Reading in a Second Language offers a comprehensive survey of the phenomenon and process of reading in a second language, with graduate and upper-level undergraduate students in second language acquisition, psycholinguistics, and applied psychology as its primary audience. The book explores reading processes from a number of complementary standpoints, integrating perspectives from fields such as first and second language reading, second language acquisition, linguistics, psycholin...

This book uses the monographic study of litigation subjects, prosecution, trial, and enforcement to reveal the formation, operation, and development of criminal proceeding conventions in the Tang Dynasty. It also outlines the combination, coordination, and interaction of rules, conventions, and ideas in the traditional Chinese legal system, and presents an overview of the evolution and development of traditional litigation in China. This book is intended mainly for scholars and graduate an...

Injection molding is the most versatile, flexible, and dynamic plastics production operation. It has been used to manufacture products from practically all thermoplastic polymers, blends, composites, and nanocomposites. A critical aspect for the success of the process depends on understanding and control of the various steps of the injection molding process and the thermo-mechanical history experienced by the polymer throughout the process. Moreover, it is important to understand the impac...

Wireless sensor networks have a range of applications, including military uses and in environmental monitoring. When an area of interest is inaccessible by conventional means, such a network can be deployed in ways resulting in a random distribution of the sensors. Randomly Deployed Wireless Sensor Networks offers a probabilistic method to model and analyze these networks. The book considers the network design, coverage, target detection, localization and tracking of sensors in randomly de...

This book examines how e-assessment can be implemented in primary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing in an examination-oriented context. It provides valuable insights on e-assessment for learning (E-AfL) to teacher educators and teachers in both local and global contexts, especially teacher educators undertaking professional development programs of assessment in examination-oriented contexts. For researchers and graduate students who are interested in e-assessment for learning (E-...

Xi Chen explores the question of why there has been a dramatic rise in and routinization of social protests in China since the early 1990s. Drawing on case studies, in-depth interviews and a unique data set of about 1,000 government records of collective petitions, this book examines how the political structure in Reform China has encouraged Chinese farmers, workers, pensioners, disabled people and demobilized soldiers to pursue their interests and claim their rights by staging collective ...

Mechanical Self-Assembly: Science and Applications introduces a novel category of self-assembly driven by mechanical forces. This book discusses self-assembly in various types of small material structures including thin films, surfaces, and micro- and nano-wires, as well as the practice's potential application in micro and nanoelectronics, MEMS/NEMS, and biomedical engineering. The mechanical self-assembly process is inherently quick, simple, and cost-effective, as well as accessi...

Reforging the Central Bank presents an insightful comparison between financial development in China — a rising global economic superpower — under the old and new normal and an all-encapsulating study of current monetary transmission mechanism and monetary policy instruments. Focusing on the 'top-level design' for Chinese financial system and the reformation of People's Bank of China (PBoC), China's central bank, Dr Deng, head of the Fixed Income Research Department at CITIC Securities, and...

This book explores examples of ‘toxic language’, the linguistic manifestations of societal conflicts and aggressions, that have arisen in Asian contexts.By highlighting toxic language, a panoramic concept borrowed from computational linguistics, this book assesses hate speech, harassment, discrimination, cyberbullying, sarcasm, irony, and other kinds of offensive, impolite, and harmful language that targets individuals, groups, and communities based on their gender, race, and other...

There has been a multitude of studies focused on the COVID-19 pandemic across fields and disciplines as all sectors of life have had to adjust the way things are done and adapt to the constantly shifting environment. These studies are crucial as they provide support and perspectives on how things are changing and what needs to be done to stay afloat. Connecting COVID-19-related studies and big data analytics is crucial for the advancement of industrial applications and research areas. Appl...

Novel Nanomaterials for Biomedical, Environmental, and Energy Applications is a comprehensive study on the cutting-edge progress in the synthesis and characterization of novel nanomaterials and their subsequent advances and uses in biomedical, environmental and energy applications. Covering novel concepts and key points of interest, this book explores the frontier applications of nanomaterials. Chapters discuss the overall progress of novel nanomaterial applications in the biomedical, envi...

This book presents a systematic framework for risk assessment and predictions of extreme climate impacts using big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and intelligent monitoring technologies. Central to this effort is the concept of a smart water grid, a 'digital water network', capable of real-time monitoring, rapid transmission, accurate forecasting, optimized decision-making, precise allocation, and efficient management especially during floods and droughts.Building on case...