An inspiring mission to rescue young people from drugs and violence with music At a time when interest in Brazilian culture has reached an all-time... high, and the stories of one person's ability to improve the lives of others has captured so many hearts, this unique book takes readers to the frontlines of a battle raging over control of the nation's poorest areas. Culture Is Our Weapon tells the story of Grupo Cultural AfroReggae, a Rio-based organization employing music and an appreciation for black culture to inspire residents of the favelas, or shantytowns, to resist the drugs that are ruining their neighborhoods. This is an inspiring look at an artistic explosion and the best and worst of Brazilian society.

America is no longer a country but a multimillion-dollar brand, says Kalle Lasn and his fellow "culture jammers". The founder of Adbusters magazine,... Lasn aims to stop the branding of America by changing the way information flows; the way institutions wield power; the way television stations are run; and the way the food, fashion, automobile, sports, music, and culture industries set agendas. With a courageous and compelling voice, Lasn deconstructs the advertising culture and our fixation on icons and brand names. And he shows how to organize resistance against the power trust that manages the brands by "uncooling" consumer items, by "dermarketing" fashions and celebrities, and by breaking the "media trance" of our TV-addicted age.A powerful manifesto by a leading media activist, Culture Jam lays the foundations for the most significant social movement of the early twenty-first century -- a movement that can change the world and the way we think and live.

Since the early 1990s, close to 250,000 children born abroad have been adopted into the United States. Nearly half of these children have come from... China or Russia. Culture Keeping: White Mothers, International Adoption, and the Negotiation of Family Difference offers the first comparative analysis of these two popular adoption programs.Heather Jacobson examines these adoptions by focusing on a relatively new social phenomenon, the practice by international adoptive parents, mothers in particular, of incorporating aspects of their children's cultures of origin into their families' lives. "Culture keeping" is now standard in the adoption world, though few adoptive parents, the majority of whom are white and native-born, have experience with the ethnic practices of their children's homelands prior to adopting.Jacobson follows white adoptive mothers as they navigate culture keeping: from their motivations, to the pressures and constraints they face, to the content of their actual practices concerning names, food, toys, travel, cultural events, and communities of belonging. Through her interviews, she explores how women think about their children, their families, and themselves as mothers as they labor to construct or resist ethnic identities for their children, who may be perceived as birth children (because they are white) or who may be perceived as adopted (because of racial difference).The choices these women make about culture, Jacobson argues, offer a window into dominant ideas of race and the "American Family," and into how social differences are conceived and negotiated in the United States.

How can educators improve the literacy skills of students in a historically underachieving urban high school? In this timely book, the author draws on... her experience as a participant observer to provide a unique, insider's view to both designing and implementing a culturally responsive approach to improve learning and teaching in a specific subject area. The Cultural Modeling Project, which she presents here, drew on competencies students already had in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) discourse and hip hop culture to tackle complex problems in the study of literature. Using vivid descriptions from real classrooms, she describes how AAVE supported student learning and reasoning; how students in turn responded to the reform initiative, and how teachers adapted the cultural framework to the English/language arts curriculum. While the focus is on literacy and African American students, the book examines the functions of culture in facilitating learning and offers principles for leveraging cultural knowledge in support of subject matter specific to academic learning. This much awaited book offers important lessons for researchers, school district leaders, and local practitioners regarding the complex ways that cultural knowledge is constructed and plays out in classroom life, in the life of a school, and in the life of a whole-school reform initiative.

It is not enough to condemn culture. Nor is it sufficient merely to critique culture or to copy culture. Most of the time, we just consume culture. But... the only way to change culture is to create culture. Andy Crouch unleashes a stirring manifesto calling Christians to be culture makers. For too long, Christians have had an insufficient view of culture and have waged misguided "culture wars." But we must reclaim the cultural mandate to be the creative cultivators that God designed us to be. Culture is what we make of the world, both in creating cultural artifacts as well as in making sense of the world around us. By making chairs and omelets, languages and laws, we participate in the good work of culture making. Crouch unpacks the complexities of how culture works and gives us tools for cultivating and creating culture. He navigates the dynamics of cultural change and probes the role and efficacy of our various cultural gestures and postures. Keen biblical exposition demonstrates that creating culture is central to the whole scriptural narrative, the ministry of Jesus and the call to the church. He guards against naive assumptions about "changing the world," but points us to hopeful examples from church history and contemporary society of how culture is made and shaped. Ultimately, our culture making is done in partnership with God's own making and transforming of culture. A model of his premise, this landmark book is sure to be a rallying cry for a new generation of culturally creative Christians. Discover your calling and join the culture makers.

Welcome to Culturematic: How Reality TV, John Cheever, a Pie Lab, Julia Child, Fantasy Football, Burning Man, the Ford Fiesta Movement, Rube Goldberg,... NFL Films, Wordle, Two and a Half Men, a 10,000-Year Symphony, and ROFLCom Memes Will Help You Create and Execute Breakthrough IdeasA Culturematic is a little machine for making culture. It’s an ingenuity engine.Once wound up and released, the Culturematic acts as a probe into the often-alien world of contemporary culture, to test the atmosphere, to see what life it can sustain, to see who responds and how. Culturematics start small but can scale up ferociously, bootstrapping themselves as they go.Because they are so inexpensive, we can afford to fire off a multitude of Culturematics simultaneously. This is evolutionary strategy, iterative innovation, and rapid prototyping all at once. Culturematics are fast, cheap, and out of control. Perhaps as important, they fail early and often. They are the perfect antidote to a world where we cannot guess what’s coming next.In Culturematic, anthropologist Grant McCracken describes these little machines and helps the reader master them. Examples are drawn from NFL Films, Twitter, the Apple Genius Bar, Starbucks, Ford, SNL Digital Shorts, Restoration Hardware, UNICEF, J. Crew, Pie Lab, USA Network, and the GEICO gecko.For the traditional producers of culture—the creators of movies, design, advertising, publishing, magazines, newspapers, and corporate R&D—this book will inspire new innovation and creativity.For the emerging producers of culture—the digital players—this book will serve as a practical handbook. Culturematic: our app for creating the world anew.

Prominent scholars and journalists ponder the question of why, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the world is more divided than ever between... the rich and the poor, between those living in freedom and those under oppression.

The most complete resource on the techniques, equipment,principles, and practices of animal cell cultureSince publication of the previous edition of... this benchmark text, numerous groundbreaking advances have occurred in stem cell research, cloning, tissue engineering, and in vitro toxicity testing. These and other developments have been incorporated into this fully revised and expanded Fifth Edition of Culture of Animal Cells. In addition, to answer the needs of the exponential increase in newcomers to cell culture, particularly in the biopharmaceutical industry, a completely new chapter on training in cell culture technology has been introduced.The most complete resource on the techniques, equipment, principles, and practices of animal cell culture, this text offers a complete background related to growth of animal cells in culture. Beginning with laboratory design, safety, validation and bioethics, then continuing with preparation of media, primary culture and cell lines, through to characterization and authentication, contamination, specialized techniques, and troubleshooting, the coverage includes:* An all-new section of training exercises, separated into basic, intermediate, and advanced procedures, cross-referenced to the relevant protocols* New coverage of stem cells, bioethics, validation, cloning, cell signaling, in vitro toxicity testing, and tissue engineering* An expanded full-color atlas section, with images of primary culture, cell lines, subculture, differentiation, cancer cells and transformation, three-dimensional culture, contamination, and specialized equipment* Enhanced treatment of troubleshooting, with full cross-referencing to the relevant protocols and sections of text* Fully updated references* The clearest, most consistent presentation of step-by-step protocols available* Numerous diagrams, photographs, tables, and charts* Detailed and up-to-date information on reagent preparation and sourcing of materials and equipment, including a fully updated list of suppliers and other resources with Web sitesIndispensable for clinical and biopharmaceutical researchers and scientists, students, trainees, and technicians, this landmark text presents the most accessible and comprehensive introduction available to the culture and experimental manipulation of animal cells.

This is the most complete resource on the techniques, equipment, principles, and practices of animal cell culture.Since publication of the previous... edition of this benchmark text, numerous types of equipment and materials have changed and new specialized techniques have been developed, particularly in the area of stem cell research and tissue engineering. These and other developments have been incorporated into this rigorously revised and expanded sixth edition of Culture of Animal Cells, the leading text in the basic methodology of cell culture.This authoritative volume offers a complete background related to growth of animal cells in culture. It contains many specialized protocols and advice on how to apply some of the basic protocols to teaching cell culture. Beginning with laboratory design, safety, validation, and bioethics, then continuing with preparation of media, primary culture, and cell lines through to characterization and authentication, contamination, specialized techniques, and troubleshooting, the unparalleled coverage includes:An all-new section addressing the additional caution required once a primary culture is converted to a cell lineDifferentiation in stem cells and reprogramming of adult cells to form stem cellsA new section and protocol on cryopreservation by vitrificationSeparate sections dealing with epithelial cells, mesenchymal cells, neurectodermal cells, and hematopoietic cells, a new chapter on germs cells/stemcells/amniocytesA new section on organotypic cultureIncreased emphasis on contamination and misidentification (including cross-contamination) with revised protocols for detection and eliminationA problem-solving chapter, glossary of terms, advice on sourcing materials, and list of suppliersThis landmark text presents the most accessible and comprehensive introduction available to the culture and experimental manipulation of animal cells and is indispensable for those in the field, including clinical and biopharmaceutical researchers and scientists, graduate students, laboratory managers in cell and molecular biology labs and genetics labs, trainees, and technicians. Q&A with Author R. Ian Freshney, PhD. Author R. Ian Freshney, PhD. R. Ian Freshney, PhD, is an honorary Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Oncology and Applied Pharmacology at the University of Glasgow. He is a world-renowned expert on cell culture technique and has authored and edited numerous successful books, including the hugely popular Culture of Animal Cells (now in its 6th Edition), and Culture of Human Stem Cells. Culture of Animal Cells: A Manual of Basic Technique and Specialized Application, 6th Ed has been very well received by the scientific community, as have many of your other titles. What do you think sets your books apart and makes them so successful compared to other titles in the field? I would say there are three major components: (1) The books are designed as practical guides with detailed single-step instructions which should be sufficient without further recourse to the literature. (2) The preparation and sources of materials are explained in detail. (3) Most of the basic protocols are illustrated with easy-to-follow diagrams. What challenges did you face while putting together Culture of Animal Cells: A Manual of Basic Technique and Specialized Applications, 6th Edition? I struggled with the need to update but at the same time preserve basic procedures which have not changed markedly from the previous edition. This, of course, led to the dilemma of deciding what to retain and what to leave out. I also thought long and hard about what specialized protocols to add without compromising the basic technique role of the book. What do you find rewarding about authoring and editing books in the sciences? It forces me to keep up-to-date with developments in cell culture, and in turn helps me to be a better teacher of cell culture. I also get satisfaction from converting what are sometimes complex instructions into one simple straightforward procedure. What inspired you to write your first book? I was invited to prepare a textbook on cell culture for a college course. Previously, I had used John Paul’s book, Cell and Tissue Culture, and knew it needed to be updated. What advice would you offer to scientists writing or editing their first book? - Determine the precise niche that you wish to fill. - Plan the structure carefully beforehand but do not be afraid to deviate, within reason, to meet new demands. - Ensure the text is well illustrated with tables and diagrams. - Make sure the book is properly cross-referenced. - Prepare the index yourself. Even if it is to be professionally indexed you will find terms that the indexer does not. How would you compare the experiences of writing a book and writing a journal article? Both require a clear concise style, but the author has more freedom to express ideas and opinions when writing a book. Another major difference is that a scientific paper must address a specific topic and provide proof to substantiate the conclusions that are drawn, while a book draws on the author’s and other scientists’ experience to provide a more general review and specific guidelines or instructions. Do you find that the role of books in the scientific research community has changed over the years? Are they valued more or less today than they were 10-20 years ago? Rapid changes in technology mean that some books will become outdated without regular updates, which are not always feasible in printed copy. Yet, while there is an increasing tendency to provide instructions and protocols online, many people will still find reassurance from using a textbook with an established reputation. How do you envision the evolution of science writing over the next 5-10 years? Certain journals will still tend to be regarded as more reliable than others, as indicated by their citation indices. However, the number of free public access journals will probably increase, presumably with payment to submit articles. There will be a continuing need for editorial control of journal content due to the proliferation of unedited, non-reviewed material appearing online. What do you feel has been the most significant scientific discovery that has been made during your lifetime? I can really only speak for biology where the elaboration of the genetic code is probably the most significant development. The ability to regulate gene expression and the resultant plasticity of the cell phenotype will create major opportunities in cell culture and its relevance to tissue in vivo. What are you reading right now? This questionnaire! Otherwise, mostly novels and current journals for which I have alerts.

In an innovative cultural history of Argentine movies and radio in the decades before Peronism, Matthew B. Karush demonstrates that competition with... jazz and Hollywood cinema shaped Argentina's domestic cultural production in crucial ways, as Argentine producers tried to elevate their offerings to appeal to consumers seduced by North American modernity. At the same time, the transnational marketplace encouraged these producers to compete by marketing "authentic" Argentine culture. Domestic filmmakers, radio and recording entrepreneurs, lyricists, musicians, actors, and screenwriters borrowed heavily from a rich tradition of popular melodrama. Although the resulting mass culture trafficked in conformism and consumerist titillation, it also disseminated versions of national identity that celebrated the virtue and dignity of the poor, while denigrating the wealthy as greedy and mean-spirited. This anti-elitism has been overlooked by historians, who have depicted radio and cinema as instruments of social cohesion and middle-class formation. Analyzing tango and folk songs, film comedies and dramas, radio soap operas, and other genres, Karush argues that the Argentine culture industries generated polarizing images and narratives that provided much of the discursive raw material from which Juan and Eva Perón built their mass movement.

The best-selling author of The Shock of the New, The Fatal Shore, and Barcelona here delivers a withering polemic aimed at the heart of recent American... politics and culture. Culture of Complaint is a call for the re-knitting of a fragmented and over-tribalized America--a deeply passionate book, filled with barbed wit and devastating takes on public life, both left and right of center. To the right, Hughes fires broadsides at the populist demagogy of Pat Buchanan, Pat Robertson, Jesse Helms and especially Ronald Reagan ("with somnambulistic efficiency, Reagan educated America down to his level. He left his country a little stupider in 1988 than it had been in 1980, and a lot more tolerant of lies"). To the left, he skewers political correctness ("political etiquette, not politics itself"), Afrocentrism, and academic obsessions with theory ("The world changes more deeply, widely, thrillingly than at any moment since 1917, perhaps since 1848, and the American academic left keeps fretting about how phallocentricity is inscribed in Dickens' portrayal of Little Nell"). PC censoriousness and "family-values" rhetoric, he argues, are only two sides of the same character, extrusions of America's puritan heritage into the present--and, at root, signs of America's difficulty in seeing past the end of the Us-versus-Them mentality implanted by four decades of the Cold War. In the long retreat from public responsibility beaten by America in the 80s, Hughes sees "a hollowness at the cultural core"--a nation "obsessed with therapies and filled with distrust of formal politics; skeptical of authority and prey to superstition; its language corroded by fake pity and euphemism." It resembles "late Rome...in the corruption and verbosity of its senators, in its reliance on sacred geese (those feathered ancestors of our own pollsters and spin-doctors) and in its submission to senile, deified emperors controlled by astrologers and extravagant wives." Culture of Complaint is fired by a deep concern for the way Hughes sees his adopted country heading. But it is not a relentless diatribe. If Hughes lambastes some aspects of American politics, he applauds Vaclav Havel's vision of politics "not as the art of the useful, but politics as practical morality, as service to the truth." And if he denounces PC, he offers a brilliant and heartfelt defence of non-ideological multiculturalism as an antidote to Americans' difficulty in imagining the rest of the world--and other Americans. Here, then, is an extraordinary cri de coeur, an outspoken call for the reconstruction of America's ideas about its recent self. It is a book that everyone interested in American culture will want to read.

A history of the Chicano community cannot be complete without taking into account the United States' domination of the Mexican economy beginning in the... late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, writes Gilbert G. González. For that economic conquest inspired U.S. writers to create a "culture of empire" that legitimated American dominance by portraying Mexicans and Mexican immigrants as childlike "peons" in need of foreign tutelage, incapable of modernizing without Americanizing, that is, submitting to the control of U.S. capital. So powerful was and is the culture of empire that its messages about Mexicans shaped U.S. public policy, particularly in education, throughout the twentieth century and even into the twenty-first.In this stimulating history, Gilbert G. González traces the development of the culture of empire and its effects on U.S. attitudes and policies toward Mexican immigrants. Following a discussion of the United States' economic conquest of the Mexican economy, González examines several hundred pieces of writing by American missionaries, diplomats, business people, journalists, academics, travelers, and others who together created the stereotype of the Mexican peon and the perception of a "Mexican problem." He then fully and insightfully discusses how this misinformation has shaped decades of U.S. public policy toward Mexican immigrants and the Chicano (now Latino) community, especially in terms of the way university training of school superintendents, teachers, and counselors drew on this literature in forming the educational practices that have long been applied to the Mexican immigrant community.

In the United States, the homicide rate in the South is consistently higher than the rate in the North. In this brilliantly argued book, Richard Nisbett... and Dov Cohen use this fact as a starting point for an exploration of the underlying reasons for violence.According to Nisbett and Cohen, the increased tendency of white southerners to commit certain kinds of violence is not due to socioeconomic class, population density, the legacy of slavery, or the heat of the South; it is the result of a culture of honor in which a man’s reputation is central to his economic survival. Working from historical, survey, social policy, and experimental data, the authors show that in the South it is more acceptable to be violent in response to an insult, in order to protect home and property, and to aid in socializing children. These values are reflected not only in what southerners say, but also in the institutional practices of the South, the actions of Southerners, and their physiological responses to perceived affronts.In this lively and intriguing account, the authors combine bold theory and careful methodology to reveal a set of central beliefs that can contribute to increased violence. More broadly, they show us the interaction between culture, economics, and individual behavior. This engaging study will be of interest to students, educated lay readers, and scholars.

A new collection that captures the austere serenity of the Southwest American desert. Award-winning, Paris-based poet Alice Notley's adventurous new... book is inspired by the life of Marie, a woman who resided in the dump outside Notley's hometown in the Southwestern desert of America. In this poetical fantasy, Marie becomes the ultimate artist/poet, composing a codex-calligraphy, writings, paintings, collage-from materials left at the dump. She is a "culture of one." The story is told in long-lined, clear-edged poems deliberately stacked so the reader can keep plunging headlong into the events of the book. Culture of One offers further proof of how Notley "has freed herself from any single notion of what poetry should be so that she can go ahead and write what poetry can be" (The Boston Review).