A fascinating behind-the-scenes look at one of the world's biggest tech companies.

In 2019, a Chinese entity called Tencent overtook Facebook to become the world's fifthlargest company. It was a watershed moment, a wake-up call for those in the West accustomed to regarding the global tech industry through the prism of Silicon Valley: Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft. Yet to many of the two billion-plus people who live just across the Pacific Ocean, it came as no surprise at all.

Tencent's ambition to be an essential part of digital daily life means it holds a dizzyingly diverse range of products - music, gaming, messaging, and film.

In this fascinating narrative - crammed with insider interviews, exclusive details about the company's culture - tech reported Lulu Chen tells the story of how Tencent is changing the world and asks what the consequences will be for us all.

A stunning feminist reimagining of the life of Joan of Arc.

1412. France is mired in a losing war against England. Its people are starving. Its king is in hiding. From this chaos emerges a teenage girl who will turn the tide of battle and lead the French to victory, becoming an unlikely hero whose name will echo across the centuries.

In Katherine J. Chen’s hands, the myth and legend of Joan of Arc is transformed into a flesh-and-blood young woman: reckless, steel-willed, and brilliant. This meticulously researched novel is a sweeping narrative of her life, from a childhood steeped in both joy and violence, to her meteoric rise to fame at the head of the French army, where she navigates the perils of the battlefield and the equally treacherous politics of the royal court. Many are threatened by a woman who leads, and Joan draws wrath and suspicion from all corners, while her first taste of fame and glory leaves her vulnerable to her own powerful ambition.

With unforgettably vivid characters, transporting settings, and action-packed storytelling, Joan is a thrilling epic, a triumph of historical fiction, as well as a feminist celebration of one remarkable—and remarkably real—woman who left an indelible mark on history.

How will artificial intelligence change our world within twenty years?

AI will be the defining development of the twenty-first century. Within two decades, aspects of daily human life will be unrecognizable. AI will generate unprecedented wealth, revolutionize medicine and education through human-machine symbiosis, and create brand new forms of communication and entertainment. However, AI will also challenge the organizing principles of our economic and social order and bring new risks in the form of autonomous weapons and smart technology that inherits human bias. AI is at a tipping point, and people need to wake up-both to AI's radiant pathways and its existential perils for life as we know it.

In this provocative, utterly original work of "scientific fiction," Kai-Fu Lee, the former president of Google China and bestselling author of AI Superpowers, joins forces with celebrated novelist Chen Qiufan to imagine our AI world in 2041 in ten gripping short stories.

Gazing toward a not-so-distant horizon, AI 2041 offers urgent insights into our collective future and reminds us that we are the authors of our own destiny.

Carefully examining the challenges of meeting fast-developing consumer demands and preferences, this enlightening Handbook captures the difficulties involved in providing optimal service experiences. It provides invaluable theoretical guidance while emphasising the evolutionary nature of experience science. With contributions from a diverse range of top international researchers, the Handbook of Experience Science explores fully up-to-date theories within experience studies as applied to tourism, hospitality and leisure. Chapters analyse the progress of recent research ventures, exploring fascinating case studies to further illustrate important concepts such as virtual tourism and slow tourism. Both the important frameworks behind experience science and real-world applications are discussed, providing the reader with a full picture of this rapidly changing subject. This Handbook provides crucial new examinations of experience creation which will be perfect for students researching tourism, hospitality and leisure, international business and innovation. It will additionally be incredibly useful for consumer researchers looking to better understand the complex paradigm behind experience creation.

Fast-paced Hong Kong action adventure. Set in a land ruled by a vengeful queen (Ying Qu), who insists that all men will be slaves to women, the film follows the journey of two young brothers, Charcoal Head (Jaycee Chan) and Blockhead (Bo-Lin Chen), who come into the possession of a mysterious map. Presuming that the map will lead them to treasure, the boys set out on an adventure in the hope of finding wealth and happiness. They are pursued by Spring (Charlene Choi) and Blue Bird (Gillian Chung), two beautiful female warriors with secret intentions, and quickly discover that the map has led them into danger. Will the boys be able to fight their way to the bottom of the riddle - and past rivals as formidable as the Lord of Armour (Jackie Chan) - to fulfil their destiny?

The reform of the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism has become one of the more controversial issues in the study of international investment law. This concise and insightful book studies the role of the ISDS mechanism in the legalization, and legitimacy, of the international investment law regime. Providing a fresh, interdisciplinary perspective on ISDS through the constructivist theory of international relations, this book argues that reforming ISDS can contribute to the legalization of international investment law, but such a contribution is subject to both “institutional” and “internal” limitations. Chapters investigate the notion of legalization in the context of international investment law, the limitations of adjudicative bodies in advancing the legitimacy of international law, and the relationship between the level of shared understandings and choices of institutionalization. Based on comparative studies of international regimes, this book cautions against radically institutionalizing the dispute settlement regime through the establishment of the multilateral investment court. The novel perspectives presented in this book will be of interest to scholars and researchers in arbitration and dispute resolution, international economic law, and investment law. It will also be beneficial to legal experts in international organizations working on the reform of ISDS and investment law.

This book introduces readers to the background, general framework, main operators, and other basic characteristics of biogeography-based optimization (BBO), which is an emerging branch of bio-inspired computation. In particular, the book presents the authors' recent work on improved variants of BBO, hybridization of BBO with other algorithms, and the application of BBO to a variety of domains including transportation, image processing, and neural network learning. The content will help to advance research into and application of not only BBO but also the whole field of bio-inspired computation. The algorithms and applications are organized in a step-by-step manner and clearly described with the help of pseudo-codes and flowcharts. The readers will learn not only the basic concepts of BBO but also how to apply and adapt the algorithms to the engineering optimization problems they actually encounter.

Taking the Qinghai-Tibet Railway as an example, this book introduces intelligent processing for Global Positioning Data (GPS) data. Combining theory with practical applications, it provides essential insights into the Chinese Qinghai-Tibet Railway and novel methods of data processing for GPS satellite positioning, making it a valuable resource for all those working with train control systems, train positioning systems, satellite positioning, and intelligent data processing. As satellite positioning guarantees the safe and efficient operation of train control systems, it focuses on how to best process the GPS data collected, including methods for error detection, reduction and information fusion.

With the deepening of China's reform and opening up, and the sustained development of the Chinese economy, the Chinese bond market has become an important player in the global bond market. As at the end of 2022, the custodial balance of the Chinese bond market reached RMB14.48 trillion, ranking second in the world and the largest bond market in Asia. As a maturing emerging market in the world, the Chinese bond market not only follows the general rules of global bond markets, but also has some of its own characteristics. To make effective investments and financing in this market, a comprehensive and profound understanding of the market is required.This book is the result of a joint research project 'Function, Structure, and Development of China's Debt Capital Market,' supported by the China National Natural Science Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council of the United Kingdom. It includes contributions by professors, associate professors, and postgraduates from Fudan University and the London School of Economics. From the perspectives of institutional framework, market functions, market structure, and market development, the book provides a systematic and in-depth analysis and exploration of the macro-effects, microstructure, local government bond market, corporate bond market, debt derivatives market, and market supervision and regulation of the Chinese credit bond market. It is an important reference for international investors and researchers to gain a deep understanding of the evolution of the fundamental institutional framework, structure, and functions of the Chinese credit bond market.

In the last 60 years fertiliser use in agriculture has increased by 900%. However, it’s been reported that up to 80% of these fertilisers are not utilised by crops but are lost to the environment as nitrous oxide, ammonia and nitrate. Improving nitrogen use efficiency is recognised as one possible solution to reducing the sector’s environmental impact and optimising its productivity and sustainability in the face of increasing pressure to feed a growing population. Improving nitrogen use efficiency in crop production reviews recent advances in understanding nitrogen cycling in soil and best practices to assess crop nitrogen status, such as the use of proximal sensors and remote sensing techniques. The book considers developments in the use of inorganic nitrogen fertilisers and their effectiveness in optimising nitrogen use efficiency, as well as how more organic sources of nitrogen, such as livestock manure, can be optimised to achieve the same goal.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Pinpoint is a series of activities and resources created to provide you with highly focused resources for specific needs in English. 144 page photocopiable book, A4 size Questions and mark scheme based on style of Reading SATs Mixture of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts 20 units containing a text extract and differentiated practice at 3 levels to provide challenge for all Focus on higher order skills and a wide range of comprehension strategies Saves teachers time searching for engaging texts with carefully levelled practice Promotes stamina with the inclusion of longer extracts This book provides confidence-building, independent activities for Year 4 / P5 that help children to master a wide range of comprehension strategies. The resources are photocopiable to allow repeated use year-on-year. The book comprises 20 curriculum-matched units that follow the principles of scaffolded practice by reducing the support as children grow in confidence. SATs style questions are mapped to the KS2 content domains. The Pinpoint characters provide friendly hints and tips. Contains a good mix of contemporary and classic fiction, stimulating non-fiction and engaging poetry. The comprehensive mark scheme provides answers and commonly made mistakes.

Pinpoint is a series of activities and resources created to provide you with highly focused resources for specific needs in English. 144 page photocopiable book, A4 size Questions and mark scheme based on style of Reading SATs Mixture of fiction, non-fiction and poetry texts 20 units containing a text extract and differentiated practice at 3 levels to provide challenge for all Focus on higher order skills and a wide range of comprehension strategies Saves teachers time searching for engaging texts with carefully levelled practice Promotes stamina with the inclusion of longer extracts This book provides confidence-building, independent activities for Year 3 / P4 that help children to master a wide range of comprehension strategies. The resources are photocopiable to allow repeated use year-on-year. The book comprises 20 curriculum-matched units that follow the principles of scaffolded practice by reducing the support as children grow in confidence. SATs style questions are mapped to the KS2 content domains. The Pinpoint characters provide friendly hints and tips. Contains a good mix of contemporary and classic fiction, stimulating non-fiction and engaging poetry. The comprehensive mark scheme provides answers and commonly made mistakes.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.

Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.