The Chelmsford Writers' Group present you with a dark and deadly anthology of their best work from 2013. Read about murder, ghosts, the end of the world and a sentient beach ball. Not forgetting robbery, suicide and a robot ninja pirate too. A great collection of short stories and poems that will leave you wanting more.

Fortified Island is the journal of the Irish Order of Thelema, an innovative thelemic Order based on the island of Ireland. This anthology is a compilation of content from the first five issues with bonus material relating to the Irish Order of Thelema and its work.

Family-owned businesses account for many of the small and medium-sized enterprises that exist around the world in various industries. Due to their unique make up, these firms are often heavily influenced by family dynamics that must be reconciled by family and non-family workers alike in order to ensure the sustainability of the business. As smaller businesses competing against an increasingly globalized economy and more directly impacted by economic instability, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, these businesses must continue to improve their practices and processes in order to not only survive but thrive. The Research Anthology on Strategies for Maintaining Successful Family Firms discusses the strategies, sustainability, and human aspects of family firms in order to understand what sets them apart from other businesses and how they can survive and compete in a globalized economy. This book discusses the unique dynamic brought by family firms that offers both opportunities and challenges for a growing business. Covering topics such as corporate venturing, the family unit, and business ethics, this text is an essential resource for family firms, entrepreneurs, managers, business students, business professors, researchers, and academicians.

Education has changed dramatically in recent years as educational technologies evolve and develop at a rapid pace. Teachers and institutions must constantly update their practices and curricula to match this changing landscape to ensure students receive the best education possible. 3D printing has emerged as a new technology that has the potential to enhance student learning and development. Moreover, the availability of makerspaces within schools and libraries allows students to utilize technologies that drive creativity. Further study on the strategies and challenges of implementation is needed for educators to appropriately adopt these learning practices. The Research Anthology on Makerspaces and 3D Printing in Education considers the benefits these technologies provide in relation to education as well as the various ways they can be utilized in the classroom for student learning. The book also provides a review of the difficulties educators face when implementing these technologies into their curricula and ensuring student success. Covering topics such as educational technologies, creativity, and online learning, this major reference work is ideal for administrators, principals, researchers, scholars, practitioners, academicians, instructors, and students.

With the advent of virtual environments and communities, the metaverse has been rapidly expanding in recent years as businesses and industries have begun to see the value and opportunities this technology provides. In order to ensure this technology is utilized to its full potential, further study on the best practices, challenges, and future directions is required. The Research Anthology on Virtual Environments and Building the Metaverse considers the latest research regarding the metaverse and discusses potential issues and benefits of the technology. The book also examines strategies and tactics businesses and companies can use when implementing the metaverse into their operations. Covering key topics such as immersion, augmented reality, and virtual worlds, this major reference work is ideal for computer scientists, business owners, managers, industry professionals, researchers, scholars, academicians, practitioners, instructors, and students.

The use of nanotechnologies continues to grow, as nanomaterials have proven their versatility and use in many different fields and industries within the scientific profession. Using nanotechnology, materials can be made lighter, more durable, more reactive, and more efficient leading nanoscale materials to enhance many everyday products and processes. With many different sizes, shapes, and internal structures, the applications are endless. These uses range from pharmaceutics to materials such as cement or cloth, electronics, environmental sustainability, and more. Therefore, there has been a recent surge of research focused on the synthesis and characterizations of these nanomaterials to better understand how they can be used, their applications, and the many different types. The Research Anthology on Synthesis, Characterization, and Applications of Nanomaterials seeks to address not only how nanomaterials are created, used, or characterized, but also to apply this knowledge to the multidimensional industries, fields, and applications of nanomaterials and nanoscience. This includes topics such as both natural and manmade nanomaterials; the size, shape, reactivity, and other essential characteristics of nanomaterials; challenges and potential effects of using nanomaterials; and the advantages of nanomaterials with multidisciplinary uses. This book is ideally designed for researchers, engineers, practitioners, industrialists, educators, strategists, policymakers, scientists, and students working in fields that include materials engineering, engineering science, nanotechnology, biotechnology, microbiology, drug design and delivery, medicine, and more.

Life, death and transformation can be viewed as those stages of reality most unavoidable; or as the very different rooms we must enter one after the other. Long Dead Before Dying is a collection of eighteen short stories which examine what happens when the transition from one to the other is disrupted or even foregone. What becomes of those who die badly, or not at all? What's the fate of human beings who continue to grow after the heart stops beating? What lives in the liminal spaces between waking and sleep? In a journey that will take you from medieval Russia to 1890s London, and from the slums of Haiti to the vineyards of Italy, Long Dead paints a vivid and often horrific view of a world haunted by the mistakes and roads not taken that lead on inevitably to unknown vistas beyond life and imagination.

Faced with increased budget cuts, libraries must continue to advance their services through new technologies and practices in order to keep pace with the rapid changes society is currently facing. The once traditional in-person services offered can no longer be the only option, and to keep themselves afloat, libraries must offer more in terms of digital services. The convenience of offering mobile and digital services brings a new wave of accessibility to libraries and a new question on just how much libraries will need to change to meet the newfound needs of its patrons. Beyond offering these digital services, libraries are incorporating other types of technology in multifaceted ways such as utilizing artificial intelligence practices, social media, and big data management. Moreover, libraries are increasingly looking for ways to partner and collaborate with the community, faculty, students, and other libraries in order to keep abreast of the best practices and needs of their users. The Research Anthology on Collaboration, Digital Services, and Resource Management for the Sustainability of Libraries explores emerging strategies and technologies that are redefining the role of the library within communities and academia. This reference book covers extensive ground on all the ways libraries have shifted to manage their resources, digitalize their services, and market themselves within the new technological revolution. These continued shifts for libraries come with benefits, challenges, and future projections that are critical for discussion as libraries continue to strive to remain updated and relevant in times of change. This book is ideal for librarians, archivists, collection managers, IT specialists, electronic resource librarians, practitioners, stakeholders, researchers, academicians, and students who are interested in the current state of libraries and how they are transforming to fit modern needs.

Videogames have risen in popularity in recent decades and continue to entertain many all over the world. As game design and development becomes more accessible to those outside of the industry, their uses and impacts are further expanded. Games have been developed for medical, educational, business, and many more applications. While games have many beneficial applications, many challenges exist in current development processes as well as some of their impacts on society. It is essential to investigate the current trends in the design and development of games as well as the opportunities and challenges presented in their usage and social impact. The Research Anthology on Game Design, Development, Usage, and Social Impact discusses the emerging developments, opportunities, and challenges that are found within the design, development, usage, and impact of gaming. It presents a comprehensive collection of the recent research, theories, case studies, and more within the area. Covering topics such as academic game creation, gaming experience, and violence in gaming, this major reference work is a dynamic resource for game developers, instructional designers, educators and administrators of both K-12 and higher education, students of higher education, librarians, government officials, business leaders and executives, researchers, and academicians.

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) present many benefits in analyzing complex data in a proficient manner. As an effective and efficient problem-solving method, ANNs are incredibly useful in many different fields. From education to medicine and banking to engineering, artificial neural networks are a growing phenomenon as more realize the plethora of uses and benefits they provide. Due to their complexity, it is vital for researchers to understand ANN capabilities in various fields. The Research Anthology on Artificial Neural Network Applications covers critical topics related to artificial neural networks and their multitude of applications in a number of diverse areas including medicine, finance, operations research, business, social media, security, and more. Covering everything from the applications and uses of artificial neural networks to deep learning and non-linear problems, this book is ideal for computer scientists, IT specialists, data scientists, technologists, business owners, engineers, government agencies, researchers, academicians, and students, as well as anyone who is interested in learning more about how artificial neural networks can be used across a wide range of fields.