Superheroes soar in this promising debut—and they’re kids! Twelve-year-old Daniel, the new kid in town, soon learns the truth about his nice—but odd—new friends: one can fly, another can turn invisible, yet another controls electricity. Incredible. The superkids use their powers to secretly do good in the town, but they’re haunted by the fact that the moment they turn thirteen, their abilities will disappear—along with any memory that they ever had them. Is a memory-stealing supervillain sapping their powers? The answers lie in a long-ago meteor strike, a World War II–era comic book (Fantastic Futures, starring the first superhero, Johnny Noble), the green-flamed Witch Fire, a hidden Shroud cave, and—possibly, unbelievably—“powerless” regular-kid Daniel himself. Superhero kids meet comic book mystery in this action-filled debut about the true meaning of a hero.

Books of great political insight and novelty always outlive their time of birth and this reissued work, initially published in 1985, is no exception. Written shortly after the formation of Charter 77, the essays in this collection are among the most original and compelling pieces of political writing to have emerged from central and Eastern Europe during the whole of the post-war period. Václav Havel’s essay provides the title for the book. It was read by all the contributors who in turn responded to the many questions which Havel raises about the potential power of the powerless. The essays explain the anti-democratic features and limits of Soviet-type totalitarian systems of power. They discuss such concepts as ideology, democracy, civil liberty, law and the state from a perspective which is radically different from that of people living in liberal western democracies. The authors also discuss the prospects for democratic change under totalitarian conditions. Steven Lukes’ introduction provides an invaluable political and historical context for these writings. The authors represent a very broad spectrum of democratic opinion, including liberal, conservative and socialist.

In a world of superheroes, the line between good and evil is always clear. Right? Kenna is constantly surrounded by superheroes. Her best friend, her ex-boyfriend, practically everyone she knows has some talent or power. Kenna doesn't have a power. Sure, she's smart and independent, but surrounded by all the extraordinary, it's hard not feel very ordinary. And she's tired of it. So when three villains break into the lab where she interns, Kenna refuses to be a victim. She stands her ground. She's not about to let criminals steal the research that will make her extraordinary too. But in the heat of battle, secrets are spilled and one of the villains saves her life. Twice. Suddenly, everything Kenna thought she knew about good and evil, heroes and villains is upended. And to protect her life and those she loves, she must team up with her sworn enemies on a mission that will redefine what it means to be powerful and powerless... The Hero Agenda Series: Powerless (Book 1) Relentless (Book 2)

“A fantastic story, thrillingly told. This book has a superpower—you can’t put it down.” —Jonathan Stroud, author of the bestselling Bartimaeus Trilogy The truth about the Super children—who have real powers like flight and super strength—is finally exposed, and the town of Noble’s Green has created a special boarding school for its superpowered children. That’s where all Daniel’s friends are headed, while he—regular kid that he is—is headed to summer school. But all is not well at the Academy for the Extraordinarily Gifted. A clique of popular kids (led by a pair of sinister twins) has taken over the school, and once again, it’s powerless Daniel who may be able to stop them. To do so, he will have to turn to his sworn enemy, the Shroud, for help.

Explains to outsiders the conflicts between the financial interests of the coal and land companies and the moral rights of the vulnerable mountaineers.

Addiction am I powerless, is first in determining if a chemical or substance abuse problem exists. It has been written by a frontline clinician with more than 3 decades of experience in the addiction field; written to help you determine if you need to make any changes to your chemical use. Addiction: Am I Powerless is the most comprehensive self-assessment tool ever devised to measure Powerlessness. "Powerlessness Syndrome" is introduced as a standard for the measurement of personal loss of control and unmanageability related to the use of a mood-altering drug. Addiction: Am I Powerless, is a tool to measure the seriousness and severity of a chemical use problem in the privacy of your own home; without pressure, judgment or expectation.

The pressure is on. Throughout the country, educators and administrators are working hard to make sure students pass standardized tests and graduate. At the same time, teachers are overwhelmed by ever-increasing demands. Efforts at reforming schools often replicate the same approaches and net the same discouraging results. Staff at many schools feel defensive and powerless as a result of being unable to meet standards they didn’t set and don’t know how to achieve. This book describes a humanistic approach to implementing programs and systems that bring academic press, social support, and relational trust together in unique ways. Based on the understanding that old beliefs are changed by supporting new behaviors, the approach includes acquiring and using data in innovative and intentional ways. Properly conducted, the approach results in high morale, a sense of inclusiveness and success, increased efficacy, and improved metrics in all areas of education. The book includes the research and theory behind the approach, action steps for leaders, and lessons learned in the process—useful elements of success for any school.

In spite of decades of research on toxicants, along with the growing role of scientific expertise in public policy and the unprecedented rise in the number of national and international institutions dealing with environmental health issues, problems surrounding contaminants and their effects on health have never appeared so important, sometimes to the point of appearing insurmountable. This calls for a reconsideration of the roles of scientific knowledge and expertise in the definition and management of toxic issues, which this book seeks to do. It looks at complex historical, social, and political dynamics, made up of public controversies, environmental and health crises, economic interests, and political responses, and demonstrates how and to what extent scientific knowledge about toxicants has been caught between scientific, economic, and political imperatives. Soraya Boudia is Professor of Science, Technology, and Innovation Studies at the University of Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallée. Her scholarly work focuses on the transnational government of technological and health environmental risks. She has co-edited a special issue of History and Technology, "Risk and risk Society in Historical Perspective" (2007), and Toxicants, Health and Regulations Since 1945 (Pickering & Chatto, 2013), both with Nathalie Jas. Nathalie Jas is a Senior Researcher at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA). A historian and a STS scholar, her scholarly work analyses the intensification of agriculture and its social, environmental, and health effects. She has co-edited a special issue of History and Technology, "Risk and risk Society in Historical Perspective" (2007), and Toxicants, Health and Regulations Since 1945 (Pickering & Chatto, 2013), both with Soraya Boudia.

Conventional wisdom argues that the integration of the world economy is making national governments less powerful, but Linda Weiss disagrees. In an era when global society and the transnational market are trendy concepts, she suggests that state capacities for domestic transformative strategies provide a competitive advantage. Some of the most successful economies rely on state-informed and state-embedded institutions for governing the economy. In fact, she contends, the strength of external economic pressures is largely determined domestically, and the effect of such pressures varies with the strength of domestic institutions. Weiss analyzes the sources and varieties of state capacity for governing industrial transformation in contemporary cases: the unraveling of Sweden's distributive model of adjustment, the evolution of developmental states in Northeast Asia, and the parallel strengths of the German and Japanese systems of industrial coordination. Her comparative perspective allows her to show how different types of state capacity affect industrial vitality and domestic adjustment to global forces. As economic integration proceeds, she concludes, state capabilities will matter more rather than less in fostering social well-being and the creation of wealth.