Aimed at the beginner who has no prior knowledge of Arabic, this work begins with the first letter of the alphabet, and gradually builds up the learner's skills to a level where he or she would be able to read a passage of vocalised Arabic text. It also includes numerous copying exercises that enable students to develop a clear handwritten style.

The Fiction Gateway is an essential resource that supports individual, group and social reading programs and provides an instant guide to matching children's interests with suitable reading material.

Brain-mind problems like consciousness have been stimulating the interest of philosophers and scientists since the ancient times. In the last decades, the dramatic development of neuroscience has allowed studying such phenomena at several different levels – from single neurons to behavior. Binocular rivalry, a paradigm dissociating the sensory input from the conscious perception during dichoptic viewing of incongruent images, has been a celebrated example of such a tool. During the last century, empirical research on binocular rivalry contributed the first important insights into the neuronal mechanisms of subjective visual perception. Recent advances in brain imaging and electrophysiological recording/stimulating techniques as well as novel theoretical concepts and analytical methods could be exploited to expand our knowledge on this fascinating phenomenon of visual perception and elucidate the neural processes underlying visual consciousness. This Research Topic aims to bring together contributions that could expand the current frontiers of knowledge in binocular rivalry. In particular we would like to focus on reviews, hypothesis & theory or original research articles that specifically combine novel concepts, analytical tools and neurophysiological techniques with binocular rivalry. We expect that these contributions will a) integrate the vast knowledge already existing in the field b) formulate and, when possible, address questions under the light of recent methodological advances in neuroscience and c) provide a benchmark that will stimulate future cutting edge research.

Broadband Powerline Communications: Network Design covers the applications of broadband PLC systems in low-voltage supply networks, a promising candidate for the realization of cost effective solutions for “last mile” communications networks. There are many activities surrounding the development and application of PLC technology in the access area, particularly because of strong interest of new network providers after the deregulation of telecommunications market. Nowadays, there are no existing standards for broadband PLC networks, which use a frequency range up to 30 MHz. This book includes relevant and timely information regarding broadband PLC systems and especially PLC access networks and contributions to the design aspects of broadband PLC access systems and their network components. This book: Offers explanations on how broadband PLC networks are realized, what the important characteristics for the transmission on electrical power grids are, and which implementation solutions have been recently considered for the realization of broadband PLC systems. Considers various system realizations, disturbance scenarios and their impact the transmission in PLC networks, electro-magnetic compatibility, applied modulation schemes, coding, and error handling methods. Pays particular attention to the specifics of the PLC MAC layer and its protocols, as well as the modelling and performance evaluation of broadband PLC networks.

Simple geometric shapes and symbols combine to make the universal, powerful, sacred model Karen French calls Gateway to the Heavens. In this book, French explains the meaning and purpose of these shapes, how they mold our reality and perception of it and how they have a direct bearing on what you are and why you are here. These shapes and symbols contain messages that have been consistently represented in religion, philosophy, mythology, mysticism, the arts and sciences. Their messages are built into our genetic make-up and we recogniZe them instinctively. The book is divided up into 3 parts. Part 1 covers the properties of the basic geometric shapes and numbers. Part 2 describes how these, in turn, form layers of construction, creating principals that are fundamental to the purpose of the universe; the spiral sustains reality, the cross highlighting the central point of existence and the heart is where we weigh up our choices. Part 3 describes how we can use these principals to create positive change in our lives by helping us to expand our awareness of reality.

In the decades following World War II, municipal leaders and ordinary citizens embraced San Francisco’s identity as the “Gateway to the Pacific,” using it to reimagine and rebuild the city. The city became a cosmopolitan center on account of its newfound celebration of its Japanese and other Asian American residents, its economy linked with Asia, and its favorable location for transpacific partnerships. The most conspicuous testament to San Francisco’s postwar transpacific connections is the Japanese Cultural and Trade Center in the city’s redeveloped Japanese-American enclave. Focusing on the development of the Center, Meredith Oda shows how this multilayered story was embedded within a larger story of the changing institutions and ideas that were shaping the city. During these formative decades, Oda argues, San Francisco’s relations with and ideas about Japan were being forged within the intimate, local sites of civic and community life. This shift took many forms, including changes in city leadership, new municipal institutions, and especially transformations in the built environment. Newly friendly relations between Japan and the United States also meant that Japanese Americans found fresh, if highly constrained, job and community prospects just as the city’s African Americans struggled against rising barriers. San Francisco’s story is an inherently local one, but it also a broader story of a city collectively, if not cooperatively, reimagining its place in a global economy.