springer nature singapore jun 2021 (293 results)

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In this book, the optimal transportation problem (OT) is described as a variational problem for absolutely continuous stochastic processes with fixed initial and terminal distributions. Also described is Schrödinger's problem, which is originally a variational problem for one-step random walks with fixed initial and terminal distributions. The stochastic optimal transportation problem (SOT) is then introduced as a generalization of the OT, i.e., as a variational problem for semimartingales with fixed initial and terminal distributions. An interpretation of the SOT is also stated as a generalization of Schrödinger's problem. After the brief introduction above, the fundamental results on the SOT are described: duality theorem, a sufficient condition for the problem to be finite, forward-backward stochastic differential equations (SDE) for the minimizer, and so on. The recent development of the superposition principle plays a crucial role in the SOT. A systematic method is introduced to consider two problems: one with fixed initial and terminal distributions and one with fixed marginal distributions for all times. By the zero-noise limit of the SOT, the probabilistic proofs to Monge's problem with a quadratic cost and the duality theorem for the OT are described. Also described are the Lipschitz continuity and the semiconcavity of Schrödinger's problem in marginal distributions and random variables with given marginals, respectively. As well, there is an explanation of the regularity result for the solution to Schrödinger's functional equation when the space of Borel probability measures is endowed with a strong or a weak topology, and it is shown that Schrödinger's problem can be considered a class of mean field games. The construction of stochastic processes with given marginals, called the marginal problem for stochastic processes, is discussed as an application of the SOT and the OT. 136 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book is a part of the Blue Book series 'Research on the Development of Electronic Information Engineering Technology in China',which explores the cutting edge of natural language processing (NLP) studies.The research objects of natural language processing are evolved from words, phrases, and sentences to text, and research directions are from language analysis, language understanding, language generation, knowledge graphs, machine translation, to deep semantic understanding, and beyond. This is in line with the development trend of applications. And for another typical NLP application machine translation, from text translation, to voice and image translation, now simultaneous interpretation, progress of technology makes the application of machine translation deeper and wider into diverse industries.This book is intended for researchers and industrial staffs who have been following the current situation and future trends of the natural language processing. Meanwhile, it also bears high value of reference for experts, scholars, and technical and engineering managers of different levels and different fields. 104 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This open access book explores the historical, cultural and philosophical contexts that have made anti-poverty the core of Chinese society since Liberation in 1949, and why poverty alleviation measures evolved from the simplistic aid of the 1950s to Xi Jinping's precision poverty alleviation and its goal of eliminating absolute poverty by 2020. The book also addresses the implications of China's experience for other developing nations tackling not only poverty but such issues as pandemics, rampant urbanization and desertification exacerbated by global warming. The first of three parts draws upon interviews of rural and urban Chinese from diverse backgrounds and local and national leaders. These interviews, conducted in even the remotest areas of the country, offer candid insights into the challenges that have forced China to continually evolve its programs to resolve even the most intractable cases of poverty. The second part explores the historic, cultural and philosophical roots of old China's meritocratic government and how its ancient Chinese ethics have led to modern Chinese socialism's stance that 'poverty amidst plenty is immoral'. Dr. Huang Chengwei, one of China's foremost anti-poverty experts, explains the challenges faced at each stage as China's anti-poverty measures evolved over 70 years to emphasize 'enablement' over 'aid' and to foster bottom-up initiative and entrepreneurialism, culminating in Xi Jinping's precision poverty alleviation. The book also addresses why national economic development alone cannot reduce poverty; poverty alleviation programs must be people-centered, with measurable and accountable practices that reach even to household level, which China has done with its 'First Secretary' program. The third part explores the potential for adopting China's practices in other nations, including the potential for replicating China's successes in developing countries through such measures as the Belt and Road Initiative. This book also addresses prevalent misperceptions about China's growing global presence and why other developing nations must address historic, systemic causes of poverty and inequity before they can undertake sustainable poverty alleviation measures of their own. 248 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This open access handbook, Ten Crises systematically traces the economic historyof China from 1949 to 2020, unravelling the complex domestic and global factorsleading to the cyclical crises identified by WEN and his research team, andexamining the corresponding counteracting policies and measures by thegovernment to resolve or defer the crises. The book offers profound insights intoChina's endeavours and predicaments on the path of modernization, andcontemplates opportunities and lessons for the forging of alternative trajectoriesnot only for China but also for the global south: to reconstruct rural communitiesfor integrated cooperation and governance, and to revitalize ecological civilization. 544 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This open access book explores the historical, cultural and philosophical contexts that have made anti-poverty the core of Chinese society since Liberation in 1949, and why poverty alleviation measures evolved from the simplistic aid of the 1950s to Xi Jinping's precision poverty alleviation and its goal of eliminating absolute poverty by 2020. The book also addresses the implications of China's experience for other developing nations tackling not only poverty but such issues as pandemics, rampant urbanization and desertification exacerbated by global warming. The first of three parts draws upon interviews of rural and urban Chinese from diverse backgrounds and local and national leaders. These interviews, conducted in even the remotest areas of the country, offer candid insights into the challenges that have forced China to continually evolve its programs to resolve even the most intractable cases of poverty. The second part explores the historic, cultural and philosophical roots of old China's meritocratic government and how its ancient Chinese ethics have led to modern Chinese socialism's stance that 'poverty amidst plenty is immoral'. Dr. Huang Chengwei, one of China's foremost anti-poverty experts, explains the challenges faced at each stage as China's anti-poverty measures evolved over 70 years to emphasize 'enablement' over 'aid' and to foster bottom-up initiative and entrepreneurialism, culminating in Xi Jinping's precision poverty alleviation. The book also addresses why national economic development alone cannot reduce poverty; poverty alleviation programs must be people-centered, with measurable and accountable practices that reach even to household level, which China has done with its 'First Secretary' program. The third part explores the potential for adopting China's practices in other nations, including the potential for replicating China's successes in developing countries through such measures as the Belt and Road Initiative. This book also addresses prevalent misperceptions about China's growing global presence and why other developing nations must address historic, systemic causes of poverty and inequity before they can undertake sustainable poverty alleviation measures of their own. 248 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book investigates a new interactive data visualisation concept that employs traditional Chinese aesthetics as a basis for exploring contemporary digital technological contexts. It outlines the aesthetic approach, which draws on non-Western aesthetic concepts, specifically the Yijing and Taoist cosmological principles, and discusses the development of data-based digital practices within a theoretical framework that combines traditional Taoist ideas with the digital humanities.The book also offers a critique of the Western aesthetics underpinning data visualisation, in particular the Kantian sublime, which prioritises the experience of power over the natural world viewed at a distance. Taoist philosophy, in contrast, highlights the integration of the surface of the body and the surface of nature as a Taoist body, rather than promoting an opposition of mind and body. The book then explores the transformational potential between the human body and technology, particularly in creating an aesthetic approach spanning traditional Chinese aesthetics and gesture-based technology.Representing a valuable contribution to the digital humanities, the book helps readers understand data-based artistic practices, while also bringing the ideas of traditional Chinese aesthetics to Western audiences. In addition, it will be of interest to practitioners in the fields of digital art and data visualisation seeking new models. 204 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This open access book is only an introduction to show that radiation and radioisotopes (RI) are premier tools to study living plant physiology which leads to new findings. Who had ever imagined that we could see water in a plant Who had ever imagined that we could see ions moving toward roots in solution Who had ever imagined that we could see invisible gas (CO2) fixation and movement in a plant These studies demonstrated for the first time that water, ions and gas can be visualized in living plants, which could be hardly seen by anyone before. This publication summarizes the results obtained by Nakanishi's lab in The Univ. of Tokyo, based on her original concept and her original tools or systems. It is useful for professional scientists, plant physiologist, and those studying plant imaging.The chapters demonstrates the innovative imaging work of the author, using radioactive tracers and neutron beam to follow the absorption and transport manner of water as well as major, minor, and trace elements in plants. Through these studies the author developed a real-time macroscopic and microscopic imaging system able to apply commercially available gamma- and beta-ray emitters. The real-time movement of the elements is now possible by using14C,18F,22Na,28Mg,32P,33P,35S,42K,45Ca,48V,54Mn,55Fe,59Fe,6 5Zn,86Rb,109Cd, and137Cs. The imaging methods was applied to study the effect of137Cs following 3/11 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident, which has revealed the movements of radiocesium in the contaminated sites. 240 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This brief highlights the use of various Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to evaluate training and competitional strategies in Volleyball, as well as to identify high-performance players in the sport. Several psychological elements/strategies coupled with human performance parameters are discussed in view to ascertain their impact on performance in elite Volleyball competitions. It presents key performance indicators as well as human performance parameters that can be used in future evaluation of team performance and players. The details outlined in this brief are vital to coaches, club managers, talent identification experts, performance analysts as well as other important stakeholders in the evaluation of performance and to foster improvement in this sport. 64 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware - This book presents essential information on biomechanical features of the diabetic foot, which could help to minimize the risk of future diabetic foot problems.India has recently been classified as the 'diabetic capital' of the world. Type 2 diabetes mellitus has become a serious concern for Indian society, where the prevalence rate is increasing exponentially. Similarly, the comorbidities and foot complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus are worsening day by day. Of all complications, diabetes peripheral neuropathy is the most common, and leads to foot deformities, pain, altered sensation, loss of foot arch, etc. The ultimate fate can even be gangrene and amputation. Accordingly, foot complications of diabetes represent a pressing medical issue.Sharing insights into diabetic foot syndrome, its causative factors, prevention and management, this book offers a valuable resource for medical and paramedical students, researchers, podiatrists, surgeons, and physicians alike. 200 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Placemaking Sandbox offers a valuable collection of placemaking case studies, designed for teachers and students to build expertise in shaping and creating thriving public places. Each chapter outlines the latest research and practice underpinning placemaking pedagogical approaches, with specialist authors developing and interrogating methodological techniques and reflecting on current teaching and research. By taking a hands-on and experimental look at emergent practices, pedagogies and methods in placemaking across different contexts, this book will help deepen understandings on how to wrestle with complex conditions generated by place. In Placemaking Sandbox contributors skillfully tackle a little researched topic on the pedagogy of place and placemaking, and in the process offer a distinctive bridge between academia and practice. 144 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book analyzes decades of immigration-population growth and rapid urbanization as political-demography and urban-governance issues in French Guyana. Factors such as immigration, population composition and re-composition have sparked patterns of urban relocation across the entire Cayenne agglomeration, affecting urban and housing policy planning, political district redesigns and jeopardizing influential ethno-social and economic groups. Politics and policy conflicts over shifting demography have transcended Guyana to involve France and various neighboring Latin American and Caribbean countries. As well as discussing the demographic and human settlement aspects, the book blends the specific French Guyanese patterns of urbanization-migration into the wider theoretical literature. As such, it will appeal to students, academics, policymakers, journalists, activists and globalists looking for fresh insights into ethno-socio-cultural diversities and inclusive democratic governance at a time when increasing numbers of migrants are settling in urban areas. 120 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This two-volume set (CCIS 1393 and CCIS 1394) constitutes selected and revised papers of the 4th International Conference on Advanced Informatics for Computing Research, ICAICR 2020, held in Gurugram, India, in December 2020.The 34 revised full papers and 51 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 306 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on computing methodologies; hardware; networks; security and privacy. 304 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book comprehensively covers the topic of data science. Data science is an umbrella term that encompasses data analytics, data mining, machine learning, and several other related disciplines. This book synthesizes both fundamental and advanced topics of a research area that has now reached maturity. The chapters of this book are organized into three sections:The first section is an introduction to data science. Starting from the basic concepts, the book will highlight the types of data, its use, its importance and issues that are normally faced in data analytics. Followed by discussion on wide range of applications of data science and widely used techniques in data science.The second section is devoted to the tools and techniques of data science. It consists of data pre-processing, feature selection, classification and clustering concepts as well as an introduction to text mining and opining mining.And finally, the third section of the book focuses on two programming languages commonly used for data science projects i.e. Python and R programming language.Although this book primarily serves as a textbook, it will also appeal to industrial practitioners and researchers due to its focus on applications and references. The book is suitable for both undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as those carrying out research in data science. It can be used as a textbook for undergraduate students in computer science, engineering and mathematics. It can also be accessible to undergraduate students from other areas with the adequate background. The more advanced chapters can be used by postgraduate researchers intending to gather a deeper theoretical understanding. 212 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This open access handbook, Ten Crises systematically traces the economic historyof China from 1949 to 2020, unravelling the complex domestic and global factorsleading to the cyclical crises identified by WEN and his research team, andexamining the corresponding counteracting policies and measures by thegovernment to resolve or defer the crises. The book offers profound insights intoChina's endeavours and predicaments on the path of modernization, andcontemplates opportunities and lessons for the forging of alternative trajectoriesnot only for China but also for the global south: to reconstruct rural communitiesfor integrated cooperation and governance, and to revitalize ecological civilization. 544 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -In his critical study of Australian imperialism, Erik Paul analyses the making, character and contours of the geopolitical state from the time of the British invasion and colonisation to the present, expanding the country's continental political and economic power. War is the crucible for its hegemonic power, nationalism, and politics. The book exposes and dissects capitalist imperialism to control and manage a growing population and to impose the grand strategy of a US client state. The geopolitics in the partitioning of the earth and the exploitation of people and the biosphere continue to create major conflict, inequality, and human suffering. Australia plays an important role in the intensification of the struggle among major powers and in the outcome of an expanding global ecological and hegemonic crisis. But the existing Australian state of exception constitutes a major obstacle to a reconciliation with China and to a peaceful regional and world order. 160 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -Informed by the social-ecological framework, this book focuses on the development of Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) in urban China. Bringing a timely discussion around HCBS development in Shanghai, it presents an interplay of formal caregiving relationships, evolving caregiving culture, and the trajectory of long-term care in China. Drawing on surveys, in-depth interviews, and government archives, this book explores the emergence of one of the most developed HCBS programs in Shanghai, its development over the past decade, its administration and services, resource allocation, staff members' work experiences, older adults' service experiences, as well as service evaluation and improvements. Offering fresh insight into new forms of caregiving in community settings, and shaping a new discourse on caregiving policy, this book is a key read for both students and practitioners in the fields of long-term care, gerontology, geriatrics, health care, and health policy. 220 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book challenges the dominant narrative of young people being a uniquely violent group. Instead, the book critically examines how young people become violent as they enact and resist the available violent performativities in youth. It focuses on the experiences of 28 young people in Australia who are subjected to violence, who use violence and who resist violence. A critical analysis of these young people's 'messy' stories facilitates a reframing of the physical violence routinely attributed to young people as a product of violating systems and structures.The author constructs a converging theoretical landscape to re-examine youth, violence and resistance at the intersection of the sociology of violence and the sociology of youth. Drawing on interviews with young Australians, the book makes a valuable contribution to contemporary international scholarship on youth and violence, while also examining the potential for complicity to violence in youth research and practice. In doing so it offers youth scholars and practitioners a framework for reassessing their theoretical frameworks and methods for studying and working with young people in connection with violence. 188 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book offers the prequel to China's successful implementation of its New Silk Road, the so-called Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The preconditions for the establishment of especially the land route between China and Western Europe have been set decades ago in Central Asia. In the political, security, and economic realms, China had to find arrangements with Russia as well as the Central Asian states. Border disputes had to be resolved, a security architecture and political cooperation was lacking.The key to BRI's success today lies in China's successful diplomacy of the 1990s and 2000s. This book tells the exciting story behind the largest geopolitical infrastructure project of our time. 136 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book engages the reader around different perspectives between forecasting and foresight in strategic design, drawing insights derived from a futures study that can be applied in form of a design-inspired foresight approach for designers and interdisciplinary innovation teams increasingly called upon to help envisage preferable futures. Demonstrating this process in applied research, the book describes a 2016 Financial Services industry futures study to the year 2030. An industry increasingly at risk in dealing with uncertainty, the Financial Services sector, is a core pillar of economic activity in most markets, such as greater China, and inherent within are major drivers of change linked to consumer behaviors, new technology and disruptive business models. While the financial services industry exemplifies an ideal case for design-inspired foresight, the aims of this book are primarily to establish the peculiarities between traditional forecasting applications and a design-inspired foresight visioning approach as strategic design activities for selecting preferable futures. Underlining the contribution of this book is the value of design futures thinking as a creative and divergent thought process, which has the potential to respond to the much broader organizational reforms needed to sustain in today's rapidly evolving business environment. 76 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book focuses on the status quo and current trends concerning ethnic issues in China, and seeks to promote the equitable and harmonious development of Chinese and other nationalities around the world. Drawing on representative empirical studies and case studies, it describes the spatial structure and evolution of China's populace, and analyzes the distribution of and legislation on its spatial development, which has been conducive to the scientific formulation of national population policies. After assessing the development of China's populace, the book analyzes the future prospects with regard to achieving the goal of a prosperous society and balancing the population in a comprehensive way; puts forward some constructive suggestions on the modernization of the populace; and constructs a new knowledge system for national development with Chinese characteristics. The book combines qualitative and quantitative analysis and employs empirical, speculative, comparative, and comprehensive methods to make full use of modern science and technology, so as to promote ethnological research into a broader development path. Its goal is to objectively evaluate the development of the Chinese populace and provide objective facts and data to support those readers who are interested in its nature and evolution. 216 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book provides a solid foundation for a comprehensive, systemic and water-centric approach to water management. Said approach integrates two performance principles essential for sustainable water use systems, namely equity and efficiency. Further, it decreases the policy space for decision-making encountered by water managers and makes it easier to arrive at reasonable solutions because of the bounded rationality inherent in its development. By combining the distributive and aggregative principles, the approach offers a transparent and autonomous structure for gathering water dataand enabling stakeholder involvement. Lastly, it employs and promotes a unifying language for all types of water use systems, e.g. urban, agricultural and industrial. 136 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This volume is a selection of Chinese political scholar Xianglin Xu's published works spanning nearly 20 years of research that explore and discuss the socio-economic transition in China under state political reform. Contextualized within the decades following the 80s, the author analyzes patterns observed fromempirical studies, and breaks down the underlining reasoning, conditions and functionalities behind the incremental reform policies pushed forward by the Partyandgovernment.The collection is broken up into four sections: the first provides a general framework and theoretical / historical introduction to social transitionresearchin the case of China;the second section discusses the underpinning logic behind political reform in China and practical concerns; the third section follows with discussions on reform policy practices within China including application and trajectory;the final section concludes with an analysis of reform within state institutional infrastructure and policy innovation. 296 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This Key Concepts pivot explores the aesthetic concept of 'imaginative contemplation.' Drawing on key literature to provide a comprehensive and systematic study of the term, the book offers a unique analysis and definition of the connotations of the term, describing its aesthetic mentality and examining the issue of imaginative contemplation versus imagination in artistic creative thinking, especially as regards the characteristics of contingent thinking in aesthetics. It focuses on drawing parallels between imaginative contemplation and aesthetic emotions, aesthetic rationality, and artistic expression as well as aesthetic form. Examining the relationship between imaginative contemplation and the aesthetic configuration, the book provides a valuable introduction to aesthetic theory in Chinese philosophy and art. 104 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book contains new aspects of model diagnostics in time series analysis, including variable selection problems and higher-order asymptotics of tests. This is the first book to cover systematic approaches and widely applicable results for nonstandard models including infinite variance processes. The book begins by introducing a unified view of a portmanteau-type test based on a likelihood ratio test, useful to test general parametric hypotheses inherent in statistical models. The conditions for the limit distribution of portmanteau-type tests to be asymptotically pivotal are given under general settings, and very clear implications for the relationships between the parameter of interest and the nuisance parameter are elucidated in terms of Fisher-information matrices. A robust testing procedure against heavy-tailed time series models is also constructed in the context of variable selection problems. The setting is very reasonable in the context of financial data analysis and econometrics, and the result is applicable to causality tests of heavy-tailed time series models. In the last two sections, Bartlett-type adjustments for a class of test statistics are discussed when the parameter of interest is on the boundary of the parameter space. A nonlinear adjustment procedure is proposed for a broad range of test statistics including the likelihood ratio, Wald and score statistics. 120 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book offers an overview of the fundamental dynamical processes, which are necessary to understand astrophysical phenomena, from the viewpoint of hydrodynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, and radiation hydrodynamics.The book consists of three parts: The first discusses the fundamentals of hydrodynamics necessary to understand the dynamics of astrophysical objects such as stars, interstellar gases and accretion disks. The second part reviews the interactions between gases and magnetic fields on fluid motions - the magnetohydrodynamics - highlighting the important role of magnetic fields in dynamical phenomena under astrophysical environments. The third part focuses on radiation hydrodynamics, introducing the hydrodynamic phenomena characterized by the coupling of radiation and gas motions and further on relativistic radiation hydrodynamics.Intended as a pedagogical introduction for advanced undergraduate and graduate students, it also provides comprehensive coverage of the fundamentals of astrophysical fluid dynamics, making it an effective resource not only for graduate courses, but also for beginners wanting to learn about hydrodynamics, magnetohydrodynamics, and radiation hydrodynamics in astrophysics independently. 652 pp. Englisch.

Buch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This study focuses on Empires, from an economic historical perspective. In doing so, it relatescurrent debates in international relations (IR) and politics to the vexed legacy of empires in the past.The book includes analyses of the comparative scholarly literature onEmpire in Antiquity, andEmpire in the Early Modern and Modern Ages, asking the question if the United Sates is an Empire, and ifChina an emerging Empire.It contributes to the field given itsinterdisciplinarity, bringing together both historical and IR insights into world systems in times past. In addition it draws out four key points of separateness between pre-modern and modern empires, and emphases specific economic data. Further to that, the book advances the notion of the emergence of 'empires from within' in the 21st century, that is nation-states becoming more multi-ethnic while often stepping back from globalization. And finally it offers future scenarios for the evolution of empires in a Schumpeterian post-industrial world. 144 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book describes an action research approach to engaging respectfully with First Nations communities in a diverse range of contexts, disciplines and projects. It offers a valuable guide for professionals, students and teaching staff that recognises all participants as equal partners while acknowledging the diversity of First Peoples and culture, and prioritising local knowledge.While the book is adaptable to a diverse range of cultures and disciplines, it is specifically focused on cross-cultural collaborative case studies in Noongar Country, which is located in the southwest of Western Australia. The case studies demonstrate how action research can be applied not only in the traditional areas of education and social justice, but also in a diverse range of disciplines, communities and circumstances, including media, education, environmental management and health. The book's aim is to highlight successful cross-cultural First Nations community projects and to discuss each one in terms of its action research philosophy and process. In this regard, the voices of the participants are prioritised, especially those of First Nations communities.While this book is specifically pitched at Australian readers, the action research approach described may be adapted and applied to many cross-cultural collaborative relationships, making it of interest and value to international students and researchers. 264 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book analyses how a water utility from a developing country, Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, that was totally dysfunctional, corruption-ridden and literally bankrupt in 1993, became one of the most successful water utilities of the developing world in only about 15 years. By 2010, some of the performance indicators of this public sector utility were even better than London, Paris or Los Angeles. The book further analyses the enabling conditions that made this remarkable transformation possible. Based on this analysis, a framework is recommended for water utilities from developing countries so that they can also be transformed into functional, efficient, equitable and financially viable institutions on a sustainable basis. 180 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -The classical Lojasiewicz gradient inequality (1963) was extended by Simon (1983) to the infinite-dimensional setting, now called the Lojasiewicz-Simon gradient inequality. This book presents a unified method to show asymptotic convergence of solutions to a stationary solution for abstract parabolic evolution equations of the gradient form by utilizing this Lojasiewicz-Simon gradient inequality.In order to apply the abstract results to a wider class of concrete nonlinear parabolic equations, the usual Lojasiewicz-Simon inequality is extended, which is published here for the first time. In the second version, these abstract results are applied to reaction-diffusion equations with discontinuous coefficients, reaction-diffusion systems, and epitaxial growth equations. The results are also applied to the famous chemotaxis model, i.e., the Keller-Segel equations even for higher-dimensional ones. 61 pp. Englisch.

Taschenbuch. Condition: Neu. This item is printed on demand - it takes 3-4 days longer - Neuware -This book presents the state of the art in extreme value theory, with a collection of articles related to a seminal paper on the bivariate extreme value distribution written by Professor Masaaki Sibuya in 1960, demonstrating various developments of the original idea over the last half-century. Written by active researchers, the unique combination of articles allows readers to gain a sense of the excellence of the field, ranging from theory to practice, and the tradition of theoretical developments motivated by practically important issues such as tsunamis and financial crises. The contributions discuss a range of topics, including the parameter estimation of the generalized beta distribution, resampling with the empirical beta copula, and regression analysis on imbalanced binary data, as well as the semiparametric estimation of the upper bound of extrema, the long-term analysis of extreme precipitation over Japanese river basins, and various rules of thumb in hydrology. 144 pp. Englisch.