Short Sociology

In 2018, Joe Hammond, wrote a piece for the Guardian about the 33 birthday cards he was writing for his two sons. It was shared by thousands. In A Short History of Falling he tells the story behind that piece, about the experience of living with - and dying of - motor neurone disease (ALS). A Short History of Falling is not a lament. It is a deeply imaginative meditation on what it feels like to confront the fact that your family will persist through time without you.

In this subject guide, psychologist Dr. Jerry Kennard provides a concise and informal introduction to panic attacks, panic disorder, and the management of panic. The guide is for people who want something more than a leaflet or a webpage, but less than a formal textbook. There was a time when the study of the human condition and mental health specifically was confined largely to students of psychology, medicine or nursing, or those involved in social care or health-related occupations.

With her trademark insight and her special ability to convey the impact public events have on ordinary lives, Anna Quindlen here combines commentary on American society and the world at large with reflections on being a woman, a writer, and a mother. Grounding the public in the private, connecting people to each other and to the greater world, Quindlen encourages us to develop authentic lives, even as she serves as a catalyst for political and social change.

Anthony Bourdain chases the fumigation truck in Bergen County, New Jersey. Dave Eggers tells it straight: Illinois is Number 1. Louise Erdrich loses her bikini top in North Dakota. Jonathan Franzen gets waylaid by New York's publicist...and personal attorney...and historian...and geologist. John Hodgman explains why there is no such thing as a "Massachusettsean."

This is the story of an unforgivable con man. Vulnerable families were his prey. His promise was an impossible dream and a lie. Peter Candlewood understood the system. That’s how he could commute prison sentences and reunite hopeless families with incarcerated loved ones. For a price. Except there was no Candlewood. No hope. Just a lowly Texas con artist who bet on the desperate - and won. And he wasn’t working alone. The multimillion-dollar deception cost the betrayed more than their savings.

I numeri parlano chiaro: da gennaio a giugno 2016, i nuovi nati in Italia sono diminuiti del 6%. Si tratta quindi di quasi 14mila bambini in meno di sei mesi. Non è certo una novità per il nostro paese, che negli ultimi anni ha seguito una linea discendente e costante delle nascite. Ma negli ultimi tempi questa tendenza si è accentuata in maniera decisa e, unita a un aumento della popolazione anziana, sta portando a un sostenuto calo demografico nel nostro paese.

L'uso del placebo in ambito medico-farmacologico si è limitato per molto tempo a testare la validità dei farmaci più che per cercare una via alternativa di guarigione. Tuttavia, quando ci si trova di fronte a guarigioni scientificamente inspiegabili, o a miglioramenti o peggioramenti nel corso di una terapia non riconducibili al trattamento farmacologico, si deve considerare il potere che la mente ha sui meccanismi biologici e neurobiologici. Grazie a un nuovo approccio scientifico, che parte dalle teorie di Bruce H. Lipton sul "segnale" ambientale che influenza le nostre cellule, si può cogliere l'essenza profonda dell'effetto placebo.

We live in the suburban era. Well over half of all Americans and two-thirds of Canadians live in suburbs. Tracts of suburban bungalows ring Sydney and Melbourne. Suburban apartments rise on the outskirts of Paris, Prague, Singapore, and Beijing. Nearly everyone has a strong opinion about suburbs. Folks who love dense cities scorn "suburbia," while people who like big yards dislike bustling sidewalks and subways. Social scientists argue whether suburbs are losing their luster or if a supposed back-to-the-city trend is a mirage.

Le famiglie stanno cambiando. Ormai non esiste soltanto la famiglia tradizionale, formata da padre e madre sposati e i loro figli, un modello che ha dominato decenni la società e il suo immaginario. Le tipologie di famiglie si diversificano sempre di più ed è necessario prenderne atto e adeguare gli istituti giuridici e ogni altro aspetto che riguarda la famiglia, per accogliere e tutelare al meglio queste nuove realtà.

Il reddito di cittadinanza, detto anche di base, di sussistenza o reddito minimo universale, è un sistema che garantisce un introito periodico incondizionato a ogni persona maggiorenne per il resto della sua vita e per il solo fatto di essere un cittadino di quello Stato. Questa forma di sicurezza sociale, erogata dallo Stato, si somma ai redditi che la persona già riceve ad altro titolo. Inoltre, i soldi percepiti a titolo di reddito di cittadinanza non sono vincolati in alcun modo a un utilizzo specifico.

As more of us live longer, the fear of an old age devastated by brain diseases like dementia is growing. Many people are already facing the challenges posed by these progressive and terminal conditions, whether in person or because they are caring for loved ones. Dementia is now the fifth most common cause of death across the world. It is a small wonder that understanding, preventing, and finally curing these illnesses is now a global priority.

Dreaming with Trillium takes you on a journey into the world of the plants. Through introducing concepts of active imagination, shamanic practices, and how to connect and dream with Plant Spirits (and what that means), this short book provides insight, encouragement, and practical application for you to discover or strengthen your relationship with the plant world in general and Trillium in particular.

In Polygamy: A Very Short Introduction, Sarah M.S. Pearsall explores what plural marriages reveal about the inner workings of marriage and describes the controversies surrounding it. The book emphasizes the diversity of historical polygamist societies, from the Shi'ite Muslims and Wendat men who practiced short-term marriages to the Mixteca, Maori, Inca, Algonquin, and Marta indigenous people of North America and the Pacific Islands. Pearsall also explains the divides within Christianity that led to Joseph Smith's establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

When we think about viruses, we think about diseases such as the flu. For the most part, the flu comes and goes—the body is able to fight it. For some, it can be deadly. There are of course more dangerous viruses out there such as Ebola that in some cases kills 90 percent of those infected. In today's world, viruses can spread very quickly and it's for this reason we must be vigilant. Carl Zimmer in his book A Planet of Viruses discusses what viruses are and why they are so hard to eradicate. He also explains how not all viruses are bad and are, in fact, vital to our survival. Enjoy!