Westmark

Falling in with a roguish doctor, his dwarf attendant, and an urchin girl, Theo embarks on an unforgettable adventure in the kingdom of Westmark.

Concrete is the most used man-made material in the world and is the fundamental physical medium for most of the world’s architecture and construction. The character of concrete is largely the product of the rigid moulds that have shaped it since its invention in antiquity. The advent of flexible moulds, however, marks a radical break from conventional practice – and conventional concrete architecture. The Fabric Formwork Book provides the first comprehensive handbook on the emerging technology of flexible moulds for reinforced concrete architecture. Written by the foremost expert in the field, this book takes a comprehensive and generous approach that includes technical, historical and theoretical aspects of the subject. The book: concentrates on simple flat-sheet formworks contains detailed technical descriptions of how to construct a wide range of formworks for various applications features case studies from around the world critiques the difficulties and advantages in each case it covers provides instruction and guidance on how to model and design fabric-formed structures includes the most comprehensive history of fabric formwork yet published features essays from guest expert authors, which explore the theoretical, historical, and poetic significance of flexibly formed architecture and structures discusses fabric formwork as an exemplary approach to sustainable construction through its simplicity and efficiency. Beautifully designed and illustrated with a superb range of images, diagrams and technical drawings, the book both informs and inspires. Speaking directly and plainly to professionals, students and academics, the language used is both clear and precise, and care is taken to avoid opaque technical or academic jargon. Technical terms, when used, are clearly described and a special glossary is included to make the book as widely accessible as possible.

Fragile X and Related Autism Spectrum Disorders, Volume 172 in the International Review on Neurobiology series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on The dopamine hypothesis of Autism Spectrum Disorder: a comprehensive analysis of the evidence, A Review of the Use of Psychotropic Medication to Address Challenging Behavior in Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Lipid metabolism alterations in fragile X syndrome and other neurodevelopmental disorders, Genesis, modelling and methodological remedies to autism heterogeneity, Toward an Understanding of the Role of the Exposome on Fragile X Phenotypes, Glial-mediated dysregulation of neurodevelopment in Fragile X Syndrome, and more. Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors Presents the latest release in International Review of Neurobiology series Updated release includes the latest information on Fragile X and Related Autism Spectrum Disorders

In the second volume of the Westmark trilogy, Theo is about to be Prince of Westmark, a province marked by great poverty and corruption. But an assassin's pistol shot makes things even more dangerous for the new monarchy.

Chaos reigns in Marianstat as Duke Conrad of Regia, the king's uncle, plots to overthrow the new government of Westmark and bring an end to the reforms instituted by Mickle, now Queen Augusta, Theo, and their companions.

Give readers an inside look at the dangerous job of smoke jumpers. Additional features include a table of contents, a Fast Facts spread, critical-thinking questions, a phonetic glossary, an index, a selected bibliography, an introduction to the author, and sources for further research.

In Lovesick Japan, Mark D. West explores an official vision of love, sex, and marriage in contemporary Japan. A comprehensive body of evidence—2,700 court opinions—describes a society characterized by a presupposed absence of physical and emotional intimacy, affection, and personal connections. In compelling, poignant, and sometimes horrifying court cases, West finds that Japanese judges frequently opine on whether a person is in love, what other emotions a person is feeling, and whether those emotions are appropriate for the situation. Sometimes judges’ views about love, sex, and marriage emerge from their presentation of the facts of cases. Among the recurring elements are abortions forced by men, compensated dating, late-life divorces, termination fees to end affairs, sexless couples, Valentine’s Day heartbreak, "soapland" bath-brothels, and home-wrecking hostesses. Sometimes the judges’ analysis, decisions, and commentary are as revealing as the facts. Sex in the cases is a choice among private "normal" sex, which is male-dominated, conservative, dispassionate, or nonexistent; commercial sex, which caters to every fetish but is said to lead to rape, murder, and general social depravity; and a hybrid of the two, which commodifies private sexual relationships. Marriage is contractual; judges express the ideal of love in marriage and proclaim its importance, but virtually no one in the court cases achieves it. Love usually appears as a tragic, overwhelming emotion associated with jealousy, suffering, heartache, and death.