Wei Liang

With the rapid proliferation of information and communications technology, industrial automation has undergone a sweeping transformation toward intelligent manufacturing. Wireless communication is widely considered to be one of the key technologies enabling intelligent manufacturing. On one hand, deterministic communication with high reliability and low latency is typically required in industrial automation applications. On the other hand, wireless communication in industrial settings is hindered by strictly limited communication resources and many other factors which mainly derive from the shared and error-prone nature of the wireless channels used. The limited communication resources and harsh channel conditions pose considerable challenges for reliable, real-time data transmission in industrial wireless networks. Resource optimization methods are vital to ensuring the deterministic performance of industrial wireless networks. Traditional resource optimization methods adopt the isolated resource optimization methods for each protocol layer, which is inherently local-optimal and leads performance uncontrollable. To focus on “Performance Controllable Industrial Wireless Networks”, this book presents thejoint resource optimization methods across multiple protocol layers for industrial wireless networks; reviews recent, major advances; and discusses the practical implementations of the proposed methods. The joint resource optimization methods discussed here will greatly benefit scientists and researchers in the areas of industrial automation and Industrial Internet of Things. To gain the most from this book, readers should have a fundamental grasp of wireless communication, scheduling theory, and convex optimization.

With the rapid proliferation of information and communications technology, industrial automation has undergone a sweeping transformation toward intelligent manufacturing. Wireless communication is widely considered to be one of the key technologies enabling intelligent manufacturing. On one hand, deterministic communication with high reliability and low latency is typically required in industrial automation applications. On the other hand, wireless communication in industrial settings is hindered by strictly limited communication resources and many other factors which mainly derive from the shared and error-prone nature of the wireless channels used. The limited communication resources and harsh channel conditions pose considerable challenges for reliable, real-time data transmission in industrial wireless networks. Resource optimization methods are vital to ensuring the deterministic performance of industrial wireless networks. Traditional resource optimization methods adopt the isolated resource optimization methods for each protocol layer, which is inherently local-optimal and leads performance uncontrollable. To focus on “Performance Controllable Industrial Wireless Networks”, this book presents thejoint resource optimization methods across multiple protocol layers for industrial wireless networks; reviews recent, major advances; and discusses the practical implementations of the proposed methods. The joint resource optimization methods discussed here will greatly benefit scientists and researchers in the areas of industrial automation and Industrial Internet of Things. To gain the most from this book, readers should have a fundamental grasp of wireless communication, scheduling theory, and convex optimization.

This is an open access book. This book presents new theory and methods on compiling lithofacies paleogeographic maps as a key tool for guiding geological survey on shale gas. The fundamental goal of the shale gas geological survey is to find the ‘dessert’ area. It is therefore suggested that the lithofacies paleogeographic study and the technique of mapping should be a solid scientific basis for shale gas exploration. It takes Ordovician Wufeng-Silurian Longmaxi Formation in Sichuan Basin and its adjacent area as an example to illustrate how to find the ‘dessert’ area of shale gas in geological survey phase by compiling lithofacies paleogeographic map. It’s a valuable reference for both scientific research and teaching courses in the fields of sedimentary lithofacies, paleogeography, stratigraphy, and oil and gas.

This is an open access book. This book presents new theory and methods on compiling lithofacies paleogeographic maps as a key tool for guiding geological survey on shale gas. The fundamental goal of the shale gas geological survey is to find the ‘dessert’ area. It is therefore suggested that the lithofacies paleogeographic study and the technique of mapping should be a solid scientific basis for shale gas exploration. It takes Ordovician Wufeng-Silurian Longmaxi Formation in Sichuan Basin and its adjacent area as an example to illustrate how to find the ‘dessert’ area of shale gas in geological survey phase by compiling lithofacies paleogeographic map. It’s a valuable reference for both scientific research and teaching courses in the fields of sedimentary lithofacies, paleogeography, stratigraphy, and oil and gas.

China and East Asia’s Post-Crises Community: A Region in Flux, by Wei Liang and Faizullah Khilji, explores how an East Asian community is taking shape as a result of China’s emergence as a global economic power and the shocks of the financial crises emanating from the globalized financial system. Today’s East Asia shows a sharp break from the East Asia of the Cold War era, in both basis and orientation. Important elements in this shift include the regional economic integration propelled by China’s emergence as a processed manufacturing center in the world economy, the common problems posed by the working of the dollar-based international financial system, and the desire to develop institutions that help to formalize the economic integration and financial cooperation that is taking place, and may thus help protect and safeguard economic prosperity in the region. Liang and Khilji show how the approach to regional economic cooperation and developing institutions comes from the bottom up, lacking any leader nation, grand vision, or ideology. The manner in which the region comes to work together also has implications for the governance of the world economy, in particular the economic model that underlies policy formulation, the working of the international financial system, and the approach to the multilateral trading system. From a security oriented US-centric regional structure characterized as the hub and spokes system set up after the Second World War, this region is now more nearly an informal economic community, which increasingly appears to be China-centric. China and East Asia’s Post Crises Community presents one of the first attempts to weave together different strands of the current discussion to develop a framework for understanding a rapidly evolving East Asia region.