We may never know the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, how it came to be, or who if anyone was responsible. One individual’s guess is as good as anyone else’s. We can be assured of this. Life itself has been at war with unseen enemies for millions, if not billions of years, as evidenced by living beings constantly evolving from one state to another to survive. If not for evolution, man would have been erased from the Earth ages ago. And as such, deceit may be our greatest weapon. It is unthinkable that one nation has not thought of using evolution to gain power. The Ladder Project is a fictitious novel based on imagination and current events. But one thing is clear. Covid-19 is merely a glimpse of what may be our future.

Nothing about Homer G. Phillips Hospital came easily. Built to serve St. Louis’s rapidly expanding African-American population, the grand new hospital opened its doors in 1937, toward the end of the Great Depression. “Homer G.,” as many called it, joined a burgeoning group of black hospitals amid a national period of institutional segregation and strong racial prejudice nationwide. When the beautiful, up-to-date hospital opened, it attracted more black residents than any other such program in the United States. Patients also flocked to the hospital, as did nursing students who found there excellent training, ready employment, and a boost into the middle class. For decades, the hospital thrived; by the 1950s, three-quarters of African-American babies in St. Louis were born at Homer G. But the 1960s and 1970s brought less need for all-black hospitals, as faculty, residents, and patients were increasingly welcome in the many newly integrated institutions. Ever-tightening city budgets meant less money for the hospital, and in 1979, despite protests from the African-American community, HGPH closed. Years later, the venerated, long-vacant building came to life again as the Homer G. Phillips Senior Living Community. Candace O’Connor draws upon contemporary newspaper articles, institutional records, and dozens of interviews with former staff members to create the first, full history of the Homer G. Phillips Hospital. She also brings new facts and insights into the life and mysterious murder (still an unsolved case) of the hospital’s namesake, a pioneering Black attorney and civil rights activist who led the effort to build the sorely needed medical facility in the Ville neighborhood.

Youth participation is not an end in itself, but a means of achieving positive changes in young people’s lives and of building better democratic societies. Participation is a fundamental human right recognised, among others, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Participation is also a core principle of human rights and is a condition for effective democratic citizenship for all people. The aim of the Council of Europe’s youth policy is to provide young people with equal opportunities and experience which enable them to develop the knowledge, skills and competencies to play a full part in all aspects of society. Youth participation is at the core of youth policy in the Council of Europe, which includes co-management as a form of sharing power with youth representatives. Youth participation is promoted across the various sectors of the Council of Europe. The revised European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Local and Regional Life, adopted in May 2003 by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, is a standard-setting instrument for youth participation. It supports young people, youth workers, youth organisations and local authorities in promoting and enhancing meaningful youth participation at local and regional level across Europe. The manual “Have your say!” was produced to support local and regional authorities, youth organisations and young people who want to give young people a real say for a meaningful democratic youth participation. According to the Charter, participation is about having the right, the means, the space and the opportunity and, where necessary, the support to participate in and influence decisions and engage in actions and activities so as to contribute to building of a better society. The manual “Have your say!” is an educational and practical tool to support all those committed to making that right a reality for more young people in the Council of Europe member states.

The second edition of this award-winning reference provides step-by-step instructions for establishing and maturing a project management office (PMO). Concise and easy to read, The Strategic Project Office, Second Edition covers the four primary areas of knowledge and practice regarding the PMO: governance and portfolio management, resource optimiz

Projects for Calculus is designed to add depth and meaning to any calculus course. The fifty-two projects presented in this text offer the opportunity to expand the use and understanding of mathematics. The wide range of topics will appeal to both instructors and students. Shorter, less demanding projects can be managed by the independent learner, while more involved, in-depth projects may be used for group learning. Each task draws on special mathematical topics and applications from subjects including medicine, engineering, economics, ecology, physics, and biology. Subjects including: Medicine, Engineering, Economics, Ecology, Physics, Biology