Making All The Difference

Should a court order medical treatment for a severely disabled newborn in the face of the parents' refusal to authorize it? How does the law apply to a neighborhood that objects to a group home for developmentally disabled people? Does equality mean treating everyone the same, even if such treatment affects some people adversely? Does a state requirement of employee maternity leave serve or violate the commitment to gender equality?Martha Minow takes a hard look at the way our legal system functions in dealing with people on the basis of race, gender, age, ethnicity, religion, and disability. Minow confronts a variety of dilemmas of difference resulting from contradictory legal strategies—strategies that attempt to correct inequalities by sometimes recognizing and sometimes ignoring differences. Exploring the historical sources of ideas about difference, she offers challenging alternative ways of conceiving of traits that legal and social institutions have come to regard as "different." She argues, in effect, for a constructed jurisprudence based on the ability to recognize and work with perceptible forms of difference.Minow is passionately interested in the people—"different" people—whose lives are regularly (mis)shaped and (mis)directed by the legal system's ways of handling them. Drawing on literary and feminist theories and the insights of anthropology and social history, she identifies the unstated assumptions that tend to regenerate discrimination through the very reforms that are supposed to eliminate it. Education for handicapped children, conflicts between job and family responsibilities, bilingual education, Native American land claims—these are among the concrete problems she discusses from a fresh angle of vision.Minow firmly rejects the prevailing conception of the self that she believes underlies legal doctrine—a self seen as either separate and autonomous, or else disabled and incompetent in some way. In contrast, she regards the self as being realized through connection, capable of shaping an identity only in relationship to other people. She shifts the focus for problem solving from the "different" person to the relationships that construct that difference, and she proposes an analysis that can turn "difference" from a basis of stigma and a rationale for unequal treatment into a point of human connection. "The meanings of many differences can change when people locate and revise their relationships to difference," she asserts. "The student in a wheelchair becomes less different when the building designed without him in mind is altered to permit his access." Her book evaluates contemporary legal theories and reformulates legal rights for women, children, persons with disabilities, and others historically identified as different.Here is a powerful voice for change, speaking to issues that permeate our daily lives and form a central part of the work of law. By illuminating the many ways in which people differ from one another, this book shows how lawyers, political theorist, teachers, parents, students—every one of us—can make all the difference,

What goes into making a life successful and what does success mean? If you think about a life as a chemical equation, then the elements are obvious: family, work, purpose. The key is discovering how to get the balance just right. In To Make a Difference, Montreal entrepreneur and philanthropist Morris Goodman shares his personal and professional prescription for success and enduring happiness. Born in 1931 in Montreal to Ukrainian immigrants during the worst days of the Great Depression, Goodman recounts the events, strategies, and lucky breaks that led to a thriving company and a life of philanthropic accomplishments. From his first job as a pharmacy delivery boy to his graduation from the University of Montreal's Faculty of Pharmacy - when he had already started his own pharmaceutical company - through the crucial moments that created an international business, Goodman depicts stirring accounts of Montreal's Jewish community and the development of the global pharmaceutical industry. Along the way, he presents vivid, generous portraits of colleagues and business collaborators. To Make a Difference is a powerful rags-to-riches story but it is also much more - it is a heartfelt, candid, and inspiring exploration of what makes our lives rich, what we value, and why.

Do you ever feel like you aren’t connecting with someone in your life? Maybe it’s an employee, a co-worker, a boss, or a business partner. Maybe it’s a spouse, a child, a parent, or a friend. The truth is, at some point, we all struggle to maintain good relationships with the people with whom we live our lives. Healthy relationships don’t “just happen,” but rather are intentionally grown through work, investment, and dedication to connecting with another person where they are. Dr. Larry Little has made it his life’s work to help people cultivate healthy relationships, and this mission led him to write Make A Difference, the first book that inspired the four-part EAGLE Leadership Series. His model of creating self-awareness that leads to “others-awareness” has led thousands of individuals to grow meaningful and positive relationships with the people they love, live with, and lead. Make A Difference is powerful in its simplicity, and will walk you through a proven process of connecting with others by equipping you with the tools that you need to truly begin investing in the important relationships in your life. Dr. Little guides you to lead yourself and others better by choosing to intentionally invest in relationships. You can Make A Difference.

Martha Minow here takes a hard look at the way our legal system functions. She confronts a variety of dilemmas of difference resulting from contradictory legal strategies--strategies that attempt to correct inequalities by sometimes recognizing and sometimes ignoring differences. Minow argues, in effect, for a reconstructed jurisprudence based on the ability to recognize and work with perceptible forms of difference.

Drawing on postmodernist scepticism about what we know and how we know it and on recent developments in the philosophy of science and feminist theory, this book offers a new perspective on the meaning of gender, one that is not determined by the traditional focus on male-female differences.

Why not cohabitate? Many believe nothing is better for their future marriage than a trial period—cohabitation. It’s the fastest growing family type in the U.S. So how’s that working out? Are people truly happier? Author Glenn Stanton offers a compelling factual case that nearly every area of health and happiness is increased by marriage and decreased by cohabitation. With credible data and compassion, Stanton explores the reasons why the cohabitation trend is growing; outlines its negative outcomes for men, women, and children; and makes a case for why marriage is still the best arrangement for the flourishing of couples and society. This resource is ideal for those who are cohabitating or considering it, as well as pastors and counselors who need to be able to engage this issue.

What is working in education in the UK - and what isn't? This book offers a highly readable guide to what the latest research says about improving young people's outcomes in pre-school, primary and secondary education. Never has this issue been more topical as the UK attempts to compete in the global economy against countries with increasingly educated and skilled work-forces. The book discusses whether education policy has really been guided by the evidence, and explores why the failings of Britain's educational system have been so resistant to change, as well as the success stories that have emerged. Making a Difference in Education looks at schooling from early years to age 16 and entry into Further Education, with a special focus on literacy, numeracy and IT. Reviewing a large body of research, and paying particular attention to findings which are strong enough to guide policy, the authors examine teacher performance, school quality and accountability, and the problematically large social gap that still exists in state school education today. Each chapter concludes with a summary of key findings and key policy requirements. As a comprehensive research review, Making a Difference in Education should be essential reading for faculty and students in education and social policy, and of great interest to teachers and indeed to anyone who wants to know about the effectiveness of UK education policy and practice, and where they should be going.

This book presents the most important contributions to modern psychological science and explains how the contributions came to be.