Suspended between earth and sky, water and fire, lies the spiritual heart of Thailand.Every year, on the night of the twelfth lunar month, millions gather along Thailand's waterways and beneath its night skies to participate in a breathtaking dual spectacle: Loy Krathong and Yi Peng. On the water, a slow-moving galaxy of flickering candles nestled in intricate banana-leaf vessels drifts into the darkness. Above, the ink-black sky i...

This book focusses on the teaching and learning of Chinese as a second language (CSL) in contemporary Taiwan. It explores linguistic, social, and pedagogical perspectives and offers unique insights into Taiwan’s diverse language landscape, from international students to immigrant learners.Readers will gain an in-depth understanding of how Mandarin is taught and learned in Taiwan, benefiting from the book’s linguistic approach and its examination of multilingualism, teacher educatio...

This book addresses the challenges of datafication through the lens of international economic law. We are undergoing a wave of datafication practices. If such practices simply continue to evolve without being examined and repaired along the existing path of development, the same issues will continue to accumulate and will more than likely be amplified. The unprecedented economic and social influence of big tech has served as the catalyst for the concept of 'digital sovereignty,' which is r...

This book explores how language ideologies have emerged for gangtaiqiang through a combination of indexical and ideological processes in televised media. Gangtaiqiang (Hong Kong-Taiwan accent), a socially recognizable form of mediatized Taiwanese Mandarin, has become a stereotype for many Chinese mainlanders who have little real-life interaction with Taiwanese people. Using both qualitative and quantitative approaches, the author examines how Chinese millennials perceive gangtaiqiang by fo...

The positive reciprocal pairwise comparison matrix (PCM) is one of the key components which is used to quantify the qualitative and/or intangible attributes into measurable quantities. This book examines six understudied issues of PCM, i.e. consistency test, inconsistent data identification and adjustment, data collection, missing or uncertain data estimation, and sensitivity analysis of rank reversal. The maximum eigenvalue threshold method is proposed as the new consistency index for the...

This book aims to establish a wind energy evaluation system, to provide scientific reference for site selection, daily operation and long-term planning of wind power generation, thus to make contribution to breaking the shackles of power shortage. Firstly, it presents the advantages and disadvantages of offshore wind power, then further discusses about the status quo and challenges for wind power programs along the Maritime Silk Road and offer suggestions. A wind energy evaluation system w...

Optimization techniques have been widely adopted to implement various data mining algorithms. In addition to well-known Support Vector Machines (SVMs) (which are based on quadratic programming), different versions of Multiple Criteria Programming (MCP) have been extensively used in data separations. Since optimization based data mining methods differ from statistics, decision tree induction, and neural networks, their theoretical inspiration has attracted many researchers who are intereste...

This book focuses on supply chain management, specifically resilience modeling and recovery strategies for disruptions. It combines multi-level analysis (system, product, event, network) with practical tools such as knowledge graphs, optimization techniques, and risk management frameworks. Key features include a structured, visual approach to complex concepts and multiple recovery dimensions (short-term fixes, product redesign, hierarchical optimization, control support). Blending theory w...

General Airgap Field Modulation Theory for Electrical MachinesIntroducing a new theory for electrical machinesAir-gap magnetic field modulation phenomena have been widely observed in electrical machines. This book serves as the first English-language overview of these phenomena, as well as developing systematically for the first time a general theory by which to understand and research them. This theory not only serves to unify analysis of ...

In this book the authors offer their unique perspectives on the important roles Chinese students and intellectuals played in the shaping of the twentieth-century China. Their answers to these pivotal questions explore new nationalistic spirit, modern world-views, and willingness of self-sacrifice, which had attributed to the spontaneous actions of the students as a “New Culture” emerged during the May Fourth Movement. These articles show how China nurtured these spontaneous student movemen...

China is a multiethnic country with vast territory, a land of diverse ecosystems. With the drive for industrialization in China and the implementation of 'western grand development' strategy in western regions, both governments and people face great challenges in environmental protection and sustainable use of biodiversity resources as a result of growing interaction between human activities and natural environment. To meet the challenges, governments in these regions need to adopt a serie...

San Guo Yan Yi is one of the best-known classic Chinese novels in the English-speaking world. The earliest English translation came out in 1820, while a range of further translations have been produced over the past two hundred years. How do the different versions relate to each other?This volume examines the intertextual relations between the English translations of San Guo Yan Yi. Intertextuality refers to the interdependence of texts in relation to one another....