Continuous improvements in data analysis and cloud computing have allowed more opportunities to develop systems with user-focused designs. This not only leads to higher success in day-to-day usage, but it increases the overall probability of technology adoption. Advancing Cloud Database Systems and Capacity Planning With Dynamic Applications is a key resource on the latest innovations in cloud database systems and their impact on the daily lives of people in modern society. Highlighting multidisciplinary studies on information storage and retrieval, big data architectures, and artificial intelligence, this publication is an ideal reference source for academicians, researchers, scientists, advanced level students, technology developers and IT officials.

Very few of us lead truly glamorous lives. A large part of daily life is routine, and it is very easy to get into a rut. To start thinking that our lives are plain and boring, and don’t really matter. Leana Platt shows us that that is not true, and gives us a fresh perspective on many aspects of our lives that we consider ordinary. She helps us to look at our children, our friendships, our marriages and other relationships with new eyes, appreciate and celebrate the life we were given and make the most of what we have received, understand that there is power in the simple things in life, and in living with simplicity, and realise anew that a relationship with our Heavenly Father is the key to enjoying this life to the full. The 60 reflections in Embrace Life with Both Hands will inspire and motivate you, and infuse you with renewed energy to make the most of each new day.

When it comes to government's role in personal matters such as family planning, most bristle at any interference from the State on how to exercise their reproductive rights. China's infamous "one child" policy is a well-known example of reproductive politics, but history is filled with other examples of governmental population control to advance its interests. Reproductive States is the first volume of a collection of case studies that explores when and how some of the most populous countries in the world invented and implemented state population policies in the 20th century. The authors, scholars specializing in reproductive politics, survey population policies from key countries on five continents to provide a global perspective. Regardless of the type of government or its cultural history, many of these countries have developed similar policies to control their populations and attempt to combat social problems such as poverty and hunger. However, the common denominator is that states have used women's bodies as a political resource. Far from being just an overseas problem, this volume illustrates how other countries have developed their strategies in response to goals and tactics driven by the United Nations and the United States. Due to fears of a post-World War II "population bomb" and uncertainty of how to deal with the world's poor after the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union led the charge among nations to devise strategies to control their populations, but in different ways. The U.S. and some European countries pressed the poor and ethnic minorities to limit reproduction. China's "one child" policy targeted all ranks of society, while Soviet women (who already had few rights) were under surveillance through state-planned services such as medical care and commodity distribution to detect pregnancy. Interweaving biopolitics, gender studies, statecraft, and world systems, Reproductive States offer reflections on the outcome of such policies and their legacies in our day.

"The Greatest is Love." God wants us to love our neighbors. If this is the premise of being Christian, then why do thousands of denominations claim to be the "right and true" one, implying that all others are false? The author searches for truth and explores real world issues concerning Christians throughout history and today, and the future of Christianity in this ever-changing world. Join the author as he challenges you to think outside of your comfort zone and questions what you might have been told not to question about the Word of God. This book contains many facts and true stories, some you might recognize and some from the author's own life, as he logically discusses controversial subjects such as a Perfect Bible, sex, lying, killing, ethics, Christian leadership, Bible-thumping judgment, and women's rights. It is well documented and written in easy-to-understand language to arm you with the knowledge you need to discuss Scripture in an educated and meaningful way, and to develop a real-world perspective of Christianity; a must-read for all who profess to be Christian!