Yan Ma Libri

"I'm so hungry, I could eat anything. Anything at all." In a drought-stricken corner of rural China, an education can be the difference between a life of crushing poverty and the chance for a better future. But for Ma Yan, money is scarce, and the low wages paid for backbreaking work aren't always enough to pay school fees . . . or even to provide enough food for herself and her family. Ma Yan's heart-wrenching, honest diary chronicles her struggle to escape hardship through her persistent, sometimes desperate, attempts to continue her schooling. Its publication was an international sensation, creating an outpouring of support for this courageous teenager and others like her . . . all due to one ordinary girl's extraordinary diary.

Focusing on urbanization, the book presents the Strategic Spatial Plan Support System (SSP-SS), designed to visualize population growth and forecast energy demand, land use, and waste discharge. It analyzes the interactions of household agents to assess policy impacts on urban development during various growth phases. Through simulations, it explores the relationship between energy and resource consumption and sustainable urban development. Targeted at researchers, universities, and urban policymakers, it serves as a valuable tool for informed decision-making in urban planning.

We are pleased to present the proceedings of the 11th Asia-Pacific Network Operations and Management Symposium (APNOMS 2008), held in Beijing, China, from October 22–24, 2008. This year’s theme, “Challenges for Next-Generation Network Operations and Service Management,” reflects the ongoing research and development in next-generation networks (NGNs), which are increasingly being deployed across Asia-Pacific countries. These advancements are giving rise to innovative services that leverage NGNs. As deployment continues, effective operations and management of NGNs and their services become crucial for network operators and service providers, who are also exploring more efficient management strategies. The call for papers attracted 195 submissions from 19 countries, including regions beyond Asia-Pacific such as Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas. Each submission underwent rigorous review by at least three international experts. The Technical Program Committee selected 43 high-quality papers (22.1% of submissions) as full papers and 34 as short papers. The accepted works were organized into ten technical sessions and two short paper sessions (poster presentations).

Walter Benjamins (1892-1940) Faszination für das Spiel durchzieht nahezu sein ganzes Leben. Schon in seiner Habilitationsschrift Ursprung des deutschen Trauerspiels, die er 1916 während seiner Studienzeit entwarf und 1925 abschloss, fasst er das barocke Theater als ein Spiel auf. Von 1927 bis zum Ende seines Lebens arbeitete er an zahlreichen Schriften zum Kinderspiel, zum Glücksspiel und zu verwandten Themen, wie dem Spieler oder dem Kinderspielzeug. Während die Wiederholung des Kinderspiels Erinnerung ermöglicht, schließt das Hasardspiel diese aus. Das Vergessen bildet dabei die notwendige Voraussetzung des Erinnerns: Um vergangene Szenen zu erinnern, müssen zunächst andere in Vergessenheit fallen. Die zwei Seiten des Spiels entsprechen auf diese Weise dem dynamischen Prozess von Erinnern und Vergessen, der nach Benjamin die Geschichte ausmacht. Im weiteren Verlauf der Untersuchung wird auch die Frage nach Vorbildern und Nachfolgern von Benjamins Konstruktion der Beziehung von Literatur und Spiel behandelt.