The Chaos Conundrum

In "The Chaos Conundrum," historian Aaron John Gulyas examines how the paranormal has intersected and influenced our culture in myriad ways, from the conspiracy beliefs of William Cooper and Exopolitics to the challenge that the stories of Gray Barker presented to our concept of self and time. He looks at the maelstrom of personalities, agendas, impressions, data, confusion, and contradictions that can be found in the world of the weird, and demonstrates how they have become an integral part of our lives, whether in the form of flying saucers, hauntings, religious revelations, psychic abilities, or dozens of other guises. Gulyas delves into the stories of the people who have attempted to create order out of the chaos. Along the way he recounts his own journey from enthusiastic believer in the "shadow government" and their underground bases to jaded academic skeptic, and then finally to someone who thinks there might just be something to the paranormal after all... but not what we have been led to expect or believe!

Myth and Meaning in Early Daoism examines some of the earliest texts associated with the Daoist tradition (primarily the Daode jing, Zhuangzi, and Huainanzi) from the outlook of the comparative history of religions and finds a kind of thematic and soteriological unity rooted in the mythological symbolism of hundun, the primal chaos being and principle that is foundational for the philosophy and practice of the Dao as creatio continua in cosmic, social, and individual life. Dedicated to the proposition that ancient Chinese texts and traditions are often best understood from a broad interdisciplinary and interpretive perspective, this work when it was written challenged many prevailing conceptions of the Daode jing and Zhuangzi as primarily philosophical texts without any religious significance or affinity with the later sectarian traditions. While controversial and at times playfully provocative, the methodology and findings of this book are still important for the ongoing scholarship about Daoism in China and the world.

"This will be an important textbook in classrooms bringing together not only [Mintzberg's] own research and thoughts but also weaving in a century of writings by others. It will also reassure individual managers that what they do is important and not easy, and no doubt provoke some changes in their thinking." --Harry Schacter, Globe and Mail"This is an excellent, must-read book for managers and aspiring managers." --Mary Whaley, BooklistNamed one of Library Journal's Best of 2009 Business Books.From management legend Henry Mintzberg comes the most authoritative and revealing study of the the nature of managing in our time. Through a holistic synthesis of existing data and analysis on managers, and by studying a day in the worklife of 29 managers, Mintzberg presents a complete picture of what modern managers do, how they do it, the challenges of their jobs, and how they can be most effective."Perhaps the world's premier management thinker." --Tom Peters"One of the most original minds in management." --Fast Company

This volume provides a critical view of the nature and quality of political and civic communication on Twitter. The introduction lays out the current state of research, showing the continuum of views, from the more optimistic to more pessimistic, regarding the platform’s potential to facilitate civic conversations. The eleven empirical case studies in the book provide new insights, addressing a variety of topics through a diverse array of methodological approaches. Together, the chapters provide a counter position to recent studies that offer more celebratory assessments of Twitter’s potential. The book draws attention to the chaotic, insular, uncivil, and emotionally charged nature of debate and communication on Twitter.

We are living in a time of unprecedented distrust in America... Faith in the government is at an all-time low, and political groups on both sides of the aisle are able to tout preposterous conspiracy theories as gospel, without much opposition. “Fake news” is the order of the day. This book is about a man to whom all of it points, the greatest conspiracist of this generation and a man you may not have heard of. A former U.S. naval intelligence worker, Milton William Cooper published his manifesto Behold a Pale Horse in 1991. Since then it has gone on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies, becoming the number-one bestseller in the American prison system. According to Behold a Pale Horse, JFK was assassinated—because he was about to reveal that extraterrestrials were about to take over the earth—by his driver, an alien himself; AIDS is a government conspiracy to decrease the population of blacks, Hispanics, and homosexuals; and the Illuminati are secretly involved with the U.S. government to manage relationships with extraterrestrials. Cooper died in a shootout with Apache County police in 2001, one month after September 11, in the year in which he had predicted catastrophe. In Pale Horse Rider, journalist Mark Jacobson not only tells the story of Cooper’s fascinating life but also provides the social and political context for American paranoia. Indeed, with the present NSA situation and countless other shadowy government dealings often in the news, aren’t we right to suspect that things may not be as they seem?

Many people today are looking for opportunities to bring the spiritual into their everyday lives in non-traditional ways. Their days are so busy they can't imagine how they can fit in time to kneel or sit in prayer on a regular basis. As a result, they fly from one activity to the next at breakneck speed, always looking forward to some nonexistent time in the future when things will slow down long enough to allow them to breathe, center themselves, and pray. Everyday Divine: A Catholic Guide to Active Spirituality helps busy readers explore different ways to achieve a place of stillness and peace while remaining very much in the world. In fact, the day-to-day activities of life become the pathway to prayer — even the prayer itself. Drawing on Catholic tradition, from ancient monastics to modern-day saints and sages, Everyday Divine looks at how we can adapt these ancient practices for modern times, quoting holy men and women on various methods and offering practical instructions and suggestions to help people put them into practice.

Examination of the unique roles school administrators play as scholar-teachers within and beyond their institutions.