Polymer Materials for Energy and Electronic Applications is among the first books to systematically describe the recent developments in polymer materials and their electronic applications. It covers the synthesis, structures, and properties of polymers, along with their composites. In addition, the book introduces, and describes, four main kinds of electronic devices based on polymers, including energy harvesting devices, energy storage devices, light-emitting devices, and electrically driving sensors. Stretchable and wearable electronics based on polymers are a particular focus and main achievement of the book that concludes with the future developments and challenges of electronic polymers and devices.

This volume examines the role of objects in the region north of early dynastic state centers, at the intersection of Ancient China and Eurasia, a large area that stretches from Xinjiang to the China Sea, from c.3000 BCE to the mid-eighth century BCE. This area was a frontier, an ambiguous space that lay at the margins of direct political control by the metropolitan states, where local and colonial ideas and practices were reconstructed transculturally. These identities were often merged and displayed in material culture. Types of objects, styles, and iconography were often hybrids or new to the region, as were the tomb assemblages in which they were deposited and found. Patrons commissioned objects that marked a symbolic vision of place and person and that could mobilize support, legitimize rule, and bind people together. Through close examination of key artifacts, this book untangles the considerable changes in political structure and cultural makeup of ancient Chinese states and their northern neighbors.

Covers all emergent materials (natural and artificial) that are promising for optical, infrared, and terahertz applications Comparatively analyzes these materials, elucidating their unique advantages, limitations, and application scopes Provides an up-to-date record on achievements and progress in cutting-edge optical, infrared, and terahertz applications Offers a comprehensive overview to connect multidisciplinary fields, such as materials, physics, and optics, to serve as a basis for future progress

Cities have long been recognized as key sites for fostering new communication practices. However, as contemporary cities experience major changes, how do diverse inhabitants encounter each other? How do cities remember? What is the role of the built environment in fostering sites for public communication in a digital era? Communicative Cities and Urban Space offers a critical analysis of contemporary changes in the relation between urban space and communication. This volume seeks to understand the situatedness of contemporary communication practices in diverse contexts of urban life, and to explore digitized urban space as a historically specific communicative environment. The essays in this book collectively propose that the concept of the 'communicative city' is a productive frame for rethinking the above questions in the context of 21st-century 'media cities'. They challenge us to reconsider qualities such as openness, autonomy and diversity in contemporary urban communication practices, and to identify factors that might expand or constrict communicative possibilities. Students and scholars of communication studies and urban studies would benefit from this book.

This volume encloses research articles that were presented at the EVOLVE 2014 International Conference in Beijing, China, July 1 4, 2014. The book gathers contributions that emerged from the conference tracks, ranging from probability to set oriented numerics and evolutionary computation; all complemented by the bridging purpose of the conference, e.g. Complex Networks and Landscape Analysis, or by the more application oriented perspective. The novelty of the volume, when considering the EVOLVE series, comes from targeting also the practitioner s view. This is supported by the Machine Learning Applied to Networks and Practical Aspects of Evolutionary Algorithms tracks, providing surveys on new application areas, as in the networking area and useful insights in the development of evolutionary techniques, from a practitioner s perspective. Complementary to these directions, the conference tracks supporting the volume, follow on the individual advancements of the subareas constituting the scope of the conference, through the Computational Game Theory, Local Search and Optimization, Genetic Programming, Evolutionary Multi-objective optimization tracks."

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th Pacific Rim Conference on Multimedia, PCM 2007, held in Hong Kong, China, in December 2007.

The 73 revised full papers and 21 revised poster presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 247 submissions. The papers are organized in topical session on image classification and retrieval, the AVS china national standard - technology, applications and products, human face and action recognition, H.264 video coding, video analysis and retrieval, media security and DRM, audio, speech and sound processing, digital watermarking, multimedia information systems for biomedical research, media delivery, video communication and systems, video compression and processing, face and 3D model analysis, multimedia applications, image indexing, identification and processing, as well as multimedia processing.

Cities have long been recognized as key sites for fostering new communication practices. However, as contemporary cities experience major changes, how do diverse inhabitants encounter each other? How do cities remember? What is the role of the built environment in fostering sites for public communication in a digital era? Communicative Cities and Urban Space offers a critical analysis of contemporary changes in the relation between urban space and communication. This volume seeks to understand the situatedness of contemporary communication practices in diverse contexts of urban life, and to explore digitized urban space as a historically specific communicative environment. The essays in this book collectively propose that the concept of the 'communicative city' is a productive frame for rethinking the above questions in the context of 21st-century 'media cities'. They challenge us to reconsider qualities such as openness, autonomy and diversity in contemporary urban communication practices, and to identify factors that might expand or constrict communicative possibilities. Students and scholars of communication studies and urban studies would benefit from this book.

This story by one of China's best contemporary authors offers great insight into modern Chinese society. The hustle and bustle of twenty-first century Shanghai serves as a backdrop for a story rive with office politics and social intrigue. An aimless man, lacking the ambition that those around him possess, is tasked with delivering donated satellite phone equipment to a remote village where the people are peaceful and lead lives that are the complete opposite of his colleagues in the city. In that remote village, the man becomes acquainted with the wild bears that are arcane symbols of long lost virtues. His presence changes the village, while his absence from work makes him an unwitting player and pawn to an office coup in the making, one that will change his life for either better or worse. in author, Sun Wei's search from deliverance from the malaise in modern Chinese society, she discovered that real wisdom and elegance can be found in the cultures of ancient times, when people were at peace with their souls and content with the generosity of Mother Nature instead of being tormented by the pursuit of wealth.

The complete version of John Woo's historical action epic based on one of Asia's most popular novels, 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms', by Guanzhong Luo. In the final days of the Han dynasty, tyrannical warlord Cao Cao (Fengyi Zhang) invades the kingdom of Wu with his army of over a million soldiers. However, Wu's military strategist Zhou Yu (Tony Leung) devises a plan to join forces with former rival Liu Bei (Yong You) and challenge Cao Cao's invaders at sea, leading to a vast naval battle that culminates in the legendary Battle of Red Cliff. Takeshi Kaneshiro and Wei Zhao co-star.