Ting Zhang

This collection features four peer-reviewed reviews on the nutritional and health benefits of beverage crops. The first chapter introduces the importance of coffee leaves, highlighting their high antioxidant potential and impact on fruit quality. The chapter provides an inventory of molecules identified in the leaves of cultivated coffee trees, as well as the beneficial effects of these molecules on human health. The second chapter considers the nutritional and health-related aspects of regular coffee consumption, focussing on its ability to prevent the onset of chronic diseases. The chapter also highlights that above-average consumption of coffee can lead to the development of side effects, including caffeine tolerance, dependence and withdrawal. The third chapter discusses the main phytochemicals contained in tea, including polyphenols, amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates and purine alkaloids. The chapter reviews the current analytical techniques available for tea characterisation, such as chromatic and spectroscopic techniques. The final chapter explores the beneficial health effects of consuming tea on a regular basis. The chapter considers the potential role for tea in combatting chronic diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as the possible mechanisms of actions of tea constituents.

This book delivers a rigorous, evidence-based analysis of Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) policy in the United States, with a strong focus on state-level programs developed in the absence of a federal mandate. Drawing on extensive real-world data, empirical research, and detailed case studies — including a comprehensive cost and sustainability analysis of Maryland's PFML program — it seeks to inform policymaking and public discourse with robust, data-driven insights. The volume integrates interdisciplinary perspectives from economics, public policy, health sciences, and labor studies alongside comparative international examples. The book opens by situating PFML within the broader US policy landscape, tracing key legislative milestones such as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and recent federal proposals. It provides a detailed mapping of existing state programs, covering eligibility criteria, wage replacement formulas, benefit durations, and funding mechanisms. Subsequent chapters rigorously analyze impacts on employers, employees, caregiving systems, and social outcomes, using empirical evidence to reveal trade-offs and program effectiveness. This volume is an essential resource for policymakers, administrators, researchers, employers, advocates, and students in policy, labor economics, HRM, and social insurance seeking rigorous, actionable knowledge to guide the future of paid leave policy in the US.

A pioneering examination of a field in its early stages, Zhang delves into a detailed exploration of the evolving role of dramaturgy in contemporary Chinese theatre, bridging the gap between established Western theories and the unique practices emerging in the Chinese theatre scene, and offering valuable insight into the reshaping of theatre production amidst a rapidly changing cultural landscape. Compared with the development of dramaturgy in Western countries, dramaturgical practice in contemporary Chinese theatre is still in its infancy. This book aims to fill this gap by exploring dramaturgy’s evolution and current role in Chinese theatre. It embarks on a global exploration—both in terms of dramaturgical theories and practices—across Germany, the UK, the US, and the Asia-Pacific region, providing a theoretical framework. It then traces the evolution of Chinese spoken drama (Huaju) from its origins in 1907 to the present. This chronological exploration illuminates Huaju’s development from foreign influences in the early decades to a more recent era of self-exploration. The book features three key case studies: the reception of Henrik Ibsen’s work in China, the 1983 production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman in Beijing, and the writing and staging of Teahouse. It also explores contemporary dramaturgical practices in China, based on fieldwork and interviews with theatre practitioners in Beijing and Shanghai. Through an examination of the similarities and differences in dramaturgical practices across performing arts in China, the book firmly positions Chinese dramaturgy within the broader currents of global theatre discourse. A unique cross-cultural resource with practical insights and theoretical reflections of great value for academics, scholars, educators and practitioners in the fields of theatre studies, dramaturgy, cross-cultural performance studies, contemporary Chinese theatre and the global evolution of dramaturgy.

Contrary to longtime assumptions about the insular nature of imperial China's legal system, Circulating the Code demonstrates that in the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) most legal books were commercially published and available to anyone who could afford to buy them. Publishers not only extended circulation of the dynastic code and other legal texts but also enhanced the judicial authority of case precedents and unofficial legal commentaries by making them more broadly available in convenient formats. As a result, the laws no longer represented privileged knowledge monopolized by the imperial state and elites. Trade in commercial legal imprints contributed to the formation of a new legal culture that included the free flow of accurate information, the rise of nonofficial legal experts, a large law-savvy population, and a high litigation rate. Comparing different official and commercial editions of the Qing Code, popular handbooks for amateur legal practitioners, and manuals for community legal lectures, Ting Zhang demonstrates how the dissemination of legal information transformed Chinese law, judicial authority, and popular legal consciousness.

Contrary to longtime assumptions about the insular nature of imperial China's legal system, Circulating the Code demonstrates that in the Qing dynasty (1644–1911) most legal books were commercially published and available to anyone who could afford to buy them. Publishers not only extended circulation of the dynastic code and other legal texts but also enhanced the judicial authority of case precedents and unofficial legal commentaries by making them more broadly available in convenient formats. As a result, the laws no longer represented privileged knowledge monopolized by the imperial state and elites. Trade in commercial legal imprints contributed to the formation of a new legal culture that included the free flow of accurate information, the rise of nonofficial legal experts, a large law-savvy population, and a high litigation rate. Comparing different official and commercial editions of the Qing Code, popular handbooks for amateur legal practitioners, and manuals for community legal lectures, Ting Zhang demonstrates how the dissemination of legal information transformed Chinese law, judicial authority, and popular legal consciousness.

Electrical motor products reviews the energy efficiency management laws for electrical motor products in United States, European Union (EU) and China. The energy efficiency certification requirements for the electrical motor products vary from country to country and are summarised here. International standards, testing methods and certification requirements for specific electrical motor products are discussed, including electric motors, pumps and fans. Finally, methods for improving energy efficiency are examined.

The study of elderly entrepreneurship and its potential impact on labor, Social Security funds and regional economic growth is of significant importance, particularly for the US economy where population aging coincidentally intersects with the economic shift to a “knowledge economy”. On the one hand, aging, combined with a declining average retirement age, is expected to result in labor force shortages and Social Security fund exhaustion; yet on the other hand, the “knowledge economy” could elevate the value of elderly human capital as the “knowledge economy” is less physically demanding and more human-capital- and knowledge-based. Building on the utility maximization theory, economic growth theories and social theories of aging, this timely book addresses the old-age effect on entrepreneurial propensity; the sources of seniors' entrepreneurship, including the social and policy variables affecting seniors' entrepreneurship; and the economic, fiscal and labor impacts of elderly entrepreneurship.