Solero

Solero
Author: Brien Cole
Publisher: ETT Imprint
Total Pages: 390
Release: 2020-12-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 192238433X

"In the dark of river bends, in the slow meander of deceit, in the closed still autumn mist, Freddy and Joyce with poles in hand, propel the craft into the stream." "The parrot chirps, he chews a nut then begins to chew upon the mast." The squawking parrot knows it all, the secret keeper of this land, of wine and river, war and love, and dreams men brought to river bank; alas they tried to build them. Part family saga, part love story, told over three generations by an undeliable parrot, "a most marvellous tale."

Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones
Author: Clarence Bernard Henry
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2014-06-05
Genre: Music
ISBN: 1136329331

Quincy Jones: A Research and Information Guide is an annotated bibliography and discography on one of the most prolific composers, arrangers, and conductors in American music. This reference work will appeal to wide range of musicologists, ethnomusicologists and cultural studies scholars.

Couture & Commerce

Couture & Commerce
Author: Alexandra Palmer
Publisher: UBC Press
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2001
Genre: Art
ISBN: 9780774808262

The 1950s were the golden years of haute couture, captured by iconic images of glamorous models wearing dramatic clothes. Yet the real women who wore these clothes adapted them to suit their own tastes, altered them to extend their life, and often could not bear to part with them long after the dresses had outlived their use. This gorgeously illustrated book demonstrates why so many of these designs are still in existence and why we are fascinated by them fifty years later. Couture and Commerce investigates how and why postwar couture fashion was important in its own day. The Paris couture houses survived due to the enthusiasm of the North American fashion press and commercial buyers. Alexandra Palmer traces the European haute couture trade with North America by following actual surviving couture dresses from the design house sketch, through the model used in New York fashion shows and as a template for copies and knock-offs, and finally to the consumer. Couture and Commerce is a remarkable mixture of accessible text, color photographs of the original garments, design house sketches and photographs, retailers’ advertisements, and society page images. Weaving together analysis of the clothes and interviews with those who traded, sold, and wore couture, Alexandra Palmer vividly recreates the 1950s fashion world.

Impact Investment

Impact Investment
Author: Keith A. Allman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 301
Release: 2015-02-13
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1119009820

Apply a rigorous investment process and integrate social impact analyses to successfully select and invest in social impact investments Impact Investment: A Practical Guide to Investment Process and Social Impact Analysis is a must-read guide for investors and wealth managers entering the social finance investment space known as "impact investing." This book walks readers through the demanding task of properly executing an impact investment strategy, providing solutions to some of the most vexing challenges that arise when investing for both financial return and social impact. Readers will learn how impact investing is different from other strategies, how the organization's mission affects investment decisions and structures, and what to look for in an organization prior to investing. A running example of a village distribution company illustrates the methods and concepts in action, and a full-fledged case study utilizing downloadable professional level analytical tools consolidates all examples into a real-world setting. Impact investing is generating significant momentum, but many individuals operating in this space come from alternative backgrounds and lack the knowledge to form a rigorous investment process. Disparate funding sources, immature markets, variations in fund economics, and the need to generate and report social impact all complicate the industry even further, creating a barrier for curious investors. This book is a guide to applying standard investment processes and social impact analyses to impact investing, helping readers: Adjust standard analysis techniques to suit the particularities of impact investing Discover how social mission influences the entire investment from entry to exit Plan and execute a robust custom impact investment strategy Understand social impact entities and the management of impact investments Investing with the goal of social impact doesn't remove the need for rigorous investment techniques and diligent processes. Impact Investment: A Practical Guide to Investment Process and Social Impact Analysis is a guide to putting it all together, for a more targeted approach to impact investing.

The Migrant

The Migrant
Author: Nicholas Sheridan Stanton
Publisher: Just Imagine It Ink
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2007
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0786158360

Family. The word is both sweet and bitter. We spend our lives running to and running from the safety or confines of this uniquely social phenomenon. Meet young Tina Lopez, Ethan Kelly, and K.C. Littleton. The path they take into one another's lives is almost too fantastic for fiction.

Voice with No Echo

Voice with No Echo
Author: Suzanne Chazin
Publisher: Kensington Books
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2020-03-31
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1496715551

A long-buried family secret and a chance encounter with an estranged sibling force police detective Jimmy Vega to confront his deepest fears in this gripping new mystery by award-winning author Suzanne Chazin . . . It's spring in Lake Holly, New York, a time of hope and renewal. But not for immigrants in this picturesque upstate town. Raids and deportations are on the rise, spurring fear throughout the community. Tensions reach the boiling point when the district attorney’s beautiful young bride is found hanging in her flooded basement, an apparent victim of suicide. But is she, wonders Vega? If so, where is her undocumented immigrant maid? Is she a missing witness, afraid to come forward? Or an accessory to murder? Vega gets more help than he bargained for when Immigration and Customs Enforcement sends an investigator to help find—and likely deport—the maid. It’s Vega’s half-sister Michelle, the child who caused his father to leave his mother. Now an ICE agent, Michelle tangles with Vega and his girlfriend, immigrant activist Adele Figueroa. The law is the law, Michelle reminds Vega. And yet, his heart tells him he needs to dig deeper, not just into the case but into his past, to a childhood terror only Michelle can unlock. While Vega searches for the demon from his youth, he discovers one uncomfortably close by, erecting a scheme of monstrous proportions. It’s a race against the clock with lives on the line. And a choice Vega never thought he’d have to make: Obey the law. Or obey his conscience. There’s no margin for error . . .

Research and Education in Robotics -- EUROBOT 2008

Research and Education in Robotics -- EUROBOT 2008
Author: Achim Gottscheber
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2009-09-29
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3642035582

This volume constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Conference on Research and Education in Robotics, EUROBOT 2008, held in Heidelberg, Germany, in May 2008. The EUROBOT Conference 2008 was accompanied by the international amateur robotics contest EUROBOTopen final, edition 2008. The 18 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from the 33 papers which had built the main program of the conference. A fundamental aspect of EUROBOT is the promotion of sciences and technology among young students and researchers. The theme for 2008 was "Mission to Mars". This resulted in interesting robots as well as interesting papers for this volume.

3D-Position Tracking and Control for All-Terrain Robots

3D-Position Tracking and Control for All-Terrain Robots
Author: Pierre Lamon
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 113
Release: 2008-02-12
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3540782877

Rough terrain robotics is a fast evolving field of research and a lot of effort is deployed towards enabling a greater level of autonomy for outdoor vehicles. This book demonstrates how the accuracy of 3D position tracking can be improved by considering rover locomotion in rough terrain as a holistic problem. Although the selection of appropriate sensors is crucial to accurately track the rover’s position, it is not the only aspect to consider. Indeed, the use of an unadapted locomotion concept severely affects the signal to noise ratio of the sensors, which leads to poor motion estimates. In this work, a mechanical structure allowing smooth motion across obstacles with limited wheel slip is used. In particular, it enables the use of odometry and inertial sensors to improve the position estimation in rough terrain. A method for computing 3D motion increments based on the wheel encoders and chassis state sensors is developed. Because it accounts for the kinematics of the rover, this method provides better results than the standard approach. To further improve the accuracy of the position tracking and the rover’s climbing performance, a controller minimizing wheel slip is developed. The algorithm runs online and can be adapted to any kind of passive wheeled rover. Finally, sensor fusion using 3D-Odometry, inertial sensors and visual motion estimation based on stereovision is presented. The experimental results demonstrate how each sensor contributes to increase the accuracy and robustness of the 3D position estimation.