bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
https://fizjoterapiapolska.pl/en/article/wirtualna-rzeczywistosc-a-drazek-rownowazny-w-poprawie-chodu-u-dzieci-z-porazeniem-mozgowym-spastycznym-typu-hemiplegicznego-randomizowane-badanie-porownawcze/
Authors: Madboly Mohanad M. , Olama Khaled A. , Ayoub Hamada E. , Al-Afify Doha H. , Saeed Doaa , Abd El-Nabie Walaa A.
Published: March 2024

Background. Virtual reality and balancing beam are widely acknowledged as a highly successful approach for improving balance as well as walking performance among children suffering from hemiplegic cerebral palsy (CP). Purpose. The aim of this study was to compare between the impact of virtual reality and balance beam on walking performance (balance and functional walking capacity) in children with hemiplegic CP. Subjects and methods. A total of seventy-five children with hemiplegic CP, comprising 31 boys and 44 girls, aged between 7 and 11 years of both genders, were included in this study. The participants were allocated randomly into three groups (n = 25), A (control group) and B, C (study groups). All children received designed physical therapy programs based on neurodevelopmental technique, in addition to balance and gait training exercises for control group A, virtual reality training for group B and balance beam training for group C. The treatment program was administered to each group three times weekly for three consecutive months, lasting one hour each session. All children were examined clinically pre- and post-treatment using HUMAC balance and tilt system, and 6- minutes walking test (6mWT) to assess balance, walking functional capacity respectively. Results. There was a significant improvement in balance and 6MWT of three groups post treatment when contrasted with that pretreatment (p < 0.001). Furthermore, group B and C's measured variables showed a substantial improvement over group A's when compared (p < 0.01), while group B and C did not differ significantly (p > 0.05). Conclusions. Virtual reality and balance beam training have an effective influence on the improvement of balance and walking performance.
Physical activity, eating behaviour, and sleep quality as predictors of Body Mass Index in adolescents? A correlational study on high school students in East Kalimantan
Authors: Mahardhika Nanda Alfian , Kriswanto Erwin Setyo , Muktiani Nur Rohmah , Jusuf Jeane Betty Kurnia , Santoso Januar Abdilah , Subekti Nur , Hartanto Amri
Published: March 2024

Background and Study Aim. Obesity is a metabolic disease characterised by excessive fat accumulation. Indonesia ranks second after Singapore with the largest number of obese adolescents. The study aimed to assess the impact of physical activity, eating behavior, and sleep quality on Body Mass Index (BMI) in adolescents.
Materials and Methods. This study was quantitative, with an ex post facto design. The study included 231 students (136 males, 95 females) aged 16-19 years, each with a Body Mass Index (BMI) ≥ 25.1. Participants were healthy and consented to the study by completing a screening questionnaire. The analysis was performed using regression techniques in the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 software.
Results. The selected regression model is feasible and demonstrates that physical activity, diet, and sleep quality collectively influence students' BMI (p-value < 0.001). Furthermore, the analysis shows that physical activity (p-value < 0.001), diet (p-value = 0.019), and sleep quality (p-value < 0.001) independently affect students' BMI.
Conclusions. We suggest that schools need to hold counseling programs in collaboration with relevant health workers to conduct counseling with the prevention of malnutrition, especially obesity. Provide additional tasks in the form of physical activity that students must do at home with parental supervision and the results will be reported to the teacher as an additional task value. Parents should also provide supervision of eating behavior and sleep patterns. For future researchers to be able to reveal other variables that can affect student BMI, because our report found only 49.90%.
Exploring Heaton’s testing score as a diagnostic tool: A language testing study on English language learners
Authors: Wahome Maina , Suharno
Published: March 2024

This study investigates the utility of Heaton's Testing Score as a diagnostic instrument for English language learners. Focusing on 20 grade 10 English language learners at Amaano Boarding School in Hargeisa,  Somaliland, our research employed a blend of qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Our research arsenal encompassed Heaton's Testing Score, a comprehensive questionnaire, and a rigorous focus group interview. The primary aim was to bridge an existing lacuna in the literature regarding the practical application of Heaton's Testing Score in pinpointing areas of improvement for English language learners. Our findings unearthed distinct challenges that students grapple with, particularly in the domains of reading comprehension, vocabulary, and grammar. These issues were discerned through a meticulous analysis of English test questions. Additionally, our questionnaire and focus group interview unveiled insightful perspectives on the root causes, including the limited exposure to English beyond the classroom setting. This nuanced comprehension of learners' impediments adds substantial value to the field. Our results underscore the pivotal role of Heaton's Testing Score as a valuable diagnostic tool, empowering educators and researchers to identify precise areas requiring focused assistance for English language learners. This emphasizes the significance of tailored interventions in ameliorating the learning experience. The study bears implications for educators, policy-makers, and curriculum developers, advocating for a more effective paradigm in language testing and evaluation. In conclusion, this research firmly underscores Heaton's Testing Score as an indispensable diagnostic instrument for language testing, with far-reaching ramifications for the enhancement of English language learners.
Water Resources: Health and Safety Issues
Authors:   National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines, and  Philippine Council for Health Research and Development,  DOST Complex, Bicutan, Taguig City 1631, Philippines, Montoya Jaime
Published: March 2024

Water is an important basic commodity that is essential for human existence. As such. water should be safe and of the highest quality. Countries, like the Philippines. have set up considerably resources to ensure that safe and clean water is readily accessible and available to the majority of Filipinos. Many water borne and related diseases may result with poor water management, inadequate sanitation and inappropriate hygiene practices. These water-related diseases include diarrheal diseases. arsenic and nuoride poisoning, intestinal nematode infections. malnutrition, trachoma, schistosomiasis, malaria, Japanese encephalitis, lymphatic filariasis and dengue. However. efforts to implement successful public health interventions to combat these diseases are complicated by the fact that these diseases are associated with a variety of economic, societal and environmental factors. Biological agents that may affect water quality and safety include bacteria like Vibrio cholera, Echerichia coli, Salmonella parasites like Plasmodium and helminths such as Dracunculus medinensis. Chemical agents that may affect water quality and safety include heavy metals and pesticides that result from industrial and other man-made activities. Government agencies such as the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) are tasked to ensure that water resources meet the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW). Efforts should be sustained to promote quality water resources for everyone. Research and development efforts should also be intensified to achieve this objective.
Towards Good Water Governance in the Philippines
Authors:   College of Public Affairs and Development, University of the Philippines Los Banos, College, Laguna 4031, Philippines, Rola Agnes , Pulhin Juan ,   College of Forestry and Natural Resources, UP Los Banos, College, Laguna 4031, David Cristina ,   Philippine Institute for Development Studies and International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Laguna 4031, Philippines, Wensley Christopher ,   Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Division, Southeast Asia Department, Asian Development Bank, Ortigas Center, Pasig City,  Philippines, Paragas Vicente ,   National Water Resources Board, NIA Building, EDSA, Diliman 1101, Tabios III Giullermo ,   College of Engineering, UP Diliman, Quezon City 1101, Lizada Joy ,   College of Management, UP Visayas, Miagao, Iloilo, Philippines, Gazmen Prevelyn ,   Customer Service and Stakeholders Management, Manila Water Company, Dayo Maria Helen ,   Gender Center, UP Los Banos, College, Laguna 4031, Philippines
Published: March 2024

This paper argues that the water crisis is a crisis of governance. The main factors affecting the scarcity of water were cited as issues on temporal and spatial variability of water; inequity in water access; and water quality issues; all of which can be solved by good water governance. In the Philippines, the data suggest the following challenges in water governance: a) fragmented institutions, b) fragmented planning, c) lack of reliable data, d) lack of scientific decision support systems, and e) very politicized system. There are also conflicts in water use in the rural areas due to the inconsistency of the customary rules and the formal structures of governance. The paper suggests that policy makers be reminded of the three pillars of good water governance, namely: clear and well defined policy, legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks; a strategic planning and decision-making processes; and strict implementation of, enforcement and compliance to these policies. The authors recommend: 1) that water pricing policies be studied more carefully, especially considering the water scarcity and environmental externalities; 2) that the Integrated Water Resources Management be adopted and institutional infrastructure for this be developed; and 3) that a community based water delivery system similar to the Tubig Para sa Barangay, initiated by the Manila Water Company, be replicated to other poor communities.
Dual Attention Aware Octave Convolution Network for Early-Stage Alzheimer's Disease Detection
Authors: Rangaraju Banupriya , Chinnadurai Thilagavathi , Natarajan Sarmiladevi , Raja Vishnu
Published: March 2024

Some of the most fundamental human capabilities, including thought, speech, and movement, may be lost due to brain illnesses. The most prevalent form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD), is caused by a steady decline in brain function and is now incurable. Despite the challenges associated with making a conclusive diagnosis of AD, the field has generally shifted toward making diagnoses justified by patient records and neurological analysis, such as MRI. Reports of studies utilizing machine learning for AD identification have increased in recent years. In this publication, we report the results of our most recent research. It details a deep learning-based, 3D brain MRI-based method for automated AD detection. As a result, deep learning models have become increasingly popular in recent years for analyzing medical images. To aid in detecting Alzheimer's disease at an initial phase, we suggest a dual attention-aware Octave convolution-based deep learning network (DACN). The three main parts of DACN are as follows: First, we use Patch Convolutional Neural Network (PCNN) to identify discriminative features within each MRI patch while simultaneously boosting the features of abnormally altered micro-structures in the brain; second, we use an Octave convolution to minimize the spatial redundancy and widen the field of perception of the brain's structure; and third, we use a dual attention aware convolution classifier to dissect the resulting depiction further. An outstanding test accuracy of 99.87% is reached for categorizing dementia phases by employing the suggested method in experiments on a publically available ADNI (Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative) dataset. The proposed model was more effective, efficient, and reliable than the state-of-the-art models through our comparisons.
Optimizing Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis with Multimodal Data Fusion Techniques
Authors: Karthigeyan C.M.T. , Rani C.
Published: March 2024

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a central nervous system neurodegenerative illness. Its symptoms include poor motor skills, speech, cognition, and memory. The condition is incurable, although evidence shows that early identification and therapy reduce symptoms. A lack of medical facilities and personnel hinders PD identification. PD is a common chronic degenerative neurological dyskinesia that threatens the elderly. Multi-modal data fusion may reveal more about PD pathophysiology. This study aims to contribute to the evaluation of PD by introducing a novel multimodal deep-learning technique for distinguishing individuals with PD from those without PD. This study utilizes resting functional magnetic resonance imaging (rfMRI) and gene data obtained from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) and Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) databases. The primary objective is to predict the specific pathological brain regions and identify the risk genes associated with PD. The authors want to learn more about the genetic components and underlying procedures by analyzing these datasets. Contributing to the development and progression of PD. In this study, we present our findings that demonstrate the superior recital of our proposed multimodal method compared to both unimodal approaches and other existing multimodal methods. Our evaluation is based on an extensive dataset consisting of real patients. Specifically, our proposed method stacked deep learning classifiers (SDLC) achieves an impressive F1-score of 0.99 and an accuracy of 99.4%, surpassing the performance of both unimodal approaches and other multimodal methods. These results highlight the efficiency and potential of our method in enhancing the accuracy and reliability of patient data analysis. In this study, we demonstrate that our proposed method consistently surpasses alternative approaches in terms of performance, as indicated by a higher average increase in F1-score. This finding highlights the advantage of training on multiple modalities, even when a particular modality is absent during inference.
Pat Patrick
Authors: Banfield Bill
Published: March 2024

Saxophonist, multi-wind player, arranger, composer, music director, theater works producer, educator, and visionary, Pat Patrick performed with Duke Ellington’s and Quincy Jones’ orchestras, Thelonious Monk, Mongo Santamaria, Nat King Cole, James Moody, Eric Dolphy, Marvin Gaye, Patti Labelle, and Billy Taylor. Most of his career, however, was spent laying down the baseline grooves on the baritone saxophone with the indefinable Sun Ra Archestra for over 35 years.

Based on research in the recently opened archive of personal papers, artifacts, scrapbooks, music, news clippings and photographs, Pat Patrick: American Musician and Cultural Visionary, explores the life and influence of this important musical man-behind-the-scenes. Musicologist Bill Banfield weaves a treasure trove of primary source material—including interviews with Patrick's family, friends, and associates—into a tapestry of Patrick’s remarkable life as the musical right hand of some of America’s greatest Black musical artists.
Spirit of '67
Authors: Whalen Thomas J.
Published: March 2024

Using the colorful and tumultuous 1960s as a backdrop, acclaimed author Thomas J. Whalen’s Spirit of ’67: The Cardiac Kids, El Birdos, and the World Series That Captivated America shows how the Red Sox and Cardinals waged an epic battle for baseball supremacy that captured the imagination of weary Americans looking for escape from the urban riots, racial turmoil, and antiwar protests that were roiling 1960s society. “How many people ever do anything that makes so many people happy?” Sox pitcher Gary Bell asked years later, in reference to their classic autumn clash. The book examines the unique bond that each team had with its own fanbase, going back to each franchise’s chaotic beginning at the turn of the twentieth century. Relating issues of ethnicity, politics, class, and economics, Whalen sets out to reveal the exactly what was at stake in the 1967 fall classic, and how echoes from that unforgettable season still ring through both cities, and American culture, to this day.
Warren Zevon
Authors: Plasketes George
Published: March 2024

Warren Zevon was one of the most original songwriters to emerge from the prolific 1970s Los Angeles music scene. Beyond his most familiar song—the rollicking 1978 hit “Werewolves of London”—Zevon’s smart, often satirical songbook is rich with cinematic, literary, and comic qualities; dark narratives; complex characters; popular culture references; and tender, romantic ballads of parting and longing.

Warren Zevon: Desperado of Los Angeles is the first book-length, critical exploration of one of popular music’s most talented and tormented antiheroes. George Plasketes provides a comprehensive chronicle of Zevon’s 40-year, 20-record career and his enduring cultural significance. Beginning with Zevon’s classical training and encounters as a youth with composers Robert Craft and Igor Stravinsky, Plasketes surveys Zevon’s initiation into the 1960s through the Everly Brothers, the Turtles, and the film Midnight Cowboy. Plasketes then follows Zevon from his debut album with Asylum Records in 1976, produced by mentor Jackson Browne, through his successes and struggles from a Top Ten album to record label limbo during the 1980s, through a variety of music projects in the 1990s, including soundtracks and scores, culminating with a striking trio of albums in the early 2000s. Despite his reckless lifestyle and personal demons, Zevon made friends and alliances with talk show host David Letterman and such literary figures as Hunter S. Thompson and Carl Hiaasen. It was only after his death in 2003 that Zevon received Grammy recognition for his work.

Throughout this book, Plasketes explores the musical, cinematic, and literary influences that shaped Zevon’s distinctive style and songwriting themes and continue to make Zevon’s work a telling portrait of Los Angeles and American culture.
Invasions USA
Authors: Bliss Michael
Published: March 2024

Out of more than 180 science fiction films produced in the United States between 1950 and 1959, twenty were concerned with the notion of an invasion. Of these, a select number used the invasions as metaphors of issues that were of importance to America at the time, such as assaults upon individuality and marriage and debates about the supremacy of the human race. The invasion may be real (The Day the Earth Stood Still and War of the Worlds), dreamed (Invaders from Mars), or the result of a mental breakdown, as seems to be the case in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Real or not, all of these massive disturbances to the status quo convey the same anxiety: In the 1950s, many Americans felt that things in their world weren’t quite right, and this sense of unease was expressed in the country’s art, notably these films.

In Invasions USA: The Essential Science Fiction Films of the 1950s, Michael Bliss examines movies that stripped away the veneer of normality during a decade often portrayed as the last innocent period in American history. From a boy’s nightmares about his alien-controlled parents and a young woman’s fears that her fiancé has been replaced by an emotionless alien to an extraterrestrial visitor who comes to warn mankind about its self-destructive ways, the stories of these films offer a variety of messages, both subtle and overt.

With detailed discussions and analyses of the films in question, this book examines a unique group of movies with profound messages. By exploring depictions of insecurities—whether personal or political—Bliss shows how science fiction films spoke to American audiences deeply troubled by their circumstances. Invasions USA will appeal to science fiction buffs and film aficionados interested in this significant phenomenon in movie and cultural history.
Experiencing David Bowie
Authors: Chapman Ian
Published: March 2024

In Experiencing David Bowie: A Listener's Companion, musicologist, writer, and musician Ian Chapman unravels the extraordinary marriage of sound and visual effect that lies at the heart of the work of one of the most complex and enduring performers in popular music. Still active in a career now well into its fifth decade, Bowie’s influence on music and popular culture is vast. At the height of the “glam rock” era, Bowie stood head and shoulders above his peers. His influence, however, would extend far beyond glam through successive changes of musical style and stage work that impacted upon wider popular culture through fashion, film, gender studies, theatre, and performing arts.

As Chapman suggests, Bowie recognized early on that in a post-war consumer culture that continued the cross-pollination of media platforms, the line between musician and actor was an ever-thinning one. Opposing romantic notions of authenticity in rock, Bowie wore many faces, challenging listeners who consider his large body of work with a bewildering array of musical styles, covering everything from classic vaudeville to heavy metal, glam rock to soul and funk, electronic music to popular disco. In Experiencing David Bowie, Chapman serves as tour guide through this vast musical landscape, tracing his development as a musical artist through twenty-seven studio albums he generated. Pivotal songs anchor Chapman’s no-nonsense look at Bowie’s work, alerting listeners to his innovations as composer and performer. Moreover, through a close look at Bowie's “visuals”—in particular his album covers, Chapman draws the lines of connection between Bowie the musician and Bowie the visual stage artist, illuminating the broad nature of his art.

This work will appeal to not only fans of David Bowie, but anyone interested in the history of modern popular music, fashion, stage and cinema, and modern art.
Reporting in the MENA Region
Authors: Ayish Mohammad , Mellor Noha
Published: March 2024

In this consideration of media practice in the Arab region, Mohammad Ayish and Noha Mellor explore the changing status and function of journalists and journalism given the new realities of reporting in the digital age.

The authors draw on focus group discussions, interviews, and social media traffic surveys to examine how social and new media have been integrated into Arab and pan-Arab newsroom operations and harnessed to enhance engagement with an empowered audience. Efforts to engage with audiences in social space, Ayish and Mellor argue, are part of a broad and long-waged information war aimed at winning hearts and minds in the MENA region. Social platforms present excellent opportunities to engage with audiences, but the extent to which such opportunities can be realized are hamstrung by limits on free expression and online access—and vary significantly from country to country and from media channel to media channel. Overall, Reporting in the MENA Region paints a comprehensive and contemporary picture of how today’s Arab journalists perceive and use digital media.
So You Want to Sing Gospel
Authors: Robinson-Martin Trineice
Published: March 2024

There are few works in existence that teach gospel singing and even fewer that focus on what gospel soloists need to know. In So You Want to Sing Gospel, Trineice Robinson-Martin offers the first resource to help individual gospel singers at all levels make the most of their primary instrument—their voice.

Robinson-Martin gathers together key information on gospel music history, vocal pedagogy, musical style and performance, and its place in music ministry. So You Want to Sing Gospel covers such vital matters as historical, cultural and spiritual perspectives on the gospel music tradition, training one's voice, understanding the dynamic of sound production, grasping gospel style, and bringing together vocal performance with ministerial imperatives. She also includes in her discussion such matters as voice type, repertoire selection, and gospel sub-genres. Additional chapters by Scott McCoy and Wendy LeBorgne, and Matthew Edwards address universal questions of voice science and pedagogy, vocal health, and audio enhancement technology.

The So You Want to Sing seriesis produced in partnership with the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Like all books in the series, So You Want to Sing Gospel features online supplemental material on the NATS website. Please visit www.nats.org to access style-specific exercises, audio and video files, and additional resources.
Jazz in the 1970s
Authors: Shoemaker Bill
Published: March 2024

Breaking through pervasive misconceptions, Jazz in the 1970s explores a pivotal decade in jazz history. Many consider the 1970s to be the fusion decade, but Bill Shoemaker pushes back against this stereotype with a bold perspective that examines both the diverse musical innovations and cultural developments that elevated jazz internationally. He traces events that redefined jazz’s role in the broadband arts movement as well as the changing social and political landscape.

Shoemaker immerses readers in the cultural transformation of jazz through:

official recognition with events like Jimmy Carter’s White House Jazz Picnic and the release of The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz;

the market validation of avant-garde musicians by major record labels and the concurrent spike in artist-operated record labels and performance spaces;

the artistic influence and economic impact of jazz festivals internationally;

the emergence of government and foundation grant support for jazz in the United States and Europe;

and the role of media in articulating a fast-changing scene.

Shoemaker details the lives and work of well-known innovators (such as Art Ensemble of Chicago, Anthony Braxton and Sam Rivers) as well as barrier-breaking artists based in Europe (such as Derek Bailey, Peter Brötzmann and Chris McGregor) giving both longtime fans and newcomers insights into the moments and personae that shaped a vibrant decade in jazz.
Consciousness and the Aconscious in Psychoanalytic Theory
Authors: Fayek Ahmed
Published: March 2024

In the last few decades consciousness has become a major topic of interest for neurologists, psychologists, and a host of other professionals in various disciplines. Their concerted efforts to define consciousness led them mostly to the same impasse: the leap from the body to the mind, or to the particular link that makes the mind an attribute of consciousness. In 1895 Freud put together a project for a Psychology for the Neurologists. It comprised the elements of a theory of consciousness as a manifestation of the continuous homeostatic pursuit of stability; an aconscious condition. Although he made a distinction between the aconscious and the unconscious in many of his important works, he did not clearly define the ways in which the two could co-exist in a unified theory.

In Consciousness and the Aconscious in Psychoanalytic Theory, Ahmed Fayek summarizes current arguments and debates stemming from neurological and phenomenological perspectives. He presents the notion that consciousness needs to be considered a human phenomenon and not simply a manifestation of brain activity, which is an occurrence shared by all organisms. Using Freud’s theories as they relate to consciousness, Fayek places his own theory of the aconscious within the context of Freudian thought.
The Moral Defense of Homosexuality
Authors: Meyers Chris
Published: March 2024

Chris Meyers takes the reader on a careful, rational, sustained criticism of arguments about the immorality of homosexuality. Meyers refutes anti-gay arguments by showing that they are based on unreasonable or demonstrably false ideas about the nature of morality. Working through the morality arguments against homosexuality, Meyers shows how the nature of morality demands impartial, overriding reasons to act. He argues that morality is not grounded in visceral feelings of disgust, commands from the scriptures, or mysterious Platonic essences. In clear, convincing discussion, Meyers examines morality to promote the moral logic of granting rights to all people, no matter their sexual orientation.
Daniel Webster
Authors: Rakestraw Donald A.
Published: March 2024

Few names in American history are more recognizable than that of Daniel Webster. No one would deny that Webster’s substantive domestic achievements assured his prominent place in American history and that his virtual embodiment of nation and union guaranteed his rank among the most significant personalities of the Jacksonian era. It can, however, be argued that his domestic resumé that garnered him the title “Defender of the Constitution” is rivaled by an impressive international one that yielded far-reaching results for a nation still struggling to find a respectable position among the Atlantic powers. In fact, his adroit handling of his signature accomplishment with Lord Ashburton earned him the additional title of “Defender of Peace.” Webster’s foreign policy achievements are too often given short shrift, falling victim to the textbook author’s inclination to hold Webster to the dominant domestic narrative that would ultimately see the nation fractured. Donald A. Rakestraw focuses on Webster’s critical diplomatic efforts--efforts that produced a legacy that ranges from the delineation of America’s northeastern boundary with Canada to the prevention of a serious rupture with Britain; from the advancement of national commercial expansion in the Pacific and East Asia to the establishment of a long-lived model for U.S. extradition policy; from his successful intervention on behalf of the so-called “Santa Fe prisoners” in Mexico to his role in promoting a crucial Anglo-American rapprochement.
What Sorrows Labour in My Parent's Breast?
Authors: Stevenson Brenda E.
Published: March 2024

The legacy of the slave family haunts the status of black Americans in modern U.S. society. Stereotypes that first entered the popular imagination in the form of plantation lore have continued to distort the African American social identity. In What Sorrows Labour in My Parents' Breast?, Brenda Stevenson provides a long overdue concise history to help the reader understand this vitally important African American institution as it evolved and survived under the extreme opposition that the institution of slavery imposed. The themes of this work center on the multifaceted reality of loss, recovery, resilience and resistance embedded in the desire of African/African descended people to experience family life despite their enslavement. These themes look back to the critical loss that Africans, both those taken and those who remained, endured, as the enslaved poet Phillis Wheatley honors in the line—“What sorrows labour in my parents’ breast?,” and look forward to the generations of slaves born through the Civil War era who struggled to realize their humanity in the recreation of family ties that tied them, through blood and emotion, to a reality beyond their legal bondage to masters and mistresses. Stevenson pays particular attention to the ways in which gender, generation, location, slave labor, the economic status of slaveholders and slave societies’ laws affected the black family in slavery.
Science Wars through the Stargate
Authors: Gil Steven
Published: March 2024

The story of an elite team of scientists and soldiers who travel to other worlds through an alien-built portal, Stargate SG-1 gave its viewers a weekly dose of spectacle and high adventure. Over its ten-season run (1997-2007), the series explored the interactions of the scientific and military cultures represented by its characters, as well as the place of science in society. The initial airing of Stargate SG-1 coincided with the “Science Wars,” a highly public clash among scholars and public intellectuals over the nature and value of scientific knowledge. Critics of science argued that it was merely one form of knowledge among many, subject to biases and blind spots imposed by the culture in which it was created. Defenders of science—mostly scientists themselves—contended that it possessed a unique ability to uncover universal truths, and thus was uniquely valuable to society.

In Science Wars through the Stargate: Explorations of Science and Society in Stargate SG-1, Steven Gil offers the first in-depth analysis of the series and places it in the context of contemporary debates about the nature of scientific thought. Gil contends that representations of science within SG-1 can be more fully understood through the prism of the Science Wars. Scientific ideas put forth in SG-1 demonstrate how such complex intellectual exchanges and debates have a place in popular culture and can be further understood through these fictional articulations. Although SG-1 serves as the principal case study, the analysis also casts light on the role and position of science in science fiction television more generally.

The long-form narrative of Stargate SG-1 enabled it to engage, in sophisticated ways, with many of the questions at issue in the Science Wars. As the author illustrates, the show presented a complex, sophisticated portrait of science and scientists at a time when the scientific enterprise was under intense public scrutiny. Science Wars through the Stargate will be of interest to science fiction scholars and fans of the series, but also to those interested in the public’s evolving understanding of science and its role in society.
No End of Conflict
Authors: Alpher Yossi
Published: March 2024

Yossi Alpher, a veteran of peace process research and dialogue, explains how Israel got into its current situation of growing international isolation, political stalemate, and gathering messianic political influence. He investigates the inability of Israelis and Palestinians to make peace and end their conflict before suggesting not “solutions” (as there is no current prospect for a realistic comprehensive solution), but ways to moderate and soften the worst aspects of the situation and “muddle through” as Israel looks to a somber bi-national future.

Alpher argues that a sober reassessment is long overdue in the way the West looks at the Israeli-Palestinian relationship. He submits that we have to stop talking about “the peace process” as if it still seriously exists, that 20 years of the Oslo process have failed for very substantial reasons that the professional peacemakers ignore at their risk, and that Israel is more likely to sink into a single-state reality than to remain truly “Jewish and democratic.” Yet, his is a non-ideological, no nonsense book. Israel will not disappear, will not become impoverished, and will still find strategic partners.

The book opens with a true story of two sisters whose lives were separated in 1947, as a parable for what is still happening in Israel’s relations with the Arab world in general and the Palestinians in particular. It then offers brief analyses of how Israel looks today in the world, from a rejection of deceptive nostalgia for imaginary “good old days” to a discussion of Israel’s increasingly problematic internal cohesion and the paralysis this generates in decision making regarding territories-for-peace issues. A discussion of Diaspora Jewish influence focuses on the Diaspora’s anachronistic approach to the peace process. It is followed by a look at the highly negative effect regional developments are having on Israeli attitudes toward Arabs in general and peace in particular, using the summer 2014 war with Gaza-based Hamas as a case in point. Next comes a discussion of the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and peace process, looking at the principal processes and dynamics that have thwarted peace and coexistence since the 1930s. Alpher argues that peace process practitioners on all sides—Israel, Palestinians, other Arabs, the US, the UN—have consistently ignored these dynamics or refused to take them seriously, producing today’s stalemate. The book concludes with a look at the scaled-down alternatives available today for avoiding, or at least delaying, total paralysis and a one-state reality. These include a UN approach and another unilateral withdrawal. It concludes with an examination of the increasingly influential Israeli proponents of a one-state solution and the spectacular damage their policies are bringing about.
My Partner, My Enemy
Authors: Leventhal John Michael
Published: March 2024

The problem of domestic violence and partner abuse knows no bounds, can affect anyone, and when kept silent and in the dark can become deadly. Hon. John Leventhal presided over the Brooklyn Felony Domestic Violence Court, the first felony domestic violence part in the nation, since it opened in June 1996 until he was elevated to the appellate court January 2008. While domestic violence has greater social and legal visibility today then it did in the past, the problem still remains a massive and ongoing crisis. My Partner, My Enemy brings truth and reality to a matter that desperately needs to be addressed. So how do we help reduce and eliminate intimate partner abuse, especially when the public knows so little and much goes unreported? By exploring the severity of the problem through true case studies of violent and abusive men, and their motivations, Leventhal successfully brings to light the problem and ways to help.
A World Erased
Authors: Lederman Noah
Published: March 2024

This poignant memoir by Noah Lederman, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, transports readers from his grandparents’ kitchen table in Brooklyn to World War II Poland. In the 1950s, Noah’s grandparents raised their children on Holocaust stories. But because tales of rebellion and death camps gave his father and aunt constant nightmares, in Noah’s adolescence Grandma would only recount the PG version. Noah, however, craved the uncensored truth and always felt one right question away from their pasts. But when Poppy died at the end of the millennium, it seemed the Holocaust stories died with him. In the years that followed, without the love of her life by her side, Grandma could do little more than mourn.

After college, Noah, a travel writer, roamed the world for fifteen months with just one rule: avoid Poland. A few missteps in Europe, however, landed him in his grandparents’ country. When he returned home, he cautiously told Grandma about his time in Warsaw, fearing that the past would bring up memories too painful for her to relive. But, instead, remembering the Holocaust unexpectedly rejuvenated her, ending five years of mourning her husband. Together, they explored the memories—of Auschwitz and a half-dozen other camps, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and the displaced persons camps—that his grandmother had buried for decades. And the woman he had playfully mocked as a child became his hero.

I was left with the stories—the ones that had been hidden, the ones that offered catharsis, the ones that gave me a second hero, the ones that resurrected a family, the ones that survived even death. Their shared journey profoundly illuminates the transformative power of never forgetting.
In Good Faith
Authors: Polonchek Maria
Published: March 2024

Part memoir, part cultural exploration, this book covers the author’s journey as she grows up in an evangelical Christian home, leaves religion behind as a young adult, and goes on to raise children in a family outside of religious belief. Maria Polonchek weaves a personal story with up-to-date studies and philosophic exploration of what it means to raise secular children in an otherwise religious world. Offering careful and respectful advice for other parents who are raising their children outside of a particular religious belief system, she explores the many other ways of instilling identity, belonging, and meaning into our lives and the lives of children.

Honest and irreverent, the author admits to her religious “baggage” and searches for better understanding of such topics as religious education, morality, awe, death, purpose, and meaning, and tradition from secular perspectives. She interviews experts, looks at various studies, and turns to a variety of sources for answers, while maintaining a casual and personal tone. While she ultimately argues for parents to let their children shape their own beliefs, she encourages families to tend to existential and social needs that sometimes go unnoticed or unconsidered in life outside religion.
Detox Your Home
Authors: Dimmick Christine
Published: March 2024

Cancer affects 1 in 2 persons, and nearly everyone has an autoimmune-related disease or allergy. We live in a world where the incidence of illness grows as fast as the GDP. Industrialization has created a world that puts products before human and environmental health. Exercise and eating right is not enough. In this rapidly growing world, our resources are depleting along with our health and the public sees and feels this daily.

Health and Wellness speaker, advocate and Good Home Company Founder, Christine Dimmick, takes a deep dive into the toxins found in our very own homes, and how you can limit your exposure and take control of your own health. Detox Your Home addresses all of these issues – from clothing to food to the cleaning products used every day in homes just like yours. Dimmick unveils what manufacturers won’t, so you can avoid exposing yourself and your family to the hidden toxins eating away at America’s health and wellness. Detox Your Home is the essential go-to book for how to live a life of wellness, and will show you how to improve – in every part of your life.
Hollywood Enlists!
Authors: Donald Ralph
Published: March 2024

Frequently referred to as “the Greatest Generation,” Americans of the World War II era were influenced by Hollywood’s depictions of their nation, its role in world affairs, and the virtue of its involvement in the war. Stories of the bravery and heroism of the American military—as well as the moral and political threat posed by the enemy—filled movie screens across the country to garner passionate support for wartime policies.

In Hollywood Enlists! Propaganda Films of World War II, Ralph Donald explores how the studios supported the war effort and helped shape the attitudes of an entire generation. Through films the studios appealed to the public’s sense of nationalism, demonized the enemy, and stressed that wartime sacrifices would result in triumph. The author contends that American films of the period used sophisticated, but often overlooked, strategies of propaganda to ideologically unite the country. While these strategies have long been associated with political speeches and writings during the war, little in-depth consideration has been given to their use in the era’s cinema.

By examining major motion pictures—including Casablanca, The Flying Tigers, Mrs. Miniver, Sergeant York, They Were Expendable, and many others—Donald illustrates how various propaganda techniques aligned the nation’s entertainment with government aims. Hollywood Enlists! will appeal to readers with interests in war films and motion picture history, as well as politics and social history.
What a President Should Know
Authors: Lindsey Lawrence B.
Published: March 2024

The winner of the presidential election will need to get quickly up-to-speed on how to manage the government. What are the likely issues he will encounter on the first day in the Oval Office? What does he do about the cost of the Iraq War? He'll get blamed if there's another terrorist attack, so what does he need to do that first day and the days and weeks to come to realistically and prudently prevent such an attack? How's the economy? What kind of policies can he now really propose based upon the present state of the economy and the tax-base that supports federal programs? He promised during the campaign to tackle big issues like healthcare, education, energy, immigration, international trade, and taxation. If he's going to hold himself to his own campaign rhetoric then he'd better surround himself with political savvy, fiscally astute advisers—like Lindsey and Sumerlin. This book is for the next president of the United States, all the policy-makers-in-waiting, and, most importantly, political junkies who appreciate that these authors were Oval Office advisors and that they understand what it takes to get a new administration up-and-running.
Sexueller Missbrauch und Gewalt
Authors: Jaeger Lothar
Published: March 2024

Sexual abuse of altar servers and rape of young girls and women were committed in both churches. The victims suffered not only physically, but also psychologically. They are entitled to particularly high compensation for pain and suffering, which the book provides instructions on how to calculate. Those affected and their lawyers will find out against whom claims should be made and what substantiated evidence of abuse and psychological damage is absolutely necessary. Material damage must also be compensated. Loss of earnings can be claimed after decline of school performance. Psychological damage can lead to early incapacity to work and also trigger household management damage and pension damage.
ПИЩЕВАЯ ЦЕННОСТЬ МЯСА БЫЧКОВ ПРИБАЙКАЛЬСКОГО ТИПА ЧЕРНО-ПЕСТРОЙ ПОРОДЫ
Authors: Адушинов Д.С. , Безруков С.А. , Грудинин П.В. , Каушев А.Б. , Искандарзода Д.А.
Published: March 2024

По питательным и вкусовым качествам говядина является незаменимым пищевым продуктом, содержащим важнейшие аминокислоты, минеральные вещества, витамины, ферменты. Основным поставщиком говядины является крупный рогатый скот молочного и молочно-мясного направления продуктивности
Catholics United on Brain Death and Organ Donation
Authors: Eble Joseph M. , Di Camillo John A. , Colosi Peter J. ,   The National Catholic Bioethics Center
Published: March 2024

The Dead Donor Rule is an important component of the protections afforded to donors in organ donations. It states that medical professionals must be certain that a patient has truly passed away before procuring their organs for transplantation. One method of assessing this is using the neurological criteria. Patients satisfying these criteria have achieved what is commonly referred to as Brain Death. However, the question of whether brain death is true death is one hotly contested in some areas of Catholic bioethics. Recently, however, new guidelines provided by the American Academy of Neurology have given rise to a new disagreement: whether these new guidelines accurately assess brain death at all. This article gives an introduction to a longer call to action, Catholics United on Brain Death and Organ Donation, which describes the issues with this new guidance and objects to its use.
The Pharisee Effect: When Religious Appeals in Politics Go Too Far
Authors: Powell Larry , Neiva Eduardo ,   Religious Communication Association
Published: March 2024

This study describes a phenomenon in political rhetoric labeled The Pharisee Effect. The term describes those situations in which religious appeals are used within the political context and have a boomerang effect on the targeted audience, i.e., the audience reacts negatively to the appeal. The authors argue that the phenomenon of the Pharisee Effects fits within general game theory in that the political context encourages an escalating exchange of messages which can lead one of the participants to engage in rhetoric that voter consider unacceptable. When the religious appeal goes too far, it may be subject to negative evaluations regarding the speaker's intention or motivations. These negative evaluations could fall into one of five different categories: (1) self-serving motivations, (2) hypocrisy, (3) inappropriateness, (4) fanaticism, or (5) a ''holierthan-thou" attitude.