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 Angela McRobbie, "The Uses of Cultural Studies: A Textbook" English | ISBN: 1412908450 | 2005 | 224 pages | PDF | 1170 KB ′What McRobbie manages to do so skilfully is to show how each [author], regardless of his or her particular disciplinary location, makes a significant contribution to the project of cultural studies. It should be essential reading for students studying culture′ - THES
 The Upholstery Bible: Complete Step-by-Step Techniques for Professional Results by Cherry Dobson English | October 30th, 2020 | ISBN: 1446308294 | 144 pages | True EPUB | 231.93 MB A complete resource for furniture upholstering, regardless of your abilities, with easy-to-follow, illustrated instructions explaining all the essential upholstery techniques, from covering buttons to stripping and upholstering entire chairs. Build your skills at your own pace, with advice on the basics such as choosing materials and tools for the job and estimating yardage, as well as more complex upholstering techniques. It features invaluable advice on what to look for when buying second hand furniture, teaching you what's fixable and what's not as well as how to avoid costly mistakes by choosing the right stitches, and techniques and textiles for the job.
 The Ultimate Unofficial Encyclopedia for Minecrafters: Aquatic: An A-Z Guide to the Mysteries of the Deep by Megan Miller English | November 5, 2019 | ISBN: 1510747273 | 200 pages | PDF | 124 Mb From theNew York Timesbestselling author ofHacks for Minecrafterscomes a whole new encyclopedia on the underwater world of Minecraft!  The Uke Book Illustrated: Design and Build the World's Coolest Ukulele by John Weissenrieder English | June 11th, 2019 | ISBN: 1497100070 | 248 pages | True EPUB | 107.43 MB In this beautifully illustrated book, a master luthier and a painter tell their story of the creation of a musical instrument.
 The Turnout Myth : Voting Rates and Partisan Outcomes in American National Elections by Daron R. Shaw and John R. Petrocik  The Triumph of Sociobiology By John Alcock 2001 | 268 Pages | ISBN: 0195143833 | PDF | 21 MB First let me say that I found this book interesting and convincing; I considered giving it 5 stars.Second, let me say that if you are looking at this book because you read the highly popular book "Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea" and you are hoping that this similarly named book is similar in presentation and content, beware -- it is not. Carl Zimmer's book on evolution is a beautifully illustrated, highly readable book for the masses; this book is not. If you are not already well-versed on the mechanics of evolution, or for some reason can't accept them, then it seems unlikely that you will truly understand this book.Third, I consider the title of this book slightly inappropriate for the book's content. Better titles might be- In Defense of Sociobiology- Sociobiology: the Maligned ScienceA constant theme throughout the book is that detractors of sociobiology have judged the discipline unfairly. Alcock makes an excellent case for this, particularly in the chapter near the end on practical applications of the discipline. Still, this is probably the most defensive book I have ever read -- quite a lot of text is devoted to what opponents of sociobiology say and why they are wrong, so understand what this book is: a defense of the discipline in the face of harsh, even abusive criticism. Of course, Alcock explains a lot about sociobiology in the process of defending it.If you're OK with that, and you have the appropriate background and interest to read about how natural selection appears to have shaped the behavioral mechanisms of birds and beetles, then you will find this a good read.The controversy over sociobiology is evident in discussions about why some men rape women. Sociobiology explores, via the scientific method, the possibility that there could be a genetic influence -- i.e. that in our ancient ancestral males, genes that increased the likelihood of rape might have been more likely to be passed on to future generations. The problem many people have with this is that they feel that an argument that there is anything in our genome which would contribute to the likelihood of a man raping a woman is in effect a justification of rape, a declaration that rape is natural and therefore morally excusable. Alcock does an excellent job of dealing with this subject in his chapter on practical applications, and in fact turns the tables by explaining the harm in pretending that there is no such influence if in fact there is.Alcock makes repeated mention of "blank slate theorists" -- those who believe that the human brain is not genetically predisposed to any behavior, instead being "programmed" by its environment. To me it seems incredible that anyone could think that humans are exempt from genetic influences on behavior.Take human obesity, for example. In the environment of our ancient (pre-human, no doubt) ancestors, it was a highly useful adaptation to be able to detect the presence of sugars and fats in vegetable matter and to preferentially eat such tissues. It is easy to imagine how individuals with such genes would be more likely to survive to pass on their genes.Fast-forward to the 21st century, when we are less active physically but have stores chock full of foods with very high concentrations of fats and sugars. Our taste buds direct us to such foods. The result? -- maladaptive behavior, poor eating habits that lead to obesity, diabetes, and a host of other problems. Isn't it clear... - that genes influence our behavior? - that those influences may be maladaptive in the modern environment? - that genomic influences on our behavior do not imply moral correctness?If you were trying to combat obesity in the population through education, would you shy away from talking about these genetic contributions for fear that people would consider it natural and good to eat lots of sugars and fats? Or would you help people understand these tendencies in hopes that they would understand that what feels good is not necessarily good for them and ultimately exercise more control in their dietary choices?And given that human reproductive systems come online at about age 13 but many modern cultures don't condone sex at that age, would acknowledging that there is a genetic basis for sexual desire at that age effectively condone teenage sex and make it more rampant? Should we deny that there is any such genetic foundation, instead treating teenage sexual desire as a cultural artifact -- the "in thing" -- so as not to imply its moral correctness? Would that help?I'm making up these examples and I'm not a sociobiologist, so take them with a grain of salt, but hopefully they illustrate the point: what would it mean if there were genetic influences that contribute to behaviors that we consider objectionable?This book, for those with sufficient background, is a good treatment of sociobiology itself and the controversy around it.
 The Terrestrialization Process: Modelling Complex Interactions at the Biosphere-Geosphere Interface (Geological Society Special Publication 339) by M. Vecoli, G. Clément, B. Meyer-Berthaud English | ISBN 10: 1862393095 | 2010 | PDF | 192 pages | 3,8 MB The invasion of the land by plants (terrestrialization) was one of the most significant evolutionary events in the history of life on Earth, and correlates in time with periods of major palaeoenvironmental perturbations.  The Templars and their Sources (Crusades - Subsidia) by Karl Borchardt, Karoline Döring, Philippe Josserand, Helen J Nicholson 2017 | ISBN: 1138201901 | English | 420 pages | EPUB | 5 MB Even 700 years after the suppression of the Order of the Temple and the execution of the last grandmaster, Jacques de Molay, there is no shortage of publications on this influential military order. Yet unlike other medieval institutions the Templars are subject to speculative fiction and popular myth which threaten to swamp the fruits of scholarly endeavour. Fortunately, recent years have produced a thriving academic scholarship which is challenging these myths. More and more sources are currently being edited, particularly those for the trial of the Templars (1307-1312). Others are still awaiting indepth study, among them, surprisingly, the greater part of the charters that cover more than 150 years of the Order's history.  Peter Kosta, "The Syntax of Meaning and the Meaning of Syntax: Minimal Computations and Maximal Derivations in a Label-/Phase-Driven Generative Grammar of Radical Minimalism" English | ISBN: 3631671326 | 2020 | 372 pages | PDF | 13 MB This book provides a summary of Radical Minimalism, putting forth a neurocognitively implementable theory of grammar as I-language. Radical Minimalism tries to give a 'fully explicit' description of syntactic structures mapped into cognitive frames of thought. It focuses on the division of labor between Narrow Syntax and Meaningful Units of the sentence and also on the role of Mental Lexicon (understood as a selection of Roots and Labels), the Labeling Mechanism, and the participation of the Senso-Motoric and Conceptual-Intentional Interfaces within a Crash-proof Grammar of Human Language. The data are taken from the languages of different genetic origins and types. The book is based on the idea that language and thought are closely connected and must be studied within the physical laws of the Anti-Entropy and Dynamical Frustration theory.  Robert Grayson, "The Story of Aftermath Entertainment " English | ISBN: 1422221105 | 2012 | pages | PDF | 2 MB Each title in this series focuses on a major music label that specializes in hip-hop, R&B, or urban music. The books provide the history behind the music label's creation and tell the story of its growth and development, while also providing biographical information about the label's biggest stars and their major releases. |
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