Cork University Press

Leadership With Consciousness

In Leadership With Consciousness Tony Humphreys posits that economic factors alone are not sufficient to explain the worldwide recession that started in 2008; indeed, he graphically points out that those economic processes are always enmeshed with powerful, often unconscious defensive emotional processes.

It is not a system – a work organisation – a bank, a multinational organisation, a financial institution – that perpetrates unethical, unfair, arrogant, superior and aggressive strategies – it is individuals. It has been a very cleverly designed unconscious strategy to blame the system – be it government, health services, church, work organisations, schools and colleges – for society’s ills. But if truth be told –if truth comes to consciousness – it was individual politicians, bankers, leaders, pope, cardinals, bishops, priests that have brought our country to its knees spiritually, socially and economically.

The book sets out to facilitate leaders in this mature process by showing why and how unconscious defences are created, how they can be identified and how conscious resolutions can be found. When leaders lead with consciousness – when they are mature – everybody in society benefits.

Further details http://corkuniversitypress.com/Leadership_With_Consciousness/352/

Dearbhail McDonald, Legal Editor The Irish Independent, Launches Abuse

Dearbhail McDonald Legal Editor, The Irish Independent, launched Abuse: Domestic Violence, Workplace and School Bullying.

 The book examines abuse (not clerical or institutional abuse). It explores boundaries and how abuse is an invasion of boundaries. It explores physical, emotional, verbal and financial abuse. The book looks at the abusive personality type, and examines workplace and school bullying. Child abuse is explored, and the issue of staying in or leaving an abusive environment.

 

 

 

 

 

The question of what happens if one leaves and if it is possible to change an abusive personality is examined. A client’s story is contained in the book and this gives a human aspect to the exploration. The majority of relationships are healthy, and abuse can never thrive in a healthy relationship. Love is the basis of all healthy relationships. However, abuse is common and universal. It is perpetrated by both men and women. It is found in every social, cultural, economic and racial background. Professionals, white-collar workers, religious leaders, well-educated people are just as likely to be abusive as any other.

This book examines five types of abuse - physical, emotional/psychological/mental, verbal, sexual, and financial/economic. Generally, they will be explored in the context of intimate relationships. Bullying in the workplace, which can contain all of these types of abuse, is also explored. The book will focus on adult victims and highlight the harrowing behaviours of abusers. However, because of its importance, there is also a chapter on child abuse. Abuse is driven by toxic shame and rage, and is engraved in the biology of the brain. It is also the offspring of childhood conditioning and can be a learned behaviour, underpinned by irrational thoughts, beliefs and values. Driven by these, abusers use power and control to humiliate the victims, trample on their boundaries, and exert control over them. Among other aspects, this book will explore how the abuser tries to control the victim’s time, their material resources; controlling by body language and gestures, by confusing the victim and defining their reality, by blaming, and by reducing the victim’s status through demeaning behaviours, violence, sexual control, or perhaps financial manipulation.

Jim O’Shea is a counsellor in Tipperary. He is the author of When A Child Dies, Footsteps of a Grieving Family (Vertias, 2008)

Peter Dowdall, Cork University Press author, has new TV series

CUP author Peter Dowdall is presenting How to Create a Garden on RTE 1.  Based in the historic gardens of Fota House in Cork, How to Create a Garden is a new series where in real time and working to a strict budget, two gardeners will create two new gardens from scratch.

The garden plots are the size of the average Irish back garden, with one of them favouring fruit and vegetables, while the other plot will be of more interest to those who like their shrubs and flowers.

With six programmes in the spring and six in the summer, the series will lead viewers step by step through the process of creating their own garden and show viewers everything from how to plant seeds to how to lay a patio.

Presented by experienced gardeners Peter Dowdall and Kitty Scully each project will be broken down into simple steps, and handy-man Sean O'Neill will also be on-hand to advise viewers on how to approach some of the trickier aspects of creating your own garden.

 

 Gardening with Peter Dowdall: The Importance of the Natural World

 

Charlie Wilkins reviews Gardening with Peter Dowdall: The Importance of the Natural World

Ireland's well know gardener Charlie Wilkins reviews Gardening with Peter Dowdall: The Importance of the Natural World.

It took me just a single night to get fully acquainted with the style and content of ‘Gardening with Peter Dowdall’- the latest from one of Cork’s best-known gardeners. One night in which to fully realise how cleverly he conveys information (and the feelings they evoke) through the medium of words. I for one should know that it is all too easy to do the job inadequately. Something more is expected of good garden writing if it is to jump up and seize the reader’s imagination. It is hard to put into words exactly what this is but Peter has found exactly what is needed. Many garden writers have scripted books which suffer from too many adjectives, too much sentimentality and not enough easily understood hard facts plainly written. With Peter’s book you only have to read the dust-jacket synopsis, to see that the tome uses straightforward, no-nonsense language and advice, along with excellent photography showing the practicalities of garden in all its aspects. ‘Gardening with Peter Dowdall’ covers every aspect of modern gardening from architectural plants to evergreens, and on to herbs, fruit, vegetables and container gardening. The book also makes mention of Peter’s illness. Having fought a ten year battle with cancer, he remembers the view from his hospital bed, the changing seasons, the way plants behave, and the shortness of life itself. He has written in that kind of style and reading the sentences therein makes me want to put a line beneath all his suggestions (for living and gardening)for not alone consideration , but re-reading over and over. Pick up a copy and inspect its content; the sidebars, boxed-out sections, highlighted panels, photography, format and presentation. I recommend it in advance, but know you are really going to like it! Gardening with Peter Dowdall is published by Cork University Press and priced at €25
 

Gardening with Peter Dowdall: The Importance of the Natural World is published today

Just to let you know that Gardening with Peter Dowdall: The Importance of the Natural World is published today.

This highly illustrated book in colour  is ideal for  readers interested in gardening or for those who would like to get involved in the 'grow your own' movement. The author is Peter Dowdall  who owns the Dunsland Garden Centre in Cork. He has been TV3's gardening expert for the past 4 years and appeared on RTE's Corrigan's City Farm. He has also been involved with two Silver Gilt medal-winning gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show in London.

 

ISBN 978-185594-215-8, Hardback, €25 £23, 260 x 198mm, 192pp 

This book aims to share with readers the basic tools, techniques and principles of how to create and maintain a beautiful garden through Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Straightforward, no-nonsense language and advice, along with simple photography showing the practicalities of gardening will advise budding gardeners on how to build their garden from a naked skeleton through to a beautifully garbed wonderland. The book will give people a greater understanding of the part that gardening and nature plays in their lives, in their health and in their general wellbeing.

The book is separated into horticultural sections - architectural plants, evergreens, seasonal plants, contrast & textural plants, herbs, fruit & vegetables, and container gardening - so whether the reader is starting their garden from scratch, or merely looking for advice on annuals or the edible garden, they will find what they are looking for easily. Each section is covered from the point of view of choosing the right plant for the right space, the planting itself, and maintaining the plants through the seasons. Each section will also contain boxed-out sections, or sidebars that highlight interesting and useful information for the gardener, e.g. soil science, composting etc. Everything will be laid out in layman's terms and use easy to follow instruction. Each section will be prose - with any step by step detailing separated out into sidebars, boxes or offset paragraphs to give readers an easy to use reference.

There is also a human interest story in the book  because Peter Dowdall had a ten-year battle with cancer  that gave him an entirely new view on life and living and the vital link between himself and  the nature around him. It was nature that helped him to heal; from the tree that he could see through his hospital room window that taught  him to appreciate each passing season, to the herbs that naturally eased his discomfort.

Further details www.corkuniversitypress.com

Skirmish continues between some U.S. and U.K. publishers

In the latest round of skirmishing between some U.S. and U.K. publishers over sales in continental Europe, five European booksellers and distributors in Lisbon, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Paris have sent an open letter to publishers in the U.S. and U.K. opposing British efforts to obtain exclusive rights to sell English-language books in Europe, today's New York Times reported. (The issue was the topic of a major panel at BEA.)

The letter urged all publishers involved "to strongly reject any effort to restrict competition in the market," adding, "In a global market, this would be an atavistic move because it means a return to protectionism and an attack on cultural diversity."

The Paris bookseller who signed the letter, Odile Hellier, owner of Village Voice Bookshop, commented: "My customers are extremely sensitive to the American or English paperbacks. Americans love to buy the U.K. editions here because they don't see them at home and vice versa. The U.K. people love to see American jackets. It's the diversity which is important."

From Shelf Awareness

Viva la Book; Updike's BEA Speech Podcast

John Updike's impassioned, widely-discussed BEA speech about the importance of the good old fashioned print and paper book is being delivered to the masses in a very 21^st century manner. BookExpo announced yesterday that Updike's speech, which was delivered at the Book & Author Breakfast on May 20^th, will be podcast via the company's Web site. BookExpo (a division of Reed Business, which also owns PW) has made Updike's words­his reference to books and booksellers as "the citadels of light" made their way into much of the national press coverage of the book fest­available at www.bookexpoamerica.com or at www.bookexpocast.com

From Publishers Weekly

Frankfurt admits defeat in London book fair battle

The Frankfurt Book Fair has claimed a victory, despite losing out to Reed Exhibitions in the battle to put on a London book fair next April. Juergen Boos, c.e.o. of the Frankfurt Book Fair, said the organisation was "very pleased that [its] principal goal--a book fair for London in a central venue--has been achieved." But it has abandoned its effort to run a London fair.

Boos accused EC&O Venues, which runs Earls Court and Olympia, of reneging on its deal with Frankfurt. He said: "We believed we had an agreement with EC&O Venues which was subsequently broken by them. We are therefore no longer able to pursue The Book Fair, Earl's Court, London 2007. We are currently evaluating with our lawyers whether legal action can be taken."

Boos said that Frankfurt would continue to "work towards a greater international presence in the book fair world". Frankfurt's Cape Town fair kicks off in June.

Frankfurt announced last week that it was to set up a rival fair after Reed's move from Olympia to ExCel was heavily criticised. The Book Fair Earl´s Court was due to run from Monday 16th to Wednesday 18th April 2007. But Reed announced yesterday that it had reached an agreement with EC&O Venues to take over the slot.

Jeremy Probert, a spokesman for Earls Court, denied to the Independent that it had broken any agreement: "Do you see the words 'signed an agreement' anywhere on the Frankfurt press release?" He told Bloomberg that negotiations between Frankfurt and EC&O Venues, owner of Earls Court and Olympia, "came to nothing". He added: "Obviously, we are sorry to disappoint the Germans but we do have a long-standing relationship with Reed Exhibitions."

Most of the UK's leading trade publishing groups threw their weight behind the new Book Fair Earls Court, including Hachette Livre, Random House, HarperCollins, Penguin and Macmillan. But no contracts had been signed--with publishers signaling that it was the venue not the provider, which was the problem.

PA president Stephen Page said of Earls Court: "The location feels much better, and it's culturally much more representative of the trade. The show needs to be in London, and Earls Court is 10 minutes from the best restaurants and the centre." Agent Stella Kane, whose anger over LBF's move to ExCeL prompted her to launch a rival rights centre in Mayfair for 2007, was also positive about it: "[Earls Court] is a fantastic alternative."

From The Bookseller

publishers contemplate the £30 hardback

Last Christmas was a discounting bloodbath on the high street, when the big chains traded margin for share. Average selling prices tumbled to near or below 50% off on key titles, and everyone was left wondering how much further it could go.

Although it seems almost indecent to think of next Christmas so soon after Easter, publishers are already formulating strategies to sidestep last year's margin massacre.

Their solution is frighteningly simple: charge more for the books in the first place. So the day of the £30 hardback is almost with us, enabling retailers to offer a 66% discount and still sell the book for £10.

Perhaps a really far-sighted publisher will conceive a £40 hardback, offering retailers the tantalising prospect of a 75% discount. But why stop at £40? We are entering, as one senior retailer puts it, Cloud-cuckoo-land.

LBF 2007 may open on Monday

The London Book Fair could start on a Monday next year, abandoning its traditional weekend start.

The 2007 show is currently scheduled to take place at ExCeL from Sunday 4th March until Tuesday 6th. But organiser Reed Exhibitions is canvassing exhibitors about moving it to Monday 5th March through to Wednesday 7th. It said initial feedback indicated the change would be made; a final decision will be taken in the next two weeks.

The fair traditionally started on a Sunday to enable retailers to attend, but many bookshops are now also open on Sundays.

Reed's group exhibitions director Alistair Burtenshaw said: "There are certain groups who would like to consider a move to Monday, and there are certain groups who would like us to stay as we are. We always carry out extensive exhibitor research and are waiting for the results. If the majority of people would like to move the dates, we will see if there is anything we can do for next year."

From The Bookseller