Sorcery and witchcraft practices and beliefs are pervasive across Melanesia. They are in part created by, and give rise to, a wide variety of poor social and developmental outcomes. These include uneven economic development, low public health, lack of social cohesion, crime, fear and insecurity. A further very visible problem is the attacks on men and women who are accused of being practitioners of witchcraft or sorcery, which can lead to serious bodily harm, banishment and sometimes death. Today, many communities, individuals, church organisations and policymakers in Melanesia and internationally are exploring ways to overcome the negative social outcomes associated with witchcraft and sorcery practices and beliefs. This book brings together a collection of chapters written by a diverse range of authors, both Melanesian and non-Melanesian, providing crucial insights both into how these practices and beliefs are playing out in contemporary Melanesia, and also the types of interventions that are being trialled or debated to address the problems associated with them.

A thoroughly delightful exploration of trees around St John’s College, Cambridge revealing their importance to a young undergraduate as he entwined the role of organ scholar and music student with his emerging passion to engage with the environment and its preservation. Imagine hearing a theme and improvisations which he might play on the organ - a paragraph on an aspect of a venerable tree on the Backs, a tangential leap to deal with thoughts which arise from characteristics of the nature of growth, or delights of climbing to great heights, then of swimming within dark waters at night, poems spring to mind. Angela Lemaire has followed his improvisatory ideas and made some remarkable woodcuts to enhance the book throughout. The Wordsworth Oak, the Little Lime, the Babington Yew, the Horizontal Willow - themes are stated and progress through moods of anger, rage, sadness, a need for solitude. ‘What is an acorn if not a tiny ‘wet’ computer? A seed is a collection of algorithms that manipulate matter, rather than the darkness behind a computer screen. This is the key to understanding tree morphology; a tree is the embodiment of a set of instructions for obtaining the materials necessary for propagation.’ Such are the revelations presented in a progress round the glorious trees of Cambridge.--Publisher's website.

"This book envisions the language and learning possibilities of young children's active engagement in literature discussion, which is not often found in books about early read-alouds. This book promotes read-aloud experiences that keep children, their backgrounds, and their experiences front and center. This book shares our journey, as educators and researchers, with a goal to support the learning journey of other early childhood educators. This book includes vignettes from classroom literature discussions as well as conversations between educators"--

Talking comes naturally…but getting people to listen is an art. This guide provides you with practical, proven strategies for mastering the art of effective, persuasive communication—the skill most essential to your enjoyment of other people and the achievement of personal success.

Talking Through Death examines communication at the end-of-life from several different communication perspectives: interpersonal (patient, provider, family), mediated, and cultural. By studying interpersonal and family communication, cultural media, funeral related rituals, religious and cultural practices, medical settings, and legal issues surrounding advance directives, readers gain insight into the ways symbolic communication constructs the experience of death and dying, and the way meaning is infused into the process of death and dying. The book looks at the communication-related health and social issues facing people and their loved ones as they transition through the end of life experience. It reports on research recently conducted by the authors and others to create a conversational, narrative text that helps students, patients, and medical providers understand the symbolism and construction of meaning inherent in end-of-life communication.

“Reading and writing float on a sea of talk” declared James Britton – and yet in our current education system, where the pressure is on for students to pass written exams, it is all too easily left adrift. How then, as teachers and educators, can we turn the tide and harness the power of talk in our classrooms? This is not just an educational choice but rather, given students’ vastly different experiences of language, a moral imperative. Amy Gaunt and Alice Stott’s must-read book serves as a detailed and engaging guide to get talking in class. It blends the academic research and evidence, with first-hand classroom experiences and practical strategies to enable you to unlock the power of oracy in your classroom and equip your students with the speaking skills they need to thrive in the twenty first century. Transform Teaching and Learning Through Talk describes how to: Identify and teach good talk (and listening!) Build a classroom culture which values talk Create meaningful and authentic contexts for oracy Support your quietest students to speak up too! This book is a rich resource for teachers, drawing upon key academic research and outlining what this could look like in your classroom. Throughout, the authors share personal insights, engaging anecdotes and tried-and-tested approaches drawn from their experience teaching in primary and secondary classrooms. Whether you teach college-age students or those just starting their journey through school, this book will challenge you to think deeply about what you can do integrate oracy into your practice.

Socializing Intelligence Through Academic Talk and Dialogue focuses on a fast-growing topic in education research. Over the course of 34 chapters, the contributors discuss theories and case studies that shed light on the effects of dialogic participation in and outside the classroom. This rich, interdisciplinary endeavor will appeal to scholars and researchers in education and many related disciplines, including learning and cognitive sciences, educational psychology, instructional science, and linguistics, as well as to teachers curriculum designers, and educational policy makers.

He's a rescue, a mutt. Maybe there's a little golden retriever in him, although he's not exactly pretty. He's had a run-in with coyotes and he's missing an eye. But Mike is eleven-year-old Cara Donovan's dog, and they love each other absolutely. Usually her pet follows Cara everywhere, but on the day the family first smells smoke in the air, Mike becomes anxious. Pine Grove is in the path of a wildfire, and the family is ordered to evacuate. In the ensuing chaos, Mike runs off. And then the unthinkable happens; there is no time to search for Mike. They are forced to leave him behind. Shocked and devastated, Cara watches helplessly as the family drives through a nightmare, with burning debris falling from the sky and wild animals fleeing for their lives. Once in the city far from the burn zone, the Donovans are housed with a volunteer host family. Jewel, the hosts' daughter, is nice, but Cara can only think about what she may have lost. What will happen if nothing is left? But as she reflects on what "home" means to her, Cara knows only one thing. She is not going to lose Mike. She will do what it takes to find him, even if it means going back to Pine Grove on her own. With her signature style combining simplicity and lyricism, the author of Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles and Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess tells an uplifting story of love and loss. And she shows how one girl’s stressful journey eventually leads her to an unexpected place, and a new definition of home.

This book draws from six years’ work by the Developing Inquiring Communities in Education Project (DICEP) to provide a range of practical, replicable methods for building collaborative communities, in which democratic principles of education may be realized. Recognizing that each classroom is unique in its makeup, its context, and its history, these seasoned teacher-researchers rely heavily on discourse, both spoken and written, to engage students in the active learning process. Their findings are striking and clear, and testify to the exciting potential that dialogic interaction and collaborative knowledge building have for the field of education. Key features of this book are: identification of appropriate research questions; real-life teaching strategies based on extensive hands-on experience in the field; and workable suggestions for facilitating inquiry-based learning and teaching.