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This is Open Access book. The international political economy is confronted by a number of overlapping crises. These include the climate emergency, rapid technological advancement, the high volume of globalised trade and financial flows, cross-border labour movement, rising inequality, geopolitical tensions, and frequent economic crises and natural disasters. Many developing countries are going through a period of urgent transformation and transition to adopt new policies to cope with such challenges and achieve and maintain sustainable and inclusive socioeconomic development. This path-breaking volume explores the issues shaping the response of Brunei Darussalam, long dependent on its oil and gas sector, to these challenges. The discussions presented here are framed by the notion of 'development in transition'-a mix of well-designed policies driven by timely implementation, enforcement and monitoring, as well as international cooperation to ensure sustainable development and distribution of benefits on an equitable basis. Through fine-grained analyses of key economic sectors-including natural resources, employment patterns, financial services, global value chains, international trade, tourism and the role of the public sector-the contributors offer a critical assessment of Brunei's policy responses. This transitional policy mix is situated in relation to the overarching development strategy called Wawasan Brunei 2035 (Brunei Vision 2035), which broadly maps onto the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. Academic scholars, university students and others interested in the study of contemporary Brunei and broader questions of economic transition in Asia will find this volume an invaluable resource for a deeper understanding of how development paths and priorities are being managed to meet pressing global and local challenges.

Targeted at undergraduate mathematics students, this book aims to cover courses in group theory. Based on lectures in group theory, it includes many illustrations and examples, numerous solved exercises and detailed proofs of theorems. The book acts as a guide to teachers and is also useful to graduate students. The book discusses major topics in group theory such as groups and subgroups, binary operations, fundamental algebraic structure of groups, symmetric groups, cyclic groups, normal subgroups, quotient groups, homomorphisms, isomorphisms, direct product of groups, simple groups, set on a group, Sylow's theorem, finite group, Abelian groups and non-isomorphic Abelian groups.

"This book will help build strong bridges between Europe and Taiwan by enhancing mutual understanding, inviting Europeans to learn from Taiwan's experience and arguing for principled solidarity between our democracies."-Reinhard Bütikofer, former Member of the European Parliament"A timely, up-to-date and comprehensive book on the new generation Taiwan-EU relationship with a balanced perspective. Timely, because both sides elected a new leadership in 2024. Up-to-date, because bilateral relations entered a new phase in 2019, and were further elevated after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Comprehensive, because the discussion includes all EU institutions and covers important domains, namely trade and technology. The perspective is balanced because it considers both Taiwan and EU views. In short, a must-read piece."-Ambassador Dr. Roy Chun LEE, Taipei Representative Office in the EU and BelgiumThis book addresses the following fundamental questions: With the EU seeing Taiwan as a partner on its own merit (rather than exclusively through the China factor lens), how can the two sides consolidate this new normal, what next? How can they expand cooperation in a way that both increases the EU's role in shaping Taiwan's future and empowers Taiwan to exercise agency? Taiwan's geo-strategic relevance is likely to grow in the Indo-Pacific, a region of great significance to the EU's own interests. Protecting these will require a more engaged Europe. In this trenchant and engaging volume, Dr. Ferenczy explores what European policy towards the Asian hotspot should be, of interest to policymakers, scholars and journalists.Dr. Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy is Assistant Professor at the National Dong Hwa University in Hualien, Taiwan, and Affiliated Scholar at the Department of Political Science of Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Between 2008 and 2020 Zsuzsa worked as a political advisor in the European Parliament. Her areas of expertise include European foreign and security policy, Europe's relations with China and Taiwan in the framework of the Indo-Pacific. In 2019, her first book "Europe, China, and the Limits of Normative Power" was received to wide acclaim.

This textbook considers cases and materials introducing European Union (EU) data protection law to data protection enthusiasts while acting as a reference point for students and practitioners. The book's utility is twofold: the cases and materials can be used as a textbook as well as reference point for research. The book will benefit individuals new to this area and those at an intermediate level of familiarity with data protection law. It includes judgements delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)/ European Court of Justice (ECJ) and decisions delivered by Data Protection Authorities (DPA) in the EU. While providing an overview of data protection law in the EU, the book introduces basic concepts of data protection law, principles of data protection law and rights and duties and remedies under the data protection law. Students would greatly benefit from the book by using it as an introduction to data protection law and as a reference point for research and assessments. Course instructors would benefit from the book by using it as core reading material.

This book provides a clear understanding of quantum mechanics (QM) by developing it from fundamental postulates in an axiomatic manner, as its central theme. The target audience is physics students at master¿s level. It avoids historical developments, which are piecemeal, not logically well knitted, and may lead to misconceptions. Instead, in the present approach all of QM and all its rules are developed logically starting from the fundamental postulates only and no other assumptions.Specially noteworthy topics have been developed in a smooth contiguous fashion following the central theme. They provide a new approach to understanding QM. In most other texts, these are presented as disjoint separate topics. Since the reader may not be acquainted with advanced mathematical topics like linear vector space, a number of such topics have been presented as ¿mathematical preliminary.¿ Standard topics, viz. derivation of uncertainty relations, simple harmonic oscillator by operator method,bound systems in one and three dimensions, angular momentum, hydrogen-like atom, and scattering in one and three dimensions, are woven into the central theme.Advanced topics like approximation methods, spin and generalized angular momenta, addition of angular momenta, and relativistic quantum mechanics have been reserved for Volume II. ¿

This book analyzes in detail the technological evolution process of databases in the era of cloud computing and explains how traditional database technology has gradually developed to cloud-native form from multiple perspectives such as architecture design, implementation mechanism, and system optimization. This book emphasizes the full combination of theory and practice and also analyzes the SQL optimization and execution, transaction processing, caching and indexing principles of databases implemented by MySQL, PostgreSQL and other systems, what trade-offs and compromises are made in the face of actual application requirements, how to optimize in the face of complex application scenarios, and the reasons behind making various choices. At the same time, combined with Alibaba Cloud's R&D experience in the database field, this book focuses on a series of core technical principles of modern database evolution from system to service, such as the use of cloud computing resource pooling technology and distributed technology to achieve high availability, elastic expansion, and on-demand use of databases.The book is informative, combines theoretical depth and implementation details, and openly explores the new development direction of the database, which can inspire readers to think further.

This open access book offers an introduction to the field of the environmental humanities in India. The environmental humanities, often referred to as 'EH', are a multifaceted, relatively new, and swiftly evolving field of scholarship that integrates the theories and approaches of various disciplines - from anthropology, art, communications, cultural studies, philosophy and ecology to history, literature, media, music, performance, politics, sociology, theology and theater. Practitioners of this considerably integrative and widely ranging field aim to address and, in certain cases, confront today's urgent ecological and cultural challenges, namely climate change, urban sustainability, biodiversity conservation, species decline, energy policy, the exigencies of the Anthropocene, environmental activism, and Indigenous peoples' justice. Although the environmental humanities have been relatively slow to gain traction in South Asia, an increasing momentum towards transdisciplinary approaches to ecology and sustainability is palpable in India. Comprising fourteen chapters, this contributed volume is the first major publication to call attention to current work in the environmental humanities in India. The volume foregrounds particular ecohumanist theories and methodologies evolving from Indian biocultural contexts. Towards this aim, the book consists of four thematic sections: Indigenous Perspectives: Conservation, Spirituality, and Language; Theoretical Grounding: Education, Law, and Ethics; Literary Formulations: Memoir, Parable, and Storyworlds; and Popular Narratives: Myth, Travel, and Music. The volume is of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates, early career scholars, and more established researchers in the environmental humanities and the allied fields of ecopoetics, ecocriticism, ecomusicology, environmental art, cultural ecology, postcolonial studies, and South Asian studies.This is an open access book.

This book is designed to help for developing the general understanding of all the knowledge essential to ensure the reactor's structural integrity. For this purpose, it not only explains basic knowledge of nuclear reactor structure engineering but also allows readers to learn how to systematize this knowledge as they study structural standards. This book first defines structural integrity and explains the concept of structural standards that is used for ensuring integrity, and then describes strength of materials (or mechanics of materials), which is vital as a means of designing components' dimensions and other elements, and the finite element analysis, which has been developed on the basis of strength of materials and has been going mainstream in recent years. Subsequently, the book explains how components are designed, fabricated and examined in practice. In particular, with respect to design, the book places emphasis on what should be considered insizing of components, and provides a description of practical activities of sizing and other elements.

This open access book critically examines the policies and practices related to climate-related human mobility in Asia-Pacific and the legal and policy protection framework for climatically displaced migrants (CDMs) through an interdisciplinary human rights-based approach. While covering the policy and theoretical dimensions of mobility, it also evaluates the issue through empirical studies. The book illustrates how interdisciplinary rights-based approaches address and identify gaps in the protection framework for the region regarding dimensions of climate change displacement, migration, forced migration, susceptibility to climate change, and typology of climate change-induced displacement. Presenting multiple case scenarios, it recommends a legal mechanism based on human rights in a region brimming with variety and multiculturalism.Bringing together voices from the Asia-Pacific Academic Network on Disaster Displacement, the book examines issues that are immediately relevant in countries where they are living and working. In addition to academic perspective, the chapters also bring perspectives from positions held in national human rights institutions and government. They bring insight into lived experience and policy processes, seeking to avert, minimize, and address displacement, including through general disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation initiatives, as well as specific initiatives around emergency preparedness for response and planned relocation and resettlement. The chapters examine diverse forms of human mobility, including displacement, planned relocation, and forced immobility. The combination of studies focusing on both sudden onset and slower onset movement is also distinctive. With a thorough understanding of the interdisciplinary rights-based approaches to the issue, students, researchers, policymakers, administrators, and all those engaged in studying these topics can quickly evaluate and appreciate how the rights of CDMs are protected on a national, regional, and international level in Asia-Pacific.

This book explains basic ideas behind several methods used in artificial intelligence-based knowledge management techniques. It also shows how these techniques are applied in practical contexts in different education sectors. The book discusses AI-based knowledge management applications, AI-empowered knowledge management in primary and higher education, and technical and ethical challenges and opportunities.

This open access edited volume presents a series of studies utilizing a variety of linguistic research techniques to investigate areas of language education, acquisition and assessment, contemporary political debate, modern and historical print media, and clinical language disorders, in the Indonesian context. In doing so, the authors provide a rich and diverse overview of current research in the fields of linguistics and applied linguistics. The initial section focuses on research conducted in educational settings, focusing on English-medium instruction (EMI), reading assessment, discovery-based learning, cultural elements in textbooks, and pre-service teacher preparation in Indonesia, offering recommendations for improving language education. The second section demonstrates the applications of corpus linguistics, focusing on collocation patterns in different languages, lexical use and context of rhetorical markers, and authorship determination. A third section presents investigations related to aspects of historical and contemporary language use in a variety of contexts, including advertisements, political debate, Indonesian print media, and translanguaging and multilingual writings, discussing the social and cultural dimensions of language use in Indonesia. The final section focuses on clinical linguistics, investigating the relationship between language disorders and language use, including spoken narratives provided by patients with Alzheimer's and the structure and time reference use of agrammatic speakers, with valuable insights into the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of language disorders. Brought together in a single volume, the chapters illustrate how linguistic analysis can be applied across a variety of disciplines and research sites. The volume is relevant to linguists, educators, sociologists, historians, and members of the medical community with particular interest in the Indonesian context.

The five-volume set LNCS 14884, 14885, 14886, 14887 & 14888 constitutes the refereed deadline proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Knowledge Science, Engineering and Management, KSEM 2024, held in Birmingham, UK, during August 16-18, 2024. The 160 full papers presented in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 495 submissions. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: Volume I: Knowledge Science with Learning and AI (KSLA) Volume II: Knowledge Engineering Research and Applications (KERA) Volume III: Knowledge Management with Optimization and Security (KMOS) Volume IV: Emerging Technology Volume V: Special Tracks

This book adopts a methodology-focused approach, concentrating on quantitative techniques for transportation. It specifically focuses on methods that have been or potentially could be applied to study the effects of transportation policies and projects. The prevailing research features three key research categories: cross-sectional regression models, simulation (forecasting) methods, and causal inference models.

Conducting an in-depth analysis of machine learning, this book proposes three perspectives for studying machine learning: the learning frameworks, learning paradigms, and learning tasks. With this categorization, the learning frameworks reside within the theoretical perspective, the learning paradigms pertain to the methodological perspective, and the learning tasks are situated within the problematic perspective. Throughout the book, a systematic explication of machine learning principles from these three perspectives is provided, interspersed with some examples.The book is structured into four parts, encompassing a total of fifteen chapters. The inaugural part, titled "Perspectives," comprises two chapters: an introductory exposition and an exploration of the conceptual foundations. The second part, "Frameworks": subdivided into five chapters, each dedicated to the discussion of five seminal frameworks: probability, statistics, connectionism, symbolism, and behaviorism. Continuing further, the third part, "Paradigms," encompasses four chapters that explain the three paradigms of supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and reinforcement learning, and narrating several quasi-paradigms emerged in machine learning. Finally, the fourth part, "Tasks": comprises four chapters, delving into the prevalent learning tasks of classification, regression, clustering, and dimensionality reduction.This book provides a multi-dimensional and systematic interpretation of machine learning, rendering it suitable as a textbook reference for senior undergraduates or graduate students pursuing studies in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, computer science, and related disciplines. Additionally, it serves as a valuable reference for those engaged in scientific research and technical endeavors within the realm of machine learning.The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence. A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content.

However, the contents of this book differ significantly from most commutative algebra texts: namely, its treatment of the Dedekind-Mertens formula, the (small) finitistic dimension of a ring, Gorenstein rings, valuation overrings and the valuative dimension, and Nagata rings.

This book focuses on the emerging topic of embedded artificial intelligence and provides a systematic summary of its principles, platforms, and practices. In the section on principles, it analyzes three main approaches for implementing embedded artificial intelligence: cloud computing mode, local mode, and local-cloud collaborative mode. The book identifies five essential components for implementing embedded artificial intelligence: embedded AI accelerator chips, lightweight neural network algorithms, model compression techniques, compiler optimization techniques, and multi-level cascaded application frameworks. The platform section introduces mainstream embedded AI accelerator chips and software frameworks currently used in the industry. The practical part outlines the development process of embedded artificial intelligence and showcases real-world application examples with accompanying code.As a comprehensive guide to the emerging field of embedded artificial intelligence, the book offers rich and in-depth content, a clear and logical structure, and a balanced approach to both theoretical analysis and practical applications. It provides significant reference value and can serve as an introductory and reference guide for researchers, scholars, students, engineers, and professionals interested in studying and implementing embedded artificial intelligence.

This book provides the first comprehensive demographic overview of remarriage in Japan. Despite the fact that nearly one in five marriages in Japan now involves at least one formerly married spouse, very little is known about the nature of remarriages and how they differ from first marriages. One important focus of this book is to examine fertility intentions and outcomes in remarriages and to compare them with marriages in which both partners are in their first marriage. It is well known that low rates of first marriage contribute to Japan's very low total fertility rate (TFR), but there is currently no theoretical or empirical basis for understanding how levels and patterns of remarriage are related to the TFR.To understand trends and patterns of remarriage in Japan, the book begins with an overview of the voluminous research literature on remarriage in the USA and other Western countries. This overview consists of a summary of trends and theoretical frameworks for understanding remarriage and is followed by a summary of existing research on correlates of remarriage and outcomes associated with higher-order marriages. Of particular importance is the attention paid to stepfamily fertility and the extent to which remarriage is associated with overall levels of fertility.An important contribution of this book is its presentation of basic descriptive information about levels and correlates of remarriage in Japan. These descriptive analyses are based on published data in the vital statistics reports and individual-level data from the National Fertility Surveys conducted by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research and the National Survey of Households with Children conducted by the Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training.

This book is one of the first edited volumes on the current Israel/Palestine conflict-the Gaza Nakba 2023-24. It contains contributions from both young post-doctoral researchers and more seasoned scholars from within and outside of Japan. These authors, with their rich experience of field work in the region and their interdisciplinary approaches, are able to provide critical analyses on the current breakdown of humanitarian norms, the dysfunctional state of international organizations, and the breakdown of conflict management and peace-building. The unique viewpoints of Japanese, Palestinian, and Israeli scholars are shared regarding their understanding of the critical developments in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Further, these chapters analyze the background of the conflict, focusing on popular sentiments, national identity, and historical memory in Israel/Palestine, and the importance of space and land as national and cultural symbols, using rich and updated written and visualdata from the region. This work significantly challenges prevailing arguments, as it avoids stereotyped understandings of the persistence of religious and ethnic hatred, the proxy relationships of global powers (e.g., USA) and regional ones (Iran), and regional rivalries over geopolitical and economic interests in the Middle East. Such arguments as these provide no more than a quick divide-and-rule type of solution, encouraging merely superficial diplomatic coordination among the major global powers rather than a real solution. Alternatively, this book provides a new framework for understanding the structure of the conflict, making way for solving the problem from the popular level, and delving deeply into reconsideration of the durability or non-durability of a Westphalian nation-state system and nationalism in the Middle East. The book also discloses the severe reality that human rights in the Global South are often neglected. In this sense, the purpose of this work is to disclose the significance of the Gaza War as an iconic event which reveals all the contradictions, inequalities and injustices in a global historical context.  This book is essential for anyone who wants a fresh and expert consideration of the Israel-Palestine-Gaza issue, which avoids the often parochial stereotypes that attend it in the West, and which views it through a global lens.Juan Cole, Richard P. Mitchell Collegiate Professor of History, University of Michigan

This Open Access book intends to report the new results of the Global One Health Index (GOHI). The content of this book underlines the functions and importance of developing the evaluation tool (GOHI) for global One Health practice, shows the results of GOHI score in 160 countries/territories and key findings in details, and provides different policy recommendations to UN agencies, countries, and communities to promote the wide application of the One Health approach. A pilot study was conducted in 2021, and its related publications are collected in one section of the book. The book is likely to be of interest to researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, and stakeholders in applying One Health who wish to learn about the development, results, key findings, and policy recommendations of GOHI study.

This book conveys the essence of a series of guided conversations with leading Malaysian intellectuals-predominantly writers, journalists, academicians, some artists, and other thinkers-in the early 1970s. Based on interviews with 133 intellectuals, supplemented by hours of informal conversation, socializing, and common attendance at intellectual activities or events, the book highlights the cultural significance of the 1970s, an under-appreciated era, and features "conversations" on topics that are integral to the nation's intellectual history. Topics covered include freedom of speech and expression, their most admired cultural centres, religion, democracy, and the role for intellectuals in Malaysian society. The project uses an innovative approach that eschews conventional biographical sketches in favour of allowing intellectual informants to "speak" in their own voices.Daniel Regan, a sociologist, holds a Ph.D. in the field from Yale University (USA) as well as an M.A. in Southeast Asia Studies from Yale. His B.A. (Hons) is from Amherst College. Before turning to academic administration, he was a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh (USA) for 21 years, six of them as Sociology department head. He has held academic administrative positions at Lewis-Clark State College (Idaho, USA) and, before retiring, as long-time dean of academic affairs at Northern Vermont University-Johnson (now part of Vermont State University) in Vermont, where he lives. His academic writings have focused on higher education, religion and politics, intellectual life, and Malaysia.

This open access book gathers selected high-quality research papers presented at the Ninth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology, held at Brunel University, London, on February 19-22, 2024. It discusses emerging topics pertaining to information and communication technology (ICT) for managerial applications, e-governance, e-agriculture, e-education and computing technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT), and e-mining. Written by respected experts and researchers working on ICT, the book offers an asset for young researchers involved in advanced studies. The work is presented in ten volumes.

This book provides a concise overview of intelligent technologies for vision and sensing, with a particular focus on their applications in various multispectral configurations, including safety monitoring in rural areas. Within the realm of intelligent perception and contemporary healthcare, the book emphasizes the real-time monitoring, analysis, and prediction of vital signals using biomedical optical sensors. This approach aims to offer more adaptable and personalized services within the medical health management domain. Furthermore, the book delves into the comprehensive comprehension of physiological signals and additional data sources, such as environmental and motion data. The goal is to enhance the breadth and depth of data analysis, providing more integrated support for the life and health sector. Additionally, the book explores the implementation of edge intelligence algorithms at the sensor level to enable real-time analysis, enhancing the efficiency of sensor data processing and utilization. Detailed explanations of the configuration and deployment of an active vision camera system featuring an integrated edge algorithm are provided to elucidate the coordination and communication mechanisms of edge intelligence technology across multiple edge devices. A specific application case is then presented-the universal camera jamming system-which underscores the benefits of intelligent sensing fusion for tasks such as attitude and position recognition, as well as self-feedback excitation jamming. The book underscores the pervasive and seamless integration of smart sensing in both current and future lifestyles, spanning from active vision cameras to diverse applications across multiple spectrums. Its insights are poised to stimulate innovation and application within the realms of smart vision and sensing, including a comprehensive analysis of future healthcare paradigms.

This book offers comprehensive analysis for individual cases of poverty alleviation to facilitate respective in-depth key learnings and an overview of poverty alleviation strategies carried out in China. Best practices were selected from representative cases in China to demonstrate the development of different approaches in the poverty alleviation journey with collective stakeholders' efforts - Government, Industry, Academia, and Research, plus the local stakeholders engaged in the rural development activities. Overseas cases are referenced to show the outcome of similar strategies as comparison with the consideration of regional specific conditions.Through better understanding of the focal issues, areas and organizations - and their respective key challenges and solutions - there is the compilation for each case its analysis, comparative studies and SDG relevance. These aim at engaging the readers from institutes, governments, corporates, or social enterprises, to think about how to adopt the related SDG strategies. They also serve as the initiatives to facilitate potential cross-region and cross-disciplinary collaboration.The book acts as the guide on how:- Poverty Reduction is one of the key goals in SDGs - while solving this key challenge, multiple goals could be planned and tackled together to make an effective solution.- Multi-disciplinary strategies are put in place, demonstrated via success stories and best practices.  Key driving factors are identified with the consideration of the driving organization nature.- A system could be developed to engage different stakeholders in the society for industry development - and to avoid returning to poverty in the long term.- Future international cooperation could be facilitated to create a poverty alleviation framework applicable across different regions.

This open access book analyzes the achievements and challenges of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from the macro and industrial, real and financial, domestic and international perspectives, and explores the opportunities for future development and related public policy issues. It is a new research achievement of CICC Research and CICC Global Institute on major issues in China's new development stage.The year 2023 marks the tenth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Over the past decade, BRI has established more than 3,000 cooperation projects, galvanized nearly 1 trillion U.S. dollars of investment, created more than 420,000 jobs, and lifted nearly 40 million people out of poverty. BRI has made remarkable achievements in promoting connectivity and cooperative development between China and participating countries, and has been welcomed by the international community both as a public good and a cooperation platform.Compared with ten years ago, the global environment has undergone profound changes. COVID-19 epidemic has brought great impacts to the world, and the post-epidemic economic recovery is uneven, with some long-term scarring effects still emerging. New changes and constraints, such as geopolitical events, industry chain adjustment, and green transition, have also exerted far-reaching influences on the economic fundamentals and global governance. Under the new situation, international cooperation mechanisms, including BRI, are facing new problems and challenges, which need to be explored and solved in practice.This book is both academically rigorous and readable, and provides valuable references for public policy departments, enterprises, and financial institutions who seek to better understand the macro, financial and industrial trends of BRI.

This open-access book offers a clear and thorough exploration of Asia's history from an international relations perspective. The book investigates key political, economic, and cultural forces defining Asia. It highlights the historical and current significance of the Indo-Pacific region, particularly shedding light on its strategic role in global geopolitics. Through detailed historical analyses, the authors guide readers toward a comprehensive understanding of Asia's complex international relations, from colonization and imperialism, through the Cold War, into decolonization and the wave of democratization in the region, to the rise of China, unpacking the various dimensions of regionalism in Asia. This book serves as a practical scholarly resource for advanced students, researchers, and lecturers interested in understanding the region's past and its implications for future geopolitical dynamics. It is relevant to historians focused on Asia and to international relations and political science scholars interested in the shift to an Asian world order, from past to present.

This open access book showcases the innovative practices of Big Earth Data methods through a collection of comprehensive case studies from China to monitor and evaluate indicators for seven SDGs, i.e., zero hunger (SDG 2), clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), climate action (SDG 13), life below water (SDG 14), life on land (SDG 15), and to analyze the interactions among multiple SDGs indicators. The emphasis on Big Earth Data is highly relevant within the context of growing global challenges. Disaster risk mitigation, climate change, global food security, resource management, and environmental challenges all are interlinked through earth systems and processes that are independent of human constructs. Therefore, these case studies highlight methods and practices of spatial information mining and integrated SDG evaluation, which include evaluating the synergy and trade-off relationships among the SDGs in the context of their correlations; simulating multiple indicators' interactions in future environmental, economic and social scenarios in the context of their temporal variations; designing integrated evaluations of regional SDGs in the context of experience with the study of multiple indicators. Big Earth Data therefore has the potential to support informed policy and decision support at global, regional, and local scales.

This book focuses on cutting-edge research in high-performance concrete. Concrete has been a main construction material all over the world in the past century. As the demand for construction rises, the need for concrete with stronger performance grows as well. Existing studies on high-performance concrete are mainly on fiber admixtures and reactive mineral powder admixtures, with a focus on concrete proportioning and rheological properties. Through in-depth analysis of real-world engineering cases and demonstration of the latest research achievements, this book aims to provide a systematic review of research on high-performance concrete for civil engineers and scholars in related research fields. The topics of this book include but are not limited to the following:1. Fiber Reinforced Concrete and Admixture Factors;2. Effect of Mineral Reactive Powders on Concrete;3. High Performance Concrete Packing Density and Rheological Properties;4. High Performance Concrete Proportioning and Theoretical Research;5. Research on Mechanical Properties of High Performance Concrete.This is an open access book.

An increased incidence of hypospadias is found globally, and the current management techniques and research studies of hypospadiology face significant challenges and limitations. This book sheds light on the recent struggles encountered in hypospadias-related clinical practice and research methodologies. Various writings were incorporated by people on different disciplines linked to the overall phases of diagnosis and care of hypospadias patients. Special attention is given to new perspectives from different interrelated disciplines trying to overcome these obstacles. This book fills in a void in the new related discoveries traditionally given scant consideration in the currently dominated literature. It provides a useful source for the recent updates, ongoing controversies, and future research trajectories in hypospadiology, which benefits pediatric, plastic, reconstructive, and urology surgeons and trainees and helps examiners focus on updated materials.