collection of papers resulting from an EPSRC managed research programme set up to investigate the relationships between Legacy IT Systems and Business Processes. The papers contained in this volume report the results from the projects funded by the programme, which ran between 1997 and 2001. An earlier volume, published in 2000, reported interim results. Bringing together researchers from diverse backgrounds in Computer Science, Information Systems, Engineering and Business Schools, this book explores the problems experienced by IT-dependent businesses that have to implement changing business processes in the context of their investment in legacy systems. The book presents some of the solutions investigated through the collaborations set up within the research programme. Whether you are a researcher interested in the ideas that were generated by the research programme, or a user trying to understand the nature of the problems and their solutions, you cannot fail to be inspired by the writings contained in this volume.

In the fall of 2009, the Fox network took a bold step in their primetime television lineup. Borrowing from the success of reality music performance shows like its own American Idol, the network introduced us to the students at McKinley High School, a fictional high school in Lima, OH, and home to the glee club known as the New Directions. The group is made up of freaks and geeks who feel the wrath of being “different.” The cool kids are hell bent on making life difficult for the students in glee club. Yet, because of the determination of Mr. Will Schuester, the club’s advisor, along with a few great songs, Glee has brought a new tone of inclusion to modern television and direct parallels can be seen between the experiences of the show choir members and what is happening in contemporary society. Glee has shown the importance of examining the intersections of pop culture and social issues; this text will encourage thinking on how effective the show has been beyond the screen. Essays provide critical analyses of the show, its characters, and its overall usefulness as a commentary on social issues. The show’s content often deals with subject matter that would lend easily to critique around such social issues as sexuality, bullying, interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, and family relationships. This text invites readers to examine the intersections between media, society, and the individual.

Georges Philips' newest offering in the personal development and self-help field is, above all else, a very practical book on the process of changing direction. Its straightforward language and methodical, step-by-step approach makes the process easy to comprehend. From analyzing different situations involving change to going through the specific thinking and action steps needed in order to change direction, every detail and each step is clear and powerful. His message is clear: it is your thinking fuelled by your determination that brings about a change of direction. Profound and actionable, this is the most compelling treatise on affecting personal growth and fulfillment to be published in recent memory. Full of practical, easy to understand steps capable of transforming both your personal and professional lives, Change Directions: Perceive it, Believe it, Achieve it is as engaging as it is encouraging and enlightening.

This is the essential guide for anyone who faces sudden change at work, in technology, and in the world around them.

This book covers research on biopsychological aspects of dyslexia reflects on psycholinguistic aspects of dyslexia offers reflections on dyslexia treatment research in general. It points out that in some dyslexics it is not sufficient to treat word identification difficulties alone.