New Releases by Ruth Thomas

Tick Rex wants to know who is living at the edge of the woods. One summer day, she sets out on an exciting journey. From the tall grassy stalks to the swaying grainy field, Tick Rex travels to get to her goal. And nothing will stand in her way!

Behavioral plasticity, the alteration of behavior in response to stimuli, is becoming increasingly important in the context of human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC). The ability of an animal to behave plastically, and the magnitude of that response, is likely facilitated or constrained by the characteristics of its physical environment, the magnitude of the stressor, and the animal’s endogenous traits. Despite empirical research demonstrating that climatic changes are already impacting species’ behavior worldwide, there are relatively few studies that have compared the magnitude and causes of behavioral plasticity in response to increasing temperatures at different levels (i.e., population and individual) across species, especially in large mammals. Here, we quantify behavioral plasticity in response to variation in summer temperatures in 17 populations across 9 species of large mammals in the Rocky Mountains (USA). All study populations displayed behavioral plasticity in response to increasing temperatures, modifying aspects of their relative habitat selection (i.e., elevation, aspect, percent tree cover, potential for wetness) and movement characteristics (i.e., movement speed). We also demonstrate that individuals within each population display strong variation in their responses to warmer temperatures. For instance, there was strong bimodal distribution in how individuals responded to percent tree cover, where some individuals within a population selected areas with relatively higher levels of canopy cover as temperatures increased, while others did the opposite. We found evidence that differences in the physical environment (e.g., mean heterogeneity of the percent cover within individuals’ home ranges) explained variation in both mean population behavioral plasticity and mean variation in plasticity among individuals within each population, although our predictive power was much stronger for the latter compared to the former. Our results provide a novel understanding of the factors that facilitate or constrain the expression of behavioral plasticity, providing insight into the ecology and evolution of behavioral plasticity in large mammals. More specifically, this work describes the extent to which multiple populations and species of large mammals respond plastically to increasing temperatures. These results can assist wildlife managers in prioritizing the allocation of limited resources to the species most in need or the habitats that best facilitate plasticity in the face of rapid climate change.

In an age of ecological decay, Western ontological and epistemological assumptions have to be revisited. This book offers such a revision. It opens with a critical analysis of the paradigm of sustainable development and problematically situates it within the ecocidal trajectory of Western metaphysics. In search of some tools for examining the ecological conundrum, the book develops a pool of new categories of knowledge called “transpositions”. Though of cross-disciplinary nature, this work must be situated within the tradition of the post-Kantian critique of reason. To develop its own framework of analysis, it relies heavily upon Nietzsche’s oeuvre and that of part of his entourage (including Heidegger, Foucault, Derrida, and Plotnitsky). Major inputs also come from the work of the ecophilosopher of science Patrick Curry and ecofeminism at large. It will appeal to students and established scholars in environmental studies, ecology and philosophy.

Edinburgh, 1991. Having flunked her exams, 18-year-old Luisa McKenzie finds herself back at school - this time working as a classroom assistant. Instead of leading a new 'sophisticated' life as a student in London, she spends her days trundling to and from her childhood home, sitting on the outside of the 'Home Corner' in a class full of five-year-olds. A chance encounter one afternoon with Stella, a former schoolfriend who has, herself, gone on to 'greater' things, wakes Luisa up to her disappointments. With a school trip and a magic show on the horizon, Luisa's hold on reality slowly begins to unravel.

An engaging memoir, written as a tribute to the author''s Boston Terriers, and to the whole canine world. Echoing throughout the story is the theme, "animals, dogs in particular, are usually nicer than most people." This biography has a story line, but is primarily a series of anecdotes which will entertain readers with the personalities and antics of both the dogs and their human parents. The book is heartwarming, often humorous, occasionally hilarious, and regrettably sometimes heartbreaking. It is a love story which will appeal to Boston Terrier devotees, perhaps dog lovers in general, and possibly even cat lovers. It might also be enjoyed by readers who appreciate a simple, sweet, decent, funny, non-violent, entertaining story minus profanity and graphic sex. As a memorial to the Thomas family''s Bostons, a portion of any profits will be donated to the Humane Society of the United States, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the North Campus of the San Diego, California Humane Society. [from amazon]

My autobiography which includes 32+ years in the Philippines as a career cross-cultural worker, describe challenges and blessings of life and ministry in a third world country.

Mum knew she shouldn''t have left the children alone. That was why she was hurrying home, running to catch the evening train. She was so worried about Nicky and Roy that she didn''t hear the thief come up behind her; she didn''t look carefully when she dashed across the road . . . Back at home Nicky is findingit harder and harder to reassure her younger brother Roy. Soon the children are running out of money and the neighbours are getting suspicious. But whatever happens, Nicky is certain of one thing - she will NEVER tell.

There''s been a spate of break-ins lately in the area and everyone in Kate''s class is saying that the burglar is Desmond Locke''s dad because he''s just come out of prison. Everyone, that is, except Kate. She''s sure that Mr Locke is innocent and turns to her Secret Seven books for inspiration - they always find the real thief. Kate and Desmond become detectives to find out the truth and prove Desmond''s dad is innocent. But the truth isn''t always what you would like it to be and Kate is horrified when she discovers who really is... GUILTY.

Edward is the school wheeler-dealer with dreams of becoming a millionaire by the time he''s twenty. When he finds a mysterious package in the park, he ropes two school-mates into a daring scheme, one that catapults them into an adventure of secrets and intrigue - and his wish seems very close to becoming a reality.

Time use studies are an effective way of finding out more about individuals' daily lives and when used with semi-structured interviews can provide a form of participant observation. Large multinational studies have been performed over the past 40 years providing comprehensive data on general populations, including couples with children. However, little is known about the daily lives of couples with children with complex disabilities, and whether there are differences in time use decisions and quality of life for this group of parents. Quantities of time spent on different activities can affect quality of life; the way activities are performed can affect their quality. This study considers these issues of quality versus quantity in the time use of parents. Aims and Objectives: 1) To explore the time use of parents with a young child with complex disabilities and compare this with the time use of similar parents with young children without any identified disabilities; 2) To explore what factors influence parents' time use decisions, and relate these to quality of life and parental satisfaction and 3) To use this knowledge to guide service delivery. Methodology and Methods: This is a critical ethnographic mixed methods study. Three group of parents participated: 1) Parents with a preschool child with complex health needs dependent on technology; 2) Parents with a healthy preschool child with autism and 3) Parents with a healthy preschool child without any identified disabilities. All parents completed the PedsQLTM Family Impact Module Survey followed by a specifically designed precoded time use diary for seven consecutive days. Parents in groups one and two were then interviewed to explore their feelings around time use and family life. Secondary analysis of the Multinational Time Use Survey (MTUS) data from the UK 2000/1 provided a further comparison data set. Results: Data are available on 28 couples and an additional 200 couples from the MTUS data. Significant differences in time use were found between the groups with regard to sleep, leisure, social contact, work, and quality of life measures with parents in groups one and two disadvantaged in these aspects compared to the parents in group three. Five main themes emerged from analysis of the interviews: 'feeling trapped at home'; 'twenty-four seven caring'; 'trying to achieve a balance'; 'discovering a whole new world'; and 'evolving roles' with 'trust' emerging as a unifying theme. Trust was found to provide the threads that linked parents in a complex web of relationships. The quality and quantity of these trust threads affected parents' time use decisions and quality of life as highlighted by the reduced quality and quantity of sleep and leisure experienced. The interparental trust relationship varied between couples with different levels of trust defining 'dictatorship', 'coalition' and 'democracy' groups. Conclusion: Quality and quantity of sleep and leisure time are reduced for parents with a disabled preschool child. This decreases opportunities for parents to 're-charge' and hence can impact on parents' health and wellbeing. Levels of trust between mothers and fathers influence parental time use and are an important determinant of parental quality of life.

Insight Study Guides are written by experts and cover a range of popular literature, plays and films. Designed to provide insight and an overview about each text for students and teachers, these guides endeavor to develop knowledge and understanding rather than just provide answers and summaries.

The rebellion of the Indonesian Communist Party in 1926-27 was a significant event which had a considerably greater impact on Indonesia''s subsequent political development than the actual strength marshalled by the Communists might suggest. Very little has been written about the rebellion and its background, and the documents necessary for its study have been extremely difficult of access, even to those who read Dutch. We have felt that translation and publication of the three reports here presented would be useful to those seeking a fuller understanding of this period of Indonesia''s modern history - one which has remained nearly as obscure as it is important. The Introduction should help the reader see these documents in their proper context and give him a fuller appreciation of the nature of the rebellion and the conditions which nurtured it. The two editors - Dr. Harry Benda, Associate Professor of History at Yale University, and Ruth T. McVey, Research Associate in the Cornell Modern Indonesia Project - have both done extensive research in modern Indonesian political and social history, Ruth McVey being currently engaged in completing a major study of Indonesian Communism during the period 1920 - 1927. The Cornell Modern Indonesia Project is indebted to Mrs. Elizabeth Maijer for translation of the Governor General''s Note and the Bantam Report, and to Professor Harry Benda for translation of the political section of the West Coast of Sumatra Report. - George McT. Kahin, November 15, 1959

Ruth Thomas, the text guide writer, specialises in Australian memoir/biography and brings to the analysis of this text a great empathy and experience. She opems it up for students encouraging them to explore it for themselves.

Delicately poised on the cusp of melancholy, fragility and folly, Ruth Thomas'' stories offer a fresh take on the contradictions of human nature.

"Ruth Thomas-Edmond's installation, Watery Yellow Heaps, has been produced by limited means ; PVA glue, cut-out cardboard squares and acrylic. Using such freely available materials, the artist has opened space up for exploration and development... In the accompanying catalogue essay, This Way Up, James Robertson notes the common properties between this latest work and Thomas-Edmond's drawing practice; both employ devices of 'patterning and repeating, of building up accumulations of shape (and form). Robertson suggests a conceptual frame work relating to cartography and the epistomological limitations of maps"-- Web site (www.thebigidea.co.nz , viewed 14/11/08)

At fifteen, Sally Tuttle and Rowena Cresswell were firm friends, until a shocking event changed their lives. Now in their early forties, they are estranged, both single mothers, both haunted with memories of their intense friendship. Sally is an embroiderer, a needlewoman who works at a repairs shop in East Grinstead. When she wins an embroidery prize and is invited to deliver a lecture in Edinburgh, she has to leave her teenage daughter Pearl alone and step into this daunting new role. As fate would have it, Rowena is in Edinburgh too, helping her son move out of his student

Collection of Author's paintings

A look at Hollywood''s brightest star, featuring 60 color photos. From her first faltering steps as an eight-year-old on a Sydney stage to the acclaim that greeted her Oscar-nominated performance in Moulin Rouge and her captivating turn on stage in The Blue Room, Nicole Kidman has excelled in every arena she has entered. But who is this flame-haired, sapphire-eyed beauty who has taken the entertainment world by storm? Kidman''s rise through the ranks of Australian television and film eventually led to leading roles in Hollywood. While box office success initially stayed just out of range, her A-list status was assured when she and husband Tom Cruise were cast in Stanley Kubrick''s controversial film Eyes Wide Shut. But why did everything seem to fall apart just as she was reaching her goals? And what has she had to sacrifice to achieve them? In Nicole Kidman, journalists Paul Simpson and Ruth Thomas look at her intriguing path to superstardom.

This volume features in-depth coverage of series three of Farscape, the sci-fi television show. It takes an exclusive, detailed look behind the scenes, with access to the show''s stars and production team, and also includes an episode guide to the whole of season three.