Ning Chen

This book urges readers to develop a radical capacity to unthink and rethink interculturality, through multiple, pluri-perspectival and honest dialogues between the authors, and their students. This book does not give interculturality a normative scaffolding but envisages it differently by identifying some of its polyphonic textures. China’s rich engagement with interculturality serves to support the importance of being curious about other ways of thinking about the notion beyond the ‘West’ only. As such, the issues of culture, identity, language, translation, intercultural competence and silent transformations (amongst others) are re-evaluated in a different light. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing scientific insights for readers with an interest in interculturality.

This book urges readers to develop a radical capacity to unthink and rethink interculturality, through multiple, pluri-perspectival and honest dialogues between the authors, and their students. This book does not give interculturality a normative scaffolding but envisages it differently by identifying some of its polyphonic textures. China’s rich engagement with interculturality serves to support the importance of being curious about other ways of thinking about the notion beyond the ‘West’ only. As such, the issues of culture, identity, language, translation, intercultural competence and silent transformations (amongst others) are re-evaluated in a different light. This is a highly informative and carefully presented book, providing scientific insights for readers with an interest in interculturality.

This unique book starts from the premise that students, scholars, and educators should be given access to a form of global education that is genuinely global. Using the notion of interculturality as change and exchange as a basis, the authors examine fifty discourse instruments (e.g. idioms, neologisms, slogans) related to what they call ‘Chinese stories of interculturality’. China, like other countries, has a rich and complex history of intercultural encounters and her engagement with the notion today, which shares similarities and differences with glocal discourses of interculturality, deserves to be unpacked and familiarized with. By so doing, digging into the intricacies of the Chinese and English languages, the reader is empowered to unthink, rethink and especially reflect on their own take on the important notion of interculturality.

This unique book starts from the premise that students, scholars, and educators should be given access to a form of global education that is genuinely global. Using the notion of interculturality as change and exchange as a basis, the authors examine fifty discourse instruments (e.g. idioms, neologisms, slogans) related to what they call ‘Chinese stories of interculturality’. China, like other countries, has a rich and complex history of intercultural encounters and her engagement with the notion today, which shares similarities and differences with glocal discourses of interculturality, deserves to be unpacked and familiarized with. By so doing, digging into the intricacies of the Chinese and English languages, the reader is empowered to unthink, rethink and especially reflect on their own take on the important notion of interculturality.

This book introduces the components and principles of the common ballast management systems. The working principles of different filtration, cleaning and sterilizing equipment are also introduced. The calculation norm of the construction design and the calculation method of simulation are described. Besides, different aspects of system management are analyzed. The principle of various detecting sensors, the hardware of control system and the design method of human–computer interface are respectively introduced. Last but not least, the maintenance and management of ballast water management system are described, mainly the maintenance and management of key components which composes the system.

This book introduces the components and principles of the common ballast management systems. The working principles of different filtration, cleaning and sterilizing equipment are also introduced. The calculation norm of the construction design and the calculation method of simulation are described. Besides, different aspects of system management are analyzed. The principle of various detecting sensors, the hardware of control system and the design method of human–computer interface are respectively introduced. Last but not least, the maintenance and management of ballast water management system are described, mainly the maintenance and management of key components which composes the system.

This book renews our understanding of contemporary interculturality and today’s intercultural world through an illuminating case study of the Labubu phenomenon. Why do we queue for hours, shake blind boxes, and refresh screens at 10 p.m. just for the privilege of buying something we did not even want yesterday? What does our hunger for a grinning monster reveal about how we connect, belong, and exclude in today’s divided world? Beneath these questions lies an ultimate search for the driving force behind the mania: What are we really chasing? The authors offer a surprising answer: ourselves. Drawing on critical interculturality, the sociology of consumption, media studies, and discourse analysis, this interdisciplinary work examines media coverage, social media conversations, and ethnographic fieldwork from countries such as China, Finland, and France. It unpacks the hyper-capitalist machinery of artificial scarcity, emotional commerce, and strategic emptiness, introducing the Labubu Model of Interculturality (LMI) – a framework for understanding how consumption has become the primary language of belonging in a glocalised world. Written for scholars, students, and curious readers alike, this book offers an intriguing and thought-provoking study for those drawn to the Labubu vogue, as well as researchers engaged in intercultural studies, business and marketing, and postmodern studies.

This book renews our understanding of contemporary interculturality and today’s intercultural world through an illuminating case study of the Labubu phenomenon. Why do we queue for hours, shake blind boxes, and refresh screens at 10 p.m. just for the privilege of buying something we did not even want yesterday? What does our hunger for a grinning monster reveal about how we connect, belong, and exclude in today’s divided world? Beneath these questions lies an ultimate search for the driving force behind the mania: What are we really chasing? The authors offer a surprising answer: ourselves. Drawing on critical interculturality, the sociology of consumption, media studies, and discourse analysis, this interdisciplinary work examines media coverage, social media conversations, and ethnographic fieldwork from countries such as China, Finland, and France. It unpacks the hyper-capitalist machinery of artificial scarcity, emotional commerce, and strategic emptiness, introducing the Labubu Model of Interculturality (LMI) – a framework for understanding how consumption has become the primary language of belonging in a glocalised world. Written for scholars, students, and curious readers alike, this book offers an intriguing and thought-provoking study for those drawn to the Labubu vogue, as well as researchers engaged in intercultural studies, business and marketing, and postmodern studies.

Intercultural Preparation in Higher Education critically examines the complexities of intercultural preparation, challenging reductionist, competence-based approaches and emphasising critical reflection, linguistic sensitivity and intersectional perspectives, which offer transformative insight.This concise yet comprehensive book draws on the author's extensive experience in preparing students and educators for diversity and intercultural engagement within Chinese and Finnish higher education – two distinct yet interconnected settings. Chen advocates for reflexive, context-sensitive frameworks that address power dynamics, ideological influences and epistemic inequalities shaping intercultural encounters. Synthesising global and Chinese research, the author deconstructs interculturality as an ideological construct and proposes expanding it to encompass diverse diversities. Through case studies of Chinese Minzu education, Finnish teacher training and China's mental health and well-being education, the author explores how to equip educators and students for glocalised (global + local) realities. The book argues that mental health education in China, for instance, can redefine interculturality beyond 'international' or 'ethnic' binaries. By interrogating dominant paradigms and proposing equitable alternatives, the author advances a balanced and inclusive vision of preparation for all in higher education and beyond.The title is designed for educators, researchers, students and practitioners interested in intercultural studies, higher education, as well as internationalisation and globalisation.

The IoT topology defines the way various components communicate with each other within a network. Topologies can vary greatly in terms of security, power consumption, cost, and complexity. Optimizing the IoT topology for different applications and requirements can help to boost the network’s performance and save costs. More importantly, optimizing the topology robustness can ensure security and prevent network failure at the foundation level. In this context, this book examines the optimization schemes for topology robustness in the IoT, helping readers to construct a robustness optimization framework, from self-organizing to intelligent networking. The book provides the relevant theoretical framework and the latest empirical research on robustness optimization of IoT topology. Starting with the self-organization of networks, it gradually moves to genetic evolution. It also discusses the application of neural networks and reinforcement learning to endow the node with self-learning ability to allow intelligent networking. This book is intended for students, practitioners, industry professionals, and researchers who are eager to comprehend the vulnerabilities of IoT topology. It helps them to master the research framework for IoT topology robustness optimization and to build more efficient and reliable IoT topologies in their industry.

This book proposes a new method for working on the complex and polysemic notion of interculturality, aimed at scholars, students and educators who have an interest in enriching and challenging their own take on this somewhat controversial scientific notion. Multiple examples of observability made by the authors are provided to illustrate the method. The book helps readers to look at themselves as ‘producers’, ‘consumers’ and ‘promoters’ of selected knowledge of interculturality. This book represents an original contribution to the field, by introducing the importance of observation and reflexivity in building up varied epistemic engagements with the notion of interculturality.

The IoT topology defines the way various components communicate with each other within a network. Topologies can vary greatly in terms of security, power consumption, cost, and complexity. Optimizing the IoT topology for different applications and requirements can help to boost the network’s performance and save costs. More importantly, optimizing the topology robustness can ensure security and prevent network failure at the foundation level. In this context, this book examines the optimization schemes for topology robustness in the IoT, helping readers to construct a robustness optimization framework, from self-organizing to intelligent networking. The book provides the relevant theoretical framework and the latest empirical research on robustness optimization of IoT topology. Starting with the self-organization of networks, it gradually moves to genetic evolution. It also discusses the application of neural networks and reinforcement learning to endow the node with self-learning ability to allow intelligent networking. This book is intended for students, practitioners, industry professionals, and researchers who are eager to comprehend the vulnerabilities of IoT topology. It helps them to master the research framework for IoT topology robustness optimization and to build more efficient and reliable IoT topologies in their industry.