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Despite advances in modern communication and the proliferation of information, there remain areas of the world about which little is known. One such place is Somalia. The informed public is aware of a political meltdown and consequent chaos there, but few comprehend the causes of this tragic crisis. This new edition covers Somalia's origin, history, culture, and language, as well as current economic and political issues. The alphabetical arrangement of this Dictionary, with a complete chronology, list of acronyms, and in-depth bibliography provide useful information about the country in a convenient format. A vital addition to reference collections supporting undergraduate and graduate programs on Africa and the Middle East, international relations, and economics- a useful fact-filled compendium for government and public libraries, NGO's, and other special libraries
Based on years of in-depth field research, this book unravels the complexities of the Yemeni state and its domestic politics with a particular focus on the post-1990 years. The central thesis is that Yemen continues to suffer from regional fragmentation which has endured for centuries. En route the book discusses the rise of President Salih, his tribal and family connections, Yemen's civil war in 1994, the war's consequences later in the decade, the spread of radical movements after the US military response to 9/11 and finally developments leading to the historic events of 2011. This book sets a new standard for scholarship on Yemeni politics and it is essential reading for anyone interested in the modern Middle East, the 2011 Arab revolts and twenty-first-century Islamic politics.
Black Morocco: A History of Slavery, Race, and Islam chronicles the experiences, identity and achievements of enslaved black people in Morocco from the sixteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. Chouki El Hamel argues that we cannot rely solely on Islamic ideology as the key to explain social relations and particularly the history of black slavery in the Muslim world, for this viewpoint yields an inaccurate historical record of the people, institutions and social practices of slavery in Northwest Africa. El Hamel focuses on black Moroccans' collective experience beginning with their enslavement to serve as the loyal army of the Sultan Isma'il. By the time the Sultan died in 1727, they had become a political force, making and unmaking rulers well into the nineteenth century. The emphasis on the political history of the black army is augmented by a close examination of the continuity of black Moroccan identity through the musical and cultural practices of the Gnawa.
The riveting true story of a child, a family, and life on the outskirts of normal. When Jeanne McDermott’s second child, Nathaniel, was born with Apert syndrome—a condition that results in a towering skull, a sunken face, and fingers webbed so tightly that hands look like mittens—she was completely unprepared for it. In this extraordinary memoir, McDermott calls on her dual roles as science journalist and mother to share her family’s traumatic yet enriching experience. Though McDermott and her family had to endure Nathaniel’s harrowing surgeries and the stares and comments of strangers and well-meaning friends, they were also transformed by the boy’s amazing strength and exuberan...
At the heart of the optimization domain are mathematical modeling of the problem and the solution methodologies. The problems are becoming larger and with growing complexity. Such problems are becoming cumbersome when handled by traditional optimization methods. This has motivated researchers to resort to artificial intelligence (AI)-based, nature-inspired solution methodologies or algorithms. The Handbook of AI-based Metaheuristics provides a wide-ranging reference to the theoretical and mathematical formulations of metaheuristics, including bio-inspired, swarm-based, socio-cultural, and physics-based methods or algorithms; their testing and validation, along with detailed illustrative solutions and applications; and newly devised metaheuristic algorithms. This will be a valuable reference for researchers in industry and academia, as well as for all Master’s and PhD students working in the metaheuristics and applications domains.
"Innovation Generation presents a fascinating new approach to creative thinking. Using a system of idea-generating methods honed over her illustrious career as a physician, researcher, professor, teacher, and Dean, Roberta Ness provides all the tools needed to learn how to cast aside habitual cognitive maps called frames and draw insights from other fields.
The present volume offers a partial presentation of research that has been prosecuted, in one form or another, over the past decade and more. Some early, misguided ideas about the relationship between Hellenism and the Umayyads as manifest in the paintings of Qusayr Arma appeared in chapter 6 of Garth Fowden, "Empire to commonwealth : Consequences of monotheism in late antiquity (1993) ; while in chapter 6 of "The Barbarian Plain : Saint Sergius between Rome and Iran" (1999), Elisabeth Key Fowden looked at the relationship between Christianity and Islam in Umayyad al Rusafa. A three-year grant from the "Aristeia" programme of the Greek Ministry of Development, General Secretariat for Research and Technology, within the European Union's 3rd Community Support Framework, has encouraged us to concentrate on specific aspects of these cultural interactions. A more rounded interpretation of the material, with due emphasis on the wider Islamic environment, will be published elsewhere.
From Robert Fagles’s acclaimed translation, An Iliad telescopes Homer’s Trojan War epic into a gripping monologue that captures both the heroism and horror of war. Crafted around the stories of Achilles and Hector, in language that is by turns poetic and conversational, An Iliad brilliantly refreshes this world classic. What emerges is a powerful piece of theatrical storytelling that vividly drives home the timelessness of mankind’s compulsion toward violence.