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Books in Social sciences

The Social Sciences collection forms a definitive resource for those entering, researching, or teaching in any of the many disciplines making up this interdisciplinary area of study. Written by experts and researchers from both Academic and Commercial domains, titles offer global scope and perspectives.

Key subject areas include: Library and Information Science; Transportation; Urban Studies; Geography, Planning, and Development; Security; Emergency Management.

  • China's Experience in Eco Cities and Green Transport

    • 1st Edition
    • Huapu Lu
    • English
    China's Experience in Eco Cities and Green Transport helps readers develop a deeper understanding of major changes and ongoing developments in ecological cities and green transportation in China. Using case studies from 28 cities that explore urban transportation construction, the book details field surveys and data retrieval, along with authoritative data that is used to analyze the Chinese experience. The book encourages readers to explore current and future developments in China, thus paving the way for high-quality urban planning and development. Importantly, the book also discusses the implications of the Chinese experience for other countries.Each chapter provides an overview of the city's unique characteristics, including its land use and urban layout, motorization and transportation infrastructure, public transit system, specialized transportation modes, development of slow traffic systems, ecological initiatives, urban culture, and civility, along with key highlights and lessons learned from the city's experience.

  • Assembling Smart Cyber-Physical Systems

    Heterogeneous, Diffuse and Green Technological Infrastructures for Cities and Industries
    • 1st Edition
    • Zakaria Benomar + 3 more
    • English
    Assembling Smart Cyber-Physical Systems: Heterogeneous, Diffuse and Green Technological Infrastructures for Cities and Industries offers a comprehensive approach on how to design, implement, and use Cyber Physical Systems (CPSs)-computing systems with a strong interaction between the physical environment (equipped with sensors and actuators) and the cyber realm (the Cloud). Through a carefully structured methodological approach to systems design, readers will learn how the infrastructure continuum represents our environment, where we can move from edge computing to the Cloud, going through fog resources to set up an entire framework for services deployment and application in smart cities and industries.As dealing with complex systems has become increasingly difficult, CPSs are increasingly critical to cope with integrating software, which people are used to, with hardware, which is distributed among different domains. This book shows how to deal with such systems where there is no distinction among the different parts: computing, storage, networking, and IoT all contribute to setting up the modern processing environments, thus it is mandatory to keep them simultaneously under control.

  • Symbiotic Planning for Urban Futures

    A Paradigm for Human-AI Co-Creation
    • 1st Edition
    • Zhong-Ren Peng
    • English
    Symbiotic Planning for Urban Futures: A Paradigm for Human-AI Co-Creation presents a framework for harnessing AI's analytical power while preserving democratic control over urban futures. This book establishes symbiotic planning as a falsifiable paradigm—grounded in five technology-neutral axioms and operationalized through governed friction—where AI acts as governed co-creator across the CORE framework: Collaboration, Options, Refinement, Execution. It clarifies distinct roles: AI synthesizes evidence, generates non-obvious options, and stress-tests plans; planners steward assumptions and translate values into constraints; communities contest and refine constraints; and authorized decision-makers set ends and grant time-bound approvals. Equity is treated as a primary design constraint, with equity floors as binding guardrails.This book serves as essential resource for urban planners, civic technologists, policymakers, researchers, and students committed to democratic urban governance in an algorithmic age. It provides actionable governance tools, including Civic Evidence Dossiers, Authorization Forums, Equity Gates, and a 100-Day Starter Kit, ensuring AI remains transparent, contestable, and subject to renewal. Whether navigating AI procurement, studying algorithmic accountability, or organizing for transparent decision-making, this book empowers readers to make cities more resilient, equitable, and democratically co-governed.

  • Navigating Education 5.0 into the Metaverse

    Educational Technologies of the Future
    • 1st Edition
    • Robertas Damaševičius
    • English
    Navigating Education 5.0 into the Metaverse: Educational Technologies of the Future addresses the informational needs and daily challenges of readers by providing a comprehensive, up-to-date resource on the latest ideas and advances in educational technologies, and by offering guidance on how to effectively integrate these technologies into teaching practice and design technology-enhanced learning experiences. This is an area of key current interest to educators, librarians and researchers.

  • Reinventing Transit for the 21st Century

    • 1st Edition
    • Baruch Feigenbaum
    • English
    Reinventing Transit for the 21st Century addresses the critical state of urban transit systems in the U.S., exacerbated by declining ridership and looming fiscal challenges post-COVID. The book advocates for substantial reforms, including transitioning to contracted services, fostering competition, and redesigning transit boards to emphasize expertise over politics. It also calls for integrating various service modes and adopting new technologies to reduce costs and enhance the rider experience.Spanning 10 chapters, the book begins with an overview of current transit systems and the factors behind their decline. It outlines a vision for modern transit, focusing on customer needs, service redesign, complementary services like bike-sharing, funding mechanisms, and international lessons on contracting. Governance improvements and the role of technology are also discussed, with a concluding chapter presenting a model 21st-century transit system.Accessible to political leaders, transit executives, researchers, planners, and riders, the book includes a glossary for clarity. It emphasizes the importance of serving transit-dependent riders, often from lower-income Communities of Color, to boost ridership and provide essential services. This book is essential for anyone invested in the future of urban transit.

  • Tech-Powered Sustainability

    Revolutionizing Green Public Services
    • 1st Edition
    • Maria José Sousa + 3 more
    • English
    Tech-Powered Sustainability: Revolutionizing Green Public Services explores how technology can transform the public sector by integrating sustainability and innovation. This groundbreaking book addresses the critical gap in existing literature by investigating the intersection of technological advancements, governance, and environmental responsibility in public services. It covers essential topics, including green digital initiatives, innovation in public policies, ESG standards, and the ethical implications of emerging technologies, while also acknowledging the barriers to digitalization and automation.The book is structured into four parts: it begins with innovations in public administration and green services, discussing topics like the integration of green innovation and the efficiency of digital solutions. The second part focuses on tech-powered public services, exploring human machine collaboration, blockchain, AI, and cybersecurity. The third part presents real-world case studies from various countries, showcasing sustainable technological innovations in public services. Finally, the book examines management systems and discusses how to evaluate green public policies, offering future scenarios for sustainable governance.A must-read for professors, students, public managers, policymakers, researchers, and technology specialists, this book equips its audience with the knowledge and strategies necessary to implement effective digital governance. With insights into overcoming challenges and enhancing public service quality, readers will be positioned at the forefront of sustainable innovation in the public sector.

  • From Urban Air Mobility to the Low-Altitude Economy

    Concepts, Confluence, and Challenges
    • 1st Edition
    • Xiaoqian Sun + 2 more
    • English
    From Urban Air Mobility to the Low-Altitude Economy: Concepts, Confluence, and Challenges offers a rigorous overview of the emerging low-altitude economy, focusing on the scientific, technological, and regulatory aspects of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft. This volume synthesizes cutting-edge research and industry advancements to illuminate the transformative potential of autonomous aerial vehicles in urban transportation and logistics. It uniquely addresses the broader economic, environmental, and infrastructural implications of the low-altitude economy beyond traditional UAM perspectives. The book is organized into four parts, beginning with foundational concepts of UAM and the low-altitude economy, followed by integration strategies, safety, and emerging technologies. It then presents industry experiences and case studies covering cargo, passenger transport, emergency services, environmental surveillance, military operations, and more. The final section discusses challenges in transitioning to the low-altitude economy, including factors such as technological, regulatory, economic, social, and environmental. This resource benefits aviation industry professionals, urban planners, and transportation engineers seeking to integrate eVTOL and UAM systems. Aerospace engineers and sustainability experts gain insights into technological innovations and environmental considerations. Academic researchers and graduate students in aerospace engineering, computer science, and data science will find comprehensive knowledge on the evolving urban air mobility landscape and its economic impacts.

  • Global Risks and Energy System Resilience

    • 1st Edition
    • Jun Zhao + 2 more
    • English
    Global Risks and Energy System Resilience examines the intricate interplay between various global risks and the resilience of energy systems. This comprehensive reference delves into the complex geopolitical, economic, and financial factors that shape energy security today, offering a structured framework for understanding and addressing challenges. It covers crucial topics such as the evolution of energy system resilience, the development of an evaluation framework, and the quantification of the impacts of geopolitical, financial, and economic risks. Researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals in energy strategy and policy evaluation, energy system resilience optimization, and risk avoidance policies will find this book invaluable.This book follows the logical framework of “indicator measurement-impact assessment-scenario prediction.” It first analyzes the current situation and provides an overview of global risks and the energy system resilience, then measures the levels of different types of global risks and energy system resilience, and then analyzes the spatio-temporal evolution law. Second, the theoretical transmission mechanism of different kinds of risks on energy system resilience is analyzed through literature and theoretical review. Next, the actual impacts of different kinds of risks on energy system resilience are assessed by corresponding econometric models. Finally, the influencing factors affecting the resilience of energy systems under a digital background are identified to predict the future development of energy system resilience.

  • Handbook of Culture and Economic Behavior

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 1
    • English
    Handbook of Culture and Economic Behavior, Volume One, the latest release in this series, highlights new advances in the field, with this new volume presenting interesting chapters on a variety of interesting topics such as Understanding the Cultural Foundation of Psychology, Ethnographic Records, Folklore, and AI, On the Measurement of Social Heterogeneity, The Global Variation in Economic Preferences, The Nature of Culture, Do liberal institutions sustain the liberal culture they require? Endogenous social preferences and why they matter, Identity Economics and the Economics of Culture, Economic Models of Cultural Transmission, Models of Norms, Markets and Religious Institutions, and Parenting Styles.

  • Positioning Your Library for the 21st Century

    Strategies for Engagement, Relevance and Sustainability
    • 1st Edition
    • Cordelia Anderson
    • English
    Positioning Your Library for the 21st Century: Strategies for Engagement, Relevance, and Sustainability identifies and removes hidden barriers, equipping readers to enable libraries to uncover and eliminate operational and communication barriers that limit access, reduce engagement, or disproportionately impact underserved populations. The book provides readers with practical crisis response tools, delivering sample plans, templates, and checklists to help libraries prepare for immediate, emerging, and sustained crises, thus ensuring a confident, coordinated response when it matters most.Sections navigates advocacy and neutrality, enabling readers to support libraries in balancing commitments to equity and social justice with the responsibility to maintain broad public trust across diverse political and cultural perspectives, while also encouraging library leaders to examine the narrative they share with stakeholders and how that narrative supports or undermines long-term goals, relevance, and community support.

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