At a time when legal and social prohibitions on sexual relationships are declining, Americans are still nearly unanimous in their condemnation of adultery. Over 90 percent disapprove of cheating on a spouse. In her comprehensive account of the legal and social consequences of infidelity, Deborah Rhode explores why. She exposes the harms that criminalizing adultery inflicts, and she makes a compelling case for repealing adultery laws and prohibitions on polygamy. In the twenty-two states where adultery is technically illegal although widely practiced, it can lead to civil lawsuits, job termination, and loss of child custody. It is routinely used to threaten and tarnish public officials and undermine military careers. And running through the history of anti-adultery legislation is a double standard that has repeatedly punished women more severely than men. An “unwritten law” allowing a man to avoid conviction for killing his wife’s lover remained common well into the twentieth century. Murder under these circumstances was considered an act of understandable passion. Adultery has been called the most creative of sins, and novelists and popular media have lavished attention on sexual infidelity. As a focus of serious study, however, adultery has received short shrift. Rhode combines a comprehensive account of the legal and social consequences of adultery with a forceful argument for halting the state’s policing of fidelity.

A public policy expert reveals how decades of deregulation and increasing inequality have fostered a culture of cheating across America. There have always been people who cut corners, but in The Cheating Culture, David Callahan demonstrates how cheating on every level—from the highly publicized corporate scandals to Little League fraud—has risen dramatically in recent decades. He then asks the simple yet provocative questions: Why all the cheating? Why now? Callahan pins the blame on today’s dog-eat-dog economic climate. An unfettered market and unprecedented economic inequality have corroded our values and threaten the level playing field so central to American democracy itself. Through revealing interviews and extensive data analysis, Callahan takes readers on a revealing tour of cheating in America and offers a powerful argument for why it matters.

The task of interpreting the Bible — which was written by and to people living in very different cultural contexts from contemporary Western society — can seem monumental. The opposite is also true: people can easily forget that studying the Bible is a type of cross-cultural encounter, instead reading their own cultural assumptions into biblical texts. In A Cultural Handbook to the Bible John Pilch bridges this cultural divide by translating important social concepts and applying them to biblical texts. In short, accessible chapters Pilch discusses sixty-three topics related to the cosmos, the earth, persons, family, language, human consciousness, God and the spirit world, and entertainment. Pilch's fresh interpretations of the Bible challenge traditional views and explore topics often overlooked in commentaries. Each chapter concludes with a list of useful references from cultural anthropology or biblical studies, making this book an excellent resource for students of the Bible.

That Africa is at a crossroads in an increasingly globalised world is indisputable. Equally unassailable is the fact that the humanities, as a broad field of intellection, research and learning in Africa, appears to have been pigeonholed in debates of relevance in the development aspirations of many African nations. Historical experiences and contemporary research outputs indicate, however, that the humanities, in its various shades, is critical to Africa’s capacity to respond effectively to such problems as security, corruption, political ineptitude, poverty, superstition, and HIV/AIDS, among many other mounting challenges which confront the people of Africa. The vibrancy and resilience of Africa’s cultures, against these and other odds of globalisation episodes in the course of our history, demand the focused attention of academia to exploit their relevance to contemporary issues. This collection provides a comprehensive overview of issues in the humanities at the turn of the 21st century, which create a veritable platform for the global redefinition and understanding of Africa’s rich cultures and traditions. Such areas covered include ruminations in metaphysics and psychology, pathos and ethos, cinematic and literary connections, and historical conceptualisations.

Terri L. Snyder demonstrates how women resisted and challenged oppressive political, legal, and cultural practices in colonial Virginia.

In the past, it was the struggling student who was more likely to cheat just to get by. Today, above-average college -bound students are just as likely to do so. This sequel to the eye-opening Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the Internet Era: A Wake-Up Call (2000) is a call to arms for students, teachers, administrators, librarians, and parents to transpose school culture from one that ignores or tolerates cheating into one where every effort is made to value, encourage, and support honesty. First person accounts lend credence to a cornucopia of practical ideas and actions. No home, school, or library should be without at least one copy. Cheating continues to be a national epidemic. Here, Lathrop and Foss have produced a sequel to their 2000 eye-opener Student Cheating and Plagiarism in the Internet Era: A Wake-Up Call. But where the first volume focused on honor codes and careful monitoring of student tests and written assignments, their latest work is a call to arms: students, teachers, administrators, librarians, and parents must make a concerted effort to change school culture from one that ignores or tolerates cheating into one where every effort is made to value, encourage, and support honesty. Each chapter offers quick and easy access to practical ideas and actions that can be taken off the page and into the classroom or home situation. Among these, first-person accounts dominate, with such compelling themes as Why I Didn't Cheat, Policies That Support Honest Students, and Student Whistleblowers. It is a myth that the struggling students are the ones who are more likely to cheat just to get by. The above-average, college-bound students are just as likely to do so as they compete for scholarships and college admission. No home, school, or library should be without at least one copy of this book.

While the formal definition of divorce may be concise and straightforward (legal termination of a marital union, dissolving bonds of matrimony between parties), the effects are anything but, particularly when children are involved. The Americans for Divorce Reform estimates that "40 or possibly even 50 percent of marriages will end in divorce if current trends continue." Outside the U.S., divorce rates have markedly increased across developed countries. Divorce and its effects are a significant social factor in our culture and others. It might be said that a whole "divorce industry" has been constructed, with divorce lawyers and mediators, family counselors, support groups, etc. As King Henry VIII's divorces showed, divorce has not always been easy or accepted. In some countries, divorce is not permitted and even in Europe, countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal, and the Republic of Ireland legalized divorce only in the latter quarter of the 20th century. This multi-disciplinary encyclopedia covers curricular subjects related to divorce as examined by disciplines ranging from marriage and the family to anthropology, social and legal history, developmental and clinical psychology, and religion, all through a lens of cultural sociology. Features: 550 signed entries, A-to-Z, fill 3 volumes (1,500 pages) in print and electronic formats, offering the most detailed reference work available on issues related to divorce, both in the U.S. and globally. Cross-References and Further Readings guide readers to additional resources. A Chronology provides students with context via a historical perspective of divorce. In the electronic version, the comprehensive Index combines with Cross-References and thematic Reader's Guide themes to provide convenient search-and-browse capabilities. For state and nation entries, uniform entry structure combined with an abundance of statistics facilitates comparison between and across states and nations. Appendices provide further annotated sources of data and statistics.

In recent years, the wearing of the full-face veil or burqa/niqab has proved a controversial issue in many multi-cultural European societies. Focussing on the socio-legal and human rights angle, this volume provides a useful comparative perspective on how the issue has been dealt with across a range of European states as well as at European institutional level. In so doing, the work draws a theoretical framework for the place of religion between public and private space. With contributions from leading experts from law, sociology and politics, the book presents a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to one of the most contentious and symbolic issues of recent times.

Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders, and the college years are a critical period for their development of ethical standards. Cheating in College explores how and why students cheat and what policies, practices, and participation may be useful in promoting academic integrity and reducing cheating. The authors investigate trends over time, including internet-based cheating. They consider personal and situational explanations, such as the culture of groups in which dishonesty is more common (such as business majors) and social settings that support cheating (such as fraternities and sororities). Faculty and administrators are increasing their efforts to promote academic honesty among students. Orientation and training sessions, information on college and university websites, student handbooks that describe codes of conduct, honor codes, and course syllabi all define cheating and establish the consequences. Based on the authors’ multiyear, multisite surveys, Cheating in College quantifies and analyzes student cheating to demonstrate why academic integrity is important and to describe the cultural efforts that are effective in restoring it. -- Gary Pavela, Syracuse University

Cheating in School is the first book to present the research on cheating in a clear and accessible way and provide practical advice and insights for educators, school administrators, and the average lay person. Defines the problems surrounding cheating in schools and proposes solutions that can be applied in all educational settings, from elementary schools to post-secondary institutions Addresses pressing questions such as “Why shouldn’t students cheat if it gets them good grades?” and “What are parents, teachers, businesses, and the government doing to unintentionally persuade today’s student to cheat their way through school?” Describes short and long term deterrents that educators can use to foster academic integrity and make honesty more profitable than cheating Outlines tactics and strategies for educators, administrators, school boards, and parents to advance a new movement of academic integrity instead of dishonesty