In the contemporary context of social rights and activist movements such as those associated with combatting sexual harassment, gun and knife crime or climate change, we can observe a typical pattern of public responses. These movements offer voices to those who are marginalised, and indeed provide the confidence needed for many people to stand up for specific issues. This, …
Every day in hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, and school sick bays around the world, children (including adolescents) present with what have come to be known as functional somatic symptoms. These symptoms are ones that cannot be explained by an identifiable disease process—even after an extensive medical assessment has been done. They reflect, instead, …
A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking’s book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin—and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending—or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends? Told in language we all can understand…
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiative has the potential to set the direction for a future world that works for everyone. The SDGs were approved by 193 United Nations member countries in September 2016 to help guide global and national development policies in the period to 2030. The 17 goals build on the successes of the Millennium Development Goals, while also includin…
Is objectivity possible? Can there be objectivity in matters of morals? What would a truly objective account of the world be like? Is everything subjective, or relative? Are moral judgments objective or culturally relative? This Very Short Introduction demonstrates that there are a number of common misunderstandings about what objectivity is, and explores the theoretical and practical problems …
Zaytun’s True Wealth Marco Polo was impressed by Zaytun’s gems, pearls, porcelain, and silk, but he overlooked the true wealth of this mythic port—the place and the people! Zaytun was blessed with an unparalleled natural wealth and beauty that the enlightened inhabitants maintained as meticulously as their miniature landscapes, which have been…
Given the fact that there are perhaps 400 billion stars in our Galaxy alone, and perhaps 400 billion galaxies in the Universe, it stands to reason that somewhere out there, in the 14-billion-year-old cosmos, there is or once was a civilization at least as advanced as our own. The sheer enormity of the numbers almost demands that we accept the truth of this hypothesis. Why, then, have we encount…
Rates of diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are skyrocketing, throughout America and the rest of the world. U.S. rates of youth diagnosis have increased 40% from just a decade ago. Adults with ADHD are now the fastest-growing segment of the population receiving diagnosis and medication. The disorder is painful and sometimes disabling for individuals and tremendously co…
The human mind is capable of entertaining an astounding range of thoughts. These thoughts are composed of concepts or ideas, which are the building blocks of thoughts. This book is about where all of these concepts come from and the psychological structures that ultimately account for their acquisition. We argue that the debate over the origins of concepts, known as the rationalism-empiricism d…
Oral History at a Distance is the first publication to explore both the ideas behind and application of oral history in remote projects. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, working from a distance is now an ongoing and necessary approach in the oral historian’s toolkit. In this volume, the experienced team members of Baylor University’s Institute for Oral History provide a road map for adapting tr…