David Kent

A High-Stakes Mission, Deadly Rivals, and an Elusive Bomb - Can Joshua Meister Survive the Quest That Will Define His Life? Joshua Meister's life is on the line as he embarks on a perilous mission to locate a lost hydrogen bomb, dropped on Tokyo during World War II. Unsure if the bomb even exists, Joshua faces relentless danger from a bloodthirsty Pakistani assassin and the ever-vigilant CIA, both determined to thwart him. Along the way, Joshua must decide if he can trust his former girlfriend from Hong Kong, whose loyalty remains in question. In this pulse-pounding adventure, Joshua's survival depends on his ability to outwit enemies, navigate treacherous obstacles, and find the bomb before time runs out. Will he succeed, or will this quest spell his doom? David Mestemaker is a distinguished trial lawyer based in Houston, Texas, with a flair for weaving suspenseful narratives inspired by his legal experience. His expertise in high-stakes cases lends authenticity and depth to his writing, making his stories pulse with intensity. When not in the courtroom, David enjoys crafting thrilling stories that blend intrigue, action, and heart-pounding moments. Readers who love fast-paced thrillers filled with twists and turns won't be able to put down "The Bomb Quest." With riveting action, high-stakes drama, and a hero who must face impossible odds, this book will keep fans of spy thrillers, action-adventure, and military history on the edge of their seats. Will Joshua succeed in his mission or lose everything? Turn the page and find out.

Echo beach is a fictional beach that resides along the Western coast of the South Korean peninsula. It, for those land-locked in cities and tied to the long hours of work and domestic duties, is a place of fantasy. In reality, it may also be a beach they love and one that they may never get to visit, remaining far away in time. For some, it may be a shoreline that conjures up thoughts, desires, and expectations of a long-awaited summer vacation, the notion of fun with family, and a time to relax and enjoy life in a place that for others, is one where worries can be cast to the wind, sorrows can sink into the sand, pain can be swallowed into the depths of the sea, and they can take solace in solitude. Aside from the fantasy and the imagery that Echo Beach brings to mind, and the desire and pull it has for city-dwellers, the images chosen for this collection stand in stark contrast to the above. They do this by not only illustrating how the reality of this fantasy and desire may play out, but the reality of what it must play out alongside - the flotsam and jetsam of refuse. In this collection, David Kent captures a series of images that serve to represent a composite of South Korean beach culture at one specific point in time. The photographs do not depict any one beach in particular. All images were taken in the early morning, and in a number of locations along the western shores of South Korea.

Since the turn of the century, emerging technologies, along with their use in educational contexts, have seen a number of radical changes occur within the learner landscape, and these have impacted both teachers and students. This has seen changes in the way that learners engage with content and interact with instructors. Technological advancement has been rapid, and its impact on teaching and learning is ever-constant. This has led to a need for educators to continually assess and consider the implication that new and emerging technologies hold for their teaching contexts, their professional development, and the skills possessed and required by their students. It is here that the value of this book becomes apparent, as practitioners will be able to walk away with a greater understanding of how to best employ various aspects of technology-driven learning, instruction, and assessment techniques when teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from a variety of pedagogical contexts. In this book, the use of more 'traditional' software tools and classroom staples are reexamined for educational advantage in the digital era and for use with 21st century learners. Specifically covered topics are: making meaning from experience with digital storytelling, development of interactive multimedia-based presentations with Prezi, and means of supporting and supplementing instruction with podcasts and screencasts. This book is intended to be read in whole or in part by teachers, students, parents, and any other stakeholders who may be interested in the topics.

In recent years, disruptive technologies have seen how our students interact with us as teachers change, and transformed how we as teachers prepare and provide learning opportunities. For teachers too, it may also lead to changes in terms of with 'whom' we will teach, and how best we might begin to integrate robots and AI-based digital assistants into the classroom as teaching aides or personal learning companions for students. Speaking to machines, and seeing or hearing appropriate responses actioned, provides learners with a reason to speak that is not contrived and one that is inherently motivating and meaningful. To this end, the pedagogical affordances offered by digital assistants are explored, along with the pedagogical theory behind their effective implementation with learners for the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). The actions/skills best suited for use are covered, as are effective techniques for integrating them into the classroom. This is supported by tutorials for Action/Skills creation, photocopiable material, and a comprehensive list of resources. A means for evaluating the appropriateness and viability of Actions/Skills for enhancing language learning is also provided.

Blogs and wikis are different to other websites because they demand interaction. They revolve around information sharing, and allow students to produce content rather than consume it, and react to existing content and influence it. The authorship process gives students a sense of ownership and responsibility to the content that they develop for an audience, as they work together as part of a learning community. They also teach students about personal learning environments, and lend themselves easily to socio-constructivist models of teaching and learning, while providing an avenue for differentiation and the tailoring of instruction to student needs. Throughout this book, the manner in which blogs and wikis are developed is considered while taking into account their pedagogical promise when teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). An overview of instructional strategies, tasks, and activities is provided, along with considerations necessary for applying these tools successfully. Also included are tutorials, photocopiable material, evaluation techniques, and a comprehensive list of resources.

In a world where there is still a digital divide, and where many second-language learners are digital natives, the internet has unquestionably come to provide significant impact on the way that we communicate, teach, learn, and live. The major pedagogical promise has come with the shift away from the static provision of information to that of dynamic information sharing and user-generated content. The internet has become much more than a source of authentic materials and supplemental resources for the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL); it now provides a means for students to engage in functional communicative experiences, write and communicate with a wider audience, and showcase their work. All kinds of topics and resources are available, but as most are unsuitable for language learning, they need to be selected wisely. Guidance needs to be effective, and those with little experience in using digital tools and websites for learning need to be kept from becoming disengaged. This is where the teacher and this book perform a critical role. In this book, the focus is on the use of various tools and techniques that help students to express themselves and to learn with technology, particularly those which rely on the internet to function, those that have been around since the dawn of the internet, and those that have evolved with the growth of the internet. Specifically covered is: world-wide-web utilization for the fostering and development of multiple literacies through socio-constructivist learning via the WebQuest model, constructing visually-based asynchronous digital conversations with VoiceThread, and developing user-generated content with blogs and wikis. The book is intended to be read in whole or in part by teachers, students, parents, and any other stakeholders who may be interested in the topics.

Since the turn of the century, emerging technologies, along with their use in educational contexts, have seen a number of radical changes occur within the learner landscape, and these have impacted both teachers and students. This has seen changes in the way that learners engage with content and interact with instructors. Technological advancement has been rapid, and its impact on teaching and learning is ever-constant. This has led to a need for educators to continually assess and consider the implication that new and emerging technologies hold for their teaching contexts, their professional development, and the skills possessed and required by their students. It is here that the value of this book becomes apparent, as practitioners will be able to walk away with a greater understanding of how to best employ various aspects of technology-driven learning, instruction, and assessment techniques when teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) from a variety of pedagogical contexts. In this book, the use of more 'traditional' software tools and classroom staples are reexamined for educational advantage in the digital era and for use with 21st century learners. Specifically covered topics are: making meaning from experience with digital storytelling, development of interactive multimedia-based presentations with Prezi, and means of supporting and supplementing instruction with podcasts and screencasts. This book is intended to be read in whole or in part by teachers, students, parents, and any other stakeholders who may be interested in the topics.

Of all the approaches to the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), the loanword approach is mindful of the English words found within students' native languages, and seeks to apply these in the learning process for positive transfer. Taking into account research and implementation going back to and prior to the last millennium, here is a study of such a use in the Korean context. As focus is on implementing the loanword approach from multimedia-based learning materials, the Korean cultural influences on computer assisted language learning (CALL) of English as a foreign language (EFL) are explored. The advantages and difficulties associated with implementing the approach are outlined, as is the place of EFL and the application of computer technology in the Korean education system. Focus then turns to investigating the efficacy behind deployment of the approach coupled with a multimedia-based curriculum grounded on culturally constructed methods of learning and teaching. A loanword approach to the teaching of EFL in Korea deserves not only consideration by teachers but also further study. The book is well-resourced and comes to provide an in-depth examination of just one of many practical ways for implementing such an approach in the Korean context.

Faith Kelly has what it takes to extort what she needs from the country's Most Wanted--but when her new case takes its toll in intimate ways, it becomes the most dangerous one of her career. It's case officer Faith Kelly's job to protect criminals in exchange for information. But Daryn McDermott is another story--one that's challenging her professional and personal responsibility. The activist daughter of a powerful conservative senator, Daryn's not only linked to a terrorist bombing, but also to Faith's brother Sean, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent hired to bring her home. It's too late for that. When Daryn is found murdered near the Oklahoma City National Memorial, Sean runs--and Faith follows. He leads her into a web of private secrets and lies, a far-reaching conspiracy...and murder. Faith's past has returned with a vengeance, casting a shadow of doubt on everyone she trusts--and cutting into the very heart of everyone she loves.

David Kent, the acclaimed author of The Mesa Conspiracy, is back with an explosive new novel from the files of Department Thirty -- a secret government agency that erases the identities of top-level criminals in exchange for the kind of information people would kill for. Alex Bridge is not the usual suspect. The young, recently married, pregnant musician has been accused of embezzling millions of dollars from her employer, a giant media conglomerate. Even worse, an FBI agent investigating the embezzlement has just been murdered -- and all the evidence points to Alex. Enter Faith Kelly of Department Thirty. A newly promoted case officer and former deputy U. S. marshal, Faith offers Alex full protection in exchange for her testimony about her employer's financial misdealings. The problem is: Faith and Alex are up against a vast conspiracy that goes far deeper than a corporate accounting scandal. Its roots reach back more than a century, to a notorious frontier massacre in Oklahoma Territory. It thrives to this day in the highest levels of American justice. And trying to expose it is the biggest gamble of Faith Kelly's career. Because the stakes are life or death -- and the game is fixed....