China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is expected to be the largest infrastructure development scheme of the twenty-first century. There is escalating concern over BRI’s potential environmental impacts in Southeast Asia, a global biodiversity hotspot and a focus area of BRI development. Case studies of Indonesia, Myanmar, Lao PDR and Malaysia show that the success of BRI in bringing about sustainable growth and opportunities depends on the Chinese government and financiers, as well as the agencies and governments involved when BRI investments take place. The adoption of best environmental practices is critical in ensuring that growth is sustainable and that bad environmental practices are not locked in for decades to come.
This invaluable book comprehensively describes evolutionary robotics and computational intelligence, and how different computational intelligence techniques are applied to robotic system design. It embraces the most widely used evolutionary approaches with their merits and drawbacks, presents some related experiments for robotic behavior evolution and the results achieved, and shows promising future research directions. Clarity of explanation is emphasized such that a modest knowledge of basic evolutionary computation, digital circuits and engineering design will suffice for a thorough understanding of the material. The book is ideally suited to computer scientists, practitioners and researchers keen on computational intelligence techniques, especially the evolutionary algorithms in autonomous robotics at both the hardware and software levels. Sample Chapter(s). Chapter 1: Artificial Evolution Based Autonomous Robot Navigation (184 KB). Contents: Artificial Evolution Based Autonomous Robot Navigation; Evolvable Hardware in Evolutionary Robotics; FPGA-Based Autonomous Robot Navigation via Intrinsic Evolution; Intelligent Sensor Fusion and Learning for Autonomous Robot Navigation; Task-Oriented Developmental Learning for Humanoid Robots; Bipedal Walking Through Reinforcement Learning; Swing Time Generation for Bipedal Walking Control Using GA Tuned Fuzzy Logic Controller; Bipedal Walking: Stance Ankle Behavior Optimization Using Genetic Algorithm. Readership: Researchers in evolutionary robotics, and graduate and advanced undergraduate students in computational intelligence.
Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies are developing impressively and are expected to bring about the next revolution. AM is gradually replacing traditional manufacturing methods in some applications because of its unique properties of customisability and versatility. This book provides a very comprehensive and updated text about different types of AM technologies, their respective advantages, shortcomings and potential applications.3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing: Principles and Applications is a comprehensive textbook that takes readers inside the world of additive manufacturing. This book introduces the different types of AM technologies, categorised by liquid, solid and powder-based AM systems, the common standards, the trends in the field and many more.Easy to understand, this book is a good introduction to anyone interested in obtaining a better understanding of AM. For people working in the industry, this book will provide information on new methods and practices, as well as recent research and development in the field. For professional readers, this book provides a comprehensive guide to distinguish between the different technologies, and will help them make better decisions regarding which technology they should use. For the general public, this book sheds some light on the fast-moving AM field.In this edition, new AM standards (e.g. Standard of Terminology and Classification of AM systems) and format standards will be included, Furthermore, the listing of new machines and systems, materials, and software; as well as new case studies and applications in industries that have recently adopted AM (such as the Marine and Offshore industry) have also been incorporated.
This text provides an introduction to the fundamental theories and applications of rapid prototyping and traces its development in the arena of advanced manufacturing technologies.
Told in a narrative, story-telling style, this book tells the story of how NUS Overseas Colleges (NOC) was founded, and the critical role played by the NOC in the development of Singapore's startup ecosystem. It chronicles how the founders overcame various challenges to launch the first NOC run in 2002. Featuring the experiences of many individuals whose lives have been touched by the programme, the book captures the early days of NOC startup entrepreneurs who are now household names in the Singapore startup scene. It is a must-read for readers interested in entrepreneurship and how it can be nurtured, and those who are keen to understand the history of Singapore's startup ecosystem.
This book is primarily designed as a sourcebook for lawyers and psychiatrists who are interested or involved in the subject of diminished responsibility. It is an attempt to convey a general picture of the concept which shows how it has been interpreted by the courts and expert witnesses. The book begins with an overview and analysis of the concept of diminished responsibility and a general introduction of where law and psychiatry intersect in this area. Thereafter the authors adopt the traditional approach of describing and discussing basic principles in relation to the various aspects of "abnormality of mind" as envisaged under the definition of diminished responsibility, before passing to a study of actual cases. The final chapter is an attempt to deal with and confront what are perceived to be the potentially problematical issues (recommending proposals wherever feasible) in which the complex relationship between law and psychiatry is presently concerned in interpreting diminished responsibility.
The food industry has seen many changes over the last several decades — new technologies have been introduced into the way we cook, manufacture, and present food products to consumers. Digital gastronomy, which combines new computational abilities such as three-dimensional (3D) printing with traditional food preparation, has allowed consumers to design and manufacture food with personalized shapes, colours, textures, and even nutrition. In addition to the personalization of food, 3D printing of food has other advantages such as promoting automation in food preparation and food sustainability through 3D-printed cell-based meats and alternative proteins. Entire meals can be constructed just by 3D food printing alone.In this textbook, the background, principles, commercial food printers, materials, regulations, business development, as well as the emerging technologies and future outlook of 3D food printing are explored. In terms of 3D-printed materials, four main classes are reviewed: namely, desserts / snacks (comprising dairy products, chocolate, sugars, and dough), fruits / vegetables, meats /alternative proteins, and pharmaceuticals / nutraceuticals.This textbook has been written to offer readers keen to learn more about 3D food printing in terms of concepts, processes, applications, and developments of 3D food printing. No prior knowledge is required. At the end of each chapter, a set of problems offers undergraduate and postgraduate students practice on the main ideas discussed within the chapter. For tertiary-level lecturers and university professors, the topic on 3D food printing can be associated to other subjects in food and nutrition, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical sciences, and food engineering.Related Link(s)
Special Offer: Cao Ye Shi Author Set - Buy all three books together and save a total £76! Many Biological Nitrogen Removal (BNR) activated sludge processes in warm climates are conservatively designed, because little systematic investigation has been carried out on the BNR activated sludge process in warm or tropical climates, although many studies under temperate climate conditions are available. This book covers a wide spectrum of mechanistic approaches to deal with BNR activated sludge related issues such as sewage and sludge characterization, dynamic performance of full-scale processes, laboratory simulation and modelling that leads to a mechanistic and more economic design. Recommendations on the operation, upgrading and design of BNR activated sludge process are formulated. This will significantly aid the promotion of nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment plants in warm or tropical climates, particularly in developing countries. The book has three purposes: to make recommendations for appropriate upgrading of existing activated sludge processes and assess the performance of the upgraded activated sludge processes; to explore the feasibility of employing laboratory-scale systems to simulate the performance of full-scale processes; and to use mathematical modelling calibrated with the measured data obtained from the laboratory-scale experimentation to study the performance and the design of full-scale processes. Reports are presented of comprehensive studies on: (i) on-site investigation of the activated sludge processes in three water reclamation plants (WRPs) in Singapore; (ii) laboratory-scale investigations to simulate the performance of full-scale activated sludge processes and to optimize the process design; and (iii) mathematical modelling and simulation with Activated Sludge Model No. 1 (ASM No. 1). Based on these detailed studies, guidelines on the operation, upgrading and design of the BNR activated sludge process in warm climates are presented. Results indicate that the laboratory-scale systems, designed based on the scale-down principles developed in this study and mathematic simulation with the model parameters calibrated by using the data obtained from the laboratory experiment, were able to describe the performance of the full-scale process.The applications of the approaches and principles are not limited to geographic locations and types of pollutants, and thus can reduce significantly the cost and time for the process development of the activated sludge process. This book will be an invaluable reference source for process and design engineers and consultants concerned with biological wastewater treatment as well as researchers in universities and research institutes.
Edited by prominent obstetricians in KK Women's and Children's Hospital, the largest maternity hospital in Singapore with about 12,000 babies delivered each year, this book provides a comprehensive and informative look at pregnancy and childcare. It covers topics ranging from pre-pregnancy care, pregnancy care, and actual delivery to baby care. It also addresses common questions like, “What are the pre-pregnancy vaccinations that I need?”, “Is it safe to dye, re-bond or perm my hair when I am pregnant?”, and “Are Chinese herbs and TCM safe for pregnancy?” Written by a diverse team of contributors, this easy-to-read book (replete with illustrations) is highly recommended for the lay person and busy career mums-to-be who are preparing for the arrival of their newborns.
“. . . The fullest and most comprehensive ethnography of the Baba community in Malaysia. . . . The author is a meticulous ethnographer, and provides three chapters of richly detailed information on Baba kinship and marriage practices, ancestor worship, Chinese folk religion and festivals and a variety of Baba social patterns and organizations. . . . This is certainly a necessary and pleasurable reading materials for scholars of Malaysia, and for those interested in ethnicity more generally.” Professor Judith Nagata, Pacific Affairs 62(2), 1989. Based on a long-term ethnographic study, the new edition of this book provides a comprehensive description of Baba culture and identity in Melaka, Malaysia. Tan Chee-Beng’s landmark study analyses the term Baba, the development of Baba society, their distribution in Melaka and overt features of identity, the Baba Malay dialect, customs and religion, kinship and social interactions – all of which tie in to changes in Baba identity. By discussing cultural change and ethnic identification of a Chinese Peranakan community in Malaysia, the reader can gain a more complete understanding of this unique minority group within a minority in a rapidly changing Malaysian context.
The study of the overseas Chinese has by now become a global enterprise, raising new theoretical problems and empirical challenges. New case studies of overseas Chinese, such as those on communities in North America, Cuba, India and South Africa, continually unveil different perspectives. New kinds of transnational connectivities linking Chinese communities are also being identified. It is now possible to make broader generalizations of a Chinese diaspora, on a global basis. Further, the intensifying study of the overseas Chinese has stimulated renewed intellectual vigor in other areas of research. The transnational and transregional activities of overseas Chinese, for example, pose serious challenges to analytical concepts of regional divides such as that between East and Southeast Asia.
Although numerous books have been separately written on mental disorders and law, there is as yet no readily accessible literature dealing with both these disciplines in a single volume in Singapore and Malaysia. This present text is therefore intended to fill this gap with two aims in mind, i.e., to address the need for a practical manual useful for ready reference to the clinician, the lawyer advising his client and also for other interested laymen, and for the reader's general information and knowledge. Each chapter is structured to provide an overview of both the psychiatric and legal aspects of the subject matter. Wherever applicable or feasible, an analysis of local cases is made and comparative evaluation attempted with materials from other countries, especially those prevailing in common law and Anglo-American jurisdictions. The local law as presented in this book applies to both Singapore and Malaysia but where there exist differences, these are highlighted in the text itself.
This book introduces readers to the latest exciting advances in human motion sensing and recognition, from the theoretical development of fuzzy approaches to their applications. The topics covered include human motion recognition in 2D and 3D, hand motion analysis with contact sensors, and vision-based view-invariant motion recognition, especially from the perspective of Fuzzy Qualitative techniques. With the rapid development of technologies in microelectronics, computers, networks, and robotics over the last decade, increasing attention has been focused on human motion sensing and recognition in many emerging and active disciplines where human motions need to be automatically tracked, analyzed or understood, such as smart surveillance, intelligent human-computer interaction, robot motion learning, and interactive gaming. Current challenges mainly stem from the dynamic environment, data multi-modality, uncertain sensory information, and real-time issues. These techniques are shown to effectively address the above challenges by bridging the gap between symbolic cognitive functions and numerical sensing & control tasks in intelligent systems. The book not only serves as a valuable reference source for researchers and professionals in the fields of computer vision and robotics, but will also benefit practitioners and graduates/postgraduates seeking advanced information on fuzzy techniques and their applications in motion analysis.
Rapid prototyping (RP) has revolutionized how prototypes are made and small batch manufacturing is carried out. With rapid prototyping, the strategies used to produce a part change a number of important considerations and limitations previously faced by tool designers and engineers. Now in its third edition, this textbook is still the definitive text on RP. It covers the key RP processes, the available models and specifications, and their principles, materials, advantages and disadvantages. Examples of application areas in design, planning, manufacturing, biomedical engineering, art and architecture are also given. The book includes several related problems so that the reader can test his or her understanding of the topics. New to this edition, the included CD-ROM presents animated illustrations of the working principles of today's key RP processes.
Modern nation states do not constitute closed entities. This is true especially in Southeast Asia, where Chinese migrants have continued to make their new homes over a long period of time, resulting in many different ethnic groups co-existing in new nation states. Focusing on the consequences of migration, and cultural contact between the various ethnic groups, this book describes and analyses the nature of ethnic identity and state of ethnic relations, both historically and in the present day, in multi-ethnic, pluralistic nation states in Southeast Asia. Drawing on extensive primary fieldwork in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Burma, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines, the book examines the mediations, and transformation of ethnic identity and the social incorporation, tensions and conflicts and the construction of new social worlds resulting from cultural contact among different ethnic groups.
This book investigates the poetics of three of the most internationally renowned contemporary Chinese poets – Bei Dao, Yang Lian and Duoduo – who were all exiled from China after the 1989 Tiananmen student movement. Their poetry was later to be labelled ‘Misty poetry’ (Menglongshi). Emphasising polyvalent imagery and irregular syntax, Misty poetry engenders a multiplicity of meanings, often leading to interpretational indeterminacy. This book examines three aspects of the ‘Mistiness’ of the poets’ oeuvre: the socio-historic background where Misty poets live and write; imagery; and linguistic elements. After first identifying the roots of Mistiness, this book identifies imagistic and linguistic clues in order to construct a hermeneutical system that examines the irregularities of the Misty poetics and appreciates the polysemy of the poets’ works. Stylometry is used to analyse image frequency and its significance in a stylistic manner, and a semiotic approach is then systematically applied to analyse the poets’ highly irregular images, syntax and the different effects of their poems’ obscurity. Through these approaches that unveil the poems’ evocativeness, the irregularity of the poetry’s Mistiness is established as its most powerful linguistic and imagistic aspect. The book then places the three poets’ different misty characteristics into contrast: Bei Dao’s twisted imagery and elliptical syntax, Yang’s imagery in a classically-inspired syntax, and Duoduo’s integration of images into a rhythmic syntax. While the poets’ progressions from pre- to post-exile poetics suggest the potential of a non-nationally specific, or borderless poetics, their seemingly irregular poetic Mistiness is the most powerful trait of Misty poetry for evoking its system of multifaceted significations and alternative aesthetics.
Since independence in 1965, Singapore has developed its own unique approach to managing the diversity of Race, Religion, Culture, Language, Nationality, and Age among its citizens. This approach is a consequence of many factors, including its very distinct ethnic makeup compared with its neighbours, its ambitions as a globally oriented city-state, and its small physical size. Each of these factors and many others have presented Singapore society with a range of challenges and opportunities, and will in all likelihood continue to do so for the foreseeable future. In the writing of this book, the author team set themselves the task of projecting the impact of current domestic and international social trends into the future, to anticipate what Singapore society might look like by around 2040. In doing so, they analyse the particular path that Singapore has taken since independence, in comparison with other multicultural societies and with regard to the balance between the necessity of forging a new national identity after British rule and departure from Malaysia, and the need to ensure that Singapore’s ethnic minority populations remain socially enfranchised. They further consider how current trends may develop over the next couple of decades, what new challenges this may present to Singapore society, and what might be the likely responses to such challenges. In this book, Singapore is a case study of a global city facing the challenges of developed-world modernity in frequently acute ways.
Controversy over the medicinal uses of wild animals in China has erupted around the ethics and efficacy of animal-based drugs, the devastating effect of animal farming on wildlife conservation, and the propensity of these practices to foster zoonotic diseases. In Mao's Bestiary, Liz P. Y. Chee traces the history of the use of medicinal animals in modern China. While animal parts and tissue have been used in Chinese medicine for centuries, Chee demonstrates that the early Communist state expanded and systematized their production and use to compensate for drug shortages, generate foreign investment in high-end animal medicines, and facilitate an ideological shift toward legitimating folk medicines. Among other topics, Chee investigates the craze for chicken blood therapy during the Cultural Revolution, the origins of deer antler farming under Mao and bear bile farming under Deng, and the crucial influence of the Soviet Union and North Korea on Chinese zootherapies. In the process, Chee shows Chinese medicine to be a realm of change rather than a timeless tradition, a hopeful conclusion given current efforts to reform its use of animals.
Rapid Prototyping (RP) has revolutionized the landscape of how prototypes and products are made and small batch manufacturing carried out. This book gives a comprehensive coverage of RP and rapid tooling processes, data formats and applications. A CD-ROM, included in the book, presents RP and its principles in an interactive way to augment the learning experience.Special features:
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