China's First Transgender: The Life and Times of Zhang Kesha


Book Description

At a very young age, Zhang Kesha could not relate to being a boy, having a preference for girls with their dolls as playmates. As he grew older, his clothing and appearances drew unwelcome attention, but the taunts and criticism failed to dampen his quest to attain full fledge womanhood. In 1983, he became she, but difficulties and dangers seemed to multiply. Seeking refuge in a number of locations, Kesha finally found her peace and tranquility with a new marriage and a full life in Sacramento, California.




Life Beyond My Body


Book Description

Literary Nonfiction. LGBTQIA Studies. Asian & Asian American Studies. Born in a rural Chinese village and identified as a girl at birth, Lei Ming, is barely cared for during his childhood. Often lonely, terrified and abused, he learns early to fend for himself and look within for answers, but there he discovers a paradox that threatens to undo him. Although he does not yet know the word "transsexual," at 16, Ming sets out on a secret mission to find relief. LIFE BEYOND MY BODY tells the true story of his quest to find answers in a society that is closed-mouthed about men like Ming. Along the way, Ming finds solace and judgement in the Christian church, loves and loses a woman, begins his physical transition using black market testosterone, is jailed over his identity, and arranges for top surgery without blowing his cover. But ultimately, understanding the true meaning of being a man will require reckoning with God.




The Impact of Buddhism on Chinese Material Culture


Book Description

Buddhism had a profound effect not only on Chinese philosophy and ritual, but also on the material culture of China. Examining the impact of books, bridges, sugar, tea and the chair, amongst other things, this text looks at how attitudes to such novelties affected the history of Chinese Buddhism.




Transgender China


Book Description

This volume brings together experts with diverse disciplinary backgrounds in the China field, from cultural studies to history to musicology, to make a timely intervention—from the historical demise of enuchism to male cross-dressing shows in contemporary Taiwan—to inaugurate a subfield in Chinese transgender studies.




The Psychology of Extremism


Book Description

This ground-breaking book introduces a new model of extremism that emphasizes motivational imbalance among individual needs, offering a unique multidisciplinary exploration of extreme behaviors relating to terrorism, dieting, sports, love, addictions, and money. In popular discourse, the term ‘extremism’ has come to mean largely ‘violent extremism’, but this is just one of many different types: extreme sports, extreme diets, political and religious extremisms, extreme self-interest, extreme attitudes, extreme devotion to a cause, addiction to substances, or behavioral addiction (to videogames, shopping, pornography, sex, and work). But do these descriptions have a deeper meaning? Do they reveal a common psychological dynamic? Or are they merely a mode of things about phenomena that have little in common? Bringing together world-leading psychologists from a variety of disciplines, the book uses a brand-new model to examine different expressions of extremism, at different levels of analysis (brain, hormones, and behavior), in order not merely to describe such behaviors but also to explain their occurrence, and the conditions under which they may be likely to emerge. Also including suggestions for ways in which extremism could be counteracted, and to what extent it appears to be harmful to individuals and society, this is essential reading for students and academics in psychology and behavioral sciences.




Big Data Management and Processing


Book Description

From the Foreword: "Big Data Management and Processing is [a] state-of-the-art book that deals with a wide range of topical themes in the field of Big Data. The book, which probes many issues related to this exciting and rapidly growing field, covers processing, management, analytics, and applications... [It] is a very valuable addition to the literature. It will serve as a source of up-to-date research in this continuously developing area. The book also provides an opportunity for researchers to explore the use of advanced computing technologies and their impact on enhancing our capabilities to conduct more sophisticated studies." ---Sartaj Sahni, University of Florida, USA "Big Data Management and Processing covers the latest Big Data research results in processing, analytics, management and applications. Both fundamental insights and representative applications are provided. This book is a timely and valuable resource for students, researchers and seasoned practitioners in Big Data fields. --Hai Jin, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China Big Data Management and Processing explores a range of big data related issues and their impact on the design of new computing systems. The twenty-one chapters were carefully selected and feature contributions from several outstanding researchers. The book endeavors to strike a balance between theoretical and practical coverage of innovative problem solving techniques for a range of platforms. It serves as a repository of paradigms, technologies, and applications that target different facets of big data computing systems. The first part of the book explores energy and resource management issues, as well as legal compliance and quality management for Big Data. It covers In-Memory computing and In-Memory data grids, as well as co-scheduling for high performance computing applications. The second part of the book includes comprehensive coverage of Hadoop and Spark, along with security, privacy, and trust challenges and solutions. The latter part of the book covers mining and clustering in Big Data, and includes applications in genomics, hospital big data processing, and vehicular cloud computing. The book also analyzes funding for Big Data projects.




Dissecting the COVID-19 Pandemic


Book Description

So far, several fascinating and fancy stuff have been imagined by humans. Not all imaginations are bound to happen and could be experienced. However, the current pandemic (COVID-19) seems, and now is set to surpass beyond what a human brain could have imagined. A deep socio-economic scar is in the process of being created and nobody yet knows how deep this wound is going to penetrate. At this juncture, we have congregated to produce a book entitled “Dissecting the COVID-19 Pandemic”, through the facades of global socio-economic impact. It is our pleasure to try to compile what we have seen and hence present the factual accounts to the people post February 2020, and for the days to come. It is a history unfolding, an array of events in front of the human kind. Our effort in witnessing, reviewing, compiling, and binding is definitely going to be a memorabilia of the time it has witnessed. It is said that “seeing is believing”, and here, the authors have factually seen and have by now certainly believed that COVID-19 is not just a simple flu. The pandemic crises of COVID-19 has shaken the world, and its impact is multidimensional and has adversely influenced many aspects of human life. Globally, over 22 million people were infected, and over 4.5 million have died in 215 countries, when this book was in the press. The eight chapters of this book cover various facades of the coronavirus crises, plus their impact globally and particularly in Nepal. The information is relevant to many developing countries. The chapters are written by science scholars, engineers, media analysts, development experts, and scientists in allied disciplines in Australia and Nepal. The contributing authors have both knowledge and experiences of Nepal and overseas in the subject matter and have provided evidence-based information. Our publication efforts and contribution to Nepal and Nepali diaspora deserve special mention. We hope this book will generate enough interest and stimulate significant discourses among scholars, policymakers, and the community at large to advocate for an inclusive health, disaster risk reduction (DRR), diplomacy and migration policy to overcome future pandemic challenges. Finally, we acknowledge the support of NRNA-Australia, Nepal Science Foundation Trust-SK & TT Department, Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Embassy of Nepal-Canberra, Federation of Nepalese Community Associations of Australia (FeNCAA), Australasian Nepalese Medical and Dental Association- Australia (ANMDA), and Aawaran publication for their support to bring out this book.




Effective Practices in Early Childhood Education


Book Description

NOTE: Used books, rentals, and purchases made outside of Pearson If purchasing or renting from companies other than Pearson, the access codes for the Enhanced Pearson eText may not be included, may be incorrect, or may be previously redeemed. Check with the seller before completing your purchase. This package includes the Enhanced Pearson eText and the bound book. Sue Bredekamp, one of the foremost authorities in the field of early childhood education, is author of Effective Practices in Early Childhood Education: Building a Foundation, now in its Second Edition. At its core, this intriguing text provides the building blocks for understanding effective practices in early childhood education. Building upon the Developmentally Appropriate Practice framework that she conceptualized, Sue Bredekamp shows how effective teaching practices can make a difference in the lives of young children. Written with a clear and engaging presentation, the author designed the book to prepare a new generation of early childhood professionals by remaining keenly focused on the three core themes threaded throughout: intentional teaching, challenging and interesting curriculum, and evidence-based, effective practices for a new generation of early childhood educators. The Enhanced Pearson eText features embedded video. Improve mastery and retention with the Enhanced Pearson eText* The Enhanced Pearson eText provides a rich, interactive learning environment designed to improve student mastery of content. The Enhanced Pearson eText is: Engaging. The new interactive, multimedia learning features were developed by the authors and other subject-matter experts to deepen and enrich the learning experience. Convenient. Enjoy instant online access from your computer or download the Pearson eText App to read on or offline on your iPad® and Android® tablet.* Affordable. The Enhanced Pearson eText may be purchased stand-alone or with a loose-leaf version of the text for 40-65% less than a print bound book. * The Enhanced eText features are only available in the Pearson eText format. They are not available in third-party eTexts or downloads. *The Pearson eText App is available on Google Play and in the App Store. It requires Android OS 3.1-4, a 7” or 10” tablet, or iPad iOS 5.0 or later.




China and the Death Penalty. Historical and Current Developments


Book Description

Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject Law - Comparative Legal Systems, Comparative Law, University of Cologne (Institute of East Asian Studies Seminar / Modern China Studies), course: The political System of VR China, language: English, abstract: “Kill fewer, kill carefully.” According to the wishes of the Chinese Politburo, these two political guidelines are to be implemented in the future in order to simultaneously maintain harmony and order in China. As with any passed laws – independent of country or government –, two questions arise here: 1. What did the prior evolution look like and can obligatory reform prevail? 2. Which competences are the judiciary’s responsibility and is there a guarantee that secure monitoring of law enforcement will be carried out? I will pursue these questions in this paper. For this purpose, I will start by addressing the term “death penalty”, the legal provisions in China as well as its evolution with a particular focus on the “Strike Hard” Campaign and the decentralization process of the courts, which substantially contributed to the need for reform. Furthermore, I will analyze the reformation of the Supreme People’s Court and assess the current state of the political guidelines being strived for and their actual executive implementation. The conclusion should allow for an assessment of the reformation measures, if they have indeed been successful, if there is a need to catch up or if they failed entirely.




China’s Death Penalty


Book Description

This book examines the death penalty within the changing socio-political context of China. The authors' treatment of China's death penalty is legal, historical, and comparative, focusing on its theory and the actual practice.