Five feature-length action adventures based on the Marvel comic.

In 'X-Men' (2000), mutants Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) are former friends, but look set to become mortal enemies when fascist US senator Robert Frank Kelly calls for the registration of all humans with abnormal powers. While telepath Xavier, who runs an altruistic academy for superhuman 'X-Men', wishes to enlighten non-mutants and break down the prejudices which divide them, Magneto believes that the only solution is for the mutants to take over. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) - an aggressive loner with an admantium skeleton and the ability to heal his body of any wound - and teenager Rogue (Anna Paquin), who can absorb the life force of others simply by touching them, are selected by Xavier to join his academy, but it isn't long before Magneto's followers are attempting to capture them so that they can assist in his plan for world domination.

In the sequel, 'X-Men 2' (2003), Xavier, Wolverine and the X-Men find themselves in the firing line after a failed assassination attempt on the president points the finger at the school. It was in fact the mysterious teleporter Nightwalker (Alan Cumming) who ordered it, and, in an attempt to clear their names, the X-Men are led into a trap set by the evil William Stryker (Brian Cox), a mysterious scientist apparently working for the government. As it soon becomes evident that Stryker's agenda is to destroy all mutants, the X-Men need to call in the help of many of their old friends and foes, including Magneto, if they are to stop him.

In the third film, 'X-Men: The Last Stand' (2006), the mutants are given the option of giving up their powers and becoming human after a private laboratory supported by the government finds a way to use the DNA of a powerful boy to correct the mutants. However, Magneto opposes and decides to join a force to fight against the government and kill the mutant boy. Meanwhile, Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) resurrects, uncontrolled by Xavier, and with the personality of the powerful Dark Phoenix. She destroys Cyclops (James Marsden) and Xavier and allies herself to the evil forces of Magneto, making them almost invincible.

The fourth film in the franchise, 'X-Men: Origins - Wolverine' (2009) is a prequel to the other three films. Hugh Jackman reprises his role as Wolverine, who, some 20 years before the action of the original movie, is seeking revenge on his half-brother Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber) for the death of his girlfriend, and eventually signs up to the ominous Weapon X programme.

Finally, 'X-Men: First Class' (2011) charts the beginning of the saga, following Professor X (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) through their formative years in the 1960s as they come to terms with their newfound superpowers. Initially close friends who work together to fight against evil, the two men are driven apart by a conflict of opinion that ultimately leads to the eternal war between Magneto's Brotherhood and Professor X's X-Men.

Double bill of sci-fi action films based on the first two novels of Suzanne Collins' trilogy. In 'The Hunger Games' (2012) Jennifer Lawrence stars as 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a citizen of the totalitarian post-apocalyptic country of Panem, formerly the United States. Every year, the all-powerful ruling agency known as the Capitol selects one boy and one girl from each of Panem's 12 impoverished rival districts to fight to the death on live national television in a contest known as 'The Hunger Games', in which the winner is given food to feed their entire district for a year. When her younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is selected as a contestant, Katniss steps up to take her place. Under the tutelage of inebriated former champion Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Katniss goes into training for the fight of her life. In 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire' (2013), fresh from her triumph in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss, along with fellow winner Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), returns home to District 12 for some much-needed rest. But soon after, while on a 'Victory Tour' of the other districts, she becomes aware of growing dissent to the Capitol's rule, and realises that rebellion is in the air. As Panem prepares itself for the third 'Quarter Quell' (75th Hunger Games), autocratic ruler President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland), still smarting from the Capitol's humiliation in the last games, stacks the deck to ensure that the upcoming tournament will wipe out any resistance from the districts once and for all.

Jennifer Lawrence reprises her role as Katniss Everdeen in the second instalment of the sci-fi adventure trilogy based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. Fresh from her triumph in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss, along with fellow winner Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), returns home to District 12 for some much needed rest. But soon after, while on a 'Victory Tour' of the other districts, she becomes aware of growing dissent to the Capitol's rule, and realises that rebellion is in the air. As Panem prepares itself for the third 'Quarter Quell' (75th Hunger Games), autocratic ruler President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland), still smarting from the Capitol's humiliation in the last games, stacks the deck to ensure that the upcoming tournament will wipe out any resistance from the districts once and for all.

Gary Ross directs this sci-fi action film based on the best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins. Jennifer Lawrence stars as 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a citizen of the totalitarian post-apocalyptic country of Panem, formerly the United States. Every year, the all-powerful ruling agency known as the Capitol selects one boy and one girl from each of Panem's 12 impoverished rival districts to fight to the death on live national television in a contest known as 'The Hunger Games', in which the winner is given food to feed their entire district for a year. When her younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is selected as a contestant, Katniss steps up to take her place in the match. Under the tutelage of inebriated former champion Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Katniss goes into training for the fight of her life.

Jennifer Lawrence reprises her role as Katniss Everdeen in the third instalment of the sci-fi film series based on the novels by Suzanne Collins. In the aftermath of the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss finds herself in the underground District 13, struggling to adjust to her new life and role as the 'Mockingjay' in the rebellion against the Capitol and tyrannical ruler President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Meanwhile, her friend and fellow Games victor Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) is in the hands of the Capitol, where he is tortured and brainwashed. Katniss soon realises that to save the ones she loves she will have to join the revolt, led by President Coin (Julianne Moore), and become a symbol of hope for the rebels. With help from her friends and allies, including Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth), Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) and Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Katniss sets out to bring down the Capitol and President Snow once and for all.

In the high frequency world, the passive technologies required to realize RF and microwave functionality present distinctive challenges. SAW filters, dielectric resonators, MEMS, and waveguide do not have counterparts in the low frequency or digital environment. Even when conventional lumped components can be used in high frequency applications, their behavior does not resemble that observed at lower frequencies. RF and Microwave Passive and Active Technologies provides detailed information about a wide range of component technologies used in modern RF and microwave systems.

Updated chapters include new material on such technologies as MEMS, device packaging, surface acoustic wave (SAW) filters, bipolar junction and heterojunction transistors, and high mobility electron transistors (HMETs). The book also features a completely rewritten section on wide bandgap transistors.

This magisterial Norton Anthology, edited by world-renowned scholars under the direction of Pulitzer Prize winner Jack Miles, offers a portable library of more than 1,000 primary texts from the world s major religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism (Volume 1); and Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Volume 2). The anthology brings together foundational works the Bhagavad Gita, the Daode jing, the Bible, the Qur an with the writings of scholars, seekers, believers, and skeptics whose voices over centuries have kept these religions vital. Beginning with the provocative question, Can religion be defined?, Miles s dazzling introduction tells a new story: traveling from prehistory to the present day, he illuminates how world religions came to be acknowledged and studied, absorbed and altered, understood and misunderstood. To help readers encounter strikingly unfamiliar texts with pleasure, this Norton Anthology provides accessible introductions, headnotes, annotations, pronouncing glossaries, maps, illustrations, and chronologies.

For readers of any religion or none, The Norton Anthology of World Religions opens new worlds that, as Miles writes, invite us all to see others with a measure of openness, empathy, and good will. . . . In that capacity lies the foundation of human sympathy and cultural wisdom. "

WISC-V: Clinical Use and Interpretation, Second Edition provides practical information for clinicians on the selection of subtest measures, along with their proper administration and interpretation. Full Scale IQ is identified as important for predicting relevant behaviors and primary index scores for characterizing the child's strengths and weaknesses. Classroom indicators of low scores on each of these abilities are identified, with suggested interventions, accommodations and instructional strategies for low scorers. Coverage includes ethnic differences for the Full Scale IQ and each primary index score, along with evidence of the profound influence of parental attitudes and expectations. Several other societal and contextual factors relevant to understanding racial/ethnic differences are presented. Two chapters review use of the WISC-V for identifying learning disabilities, testing of individuals with dyslexia, and best-practice recommendations to ensure accurate diagnosis and intervention. Concluding chapters describe advances in the Q-interactive system platform allowing administration of the WISC-V on iPads and other tablets, and how clinicians can tailor assessment using select WISC-V subtests and features.

Published in August of 2008, WAIS IV is the most widely used intelligence test for adults in the world. Substantive changes were made to the WAIS-IV from the WAIS-III leaving clinicians with questions as to how to use and interpret the measure effectively. Written by the creators of the new test, this book serves as the ultimate insider's guide to the new test, providing users with the kind of access to norms and data that would be unavailable to any subsequent book on clinical use of this measure.

The book discusses the changes made between 3rd and 4th editions along with an FAQ and answers about use and interpretation. The reader is instructed how to interpret composite scores, and everything needed to use and interpret two entirely new composite scores: the General Ability Index (GAI), and the Cognitive Proficiency Index (CPI). This information does NOT appear in the manual accompanying the test.

The second section of the book focuses on WAIS IV use and interpretation with special clinical applications and populations, including with multicultural clients, in neuropsychological settings, with individuals experiencing psychological disorders, and with older adults. The editors and chapter authors have exclusive access to proprietary WAIS IV data to run advanced analyses and provide information beyond what is offered in the WAIS-IV manual.
* Provides practical advice on scoring and administration
* Facilitates understanding WAIS-IV use with special populations
* Describes use of the WAIS-IV with WMS-II"

People's Peace lays a solid foundation for the argument that global peace is possible because ordinary people are its architects. Saikia and Haines offer a unique and imaginative perspective on people's daily lives across the world as they struggle to create peace despite escalating political violence. The volume's focus on local and ordinary efforts highlights peace as a lived experience that goes beyond national and international peace efforts. In addition, the contributors' emphasis on the role of religion as a catalyst for peace moves away from the usual depiction of religion as a source of divisiveness and conflict. Spanning a range of humanities disciplines, the essays in this volume provide case studies of individuals defying authority or overcoming cultural stigmas to create peaceful relations in their communities. From investigating how ancient Jews established communal justice to exploring how black and white citizens in Ferguson, Missouri, are working to achieve racial harmony, the contributors find that people are acting independently of governments and institutions to identify everyday methods of coexisting with others. In putting these various approaches in dialogue with each other, this volume produces a theoretical intervention that shifts the study of peace away from national and international organizations and institutions toward locating successful peaceful efforts in the everyday lives of individuals.

This volume covers topics on humanitarian engineering education of the Lenox Institute of Water Technology and recent advances in potable water and wastewater flotation processes. The specific advancements covered include: chemical coagulation and precipitation enhancements, first wave of flotation advancement for potable water treatment, second wave of flotation technology advancement for wastewater treatment, innovative circular gravity flotation, fiber detection, fiber separation, independent physicochemical wastewater treatment systems, primary flotation clarification, secondary flotation clarification, tertiary treatment, activated sludge and flotation wastewater treatment, cold weather wastewater conditions, operation and performance of the AquaDAF process system, operation and performance of the Clari-DAF process system, water purification, spectrophotometric determination of dissolved proteins, biological and physicochemical sequencing batch reactors, and sedimentation and flotation comparisons. The book will be of value to advanced undergraduate and graduate students, to designers of flotation systems, and to scientists and researchers.

The Wechsler Intelligence Scale is the most widely used intelligence test for children worldwide. WISC-V introduces new subtests, composite scores, process scores, error scores, and scaled scores as a more complex and accurate means of assessing cognitive abilities. WISC-V Assessment and Interpretation provides practical information for clinicians on selection of subtest measures, administration, and interpretation. New subtests are described along with tips for accurate administration and scoring. Full Scale IQ is identified as important for predicting relevant behaviors, and primary index scores for characterizing the child's strengths and weaknesses. Classroom indicators of low scores on each of these abilities are identified, with suggested interventions, accommodations, and instructional strategies for low scorers. Coverage includes ethnic differences for the Full Scale IQ and each primary index score, along with evidence of the profound influence of parental attitudes and expectations. Several other societal and contextual factors relevant to understanding racial/ethnic differences are presented. Two chapters review use of the WISC-V for identifying learning disabilities, testing of individuals with dyslexia, and best-practice recommendations to ensure accurate diagnosis and intervention. Concluding chapters describe advances in the Q-interactive system platform allowing administration of the WISC-V on iPads and other tablets and how clinicians can tailor assessment using select WISC-V subtests and features.

The idea that the self is inextricably intertwined with the rest of the world-the "oneness hypothesis"-can be found in many of the world's philosophical and religious traditions. Oneness provides ways to imagine and achieve a more expansive conception of the self as fundamentally connected with other people, creatures, and things. Such views present profound challenges to Western hyperindividualism and its excessive concern with self-interest and tendency toward self-centered behavior. This anthology presents a wide-ranging, interdisciplinary exploration of the nature and implications of the oneness hypothesis. While fundamentally inspired by East and South Asian traditions, in which such a view is often critical to their philosophical approach, this collection also draws upon religious studies, psychology, and Western philosophy, as well as sociology, evolutionary theory, and cognitive neuroscience. Contributors trace the oneness hypothesis through the works of East Asian and Western schools, including Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Platonism and such thinkers as Zhuangzi, Kant, James, and Dewey. They intervene in debates over ethics, cultural difference, identity, group solidarity, and the positive and negative implications of metaphors of organic unity. Challenging dominant views that presume that the proper scope of the mind stops at the boundaries of skin and skull, The Oneness Hypothesis shows that a more relational conception of the self is not only consistent with contemporary science but has the potential to lead to greater happiness and well-being for both individuals and the larger wholes of which they are parts.

The past 30 years have seen the emergence of a growing desire worldwide that positive actions be taken to restore and protect the environment from the degrading effects of all forms of pollution - air, water, soil, and noise. Since pollution is a direct or indirect consequence of waste, the seemingly idealistic demand for "zero discharge" can be construed as an unreal- tic demand for zero waste. However, as long as waste continues to exist, we can only attempt to abate the subsequent pollution by converting it to a less noxious form. Three major questions usually arise when a particular type of pollution has been identi?ed: (1) How serious is the pollution? (2) Is the technology to abate it available? and (3) Do the costs of abatement justify the degree of abatement achieved? This book is one of the volumes of the Handbook of Environmental Engineering series. The principal intention of this series is to help readers formulate answers to the last two questions above. The traditional approach of applying tried-and-true solutions to speci?c pollution p- blems has been a major contributing factor to the success of environmental engineering and has accounted in large measure for the establishment of a "methodology of pollution control. " However, the realization of the ever-increasing complexity and interrelated nature of current environmental problems renders it imperative that intelligent planning of pollution abatement systems be undertaken.