Offering more than 400 street-lit titles, this guide helps readers' advisors and other librarians to better understand the genre and collect and recommend titles ranging from romance and coming-of-age stories to action stories and erotica. Street lit is also known to its enthusiastic readers as "urban fiction," "ghetto lit," "hip-hop lit," and "gangsta lit." No matter what it's called, it remains one of the most significant and increasingly popular forms of modern literature. This text provides a much-needed resource guide to this vibrant genre. In this title, more than 400 entries appear in eleven chapters, each focusing on a different subgenre of street lit. The author has organized titles by popular subgenres and themes, such as prison life and urban erotica, to help librarians more easily identify read-alikes. Urban Grit: A Guide to Street Lit also contains practical tips on integrating these books into an existing collection or library program and meeting challenges that may arise in the process.

This book presents interdisciplinary research on the aesthetics of perfection and imperfection. Broadening this growing field, it connects the aesthetics of imperfection with issues in areas including philosophy, music, literature, urban environment, architecture, art theory, and cultural studies. The contributors to this volume argue that imperfection has value in being open and inclusive. The aesthetics of imperfection is typified by organic, unpolished production and the avoidance of perfect finish, instead representing living and natural change, and opposing the consumerist concern with the flawless and pristine. The chapters are divided into seven thematic sections. After the first section, on imperfection across the arts and culture, the next three parts are on imperfection in the arts of music, visual and theatrical arts, and literature. The second half of this book then moves to categories in everyday life and branches this further into body, self, and the person, and urban environments. Together, the chapters promote a positive ethos of imperfection that furthers individual and social engagement and supports creativity over mere passivity. Imperfectionist Aesthetics in Art and Everyday Life will appeal to a broad range of scholars and advanced students working in philosophical aesthetics, literature, music, urban environment, architecture, art theory, and cultural studies.

Inclusive Practices and Social Justice Leadership for Special Populations in Urban Settings: A Moral Imperative is comprised of a collection of chapters written by educators who refuse to let the voices of dissent remain marginalized in our discussion of education in the 21st century education. Drawing from the authors’ extensive experience in educational research and practice, coupled with their commitment to inclusion of special populations and social justice they urge readers to examine how educational policies are produced for the least advantaged in our schools. Effective inclusionary practices most certainly benefit all students, including English language learners, those who face gender discrimination, those who are in the foster care system, and those who are Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgendered. This collection presents a broader theoretical inclusive framework rooted in social justice: which we assert, offers the best practices for a greater number of students who are at risk of minimal academic success. This broader conceptualization of inclusive schools adds to extant discourses about students with exceptional needs and provides effective strategies school leaders operating from a social justice framework can implement to create more inclusive school environments for all students, especially those in urban centers. It is hoped that lessons learned will improve the preparation and practice of school leaders, thus improve educational outcomes for students from special populations.

An exhilarating, splendidly illustrated, entirely new look at the history of baseball: told through the stories of the vibrant and ever-changing ballparks where the game was and is staged, by the Pulitzer Prize-winning architectural critic. From the earliest corrals of the mid-1800s (Union Grounds in Brooklyn was a "saloon in the open air"), to the much mourned parks of the early 1900s (Detroit's Tiger Stadium, Cincinnati's Palace of the Fans), to the stadiums we fill today, Paul Goldberger makes clear the inextricable bond between the American city and America's favorite pastime. In the changing locations and architecture of our ballparks, Goldberger reveals the manifestations of a changing society: the earliest ballparks evoked the Victorian age in their accommodations--bleachers for the riffraff, grandstands for the middle-class; the "concrete donuts" of the 1950s and '60s made plain television's grip on the public's attention; and more recent ballparks, like Baltimore's Camden Yards, signal a new way forward for stadium design and for baseball's role in urban development. Throughout, Goldberger shows us the way in which baseball's history is concurrent with our cultural history: the rise of urban parks and public transportation; the development of new building materials and engineering and design skills. And how the site details and the requirements of the game--the diamond, the outfields, the walls, the grandstands--shaped our most beloved ballparks. A fascinating, exuberant ode to the Edens at the heart of our cities--where dreams are as limitless as the outfields.

With the newly inaugurated US Presidential Administration signing several orders to mitigate discrimination and racism within the United States government, attentions globally are once again brought to the Black Lives Matter campaign, and its message. Discrimination in business contexts, social interactions, and educational institutions remains a concern for leaders today. The empowerment of marginalize communities has been rapidly spreading through societies, thanks to the platforms that social media now offer. The Research Anthology on Empowering Marginalized Communities and Mitigating Racism and Discrimination is a three-volume, hand-selected compilation of the highest quality research on the empowerment of marginalized communities that have been experiencing ongoing discrimination. To shed light on the underpinnings of disparities between marginalized groups and overreaching society, this text explores social justice applications and practices and the changes being made or pushed for around the globe that promote equality, fair treatment, and inclusivity. This book is ideal for sociologists, teachers, activists, practitioners, managers, administrators, policymakers, government officials, researchers, academicians, and students working in fields such as gender studies, race studies, social justice, behavioral studies, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, law, as well as anyone interested in the current practices and advances in mitigating racism and discrimination in society.

"Non-cognitive skills" are often used to refers to those skills that do not fall within the cognitive category but to describe a stable pattern of thought, feeling, and behavior in different situations and backgrounds with profitable and investable characteristics, such as conscientiousness, perseverance, and teamwork, which are critically important in education. However, for many years, "non-cognitive skills" have always been ignored in human capital theory. The book, using a multidisciplinary approach, tries to uncover the noncognitive components of human capital, so as to answer the question "what is the skill that should be invested in?" The author expands the connotations of human capital by exploring the value of noncognitive skills and their production patterns, constructing a measurement framework and a set of tools to measure noncognitive skills. She especially carries out an empirical survey which covers primary and secondary school students from seven provinces of China’s east, middle, and west areas. With the data collected, she analyzes Chinese students’ noncognitive development and further identifies the critical factors that may impact their noncognitive skills by applying the Bayesian Model Average approach. The book will be a theoretical contribution to education economics. Researchers interested in education in China, children’s development, and policymakers in the field of education will find this book helpful and resourceful.

More Urban Myths About Learning and Education: Challenging Eduquacks, Extraordinary Claims, and Alternative Facts examines common beliefs about education and learning that are not supported by scientific evidence before using research to reveal the truth about each topic. The book comprises sections on educational approaches, curriculum, educational psychology, and educational policy, concluding with a critical look at evidence-based education itself. Does playing chess improve intelligence? Should tablets and keyboards replace handwriting? Is there any truth to the 10,000-hour rule for expertise? In an engaging, conversational style, authors Pedro De Bruyckere, Paul A. Kirschner, and Casper Hulshof tackle a set of pervasive myths, effectively separating fact from fiction in learning and education.

In comparing one public school to another, discussions frequently include talk concerning the socioeconomics of a school or district, which then leads to talk about the advantages that one socioeconomic setting has over another. Educators tend to agree that low academic achievement frequently associated with a low socioeconomic status is a characteristic difficult to resolve for a population of school children. The Handbook of Research on Social Inequality and Education is a critical reference source that provides insights into social influences on school and educational settings. Featuring an array of topics including online learning, social mobility, and teacher preparation, this book is excellent for educational leaders, educational researchers, teachers, academicians, administrators, instructional designers, and teacher preparation programs.

Riyadh has set its sights on becoming a world city befitting the twenty-first century. To that end it has embarked on a massive construction drive evidenced in the proliferation of proposals for high-end districts, giga-developments and elaborate infrastructures. An urban vision seemingly dedicated to attracting global capital. Yet such a narrative can be misleading. A ‘humanization programme’, initiated during the tenure of its former mayor Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf, has complemented the city’s rapid rise by providing spaces catering for the everyday needs of its inhabitants. Yasser Elsheshtawy, in this richly illustrated book, targets these people-centred settings. It is a compelling counter-narrative interweaving critical theoretical insights, personal observations, and serendipitous encounters. He deftly demonstrates how Riyadh thrives through the actions of its people. As the world moves towards an urban model that is resilient and humane, the humanizing efforts of an Arab city are worthy of our attention. Riyadh’s premise is perhaps best captured in the cover image depicting the desert riverbed of Wadi Sulai, filled with rainwater, making its way towards the Saudi capital. Along its banks there will be dedicated public pathways and urban parks. It is a vision of an urbanity where both the spectacular and the everyday coexist. A city that is not just dedicated to the few, but one that serves the many.