Hessdalen Lights

Nestled 300 km north of Oslo lies the quaint valley of Hessdalen, home to unique sightings that have puzzled residents and scientists alike. Regular phenomena light up the skies – but are these mysterious lights a portal for communicating with inhabited worlds beyond Earth? For over 30 years, research teams have studied the phenomena yet the secrets of Hessdalen persist.

This book explores deeper questions sparked by the valley’s unexplained occurrences. Is Earth an ordinary cosmic body among millions, or somehow unique? We know life emerged nearly four billion years ago but still do not fully grasp the physical and chemical processes enabling this. With expanding resources to study space, might we someday soon detect signatures of extraterrestrial life, whether in our solar system or on distant exoplanets?

The final part invites philosophical reflection on the acute fragility of our biosphere and humanity’s place in the vast Universe. As an astrophysicist at the University of Picardie Jules Verne in France, the author weaves empirical science and speculative inquiry to probe Hessdalen’s confounding lights, the exceptional nature of Earth, and the environmental precariousness of this rare life-sustaining planet.

Poetry and the Aesthetics of Commitment in South African Literature

What is literature? What is poetry? How do poets committed to the idea of using poetry as a weapon of socio-cultural and political struggle manage to impress their works in the minds and memories of men long after the struggle has been fought and won or lost? What will a new generation of poets write about after the explosive social contradictions that inspired older poets have been resolved? Why do the themes and styles of poets in transitional societies change along with human fortunes and circumstances? This book provides answers to these questions and more... using the poetic heritage of South Africa. It is a compelling pedagogic work, a must-read for every student, researcher and teacher of African poetry, and a collector’s item for the general public.

You Better Stand Your Watch: Leadership Making Sound Decisions Involving Ethical And Unethical Behaviour In The Workplace

Organizational leaders can use the results of this study to simultaneously improve the quality and effectiveness of the decision-making process. The findings of the quantitative study in this book indicated the increasing importance of concepts regarding ethical behavior and decision-making by leaders in a retail business workplace. The implication that leaders have the responsibility to uphold the highest standards of ethical conduct means that leaders should focus on doing the right thing when integrating ethics and decision-making together. Leaders should embrace the best practices for determining ethical decision-making when confronting unethical behavior in a retail business workplace.

Worlds Of Motion: Why And How Things Move

Modern physics is one of the most exciting subjects studied by humanity, but popular books on the subject usually either over-simplify their content or assume prior knowledge of mathematical theory. Worlds of Motion attempts to cross this bridge by tackling the mathematics in an accessible way, introducing each equation step-by-step and justifying why it is necessary. The book begins with an extended discussion of classical mechanics and then moves on to relativity theory and quantum mechanics, covering all the main principles of modern physics. It covers a huge range of topics in physics, astronomy and pure mathematics to give the reader a greater understanding of the universe.  In particular, we treat mathematics as something which is intrinsically exciting in itself and not something to be feared. The book includes entertaining treatments of symmetry groups and topology based in popular culture.

Why the World is Speaking English - A Sideways Look

Two revolutions are happening now in the 21st century. One is the explosion in cross-world communication and travel. The other is the acceleration of English as a world language. Why the World is Speaking English gives facts, opinions, speculation and observations on the growing use of English, its creation, growth and spread, strengths and controversies, competitive advantages, cost benefits, and suggests that now is probably a ripe time for a world language.It can inform, provoke, infuriate and amuse readers, but it is very readable and relevant to the times we live in. A must-read for anyone interested in English, languages, controversies, education or communications.

The Peoplemad Success Model

A platform on which to build future success, covering the key elements needed to be successful. Learn how to take control, develop a strategy, get the right people, get the right people doing the right things, create the right environment, build your own capability and get you and your team all behaving as leaders.   Phil Merrick is the founder of Peoplemad Ltd, a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership Management, an Advisory Board Member of the Youth Charter, a Business Mentor for Business Wales and a former senior executive with one of the biggest banks in Europe.He has a track record of building high performing teams and has spent a great deal of his career in trouble shooting roles helping businesses improve performance, particularly through the organisation and management of people. Phil is now focused on helping people improve performance using the Peoplemad Success Model © which he has developed to make the process easier for people.

The Marble Corridor and Other Medical Tales

BLURB

Set within a South London hospital in the 1970s, The Marble Corridor is the first of four stories which chart the progress of a newly-qualified doctor from houseman to consultant. It tracks the multifarious events of a single weekend spent working ‘on-call' and the unremitting pressure creates a sense of tension which permeates this tale. Towards the end of this marathon stretch of duty, sleep deprivation causes the young doctor to hallucinate and he begins to confuse illusion and reality with some strange and incongruous outcomes.

Beyond the Marble Corridor continues to document the author's progress through a series of posts, highlighting some of the ethical and moral issues posed to junior doctors along with the hierarchical structure which had to be managed to progress in hospital medicine. The Ivory Tower, is a humorous interlude as the author spends time in a renowned academic unit while the final part, Pastures New, documents the authors time as a consultant concentrating on a number of aspects of his practice including his work for a charitable institution, examining for one of the Medical Royal Colleges and the tragic story of one particular patient. Here, as in life, humour and tragedy are intertwined.

The End of Schooling

How much the prosperity of both individuals and nations would burgeon if only more funding could be provided for education is a popular contemporary view. Class sizes made smaller, curricula more expertly designed, teachers more wide-ranging in their interests and competence. This mechanistic outlook is challenged. Education, like pure art, seeks to fathom the world's depths without ever totally reaching its bedrock. Participants need to be ready for surprise. To be left feeling mystified, wondering, overwhelmed. In a Nature never still, each generation has to face environments in novel ways. Education's incomparable brief, then, is to deal with the real demands made on humanity. Definite answers are unavailable. Invitations are to share interminable journeying. To find delight in evanescent experiences. Not to seek arrival at supposedly perfect destinations.

The Contented Carer

The Contented Carer is William Long's second book, and carries on from themes explored in A Gift for Carers. It reveals the author's six-step 'contented carer' formula for creating a life of lasting well-being.The Contented Carer is an essential read, not just for those caring for someone, but for anyone with an interest in well-being and looking to improve and enrich their life.

Teaching Research Writing to EFL Students

Aimed at EFL students, Ayed T. Alharbi's Teaching Research Writing to EFL Students can be considered an invaluable tool for students keen to prosper within the academic environment.From deciding which topic to choose, to research, collecting and collating data, to writing the final paper, every aspect of the process is covered in readily comprehensible, bite-sized chapters, perfect for students who are still building their confidence with writing in a second language.

Taste The Arabic Proverbs

Treat your palate to a sample of Arabic sayings and adages with a varied collection of traditional Middle-Eastern proverbs. In Taste the Arabic Proverbs, an expansive range of mores and suggestions are offered with ties to the cuisine, ingredients, and food-preparation techniques of the Middle East. Warnings, jokes, and recommendations are translated from Arabic to English. These educational and guiding rhymes are accompanied with paraphrases and connotations outside the realms of Islam. As a multi-cultural reference, Taste the Arabic Proverbs is a treasure for the appetite of those seeking guidance on concepts such as kinship, wealth, determination, and generosity.  

Public Administration in Nepal

Nepal as a nation-state was established in 1769 by King Prithvi Narain Shah. He was then a ‘Raja’ of the tiny hill-state of Gorkha in western Nepal. He unleashed a dormant national energy that saw the creation of a Hindu Kingdom of the Himalayas that was separate and distinct from both India, which was under British Rule (British Raj) in the south, and Tibet, which was within the ambit of the Chinese Empire in the north.In this work, Minto Jung Thapa looks at the efforts to develop the public administration system of the country following the ‘revolution’ of 1951 that ended the century of family autocracy of the Rana Prime Ministers. He places these efforts in the context of the constitutional and political changes that Nepal experienced from 1950 to 1974. He is always reminded of the words of philosopher George Santayana, “Those who do not remember the past, or who do not learn from history, are condemned to repeat it.”Public Administration in Nepal covers many topics including politics and administration, the civil service, personnel administration, organisation and methods, institution-building, and the challenges of transnational inducement of change and development.