Chicle is a history in four acts, all of them focused on the sticky white substance that seeps from the sapodilla tree when its bark is cut. First, Jennifer Mathews recounts the story of chicle and its earliest-known adherents, the Maya and Aztecs. Second, with the assistance of botanist Gillian Schultz, Mathews examines the sapodilla tree itself, an extraordinarily hardy plant that is native only to Mesoamerica and the Caribbean. Third, Mathews presents the fascinating story of the chicle and chewing gum industry over the last hundred plus years, a tale (like so many twentieth-century tales) of greed, growth, and collapse. In closing, Mathews considers the plight of the chicleros, the "extractors" who often work by themselves tapping trees deep in the forests, and how they have emerged as icons of local pop culture -- portrayed as fearless, hard-drinking brawlers, people to be respected as well as feared. --publisher description.

The author, a clinical psychologist, helps readers identify what is importantto them, how to clarify their values, and how to navigate complex workplaces.

Drawing on several principles of sociological theory, James S. Coleman and his colleagues construct a new design for American schooling. The authors present compelling evidence on the deficits of our educational system compared to other countries, arguing that the problems are the result of inappropriate incentives for teachers, students, and parents.Asserting that most American school systems are driven by administrative needs, the authors propose school designs that would shift the focusto student achievement output as the driving force behind public education. The move from an administratively driven system to an output-driven system would require the use of external standards; a method of evaluating school and student performance gains over time; a means of rewarding students, teachers and parents for academic performance gains; and the encouragement of informal norms that would support the new educational goals. Basing their recommendations on two national longitudinal datasets, each with a sample of over 1000 schools exhibiting variations in organizational design, the authors identify specific variations that have been shown to promote growth and achievement.

Children do not come with operating instructions, but if they did, The Three Ps of Parenting would probably be it. Using lessons from her popular parenting seminar series in New York City, learning specialist and consultant Jennifer Jones, Ph.D., takes parents inside the minds and lives of children to reveal the three types of behavioral signals that all children send and few parents recognize. The perfect handbook for busy parents, The Three Ps demystifies parenting with clear, simple, eye-opening explanations of what motivates children as they move from tot to teen. Misbehavior is not what you think. There is a reason your discipline does not always work, and the cause of your childs difficulties at school will probably surprise you. You will find something here for parenting at every life stage. Take a closer (and revealing) look at timeouts for your toddler. Find direction for your school-age child in Jones innovative responsibility menu, and turn your teen around with life planning. The secret to a happy relationship with your child is right in front of you. Learn to see your child in a new way with this inspirational tool that moves you to action and brings you and your child instantly closer. Jones is the founder and CEO of LearnGarden, Inc. (www.learngarden.com), providing tools and strategies that empower parents to solve problems associated with the learning and behavior of their children, while strengthening the parent-child bond.

West's material experiments in film and art explore Southern California's changing geography This debut monograph brings together nearly a decade of "analogital" experiments in film, sculpture and installation by Jennifer West (born 1966)--one of the most committed artists working on the West Coast today. Saturated in a history of avant-garde and Third World cinema (not to mention HIV/AIDS activism and the incipient Riot Grrrl movement) since she was an undergraduate at Evergreen State College, West's work today treads similar ground: challenging the utopianism of new media adoptees as well as the nostalgia of analog-only film adherents. The 11 projects reproduced in the book, all produced between 2014 and 2021, fall under the heading of Media Archaeology, and reveal the historical and material promiscuity of West's experiments in film and art, often tied to the changing geography of Los Angeles and its surrounds.

When he feeds his new pet fish dog biscuits, Simon's wish for a dog comes true in a most unusual way.

In 1906, sixteen-year-old Mattie, determined to attend college and be a writer against the wishes of her father and fiance, takes a job at a summer inn where she discovers the truth about the death of a guest. Based on a true story.