Simon Atkinson - Böcker

The 2010 General Election represented a pathbreaking contest in Political Communication. The TV debates changed forever the feel of the campaign. This book brings together key commentators, analysts and polling experts to present readers with a unique and valuable insight into the development of political communication in British Politics.

The 2010 General Election represented a pathbreaking contest in Political Communication. The TV debates changed forever the feel of the campaign. This book brings together key commentators, analysts and polling experts to present readers with a unique and valuable insight into the development of political communication in British Politics.

This work examines political communications in British general elections. Like its predecessors it has a dual purpose: first, to make available the reflections of those who participated in it; and, second, to provide analysis of the media, the parties and public opinion polls in the campaign.

Krishnamacharya on Kundalini explores a distinctive teaching of 'the father of modern yoga', T. Krishnamacharya. Whereas most yoga traditions teach that kundalini is a serpentine energy that rises, Krishnamacharya defined it differently. To him, kundalini is a serpentine blockage which prevents prana (breath or life-force) from rising and which represents avidya (spiritual ignorance). Simon Atkinson draws from over 20 years of study and practice under teachers following Krishnamacharya. He combines analysis of quotations from yoga workshops with a detailed study of traditional Sanskrit texts. He traces the textual origins of Krishnamacharya's position to two sects of Visnu-worshiping temple priests, and shows how it is compatible with a stream of South Asian thought where snakes represent something to be overcome. Atkinson challenges claims that Krishnamacharya's position can be found in his religious tradition of Srivaisnavism. He questions the tradition's reliance on textual sources, showing how the coherence of Krishnamacharya's position can only be maintained by employing elaborate arguments and rejecting texts that teach otherwise. Atkinson also explores how Krishnamacharya's teaching on kundalini influences how yoga is practised. He argues that Krishnamacharya's position is best viewed as a model for experience that guides practice.

Krishnamacharya on Kundalini explores a distinctive teaching of 'the father of modern yoga', T. Krishnamacharya. Whereas most yoga traditions teach that kundalini is a serpentine energy that rises, Krishnamacharya defined it differently. To him, kundalini is a serpentine blockage which prevents prana (breath or life-force) from rising and which represents avidya (spiritual ignorance). Simon Atkinson draws from over 20 years of study and practice under teachers following Krishnamacharya. He combines analysis of quotations from yoga workshops with a detailed study of traditional Sanskrit texts. He traces the textual origins of Krishnamacharya's position to two sects of Visnu-worshiping temple priests, and shows how it is compatible with a stream of South Asian thought where snakes represent something to be overcome. Atkinson challenges claims that Krishnamacharya's position can be found in his religious tradition of Srivaisnavism. He questions the tradition's reliance on textual sources, showing how the coherence of Krishnamacharya's position can only be maintained by employing elaborate arguments and rejecting texts that teach otherwise. Atkinson also explores how Krishnamacharya's teaching on kundalini influences how yoga is practised. He argues that Krishnamacharya's position is best viewed as a model for experience that guides practice.

Political Communication in Britain is a now established series of nine books, the first of which appeared in the aftermath of the 1979 General Election. This book follows the structure of previous volumes and features commentaries and assessments from the pollsters who monitored voter opinion during the 2017 General Election. It also includes chapters from party strategists responsible for devising and executing the rival campaigns. Furthermore contributions from journalists offer a media perspective on the campaign. The remainder of the book consists of academic material designed to complement and augment the aforementioned professionals’ chapters. Here the focus is on the major dynamics of political communication, specifically the roles of the press, television, advertising, internet and other such phenomena during the 2017 Snap Election.

Political Communication in Britain offers unique insights from various members of the party, media, and polling organizations that contested, reported, and analysed the 2019 British General Election, as well as leading academic experts who have researched the campaign.

Political Communications is a now established series of eleven books, the first of which appeared in the aftermath of the watershed General Election of 1979.  Cumulatively the series offers unique insights from both practitioner and academic perspectives with commentaries from those responsible for organizing, reporting, and analyzing every campaign held during the last 45 years.  The primary focus of the books is to understand the interplay between the rival parties, various media and the voting public, and the similarities and differences between this and previous elections.   This book resembles previous volumes in terms of its structure. The content will, however, differ not least because this election ended in the return of a new government. Political Communication in Britain (2024) will provide commentaries from party insiders about a campaign whose outcome was seemingly not in doubt, but which nonetheless delivered some surprising results due to the idiosyncrasies of the UK electoral system. The book will examine the workings and efforts of various rival campaign, both online and off, in the context of a hastily called election held in July for the first time since 1945. The reporting of events and role of journalism in seeking to hold the rival politicians will be discussed including by those responsible for delivering some of the most popular news coverage. A range of polling experts will examine how voters experienced the campaign through use of quantitative and qualitative based forms of analysis to provide insights into why and how so many different parties were able to gain the necessary support to secure representation in the House of Commons. Aside from Labour, the other beneficiaries from this campaign were the Liberal Democrats, Reform UK, the Greens, and a range of independents: the reasons for their successes will be complemented by explorations of why the Conservatives and Scottish Nationalists succumbed to such heavy defeats.