New realities are being created every moment. But how really are they taking form? Certainly, an existing reality can't lead to a new one by itself. The genesis of new realities lies in-believe it or not-fiction. It is fictions, myths and legends-our imagination-that has shaped and is shaping our world. This highly evocative and analytical book digs deep into the secrets of consciousness of societies, religions and nations to unravel the myths of reality and reality of myths.

Virtual and Augmented Reality have existed for a long time but were stuck to the research world or to some large manufacturing companies. With the appearance of low-cost devices, it is expected a number of new applications, including for the general audience. This book aims at making a statement about those novelties as well as distinguishing them from the complexes challenges they raise by proposing real use cases, replacing those recent evolutions through the VR/AR dynamic and by providing some perspective for the years to come.

Identifies some of the myths that have appeared regarding the education of language minority students in the U.S., discusses the basic research that refutes the myths, and looks at some of the most effective programs and practices for teaching language minority students.

Americans are fascinated with crime, criminals, and criminal justice. For all the public interest, however, relatively little is known about these topics that dominate newspaper headlines each and every day in the United States. This book provides readers with an accurate and up-to-date picture of crime and justice in the United States. Myths and Realities of Crime and Justice: What Every American Should Know addresses the major topics in this broad field and presents recent findings from criminologists and criminal justice practitioners in a reader-friendly manner. Combining up-to-date facts with an engaging narrative, this book will dispel many of the preconceived notions and distorted pictures about crime and justice that continue to perpetuate in the United States. This one-of-a-kind criminal justice book offers everything you need to know about crime, criminals, police. Book jacket.

This book seeks to debunk eleven popular and prevalent myths about Caribbean history. Using archaeological evidence, it corrects many previous misconceptions promulgated by history books and oral tradition as they specifically relate to the pre-Colonial and European-contact periods. It informs popular audiences, as well as scholars, about the current state of archaeological/historical research in the Caribbean Basin and asserts the value of that research in fostering a better understanding of the region’s past. Contrary to popular belief, the history of the Caribbean did not begin with the arrival of Europeans in 1492. It actually started 7,000 years ago with the infusion of Archaic groups from South America and the successive migrations of other peoples from Central America for about 2,000 years thereafter. In addition to discussing this rich cultural diversity of the Antillean past, Myths and Realities of Caribbean History debates the misuse of terms such as “Arawak” and “Ciboneys,” and the validity of Carib cannibalism allegations.

Higher education institutions in Anglophone countries often rely on standardized English language proficiency exams to assess the linguistic capabilities of their multilingual international students. However, there is often a mismatch between these scores and the initial experiences of international students in both academic and social contexts. Drawing on a digital ethnography of Chinese international students’ first semester languaging practices, this book examines their challenges, needs and successes on their initial languaging journeys in higher education. It analyzes how they use their rich multilingual and multi-modal communicative repertories to facilitate languaging across contexts, in order to suggest how university support systems might better serve the needs of multilingual international students.

The media's presentation suggests that American teenage culture today is the most violent, sexual, and amoral youth culture in history. In this book, Nichols and Good deconstruct the negative images held by large numbers of adults. Recognizing that many teenagers are left by adults to socialize themselves and the consequences of this "careless indifference," the authors' goal is to influence a more positive view leading to stronger social policies and better services, resources, and programs to meet the needs of America's youth. Unique features of America's Teenagers--Myths and Realities: Media Images, Schooling, and the Social Costs of Careless Indifference include: *powerful analytic lenses used to revisit typical depictions of youth; *a wealth of information brought to bear on understanding teenagers' behavior; and *consideration of a broad range of adolescent behaviors across critical socializing settings. The book begins with a discussion of the continuing myth of adolescence--how and why youth are devalued, and an overview of current beliefs about youth drawn from two 1990s Public Agenda Polls. This is followed by chapters on youth and the media, and the pressures that youth face in various dimensions of their lives. Topics include youth violence; the sex lives of teenagers; tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and teens; healthy living and decision making; working teens; and youth and education. The concluding chapter pulls together themes generated throughout the book and provides examples of policies that would underscore the value of viewing youth as a social investment. General guidelines are provided for teachers, parents, policymakers, and citizens to facilitate responding to youth in meaningful, proactive ways that improve the quality of life for teenagers and the broader society.