The Second Life of Mirielle West


Book Description

The glamorous world of a silent film star’s wife abruptly crumbles when she’s forcibly quarantined at the Carville Lepers Home in this page-turning story of courage, resilience, and reinvention set in 1920s Louisiana and Los Angeles. Based on little-known history, this timely book will strike a chord with readers of Fiona Davis, Tracey Lange, and Marie Benedict. Based on the true story of America’s only leper colony, The Second Life of Mirielle West brings vividly to life the Louisiana institution known as Carville, where thousands of people were stripped of their civil rights, branded as lepers, and forcibly quarantined throughout the entire 20th century. For Mirielle West, a 1920’s socialite married to a silent film star, the isolation and powerlessness of the Louisiana Leper Home is an unimaginable fall from her intoxicatingly chic life of bootlegged champagne and the star-studded parties of Hollywood’s Golden Age. When a doctor notices a pale patch of skin on her hand, she’s immediately branded a leper and carted hundreds of miles from home to Carville, taking a new name to spare her family and famous husband the shame that accompanies the disease. At first she hopes her exile will be brief, but those sent to Carville are more prisoners than patients and their disease has no cure. Instead she must find community and purpose within its walls, struggling to redefine her self-worth while fighting an unchosen fate. As a registered nurse, Amanda Skenandore’s medical background adds layers of detail and authenticity to the experiences of patients and medical professionals at Carville – the isolation, stigma, experimental treatments, and disparate community. A tale of repulsion, resilience, and the Roaring ‘20s, The Second Life of Mirielle West is also the story of a health crisis in America’s past, made all the more poignant by the author’s experiences during another, all-too-recent crisis. PRAISE FOR AMANDA SKENANDORE’S BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY “Intensely emotional…Skenandore’s deeply introspective and moving novel will appeal to readers of American history.” —Publishers Weekly




The Second Life


Book Description

In this visionary and thought-provoking novel, author Ranjot Chahal takes readers on a journey into the digital realm, exploring the possibility of a second life beyond the physical world. The story follows the life of Harv, a man who becomes obsessed with the idea of eternal life and creates a digital world called Alive Planet 2050, where people can upload their souls and live forever. As Harv's dream becomes a reality, he faces numerous challenges and setbacks, including opposition from those who believe in the natural order of life and death. When the company is attacked by hackers and the servers fail, the fate of the digital world hangs in the balance. But with the help of a dedicated team, including the CEO Ranjot Chahal, Harv is able to rebuild the company and continue his quest for eternal life. "The Second Life: A Story of Alive Planet" is a captivating and imaginative novel that raises thought-provoking questions about the nature of life, death, and the human experience. It challenges readers to consider what it truly means to live forever and what the consequences of such a reality might be. With beautiful prose and a gripping plot, this novel is a must-read for anyone interested in science fiction, philosophy, and the human condition.




Second Life


Book Description

Aura is the most reputable person in the world, most known for his powerful technique, harsh judgment, and above all, his leadership. The Great War has begun, and the two sides are losing numbers really fast. However, the truth and beginning is unknown, but the story of our hero us not. Different perspectives of the many people in Second Life are encased here in this beforehand account of the lives of the people in Second Life before the war and at the very beginning of it. It will show the hardship of endurance, the pain of battle, and the adversity of loss as Aura and his entourage made a statement on the world as a reputable Congregation and join forces in the end with other orders and learn how to survive in this Second Life.




The Second Chance


Book Description

It's less than a year after the accident when Peyton meets the therapist's nephew, Noah. Peyton has already endured more than anyone should. A widow at twenty-four, she's constantly fighting an inner battle with her emotions, convinced that she's never going to be loved - and that she herself would never feel it again. After one of her dreadful therapy appointments, Peyton is introduced to a man that changes everything. Out-of-bounds gorgeous and with a beautiful smile, he looks at her with a twinkle in his eye that makes her heart skip beats. Despite Peyton's desire to learn more about Noah, she can't help feeling as if she's betraying her one true love. Will she allow herself to love again?




A Beginner's Guide to Second Life


Book Description

Millions and millions of people from all over the world have discovered the new virtual universe of Second Life. There you can meet new people, make friends, conduct business, build empires, whatever your imagination can conjure. This easy to use Beginner's Guide takes you step-by-step through the process of going from embarrassingly unprepared "Newbie" to a seasoned resident in no time. Learn how to design an Avatar for your new appearance. You can look like anyone or anything you desire. Buy land, build a house, a fortress, or even an entire city. Buy and island. Create new products and services and sell them to other residents for Linden Dollars, which can be converted to real US dollars. This book shows you how, with step by step exercises, examples, loads of illustrations, everything you need to get started and having fun.




A Practical Guide To Using Second Life In Higher Education


Book Description

Over the last five years there has been an increasing use of immersive virtual worlds, in particular Second Life, in Higher Education. A Practical Guide to Using Second Life in Higher Education is a pedagogically-informed text that guides staff in the use of Second Life for Higher Education. Although there are currently a growing number of books about Second Life available, much of the focus has been on designing the environment, ways of building and the general ease and use-value of the environment. This book is aimed at those who want to use Second Life for teaching in further and higher education. It provides both an overview and an in-depth stance about aspects of the immersive world for teaching, learning and assessment, as well as suggestions about researching (in) Second Life.




The Second Chance Rancher


Book Description

Spinning-off of her beloved Morgan Ranch series, New York Times bestselling author Kate Pearce launches a new contemporary Western romance series about a neighboring ranching family trying to lasso love . . . It might be the pride of hard work on rugged terrain, the welcoming community, or the memories—but wherever the folks of Morgantown may roam, they have a way of coming back to the ranch . . . There’s a reason Jackson Lymond left the Air Force, but he’s not telling a soul. He’d rather keep things simple, while trying to start a new life helping his older brother on their northern California ranch. At least Morgantown’s flirty local bartender can keep his mind off the past—that is, until he runs into Daisy Miller . . . Daisy doesn’t really expect Jackson to remember her. Back in school she did her best to blend in—and pretend she didn’t have five brothers who’d hogtie any boy who even looked at her. These days though, she and Jackson might have more in common than just their ranching relatives. After all, they both left home only to return. Trouble is, under the watch of her fiercely protective family, Daisy is longing for some privacy. Letting Jackson into her life could make that even more difficult—or it might be the second chance they’re both looking for . . . “Pearce’s fans and contemporary romance readers will want to pick this one up and read it to the end.” —Publishers Weekly




ComMODify


Book Description

This book critically analyses user-firm technology relationships and socioeconomic structures at the crossroads of community and commerce. It investigates businesses that let users participate in platform development on the internet. An empirical study of the online world Second Life is used as an early illustration of the pivotal role of user participation in design, development and sustainability of digital platforms. Van der Graaf sheds light on aspects of the ongoing platformization of the internet and on new norms and mechanisms for user participation which are linked to values of creativity, community and labour. ComMODify makes clear that robust theoretical and empirical investigation of the integration of user participation into mainstream business models and its implications for platform development is key to understanding contemporary businesses like Facebook, that sustain the internet of today. This book will be of interest to those wanting to learn more about the socio-economic implications of user participation associated with user-generated content, particularly within the 3D software and game industry.




Learning in Virtual Worlds


Book Description

Three-dimensional (3D) immersive virtual worlds have been touted as being capable of facilitating highly interactive, engaging, multimodal learning experiences. Much of the evidence gathered to support these claims has been anecdotal but the potential that these environments hold to solve traditional problems in online and technology-mediated education—primarily learner isolation and student disengagement—has resulted in considerable investments in virtual world platforms like Second Life, OpenSimulator, and Open Wonderland by both professors and institutions. To justify this ongoing and sustained investment, institutions and proponents of simulated learning environments must assemble a robust body of evidence that illustrates the most effective use of this powerful learning tool. In this authoritative collection, a team of international experts outline the emerging trends and developments in the use of 3D virtual worlds for teaching and learning. They explore aspec ts of learner interaction with virtual worlds, such as user wayfinding in Second Life, communication modes and perceived presence, and accessibility issues for elderly or disabled learners. They also examine advanced technologies that hold potential for the enhancement of learner immersion and discuss best practices in the design and implementation of virtual world-based learning interventions and tasks. By evaluating and documenting different methods, approaches, and strategies, the contributors to Learning in Virtual Worlds offer important information and insight to both scholars and practitioners in the field.




Freedom and Responsibility in Neoplatonist Thought


Book Description

The Neoplatonists have a perfectionist view of freedom: an entity is free to the extent that it succeeds in making itself good. Free entities are wholly in control of themselves—they are self-determining, self-constituting, and self-knowing. Neoplatonist philosophers argue that such freedom is only possible for non-bodily things. The human soul is free insofar as it rises above bodily things and engages in intellection, but when it turns its desires to bodily things, it is drawn under the sway of fate and becomes enslaved. Ursula Coope discusses this notion of freedom and its relation to questions about responsibility. She explains the important role of notions of self-reflexivity in Neoplatonist accounts of both freedom and responsibility. In Part I, Coope sets out the puzzles Neoplatonist philosophers face about freedom and responsibility and explains how these puzzles arise from earlier discussions. Part II explores the metaphysical underpinnings of the Neoplatonist notion of freedom (concentrating especially on the views of Plotinus and Proclus). In what sense, if any, is the ultimate first principle of everything (the One) free? If everything else is under this ultimate first principle, how can anything other than the One be free? What is the connection between freedom and nonbodiliness? Finally, Coope considers in Part III questions about responsibility, arising from this perfectionist view of freedom. Why are human beings responsible for their behaviour, in a way that other animals are not? If we are enslaved when we act viciously, how can we be to blame for our vicious actions and choices?