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      • Trusted Partner
        Business, Economics & Law
        September 2016

        Forest Hydrology

        Processes, Management and Assessment

        by Devendra Amatya, Thomas Williams, Leon Bren, Carmen de Jong

        Forests cover approximately 26% of the world's land surface area and represent a distinct biotic community. They interact with water and soil in a variety of ways, providing canopy surfaces which trap precipitation and allow evaporation back into the atmosphere, thus regulating how much water reaches the forest floor as through fall, as well as pull water from the soil for transpiration. The discipline "forest hydrology" has been developed throughout the 20th century. During that time human intervention in natural landscapes has increased, and land use and management practices have intensified. This book: - Presents cutting edge thinking and assessments in forest hydrology across all latitudes and terrains, including state-of-the-art modelling techniques and methodologies - Describes the latest challenges facing forest hydrology, such as increased occurrence of disturbance, due to extreme floods, drought, disease, and fire, potentially caused by climate change - Is written by an internationally renowned team of scientists, engineers, and managers to give a well-rounded review of the subject The book will be useful for graduate students, professionals, land managers, practitioners, and researchers with a good understanding of the basic principles of hydrology and hydrologic processes. ; This book presents cutting edge thinking and assessments in forest hydrology across all latitudes and terrains, including state-of-the-art modelling techniques and methodologies. It describes challenges facing forest hydrology such as extreme floods, drought, disease, and fire, and is written by an internationally renowned team. ; 1: An Introduction to Forest Hydrology 2: Forest Runoff Processes 3: Forest Evapotranspiration: Measurement and Modelling at Multiple Scales 4: Forest Hydrology of Mountainous and Snow Dominated Watersheds 5: European Perspectives on Forest Hydrology 6: Tropical Forest Hydrology 7: Hydrology of Flooded and Wetland Forests 8: Forest Drainage 9: Hydrological Modeling in Forested Systems 10: Geospatial Technology Applications in Forest Hydrology 11: Forests Cover Changes and Hydrology in Large Watersheds 12: Hydrologic Effects of Forest Management 13: Hydrology of Forests after Wildfire 14: Hydrologic Processes of Reference Watersheds in Experimental Forests, USA 15: Applications of Forest Hydrologic Science to Watershed Management in the 21st Century 16: Hydrology of Taiga Forests in High Northern Latitudes 17: Future Directions in Forest Hydrology

      • Trusted Partner
        Business, Economics & Law
        January 2018

        Special Interest Tourism

        Concepts, Contexts and Cases

        by Carol Southall, Lynn Minnaert, Nazia Ali, Ade Oriade, Allan Watson, Glen Croy, Ralf C Buckley, Dallen J Timothy, Steven Rhoden, Alison Caffyn, Richard Benfield, Cheng-Fei Lee, Sheela Agarwal, Graham Busby, Rong Huang

        Special interest tourism is growing rapidly due to a discerning and heterogeneous travel market and the demand for more focused activity or interest-based tourism experiences. This book approaches the topic from the perspective of both supply and demand, and addresses the complexities now inherent in this area of tourism. It presents a contextualised overview of contemporary academic research, concepts, principles and industry-based practice insights, and also considers the future of special interest tourism in light of the emergence of ethical consumerism. With a clear, user-friendly structure, the book: -Links theoretical frameworks to clear practical applications. -Reviews key emerging issues for tourism relating to families and faith, the performing arts, active and passive pursuits, therapeutic leisure and travelling. -Includes contributions and case studies from international academics and practitioners to give a truly global overview. Sometimes referred to as niche or contemporary tourism, this book provides a complete introduction to the study of special interest tourism for students.

      • Trusted Partner
        The Arts

        The Archive of Thangka Culture in China: Gannan Volume

        by Feng Jicai

        The Archive of Thangka Culture in China: Gannan Volume is the full records of the history and current situation of Thangka culture in the Lapaleng Temple-centered Gannan region. It systematically introduces the origin and characteristics of Gannan Thangka and gives a comprehensive and authoritative interpretation on its iconographical symbolic significance and cultural function. With detailed records of distinctive characteristics of Gannan Tangka, including its materials, tools, painting technologies, multiple contemporary forms, schools of inheritance, painters' profile, exchange and circulation, as well as relevant theories of painting, the book is considered of great significance for recording and inheriting profound traditional Chinese cultures.

      • Trusted Partner
        The Arts

        The Civilization of Paper in Villages

        An Investigation and Research on the Culture of Papercutting of Ethnic Minorities in China

        by Qiao Xiaoguang

        The Civilization of Paper in Villages: An Investigation and Research on the Culture of Papercutting of Ethnic Minorities in China is a monographic series presenting the field research studies on Chinese traditional papercut conducted by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Research Center of the Central Academy of Fine Arts for 15 years. The series has 8 volumes, archiving for the first time the research information about Chinese papercut, a world-class intangible cultural heritage and more than 20 ethnic minorities such as Tibetan, Dai, Hani, and Bulang. With a total of more than 2 million Chinese words and nearly 10,000 pictures, it shows the readers the diversity of ethnic culture and paper-cutting art in China.

      • Trusted Partner
        History

        The Six Hundred Year History of the Forbidden City

        by Yan Chongnian

        "A Forbidden City tells half of Chinese history." This book takes the six hundred year history of the Forbidden City as a clue, tells stories built around the Forbidden City, and represents stories of the emperors, generals and ministers of state, the concubines, even the bodyguards, eunuchs, imperial doctors, and other people on the historical stage of the Forbidden City. There are not only well-known historical events but also secret histories of the palace, with more than 500 historical figures vividly interpreting the vicissitudes of life in the book.   The famous historian Yan Chongnian, with his unique vision, selects the most representative historical stories and integrates the events of the changeable Forbidden City of six hundred years into the book. He uses popular and witty diction, combined with his life experience of more than eighty years, to make serious history no longer boring and difficult to understand, so that official history can also be lively and interesting. This is a popularizing history book suitable for readers of all ages. They can better understand the Forbidden City in the palace world built by Yan Chongnian, appreciate the splendid history of Chinese civilization, and develop new insights into life.

      • Trusted Partner
        Art forms
        2023

        Famine Tales

        A Graphic Anthology

        by Ayesha Mukherjee, Shrutakirti Dutta, Abhijit Gupta, Sujit Kumar Mandal

        A graphic anthology of five famines in India and Britain, interpreted by traditional scroll painters and comics book artists

      • Trusted Partner
        Food & Drink

        The Golden Book of Home Cooking

        by Food & Life Studio

        The Golden Book of Home Cooking is a beautifully printed cookbook with over 400 different approachable Chinese food recipes. The book collects recipes from the 10-year accumulation of seven food bloggers with more than 10 million followers, including Yuan Zhuzhu, Mi Tang, Xie Wanyun, Meng Xiangjian, Die Er, Liang Fengling and Cook Chen. Accompanied with audios of 419 recipes, videos of 84 recipes, and nearly 100 health tips, the book offers the first "visible and audible" grand feast to household chefs through a combination of media, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of technology and cook with love and passion.

      • August 2024

        Dino + Ricky (6) cherry-headed-shperical little master man

        by Peter Kruck

        The bookworm has his health back. But not only his health, but also his friendship with Frehdrich is restored.Somehow their quarrel seems to have something to do with Uncle Rupert's disappearance. Who knows ... maybe they can now find out what really happened to him? All the threads come together at the uncle's house. Edgar and the secret agents think so too.Dino and Ricky would like to get to the bottom of it all. If only it weren't for the preparations for the festival of peaceful coexistence ... and that stupid fraternity kiss.To make matters worse, that insufferable Master Planowiak keeps pushing his way to the center of attention. He presides over the whole spectacle and infuriates our children with his obnoxious manner.

      • Trusted Partner
        Biology, life sciences
        May 2021

        Ten Steps to Building a Successful Veterinary Practice

        by Wendy Sneddon

        This book is a down to earth, practical guide which provides ten simple steps for success for anyone responsible for recruiting a winning veterinary practice team: whether they are recruiting employees and building their team, or changing culture and creating a supportive environment where employees are engaged and motivated. It is ideal for small business owners who can't afford to employ any human resource support.Intensely practical, it delivers key facts for veterinary staff starting out in business. The book:· Details how you can attract, recruit and retain the right people for a winning team· Guides you on creating a well organised, supportive practice in which employees can flourish· Provides you with a basic introduction to building a strategy and improving your marketing campaigns· Covers the basics of sound financial planning and how to win clients and increase your revenues· Looks at how to manage common pitfallsWith a wealth of practical templates and forms to use, this book adopts a straight-talking approach which will be welcomed by anyone starting their own veterinary practice. Table of contents 1: Step 1: WHY? 2: Step 2: Your First Time? 3: Step 3: Vision, Mission, Values and Culture 4: Step 4: How to Define What and Who You Need 5: Step 5: Recruitment and Induction 6: Step 6: Performance Management and Employee Engagement 7: Step 7: Employee Health and Wellbeing 8: Step 8: How to Build a Loyal Client Database and Marketing Your Practice 9: Step 9: Financial Management 10: Step 10: Three Key Strategies to Increase Your Revenue by 25%

      • Trusted Partner
        The Arts
        February 2022

        "I am Jugoslovenka!"

        Feminist performance politics during and after Yugoslav Socialism

        by Jasmina Tumbas, Amelia Jones, Marsha Meskimmon

        "I am Jugoslovenka" argues that queer-feminist artistic and political resistance were paradoxically enabled by socialist Yugoslavia's unique history of patriarchy and women's emancipation. Spanning performance and conceptual art, video works, film and pop music, lesbian activism and press photos of female snipers in the Yugoslav wars, the book analyses feminist resistance in a range of performative actions that manifest the radical embodiment of Yugoslavia's anti-fascist, transnational and feminist legacies. It covers celebrated and lesser-known artists from the 1970s to today, including Marina Abramovic, Sanja Ivekovic, Vlasta Delimar, Tanja Ostojic, Selma Selman and Helena Janecic, along with music legends Lepa Brena and Esma Redzepova. "I am Jugoslovenka" tells a unique story of women's resistance through the intersection of feminism, socialism and nationalism in East European visual culture.

      • Trusted Partner
        Children's & YA

        Amazing Parasites:plants, fungi, animals

        by Alyona Vasnetsova

        We often use the word parasite meaning a lazy sponger. In biology however, organisms living at the expense of others are called parasites. We are surrounded by these creatures, they are everywhere, sometimes inside us, too! What a huge community! Plants, fungi, insects, even fish, birds and animals! Learn about how parasites live, why they are needed in nature and what use they can be to us.

      • Trusted Partner
        Children's & YA
        January 2015

        Hatless

        by Lateefa Buti / Illustrated by Doha Al Khteeb

        Kuwaiti children’s book author Lateefa Buti’s well-crafted and beautifully illustrated children’s book, Hatless, encourages children (ages 6-9) to think independently and challenge rigid traditions and fixed rituals with innovation and creativity.   The main character is a young girl named Hatless who lives in the City of Hats. Here, all of the people are born with hats that cover their heads and faces. The world inside of their hats is dark, silent, and odorless.   Hatless feels trapped underneath her own hat. She wants to take off her hat, but she is afraid, until she realizes that whatever frightening things exist in the world around her are there whether or not she takes off her hat to see them.   So Hatless removes her hat.    As Hatless takes in the beauty of her surroundings, she cannot help but talk about what she sees, hears, and smells. The other inhabitants of the city ostracize her because she has become different from them. It is not long before they ask her to leave the City of Hats.   Rather than giving up or getting angry, Hatless feels sad for her friends and neighbors who are afraid to experience the world outside of their hats. She comes up with an ingenious solution: if given another chance, she will wear a hat as long it is one she makes herself. The people of the City of Hats agree, so Hatless weaves a hat that covers her head and face but does not prevent her from seeing the outside world. She offers to loan the hat to the other inhabitants of the city. One by one, they try it on and are enchanted by the beautiful world around them. Since then, no child has been born wearing a hat. The people celebrate by tossing their old hats in the air.   By bravely embracing these values, Hatless improves her own life and the lives of her fellow citizens.     Buti’s language is eloquent and clear. She strikes a skilled narrative balance between revealing Hatless’s inner thoughts and letting the story unfold through her interactions with other characters. Careful descriptions are accompanied by beautiful illustrations that reward multiple readings of the book.

      • Trusted Partner
        January 2013

        The Madmen of Bethlehem

        by Osama Alaysa

        Adopting the story-within-a-story structure of Arabian Nights, author Osama Alaysa weaves together a collection of stories portraying centuries of oppression endured by the Palestinian people.   This remarkable novel eloquently brings together fictional characters alongside real-life historical figures in a complex portrayal of Bethlehem and the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in the West Bank. The common thread connecting each tale is madness, in all its manifestations.   Psychological madness, in the sense of clinical mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, finds expression alongside acts of social and political madness. Together, these accounts of individuals and communities provide a gateway into the histories of the city of Bethlehem and Palestine. They paint a picture of the centuries of political oppression that the Palestinian people have endured, from the days of the Ottoman Empire to the years following the Oslo Accords, and all the way to 2012 (when the novel was written).   The novel is divided into three sections, each containing multiple narratives. The first section, “The Book of a Genesis,” describes the physical spaces and origins of Bethlehem and Dheisheh Refugee Camp. These stories span the 19th and 20th centuries, transitioning smoothly from one tale to another to offer an intricate interpretation of the identity of these places.   The second section, “The Book of the People Without a Book”, follows parallel narratives of the lives of the patients in a psychiatric hospital in Bethlehem, the mad men and women roaming the streets of the city, and those imprisoned by the Israeli authorities. All suffer abuse, but they also reaffirm their humanity through the relationships, romantic and otherwise, that they form.   The third and final section, “An Ephemeral Book,” follows individuals—Palestinian and non-Palestinian—who are afflicted by madness following the Oslo Accords in 1993. These stories give voice to the perspectives of the long-marginalized Palestinian population, narrating the loss of land and the accompanying loss of sanity in the decades of despair and violence that followed the Nakba, the 1948 eviction of some 700,000 Palestinians from their homes.   The novel’s mad characters—politicians, presidents, doctors, intellectuals, ordinary people and, yes, Dheisheh and Bethlehem themselves—burst out of their narrative threads, flowing from one story into the next. Alaysa’s crisp, lucid prose and deft storytelling chart a clear path through the chaos with dark humor and wit. The result is an important contribution to fiction on the Palestinian crisis that approaches the Palestinians, madness, and Palestinian spaces with compassion and depth.

      • Trusted Partner
        Children's & YA
        January 2011

        The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air

        by Abdo Wazen

        In his first YA novel, cultural journalist and author Abdo Wazen writes about a blind teenager in Lebanon who finds strength and friendship among an unlikely group.   Growing up in a small Lebanese village, Bassim’s blindness limits his engagement with the materials taught in his schools. Despite his family’s love and support, his opportunities seem limited.   So at thirteen years old, Bassim leaves his village to join the Institute for the Blind in a Beirut suburb. There, he comes alive. He learns Braille and discovers talents he didn’t know he had. Bassim is empowered by his newfound abilities to read and write.   Thanks to his newly developed self-confidence, Bassim decides to take a risk and submit a short story to a competition sponsored by the Ministry of Education. After winning the competition, he is hired to work at the Institute for the Blind.   At the Institute, Bassim, a Sunni Muslim, forms a strong friendship with George, a Christian. Cooperation and collective support are central to the success of each student at the Institute, a principle that overcomes religious differences. In the book, the Institute comes to symbolize the positive changes that tolerance can bring to the country and society at large.   The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air is also a book about Lebanon and its treatment of people with disabilities. It offers insight into the vital role of strong family support in individual success, the internal functioning of institutions like the Institute, as well as the unique religious and cultural environment of Beirut.   Wazen’s lucid language and the linear structure he employs result in a coherent and easy-to-read narrative. The Boy Who Saw the Color of Air is an important contribution to a literature in which people with disabilities are underrepresented. In addition to offering a story of empowerment and friendship, this book also aims to educate readers about people with disabilities and shed light on the indispensable roles played by institutions like the Institute.

      • Trusted Partner
        Picture books

        The Lilac Girl

        by Ibtisam Barakat (author), Sinan Hallak (illustrator)

        Inspired by the life story of Palestinian artist, Tamam Al-Akhal, The Lilac Girl is the sixth book for younger readers by award-winning author, Ibtisam Barakat.   The Lilac Girl is a beautifully illustrated short story relating the departure of Palestinian artist and educator, Tamam Al-Akhal, from her homeland, Jaffa. It portrays Tamam as a young girl who dreams about returning to her home, which she has been away from for 70 years, since the Palestinian exodus. Tamam discovers that she is talented in drawing, so she uses her imagination to draw her house in her mind. She decides one night to visit it, only to find another girl there, who won’t allow her inside and shuts the door in her face. Engulfed in sadness, Tamam sits outside and starts drawing her house on a piece of paper. As she does so, she notices that the colors of her house have escaped and followed her; the girl attempts to return the colors but in vain. Soon the house becomes pale and dull, like the nondescript hues of bare trees in the winter. Upon Tamam’s departure, she leaves the entire place drenched in the color of lilac.   As a children’s story, The Lilac Girl works on multiple levels, educating with its heart-rending narrative but without preaching, accurately expressing the way Palestinians must have felt by not being allowed to return to their homeland. As the story’s central character, Tamam succeeds on certain levels in defeating the occupying forces and intruders through her yearning, which is made manifest through the power of imaginary artistic expression. In her mind she draws and paints a picture of hope, with colors escaping the physical realm of her former family abode, showing that they belong, not to the invaders, but the rightful occupiers of that dwelling. Far from being the only person to have lost their home and endured tremendous suffering, Tamam’s plight is representative of millions of people both then and now, emphasizing the notion that memories of our homeland live with us for eternity, no matter how far we are from them in a physical sense. The yearning to return home never subsides, never lessens with the passing of time but, with artistic expression, it is possible to find freedom and create beauty out of pain.

      • Trusted Partner
        Children's & YA

        The Dinoraf

        by Hessa Al Muhairi

        An egg has hatched, and what comes out of it? A chicken? No. A turtle? No. It’s a dinosaur. But where is his family?  The little dinosaur searches the animal kingdom for someone who looks like him and settles on the giraffe. In this picture book by educator and author Hessa Al Muhairi, with illustrations by Sura Ghazwan, a dinosaur sets out in search of animals like him. He finds plenty of animals, but none that look the same...until he meets the giraffe. This story explores identity and belonging and teaches children about accepting differences in carefully crafted language.

      • Trusted Partner

        In the Footsteps of Enayat Al-Zayyat

        by Iman Mersal

        ‘In the Footsteps of Enayat Al-Zayyat’ is a book that traces the life of an unknown Egyptian writer who died in 1963, four years before the release of her only novel. The book does not follow a traditional style to present the biography of Al-Zayyat, or to restore consideration for a writer who was denied her rights. Mersal refuses to present a single story as if it is the truth and refuses to speak on behalf of the heroine or deal with her as a victim, but rather takes us on a journey to search for the individuality that is often marginalised in Arab societies. The book searches for a young woman whose family burned all her personal documents, including the draft of her second novel, and was completely absent in the collective archives.   The narration derives its uniqueness from its ability to combine different literary genres such as fictional narration, academic research, investigation, readings, interviews, fiction, and fragments of the autobiography of the author of the novel. The book deals with the differences between the individuality of Enayat, who was born into an aristocratic family, graduated from a German school and wrote her narration during the domination of the speeches of the Nasserism period, and that of Mersal, a middle-class woman who formed her consciousness in the 1990s and achieved some of what Enayat dreamed of achieving but remained haunted by her tragedy.   The book deals with important political, social and cultural issues, as we read the history of psychiatry in modern Egypt through the pills that Enayat swallowed to end her life on 3 January 1963, while her divorce summarises the continuing suffering of women with the Personal Status Law. We also see how the disappearance of a small square from her neighbourhood reveals the relationship between modernity and bureaucracy, and how the geography of Cairo changes, obliterated as the result of changes in political regimes. In the library of the German Archaeological Institute, where Enayat worked, we find an unwritten history of World War II and, in her unpublished second novel, we see unknown stories of German scientists fleeing Nazism to Cairo. We also see how Enayat’s neglected tomb reveals the life story of her great-grandfather, Ahmed Rashid Pasha, and the disasters buried in the genealogy tree.

      • Trusted Partner
        Fiction
        2022

        The End of the Desert

        by Said Khatibi

        On a nice fall day of 1988, Zakiya Zaghwani was found lying dead at the edge of the desert, giving way to a quest to discover the circumstances surrounding her death. While looking for whoever was involved in the death of the young singer, nearby residents discover bit by bit their involvement in many things other than the crime itself. ///The story takes place in a town near the desert. And as with Khatibi’s previous novels, this one is also marked by a tight plot, revolving around the murder of a singer who works in a hotel. This sets off a series of complex investigations that defy easy conclusions and invite doubt about the involvement of more than one character. /// Through the narrators of the novel, who also happen to be its protagonists, the author delves into the history of colonialism and the Algerian War of Independence and its successors, describing the circumstances of the story whose events unfold throughout the month. As such, the characters suspected of killing the singer are not only accused of a criminal offense, but are also concerned, as it appears, with the great legacy that the War of Independence left, from different aspects.///The novel looks back at a critical period in the modern history of Algeria that witnessed the largest socio-political crisis following its independence in 1988. While the story avoids the immediate circumstances of the war, it rather invokes the events leading up to it and tracks its impact on the social life, while capturing the daily life of vulnerable and marginalized groups. /// Nonetheless, those residents’ vulnerability does not necessarily mean they are innocent. As it appears, they are all involved in a crime that is laden with symbolism and hints at the status of women in a society shackled by a heavy legacy of a violent, wounded masculinity. This approach to addressing social issues reflects a longing to break loose from the stereotypical discourse that sets heroism in a pre-defined mold and reduces the truth to only one of its dimensions.

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