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DRAGONLORE FROM EAST AND WEST
by Ninot Aziz, Rita Angelelli, Renato Ghezzi, The Journey Man Anna Kordzaia-Samadashvili, Helmut Kunkel, Samuel Peralta Imam Qalyubi, Arian Tejano, Teoh Choon Ean, Can Yiğit Tunçman Minah Sintian, Cora Wang Siyao, Ruby Yusuf
24 LEGENDS. 14 STORYTELLERS. 10 COUNTRIES. 1 MASTERPIECE. Dragons, or 'Naga' as they are known in Southeast Asia, continue to exist in our legends long after we have embraced modern ideas and technology. They are beings that are both mystical and all-knowing. Until today, dragons still take on our emotions; our deepest joy and darkest fears, true love, and fleeting desires. DRAGONLORE, conceptualised by Ninot in 2012, features stories from many regions of the world of Southeast Asia, Australia, the Far East, Europe, ancient worlds, and mythology. Edited by Ninot and Johnny Gillett, award-winning writers Samuel Peralta (Canada), Cora Wang (China), Helmut Kunkel (Germany), Anna Kordzaia-Samadashvili (Georgia) Imam Qalyubi (Indonesia), Renato Ghezzi (Italy), Rita Angelelli (Italy), Arian Tejano (Philippines), Minah Sintian (Malaysian) Teoh Choon Ean (Malaysia), Can Yigit Tuncmann (Turkiye), Ruby Yusuf ( Malaysia) , The Journey Man (UK) join Ninot Aziz in this amazing journey chasing dragons around the globe. With Malaysian and Southeast Asian legends, the gorgeous retelling of the Inuit legend of Palraijug to the delightful folktale of the Filipino, Bakunawa enchant readers. The twist in the tale of the Lyminster Knucker to the mystical dragon painter from China. We join Ajetis as he battles evil hidden in the Bosphorus Sea. Twenty-four in all, each story is unique, bringing us to a different part of the world, and meeting wonderful characters along the way. The significance of legends and folklore in imparting important lessons is more evident than ever. The lessons conveyed through these stories often resonate deeply with the present era, offering invaluable insights into our challenges. From the Malay Archipelago to the Far East, the Arctic Circle to Down-under Australia, Europe, and beyond, legends and folklore possess a remarkable ability to capture the essence of our collective consciousness. By delving into these ancient narratives, we gain a broader perspective on the challenges that have plagued humanity throughout history. In the context of today's world, which grapples with urgent environmental concerns, stories from the past offer unyielding wisdom on sustainable living and the consequences of neglecting our planet. These narratives serve as a bridge between the past and the present, weaving together timeless wisdom and modern challenges into a cohesive narrative that resonates with a wide audience and ensures the continuity and survival of such legends.
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June 2011Sieben Inseln - Sieben Krimis
Eine mörderische Reise durch die ostfriesische Inselwelt
by Saladin, Barbara
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April 2013Die Möwenhochzeit
und andere tierische Inselgeschichten
by Saladin, Barbara / Illustriert von Pannen, Kai
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Picture booksThe 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.
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Children's & YAThe 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.
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Children's & YAJanuary 2015Hatless
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.
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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.
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Children's & YAJanuary 2011The 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.
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January 2013The 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.
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Fiction2022The 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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Journey in Trumplandia: The Rise of Populism in America
by Tiberiu Dianu
The book is a collection of essays about the transformation of America, which has turned from a united nation to one more divided than ever. Some pundits predict that, if things don’t change, another civil war could occur. Have we reached a point of no return? Hopefully, America is mature enough to learn from its mistakes and avoid further scars along its evolving history. "Trumplandia is a welcome addition toward understanding current events, Washington’s international policy, and the present American society; a society polarized and divided as it has not been since the Civil War.” NICHOLAS DIMA, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor and Research Associate, Nelson Institute, James Madison University, Virginia. "The book is fascinating. It provides background to, and insights into [the] current and past political history as well as offering a personal view... of the country and society. Presented in thematic form in chapters and sections, the insights offered provide a suggestive radiography...” Dr. DENNIS DELETANT, OBE, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington DC. "There has been this backsliding in... what a truly functioning rule-of-law state is, that has proper separation of co-equal powers, which, if you don’t keep working on that, you backslide. And I am even worried about that here, in the United States right now, about backsliding.” OBIE MOORE, Esq., OLM Advisors LLC, Washington DC “Indeed, Trumplandia should be a welcome addition to any scholar, student or layman’s library, especially in its international edition. If anyone loses sleep over its challenging assertions, then it will have been well worth it.” ERNESTO MORALES HIZON, Ph.D. Candidate in American and Comparative Politics at Claremont Graduate University, Member, Integrated Bar of the Philippines ABOUT THE AUTHOR: TIBERIU DIANU has practiced law in Romania (as a corporate lawyer, judge, senior counselor at the Ministry of Justice, university professor and senior legal researcher), and in the United States (as a legal expert for the judiciary). He published several books and a host of articles in law, politics, and post-communist societies. Tiberiu currently lives and works in Washington, DC.
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June 2024Sustainable Ecological Restoration and Conservation in the Hindu-Kush Himalayan Region
A Comprehensive Review
by Zhanhuan Shang, Allan Degen, Devendra Gauchan, Madan Koirala, Muhammad Khalid Rafiq, Awais Iqbal, Binyu Luo, Dawei Zhang, Diwakar Adhikari, Dongmei Li, Furbe Lama, Haonan Guo, Hui Xu, Huma Ali, Jalal Hayat Khan, Jiayi He, Jie Lian, Mei Huang, Monika Ghimire, Narayan Prasad Gaire, Peipei Liu, Qinghui Fang, Ramesh Prasad Sapkota, Ramesh Raj Pant, Rashila Deshar, Ritika K.C, Rui Zhang, Rukhsanda Aziz, Srijana Khanal, Tianyun Qi, Udhab Raj Khadka, Usha Rai, Usman Ali, Wenyin Wang, Xiaoping Jing, Yamuna Ghale, Youyan Liu, Zhen Peng, Zhiqiang Dang
The years 2021 to 2030 have been designated as "The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration". Ecological restoration and biodiversity conservation efforts face unprecedented challenges, especially in developing countries and areas, such as the Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) region. This huge HKH region, which includes areas in eight separate countries (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, India, China, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan), is a biodiversity hotspot with a vast array of ecosystems, landscapes, peoples and cultures. It is known as one of 'the pulses of the world'. However, the HKH is also the world's largest and poorest mountain region, where landscapes and environments have been severely damaged as a result of climate change and human activities. Coordinating conservation and restoration policies, sharing knowledge and funds, and maintaining livelihoods are major challenges and are in urgent need of improvement. This book details the past and current ecological problems in the HKH region, and the threats and challenges that ecosystems and local people face. It pays special attention to developments of transformative adaptations and presents examples of sustainable conservation and ecological restoration management practices. Three primary questions are addressed: (1) Do the existing conservation strategies of international organizations and government policies really protect ecosystems and solve biodiversity problems? (2) Can these management measures be one-time solutions? and (3) What is the strategic framework and scenario prognosis for the future based on the historical trajectory of ecological conservation and restoration in the region? This book is essential reading for ecologists and conservation biologists involved in large-scale ecological restoration projects, along with practitioners, graduate students, policy makers and international development workers.
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Science & MathematicsApril 2017Biocontrol Agents
Entomopathogenic and Slug Parasitic Nematodes
by Mahfouz M M Abd-Elgawad, Tarique Hassan Askary, James Coupland, Sergei E Spiridonov, J Gulsar Banu, I Cannayane, K Sankari Meena, S.S. Hussaini, Francesca De Luca, M.M.E. Saleh, Atef Sayed Abdel-Razek, Salma Javed, Christos I Rumbos, Christos G Athanassiou, Nazir Javed, Muhammad Kamran, Huma Abbas, Glen Stevens, Ed Lewis, Qing Yu, Fengcheng Sun, Achinelly María Fernanda, Camino Nora, Eliceche Daiana, Salas Augusto, Rusconi Matías, Luis Garrigós Leite, Vanessa Andaló, Claudia Dolinski, Alcides Moino Junior, Elder Simões, Edson Tadeu Iede, C Sankaranarayanan, Shahina Fayyaz, Firoza Kazi, Tabassum Ara Khanum, J L Hatting, A P Malan, Eustachio Tarasco, Adriano Ragni, Giovanna Curto, Jolanta Kowalska, Congli Wang, Chunjie Li, Tiffany Baiocchi, Adler R Dillman, S Subramanian, M Muthulakshmi, Jirí Nermut, Vladimír Puža, David M Glen, Irma Tandingan De Ley, Rory J Mc Donnell, Timothy D Paine, Žiga Laznik, Stanislav Trdan, M Nagesh, Balachander Manohar, Shailesha Arakalagud Nanjundaiah, Raghura
This book describes entomopathogenic and slug parasitic nematodes as potential biocontrol agents in crop insect and slug pest management. Addressing research on these two nematodes from tropical, subtropical and temperate countries, it covers the new techniques and major developments regarding mass production, formulation, application, commercialization and safety measures. Plans for future strategies to make these beneficial nematodes cost-effective and expand their use by including them in integrated pest management programmes in different agro-ecosystems are also discussed. Biocontrol Agents: Entomopathogenic and Slug Parasitic Nematodes provides a comprehensive review of the topic and is an essential resource for researchers, industry practitioners and advanced students in the fields of biological control and integrated pest management. ; This book gives a comprehensive account of entomopathogenic and slug parasitic nematodes as potential biocontrol agents in crop insect and slug pest management in tropical, subtropical and temerpate countries. It covers new techniques and plans for future strategies to make these nematodes cost-effective. ; PART I: BENEFICIAL NEMATODES AND CROP PROTECTION1: Beneficial Nematodes in Agroecosystem: A global perspective2: Beneficial Nematodes and the Changing Scope of Crop ProtectionPART II: ENTOMOPATHOGENIC NEMATODES - MORPHOLOGY, TAXONOMY, BIOLOGY AND DIVERSITY3: Entomopathogenic Nematodes of the families Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae: Morphology and Taxonomy4: Entomopathogenic Nematodes: General Biology and Behaviour5: Entomopathogenic Nematodes: Ecology, Diversity and Geographical Distribution6: Molecular Systematics and Phylogenetic reconstruction of Steinernema and HeterorhabditisPART III: ENTOMOPATHOGENIC NEMATODES AND THEIR SYMBIOTIC BACTERIA AGAINST CROP INSECT PESTS7: Efficacy of Entomopathogenic Nematodes against Lepidoptran Insect Pests8: Efficacy of Entomopathogenic Nematodes against Coleopteran Pests9: Efficacy of Entomopathogenic Nematodes against Dipteran Pests10: Control of Stored Grain Pests by Entomopathogenic Nematodes11: Toxic Secretions of Xenorhabdus and its Efficacy against Crop Insect Pests12: Toxic Secretions of Photorhabdus and its Efficacy against Crop Insect Pests13: Entomopathogenic Nematodes: Mass Production, Formulation and ApplicationPart IV: ROLE OF ENTOMOPATHOGENIC NEMATODES IN INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT14: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in the USA15: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in Canada16: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in Argentina17: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in Brazil18: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in India19: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in Pakistan20: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in South Africa21: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in Italy22: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in Poland23: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in China24: Status of Entomopathogenic Nematodes in Integrated Pest Management Strategies in EgyptPart V: GENETICS FOR ENHANCING EFFICACY IN ENTOMOPATHOGENIC NEMATODES25: Genetic Improvement of Entomopathogenic Nematodes for Enhanced Biological Control26: Breeding of Entomopathogenic Nematodes for enhanced Insect Pest suppressionPart VI: SLUG PARASITIC NEMATODES27: Slug Parasitic Nematodes: Biology, Parasitism, Production and Application28: The Discovery and Commercialization of a Slug Parasitic Nematode29: Phasmarhabditis: The Slug and Snail Parasitic Nematodes in North AmericaPart VII: COMMERCIALIZATION AND FUTURE PROSPECTS30: Compatibility between Entomopathogenic Nematodes and Phytopharmaceuticals31: Strategies for making Entomopathogenic Nematodes a Cost-Effective Biocontrol Agent32: Future thrusts in expanding the use of entomopathogenic and slug parasitic nematodes in agriculture
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Peace studies & conflict resolutionOctober 2012Conflict Dynamics in Karachi
by Huma Yusuf
Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and financial capital, is also wracked by ethnopolitical, sectarian, militant, and criminal violence that has claimed more than 7,000 lives since 2008. The city’s precarious security situation has serious implications for the U.S.-Pakistan bilateral relationship owing to its growing role in national and regional terrorism. This report analyzes the city’s multiple and intersecting types of violence, identifies violent actors, highlights the systemic issues that drive violence, examines state initiatives to stem violence and reasons why these efforts failed, and calls for the government to tackle the violence’s underlying causes.
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Peace studies & conflict resolutionFebruary 2015
Conflict Dynamics in Sindh
by Huma Yusuf, Syed Shoaib Hasan
Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh has a reputation for stability, diversity, and tolerance. It is also at a tipping point—increasingly threatened by violent extremism, crime, political corruption, tribal feuds, and nationalist and separatist movements. If the province is not to become yet another base for militants, as areas to the north already are, the government needs to act promptly and decisively. Addressing the security situation in Sindh is also integral to stabilizing Karachi, which should be a top priority, given the economic ramifications of growing turbulence in the country’s financial capital.
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FictionWolves do not Fear the Snow
by MohammadReza Bayrami
Daresi Village is in Ardebil Township in the middle of a valley with a shallow population. Yusuf and Fattah were good friends. Yusuf had a dog called Qarebash. One day Fattah, Yusuf and Qarehbash went out of the village to see a waterfall when an earthquake struck. When they returned nothing was like before. They could only save Fattah’s sister and Yusuf grandmother from under the ruins. They were ill and had been injured. It was cold and snow was falling. The wolves, excited by the stench of dead, rotten human flesh got near the village and Yusuf and Fattah had to throw Qarehbash in front of the wolves to get rid of them. Finally a helicopter came for help but Sara was dead and Fattah could not believe it. The rescue team dragged out Yusuf's father alive. They never forgot that cold winter day.
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Masoumeh
by Saeed Nikorazm
Masoumeh is about "waiting" and more about people who understand the existence and meaning of their lives while waiting. Yusuf, who went missing in the war after 7 years, still has no trace of him. Masoumeh Yusef's monument is in the purgatory of staying and leaving, and people who see Masoumeh as a form of Yusuf's memory mean their life in staying or leaving Masoumeh. We do not see Masoumeh, but obviously everything revolves around her, and Masoumeh, who is a manifestation of beauty and ideal perfection, gradually finds an allegorical appearance and becomes an innocence in the body of the people in the play. The lost innocence manifests itself only in the absence. Hence, the play becomes a critical work. Criticism of people who give up on the word waiting and do nothing.Waiting for Yusuf to come is a shop, for some and for others it means a life of emptiness. In the meantime, waiting becomes counter-expectation. The benefit now is that Yusuf does not come, but the wait remains. In other words, Yusuf himself does not want it. Yusuf's absence is demanded, and everyone knows that the basis for waiting is not to come: Yusuf must always be behind the door, but never enter!
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Thriller / suspenseFebruary 2016Jihadi: A Love Story
by Yusuf Toropov
A former intelligence agent stands accused of terrorism, held without charge in a secret overseas prison. His memoir is in the hands of a brilliant but erratic psychologist who has an agenda of her own, and her annotations paint a much darker picture. As the story unravels, we are forced to assess the truth for ourselves, and decide not only what really happened on one fateful overseas assignment but who is the real terrorist. Peopled by a diverse and unforgettable cast of characters, whose reliability as narrators is always questioned, and with a multi-layered plot heaving with unexpected and often shocking developments, Jihadi: A Love Story is an intelligent thriller that asks big questions. Complex, intriguing and intricately woven, this is an astonishing debut that explores the nature of good and evil alongside notions of nationalism, terrorism and fidelity, and, above all, the fragility of the human mind.
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Peace studies & conflict resolutionMay 2014Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in South Asia
Through a Peacebuilding Lens
by Moeed Yusuf
In Insurgency and Counterinsurgency in South Asia, ten experts native to South Asia consider the nature of intrastate insurgent movements from a peacebuilding perspective. Case studies on India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka lend new insights into the dynamics of each conflict and how they might be prevented or resolved.
