New Releases by Milena

Putting a Witcher twist on family life, this delightful collection of comics features Geralt of Rivia as your average monster-slaying dad, trying to raise young Ciri to be a good kid while teaching her all about life as a witcher—a perfect gift for parents and The Witcher fans of all ages. Young Ciri''s extensive training at Kaer Morhen, the witchers'' stronghold, includes everything she needs to learn to survive the many threats in her world . . . as well as all the antics and fun of a little girl bonding with her adoptive dad and family. With help from Geralt and Ciri''s closest companions—including the motherly magic of Yennefer of Vengerberg and the wisdom of uncle Vesemir—these adorable tales of a non-traditional family will make you laugh, make you sigh, and make you realize that raising a Little Witcher is not that different from raising any other kid. Sure, bedtime stories might include warnings of monsters who fart when surprised, and Geralt might invoke the Witcher Code to get Ciri to brush her teeth or clean her room, but even the formidable White Wolf knows to surrender when it comes to bedtime battles or Afternoon Tea with the toys. The Little Witcher is perfect for: The Witcher fans raising little Ciris of their own Readers who believe in the power of chosen families Baby showers (don’t forget Dad!) Father’s Day or Mother’s Day gifts Players looking for a light-hearted twist on their favorite game Families who like cute, magical comics The Witcher fans looking to spend more time in Kaer Morhen

This book navigates the complexities of local real estate taxation in the dynamic region of Central and Eastern Europe, providing a meticulous analysis of the diverse approaches taken across the region. From Poland to Hungary, Romania to the Czech Republic, this book explores the historical roots and evolution of local real estate tax, its importance in municipal fiscal policy and its impact on communities. This book analyses the motives and models used by municipal authorities in their calculations around real estate tax and considers whether they are primarily a fiscal tool, related to budget revenues, or stimulants for future growth aimed at boosting local socio‐economic development. It also explores whether municipalities compete with neighbouring entities on taxation and the extent to which the political cycle and the meeting of voter demands and expectations play a role. This book will be of great interest to readers in public economics and finance, taxation policy and law, local government and the CEE region more broadly. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

This book is a collection of texts written by researchers from the Intercultural Studies in Performing Arts research group from 2020 to 2023. In the texts, the authors analyse video performances created in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, both authored by themselves as well as by colleagues, encouraging a discussion about remote creative processes in performing arts mediated by videos. The project also involves a partnership between researchers from India and Brazil in the context of arts research.

A chance encounter. An unforgettable night. And back home, trouble is brewing on the remote island of Three Dragons, where nothing feels like it used to. Alone and lonely, Sam Threadneedle wishes upon a star, hoping for change. But when said change comes, it''s with a roar and not a whimper. Torn between loyalty and lust, Sam is forced to reevaluate everything. Can she and the Home of Dragons withstand the storm that is Magdalene Nox, or will any and all crumble? Not everything is as it seems, and as she slowly unravels the mysteries behind the centuries-old walls, Sam realizes that home is much more than oak and stone. Contains mature themes.

This book is a collective journal of the COVID-19 pandemic. With first-hand accounts of the pandemic as it unfolded, it explores the social and the political through the lens of the outbreak. Featuring contributors located in India, the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Bulgaria, the book presents us with simultaneous multiple histories of our time. The volume documents the beginning of social distancing and lockdown measures adopted by countries around the world and analyses how these bore upon prevailing social conditions in specific locations. It presents the authors’ personal observations in a lucid conversational style as they reflect on themes such as the reorganization of political debates and issues, the experience of the marginalized, theodicy, government policy responses, and shifts into digital space under lockdown, all of these under an overarching narrative of the healthcare and economic crisis facing the world. A unique and engaging contribution, this book will be useful to students and researchers of sociology, public health, political economy, public policy, and comparative politics. It will also appeal to general readers interested in pandemic literature.

The Zero Waste Shop Revolution by Milena Glimbovski - founder of Germany’s first zero waste shop – is the story of a woman who made a difference. In 2014, Milena Glimbovski had the bold idea to open a plastic-free supermarket "Original Unverpackt". At the time, the idea felt like a long shot. Many years, TED talks, successes, and failures later, Milena Glimbovski has arisen as an icon in the global zero waste movement. In her book, she talks of her experiences, the zero waste movement, and each recipe, trick, and life-hack she learned on her journey. The journey is inspiring and its telling is both sincere and scathingly funny. “There is a better way” ‘’If you’re currently sitting at home, in lockdown, tired of skipping through reruns of your favorite shows, and wondering how you can make a difference; do yourself a favor and read this book’’

Orthodoxy has achieved a large scale revival in Russia following the collapse of Communism. However, paradoxically, although there is a high level of identification with Orthodoxy, there is in fact a low level of church attendance. This book, based on in depth ethnographic fieldwork, explores the social background and moral attitudes of the "little flock" of believers who actively participate in religious life. It reveals that the complex moral beliefs of the faithful have a disproportionately high impact on Russian society overall; that among the faithful there is a strong emphasis on striving for personal perfection; but that also there are strong collective ideas concerning religious nationalism and the synergy between the secular and the religious.

This book highlights Belgrade, reviewing its recent and historical developments and emphasizing its major ongoing planning projects. The book is divided into eight chapters. The first, entitled The urban, political and socioeconomic rise and fall of Belgrade through its history, introduces the reader to the city, and is followed by a chapter on Belgrade’s urban plans through history. The book continues with a chapter on one of the major urban projects in the former Yugoslavia, the construction of New Belgrade, its development and results, entitled New Belgrade: from no man’s land to modern city. In turn, the following three chapters explore three dominant contemporary topics: Belgrade’s riverfront redevelopment; Reimaging Belgrade: the case of Savamala; and Sustainable Belgrade. Expansion of the pedestrian zone in the city center. The book draws to a close with a chapter on Future predictions: South-Eastern European metropolis of the 21st century. This chapter in particular discusses large city projects and includes predictions about the city’s future.

This book is about Croats coming in Balkan Peninsula, their fight to survive, and family revenge.

Discerning Experts assesses the assessments that many governments rely on to help guide environmental policy and action. Through their close look at environmental assessments involving acid rain, ozone depletion, and sea level rise, the authors explore how experts deliberate and decide on the scientific facts about problems like climate change. They also seek to understand how the scientists involved make the judgments they do, how the organization and management of assessment activities affects those judgments, and how expertise is identified and constructed. Discerning Experts uncovers factors that can generate systematic bias and error, and recommends how the process can be improved. As the first study of the internal workings of large environmental assessments, this book reveals their strengths and weaknesses, and explains what assessments can—and cannot—be expected to contribute to public policy and the common good.

Criminal disenfranchisement-the practice of restricting electoral rights following criminal conviction-is the only surviving electoral restriction of adult, mentally competent citizens in contemporary democracies. Despite the strong devotion to the principle of universal suffrage, criminal offenders are still routinely deprived of active and passive franchise, while the justifications for such limitations remain elusive and incoherent. In Punishment and Citizenship, Milena Tripkovic develops an empirical and normative account of criminal disenfranchisement. Starting from historical precedents of such restrictions and examining the current policies of a number of European countries, Tripkovic argues that while criminal disenfranchisement is considered a form of punishment, it should instead be viewed as a citizenship sanction imposed when a citizen fails to perform their role as a member of a political community. In order to determine the justifications of disenfranchisement, Tripkovic explores various citizenship ideals and examines whether criminal offenders comply with the expectations that are posed before them. After developing a theoretical framework of citizenship duties, Tripkovic concludes that very few criminal offenders fail to satisfy fundamental citizenship conditions and exhaustive voting restrictions cannot ultimately be justified. A comprehensive assessment of criminal disenfranchisement, Punishment and Citizenship offers concrete policy suggestions to determine the limited circumstances under which electoral rights could justifiably be withheld from criminal offenders.

The profound meaning of the way of the voice is very simple: everything that man seeks can be easily found through the voice. This book will show you how to become a guru and use your voice as a compass to find your voice, figure out which way to go and easily achieve personal fulfillment.

Secession in International Law argues that the effective development of criteria on secession is a necessity in today’s world, because secessionist struggles can be analyzed through the legal lens only if we have specific legal rules to apply. Without legal rules, secessionist struggles are dominated by politics and sui generis approaches, which validate secessionist attempts based on geo-politics and regional states’ self-interest, as opposed to the law. By using a truly comparative approach, Milena Sterio has developed a normative international law framework on secession, which focuses on several factors to assess the legitimacy of a separatist quest.

If there are concepts that have huge academic literature and are of outstanding practcal signifcance in corporate practce, then business performance is certainly one of them. However, the authors of this special issue add interestng and excitng elements to our knowledge regarding business success and performance in many ways. This special issue underlines that business success, which has both fnancial and social components, depends to a great extent on the knowledge, skills, and cooperatve skills of people in the organizaton, and their openness to the world of external and internal stakeholders. The behavior of people, when heavily influenced by the values of the organizaton and its associated business ethics, has a major impact on business success. This is also true for ethically and socially controversial industries, such as pharmaceutcal, alcohol and tobacco. The research results of the authors in this special issue show that different organizatonal frameworks and solutons can lead to the success of a business. There is, of course, no single, infallible “recipe” leading to success. However, developing project management skills and applying a project management approach within an organizaton can increase the organizaton’s entrepreneurial ability. The key feature of such a soluton is that the organizaton becomes more open to stakeholders and processes in its local environment. This also means that an organizaton’s ability to innovate, and improve the efciency of its innovaton processes, increases. It is an excitng feature of the special issue that most of the studies deal with a specifc area of the global economy, namely Central and Eastern Europe. Empirical research carried out in Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary, and a comparatve analysis of them, is a valuable contributon to the increasingly rich literature dealing with this region, as well as the academic literature in the more general sense. The frst paper by Majra Hodžić and Helena Hrůzová, “A study of project management practces in the Czech Republic,” addresses the importance of project management for organizatons’ innovaton and performance. Based on the example of the Czech Republic, Hodžić and Hrůzová study current practces used in the feld of project management and underline the importance of stakeholders’ main demands and requests, and the level of use of project management methods. The results that are presented provide practcal implicatons, especially for new start-ups wantng to boost their compettveness and innovatveness, by displaying success factors for project management and the necessity for innovaton in this area. The subject of project management is contnued in the second paper by Katarzyna Grzesik and Katarzyna Piwowar-Sulej enttled “Project managers’ competencies and leadership styles from the perspectve of organizatons functoning in Poland.” Grzesik and Piwowar-Sulej discuss the signifcance of project managers’ different competencies and project leadership styles, which are especially important nowadays considering the increasing dynamics of the organizatons’ environment. The needed and adopted competences are compared between the strictly project-oriented organizatons (implementng projects for external clients) and organizatons that manage projects for internal purposes. The authors identfy competencies which are important for organizatons’ success in the area of project management and may, in turn, lead to beter business performance. The importance of human capital for organizatons’ performance and compettve advantage is addressed in the third paper by Łukasz Bryl called “Human capital orientaton and fnancial performance. A comparatve analysis of US corporatons”. In the paper, Bryl verifes whether human capital orientated organizatons generate a positve or even above-average fnancial performance due to: higher skills of employees, greater motvaton and, thus, higher overall effectveness. The paper has signifcant practcal implicatons for both managers aiming at increased compettve advantage and investors in terms of the possible directons of stock market investments aimed at achieving above-average returns. Financial success and high performance may also be gained by innovatveness. In the fourth paper, “An innovaton capability development process for frms in developing countries: A theoretcal conceptual model,” Gezahegn Tesfaye and Daniel Kitaw analyze the problem of innovaton capability development. The much-needed complexity of the analysis is reflected by combining both the technical and the fnancial aspects of innovaton capability development. The proposed model identfes three key innovaton capability constructs and is of practcal value, especially to organizatons from developing countries, as it helps to progress the innovaton capabilites more effectvely. The ffh paper by Włodzimierz Sroka and Richard Szántó, “CSR and business ethics in controversial sectors: analysis of research results,” addresses the issue of organizatons’ performance from a different perspectve, namely the partcular obligatons toward society or the environment consttuted by corporate social responsibility. Based on the example of controversial sectors of the economy (pharmaceutcal, tobacco and alcohol) Sroka and Szántó examine the scale and scope of the use of business ethics principles and practces in Poland and Hungary. The analysis provides not only signifcant fresh insights in this feld but also shows that business ethics have an influence on business success and the corporate image of organizatons. The sixth paper, “The themes of entrepreneurship discourse: A data analytcs approach” by Philip T. Roundy and Arben Asllani, considers the importance of the language used by entrepreneurs. Roundy and Asllani identfy fve dominant themes in entrepreneurship discourse which address, among other things, technology and professional investments. The analysis of the most recurring themes in entrepreneurship discourse, and their change over tme, sets directons for future research and indicates the importance of entrepreneurship discourse for organizatons’ business success. We would like to thank all the authors for their contributon to this special issue and for sharing their research. We believe that this new research represents a valuable input to our knowledge regarding business success and organizatons’ performance. We also want to thank the reviewers whose comments contributed to the improvement of the papers and the whole of this special issue. We hope the artcles presented here will be of interest to readers, scholars and researchers around the world, and that they will inspire them on to further scientfc and practcal research in the feld of business performance.

This book presents a detailed and critical discussion about how human wellbeing can be maintained and improved in a postgrowth era. It highlights the close links between economic growth, market capitalism, and the welfare state demonstrating that, in many ways, wellbeing outcomes currently depend on the growth paradigm. Here the authors argue that notions of basic human needs deserve greater emphasis in debates on postgrowth because they are more compatible with limits to growth. Drawing on theories of social practices, the book explores structural barriers to transitions to a postgrowth society, and ends with suggestions for policies and institutions that could support wellbeing in the context of postgrowth. This thought-provoking work makes a valuable contribution to debates surrounding climate change, sustainability, welfare states and inequality and will appeal to students and scholars of social policy, sociology, political science, economics, political ecology and human geography.

Forty years old and suddenly motherless, Blanca is left shocked and rudderless by the death of the most important person in her life. To deal with her dizzying grief and confusion, Blanca turns to her dearest friends, her closest family, a change of scenery, and sex. Leaving Barcelona behind, she returns to her mother''s former home in Cadaques on the coast, accompanied by her two sons, two ex-husbands, and two best friends, with plans to meet her married lover. Haunted by both the past and the present, Blanca spends the summer in this impossibly beautiful place alongside those she loves most. In loss she learns to find resilience and hope, and what it means to live, truly and happily, on her own terms.

Browsing for information is a significant part of most research activity, but many online collections hamper browsing with interfaces that are variants on a search box. Research shows that rich-prospect interfaces can offer an intuitive and highly flexible alternative environment for information browsing, assisting hypothesis formation and pattern-finding. This unique book offers a clear discussion of this form of interface design, including a theoretical basis for why it is important, and examples of how it can be done. It will be of interest to those working in the fields of library and information science, human-computer interaction, visual communication design, and the digital humanities as well as those interested in new theories and practices for designing web interfaces for library collections, digitized cultural heritage materials, and other types of digital collections.

With select exhibits of various art media on display, the exhibition shows the ways in which Czechoslovakia was presented in 1918-1939 and 1945-1992 as a state entity, and how the visual arts and its institutions played a role in representing the country. The list of art media is broad and ranges from small- and large-scale oil paintings and bronze sculptures to prints, photographs, installations, and architectural models and plans, to films and even product design, exhibition design and organization, and the clothing made by the Centre for Folk Art Production. Besides being a detailed scientific catalogue on all the exhibited objects, this richly illustrated book also contains specialised studies devoted more closely to particular themes. It explores artworks of varying quality and made in diverse art media that took part in the representation of the Czechoslovak State in 1918-1939 and 1945-1992. Rather than examining the art-historical canon of 20th-century Czech art, this is a survey of the visual arts of the time, where famous paintings and sculptures by accomplished artists are shown alongside inconspicuous banknote images. Exhibition: National Gallery in Prague, Czech Republic (20.11.2015 - 07.02.2016).

"Probe[s] deeply below the surfaces of familiar Japanese stereotypes . . . A compassionate and insightful story of dysfunction, despair and friendship" (Ruth Ozeki, award-winning author of A Tale for the Time Being). Twenty-year-old Taguchi Hiro has spent the last two years of his life living as a hikikomori—a shut-in who never leaves his room and has no human interaction—in his parents'' home in Tokyo. As Hiro tentatively decides to reenter the world, he spends his days observing life around him from a park bench. Gradually, he makes friends with Ohara Tetsu, a middle-aged salaryman who has lost his job but can''t bring himself to tell his wife, who shows up every day in a suit and tie to pass the time on a nearby bench. As Hiro and Tetsu cautiously open up to each other, they discover in their sadness a common bond. Regrets and disappointments, as well as hopes and dreams, come to the surface until both find the strength to somehow give a new start to their lives. This beautiful novel is moving, unforgettable, and full of surprises. The reader turns the last page feeling that a small triumph has occurred. "The best of the best from this year''s bountiful harvest of uncommonly strange offerings . . . Deeply original." — O, The Oprah Magazine "Exceptional . . . In today''s less-than-brave new world in which sincere human interaction is disappearing even as the numbers of so-called ''friends'' are multiplying, Necktie is a piercing reminder to acknowledge, nurture, and share our humanity." — BookDragon "The quiet reflection of this jewel of a novel is revelatory, redemptive and hypnotic until the last word." — Kirkus Reviews

The Sevilla Mendoza family, long-time residents of the Sardinian coast, are not quite what you''d call `conventional''. At the heart of the family is a young teenage girl in the throes of a dangerous affair with a married man. With a nervous mother, a dreamer for a father and an obsessive piano player for a little brother, she finds herself living a double life: one as a good daughter, the other on an erotic journey that will change her forever. While the Shark is Sleeping is an enchanting story of the loss of innocence and the desire to be loved.

This detailed account of the controversy surrounding the publication of Albert Einstein''s theory of relativity explores the ferocious popular and academic opposition which at one time encircled one of the most important scientific breakthroughs of the twentieth century. Based on extensive archival research, this fascinating discourse includes a compelling and entertaining examination of the contemporary literature created by Einstein''s detractors. Exploring the arguments and strategies, social contexts, and motivations of Einstein''s detractors, and providing unique insights into the dynamics of scientific controversies, this book is ideal for anyone interested in the history and philosophy of physics, popular science, and the public understanding of science.

Debut novelist Banks crafts a sweeping tale of seduction, betrayal and war...(her) evocative prose is impressive throughout....Banks delivers an engaging tale of forgiveness and the strength of familial ties, even when those ties have been frayed almost to extinction. A spectacular novel of colonial China that should put this first-time author on the map. Kirkus Reviews Riding the Tiger In the turbulent years of the late 1930s on the China coast, Jack, a powerful foreign business tycoon, and Ana, a sensual and deep Russian jazz singermeet as strangers and part as lovers on the night Shanghai burns and falls to the Japanese. And then Ana simply vanishes. Besotted, Jack returns to Hong Kong determined to find Ana. He must hide his anguish from his fiance, Violet, a beautiful and paranoid Hong Kong socialite, as she begins her lavish wedding plans. As the Japanese army advances, a tragedy unfolds, encompassing the passion and destruction of humans clinging to their dreams as the only world they know changes around them. Half a century later, a young woman lives with a hidden shame. Jardine Woo is a modern Chinese girl who makes a living jumping out of party cakes, but under her cheerful exterior lies a secret: her mother was a Jane Doe, struck dead on a Hong Kong street nearly thirty years earlier, her infant daughter in her arms. Grown up now, Jardine has adjusted to life with no familyor so she thinks. Then, the extraordinary occurs, and her world will change in the blink of an eye. Algernon Worthing, an Englishman on his deathbed, claims not only that he knows her, but also that she is inextricably connected to a long-hidden crime that occurred before she was even born.