Over a mere three decades, the video game became the entertainment medium of choice for millions of people, who now spend more time in the interactive virtual world of games than they do in watching movies or even television. The release of new games or game-playing equipment, such as the PlayStation 2, generates great excitement and even buying frenzies. Yet, until now, this giant on the popular culture landscape has received little in-depth study or analysis.In this book, Mark J....

Learn the most up-to-date information on materials used in the dental office and laboratory today. Emphasizing practical, clinical use, as well as the physical, chemical, and biological properties of materials, this leading reference helps you stay current in this very important area of dentistry. This new full-color edition also features an extensive collection of new clinical photographs to better illustrate the topics and concepts discussed in each chapter. - Organization of chapters an...

In this fast-paced new installment in bestselling author Ralph Compton's Trail Drive series, a trail drive boss faces many challenges.Luke Ross is determined to drive his herd to the trailhead, but along the way he'll have to cope with rustlers, bandits, and warlike Indians.

A man with a hidden past doles out a dangerous dose of frontier medicine in this new western in Ralph Compton's Gunfighter series.Young doctor Gabriel Kincaid has come west to help an aging colleague who is straining to deal with the demands of a growing town, but Kincaid is looking to do more than just experience the challenges of frontier medicine. He’s determined to start a new life.But the trials he faces aren’t confined to the doctor’s surgery. After a...

The co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine, Ralph J. Gleason was among the most respected journalists, interviewers, and critics writing about popular music in the latter half of the twentieth century. As a longtime contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle, Down Beat, and Ramparts, his expertise and insights about music, musicians, and cultural trends were unparalleled, whether his subject was jazz, folk, pop, or rock and roll. He was the only music jour...

During his nearly forty years as a music journalist, Ralph J. Gleason recorded many in-depth interviews with some of the greatest jazz musicians of all time. These informal sessions, conducted mostly in Gleason’s Berkeley, California, home, have never been transcribed and published in full until now.This remarkable volume, a must-read for any jazz fan, serious musician, or musicologist, reveals fascinating, little-known details about these gifted artists, their lives, their persona...

Are we in a simulation? That’s a question Dax Sky often asked himself. Not surprising given he designs simulations, creating alternate realities indistinguishable from the real world.It is the 24th century and Dax lives in the former United States of America, ruled by China. He works for a government agency called SISAR that creates alternate reality simulations of the past and future. His wife, Mae, is an engineer at Photonviz Corporation, a company that builds devices located thr...

A COMPREHENSIVE NEW REFERENCE WORK ON STRUCTURAL APPROACHES TO PREVENTING HIV Structural interventions -- changes to environment aimed at influencing health behaviors -- are the most universal and cost-effective tool in preventing new incidences of HIV. They are not easy to get right, however. Structural Interventions for HIV Prevention offers an authoritative reference for both understanding these programs and instituting them to greatest effect. Whether through...

This book covers the developmental and health problems unique to the adolescent period of life. It focuses on special needs and public health programs for adolescents. It offers deep insight into smoking, violence, teen pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, and other problems, along with intervention and prevention strategies."Anyone serious about improving adolescent health should read this book. It spans theoretical and developmental constructs, summaries of evidence-based interventions for adole...

In developing electrochemical cells, one must keep in mind that the real goal is to package and control all the materials and components (cathode and anode active materials, electrolytes, separators, current collectors etc.) in a limited volume to enable maximum energy storage without creating any safety problems. In this manner, Li-Ion batteries (LIB) were first introduced to practical use in 1991. This book contains an in-depth review of electrode materials, electrolytes and additives fo...

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 45th German Conference on Artificial Intelligence, KI 2022, held in September 2022.The 12 full and 5 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 51 submissions. Additionally, five abstracts of invited talks are included. As well-established annual conference series KI is dedicated to research on theory and applications across all methods and topic areas of AI research.Due to COVID-19 the conference was held vi...

Floodplain wetlands of the Murray-Darling Basin provide critical habitat for numerous species of flora and fauna, yet the ecology of these wetlands is threatened by a range of environmental issues. This book addresses the urgent need for an improved ecohydrological understanding of the biota of Australian freshwater wetlands. It synthesises key water and habitat requirements for 35 species of plants, 48 species of waterbirds, 17 native and four introduced species of fish, 15 species of frogs,...