Bücher veröffentlicht von Springer Nature Singapore

This book describes many aspects of power transformers. And it mainly provides valuable knowledges such as two deals with power transformer construction, different types of transformers and connections, power transformer core modelling, and the low-frequency and mid-frequency modelling of transformers. Moreover, it also introduces a new method for high-frequency modelling of transformer which can attract many students learning the power transformer research field. The goal of this book is to educate the postgraduate students and engineers about principals and modeling of the transformers.

This book presents best selected research papers presented at the International Conference on Recent Trends in Communication and Intelligent Systems (ICRTCIS 2020), organized by Arya College of Engineering and IT, Jaipur, on 20-21 November 2020. It discusses the latest technologies in communication and intelligent systems, covering various areas of communication engineering, such as signal processing, VLSI design, embedded systems, wireless communications, and electronics and communications in general. Featuring work by leading researchers and technocrats, the book serves as a valuable reference resource for young researchers and academics as well as practitioners in industry.

This book highlights the recent advancement in point-of-care testing (POCT) technologies utilizing ¿smart¿ nanomaterials for the analysis of biomarkers related to disease, which includes metabolites, enzymes, proteins, nucleic acids, cancer cells and multidrug-resistant pathogen. The POCT refers to medical diagnostic tests performed near the place and time of patient care. During the recent pandemic of COVID-19, many realized the importance of affordable, rapid and accurate POCT devices and their usefulness to combat the spread of the infection. The chapters in this book describe the emergence of ¿smart¿ nanomaterials with unique physical and chemical properties being utilized in POCT devices for immobilizing biorecognition elements and labels for signal generation, transduction and amplification. It showcases the applications of these smart nanomaterials and their superiority in developing point-of-care diagnostics devices in a wide range of applied fields like food industry, agriculture sector, water quality assessment, pharmaceuticals and tissue engineering. It also looks into the challenges associated and future direction of research in this promising field. This book caters as reference book for researches from the field of nanobiotechnology and biomedical sciences who are interested in the development of rapid, affordable and accurate POCT devices.

This book argues that most public affairs can be openly discussed before consensus is reached, and people from different backgrounds should be encouraged to get involved in policy-making on an equal basis. This is considered multiple deliberative democracy. The book features in-depth discussions on why multiple deliberative democracy is needed in China, what specific procedures it entails, and how it is conducted in local communities across the country. In addition, it probes into the areas of public administration where multiple deliberative democracy can be employed to enhance informed decision-making on public affairs, such as community self-governance matters, matters to be voted on by the National People's Congress, collecting CPPCC motions, social organization (or corporation) consultation, vital planning schemes of the society, and citizen education. Furthermore, the monograph explores the pluralism in deliberative democracy, such as mass symposium, citizen (villager) BBS, community Internet BBS, discussions in open areas of the community, ¿vision workshops¿, and citizen jury. It is concluded that thorough deliberation among citizens may profoundly impact the government¿s informed-decision-making. The book exposes the readers to the democratic system of modern China and sheds lights on its contextualized, unique multiple deliberative democracy procedures and practices. University students, researchers, and practitioner in the fields of political science, public administration, and international relations, among others, may find this book informative and intriguing.

This book reviews different types of nanomaterials-based-conductive inks used to develop printed strain sensors, printing fabrication methods, and applications such as wearable health monitoring. Printed wearable electronic devices have recently drawn a lot of attention, as shown by the increasing number of publications and commercialized devices covering various facets in emerging fields. Many researchers are working toward optimizing nanoparticle-based-conductive inks for wearable electronics. However, issues related to its stability, dispersion, and annealing temperature often limit its applications. General important information and requirements of flexible electronics for health monitoring are covered in the book chapter. The target audiences are researchers and students who are involved in the development of printed wearable electronics.

The natural interaction ability between human and machine mainly involves human-machine dialogue ability, multi-modal sentiment analysis ability, human-machine cooperation ability, and so on. To enable intelligent computers to have multi-modal sentiment analysis ability, it is necessary to equip them with a strong multi-modal sentiment analysis ability during the process of human-computer interaction. This is one of the key technologies for efficient and intelligent human-computer interaction. This book focuses on the research and practical applications of multi-modal sentiment analysis for human-computer natural interaction, particularly in the areas of multi-modal information feature representation, feature fusion, and sentiment classification. Multi-modal sentiment analysis for natural interaction is a comprehensive research field that involves the integration of natural language processing, computer vision, machine learning, pattern recognition, algorithm, robot intelligent system, human-computer interaction, etc. Currently, research on multi-modal sentiment analysis in natural interaction is developing rapidly. This book can be used as a professional textbook in the fields of natural interaction, intelligent question answering (customer service), natural language processing, human-computer interaction, etc. It can also serve as an important reference book for the development of systems and products in intelligent robots, natural language processing, human-computer interaction, and related fields.

This book discusses discrete geometric analysis, especially topological crystallography and discrete surface theory for trivalent discrete surfaces. Topological crystallography, based on graph theory, provides the most symmetric structure among given combinatorial structures by using the variational principle, and it can reproduce crystal structures existing in nature. In this regard, the topological crystallography founded by Kotani and Sunada is explained by using many examples. Carbon structures such as fullerenes are considered as trivalent discrete surfaces from the viewpoint of discrete geometric analysis. Discrete surface theories usually have been considered discretization of smooth surfaces. Here, consideration is given to discrete surfaces modeled by crystal/molecular structures, which are essentially discrete objects.

This book mainly shows readers how to calibrate and control robots. In this regard, it proposes three control schemes: an error-summation enhanced Newton algorithm for model predictive control; RNN for solving perturbed time-varying underdetermined linear systems; and a new joint-drift-free scheme aided with projected ZNN, which can effectively improve robot control accuracy. Moreover, the book develops four advanced algorithms for robot calibration ¿ Levenberg-Marquarelt with diversified regularizations; improved covariance matrix adaptive evolution strategy; quadratic interpolated beetle antennae search algorithm; and a novel variable step-size Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm ¿ which can effectively enhance robot positioning accuracy.In addition, it is exceedingly difficult for experts in other fields to conduct robot arm calibration studies without calibration data. Thus, this book provides a publicly available dataset to assist researchers from other fields in conductingcalibration experiments and validating their ideas. The book also discusses six regularization schemes based on its robot error models, i.e., L1, L2, dropout, elastic, log, and swish. Robots¿ positioning accuracy is significantly improved after calibration. Using the control and calibration methods developed here, readers will be ready to conduct their own research and experiments.

The book provides a visual run-through of liver pathology through high-quality images from the healthy liver through acute liver injury to chronic liver disease - stressing on common mechanisms for specific histological appearances, correlating them with clinical features and laboratory investigations to reach the diagnosis. Individual chapters in this richly illustrated atlas cover the wide gamut of liver disease, including types of liver injury, viral hepatitis, fatty liver disease and its complications, vascular and autoimmune liver diseases, pediatric liver diseases, liver tumors, and finally, pathology of the transplanted liver.This book bridges the gap by integrating basic clinical information with histopathological findings, as existing books cater primarily to the pathologist¿s needs and do not provide sufficient clinical background to engage the clinician. It serves as a quick guide for adult and pediatric hepatologists, liver surgery doctors, pathologists as well as trainees in gastroenterology, hepatology, gastrointestinal surgery, liver transplantation and pediatric gastroenterology.

This book comprises select proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Recent Advances in Bio-energy Research (ICRABR 2022), providing comprehensive coverage on bio-energy-related fields and prospects of bio-energy in terms of waste management for energy generation, storage, and application. The content includes themes such as optimisation of energy systems, recent advances in biofuels and bioenergy, biomass hybrid systems, energy efficiency, electrochemical conversion of biofuels to renewable energy, energy management and policy, and the inter-linkages between energy and sustainable development. This book is of use to academics, researchers, consultants, and policymakers alike.

This book comprises select peer-reviewed proceedings of the 9th International and 49th National Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power (FMFP 2022). This book brings together scientific ideas and engineering solutions put forth by researchers and practitioners from academia and industry in the important and ubiquitous field of fluid mechanics. The contents of this book focus on fundamental issues and perspective in fluid mechanics, measurement techniques in fluid mechanics, computational fluid and gas dynamics, instability, transition and turbulence, fluid-structure interaction, multiphase flows, microfluidics, bio-inspired fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, turbomachinery, propulsion and power and other miscellaneous topics in the broad domain of fluid mechanics. This book is a useful reference to researchers and professionals working in the broad field of mechanics.

This book proposes analysis and design techniques for Markov jump systems (MJSs) using Lyapunov function and sliding mode control techniques. It covers a range of topics including stochastic stability, finite-time boundedness, actuator-fault problem, bumpless transfer scheme, and adaptive sliding mode fault-tolerant control for uncertain MJSs. Notably, the book presents a new model for deception attacks (DAs), establishing the correlation between attacks and time delays, which should be of particular interest due to the recent increase in such attacks. The book's content is presented in a comprehensive, progressive manner, with fundamental principles introduced first before addressing more advanced techniques. The book features illustrations and tables, providing readers with a practical and intuitive approach to applying these methods in their own research. This book will prove invaluable to researchers and graduate students in control engineering and applied mathematics with an interest in the latest developments in MJSs.

This book comprises select peer-reviewed proceedings of the 9th International and 49th National Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Power (FMFP 2022). This book brings together scientific ideas and engineering solutions put forth by researchers and practitioners from academia and industry in the important and ubiquitous field of fluid mechanics. The contents of this book focus on fundamental issues and perspective in fluid mechanics, measurement techniques in fluid mechanics, computational fluid and gas dynamics, instability, transition and turbulence, fluid-structure interaction, multiphase flows, microfluidics, bio-inspired fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, turbomachinery, propulsion and power and other miscellaneous topics in the broad domain of fluid mechanics. This book is a useful reference to researchers and professionals working in the broad field of mechanics.

The comprehensive volume focuses on spatial, temporal, conceptual and empirical approaches to various elements of urban dynamics, environment and urban health. It demonstrates a multidisciplinary account of the significant dimensions of urbanization and urban life. Chapters by leading international experts are presented in sections on urban dynamics, Urban Environmental Issues, Urban Health Problems and Urban Development, Planning and Policies. Each chapter provides a breadth of information on conceptual and empirical studies of urban issues. It enables the readers to understand the interconnections of various vital elements of each urban-related topical issue locally, regionally and globally. Extensive maps, charts, diagrams and tables as cartographic tools facilitate the reader¿s understanding. It also outlines an action plan for policy program change in both the developed and less developed countries toward sustainable urban development and environment for better health, prosperityand quality of life of the present and future urban population. It is an indispensable reference for students, research scholars of geography and environmental, medical, and social sciences at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

This textbook is second edition of popular textbook of plant physiology and metabolism. The first edition of this book gained noteworthy acceptance (more than 4.9 Million downloads) among graduate and masters level students and faculty world over, with many Universities recommending it as a preferred reading in their syllabi.The second edition provides up to date and latest information on all the topics covered while also including the basic concepts. The text is supported with clear, easy to understand Figures, Tables, Box items, summaries, perspectives, thought-provoking multiple-choice questions, latest references for further reading, glossary and a detailed subject index. Authors have also added a number of key concepts, discoveries in the form of boxed- items in each chapter.Plant physiology deals with understanding the various processes, functioning, growth, development and survival of plants in normal and stressful conditions. The studyinvolves analysis of the above-stated processes at molecular, sub-cellular, cellular, tissue and plant level in relation with its surrounding environment. Plant physiology is an experimental science, and its concepts are very rapidly changing through applications from chemical biology, cytochemical, fluorometric, biochemical and molecular techniques, and metabolomic and proteomic analysis. Consequently, this branch of modern plant biology has experienced significant generation of new information in most areas. The newer concepts so derived are being also rapidly put into applications in crop physiology. Novel molecules, such nanourea, nitric oxide, gaseous signalling molecules like hydrogen sulphide, are rapidly finding significant applications among crop plants. This textbook, therefore, brings forth an inclusive coverage of the field contained in 35 chapters, divided into five major units. It serves as essential reading material for post-graduate and undergraduate students of botany, plant sciences, plant physiology, agriculture, forestry, ecology, soil science, and environmental sciences. This textbook is also of interest to teachers, researchers, scientists, and policymakers.

In the process of transforming modern manufacturing into intelligent manufacturing, more and more manufacturing processes are being deployed digitally on the Internet. As a novel digital industrial infrastructure and new application ecology, Industrial Internet could integrate the novel information and communication technology into various industrial manufacturing processes, through the safe and reliable intelligent interconnection of factors concerning people, machines and things. It aims at significantly improving the digitalization, networking and intelligence of manufacturing processes through the comprehensive interconnection of all manufacturing factors. To deploy and run traditional manufacturing processes on Industrial Internet efficiently, corresponding digital technical means are called for. These technical means play an important role in many potential applications of intelligent manufacturing, e.g. integrating product lifecycle data, strengthening industrial chain cooperation, providing decision-making service information oriented on the production organization process, and providing data support for product optimization and upgrading.This book focuses on the theory, techniques and means for integrating intelligent Industrial Internet applications deployed via mobile edge computing. Concretely, it mainly studies the intelligent theory, techniques and means from a problem-driven and demand-driven perspective, which supports collaborative design, agile manufacturing, remote operation and maintenance on Industrial Internet. These technologies primarily include Industrial Internet-centric intelligent resource scheduling methods, various types of industrial data privacy protection, intelligent version management technologies supporting digital twin applications, various data mining algorithms for intelligent execution of business processes, etc. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable theoretical and technical resource for project managers, technical developers, researchers, educators and students at colleges and universities.

This book extensively examines various contemporary macroeconomic themes of India, namely growth and macro policies, tax reforms, government finances and intergovernmental fiscal transfers, banking and monetary policy, and environment and social sector policies. It has three to six chapters devoted to each of these broad themes, with the contributors being eminent economists from the region. The book serves as an excellent reference for students in economics, finance, and management, and a valuable tool for professionals such as policymakers and investment analysts and other stakeholders in the areas of global economics and finance, in general, and India in particular.Excerpt from the Foreword:"This book examines various contemporary macroeconomic themes of India: growth and macro policies, fiscal reforms, government finances and intergovernmental fiscal transfers, banking and monetary policy, and environmental and social sector policies. Forty-four eminent economists who have had the privilege of working with and learning from Dr. C. Rangarajan have contributed 25 chapters.I am sure that this book will serve as an excellent reference for professionals such as policymakers and financial analysts, students, and other stakeholders interested in the field of economics and finance." - Dr. Manmohan Singh, Former Prime Minister of India and eminent economist

This book seeks to break new ground, both empirically and conceptually, in examining changing understandings of the physical human body from a variety of anthropological perspectives. In doing so, it interrogates how the body has been and continues to be conceptualised, experienced and interacted with. After an introductory appraisal of recent approaches to understanding the body, the book provides empirically rich accounts from East and Southeast Asia of how cultural, environmental and social norms shape human physicality. The contributions are organised in four broad themes. Part I, ¿Body and Space¿, offers two contrasting case studies from Malaysia, both of which examine gender norms associated with marriage and pregnancy, including the taboos associated with these rites of passage. Part II, ¿Imperfect Bodies: Communication and the Body as Mediä, analyses two case studies¿Deaf people in Japan and masked theatre performance in Bali, Indonesia, to reflect on changing attitudes towards disability, which reflect broader social norms and cultural beliefs about the nature of disability and its place in society. Part III, ¿The Body and Image¿, provides a pair of case studies from Singapore, on male fans of the popular manga boys¿ love genre and on ways that the Chinese zodiac system is determined from birth and continues to be spiritually embedded in the body of a Chinese individual through ritual practices. Part IV, ¿The Body as Container: Taming the Bodies?¿, presents a single case study from Thailand of spirit possession among schoolchildren. Though wide-ranging, all the case studies posit that the body is a site of constant negotiation. The way the body is presented and the way it is seen are shaped by a complex array of social, cultural, political and ideational factors. Anthropology through the Experience of the Physical Body is a valuable interdisciplinary work for advanced students and researchers interested in representations of the body in East and Southeast Asia and for those with wider interests in the field of critical anthropology.

This book presents select proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Advances in Civil and Ecological Engineering Research (ACEER 2023). The book covers a wide range of topics, including construction engineering and management hydraulic and hydrologic engineering, air quality and atmospheric pollution, ecological risk assessment and management, restoration and protection of environment, water pollution and treatment, and water recourses engineering. This book also covers state-of-the-art technologies in building sustainable city, resilient buildings, and sustainable issues in relating to civil engineering. It will be useful for researchers and engineers working in the field of civil and ecological engineering.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the legal and regulatory framework for the nuclear industry from an Asian perspective. It includes information on the history of nuclear lawmaking, the key international treaties and agreements that govern the use of nuclear energy, the role of national and regional regulatory bodies, and the legal and policy issues that arise in the development and operation of nuclear power plants. The book also covers topics such as nuclear safety, security, waste management, environmental protection, and liability for nuclear accidents. Additionally, it provides insights into the legislative process and the various stakeholders involved in nuclear lawmaking, such as industry, government, and civil society organizations. The overall goal of this book is to provide a detailed and up-to-date understanding of the legal and regulatory framework for the nuclear newcomers, particularly in Asia, and to help readers navigate this complex and dynamic field.The book is also used as a guide for all nuclear energy-producing countries, lawmakers, students, researchers, or even for general readers to understand the perspectives of international nuclear energy law.

This book brings together authors from around the world to discuss the Standards for Technological and Engineering Literacy: The Role of Technology and Engineering in STEM Education (STEL) released in July 2020 by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA). The various chapters examine and elaborate on how educators must understand the structure of the standards used and their alignment with educational programs at specific levels and contexts, both in the context of the USA, and internationally. It also showcases case studies analyzing the use of standards in their various contexts from a number of countries which have either adapted STEL, or which have national Standards in Technology Education. The STEL represents a major update to the content standards that has guided the field of technology education (and, later, technology and engineering education) in the USA since 2000. In contrast to previous standards, STEL presents a substantial reduction in the number of standards and associated benchmarks, and the benchmarks have been operationalized to identify the key knowledge, skills, and dispositions associated with each standard. It also emphasizes a focus on core standards that should allow for deeper levels of understanding and engagement on the part of students, who in comprehensive educational programs will continue to revisit these core standards in increasingly sophisticated ways as they progress from Pre-K through Grade 12.

Through engaging media coverage of the public lives of Bollywood actresses, this book unveils understandings of idealized femininity and gender within this cultural context. Beyond its own borders, such a context is unique given the global relevance of content from and about Bollywood with members of the diaspora as well as those culturally Indian individuals that are no longer part of the diaspora. This book thus engages these actresses as global Indian celebrities who are framed and presented as contemporary urban Indian exemplars of gender via media coverage about them. The book therefore offers a robust and detailed case study of the Bollywood star system so as to demonstrate how the nuances of this unique cultural context influence the dimensions of postfeminism and celebrity culture therein.

This book presents the exploration and exploitation of various bioactive metabolites obtained from fungi isolated from diverse habitats for pharmaceutical applications. Various fungal sources have been brought under one umbrella ranging from endophytes, marine fungi, endolichenic fungi to fungi existing in the extremophilic conditions like desert and Antarctica and Artic environment. The book tries to cover maximally the range of the pharmaceutical applications wherein these bioactive agents from fungi have been exploited or are in the clinical pipelines and primarily include antibacterial, antifungal, antibiofilm, anticancer, antioxidant, autoimmunological, anti-inflammatory, and anti-thrombotic diseases. The book further emphasizes on the novel strategies to screen or enhance secondary metabolite production. Some other topics includes peptides, nonpeptides drugs, pigments, and enhancement of production of Echinocandin and Kojic acid. The role of bioinformatics in drug discovery and biotransformations have also been discussed. This book is going to be a comprehensive treatise and a valuable source for mycologists, biotechnologists, microbiologists, biotechnologists, and undertaking research in pharmaceutical sector as well as academia in setting up their research aspirations for using fungi in the process of drug discovery and development.

This book is a compilation of eel research and fish migration studies for more than 40 years showing the research history and recent advances in eel studies. Dr. Katsumi Tsukamoto, the esteemed editor of this book, has been actively involved in eel research as one of the leading scientists in the world for a long time, and he and his team successfully collected the fertilized eggs and spawn-condition adult eels from the wild for the first time in the world. This book compiles the essentials of the scientific findings obtained by the editor and his colleagues and reviews the latest references of eel science. Knowledge and information in the book such as a spawning area survey, research on artificial production of glass eels, the discovery of a new species, etc. will attract the reader¿s interest, as these are written based on the authors¿ experiences. Readers can obtain a comprehensive understanding of eels from various aspects of eel science including the cultural and socio-economic importance of eels and valuable scientific information using state-of-the-art approaches. The book also endeavors to contribute to the conservation of eel species, some of which have been classified as endangered by the IUCN and to promoting harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.

The book aims to describe the history of Chan (Japanese Zen) School thought from the standpoint of social history. Chan, a school of East Asian Buddhism, was influential on all levels of societies in the region because of its intellectual and aesthetic appeal. In China, Chan infiltrated all levels of society, mainly because it engaged with society and formed the mainstream of Buddhism from the tenth or eleventh centuries through to the twentieth century. This book, taking a critical stance, examines the entire history of Chan thought and practice from the viewpoint of a modern Chinese scholar, not a practitioner, but an intellectual historian who places ideological developments in social contexts. The author suggests that core elements of Chan have their origins in Daoist philosophers, especially Zhuangzi, and not in Indian Buddhist concepts. Covering the period from the sixth century into the twentieth century, it deals with Chan interactions with neo-Confucianism, Quanzhen Daoism, and Gongyang new text philology, as well as with literature and scholarship, its fusion with Pure Land Buddhism, and its syncretic tendencies. Chan¿s exchanges with emperors from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasty, as well as the motives of some loyalists of the Ming Dynasty for joining Chan after the fall of the Ming, are described. The book concludes with an examination of the views of Chan of Hu Shi, D.T. Suzuki, and the scholar-monk Yinshun.

This book presents significant clinical and radiological descriptions with photographic details of common and rare Skeletal Dysplasias and Congenital Malformations. It simplifies and classifies skeletal dysplasias and other orthopedic congenital anomalies with the help of a collection of complex cases.It contains 1195 images (404 Coloured). It also explains the simple and systematic approach to correct diagnosis and adequate management of such patients. All types of congenital anomalies of the musculoskeletal system are included, some of them treated.This book assists PG students in the Department of Orthopaedics, Paediatrics, and Radiology. It is also helpful as a ¿Reference Book¿ for the concerned Medical teachers, Researchers, General Practitioners, and all others interested. The book will also benefit the parents of such children for correct diagnosis and required management.

This monograph provides a comprehensive review of many aspects of current interest and progress on mutation research on vegetatively propagated ornamentals. It covers almost all aspects of induced mutagenesis on ornamental plants. Chapters in this title provides information about mutation technology for the development of new ornamental varieties. Taking all aspects together, it is an excellent reference book of updated information on mutation breeding on vegetatively propagated ornamentals. Floriculture has become a very important industry in many countries as a result of science-based techniques and a steady supply of improved plant materials. The induced mutation is now recognized as well as a standardized valuable tool for the development of new varieties. The book provides an authoritative review account of all important aspects related to inducing mutagenesis in the field of ornamental crops. The primary objective of the book is to give a coherent and concise account of earlier work with an emphasis on recent developments. The knowledge generated so far has been reviewed in this book which can work as a knowledge base to prepare guidelines for future planning of successful application of mutation technology for the floriculture industry. The information in the book is an excellent informative document for researchers, teachers, students, and breeders for understanding the application of induced mutations and planning future strategies for the development of new ornamental varieties for the floriculture industry.

This book provides a broad survey of Chinese rural households at a time of rapid change in Chinäs rural economy, examining the dual identity of households as consumers as well as producers of goods in terms of supply and demand. Based on the results of the China Rural Household Panel Survey (CRHPS) by Zhejiang University, this book analyzes four types of economic activities of rural households in China, particularly considering changes at the micro level. It examines how households strive to maximize family efficacy through input-output production decision-making in allocating limited resources. Examining data pertaining to agricultural production, land exploitation, migration and nationalization, as well as changes in economic behavior, this book offers a snapshot of the current situation of rural households in China and suggestions to improve living standards and related policies.

This book deals with regional sustainability, which is one of the biggest issues in Japan today, and presents suggested methods and cases to show how regional management should be carried out. Today, regions in Japan are facing long-term global challenges such as changes in climate and in international relations, as well as regional financial difficulties due to depopulation and aging. Additional causes are the decline of traditional culture and community sustainability, the crisis of public services, inner- and inter-regional disparities, disaster response, and other local and region-specific issues that are intricately related. To meet the challenge of those issues, local actors must deal with the regional issues themselves and solve them in cooperation with various other stakeholders. From this perspective, the book exhibits regional management frameworks, focusing especially on evaluation, decision making, and aid in multi-dimensional approaches, and examines case studies for making regions sustainable by allowing diverse actors to realize diverse values and standards in cooperation. The chapters cover a wide range of disciplines, including urban science, economics, geography, landscape, real estate, and public finance, which makes it possible to shed light on a particular region.This book comprises a collection of essays celebrating the life and work of Kiyoko Hagihara, honorary professor of the Graduate School of Urban Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan. Essay contributors include her former students as well as regional scientists with similar interests.

This book aims to provide first-hand information for readers who are concerned about inclusive finance and sustainable development by summarizing Chinäs policy measures and practical innovations in the development of inclusive finance and expects to provide Chinäs experience for the development of inclusive finance in more regions. From a worldwide perspective, a large number of people had been excluded from formal financial services for a long time due to various factors. Even in developed economies with sound financial systems, relatively disadvantaged groups are often denied access to effective financial services. In 2005, the United Nations proposed the concept of Inclusive Finance, emphasizing the extension of financial services to less developed regions and low-income groups in society at an affordable cost by improving financial infrastructure and providing them with reasonably priced and convenient financial services. In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development, making inclusive finance an important focus for achieving sustainable development. It has become a global consensus to vigorously develop inclusive finance.China has attached importance to improving financial services for disadvantaged groups such as rural residents, micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and others. In 2013, Developing ¿Inclusive Finance¿ became Chinäs national strategy. In 2015, China formulated the Plan for Promoting the Development of Inclusive Finance (2016-2020). In 2016, during its presidency of the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI), China proposed the issue of "Digital Financial Inclusion" and issued the G20 High-level Principles for Digital Financial Inclusion at the G20 Hangzhou Summit in the same year. Through policy guidance and active practice by the financial sector, China has gradually formed a unique development model of inclusive finance and achieved remarkable successes. Physical outlets, service machines and online service channels have been improved, and basic financial services have generally covered both urban and rural areas. The financial services for rural households and MSMEs have improved significantly. The efficiency and convenience of financial services have been significantly improved, and the satisfaction of financial services has significantly increased. China's experience in inclusive finance has been recognized by the international community. In 2017, five cases from China were selected in the G20 report on Digital Financial Inclusion: Emerging Policy Approaches.