New Releases by David John

Superhero Comics and Scottish Identity explores the life and career of Glasgow-born, Eisner Award-winning, and internationally acclaimed Marvel, DC, and Image Comics artist Frank Quitely. With a prolific career spanning more than three decades, Quitely played a pivotal role in the British superhero renaissance of the 1990s and 2000s and in the explosive emergence of the Scottish new wave of comics, a movement that included peers like Alan Grant, Mark Millar, and Grant Morrison, but has been underrepresented in both comics studies and Scottish studies. This work investigates questions of historical and contemporary expressions of Scottishness in transcultural comics genres such as superhero, science fiction, and fantasy. Framed through the lens of comics and literary genres, as well as their British and American editors, Quitely’s approach to Scottishness is oblique and self-reflexive; his expressions of Scottishness are tensely bound to current nuanced examinations of Scottish national, literary and historical subjectivity. His work oscillates between two axiomatic antipodes: the regional, provincial, and local versus the transnational, cosmopolitan, and global. This comprehensive study also features an in-depth interview with Quitely, as well as unearthed archives, sketchbooks, notes, and donated or personal artworks not available elsewhere.

This book Jesus - The Lily of the Valley, is all about Jesus Christ. The flower - The Lily of the Valley is used to represent Jesus'' impeccable character, unblemished by sin, and His unwavering commitment to righteousness. He is the embodiment of purity and meekness - humbling Himself to the point of death on the cross. His life and teachings exemplify the values of selflessness and sacrifice. He willingly gave up His own life for the salvation of humanity, demonstrating the ultimate act of love, compassion and humility. The essence of His ministry was the importance of humbleness. His teaching and example during His earthly ministry have always emphasised the significance of viewing oneself as the least among others. This soft blossom serves as a fitting metaphor for this and Jesus is aptly known as the Lily of the Valley. The title of the book highlights Jesus'' life as the quintessence of purity, grace, and humility.

This is both the life of Giacomo Casanova and a chronicle of eighteenth-century Europe. Giacomo Casanova (1725-1798) was born the son of a moderately poor acting family at a time when the stage carried enormous social stigma. Yet in his own lifetime he achieved celebrity across Europe, rubbing shoulders with numerous of the eighteenth century''s greatest men and women, from Frederick the Great to Catherine the Great, from Voltaire to Albrecht von Haller, from Pope Benedict XIV to Pope Clement XIII. It was a fame that had little to do with his romantic exploits. This was to come later, following upon the posthumous publication of his magnificent History of My Life. An adventurer and a man of learning, his was an extraordinary life whose story was intertwined with the story of eighteenth-century Europe. To try to understand this fascinating character we need also to try to understand the period in which he lived. This is the aim of Casanova''s Life and Times.

What happens to you when you die? Damien, a young teenager from Boston, is indecisive about his faith as a Christian. This unanswered question ponders him mentally which forces him to embark on a journey; however, he will have to go outside of the church to find the answers to his questions. While on this pilgrimage, he stumbles across some interesting who will all play a pivotal role in helping him find the answers he’s looking for.

Star Matters 2 is the second book in the Star Matters trilogy. It begins when the Gayan star people contact the British Prime Minister through their main contact , Professor Kitteridge, Professor of Cosmology at Cambridge University. They say that they are planning First Alien Contact between their race and planet Earth imminently. The Prime Minister is embroiled in Brexit and pleased to discover the UK armed forces have a secret agency ready to handle such an event. Soon the President of the USA has to be told and he insists that the Americans should manage any contact with alien forces. Meanwhile the Gayans have enemies that also have designs on annexing planet Earth for their Spargar Empire. They send their most feared warrior leader to Earth to settle events in their favour. He flushes out the Gayan agents working with Professor Kitteridge and attempts to subdue them first with force and later by bending them to his will. As First Contact draws near the general population is kept unaware until the last moment. The Gayan and Spargar forces progress their campaigns to gain control of Earth; for Enlightenment and mutual benefit with the Gayans or annexed as a slave race to the Spargar Empire. Professor Kitteridge and the UK based agencies attempt to manage the arrival of the Gayans, despite pressure from the US President and the European Union who want to own any new technologies from advanced alien races, building to a climax demanded by the formal arrival of the Gayan ambassadors at a place and time of their own choosing.

From one of our leading thinkers, a dazzling philosophical journey through virtual worlds In the coming decades, the technology that enables virtual and augmented reality will improve beyond recognition. Within a century, world-renowned philosopher David J. Chalmers predicts, we will have virtual worlds that are impossible to distinguish from non-virtual worlds. But is virtual reality just escapism? In a highly original work of ''technophilosophy'', Chalmers argues categorically, no: virtual reality is genuine reality. Virtual worlds are not second-class worlds. We can live a meaningful life in virtual reality - and increasingly, we will. What is reality, anyway? How can we lead a good life? Is there a god? How do we know there''s an external world - and how do we know we''re not living in a computer simulation? In Reality+, Chalmers conducts a grand tour of philosophy, using cutting-edge technology to provide invigorating new answers to age-old questions. Drawing on examples from pop culture, literature and film that help bring philosophical issues to life, Reality+ is a mind-bending journey through virtual worlds, illuminating the nature of reality and our place within it.

Confronting the crisis facing Christianity, this anthology of post-modern, progressive Christian poems, with a rebellious tone, demythologizes Christian theology. Poems, Piety and Psyche is a brave departure from literal Christian dogma and challenges the outdated ideas of doctrine and Scripture to disclose hidden truths still valid today. This volume is an attempt to revitalize the church and reshape its future for current congregations and the missing generation of young people, scientifically literate, who are exiled from the church through its inability to absorb contemporary teaching of biblical criticism, the reality of evolution, the false idea of a God "up there," and an institutional insistence on an unconvincing supernatural theology. Christianity must be adapted to incorporate these and change, or it will die. David Keighley reclaims the original gospel message and takes us on a turbulent and challenging journey to the heart of what it is to be truly Christian. There is in these poems an emphasis on the teaching of the historical Jesus while rejecting nature miracles, the virgin birth, and bodily resurrection. Jesus's divinity is that we can see God in him in the same way as we see God in the lives of each other, if we look closely enough.

How the university went global and became the heart of the information age The university is experiencing an unprecedented level of success today, as more universities in more countries educate more students in more fields. At the same time, the university has become central to a knowledge society based on the belief that everyone can, through higher education, access universal truths and apply them in the name of progress. This book traces the university's rise over the past hundred years to become the cultural linchpin of contemporary society, revealing how the so-called ivory tower has become profoundly interlinked with almost every area of human endeavor. David John Frank and John Meyer describe how, as the university expanded, student and faculty bodies became larger, more diverse, and more empowered to turn knowledge into action. Their contributions to society underscored the public importance of scholarship, and as the cultural authority of universities grew they increased the scope of their research and teaching interests. As a result, the university has become the bedrock of today's information-based society, an institution that is now implicated in the solution to every conceivable problem. But, as Frank and Meyer also show, the conditions that helped spur the university's recent ascendance are not immutable: eruptions of nationalism, authoritarianism, and illiberalism undercut the university's universalistic and rationalistic premises, and may threaten the centrality of the university itself.

What would you do if the person you loved betrayed you in the worst way possible? Domini Parrino''s life is fantastic. She has a loving husband, son, and lifelong best friend. And her business is booming. Life couldn''t be better. However, her perfect world is about to come crashing down around her. She has a viper in the nest—her cheating husband. Now his terrible secret is out. He''s betrayed her in the worst way possible. And now he’s going to pay the ultimate price for his infidelity. And his punishment? She will not take his life, but something far more valuable to him than life itself. But as the saying goes: Before seeking revenge, first dig two graves…

Cygnus, as the name suggests, is a constellation—but here a constellation of quotes, ideas, short poems and tiny tales, all related to real life and through the crystal clear lens of the writer. Most of the little snippets are from her observations of life and interactions with all kinds of individuals. They are real in the sense that they are experiential and not superficial. Some are cryptic, others beautifully clear. The variety is largely entertaining and sometimes satirical, yet extremely authentic and accurate to life in general. Like the ugly duckling that became the swan, in this case, Cygnus represents some of the good and not-so-good experiences of life that have gone into creating this beautiful collection of a swan-shaped constellation of ideas.

How can public administration (P.A.) nudge government to govern fundamentally better in terms of policy? How critical is P.A. contemplation and nudges – prods, shoves or hammer blows - to government-in-context? In this book, David John Farmer argues that government-in-context refers to government-in-totality, to what governs even if not called government and to what constrains government action. Constricting contextual features are infiltration, exfiltration and post-truth, raising questions relating to democracy. Infiltration into government is the action of gaining access that benefits big corporations, their owners and billionaires; findings are that it also mal-nudges government action through such elements as big money, lobbying, tax breaks and embrace of the free market. Reacting to factors like growing income inequality, what is explained as exfiltration occurs for middle- and lower-income people. Post-truth is noted as the Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year for 2016, describing people concerned less with truths than with opinions. The book analyzes three practical "hammer blow" and 18 "shove" nudges to contradict the mal-nudges. Beyond Public Administration will be of interest to P.A. scholars and graduate students, more specifically those interested in critical, normative, or interpretive scholarship focused on various aspects of P.A. theory, governance, and practical management.

An ideal "how-to" guide for those who perform musculoskeletal injections, this unique resource by Drs. Gina M. Allen and David John Wilson demonstrates how to make the most out of the clear visualization provided by ultrasound-guided techniques. High-quality line drawings, clinical photographs, and ultrasound images clearly depict patient presentation, relevant anatomy, and sonoanatomy. - Clear, concise text and numerous illustrations make this reference your go-to source on today''s ultrasound-guided musculoskeletal injections. - Bulleted text follows a quick-reference template throughout: clinical/ultrasound findings, equipment, anatomy, technique, aftercare, and comments. - Each chapter covers the entire injection process with text on the left-hand page and corresponding images on the right. - Useful for clinicians in radiology, sports medicine, rheumatology, orthopaedics, pain medicine, and physical therapy – anyone who needs a clear, current guide to this minimally invasive treatment option for pain relief.

In 1798, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge were engaged in a top secret experiment. This was not, as many assume, the creation of a book of poetry. A book emerged, to be sure—the landmark Lyrical Ballads. But in Murder Ballads, David John Brennan posits that the two poets were in fact pursuing far different ends: to birth from their poems a singular, idealized Poet. Despite their success, such Frankensteinian pursuits proved rife with consequence for the men. Doubts and questions plagued them: What does it mean to be a poet if your work is not your own? Who is best fit to lay claim to a parcel of poetic property that was collaboratively crafted and bequeathed to a fictitious Poet? How does one kill a Poet born of one’s own hand? Blending critical examination with jocular playlets-in-verse featuring the authors of the two books in baffled conversation, Murder Ballads reopens a 200-year-old cold case that never received a proper investigation: Who was the first true Author of Lyrical Ballads, and how exactly did he die?

Throughout its history, public administration has used a number of different perspectives for analyzing the discipline''s theory and practice, and both mainstream and alternative lenses have produced valuable insights and prescriptions. At the same time, an individual way of looking at PA can be misleading. Alone, a solitary lens can miss critical aspects and often gives only part of the picture. Public Administration in Perspective has been specifically crafted to give new life to public administration theory and practice by helping readers view the discipline through a variety of perspectives. Designed for the capstone course in public administration programs, as well as a fresh approach for courses in PA theory and organizational theory, this unique book provides a culminating experience--bringing together what has been learned in previous MPA courses without simply rehashing old content. It offers a comprehensive guide to eleven major approaches to PA, and synthesizes them to deepen our understanding of the discipline. Each chapter in Part I describes the key features of the selected perspective--history, content, and proponents--and discusses the strengths and weaknesses related to PA theory and practice. Part II synthesizes the various perpectives, with specific implications for PA management and practice. Part III concludes with a complete overview, identifying ways in which readers can think more creatively and productively about PA, putting the perspectives themselves into perspective.

To Kill the King sketches post-traditional consciousness in terms of three rejuvenating concepts - thinking as play, justice as seeking, and practice as art. In a series of critical essays on each of these concepts, the book describes a post-traditional consciousness of governance that can yield enormous improvement in the quality of life for each individual. To Kill the King will appeal to any professor (whether in the post-modern camp or not) who wants to expose students to fresh challenges and insights.

Ministry in a small town or rural context is challenging. The minister and his or her family live in a fishbowl, with every aspect of life under constant scrutiny. In addition, few seminaries or Christian colleges and universities offer courses preparing people for small-town ministry. Throw in limited resources and small-town politics, and you might begin to understand the struggle of Ben Wright, minister in Madison, Montana. In a last-ditch effort to find help before he quits ministry altogether, Ben solicits the advice of another minister, the aged and experienced Kain Hoddis. Ben and Kain undertake a journey of discovery as together they explore the joys and struggles of small-town ministry.

In its fully revised and updated second edition, Musculoskeletal Imaging covers every aspect of musculoskeletal radiology. This medical reference book incorporates the latest diagnostic modalities and interventional techniques, as well as must-read topics such as hip, groin and cartilage imaging; newly described impingements; and new concepts in the hip including teres ligament pathology. This publication is a key title in the popular Expert Radiology Series, which delivers evidence-based expert guidance from around the globe. Fully understand each topic with a format that delivers essential background information. Streamline the decision-making process with integrated protocols, classic signs, and ACR guidelines, as well as a design that structures every chapter consistently to include pathophysiology, imaging techniques, imaging findings, differential diagnosis, and treatment options. Write the most comprehensive reports possible with help from boxes highlighting what the referring physician needs to know, as well as suggestions for treatment and future imaging studies. Access in-depth case studies, valuable appendices, and additional chapters covering all of the most important musculoskeletal procedures performed today. Quickly locate important information with a full-color design that includes color-coded tables and bulleted lists highlighting key concepts, as well as color artwork that lets you easily find critical anatomic views of diseases and injuries. Engage with more than 40 brand-new videos, including arthroscopic videos. Easily comprehend complicated topics with over 5,000 images and new animations. Explore integrated clinical perspectives on the newest modalities such as PET-CT in cancer, diffusion MR, as well as ultrasonography, fusion imaging, multi-slice CT and nuclear medicine. Learn from team of international experts provides a variety of evidence-based guidance, including the pros and cons of each modality, to help you overcome difficult challenges. Consult this title on your favorite e-reader.

In a world where we are drowning in information and yet starving for wisdom, every now and then someone comes along who understands Life so well, that they''re able to explain it simply... Bad things don''t happen to us because we are bad. It''s not like we are being punished. All That Is is for anyone who has ever wondered who we truly are, why we are here and what we''re meant to be doing. Based on a series of ''light bulb'' moments, this intriguing compilation of insightful one-liners contains 101 life-changing sayings which explore the timeless truths of being human. It can help adults of all ages and all cultures to live our best possible life. If you are genuine in wanting greater peace of mind, more joy and happiness, easy-going relationships, improved health, better finances and ultimately, being at One with All of Life, then this book is for you. Ponder, contemplate or reflect upon these seemingly intuitive wisdoms which most people don''t even slow down enough to notice, much less reflect upon. Then make them a part of your daily life to internalize the learnings. All That Is is a little tome that can last a person a lifetime. "You can read All That Is in two minutes, or you can meditate on each of its sentences for a whole lifetime." - Author, Pedro Barrento, ''The Prince and the Singularity -- A Circular Tale''

In this story, a young man, named Bob, ends up stuck on the side of the road after his car breaks down. He prays to God and almost instantaneously, God sends friends to assist him. The next day, Bob walks to a local car lot to look for a new car. There, he tells the owner what kind of car he wants which is a red convertible. Bob finds a red convertible that can talk. He test-drives the car to see if he likes it. After test-driving the car, he buys it and shares it with family and friends.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." A proverb from the past. A critique of the present. A forecast of the future. If your leaders have good intentions, how do they know they are not on the road to hell? They do not know. They cannot know. They can only believe. What if they are wrong? What if you believe they are wrong? How can you know you are right? You do not know. You cannot know. You can only believe. What if there are two beliefs in your society, one old and one knew? Two beliefs at war with one another. Which side would you take? Where would you stand? What would you do? Would you be Senator Kedney, and use any means to destroy the old to create the new? Would you be Scylla Daer, and use any means to crush the new to preserve the old? Would you be Bretan Sobert, and use only honourable means to fight for the old? Would you be Police Chief Kukushkin, and use only honourable means to fight for the new? Would you be Rudi Kingston, and believe in neither, so use any means to fight for your own values? Would you be Fauna Kortney, and believe in nothing, so use any means to fight for yourself? Would you be Wispy, and use any means to destroy both old and new in the service of something greater? Who would you be? What would you do? Read BECOMING DEATH, first episode of the ENEMIES OF SOCIETY series by John David, and decide. Would you be an Enemy of Society?

A new political history of the former British colony in West Africa, best known for its diamonds and recent violent civil war, this covers 225 years of history and fills a gap in African studies.

The question of how to use police resources productively, par ticularly in this era of tight municipal budgets, is a major con cern for police chiefs and others responsible for crime control. In Crime Control: The Use and Misuse of Police Resources, David J. Farmer provides new insights into this question and sug gests a practical resource allocation approach for police poli cymakers and administrators. The book documents the results of current police resource allocation practices and describes the major research studies that have identified a need to restructure police field operations. It very usefully outlines the development and nature of allocation techniques and ana lyzes the political contexts which influence resource alloca,., tion. After describing planning at the neighborhood level that should inform the allocation process, the author provides a comprehensive "planning-budgeting-resources allocation" approach to managing a productive police department. This comprehensive approach is illustrated by an account of the Manpower Allocation Review System (MARS), which the author developed and introduced in the New York City Police Department in 1972 when I was commissioner. As I can vii FOREWORD viii attest, the MARS approach had practical utility. For the author, it served as a forerunner to the more elaborate system he describes in this book.

This book has been revised to coincide with the issue of the ISO 9001 Family of Standards by the same author. The intention is to improve the standard of auditing, especially audits carried out under the banner of the ISO 9001 standard. The ISO 9001 standard is quite capable of allowing organizations, certification bodies, and auditors to judge if an organization is capable of consistently providing product or service that meets the customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. At the present time, however, there is no common understanding about what the ISO 9001 audit should achieve. The aim of this book is to explain what auditing is capable of achieving, in particular the method of carrying out audits. There is, however, a need to improve the understanding of the ISO 9000 Family of Standards, and to this end, appendix C contains the first five pages of that book. Auditing can be costly and timeconsuming, and for it to be effective, it needs to give tangible benefits. This book will enable organizations and other interested parties to judge if their auditing activities are effective and beneficial. It enables them to examine their approach to audits and compare them with the techniques used within this book.

A major contemporary playwright and director. By the late 1970s, internationally known performance groups such as Els Joglars, La Fura dels Baus or La Cubana had precipitated a decline in text-based Catalan theatre, reversed in the mid 1980s with the appearance of a younger generation of playwrights led by Sergi Belbel. Influenced by contemporary European rather than Spanish or Catalan drama, his work was very different from the realist idiom favoured by playwrights of the Franco generation. Butplaywriting is only one aspect of Belbel''s work as a theatre practitioner. He also has a highly successful career as a director of Spanish, Catalan and foreign plays [a number of which he himself has translated], and, since 2006, he has held the position of Artistic Director of the National Theatre of Catalonia. This study examines these three key aspects of his career, as well as Ventura Pons''s film adaptations of his plays. Finally, it considersthe reception of his plays in several countries, analysing his evolving relationship with critics at home and abroad. DAVID GEORGE is Professor of Hispanic Studies at Swansea University.

This report details how land cover and urbanization vary within the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin by community (incorporated and census designated places), county subdivision, and county. Specifically this report provides critical urban and community forestry information for each state including human population characteristics and trends, changes in urban and community lands, tree canopy and impervious surface cover characteristics, distribution of land-cover classes, a relative comparison of urban and community forests among local government types, determination of priority areas for tree planting, and a summary of urban tree benefits. Report information can improve the understanding, management, and planning of urban and community forests. This data is reported for each state on the CD provided in the back of this book and may be accessed by state at: http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/data/urban.