Edited by Wang Mengkui

This book examines China’s response to the Asian financial crisis of 1997, both in its immediate aftermath and in the years since. The crisis caused turmoil throughout Asia’s economies, and precipitated wholesale reform of economic and financial policies and institutions across the region. As one of Asia’s largest economies, China responded to the crisis more successfully than many others, avoiding devaluation of its currency, whilst undertaking financial reform, restructuring state-owned enterprises, rural development, and social security systems. This book considers all of these issues, showing how the lessons drawn from the crisis have helped shape China’s policies of liberalisation and market-orientated reform, including its attitude towards globalisation and the outside world in general. Based on research conducted by the China Development Research Foundation, one of China’s leading think-tanks, this book includes contributions from senior policy makers in the Chinese government and some experts participating directly in the government’s policy-making process to assess the effects generated by the country’s related policies, making it an indispensable account of China’s own thinking on its response to the financial crisis.

ISBN: 9780415464697

Published November 21 2008 by Routledge.

By Muhammad Shoaib Butt, Jayatilleke S. Bandara

Pakistan’s military, which has directly controlled the country’s affairs for more than half of its post-independence history and which often retained real political power even during periods of democratic rule, has played a significant role in trade liberalisation. Regional disparities have increased since the beginning of major trade liberalisation attempts in the 1980s and at present, regional conflicts and the associated regional disparities are extremely high. The authors critically review the country's post-independence political economy of trade liberalisation, the resulting structural change and the story of regional disparities, identifying possible relations with political regimes. Using a regional computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, the effects of trade liberalisation on regional disparities are quantitatively examined, with an emphasis on the key export industries at a national level and on the relative output and employment growth at a regional level.

In the first study to distinguish a possible link between trade liberalisation and regional disparities under dissimilar political regimes, such as autocracy and democracy, Butt and Bandara use Pakistan as a case study to draw broader lessons for other developing countries.

This book will be of interest to academics, economists, political analysts and policymakers interested in development economics in general and South Asia in particular.

ISBN: 9780415465953

Published November 21 2008 by Routledge.

By Barry Bridgwood, Lindsay LennieJoan Zunde

Ideal for students of architectural technology, this volume of the Technologies of Architecture series covers the technologies available and the processes necessary for the conservation of existing buildings and environments.

This book provides, in a single text, the tools for students to be able to evaluate such buildings, as well as an extensive understanding of the mechanisms which cause their deterioration and knowledge of the technologies available to correct their status. The ever higher standards set for buildings, especially in energy conservation contexts, demand that practitioners appreciate how the performance of existing structures can be enhanced, which is also covered.

Considering the work of conservation within a holistic perspective and historical context, this book is additionally invaluable for architecture and construction students.

ISBN: 9780415434195

Published November 21 2008 by Taylor and Francis.

By Meiqing Wang, Choi-Hong Lai

Image recognition has become an increasingly dynamic field with new and emerging civil and military applications in security, exploration, and robotics. Written by experts in fractal-based image and video compression, A Concise Introduction to Image Processing using C++ strengthens your knowledge of fundamentals principles in image acquisition, conservation, processing, and manipulation, allowing you to easily apply these techniques in real-world problems.

The book presents state-of-the-art image processing methodology, including current industrial practices for image compression, image de-noising methods based on partial differential equations (PDEs), and new image compression methods, such as fractal image compression and wavelet compression. It begins with coverage of representation, and then moves on to communications and processing. It concludes with discussions of processing techniques based on image representations and transformations developed in earlier chapters. The accompanying CD-ROM contains code for all algorithms.

Suitable as a text for any course on image processing, the book can also be used as a self-study resource for researchers who need a concise and clear view of current image processing methods and coding examples. The authors introduce mathematical concepts with rigor suitable for readers with some background in calculus, algebra, geometry, and PDEs. All algorithms described are illustrated with code implementation and many images compare the results of different methods. The inclusion of C++ implementation code for each algorithm described enables students and practitioners to build up their own analysis tool.

ISBN: 9781584888970

Published November 20 2008 by Chapman and Hall.

With Applications to Ultrasonic Nondestructive Evaluation

By Subhendu K. Datta, Arvind H. Shah

New applications for composite materials are being developed at a rapid pace. However, their complex microstructures present considerable challenges for nondestructive testing and characterization. Ultrasonic waves provide quantitative means of nondestructive evaluation of these materials and structures. For this purpose, it is necessary to obtain a clear understanding of the characteristic features of guided elastic wave propagation in such materials and structures and their dynamic response..

Elastic Waves in Composite Media and Structures presents effective analytical and numerical techniques to study the characteristic features of elastic guided waves in fiber reinforced laminated media. The book closely examines the salient features of dispersive guided modes and how they are modified by defects, inhomogeneities, and boundaries. An accompanying CD-ROM contains executable computer programs, which can be used to simulate different scenarios for designing and interpreting ultrasonic experiments.

Using the extensive numerical results provided by this cutting-edge resource, researchers and practitioners will gain valuable insight into how to develop effective methods for nondestructive testing of composite materials.

ISBN: 9781420053388

Published November 20 2008 by CRC Press.

By Cheryl McEwan

While the possibility of producing a de-colonized, postcolonial knowledge in development studies became a subject of considerable debate in the 1990s, there has been little dialogue between postcolonialism and development. However, the need for development studies that is postcolonial in theory and practice is now increasingly acknowledged. This means recognizing the significance of language and representation, the power of development discourse and its material effects on the lives of people subject to development policies. It also means acknowledging the already postcolonial world of development in which contemporary reworkings of theory and practice, such as grassroots and participatory development, indigenous knowledges and global resistance movements, inform postcolonial theory.

Postcolonialism and Development explains, reviews and critically evaluates recent debates about postcolonial approaches and their implications for development studies. By outlining contemporary theoretical debates and examining their implications for how the developing world is thought about, written about and engaged with in policy terms, this book unpacks the difficult, complex and important aspects of the relationship between postcolonial approaches and development studies, making them accessible, interesting and relevant to both students and researchers. Each chapter builds an understanding of postcolonial approaches, their historical divergences from development studies and more recent convergences around issues such as discourses of development, knowledge, and power and agency within development. Up-to-date illustrations and examples from across the regions of the world bring to life important theoretical and conceptual issues. This topical book outlines an agenda for theory and practice within a postcolonial development studies and illustrates how, while postcolonialism and development pose significant mutual challenges, both are potentially enriched by each others insights and approaches.

ISBN: 9780415433648

Published November 20 2008 by Routledge.

By George Kusic

Learn the Basic Principles of Power Systems

Computer applications yield more insight into system behavior than is possible by using hand calculations on system elements. Computer-Aided Power Systems Analysis: Second Edition is a state-of-the-art presentation of basic principles and software for power systems in steady-state operation.

Originally published in 1985, this revised edition explores power systems from the point of view of the central control facility. It covers the elements of transmission networks, bus reference frame, network fault and contingency calculations, power flow on transmission networks, generator base power setting, and state estimation from on-line measurements.

The author develops methods used for full-scale networks. In the process of coding and execution, the user learns how the methods apply to actual networks, develops an understanding of the algorithms, and becomes familiar with the process of varying the parameters of the program.

Intended for users with a background that includes AC circuit theory, some basic control theory, and a first course in electronic machinery, this book contains material based upon the author’s experience both in the field and in the classroom, as well as many Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) publications. His mathematical approach and complete explanations allow readers to develop a solid foundation in power systems analysis.

ISBN: 9781420061062

Published November 20 2008 by CRC Press.

Services, Technologies, and Security of Session Initiation Protocol

Edited by Syed A. Ahson, Mohammad Ilyas

Widely adopted by service providers to enable IP telephony, instant messaging, and other data services, SIP is the signaling protocol of choice for advanced multimedia communications signaling. Compiled by noted engineering experts Syed Ahson and Mohammad Ilyas, SIP Handbook: Services, Technologies, and Security of Session Initiation Protocol presents a thorough technical review of all aspects of SIP. It captures the current state of IP Multimedia Subsystem technology and provides a unique source of comprehensive reference material on this subject.

SIP Applications for Today and Tomorrow

The scope of this volume ranges from basic concepts to future perspectives. Divided into three sections, the book begins with a discussion of SIP in peer-to-peer networks and then goes on to examine advanced media integration, migration considerations, mobility management, and group conferencing, while also reviewing home networking and compliance issues.

The middle section of the book focuses on the underlying technologies of SIP. Chapters review network architecture, vertical handoffs, NAT traversals, multipoint extensions, and other areas at the forefront of research. Finally, the text examines various security vulnerabilities and provides perspectives on secure intelligent SIP services with a future outlook on a fraud detection framework in VoIP networks.

Insights from International Researchers

Authored by 65 experts from across the world, this text is sure to advance the field of knowledge in this ever-changing industry and provide further impetus for new areas of exploration. Because of the editors’ pivotal influence and their proximity to both the current market and the latest science, this work is certain to become the definitive text on this emerging technology.

ISBN: 9781420066036

Published November 20 2008 by CRC Press.

Papers in Honour of the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014)

Edited by Brian Chalkley, Martin Haigh, David Higgitt

In 2005, The United Nations launched its Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, which recognises that education, including Higher Education is the key to the change in social attitudes that will be needed to protect the welfare of future generations. This involves helping learners to live as though the future matters and to achieve ecoliteracy. This includes the understanding that personal lifestyle decisions may have consequences, ranging from climate change, through loss of biodiversity, to pollution and resource depletion that may permit environmental degradation on a planetary scale. It also involves helping them to develop the skills needed to cope with such challenges. This international collection of research papers and position statements from special issues of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education and Applied Environmental Education and Communication, written by many of the leading practitioners in the field, aims to provide resources and practical guidance for all seeking to promote and engage in education for a sustainable future. Rabindranath Tagore encouraged each learner to make their actions demonstrate a harmonious union between education and environment. David Orr argued that the world needs people who live well in their places to make the world both habitable and humane and that the main challenge for education is to help learners make their minds fit for life on Earth. This book tries to chart a practical route towards these objectives.

This book was previously published as special issues of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education and Applied Environmental Education and Communication

ISBN: 9780415460057

Published November 20 2008 by Routledge.

Edited by Mark T. Berger

The emergence of the 'Third World' is generally traced to onset of the Cold War and decolonization in the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1960s and 1970s the "three worlds of development" were central to the wider dynamics of the changing international order. By the 1980s, Third Worldism had peaked entering a period of dramatic decline that paralleled the end of the Cold War. Into the 21^st century, the idea of a Third World and even the pursuit of some form of Third Worldism has continued to be advocated and debated. For some it has passed into history, and may never have had as much substance as it was credited with, while others seek to retain or recuperate the Third World and give Third Worldism contemporary relevance. Beginning with a comprehensive introduction this edited volume brings together a wide range of important contributions. Collectively they offer a powerful overview from a variety of angles of the history and contemporary significance of Third Worldism in international affairs. The question remains; did the Third World exist, what was it, does it still have intellectual and political purchase or do we live in a global era that can be described as After the Third World?

This book was previously published as a special issue of Third world Quarterly.

ISBN: 9780415466370

Published November 20 2008 by Routledge.