In this practical book, Dr. Peter Benson, a leading authority on childhood and adolescence, describes a simple yet powerful plan for awakening the spark that lives inside each and every young person. Sparks—when illuminated and nurtured—give young people joy, energy, and direction. They have the power to change a young person’s life from one of “surviving” to “thriving.” Grounded in new research with thousands of teenagers and parents, Sparks offers a step-by-step approach to help...

*"With sixty-seven scholars from four continents and many diverse disciplines contributing as authors to the volume; with fourteen scholars from around the world serving as editorial advisors; with financial support provided by the John Templeton Foundation via Search Institute; with frequent conversations occurring with colleagues at Fuller Theological Seminary; and with the careful attention of editorial work provided by Sage publications, this handbook provides a remarkable contribution...

According to the study conducted by Gallup Organization, only a minority of Americans experience consistent normative motivation for engaging with other people's children. Social norms theory suggests that adults are more likely to get deeply involved if that involvement is viewed as highly important, and if they perceive a social expectation to do so.This volume examines the nature of social norms in general and in relationship to children and adolescents. The book examines the co...

Matthew Baxter was almost there. Almost a writer, almost a lover, almost a traveller. He wrote for the Tread Lightly range of travel guides, he loved his boss and he was about to catch a plane to the south. His job was to give an out-of-season slant to the Italian guide, and he was ready. Almost. For everything wasn't exactly as it should have been. In fact, nothing was exactly as it should have been. Especially Matthew Baxter. Peter Benson's new novel is a tour of southern Italy, and aims...

Drove House has always loomed large over village life. Boarded-up for years, it is reputed to be brimming with ghosts, and is shunned by the locals all except Billy, for whom it has been the site of childhood dens and secret adolescent adventures. When the captivating Muriel moves in with her bohemian mother, they sweep out the ghosts and breathe new life into both the house and Billys quiet rural existence. After an idyllic summer, though, Muriel returns to her life in London, and the new...

A refreshed edition of a practical and charming introduction to the time-honored craft of whittling—now with brand-new step-by-step illustrations.Whittling can help you relax even as you create useful and beautiful art with just a knife and some timber. The Whittling Handbook helps beginners explore this time-honored craft and learn foundational skills, from gathering the basic tools to choosing the right wood to keeping your knife sharp. Begin with straig...

When young Elliot gets a labourers job at Mr Evanss after being sacked from a pig farm for liberating six of its sows, he thinks hell have even more opportunities to lean on gates or stare at fields. But his best mate Spike keeps getting him into trouble, first by showing him what is being grown in a tucked-away polytunnel, and then turning up at his caravans door with a van full of weed. As Elliot tries to help his friend get rid of the hot merchandise, they find themselves at the receivi...

“One of the most important contributions to the field of contract theory—if not the most important—in the past 25 years.” —Stephen A. Smith, McGill UniversityCan we account for contract law on a moral basis that is acceptable from the standpoint of liberal justice? To answer this question, Peter Benson develops a theory of contract that is completely independent of—and arguably superior to—long-dominant views, which take contract law to be justified on the basis of...

Drawing on unpublished archival sources, this book reconstitutes the experiences of a wide range of American artists, critics, and writers working in Rome in a charged environment of “Cold War cosmopolitanism.”After the Second World War, American artists flocked to Rome in record numbers, even as the United States shored up Italy as a bulwark against the spread of Communism. While the market for modern art in Rome was less vigorous as those in Paris and New York, n...

MOVING THE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT MESSAGE: TURNING A VAGUE IDEA INTO A MORAL IMPERATIVE Peter L. Benson and Karen Pittman THE CONTAGION OF AN IDEA In the past fifteen years, countless programs, agencies, funding initiatives, profes sionals, and volunteers have embraced the term "youth development. " Linked more by shared passion than by formal membership or credentials, these people and places have contributed to a wave of energy and activity not unlike that of a social movement, with a multitu...

Do you think you are lacking back in your class?Or do your colleagues seem to grasp more from a meeting you made notes of?Do you always find yourself lost in the middle of a task?Reading slowly could actually make you feel like you are slower than most of the people of the same age and it could affect you negatively. You could end up studying for hours to cover the same thing your classmates, but they do it in an ho...

Do you get distracted while working on something?Do your projects always get sidetracked?Do you have really short concentration spans?The devices around us, while proved out to be a boon at the start, are now just starting to be a reason why we are lacking. We always get distracted by something more tempting and forget about whatever we were doing. While you say it will only take a minute, you end up taking a few ho...