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Rula: My Colourful Life
by Rula LenskaRula Lenska's is an extraordinary life. Born in Britain to Polish aristocrats, refugees from the Nazis and then the Soviets, Rula found fame in the 1970s as 'Q' in the TV series Rock Follies. Shortly afterwards, she accidentally conquered America with the infamous VO5 hair advert, prompting Johnny Carson to ask 'Who the hell is Rula Lenska?' The world soon found out exactly who she was, as her career went on a rollercoaster ride through classic British television series such as Minder, To the Manor Born, The Detectives, Doctor Who, Casualty, Space: 1999 and, of course, Coronation Street. This came alongside a distinguished stage career, with stellar performances in The Vagina Monologues and Calendar Girls. But her success has often been tempered with heartache. The fanfare surrounding her celebrity marriage to Dennis Waterman quickly faded amid accusations of alcoholism and spousal abuse. And then there was her surreal stint on Celebrity Big Brother, which she calls 'sixteen days of madness'... Now older and wiser, and elevated to the status of national treasure, Rula Lenska is ready to share her unbelievable story in full. And while we've all watched her life from the outside, no one has heard or seen Rula like this - unabashed, honest and thrilling.
Alpha Dogs: How Political Spin Became a Global Business
by James HardingDavid Sawyer dreamed of a career as a film-maker; Scott Miller, the son of a shoe salesman, was a brilliant copywriter. Unlikely partners, together they became a political powerhouse. Directing democratic revolutions from the Philippines to Chile, steering a dozen presidents and prime ministers into office, and instilling the campaign ethic in corporate giants from Coca-Cola to Apple, the consultants of Sawyer-Miller were the Manhattan Project of spin politics.In this pulsating book, James Harding tells the story of a few men whose political savvy, entrepreneurial drive and sheer greed came to alter the landscape of global politics. Alpha Dogs charts the creation of a new style of political campaigning and its triumph across the world.
The American Way of Poverty: How the Other Half Still Lives
by Sasha AbramskySelected as A Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times Book ReviewFifty years after Michael Harrington published his groundbreaking book The Other America, in which he chronicled the lives of people excluded from the Age of Affluence, poverty in America is back with a vengeance. It is made up of both the long-term chronically poor and new working poor-the tens of millions of victims of a broken economy and an ever more dysfunctional political system. In many ways, for the majority of Americans, financial insecurity has become the new norm.The American Way of Poverty shines a light on this travesty. Sasha Abramsky brings the effects of economic inequality out of the shadows and, ultimately, suggests ways for moving toward a fairer and more equitable social contract. Exploring everything from housing policy to wage protections and affordable higher education, Abramsky lays out a panoramic blueprint for a reinvigorated political process that, in turn, will pave the way for a renewed War on Poverty.It is, Harrington believed, a moral outrage that in a country as wealthy as America, so many people could be so poor. Written in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse, in an era of grotesque economic extremes, The American Way of Poverty brings that same powerful indignation to the topic.
Hired: Six Months Undercover in Low-Wage Britain
by James BloodworthLonglisted for the Orwell Prize, 2019 ____________The Times Round-up of the Best Non-fiction Paperbacks, 2019The Times Best Current Affairs and Big Ideas Book of the Year, 2018'A very discomforting book, no matter what your politics might be... very good' Sunday Times'Potent, disturbing and revelatory' Evening StandardWe all define ourselves by our profession. But what if our job was demeaning, poorly paid, and tedious? Cracking open Britain's divisions journalist James Bloodworth spends six months living and working across Britain, taking on the country's most gruelling jobs. He lives on the meagre proceeds and discovers the anxieties and hopes of those he encounters, including working-class British, young students striving to make ends meet, and Eastern European immigrants. From the Staffordshire Amazon warehouse to the taxi-cabs of Uber, Bloodworth narrates how traditional working-class communities have been decimated by the move to soulless service jobs with no security, advancement or satisfaction. This is a gripping examination of Brexit Britain, a divided nation which needs to understand the true reality of how other people live and work before it can heal.
The Betrayal of the American Dream
by Donald L. Barlett James B. SteeleA New York Times bestsellerAmerica’s unique prosperity is based on its creation of a middle class. In the twentieth century, that middle class provided the workforce, the educated skills, and the demand that gave life to the world’s greatest consumer economy. It was innovative and dynamic; it eclipsed old imperial systems and colonial archetypes. It gave rise to a dream: that if you worked hard and followed the rules you would prosper in America, and your children would enjoy a better life than yours. The American dream was the lure to gifted immigrants and the birthright opportunity for every American citizen. It is as important a part of the history of the country as the passing of the Bill of Rights, the outcome of the battle of Gettysburg, or the space program. Incredibly, however, for more than thirty years, government and big business in America have conspired to roll back the American dream. What was once accessible to a wide swath of the population is increasingly open only to a privileged few. The story of how the American middle class has been systematically impoverished and its prospects thwarted in favor of a new ruling elite is at the heart of this extraordinarily timely and revealing book, whose devastating findings from two of the finest investigative reporters in the country will leave you astonished and angry.
Representations of Global Poverty: Aid, Development and International NGOs (Library Of Development Studies)
by Nandita DograThrough the efforts of increasingly global and media-aware NGOs, people in the west are bombarded with images of poverty, suffering and inequality. Representations of Global Poverty is the first comprehensive study of the communications and imagery used by international NGOs to represent the developing world. An enlightening study, this book explores the discursive constructions of global poverty and development by international charities and their role in mediating between developed countries and the developing world. It presents a detailed empirical review of the communications of international NGOs, utilizing an original postcolonial analytical framework to better understand and evaluate these public messages.The book examines three interlinked levels of the public messages of UK-based internationaldevelopment NGOs (INGOs) - representation, production and reception. This review of thefundraising and advocacy messages of INGOs shows a dualism of 'difference' and 'oneness'. While these messages portray the developing world as different and distant, they are also at pains to present it as sharing the same human values. These oversimplified representations circumvent the historical context of, and continuities between, European colonialism and current global poverty. Instead they connect the globe through a de-historicised universal humanism. This decontextualization in INGOs' communications stems from both institutional isomorphism and sociological assumptions about audiences.Dogra's book goes on to reveal the role of western collective histories in shaping global inequalities and our subjectivities in the way we perceive and position ourselves in relation to the majority world. From historical amnesia to denial, charity to justice and rights, feel-good consumerism to activism, humanism and cosmopolitanism to Eurocentrism and Britishness, it analyses NGO representations through a variety of discourses. Boldly interdisciplinary, the book draws upon sociology, NGO management, development, social policy, political science, postcolonial, cultural and media studies and as such is essential reading for students and scholars across these diverse fields. This book should become the starting point for future debates on representations and global poverty that concern not just charities, international aid bodies, governments and academic institutions but all of us who live in a deeply connected but divided world.
Tax Authority Advice and the Public
by Stephen DalyThere is now almost universal acceptance that tax law is overly complex and indeterminate; and yet, there has to date been no comprehensive assessment of the role of the tax authority in the current arrangement. If the legislation and case law offer few immediate answers to the taxpayer, then the role of Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in advising taxpayers becomes more apparent.This monograph contends that the provision of advice by HMRC is desirable by virtue of the rule of law and it follows that any such advice should be correct, clear, accessible and reliable. Additionally, there should exist some means of scrutinising the advice in order to check that it satisfies these criteria.Tax Authority Advice and the Public explores this view of HMRC's role in tax collection. It explains the deficiencies in the current system in this light, highlighting the pitfalls for taxpayers and practitioners as well as the potential remedies. Finally, the book assesses potential reforms which could be adopted in order to alleviate existing problems. A timely and ambitious work, this book is essential reading for practitioners and academics interested in the interaction between tax administration and public law.
Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count
by Phil BuchananA practical guide to philanthropy at all levels of giving that seeks to educate and inspireA majority of American households give to charity in some form or another--from local donations to food banks, religious organizations, or schools, to contributions to prevent disease or protect basic freedoms. Whether you're in a position to give $1 or $1 million, every giver needs to answer the same question: How do I channel my giving effectively to make the greatest difference?In Giving Done Right, Phil Buchanan, the president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, arms donors with what it takes to do more good more quickly and to avoid predictable errors that lead too many astray. This crucial book will reveal the secrets and lessons learned from some of the biggest givers, from the work of software entrepreneur Tim Gill and his foundation to expand rights for LGBTQ people to the efforts of a midwestern entrepreneur whose faith told him he must do something about childhood slavery in Ghana. It busts commonly held myths and challenging the idea that "business thinking" holds the answer to effective philanthropy. And it offers the intellectual frameworks, data-driven insights, tools, and practical examples to allow readers to understand exactly what it takes to make a difference.
How to be a Sports Agent (Pocket Essentials: Sports Ser.)
by Mel Stein Mark LevinsteinA sports agent. In its simplest form, a sports agent is an individual or company who represents a sportsperson. They try to get them a better contract, a better endorsement, a better sponsorship, a better deal. Nothing wrong with that, is there? Or is there? The problem, inevitably, is money. There are huge sums sloshing around in professional sport today, which, coupled with human greed, can lead to conflicts of interest... How to be a Sports Agent is a practical and down-to-earth book that reveals the secrets behind the art of being not just a good sports agent, but a good, honest sports agent.
Misadventures of the Most Favored Nations: Clashing Egos, Inflated Ambitions, and the Great Shambles of the World Trade System
by Paul BlusteinAs a linchpin of global capitalism, the World Trade Organization is both revered and reviled. In this book, financial journalist Paul Blustein tells the surprisingly entertaining and compelling story of how the WTO is sliding into dysfunctionality-which poses a new and grave menace to globalization itself.In more than seven years of global talks the WTO has struggled and failed to resolve contentious differences between rich and developing nations. Now, with a worldwide recession underway, the WTO's failure is contributing to a rise in protectionism-a sign that the world may not be so flat after all. Misadventures of the Most Favored Nations recounts, in vivid detail, how the highstakes negotiations went awry. At risk, Blustein argues, is the fate of the system that for six decades has opened the global economy and kept it from splintering.
Raising the Floor: How a Universal Basic Income Can Renew Our Economy and Rebuild the American Dream
by Andy Sternp.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15.0px} Raising the Floor confronts America's biggest economic challenge-the fundamental restructuring of the economy and the emerging disruptive technology that threaten secure jobs and income. Andy Stern convincingly shows why it is time to consider a universal basic income as the nation's twenty-first-century solution to increasing inequality. In 2010, troubled by watching families chase the now-elusive American Dream, Andy Stern began a five-year journey to investigate how technology will impact jobs and the future of work. Stern, formerly the head of the nation's most influential and fastest-growing union, the Service Employees International Union, investigated these issues with a wide range of CEOs, futurists, economists, workers, entrepreneurs, and investment bankers who are shaping the future.The sobering assessment that emerged from his research-across the political spectrum, from libertarians at the CATO Institute to the leaders of the progressive left-is that this time is different: there will be meager benefits that come with full-time work and fewer good jobs overall. Facing such a challenging moment, Stern's solution is fittingly bold: to establish a universal basic income by eliminating many current government programs and adding new resources. At once vivid, provocative, and pragmatic, Raising the Floor will spark a national conversation about creating the new American Dream.
Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty
by Roger Thurow Scott KilmanFor more than thirty years, humankind has known how to grow enough food to end chronic hunger worldwide. Yet in Africa, more than 9 million people every year die of hunger, malnutrition, and related diseases every year-most of them children. In this powerful investigative narrative, Wall Street Journal reporters Kilman & Thurow show exactly how, in the past few decades, Western policies conspired to keep Africa hungry and unable to feed itself. Enough is essential reading on a humanitarian issue of utmost urgency.
Online Journalism Ethics: Traditions and Transitions
by Cecilia Friend Jane SingerOnline media present both old and new ethical issues for journalists who must make decisions in an interactive, instantaneous environment short on normative standards or guidelines. This user-friendly book guides prospective and professional journalists through ethical questions encountered only online. Including real-life examples and perspectives from online journalists in every chapter, the book examines the issues of gathering information, reporting, interviewing, and writing for mainstream news organizations on the Web. It considers the ethical implications of linking, interactivity, verification, transparency, and Web advertising, as well as the effects of convergence on newsrooms. It also addresses the question of who is a journalist and what is journalism in an age when anyone can be a publisher. Each chapter includes a complex case study that promotes critical thinking and classroom discussion about how to apply the ethical issues covered.
Go Figure! New Directions in Advertising Rhetoric
by Edward F. McQuarrie Barbara J. PhillipsRhetorical scholarship has found rich source material in the disciplines of advertising, communications research, and consumer behavior. Advertising, considered as a kind of communication, is distinguished by its focus on causing action. Its goal is not simply to communicate ideas, educate, or persuade, but to move a prospect closer to a purchase. The editors of "Go Figure! New Directions in Advertising Rhetoric" have been involved in developing the scholarship of advertising rhetoric for many years. In this volume they have assembled the most current and authoritative new perspectives on this topic. The chapter authors all present previously unpublished concepts that represent advances beyond what is already known about advertising rhetoric. In the opening and closing chapters editors Ed McQuarrie and Barbara Phillips provide an integrative view of the current state of the art in advertising rhetoric.
Development Economics: Its Position in the Present State of Knowledge
by John KnappInterest in the problems of underdeveloped economies has increased since the early 1950s, and is now a primary topic in university courses. When this book was originally published, it reflected a sense among some economists that current, orthodox economic theory is inadequate in this field.The volume includes leading American and non-American economists. The discussion of the content of courses was, in the nature of things, an extension of the discussion on the state of knowledge and reflects the period immediately prior to initial publication. Some of the issues continue to be debated, including the balance of instruction between macro- and micro-economics, the place of mathematics and econometrics, the question of the desirability of linking the study of economics with studies in administration, languages, political science, sociology or even engineering.Development economics is now an established subject in the teaching curricula of most universities. The attention of the volume is focused on the problems of creating courses of study in subjects relevant to development within some framework specially designed for the purpose. The problems of organizing such courses concerned the length of courses, the type of students to which they would cater, the qualifications and standards required for admission and successful completion of courses, and so on.The balance of instruction between macro- and micro-economics, the place of mathematics and econometrics, the question of the desirability of linking the study of economics with studies in administration, languages (in connection with area studies), political science, sociology or even engineering, the merits of methods like case studies, workshops and training in field work, are all discussed.
Flying Ahead of the Airplane
by Nawal K. TanejaAirlines willing to develop insight from foresight relating to the expected ’step phase changes’ will eventually improve their margins. However, the backward-looking airline, managed using old strategic levers and short-term metrics, will cease to exist, merge, shrink, become more dependent on government support, or become irrelevant. ’Management innovations’ are not going to deliver the required improvements; innovation within management is essential for airlines' survival. In Flying Ahead of the Airplane, Nawal Taneja analyzes global changes and thought-provoking scenarios to help airline executives adjust and adapt to the chaotic world. Drawing on his experience of real airline situations worldwide, the author concludes that there is a gulf between what executives are doing now and what they need to do to stay ahead of the curve. To close this gap, the author suggests that airline executives focus on just three relevant initiatives: a) aligning business and technology strategies, b) redesigning organization structures to centralize the role of the scheduling function, and c) developing relevant brands that integrate social networking technology. To support this third initiative, the book provides insights on branding from 20 fascinating non-aviation case studies from around the world. Flying Ahead of the Airplane will assist practitioners in airlines of every size to integrate future trends into their mainstream thinking and launch flexible business models to manage risk and compete effectively in the ’flattening world’.
Food and Museums
Museums of all kinds – art, history, culture, science centers and heritage sites – are actively engaging with food through exhibitions, collections, and stories about food production, consumption, history, taste, and aesthetics. Food also plays a central role in their food courts, restaurants, cafes, gardens, and gift shops. Food and Museums is the first book to explore the diverse, complex relationship between museums and food. This edited collection features theoretical analysis from cultural historians, anthropologists, neuroscientists, and food studies scholars; interviews with museum professionals, artists and chefs; and critical case studies from a wide range of cultural institutions and museums to establish an interdisciplinary framework for the analysis of the role of food in museums. Exploring the richness and complexity of sensory, cultural, social, and political significance of food today as well as in the past, the book demonstrates how food is changing the current museological landscape.A fascinating look at contemporary museums through the lens of food, this is an essential read for students and researchers in museum studies, food studies, cultural studies, and sensory studies as well as museum and food professionals.
Chocolate Wars: The 150-Year Rivalry Between the World's Greatest Chocolate Makers
by Deborah CadburyWith a cast of characters that wouldn't be out of place in a Victorian novel, Chocolate Wars tells the story of the great chocolatier dynasties, through the prism of the Cadburys. Chocolate was consumed unrefined and unprocessed as a rather bitter, fatty drink for the wealthy elite until the late 19th century, when the Swiss discovered a way to blend it with milk and unleashed a product that would conquer every market in the world. Thereafter, one of the great global business rivalries unfolded as each chocolate maker attempted to dominate its domestic market and innovate new recipes for chocolate that would set it apart from its rivals. The contest was full of dramatic contradictions: The Cadburys were austere Quakers who found themselves making millions from an indulgent product; Kitty Hershey could hardly have been more flamboyant yet her husband was moved by the Cadburys tradition of philanthropy. Each was a product of their unique time and place yet they shared one thing: they want to make the best chocolate in the world.
More Human: Designing a World Where People Come First
by Steve Hilton Scott Bade Jason BadePeople feel angry and let down by their leaders, as well as by the institutions that dominate their lives: political parties, government bureaucracy, and corporations. Yet the cause of this malaise, according to political–advisor–turned–tech–CEO Steve Hilton, is not being addressed by politicians on the left or the right.Hilton argues that much of our daily experience—from the food we eat, to the governments we elect, to the economy on which our wealth depends, to the way we care for our health and well–being—has become too big, too bureaucratic, and too distant from the human scale.More Human sets out a radical manifesto for change, aimed at the root causes of our problems rather than just the symptoms. Whether it's using the latest advances in neuroscience to inform the fight against poverty and inequality, or applying lessons from America's most radical schools to transform our children's education, this book is an agenda for rethinking and redesigning the outdated systems and structures of our politics, government, economy, and society to make them more suited to the way we want to live our lives today. To make them more human.
The Bid Manager’s Handbook
by David NicksonThe original Bid Manager's Handbook continues to provide an invaluable resource in the battle to win new business. Winning significant business on the right terms is an increasingly complex, challenging and time-consuming task, and a successful bid is a vital part of any business offering its services or products to another. This book will help you to enhance the probability of success in winning bids at the desired margins and to set up and run effectively a bid management team. The Handbook is aimed at sales staff managing multi-disciplinary bid teams, and project and technical managers who find themselves managing a bid to support a sales campaign. Taking a practical approach and using real-life examples, David Nickson leads the reader through every stage of planning for, producing and delivering a bid. Crucially it also shows how to save time - the most important commodity in any bid - without affecting quality. Now the original Bid Manager's Handbook has been repackaged to include additional material that expands on the writing and editorial side of the bid, the use of bid management software and the bid review process.
Emotional Labor: Putting the Service in Public Service
by Mary E. Guy Meredith A. Newman Sharon H. MastracciMost public service jobs require interpersonal contact that is either face-to-face or voice-to-voice - relational work that goes beyond testable job skills but is essential for job completion. This unique book focuses on this emotional labor and what it takes to perform it.The authors weave a powerful narrative of stories from the trenches gleaned through interviews, focus groups, and survey data. They go beyond the veneer of service delivery to the real, live, person-to-person interactions that give meaning to public service.For anyone who has ever felt apathetic toward government work, the words of caseworkers, investigators, administrators, attorneys, correctional staff, and 9/11 call-takers all show the human dimension of bureaucratic work and underscore what it means to work "with feeling."
Tax Authority Advice and the Public
by Stephen DalyThere is now almost universal acceptance that tax law is overly complex and indeterminate; and yet, there has to date been no comprehensive assessment of the role of the tax authority in the current arrangement. If the legislation and case law offer few immediate answers to the taxpayer, then the role of Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) in advising taxpayers becomes more apparent.This monograph contends that the provision of advice by HMRC is desirable by virtue of the rule of law and it follows that any such advice should be correct, clear, accessible and reliable. Additionally, there should exist some means of scrutinising the advice in order to check that it satisfies these criteria.Tax Authority Advice and the Public explores this view of HMRC's role in tax collection. It explains the deficiencies in the current system in this light, highlighting the pitfalls for taxpayers and practitioners as well as the potential remedies. Finally, the book assesses potential reforms which could be adopted in order to alleviate existing problems. A timely and ambitious work, this book is essential reading for practitioners and academics interested in the interaction between tax administration and public law.
How I Caused the Credit Crunch: An Insider's Story of the Financial Meltdown
by Tetsuya IshikawaThis is a vivid and personal account of 21st century banking excess. "How I Caused the Credit Crunch" traces seven years at the forefront of the credit markets - a tale from the heart of the bewildering banking maelstrom whose catastrophic collapse has plunged the world towards the worst recession since the 1930s. Tetsuya Ishikawa's story reveals how a young Oxford graduate finds himself in command of vast sums of other people's money; how a novice to the mysteries of hedge funds, subprime mortgages and CDOs can fix complex deals for billions of dollars in the exclusive bars, brothels and trading floors of London, New York, Frankfurt and Tokyo, and reap the benefits in a colossal annual bonus and an international luxury lifestyle. Ishikawa's book, which deftly explains the arcane financial instruments now grimly associated with the credit crunch, is both a powerful tale of lost innocence and an expose of the disturbing truth of the collective folly, frailty and greed at the heart of the banking crisis.
The Best Practice: How the New Quality Movement is Transforming Medicine
by Charles C. KenneyIn the late 1990s, treatment-related deaths or "complications” were the fifth leading cause of death for Americans. Spurred by the crisis, a group of dedicated physicians like Paul Batalden and Don Berwick made it their goal to study the concepts of "quality improvement” used at Toyota and NASA, and to apply them to the practice of medicine. This book tells their story, and how these "heretical” ideas have blossomed into a movement, bringing the focus back to where it should have always been: the patient.
Death of the Liberal Class
by Chris HedgesThe liberal class plays a vital role in a democracy. It gives moral legitimacy to the state. It makes limited forms of dissent and incremental change possible. The liberal class posits itself as the conscience of the nation. It permits us, through its appeal to public virtues and the public good, to define ourselves as a good and noble people. Most importantly, on behalf of the power elite the liberal class serves as bulwarks against radical movements by offering a safety valve for popular frustrations and discontentment by discrediting those who talk of profound structural change. Once this class loses its social and political role then the delicate fabric of a democracy breaks down and the liberal class, along with the values it espouses, becomes an object of ridicule and hatred. The door that has been opened to proto-fascists has been opened by a bankrupt liberalismThe Death of the Liberal Class examines the failure of the liberal class to confront the rise of the corporate state and the consequences of a liberalism that has become profoundly bankrupted. Hedges argues there are five pillars of the liberal establishment – the press, liberal religious institutions, labor unions, universities and the Democratic Party— and that each of these institutions, more concerned with status and privilege than justice and progress, sold out the constituents they represented. In doing so, the liberal class has become irrelevant to society at large and ultimately the corporate power elite they once served.