The never-before-seen history of Westeros and the lands beyond. With hundreds of pages of all-new material from George R.R. Martin. If the past is prologue, then George R.R. Martin's masterwork-the most inventive and entertaining fantasy saga of our time-warrants one hell of an introduction. At long last, it has arrived with THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE. George R.R. Martin, in collaboration with Elio M. Garcia, Jr. and Linda Antonsson, has written a comprehensive history of the Seven Kingdoms, featuring the epic battles, bitter rivalries, and daring rebellions that lead up to the events in the bestselling A Song of Ice and Fire series. Collected within this volume is the accumulated knowledge, scholarly speculation, and inherited folk tales of maesters and septons, maegi and singers, including over 170 full-colour illustrations and maps, family trees for the Houses Stark, Lannister and Targaryen, and in-depth explanations of the history and culture of Westeros. This is the definitive companion volume to George R.R. Martin's dazzlingly conceived universe; THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE is indeed proof that the pen is mightier than a storm of swords.

Mexican Americans are the fastest growing immigrant population in the U.S. and will continue to be significant contributors to the diverse social fabric of the country. This book examines the Mexican American cultural traditions, families, demographics, political participation, and societal impact. Despite their economic, social, and political struggles in this country, Mexican Americans have always believed in the American Dream. Yet they have retained many of their own cultural traditions while adapting to life in the North, These persistent ties are thoughtfully examined in chapters on the contemporary relations between Mexico and the United States, including the recurrent border problems.

Providing historical background and tracing the journey made by generations of Mexican immigrants, this book emphasizes the post-1965 period of immigration reforms. Material from oral histories, autobiographies, and historical studies allow the reader to see how Mexican immigrants struggle in their everyday lives to achieve the American Dream, both today and tomorrow.

The evolution of soft computing applications have offered a multitude of methodologies and techniques that are useful in facilitating new ways to address practical and real scenarios in a variety of fields. Exploring Innovative and Successful Applications of Soft Computing highlights the applications and conclusions associated with soft computing in different technological environments. Providing potential results based on new trends in the development of these services, this book aims to be a reference source for researchers, practitioners, and students interested in the most successful soft computing methods applied to recent problems.

There is a dead body in room 110 of the Death Valley Motel, and the evidence points to murder. Managers Ric and Alex Delgado are siblings with police work in their blood; they chose this small Death Valley town specifically because it appeared to be a quiet place where Alex could heal from the violent traumas of her past. Now a killer has struck too close to Alex, opening old wounds and threatening the calmness and routine of her new life.
The situation gets more complicated when Detective Will Stellar trains his observant eye on the Delgados and ascertains they have something to hide. Murder seems to follow Alex Delgado, and Detective Stellar is certain that she is a dangerous woman. Racing against time and against each other, the Delgados and Detective Stellar risk their lives to uncover the truth, which is ever more complicated and dangerous than any of them could have ever imagined.

Contested Images: Women of Color in Popular Culture is a collection of 17 essays that analyze representations in popular culture of African American, Asian American, Latina, and Native American women. The anthology is divided into four parts: film images, beauty images, music, and television. The articles share two intellectual traditions: the authors, predominantly women of color, use an intersectionality perspective in their analysis of popular culture and the representation of women of color, and they identify popular culture as a site of conflict and contestation. Instructors will find this collection to be a convenient textbook for women's studies; media studies; race, class, and gender courses; ethnic studies; and more.

The complex nature of globalization increasingly requires a comparative approach to literature in order to understand how migration and commodity flows impact aesthetic production and expressive practices. This special issue of Symbolism: An International Journal of Critical Aesthetics explores the trans-American dimensions of Latina/o literature in a trans-Atlantic context. Examining the theoretical implications suggested by the comparison of the global North-global South dynamics of material and aesthetic exchange, this volume highlights emergent Latina/o authors, texts, and methodologies of interest in for comparative literary studies. In the essays, literary scholars address questions of the transculturation, translation, and reception of Latina/o literature in the United States and Europe. In the interviews, emergent Latina/o authors speak to the processes of creative writing in a transnational context. This volume suggests how the trans-American dialogues found in contemporary Latina/o literature elucidates trans-Atlantic critical dialogues.

This book presents the current knowledge about nonlinear localized travelling excitations in crystals. Excitations can be vibrational, electronic, magnetic or of many other types, in many different types of crystals, as silicates, semiconductors and metals. The book is dedicated to the British scientist FM Russell, recently turned 80. He found 50 years ago that a mineral mica muscovite was able to record elementary charged particles and much later that also some kind of localized excitations, he called them quodons, was also recorded. The tracks, therefore, provide a striking experimental evidence of quodons existence. The first chapter by him presents the state of knowledge in this topic. It is followed by about 18 chapters from world leaders in the field, reviewing different aspects, materials and methods including experiments, molecular dynamics and theory and also presenting the latest results. The last part includes a personal narration of FM Russell of the deciphering of the marks in mica. It provides a unique way to present the science in an accessible way and also illustrates the process of discovery in a scientist's mind.

William P. Cooney III, R. A. Berger, and K. N. An Orthopedic Biomechanics Laboratory Department of Orthopedic Surgery Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation Rochester, MN 55905, U. S. A. As surgeons struggle to find new insights into the complex diseases and deformities that involve the wrist and hand, new insights are being provided by applied anatomy, physiology and biomechanics to these important areas. Indeed, a fresh new interaction of disciplines has immersed in which anatomists, bioengineers and surgeons examine together basic functions and principles that can provide a strong foundation for future growth. Clinical interest in the hand and wrist are now at a peak on an international level. Economic implications of disability affecting the hand and wrist are recognized that have international scope crossing oceans, cultures, languages and political philosophies. As with any struggle, a common ground for understanding is essential. NATO conferences such as this symposium on Biomechanics of the Hand and Wrist provides such a basis upon which to build discernment of fundamental postulates. As a start, basic research directed at studies of anatomy, pathology and pathophysiology and mechanical modeling is essential. To take these important steps further forward, funding from government and industry are needed to consider fundamental principles within the material sciences, biomechanical disciplines, applied anatomy and physiology and concepts of engineering modeling that have been applied to other areas of the musculoskeletal system.

This book seeks to build bridges between neuroscience and social science empirical researchers and theorists working around the world, integrating perspectives from both fields, separating real from spurious divides between them and delineating new challenges for future investigation. Since its inception in the early 2000s, multilevel social neuroscience has dramatically reshaped our understanding of the affective and cultural dimensions of neurocognition. Thanks to its explanatory pluralism, this field has moved beyond long standing dichotomies and reductionisms, offering a neurobiological perspective on topics classically monopolized by non-scientific traditions, such as consciousness, subjectivity, and intersubjectivity. Moreover, it has forged new paths for dialogue with disciplines which directly address societal dynamics, such as economics, law, education, public policy making and sociology. At the same time, beyond internal changes in the field of neuroscience, new problems emerge in the dialogue with other disciplines. Neuroscience and Social Science - The Missing Link puts together contributions by experts interested in the convergences, divergences, and controversies across these fields. The volume presents empirical studies on the interplay between relevant levels of inquiry (neural, psychological, social), chapters rooted in specific scholarly traditions (neuroscience, sociology, philosophy of science, public policy making), as well as proposals of new theoretical foundations to enhance the rapprochement in question. By putting neuroscientists and social scientists face to face, the book promotes new reflections on this much needed marriage while opening opportunities for social neuroscience to plunge from the laboratory into the core of social life. This transdisciplinary approach makes Neuroscience and Social Science - The Missing Link an important resource for students, teachers, and researchers interested in the social dimension of human mind working in different fields, such as social neuroscience, social sciences, cognitive science, psychology, behavioral science, linguistics, and philosophy.

Sequencing is often associated with the Human Genome Project and celebrated achievements concerning the DNA molecule. However, the history of this practice comprises not only academic biology, but also the world of computer-assisted information management. The book uncovers this history, qualifying the hype and expectations around genomics.

This Handbook introduces neurosemiotics, a pluralistic framework to reconsider semiosis as an emergent phenomenon at the interface of biology and culture. Across individual and interpersonal settings, meaning is influenced by external and internal processes bridging phenomenological and biological dimensions. Yet, each of these dyads has been segregated into discipline-specific topics, with attempts to chart their intersections proving preliminary at best. Bringing together perspectives from world-leading experts, this volume seeks to overcome these disciplinary divides between the social and the natural sciences at both the empirical and theoretical levels. Its various chapters chart the foundations of neurosemiotics; characterize linguistic and interpersonal dynamics as shaped by neurocognitive, bodily, situational, and societal factors; and examine other daily neurosemiotic occurrences driven by faces, music, tools, and even visceral signals. This comprehensive volume is a state-of the-art resource for students and researchers interested in how humans and other animals construe experience in such fields as cognitive neuroscience, biosemiotics, philosophy of mind, neuropsychology, neurolinguistics, and evolutionary biology.

This lavish visual history-featuring over 150 new, full-colour illustrations-is a stunning introduction to House Targaryen, the iconic family at the heart of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon. For hundreds of years, the Targaryens sat the Iron Throne of Westeros while their dragons ruled the skies. The story of the only family of dragonlords to survive Valyria's Doom is a tale of twisty politics, alliances and betrayals, and acts both noble and craven. The Rise of the Dragon chronicles the creation and rise of Targaryen power in Westeros, covering the history first told in George R. R. Martin's epic Fire & Blood, from Aegon Targaryen's conquest of Westeros through to the infamous Dance of the Dragons-the bloody civil war that nearly undid Targaryen rule for good. Packed with all-new artwork, the Targaryens-and their dragons-come vividly to life in this deluxe reference book. Perfect for fans steeped in the lore of Westeros, as well as those who first meet the Targaryens in the HBO series House of the Dragon, The Rise of the Dragon provides a must-have overview for anyone looking to learn more about the most powerful family in Westeros.

Critical race theory (CRT) in education centers, examines and seeks to transform the relationship that undergirds race, racism, and power. CRT scholars have applied a critical race framework to advance research methodologies in the form of qualitative interventions. Informed by this work, this book reconsiders the possibilities of CRT applications to quantitative methodologies through 'QuantCrit.' This volume posits the question: How can quantitative methods, long critiqued for their inability to capture the nuance of everyday experience, support and further a critical race agenda in educational research? It provides a starting point for how QuantCrit principles are employed by interdisciplinary contributions in race and quantitative studies. The contributors to the book examine the legacy and genealogy of QuantCrit traditions across disciplines to uncover a rich lineage of methodological possibilities for disrupting racism in research. They argue that quantitative approaches cannot be adopted for racial justice aims without an ontological reckoning that considers historical, social, political, and economic power relations. Only then can quantitative approach be re-imagined and rectified. This book will be of interest to researchers and advanced students of Education, Sociology, Social Work, Politics, and Racial and Ethnic Studies. It was originally published as a special issue of the journal, Race Ethnicity and Education.

Negative self-talk can feel like an ever-present roommate who insists on giving you unsolicited opinions about every aspect of yourself- including your worth, appearance, personality, and life choices. Have you ever wondered where this annoying inner critic comes from? And more importantly, can you make it go away? Unfortunately, no matter what you do, negative thoughts will happen. It's simply how our brains are wired. But you can change the way you respond to these thoughts. This take-anywhere, use-anytime guide offers quick, simple, and evidence-based skills drawn from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you make peace with your inner frenemy. You'll discover what drives these negative thoughts, why it's important to listen to them-yes, you read that right, listen-and how to put them in perspective so you can go back to the things that really matter in your life. You never know when negative thoughts will show up, crash your party, cramp your style, and get in the way of living your best life. But once you learn how to respond to this negative inner chatter, you'll be able to turn the volume down and listen to your true inner voice-your inner ally-more clearly, and use it as a compass throughout your day.

This edited volume examines the diverse Latinx/a/o student populations in higher education. Offering innovative approaches to understand the asset-based contributions of Latinx/a/o students and the communities they come from, this book showcases scholars from various disciplines, including, psychology, sociology, higher education, history, gender studies, and beyond. Chapter authors argue that various forms of knowledge and culturally relevant methodologies can help advance and promote the success and navigation of Latinx/a/o students. The contributors of this book challenge the deficit framing often found in higher education, and expand conceptualizations, theories, and methodologies used in the study of Latinx/a/o student populations to incorporate AfroLatinx/a/o perspectives, center Central American students in research, and bring Undocumented Critical Theory into the conversation. This important work provides a guide for higher education and student affairs scholars and practitioners, helping create knowledge to better understand Latinx/a/o student populations in higher education.

This edited volume examines the diverse Latinx/a/o student populations in higher education. Offering innovative approaches to understand the asset-based contributions of Latinx/a/o students and the communities they come from, this book showcases scholars from various disciplines, including, psychology, sociology, higher education, history, gender studies, and beyond. Chapter authors argue that various forms of knowledge and culturally relevant methodologies can help advance and promote the success and navigation of Latinx/a/o students. The contributors of this book challenge the deficit framing often found in higher education, and expand conceptualizations, theories, and methodologies used in the study of Latinx/a/o student populations to incorporate AfroLatinx/a/o perspectives, center Central American students in research, and bring Undocumented Critical Theory into the conversation. This important work provides a guide for higher education and student affairs scholars and practitioners, helping create knowledge to better understand Latinx/a/o student populations in higher education.

This book explores the formal and thematic conventions of crime film, the contexts in which these have flourished and their links with the social issues of a globalized world. The crime film has traditionally been identified with suspense, a heterogeneous aesthetic and a tacit social mind. However, a good number of the crime films produced since the early 2000s have shifted their focus from action or suspense and towards melodrama in narratives that highlight the social dimension of crime, intensify their realist aesthetics and dwell on subjectivity. With the 1940s wave of Hollywood semi-documentary crime films and 1970s generic revisionism as antecedents, these crime films find inspiration in Hollywood cinema and constitute a transnational trend. With a close look at Steven Soderbergh's Traffic (2000), David Fincher's Zodiac (2007), Jacques Audiard's Un prophete (2009) and Tomas Alfredson's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), this book sets out the stylistic and thematic conventions, contexts and cultural significance of a new transnational trend in crime film.

Do you feel completely stressed out all the time? Do you struggle to find the words to describe your feelings or find it difficult to keep your emotions in check? Are you looking for ways to improve your mental health? If so, you aren't alone. Being a teen in today's world is tough. Between school, friends, social media, and an unpredictable real world, there's plenty to feel stressed about. The good news is you can easily learn a few simple skills that will make a huge difference in how you manage your emotions. This workbook-written just for teens-can help. In The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook for Teens, you'll learn effective methods for coping with stress and improving your overall well-being. You'll discover the four core skills of DBT-mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness-and find ways to put these skills into action each day to help you reduce stress, find emotional balance, make friends, and be your best. The book is packed with: - Tips to help you prevent emotional overwhelm - Activities to help foster self-reflection and awareness · - Strategies to help you identify emotional triggers - Ways to soothe stress in body and mind If you're a teen and you're struggling, know that you aren't alone. This workbook will give you the tools you need to stay grounded, build resilience, and thrive. Why not get started today?

This is a memoir of the early years of a well-known Chicano scholar whose work and activism were motivated by his Mormon faith. The narrative follows him as an immigrant boy in San Antonio, Texas, who finds religion, goes to segregated schools, participates in the first major school boycott of the modern era in Texas, goes to Viet Nam where he heads an emergency room in the Mekong Delta, and then to college where he becomes involved in the Chicano Movement. Throughout this time he juggles, struggles, and comes to terms with the religious principles that provide him the foundation for his civil rights activism and form the core of his moral compass and spiritual beliefs. In the process he pushes back against those religious traditions and customs that he sees as contrary to the most profound aspects of being a Mormon Christian. This memoir is about activism and religion on the ground and reflects the militancy of people of color whose faith drives them to engage in social action that defies simple political terminology.