In Apple Black, Volume 4, Sano faces the fears within. Will he allow them to consume him, believing it’s the only way to save everyone? Or will he forge a different path? Many years ago, humans acquired “Black� fruits from a tree that descended from the skies, turning humans into sorcerers. Although all of Black is now extinct, humans still have sorcery inherited from their ancestors. Blessed with the Arodihs arm by Merlin, the god of sorcery, Sano is raised and trained in isolation and secrecy to be the world’s savior, known as the Trinity. The savior is the one who dawns the Infinite Night, an eternal night of chaos. With his newfound freedom from isolation, Sano gets a fiery start after being admitted to Black Bottom Island’s guild for young sorcerers. As his fellow gifted allies and sorcerers like Opal Wantmore accompany Sano on his quest, the treachery, betrayal, and evil that have plagued nearly all of Eden again threaten the world. Sano fears his power can either save the world or destroy it. With his visions offering him a darker path, Sano seeks to find those responsible for his loss, and walk away from revenge and toward forgiveness to find closure. Ridding Eden of the Infinite Night will require him to uncover the secrets behind his father’s research on fully rejuvenating the effects of Black in bloodlines with the immense power known as Apple Black. The arm of the god of sorcery, Arodihs, has awakened within Sano to help rescue Black Bottom Island from the mayhem at the hands of Prince Ceazar. However, Arodihs’s help comes at a cost Sano isn’t prepared to pay. No one—including Sano himself—may ever see him the same way. Apple Black is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up. Saturday AM, the world’s most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters. The inaugural Saturday AM TANKS include: Apple Black, Hammer, Saigami, Oblivion Rouge, Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, and Clock Striker.

Now from Rockport Publishers and including new content: Apple Black, Volume 2. Young sorcerer and prophesied savior, Sano, continues his quest by attempting to uncover and protect the secrets behind his father's research on the immense power known as Apple Black. Many years ago, humans acquired fruits called "Black" from a tree that descended from the skies, which turned humans into sorcerers. Although all of Black is now extinct, humans still have sorcery inherited from their ancestors. Blessed by "Merlin," the god of sorcery, with the Arodihs arm, Sano, a young sorcerer, is raised and trained in isolation and secrecy to be the world's savior known as the Trinity. The savior is believed to be the one who dawns the Infinite Night, an eternal night of chaos. Sano gets a fiery start after being admitted to Black Bottom Island's guild for young sorcerers with his newfound freedom from isolation. As his fellow gifted allies and sorcerers accompany Sano on his quest, the treachery, betrayal, and evil that have plagued nearly all of Eden emerge again to threaten the world. With his visions offering him a darker path, Sano seeks to find those responsible for his loss and walk a path away from revenge but rather one towards forgiveness to find closure. Ridding Eden of the Infinite Night will require him to uncover the secrets behind his father's research on fully rejuvenating the effects of Black in bloodlines with the immense power known as Apple Black. Opal Wantmore, another young sorcerer, must find a misplaced tourist amid Black Bottom Island. Unfortunately, it's under attack by a deadly division of rebels from Gideon Banburi's rebellion. These terrorists seek to collect Apple Black research and to leave the country in ruins. But nothing would be better than to capture Sano, the Trinity himself! The siege is led by Prince Ceazar Ashokahn, who has his own motives for wanting to scorch Black Bottom Island off the face of Eden. Apple Black is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up. Saturday AM, the world's most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters. Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Clock Striker, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.

Now from Rockport Publishers and including new content: Apple Black, Volume 1. Raised in isolation to be the world's savior known as the Trinity, young sorcerer Sano ventures out to train with other talented magic-users just as evil emerges again to threaten the world. Many years ago, humans acquired fruits called "Black" from a tree that descended from the skies, which turned humans into sorcerers. Although all of Black is now extinct, humans still have sorcery inherited from their ancestors. As generations go by, the effects of Black in the bloodline diminishes and sorcerers use a variety of objects as "wands" to harness their magical power. Blessed by "Merlin," the god of sorcery, with the Arodihs arm, the young sorcerer Sano has the ultimate wand. He is raised and trained in isolation and secrecy to be the world's savior known as the Trinity. The savior is believed to be the one who dawns the Infinite Night, an eternal night of chaos. Sano begins his training amongst a group of other talented new magic-users where many already know his name. Sano gets a fiery start after being admitted to Black Bottom Island's guild for young sorcerers with his newfound freedom. As his fellow gifted allies and sorcerers accompany Sano on his quest, the treachery, betrayal, and evil that have plagued nearly all of Eden emerge again to threaten the world. Can Sano survive the threats on his young life? Apple Black is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up. Saturday AM, the world's most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters. Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Clock Striker, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.

In Apple Black, Volume 3, young sorcerer and prophesied savior Sano continues his quest by attempting to uncover and protect the secrets behind his father's research on the immense power known as Apple Black. Many years ago, humans acquired "Black" fruits from a tree that descended from the skies, turning humans into sorcerers. Although all of Black is now extinct, humans still have sorcery inherited from their ancestors. Blessed with the Arodihs arm by Merlin, the god of sorcery, Sano is raised and trained in isolation and secrecy to be the world's savior, known as the Trinity. The savior is the one who dawns the Infinite Night, an eternal night of chaos. With his newfound freedom from isolation, Sano gets a fiery start after being admitted to Black Bottom Island's guild for young sorcerers. As his fellow gifted allies and sorcerers like Opal Wantmore accompany Sano on his quest, the treachery, betrayal, and evil that have plagued nearly all of Eden again threaten the world. Sano fears his power can either save the world or destroy it. With his visions offering him a darker path, Sano seeks to find those responsible for his loss, and walk away from revenge and toward forgiveness to find closure. Ridding Eden of the Infinite Night will require him to uncover the secrets behind his father's research on fully rejuvenating the effects of Black in bloodlines with the immense power known as Apple Black. Black Bottom Island has become a war zone as Banburi rebels and cloaks of the country battle each other. The Lords of the country plan to counterattack, taking charge in the absence of the Dark Lords. Sano finds himself in trouble, but his allies join the fight. Symon fears their luck may have run out. Apple Black is rated T for Teen, recommended for ages 13 and up. Saturday AM, the world's most diverse manga-inspired comics, are now presented in a new format! Introducing Saturday AM TANKS, the new graphic novel format similar to Japanese Tankobons where we collect the global heroes and artists of Saturday AM. These handsome volumes have select color pages, revised artwork, and innovative post-credit scenes that help bring new life to our popular BIPOC, LGBTQ, and/or culturally diverse characters. Join in even more adventures with the other action-packed Saturday AM TANKS series:Clock Striker, Gunhild, Hammer, Henshin!, The Massively Multiplayer World of Ghosts, Oblivion Rouge, Saigami, Soul Beat, Titan King, Underground, and Yellow Stringer.

This book argues that a leading cause of the political instability in the Horn of Africa is a crisis of governance, caused by extreme centralization of power, weak institutions, and the failure to institutionalise the responsible use of authority. In recent years, many attempts have been made to resolve the ongoing conflicts in Somalia and South Sudan, but problems remain, and in 2019 the instability spread to Ethiopia. This book critically examines how many of the governance problems in the region can be addressed through institutional design. The central argument is that an inclusive system of governance through federalism, devolution, and inclusive political institutions as well as ensuring the institutionalization of power through strengthening the rule of law has the potential to make governments more accountable, inclusive, and be able to deliver critical services. Such systems ensure relative stability and peace and reduce the risks of state fragmentation - a major concern in the region. Demonstrating that the threats of further fragmentation and conflict due to the crisis of governance are likely to continue unless serious steps are taken to deal with the situation, the book will be an important read for researchers and policy makers with an interest in peacemaking, politics, constitutional law, and federalism in the region.

The African Union (AU) and The New Partnership for Africa 's Development (NEPAD) reflect a hitherto unprecedented collective political effort by African governments to address issues of democracy and good governance on a continental scale. The visible commitments are reflected in the adoption of a variety of programmatic blueprints and a series of newly created or recently strengthened institutions. Most visibly since the integration of NEPAD into the AU, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) has started a process to address some of the obstacles on the basis of a voluntary assessment of African government policies.The contributions to this publication trace the recent developments from a policy perspective and explore the scope and limit of the current democratization efforts. They present an interim prognosis on the extent to which the visible new dynamics actually give realistic hope for achieving sustainable changes in terms of the declared goals. This publication is useful for political scientists, policymakers, and other professionals dealing with Africa in development assistance.

Distantearthquakesarewellknowntoinduceawiderangeofresponsesinsurface water and groundwater. These responses are often viewed as mere curiositiesas theiroccurrenceislimitedinspaceandtime.Thefrequentemphasisonearthquake precursorsinstudiesofthesephenomenaalsotendstopushthestudyof'earthquake hydrology' away from the mainstream of geoscience. The observed phenomena, however,probetheinteractionbetweenhydrogeologicalprocessesandmechanical deformationintheshallowcrust.Hencetheyprovideinsightintotheinteraction among water cycle, tectonics, and properties of the crust. As such, the study of earthquakehydrologyalsohasthepotentialtoprovideamorequantitativeand- depthunderstandingofthenatureofearthquakeprecursorsandevaluatewhether theyareinfactprecursors. The title of this book re ects the nature of the connections we address: we focus on how earthquakes affect hydrology. Water also in uences earthquakes as it affects the strength of faults and the rheology of rocks. Our emphasis here, however, is not on the hydrology of earthquakes, but on understanding the hydrological phenomena induced or modi ed by earthquakes. The boundary betweenthe'hydrologyofearthquakes'andthe'earthquake-inducedhydrological phenomena', however, can sometimes be blurred. For example, triggered ear- quakes are sometimes explained by a re-distribution of pore pressure following the triggering earthquake. Hence, triggered seismicity may be an example of an earthquake-induced hydrological phenomenon. Thestudyofthelatter,therefore, canbeimportanttowardsabetterunderstandingofthemechanicsofatleastsome earthquakes. Therearemanystudents,postdocsandcolleagueswewishtothankforcolla- ratingonresearchprojectsrelatedtothetopicsreviewedinthisbook,orparticip- inginstimulatingdiscussionsintheclasswetaughtcalled'Earthquakehydrology'. In particular, we wish to thank Emily Brodsky, Yeeping Chia, Douglas Dreger, Shemin Ge, Fu-qiong Huang, Tom Holzer, Chris Huber, Joel Rowland, Martin Saar, Yaolin Shi, Chung-Ho Wang, Kelin Wang, Pei-ling Wang and Alex Wong forenlighteningexchanges.HunterPhilsonhelpedwith guresandtheindex.We v vi Preface alsothanktheNationalScienceFoundation,theMillerInstituteforBasicResearch inScience,andNASAforsupportingtheresearchandsynthesisinthisvolume.

Distantearthquakesarewellknowntoinduceawiderangeofresponsesinsurface water and groundwater. These responses are often viewed as mere curiositiesas theiroccurrenceislimitedinspaceandtime.Thefrequentemphasisonearthquake precursorsinstudiesofthesephenomenaalsotendstopushthestudyof'earthquake hydrology' away from the mainstream of geoscience. The observed phenomena, however,probetheinteractionbetweenhydrogeologicalprocessesandmechanical deformationintheshallowcrust.Hencetheyprovideinsightintotheinteraction among water cycle, tectonics, and properties of the crust. As such, the study of earthquakehydrologyalsohasthepotentialtoprovideamorequantitativeand- depthunderstandingofthenatureofearthquakeprecursorsandevaluatewhether theyareinfactprecursors. The title of this book re ects the nature of the connections we address: we focus on how earthquakes affect hydrology. Water also in uences earthquakes as it affects the strength of faults and the rheology of rocks. Our emphasis here, however, is not on the hydrology of earthquakes, but on understanding the hydrological phenomena induced or modi ed by earthquakes. The boundary betweenthe'hydrologyofearthquakes'andthe'earthquake-inducedhydrological phenomena', however, can sometimes be blurred. For example, triggered ear- quakes are sometimes explained by a re-distribution of pore pressure following the triggering earthquake. Hence, triggered seismicity may be an example of an earthquake-induced hydrological phenomenon. Thestudyofthelatter,therefore, canbeimportanttowardsabetterunderstandingofthemechanicsofatleastsome earthquakes. Therearemanystudents,postdocsandcolleagueswewishtothankforcolla- ratingonresearchprojectsrelatedtothetopicsreviewedinthisbook,orparticip- inginstimulatingdiscussionsintheclasswetaughtcalled'Earthquakehydrology'. In particular, we wish to thank Emily Brodsky, Yeeping Chia, Douglas Dreger, Shemin Ge, Fu-qiong Huang, Tom Holzer, Chris Huber, Joel Rowland, Martin Saar, Yaolin Shi, Chung-Ho Wang, Kelin Wang, Pei-ling Wang and Alex Wong forenlighteningexchanges.HunterPhilsonhelpedwith guresandtheindex.We v vi Preface alsothanktheNationalScienceFoundation,theMillerInstituteforBasicResearch inScience,andNASAforsupportingtheresearchandsynthesisinthisvolume.

This book is a treatise on cultural globalization and the global political economy. By introducing the transnational public domain in the study of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the book goes beyond existing theoretical frameworks involving both the 'clash between civilizations' and the 'time-worn division' of the world into North and South. It advances a new focus on the theoretical and empirical elements that canvass global cultural behaviours and reactionary attitudes to the expanding Chinese economic norms, cultures and values in different national contexts. Readers of political theory, global political economy, globalization, international relations, political sociology, cultural sociology, public policy and foreign policy analysis will find interest in the book. Whereas new nationalism couples with globalism, both concepts are rediscovered through various socio-economic contexts of BRI policy discourses, which produce conflicts, solidarities, new economic partnerships, and cooperation and resistance as types of contemporary nationalism. The new nationalism is approached as a dual-sided, relational, and dialectical phenomenon which readers will capture by paying particular attention to both the global and local scales of the social responses to the BRI.

This open access book explores the interactions between water and earthquakes, including recent concerns about induced seismicity. It further highlights that a better understanding of the response of the water system to disturbances such as earthquakes is needed to safeguard water resources, to shield underground waste repositories, and to mitigate groundwater contamination. Although the effects of earthquakes on streams and groundwater have been reported for thousands of years, this field has only blossomed into an active area of research in the last twenty years after quantitative and continuous documentation of field data became available. This volume gathers the important advances that have been made in the field over the past decade, which to date have been scattered in the form of research articles in various scientific journals.

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"An important contribution to our understanding of the talkshow genre and its cultural political funtion."
-- "American Journal of Sociology"

"A wide-ranging exploration of some key theoretical issues in cultural sociology centerting on subjectivity, sense-making, and cultural heirarchy."
--"Contemporary Sociology"

"A cogent analysis of our culture."
--"The Times"

When "The Phil Donahue Show" topped the ratings in 1979, it ushered in a new era in daytime television. Mixing controversial social issues, light topics, and audience participation, it created a new genre, one that is still flourishing, despite being harshly criticized, over two decades later. Now, the daytime TV landscape is littered with talk shows. But why do people watch these shows? How do they make sense of them? And how do these shows affect their viewers' sense of what constitutes appropriate public debate?

In Talking Trash, Julie Engel Manga offers a fascinating exploration of these questions and reveals the wide range of reasons viewers are drawn to "trash talk." Focusing on such shows as "Oprah!, Jerry Springer, Ricki Lake, Jenny Jones," and "Maury Povitch," and drawing upon interviews with women who watch these shows, Talking Trash is the first examination of the talk show phenomenon from the viewers' perspective. In taking this approach, Manga is able to understand what talk shows mean to the women who watch them. And by refusing to judge either the shows or their viewers as good or bad, she is able to grasp how viewers relate to these shows-as escape, entertainment, uninhibited public discourse, or an accurate reflection of their ownhardships and heartaches. Manga concludes that while the form of "trash-talk" shows may be relatively new, the socio-cultural experience they embody has been with us for a long time.

Absorbing, entertaining, and keenly perceptive, Talking Trash illuminates the complex viewer response to "trash talk" and examines the cultural politics surrounding this wildly controversial popular phenomenon.

Albinism in Africa: Historical, Geographic, Medical, Genetic, and Psychosocial Aspects provides the first in-depth reference for understanding and treating patients of human albinism in Africa. Leading international contributors examine the historical, geographic, psychosocial, genetic and molecular considerations of importance in effectively and sensitively managing this genetic disorder. Foundational chapters covering the historical and psychosocial aspects of albinism are supplemented by discussions of the pathobiology of the disease, as well as a thorough analysis of the genetics of skin pigmentation, eye pigmentation, hair pigmentation, and incidents of skin cancer involved in the manifestations of this disorder. New prenatal diagnostics and genetic testing methods, genetic risk assessment for individuals, families, and communities, and novel genetic markers that may be used for developing new therapeutics for treating albinism are also discussed in detail. The book provides care management approaches that may be applied to instances of albinism in other regions, along with guiding principles for treating rare genetic disorders and stigmatized patient populations across the globe.