The Love Story Journal: Multidimensions, Vol. 2, explores the complexities of character shaped through heartbreak revealed by the intimate pain to passion experiences of twenty three artists. Twenty three illustrations inside your diary transform into short documentaries, activating you to journal truth from the heart.
In the first decade of the twenty-first century, video games are an integral part of global media culture, rivaling Hollywood in revenue and influence. No longer confined to a subculture of adolescent males, video games today are played by adults around the world. At the same time, video games have become major sites of corporate exploitation and military recruitment. In Games of Empire, Nick Dyer-Witheford and Greig de Peuter offer a radical political critique of such video games and virtual environments as Second Life, World of Warcraft, and Grand Theft Auto, analyzing them as the exemplary media of Empire, the twenty-first-century hypercapitalist complex theorized by Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri. The authors trace the ascent of virtual gaming, assess its impact on creators and players alike, and delineate the relationships between games and reality, body and avatar, screen and street. Games of Empire forcefully connects video games to real-world concerns about globalization, militarism, and exploitation, from the horrors of African mines and Indian e-waste sites that underlie the entire industry, the role of labor in commercial game development, and the synergy between military simulation software and the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan exemplified by Full Spectrum Warrior to the substantial virtual economies surrounding World of Warcraft, the urban neoliberalism made playable in Grand Theft Auto, and the emergence of an alternative game culture through activist games and open-source game development. Rejecting both moral panic and glib enthusiasm, Games of Empire demonstrates how virtual games crystallize the cultural, political, and economic forces of global capital, while also providing a means of resisting them.
The Cupola (Mafia High Commission) sanctions the execution of a disgraced Capo. He becomes aware of his fate and fears his days are numbered. In order to secure a financial future for himself he plans a bullion heist. It would be suicide to stay, so he decides to flee Italy and settle in Argentina. By various means the serial numbers of the bank vault are obtained. More than thirty million dollars worth of Bullion are stolen from the Italian Reserve bank in Milan. The Bullion is hidden away in readiness for its transfer out of the country, to be sold abroad. Without the Capos famiglia the operation to steal, hide and transport the bullion would have been impossible. Coercion, persuasion, family love and honour are employed, even though the association would endanger their lives. In London a ruthless businessman, becomes aware of a promising crude oil strike in an African country ruled by a corrupt president. He has his own agenda. He plans to overthrow the president in order to liberate the people, with his reward being to gain control of the countrys oil. Funds are needed to equip and hire mercenaries to affect a coup. He hears of the bullion heist, the proceeds of which would suit his cause admirably. He is determined to pursue the possibilities. With the help of his employees and effective intelligence, discovers the whereabouts of the heists instigators and the bullion. By subterfuge he plants a mole to monitor the movement of the gold, with the hope of relieving the perpetrator of his ill-gotten gains. A group of tourists, with their own human stories, and need for adventure, unwittingly get involved. They become entwined in the activities of Mafia, criminals and law enforcers. Relying heavily on each other for comfort and support, they manage tasks none would have imagined could ever have been asked of them. This trip provides far more adventure than could ever have possibly been planned. Africa becomes the epicentre for much activity. Mercenaries have to be hired, plans formulated, and finalised for a coup. South Africa being relatively cosmopolitan and civilised finds itself as a recruiting office and staging post for the activities to come. Central Africa brings challenges from culture, superstition, terrain but also the magic, which is ever present on this continent. The bullion is taken on numerous journeys. Touching the lives of many people; willing, unwilling, corrupt, innocent, with and without knowledge. The movements and people involved span three continents, from as far away as Southern England to Cape Town in South Africa. Using various modes of transport, including an ill fated sea voyage, a trek across savannah, the bullion is transported out of Italy and into Africa. From differing backgrounds, with their dreams, aspirations, agendas, countries, superstitions and cultures, the main characters involved with the bullion, cross paths, in central Africa. They are all effected by the heist, romance blossoms, loyalties change. The outcome being against all expectations. The bullion causes a trail of greed, power lust, corruption, death, bravery and benevolence.
Social theory needs to be completely rethought in a world of digital media and social media platforms driven by data processes. Fifty years after Berger and Luckmann published their classic text The Social Construction of Reality, two leading sociologists of media, Nick Couldry and Andreas Hepp, revisit the question of how social theory can understand the processes through which an everyday world is constructed in and through media. Drawing on Schütz, Elias and many other social and media theorists, they ask: what are the implications of digital medias profound involvement in those processes? Is the result a social world that is stable and liveable, or one that is increasingly unstable and unliveable?
Media are fundamental to our sense of living in a social world. Since the beginning of modernity, media have transformed the scale on which we act as social beings. And now in the era of digital media, media themselves are being transformed as platforms, content, and producers multiply. Yet the implications of social theory for understanding media and of media for rethinking social theory have been neglected; never before has it been more important to understand those implications. This book takes on this challenge. Drawing on Couldry's fifteen years of work on media and social theory, this book explores how questions of power and ritual, capital and social order, and the conduct of political struggle, professional competition, and everyday life, are all transformed by today's complex combinations of traditional and 'new' media. In the concluding chapters Couldry develops a framework for global comparative research into media and for thinking collectively about the ethics and justice of our lives with media. The result is a book that is both a major intervention in the field and required reading for all students of media and sociology.
Pandemics, epidemics and food borne diseases are a major global challenge. Focusing on the food and farming sector, and mobilising social theory as well as empirical enquiry, Pathological Lives investigates current approaches to biosecurity and ask how pathological lives can be successfully ‘regulated’ without making life more dangerous as a result. Uses empirical and social theoretical resources developed in the course of a 40-month research project entitled ‘Biosecurity borderlands’ Focuses on the food and farming sector, where the generation and subsequent transmission of disease has the ability to reach pandemic proportions Demonstrates the importance of a geographical and spatial analysis, drawing together social, material and biological approaches, as well as national and international examples The book makes three main conceptual contributions, reconceptualising disease as situated matters, the spatial or topological analysis of situations and a reformulation of biopolitics Uniquely brings together conceptual development with empirically and politically informed work on infectious and zoonotic disease, to produce a timely and important contribution to both social science and to policy debate
Innovation and Technology Transfer for the Growing Firm: Text and Cases is a practical guide and commentary in the field of technology transfer with emphasis on the economic and managerial aspects of the subject. The book is concerned with both positive and normative aspects of licensing. The book is organized into three parts. Part I presents general definitions and discussion of factors impinging on the environment of licensing. Parts II and III deal with alternative licensing strategies, some empirical evidence, and a public policy approach that might be adopted by governments interested in using licensing to promote business development. The text will be useful to students and practitioners in this field of interest.
What unites Google and Facebook, Apple and Microsoft, Siemens and GE, Uber and Airbnb? Across a wide range of sectors, these firms are transforming themselves into platforms: businesses that provide the hardware and software foundation for others to operate on. This transformation signals a major shift in how capitalist firms operate and how they interact with the rest of the economy: the emergence of ‘platform capitalism’. This book critically examines these new business forms, tracing their genesis from the long downturn of the 1970s to the boom and bust of the 1990s and the aftershocks of the 2008 crisis. It shows how the fundamental foundations of the economy are rapidly being carved up among a small number of monopolistic platforms, and how the platform introduces new tendencies within capitalism that pose significant challenges to any vision of a post-capitalist future. This book will be essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how the most powerful tech companies of our time are transforming the global economy." Also available as an audiobook.
In this book, Nick Couldry passionately argues for voice, the effective opportunity for people to speak and be heard on what affects their lives, as the only value that can truly challenge neoliberal politics. But having voice is not enough: we need to know our voice matters. Insisting that the answer goes much deeper than simply calling for ‘more voices’, whether on the streets or in the media, Couldry presents a dazzling range of analysis from the real world of Blair and Obama to the social theory of Judith Butler and Amartya Sen. This book breaks open the contradictions in neoliberal thought and shows how the mainstream media not only fails to provide the means for people to give an account of themselves, but also reinforces neoliberal values.
In a marketplace that demands perpetual upgrades, the survival of interactive play ultimately depends on the adroit management of negotiations between game producers and youthful consumers of this new medium. The authors suggest a model of expansion that encompasses technological innovation, game design, and marketing practices. Their case study of video gaming exposes fundamental tensions between the opposing forces of continuity and change in the information economy: between the play culture of gaming and the spectator culture of television, the dynamism of interactive media and the increasingly homogeneous mass-mediated cultural marketplace, and emerging flexible post-Fordist management strategies and the surviving techniques of mass-mediated marketing. Digital Play suggests a future not of democratizing wired capitalism but instead of continuing tensions between "access to" and "enclosure in" technological innovation, between inertia and diversity in popular culture markets, and between commodification and free play in the cultural industries. -- publisher description.
From shifts in format, through the effects on circulation and ownership, to the rise of digitally-produced genres, the ways we create, share and listen to music have changed fundamentally. In Popular Music, Digital Technology and Society, Nick Prior explores the social, cultural and industrial contexts in which these shifts have taken place. Both accessible and authoritative, the book: Clarifies key concepts such as assemblage, affordance, mediation and musicking and defines new concepts such as playsumption and digital vocalities Considers the impact of music production technologies such as MIDI, sampling, personal computing and smartphone apps Looks at the ways in which the internet shapes musical consumption, from viral marketing to streaming services Examines the effects of mobile audio devices on everyday social interactions Opens up new ways to think and write about the personal experience of making and performing digital music This book is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to understand the place of popular music in contemporary culture and society. It will be fascinating reading for students and researchers across media and communication studies, sociology, cultural studies and the creative industries.
This major new manifesto offers a “clear and compelling vision of a postcapitalist society” and shows how left-wing politics can be rebuilt for the 21st century (Mark Fisher, author of Capitalist Realism) Neoliberalism isn’t working. Austerity is forcing millions into poverty and many more into precarious work, while the left remains trapped in stagnant political practices that offer no respite. Inventing the Future is a bold new manifesto for life after capitalism. Against the confused understanding of our high-tech world by both the right and the left, this book claims that the emancipatory and future-oriented possibilities of our society can be reclaimed. Instead of running from a complex future, Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams demand a postcapitalist economy capable of advancing standards, liberating humanity from work and developing technologies that expand our freedoms. This new edition includes a new chapter where they respond to their various critics.
Can a bout of laziness or a digressive spell actually open up paths to creativity and unexpected insights? In Obstruction Nick Salvato suggests that for those engaged in scholarly pursuits laziness, digressiveness, and related experiences can be paradoxically generative. Rather than being dismissed as hindrances, these obstructions are to be embraced, clung to, and reoriented. Analyzing an eclectic range of texts and figures, from the Greek Cynics and Denis Diderot to Dean Martin and the Web series Drunk History, Salvato finds value in five obstructions: embarrassment, laziness, slowness, cynicism, and digressiveness. Whether listening to Tori Amos's music as a way to think about embarrassment, linking the MTV series Daria to using cynicism to negotiate higher education's corporatized climate, or examining the affect of slowness in Kelly Reichardt's films, Salvato expands our conceptions of each obstruction and shows ways to transform them into useful provocations. With a unique, literary, and self-reflexive voice, Salvato demonstrates the importance of these debased obstructions and shows how they may support alternative modes of intellectual activity. In doing so, he impels us to rethink the very meanings of thinking, work, and value.
Unleash your inner Soprano and relive all your favorite moments with this companion guide to the award-winning television series The Sopranos. We all know and love The Sopranos, one of the most important television dramas to ever hit the small screen, having run for six seasons on HBO. The story of the Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano balancing his family life with his role as the leader of a criminal organization pioneered decades of genre-bending “peak TV.” Now, Off the Back of a Truck takes you one step further into the world of Tony Soprano and his families, offering an Italian potluck of fresh and fun takes that any true fan can get lost in for hours. Off the Back of a Truck includes: -New looks at everyone’s favorite episodes, scenes, and characters -All 92 deaths analyzed, evaluated, and ranked -An investigation of true crimes behind the families’ schemes -An exploration of movies and shows that inspired The Sopranos -Reflections on the use of music, food, and fashion from writers who are also huge fans -A provocative conversation about what happens in the controversial ending This book takes you on a journey through the six seasons you have watched time and time again—but it's organized so you can dip in at any time, at any place. Roam around as though you’re in Tony’s backyard for a BBQ...
Just about any social need is now met with an opportunity to "connect" through digital means. But this convenience is not free—it is purchased with vast amounts of personal data transferred through shadowy backchannels to corporations using it to generate profit. The Costs of Connection uncovers this process, this "data colonialism," and its designs for controlling our lives—our ways of knowing; our means of production; our political participation. Colonialism might seem like a thing of the past, but this book shows that the historic appropriation of land, bodies, and natural resources is mirrored today in this new era of pervasive datafication. Apps, platforms, and smart objects capture and translate our lives into data, and then extract information that is fed into capitalist enterprises and sold back to us. The authors argue that this development foreshadows the creation of a new social order emerging globally—and it must be challenged. Confronting the alarming degree of surveillance already tolerated, they offer a stirring call to decolonize the internet and emancipate our desire for connection.
Media Rituals rethinks our accepted concepts of ritual behaviour for a media-saturated age. It connects ritual directly with questions of power, government, and surveillance and explores the ritual space which the media construct and where their power is legitimated. Drawing on sociological and anthropological approaches to the study of ritual, Couldry applies the work of theorists such as Durkheim, Bourdieu and Bloch to a number of important media arenas: the public media event; reality TV; Webcam sites; talk shows and docu-soaps; media pilgrimages; the construction of celebrity. In a final chapter, he imagines a different world where the media's ritual power is less, because the possibilities of participation in media production are more evenly shared.
The mammals that inhabit Madagascar are among the most extraordinary in the world. This portable guide offers a full survey and classification of all the Malagasy mammals, both endemic and introduced, including many new species only recently identified. With vivid color photographs, line illustrations, and maps, Mammals of Madagascar: A Complete Guide is an essential volume for any tourist or biologist who visits the island--or wishes to. The guide provides descriptions of the physical and behavioral characteristics of each species as well as information about habitat and distribution. To further aid identification, the book lists top mammal-watching sites in the rainforests, deciduous forests, and spiny forest areas. Streamlined and completely updated, this book replaces Nick Garbutt's classic earlier work, Mammals of Madagascar, and takes its place as the definitive guide to the mammals of the world's fourth-largest island. Published in association with Christopher Helm/A & C Black Publishers Ltd.
William the Silent and the Dutch Revolt examines the first stages of the Dutch struggle against Spanish rule during the late fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The book analyses the causes of growing discontent in the Netherlands and the various stages of the revolt, focusing on the key tipping points where discontent and violent upheaval escalated to become a national struggle for independence. The book also provides comparative analyses of insurgencies in the modern era and examines how popular discontent throughout history has often developed into struggles for full independence. The book is a key resource for scholars and students of early modern European history, as well as those interested in the history of revolts.
This hands-on introduction to psychotherapy process research methods takes the student clinician/researcher through the basic steps of developing a research project based on a transcript of a psychotherapy session. The major text-based methods in use are introduced in separate chapters, and illustrated with detailed examples and exercises which will enable the novice researcher to explore the therapeutic interaction from a variety of perspectives. The aim of the book is to support and enhance clinical practice through research competence and awareness.
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