Ryan O'Connor

This project seeks to demonstrate how multiple sites of discursive production (political elite, media, and popular culture) interact to construct truths about a conflict that condition political possibility. Through breaking down the interaction between multiple sites of production within moments of discursive stability and by tracing major themes across multiple sites of discursive production this work will illuminate the processes by which the ‘truth’ for a conflict is produced, sustained, and challenged. Specifically, this project will be contesting two historical moments of ‘naturalness’ wherein a dominant discourse established a representational stability within American foreign policy in order to display how multiple sites of production work to produce, sustain, and challenge the political realities of military interventions. In doing so, the processes which impact the production of policy and public acceptance/condemnation for military interventions will be demonstrated.

This project seeks to demonstrate how multiple sites of discursive production (political elite, media, and popular culture) interact to construct truths about a conflict that condition political possibility. Through breaking down the interaction between multiple sites of production within moments of discursive stability and by tracing major themes across multiple sites of discursive production this work will illuminate the processes by which the ‘truth’ for a conflict is produced, sustained, and challenged. Specifically, this project will be contesting two historical moments of ‘naturalness’ wherein a dominant discourse established a representational stability within American foreign policy in order to display how multiple sites of production work to produce, sustain, and challenge the political realities of military interventions. In doing so, the processes which impact the production of policy and public acceptance/condemnation for military interventions will be demonstrated.

"We all want to win, but we must never cheat." In a world growing ever more competitive, people sometimes will do anything to win, even if it means sacrificing a friendship. In the third book in the Bobby the Bear series, Bobby the Bear and the Great Race explores the important themes of sportsmanship and integrity. Bobby and his forest friends decide to hold a community-wide race to find out who is the fastest animal in the forest, and the event turns dramatic. Tanya the Tiger learns in a showdown with Rachel Rabbit that winning is not always the most important thing. The results of the race will prove that playing fairly and honestly is the way to preserve trust in a friendship.

Some things are hard, and they take time to do right. In the second book in the series by Ryan O'Connor, Bobby the Bear teaches his friend Ollie the Owl an important lesson on perseverance using the skills of patience and cooperation. Bobby the Bear books focus on the themes of kindness, respect, positivity, and helping your neighbors. In each story, Bobby guides his forest friends through life's trials while learning some lessons of his own along the way. Teachers will appreciate the available free activities and exercises that satisfy basic common core curriculum requirements in math, science, and English language arts.

This book examines how de-radicalisation programmes have been portrayed in the media and details the role of public relations (PR) strategies employed by such programmes and Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) to create positive coverage of their work. CVE and de-radicalisation programmes have seen a significant rise in recent years and are now cornerstones of many countries’ counterterrorism strategies. Despite the increased importance of these tools to counter violent radicalisation leading to terrorism, they remain controversial and sometimes receive fierce public criticism and opposition. This work looks at how CVE and de-radicalisation programs are able to influence a country’s discourse on de-radicalisation, and how far governmental programs differ from non-governmental initiatives in terms of their PR strategies. The book also provides a theoretical basis of how the discourse on CVE is constructed in the media. As major case studies, this book examines the United Kingdom, Germany and Nigeria. For these countries, the authors have gathered and assessed roughly 3,000 newspaper articles on de-radicalisation programmes over a decade to provide an empirical base. This book will be of much interest to students of countering violent extremism, de-radicalisation, and terrorism studies.

A BOOK TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2022 FOR BBC, i-D MAGAZINE, AND FOYLES An unsparing story of modern-day Britain, told with brilliant flashes of humour and humanity. In a condemned tower block in Glasgow, the final occupant, a young man uplifted by angels and plagued by demons, searches for life in the voids: vacant flats that will never be lived in again. Out in the world, he stumbles into the city, moving from one surreal situation to the next, encountering others on the margins of society, embracing friendship and camaraderie wherever it is offered, grappling with who he is and what shape his future might take.

Join Bobby the Bear in the forest for the surprise of a lifetime and a lesson in the importance of true friendship. With captivating art and a carefully crafted message, Bobby's story is sure to delight children of all ages. Through his many stories, Bobby teaches his forest friends life lessons through kindness, respect, and positivity while learning some lessons of his own along the way. Teachers will appreciate the available free activities and exercises that satisfy basic common core curriculum requirements in math, science, and English language arts.

"After a couple of weeks, I found myself standing outside the voids in the middle of the night listening for human activity, for any sign of life at all. Voids are flats that have been vacated, that will never be lived in again. But there never were any signs of life. Only the wind whistling through vacant interiors." In a condemned tower block in Glasgow, residents slowly trickle away until a young man is left alone with only the angels and devils in his mind for company. Stumbling from one surreal situation to the next, he encounters others on the margins of society, finding friendship and camaraderie wherever it is offered, grappling with who he is and what shape his future might take. The Voids is an unsparing story of modern-day Britain, told with brilliant flashes of humor and humanity. "Reading The Voids is a sensory experience. There is never a word too much, it never lingers. There is tragedy but no melodrama. O'Connor's lightness of touch, the pace, economy, characters... are all perfect, all harmonious, poetic, but unadorned, even in the blackest of moments. Part of me is still in that high rise or watching the sunlight through the fire exit door at The Satellite. It is beautiful and perfect. I want to say this is a book God would like." --Paul Buchanan, The Blue Nile

This book examines how de-radicalisation programmes have been portrayed in the media and details the role of public relations (PR) strategies employed by such programmes and Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) to create positive coverage of their work. CVE and de-radicalisation programmes have seen a significant rise in recent years and are now cornerstones of many countries’ counterterrorism strategies. Despite the increased importance of these tools to counter violent radicalisation leading to terrorism, they remain controversial and sometimes receive fierce public criticism and opposition. This work looks at how CVE and de-radicalisation programs are able to influence a country’s discourse on de-radicalisation, and how far governmental programs differ from non-governmental initiatives in terms of their PR strategies. The book also provides a theoretical basis of how the discourse on CVE is constructed in the media. As major case studies, this book examines the United Kingdom, Germany and Nigeria. For these countries, the authors have gathered and assessed roughly 3,000 newspaper articles on de-radicalisation programmes over a decade to provide an empirical base. This book will be of much interest to students of countering violent extremism, de-radicalisation, and terrorism studies.

In The First Green Wave, Ryan O'Connor traces the rise of the environmental movement in Toronto, home to one of Canada's earliest and most dynamic communities of environmental activists, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. At the heart of the story is Pollution Probe, an organization founded in 1969 by students and faculty at the University of Toronto. Living up to its motto ("Do it!") in its first year of operation, Pollution Probe confronted Toronto's City Hall over its use of pesticides, Ontario Hydro over air pollution, and the detergent industry over pollution of the Great Lakes. The organization's successes inspired the founding of other environmental organizations across Canada and led to the development of initiatives now taken for granted, such as waste reduction and energy policy. This book describes the heady days of Canada's early environmental movement and examines the forces that reshaped the activist landscape in the 1980s.

In The First Green Wave, Ryan O'Connor traces the rise of the environmental movement in Toronto, home to one of Canada's earliest and most dynamic communities of environmental activists, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. At the heart of the story is Pollution Probe, an organization founded in 1969 by students and faculty at the University of Toronto. Living up to its motto ("Do it!") in its first year of operation, Pollution Probe confronted Toronto's City Hall over its use of pesticides, Ontario Hydro over air pollution, and the detergent industry over pollution of the Great Lakes. The organization's successes inspired the founding of other environmental organizations across Canada and led to the development of initiatives now taken for granted, such as waste reduction and energy policy. This book describes the heady days of Canada's early environmental movement and examines the forces that reshaped the activist landscape in the 1980s.