Bridging Worlds: Stories of Connection Across Time and Space PDF Download

Author: Luigi Pascal Rondanini
Publisher: Luigi Pascal Rondanini
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 80

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Book Description
Embark on a complete journey through this collection of stories that will shatter your perception of reality. This sci-fi box set invites you to traverse the psyches of figures grappling with existential questions, like the reality-doubting schizophrenic in "Shattering Reality" or the dimension-defying friendship between two boys centuries apart in "Bridging Yesteryear." These dramatic scenarios serve not just as thought experiments but also as profiles of courage depicting outcasts struggling to reconstruct meaning amidst life's harshest limiting walls. Step forward into speculative worlds that allow us to reexamine norms from provocative angles. Root for discovered cryogenic humans as they integrate with androids in "The Discovery," or unlock the motivations of a vigilante psychiatrist thief in "Behind the Mask." From alien encounters to military adventures, these stories push characters to the edge of human experience. Immerse yourself in apocalyptic landscapes and post-human societies, where characters don exoskeletons to navigate their terrains. Witness the rising tension as protagonists face challenges that test their mettle and push the boundaries of human progression. By becoming immersed in these atypical fictional landscapes, it's my hope you'll return from the journey with refreshed eyes towards the intricacies, contrasts, and profound magic still embedding the world immediately around us each new day. So, without further ado, let your imagination take flight! The worlds awaiting behind these pages overflow with surreal transformations, psychedelic visions, whimsical quests, and characters courageously chasing redemption who might inspire us in turn. Let's reconstruct Reality with a capital "R" by first shattering limiting assumptions—then inviting you, fellow traveller, to help gather the pieces into new mosaics alive with awe and possibility! As we stand on the red edge of imagination, let our shared adventure begin now...

Author: Thomas Harrison
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022673529X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 299

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Book Description
"Always," wrote Philip Larkin, "it is by bridges that we live." Bridges represent our aspirations to connect, to soar across divides. And it is the unfinished business of these aspirations that makes bridges such stirring sights, especially when they are marvels of ingenuity. A rich compendium of myths, superstitions, literary and ideological figurations, as well as architectural and musical illustrations, Of Bridges organizes a poetic and philosophical history of bridges into nine thematic clusters. Leaping in lucid prose between seemingly unrelated times and places, Thomas Harrison gives a panoramic account of the diverse meanings and valences of human bridges, questioning why they are built and where they lead. He investigates bridges as flashpoints in war and the mega-bridges of our globalized world. He probes links forged by religion between life's transience and eternity and the consolidating ties of music, illustrated in a case study of the blues. He illuminates the real and symbolic crossings facing migrants each day and the affective connections that make persons and societies cohere. In fine and intricate readings of literature, philosophy, art, and geography, Harrison engages in a profound reflection on how bridges form and transform cultural communities. Interdisciplinary and deeply lyrical, Of Bridges is a mesmerizing, vertiginous tale of bridges both visible and invisible, both lived and imagined.

Author:
Publisher: World Scientific
ISBN: 9811289956
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 1381

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Book Description
This set of multi-reference works is meant to be read together as the five volumes interlace one another like the laces of a shoe in the famous painting by Vincent van Gogh. The question of who will wear the shoes is long debated in art history and philosophy. If we take these five volumes from different points of view on the theory and practice of business storytelling then we have a crisscrossing, a new and impressive dialogue for the reader. This set is presented as a new way to lace up the laces of business storytelling.Volume 1 aims to help and inspire leaders, business owners, and researchers in creating a commitment to ethical and sustainable changes and ideas, and live in a world of high complexity without getting stressed but experiencing freedom instead.The book combines tools, case studies, and theories about the ethical change-management method of True Storytelling and other perspectives and views on ethics and storytelling. It delves into important topics such as true storytelling sustainability and freedom, storytelling and start-ups in the health industry, storytelling and diversity and culture, storytelling and teams, storytelling, sustainability and the UN Goals, storytelling and well-being, storytelling in higher education, and storytelling and fundraising.Book authors are experienced and successful researchers, business owners, leaders, and consultants from Scandinavia, the USA, Africa, and Europe.Volume 2 is an endeavor into the creation of new concepts for engaging with sustainability. It maintains that storytelling is important for our emplacement in nature and can be important for enacting another relationship between nature and the cultural artifice — our social and material constructions of houses, cities, villages, harbors, streets, and railways, and our use of objects and artifacts to construct our lives.Business storytelling communication is that space for social symbolic work that brings the symbolic objects of the organization, the human, and the natural environment into a dialogical relationship. Volume 3 posits that organizations are arranged as social symbols that are arranged in institutions based on the needs of organics, for example health, food, shelter, mating, leisure, and labor. Organics, as a social symbolic object, specifically humans, have emotions, language, and culture to organize their institutions and organizations. In this book, readers will find that many of the authors attempt to understand the body's exclusion or attempt to bring the body back into the organization. Business storytelling communication takes aim at the social symbolic work of making space to negotiate the social arrangement of organizations with its organic components.Volume 4 covers a variety of methodological topics from a storytelling perspective. Why a storytelling perspective? Consider that a common business research goal is to convince others that what the researcher has to say matters. If the researcher is a basic researcher who wishes to promote a theory, the goal is to make a convincing case for the value of that theory. If the researcher is an applied researcher who wishes to promote a particular application, intervention, or policy change, the goal is likewise to make a convincing case. Either way, the researcher has a story to tell, and the onus is on the researcher to tell the best possible story; storytelling failures likely will result in a failure to convince others of the value of one's theory or application.Here is where methodological issues come into play. Poor methodology, whether in the form of less-than-optimal study designs or invalid statistical analyses, harms story quality. In contrast, high-quality methods and statistics enhance story quality. Moreover, the larger one's methodological and statistical toolbox, the greater the opportunities for researchers to tell effective stories. The chapters in this book come from a wide variety of perspectives and should enhance researchers' storytelling in the following ways. By opening many different methodological and statistical perspectives, researchers should be more able to think of research stories that otherwise would remain unavailable or inaccessible. Secondly, the present chapters should aid researchers in better executing their research stories. Therefore, researchers and graduate students will find this book an invaluable resource.Volume 5 opens a window into the world of quantum storytelling as an organizational research methodology, providing numerous exemplars of work in this storytelling science that has disrupted qualitative inquiry only with the intention of providing expanded, improved, and generative ways of understanding and knowing the narratives that emerge from qualitative interviews and observations during organizational research studies.

Author: Rapti Siriwardane-de Zoysa
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 331978837X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 255

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Book Description
This multi-sited island ethnography illustrates how the embattled politics of (im)mobility, belonging, and patronage among coastal fishing communities in Sri Lanka ́s militarised northeast have intersected in the wake of civil war. It explores an undertheorized puzzle by asking how the conceptual dualisms between co-operation and contestation simplify the complex lifeworlds of small-scale fishing communities that are often imagined by scholars through allegories of rivalry and resource competition. Drawing on ordinary interpretations and lived practices implicated in the vernacular term sambandam (bearing multiple meanings of intimacy and entanglement), the book traces how intergroup co-operation is both affectively routinised and tactically instrumentalised across coastlines, and at sea. Given its distinct focus on translocal and ethno-religiously plural collectives, the study maps recent historic formations of diverse practices and their contentions, from networked ‘piracy’ and dynamite fishing, to collective rescue missions and coalitional lobbying. Moreover this work serves as an open invitation to academics, policymakers and activists for re-imagining multiple modes of ethical being and doing, and of everyday sociality among so-called ‘deeply divided’ societies. A rich ethnography that pays meticulous attention to a complex social fabric made up of locals, settlers and migrants, with multiple linguistic and religious affiliations, sometimes contending fishing practices, and migration and livelihoods patterns as they have been affected by tsunami, war and the aftermaths of both. It draws from and speaks to a range of disciplines – from political science and sociology, to critical geography and cultural studies, and contributes to diverse fields of inquiry, including conflict and its relationship to a “cold” peace; coastal/maritime livelihoods; identity, cooperation, and collective action. - Aparna Sundar, Assistant Professor of Politics, Ryerson University By unveiling the vast heterogeneity of fisher migrants and settlers, the book demonstrates in an excellent way how research should not merely focus on the articulations of identity, but more so the inherent properties and qualities of the diverse interdependencies they come to sustain. - Conrad Schetter, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Bonn

Author: AQEEL AHMED
Publisher: AQEEL AHMED
ISBN: 1998240002
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 55

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Book Description
Summary about this story: "Reflections of Dreams: The Enchanted Mirror" is an interesting story for kids that takes them into the worlds of magic, dreams, and the power of having a goal. The story is about what happens to Lily, a young girl who lives in a beautiful town with rolling hills and sparkling streams. Her insatiable desire to know more and her vivid fantasy led her to an old, dusty mirror with a complicated frame studded with gems. When Lily brushes away the dust, the mirror starts to shine brightly, and a musical voice says that it is the "Mirror of Dreams," a magical relic that helps people with pure hearts and wise souls get what they want. Lily's surprise turns into excitement, and she sets out on a life-changing journey of self-discovery. Chapters of wonder show how Lily's three dreams come true. Her first wish takes her to places far away, where she discovers jungles, mountains, and oceans and makes friends with people and animals from all different cultures. As a result of this goal, she learns the value of unity, the beauty of variety, and how important it is to connect with other people. Lily gets her second wish and goes home. She realizes that the warmth of her family and the simple pleasures of her town have a place in her heart that can't be replaced. Her travels have shown how important love, roots, and the things we know, and love are to who we are. Her last wish sums up the whole point of her journey: she wants a world full of love, kindness, and understanding. This dream goes beyond individual goals because it shows the power of working together and the ability to help all people. Lily gets smarter as the story goes on, and she finally becomes a village elder. She shares her thoughts and experiences, as well as the timeless reminder that the magic of the mirror is not in the item itself, but in the souls of those who dare to dream and want a better world. The hamlet becomes a place of peace, progress, and kindness, which inspires the surrounding areas and leads to positive change. The story's main message is that wishes made with love, kindness, and selflessness have the power to change the future, inspire future generations, and make changes that last. It shows that the real power of the mirror is in the hopes of those who follow their dreams and work together to make the future better. "Reflections of Dreams: The Enchanted Mirror" is a book that celebrates the endless potential of the human spirit and encourages readers of all ages to see the magic in themselves and in the world around them. How the story started: Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Lily who lived in a beautiful town with rolling hills and sparkling streams. She had a vivid imagination and was always interested in new things. The peaceful and charming setting of the town was perfect for Lily's growing creativity. Lily's days were full of adventures through wildflower fields and along babbling brooks that whispered secrets from long ago. Her bright eyes hinted at uncharted land, and her never-ending hunger for new stories and experiences drove her to keep looking for them. Lily was sitting on the steps of her grandmother's small house one sunny afternoon as the smell of flowers wafted through the town in a light breeze. The cottage itself was a treasure chest of memories. Its weathered walls echoed with laughter and knowledge from centuries past. Lily's eyes wandered to the attic, a mysterious place where whispers from another time could be heard. She was interested in the idea of finding secret treasures there. Lily climbed the creaky stairs, the sound of her steps matching the rustling of the leaves outside. She did this because she wanted an adventure. With each step, her excitement grew, and a hint of dustiness told her that time had passed. She finally opened the door to the attic, and when she saw the riches inside, her eyes grew wide. Her attention was drawn to an old, dusty mirror that leaned beautifully against the far wall, between old trunks and forgotten jewels. Its frame, which was a work of art in and of itself, was a tribute to the skill of an earlier time. Its edges were covered with intricate carvings of magical animals and otherworldly settings that seemed to move in the flickering light that came through the small windows in the attic. Gemstones of all different colors were nestled in the frame, and the beautiful images they made on the attic walls made it look like the mirror itself was hiding a secret world. It was different from any other mirror Lily had ever seen, and it seemed to be made of magic. It seemed to whisper secrets from the past. As Lily reached out to wipe away the layers of dust that had built up on the mirror over time, her fingers shook with a mix of fear and joy. As her hand touched the glass, a sweet, musical chime rang through the attic, giving her chills. The mirror started to give off a soft, otherworldly glow that wrapped Lily in a warm hug. A sweet, lyrical voice came from inside the glass. It wove a tapestry of words that danced in the air like petals carried by the wind. "I am the Mirror of Dreams," it said, and its voice rang with the wisdom of times past. "A guardian of wishes and a doorway to the magical realm." Lily's beating got faster, just like the voice in the mirror. She paid close attention as the mirror told her about all the dreams it had seen and wishes it had made come true. With each word, the mirror's ethereal light pulsed, filling the air with a feeling of awe and possibilities. Lily stood in front of the mirror and thought about her thoughts and dreams. She thought about her deepest wishes: to travel to faraway places, to figure out the secrets of the world, and to have a future full of exciting adventures. Lily took a deep breath and spoke out loud her first wish. She did this with hope and determination in her voice. "I want to go to the farthest corners of the world and figure out what's going on there," she said with the excitement of someone about to go on a great journey. As she said the last word of her wish, the attic was filled with the sound of the mirror's light getting brighter. Its light wrapped around Lily like a bright hug. The world around her started to blur and swirl, and in an instant, she was standing on a golden beach with waves crashing against the shore and palm trees moving in the warm air. She asked the mirror to take her to a place where there were no limits and no known boundaries. Lily's heart raced when she saw the beautiful scene in front of her. This was the beginning of an amazing journey that would take her across huge oceans, through dense woods she couldn't get through, and up tall mountains. She didn't know that her trip was just getting started and that the power of the mirror would bring her many more wonderful gifts. As Lily carefully wiped away the dust that had built up on the mirror's surface over the years, the air was filled with a sense of anticipation. With each gentle stroke, a soft, shimmering glow seemed to come out of the depths of the glass, like a sleeping spell slowly coming to life. Everyone in the crowd seemed to be holding their breath as Lily was about to cross a mystery line. As the last bits of dust were brushed away, a beautiful shimmer emerged, a symphony of light that swirled and sparkled across the mirror. The twinkle took on a life of its own, weaving a pattern of stars that drew Lily toward it and pulled her into its warm embrace. The alluring light seemed to whisper secrets from the past, calling her to find out more about its seductive charm. Lily moved closer to the surreal scene in front of her. She gasped in shock and was mesmerized by it. Her own reflection sparkled in the mirror's depths, where it was surrounded by bright light. Her image was covered in a soft glow that seemed to match the spirit of her thoughts. The mirror had turned into a magical portal, an open doorway between the world of truth and the world of dreams.

Author: Molly C Briggs
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3111335674
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 389

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Book Description
The PIMS Yearbook is the annual yearbook of the International Panorama Council (IPC, Switzerland). It surveys the historical and contemporary landscape of panoramic and immersive media. This interdisciplinary field includes--but is not limited to--360-degree paintings; dioramas and museum displays; gaming; gardens; immersive experience; maps; material culture studies; media archeology; nineteenth-century popular media; optical and haptic devices; performative media; printed matter; public history; and virtual and augmented reality. Whereas the notion of the panoramic describes extensive, expansive and/or all-embracing vistas, immersion refers to porous interfaces between representation and the real, observer and observed, nature and culture, and past, present, and future. Together, the concepts of panorama and immersion have catalyzed time- and space-bending strategies for creating, experiencing, and transforming culture, ideas, and built and social space across the arc of human history. The PIMS Yearbook presents a range of disciplinary perspectives with the understanding that methodologies in the humanities, the arts, the sciences, design disciplines, social sciences, engineering, and other fields contribute important perspectives to the interdisciplinary field of panoramic and immersive media studies. The IPC is the international organization of panorama specialists committed to supporting the heritage and conservation of extant nineteenth and early-twentieth-century panoramas, and promoting awareness of the medium's history, derivative forms, and contemporary iterations. As a non-government and not-for-profit association subject to Swiss law, the IPC is active in the fields of panorama research, restoration, financing, management, exhibition, and marketing. The PIMS Yearbook succeeds the International Panorama Council Journal (IPCJ), a selected proceedings of the annual conferences of the IPC, published 2017-2023.

Author: Barrett Williams
Publisher: Barrett Williams
ISBN:
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 99

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Book Description
Step into a world reshaped, a landscape reborn from the ashes of the old. "The Post-Apocalyptic Survival Handbook" is your ultimate guide to thriving in the wilds of a world transformed. Each chapter unfolds secrets to mastering this new environment, sharing must-have skills in the relentless pursuit of survival. Imagine a world where water is as precious as gold—and just as hard to find. "The Post-Apocalyptic Survival Handbook" reveals prized techniques for locating, purifying, and harvesting the essence of life itself. Learn to engineer solar stills that coax water from the most unexpected places, securing your lifeline in a parched new era. Food is not just about sustenance; it's hope, it's energy, it’s survival. Turn the earth’s generosity to your advantage as the book guides you through foraging, hunting, and nurturing the seeds of tomorrow. Unearth the secrets of small-scale agriculture and permaculture, transforming the barren into a bounty that sustains life itself. When the safety of four walls is a luxury of the past, shelter becomes a profound priority. Discover how to select the safest grounds and craft a haven from natural and scavenged materials. Navigate the fine balance between insulation and exposure, mastering the art of making a home in the heart of the wilderness. Harness the power of the wind, sun, and water with DIY renewable energy systems that shine a light of hope onto a world left dark. "The Post-Apocalyptic Survival Handbook" empowers you to craft an electrified future, from scratch, with its detailed guides on energy storage and distribution. Delve into the depths of post-apocalyptic healthcare, where every scratch could be perilous. This guide stands as your first responder, imparting wisdom on managing trauma, using herbal medicines, and preserving both physical and mental health against overwhelming odds. Facing danger requires more than brute strength; it needs wit, strategy, and adaptability. The handbook equips you with defense strategies that make the difference between being a victim and a victor. From hand-to-hand combat to crafting makeshift weapons and implementing security measures, be prepared to stand your ground. In a world where cash is kindling and gold has lost its glimmer, "The Post-Apocalyptic Survival Handbook" transforms you into a master of barter and trade. Learn how to assess value in a currency-less economy, ensuring that when you trade, you triumph. As you turn each page, you'll unravel the fabric of a new society through collective effort and shared wisdom. Building communities, upholding human dignity, and setting ethical standards—this handbook is the blueprint for civilization’s rebirth. Venture beyond mere existence. Dare to dream, plan, and build for generations yet to come. Your handbook for the dawn after darkness, for the life beyond survival, awaits. Embrace your new beginning with "The Post-Apocalyptic Survival Handbook," your essential companion in charting the course of mankind's resurgence. The future is not written; it's survived.

Author: Rila Mukherjee
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 9811665818
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 427

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Book Description
The book integrates the latest scholarly literature on the entire Indian Ocean region, from East Africa to China. Issues such as India's history, India’s changing status in the region, and India's cross-cultural networking over a long period are explored in this book. It is organized in specific themes in thirteen chapters. It incorporates a wealth of research on India’s strategic significance in the Indian Ocean arena throughout history. It enriches the reader's understanding of the emergence of the Indian Ocean basin as a global arena for cross-cultural networking and nation-building. It discusses issues of trade and commerce, the circulation of ideas, peoples and objects, and social and religious themes, focusing on Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. The book provides a refreshingly different survey of India’s connected history in the Indian Ocean region starting from the archaeological record and ending with the coming of empire. The author’s unique experience, combined with an engaging writing style, makes the book highly readable. The book contributes to the field of global history and is of great interest to researchers, policymakers, teachers, and students across the fields of political, cultural, and economic history and strategic studies.

Author: Tiphanie Yanique
Publisher: Graywolf Press
ISBN: 1555970532
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
An enthralling debut collection from a singular Caribbean voice For a leper, many things are impossible, and many other things are easily done. Babalao Chuck said he could fly to the other side of the island and peek at the nuns bathing. And when a man with no hands claims that he can fly, you listen. The inhabitants of an island walk into the sea. A man passes a jail cell's window, shouldering a wooden cross. And in the international shop of coffins, a story repeats itself, pointing toward an inevitable tragedy. If the facts of these stories are sometimes fantastical, the situations they describe are complex and all too real. Lyrical, lush, and haunting, the prose shimmers in this nuanced debut, set mostly in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Part oral history, part postcolonial narrative, How to Escape from a Leper Colony is ultimately a loving portrait of a wholly unique place. Like Gabriel García Márquez, Edwidge Danticat, and Maryse Condé before her, Tiphanie Yanique has crafted a book that is heartbreaking, hilarious, magical, and mesmerizing. An unforgettable collection.

Author: Hannah Jones
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317684923
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
What does it mean to belong in a place, or more than one place? This exciting new volume brings together work from cutting-edge interdisciplinary scholars researching home, migration and belonging, using their original research to argue for greater attention to how feeling and emotion is deeply embedded in social structures and power relations. Stories of Cosmopolitan Belonging argues for a practical cosmopolitanism that recognises relations of power and struggle, and that struggles over place are often played out through emotional attachment. Taking the reader on a journey through research encounters spiralling out from the global city of London, through English suburbs and European cities to homes and lives in Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Mexico, the contributors show ways in which international and intercontinental migrations and connections criss-cross and constitute local places in each of their case studies. With a reflection on the practice of 'writing cities' from two leading urbanists and a focus throughout the volume on empirical work driving theoretical elaboration, this book will be essential reading for those interested in the politics of social science method, transnational urbanism, affective practices and new perspectives on power relations in neoliberal times. The international range of linked case studies presented here will be a valuable resource for students and scholars in sociology, anthropology, urban studies, cultural studies and contemporary history, and for urban policy makers interested in innovative perspectives on social relations and urban form.