Baywood Publishing Co.

Perspectives on violence and violent death.

Given the media and the effects of wars, hatred and sheer craziness, it seems we witness violence and violent death daily. The 17 essays here help caregivers, spiritual guides, teachers, students and general readers define the nature of violence, including "good" and "bad" violence, and identify spirituality and religion as culprit and comfort in cases of family violence. They provide an existentialist analysis of workplace violence and examine the role of literature in making the violence of Auschwitz more human rather than less. They examine South African children's experience, unexpected violence, the fate of Hispanic families in mass casualties, grief and guilt in the military, and empirical studies ranging from bereavement rates and the personalization of 9/11. They also offer means of coping and alternatives to violence, including means of study and practical exercises. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)

Together with technology; writing review, enculturation, and technological mediation.

Swarts (technical and professional communication, N. Carolina State U.) examines the complex roles that texts serve as parts of an organizational cognitive infrastructure, as evidenced by "writing review," a work practice in which a supervisor or more experienced peer helps a less experienced worker develop an awareness of organizational needs that translate into specific writing practices. Swarts examines the mediation provided by information technology in writing review, compares how people in writing professions and those not typically associated with writing learn to become practicing writers, and considers what can be learned about the cognitive architectures that support writing review. The text differs from other treatments of writing review and enculturation in its examination of the social and mediating role of technology. For academics, researchers, and students in organizational communications. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)