There is a pressing need for a greater understanding among the world’s diverse peoples. Once individuals gain an appreciation of each other’s language and history, they can use this foundation to help construct a more peaceful, harmonious, cooperative and equitable world. But how can they begin to work toward this goal? In 2013 China proposed the Community of Shared Future (CSF), which has since become a framework for international collaboration aimed at creating a better world. Under the ...

This book introduces readers to a workload-aware methodology for large-scale graph algorithm optimization in graph-computing systems, and proposes several optimization techniques that can enable these systems to handle advanced graph algorithms efficiently. More concretely, it proposes a workload-aware cost model to guide the development of high-performance algorithms. On the basis of the cost model, the book subsequently presents a system-level optimization resulting in a partition-aware ...

This book studies the stability analysis of continuous time delay-difference equations and their application in the predictor feedback control of input-delayed systems. Stability analysis for delay-difference equations is a central topic and is typically addressed through two methods: frequency-domain methods, which provide nonconservative conditions but are challenging for control synthesis; time-domain LKF methods, which are tractable but often conservative. This book analyzes the stabil...

This volume theorizes the concept of citizenship in contemporary China by probing into the formation of Chinese citizenship and synthesizing the practices of citizenship by different social groups. The first section, “Imagining Chinese Citizenship,” analyses how Chinese citizenship was first imagined by means of translation and education at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Chinese citizenship was then compared with the concept of Western citizenship and that of other Asian count...

Is China a rogue donor, as some media pundits suggest? Or is China helping the developing world pave a pathway out of poverty, as the Chinese claim? In the last few years, China's aid program has leapt out of the shadows. Media reports about huge aid packages, support for pariah regimes, regiments of Chinese labor, and the ruthless exploitation of workers and natural resources in some of the poorest countries in the world sparked fierce debates. These debates, however, took placewith very ...

"An informative, well-paced, and clearly articulated narrative of the European Union's development" (Jennifer Yoder, Colby College).This brief and accessible introduction to the European Union is ideal for anyone who needs a concise overview of the structure, history, and policies of the EU. This updated edition includes a new chapter on the sovereign debt crisis in the Eurozone. Andreas Staab offers basic terms and interpretive frameworks for understanding the evol...

This book is open access under a CC BY-NC-ND license.Ambassadors are a kind of vehicle and bellwether for globalization. These diplomatic envoys serve as pivotal contact points between nations across a wide range of fields, from economics and culture to health and the environment. The special group of ambassadors in this book – those based in Beijing – are at the forefront of what for many countries is one of their most important bilateral relationships, as well one of the most str...

Everything you always wanted to know about the United Nations in one book! This primer to the United Nations is designed for all global citizens. It covers the history of the UN, what it does and how it does it. As the world’s only truly global organization,the United Nations is where countries meet to address universal issues that cannot be resolved by any one of them acting alone. From international peace and security to sustainable development, climate change, human rights, and humanita...

They captured the essence of the times in their massively influential book Megatrends (selling 14 000 000), so will Global Game Change; where it offers analysis and an indispensable road map of the transforming of the global landscape – enabling entrepreneurs, corporations and governments to reposition themselves to new global conditions.Our purpose, wrote John and Doris Naisbitt, in this book is to paint a picture of the transition we see evolving in the first half of the 21st cen...

The People's Republic of China once limited its involvement in African affairs to building an occasional railroad or port, supporting African liberation movements, and loudly proclaiming socialist solidarity with the downtrodden of the continent. Now Chinese diplomats and Chinese companies, both state-owned and private, along with an influx of Chinese workers, have spread throughout Africa. This shift is one of the most important geopolitical phenomena of our time. China and Africa: A ...

This open access book provokes critical thinking regarding the most ambitious Chinese project since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The book presents extensive quality research and original insights in assessing the status of China’s outbound investment and construction projects under the BRI umbrella. Referring to case studies and projects of selected countries from Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, the author sheds new ...

China leads the world when it comes to investment and influence on the African continent. The extent of Chinese investment in Africa is well known and much has been written about China’s foray into Africa. However, most of the available material has approached this issue by looking at China as the ’New Colonialist’ – more interested in Africa’s vast natural resources than working in partnership for sustained development. Whilst China’s interest in Africa’s resources is evident, it is just ...