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The breathless pace of China's economic reform has brought about deep ruptures in socioeconomic structures and people's inner landscape. Faced with increasing market-driven competition and profound social changes, more and more middle-class urbanites are turning to Western-style psychological counseling to grapple with their mental distress. This book offers an in-depth ethnographic account of how an unfolding “inner revolution” is reconfiguring selfhood, psyche, family dynamics, sociality, and the mode of governing in post-socialist times. Li Zhang shows that anxiety—broadly construed in both medical and social terms—has become a powerful indicator for the general pulse of contemporary Chinese society. It is in this particular context that Zhang traces how a new psychotherapeutic culture takes root, thrives, and transforms itself across a wide range of personal, social, and political domains.

Two-Dimensional Materials for Nonlinear Optics Comprehensive resource covering concepts, perspectives, and skills required to understand the preparation, nonlinear optics, and applications of two-dimensional (2D) materials Bringing together many interdisciplinary experts in the field of 2D materials with their applications in nonlinear optics, Two-Dimensional Materials for Nonlinear Optics covers preparation methods for various novel 2D materials, such as transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) and single elemental 2D materials, excited-state dynamics of 2D materials behind their outstanding performance in photonic devices, instrumentation for exploring the photoinduced excited-state dynamics of the 2D materials spanning a wide time scale from ultrafast to slow, and future trends of 2D materials on a series of issues like fabrications, dynamic investigations, and photonic/optoelectronic applications. Powerful nonlinear optical characterization techniques, such as Z-scan measurement, femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, and microscopy, are also introduced. Edited by two highly qualified academics with extensive experience in the field, Two-Dimensional Materials for Nonlinear Optics covers sample topics such as: Foundational knowledge on nonlinear optical properties, and fundamentals and preparation methods of 2D materials with nonlinear optical properties Modulation and enhancement of optical nonlinearity in 2D materials, and nonlinear optical characterization techniques for 2D materials and their applications in a specific field Novel nonlinear optical imaging systems, ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy for investigating carrier dynamics in emerging 2D materials, and transient terahertz spectroscopy 2D materials for optical limiting, saturable absorber, second and third harmonic generation, nanolasers, and space use With collective insight from researchers in many different interdisciplinary fields, Two-Dimensional Materials for Nonlinear Optics is an essential resource for materials scientists, solid state chemists and physicists, photochemists, and professionals in the semiconductor industry who are interested in understanding the state of the art in the field.

Bacterial biofilm is a complex structure with diverse bacterial cells in a highly organized and ordered group within a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances they produce. Microbes attach to surfaces to develop biofilms, a sophisticated process regulated by factors such as nutritional status and biotic/abiotic surface features. An established biofilm structure mainly comprises bacterial cells, proteins, nucleic acid, and exo-polysaccharides that are extracellular macromolecules excreted as tightly bound layers in microbes, providing a perfect niche for bacteria to exchange genetic material between cells. In addition, bacterial cells in the matrix also communicate via quorum sensing, which greatly impacts biofilm processes. Under clinical circumstances, bacterial biofilm shows great resistance to antibiotics, disinfectants, and body defense systems, making it difficult for clinicians to eradicate and facilitate many infectious disease processes, leading to chronic infections of patients with long-term hospitalization and high mortality rates. Therefore, it is very important to understand the recent advances in forming, regulating, and eradicating biofilms in human infections to better prevent, control, and treat biofilm infections in humans. Written by an international team of basic and clinical researchers, the chapters of this book provide novel insights and advanced knowledge for life science researchers, clinical researchers, doctors, and other interested readers on some of the latest developments in biofilms.

This book provides quantitative indicators covering four main areas of business environment in China. The most distinguished feature of this book is that it evaluates Chinese business environment from the perspective of enterprises based on two years'nationwide survey, interviewing 15,000 enterprises in 300 One-Stop Shops across China from 2018 to 2019, which includes: (1) Progress of Chinese business environment in 2019; (2) overview of the facilities and services of China's One-stop Shops; (3) construction and popularity of Chinese digital government system; (4) the effect of Chinese business environment on improving economic performance in terms of entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic growth. The quantitative analysis of this book shows that in 2019, China made noteworthy improvements in the process of reducing permits, increasing the availability of digital government, and improving the government efficiency. Challenges such as uneven progress among sub-regions and difficulties for small enterprises to grow were still getting in the way. The goal of the book is to provide objective data and cases from enterprise survey for use by academics and governments. This book presents Chinese experiences of designing sound business regulatory policies.

This book is dedicated to lightning transients and protection for renewable energy systems, including both wind and solar energy. In addition to the formation mechanism of lightning transients, the practical engineering application has also been addressed. This book is comprehensive and covers the methodology of electromagnetic transient modelling, electromagnetic coupling for PV system, lightning protection design, testing and evaluation. This book is particularly suitable for readers interested in lightning phenomena and renewable energy systems. It would benefit researchers, engineers and graduate students in the fields of electrical engineering, renewable energy, computational electromagnetism, etc.

To ultimately address this serious issue, this book begins with the nonlinear dynamic characteristics of marine plankton, focusing on the dynamic behavior of both two-dimensional and spatiotemporal patterns. As a critical foundation of marine ecosystems, the frequent outbreaks of marine phytoplankton and the toxicity of planktonic animals pose significant threats to marine ecological security and human health. One of the primary reasons we currently struggle to effectively manage the safety issues surrounding marine plankton is the extremely complex nature of their growth environment, which exhibits intricate dynamic and nonlinear characteristics. By constructing reaction-diffusion models and fractional diffusion systems of the planktonic ecosystem, the book characterizes the various factors in different environments and studies the nonlinear behavior of marine organisms. Employing linear stability theory, multi-scale analysis, comparison principle, analytical techniques, and the construction of Lyapunov functions, the book delves into the following topic: the stability of the plankton ecosystem, Hopf bifurcation, Turing bifurcation and other local bifurcations, spatial self-organization behavior of marine plankton, the formation of spatiotemporal patterns, and the persistence and extinction properties and characteristics. Marine ecology and the marine environment are currently hot research topics internationally, with the behavior of marine organisms being a core area of this research. The goal of exploring these issues is to scientifically understand the features of marine organisms, control their behavior, manage ocean pollution effectively, contribute to human development, and support social advancement. Additionally, the authors aime to make academic contributions and provide guidance to graduate students and researchers dedicated to this field.

This book analyzes data from eight waves (1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2011-12, 2014 and 2018) of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Surveys (CLHLS) to explore how health status of the Chinese oldest old has changed over time and across birth cohorts. It also intends to investigate how period and birth cohorts have played a role in the associations between Chinese oldest old's health and a variety of demographic, socioeconomic, and lifestyle factors. The book applies the age-period-cohort (APC) approach and constructs cross-classified random-effects models (CCREMs) to carry out the analyses. The oldest old's health is measured by self-rated health (SRH), chronic diseases, cognitive function and subjective wellbeing which is indicated by positive and negative feeling scores. The results show that Chinese oldest old's health status has changed over time and across birth cohorts. Significant period and cohort effects are shown when linking Chinese oldest old's health to various demographic, socioeconomic and health lifestyle covariates. In general, period effects surpass the cohort effects. Particularly, the oldest old's subjective wellbeing is more likely to be influenced by period than cohort effects. Period changes caused by social events, such as economic hardship and natural disasters, have left strong imprints on Chinese oldest old's mental than physical health status. Based on these findings, the book highlights some important policy implications and points out future research directions to improve the current study. It provides an interesting read for researchers in gerontology and public health studies. It is also of interest to general audience, including practitioners in health care and policy makers who are interested in old age care and healthy aging policies.

This book explores how China, and especially China's Belt and Road Initiative, is viewed in European media and by European think tanks, thereby uncovering European elites'views of China. Looking across Europe—the European Union, Western Europe (including the United Kingdom), Central Europe, and Eastern Europe—the book reveals a complex picture, with different views in different places, and with different aspects of China disproportionately emphasized in some places. As China's importance in the world continues to grow, it is crucial to understand how distorted views of China are shaping international relations.

Untethered Miniature Soft Robots Reference on achieving contactless manipulation of soft robots, detailing high level concepts and perspectives and technical skills of soft robots Untethered Miniature Soft Robots: Materials, Fabrications, and Applications introduces the emerging field of miniature soft robots and summarizes the recent rapid development in the field to date, describing different types of functional materials to build miniature soft robots, such as silicone elastomer, carbon-based materials, hydrogels, liquid crystal polymer, flexible ferrofluid, and liquid metal, and covering the material properties, fabrication strategies, and functionalities in soft robots together with their underlying mechanisms. The book discusses magnetically, thermally, optically, and chemically actuated soft robots in depth, explores the many specific applications of miniature soft robots in biomedical, environmental, and electrical fields and summarizes the development of miniature soft robots based on soft matter, fabrication strategies, locomotion principles, sensing and actuation mechanisms. In closing, the text summarizes the opportunities and challenges faced by miniature soft robots, providing expert insight into the possible futures of this field. Written by four highly qualified academics, Untethered Miniature Soft Robots covers sample topics such as: Soft elastomer-based robots with programmable magnetization profiles and untethered soft robots based on template-aiding Working mechanisms of carbon-based materials, covering light-induced expansion and shrinkage, and humidity-induced deformation Designing microscale building blocks, modular assembly of building blocks based on Denavit-Hartenberg (DH) matrix, and inverse and forward design of modular morphing systems Material designs of magnetic liquid crystal elastomers (LCE) systems, multiple-stimuli responsiveness of magnetic LCE systems, and adaptive locomotion of magnetic LCE-based robots Controllable deformation and motion behaviors, as well as applications of ferrofluids droplet robots (FDRs), including cargo capturing, object sorting, liquid pumping/mixing, and liquid skin. Providing highly detailed and up-to-date coverage of the topic, Untethered Miniature Soft Robots serves as an invaluable and highly comprehensive reference for researchers working in this promising field across a variety of disciplines, including materials scientists, mechanical and electronics engineers, polymer chemists, and biochemists.

This book is focused on the attractive emerging field of micro-/nanorobot swarms (microswarms). It introduces fundamental understandings of various microswarms, including pattern generation, transformation, locomotion, and imaging. This book also demonstrates applications of micro-/nanorobot swarms in different fields, such as biomedical, environmental, and electrical applications. The detailed theoretical analysis and experimental demonstrations in this book provide readers ranging from students to researchers with a realistic picture of progress achieved in the field of micro-/nanorobot swarms. ​

Developments in deep learning in the past decade have led to phenomenal growth in AI-based automated medical diagnosis, opening a door to a new era of both medical research and medical industry. It is a golden age for researchers involved in the development and application of advanced machine learning techniques for medical and clinical problems. This book captures the most recent important advances in this cross-disciplinary topic and brings the latest advances to a wide audience including experts, researchers, students, industry developers and medical services.

Two-stage single-phase converters, including two-stage single-phase dc-ac inverters and two-stage single-phase PFC converters, are interfacing power converters between dc and ac voltage/current sources, which have been widely applied for dc-ac and ac-dc power conversion. For the two-stage single-phase converter, the ac-side power pulsates at twice the ac voltage frequency, resulting in second harmonic current (SHC) which might flow into the dc-dc converter, the dc voltage source, and dc load. This book clarifies the generation, propagation, and side-effects of this SHC and proposes the SHC reduction control schemes for the dc-dc converter, with different topologies and/or different operating modes, in the single-phase converter. On this basis, the second harmonic current compensator (SHCC) is proposed to compensate the SHC, significantly reducing the dc bus capacitance. In doing so, the electrolytic capacitors, with short lifetimes, are removed from the two-stage single-phase converter, leading to extended system lifetime and enhanced system stability. For having flawless SHC compensation performance, the port-current control schemes are proposed for the SHCC. Additionally, the stability analysis is carried out for the two-stage single-phase converter with the addition of SHCC. This book is a monograph combining theoretical analysis and engineering design, which could not only be a reference book for master students, Ph.D. students, and teachers majoring in power electronics but also be a handbook for the electrical engineers working on the research and development of LED drivers, EV on-board chargers, railway auxiliary power supplies, aviation power supplies, renewable energy generation systems, etc.

This book addresses a special topic in the field of nonlinear dynamical systems, develops a new research direction of surface chaos and surface bifurcation. It provides a clear watershed for original nonlinear chaos and bifurcation research. The novel content of this book makes nonlinear system research more systematical and personalized.This book introduces the chaos and bifurcation behavior of surface dynamics in the sense of Li Yorke, the basic properties, Lyapunov exponent and Feigenbaum constant of nonlinear behavior of surface, and obtained the wave behavior of chaotic process in surface motion, the control of surface chaos and bifurcation, and the wide application of surface chaos in engineering technology.Through this book, readers can obtain more abundant and novel contents about surface chaos and surface bifurcation than the existing mixed fitting bifurcation of plane curve and space curve, which can also expand the realm andvision of research.

This book introduces China's current publishing industry in the new era, especially when facing the big challenge from social media and technology transformation. Based on the calculation for the first time, the book and overall size of the content data of publications in China, the book presents 15 cases of Chinese publishers looking for opportunities to develop business, using the technology of big data and Internet. For global readers, it may help to build an overview on China's publishing industry and business innovation cases of media companies.

Collaborated by Chinese and American scholars, Understanding China's Urbanization opens up a new channel to disseminate Chinese studies to the world. Highly readable, the book provides fine-grained materials and detailed information on Chinese urbanization. Li Zhang, Richard LeGates and Min Zhao effectively convey an indigenous perspective on Chinese urban futures and present a picture with sufficient complexity and wide coverage.'- Fulong Wu, University College London, UK'A most comprehensive book about urbanization in China, with in-depth insights from a talented scholarly team. This book is far more than a snapshot of the Chinese story, it reveals the important developments that have occured as China has transitioned into a dynamic urban country.'- Shi Nan, Secretary General, Urban Planning Society of China'Zhang, LeGates, and Zhao's book builds on the voluminous literature on China's urbanization by adding new data, findings, insights, perspectives, and recommendations. Both academically sophisticated and reader-friendly, the book surveys and critiques research in and outside China and highlights new phenomena in urbanization, governance, migration, foreign direct investment, and city clusters. Richly decorated with illustrations as well as the authors'original statistical and field analyses, the book is a much welcome multidisciplinary contribution to understanding a burning question in China.'- C. Cindy Fan, University of California, Los AngelesChina's urbanization is one of the great earth-changing phenomena of recent times. The way in which China continues to urbanize will have a critical impact on the world economy, global climate change, international relations and a host of other critical issues. Understanding and responding to China's urbanization is of paramount importance to everyone. This book represents a unique exploration of the demographic, spatial, economic and social aspects of China's urban transformation.Based on years of fieldwork and data analysis from different types of cities and towns in every region of China, the authors present a detailed description of how China has urbanized since 1978 and an original theory about the way in which top-down and bottom-up policies have impacted urbanization. They describe China's on-going urbanization process as a'double-dual'transformation from a planned economy to a more market-oriented one and from a concern with the quantity to the quality of urbanization. In doing so, the authors provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date book on Chinese urbanization to date.This scholarly study will appeal to academics and practitioners, including professors and postgraduate students of urban studies, planning, geography, Asian studies, and other social science disciplines and professional fields concerned with cities and urban development. Professionals involved in international development, particularly in China and elsewhere in Asia, will be particularly interested in the book.

This invaluable book provides the first description of the diverse and fascinating functions of heme in life processes for a broad audience. It begins with an introduction of the intricate chemical properties of heme and the history of early observations of human diseases associated with heme. It then proceeds to describe the versatile roles of heme in controlling diverse molecular and cellular processes germane to human life and disease processes. In the second edition, a new chapter is devoted to describe findings about heme uptake, transport, and trafficking of heme synthesis intermediates in mammals. Additionally, a chapter about the newly discovered roles of elevated heme biosynthesis and uptake in lung tumorigenesis is included.Heme Biology is unified and logical in presentation. It is well suited for students and professionals in life sciences who wish to know about the fascinating biology of heme and its usefulness in health and diseases. It may also be used as a reference book for advanced readers and researchers who are interested in heme biology. The explanations in the book are detailed enough to capture the interest of the curious reader, and complete enough to provide the necessary information for researchers to have an in-depth molecular understanding of heme biology and further their studies in this fascinating realm.

Can Science and Technology Save China? assesses the intimate connections between science and society in China, offering an in-depth look at how an array of sciences and technologies are being made, how they are interfacing with society, and with what effects.Focusing on critical domains of daily life, the chapters explore how scientists, technicians, surgeons, therapists, and other experts create practical knowledges and innovations, as well as how ordinary people take them up as they pursue the good life. Editors Greenhalgh and Zhang offer a rare, up-close view of the politics of Chinese science-making, showing how everyday logics, practices, and ethics of science, medicine, and technology are profoundly reshaping contemporary China. By foregrounding the notion of'governing through science,'and the contested role of science and technology as instruments of change, this timely book addresses important questions regarding what counts as science in China, what science and technology can do to transform China, as well as their limits and unintended consequences.

Everyday life in China is increasingly shaped by a novel mix of neoliberal and socialist elements, of individual choices and state objectives. This combination of self-determination and socialism from afar has incited profound changes in the ways individuals think and act in different spheres of society.Covering a vast range of daily life—from homeowner organizations and the users of Internet cafes to self-directed professionals and informed consumers—the essays in Privatizing China create a compelling picture of the burgeoning awareness of self-governing within the postsocialist context. The introduction by Aihwa Ong and Li Zhang presents assemblage as a concept for studying China as a unique postsocialist society created through interactions with global forms. The authors conduct their ethnographic fieldwork in a spectrum of domains—family, community, real estate, business, taxation, politics, labor, health, professions, religion, and consumption—that are infiltrated by new techniques of the self and yet also regulated by broader socialist norms. Privatizing China gives readers a grounded, fine-grained intimacy with the variety and complexity of everyday conduct in China's turbulent transformation.

The book explores the influence of western architecture in China Influence from the mid-nineteenth century up to the present day, and reflects on the relationship between tradition and innovation in the country. The analyses and studies conducted with the precious contribution of scholars of Chinese culture give rise to a series of observations on the complex process of modernization that has brought China and the West closer. This phenomenon, alongside others, has been a propitious feature of the transformation of contemporary Chinese cities. Finally, the text addresses the issue of urban historical heritage as an essential value of China's ancient culture. Il libro esplora l'influenza dell'architettura occidentale in Cina dalla metà del XIX secolo fino ai giorni nostri e riflette sul rapporto tra tradizione e innovazione nel paese. Dalle analisi e studi condotti con il prezioso contributo di esperti della cultura cinese emergono una serie di osservazioni sul complesso processo di modernizzazione che ha portato la Cina e l'Occidente più vicini. Questo fenomeno, insieme ad altri, è stato un elemento propulsore della trasformazione delle città cinesi contemporanee. Il testo, infine, affronta la questione del patrimonio storico urbano come valore imprescindibile della cultura millenaria cinese.

Machine learning is widely used for data analysis. Dynamic fuzzy data are one of the most difficult types of data to analyse in the field of big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and quantum information. At present, the processing of this kind of data is not very mature. The authors carried out more than 20 years of research, and show in this book their most important results. The seven chapters of the book are devoted to key topics such as dynamic fuzzy machine learning models, dynamic fuzzy self-learning subspace algorithms, fuzzy decision tree learning, dynamic concepts based on dynamic fuzzy sets, semi-supervised multi-task learning based on dynamic fuzzy data, dynamic fuzzy hierarchy learning, examination of multi-agent learning model based on dynamic fuzzy logic. This book can be used as a reference book for senior college students and graduate students as well as college teachers and scientific and technical personnel involved in computer science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, data analysis, mathematics, management, cognitive science, and finance. It can be also used as the basis for teaching the principles of dynamic fuzzy learning.

This book explains deep learning concepts and derives semi-supervised learning and nuclear learning frameworks based on cognition mechanism and Lie group theory. Lie group machine learning is a theoretical basis for brain intelligence, Neuromorphic learning (NL), advanced machine learning, and advanced artifi cial intelligence. The book further discusses algorithms and applications in tensor learning, spectrum estimation learning, Finsler geometry learning, Homology boundary learning, and prototype theory. With abundant case studies, this book can be used as a reference book for senior college students and graduate students as well as college teachers and scientific and technical personnel involved in computer science, artifi cial intelligence, machine learning, automation, mathematics, management science, cognitive science, financial management, and data analysis. In addition, this text can be used as the basis for teaching the principles of machine learning. Li Fanzhang is professor at the Soochow University, China. He is director of network security engineering laboratory in Jiangsu Province and is also the director of the Soochow Institute of industrial large data. He published more than 200 papers, 7 academic monographs, and 4 textbooks. Zhang Li is professor at the School of Computer Science and Technology of the Soochow University. She published more than 100 papers in journals and conferences, and holds 23 patents. Zhang Zhao is currently an associate professor at the School of Computer Science and Technology of the Soochow University. He has authored and co-authored more than 60 technical papers.

Is wind power the answer to our energy supply problems? Is there enough wind for everyone? Is offshore generation better than onshore generation? Can a roof-mounted wind turbine generate enough electricity to supply a typical domestic household?Electricity Generation Using Wind Power (2nd Edition) answers these pressing questions through its detailed coverage of the different types of electrical generator machines used, as well as the power electronic converter technologies and control principles employed. Also covered is the integration of wind farms into established electricity grid systems, plus environmental and economic aspects of wind generation.Written for technically minded readers, especially electrical engineers concerned with the possible use of wind power for generating electricity, it incorporates some global meteorological and geographical features of wind supply plus a survey of past and present wind turbines. Included is a technical assessment of the choice of turbine sites. The principles and analysis of wind power conversion, transmission and efficiency evaluation are described.This book includes worked numerical examples in some chapters, plus end of chapter problems and review questions, with answers. As a textbook it is pitched at the level of final year undergraduate engineering study but may also be useful as a textbook or reference for wider technical studies.

A new revolution in homeownership and living has been sweeping the booming cities of China. This time the main actors on the social stage are not peasants, migrants, or working-class proletariats but middle-class professionals and entrepreneurs in search of a private paradise in a society now dominated by consumerism. No longer seeking happiness and fulfillment through collective sacrifice and socialist ideals, they hope to find material comfort and social distinction in newly constructed gated communities. This quest for the good life is profoundly transforming the physical and social landscapes of urban China. Li Zhang, who is from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, turns a keen ethnographic eye on her hometown. She combines her analysis of larger political and social issues with fine-grained details about the profound spatial, cultural, and political effects of the shift in the way Chinese urban residents live their lives and think about themselves. In Search of Paradise is a deeply informed account of how the rise of private homeownership is reconfiguring urban space, class subjects, gender selfhood, and ways of life in the reform era. New, seemingly individualistic lifestyles mark a dramatic move away from yearning for a social utopia under Maoist socialism. Yet the privatization of property and urban living have engendered a simultaneous movement of public engagement among homeowners as they confront the encroaching power of the developers. This double movement of privatized living and public sphere activism, Zhang finds, is a distinctive feature of the cultural politics of the middle classes in contemporary China. Theoretically sophisticated and highly accessible, Zhang's account will appeal not only to those interested in China but also to anyone interested in spatial politics, middle-class culture, and postsocialist governing in a globalizing world.

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 2014 International Conference on Advanced Nano-Technology and Biomedical Material (ANTBM 2014), June 29-30, 2014, Guangzhou, China

Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 2014 International Conference on Applied Mechanics and Mechanical Automation (AMMA 2014), May 20-21, 2014, Macao, China

The exponential growth of Internet brings to focus the need to control such large scale networks so that they appear as coherent, almost intelligent, organ­ isms. It is a challenge to regulate such a complex network of heterogeneous elements with dynamically changing traffic conditions. To make such a sys­ tem reliable and manageable, the decision making should be decentralized. It is desirable to find simple local rules and strategies that can produce coherent and purposeful global behavior. Furthermore, these control mechanisms must be adaptive to effectively respond to continually varying network conditions. Such adaptive, distributed, localized mechanisms would provide a scalable so­ lution for controlling large networks. The need for such schemes arises in a variety of settings. In this monograph, we focus on localized approach to quality of service routing. Routing in the current Internet focuses primarily on connectivity and typi­ cally supports only the'best-effort'datagram service. The routing protocols deployed such as OSPF use the shortest path only routing paradigm, where routing is optimized for a single metric such as hop count or administrative weight. While these protocols are well suited for traditional data applications such as ftp and telnet, they are not adequate for many emerging applications such as IP telephony, video on demand and teleconferencing, which require stringent delay and bandwidth guarantees. The'shortest paths'chosen for the'best effort'service may not have sufficient resources to provide the requisite service for these applications.

This invaluable book provides the first description of the diverse and fascinating functions of heme in life processes for a broad audience. It begins with an introduction to the intricate chemical properties of heme and the history of early observations of human diseases associated with heme. It then proceeds to describe the versatile roles of heme in controlling diverse molecular and cellular processes germane to human life and disease processes. Finally, an up-to-date review of human diseases associated with heme synthesis and application of heme synthesis in photodynamic therapy in cancer treatment is presented.Heme biology is unified and logical in presentation. It is well suited for students and professionals in life sciences who wish to comprehend the fascinating biology of heme and its usefulness in health and diseases. It may also be used as a reference book for advanced readers and researchers who are interested in heme biology. The explanations in the book are detailed enough to capture the interest of the curious reader, and complete enough to provide the necessary information for researchers to have an in-depth molecular understanding of heme biology and further their studies in this fascinating realm.

Network monitoring serves as the basis for a wide scope of network, engineering and management operations. Precise network monitoring involves inspecting every packet traversing in a network. However, this is not feasible with future high-speed networks, due to significant overheads of processing, storing, and transferring measured data. Network Monitoring in High Speed Networks presents accurate measurement schemes from both traffic and performance perspectives, and introduces adaptive sampling techniques for various granularities of traffic measurement. The techniques allow monitoring systems to control the accuracy of estimations, and adapt sampling probability dynamically according to traffic conditions. The issues surrounding network delays for practical performance monitoring are discussed in the second part of this book. Case studies based on real operational network traces are provided throughout this book. Network Monitoring in High Speed Networks is designed as a secondary text or reference book for advanced-level students and researchers concentrating on computer science and electrical engineering. Professionals working within the networking industry will also find this book useful.

This book discusses the biological, methodological and sociological issues that have caused men to be overlooked in demographic and sociological literature of fertility. It explores the patterns and determinants of male fertility and studies male fertility rates as compared to those of females in 43 countries and places, over time. Data used in the aggregate level analysis come from multiple sources, including the 2001 United Nations Demographic Yearbook, the 1964 to 2004 Taiwan-Fukien Demographic Yearbooks, and National Statistics Reports by the Statistics Bureau of Republic of China. To explore male fertility determinants, the book analyzes individual data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) in the United States. The findings presented here demonstrate that male fertility differs from female fertility in both rates and determinants, which suggests that female fertility cannot fully represent human fertility.

The complexity of Information Technology (IT) systems has been steadily incre- ing in the past decades. In October 2001, IBM released the “Autonomic Computing Manifesto” observing that current applications have reached the size of millions of lines of code, while physical infrastructures include thousands of heterogeneous servers requiring skilled IT professionals to install, con?gure, tune, and maintain. System complexity has been recognized as the main obstacle to the further advan- ment of IT technology. The basic idea of Autonomic Computing is to develop IT systems that are able to manage themselves, as the human autonomic nervous system governs basic body functions such as heart rate or body temperature, thus freeing the conscious brain— IT administrators—from the burden of dealing with low-level vital functions. Autonomic Computing systems can be implemented by introducing autonomic controllers which continuously monitor, analyze, plan, and execute (the famous MAPE cycle) recon?guration actions on the system components. Monitoring acti- ties are deployed to measure the workload and performance metrics of each running component so as to identify system faults. The goal of the analysis activities is to determine the status of components from the monitoring data, and to forecast - ture conditions based on historical observations. Finally, plan and execute activities aim at deciding and actuating the next system con?guration, for example, deciding whether to accept or reject new requests, determining the best application to servers assignment, in order to the achieve the self-optimization goals.

The use of the wind as an energy source is increasing and growing worldwide. Wind energy is an important non-fossil option to supplement fossil (coal, natural gas and oil) and nuclear fuels for the generation of electricity.Many parts of the world, particularly the coastlines of Western Europe, North Africa, North and South America, India, Eastern Russia, China, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand, experience a high annual incidence of wind energy. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, together with the Republic of Ireland form a particularly windy location, being favoured with strong westerly winds. The technology of the design and installation of wind turbines and wind farms are, in fact, well established. Operational practice, though, is still being developed as engineers learn by experience.This book is written for electrical engineers concerned with the use of wind power for generating electricity. It incorporates some meteorological features of international wind supply plus a survey of the past and present wind turbines with technical assessment of the choice of turbine sites. Detailed coverage is given to the different types of electrical generator machines used and the electronic control devices employed in modern turbine systems.Importantly, this book devotes full chapters to the integration of wind farms into established electrical grid supply systems, and the environmental and economic aspects of wind generation. Engineers will be drawn to the practical approach in this book, featuring worked numerical examples — complete with answers — at the end of some chapters.

This text reveals all key components of rectification, inversion, cycloconversion, and conversion circuits. It authoritatively describes switching, voltage and current relationships, and converter properties, operation, control, and performance as utilized in most practical applications. Authored jointly by a veteran scholar and an accomplished res

With rapid commercialization, a booming urban economy, and the relaxation of state migration policies, over 100 million peasants, known as China's “floating population,” have streamed into large cities seeking employment and a better life. This massive flow of rural migrants directly challenges Chinese socialist modes of state control. This book traces the profound transformations of space, power relations, and social networks within a mobile population that has broken through the constraints of the government's household registration system. The author explores this important social change through a detailed ethnographic account of the construction, destruction, and eventual reconstruction of the largest migrant community in Beijing. She focuses on the informal privatization of space and power in this community through analyzing the ways migrant leaders build their power base by controlling housing and market spaces and mobilizing social networks. The author argues that to gain a deeper understanding of recent Chinese social and political transformations, one must examine not only to what extent state power still dominates everyday social life, but also how the aims and methods of late socialist governance change under new social and economic conditions. In revealing the complexities and uncertainties of the shifting power and social relations in post-Mao China, this book challenges the common notion that sees recent changes as an inevitable move toward liberal capitalism and democracy.

Fighting Stars provides a rich and diverse account of the emergence and legacies of Hong Kong martial arts cinema stars. Tracing the meanings and influence of stars such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Michelle Yeoh, Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi, and Donnie Yen against the shifting backdrops of the Hong Kong film industry, the contributors to this important volume highlight martial arts stars'cultural reach, both on a local and global scale. Each of the chapters, written by a host of renowned international scholars, focuses on an individual film star, considering issues such as martial arts practices and philosophies, gender and age, national identities and conflicts, cinematic genres and aesthetic choices in order to understand their local and transnational cultural influence.

At the end of 2019 to the beginning of 2020, when the coronavirus first emerged, Wuhan in China became the first city in the world affected by this deadly disease. It then rapidly spread to the entire country, and further on to Europe, America and the rest of the world. During these strange times, we witness the emptiness of streets, squares and cities everywhere; we are estranged from and yet ‘connected'to each other. As a response to the pandemic, Jiang Jiehong convened in-conversation talks with figures from different disciplines in the Chinese-speaking world, including anthropology, architecture, art, curating, fashion film, literature, media, museum, music and photography. The twelve high-profile participants in these conversations are Xiang Biao, Zhang Peili, Pi Li, Zhang Zikang, Gu Zheng, Li Lin, Zhang Zhen, Shu Kewen, Jiang Jun, Wang Shouzhi, Chen Danqing and Zhu Zheqin. These conversations foster new understandings of this present-day crisis; the threat of the invisible, notions of distance and spatialization, separation and isolation, communication and mobility, discipline and surveillance, and community and collectiveness, as well as the increase in conflicts and divisive voices between China and the world. At the same time, these reflections give us the opportunity to re-examine our past ‘normality', and to project our future visions of a post-COVID world. Readership will include those working and studying in the humanities and specifically in the disciplines of the interviewees, and those who have particular interests in contemporary China. The Otherness of the Everyday is also of interest to a more general audience who has experienced the pandemic and is seeking innovative understandings of this global crisis in human history.

Motility is an inherent property of living organisms, both unicellular and multicellular. One of the principal mechanisms of cell motility is the use of peculiar biological engines – flagella and cilia. These types of movers already appear in prokaryotic cells. However, despite the similar function, bacteria flagellum and eukaryote flagella have fundamentally different structures. Chapter One of this book by Drs. Meijiao Wang, Li Zhang and Hanna Li is devoted to a comparative analysis of the flagella of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. It's believed that flagellum in eukaryotic cells appeared for the first time in ancient flagellates. In Chapter Two, Drs. P. Huitorel, M. Cachon and J. Cosson summarize the results of their long-term studies of flagellum dinoflagellates. The'evolutionary invention'of the ancient flagellates proved to be so successful that the axonemal structure in flagellum has not changed for hundreds of millions of years. In the third chapter, Drs. V. Bondarenko, G. Prokopchuk and J. Cosson reported the analyses of kinetic characteristics of flagella motions in fish using the most modern methodologies. In Chapter Four, Drs. R. Uzbekov, A. Garanina, J. Burlaud-Gaillard and C. Bressac described spermiogenesis of the parasitic wasps Cotesia congregata. Their data showed that significant shortening of the flagella occurs during the formation of the mature spermatozoon and this flagella has been the shortest spermatozoon flagella described in the animal kingdom until now. Centriole in this spermatozoon is transformed into a special structure known as the'cogwheel structure'that does not contain microtubules. In the process of multicellular organism evolution, flagella, which ensure the mobility of individual cells, gave origin to two types of cilia. Motile cilia in the tissues like cerebral ventricles, respiratory epithelium and oviducts moved liquid flows relatively to immobile cell layers. The second type of cilia (primary cilia) lost motility function and acquired cellular sensitivity function. Moving and sensitive cilia grow from basal bodies, which originate from centrioles. Chapter Five by Drs. I. Alieva, C. Staub, S. Uzbekova and R. Uzbekov discusses which of the centrioles – mother or daughter – creates the moving cilium and sensitive cilium. In Chapter Six, Drs. D. Conkar and E. Nur Firat-Karalar describe in detail the biochemical aspects of primary cilium assembly pathways, intraflagellar transport and ectosome release. This chapter provides an overview of the trafficking pathways involved in ciliary compartmentalization and describes the primary ciliary as a sensitive'cell's antenna', participating in many regulatory processes in the cell. Defects in flagella and cilia cause many hereditary diseases. Different examples of ciliopathy are described in Chapter Seven by Drs. E. Bragina, E. Blanchard and R. Uzbekov. A wide review of experimental models, organisms and analytical methods to study flagella and cilia are presented to readers who want to learn about their main research directives.

Today, architecture in China is at a watershed. Over the last decade, rapid urbanisation and the burgeoning economy turned the country into a playground for the world's signature architects, making it possible to realise extravagant forms and structures at a vast scale. The Chinese government has now drawn a line under this phenomenon by issuing a directive calling an end to the ‘oversized, xenocentric, weird'buildings devoid of character or cultural heritage that have sprung up across the country, requiring that urban architecture be'suitable, economic, green and pleasing to the eye'. This government directive comes at a time when homegrown architecture has become increasingly self-assured and reflective in its approach. A new generation of architects in China in their 30s and 40s are emerging, and in a wholly contemporary way they are exploring local responses to often bewildering urban and rural conditions and serious social and environmental challenges. This is often expressed through a revival of interest in traditional street patterns, courtyards and gardens. At the same time, architects are also recognising the opportunities to harness the potential of China's established manufacturing base to develop prefabricated building systems. Innovative practices are employing new modes of working, such as research-based studio teaching and exhibitions, field workshops, cross-disciplinary collaboration, laboratory-based practice, design think-tanks and collective projects, generating a vibrant culture of design research. Contributors: Lu Feng, Murray Fraser, Xiao Fu and Wei You, Xiahong Hua and Shen Zhuang, Xinggang Li, Yichun Liu, James Shen, Yehao Song, Hui Wang, Shuo Wang, Xin Wang and Qiuye Jin, Philip F Yuan and Xiang Wang, Li Zhang, Xin Zhang and Jingxiang Zhu. Featured architects: Archi-Union Architects, Atelier Archmixing, Atelier Deshaus, Atelier Li Xinggang, Integrated Architecture Studio, LanD Studio, META-Project, People's Architecture Office, SUP Atelier, URBANUS and Zaoyuan Gardening Studio

This Festschrift will appeal to not only all those interested in art, but also lawyers, art man-agers and art historians. Several of the articles it contains focus on whether the law takes art into consideration appropriately, while others address the new German Cultural Property Protection Act (KGSG), the law governing art academies and the relationship between art and the law in general. Subdivided into four sections under the heading art, law, science and management the Festschrift also contains artistic contributions in both written and pictorial form, ranging from an essay by the writer Spinnen to contributions by the visual artists Tony Cragg, Benjamin Houlihan, Mischa Kuball, Maria R. López Blanes, Markus Lüpertz, Christian Megert, Dieter Rübsaamen and Thomas Wachholz. Those artistic contributions make this Festschrift unique and different from purely legal Festschriften, and therefore this Festschrift is also specifically suitable for all those without an academic background in this field. With contributions by Frank Bartsch, Dr. Frank Behrens, Annette Bosetti, Prof. Dr. Tony Sir Cragg, Dr. Hubert Detmer, Prof. Dr. Max-Emanuel Geis, Prof. Dr. Herbert Grüner, Prof. Dr. Bernd Günter, Dirk Hartmann, Prof. Dr. Wolfram Hogrebe, Benjamin Houlihan, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Erik Jayme, Prof. Mischa Kuball, Dorothe Lanc, Dian-yi Li, Maria R. López Blanes, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Löwer, Prof. Dr. h.c. Marcus Lüpertz, Dr. Nathalie Mahmoudi, Yasmin Mahmoudi, Prof. Dr. Lothar Mattner, Prof. Christian Megert, Jan Müller, Prof. Dr. Nadine Oberste Hetbleck, Ministerin Isabel Pfeiffer-Poesgen, Prof. Dr. Josef Protschka, Prof. Dr. Hanns Prütting, Dr. jur. utr. Dieter Rübsaamen, Jonas Schüren, Dr. Ursula Sinnenreich, Dipl.-Kult. Rebekka Smolibowski-Fuchs, Dr. Burkhard Spinnen, Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Thurn, Thomas Wachholz, Prof. Dr. Matthias Weller, Prof. Bei-li Zhang, Yi-chi Zhang.

Mount, our favorite mountain man, is back for a third installment of action and adventure!It's 1844, and Mount has returned to his secluded cabin nestled in the Rocky Mountains, bringing with him his new bride, Sandra, and stepson, Andy. The new family is happy beyond words, and just starting to build a wonderful future. Suddenly, their lives are shattered, and that happy future in jeopardy, when Sandra is kidnapped by a ruthless band of outlaws led by the notorious assassin, Li Zhang. The resulting adventure is packed full of excitement, danger, and surprises, and, of course, plenty of Mount's special brand of humor.Author Arlen Blumhagen is once again at the top of his game, and book three of the Mount trilogy, Mount: The Adventures Continue, is definitely a must-listen.

Renal dysfunction is an extensively recognized threat for mortality in patients with acute heart disorders. Chapter one, written by Aida Hamziæ-Mehmedbašiæ, Damir Rebiæ, and Neira Bašiæ-Hamziæ, discusses how earlier detection of CRS type 1 by renal and cardiac biomarkers theoretically leads to improved outcomes in patients with acute heart disorders. In chapter two, Andreas Eisenreich, Ulrike Leppert, Torsten Thiel and Nicole Ebner analyze the most recent discoveries concerning the role of metformin in cardiovascular/renal pathologies while simultaneously discussing the therapeutic potential of metformin in the treatment of patients with diabetes-associated cardiovascular/renal diseases. Helen Senderovich, Justin Chow and Shaira Wignarajah present a case study regarding end-of-life care in advanced congestive heart failure, discussing symptom management and patients'feelings in chapter three. In chapter four, Qin Qin, Jianqing Li, Li Zhang, and Chengyu Liu discuss methodology for abnormal heartbeat recognition and classification. Next, Zhipeng Cai, Jianqing Li, Kan Luo, Bo Duan, Yuting Xie and Chengyu Liu present a study in chapter five wherein the effects of electrode material and size on the skin-electrode impedance were investigated, in addition to the influence of thickness of the filled sponge and environmental factors. Chapter six, by Kohichiro Iwasaki, presents another study wherein 300 patients without known coronary artery disease underwent coronary computed tomographic angiography, studying calcium scores of and the relationship amongst them. Following this, chapter seven provides a review of etiopathogenetic mechanisms of cochlear endothelial dysfunction and cochlear microvascular disease by V. Corazzi, A.Ciorba C. Bianchini, and C. Aimoni, ENT & Audiology Department, University Hospital of Ferrara, Italy. Continuing, chapter eight presents an investigation done by Kristina Zubow, Anatolij Zubow, and Viktor Anatolievich Zubow on mechanism of the sugar influence in gelatin. They continue in chapter nine with an analyzation of the neutrino halo from a working human heart.

Experts analyze the policy challenges of taxation in developing countries, including corruption, tax evasion, and ineffective political structures.Many developing countries find it difficult to raise the revenue required to provide such basic public services as education, health care, and infrastructure. Complicating the policy challenges of taxation in developing countries are issues that most developed countries do not face, including widespread corruption, tax evasion and tax avoidance, and ineffective political structures. In this volume, experts investigate crucial challenges confronted by developing countries in raising revenue.After a comprehensive and insightful overview, each chapter uses modern empirical methods to study a single critical issue essential to understanding the effects of taxes on development. Topics addressed include the effect of taxation on foreign direct investment; forms of corruption, tax evasion, and tax avoidance that are specific to developing countries; and issues related to political structure, including the negative effects of fiscal decentralization on the effectiveness of developmental aid and the relationship between democracy and taxation in Asian, Latin American, and European Union countries that have recently experienced both political and economic transitions.ContributorsClemens Fuest, Timothy Goodspeed, Shafik Hebous, Michael Keen, Christian Lessmann, Boryana Madzharova, Giorgia Maffini, Gunther Markwardt, Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, Paola Profeta, Riccardo Puglisi, Nadine Riedel, Simona Scabrosetti, Johannes Stroebel, Mirco Tonin, Arthur van Benthem, Li Zhang, George Zodrow

Cellulolytic Enzyme Production and Enzymatic Hydrolysis for Second-Generation Bioethanol Production, by Mingyu Wang, Zhonghai Li, Xu Fang, Lushan Wang und Yinbo Qu Bioethanol from Lignocellulosic Biomass, by Xin-Qing Zhao, Li-Han Zi, Feng-Wu Bai, Hai-Long Lin, Xiao-Ming Hao, Guo-Jun Yue und Nancy W. Y. Ho Biodiesel From Conventional Feedstocks, by Wei Du und De-Hua Liu Establishing Oleaginous Microalgae Research Models for Consolidated Bioprocessing of Solar Energy, by Dongmei Wang, Yandu Lu, He Huang und Jian Xu Biobutanol, by Hongjun Dong, Wenwen Tao, Zongjie Dai, Liejian Yang, Fuyu Gong, Yanping Zhang und Yin Li Branched-Chain Higher Alcohols, by Bao-Wei Wang, Ai-Qin Shi, Ran Tu, Xue-Li Zhang, Qin-Hong Wang und Feng-Wu Bai Advances in Biogas Technology, by Ai-Jie Wang, Wen-Wei Li und Han-Qing Yu Biohydrogen Production from Anaerobic Fermentation, by Ai-Jie Wang, Guang-Li Cao und Wen-Zong Liu Microbial Fuel Cells in Power Generation and Extended Applications, by Wen-Wei Li and Guo-Ping Sheng Fuels and Chemicals from Hemicellulose Sugars, by Xiao-Jun Ji, He Huang, Zhi-Kui Nie, Liang Qu, Qing Xu and George T. Tsao

Dystopic imagery has figured prominently in modern depictions of the urban landscape. The city is often portrayed as a terrifying world of darkness, crisis, and catastrophe. Noir Urbanisms traces the history of the modern city through its critical representations in art, cinema, print journalism, literature, sociology, and architecture. It focuses on visual forms of dystopic representation--because the history of the modern city is inseparable from the production and circulation of images--and examines their strengths and limits as urban criticism. Contributors explore dystopic images of the modern city in Germany, Mexico, Japan, India, South Africa, China, and the United States. Their topics include Weimar representations of urban dystopia in Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis; 1960s modernist architecture in Mexico City; Hollywood film noir of the 1940s and 1950s; the recurring fictional destruction of Tokyo in postwar Japan's sci-fi doom culture; the urban fringe in Bombay cinema; fictional explorations of urban dystopia in postapartheid Johannesburg; and Delhi's out-of-control and media-saturated urbanism in the 1980s and 1990s. What emerges in Noir Urbanisms is the unsettling and disorienting alchemy between dark representations and the modern urban experience. In addition to the editor, the contributors are David R. Ambaras, James Donald, Rubén Gallo, Anton Kaes, Ranjani Mazumdar, Jennifer Robinson, Mark Shiel, Ravi Sundaram, William M. Tsutsui, and Li Zhang.

The dramatic surge of Chinese visibility in Hollywood has been spurred by Sino-chic talents such as directors Ang Lee, John Woo, Wong Kar-wai, Wayne Wang, and Zhang Yimou, and stars such as Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun-fat, Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, and Michelle Yeoh. Analyzing well-known films by Chinese stars and crew, and the influence they have had on Hollywood directors, Kenneth Chan describes how post-1997 notions of Chinese identity and cultural genres have been reinvented and repackaged by major US studios. Highlighting numerous contradictions and cultural anxieties evident in transnational Hollywood films, Chan suggests that many Chinese stars and directors have made painful compromises to get their films successfully launched into the global capitalist stream of cultural commodities.

Using ingenious research methods, the contributors to this book explore the search for meaning among ordinary people in China today. The subjects of these vivid essays span the social spectrum from hip young entrepreneurs to sweatshop workers and homeless beggars. The issues are equally diverse, ranging from domestic violence to homosexuality to political corruption. The culture of popular China emerges as a mixture of exhilarating new aspirations—as seen in the basketball fans who dream of'flying'like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant; rueful cynicism—as bitingly conveyed in the many satirical jingles that circulate by word of mouth; and painful ambivalence. The people depicted here have built their popular culture out of ideas and symbolic practices drawn from old cultural traditions, from concepts about modernity debated during the early twentieth-century republican era, from the legacies of Maoist socialism, and from contemporary global culture. Throughout, the book shows how economic and social changes caused by globalization, in combination with the continuing Party dictatorship, have presented ordinary Chinese with a new array of moral and cultural challenges that they have met in ways that have changed the face of China.Contributions by: Julia F. Andrews, Anita Chan, Deborah S. Davis, Leila Fernández-Stembridge, Robert Geyer, Amy Hanser, Richard Levy, Perry Link, Richard P. Madsen, Andrew Morris, Paul G. Pickowicz, Kuiyi Shen, Liping Wang, Li Zhang, Yuezhi Zhao, and Kate Zhou.,

China Urban is an ethnographic account of China's cities and the place that urban space holds in China's imagination. In addition to investigating this nation's rapidly changing urban landscape, its contributors emphasize the need to rethink the very meaning of the “urban” and the utility of urban-focused anthropological critiques during a period of unprecedented change on local, regional, national, and global levels.Through close attention to everyday lives and narratives and with a particular focus on gender, market, and spatial practices, this collection stresses that, in the case of China, rural life and the impact of socialism must be considered in order to fully comprehend the urban. Individual essays note the impact of legal barriers to geographic mobility in China, the proliferation of different urban centers, the different distribution of resources among various regions, and the pervasive appeal of the urban, both in terms of living in cities and in acquiring products and conventions signaling urbanity. Others focus on the direct sales industry, the Chinese rock music market, the discursive production of femininity and motherhood in urban hospitals, and the transformations in access to healthcare.China Urban will interest anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists, and those studying urban planning, China, East Asia, and globalization.Contributors. Tad Ballew, Susan Brownell, Nancy N. Chen, Constance D. Clark, Robert Efird, Suzanne Z. Gottschang, Ellen Hertz, Lisa Hoffman, Sandra Hyde, Lyn Jeffery, Lida Junghans, Louisa Schein, Li Zhang

Quantitative Social Science Research in Practice: Generating Novel and Parsimonious Explanatory Models for Social Sciences examines quantitative Behavioral Science Research (BSR) by focusing on four key areas:Developing Novel, Parsimonious, and Actionable Causal Models: Researchers often face challenges in creating new, parsimonious causal models supported by empirical evaluation. A promising approach involves using meta-analytic reviews and more recent studies to identify relevant constructs and hypotheses that would constitutethe new causal model.Exploring the Scope of Context for a Novel Causal Model: The relevance of causal models may vary based on context, such as national or organizational culture, economic and political situations, and feasibility constraints. Behavioural science researchers have struggled to balance rigor and relevance, as theories effective in one context may not be valid in another. This book presents an approach to determine the contextual scope for new causal models.Guidance to Practice from a Novel Causal Model: Quantitative BSR studies should offer practical guidance, but often this guidance is vague or superficial. This book proposes an approach to highlight actionable insights derived from data analysis of new causal models, ensuring that the research offers concrete guidance for practitioners.Implementing Guidance from Causal Models: A significant limitation of BSR studies is the lack of clarity on how results can be made actionable for decision-makers, considering the costs and benefits of actions. This book presents a method to make research results actionable, especially for models with high explanatory and predictive power.The book is designed to be useful for various audiences: Business Managers and Practitioners: Those conducting or utilizing quantitative BSR for decision-making can find practical approaches for developing and applying causal models. Master's and PhD Students: Students across disciplines interested in quantitative BSR can gain insight into novel methods for creating strong causal models. Active Scholars: Researchers aiming to apply new approaches in their work can benefit from the strategies outlined. Professors and Instructors: Those teaching research methodology or supervising theses can find the book a valuable resource for guiding students in their research projects. The book aims to advance the field of quantitative BSR by providing robust methodologies for developing, contextualizing, and implementing causal models, ensuring both academic rigor and practical relevance.

Growing Green Infrastructure in Contemporary Asian Cities examines to what extent green infrastructure (GI) is being implemented in East and Southeast Asian cities. The book reflects upon the integration of contemporary approaches to landscape planning alongside traditional forms of green space design and cultural understandings of the landscape in China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea. Working from a multi-locational perspective, the book illustrates how political, socio-cultural, economic, and ecological factors influence the delivery of GI and the consequences of these decisions. The book provides a set of best practice recommendations for the design, development, and management of greener urban areas. It both explains how GI is being utilised in East and Southeast Asia to address climate change, promote economic prosperity, and support the development of more livable places, and identifies future trends in its use. It is a key resource for any practitioners, students, and academics working in landscape planning and green infrastructure in an Asian context.