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Dynamic Capabilities and Related Paradigms (Elements in Business Strategy)
by David J. TeeceOf the numerous theories of strategic management, the dynamic capabilities framework is perhaps the most encompassing. Dynamic capabilities are the factors that, if strong, allow an organization to create and deliver value to customers, outcompete rivals, and reap financial rewards over extended periods. The dynamic capabilities framework provides a system-level view of how resources and capabilities are assembled and orchestrated over successive rounds of competition, addressing management's role in determining future requirements and honing the organization's processes and structure to meet them. This Element presents the dynamic capabilities framework and compares it to other paradigms of strategic management and innovation. It demonstrates that these narrower approaches to strategic management and innovation can usefully be thought of as subsets of the dynamic capabilities framework. This will help students and practitioners understand disparate business concepts as part of a unified whole. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.
Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve: From Local Thinking to Global Actions (Disaster Risk Reduction)
by José Ernesto Mancera Pineda Andrés F. Osorio Cesar Toro Carolina Sofía Velásquez-CalderónThis open access book addresses the following topics for the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve (BR) in the Colombian Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina, in the southwest Caribbean Sea, which is the world’s largest BR and contains representative ecosystems of tropical island regions. ● Future regional climate behavior and forms of balanced relationships between humans and nature to promote climate change (CC) adaptation and mitigation strategies for tropical islands. ● The relevance of BRs as ideal locations to study and replicate interdisciplinary adaptation strategies. BRs are “living, dynamic laboratories” where local communities demonstrate safe and sustainable development possibilities. Island and coastal tropical BRs disproportionately face adverse effects of CC, making them a research priority with unprecedented intellectual challenges for their unique characteristics. This collaborative effort ● Stimulates critical and interdisciplinary thinking around tropical island regions ● Presents new and different angles to understand local socioenvironmental impacts of CC ● Demonstrates the linkage between ecosystem services, human well-being, and CC adaptation ● Connects local experiences to global dynamics and processes, and vice versa ● Places the struggles and knowledge of the indigenous Raizal people at the forefront of CC and BR studies ● Examines relevant socioenvironmental pathways toward collective action for adaptive capacity, resilience, and ultimately contributes to sustainable development processes in BRs worldwide. This book was financed by the Corporation Center of Excellence in Marine Sciences (CEMarin).
Nonequilibrium and Irreversibility (Lecture Notes in Physics #1040)
by Giovanni GallavottiThis 2nd edition of the book focuses on the properties of stationary states in chaotic systems of particles or fluids, setting aside the theory of how these states are achieved. The second edition has been thoroughly revised and includes numerous corrections. It incorporates recent findings, with particular emphasis on the equivalence between irreversible and reversible equations. The ongoing debate over reversibility and irreversible behavior is frequently discussed. The book seeks to unify the study of stationary nonequilibrium states with that of equilibrium states, using the paradigm offered by the simplest chaotic systems, specifically Anosov systems. The book begins by exploring the time-invariant distributions relevant to physics. A distinctive feature of this work is its historical approach. To clarify foundational issues, the author analyzes the works of pioneering figures like Boltzmann, Clausius, and Maxwell, including translated excerpts of key historical documents. Additionally, the author establishes a close connection between the treatment of irreversible phenomena in statistical mechanics and the theory of chaotic systems, particularly at and beyond the onset of turbulence, as developed by Sinai, Ruelle, and Bowen (SRB) and others. Arguments are presented to strongly support the perspective that stationary states, whether in equilibrium or not, can be described in a unified framework. The book offers extensive coverage of contemporary research, presented in sufficient detail to give advanced students a sense of the ongoing research directions in this dynamic field. Proofs of theorems are generally limited to heuristic outlines, favoring the presentation of concepts and providing references for further study, thereby avoiding an overload of technical detail in the main text.
Analytical Philosophy of Medicine: Scientific Philosophy and Philosophy of Medicine (Philosophy and Medicine #151)
by Lucien KarhausenThis book describes the philosophy of medicine as a subset of the philosophy of science. It is grounded in an epistemological bottom-up account that arises from the clinical situation, the epidemiologic and the resulting public health account. The volume offers a set of coherent beliefs that are deductively closed, which means that any statement which is logically entailed by the theory belongs to the theory. Medicine does not originate, as usually admitted, with the notion of disease inasmuch as concepts of disease, malfunction or health are evolved, sophisticated and advanced constructs. Medical norms, i.e., pathological features, are logically and conceptually prior to normal features. Following Ludwig Wittgenstein, by analogy with the way members of a family resemble each other, diseases are often what Ludwig Wittgenstein called “family-resemblance concepts”, which manifest a similarity shared by things classified into certain groups in the way members of a family resemble each other: each shares characteristics which many but not all the others, and there are no necessary or sufficient conditions for belonging in that classification. This book analyses the confusions associated with the concept of health, and subsequently turns to medical interventions, preventive, therapeutic and palliative as well as to the caring relationship, patients’ autonomy, doctors’ authority, and paternalism. Finally, the epistemic, ethical, or ontological limits of medicine, are being discussed, and the final account leaves us at the end of the scale with the perspective afforded by the patient facing suffering, impairment, death and tragedy, not to mention the physician’s predicament, which give rise to the principle that undergirds them all, i.e., the value of life.
Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty
by James V. Bono Richard D. ScottNow in a fully revised and updated third edition, this comprehensive text covers all aspects of revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA), complete with step-by-step descriptions of surgical techniques. Sensibly divided into four thematic sections, part I discusses evaluation and diagnosis of the failed TKA, including imaging, updates on implant bearings, and rationale for reoperation. General principles of revision surgery are presented in part II, addressing skin and extensile exposure, component removal, allografts, metaphyseal sleeves and cones, femoral and tibial alignment, and restoration of stability. Part III presents the many special considerations that come into play with revision TKA, including periprosthetic fracture, infection, stiffness and other post-operative complications and complexities. The role of arthrodesis and the economics of revision TKA are also elucidated. A final, brand new section describes cutting edge topics for TKA in the near future, such as patient specific 3D implants, the use of robotics, and sensor and digital technology. Utilizing the most current evidence and generously illustrated, orthopedic surgeons, sports medicine specialists, residents and fellows alike will find Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty, Third Edition a thorough and informative resource when treating the patient following knee replacement surgery.
Network Collective Action: Agent-Based Models of Pandemics, Riots, Social Movements, Insurrections and Insurgencies (Lecture Notes in Social Networks)
by David KnokeCollective action asks a fundamental question in social science: How do sets of actorschoose courses of action and work together to achieve desired outcomes, often inopposition to other coalitions? Psychological and economic rationality explanations areincomplete in emphasizing the mental decision processes of individuals. Collectiveaction must be understood at the level analysis of interpersonal and interorganizationalrelations. Social network theories and methods provide optimal frameworks forexplaining collective action in a variety of settings. This book reviews theories andempirical research on collective action in several substantive areas, demonstrates howagent-based models can analyze collective action networks (pandemics, riots, socialmovements, insurrections, insurgencies), and concludes with speculations about futureresearch directions.
Bioeconomy for Sustainability
by Vinod Kumar Garg Navish KatariaThis edited volume covers the key role of bioeconomy for next-generation industrial production to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. It addresses the key environmental challenges due to biowaste generation and their application in boosting the economy through the conversion of biowaste into valuable products for sustainable growth and future needs. This book also describes the potential future research scope and possibilities in bioeconomy towards sustainable industrial ecology and circular economy. In recent years, competition has increased for determinate resources. There is an urgent need to look for sustainable, non-polluting alternate sources to meet the demands of an ever-increasing population. Sustainable processes and production while using biological material can produce food, fodder, agricultural inputs, fuel etc. with lesser inputs and reduced emission of pollutants. Agricultural waste and food waste are another concern which demands immediate interventions. The Bioeconomy can be a possible way to address these challenges. It includes sustainable production of food, fodder, fiber, fuel, agricultural inputs, and other goods while using renewable resources or different types of waste. This is beneficial to resolve diverse environmental problems such as future bioenergy production technology, societal transformations, pollution management, industrial circular economy, agricultural practices and food securities, climate management etc. Bioeconomy helps to move from a linear economy to a circular economy. This book is a valuable source for researchers, teachers, and undergraduate and graduate students of environmental science, environmental economics, agriculture science, biotechnology, ecology, and soil science. It also serves as additional reading material for professionals, scientists, stakeholders of government and non-government organizations, industrialists, and policymakers of the relevant fields.
The 2016 Contenders: Marco Rubio
by Mary Jordan The Washington PostPresidential candidates are a breed apart, often propelled by traits that have shaped their careers and have deep roots in personal histories. Often their greatest strength can turn at supernova speed into their greatest weakness. The exact qualities that set them apart from the field trip them up eventually over the long haul of a presidential campaign. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is a man in a hurry, whose dizzying political ascent—he has never lost a race—is a testament to his quickness to spot openings and go for them. The question now, as he aims for the White House, is whether voters ultimately see Rubio as refreshing and bold, the inspiring face of a new generation—or just a promising young pol getting ahead of himself. In this series of eBooks, The Washington Post is exploring in-depth all these key characteristics of the leading presidential contenders, the very characteristics that could help make one of them the country’s next commander in chief—or forever sink their presidential ambitions.
Saving Jenny: Rescuing Our Youth from America's Opioid and Suicide Epidemic
by Vivian Percy Anna BadiniNormal turned to PTSD and a substance abuse nightmare for Jenny the instant a taxi struck her, catapulting her thirty feet across a busy New York City street. Jenny is one of the lucky ones to have survived the drug rehabilitation system, which routinely fails those at risk. Her story is multiplied across the US in the wrecked lives and torn-apart families of hundreds of thousands of Jennies. Saving Jenny is the story of a mother and daughter’s long painful journey from tragedy, through opioid addiction, toward healing. Its cautionary tale sheds light on drug dependency, sexual violation and exploitation, misdiagnosed psychological and physical injuries. It exposes a healthcare industry focused more on profits than care, which routinely fails those in its keeping. We see firsthand the abuse, negligence, malpractice, illegal and illicit activities going on in rehab facilities. We hear about the complicity of Big Pharma, insurance companies, and healthcare providers in these schemas. Beyond an exposé, this book offers practical and radical solutions to the countless individuals and families affected by opioid addiction and trauma. People need physical, psychological, social, and spiritual support to experience true healing.
Barefoot in the Sand
by Hava Deevon Rotem TeplowWhen Saul was a little boy, he used to listen to stories about a place called Eretz Yisrael – the land of Israel. Everything he heard inspired him and he longed to know what it would be like to live there. He dreamed about being barefoot in the sand; about digging deep into the soil to plant young saplings that, with time and patience, would grow into strong trees full of apples and figs. When he was old enough, determined to make his dream come true, he devised a plan to travel there. But what happens when your dreams come true? Are they as you had imagined them? Follow Saul in this heart-warming tale about growing up and making your dreams come true. Discover the people he meets along the way and the importance of accepting everyone, no matter where they come from. Great things await us all if we are patient enough to discover them and if we are brave enough to pursue or dreams.
The Mermaid Method: A Lifestyle Designed to Unleash Your True Spirit
by Gennah NicoleWith an endless supply of "Mermaid Hair" tutorials to surf through on the internet, and fancy fins being sold for several thousand sand dollars, it is no secret that women everywhere are going to great depths to embody these legendary goddesses. But take it from a professional, mermaid life requires a lot more work than watching a couple of YouTube videos and swimming around like a pro in a high-priced silicone tail. It goes far beyond how fabulous your hair is or how big your seashells are because being a Mermaid isn't about how you look; it's about how you live! In her debut book, Certified Wellness Coach and Professional Mermaid, Gennah Nicole teaches women all the tricks of her mermaid trade. With the wit and wisdom found inside of these pages, eager souls will learn how to master their mindset, care for their body, and unleash their true spirit. Not only does Gennah guide women through their own personal transformation, she also shares endless motivation, honest advice and intimate stories that inspire women to take action and begin experiencing their own happily ever after. So, if you believe you could have been a mermaid in a past life or yearn to be a mermaid in your next life, then take a deep breath and get ready to dive in deep sea sister because it is time to become the mermaid you were born to be in this life!
I See, I See
by R. HendersonA book for one. A book for two. A book for different points of view.This clever and colorful picture book of opposites will change the way you see things, literally. Turn the book upside down and your perspective alters: Left becomes right; high becomes low; empty becomes full! Great as a rhyming read-aloud, and even better with a friend, this book of two points of view begs to be shared and will immerse booklovers of all ages in a unique reading experience.• Strikingly designed, colorfully illustrated, and playfully written• Features a playful exploration of shapes and opposites will thrill parents and teachers• Read-aloud book with friendly rhyming text and gentle optical illusionsThis playful exploration of shapes and opposites will thrill parents and teachers, and offers young readers-alone or readers-aloud a friendly rhyming text and gentle optical illusions to invite them to look and look again.This book is perfect for:• Parents• Librarians• Lovers of beautiful picture books
Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century
by The Modern Quilt GuildTraditional craft, modern aesthetic "Modern quilts are utilitarian. They are art. They tell stories. They are graphic, improvisational, or minimalist. They make a statement." – Riane Menardi, Alissa Haight Carlton, and Heather Grant Admire large, color photographs of the best modern quilting has to offer—more than 200 quilts curated by the Modern Quilt Guild. From quilt empires like the Amish and the quilters of Gee’s Bend to the first use of the word "modern” in quilting, trace the history of modern quilts and learn about hallmarks of the genre in a concise retrospective. This collectible, hardcover book honors the genre's past, present, and future. • The Modern Quilt Guild has taken the quilting industry by storm … see why in this gallery of over 200 innovative and inspiring quilts • A brief retelling of the modern quilting movement and its early influencers • Celebrate the best modern quilts and quilters of the past decade
Little Happy Circus: 12 Amigurumi Crochet Toy Patterns for your Favourite Circus Performers
by Tine NielsenRoll up, roll up, the circus has come to town! Recreate your very own circus with these adorable amigurumi crochet toy patterns. This collection of 12 beautifully-designed crochet circus characters, features all the most popular circus characters including a friendly clown, show pony, sleepy elephant, handsome strongman, pretty ballerina, juggling walrus, and there is even a crochet pattern for the popcorn to enjoy while you watch the performance! There are step by step photography for all the crochet patterns as well as basic crochet techniques so you can get cracking right away.
Lethal Doses: The Story Behind "The Godfather Of Fentanyl"
by John MadingerOn a cold afternoon in February 1991, a frightening new drug hit the streets of New York City, a synthetic narcotic marketed in packets labeled “Tango & Cash.” As police scrambled to warn heroin users of the danger, the overdose victims began piling up in hospital emergency rooms and county morgues across three states. As a Drug Enforcement Administration agent said at the time, “We don’t know yet who’s putting this stuff out there, but whoever he is, he’s an ice-cold son of a bitch.” Fentanyl had come to America. In 2024, fentanyl is killing nearly 200 Americans every day, and not just heroin users, a seemingly unstoppable narcotic curse like none ever seen before. But few know that this plague began in the brilliant mind of the high-school dropout and chemistry prodigy that the DEA called “the best and most dangerous clandestine chemist” it has ever encountered. The clandestine chemist was George Erik Marquardt. Starting at just twelve years old, Marquardt used his extraordinary talents to make every illegal drug in the book, from bootleg booze to heroin. He brewed LSD for Timothy Leary and the Grateful Dead, methamphetamine for outlaw motorcycle gangs, nerve gas for Idaho Nazis, and even life-saving AZT for AIDS patients. But when that ice-cold son of a bitch turned to fentanyl, thousands of Americans would die. In LETHAL DOSES: The Story Behind ‘The Godfather of Fentanyl,’ award-winning author and former undercover agent for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics John Madinger, tells the remarkable story of DEA’s three-year pursuit, the genesis of our fentanyl problem today, and the uniquely dangerous evil genius he spent hundreds of hours interviewing. Now you can read the incredible book on which the hit docuseries, THE GODFATHER OF FENTANYL, is based!
New Grad Job Hacks: The Complete Guide to Getting a Job After You Finish College
by Matt TranThe founder of YouTube’s largest career channel, Engineered Truth, provides “practical how-tos on how to navigate life after college” (Tam Pham, bestselling author of How to Network).Just graduated college? Still waiting for the perfect job that was supposed to be dropped in your lap after the graduation ceremony? Wondering when you get to start that marvelous and rewarding career you always dreamed about? New Grad Job Hacks is here to help. Career expert YouTuber and blogger Matt Tran takes you step-by-step through how to make the most of your degree. Tran’s channel, Engineered Truth, has helped thousands of new grads figure out their best paths to fulfilling careers. In New Grad Job Hacks, Tran guides us from job fairs to social media, from internships to job shadowing and teaches how to research companies, interview, negotiate, and get that job offer you always wanted.
They Came Only to Die: The Battle of Nashville, December 15–16, 1864 (Emerging Civil War Series)
by Sean Michael ChickA concise history and analysis of the 1864 American Civil War battle that marked the end for the Army of Tennessee.“A well-researched and informative read, Chick’s study of the Nashville campaign is a must for anyone seeking to learn more about this often-overlooked battle, as well as those interested in the war in the Western Theatre and generalship in the Civil War.”—The NYMAS ReviewThe November 1864 battle of Franklin left the Army of Tennessee stunned. In only a few hours, the army lost 6,000 men and a score of generals. Rather than pause, John Bell Hood marched his army north to Nashville. He had risked everything on a successful campaign and saw his offensive as the Confederacy’s last hope. There was no time to mourn.But there was no question of attacking Nashville. The city was well fortified, and the Federals outnumbered Hood more than two to one. But Hood knew he could force them to attack him and, in doing so, he could win a defensive victory that might rescue the Confederacy from the chasm of collapse.Unfortunately for Hood, he faced George Thomas, one of the Union’s best leaders, who commanded men tested in the fires of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Franklin.But with battle imminent, the ground iced over, and Thomas had to wait. An impatient Ulysses S. Grant nearly sacked him, but on December 15–16, Thomas struck and routed Hood’s army. He then chased him out of Tennessee and into Mississippi in a grueling winter campaign.After Nashville, the Army of Tennessee was never again a major fighting force. Combined with William Tecumseh Sherman’s march through Georgia and the Carolinas and Grant’s capture of Petersburg and Richmond, Nashville was the first peal in the long death knell of the Confederate States of America. In They Came Only to Die: The Battle of Nashville, December 15–16, 1864, historian Sean Michael Chick offers a fast-paced, well-analyzed narrative of John Bell Hood’s final campaign, complete with the most accurate maps yet made of this crucial battle.
Global Decolonisation and Non-Sovereignty: Small Island States in the Caribbean (LSE International Studies)
by Grace CarringtonNon-sovereign territories today account for more than half the states in the Caribbean but regional and global histories of the twentieth century tend to exclude them from narratives of protest and change. This book argues that our current understanding of global decolonisation is partial. We need a fuller picture which includes both independent and non-independent states, and moves beyond a focus on political independence, instead conceptualising decolonisation as a process of challenging and dismantling colonial structures and legacies. Decolonisation is neither an inevitable nor a linear process, but one which can ebb and flow as the colonial grip is weakened and sometimes restrengthened, often in new forms. Using the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Martinique and Guadeloupe as case studies, Grace Carrington demonstrates that a focus on the processes of decolonisation in these non-sovereign states enriches our understanding of the global experience of twentieth century decolonisation.
Direction Dependence Analysis: Foundations and Statistical Methods
by Wolfgang Wiedermann Alexander von EyeWhile regression analysis is widely understood, it falls short in determining the causal direction of relationships in observational data. In this groundbreaking volume, Wiedermann and von Eye introduce Direction Dependence Analysis (DDA), a novel method that leverages variable information often overlooked by traditional techniques, such as higher-order moments like skewness and kurtosis. DDA reveals the asymmetry properties of regression and correlation, enabling researchers to evaluate competing causal hypotheses, assess the roles of variables in causal flows, and develop statistical methods for testing causal direction. This book provides a comprehensive formal description of DDA, illustrated with both artificial and real-world data examples. Additionally, readers will find free software implementations of DDA, making this an essential resource for researchers seeking to enhance their understanding of causal relationships in data analysis.
Violin Culture in Britain, 1870–1930: Music-making, Society, and the Popularity of Stringed Instruments
by Christina BashfordInterweaving a social history of string playing with a collective biography of its participants, this book identifies and maps the rapid nationwide development of activities around the violin family in Britain from the 1870s to about 1930. Highlighting the spread of string playing among thousands of people previously excluded from taking up a stringed instrument, it shows how an infrastructure for violin culture coalesced through an expanding violin trade, influential educational initiatives, growing concert life, new string repertoire, and the nascent entertainment and catering industries. Christina Bashford draws a freshly broad picture of string playing and its popularity, emphasizing grassroots activities, amateurs' pursuits, and everyday work in the profession's underbelly—an approach that allows many long-ignored lives to be recognized and untold stories heard. The book also explores the allure of stringed instruments, especially the violin, in Britain, analyzing and contextualizing how the instruments and their players, makers, and collectors were depicted and understood.
Anticolonialism and Social Thought (LSE International Studies)
by Julian Go Anaheed Al-HardanNot only did the anticolonial movements of the past two centuries help bring down the global order of colonial empires, they also produced novel, innovative and vital social thought. Anticolonialism has been largely ignored in conventional Europe-centered social thought and theory, but this book shows how our sociological imagination can be expanded by taking challenges to colonialism and imperialism seriously. Amidst their struggles to change the world, anticolonial actors offer devastating critiques of it, challenging the racism, economic exploitation, political exclusions and social inequalities central to imperialism and colonialism. Anticolonial thinkers and activists thereby seek to understand the world they are struggling against and, in the process, develop new concepts and theorize the world in new ways. Chapters by leading scholars help uncover this dissident tradition of social thought as the authors discuss an array of anticolonial thinkers, activists and movements from Palestine, India, South Africa, Brazil, Algeria and beyond.
The Language of Memes: Patterns of Meaning Across Image and Text
by Barbara Dancygier Lieven VandelanotteInternet memes have been studied widely for their role in establishing and maintaining social relationships, and shaping public opinion, online. However, they are also a prominent and fast evolving multimodal genre, one which calls for an in-depth linguistic analysis. This book, the first of its kind, develops the analytical tools necessary to describe and understand contemporary 'image-plus-text' communication. It demonstrates how memes achieve meaning as multimodal artifacts, how they are governed by specific rules of composition and interpretation, and how such processes are driven by stance networks. It also defines a family of multimodal constructions in which images become structural components, while making language forms adjust to the emerging multimodal rules. Through analysis of several meme types, this approach defines the specificity of the memetic genre, describing established types, but also accounting for creative forms. In describing the 'grammar of memes', it provides a new model to approach multimodal genres.
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories
by Oscar WildeBiting wit and lush descriptions combine in this striking new edition of Oscar Wilde’s short story collection, which contains Wilde’s most famous story, “The Canterville Ghost.” Originally published in 1887 in the British literary magazine, The Court and Society Review. “Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime: A Study of Duty” headlines this anthology, first published in 1891. In addition to the title work, Wilde added “The Canterville Ghost,” “The Model Millionaire,” and “The Sphinx Without a Secret.” Editions dated after 1900 (including this one) also contain “The Portrait of Mr. W. H.” In the 132 years since the publication of this collection, numerous actors, writers, and even musicians wrote adaptations of “The Canterville Ghost,” the most popular of the stories in this volume. But those adaptations also made significant changes in the plot. Now with a foreword by Hugo-award nominee Paul Di Filippo, go back to the original. Read “The Canterville Ghost,” and the other stories as Oscar Wilde wrote them.
Just Two Charm Pack Quilts: Slash Your Stash; Make 16 Throw Quilts
by Cheryl BrickeyLearn how to create one quilt using charm packs from two different collections with sixteen new charm pack quilt projects in two colorways.Combine two charm packs to make quilts, with two colorways for every project! Based on the popularity of her first book, Just One Charm Pack Quilts, this book shows readers how to combine charm packs from two different collections, swap fabrics in and out of an existing charm pack, or make a charm pack and use it with a stashed charm pack. Watch the colors dance in the modern, geometric quilt designs, and use the finished quilts for snuggling with loved ones or gifting.Slash your stash to make beautiful quilts in two colorwaysBecome a fabric matching guru by learning Cheryl’s process of selecting and combining fabricsStunning geometric patterns stand out against negative space in the best way
Guardians of Necessity: The Ultimate Human Right and Obligation
by Scott Hathway BarlowYou are alone and finishing up some shopping at the local mall when you hear a young woman scream for help. You notice that she’s surrounded by several men. Your mind begins the justification process: she is just playing; someone else will come to her aid. As you hesitate, the young woman is dragged into a van and they disappear. Already late for a meeting, as you power walk toward your office you see a young boy crying and being dragged to a car. Your mind begins the justification process: the child is just being petulant; if it is really an issue, others will jump in to help the child. You hesitate and the boy is forced into the car, and they disappear. You just arrive home from work exhausted and ready for supper. You see your elderly next-door neighbor, who lives alone, being verbally belittled by a worker he hired to do some type of chore. Your mind begins the justification process: it’s a dispute between them; I don’t know my neighbor well enough to intervene. In each of these cases, would you be surprised to learn that the young woman was abducted and murdered, the young boy is still missing, and the elderly neighbor was just scammed of a significant portion of his life savings? Most of us think we are not capable of rendering aid. If we do, we reason, we could be hurt, sued, or embarrassed because we misinterpreted the situation. Guardians of Necessity recognizes the right of all humans to defend themselves and others against an attack. This right is in reality an obligation that carries an awesome responsibility. Within these pages the reader is taken through the history of this right, the legal and political climate surrounding this right, and the importance of preparing to exercise this ultimate right.