This book discusses the recently introduced concession policy, which is also known as PPP worldwide, on municipal utilities policy in China. In this context, critics have claimed that there is a gap in accountability with regard to concessions. The author utilizes interdisciplinary methods and comparative studies, taking into account the situation in the EU and US to analyze the accountability gap some feel will be created when the policy is implemented. Taking water sector concessions as ...

This book views the Dutch sinologist, Robert van Gulik’s Judge Dee mysteries as a hybrid East–West form of detective fiction and uses the concept of transculturation to discuss their hybrid nature with respect to their sources, production, and influence.The Judge Dee mysteries authored by Robert van Gulik (1910–1967) were the first detective stories to be set in ancient China. These hybrid narratives combine Chinese historical figures, traditional Chinese crime literature, and Chin...

Robotic vision represents the cutting edge of modern computing, combining artificial intelligence, deep learning, and advanced robotics to enable intelligent machines. As universities worldwide pivot from conventional machine learning to robotic vision, this book serves as an essential guide for researchers, educators, and students entering this transformative field.This comprehensive resource introduces core topics such as humanoid and arm-type robots, robotic image processing, st...

This book summarizes recent advances in epoxy vitrimer research, giving thorough discussion of the classification and fabrication of epoxy vitrimers and their composites. Epoxy vitrimers are reversible covalently crosslinked networks with dynamic covalent bonds, combining the excellent mechanical properties of thermosets with the re-processability of thermoplastics. The authors explore and summarize many current and potential applications of epoxy vitrimer composites across the domains of ...

With China becoming a major force in steel research and development, this book highlights the work of a group from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, led by the first four authors. This group has the ideal knowledge base for writing this updated book on heat-resistant steels. The fifth author, Sha, based in the UK, has been collaborating with the Chinese group since 2009 and is the lead or sole author of four research books, all published in English. The last book, “Steels: from materials sc...

This concise textbook examines the fundamental aspects of intelligent computing for surveillance systems, from camera calibration and data capturing, to secure data transmission. The text covers digital surveillance from the level of an individual object or biometric feature, to the full lifecycle of an event. This is followed by a detailed discussion on how an intelligent system can independently monitor and learn from an event, and invite human input when necessary. The book concludes wi...

Practical Guide to VIVA and OSCE in Ophthalmology Examinations is an essential study guide presented in a direct, exam-style question-and-answer format. It combines detailed explanations with high quality clinical photographs tailor-made to help readers ace specialist oral examinations (MMed, MRCS, FRCS, FRCOphth, FAMS, FRANZCO).Co-authored by ophthalmology trainees who took the final MMed and FRCOphth (Oral) in 2016 and 2017, this is a book written by trainees, for trainees, with prominen...

In our world of information overload, there is an increasing struggle to keep the main thing the main thing. Fundamental OSCE Guide in Ophthalmology is a concise study guide presented in a direct, exam style question and answer format, illustrated with high quality clinically relevant photographs tailored to medical students, nurses, optometrists and residents in their early ophthalmology training.This book provides invaluable guidance to readers in presenting their answers in a logical, s...

The first edition of this textbook was published in 2021. Over the past two years, we have invested in enhancing all aspects of deep learning methods to ensure the book is comprehensive and impeccable. Taking into account feedback from our readers and audience, the author has diligently updated this book.The second edition of this textbook presents control theory, transformer models, and graph neural networks (GNN) in deep learning. We have incorporated the latest algorithmic advan...

This book tells the story of the Mount Songshan area architecture in simple terms, while also providing detailed information on the history of Buddhist architecture. The history of the Mount Songshan area can be traced back to the Xia Dynasty in the 23rd century B.C. The heritage architecture in this area has seen the rise and fall of various powers – including the Han Dynasty, Northern Wei Dynasty, Tang and Song Empires, Jin Dynasty, Yuan Dynasty, and the Ming and Qing Empires – and refle...

Integrating concepts from deep learning, machine learning, and artificial neural networks, this highly unique textbook presents content progressively from easy to more complex, orienting its content about knowledge transfer from the viewpoint of machine intelligence. It adopts the methodology from graphical theory, mathematical models, and algorithmic implementation, as well as covers datasets preparation, programming, results analysis and evaluations.Beginning with a grounding abo...

This book addresses the fundamental concepts in the theory and practice of visual cryptography. The design, construction, analysis, and application of visual cryptography schemes (VCSs) are discussed in detail. Original, cutting-edge research is presented on probabilistic, size invariant, threshold, concolorous, and cheating immune VCS. This updated second edition has also been expanded with new content on braille and 2D barcode authentication of visual cryptography shares. Features: conta...