This book argues for the explanatory autonomy of the biological sciences. It does so by showing that scientific explanations in the biological sciences cannot be reduced to explanations in the fundamental sciences such as physics and chemistry and by demonstrating that biological explanations are advanced by models rather than laws of nature.To maintain the explanatory autonomy of the biological sciences, the author argues against explanatory reductionism and shows that explanation...

The main focus of this book is the transport mechanics of sediment particles coated with microbial biofilm, which is called bio-sediment. The book also addresses the question of how to measure and simulate the considerable variation in the properties of natural sediment associated with microbial biofilm, ranging from the micro-scale surface morphology to the macro-scale sediment transport. Nowadays most studies to elucidate the mechanisms of sediment transport have concentrated on physical...

How can a scientist or engineer synthesize and utilize polymers to solve our daily problems? This introductory text, aimed at the advanced undergraduate or graduate student, provides future scientists and engineers with the fundamental knowledge of polymer design and synthesis to achieve specific properties required in everyday applications. In the first five chapters, this book discusses the properties and characterization of polymers, since designing a polymer initially requires us to un...

This work analyses and interprets Chinese managers' perceptions of environmental management and regulatory enforcement practices in Chinese enterprises. Most importantly, it identifies the bottlenecks to environmental protection in Chinese firms, and presents a roadmap of how they can be overcome.

This book provides a comprehensive exploration of festival-making activities, their cultural significance, and their impact on tourism and community identity. It delves into the evolution of festivals, from traditional folk celebrations to modern, tourism-driven events, offering insights into how these festivities shape cultural heritage, economic development, and social cohesion in an increasingly globalized world.A distinguishing feature of this book is its use of integrated refe...

Social Perspective is a course set over one academic year for intermediate learners of Chinese. In two volumes, it focuses on developing learners’ language competency to a high advanced plus/advanced level (ACTFL/CEFR B2-C1) through exploring social issues in contemporary China.The textbook draws upon the discussion of a wide range of current social issues in China to provide students with a real-life background to increase their debating and written skills. Volume II expl...

Taiwan has become a new flashpoint in Sino-U.S. relations in recent years. The nation just concluded its presidential and legislative elections in January 2024. The incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a pyrrhic victory—with DPP keeping the presidential seat but losing the majority in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan (Congress). The political status of Taiwan is one of the few, if not the only, issues that have won bipartisan support. New Developments in the Trilateral Relationshi...

Gender and Food in Transnational East Asias illustrates how the production and consumption of food impacts the changing social positions of individuals and their relationships with their families, the state, and their work, as well as shapes their gender, sexual, ethnic, and national identities. The transnational movement of food and people between East Asia and the rest of the world is increasingly visible, forming various forces behind the cultural and political constructions of gender p...

The Merchant of Missiles: Li Fangwei's Secret War is a gripping exposé into one of the most elusive and dangerous figures in modern arms proliferation. At the heart of this story is Li Fangwei, also known as Karl Lee—a Chinese businessman turned international fugitive who supplied Iran with critical missile components, all while weaving a complex web of deceit that confounded some of the world's most powerful governments.Operating from the shadows, Li evaded dozens...

The spatial-temporal cooperative guidance problem for multiple flight vehicles has garnered significant attention in recent years due to its potential benefits in both military and civil fields. This book provides a concise but holistic introduction to this practical problem and presents a summative collection of the latest solutions to the concerned challenges, thereby providing some theoretical support for enhancing the synergism and applicability of cooperative guidance for multiple fli...

This book systematically and integrally introduces the new security management theories and methods in the e-commerce environment. Based on the perspective of dynamic governance of the whole process, starting from the theoretical framework, this book analyzes the gap between the current situation and requirements of security management, defines its nature, function, object and system, and designs and constructs the whole process security management organization and operation system of e-co...

Unlike many studies of social attitudes, which are based on large scale quantitative surveys, or which focus on the attitude of elites, this book considers the views of ordinary people, and is based on in-depth, qualitative interviews. This approach results in rich, nuanced data, and is especially helpful for highlighting ambivalent attitudes, where respondents may hold positive and negative views on a particular topic, views which are liable to change. The book examines attitudes on a ran...