Nigeria and Nigerians have acquired a notorious reputation for involvement in drug-trafficking, fraud, cyber-crime and other types of serious crime. Successful Nigerian criminal networks have a global reach, interacting with their Italian, Latin American and Russian counterparts. Yet in 1944, a British colonial official wrote that 'the number of persistent and professional criminals is not great' in Nigeria and that 'crime as a career has so far made little appeal to the young Nigerian'. This book traces the origins of Nigerian organised crime to the last years of colonial rule, when nationalist politicians acquired power at a regional level. In need of funds for campaigning, they offered government contracts to foreign businesses in return for kickbacks, in a pattern that recurs to this day. Political corruption encouraged a wider disrespect for the law that spread throughout Nigerian society. When the country's oil boom came to an end in the early 1980s, young Nigerian college graduates headed abroad, eager to make money by any means. Nigerian crime went global at the very moment new criminal markets were emerging all over the world.

As a Christian—as a college student—do you want to be a feminist? Why would anybody want to be a feminist? And what, if anything, have Christians done to advance women’s rights? The answers lie in this book where the history of women preachers, the rise of the publishing industry, the creation of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century female seminaries and academies, and the work of feminist theologians is explored. This book introduces the Christian college student to a coherent story of First, Second, and Third Wave Feminism and how these interlocking histories overlap with Christian faith and practice. Designed for the student who has little or no knowledge of feminist histories, theories, and practices, this book offers timelines, reading lists, and glossaries to help orient the student in a field of study often filled with irony and contradictions. Furthermore, the influence of anti-feminists and the impact of visual culture tell a story of how power is made and how it is challenged. Throughout this book, students are invited to consider their relationship with feminism and to critically reflect on a position that holds true to their faith as they are experiencing it in the twenty-first century.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12 After the film in her camera is mysteriously destroyed at a small-town festival, reporter Bernice Kreuger knows she’s found something worth covering up. She brings the investigation to her boss, Marshall Hogan. Along with the local pastor of a struggling church, Hank Busch, they find something much bigger than they expected—a demonic plot to enslave their town and, eventually, the world. The tiny college town of Ashton becomes the unlikely battleground in a cosmic clash between good and evil. Unseen by the human protagonists, armies of angels and demons wage war against one another in the spiritual realm for the souls of the people of Ashton. Up against supernatural forces, the future of the town seems bleak – but the power of prayer might be able to influence the outcome of the fight. This fast-paced thriller birthed an entirely new genre, setting the standard for spiritual suspense. It has since sold over 2 million copies worldwide, sparking a renewed interest in the concept of spiritual warfare.

Is it possible for conservative Protestant groups to survive in secular institutional settings? Here, Bramadat offers an ethnographic study of the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) at McMaster University, a group that espouses fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible, women's roles, the age of the earth, alcohol consumption, and sexual ethics. In examining this group, Bramadat demonstrates how this tiny minority thrives within the overwhelmingly secular context of the University.

Christian popular culture has tremendous influence on many American churchgoers. When we have a choice between studying the Bible and reading novels, downloading movies, or watching television, we become less familiar with Numbers than with Narnia. This book examines popular Christian narratives with rigorous scholarly methods and assumes that they are just as complex, fascinating, and worthy of investigation as the latest secular Netflix series or dystopian novel. While most scholars focus on the religious aspects of Christian texts, this study takes a new approach by analyzing their social responsibility in portraying the complex dynamics of race, class, and gender in a profoundly unequal America. Close readings of six case studies--The Chronicles of Narnia, Francine Rivers's Redeeming Love, Jan Karon's Mitford novels, Left Behind, the films of the Sherwood Baptist Church, and Duck Dynasty--uncover both harmful stereotypes and Christians serving as leaders in social justice.

"Human trafficking" brings to mind gangsters forcing people, often women and girls, to engage in dangerous activities against their will, under threat of violence. However, human trafficking is not limited to the sex trade, and this picture is inadequate. It occurs in many different industries---domestic service, construction, factory labour, on farms and fishing boats---and targets people from all over the globe. Human trafficking is a much more complicated and nuanced picture than its common representations. Victims move through multiple categories along their journey and at their destination, shifting from smuggled migrant to trafficking victim and back again several times. The emergence of a criminal pyramid scheme also makes many victims complicit in their own exploitation. Finally, the threat posed by the involvement of organised crime is little understood. The profit motives and violence that come with such crime make human trafficking more dangerous for its victims and difficult to detect or address. Drawing on field research in source, transit and destination countries, the authors analyse trafficking from four countries: Albania, Eritrea, Nigeria and Vietnam. What emerges is a business model that evolves in response to changes in legislation, governance and law enforcement capacities.

Masa kegelapan telah tiba di Hogwarts. Setelah serangan Dementor pada sepupunya, Dudley, Harry Potter mengetahui bahwa Voldemort tak akan berhenti mencarinya. Ada banyak yang menyangkal kembalinya Pangeran Kegelapan, namun Harry tidak sendirian: sebuah orde rahasia berkumpul di Grimmauld Place untuk bertarung melawan kekuatan Kegelapan. Harry harus mengizinkan Profesor Snape mengajarinya cara melindungi diri dari serangan ganas Voldemort pada pikirannya. Namun serangan bertambah kuat hari demi hari dan Harry kehabisan waktu...