There is more information in the world than ever before - but who's in control?At the centre sits the Establishment: governments, corporations and powerful individuals who have more knowledge about us, and more power, than ever before. Circling them is a new generation of hackers, pro-democracy campaigners and internet activists who no longer accept that the Establishment should run the show.Award-winning journalist and campaigner Heather Brooke takes us in...

Award-winning investigative journalist Heather Brooke exposes the shocking and farcical lack of transparency at all levels of government. At a time when the State knows more than ever about us, Brooke argues that without proper access to the information that citizens pay for, Britain can never be a true democracy.*SECRECY*: anonymous bureaucrats, clandestine courts, men in tights and the true cost of 'public' information. *PROPAGANDA*: spin, PR and...

A study of the rhetorical power of shame and its effect on reproductive politicsNot long ago, unmarried pregnant women in the United States hid in maternity homes and relinquished their "illegitimate" children to more "deserving" two-parent families—all to conceal "shameful" pregnancies. Although times have changed, reproductive politics remain fraught. In Enduring Shame Heather Brook Adams recasts the 1960s and '70s—an era of presumed progress—as a time w...

A survey of the innovative scholarship emerging at the intersections of rhetoric, and fieldworkA variety of research areas within rhetorical studies—including everyday and public rhetorics, space and place-based work, material and ecological approaches, environmental communication, technical communication, and critical and participatory action research, among others—have increasingly called for ethnographic fieldwork that grounds the study of rhetoric with...

Adopting and developing a ‘cultural politics’ approach, this comprehensive study explores how Hollywood movies generate and reflect political myths about social and personal life that profoundly influence how we understand power relations. Instead of looking at genre, it employs three broad categories of film. ‘Security’ films present ideas concerning public order and disorder, citizen–state relations and the politics of fear. ‘Relationalities’ films highlight personal and intimate politic...

My name is Grace Degas Black.Years ago, I made a splash during a charity fashion show where an agent discovered me. My work led to the glitzy world of haute couture, perfume ads, and more. I was living my best life, traveling the world, and the only thing that would have made it better was if my twin had come along for the ride. My other half. My best friend.Then one day, she disappeared.I couldn't escape that sinking feeling of something being terr...

I've existed only in the shadows.My only connections were forged through the veil of a computer screen. I was their voice in the dark, their operator. I was their lifeline—until the day my past tore into my present, and they had to become mine.Captured, subjected to torture and relentless interrogation, I survived long enough for them to find me. I harbor no delusions; fleeing and disappearing again is not an option.The only way to win is to fight. ...

"Patch online…"Five years ago, I disappeared from the life I had and built this one. I spend my days and most of my nights on the line, helping my clients achieve their goals. They call me when they are in a jam or are getting ready to move on a target.I'm their information specialist. The woman in the chair. I'm their switchboard.Intelligence, electronic eyes, computer hacking—I do it all. My singular goal is to bring my clients home safely. Some c...

Angry. Wild. Loose cannon.As one of college hockey's most feared defensemen, I've been told I'm all those things and more. The ice is the only place where I can take my anger out on other people and get applauded for it. The rougher I play, the dirtier I am, the more praise I get.I suppose the same could be said about me in the bedroom. I'm not the dude you want your daughter bringing home to meet you. Because your angel? Well, I'll make sure her halo is cr...

They say the line that separates love from hate is thin. So thin, in fact, that the two almost coexist. Almost.It's also been said that when a dude is a jerk to a girl, it's because, deep down, he wants her. I'm calling bullshit on all of it.Tate Tracy is about to find out that I'm not the nice boy anymore. Nor am I a forgiving person. She might have been my best friend for eighteen years, but now, she's no one. And if I have to remind her of that, I will. ...

I was four when my parents gave me my first pair of skates.By six, I was hooked on hockey and couldn't get enough. At twelve, I had made a name for myself on the ice. And when I was fifteen, colleges were starting to take notice.Life was great—until it wasn't. When I was seventeen, my best friend died in my arms. Nothing made sense after that. Drinking turned to smoking. And smoking turned to pills. But no matter how high I got, I couldn't erase that night....