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Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry: Principles, Tasks, and Tools for Success
by Andreas CreutzmannSoft Skills for the Professional Services Industry Auditors, accountants, lawyers, consultants, and other highly educated and trained professionals frequently hold impressive credentials and offer clients specialized expertise in complex areas. At the same time, these professionals understandably focus on the analytical and technical components of their jobs, sometimes to the point of excluding or ignoring important soft skills critical to the success of their careers and practices. In Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry: Principles, Tasks, and Tools for Success, veteran auditor and entrepreneur Andreas Creutzmann delivers an essential discussion of often overlooked professional competencies that can mean the difference between career, engagement, and business success or failure. In the book, you’ll find accessible guidance on critical soft skills that can make a difference between fulfilment and success and failure on a professional and personal level. You’ll learn to handle the blending of home and the home office, how to effectively manage staff, how to market yourself and your firm, practical strategies for client and colleague communication, and how to find happiness in your day-to-day work. Each chapter stands alone and can be read in any order. They provide professionals with invaluable skills for navigating the modern—and digital—reality of work, showing you how to combine your professional education with the latest research and common sense on everything from client management to firm marketing. Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry uses the field of auditing as a template and guide, but it is highly relevant to all skilled professionals – including lawyers, consultants, medical professionals, and others. The book is a must-read for any knowledge worker trying to add to their toolbox of practical skills. Critical guidance for practicing professionals on how to build often overlooked soft skills Most highly educated and trained professionals aren’t lacking in analytical or technical skills. Lawyers know the law, accountants understand double entry bookkeeping, and doctors know anatomy. However, many of us are less familiar with often overlooked—and equally essential—soft skills: client management, communication, staff and employee management, and others. In Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry, accomplished auditor, entrepreneur, and consultant Andreas Creutzmann walks you through how to build critical competencies, from self-marketing to balancing work and life when your office is in your house. The book is made up of numerous, self-contained chapters that can be read in any order, and it demonstrates how to navigate increasingly digital and insistent professional demands on your time, effectively manage client and colleague relationships, and sell new clients on the services your firm offers. An essential roadmap to achieving personal and career success, Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry is an indispensable resource for lawyers, doctors, accountants, auditors, and any other extensively skilled professional. It offers practical tools in functional areas that are frequently neglected in formal professional training.
Software Architecture for Business
by Lina KhalidThis book illustrates the role of software architecture and its application in business. The author describes enterprise architecture along with business architecture to show the role of software architecture in both areas. The place of software architecture in business is outlined from many perspectives in this context. The book outlines quality attributes and how managers can use software architecture to build high quality products. Topics include business software architecture, dealing with qualities, achieving quality attributes, managing business qualities, software product line, Internet of Things (IOT), and Service Oriented Business Architecture. The book is intended to benefit students, researchers, software architects, and business architects. Provides quick and easy access to all the important aspects of software architecture in business;Highlights a wide variety of concepts of software architecture in a straightforward manner, for students, practitioners, or architects;Presents different applications of software architecture in business.
Software Defined Internet of Everything (Internet of Things)
by Gagangeet Singh Aujla Sahil Garg Kuljeet Kaur Biplab SikdarThis book provides comprehensive discussion on key topics related to the usage and deployment of software defined networks (SDN) in Internet of Everything applications like, healthcare systems, data centers, edge/fog computing, vehicular networks, intelligent transportation systems, smart grids, smart cities and more. The authors provide diverse solutions to overcome challenges of conventional network binding in various Internet of Everything applications where there is need of an adaptive, agile, and flexible network backbone. The book showcases different deployment models, algorithms and implementations related to the usage of SDN in Internet of Everything applications along with the pros and cons of the same. Even more, this book provides deep insights into the architecture of software defined networking specifically about the layered architecture and different network planes, logical interfaces, and programmable operations. The need of network virtualization and the deployment models for network function virtualization is also included with an aim towards the design of interoperable network architectures by researchers in future. Uniquely, the authors find hands on practical implementation, deployment scenarios and use cases for various software defined networking architectures in Internet of Everything applications like healthcare networks, Internet of Things, intelligent transportation systems, smart grid, underwater acoustic networks and many more. In the end, design and research challenges, open issues, and future research directions are provided in this book for a wide range of readers
Software Defined Networking for Ad Hoc Networks (EAI/Springer Innovations in Communication and Computing)
by Sabyasachi Pramanik Mangesh M. Ghonge Amol D. PotgantwarThis book offers a comprehensive overview of Software-Defined Network (SDN) based ad-hoc network technologies and exploits recent developments in this domain, with a focus on emerging technologies in SDN based ad-hoc networks. The authors offer practical and innovative applications in Network Security, Smart Cities, e-health, and Intelligent Systems. This book also addresses several key issues in SDN energy-efficient systems, the Internet of Things, Big Data, Cloud Computing and Virtualization, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Cryptography. The book includes different ad hoc networks such as MANETs and VANETs, along with a focus on evaluating and comparing existing SDN-related research on various parameters. The book provides students, researchers, and practicing engineers with an expert guide to the fundamental concepts, challenges, architecture, applications, and state-of-the-art developments in the field.
Software Defined Radio-Systeme für die Telemetrie: Aufbau und Funktionsweise von der Antenne bis zum Bit-Ausgang
by Albert Heuberger Eberhard GammDieses Buch behandelt alle für ein Software Defined Radio (SDR) relevanten Systemteile: Antenne, Antennenanpassung, analoges Frontend, A/D-Umsetzung, Digital Downconversion (DDC), Interpolation, Synchronisation, Demodulation. Zunächst werden die notwendigen Grundlagen für die Darstellung von Signalen vermittelt sowie der gesamte Aufbau eines Software Defined Radios beschrieben, um anschließend die einzelnen Komponenten näher zu betrachten.Der Schwerpunkt des Buches liegt auf dem Zusammenspiel der Komponenten und Signale innerhalb des Empfängers. Zur Veranschaulichung der Signale wird das Open-Source-Programm GNU Octave verwendet.
Software Defined Systems: Sensing, Communication and Computation (SpringerBriefs in Computer Science)
by Song Guo Deze Zeng Lin Gu Shengli PanThis book introduces the software defined system concept, architecture, and its enabling technologies such as software defined sensor networks (SDSN), software defined radio, cloud/fog radio access networks (C/F-RAN), software defined networking (SDN), network function virtualization (NFV), software defined storage, virtualization and docker. The authors also discuss the resource allocation and task scheduling in software defined system, mainly focusing on sensing, communication, networking and computation. Related case studies on SDSN, C/F-RAN, SDN, NFV are included in this book, and the authors discuss how these technologies cooperate with each other to enable cross resource management and task scheduling in software defined system. Novel resource allocation and task scheduling algorithms are introduced and evaluated. This book targets researchers, computer scientists and engineers who are interested in the information system softwarization technologies, resource allocation and optimization algorithm design, performance evaluation and analysis, next-generation communication and networking technologies, edge computing, cloud computing and IoT. Advanced level students studying these topics will benefit from this book as well.
Software Design for Resilient Computer Systems
by Igor Schagaev Eugene Zouev Kaegi ThomasThis book addresses the question of how system software should be designed to account for faults, and which fault tolerance features it should provide for highest reliability. With this second edition of Software Design for Resilient Computer Systems the book is thoroughly updated to contain the newest advice regarding software resilience. With additional chapters on computer system performance and system resilience, as well as online resources, the new edition is ideal for researchers and industry professionals.The authors first show how the system software interacts with the hardware to tolerate faults. They analyze and further develop the theory of fault tolerance to understand the different ways to increase the reliability of a system, with special attention on the role of system software in this process. They further develop the general algorithm of fault tolerance (GAFT) with its three main processes: hardware checking, preparation for recovery, and the recovery procedure. For each of the three processes, they analyze the requirements and properties theoretically and give possible implementation scenarios and system software support required. Based on the theoretical results, the authors derive an Oberon-based programming language with direct support of the three processes of GAFT. In the last part of this book, they introduce a simulator, using it as a proof of concept implementation of a novel fault tolerant processor architecture (ERRIC) and its newly developed runtime system feature-wise and performance-wise. Due to the wide reaching nature of the content, this book applies to a host of industries and research areas, including military, aviation, intensive health care, industrial control, and space exploration.
Software Design for Resilient Computer Systems
by Igor Schagaev Jürg GutknechtThis book addresses the question of how system software should be designed to account for faults, and which fault tolerance features should provide for highest reliability. With this third edition of Software Design for Resilient Computer Systems, the book is thoroughly updated to contain the newest advice regarding software resilience. With a new introductory chapter, the new edition is ideal for researchers and industry professionals. In the book, the authors first show how system software interacts with the hardware to tolerate faults. They analyze and further develop the theory of fault tolerance to understand the diverse ways to increase the reliability of a system, with special attention on the role of system software in this process. They introduce the theory of redundancy and its use for construction of a subsystem through generalised algorithm of fault tolerance (GAFT) and apply it to distributed systems. The book’s approach is applied to various hardware subsystems: different structures of RAM and processor cores and demonstrates exceptional performance reliability and energy efficiency. This third edition devotes substantial attention to system software for modern computers, including run time systems, supporting algorithms of recovery and their analysis, language aspects and ways to improve reconfigurable and parallel computing. Due to the wide-reaching nature of the content, this book applies to a host of industries and research areas, including military, aviation, intensive health care, industrial control, and space exploration.
Software Evangelism and the Rhetoric of Morality: Coding Justice in a Digital Democracy (Routledge Studies in Rhetoric and Communication)
by Jennifer Helene MaherExamining the layers of meaning encoded in software and the rhetoric surrounding it, this book offers a much-needed perspective on the intersections between software, morality, and politics. In software development culture, evangelism typically denotes a rhetorical practice that aims to convert software developers, as well as non-technical lay users, from one platform to another (e.g., from the operating system Microsoft Windows to Linux). This book argues that software evangelism, like its religious counterpart, must also be understood as constructing moral and political values that extend well beyond the boundaries of the development culture. Unlike previous studies that locate such values in the effects of code in-use or in certain types of code like free and open source (FOSS) software, Maher argues that all code is meaningful beyond its technical, executable functions. To facilitate this analysis, this study builds a theory of evangelism and illustrates this theory at work in the proprietary software industry and FOSS communities. As an example of political liberalism at work at the level of code, these evangelical rhetorics of software construct competing conceptions of what is good that fall within a shared belief in what is just. Maher illustrates how these beliefs in goodness and justice do not always execute in replicable ways, as the different ways of decoding software evangelisms in the contexts of Brazil and China reveal. Demonstrating how software evangelisms exert a transformative force on the world, one comparable in significance to code itself, this book highlights the importance of rhetoric in even the most seemingly a-rhetorical of technical endeavors and foregrounds the crucial need for rhetorical literacy in the digital age.
Software Networks
by Guy PujolleThe goal of this book is to describe new concepts for Internet next generation. This architecture is based on virtual networking using Cloud and datacenters facilities. Main problems concern 1) the placement of virtual resources for opening a new network on the fly, and 2) the urbanisation of virtual resource implemented on physical network equipment. This architecture deals with mechanisms capable of controlling automatically the placement of all virtual resources within the physical network. In this book, we describe how to create and delete virtual networks on the fly. Indeed, the system is able to create any new network with any kind of resource (e.g., virtual switch, virtual routers, virtual LSRs, virtual optical path, virtual firewall, virtual SIP-based servers, virtual devices, virtual servers, virtual access points, and so on). We will show how this architecture is compatible with new advances in SDN (Software Defined Networking), new high-speed transport protocol like TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) and LISP (Locator/Identifier Separation Protocol), NGN, IMS, Wi-Fi new generation, and 4G/5G networks. Finally, we introduce the Cloud of security and the virtualisation of secure elements (smartcard) that should definitely transform how to secure the Internet.
Software Networks: Virtualization, SDN, 5G, and Security
by Guy PujolleSoftware Networks describe new concepts for the Internet's next generation. This architecture is based on virtual networking using Cloud and datacenter facilities. The main problems to be dealt with are the placement of virtual resources for opening a new network on the fly, and the urbanization of virtual resources implemented on physical network equipment. The digital architecture also deals with mechanisms capable of automatically controlling the placement of all virtual resources within the physical network. This book describes how to create and delete virtual networks on the fly. Indeed, the system is able to create any new network with any kind of virtual resource (e.g. switches, routers, LSRs, optical paths, firewalls, SIP-based servers, devices, servers, access points, etc.). Software Networks shows how this architecture is compatible with new advances in SDN (Software Defined Networking), new high-speed transport protocols such as TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) and LISP (Locator/Identifier Separation Protocol), NGN, IMS, new generation Wi-Fi, and 4G/5G networks. Finally, the author introduces Clouds of security and the virtualization of secure elements (smartcards) that could certainly transform how to secure the Internet. For this second edition, the author addresses in five new chapters the importance of open source software for networks, mobile edge computing, fog networking, tactile internet – a network environment allowing remote access, and security – the use of Cloud of security, secure elements and the emergence of the blockchain.
Software-Defined Networking: Extending SDN Control to Large-Scale Networks
by Abdelhamid Mellouk Fetia Bannour Sami Souihi<p>This book reviews the concept of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) by studying the SDN architecture. It provides a detailed analysis of state-of-the-art distributed SDN controller platforms by assessing their advantages and drawbacks and classifying them in novel ways according to various criteria.<p> <p>Additionally, a thorough examination of the major challenges of existing distributed SDN controllers is provided along with insights into emerging and future trends in that area.<p> <p>Decentralization challenges in large-scale networks are tackled using three novel approaches, applied to the SDN control plane presented in the book. The first approach addresses the SDN controller placement optimization problem in large-scale IoT-like networks by proposing novel scalability and reliability aware controller placement strategies. The second and third approaches tackle the knowledge sharing problem between the distributed controllers by suggesting adaptive multilevel consistency models following the concept of continuous Quorum-based consistency. These approaches have been validated using different SDN applications, developed from real-world SDN controllers.<p>
Software-Defined Wide Area Network Architectures and Technologies (Data Communication Series)
by Cheng Sheng Jie Bai Qi SunStarting with problems and challenges faced by enterprise WANs, Software-Defined Wide Area Network Architectures and Technologies provides a detailed description of SD-WAN’s background and basic features, as well as the system architecture, operating mechanism, and application scenarios of the SD-WAN solution based on the implementation of Huawei SD-WAN Solution. It also explains key SD-WAN technologies and analyzes real SD-WAN deployment cases, affording readers with design methods and deployment suggestions for the SD-WAN solution. The information presented in this book is easy to understand and very practical. It enables you to become adept in the SD-WAN solution’s implementation and design principles. The book is intended for ICT practitioners, such as network technical support engineers, network administrators, and network planning engineers, to use in studying theory. Furthermore, it serves as reference material for network technology enthusiasts. Authors Cheng Sheng is the Chief Architect of Huawei’s SD-WAN Solution. He has nearly 20 years of experience in network product and solution design, as well as extensive expertise in product design and development, network planning and design, and network engineering project implementation. Jie Bai is an Architect of Huawei’s SD-WAN Solution. He is well versed in Huawei security products and SD-WAN Solution and has written books such as Huawei Firewall Technology Talk as well as Huawei Anti-DDoS Technology Talk. Qi Sun is a Senior Information Architect of Huawei, and he is knowledgeable in Huawei SD-WAN Solution, CloudVPN Solution, and Cloud Management Solution. He also participated in the information architecture design and delivery of multiple solutions.
Softwareentwicklung von Telematikdiensten
by Grit Behrens Volker Kuz Ralph BehrensDas Buch vermittelt einen Einstieg in die Software-Entwicklung von Telematikdiensten mit einem Eclipse-Plugin für das Common Service Framework (Open Source). Ziel ist es, Nutzer dazu zu befähigen, internetbasierte Telematikdienste selbst zu programmieren. Begleitend zum Buch steht ein Internetportal bereit, wo Beispielapplikationen demonstriert, getestet oder weiter entwickelt werden können. Es gibt des Weiteren Einblick in die Hintergründe und die weltweiten Zukunftsentwicklungen auf dem rasant anwachsenden Gebiet der Telematikdienste.
Solace + Yearning – Poetry of Dance and Belonging: A Community Arts Project from Denmark, Western Australia
by Annette Carmichael‘Solace + Yearning’ layers landscape, poetry, eco-art and contemporary dance to create an immersive space for many voices: yearning to connect to country, grief for what is absent, and reaching towards an understanding of indigenous language and culture. “Along the edges, voices call softly, softly… the past speaking to the present.” This multi-arts collaboration explores ‘settler guilt’ and ‘solastalgia’—a sense of loss caused by environmental change—in a small rural community. The work unravels contradictory and complicated feelings about Australia’s stories, the assumed advantage of non-indigenous Australians, and yet our deep longing for the wisdom and connection intrinsic in indigenous cultures. “It is beneath the bark where stories are whispered and life rises to stitch together this river with this sky.” Performed in Denmark, Western Australia in 2012, and again as a solo performance by Annette Carmichael in 2014, these images and reflections portray a complex relationship between people and place. “Sometimes, sometimes I make the mistake of thinking that what has not been written down has been forgotten.” With gratitude to Joey Williams, Wayne Webb, Toni Webb, and Harley Coyne, who walked the trail with us and generously shared their Noongar culture and stories.
Soliton Coding for Secured Optical Communication Link
by Iraj Sadegh Amiri Sayed Ehsan Alavi Sevia Mahdaliza IdrusNonlinear behavior of light such as chaos can be observed during propagation of a laser beam inside the microring resonator (MRR) systems. This Brief highlights the design of a system of MRRs to generate a series of logic codes. An optical soliton is used to generate an entangled photon. The ultra-short soliton pulses provide the required communication signals to generate a pair of polarization entangled photons required for quantum keys. In the frequency domain, MRRs can be used to generate optical millimetre-wave solitons with a broadband frequency of 0-100 GHz. The soliton signals are multiplexed and modulated with the logic codes to transmit the data via a network system. The soliton carriers play critical roles to transmit the data via an optical communication link and provide many applications in secured optical communications. Therefore, transmission of data information can be performed via a communication network using soliton pulse carriers. A system known as optical multiplexer can be used to increase the channel capacity and security of the signals.
Solving Tough Problems: An Open Way of Talking, Listening, and Creating New Realities
by Adam Kahane&“This breakthrough book addresses the central challenge of our time: finding a way to work together to solve the problems we have created.&” —Nelson Mandela Adam Kahane has worked on some of the toughest, most complex problems in the world. He started out as an expert analyst and advisor to corporations and governments, convinced of the need to calculate &“the one right answer.&” After an unexpected experience in South Africa during the transition away from apartheid, he got involved in facilitating a series of extraordinary high-conflict, high-stakes problem-solving efforts: in Colombia during the civil war, in Argentina during the collapse, in Guatemala after the genocide, in Israel, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, and the Basque Country. Through these experiences, he learned to create environments that enable new ideas and creative solutions to emerge even in the most stuck, polarized contexts. Here Kahane tells his stories and distills from them an approach all of us can use to solve our own toughest problems—at home, at work, in our communities, and in national and international affairs. &“Thought-provoking (occasionally verging on spiritual) discourse on handling difficult situations gracefully, productively and calmly.&” —Publishers Weekly &“Many people have written about the healing power of dialogue. None, however, has put that power to the test under more extreme conditions with greater success than Adam Kahane. Informative, inspiring, and beautifully written.&” —David Korten, President of the People-Centered Development Forum, and author of When Corporations Rule the World &“This generative dialogue approach offers real opportunities for governments to engage with stakeholders to build trust and create exciting new resolutions to multi-faceted social and governance challenges.&” —Clare Beckton, Assistant Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Sombras nada más
by César Silva MárquezLuis Kuriaki suffers from the harassment of his nightmares, derived from the murder of his beautiful girlfriend Verónica Mancera, for which he becomes obsessed with solving the murder of the young woman. As the plot unfolds, all the stories intertwine in a voracious spiral of delusions and persecution, the epicenter of which is the iconic Ciudad Juárez. The speed of emotions and the moral decay of a society, spurred on by the millions of dollars, often dirty, that feed, but also corrupt, this city, are blurring the division between good and bad.We are facing a luminous narrative portrait of decadence and hope, in every sense of the word. Mafiosi, policemen and journalists, are the protagonists of a show where women tend to bear the worst.During the catastrophe, however, the radiance of a chimera and the possibility of redemption and beauty, to which all human beings aspire, are glimpsed.ONLY SHADOWSLuis Kuriaki suffers from the harassment of his nightmares, derived from the murder of his beautiful girlfriend Verónica Mancera, for which he becomes obsessed with solving the murder of the young woman. As the plot unfolds, all the stories intertwine in a voracious spiral of delusions and persecution, the epicenter of which is the iconic Ciudad Juárez. The speed of emotions and the moral decay of a society, spurred on by the millions of dollars, often dirty, that feed, but also corrupt, this city, are blurring the division between good and bad.We are facing a luminous narrative portrait of decadence and hope, in every sense of the word. Mafiosi, policemen and journalists, are the protagonists of a show where women tend to bear the worst.During the catastrophe, however, the radiance of a chimera and the possibility of redemption and beauty, to which all human beings aspire, are glimpsed.
Some Future Day: How AI Is Going to Change Everything
by Marc BeckmanThis cutting-edge guide not only shows how AI is transforming our careers, lives, businesses, and more, but also provides easy, actionable steps to make AI work for us. In this groundbreaking book, celebrated professor, entrepreneur, author, and podcaster Marc Beckman explores the transformative power of artificial intelligence (AI) and how it&’s poised to enhance and transform all aspects of society—revolutionizing our careers, enriching our family lives, and bringing our communities closer together. From business and advertising, to medicine, to warfare, to politics—Beckman meticulously explores the different areas where we&’ll soon feel AI&’s transformative impact. But that&’s only half of it. Throughout this book, he also provides the specific steps readers can take now to make sure these coming changes work for them. From the workplace to the home, AI is poised to reshape the way we approach our professional and personal lives. Beckman uses this book to make the case that AI will free up valuable time and energy, allowing individuals to focus on more creative and meaningful work, but also that AI will create possibilities for engagement that were unthinkable just a generation ago. He shows that with AI as our co-pilot, we&’ll unlock new opportunities for growth, innovation, and collaboration—all of which will lead to more fulfilling and rewarding careers. Beckman illustrates how AI will strengthen family bonds and improve the quality of our home lives too, changing everything from how we educate our kids to how we stay connected on social media. And as AI becomes more integrated into our cities and towns, it will play a crucial role in fostering a sense of community and belonging; through AI-powered platforms, Beckman shows how we will collaborate on projects, share resources, and support one another in times of need. This thought-provoking and essential book is a definitive guide to the many ways in which AI will transform our lives for the better . . . but also surprise us, delight us, force us to (re)consider how we interact with one another, and make us question what exactly counts as &“human.&” Join Marc Beckman on this exciting journey as he explores the near-endless possibilities of a world powered and transformed by artificial intelligence. It&’s an Age of Imagination . . . where the only limit is your own mind.
Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country
by Patricia EvangelistaA fearless, powerfully written on-the-ground account of a nation careening into violent autocracy—told through harrowing stories of the Philippines&’ state-sanctioned killings of its citizens—from a journalist of international renown&“Tragic, elegant, vital . . . Evangelista risked her life to tell this story.&”—Tara Westover, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Educated&“My job is to go to places where people die. I pack my bags, talk to the survivors, write my stories, then go home to wait for the next catastrophe. I don&’t wait very long.&”Journalist Patricia Evangelista came of age in the aftermath of a street revolution that forged a new future for the Philippines. Three decades later, in the face of mounting inequality, the nation discovered the fragility of its democratic institutions under the regime of strongman Rodrigo Duterte.Some People Need Killing is Evangelista&’s meticulously reported and deeply human chronicle of the Philippines&’ drug war. For six years, Evangelista chronicled the killings carried out by police and vigilantes in the name of Duterte&’s war on drugs—a war that has led to the slaughter of thousands—immersing herself in the world of killers and survivors and capturing the atmosphere of fear created when an elected president decides that some lives are worth less than others.The book takes its title from a vigilante whose words seemed to reflect the psychological accommodation that most of the country had made: &“I&’m really not a bad guy,&” he said. &“I&’m not all bad. Some people need killing.&”A profound act of witness and a tour de force of literary journalism, Some People Need Killing is also a brilliant dissection of the grammar of violence and an important investigation of the human impulses to dominate and resist.
Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service
by Tajja IsenA fearless, &“funny, poignant, and super-smart&” (Ms. magazine) essay collection about race, justice, and the limits of good intentions.In this &“inspiring, determined work of personal narrative and cultural criticism&” (Saeed Jones, author of How We Fight for Our Lives), essayist and award-winning voice actor Tajja Isen explores the absurdity of living in a world that has grown fluent in the language of social justice but doesn&’t always follow through. These nine daring essays explore the sometimes troubling and often awkward nature of that discord. Some of My Best Friends takes on subjects including the cartoon industry&’s pivot away from colorblind casting, the pursuit of diverse representation in the literary world, the law&’s refusal to see inequality, and the cozy fictions of nationalism. Throughout, Isen &“shows a bracing willingness to tackle sensitive issues that others often sweep under a rug&” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). In the spirit of Zadie Smith, Cathy Park Hong, and Jia Tolentino, Isen interlaces cultural criticism with her lived experience to explore the gaps between what we say and what we do, what we do and what we value, what we value and what we demand.
Someday Is Today: 22 Simple, Actionable Ways to Propel Your Creative Life
by Matthew DicksREALIZE YOUR CREATIVE DREAMS — STARTING TODAYAre you good at dreaming about what you’re going to accomplish “someday” but not good at finding the time and getting started? How will you actually make that decision and do it? The answer is this book, which offers proven, practical, and simple ways to turn random minutes throughout your days into pockets of productivity, and dreams into accomplishments.In addition to presenting his own winning strategies for getting from dreaming to doing, Matthew Dicks offers insights from a wide range of creative people — writers, editors, performers, artists, and even magicians — on how to augment inspiration with motivation. His actionable steps will help you:silence negative messages from family, friends, and teacherseliminate time-sucking activities (and people)be willing to make terrible thingsfind supporters here, there, and everywherecultivate optimism in the face of negativity and obstaclesEach strategy is accompanied by amusing and inspiring personal and professional anecdotes and a clear plan of action. Someday Is Today will give you every tool to get started and finish that _________ [fill in the blank].
Someone To Talk To: How Networks Matter In Practice
by Mario Luis SmallWhen people are facing difficulties, they often feel the need for a confidant. How do they decide on whom to rely? In Someone To Talk To, Mario Luis Small follows a group of graduate students as they cope with stress, overwork, self-doubt, failure, relationships, children, health care, and poverty. He unravels how they decide whom to turn to for support. And he then confirms his findings based on representative national data on adult Americans. Small shows that rather than consistently relying on their "strong ties," Americans often take pains to avoid close friends and family, as these relationships are both complex and fraught with expectations. In contrast, they often confide in "weak ties," as the need for understanding or empathy trumps their fear of misplaced trust. In fact, people may find themselves confiding in acquaintances and even strangers unexpectedly, without having reflected on the consequences. Amid a growing wave of big data and large-scale network analysis, Small returns to the basic questions of whom we connect with, how, and why, upending decades of conventional wisdom on how we should think about and analyze social networks.
Sometimes You Have to Cross When It Says Don't Walk: A Memoir of Breaking Barriers
by Lesley VisserLesley Visser is living proof that, no matter where you start, if you are motivated and passionate, your dreams can come true. When Lesley was 11, she told her mother that she wanted to be a sportswriter. The job didn't exist for women in 1964, but her mother—instead of suggesting she become a teacher or a nurse—replied, "Great! Sometimes you have to cross when it says, 'Don't walk.'" That answer changed Lesley's life. Even though no one had done it before, it gave her the strength and self-confidence to try—permission to cross against the light. When Lesley began, the credentials said, "No Women or Children in the Press Box," but she didn't let that stop her. Lesley covered sports for more than 40 years, pioneering women's journalistic presence in men's professional sports, from inside the locker room to out on the field. She's the first and only woman to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and to ever present the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the Super Bowl. And she's the only sportscaster in history to have worked on the network broadcasts of the Final Four, Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Triple Crown, Olympics, U.S. Open, and the World Figure Skating Championship. Lesley currently appears on CBS's "We Need to Talk," the first-ever nationally televised all-female weekly hour-long sports show. Lesley's had her share of hurdles and stumbles. But with passion, perseverance, and dedication, she found a way to achieve her dream, learning valuable lessons along the way. (Hint: Humor goes further than anger, and no, we can't all look like Beyoncé.) In Sometimes You Have to Cross When It Says 'Don't Walk,' Lesley Visser shares her historic journey through the world of sports broadcasting with innate wisdom and good humor. For sports fans who grew up with Lesley, her memoir reads like a walk down memory lane, full of behind-the-camera, VIP-access stories involving John Madden, Jerry Jones, Bill Belichick, Joe Torre, and many more famous sports figures. But even those hearing her story for the first time, no matter what their background, will be inspired to chase their dreams, blaze new trails, and pursue the life they want.
Somewhere Towards the End
by Diana AthillFar from the carefree advertising image of grey power Saga holidays, this is the process of approaching the end, with all its grisly possibilities. Athill, at least, has reached the age of 90 with precious few regrets about her life.