This book discusses three levels of e-government and national strategies to reach a citizen-centric participatory e-government, and examines how disruptive technologies help shape the future of e-government. The authors examine how e-government can facilitate a symbiotic relationship between the government and its citizens. ICTs aid this relationship and promote transparencies so that citizens can place greater trust in the activities of their government. If a government can manage resourc...

A Chinese Lord of the Rings and one of the all-time great fantasy novels--which Neil Gaiman has said "is in the DNA of 1.5 billion people"--now in a thrilling new translationA shape-shifting trickster on a kung-fu quest for eternal life, Monkey King is one of the most memorable superheroes in world literature. High-spirited and omni-talented, he amasses dazzling weapons and skills on his journey to immortality: a gold-hooped staff that can grow as tall as ...

It is one of the greatest conflicts — and a pivotal turning point — in history... the Chinese civil war. The outcome is in the hands of one American pilot, John Hampton, a man who couldn't care less... But just as this is a critical moment in time, so, too, is it about to become a defining moment in Hampton's life. What is it that makes him see that there are things, other than money, that are worth fighting — and maybe even dying — for? The surprising answers spur him to undertake the ult...

This book describes the digitally intensive time-domain architectures and techniques applied to millimeter-wave frequency synthesis, with the objective of improving performance and reducing the cost of implementation. Coverage includes system architecture, system level modeling, critical building block design, and digital calibration techniques, making it highly suitable for those who want to learn about mm-wave frequency generation for communication and radar applications, integrated circ...

This book focuses on governance and management issues in the much publicized 'Ganga Rejuvenation Project', led by the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. Attempts over the past three decades to clean up and rejuvenate one of the world's greatest rivers have proved futile. The major reasons for the lack of success are absence of long-term planning, poor co-ordination and failure to sustain whatever little infrastructure for water and sewage treatment could be developed. Focusing on the...

An essential masterwork from Chinese literary giant Lu Yao—winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize—available for the first time in English.Lu Yao published only two novels before his untimely death—but their extraordinary influence catapulted the author to the top tier of Chinese contemporary fiction, establishing him as one of the most widely read and respected figures in Chinese literature.In this first-ever translation of Lu Yao’s Life, we meet G...

Suspicion and seduction collide in this suspenseful novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts.When Autumn Gallagher returns to her aunt's rural inn, she is surprised to find Lucas McLean. He'd broken her heart three years earlier, yet Autumn cannot deny the love still blazing inside her. When a guest of the inn is found dead, Lucas becomes a suspect. Can she risk listening to her heart again to help Lucas clear his name?

From one of China's foremost authors, Jia Pingwa's Happy Dreams is a powerful depiction of life in industrializing contemporary China, in all its humor and pathos, as seen through the eyes of Happy Liu, a charming and clever rural laborer who leaves his home for the gritty, harsh streets of Xi'an in search of better life.After a disastrous end to a relationship, Hawa "Happy" Liu embarks on a quest to find the recipient of his donated kidney and a life that...

Written by eleven leading anthropologists from around the world, this volume extends the insights of Fredrik Barth, one of the most important anthropologists of the twentieth century, to push even further at the frontiers of anthropology and honor his memory. As a collection, the chapters thus expand Barth’s pioneering work on values, further develop his insights on human agency and its potential creativity, as well as continuing to develop the relevance for his work as a way of thinking a...

A collection of the year’s best essays, selected by Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Wesley Morris and series editor Kim Dana Kupperman.“Imparting some piece of yourself—any part—is arduous and warrants some kind of commendation,” writes guest editor Wesley Morris in his introduction. Both personal and personable, the essayists in this volume use their own vulnerability to guide readers on excursions that unfold on uncomfortable edges. From contemplating the nuances o...

A collection of the year’s top food and travel writing, selected by the trailblazing New York Times bestselling author and Emmy-nominated host of Taste the Nation and Top Chef Padma Lakshmi.“Food and travel are natural companions,” writes guest editor Padma Lakshmi. From this pairing comes “the possibility of seeing anew, of examining how we make and assign meaning.” The essays in this year’s Best American Food and Travel Writing...

A tale of danger and desire from #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts, The Welcoming follows a man in pursuit of a master criminal risking more than his life when he meets a woman who steals his heart.Charity Ford’s seaside inn on Orcas Island is a home away from home for people seeking the simple pleasures in life. Falling prey to a hit-and-run accident has made Charity even more aware of how precious life is. But what she doesn’t kn...