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  [Description of] Global Climate Change Turning Knowledge Into Action

  David E. Kitchen

  Earth’s climate is changing. This book investigates the scientific, environmental, social, political, and economic aspects of climate change. It enables students to reach an informed opinion and encourages active engagement in finding solutions.

  It begins with a strong introduction to the scientific factors that drive natural and anthropogenic climate change and expands over three chapters to explore the impact of greenhouse gases on the distribution of solar energy across land, sea, ice, and air. The author examines geologically ancient climates in order to highlight possible future scenarios, and case studies from around the world highlight the impact of climate change on the physical and human environment. The final chapters investigate how society can respond to the challenges of climate change and overcome the political, social, and economic factors that are barriers to progress, focusing on the role of energy policy, fiscal policy, and risk assessment as a means to stimulate discussion about science, society, and the role of the media. Science is the foundation of any solution, but to turn this knowledge into action requires the application of a broad set of skills that are rooted in the liberal arts experience such as critical thinking, analytical thinking, problem solving, and communication.

  This textbook will be an essential resource for students taking courses in environmental geography, climate change, natural hazards, climatology, and meteorology.

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  [Introduction to] Rap on Trial: Race, Lyrics, and Guilt in America

  Erik Nielson, Andrea L. Dennis, and Killer Mike

  A groundbreaking exposé about the alarming use of rap lyrics as criminal evidence to convict and incarcerate young men of color

  “If you believe that I’m a cop killer, you believe David Bowie is an astronaut.” —Rapper Ice-T, on the persona he adopted in the song “Cop Killer”

  Should Johnny Cash have been charged with murder after he sang, “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die”? Few would seriously subscribe to this notion of justice. Yet in 2001, a rapper named Mac whose music had gained national recognition was convicted of manslaughter after the prosecutor quoted liberally from his album Shell Shocked. Mac was sentenced to thirty years in prison, where he remains. And his case is just one of many nationwide.

  Over the last three decades, as rap became increasingly popular, prosecutors saw an opportunity: they could present the sometimes violent, crime-laden lyrics of amateur rappers as confessions to crimes, threats of violence, evidence of gang affiliation, or revelations of criminal motive—and judges and juries would go along with it. Detectives have reopened cold cases on account of rap lyrics and videos alone, and prosecutors have secured convictions by presenting such lyrics and videos of rappers as autobiography. Now, an alarming number of aspiring rappers are imprisoned. No other form of creative expression is treated this way in the courts.

  Rap on Trial places this disturbing practice in the context of hip hop history and exposes what’s at stake. It’s a gripping, timely exploration at the crossroads of contemporary hip hop and mass incarceration.

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  [Introduction to] Master American History in 1 Minute a Day

  Dan Roberts

  Join acclaimed historian Dan Roberts--known to millions as the voice of the A Moment in Time radio series--on a bite-sized romp through 500 years of American history. With just one minute a day, you can master all the essential facts of America's founding, Civil War, world conflicts, homefront transformations, and more!.

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  [Introduction to] Preventing Human Trafficking; Education and NGOs in Thailand

  Robert W. Spires

  This book explores human trafficking, examining the work of grass-roots, non-profit organizations who educate and rehabilitate human trafficking victims and at-risk youth. Through interviews with staff and children, the author compares the work of two NGOs on-the-ground in Thailand with the work of similar organizations overseas, shedding light on the ways in which they combine educational work with shelter settings to prevent human trafficking, protect young people and attempt to provide a future free of exploitation. Concentrating less on the details of exploitation itself than the work that is being done to prevent exploitation and protect those who have experienced human trafficking, Preventing Human Trafficking explores the many challenges faced by the organizations, their staff and the children they serve. Drawing on rich qualitative research to address significant gaps in our knowledge of the work of NGOs and propose solutions to the problems of trafficking and how to protect its victims, this book will appeal to social scientists and policy makers with interests in criminology, exploitation, people trafficking, non-formal education and the work of NGOs.

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  [Introduction to] Global Climate Change: Turning Knowledge into Action

  David E. Kitchen

  The science of climate change is a complex subject that balances the physical record and scientific fact with politics, policy, and ethics—and is of particular importance to the geosciences. This thoughtfully crafted new text and accompanying media encourage non-science majors to practice critical thinking, analysis, and discourse about climate change themes. Taking a cross-disciplinary approach, acclaimed educator and researcher, David Kitchen, examines not only the physical science, but the social, economic, political, energy, and environmental issues surrounding climate change. His goal: to turn knowledge into action, equipping students with the knowledge and critical skills to make informed decisions, separate facts from fiction, and participate in the public debate.

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  [Introduction to] 7 Lenses: Learning the Principles and Practices of Ethical Leadership

  Linda Fisher Thornton

  7 Lenses is a clear, actionable and holistic road map for leading ethically in a complex world. With a foreword by Stephen M. R. Covey, this book takes us beyond the triple bottom line to 7 different perspectives on ethical leadership, and provides 14 Guiding Principles that help us honor them all in daily leadership. It answers: Why do even the ethics experts disagree about what ethical leadership means? What is the bigger picture that we should use as our leadership road map? What are the business benefits of intentionally using high-level ethical leadership? What can we do to prepare for the future of ethical leadership? The examples, graphics, cases and questions provide a learning framework for deeply engaging constituents and building trust for the long term.

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  [Introduction to] Mental Health Among Elderly Native Americans

  James L. Narduzzi

  Providing mental health services to the elderly generally and particularly to elderly Native Americans has been an issue of some concern for the last several decades. Despite this rise in concern for the mental health of elderly Americans, however, the fact remains that public decisions are made based on inadequate data. As Birren and Renner state: "A major problem has been that our knowledge of the mental health problems and the frequency of psychiatric disturbances in the elderly has a weak information base." When on turns to minority elderly in general and elderly Native Americans in particular, the data base virtually disappears. In fact, the survey upon which much of this study rests represents "the first research effort ever undertaken to document the conditions of life of older Native American and Alaskan native people nationwide." Because of this lack of data, there has been little research devoted to determining the factors associated with mental health among elderly Native Americans. Instead, the growing body of mental health research "has been based on limited samples, primarily of middle-majority Anglos." Thus, the purpose of this research is to utilize existing data to close this gap in our understanding of mental health among elderly Native Americans. Specifically, multiple regression will be employed to describe the relationship between mental health and several theoretically-derived independent variables. Initially, this will involve a determination of whether the same relationships that hold for the dominant population are consistent with data drawn from elderly Native Americans and, if not, what alternative models should be examined. Secondly, the research will attempt to assess the relative importance of the various independent variables on mental health as well as analyze the interrelationships among these independent variables.