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Currently there is a global drive among political and educational institutions to implement geographic information system (GIS) practice in secondary schools. However, Geography teachers worldwide, including in South Africa, face significant practical challenges in this regard. Lack of curriculum aligned GIS resources, funds and teacher GIS pedagogical knowledge have been documented as key GIS practice integration challenges. Evidently, GIS development and GIS curriculum incorporation have outpaced GIS educational research. This article documents the development and tentative assessment of a GIS plug-and-play tutor application in South Africa. The Interactive GIS Tutor (IGIST) aims to create a gateway towards GIS practice, so that learning can move from textbook-oriented learning to exploring the globe through GIS software, procedures and applications. Results found within this case study indicate that IGIST is a feasible option, and fosters a positive GIS attitude among learners and teachers. Future IGIST recommendations include multiple languages and more exploratory activities.

Eyejot, a free video email service, makes it possible to create, send, and receive video messages over the Internet. By adding the warmth of face-to-face interaction to the traditional email message, Eyejot creates a more interactive form of communication that engages today's techsavvy students. This paper shares our experience using Eyejot to strengthen rapport and engagement between instructor and student outside the traditional classroom setting. We describe how Eyejot works and offer tips for incorporating Eyejot into course design. Student feedback offers anecdotal evidence indicating a high level of satisfaction that Eyejot brings to the teaching-learning experience.

Eyejot, a free video email service, makes it possible to create, send, and receive video messages over the Internet. By adding the warmth of face-to-face interaction to the traditional email message, Eyejot creates a more interactive form of communication that engages today's techsavvy students. This paper shares our experience using Eyejot to strengthen rapport and engagement between instructor and student outside the traditional classroom setting. We describe how Eyejot works and offer tips for incorporating Eyejot into course design. Student feedback offers anecdotal evidence indicating a high level of satisfaction that Eyejot brings to the teaching-learning experience.

CVZSDV

This collection of documents describes the Chapter 1 programs of the Newark (Ohio) City Schools and presents a model for programs to increase student success. Newark is a midsized city district with 1 high school, 3 middle schools, and 12 elementary schools, 7 of which receive Chapter 1 services. Collaborative efforts include replacement classes. Replacement classes do not involve just giving the responsibility for all the low achievers to the Chapter 1 teacher or simply serving more students. Instead, it is intended to bring teachers together to develop the most effective way to meet the needs of all the students. A replacement project provides Chapter 1 service for more than 25 percent of the time a child would, in the absence of Chapter 1 funds, receive classroom instructional service. The model for increasing Chapter 1 student success outlines plans for 5 years. A comparison of the replacement model and traditional models highlights its structure and services and clearly outlines teacher responsibilities. A typical daily schedule illustrates the replacement plan in action. Other attachments include a chart for flexible grouping, an illustration of intensive teaching time, benchmarks for language arts and mathematics, some sample record sheets, and a memorandum to program coordinators explaining replacement projects. (SLD)

In our latest episode of Cooking with Class, Chef Gooch and his Lubbock ISD Byron Martin Advanced Technology Center Students show us how to create a unique garnish by turning a strawberry into a rose!

Presentation and discussion of children's picture books as well as classroom meetings were implemented on a twice-weekly basis in a fourth grade classroom in an attempt to improve each student's sense of community within the classroom. A survey ("Measuring Classroom Community") which was administered to the teacher and to each student as well as interviews with the teacher and a group discussion/debriefing session with the students were used to determine the effectiveness of the six week series of interventions. Based on observations, student feedback, and teacher input, both of these interventions, used in conjunction with one another, seemed to be somewhat effective in helping to increase the overall sense of community within the classroom. (Contains 13 references. Appendixes contain teacher and student survey instruments; student debriefing questions; a description of book themes, discussions, and challenges; sample classroom meeting topics; and pre- and post-survey data on 5 questions.) (Author/RS)

A class project used in one college-level business French course in Oregon involves creation of a French company using a modified simulation approach. Students work in groups to determine what product or service they would like to develop and research the creation of a company. During this process, they simulate a number of situations encountered in establishing a business, including correspondence and documentation. Currently, the entire course is based on the project. Steps include: (1) selecting a product or service the students have a personal interest in and that can be marketed in France; (2) determining the legal status of the company, using authentic documents; (3) locating the business in France; (4) creation of logo, letterhead, and other company documents; (5) creating job announcements for employees; (6) determining needed banking accounts and services; (7) ordering supplies and equipment; and (8) planning marketing and advertising. Other topics, such as customs and trade regulations, can be incorporated. Students make oral presentations near the end of the course, using role-playing and supporting visual aids. A written report is also required. Student response to the project has been enthusiastic, and the approach is felt to be effective in promoting active learning. (MSE)

A class project used in one college-level business French course in Oregon involves creation of a French company using a modified simulation approach. Students work in groups to determine what product or service they would like to develop and research the creation of a company. During this process, they simulate a number of situations encountered in establishing a business, including correspondence and documentation. Currently, the entire course is based on the project. Steps include: (1) selecting a product or service the students have a personal interest in and that can be marketed in France; (2) determining the legal status of the company, using authentic documents; (3) locating the business in France; (4) creation of logo, letterhead, and other company documents; (5) creating job announcements for employees; (6) determining needed banking accounts and services; (7) ordering supplies and equipment; and (8) planning marketing and advertising. Other topics, such as customs and trade regulations, can be incorporated. Students make oral presentations near the end of the course, using role-playing and supporting visual aids. A written report is also required. Student response to the project has been enthusiastic, and the approach is felt to be effective in promoting active learning. (MSE)

A class project used in one college-level business French course in Oregon involves creation of a French company using a modified simulation approach. Students work in groups to determine what product or service they would like to develop and research the creation of a company. During this process, they simulate a number of situations encountered in establishing a business, including correspondence and documentation. Currently, the entire course is based on the project. Steps include: (1) selecting a product or service the students have a personal interest in and that can be marketed in France; (2) determining the legal status of the company, using authentic documents; (3) locating the business in France; (4) creation of logo, letterhead, and other company documents; (5) creating job announcements for employees; (6) determining needed banking accounts and services; (7) ordering supplies and equipment; and (8) planning marketing and advertising. Other topics, such as customs and trade regulations, can be incorporated. Students make oral presentations near the end of the course, using role-playing and supporting visual aids. A written report is also required. Student response to the project has been enthusiastic, and the approach is felt to be effective in promoting active learning. (MSE)

Allen's Economic Development Corporation knows what it takes to attract first rate companies to the city Check out the other ways the City of Allen is committed to serving the community: https://www.cityofallen.org/Stories-of-Service CITY INFO =============== City News and Events: http://www.AllenNews.org Watch ACTV online 24/7: http://www.AllenTV.org Like us: https://www.facebook.com/CityofAllen/ Follow us: https://www.instagram.com/cityofallentx/ Tweet us: https://twitter.com/CityofAllenTX

Our Lubbock ISD Culinary and Floral Design classes teamed up to create cookie bouquets for Spring. Let our instructors show you how to prepare and decorate the cookies, plus what to use and how to arrange them in a fun bouquet.

This report is intended to provide relevant information as well as indications for the way forward for all key decision makers, including the newly-elected Governor, State Superintendent, State Board members, legislators, and others with a continuing responsibility for state education policy. From the benchmarking, a holistic set of implications, each supported by detailed diagnostic findings are described, which would help Ohio reach its goal of a world-class educational system. However, this report does not claim to comprehensively consider all the issues. Rather, it is intended to be a starting point for a new, forward-looking conversation among Ohio's leaders about what it would take for Ohio to achieve the goal set out by Governor Strickland on the day of his election: create a world-class education system in Ohio. The report was commissioned by Achieve, Inc., with its fact base, international benchmarking of Ohio's K-12 system, and identification of best practice implications for Ohio (in order to attain the goal of a world-class system) conducted by McKinsey & Company, drawing upon the work of leading international education experts. (Contains 207 endnotes.)

KERA Collection. This content is copyrighted and may be used for research and educational purposes only.

The Karen Hunter Show teaches the keys to entrepreneurial success in the industries of sports, politics, entertainment and so much more, directly from the celebrities and civilians who have personally created brands from the ground up. Hear the Karen Hunter Show on SiriusXM Urban View on-demand, channel 126 www.siriusxm.com/ondemand. Source: https://soundcloud.com/siriusxm-news-issues/tananarive-due-educator-sunken-place-class Uploader: SiriusXM News & Issues

The Karen Hunter Show teaches the keys to entrepreneurial success in the industries of sports, politics, entertainment and so much more, directly from the celebrities and civilians who have personally created brands from the ground up. Hear the Karen Hunter Show on SiriusXM Urban View on-demand, channel 126 www.siriusxm.com/ondemand. Source: https://soundcloud.com/siriusxm-news-issues/tananarive-due-educator-sunken-place-class Uploader: SiriusXM News & Issues

Podcast for IT

Podcast for IT

In the 21st century world-class universities will need to be much more focused on innovation, rather than on stability and standardization. An innovative organization is different from a stable one. It requires different skills from its participants, and it functions in a different way from a stable organization. A focus on innovation will necessitate a different kind of university from what exists at most institutions today. Those who want to create and maintain a world class university will need to develop a culture of innovation in their organizations. In this report, William Tierney first outlines an organization's barriers to innovation that retard creativity. He then considers seven topics central for an innovative organization: (1) risk-taking; (2) personal autonomy; (3) goal-setting; (4) decision-making; (5) teamwork; (6) fiscal and temporal resources; and (7) organizational excitement.

654: Charu and Sanjib discuss the topic of creating a world-class digital customer experience. Charu shares how Alaska Airlines is tackling the innovation cycle and Sanjib shares how Ingram Micro makes this innovation cycle a core ethos of the organization. Sanjib also covers the four ways he is approaching innovation and using that to drive scale. Finally, Charu discusses realizing tangible business value through innovation and how Alaska Airlines is using data to personalize the guest experience. Also available on YouTube:https://youtu.be/TloHdG6-wSs_____________________________________This episode is sponsored by Cisco.

Techniques for using France's Minitel, a general information network accessible by computer from the United States, for business French courses are outlined. The Minitel system is first described and hardware and software needs for accessing its services are noted. A variety of options for presenting Minitel material to students is presented, including having students spend time on the computer and saving screens on disk or in photographs for later use in various forms. A list of services is offered, with costs per minute (in French francs), is included. A student project that includes a series of steps, activities, and services and that pushes students to explore many business concepts and resources, is described. The project involves setting up a small business. Steps include: picking a business; naming it; establishing a business plan; deciding on the legal form; inquiring about necessary formalities; and optionally: preparing documentation; planning for export; setting up accounting procedures; peripheral activities; and followup Minitel activities. It is argued that the diversity of Minitel services and their currency make them an ideal tool for supplementing commercial instructional materials and adapting course content to student interests. (MSE)

The shared writing program described in this lesson engages K-2 students in thinking about the process of learning and the behavioral and community needs which support a productive classroom environment. During the two 30-minute lessons, students will: participate in group discussions about learning; identify and agree on classroom goals and needs; and refer to established goals on a long-term basis in a variety of ongoing classroom events and activities. The instructional plan, a 36-item book list, web resources, student assessment/reflection activities, and a list of National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association (NCTE/IRA) Standards addressed in the lesson are included. (PM)

The shared writing program described in this lesson engages K-2 students in thinking about the process of learning and the behavioral and community needs which support a productive classroom environment. During the two 30-minute lessons, students will: participate in group discussions about learning; identify and agree on classroom goals and needs; and refer to established goals on a long-term basis in a variety of ongoing classroom events and activities. The instructional plan, a 36-item book list, web resources, student assessment/reflection activities, and a list of National Council of Teachers of English/International Reading Association (NCTE/IRA) Standards addressed in the lesson are included. (PM)

Our Lubbock ISD Culinary and Floral Design classes teamed up to create cookie bouquets for Spring. Let our instructors show you how to prepare and decorate the cookies, plus what to use and how to arrange them in a fun bouquet.

This report presents the results of a workshop on race, gender, class, and student achievement. The workshop was called to help set the nation's educational-research agenda with regard to social-status distinctions. Invited panelists made recommendations about how race, gender, and class should be conceptualized and measured in educational research and how educational research can incorporate analyses that examine the isolated and interactive effects of race, gender, and class. The report summarizes panelists' recommendations and includes four broad topical sections: "The Concepts of Race, Gender, and Class in a New Educational Research Agenda"; "The Analyses of Isolated and Interactional Effects of Race, Gender, and Class;""The Theoretical and Methodological Criteria for Future Educational Research"; and "The Applied Substance of a New Educational Research Agenda." Each section begins with a brief summary of the recommendations made, followed by a list of the recommendations enacted, and ends with excerpts from the discussion so as to put the recommendations in context. Recommendations include treating race as a process, not as a category, exploring how racial categories within schools take on meanings over time, and preparing longitudinal studies of values that are usually conflated with class. (RJM)

xiii, 45 p. : 34 cm

In The News: Flap n' Babble over the US budgets in both chambers of congress but they both pass their versions so they can take a looooong Easter vacation (and the nation MAY be safer for that). President Obama just finished a town hall talk in Strasburg Germany where he was treated like a rock star but NOT QUITE everyone is impressed. Posted: Thursday, April 02, 2009 12:15 PM by Domenico Montanaro Filed Under: The First 100 Days, Barack Obama From NBC News International NBC Producer Andy Eckardt on the ground in Strasbourg, France, reports that approximately 500 to 1,000 so-called 'black block' protestors are reported to be scuffling with police when trying to get into the city. In the historic center, it is business as usual with an increasing police presence. Many people are out in the streets on this warm and sunny spring day. Security zones throughout the city will be enforced by 9:00 pm local time (4:00 pm ET), which will make access to the inner city very difficult without special permission. [ In Full ] He also announces a tour of France China Russia and other countries in June. Meanwhile, the G20 summit is over after mass demonstrations in London and tension among world leaders regarding financial industry regulations From Le Monde Dipomatique: TRANSLATION: Minute-by-minute cascade of major announcements follows end of G20 summit ( Le Monde ) Written by Mark Jensen Thursday, 02 April 2009 There was an extraordinary cascade of major news announcements in a two-hour period at the conclusion Thursday afternoon in London of the G20 summit. -- They were reported minute-by-minute on the web site of Le Monde (Paris) in brief squibs translated below. [ In Full ] Tobacco industry 'up in smoke'? The house passes a bill that allows the FDA to rule that Nicotine IS a drug , and cigarette ARE a delivery system allowing them to regulate it's content, distribution, and more. The federal tax has just risen from $0.39 to $1.01 per sales unit creating a situation where only the rich will be able to smoke. The lowest common denominator in rolling tobaccos, Bugler, just went from $2.75 a pouch (a little over a pack of ready made cigarettes) to $4.00. making it likely that the poor, unemployed, and otherwise economically disenfranchised will quit in droves and the rich won't care about the price increase, or other consequences of the FDA's regulation. EX-governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich is indicted along with members of his family, for among other things, attempting to sell president Obama's vacated senate seat and attempting to shake down Chief of Staff Emanuel . The North Koreans are coming! The North Koreans are coming! Launch preparations are happening for either an ICBM or a communications satellite depending on which media outlet you read. This reminds me of another 'Cold War' incident... Look 'below the fold' in the 'Notes:' for archival footage, and be VERY afraid! ...and finally, Ward Churchill wins his wrongful termination suit [ Article ] against Colorado University and is awarded ONE dollar ($1.00). It was interesting to note that the 'Right side' of the forums at the Boulder Colorado Daily Camera truly believed that the minimal award was somehow relevant to the issue at hand. Churchill wins his case, awarded $1 in damages The University of Colorado unlawfully fired Ward Churchill for expressing his political beliefs, a Denver jury decided Thursday. But in what legal experts labeled a “compromise verdict,” the four women and two men on the jury only awarded the former ethnic studies professor $1 in damages. Chief Denver District Judge Larry Naves will decide at a separate hearing whether Churchill, 61, gets his job back at CU or is given a lump sum of money instead. CU will also have to pay Churchill’s legal costs. [ In Full @ The Daily Camera, with 182 comments and counting ] Churchill, when handed the dollar bill, shouted: "Here the Dollar!" Reporter John Aguilar of the Boulder Daily Camera reported the proceedings via 'liveblog' over the four week duration of the trial. Excellent job John. A search at the Daily Camera's site for those bloggings is [ Here ] Follow up ( April 03 2009 1430 PDT ): Juror speaks out Members of the jury declined to talk to reporters after the verdict Thursday, and were escorted from the courthouse by sheriff’s deputies. But a woman identifying herself as juror Bethany Newill called the Caplis and Silverman show on Denver’s KHOW radio Thursday evening, and said the $1 award wasn’t intended to send a message that Churchill was a fraud. She told the lawyers-turned-radio hosts that five of the six jurors were intent on awarding Churchill money but that one was insistent he get nothing. Newill said they ultimately agreed on the nominal figure because Churchill’s attorneys didn’t provide them with a clear formula for determining damages for lost income or non-economic losses, like harm to reputation. “We sat there for pretty much hours debating this,” she said. Silverman asked if Newill thought the jury would have landed on a higher figure if Lane had called an economist to the stand to quantify Churchill’s losses. “Definitely, I do,” she said. [ In Full ] Essentially, the jury unanimously felt that CU was culpable for attempting to punish Churchill for exercising his First Amendment rights. More reason for celebration from the other British colony-gone-continental, Australia: Friday, April 03, 2009 Australia endorses UN indigenous rights declaration Ingrid Burke at 1:21 PM ET [JURIST] Australian Minister of Indigenous Affairs Jenny Macklin [official profile] announced Friday that the country has endorsed [statement] the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples [text, PDF]. The move reverses the position of the country's former administration on the declaration. Macklin said the decision by the country's current Labor Party [official website] government to sign the declaration was rooted in its desire to improve relations with the nation's indigenous people... [ In Full @ Jurist Paper Chase ] [ After the commentary, John Kay & Steppenwolf on the subject of hard drugs, and the REAL victims... the users. Courtesy of the respective artists. ] "All The News You Never Knew You Needed To Know ...Until Now." Travus T. Hipp - Cabale News Service Creative Commons Copyright Courtesy of Cabale News Service and KPIG Radio Popout player below the fold in the "Notes" . Recorded & transcribed by The Buffalo Amongst Wolves @ My Buffalo River Home

Penn Station was once one of the great railroad stations, but now it's not fit for the greatest city in the nation. That's why we are creating a world class train hall at Moynihan and we just announced a new East End Gateway. This isn't a proposal—we are getting to work now. https://t.co/krjAUZcgdh Source: https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1129115084540846080 Uploader: Andrew Cuomo

A collection of Wallace Stevens poems written before 1923.<br /><br />Stevens trained to be a lawyer. Within eleven years after this series of poems were written, he was vice-president at the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company in Connecticut. He continued to pursue a quiet life of poetry and correspondence and for the remainder of his life he nurtured his contemplative habit of observation and writing as he walked from home to work and back again. Few at Hartford knew of his world acclaim as a poet. While his major work is considered to have been written when he was much older, many of these early poems are firm classics in the American poetic canon, including: “Anecdote of the Jar,” “The Emperor of Ice Cream,” “Peter Quince at the Clavier,” “Sunday Morning,” “The Snow Man,” “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” and many others. Stevens died of cancer in 1955, shortly after receiving that year’s Pulitzer Prize for poetry.<br /><br />These poems originally appeared in a variety of magazines (Others, Secession, Rogue, The Soil, The Modern School, Broom, Contact, The New Republic, The Measure, The Little Review, The Dial, and particularly in Poetry: A Magazine of Verse.) Nearly 70 of the 101 published poems were later collected in Stevens' first published collection of poems, HARMONIUM. (Summary by Alan Davis Drake)

2Jailed For Freedom

By Doris Stevens

A first-hand account of the 1913-1919 campaign of American suffragettes, detailing their treatment at the hands of the courts, and the true conditions of their incarceration. (Summary by Sarah Jennings)

3Around the World on a Bicycle, Vol. 1

By Thomas Stevens

Thomas Stevens was the first person to circle the globe by bicycle, a large-wheeled Ordinary. His journey started in April 1884 in San Francisco from where he cycled to Boston to take a steamer to England. Crossing England, France, Central Europe and Asia Minor before he was turned back at the borders of Afghanistan. He returned part of the way to take a ship to Karachi, from where he crossed India. Another steam ship brought him from Calcutta to Hong Kong, and from Shanghai he set over to Japan, finally ending his journey after actually cycling 13.500 miles in Yokohama, December 1886.<br><br> This is the first volume of his travel experiences, detailing the part of the journey from San Francisco to Teheran, where he spent the winter. (Summary by Availle)

4Around the World on a Bicycle, Vol. 2

By Thomas Stevens

Thomas Stevens was the first person to circle the globe by bicycle, a large-wheeled Ordinary. His journey started in April 1884 in San Francisco from where he cycled to Boston to take a steamer to England. Crossing England, France, Central Europe and Asia Minor before he was turned back at the borders of Afghanistan. He returned part of the way to take a ship to Karachi, from where he crossed India. Another steam ship brought him from Calcutta to Hong Kong, and from Shanghai he set over to Japan, finally ending his journey after actually cycling 13.500 miles in Yokohama, December 1886. <br><br> This is the second volume (of two) relating his travel experiences, detailing the part of the journey from Teheran to Yokohama. (Summary by Availle)

Hazard Stevens and P.B. Van Trump, aided by the Indian guide Sluiskin, made the first documented successful ascent of Mt. Rainier on August 17, 1870. Hazard's account of the climb was first published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1876 and later reprinted with an introduction by Edmond S. Meany in 1916. Sluiskin tried to dissuade the climbers. "Takhoma” (the Indian name for Mt. Rainier) "was an enchanted mountain, inhabited by an evil spirit, who dwelt in a fiery lake on its summit. No human being could ascend it or even attempt its ascent and survive." This prophecy almost proved true. Thinking they could reach the summit and return on the same day, Stevens and Van Trump left behind coats and blankets, only to find themselves trapped overnight in bitter cold. They survived huddled around a volcanic steam vent in an ice cave. "The heat at the orifice was too great to bear for more than an instant, but the steam wet us, the smell of sulfur was nauseating, and the cold was so severe that our clothes, saturated with the steam, froze stiff when turned away from the heated jet." (Summary by Sue Anderson)

A collection of Wallace Stevens poems written before 1923.<br /><br />These poems originally appeared in a variety of magazines (Others, Rogue, The Soil, The Modern School, Broom, Contact, The New Republic, The Measure, The Little Review, The Dial, and particularly in Poetry: A Magazine of Verse.) Nearly 70 of the 101 published poems were later collected in Stevens' first published collection of poems, <em>Harmonium</em>. (Summary by Alan Davis Drake & Ruth Golding)<br /><br /> Proof-listening by Winston Tharp, Hanna1990 and Ruth Golding.<br /><br /> Volume 1 of this collection may be found at <a href="https://librivox.org/the-complete-public-domain-poems-of-wallace-stevens-volume-1-of-2/">https://librivox.org/the-complete-public-domain-poems-of-wallace-stevens-volume-1-of-2/</a>.

Gertrude Barrows Bennett was the first major female writer of fantasy and science fiction in the United States, publishing her stories under the pseudonym Francis Stevens. Bennett wrote a number of highly acclaimed fantasies between 1917 and 1923 and has been called "the woman who invented dark fantasy". Citadel of Fear is considered Francis Stevens' masterpiece, by Lovecraft's acclaim. Two adventurers discover a lost city in the Mexican jungle. One is taken over by an evil god while the other falls in love with a woman from the ancient Mexican city of Tlapallan. Citadel of Fear was first published as a serial in Argosy Magazine in 1918-1919. It was eventually republished as a novel in 1970. It is now considered a "lost classic". (Summary by Wikipedia and Mark Nelson)

"An evil influence has been brought into touch with you," the medium warned Clayton Barbour. "A dead soul seeks to destroy your life that it may itself go on living." At that moment, Barbour began his grim struggle for possession of himself. (Adapted from the <i>Famous Fantastic Mysteries</i> reprint, July, 1942)

This is the first edition of Stevens's first book, with poetry written between 1914 and 1923. A later edition was printed with the inclusion of additional poems and, somewhat surprisingly, three of the earlier poems omitted. - Summary by KevinS

A pioneering work in the alternate worlds genre, The Heads of Cerberus was serialized in The Thrill Book in 1919 and published as a novel in 1952. A vial of grey dust transports three unwitting time travelers to a totalitarian version of Philadelphia in the year 2118. While certain landmarks stand unchanged, the societal structure is unrecognizable. Superlative adjectives and numbered buttons have replaced names and an oligarchy wield godlike power over the masses. To return home, the trio must win over the Loveliest, outsmart the Cleverest, and survive a deadly competition. - Summary by Christina Fu

This story takes place in Marshall City, the fictional capital of an unnamed Midwestern state, where the cousin of millionaire Hildreth Wyndham has mysteriously disappeared. Hildreth and his friends believe that his cousin's former employer, the state governor, is responsible for her abduction, but they must traverse a mysterious labyrinth first in order to uncover the whole truth. (Summary by Ashley Crossman)