Transformative Reading belongs to a growing tradition of studies investigating the functions of aesthetic experiences in our lives. Philosophers, literary theorists, and psychologists have suggested that aesthetic experiences implicate and develop our sense of ourselves. Literary texts, as one such experience, challenge readers and extend their imagination by means of complex or deviating plots. Reading literary narrative fiction helps readers develop imaginary selves in a safe way, enhancing their theory of mind. It might also contribute to the development of readers’ interpersonal competencies and foster pro-sociality, altruistic behaviour, and empathy. This book uses empirical research methods to focus on the processes of literary reading, revealing two pathways for the transformative powers of literature. It also reveals how an understanding of these pathways might be beneficial in educational settings – in schools, in the workplace, and in medical contexts.

In A Transformative Reading of the Bible Yung Suk Kim raises critical questions about human transformation in biblical studies. What is transformation? How are we transformed when we read biblical stories? Are all transformative aspects equally valid? What kind of relationships exists between self, neighbor, and God if transformation is involved in these three? Who or what is being changed, or who or what are we changing? What degree of change might be considered "transformative"? Kim explores a dynamic, cyclical process of human transformation and argues that healthy transformation involves three kinds of transformation: psycho-theological, ontological-theological, and political-theological transformation. With insights gained from phenomenological studies, political theology, and psychotheology, Kim proposes a new model for how to read the Bible transformatively, as he dares to read Hannah, Psalm 13, the Gospel of Mark, and Paul as stories of transformation. The author invites Christian readers, theological educators, and scholars to reexamine the idea of transformation and to engage biblical stories from the perspective of holistic human transformation.

From distinguished scholar Donna M. Mertens, this core book provides a framework for making methodological decisions and conducting research and evaluations that promote social justice. The transformative paradigm has emerged from - and guides - a broad range of social and behavioral science research projects with communities that have been pushed to the margins, such as ethnic, racial, and sexual minority group members and children and adults with disabilities. Mertens shows how to formulate research questions based on community needs, develop researcher-community partnerships grounded in trust and respect, and skillfully apply quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods data collection strategies. Practical aspects of analyzing and reporting results are addressed, and numerous sample studies are presented. An ideal core book for graduate courses, or practitioner resource, the book includes: Commentary on the sample studies that explains what makes them transformative. Explanations of key concepts related to oppression, social justice, and the role of research and evaluation. Questions for Thought to stimulate critical self-reflection and discussion. Advance chapter organizers and chapter summaries. The book is intended for graduate students in psychology, education, social work, sociology, and nursing, as well as practicing researchers and program evaluators. It will serve as a core book or supplement in Research Methods, Program Evaluation, and Community Psychology courses.

The New York Times bestselling author and International Thriller Writers “Best Novel” finalist Lisa Unger returns to the dark psychological suspense that made Beautiful Lies a bestseller around the world. Lana Granger lives a life of lies. She has told so many lies about where she comes from and who she is that the truth is like a cloudy nightmare she can’t quite recall. About to graduate from college and with her trust fund almost tapped out, she takes a job babysitting a troubled boy named Luke. Expelled from schools all over the country, the manipulative young Luke is accustomed to controlling the people in his life. But, in Lana, he may have met his match. Or has Lana met hers? When Lana’s closest friend, Beck, mysteriously disappears, Lana resumes her lying ways—to friends, to the police, to herself. The police have a lot of questions for Lana when the story about her where­abouts the night Beck disappeared doesn’t jibe with eyewitness accounts. Lana will do anything to hide the truth, but it might not be enough to keep her ominous secrets buried: someone else knows about Lana’s lies. And he’s dying to tell. Lisa Unger’s writing has been hailed as “sensational” (Publishers Weekly) and “sophisticated” (New York Daily News), with “gripping narrative and evocative, muscular prose” (Associated Press). Masterfully suspenseful, finely crafted, and written with a no-holds-barred raw power, In the Blood is Unger at her best.

A heartwarming book about unconditional love and one remarkable family. Dyson loves pink, sparkly things. Sometimes he wears dresses. Sometimes he wears jeans. He likes to wear his princess tiara, even when climbing trees. He’s a Princess Boy. Inspired by the author’s son, and by her own initial struggles to understand, this heartwarming book is a call for tolerance and an end to bullying and judgments. The world is a brighter place when we accept everyone for who they are.

Deftly melding ethnography, cultural history, literary criticism, and autobiographical reflection, A Feeling for Books is at once an engaging study of the Book-of-the-Month Club's influential role as a cultural institution and a profoundly personal meditation about the experience of reading. Janice Radway traces the history of the famous mail-order book club from its controversial founding in 1926 through its evolution into an enterprise uniquely successful in blending commerce and culture. Framing her historical narrative with writing of a more personal sort, Radway reflects on the contemporary role of the Book-of-the-Month Club in American cultural history and in her own life. Her detailed account of the standards and practices employed by the club's in-house editors is also an absorbing story of her interactions with those editors. Examining her experiences as a fourteen-year-old reader of the club's selections and, later, as a professor of literature, she offers a series of rigorously analytical yet deeply personal readings of such beloved novels as Marjorie Morningstar and To Kill a Mockingbird. Rich and rewarding, this book will captivate and delight anyone who is interested in the history of books and in the personal and transformative experience of reading.

As we live our lives, we repeatedly make decisions that shape our future circumstances and affect the sort of person we will be. When choosing whether to start a family, or deciding on a career, we often think we can assess the options by imagining what different experiences would be like for us. L. A. Paul argues that, for choices involving dramatically new experiences, we are confronted by the brute fact that we can know very little about our subjective futures. This has serious implications for our decisions. If we make life choices in the way we naturally and intuitively want to--by considering what we care about, and what our future selves will be like if we choose to have the experience--we only learn what we really need to know after we have already committed ourselves. If we try to escape the dilemma by avoiding an experience, we have still made a choice. Choosing rationally, then, may require us to regard big life decisions as choices to make discoveries, small and large, about the intrinsic nature of experience, and to recognize that part of the value of living authentically is to experience one's life and preferences in whatever way they may evolve in the wake of the choices one makes. Using classic philosophical examples about the nature of consciousness, and drawing on recent work in normative decision theory, cognitive science, epistemology, and the philosophy of mind, Paul develops a rigorous account of transformative experience that sheds light on how we should understand real-world experience and our capacity to rationally map our subjective futures.

The editors and contributors to this collection explore what it means to adopt an “academic literacies” approach in policy and pedagogy. Transformative practice is illustrated through case studies and critical commentaries from teacher-researchers working in a range of higher education contexts—from undergraduate to postgraduate levels, across disciplines, and spanning geopolitical regions including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cataluña, Finland, France, Ireland, Portugal, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

A no-nonsense guide to finding your unique fitness program Have you struggled to stick with a nutrition or training plan long enough to see your desired results? Or perhaps you’ve devoted time and effort to your training but are frustrated because you’re not seeing the tangible changes you really want. If either scenario sounds familiar, then Find Your Stride is for you. In it, avid runner and fitness writer Emily Rudow explains why there’s no universal formula for fitness success—how trying to stick to a rigid plan, with no flexibility for individual needs, causes us to veer off our well-intentioned paths. Emily combines the latest research on nutrition, exercise science, and psychology with her personal, in-the-trenches experience, giving you the tools to transform your body and mind. Find Your Stride offers an unconventionally complete approach to fitness, covering mindset, nutrition, training, and sustainability, to help you: • Practice self-compassion and reframe fitness as a self-experiment • Discard the diet mentality and finally escape the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting • Achieve your physique goals (build muscle and strength and/or lose fat) • Uncover intrinsic motivation to build a healthy routine over the long term As someone who, like the rest of us, has struggled to consistently stick to a fitness regimen, Emily is approachable for those of us at any fitness level who want to learn how to apply fitness concepts to our lives in a sustainable way. Find Your Stride will help you create a fitness plan that’s uniquely yours, so that you can feel good in your own skin, build confidence, and experience the high energy and happiness that come along with fitness being an integral part of your life.

Proven HR strategies that can have a real impact on organizational success This book demonstrates how some of the world's most admired and prominent organizations are redefining HR leadership by using evidence-based change to inform human capital decisions that optimize efficiency, effectiveness and strategic impact. The authors present the five foundational principles to the new HR decision science: Logic-driven analytics, segmentation, risk leverage, synergy and integration and optimization. Includes practical suggestions and approaches to help executives put the book's principles into action Contains insight based on the experiences of leading global organization such as PNC Bank, CME Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, Deutsche Telekom and Shanda Interactive Entertainment Features in-depth case studies of 6 international companies: Coca-Cola, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, IBM, Ameriprise Financial, Royal Bank of Canada and Royal Bank of Scotland This groundbreaking book reveals a new approach to deliver sustainable change and business results. It is enhanced with success stories from leading companies that engage leadership and involve employees in ways that make a lasting impact on their companies.