This book is based on the research conducted by the authors over a substantial period in the field of power-switching apparatuses. It encompasses recent advances and future development trends. Considering practical experience, this book focuses on theoretical studies to establish a framework for computing methodology for switchgear by accurately modeling the key functional components of switchgear products. The book provides case studies closely related to practical engineering application...

This book presents the latest research findings and state-of-the-art solutions on optimization techniques and provides new research direction and developments. Both the theoretical and practical aspects of the book will be much beneficial to experts and students in optimization and operation research community. It selects high quality papers from The International Conference on Optimization: Techniques and Applications (ICOTA2013). The conference is an official conference series of POP (Th...

This book identifies factors of information system (IS) integration that influence supply chain agility and illustrates how IS integration can achieve greater supply chain agility. Also considering the consequent operational impacts that arise from IS-enabled supply chain agility, the author presents real-life examples through interviews and surveys to explore how IS integrations affect supply chain agility in the context of the Chinese automotive industry. The ability to swiftly respond t...

Negotiating Rural Land Ownership in Southwest China offers the first comprehensive analysis of how China’s current system of land ownership has evolved over the past six decades. Based on extended fieldwork in Yunnan Province, the author explores how the three major rural actors—local governments, village communities, and rural households—have contested and negotiated land rights at the grassroots level, thereby transforming the structure of rural land ownership in the People’s Re...

Cultivating the Empty Field is a modern translation of the core of Chinese Ch'an master Hongzhi's Extensive Record.First to articulate the meditation method known to contemporary Zen practitioners as shikantaza ("just sitting") Chinese Zen master Hongzhi is one of the most influential poets in all of Zen literature. This translation of Hongzhi's poetry, the only such volume available in English, treats readers to his profound wisdom and beautiful literary ...

Thich Nhat Hanh pulls from 50 classic Buddhist verses to present the basic teachings of Buddhist applied psychology, exploring the true nature of our feelings and perceptions.Based on the 50 verses on the nature of consciousness taken from the great 5th-century Buddhist master Vasubandhu and the teachings of the Avatamsaka Sutra, Thich Nhat Hanh focuses on the direct experience of recognizing, embracing, and looking deeply into the nature of our feelings and percep...

This comprehensive guide provides a uniquely practical, application-focused introduction to medical image analysis. This fully updated new edition has been enhanced with material on the latest developments in the field, whilst retaining the original focus on segmentation, classification and registration. Topics and features: presents learning objectives, exercises and concluding remarks in each chapter; describes a range of common imaging techniques, reconstruction techniques and image art...

Here is a comprehensive introduction to Zen Buddhism for those who don't know how or where to begin, nor what to expect once they have started practicing. It includes the fundamentals of meditation practice (posture, technique, clothing), descriptions of the basic teachings and major texts, the teacher-student relationship, and what you will find when you visit a zendo, plus a history of Zen from the founding of Buddhism to its major schools in the West. In addition to answering the most f...

Mathematical Concepts and Methods in Modern Biology offers a quantitative framework for analyzing, predicting, and modulating the behavior of complex biological systems. The book presents important mathematical concepts, methods and tools in the context of essential questions raised in modern biology.Designed around the principles of project-based learning and problem-solving, the book considers biological topics such as neuronal networks, plant population growth, metabolic pathways, and p...

Analysis, assessment, and data management are core competencies for operation research analysts. This volume addresses a number of issues and developed methods for improving those skills. It is an outgrowth of a conference held in April 2013 at the Hellenic Military Academy, and brings together a broad variety of mathematical methods and theories with several applications. It discusses directions and pursuits of scientists that pertain to engineering sciences. It is also presents the theor...

The Ultimate Medicine is not for those who like their spirituality watered down, but for serious students searching for awareness. Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981) lived and taught in a small apartment in the slums of Bombay. A realized master of the Tantric Nath lineage, he supported himself and his family by selling cheap goods in a small booth on the streets outside his tenement for many years. His life exemplified the concept of absolute nonduality of being. In this volume...

Presents the latest advances in complex-valued neural networks by demonstrating the theory in a wide range of applicationsComplex-valued neural networks is a rapidly developing neural network framework that utilizes complex arithmetic, exhibiting specific characteristics in its learning, self-organizing, and processing dynamics. They are highly suitable for processing complex amplitude, composed of amplitude and phase, which is one of the core concepts in physical ...