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How generative AI systems capture a core function of language Looking at the emergence of generative AI, Language Machines presents…
a new theory of meaning in language and computation, arguing that humanistic scholarship misconstrues how large language models (LLMs) function. Seeing LLMs as a convergence of computation and language, Leif Weatherby contends that AI does not simulate cognition, as widely believed, but rather creates culture. This evolution in language, he finds, is one that we are ill-prepared to evaluate, as what he terms &“remainder humanism&” counterproductively divides the human from the machine without drawing on established theories of representation that include both. To determine the consequences of using AI for language generation, Weatherby reads linguistic theory in conjunction with the algorithmic architecture of LLMs. He finds that generative AI captures the ways in which language is at first complex, cultural, and poetic, and only later referential, functional, and cognitive. This process is the semiotic hinge on which an emergent AI culture depends. Weatherby calls for a &“general poetics&” of computational cultural forms under the formal conditions of the algorithmic reproducibility of language. Locating the output of LLMs on a spectrum from poetry to ideology, Language Machines concludes that literary theory must be the backbone of a new rhetorical training for our linguistic-computational culture.
Igniting political power through the lens of art and the imaginationPostpolitics and the Aesthetic Imagination investigates the erosion of meaningful…
political action in today&’s world. Gathering writings from an array of scholars, editor Juan Meneses asks: can an aesthetic theory of postpolitics help us understand and counteract the most insidious processes of depoliticization? The contributors to this volume explore how the aesthetic imagination can play a crucial role in reenvisioning key political elements, including governance, agency, rights, and responsibility. With a survey of various artistic mediums—film, dance, music, literature, and digital media—the essays illustrate how the aesthetic can reveal ways to breathe new life into the work of emancipatory politics. Reclaiming the arts and humanities as vital to political life, the contributors revisit but also move beyond the social sciences&’ central focus on neoliberalism and public administration to address other topics such as tech-capitalism, race, environmental violence, and patriarchy. Postpolitics and the Aesthetic Imagination argues for a conscious deployment of aesthetics to resist political anesthesia and promote a more just society, underscoring the role of the imagination in political engagement and change. Contributors: Jacquelyn Arcy, U of Wisconsin–Parkside; Christopher Breu, Illinois State U; Stephen Charbonneau, Florida Atlantic U; Eric Lemmon, Webster U; Robert P. Marzec, Purdue U; Allison Page, Rutgers U–Camden; Matthew Scully, U of Lausanne; Erik Swyngedouw, U of Manchester; Sherryl Vint, U of California, Riverside.
Uncovering the spirit of freedom and self-determination in New Orleans In Under a Black Star, Amari Johnson explores what he…
defines as the &“maroon impulse&” among the BlackStar Community in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans. This community sought autonomy for Black people facing systemic marginalization through denied employment, insufficient education, and a housing crisis following Hurricane Katrina, establishing initiatives such as Kamali Academy, a homeschool collective, and BlackStar Books and Caffé, a bookstore and gathering place. Instead of appealing to the city, they built the community they desired by employing legacies of marronage: disengagement, flight, and reengagement. An active participant in the physical and ideological development of these autonomous spaces, Johnson provides nuanced insights into the community&’s work toward liberation and self-determination. Demonstrating that marronage is a cultural tradition throughout the African Diaspora, he focuses on the transtemporal maroon process to show how it is central to the pursuit of autonomy, community, and freedom. From the swamps of southeastern Louisiana, across urban obstacles, and into BlackStar&’s creative spaces, Johnson&’s path leads him to ask: How did the New Orleans community mobilize the tradition of marronage to create autonomous spaces amid gentrification? What forms might the maroon impulse take in the twenty-first century? This dynamic ethnographic memoir ultimately illuminates marronage as a potent form of liberatory potential, offering strategies for similar communities across the country and around the world.
A poetics for reading the everyday objects that populate a hard drive Bespoke online archives like PennSound and Eclipse host…
an astounding array of &“old media&” artifacts, posing a handcrafted counterpoint to the immense databases aggregated by digital titans like Google and Facebook. In The Little Database, Daniel Scott Snelson argues for the significance of these comparatively &“small&” collections, exploring how digital archives dramatically transform the artifacts they host and how they might help us better understand our own private collections in turn. Examining curated collections such as Textz, UbuWeb, and the Electronic Poetry Center, Snelson explores media-specific works by poets and artists, including William Carlos Williams, Tracie Morris, bill bissett, Nam June Paik, and Vicki Bennett. He develops creative tools and contingent methods for reading cultural data, whether found on the internet or in our own collections of TXT, JPG, MP3, and MOV artifacts, presenting case studies to show how these objects have come to find revised meaning in their digital contexts. Along the way, experimental poetic interludes give readers practical entry points into the creative practice of producing new meanings in any given little database. Inventive and interdisciplinary, The Little Database grapples with the digitized afterlives of cultural objects, showing how the past is continually reconfigured to shape the present. It invites readers to find playful and personal means for unpacking their own data collections, in the process discovering idiosyncratic ways to explore and connect with digital archives. Retail e-book files for this title are screen-reader friendly with images accompanied by short alt text and/or extended descriptions.
The bestselling guide on empowering introverted leaders to thrive in an extroverted world.Now updated with 20% new content, including strategies…
for remote and hybrid workplaces.In this expanded third edition of the bestselling The Introverted Leader, Jennifer Kahnweiler equips introverted leaders with essential tools for success in an extrovert-centric business world. With over 120,000 copies sold across multiple languages, this timely update addresses the evolving needs of introverted leaders, including in navigating remote and hybrid work environments such as:• Navigating the challenges of Zoom calls• Getting noticed when working remotely• Applying innovative meeting techniques for engaging introvertsKahnweiler's proven four-step strategy based on lessons from thousands of introverted leaders-Prepare, Presence, Push, and Practice-provides a concrete framework for introverts to leverage their natural strengths and overcome challenges in key areas such as public speaking, project management, and networking. The book includes:• Practical applications of the 4 Ps approach in six crucial workplace scenarios• A new chapter on leading effectively in remote and hybrid spaces• The "Quiet Wrap-Up Journal" An action-oriented study guide for ongoing development• Customized hiring and coaching strategies for introvertsDrawing from extensive research and over 100 interviews, Kahnweiler demonstrates how introversion can be a leadership asset, particularly in listening and written communication. This essential guide empowers introverted leaders to embrace their authentic selves while advancing their careers and making meaningful contributions to their organizations.
The strange and contested evolution of the management of banking riskBanks in America are private institutions with private shareholders, boards…
of directors, profit motives, customers, and competitors. And yet the public plays a key role in deciding what risks are taken as well as how, when, and to what end. Public-private negotiations over financial governance has evolved into an essential ecosystem of banking risk management. In Private Finance, Public Power, Peter Conti-Brown and Sean Vanatta offer a new history of finance and public policy in the United States by examining the idiosyncratic way the nation manages financial risk across the public-private divide. Covering two centuries, from the founding of the Republic to the early 1980s, Conti-Brown and Vanatta describe the often-contested, sometimes chaotic, engagement of bankers, politicians, bureaucrats, and others in the overlapping spaces of the public-private system of bank supervision.Conti-Brown and Vanatta trace the different supervisory frameworks that evolved over time, from the imposition of private liability on bank shareholders to the development of the central bank to the creation of federal deposit insurance. Negotiations took place at federal and state levels, but, over time, the federal government assumed most of the responsibility for managing financial risk. Moreover, federal supervisory officials began to undertake more varied tasks, including monitoring racial discrimination and managing financial concentration. Conti-Brown and Vanatta introduce a diverse cast of characters—bankers, politicians, bureaucrats, and others—and show how they navigated two hundred years of financial panics, scandals, and crises to build the system that structures modern America&’s banking system.
For fans of Terri Parlato's All the Dark Places and Kate Alice Marshall's What Lies in the Woods, a suspenseful…
mystery set in the heart of New Orleans, where an ex-FBI agent confronts crime, chaos, and dark secrets.In the colorful chaos of New Orleans, Chase Harlem has three essentials for happiness: her trusted red Converse, a reliable taser, and a good sense of humor to survive it all. All she wants is a simple life – morning jogs in cemeteries, jazz that soothes the soul, and enough quirky cases to pay the bills without summoning her FBI past. But when a priest waltzes into her office with a divine mandate to crack a grisly double homicide involving an LSU football star and his actress girlfriend, Chase's plans for peace get thrown out like last week's gumbo, especially when the priest's estranged son lands square in the NOPD's crosshairs. With her best friend, a "maybe" boyfriend, and a teenage neighbor who's too curious for her own good, Chase dives headfirst into a case that reminds her why she took up drinking in the first place. From jazz joints to voodoo shops, Chase Harlem's escapades through the Big Easy are a mix of mayhem and mirth as she juggles clues, cocktails, and the occasional alligator. Can she crack the case before it cracks her, or will she end up as the city's next ghost tour attraction? In this puzzle through the Crescent City, author Elise Burke Brown serves up a gumbo of mystery, mischief, and a side of sass that'll leave readers thinking of the story long after the final page turns.
In early Spring of 2022, the author boarded a 52-foot sailboat to cross the Atlantic with a close friend and…
a captain and sailor he did not know.From the start of the 2,600-mile trip, from St. Martin in the Caribbean to the Azores off Portugal, things went awry— with the captain, the boat, the weather and, most precipitously, the author&’s state of mind. As a recreational sailor with no experience of being out of sight of land, the author&’s darkest fears materialized as the small crew sailed through squalls then gales and, finally, a tropical storm with near-hurricane force winds. In Crossing, Glyn Vincent explores why he ventured into the middle of the ocean in the first place, and how he first fell in love with the sea. He describes his unsettled childhood in New York City, his parents&’ tabloid existence (his mother was the Broadway and television actress Betsy von Furstenberg) and the itinerant, unstable lives of his grandparents and great-grandparents, whose troubled history goes back on his mother&’s side to a Gothic castle in Germany and on his father&’s side to an orphanage in Alexandria, Egypt, and a massacre in Damascus in 1860. In the end, this enthralling memoir is as much about the storm Vincent inherited and harbored within, as it is about the one he encountered at sea.
INSPIRATION FOR HOW TO CREATE A LIFE OF PURPOSE, NO WOMAN LEFT BEHIND IS THE UNLIKELY STORY OF HOW ONE…
WOMAN LEAVES MADISON AVENUE AND TACKLES THE GLOBAL MATERNAL HEALTH CRISIS HEAD ON—PREFACED BY A POWERFUL FOREWORD BY BEST-SELLING AUTHOR ABRAHAM VERGHESE. 2025 International Book Award Winner in Autobiography/Memoir &“In this rousing debut, Grant demonstrates how the faith and actions of a small group of people can save the world.&”—BookLife Reviews, Editor&’s Pick &“A call to action for compassionate advocates, and a stunning tale of how deeds triumph over platitudes.&”—Dr. Denis Mukwege, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize The day a woman gives birth is also the day she is most likely to die or suffer severe injury—a sobering reality that comes into sharp focus when Kate Grant visits the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia&’s capital. There, she sees row after row of beds occupied by young women afflicted with obstetric fistula, a childbirth injury that leaves them incontinent and too often shunned by their communities, modern-day lepers. She soon learns that surgery is the only way to end their suffering. In No Woman Left Behind, Grant recounts her decision to abandon a promising advertising career, and the ups and downs of building Silicon Valley–based Fistula Foundation from a modest start-up into the global leader in fistula treatment. Through vivid firsthand accounts of surgeons toiling in remote corners of Africa and Asia, we see inside the fight to restore hope to some of the world&’s most vulnerable women. A compassionate army of donors spanning nearly 70 countries makes such life-changing care possible. Grant demonstrates the profound power of individual action to change lives at scale, since Fistula Foundation takes no government money. No Woman Left Behind is a compelling personal journey and a how-to guide for anyone looking to make a lasting difference in the lives of others. 100% of the net proceeds received by Fistula Foundation from this audiobook will be made available by the Fistula Foundation to Fistula Foundation.
The Devil Wears Rothko charts the explosive demise of Knoedler Gallery, one of New York&’s oldest and most prestigious art…
galleries, with detailed and salacious insight into the art fraud scandal of the century.The Devil Wears Rothko charts the explosive demise of Knoedler Gallery, one of New York&’s oldest and most prestigious art galleries, with detailed and salacious insight into the art fraud scandal of the century. From the moment an eccentric woman walked into the Knoedler Gallery with a Mark Rothko painting, everyone was fooled. For the next ten years, she ran an $80 million forgery ring, selling or consigning forty expertly crafted counterfeits claimed to be the works of Robert Motherwell, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and others. Director of the acclaimed documentary Made You Look (2020) streamed on Netflix, Barry Avrich reveals new information, evidence, and inside stories about how a quixotic art dealer, master forger, and two cunning con artists managed to fool billionaire art collectors, journalists, and esteemed art appraisers. By the time the house of cards finally fell, the Knoedler Gallery and a dozen collectors had been tricked into buying over $80 million in fake art. Could it happen again? The Devil Wears Rothko exposes the art world as a fragile system of relationships vulnerable to manipulation by the most captivating artists of our time: con artists.
Indulge your inner collector with this in-universe auction catalog of some of Marvel comics&’ most notable and tantalizing items, including…
Captain America&’s shield, a Loki-commissioned Mjolnir, Deadpool&’s katanas, Professor Charles Xavier&’s hoverchair, and over 60 more!Welcome to a once-in-a-lifetime exclusive auction of exceptional documents, rare mystic artifacts, powerful weapons, and technological wonders from across the Marvel Comics universe. This lushly illustrated catalog of Pinkerton Auction House&’s presentation of The A.I.M. Collection: Artifacts, Memorabilia, and Ephemera from Across the Universe offers collectors from Earth-616—and beyond—the chance to own a part of history. Whether you&’re an avid collector, an admirer of beauty, or a seeker of historic artifacts . . . a scientific genius, a motivated mutant, or a megalomaniac bent on world domination . . . you can bid on a treasure trove of highly coveted items including: A set of Green Goblin pumpkin bombs (mint in box) A vial of Pym particles The Fantasti-Car MK-II A set of Hawkeye&’s arrows A Hellfire Trading Company Membership (proof of mutancy required) Dr. Yao&’s original recipe Symbiote Inhibitor Doctor Doom&’s doombot (made in Latveria of genuine Latverian parts) Moon Girl&’s roller skates A statue of Khonshu An exclusive Wakandan gift set Bidders are encouraged to carefully review all stipulations, conditions, descriptions, and additional item-specific terms, disclaimers, and caveats before bidding. Bidders participate at their own risk. Participation in this auction serves as an acceptance of all cookies and as a permanent non-revocable opt-in for any and all future physical, electronic, psychic, psionic, and other Pinkerton or A.I.M. marketing and solicitations, in this and any known or unknown universe, until your death but fully transferable to any resurrections, clones, duplicates, variants, doppelgangers, or time-traveling counterparts.
Curate your sexual reality and disrupt everything you think you know about sex with this bewitching guidebook for better intimacy…
Learning how to tap into your sexual power first requires an undoing. From New York Times bestselling author Dr. Laura Berman, Sex Magic shows readers how to challenge their beliefs about their sexuality, their self-worth, and their potential for healing, meaningful intimacy. In this innovative, ultra-modern guide, Dr. Berman reveals a refreshing new way of approaching pleasure. Combining metaphysical wisdom with practical tips, Sex Magic will gently steer readers to bring excitement back into the bedroom. From deepening your orgasmic potential to building a sexual connection with your partner, Dr. Berman uses her 30+ years of experience as a sex therapist to empower readers to stop settling for &“good enough&” sex. You have the power to create the sex life you&’ve always wanted. In Sex Magic, Dr. Berman shares techniques and exercises that teach you how to: Connect to your energetic body to master the pleasure that is available to you Confidently create deeper arousal and pleasure in yourself and your partner Build more sexual energy and desire within and between you and another Apply accessible strategies for improving emotional and physical intimacy Remove the blocks of trauma and inhibition standing in the way of maximum pleasure Move pleasurable sensations throughout your body to achieve mind-blowing orgasms Use ancient techniques for sexual healing and manifesting your dreams Are you ready for your sexual awakening? Call beautiful, sensual love into your life, turn up the sexual intensity in your relationship, and create the reality you desire—in and out of the bedroom.
&“A compelling, radical exploration of psychedelics&’ healing potential.&”—Kirkus Reviews• Explains how psychedelic experiences offer a way to reconnect with the…
body, reclaim pleasure, rekindle joy, and reawaken to love• Explores how psychedelics can support our sexual healing and offers a range of psychedelic integration techniques and somatic exercises to help release trauma and foster insight• Shares recent research on trauma and case studies from more than a decade of professional clinical work as well as lessons from the author&’s own healing journey from sexual trauma and PTSDIn this groundbreaking book, psychotherapist and psychedelic integration expert Dee Dee Goldpaugh shows how the profound healing and restorative effects of psychedelics can help us heal our sexuality, reconnect with pleasure, find wholeness, and feel good again.Sharing recent research on trauma and case studies from more than a decade of professional clinical work, Goldpaugh explores specific ways psychedelics can heal sexual trauma, enhance sexual pleasure, and deepen our interpersonal connections. Goldpaugh looks at MDMA, psilocybin, ayahuasca, mescaline, 5-MeO-DMT, and other psychedelics and offers a range of integration techniques as well as somatic exercises to help foster insight and apply the lessons learned during psychedelic experiences to everyday life. Goldpaugh also examines the methodology behind psychedelic-assisted therapy and how readers can safely navigate risks and explore their own healing at home.Revealing the transformative power of embracing pleasure for healing sexual trauma, this book provides an essential guide to psychedelic sexuality as a path to healing and love.
Stop holding yourself back and make a powerful impact by taking control of your life and transforming your mindset around…
health, relationships, and successGrowth doesn't happen overnight; it's a choice. You must wake up every day and choose growth. These decisions compound over time, and with ruthless consistency, the outcomes are life-changing. Whether training for a marathon, leading a family, or starting a business, being intentional with everything we do is essential for success. Nick Bare shares a simple philosophy for helping people tap into the clarity and resolve they need to keep progressing: go one more. This action is applied to our lives and the outcomes we experience. As simple as it may seem, it is not easy. And if it were easy, everyone would do it. Loaded with manifestos, prompts, and curated advice from Nick's previous podcast guests and mentors, Go One More will help you to: Understand where you need to focus your time, energy, and resources to clarify your mission Unpack the doubts and fears robbing you of joy—and cultivate confidence Embrace challenging moments and lean into hard times Cope with unexpected interruptions and thrive during life transitions Build routines and create boundaries to prevent burnout and prioritize what matters most Go One More is not just another self-help book; it's a transformative mindset that will revolutionize every aspect of your life. Embrace the 'go one more' philosophy and turn your aspirations into reality, paving the way for the life you've dreamed of but previously lacked the intentional decision-making ability to achieve it.
This two part-volume CCIS constitutes the refereed proceedings of 9th International Conference, ICMLSC 2025, in Tokyo, Japan in January 24–26,…
2025. The 39 full papers and 13 short papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 121 submissions. They follow the topical sections as below: Part I : Multimodal Data Analysis and Model Optimization; Basic Theories of Machine Learning and Emerging Application Technologies; and Intelligent Recommendation System Design and Privacy Security. Part II : Deep Learning Models and High-performance Computing; Data-driven Complex System Modeling and Intelligent Optimization Algorithms; and Image Analysis and Processing Methods based on AI.
This book presents a comprehensive range of topics in deep learning for polymer discovery, from fundamental concepts to advanced methodologies.…
These topics are crucial as they address critical challenges in polymer science and engineering. With a growing demand for new materials with specific properties, traditional experimental methods for polymer discovery are becoming increasingly time-consuming and costly. Deep learning offers a promising solution by enabling rapid screening of potential polymers and accelerating the design process. The authors begin with essential knowledge on polymer data representations and neural network architectures, then progress to deep learning frameworks for property prediction and inverse polymer design. The book then explores both sequence-based and graph-based approaches, covering various neural network types including LSTMs, GRUs, GCNs, and GINs. Advanced topics include interpretable graph deep learning with environment-based augmentation, semi-supervised techniques for addressing label imbalance, and data-centric transfer learning using diffusion models. The book aims to solve key problems in polymer discovery, including accurate property prediction, efficient design of polymers with desired characteristics, model interpretability, handling imbalanced and limited labeled data, and leveraging unlabeled data to improve prediction accuracy.
Solar energy is considered one of the most important forms of renewable energy. Silicon solar cells are commonly used in…
the photovoltaic industry, but their higher production costs and complicated fabrication processes make them less affordable. Various other technologies, such as perovskite solar cells and dye-sensitized solar cells, are also emerging. Among these, perovskite solar cells are promising type of solar cells, offering comparable efficiency to that of silicon solar cells, at significantly lower costs. However, one of the drawbacks of perovskite solar cells is their relatively short lifespan, which limits their applications. Researchers are actively working to improve both the lifetime and efficiency of perovskite solar cells. This book begins by covering the basics of solar energy and the principles and different types of solar cells. The focus is then put on perovskite solar cells, how they work, their advantages and challenges, and what sets them apart from other solar cells. Device fabrication techniques and recent advancements in the field are discusses next, finishing up with a look into the future of solar cell technology.
This book employs a systematic and multi-faceted approach to explore China's coal consumption, emissions, and its development model. The book…
first provides an overview of the global and Chinese energy consumption trends and mix, with a particular focus on the position and role of coal. Through comparative analysis, it clarifies the importance of coal in global and Chinese energy security. It details the environmental problems arising from coal consumption, especially carbon dioxide and other harmful gas emissions, and their impacts on global climate change and human health. By collecting and analyzing extensive data, such as coal consumption volumes and carbon dioxide emission levels, the book presents the historical trends and current status of China's coal consumption and emissions. The book conducts comparative study on China and global policies related to coal consumption control and clean energy development, providing insights and lessons for China. It explores the development model of technologies such as clean and efficient coal utilization, renewable energy, and carbon capture and storage (CCS), assessing their potential to reduce coal consumption and emissions.
The indie video game industry attracts an enormous amount of enthusiasm and curiosity, blending cutting edge tech, a creative industries…
environment and a certain rebellious energy. It is idealised as a world where creative and technical ability is given free reign and can yield enormous financial and reputational rewards. But what is it really like to enter and work in this space? And how do the universal aspects of organisation, including teamwork, leadership and competition, manifest in this unique environment? By embedding himself in just such a hub, the author was able to explore the experiences and interactions of ten indie game companies, four mentors, various funders, and two interns over a one-year period. The narrative is structured around six critical events: the introduction of newcomers, change in organizational rules, departure of a dominant social actor, self-inflicted crisis, introduction of a powerful manager, and external crisis. A process view shows how these events can hinder or accelerate creative production. Going beyond success stories or failure statistics, this book analyses the organizational and entrepreneurial strength of this approach, which combines aspects of the incubator and accelerator models for start-up development. At its heart though, this book attempts to give a fleshed out and analytical picture of what it is really like to work in the indie video game industry and offers practical lessons for indie-game developers.
This book examines the impact of demographic decline on digital innovation in the public sector. Utilizing data from Italian municipalities,…
it provides quantitative and qualitative analyses to reveal the negative impact of demographic decline on digital innovation, which presents a unique challenge for policymakers seeking to foster technological advances in a shrinking, ageing society. This book also investigates the roles of macro-level social, economic, demographic, and administrative factors in the innovation of public organizations. By highlighting these broader demographic dynamics, this book challenges existing theories of public sector innovation, urging greater attention to slow-moving external factors as critical drivers of long-term innovation strategies.