Mr. Dirk Stevens is a responsible rooster and the official leader of Farmer Johnston's Coop. He is organized, thoughtful and comb over wattles in love with the beautiful Sandra Thompson. She fully believes that Mr. Stevens spells success for all chicken-kind. One day, however, the peaceful sanctuary of the farm is turned upside down as trouble arrives. Trouble in the form of Rick the rooster, an import from Farmer Beaton's barnyard. Rick is the toughest rooster the farm has ever encountered, and all the chickens take instant notice. The hens want to date him, and the roosters want to be him. Seeing through Rick's unique 'bad-boy' charm, Mr. Stevens smells trouble. As Rick introduces the coop to cigarettes and Cockle-Doodle-Doo-Tube, the serenity of Mr. Stevens' barnyard turns to chaos. With Face-Beak erupting in mean-spirited gossip, and the level of hen drama reaching an all time high, Mr. Stevens' leadership is put to the ultimate test. Will he be able to stop Rick's rise to domination, or will the escalating Henhouse High Jinx prove to be more than Mr. Stevens can handle?

The Motherless Oven and The Can Opener’s Daughter may have raised more questions than they answered. But The Book of Forks explains everything. Castro Smith finds himself imprisoned within the mysterious Power Station, writing his Book of Forks while navigating baffling daily meetings with Poly, a troubled young woman who may be his teacher, his doctor, his prison guard… or something else entirely. Meanwhile, back home, Vera and Scarper’s search for their missing friend takes them through the chaotic warzone of the Bear Park and into new and terrifying worlds. With The Book of Forks, Rob Davis completes his abstract adventure trilogy by stepping inside Castro’s disintegrating mind, to reveal the truth about the history of the world, the meaning of existence and the purpose of kitchen scales.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Progress in Cultural Heritage Preservation, EuroMed 2012, held in Lemesos, Cyprus, in October/November 2012.
The 95 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 392 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on digital data acquisition technologies and data processing in cultural heritage, 2D and 3D data capture methodologies and data processing in cultural heritage, 2D and 3D GIS in cultural heritage, virtual reality in archaeology and historical research, standards, metadata, ontologies and semantic processing in cultural heritage, data management, archiving and presentation of cultural heritage content, ICT assistance in monitoring and restoration, innovative topics related to the current and future implementation, use, development and exploitation of the EU CH identity card, innovative technologies to asses, monitor and adapt to climate change, digital data acquisition technologies and data processing in cultural heritage, 2D and 3D data capture methodologies and data processing in cultural heritage, on-site and remotely sensed data collection, reproduction techniques and rapid prototyping in cultural heritage, 2D and 3D GIS in cultural heritage, innovative graphics applications and techniques, libraries and archives in cultural heritage, tools for education, documentation and training in CH, standards, metadata, ontologies and semantic processing in cultural heritage, damage assessment, diagnoses and monitoring for the preventive conservation and maintenance of CH, information management systems in CH, European research networks in the field of CH, non-destructive diagnosis technologies for the safe conversation and traceability of cultural assets.

Following on from Rob Davis successful introductory book, ARIS Design Platform: Getting Started with BPM, Rob now covers in detail some of the more advanced concepts of using ARIS Business Architect.

This is a practical how-to guide and contains tips, techniques and short cuts gained from practical experience and explains clearly how to use ARIS and why ARIS is a powerful tool for process modeling. Advanced concepts such as the following are presented in this reader-friendly and concise guide: - Matrix editor, - Find and query, - Model generation, - Method filters and method changes, - Templates and fonts, - Reports and semantic checks, - Macros, - Transformations, - Database administration, - User management.

This easy-to-follow advanced text is a must have guide and reference for all users who want to increase their ARIS skills, and for those who need to undertake advanced model and database management.

This practical "how-to" guide to both using the ARIS Design Platform and how to use it to create real business models, follows Rob Davis' hugely successful Business Process Modelling with ARIS (Springer 2001). This second volume describes the new release of ARIS 7 Design Platform including ARIS Business Architect and ARIS Business Designer. Containing tips, techniques and short cuts gained from practical experience, this book show how to use ARIS in an easy way, supporting smart methods and smart models, and displays how ARIS can be used as a powerful tool for BPM. This book is a must-have guide and reference for all existing and new users of ARIS.

This practical 'how-to'book describes all the key operations of ARIS Toolset - the market leading Business Process Modelling Tool. Using lots of screen shots and plenty of practical examples, Rob Davis shows how ARIS can be used to model 'your' business processes.Based on his experience of using ARIS in British Telecommunications plc, the author describes practical ways of using ARIS Toolset:- Explaining the models and techniques that will enable new users to start modelling quickly and effectively.- Introducing tips and short cuts which make using the tool much easier.- Giving insights into the ARIS concepts.- Explaining the rationale behind alternative ways of using the tool, their benefits and the trade-offs involved.- Tackling issues found in real projects (e.g. complex model structures, handling variety, etc), as opposed to the simple examples given in many books.In addition to describing how to use the tool, Rob Davis discusses how to create standards for using ARIS as well as giving guidance on how to use ARIS for process capture and design.Business Process Modelling with ARIS is a 'must have'for every user of ARIS.

In the British Comic Award-winning The Motherless Oven, Scarper Lee asked: "Who the hell is Vera Pike?" In the second part of Rob Davis' trilogy, we get a chance to find out. This is Vera's story. Grave Acre is a cruel world of opportunity and control. Vera's mother is the Weather Clock, the omnipotent and megalomaniacal Prime Minister of Chance. Her father is a can opener. Charting Vera's unsettling childhood, the book takes us from her home in Parliament to suicide school, and from the Bear Park to the black woods that lie beyond. In the present day, Vera and Castro Smith are determined to see their friend Scarper again - but is he still alive? And if so, can they save him? Can anyone outlive their deathday? Both a sequel and a darkly inventive standalone graphic novel, The Can Opener's Daughter answers many of the questions posed in The Motherless Oven, while asking plenty more of its own.

A striking expose of the insidious business practices that have generated enormous profits for the companies operating within the UK's gambling industry. 'A methodical, sensitive and occasionally harrowing polemic about the gambling industry . . . The book has echoes of Patrick Radden Keefe's award-winning Empire of Pain.' SUNDAY TIMES 'A serious attempt to grapple with the extent of Britain's problem.' THE SPECTATOR 'Persuasive.' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Fascinating.' IRISH TIMES 'Eye-opening.' TELEGRAPH *** 716: the number of gambling logos displayed in a single Premier League football match GBP421 MILLION: the salary of Bet365's CEO in 2020. GBP14 BILLION: the annual losses incurred by British gamblers. Over half of the population gambles in the UK every year. How did we get here? What keeps us hooked when the odds are so heavily stacked against us? And who are the real winners and losers? Jackpot dives deep into gambling's seedy underbelly to answer these questions, and many more. From the first National Lottery draw in 1569 to the Wild West of today's online casinos, Guardian reporter Rob Davies follows the money to show who profits - and at what cost.

The second volume of Don Quixote is much darker than the first, picking up the story where Volume I left off and taking us to Don Quixote's death. Don Quixote battles cats, puppets and the famous Knight of the Mirrors. He plunges head first into the legendary Cave of Montesinos and seeks to disenchant his imaginary truelove Dulcinea del Toboso, who is imprisoned there. Meanwhile Sancho Panza is finally given an island to rule over by the Duke and Duchess who, like many characters Quixote and Sancho meet in Vol II, have read Vol I. The Duke and Duchess play endless cruel tricks on our heroes and slowly our heroes’ madness and foolishness becomes painfully apparent. On his deathbed Quixote becomes Alonso once more, he finally denies the existence of Giants, Knights, Damsels and to Sancho’s horror he denies there ever was a Don Quixote de la Mancha. Sancho begs that they should ride out one more time, but it is too late Alonso Quixana is dead.

In a sleepy village, a retired gentleman is consumed with tales of chivalry. Seeing no impediments, such as logic, propriety or sanity, to fulfilling his dreams, this would-be hero reinvents himself as the Knight-Errant, Don Quixote. He sets out across the arid open country in search of adventures accompanied only his dim-witted squire, Sancho Panza.