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How Homophobia Hurts Children: Nurturing Diversity at Home, at School, and in the Community
by Jean M BakerHomophobia hurts kids. Explore ways to minimize that trauma!This book illustrates the ways that children growing up to be gay are harmed by homophobia before anyone, including themselves, even knows they are gay. This compelling and sympathetic volume describes many simple ways that these children can be helped to understand that they can grow up to lead normal lives, with hopes and dreams for their futures. How Homophobia Hurts Children: Nurturing Diversity at Home, at School, and in the Community brings home the voices of these children. They describe their experiences to show how they came to the frightening recognition that they are part of a group held in disregard by the rest of society, even sometimes by their own families.Dr. Jean M. Baker, the author of How Homophobia Hurts Children: Nurturing Diversity at Home, at School, and in the Community is a clinical psychologist and the mother of two gay sons. In this book she shares her experience as both psychologist and mother to show how the myths and fallacies about homosexuality have influenced parents, schools, churches, and lawmakers to send children the cruel message that if they are gay, they are not normal and will not be able to lead normal lives. In this unique volume you'll find: a chapter on identity development, following the Eriksonian model interviews with high school students who are self-identified as gay firsthand descriptions of the harassment and victimization of those perceived as gay in schools research on how victimization at school affects gay youths a discussion of the relatively new phenomenon of gay/straight alliances (gay support groups or clubs) a chapter on transgender identity with interviews with four transsexual persons who describe their personal childhood experiences and their transition processThe focus of How Homophobia Hurts Children: Nurturing Diversity at Home, at School, and in the Community, centering on the social and familial experiences of children who will grow up to be gay but have not yet come to that realization, is unique. But beyond that, this book also explains how homophobia affects the attitudes of non-gay children by leading them to believe that it is acceptable to mistreat homosexuals. Finally, specific suggestions are made for changes in parenting and changes in school/classroom practices that could help prevent the harm that is inflicted upon so many of our gay children. Everyone who comes in contact with children on their way to becoming gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender adults needs to read this book!
Health and Elite Sport: Is High Performance Sport a Healthy Pursuit? (Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society)
by Joe Baker Parissa Safai Jessica Fraser-ThomasHealth and Elite Sport is the first book to critically examine the relationship between participation in high performance sport and health outcomes. Drawing on theory and empirical data from a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, developmental psychology, epidemiology, and physical education, the book explores the benefits and detriments of participation in elite sport for both individuals (athletes, coaches, spectators) and communities. Written by a team of leading international sport researchers, the book examines key issues including: Talent identification and young athletes Abuse in sport Positive youth development through sport Athlete health in periods of transition Health, sport and the family Health in professional sport The Olympics, Paralympics and public health Long term effects of participation in elite sport Highlighting the connections and contradictions between high performance sport and health, the book also discusses the clear and important implications for our socio-cultural, political and developmental understanding of sport. Health and Elite Sport is fascinating and important reading for all students and researchers with an interest in youth sport, sports development, sport policy, sports coaching, exercise and health, physical education, the sociology of sport, or the sociology of health.
Equality: From Theory to Action
by John Baker K. Lynch Sara Cantillon Judy WalshHow can egalitarian ideals be put into action? This ground-breaking book sets out a new interdisciplinary model for equality studies. Integrating normative questions about the ideal of equality with empirical issues about the nature of inequality, it applies a new framework to a wide range of contemporary inequalities. Proposing far-reaching changes in the economy, politics, law, education and research practices, it sets out innovative political strategies for achieving those aims. It is an invaluable resource for both academics and activists.
Health and Elite Sport: Is High Performance Sport a Healthy Pursuit? (Routledge Research in Sport, Culture and Society)
by Joseph Baker Parissa Safai Jessica Fraser-ThomasHealth and Elite Sport is the first book to critically examine the relationship between participation in high performance sport and health outcomes. Drawing on theory and empirical data from a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, developmental psychology, epidemiology, and physical education, the book explores the benefits and detriments of participation in elite sport for both individuals (athletes, coaches, spectators) and communities. Written by a team of leading international sport researchers, the book examines key issues including: Talent identification and young athletes Abuse in sport Positive youth development through sport Athlete health in periods of transition Health, sport and the family Health in professional sport The Olympics, Paralympics and public health Long term effects of participation in elite sport Highlighting the connections and contradictions between high performance sport and health, the book also discusses the clear and important implications for our socio-cultural, political and developmental understanding of sport. Health and Elite Sport is fascinating and important reading for all students and researchers with an interest in youth sport, sports development, sport policy, sports coaching, exercise and health, physical education, the sociology of sport, or the sociology of health.
The Trouble with Post-Blackness
by Houston Baker Jr. K. Merinda SimmonsAn America in which the color of one's skin no longer matters would be unprecedented. With the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, that future suddenly seemed possible. Obama's rise reflects a nation of fluid populations and fortunes, a society in which a biracial individual could be embraced as a leader by all. Yet complicating this vision are shifting demographics, rapid redefinitions of race, and the instant invention of brands, trends, and identities that determine how we think about ourselves and the place of others. This collection of original essays confronts the premise, advanced by black intellectuals, that the Obama administration marked the start of a "post-racial" era in the United States. While the "transcendent" and post-racial black elite declare victory over America's longstanding codes of racial exclusion and racist violence, their evidence relies largely on their own salaries and celebrity. These essays strike at the certainty of those who insist that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are now independent of skin color and race in America. They argue, signify, and testify that "post-blackness" is a problematic mythology masquerading as fact—a dangerous new "race science" motivated by black transcendentalist individualism. Through rigorous analysis, these essays expose the idea of a post-racial nation as a pleasurable entitlement for a black elite, enabling them to reject the ethics and urgency of improving the well-being of the black majority.
Building Community in Buildings: The Design and Culture of Dynamic Workplaces
by Ken Baker Jana M. KempBuilding Community in Buildings takes us on a fascinating journey through workplaces large and small, old and new, traditional and contemporary, to explore the dynamic relationships between people and the structures in which they work. Noting that a child born today will spend 90 percent of his or her life inside, Jana Kemp and Ken Baker integrate insights from management and building design to reveal new understandings about workplace productivity and performance. Showcasing dozens of examples—from office buildings to libraries to hospitals—the authors highlight innovative practies that utilize space to promote creativity and collaboration, improve morale and motivation, and ensure employee health and safety. Featuring over a dozen photographs, practical recommendations, and the tools to conduct a workplace design survey in your own organization, Building Community in Buildings ultimately demonstrates that by investing in spaces that support people needs, companies will strengthen bottom-line results.Building Community in Buildings takes us on a fascinating journey through workplaces large and small, old and new, traditional and contemporary, to explore the dynamic relationships between people and the structures in which they work. Consider that in the 1950s, average North Americans spent approximately 50 percent of their time in buildings, compared to a child born today, who will spend 90 percent of his or her life inside. Clearly and increasingly, our social and cultural relationships are deeply influenced by the physical spaces in which they are created.Jana Kemp and Ken Baker integrate insights from management and building design to reveal new understandings about workplace productivity and performance. Showcasing dozens of examples—from the redesign of the Hood River Library in Oregon (with input from front-line employees) to the creation of open, naturally-lit spaces in Lockheed Building 157 (increasing employee productivity by 15%), the authors highlight innovative practices that utilize space to promote creativity and collaboration, improve morale and motivation, and ensure employee health and safety. They also explore the pros and cons of virtual workplaces, in which people are connected electronically but not physically, and trace the impact and influences of such trends as the green building movement. Featuring over a dozen photographs, practical recommendations, and the tools to conduct a workplace design survey in your own organization, Building Community in Buildings ultimately demonstrates that by investing in spaces that support people needs, companies will strengthen bottom-line results.
Becoming and Being a Camp Counsellor: Discourse, Power Relations and Emotions (Leisure Studies in a Global Era)
by Mandi BakerThis book explores the complexities of the recreational summer camp experience and its reliance on the expertise and emotion work of young people. Drawing on post-structural theory, Baker illustrates the discourses, power relations and emotional demands that shape camp counsellor employment experiences and well-being. Through analysis of everyday experiences and interactions, Baker unpicks the power nexus between counsellors, campers, peers and camp management, offering a deeper understanding of camp counsellor employment and the challenges for camp employees and employers. As such, this book raises a call for camp researchers and industry leaders to engage in rethinking how camp counsellor roles are understood, shaped and embodied, and how they might be ethically supported through reflexive management practices. Becoming and Being a Camp Counsellor will be of interest to scholars and students across the fields of leisure, outdoor recreation, youth studies, and sociology.
Families, Labour and Love: Family diversity in a changing world
by Maureen BakerWe think of our family life as very personal, but in fact it is shaped by influences well beyond our control. Families, Labour and Love identifies the ways in which family and personal life in three 'settler' societies - Australia, New Zealand and Canada - has been shaped by colonisation, immigration, globalisation, demographic changes, law and policy.Baker shows that these three countries, each a former colony, developed similar family trends and similar family policies. Strongly gendered patterns of paid and unpaid work played a major role in family life. The family practices of indigenous people were largely overlooked, as were those of recent immigrant groups. However local conditions also produced significant differences in family experiences among the three countries.Richly illustrated with examples, comparative data and textual sources, Families, Labour and Love provides a broad-ranging analysis of the family which will appeal to students, researchers and policy-makers.Maureen Baker outlines with great clarity the diversity of families and the way in which they are shaped by historical and cultural forces. The focus on Australia, New Zealand and Canada is not only refreshing but throws into sharp relief the impact on contemporary families of the colonial experience, industrialisation, large scale immigration and globalisation.David de Vaus, La Trobe University
Families, Labour and Love: Family diversity in a changing world
by Maureen BakerWe think of our family life as very personal, but in fact it is shaped by influences well beyond our control. Families, Labour and Love identifies the ways in which family and personal life in three 'settler' societies - Australia, New Zealand and Canada - has been shaped by colonisation, immigration, globalisation, demographic changes, law and policy.Baker shows that these three countries, each a former colony, developed similar family trends and similar family policies. Strongly gendered patterns of paid and unpaid work played a major role in family life. The family practices of indigenous people were largely overlooked, as were those of recent immigrant groups. However local conditions also produced significant differences in family experiences among the three countries.Richly illustrated with examples, comparative data and textual sources, Families, Labour and Love provides a broad-ranging analysis of the family which will appeal to students, researchers and policy-makers.Maureen Baker outlines with great clarity the diversity of families and the way in which they are shaped by historical and cultural forces. The focus on Australia, New Zealand and Canada is not only refreshing but throws into sharp relief the impact on contemporary families of the colonial experience, industrialisation, large scale immigration and globalisation.David de Vaus, La Trobe University
Triangulating Methodological Approaches in Corpus Linguistic Research (Routledge Advances in Corpus Linguistics)
by Paul Baker Jesse EgbertContemporary corpus linguists use a wide variety of methods to study discourse patterns. This volume provides a systematic comparison of various methodological approaches in corpus linguistics through a series of parallel empirical studies that use a single corpus dataset to answer the same overarching research question. Ten contributing experts each use a different method to address the same broadly framed research question: In what ways does language use in online Q+A forum responses differ across four world English varieties (India, Philippines, United Kingdom, and United States)? Contributions will be based on analysis of the same 400,000 word corpus from online Q+A forums, and contributors employ methodologies including corpus-based discourse analysis, audience perceptions, Multi-Dimensional analysis, pragmatic analysis, and keyword analysis. In their introductory and concluding chapters, the volume editors compare and contrast the findings from each method and assess the degree to which ‘triangulating’ multiple approaches may provide a more nuanced understanding of a research question, with the aim of identifying a set of complementary approaches which could arguably take into account analytical blind spots. Baker and Egbert also consider the importance of issues such as researcher subjectivity, type of annotation, the limitations and affordances of different corpus tools, the relative strengths of qualitative and quantitative approaches, and the value of considering data or information beyond the corpus. Rather than attempting to find the ‘best’ approach, the focus of the volume is on how different corpus linguistic methodologies may complement one another, and raises suggestions for further methodological studies which use triangulation to enrich corpus-related research.
Triangulating Methodological Approaches in Corpus Linguistic Research (Routledge Advances in Corpus Linguistics)
by Paul Baker Jesse EgbertContemporary corpus linguists use a wide variety of methods to study discourse patterns. This volume provides a systematic comparison of various methodological approaches in corpus linguistics through a series of parallel empirical studies that use a single corpus dataset to answer the same overarching research question. Ten contributing experts each use a different method to address the same broadly framed research question: In what ways does language use in online Q+A forum responses differ across four world English varieties (India, Philippines, United Kingdom, and United States)? Contributions will be based on analysis of the same 400,000 word corpus from online Q+A forums, and contributors employ methodologies including corpus-based discourse analysis, audience perceptions, Multi-Dimensional analysis, pragmatic analysis, and keyword analysis. In their introductory and concluding chapters, the volume editors compare and contrast the findings from each method and assess the degree to which ‘triangulating’ multiple approaches may provide a more nuanced understanding of a research question, with the aim of identifying a set of complementary approaches which could arguably take into account analytical blind spots. Baker and Egbert also consider the importance of issues such as researcher subjectivity, type of annotation, the limitations and affordances of different corpus tools, the relative strengths of qualitative and quantitative approaches, and the value of considering data or information beyond the corpus. Rather than attempting to find the ‘best’ approach, the focus of the volume is on how different corpus linguistic methodologies may complement one another, and raises suggestions for further methodological studies which use triangulation to enrich corpus-related research.
Influences on Human Development: A Longitudinal Perspective (Longitudinal Research in the Behavioral, Social and Medical Studies #4)
by R.L. Baker B.R. Mednick University of CaliforniaThis book is the product of the efforts of a number of people dating back to 1956, when Professor T. Kemp, then head of the University Institute for Human Genetics in Copenhagen, proposed a study on the importance of x-ray irradiation in pregnant women. Under the guidance of Professors Dyhre Trolle and Preben Plum of the Uni versity Hospital in Copenhagen, the investigation was expanded to deal with prenatal and perinatal factors of importance for the development of the infant. The corpus of medical data that resulted from these efforts was collected and organized by Drs. Bengt Zachau-Christiansen and Aage Villumsen. The project's birth cohort included all deliveries that took place at the State University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, over a two-year period from 1959 to 1961. As part of the perinatal study, the mothers and children were subjected to regular and thorough medical examinations during pregnancy and through the first year of the child's life. The detailed data from these examinations, as well as information about treatment administered, were systematically collected and coded.
Social Tragedy: The Power of Myth, Ritual, and Emotion in the New Media Ecology (Cultural Sociology)
by S. BakerA social tragedy is a collective representation of injustice. Baker demonstrates how social tragedies facilitate moral action and discusses a series of contemporary case studies – the death of Princess Diana, Zinédine Zidane's 2006 World Cup scandal, KONY 2012 – to examine their social and political effects.
Questioning Care in Higher Education: Resisting Definitions as Radical
by Sally Baker Rachel BurkeThis book explores questions of care in higher education. Using Joan Tronto’s seven signs that institutions are not caring well, the authors examine whether students and staff consider universities to be caring institutions. As such, they outline how universities systematically, structurally, and actively ‘undercare’ when it comes to supporting students and staff, a phenomenon which was amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on scholarly ideas from the sociology of care, higher education, social justice, and feminist critique, and in dialogue with empirical insights gathered with people who work and study in universities in Australia, South Africa, and the UK, the book questions why people care, as well as why adopting a caring position in higher education can be viewed as radical. The authors conclude by asking what we can do to counter that view by thinking carefully about the purpose, power, and plurality of care, before imagining how we can create more caring universities.
Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879
by Sir Samuel White BakerCyprus was placed under British control in 1878 as a result of the Cyprus Convention, which granted control of the island to Britain in return for British support of the Ottoman Empire in the Russian-Turkish War. Little was known about the country at the time and this work is the result of a visit by Baker, an English explorer and author, in 1879.
That Behaviour Book: The simple truth about teaching children
by Stephen BakerWhat kind of teacher are you? What values, beliefs and principles do successful teachers have and how do they sustain these in the face of challenging pupil behaviour?In this timely book, Stephen Baker contends that rigid punishment systems weaponize young people's defiance against them and that punishment doesn't work. He believes that teachers need to take responsibility for behaviour and to lead it, not just 'manage' it, that we need to love the kids (even if we don't like them), that children are people, thatweare an event intheirlives, and that teaching is a relationship-based activity.With each chapter followed by engaging 'takeaway tasks',That Behaviour Bookwill allow teachers to rapidly improve both their practice and their relationships with pupils and classes. The book looks at the values that will sustain you as a teacher, how routines will help you teach better and what 'positive expectations' really mean, making child-centred relational practice easy to apply in the classroom. Teachers will have a more realistic appreciation of their own situation and of the context in which they teach. In short, this book will help teachers learn how to get the very best out of their pupils.That Behaviour Bookis an essential guide for both the beginner and the more experienced teacher. Its unique tone makes it an indispensable companion for the busy teacher, providing a sense of connection, challenge and reassurance all at once. Stephen Baker's anecdotes, drawn from his years as a pupil, teacher and trainer pack an emotional punch and are often hilarious.Suitable for all teachers.
A School Without Sanctions: A new approach to behaviour management
by Steven Baker Mick SimpsonA School Without Sanctions offers an innovative approach to behaviour management in schools, prioritising compassion and behaviour modification over punishment. Drawing on their award-winning methods, Steven Baker and Mick Simpson explain why challenging behaviour occurs and provide a toolbox of non-confrontational approaches that will benefit the whole school community.When Steven and Mick set out to transform their school's approach to behaviour, it changed everything. With the help of Dr Alice Jones Bartoli at Goldsmiths, they developed a sanction-free approach in their special school for boys with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties. Far from descending into anarchy, lessons began to improve and student–staff relationships flourished. The school is now rated outstanding in all areas, and more importantly, student outcomes have been remarkable.Steven and Mick apply this experience, as well as their work in pupil referral units and young offender institutions, to explore their strategies for managing behaviour without the need for zero tolerance, discussing exclusions, trauma, motivation and engagement along the way. Rooted in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, this book will revolutionise the way you think about behaviour management, help boost student mental health and academic achievement, and protect teacher wellbeing.
A School Without Sanctions: A new approach to behaviour management
by Steven Baker Mick Simpson'I believe this book will change the conversation in schools on children's behaviour.' - Dr Luna CentifantiA School Without Sanctions offers an innovative approach to behaviour management in schools, prioritising compassion and behaviour modification over punishment. Drawing on their award-winning methods, Steven Baker and Mick Simpson explain why challenging behaviour occurs and provide a toolbox of non-confrontational approaches that will benefit the whole school community.When Steven and Mick set out to transform their school's approach to behaviour, it changed everything. With the help of Dr Alice Jones Bartoli at Goldsmiths, they developed a sanction-free approach in their special school for boys with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties. Far from descending into anarchy, lessons began to improve and student–staff relationships flourished. The school is now rated outstanding in all areas, and more importantly, student outcomes have been remarkable.Steven and Mick apply this experience, as well as their work in pupil referral units and young offender institutions, to explore their strategies for managing behaviour without the need for zero tolerance, discussing exclusions, trauma, motivation and engagement along the way. Rooted in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, this book will revolutionise the way you think about behaviour management, help boost student mental health and academic achievement, and protect teacher wellbeing.
Handbook of Intuition Research as Practice (Handbooks of Business and Management Research as Practice series)
by Ted BakerHow can intuition research inform practice? As the use of intuition in business has become more widely accepted, companies struggle to understand how to use this additional resource efficiently, while corporate trainers and university educators lack tools to develop it as a skill. This truly international Handbook provides relevant answers with: • chapters by academics and practitioners, written in a concise, digestible format to make it accessible to non-academic readers • empirical studies from multiple industry/service sectors that demonstrate an integrated use of intuition and analysis in decision making • studies from industry and education that demonstrate how to develop intuition, including a ground-breaking research in problem solving • non-Western perspectives illustrated on case studies from Japan and China • use of language protocols/methods to bring intuition into our awareness • new research into group/collective intuition (based on language analysis and quantum physics) • research related to sensing and sense making. Due to its focus on bridging theory and practice, the Handbook is of value not only to academics and organizational researchers but also to industry professionals, corporate trainers and university educators who search for answers on how to incorporate intuition into a common skill set. Accessible in style, it will also appeal to educated business readers.
The End of the Job Description: Shifting From a Job-Focus To a Performance-Focus
by Tim Baker'That's not my job.' If you don't want your employees to say that, why do you start your relationship by giving them a narrow task and competency focused description of their job? We need people to fulfil many different roles at work yes the need to do their job, but they also need to contribute positive energy, collaborate, and take personal reasonability for innovation and personal development. How do they fit into a traditional job description? It is futile persevering with the job description borne out of the scientific management movement one hundred years ago. The world of work is vastly different to the assembly lines of the Ford Motor Company of the early twentieth-century. Building on the phenomenal success of The End of the Performance Review, Baker examines four essential 'Non-Job' roles that all employees must fulfil and shows how to create meaningful role descriptions that can help you recruit better people and enable them to deliver better results.
Conversations at Work: Promoting a Culture of Conversation in the Changing Workplace (Palgrave Pocket Consultants)
by Tim Baker Aubrey WarrenOrganizations are about conversations. For any organization to achieve its goals, people need to interact and those interactions require dialogue and conversation. Yet, thanks to technology, we seem to be having fewer genuine conversations. This book seeks to change this, through "how to skills" and wider cultural change advice.
Embracing Risk: The Changing Culture of Insurance and Responsibility
by Tom Baker Jonathan SimonFor much of the twentieth century, industrialized nations addressed social problems, such as workers' compensation benefits and social welfare programs, in terms of spreading risk. But in recent years a new approach has emerged: using risk both as a way to conceive of and address social problems and as an incentive to reduce individual claims on collective resources. Embracing Risk explores this new approach from a variety of perspectives. The first part of the book focuses on the interplay between risk and insurance in various historical and social contexts. The second part examines how risk is used to govern fields outside the realm of insurance, from extreme sports to policing, mental health institutions, and international law. Offering an original approach to risk, insurance, and responsibility, the provocative and wide-ranging essays in Embracing Risk demonstrate that risk has moved well beyond its origins in the insurance trade to become a central organizing principle of social and cultural life.
Embracing Risk: The Changing Culture of Insurance and Responsibility
by Tom Baker Jonathan SimonFor much of the twentieth century, industrialized nations addressed social problems, such as workers' compensation benefits and social welfare programs, in terms of spreading risk. But in recent years a new approach has emerged: using risk both as a way to conceive of and address social problems and as an incentive to reduce individual claims on collective resources. Embracing Risk explores this new approach from a variety of perspectives. The first part of the book focuses on the interplay between risk and insurance in various historical and social contexts. The second part examines how risk is used to govern fields outside the realm of insurance, from extreme sports to policing, mental health institutions, and international law. Offering an original approach to risk, insurance, and responsibility, the provocative and wide-ranging essays in Embracing Risk demonstrate that risk has moved well beyond its origins in the insurance trade to become a central organizing principle of social and cultural life.
Embracing Risk: The Changing Culture of Insurance and Responsibility
by Tom Baker Jonathan SimonFor much of the twentieth century, industrialized nations addressed social problems, such as workers' compensation benefits and social welfare programs, in terms of spreading risk. But in recent years a new approach has emerged: using risk both as a way to conceive of and address social problems and as an incentive to reduce individual claims on collective resources. Embracing Risk explores this new approach from a variety of perspectives. The first part of the book focuses on the interplay between risk and insurance in various historical and social contexts. The second part examines how risk is used to govern fields outside the realm of insurance, from extreme sports to policing, mental health institutions, and international law. Offering an original approach to risk, insurance, and responsibility, the provocative and wide-ranging essays in Embracing Risk demonstrate that risk has moved well beyond its origins in the insurance trade to become a central organizing principle of social and cultural life.
America's Crisis of Values: Reality and Perception (PDF)
by Wayne E. BakerIs America bitterly divided? Has America lost its traditional values? Many politicians and religious leaders believe so, as do the majority of Americans, based on public opinion polls taken over the past several years. But is this crisis of values real? This book explores the moral terrain of America today, analyzing the widely held perception that the nation is in moral decline. It looks at the question from a variety of angles, examining traditional values, secular values, religious values, family values, economic values, and others. Using unique data from the World Values Surveys, the largest systematic attempt ever made to document attitudes, values, and beliefs around the world, this book systematically evaluates the perceived crisis of values by comparing America's values with those of over 60 other nations. The results are surprising. The evidence shows overwhelmingly that America has not lost its traditional values, that the nation compares favorably with most other societies, and that the culture war is largely a myth. The gap between reality and perception does not represent mass ignorance of the facts or an overblown moral panic, Baker contends. Rather, the widespread perception of a crisis of values is a real and legitimate interpretation of life in a society that is in the middle of a fundamental transformation and that contains growing cultural contradictions. Instead of posing a problem, the author argues, this crisis rhetoric serves the valuable social function of reminding us of what it means to be American. As such, it preserves the ideological foundation of the nation.