Communication Studies

You don't have to suffer at the hands of toxic colleagues, narcissistic partners or psychopathic bosses - here's how to survive, thrive and most importantly escape or avoid dysfunctional relationships at work or home.

Death. Sex. Money. Tricky subjects we're taught to avoid in polite conversation. But if they're so unpleasant, why do so many people tune in regularly to hear Anna Sale asking perfect strangers about them? What if, rather than declaring them off-limits, we could all benefit from ...discussing them more? In Let's Talk About Hard Things, Sale - the host of cult podcast Death, Sex & Money, which tackles life's hard questions - takes her quest for more honest communication into her own life. She considers her history of facing (and sometimes avoiding) difficult subjects, both personal and cultural; she reflects on race, wealth, inequality, love, grief, death, power - all the things that shape our daily lives, the things we should be talking about, but often struggle to. She tracks down people whose stories best illuminate the transformative power of tough conversations, and offers, with her trademark empathy and insight, different ways of approaching these tricky topics with family, friends, loved ones, and strangers alike. Part treatise, part how-to, and part memoir, Let's Talk About Hard Things is candid, unflinching, and entertaining in its quest to make everyone more comfortable with the uncomfortable realities of life. 'The number one driver of human happiness, across time and culture, is meaningful connection to others. The road to connection is conversations. Anna Sale is giving us the encouragement, the example, and the tools to do the one thing that can bring us closer- talk about hard things.' -Kelly Corrigan, host of Kelly Corrigan Wonders and bestselling author of Tell Me More
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If you wanted to build a machine that would distribute propaganda to millions of people, distract them from important issues, energize hatred and bigotry, erode social trust, undermine respectable journalism, foster doubts about science, and engage in massive surveillance all at ...once, you would make something a lot like Facebook. Of course, none of that was part of the plan. In this fully updated paperback edition of Antisocial Media, Siva Vaidhyanathan explains how Facebook devolved from an innocent social site hacked together by Harvard students into a force that, while it may make personal life just a little more pleasurable, makes democracy a lot more challenging. It's an account of the hubris of good intentions, a missionary spirit, and an ideology that sees computer code as the universal solvent for all human problems. And it's an indictment of how social media has fostered the deterioration of democratic culture around the world, from facilitating Russian meddling in support of Trump's election to the exploitation of the platform by murderous authoritarians in Burma and the Philippines. Both authoritative and trenchant, Antisocial Media shows how Facebook's mission went so wrong.
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A transformative new way of tackling the current divisions and future challenges that societies the world over now face -- from the Director of the LSE Throughout history, humans who live together have had to answer the question, 'what do we owe each other?' Childcare, education,... nursing for the sick, support for the elderly and those who cannot provide for themselves - every one of us will need some or all of these things over the course of our lives. How we ensure their provision - 'the social contract' - is what shapes our societies and defines our politics. Shafik argues that our current period of political turbulence stems from outdated social contracts, which have failed to accommodate massive changes in demography, work and the expectations of women. They are also woefully ill-equipped to tackle the major challenges of the 21st century: pandemic, ageing populations, the impact of technology and the climate crisis. Gathering evidence from across the world, Shafik looks at each stage of life, from birth to old age, comparing different countries' answers to this inescapable question and presents a path toward a new and more generous social contract - between the individual and society, between men and women, between young and old, between rich and poor - fit for today's world. Shafik shows how our values and economies are inextricable, and how each society must navigate a new social contract suited to new realities. But solutions are available - and this brilliantly lucid book makes them available to us all.
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Today's information environments are complex, and learning how to find relevant and reliable information online, as well as how to fact-check and evaluate that information, is essential. Enter Information Now, a graphic guide that uses humor and sequential art to teach students a...bout information, research, and the web. This second edition of the popular guide incorporates critical analysis of information systems, asking students to think about the biases and problems in how databases and search engines are designed and used. It also addresses how different populations of people are disproportionately affected by the algorithmic biases built into information systems. And it includes revised critical thinking exercises in every chapter. Written and revised by library professionals, Information Now is a fun and insightful tool for high school and college students, writers, and anyone wanting to improve their research skills.
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