Crossing The Divide

Are you ready for the new global reality?One where diverse cultures and ethnicities will make up your living and working environments? Can you relate your life experience to others? Can you adapt to changing settings? Can you form relationships and build trust to achieve a common goal?A respected and seasoned journalist, Jessica Stone, uses her 20 years of adventures, mistakes, and triumphs to give you the keys to conquering these challenges. Come along as she takes you out of the classroom and parachutes you into the real-life lab, and you'll be ready to take on the world!

When we become new creations in Christ Jesus, our primary identity is in Christ,' observes Owen Hylton. Born into a black West Indian family, but living primarily in a white British world, he never felt entirely accepted in either place. 'Realizing that my identity was first and foremost in Christ was incredibly releasing,' he admits. Crossing the divide and embracing diversity is at the very heart of God's plan and purpose for his church. But in order to do this, we need to be aware of some of the reasons why people have stayed apart: our histories and prejudices, our lack of awareness and appreciation of one another. Owen defines sin as the greatest problem of humankind, separating us from God and setting us at odds with one another. The cross is ultimately a place of forgiveness and reconciliation. As new creations in Christ Jesus, forgiven and restored, we can confidently and joyfully celebrate our oneness, whatever our colour, status, gender or nationality.

Bringing groups together is a central and unrelenting task of leadership. CEOs must nudge their executives to rise above divisional turf battles, mayors try to cope with gangs in conflict, and leaders of many countries face the realities of sectarian violence. Crossing the Divide introduces cutting-edge research and insight into these age-old problems. Edited by Todd Pittinsky of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, this collection of essays brings together two powerful scholarly disciplines: intergroup relations and leadership. What emerges is a new mandate for leaders to reassess what have been regarded as some very successful tactics for building group cohesion. Leaders can no longer just "rally the troops." Instead they must employ more positive means to span boundaries, affirm identity, cultivate trust, and collaborate productively. In this multidisciplinary volume, highly regarded business scholars, social psychologists, policy experts, and interfaith activists provide not only theoretical frameworks around these ideas, but practical tools and specific case studies as well. Examples from around the world and from every sector - corporate, political, and social - bring to life the art and practice of intergroup leadership in the twenty-first century.

Ambassador John H. Holdridge provides a fascinating insider's account of the complex and often arduous process of normalizing diplomatic relations between the United States and the People's Republic of China after three decades of mutual hostility. More than a memoir, Crossing the Divide illuminates the broad sweep of U.S.-China relations after World War II. With eloquence and profound insight, Holdridge describes the enormity of the divide between the two countries, summarizes the broad range of impediments to establishing and maintaining diplomatic relations, and demonstrates the significance of continuing efforts by both countries to overcome these obstacles. A book in the ADST-DACOR Diplomats and Diplomacy Series.

Thousands of people are baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints every week. In many ways, Bryan Ready's story is no different than any other convert--except that Bryan was an ordained Southern Baptist Pastor with a formal theological education. He firmly believed that Joseph Smith was a false prophet. In 1979, Bryan and his mother were driving home from a fireside featuring members of the Osmond Family. He had listened to their testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ and was impressed. He turned to his mother and said, "Mom, I want to be a Mormon." Her answer was a firm and adamant "No!" Over the next thirty-five years, Bryan became a committed follower of Jesus Christ--and a staunch anti-Mormon. But then things changed. His heart began to soften as he opened his mind to the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. His faith would face the ultimate test of conviction--to quit his ministry and seek baptism.

"The magnitudes, nature, causes, and consequences of population movements between rural and urban sectors of developing countries are examined. The prior literature is reviewed, proving limited in key dimensions. Evidence is presented from a new database encompassing nationally representative data on seventy-five developing countries. Several measures of migration propensities are derived for the separate countries. The situation in each country is documented, both in historical context and following the time of enumeration. Rural-urban migrants enjoy major gains; those who do not move forego substantial, potential gains. Barriers to migrating are very real for disadvantaged groups. Migration among ethnolinguistic communities is a pervasive theme; the context in which each group lives is detailed. Upward mobility in incomes in towns is affirmed, and the departure of adults from rural homes raises living standards of the family left behind but consequent separation of married couples is endemic to particular societies. Reclassification of rural areas as urban is shown to be more important than net rural-urban moves in incremental urbanization and rural-urban moves are less permanent than normally portrayed. A contention of symmetry between rural-urban and urban-rural migration propensities is rejected and indications that these twin movements result in sorting of labor by skills is not supported. Moreover, step and onward migration are not as common as popularly claimed. Previously neglected topics studied include autonomous migration by women, child migration, and networks at origin. Policies to limit rural-urban migration are questioned, rather planning for managed urban growth is vital as climate change continues. Key words: Rural, urban, migration, development, literature, database, reclassification, sorting, policies"--

In this eloquent guide to the meanings of the postmodern era, Albert Borgmann charts the options before us as we seek alternatives to the joyless and artificial culture of consumption. Borgmann connects the fundamental ideas driving his understanding of society's ills to every sphere of contemporary social life, and goes beyond the language of postmodern discourse to offer a powerfully articulated vision of what this new era, at its best, has in store. "[This] thoughtful book is the first remotely realistic map out of the post modern labyrinth."—Joseph Coates, The Chicago Tribune "Rather astoundingly large-minded vision of the nature of humanity, civilization and science."—Kirkus Reviews