Showing results by publisher "Ascent Audio" in Politics & Social Sciences

At a critical time in American life, Parker J. Palmer looks with realism and hope at how to deal with our political tensions for the sake of the common good - without the shouting, blaming, or defaming so common in our politics today.

Zombie Banks tells the story of how debtor nations and failing institutions are damaging the long-term prospects of the global economy. Author Yalman Onaran, a veteran Bloomberg News reporter and financial banking-sector expert, examines exactly what a zombie bank is and why they are kept alive. He also discusses how they hurt economic recovery and what needs to be done in order to restore stability.

A provocative look at the remarkable contributions of high-skill immigrant entrepreneurs in America.

Contrary to most conventional management wisdom, The 7 Non-Negotiables of Winning looks beyond employee skills and background and to identify the true game-changing character traits for creating a winning culture. Based on the author's methodology for what abilities drive decisions and actions within his own company, The 7 Non-Negotiables of Winning details how respect, belief, loyalty, commitment, trust, courage, and gratitude play an integral part to multiple key business outcomes.

The consequences of adopting the cynical but popular worldview are many, including needless pessimism, missed investment opportunities, and - surprisingly - even poorer health. Yet An Embarrassment of Riches provides a powerful antidote. Green begins with a robust survey of the many ways our lives are becoming longer, easier, safer, healthier and more prosperous. He then embarks on a wide-ranging exploration of the ideas and the many men and women - both living and dead - who are still enriching our lives today.

This welcome new guide to the world of entrepreneurship offers invaluable lessons for the student and the practical entrepreneur alike. For the student it breathes fresh life into the standard curriculum topics, analyzing them in the context of a wide range of current real-world examples. For business practitioners it shows how practical success is influenced by factors such as industry dynamics, entry barriers, reconfiguration, and core competence. Enterprise in Action gives clear accounts of concepts and processes so that anyone can come on board.

This is the leadership book you have to experience: a barn-storming new take on what makes a versatile, integrated, and effective leader. Using stories and examples from the lives of leaders, from the sports stadium to the White House to the office of the CEO, Nigel Nicholson shows vividly how the capacity of leaders to see what others do not see frames their actions and allows them to transform, build, destroy, or stabilize. Leaders fail through lack of insight - into themselves and into the worlds they inhabit.

Innovate!: How Great Companies Get Started in Terrible Times is first and foremost a source of true inspiration based on history. But it goes much further than that. It captures the lessons of these great innovative individuals and companies that began in the worst economic times, identifying the philosohies, strategies, and essential keys to success during your own challenging economic times.

As the revenues generated by big-time college sports continue to skyrocket, virtually all of the debate involves whether (and how much) student-athletes should be paid for play. Kenneth L. Shropshire and Collin D. Williams Jr., argue that "student" has to come first: the focus should be on prioritizing a meaningful education. They draw on new research to reveal that it has become increasingly difficult for college athletes to balance school and sports, much less a social life, leading to serious economic, professional, and emotional consequences for young people.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is Washington's response to America's call for a new regulatory framework for the 21st century. In The New Financial Deal, author David Skeel offers an in-depth look at the new financial reforms and questions whether they will bring more effective regulation of contemporary finance or simply cement the partnership between government and the largest banks.

In today's ultra-polarized and highly partisan political environment, Welfare for the Rich is one of the rare books written to appeal to engaged and open-minded citizens from across the political spectrum. Welfare for the Rich is the first book to describe and analyze the many ways that federal and state governments provide handouts - subsidies, grants, tax credits, loan guarantees, price supports, and many other payouts - to millionaires, billionaires, and the companies they own and run.

Irony and sarcasm are two of the most misused, misapplied, and misunderstood words in our conversational lexicon. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, psycholinguist Roger Kreuz offers an enlightening and concise overview of the life and times of these two terms, mapping their evolution from Greek philosophy and Roman rhetoric to modern literary criticism to emojis.

Meet the next generation of big donors - the Gen X and Millennial philanthropists who will be the most significant donors ever and will shape our world in profound ways. Hear them describe their ambitious plans to revolutionize giving so it achieves greater impact. And learn how to help them succeed in a world that needs smart, effective donors now more than ever.

The Backpack: How to Understand and Manage Yourself While Loving Others Along the Way tells the story of Jon, Sofia, and Buddy, whose pathways merge on a life-changing flight. Written by a senior consultant with the Flippen Group (a worldwide leader in self-awareness training), the book brings together an angry passenger, a wise flight attendant, and a down-home cowboy. Their chance meeting leads to the ride of their lives as they fully grasp the importance and meaning of their backpacks. As this engaging story reveals, self-awareness is like a backpack!

Our social conversation has gone awry. We are surrounded by noise and are retreating to social media bubbles. As conversations across ideological divides become increasingly difficult, we as a society need to rethink what it means to listen, to think, to create, and to be democratically engaged citizens. Fifteen Paths documents the journey of a disillusioned business professor who came to realize that in order to transcend the noise, we need more imaginative expressions and fewer argumentative ones.

Authors Imran Rashid and Soren Kenner have sparked an international debate by revealing the "mind hacks" Facebook, Apple, Google, and Instagram use to get you and your children hooked on their products. In Offline, they deliver an eye-opening, research-based journey into the world of tech giants, smartphones, social engineering, and subconscious manipulation. This provocative work reveals how digital devices change individuals and communities for better and worse.

The #MeToo movement has focused public attention on the issue of sexual consent. People of all genders, from all walks of life, have stepped forward to tell their stories of sexual harassment and violation. In a predictable backlash, others have taken to mass media to inquire plaintively if "flirting" is now forbidden. This book presents key strands of feminist thought on the subject of sexual consent from across academic and activist communities and covers the history of research on consent in such fields as psychology and feminist legal studies.

Everybody eats. We may even consider ourselves experts on the topic, or at least Instagram experts. But are we aware that the shrimp in our freezer may be farmed and frozen in Vietnam, the grapes in our fruit bowl shipped from Chile, and the coffee in our coffee maker grown in Nicaragua, roasted in Germany, and distributed in Canada? Whether we know it or not, every time we shop for food, cook, and eat, we connect ourselves to complex supply networks, institutions, and organizations that enable our food choices.

The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide (CO2), and these CO2 emissions are a major driver of climate change. Carbon capture offers a path to climate change mitigation that has received relatively little attention. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Howard Herzog offers a concise guide to carbon capture, covering basic information as well as the larger context of climate technology and policy.

The issues and arguments surrounding school choice are sometimes hijacked to make political points about government control, democratic ideals, the public good, and privatization. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, David Garcia avoids partisan arguments to offer an accessible, objective, and comprehensive guide to school choice.