- Table View
- List View
Mounted: On Horses, Blackness, and Liberation
by Bitter KalliJoining the growing Black creative movement currently refashioning horses and cowboy imagery, a thoughtful, probing exploration of the shared history of Blackness and horses which reveals what its image can teach us about nationhood, race, and culture. Drawing on their personal history as a former urban equestrian, Black queer person, and child of Jamaican and Filipino immigrants, essayist and art critic Bitter Kalli contends the horse should be regarded as a critical source of power and identity in Black life.In a series of astute essays, Kalli explores the work of Black artists and influencers from Beyoncé to filmmakers Tiona Nekkia-McClodden and Jeymes Samuel and explores their own life-long relationship to equines. Alternatively playful and critical, meditative and biting, these essays navigate time and place—from the shadows of racetracks where jockey culture and the ubiquity of “equestrian chic” was born, to the reclamation—or, in Lil Nas X’s word, yeehawification—of the image of the cowboy, to the fraught connections of equestrian sport to slavery, US militarization, and European colonial domination. At heart, Kalli probes a central question: What does it mean for Black people to ride and tend horses in the context of a culture that has also used horses against them?Throughout these essays, Kalli reflects on the experience of being the only Black member of the equestrian team at Columbia University, and how the aesthetics, ethos, and practice of horse stewardship contributed to their understanding of gender, sexuality, and radical community building. Mounted moves beyond the reductive stereotypes that dominate our perceptions of “horse people”—the swaggering masculinity, snooty elitism, and assumed whiteness—to reveal how Black people relate to the image and physical presence of the horse in nature and culture, considering violence, sexualization, power, migration, and more through its image.
The Last LIne of Defense: How to Beat the Left in Court
by Eric SchmittOne of the Senate's leading conservatives reveals the key approaches needed for the Right to triumph over liberal lawyers and out-of-control judges.When Joe Biden took office, Eric Schmitt had been attorney general for just over two years and had been focused on tackling violent crime. As soon as he began to see the outrageous excesses of the Biden Administration, he and his team snapped into action, waging war on the Biden regimes' stunning attempts at government overreach, winning some of the most important fights in modern American history, helping set the stage for a return to commonsense in government.Now, in The Last Line of Defense, Senator Schmitt takes readers behind the scenes of those battles for the first time, talks about the lessons learned, and how conservatives can keep winning in court and beyond. He takes you inside some of his biggest wins against:· Mask mandates and vaccine mandates· Student debt forgiveness· Restrictions on Second Amendment rights· Soros-backed prosecutors· Woke ideology in our schools· Open borders· Attacks on free speech· The weaponization of government agencies With President Trump back in office and the Left fighting him at every turn, it's more important than ever to remember just how close we came to losing it all — and why we need to keep playing to win.
The Battle of the Bookshops: A Novel
by Poppy AlexanderA charming literary-themed novel about a young woman determined to save her great-aunt’s beloved bookshop from extinction by the shiny new competition—which also happens to be run by the handsome son of her family’s rivals.The cute, seaside town of Portneath has been the home of Capelthorne’s Books for nearly a hundred years…The shop, in the heart of a high street that stretches crookedly down the hill from the castle to the sea, may be a tad run-down these days, but to Jules Capelthorne, the wonky, dusty world of literary treasures is full of precious childhood memories. When her great-aunt Florence gets too frail to run it alone, Jules ditches her junior publishing job in London and comes home to make the bookshop’s hundredth birthday a celebration to remember.Jules quickly discovers things are worse than she ever imagined: The bookshop is close to bankruptcy, unlikely to make it to its own centenary celebration, and the lease on the building is up for renewal. With a six-figure sum needed, the future looks bleak.To make matters worse, the owner of the property is the insufferable Roman Montbeau, from the posh, local family who owns half of Portneath. The Montbeaus and Capelthornes have feuded for years, and Roman has clearly not improved since he tormented Jules as a child. Fresh from a high-flying career in New York, he is on a mission to shake things up, and—unforgivably—proves his point about Capelthorne’s being a relic of the past by opening a new bookshop directly opposite—a shiny, plate-glass-windowed emporium of books.Jules may not be able to splash the cash on promotions and marketing like the Montbeaus, but she’s got some ideas of her own, plus she has a tenacity that may just win the hardest of hearts and the most hopeless of conflicts.Let the battle of the bookshops commence…
Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler
by Susana M. MorrisA magnificent cultural biography that charts the life of one of our greatest writers, situating her alongside the key historical and social moments that shaped her work. As the first Black woman to consistently write and publish in the field of science fiction, Octavia Butler was a trailblazer. With her deft pen, she created stories speculating the devolution of the American empire, using it as an apt metaphor for the best and worst of humanity—our innovation and ingenuity, our naked greed and ambition, our propensity for violence and hierarchy. Her fiction charts the rise and fall of the American project—the nation’s transformation from a provincial backwater to a capitalist juggernaut—made possible by chattel slavery—to a bloated imperialist superpower on the verge of implosion. In this outstanding work, Susana M. Morris places Butler’s story firmly within the cultural, social, and historical context that shaped her life: the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, women’s liberation, queer rights, Reaganomics. Morris reveals how these influences profoundly impacted Butler’s personal and intellectual trajectory and shaped the ideas central to her writing. Her cautionary tales warn us about succumbing to fascism, gender-based violence, and climate chaos while offering alternate paradigms to religion, family, and understanding our relationships to ourselves. Butler envisioned futures with Black women at the center, raising our awareness of how those who are often dismissed have the knowledge to shift the landscape of our world. But her characters are no magical martyrs, they are tough, flawed, intelligent, and complicated, a reflection of Butler’s stories. Morris explains what drove Butler: She wrote because she felt she must. “Who was I anyway? Why should anyone pay attention to what I had to say? Did I have anything to say? I was writing science fiction and fantasy, for God’s sake. At that time nearly all professional science-fiction writers were white men. As much as I loved science fiction and fantasy, what was I doing? Well, whatever it was, I couldn’t stop. Positive obsession is about not being able to stop just because you’re afraid and full of doubts. Positive obsession is dangerous. It’s about not being able to stop at all.”
Swap: A Secret History of the New Cold War
by Joe Parkinson Drew HinshawFrom the Wall Street Journal's award-winning international investigations team comes a spellbinding account of a spy war between the U.S. and Russia that transformed into a ruthless game of hostage-taking, in which Putin held all the cards.Narrated with the propulsive drive of a spy thriller and packed with revelatory reporting, Swap takes you deep inside a shadow war that will upend how you think about global politics. It is the first full account of the Kremlin’s game of human poker—and the extraordinary lengths the U.S. had to go to to retrieve its citizens, including Brittney Griner, Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan, Alsu Kurmasheva, and numerous others whose arrests were unseen collateral damage in a hidden conflict.Swap unspools the history behind the series of prisoner trades that returned Moscow and Washington to the crude transactional logic of the Cold War, culminating in the two rivals’ largest and most complex swap ever. On August 1, 2024, twenty-four people jailed in seven nations were exchanged, including eight Russian spies, smugglers, hackers, and a professional hit man. But that headline moment was only the climax of a secret war two decades in the making.Investigative reporters Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson were Pulitzer finalists for their work with Gershkovich to uncover the Russian officials responsible for resurrecting a brutal tactic once wielded by the KGB. Now they reveal the story of how the Russian government planted deep-cover agents in the West, how the CIA tracked them down, and how Russia responded by snatching American citizens—imprisoning them under false or jacked-up charges—forcing the U.S. government to play Putin’s game.Swap takes you inside the Oval Office, the Kremlin, the headquarters of the CIA and MI6, and the living rooms of ordinary families forced to become activists in order to bring their loved ones home. You’ll meet the Gulf royals, billionaire tech moguls, and unlikely Hollywood intermediaries navigating back channels to save lives. You’ll visit remote Arctic prison camps and cordoned-off Middle Eastern airstrips. And you’ll discover how the CIA and MI6 waged a quiet, high-stakes campaign against a Kremlin that was abducting Americans to build leverage.Tracking each move and countermove in a multilayered Rubik’s Cube of negotiations, Swap unscrambles and decodes the spy craft really going on between the U.S. and Russia, offering a chilling diagnosis for how power works in the twenty-first century.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Love \ Sobre el amor (Spanish edition)
by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Esta recopilación inédita que recoge las reflexiones del Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sobre el amor y su poder transformador. Una adición especial a los archivos del Dr. King, publicada exclusivamente por HarperCollins. «Yo también he decidido quedarme con el amor porque sé que, en última instancia, el amor es la única respuesta a los problemas de la humanidad». —Martin Luther King Jr. El Dr. King, uno de los mayores líderes de la lucha por los derechos civiles de la historia, escribió y reflexionó con frecuencia sobre el amor. Entendía su poder transformador y el papel esencial que desempeñaba en su misión como catalizador del cambio positivo. Ahora, por primera vez, los lectores tendrán acceso a muchos de los escritos del Dr. King sobre el amor, en una recopilación profundamente perspicaz, conmovedora y transformadora. Cada sección del libro va acompañada de breves comentarios editoriales introductorios que reflexionan sobre el contexto histórico de cada discurso, sermón o escrito, y que enriquecerán aún más la comprensión y el aprecio del lector por la sabiduría atemporal del Dr. King. El amor es objeto de estudio, defensa y debate en todo el mundo. Es la preocupación central de muchas prácticas religiosas. Los lectores sienten una profunda curiosidad por su naturaleza. Los cuatro amores de C. S. Lewis, Cómo amar de Thich Nhat Hanh o incluso Todo sobre el amor de Bell Hooks demuestran que lectores y escritores comparten este anhelo y fascinación universales por desvelar los misterios del amor. Este libro es el primer volumen de una serie de reflexiones del Dr. King sobre distintos temas extraídas de sus archivos. Al agrupar su obra por temas, los lectores podrán vislumbrar la evolución de sus ideas y comprender las circunstancias en las que cada tema surgió para guiarlo en sus preocupaciones.A remarkable compilation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s reflections on love and its transformative power—a stellar addition to Dr. King’s archives published exclusively by HarperCollins.“I have also decided to stick with love for I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind’s problems.”—Martin Luther King Jr.Dr. King, one of the greatest civil rights leaders in history, wrote and reflected frequently about love. He understood its transformative power and the essential role love played in his mission as the catalyst for positive change.Now for the first time, in this project of the Dr. King archives published exclusively by HarperCollins, readers will get access to many of King’s writings on love—compiled in a deeply insightful, moving and transformative work of literature. Each section of the book is accompanied by brief introductory editorial remarks that reflect on the historical context of each speech, sermon, and piece of writing, and will further enrich the reader's understanding and appreciation of Dr. King's timeless wisdom.Love is explored, championed, and debated around the world. It is the central concern of many religious practices. Readers are deeply curious about its nature. C.S. Lewis' The Four Loves, Thich Nhat Hanh's How To Love, or even bell hooks' All About Love showcase that readers and writers share this universal longing and fascination to uncover love’s mysteries.This book represents the first volume in an "On" series from the MLK archives, featuring MLK on various subjects. By grouping his work by subject, readers will get a glimpse at the evolution of his ideas and understand the circumstances in which that theme emerged to lead his concerns.
Once a Villain (Only a Monster #3)
by Vanessa Len"Mind-bending, heart wrenching, and unputdownable!” —Stephanie Garber, New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series, on Only a MonsterThe final book in the lauded Only a Monster trilogy is here—where the unstoppable love and high stakes of Divine Rivals meets the propulsive thrills of This Savage Song in a last-ditch, breathless race against time.Joan has failed to stop Eleanor.Now Eleanor rules over a cruel new timeline where monsters live openly among humans, preying on them and subjugating them.Nick—once a hero to humans, and Joan’s first love—is tormented by the choice he made to save her over the timeline itself. And Aaron—the ruthless heir to a powerful monster family—now finds himself in a world where monsters have power beyond imagining while his feelings for Joan grow.Wrenched between love and rivalry, the three of them must negotiate their fractured pasts to survive the new world and restore what was lost. Because only they remember that there was once a better timeline.But how will they defeat a whole world of monsters with control over time itself?
Dive
by John David AndersonFrom the beloved author of Posted comes a powerful, poignant, and unexpected coming-of-age story about the rules in life that box us in—and the determination it takes to break out.From the moment Kassandra Conner leaps from the diving board to the moment she hits the water, everything feels in control.The rest of her life does not.St. Lawrence Academy is supposed to have everything Kass's old school didn’t: safe hallways, small classes, and, most important, a chance to dive. But since transferring, all Kass can think about is what’s missing. Like her best friend, Aleah, who’s starting to pull away. Or the comfortable life so many of her classmates enjoy while Kass’s family’s restaurant struggles to stay afloat. Even the excitement she always felt in the pool, now that she’s on the same team as Amber Moore—the best diver in the state, who’s barely said two words to her all year.Kass feels like she’s drowning, until she meets a boy named Miles. He’s a diver, too—someone who searches through dumpsters in the posh side of town for things he can salvage or sell. Miles knows what it’s like to be boxed in by things you can’t control, and as Kass spends more and more time with him, she starts to wonder what would happen if she tried to break out of her own box—and what she might lose by doing so.
Leaving the Station
by Jake Maia ArlowNina LaCour meets Alyson Derrick in this cross-country journey of identity, love, and friendships as Zoe tries to figure out her life, one train stop at a time.Zoe’s life has gone off the rails.When she left Seattle to go to college in New York, she was determined to start fresh, to figure out what being a lesbian meant to her, to experiment with clothes and presentation away from home for the first time. Instead, she lost touch with her freshman orientation friend group, skipped classes, and failed completely at being the studious premed student her parents wanted her to be. But the biggest derailment of all? Her newly minted ex-boyfriend—and the fact that she had a boyfriend to begin with. When she met Alden, he made her feel wanted, he made her feel free. He made her feel . . . like she could be like him, which was exciting and confusing all at once.So, Zoe decides a second fresh start is in order: She’s going to take a cross-country train from New York to Seattle for fall break. There, no one will know who she is, and she can outrun her mistakes.Or so she thinks until she meets Oakley, who’s the opposite of Zoe in so many ways: effortlessly cool and hot, smart, self-assured. But as Zoe and Oakley make their way across the country, Zoe realizes that Oakley’s life has also gone off the rails—and that they might just be able to help each other along before that train finally leaves the station.
Psycho-Cybernetics 365: Thrive and Grow Every Day of the Year
by Maxwell Maltz Matthew FureyThe ultimate 365-day guide to the life-changing principles of Psycho-CyberneticsIn 1960, Dr. Maxwell Maltz introduced his revolutionary theory of psycho-cybernetics: the science of using self-image psychology, visualization and action to achieve your goals. These ground-breaking concepts established him as a pioneer in the self-development field and transformed the lives and careers of people all over the world. Dr. Maltz’s works, including Psycho-Cyberntics, have reached more than thirty-five million readers.Psycho-Cybernetics 365 contains quotes and ideas from a variety of Dr. Maltz's works, including his classic Thoughts to Live By. Matthew Furey, a Maltz scholar and president of the Psycho-Cybernetics Foundation, decodes these ideas with practical and inspiring insights to help the reader implement the unique psycho-cybernetics principles of visualization and goal-striving to reshape their lives and increase their achievements each day of the year. By following the daily wisdom of Psycho-Cybernetics 365, readers will understand how to “steer their ship,” and accomplish far more than they ever believed possible.
Whites: Stories
by Mark DotenThe excoriating stories in Mark Doten’s brilliant first collection dissect the pathological narratives that shape our culture and country. Narrated by a crosscutting array of White people, Doten's stories spotlight the self-serving logic through which their characters struggle to make sense of, and take control of, the narrative of our time. They run the political spectrum from “well-intentioned” liberals and newly woke CEOs to Trump appointees, QAnon adherents, and believers in replacement theory. There is an anti-vax nursing home employee, an anti-woke billionaire, a nonbinary sneaker podcaster turned January 6 insurrectionist, a nonprofit LA housing president dubbed “WORST KAREN EVER,” an elderly Republican in denial of his COVID-19 diagnosis, teenage YouTubers responding to a shooting at their suburban Minnesota school, a demonically possessed cookie manufacturer drafting a BLM statement with his new Black employee, and a gay White supremacist figure who may be a joke on 4chan, but will have his revenge.While their identities and allegiances differ, all of them are united by a ferocious belief in themselves, certain that everything they’ve done can be justified, if you’ll just hear them out. In Whites, Doten has written a relentless book that confirms their standing as one of the great satirists of their generation.
Artrage!: The Inside Story of the BritArt Revolution
by Elizabeth FullertonThe first definitive account of the groundbreaking Young British Artists, from their dramatic arrival in the late 1980s through the disbanding of the group and beyond The Young British Artists (YBAs) stormed onto the contemporary art scene in 1988 with their attention-grabbing, ironic art. Both dismissed as trivial gimmickry and praised for its witty energy, their art made an indelible mark on the art scene and on public consciousness, still visible today. Brit Art tells the story of the YBAs, chronicling the group’s rise to prominence from the landmark show Freeze curated by Damien Hirst in the late 1980s, through the heyday of the 1990s and the notorious Sensation exhibition, to the Momart fire of 2004 that seemed to symbolize the group’s fade from center stage. A postscript reveals where they are now, with an overview of each artist’s career in the last decade. Drawing on interviews with all the key Brit Art players, as well as extensive archival research, Elizabeth Fullerton examines the entire cast of characters, as well as crucial events and seminal artworks. She considers, too, the political, economic, and artistic context of those twenty years the group was most active. Among the artists discussed are Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread, Tracey Emin, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Sarah Lucas, and Gary Hume.
Love Lucian: The Letters of Lucian Freud, 1939 - 1954
by Martin Gayford David DawsonReproductions of the young Lucian Freud’s extraordinary illustrated letters (accompanied by insightful commentary) offer an intimate glimpse of the artist’s personality and creative practice. Since his death in 2011, Lucian Freud’s reputation as one of the greatest painters of the twentieth century has continued to grow with his inimitable large-scale paintings of human figures hanging in museums worldwide and reaching dizzying prices at auction. Art historians note his talent, brilliance, and complicated personal life, but until now, his own voice has often not risen above the noise. Full of verbal and visual wit, affection and irreverence, Freud’s letters now provide a revealing and at times revelatory personal look at his life and process. This volume brings together Freud’s early letters, gathered with the endorsement of the Freud estate, from both private collections and public archives, including the Freud Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Tate. Ranging from schoolboy notes to his parents to his early recognition as a professional artist, the letters, which often feature drawings and characterful visual quirks, present the multiple facets of Freud’s complex personality. Coauthored by David Dawson, Freud’s longstanding personal assistant and now director of the Lucian Freud Archive, and Martin Gayford, author, critic, and acquaintance of Lucian Freud, these extraordinary, illustrated letters are reproduced in facsimile alongside striking reproductions of Freud’s works of this period. Linked by a narrative that weaves the letters and paintings into the story of his life, including his first marriage and separation, this book provides an intimate and fresh perspective on the first three decades of the artist’s life.
Message in a Bottle
by Nicholas SparksIn this New York Times bestseller by the author of The Notebook, a single mother sets out to find the North Carolina man who sent a message meant for someone else . . . and the journey may change her life forever. Divorced and disillusioned about relationships, Theresa Osborne is jogging when she finds a bottle on the beach. Inside is a letter of love and longing to "Catherine," signed simply "Garrett." Pulled by emotions she doesn't fully understand, Theresa begins a search for this man that will change her life. What happens to her is unexpected, perhaps miraculous—an encounter that embraces all our hopes for finding someone special, for having a love that is timeless and everlasting.... Nicholas Sparks chronicles the human heart, renewing our faith in destiny and the ability of lovers to find each other no matter where, no matter when...
Redemption Ark: A Revelation Space novel
by Alastair ReynoldsThe Inhibitors are back and Humanity is doomed!Many, many millennia ago, the Inhibitors seeded the universe with machines designed to detect intelligent life - and then to suppress it. But after hundreds of millions of years, the machines started to fail and intelligent cultures started to emerge.Then Dr Dan Sylveste and the crew of Infinity discovered what had happened to the long-vanished Amarantin race ... and awakened the Inhibitors.On Yellowstone, where no one is quite who they appear, the Inquisitor and the planet's Most Wanted War Criminal are watching as the Inhibitors turn a small group of planets into raw materials. Whatever they are building with those materials is not going to be good for Humanity.Once again, Al Reynolds has produced a stunning, universe-spanning space opera of mind-blowing proportions. Big in size, big in concepts, REDEMPTION ARK will leave you gasping at its audacity and breathless at its conclusion.This is British SF at its absolute best.Readers are hooked on the Revelation Space series:'An exceptional, incomparable read' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'Better and even darker than the previous one. And so realistic written that it gives you shivers . . . There are concepts which are simply too big to comprehend' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'A hugely satisfying read . . . one thing that is cool about this series is that I'm three books in and while there is a overall larger story being told each one is totally self-contained . . . Big ideas, a gigantic story, and a sincerely massive and awesome finale' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'It's a well-written mix of sci-fi, horror, suspense, and mystery . . . Redemption Ark is a treatise on the dangers of the kind of closed-minded thinking which plagues our world today' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐'I am blown away by the level of realism, depth, and structure of this series. Throw in some incredible characterizations and you have a premium sci-fi series' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 'Reynolds has created a fun, thought-provoking, and exciting space opera series that is as well-written as it is entertaining. Fans of Frank Herbert's "Dune" series and Dan Simmons's "Hyperion" series will enjoy' Goodreads reviewer, ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Data Mining and Information Security: Proceedings of ICDMIS 2024, Volume 5 (Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems #1389)
by Abhishek Bhattacharya Soumi Dutta Zdzislaw Polkowski Vung PhamThis book features research papers presented at the International Conference on Data Mining and Information Security (ICDMIS 2024) held at Eminent College of Management and Technology (ECMT), West Bengal, India, during October 7–8, 2024. The book is organized in five volumes and includes high-quality research work by academicians and industrial experts in the field of computing and communication, including full-length papers, research-in-progress papers and case studies related to all the areas of data mining, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT) and information security.
Computer Animation and Social Agents: 38th International Conference, CASA 2025, Strasbourg, France, June 2–4, 2025, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #15915)
by Daniel Thalmann Christos Mousas Hyewon Seo Frederic CordierThe LNCS 15915 constitutes the proceedings from the 38th International Conference on Computer Animation and Social Agents, CASA 2025, held in Strasbourg, France, during June 2–4, 2025. The 20 papers (17 from the main conference and 3 from the AniNex workshop) presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 82 submissions. These papers focus on various aspects of Computer Animation and Social Agents, such as Motion Capture & Retargeting, Physics-based Animation, Vision-based Techniques, Behavioral Animation, Facial Animation, Image-based Animation, Virtual Humans, Crowd Simulation, AI-based Animation, Deep Learning Methods, Virtual Humans and Avatars, and 3D Physiological Humans.
Spirituality and Business in the Anthropocene: Insights from Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism and Existential Humanism (Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business In Association with Future Earth)
by Laszlo ZsolnaiThis contributed volume collects innovative papers by scholars from Europe, India, and the USA to investigate how spirituality can contribute to renewing business in response to the challenges of the Anthropocene era. These challenges include climate change, biodiversity loss, ecosystems collapse, growing inequality, wellbeing deficiencies, and social unrest. Using insights from Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Existential Humanism the book explores the spiritual aspects of the present ecological, economic, social and ethical crises, materialist worldviews in the Anthropocene and their relation to crises. Further, it reinterprets personalism for embracing ecological values, presents working models of spiritually-based sustainability practices in business, and discusses the integration of spirituality into business education to foster a greater understanding of our interconnectedness with the planet and with each other. Part of the Palgrave Studies in Sustainable Business in Association with Future Earth book series, this interdisciplinary work will be of great interest to scholars and students of sustainability, spirituality in business, leadership, and many other fields.
Computational Methods in Systems Biology: 23rd International Conference, CMSB 2025, Lyon, France, September 10–12, 2025, Proceedings (Lecture Notes in Computer Science #15959)
by François Fages Sabine PérèsThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Computational Methods in Systems Biology, CMSB 2025, which took place in Lyon, France, during September 10–12, 2025. The 21 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 34 submissions sent to reviews. They are grouped into the following topics: Boolean Networks; Continuous and Hybrid models; Rule-based models; Model inference and machine learning; Population models and control.
Database and Expert Systems Applications - DEXA 2025 Workshops: AISys and AI4IP, Bangkok, Thailand, August 25–27, 2025, Proceedings (Communications in Computer and Information Science #2615)
by Ismail Khalil A Min Tjoa Gabriele Kotsis Lukas Fischer Ulrich Göhner Sebnem Gül-Ficici Dirk JacobThis volume constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Workshop on AI System Engineering: Math, Modelling and Software, AISys 2025 and the First International Workshop on Optimisation of Industrial Production with AI Algorithms, AI4IP, co-located with the 36th International Conference on Database and Expert Systems Applications, DEXA 2025, which took place in Bangkok, Thailand, during August 25-27, 2025.The 11 full papers were thoroughly reviewed and selected from a total of 23 submissions. They are organized in topical sections as follows: AI System Engineering: Math, Modelling and Software; and Optimization of Industrial Production with AI Algorithms.
Blau-zu-UV-Up-Conversion-Materialien am Beispiel von Pr3+ dotierten Silikaten und Aluminaten (Forschungsreihe der FH Münster)
by Christoph MiddelhoffZiel dieses Buches ist die Untersuchung der Eigenschaften sowie die Optimierung von Praseodym-dotierten Silikaten und Aluminaten als Materialien für die Up-Conversion. Ein weiteres Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Effizienz der Up-Conversion in diesen Systemen zu bewerten und die zugrunde liegenden physikalischen Mechanismen zu verstehen. Es wurden einige anorganische Up-Converter synthetisiert, darunter SrLi2SiO4, CaLi2SiO4, Lu3Al5O12 und Ca2Al2SiO7, jeweils mit unterschiedlichen Dotierungen und Modifikationen. Die Synthese der Materialien erfolgte durch eine Festkörpersynthese oder der Verbrennungsmethode, gefolgt von umfangreichen Charakterisierungen mittels Röntgenpulverdiffraktometrie, Up-Conversion-Spektroskopie und weiteren spektroskopischen Methoden. Besonders vielversprechend sind die Ergebnisse für das Material CaLi2SiO4 mit einer Co-Dotierung von Pr3+ und Gd3+, dessen Optimierungen und Modifikationen signifikante Fortschritte bei der Up-Conversion zeigen und zudem eine potenzielle Anwendung als Lasermaterial eröffnen. Diese Ergebnisse sind eine solide Basis für weiterführende Untersuchungen und Anwendungen in Bereichen wie der medizinischen Diagnostik, Umwelttechnik und optischen Kommunikation.
Cancer Immunotherapy and Nanobiotechnology: An Interdisciplinary Approach (Interdisciplinary Cancer Research #25)
by Nima RezaeiThe “Cancer Immunotherapy and Nanobiotechnology: An Interdisciplinary Approach” is the twenty fifth volume of the “Interdisciplinary Cancer Research” series, publishes comprehensive volume on cancer immunotherapy and nanobiotechnology. The volume starts with chapters on targeting mitochondria in cancer immunotherapy, immunotherapy in oncology, and cancer treatments through immunological pathways. Immune checkpoint inhibitors as well as engineered iPSC-based strategies are explained in other chapters after discussion on cancer stem cells. CAR NK, CAR T cells, and DC therapy are the subjects of the following chapters. Then tumor microenviroment in response to immunotherapy and T-cell responses during cancer immunotherapy through the use of imaging are explained. The second half of the volume is focused on application of nanobiotechnology in cancer, starting with general chapters on nanotechnology for cancer research, nanotechnology and cancer therapy strategies, nanomedicine based cancer immunotherapy, applications of nanocarrier systems in cancer treatment, and nanoformulations in cancer theranostics. Then the role of metal nanomaterials in cancer therapy, synthetic drug nanodelivery systems, nanoparticles loaded with cytotoxic agents, nanocarrier-mediated drug delivery, vesicular nanosystem, and nanoscale metal-organic frameworks for cancer-targeted therapy are explained. This is the main concept of Cancer Immunology Project (CIP), which is a part of Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN). This interdisciplinary book will be of special value for those who wish to have an update on cancer immunotherapy and nanobiotechnology.
Theorie der literarischen Vortragskunst (Studien zur Literaturvermittlung #5)
by Reinhart Meyer-KalkusTheoretische Ansätze zur Analyse literarischer Vortragskunst thematisieren gewöhnlich nur Teilaspekte, aber nicht das Zusammenspiel aller ihrer Faktoren, also von Akteuren, Zuhörern, Räumen, Performances, Vortragsvorlagen und Medientechniken. Auf der Grundlage von Goffmans Performance-Begriff und der amerikanischen Ethnographie des Sprechens entwickelt das vorliegende Buch eine umfassende Konzeption der Vortragskunst als Interaktionsritual und greift dabei auf sprech- und literaturwissenschaftliche Formanalysen zurück, um die Vortragsstimme, ihre unterschiedlichen Sprechgattungen und prosodischen Ausdrucksmittel zu beschreiben.
Intelligent Computing: Proceedings of the 2025 Computing Conference, Volume 1 (Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems #1423)
by Kohei AraiThis book compiles a curated selection of insightful, rigorously researched, and state-of-the-art papers presented at the Computing Conference 2025, hosted in London, UK, on June 19–20, 2025. Drawing submissions from across the globe, the conference received 473 papers, each subjected to a stringent double-blind peer-review process. Of these, 169 papers were accepted for inclusion, reflecting exceptional scholarship and innovation across disciplines such as IoT, artificial intelligence, computing, data science, networking, data security, and privacy. Researchers, academics, and industry leaders converged to share pioneering ideas, transformative methodologies, and practical solutions to real-world challenges. By bridging academic theory and industrial application, the conference catalyzed opportunities for knowledge synthesis and interdisciplinary progress. The diverse contributions within this proceedings not only address contemporary technological issues but also anticipate future trends, offering frameworks for continued exploration. We trust this collection will serve as an indispensable reference for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers navigating the evolving landscapes of computing and digital innovation. As we reflect on the conference&’s outcomes, we are confident that the insights and collaborations forged here will inspire sustained advancements in these critical fields. May the ideas within these pages spark further inquiry, drive technological evolution, and contribute meaningfully to solving the challenges of our interconnected world.
Religions and Communism: Andre Scrima’s Ecumenical Activities Reflected in Securitate Archives (Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue)
by Iuliu-Marius MorariuThis book explores the ecumenical activity of Fr. Andre Scrima (1925–2000), a Romanian theologian in exile who played a significant role in the Second Vatican Council. Drawing on previously unpublished sources, it examines how his work and influence were closely monitored by the Romanian Communist regime, shedding light on the surveillance strategies of the Securitate. In addition to uncovering state security records—presented in a unique appendix—the book offers a comprehensive study of Scrima’s theological contributions, his role as a professor and writer, and his relationships within the Romanian exile community, particularly in France. Building on the author's extensive research published in academic journals and edited volumes, this work provides an essential resource for scholars of religious studies, church history, and Cold War-era intellectual movements.