A pioneering theory of how brain network flows compose the neural symphonies that make us who we are

What enables us not only to comprehend the world but also to find meaning in it? How does a brain engender a mind? In Brain Flows, cognitive neuroscientist Michael Cole argues that movements (flows) of activity through brain networks create an improvised electrochemical symphony that generates our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and actions. Drawing on his decades of brain research, Cole traces the brain's complex network organization, which transforms brain flows into representations, goal pursuits, and entire minds. Central to this transformation, he explains, is compositionality, which allows neural representations to be reused and recombined to produce a brain state rich enough not only to perceive the constant novelty of the world but also to help generate it.

Cole describes the work of brain flows layer by layer, from simple network interactions to hallmarks of the human mind: consciousness, intelligence, free will, mental health, and creativity. After laying the groundwork-introducing the idea of brain flows and discussing goal pursuit, novelty, and hierarchies-he offers an innovative account of how brain flow patterns create the mind, putting cognitive and network neuroscience findings within rich theoretical and empirical contexts. Throughout, he offers lively examples from daily life that shed light on the dynamic origin of our minds. Ultimately, Cole shows that brain flows are central to what the brain does and thus who we are.

A collection of texts illustrating the complex reasons why Jews have contested or rejected the Zionist ideal over more than a century

In the decades since the founding of the state of Israel in 1948, many have equated Zionism with Jewish identity-and anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Few remember now that the Zionist movement triggered passionate debate among Jews, with many expressing ambivalence or opposition to the Zionist project. In Jewish Anti-Zionism, Shaul Magid and Zev Mishell have gathered a broad selection of documents, written between the late nineteenth century and the present day, many of them newly translated into English from multiple languages, revealing the rich variety of Jewish opposition to Zionism over the decades. Following Magid and Mishell's long, authoritative introduction on the history of anti-Zionism among Jews, the book features dozens of texts by Jewish writers from diverse backgrounds discussing why they reject the Zionist idea as the best option for Jewish flourishing.

The documents reflect a lively debate carried out though multiple forms-personal letters, essays, speeches, manifestos, newspaper columns, and extracts from learned treatises. The authors range from scholars and other thinkers writing well before the establishment of the state of Israel to well-known contemporary voices including Peter Beinart, Noam Chomsky, Naomi Klein, and Judith Butler. Magid and Mishell preface each text with a short introduction that offers historical and ideological context

The first comprehensive account of Byzantine monastic archaeology and spatial practices, Monastic Communities and Landscapes in Byzantium focuses on Thrace and eastern Macedonia to show the broader impact of monasteries on surrounding communities, one that was not only religious, but also economic and social. Georgios Makris focuses on the significance of monastic spaces and the landscapes they inhabit on the daily life of monastic communities, drawing on archaeological evidence-art and architectural element, pottery, lead seals, and inscriptions-and written sources.

Examining both modest and privileged monasteries between the tenth and fifteenth centuries, Makris takes an expansive and holistic approach to the archaeological study of Byzantine monasteries and considers the monastic compound as both a religious space and one used for social and economic activities. Monastic Communities and Landscapes in Byzantium reveals the rich and dynamic exchanges monasteries maintained with people beyond their walls in cities and the countryside, presenting a more complex view of the Byzantine monastery and the boundaries between sacred and profane spheres.

Research as Activism in Education combines academic research with activism and examines how they can supplement each other as tools for societal transformation, particularly within educational contexts. It aims to reshape how research is theorized, conducted, and utilized within educational settings, emphasizing the importance of doing research with communities rather than on communities, with the objective of fostering collaborative and inclusive approaches that lead to meaningful change in reforming practices and policies. By providing concrete examples and case studies of how research can challenge systemic inequities and injustices through purposeful activism, the book serves as a valuable resource for educators, policymakers, practitioners, and researchers committed to social justice at all levels.

Online abuse in sport has become a pervasive global challenge, affecting athletes, teams, officials, and sporting communities across all levels of competition. Despite growing awareness, scholarly attention has largely concentrated on hate speech, leaving other critical forms of abuse underexplored. This open access edited collection addresses this gap by offering a comprehensive examination of the multifaceted nature of online abuse in sport, structured around seven categories identified by Kurt Thomas: toxic content, content leakage, overloading, false reporting, impersonation, surveillance, and lockout and control. The volume comprises eight chapters, beginning with an introductory overview of online abuse in sport, followed by chapters that explore each category in depth. Each chapter defines the forms of abuse within its scope and discusses the key themes, impact, and potential solutions. By expanding the focus beyond traditional notions of online hate, this book provides an integrated and critical assessment of the diverse manifestations of online abuse in sport. It serves as an essential reference for scholars, practitioners, and policymakers seeking to understand, prevent, and respond to online harms in sporting contexts.

This open-access volume explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming STEM education and reshaping teaching and learning for today's world. AI is no longer a distant promise; it is actively redefining classrooms, challenging educators to rethink pedagogy, curriculum, and student engagement. Focusing on the powerful intersection of AI and STEM, the book showcases innovative learning strategies, future-ready curriculum models, and cutting-edge approaches to teacher professional development. It demonstrates how AI can strengthen critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and ethical awareness while offering practical solutions to real-world educational challenges. Combining advanced AI tools with evidence-based instructional design, the volume provides actionable insights that inspire educators, researchers, teachers, and learners. With its inclusive, forward-looking perspective, this book serves as an essential guide for educators, policymakers, and researchers seeking to modernize STEM education and prepare students for an AI-shaped future.

An African Approach to Population Ethics offers an important and long-overdue shift away from Western, individualistic models of population ethics, grounding its analysis in Indigenous African communal ethics. The contributors explore a wide range of historical and contemporary issues affecting African population dynamics. They critically examine urgent questions of procreation, resource allocation, and environmental sustainability, from the ethics of climate change to the reinterpretation of traditional fertility proverbs. By prioritizing African voices and experiences, the book establishes a unique and much-needed framework for addressing population challenges with respect for African needs and priorities. It is an essential resource for scholars, policymakers, and all readers focused on Africa's future.

Controlling Processes offers a penetrating anthropological analysis of how power operates through cultural mechanisms in agrarian and modern industrial societies.

Drawing on decades of research and teaching, Laura Nader explores:

The multiple meanings and ideological frameworks embedded in dominant conceptions of science, technology, progress, energy, and the environment.
A compelling critique of groupthink, illuminated through George Orwell's 1984 and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, revealing how consensus can mask coercion.
The systemic oppression of women through body politics and the global diffusion of patriarchal norms.
Cultural relativism and the politics of representation, with incisive discussions of Orientalism, Islam, and the West's positional superiority.
A model of critical pedagogy inspired by Paulo Freire, exemplified in Nader's influential University of California, Berkeley course, Anthropology 139: Controlling Processes, whose syllabus is included as a practical guide.
Strategies for recognizing and resisting the subtle, often invisible, controlling processes embedded in education and public discourse.

This volume is essential reading for scholars of anthropology, sociology, political science, and education seeking to understand the cultural dimensions of power and the possibilities for emancipatory critique.

This book presents an integrative, interdisciplinary examination of how cultural, psychological, and structural factors shape human well-being, with a distinctive emphasis on the social contexts of Latin America and Spain. The book opens by reviewing the evolution of well-being research and highlights the need for culturally grounded concepts and measurements. It then explores how national cultural values-particularly autonomy, egalitarianism, and emotion norms-relate to subjective well-being, while illustrating the complexity of Latin American cultural profiles.

Several chapters analyze identity and social structure, showing how ethnic-racial identity, social class, and inequality influence psychological outcomes through mechanisms such as discrimination, socialization, perceived control, and coping. Social relationships emerge as a central dimension of well-being, with evidence on social capital, social support, and social identity demonstrating their strong protective and regulatory effects.

The book also incorporates personality science, detailing how traits, character strengths, spirituality, and religiosity contribute to flourishing or distress, and how culturally situated personality models and AI-driven approaches can enhance understanding. Additional chapters examine gender and emotional well-being, affect and emotion regulation, and the determinants of well-being in older adults, highlighting the "Latin American paradox"-moderately high well-being despite socioeconomic precarity. Across all chapters, the book underscores the interplay of personal, relational, and structural factors in shaping well-being.

A fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at non-religious funerals in contemporary London

An Honest Death is an intimate and moving ethnographic account of funerals for people who don't believe in God or an afterlife. Focusing on secular funeral celebrants of the British Humanist Association (now called Humanists UK), the book examines how their ritual work is geared toward helping realize a secular world. There is a strong ethical commitment behind this effort, which is to face death with honesty based on the belief that this life is all we have. For the humanist celebrants and those they serve, this is what allows for a life with meaning and purpose.

Written in a vivid style, the book centers on the lives and the funerals of particular people, from a three-year-old child to a man in his nineties. Anthropologist Matthew Engelke, who trained as a humanist celebrant as part of his research, describes how these officiants try to craft "sincere" funerals, avoiding language and music that might suggest that the person who died had any religious beliefs. The book also captures the highs and lows for humanist celebrants of working in the funeral business-a business that is, for many of them, a kind of vocational calling.

Above all, An Honest Death draws out the tensions in secular humanist thought and practice between reason and the body, rationalism and materialism. Nothing matters more to the humanists than "daring to know" in the Enlightenment tradition, but nothing is so certainly known as the fact that we are finite and embodied creatures.

How cities and religions have shaped each other through history

In Cities of Gods, Joerg Ruepke offers an entirely new vision of the history of religion-one in which religion has shaped cities and cities have shaped religion. Ruepke shows how religious actions and ideas have produced cities since urbanization began some 6,000 years ago-and how cities have, in turn, changed religious practices. Cities have created new mass rituals that instill the idea of an encompassing community; priestly hierarchies, religious organizations, and globalized religious traditions follow. Urban religion, Ruepke argues, helps people in cities build a world and an identity that make living in a risky and powerful space more bearable.

Ruepke explores early processes of urbanization in Mesopotamia and Asia, showing how people's willingness to live differently creates urban space. In examining the dynamic relationship between urban and religious change, Ruepke considers the differences and commonalties of cities including Uruk, Jerusalem, Vanarasi, Chang'an, Cairo, Lhasa, and Kyoto. The construction of monuments, the embellishment and appropriation of beliefs and rituals, the inclusion of ancestors and deities in social life: each offers a different lens for a history of the city that is also a history of religion. Much of what we consider characteristic of religion and religious practices comes not from the lone cry of a prophet or the prayer of a saint but from an urban religion built from the solidarity of people living in cities.

An essential guide to giving effective and engaging talks for academics at all career stages, across the humanities, sciences, and social sciences

This book is for anyone in academia who will ever have to give a talk-which is just about everyone in academia. Presenting research is one of the most important tasks academics undertake, but few receive formal training in effective public speaking. In How to Give a Good Academic Talk, Sharon Marcus fills this gap, offering a practical, research-informed guide to an activity that can challenge even seasoned scholars. Marcus, who has given many academic talks in her career-and listened to even more-blends insights from learning and cognitive science, communications, rhetoric, and performance theory with her own seasoned judgment and firsthand observation to provide a pragmatic repertoire of dos and don'ts.

Each chapter addresses a central component of successful presentations, illustrated with examples drawn from a wide variety of academic talks, many available online. Marcus's cross-disciplinary perspective allows her to identify elements that all good academic talks have in common, while remaining attentive to field-specific norms. She defines what an academic talk is and isn't, and identifies its most important and challenging task: engaging the audience. How to Give a Good Academic Talk covers the beginnings and endings of talks, Q&A sessions, the design and use of slides, delivery, rehearsals, video conferencing platforms-and even offers wardrobe advice. Marcus's essential guide equips academics to communicate their ideas with confidence, precision, and intellectual generosity.

The esports industry has grown into a multi-billion-dollar market, attracting millions of players and spectators worldwide. However, the psychological aspects of esports and its players remain largely unexplored in academic literature. The Psychology of Esports aims to bridge this gap by providing an in-depth analysis of the cognitive, emotional, and social dynamics that influence esports players. The book not only sheds light on how esports psychology is formed, but also discusses the field within the framework of psychological theories. By examining the many mental factors affecting players' performance (cognitive, emotional, physiological, and medical), this argument contends that esports psychology should be recognised as a distinct field.

Integrating insights from education, psychology, neuroscience, medicine, and sports science, the book offers a thorough framework for understanding the mental health/psychology of esports. It provides valuable guidance for players, coaches, and academic researchers. Beyond its academic contributions, the book has practical implications for multiple parties in the esports ecosystem. For example, coaches and team managers can use its findings to improve player mental performance and well-being. In contrast, psychologists and mental health professionals can use it to address issues such as gaming addiction, burnout, and anxiety. Additionally, game creators and industry leaders can use psychological insights to design more balanced and engaging esports environments. By fostering a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms behind esports, this book contributes to the long-term success of the esports industry and the well-being of those esports players.

This book traces the history of the Jungfraujoch research station, established in 1931 at one of the most remarkable scientific sites in the world. Conceived as part of the Jungfraujoch railroad project, the station embodied the ambition to conduct research at the highest altitude in Europe. Emerging from the collaboration between the Swiss Society of Natural Scientists and the Swiss Alpine Club, and later supported by international partners from Germany, Austria, France, Great Britain, Belgium, and the US the station soon became a symbol of scientific cooperation under challenging circumstances. Through changing political, economic, and institutional contexts-from the interwar years to the founding of the Swiss National Science Foundation in 1952-the book reconstructs how the Jungfraujoch evolved into a center for atmospheric, physical, and environmental research. It situates the station as both a pioneering scientific enterprise and a landmark in the development of organized research in Switzerland.

Robert Gould Shaw (1837-1863) is best known as the heroic colonel who led the 54th Massachusetts Infantry-one of the first regiments of Black soldiers in the Civil War-in its famous ill-fated charge against Confederate Fort Wagner on July 18, 1863. Shaw's sacrifice has been commemorated in monuments, books, and the award-winning film Glory. But before he became a martyr for the Union cause and emancipation, Shaw was a privileged young man who showed little interest in the reform movements that defined his parents' lives or in the moral crisis over slavery that was tearing the nation apart. Volunteering to serve as a duty, he awakened gradually and fitfully to the demands of conscience and command. Only in death was Shaw transformed into the champion for freedom his abolitionist parents hoped he would be.

The first biography of Shaw in a quarter century, A Glorious Fate traces his transformation from a rebellious son into one of the Civil War's most celebrated heroes. Acclaimed historian Kevin M. Levin also reveals the sacrifice and service of the African American men who fought and died for their freedom afresh through Shaw's eyes. Though Shaw never fully reconciled his own racial prejudices, Levin shows how the Civil War changed the young colonel as it did the nation.

How the police in Minneapolis used electoral politics to accrue power and avoid accountability.

The 2020 murder of George Floyd made Minneapolis synonymous with unjust policing and the pain and outrage left in its wake. The city became ground zero for police reform in the United States-even though liberal politicians in Minnesota had promised, and delivered, police reforms for decades. Centered on professionalization, these changes inadvertently exacerbated injustice. Better training and higher standards broadened the influence of the police, who then claimed expertise in public safety. They deployed it to bargain for governmental support, even when they treated residents unfairly. Though Black, Indigenous, and gay residents resisted, the political power amassed by the police rendered real change almost impossible.

In A Police State, historian and fourth-generation Minneapolis resident Michael J. Lansing chronicles how the police became a political force in one of the nation's most liberal cities. Lansing shows how, in the years after World War II, public safety policies that appealed to voters in the overwhelmingly white city protected and expanded police discretion. As union members, administrators, and citizens, officers shaped these policies to shield themselves and their violent actions from scrutiny. They campaigned for better wages, secured legal safeguards, resisted race-neutral policing, and elected one of their own to the mayor's office. Ultimately, they used democratic institutions to cultivate and sustain a police state that protected white people and harmed people of color. Lansing uncovers this dysfunctional relationship between a city and its cops while illuminating a larger American story about reform, resistance, and democracy.

A significant exploration of policing politics, this book helps us understand the history that led to George Floyd's murder-and insists that the future of community safety depends on reenvisioning the role of police in our society.

Tracing the arc of white supremacist populism in the United States from Indian Removal under Andrew Jackson through the administration of Donald Trump, this book is organized around the question: How should Unitarian Universalists respond to populism? The book points out the inefficacies that progressives, with their focus on state centered reform, use as a means of combating white supremacist populism. And argues that religious liberals, particularly Unitarian Universalists, can more effectively engage in the struggle against white supremacist populism by turning away from progressivism and turning towards the prefigurative traditions of anarchism and antifascism. This book is a must for scholars interested in Religion and Power.

A vivid portrait of rural and working-class life that links the dynamics of social ties to far-right political alignments

Rural and working-class voters in France have increasingly supported the politics-and the worldview-of the country's far right. What accounts for this realignment? In Those Who Remain, sociologist Benoit Coquard immerses himself in working class life in the rural and industrialized northeast areas of France, exploring the political allegiances of those left behind after the rural exodus of the last century. Coquard-himself a native of this social milieu-documents the intense friendships and family ties that cement social bonds. He shows how competition for employment, gender discrimination, and the relationships between whites and descendants of immigrants shape new forms of collective consciousness that have found expression in right-wing ideologies.

Coquard moves beyond conventional explanations for the rise of the far right, describing working-class cultural models that run counter to the values of schooling, formal credentials, and idealized visions of social harmony. In this society, reputation is paramount; you may compete with your peers, but you must also help those you think of as your real friends. Central to this world is not "we, the workers" or "we, the locals" but "us first," a claim of precedence over others that echoes the far right's historic slogan "the French first."

Coquard's analysis sheds light on the perennial dilemma-not limited to French politics-of whether it is possible for the left to win back the rural working classes. His account suggests that the problem goes deeper than policy positions and party platforms.