Atoned


Book Description

Set in a Medieval background, Atoned is a story of love, murder, revenge, and atonement. Darias, son of a high-ranking Northern Realm Wolf Lord, has been betrothed since childhood to Keara, who is from a noble Southern Realm family. Dreading the forthcoming marriage that will be thrust upon him, Darias would much rather be wed to his childhood sweetheart, the sly Rowena. His dismay turns to delight upon hearing Keara and her family have been treacherously murdered by outlaws. However, Keara’s body is not found amongst the dead. Mercenaries hired by her grandfather, who has never given up hope, locate Keara years later. The soldiers, paid a handsome sum in gold by a shadowy figure to do away with Keara, double-cross the individual and return Keara safely to her grandfather in the Southern Realm. Much to the displeasure of both Darias and Keara, the marriage contract between the two has remained valid and, to their displeasure, are forced to marry against their will. Bitterness and hatred turn into a flaming brand of passion only to be marred by uncertainty as villages are plundered by mysterious outlaws, assassination attempts on both and, the persistent return of the wily Rowena, who continuously attempts to seduce Darias, and will stop at nothing to have him. When Keara is kidnapped and a plot is uncovered to overthrow the governments of both Realms, Darias races to rescue his wife before the Realms and their lives are destroyed.




Mental Health Nursing Skills 2e


Book Description

Mental health nurses require a diverse set of skills to aid service users and their carers on their journey to recovery. During their training, students need to acquire and demonstrate skills to show that the care they provide is evidence-based and effective. Skills as diverse as assessment, forming therapeutic interactions, caring for physical and mental health needs, as well as leadership and management, can be difficult to learn and master - until now! Mental Health Nursing Skills provides students with a highly evidence-based and practical account of the skills required for nursing practice. The original text was developed in response to the Chief Nursing Officer's review of Mental Health Nursing in England and that of the Scottish Executive. The authors have updated the content to include reference to the “Playing Our Part” Review of Mental Health Nursing and the latest NMC pre-registration standards. The authors translate theory into clearly applied skills supported by practice examples, tips from service users, and accompanying online activities. With contributions from nursing academics, researchers, practitioners, and service users, this text reflects the best of theory and practice. Clearly mapped against all the benchmarks expected by professional nursing bodies and suitable for all settings, Mental Health Nursing Skills provides a high quality and student friendly account of the skills required for successful nursing practice.




If Only


Book Description

The year is 1349, the place, England. As the bubonic shadow across the land, Mary Beckett finds herself alone and desperate. Her father, a physician who has been accused of consorting with the devil, has been murdered. Even her own interest in medicine has brought cries of witchcraft. Mary's only hope is to journey north to the home of her godly grandmother, a woman her father once rejected. Doctors and pilgrims will cross her path, and, last but not least, Peter Donne, a knight on a mission from the king. Hundreds will beg her to heal them. Will Mary Beckett, a lonely pilgrim herself, find a way to help her people and herself? If only she could reach her grandmother's home, if only she could find her own way to God...




Crimson Reign


Book Description

For fans of Children of Blood and Bone and Six of Crows comes the thrilling conclusion to the Blood Heir trilogy. A princess with a dark secret must ally with a con man to liberate her empire from a reign of terror in this epic fantasy retelling of the Anastasia story. The Red Tigress, Anastacya Mikhailov, has lost the gift she was only beginning to realize defined her. Stolen from her during the battle in Bregon, her blood Affinity rests with Sorsha Farrald, a dangerous Affinite who is on the run, headed straight to Cyrilia and to Ana's aunt...the Empress Morganya. Though she is weakened, Ana's course remains true--yet her return to her homeland reveals a Cyrilia on the brink of collapse. Morganya's tyrannical rule has transformed into a sinister quest for unquestioned authority, and she has set her sights far beyond Cyrilia. Morganya seeks a legendary ancient power, rumored to have once belonged to the Deities themselves. If she can locate it, she can rule the world. What's more, Ana's allies, the insurgent Affinite rebels known as the Redcloaks, no longer support her. For their allegiance is with the people--and there can be no equality with a monarchy. Ana faces enemies at every turn, and every day without her Affinity brings her closer to death. Yet she is determined to liberate her people and vanquish the legacy of her own imperial bloodline--the inequality sewn into the fabric of her land. Her only hope lies in the navy she recruited in Bregon, the courage of her band of friends, and the cunning crime-lord-turned-captain she's fallen for. If Ana loses this fight, it will be her last. And Morganya's reign of darkness with consume the world.




Reasoning Web. Explainable Artificial Intelligence


Book Description

This volume contains lecture notes of the 15th Reasoning Web Summer School (RW 2019), held in Bolzano, Italy, in September 2019. The research areas of Semantic Web, Linked Data, and Knowledge Graphs have recently received a lot of attention in academia and industry. Since its inception in 2001, the Semantic Web has aimed at enriching the existing Web with meta-data and processing methods, so as to provide Web-based systems with intelligent capabilities such as context awareness and decision support. The Semantic Web vision has been driving many community efforts which have invested a lot of resources in developing vocabularies and ontologies for annotating their resources semantically. Besides ontologies, rules have long been a central part of the Semantic Web framework and are available as one of its fundamental representation tools, with logic serving as a unifying foundation. Linked Data is a related research area which studies how one can make RDF data available on the Web and interconnect it with other data with the aim of increasing its value for everybody. Knowledge Graphs have been shown useful not only for Web search (as demonstrated by Google, Bing, etc.) but also in many application domains.




The Daria Diaries


Book Description

A year in the life of Daria, complete with "Dress-up dolls! Jock love notes! Popularity check-lists! Psychological tests! Brooding song lyrics! Vile childhood pictures! Mall maps! Teacher personal ads! Cheerleader counseling! ... and lots and lots of bad, bad attitude!"--Cover.




The King's Bought Bride


Book Description

A convenient bride… Royal heir Darias Leone needs a wife to claim his crown. He doesn’t want to get stuck with the kind of snooty princess his mother has in mind, so he makes a business arrangement with the pretty young assistant at his New York art gallery. Emma Ricci thinks the idea is crazy, but the money Darias is offering will allow her to put her brother through drug rehab. Surely she can survive one year as a fake royal wife to save what’s left of her family? After one year Emma and Darias can divorce and go their separate ways…unless something goes wrong with their plan. With a sizzling attraction, two unsolved murders, a mysterious secret society, and the constant forced proximity of a marriage under the eyes of the entire palace…almost anything could go wrong. EXCERPT: Darias watched her, dark eyes gleaming. She wondered if he intended to say something for any potential eavesdroppers. “I love you,” perhaps. What else would real newlyweds whisper as they lay in bed together on their wedding night? Sometimes it was hard to remember this was all fake. There was something magical about being folded into the bosom of this big family, when she was still reeling from the loss of her mom. “You’re a very special woman.” His voice was low enough to be almost a conspiratorial whisper but probably loud enough to be picked up by recording equipment. Was he truly saying this to her, or was it for the benefit of snoopers? “Thanks.” Did it really matter whether he meant it or not? He was paying her handsomely to be here, and she needed to do her job. It would get easier over time, wouldn’t it?




A Practical Guide to Theoretical Frameworks for Social Science Research


Book Description

This practical book offers a guide to finding, choosing, and applying theoretical frameworks to social sciences research, and provides researchers with the scaffolding needed to reflect on their philosophical orientations and better situate their work in the existing landscape of empirical and theoretical knowledge. Using a multifaceted approach, the book provides clear definitions, primary tenets, historical context, highlights of the challenges and contemporary discussion and, perhaps more importantly, concrete and successful examples of studies that have drawn on and incorporated each theoretical framework. The authors define and explain the connections among such concepts as ontology, epistemology, paradigm, theory, theoretical frameworks, conceptual frameworks, and research methodology; describe the process of finding and effectively using theoretical and conceptual frameworks in research; and offer brief overviews of particular theories within the following disciplines: sociology, psychology, education, leadership, public policy, political science, economics, organizational studies, and business. The book also has a dedicated chapter on critical theories, and for each theory, provides a definition, explores how the theory is useful for researchers, discusses the background and foundations, outlines key terms and concepts, presents examples of theoretical applications, and gives an overview of strengths and limitations. This book offers a useful starting point for any researcher interested in better situating their work in existing conceptual and theoretical knowledge, but it will be especially useful for graduate students and early career researchers who are looking for clear definitions of complex terms and concepts, and for an introduction to useful theories across disciplines.




On the Winds of Love


Book Description




The Princess's Scandalous Affair


Book Description

Beatriz Leone has always been the quiet one, waiting in the shadows while her brothers and sisters pursue their ambitious goals. Suddenly her twin brother is king and she’s still on the sidelines. Always suspicious of men—do they want her for the title or for the money?—she has even more reason to be wary of the handsome and charming son of the family’s bitterest rivals. Lorenzo Aldobrando enjoys a challenge. His ancestor lost a prime piece of property to the Leone family, and he’s determined to get it back. When his efforts to buy it are rebuffed, he decides he’ll try another tactic—seducing the bookish princess who inherited it from her grandmother. Their initial flirtation raises eyebrows. Beatriz is wary but soon finds herself confiding her hopes and dreams to the dashing family enemy…and meeting him in secret. When Lorenzo helps Beatriz take practical steps toward a life goal that no one else has ever supported, she starts to fall in love—hard. Will she find herself betrayed and alone? Or can the most outrageous dreams really come true?