The year 2008 is the deadline set by President Mbeki for the finalization of all land claims by people who were dispossessed under the apartheid and previous white governments. Although most experts agree this is an impossible deadline, it does provide a significant political moment for reflection on the ANC government’s program of land restitution since the end of apartheid. Land reform (and land restitution within that) remains a highly charged issue in South Africa, one that deserves more in–depth analysis. Drawing on her experience as Rural Land Claims Commissioner in KwaZulu–Natal from 1995 to 2000, Professor Cherryl Walker provides a multilayered account of land reform in South Africa, one that covers general critical commentary, detailed case material, and personal narrative. She explores the master narrative of loss and restoration, which has been fundamental in shaping the restitution program; offers a critical overview of the achievements of the program as a whole; and discusses what she calls the “non–programmatic limits to land reform,” including urbanization, environmental constraints and the impact of HIV/AIDS.

The Manhattan skyline is one of the great wonders of the modern world. But how and why did it form? Much has been written about the city's architecture and its general history, but little work has explored the economic forces that created the skyline. In Building the Skyline, Jason Barr chronicles the economic history of the Manhattan skyline. In the process, he debunks some widely held misconceptions about the city's history. Starting with Manhattan's natural and geological history, Barr moves on to how these formations influenced early land use and the development of neighborhoods, including the dense tenement neighborhoods of Five Points and the Lower East Side, and how these early decisions eventually impacted the location of skyscrapers built during the Skyscraper Revolution at the end of the 19th century. Barr then explores the economic history of skyscrapers and the skyline, investigating the reasons for their heights, frequencies, locations, and shapes. He discusses why skyscrapers emerged downtown and why they appeared three miles to the north in midtown-but not in between the two areas. Contrary to popular belief, this was not due to the depths of Manhattan's bedrock, nor the presence of Grand Central Station. Rather, midtown's emergence was a response to the economic and demographic forces that were taking place north of 14th Street after the Civil War. Building the Skyline also presents the first rigorous investigation of the causes of the building boom during the Roaring Twenties. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the boom was largely a rational response to the economic growth of the nation and city. The last chapter investigates the value of Manhattan Island and the relationship between skyscrapers and land prices. Finally, an Epilogue offers policy recommendations for a resilient and robust future skyline.

The hermetic tradition claims "As above, so below". Did the ancients mean that literally? Stars, Stones and Scholars shows that many ancient megalithic sites are not tombs, but are remnants of ancient local, regional and perhaps even larger Neolithic surveys of the Earth by Stone Age astronomy, with gigantic stones being placed as immovable survey markers. Circa 40 photographs, 240 drawings and 80 maps show how megaliths were carved and "sculpted" with figures and cupmarks (holes in the stones) to represent stars and constellations, long before the modern astrological Zodiac was known. Megalithic sites from England (Stonehenge), Wales (Paviland), Scotland (Clava Cairns), Ireland (Newgrange, Knowth), Germany (Externsteine), Benelux (Weris), France (Carnac), Italy (La Spezia), Malta (Tarxien), Greece, Turkey (Anatolia), Scandinavia (Tanum), the Baltic, Russia, the Near East, the Far East (China and Japan), Africa, Central and South America (Tikal, Maya, Aztecs), Oceania (Hawaii), The USA (Cahokia, Miami Circle, Clovis) and Canada (Peterborough Petroglyphs) are included in this fascinating book.

Discover dozens of underappreciated landmarks and the stories behind them in this unique history on New York City, written and photographed by Landmarks of NY creator, Tommy Silk. New York is a city of landmarks – more than 37,000 of them. Visitors and New Yorkers walk by hundreds of these landmarks daily, often never knowing the rich history behind each of these buildings. One of these New Yorkers, Tommy Silk, has been photographing and chronicling a landmarked building every day for the last five years on his Instagram account, Landmarks of NY. In Hidden Landmarks of New York, Silk uncovers 120 of the city’s oldest, most unique, and often relatively unknown landmarks and the hidden history behind them. Whether it’s an African Graveyard a stone’s throw from City Hall; the Truman Capote house in Brooklyn Heights that he claimed to own (but actually just rented a room there for years); or 4 Gramercy Park West, the Greek Revival-style townhouse that is rumored to be the home of Stuart Little; each entry includes a picture of the landmark with a short, informative description of its history and its past (often well-known) inhabitants. With 120 photographs beautifully designed in a portable book, it’s perfect for armchair perusal or to stash in your backpack while wandering around the city.

ICIAR 2006, the International Conference on Image Analysis and Recognition, was the third ICIAR conference, and was held in P ́ ovoa de Varzim, Portugal. ICIARisorganizedannually,andalternatesbetweenEuropeandNorthAmerica. ICIAR 2004 was held in Porto, Portugal and ICIAR 2005 in Toronto, Canada. The idea of o?ering these conferences came as a result of discussion between researchers in Portugal and Canada to encourage collaboration and exchange, mainlybetweenthesetwocountries,butalsowiththeopenparticipationofother countries, addressing recent advances in theory, methodology and applications. The response to the call for papers for ICIAR 2006 was higher than the two previous editions. From 389 full papers submitted, 163 were ?nally accepted (71 oral presentations, and 92 posters). The review process was carried out by the Program Committee members and other reviewers; all are experts in various image analysis and recognition areas. Each paper was reviewed by at least two reviewers, and also checked by the conference Co-chairs. The high quality of the papers in these proceedings is attributed ?rst to the authors, and second to the quality of the reviews provided by the experts. We would like to thank the authors for responding to our call, and we wholeheartedly thank the reviewers for their excellent work and for their timely response. It is this collective e?ort that resulted in the strong conference program and high-quality proceedings in your hands.

The story of New York’s west side no longer stars the Sharks and the Jets. Instead it’s a story of urban transformation, cultural shifts, and an expanding contemporary art scene. The Chelsea Gallery District has become New York’s most dominant neighborhood for contemporary art, and the streets of the west side are filled with gallery owners, art collectors, and tourists. Developments like the High Line, historical preservation projects like the Gansevoort Market, the Chelsea galleries, and plans for megaprojects like the Hudson Yards Development have redefined what is now being called the “Far West Side” of Manhattan. David Halle and Elisabeth Tiso offer a deep analysis of the transforming district in New York’s New Edge, and the result is a new understanding of how we perceive and interpret culture and the city in New York’s gallery district. From individual interviews with gallery owners to the behind-the-scenes politics of preservation initiatives and megaprojects, the book provides an in-depth account of the developments, obstacles, successes, and failures of the area and the factors that have contributed to them.

ICMCCA 2012 is the first International Conference on Multimedia Processing, Communication and Computing Applications and the theme of the Conference is chosen as ‘Multimedia Processing and its Applications’. Multimedia processing has been an active research area contributing in many frontiers of today’s science and technology. This book presents peer-reviewed quality papers on multimedia processing, which covers a very broad area of science and technology. The prime objective of the book is to familiarize readers with the latest scientific developments that are taking place in various fields of multimedia processing and is widely used in many disciplines such as Medical Diagnosis, Digital Forensic, Object Recognition, Image and Video Analysis, Robotics, Military, Automotive Industries, Surveillance and Security, Quality Inspection, etc. The book will assist the research community to get the insight of the overlapping works which are being carried out across the globe at many medical hospitals and institutions, defense labs, forensic labs, academic institutions, IT companies and security & surveillance domains. It also discusses latest state-of-the-art research problems and techniques and helps to encourage, motivate and introduce the budding researchers to a larger domain of multimedia.

"The liturgical reforms that have guided congregations over the last few decades have transformed what different denominations know about themselves and their worship. Worshipers are no longer spectators, but active participants in the ritual acts that once were the possession of the clergy. As the liturgy is modified, church buildings are altered." "How does all such change affect the architectural style of church buildings? Vosko provides a foundation for building or renovating a place of worship and presents a thorough checklist for spaces, art, furnishings, and appointments. He discusses many concerns and offers practical advice. He also presents issues that need further consideration in every project."--BOOK JACKET.

One of the most respected and influential scholars of religious liberty in our time, Douglas Laycock has argued many crucial religious-liberty cases in the United States Supreme Court. His noteworthy scholarly and popular writings are being collected in five comprehensive volumes under the title Religious Liberty. This third volume presents a documentary history of efforts to enact and implement state and federal Religious Freedom Resto-ration Acts, to include religious-liberty protections in same-sex marriage legislation, and to protect the rights of both sides in the culture wars. It contains articles in scholarly journals, op-eds for popular audiences, and oral and written arguments.