Critical Consequences

What factors are contributing to the continuing growth in consumption of goods and services? At what point do the costs associated with consumerism begin to call our way of life into question? How are the problems of resource depletion, waste and pollution, and environmental impact being addressed? What is to be done about the consequences of our all-consuming way of life? Ever-increasing consumption and a relentless pursuit of growth in output are the twin pillars on which the modern economy and contemporary social life rest. But the consumer way of life is globally unsustainable. We can′t all live the consumer dream. This comprehensive, lively and informative book will quickly be recognized as a benchmark in the field. It brings together a huge set of resources for thinking about the development of consumer culture, its defining features, and global consequences. Adept in handling a complex range of classical and contemporary theoretical sources, the book draws on an impressive range of comparative material and provides a variety of contemporary examples to inform and enhance understanding of our consuming way of life. Smart writes with verve and feeling and has produced a stimulating book that enlarges our understanding of consumer culture and provides a timely critical analysis of its consequences. Clear, engaging, and original this book will be essential reading for all those interested in and concerned about our global culture of consumption including researchers and students in sociology, politics, cultural studies, economics, and social geography.

Learn how to be proactive by defining and justifying where you should head before deciding how to get there. To help you in the process, this book introduces the concepts and tools underlying mega thinking and planning. The decision about where an organization should be headed couldn't be more basic. How about yours? Do you know where you are headed? Is it the right place to go?

Intergovernmental agencies, governments, and non-governmental organizations are now using Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) to collect, organize, and disseminate information on peoples’ rights, the promotion of human rights, and the protection of individuals and communities at risk. Human Rights and Information Communication Technologies: Trends and Consequences of Use will provide a comprehensive examination of the use and application of information and communication technologies in the world of human rights. This will contribute significantly to understandings of the impact of ICTs on the promotion and protection of human rights in societies around the world. This book will provide a valuable tool and insight for academics from a range of fields, including information management, information systems, communications, information technology, international relations, human rights, politics, law, and sociology. It will also be useful to international non-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and governments for policy and practice.

This comprehensive volume brings to light little known implications of legal, economic, and custodial factors following a divorce. The Consequences of Divorce goes beyond the past decade's extensive focus on emotional and social adjustment outcomes to explore in-depth the post-divorce legal, economic, and custodial variables that impact the entire family. This important volume examines the economic conditions of both marriage partners after the divorce, the effect of legislative models on child support payment, child custody patterns and their impact on the family, and intervention strategies that take such custody problems into account. Teachers, counselors, researchers, and attorneys will be better prepared to offer support to family members after a divorce with the understanding of the economic and custodial conflicts that they will gain from this new book. The authoritative contributors examine statistics that show a marked decline in the economic well-being of women and children, which lead to questions of standards of adequacy for child support awards and an exploration of a new child support scheme from Australia. Different child custody arrangements are analyzed according to their consequences for each family member, providing valuable information for treating divorced families. Specific topics of interest include decreased parental involvement for fathers after a divorce, siblings separated by divorce, mothers without custody, and children's own viewpoints of custody arrangements. This informative book will lead to increased services to divorced families by expanding professionals’awareness of critical economic and legal issues that affect each member of the family.

By presenting case studies of internationalization in institutions of higher education around the world, this volume identifies unforeseen or unintended impacts within and across countries. With contributions from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, and North America the volume considers the nature and origin of positive and negative unintended consequences of internationalization policy and practice in national contexts, while also offering uniquely comparative insights. Chapters consider how internationalization is reflected in curricula, teaching, research, and mobility initiatives to highlight common pitfalls, as well as best practice for effective, sustainable, and equitable internationalization globally. Using a critical lens, the book explores how internationalization offers opportunities for learning, for entrepreneurial change, and for knowledge dissemination, and generates paradoxes and dilemmas in terms of political and ethical issues for individuals, communities, and the institutions themselves. Foregrounding the study of internalization in countries not typically studied, this book is a valuable resource for researchers and academics with an interest in internationalization, comparative and international education, and the sociology of education.

Nearly 800 million people in the world do not have enough to eat. In many developing countries, inadequate amounts of food and inadequate diversity of food continue to be priority health problems. Malnutrition in all its forms increases the risk of disease and early death. Neurologic Consequences of Malnutrition, edited by Dr. Marco T. Medina, seeks to underline the magnitude of neurologic diseases related to malnutrition and the importance of early detection and opportune treatment. Designed particularly for neurologists practicing in low-resource environments, this text is written by a multinational group of expert practicing neurologists who treat patients suffering from the neurologic consequence of malnutrition. Neurologic Consequences of Malnutrition begins with an overview of the epidemiology and incidence of malnutrition and neurologic disorders. There is a discussion of the clinical and functional assessment of undernourished patients, focusing on patients with Protein-Energy Malnutrition, as well as an extensive and complete classification of the different micronutrient deficiencies related to neurologic symptoms. Other topics covered include the relationship between alcoholism and malnutrition, a major public health challenge in developing nations, and the neurophysiologic findings in undernourished patients.