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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.

  • Encyclopedia of Ecology

    • 3rd Edition
    • Brian D. Fath
    • English
    Encyclopedia of Ecology, Third Edition, Four Volume Set - with over 300 chapters - once again provides a comprehensive reference work covering the current ideas and practices in ecology.Ecology is the ideal field for studying complex, adaptive, and self-organizing systems and by observing and understanding ecosystems, it provides valuable insights into creating sustainable systems. This knowledge is essential for addressing challenges in areas such as land management, environmental policy development, urban metabolism, industrial symbiosis, the global commons, and renewable energy.Ecology traditionally focused on measuring species abundance and distribution through field observations to establish a baseline understanding of nature. More recently, it emphasizes the relationships within populations, among species, and with their environment—networks of life central to this encyclopedia. Understanding these ecological connections is key to sustainability science and human-nature interactions. Current research spans biodiversity loss, soil conservation, sustainable agriculture, emerging diseases, eco-mimicry, and climate change. Ecological education and environmental literacy are increasingly integrated into curricula.Written and edited by an international team of experts and with special focus on interdisciplinary work in socio-ecological systems, this 3rd edition again links theory with application, and helps allow students needing entry-level summaries of specific ecology topics to create connections and find relevant, more in-depth resources in this exciting field.

  • 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.

  • AI-Driven Urban Planning

    Shaping the Future of Cities
    • 1st Edition
    • Zhong-Ren Peng
    • English
    AI-Driven Urban Planning: Shaping the Future of Cities presents a comprehensive guide to the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in urban planning. This book equips readers with the knowledge to harness data, analytics, and AI for creating sustainable, equitable, and livable urban environments. Exploring diverse applications—from understanding human mobility patterns to enhancing disaster response strategies and optimizing design processes—the book offers practical projects and illustrates how AI is shaping contemporary urban landscapes. By addressing both theoretical and practical dimensions, this resource aims to empower students, professionals, and policymakers with a holistic understanding of Urban Planning AI.It is organized into five parts, each tackling crucial aspects of Urban Planning AI. It first introduces core concepts, types, mechanisms, and ethical considerations surrounding AI. Part II then discusses the history of computer applications in urban and regional planning. Part III focuses on AI Applications in Urban Planning, addressing critical domains such as transportation, environmental, housing, economic, participatory, and health and safety planning. Part IV tackles challenges and ethical considerations, emphasizing equity, transparency, and data-related issues. Lastly, Part V explores future pathways of urban planning AI, discussing current trends, future visions, and interdisciplinary approaches essential for effective governance and policymaking.

  • 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.

  • Digital Transformation in Retail Supply Chain Management for Logistics 5.0

    • 1st Edition
    • Adnan Ahmed Sheikh + 3 more
    • English
    Digital Transformation in Retail Supply Chain Management for Logistics 5.0 explains how these technologies are reshaping retail supply chain management. The book elucidates on the digital tools and strategies organizations can employ to optimize their retail supply chain management, minimize costs, enhance customer satisfaction, and achieve sustainability objectives through industry 5.0-enabled technologies. It innovatively blends the details of recent advancements across retail supply chains and supply chain-related digital transformations. Its cutting-edge perspective makes it an invaluable asset for industry professionals, policymakers, business owners, managers, researchers, practitioners, academicians, instructors, and students in retail, logistics supply chain management, digital business, and innovation.The book explores the nuances of the Supply Network 5.0, discussing the synergy between humans and machines, especially in the context of robotic process automation systems and artificial intelligence tools in the “new normal” of retail supply chain management. In addition, it specifically addresses textile products, FMCG, online products, construction, food and beverages, the shoe industry, SMEs, and other manufacturing sectors. Other sections delves into the often-overlooked environmental sustainability ramifications of the Fifth Industrial Revolution.

  • International Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics

    • 3rd Edition
    • Volume 14
    • Hilary Nesi + 1 more
    • English
    Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics, 14 Volume Set is the most authoritative, comprehensive and international reference work of its kind. Ground-breaking in its sheer scope – the 2nd edition had almost 3,000 chapters – no other linguistics reference work matches it for sheer broadness of coverage. Over the years it has been a much-loved and invaluable resource for researchers, academics, students and professionals in linguistics, anthropology, education, psychology, language acquisition and pathology, cognitive science, sociology and media/cultural studies. Led by a brand new and outstanding international editorial team, the 3rd edition will be thoroughly modernized to address the considerable growth and development in this field since the previous edition published in 2005. Existing chapters will be revised and updated, obsolete material removed and approximately 300 brand-new chapters will be commissioned to cover newer areas of research such as machine learning and natural language processing. Significant multimedia such as high-quality figures, audio files (highlighting differences in accent and dialects within languages) will be available to complement the text content, and chapters will follow a consistent chapter template in order to provide a logical reading experience for the user. The end-result will be an outstanding and market-leading reference work: modern, fully up to date, easy to navigate via its electronic platform, and logistically and consistently structured. Once again it will be the perfect resource for the modern-day language scholar.

  • 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 the Economics of Climate Change

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 2
    • English
    Handbook of the Economics of Climate Change, Volume Two provides readers from a broad range of backgrounds – including students, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners – with a central reference for core elements the economics of climate change. Topics in this new release include Mitigation Costs, Climate Change, Climate Policy, and Development, Climate Change, Climate Policy, and Trade, Climate Change, Climate Policy, and Financial Markets, Industrial Climate Policy, Technology, and Innovation, Climate, Health, and Human Behavior, Critical Perspectives on Climate Economics, and Future Directions for Climate Economics.

  • Measuring Transportation Network Performance

    Analysis and Practice
    • 1st Edition
    • Mahdi Amiripour
    • English
    Measuring Transportation Network Performance: Analysis and Practice provides a comprehensive guide on how to define and construct performance measures for transportation networks. Sections introduce the technical requirements necessary for establishing a successful transportation network performance measurement system, enabling transportation professionals to define, analyze, and interpret changes in the transportation network more effectively. Practical examples are used to highlight challenges encountered in network performance monitoring, and to point out common errors to enhance comprehension of the network. This book is specifically designed to aid professionals by presenting and explaining the most significant performance measures across various modes of transport.Readers from a range of backgrounds—from transportation planners and engineers in the industry sector, to people in transport departments and consultancies that provide professional services to the public sector—will find this a valuable resource for gaining the confidence to use transportation data to narrate stories about what has happened within the transport network, thus bridging the gap between data and storytelling for efficient problem solving.

  • Models and Measures for Sustainable City Logistics

    Behavioral Choice Processes
    • 1st Edition
    • Francesco Russo + 1 more
    • English
    Models and Measures for Sustainable City: Behavioral Choice Processes Logistics offers a thorough understanding of urban freight movements, focusing on behavioral aspects of consumers. It outlines the role of modelling the behavioral aspects of people determining urban freight movements, mapping the behavior of the end consumer and the retailer which generates freight movements in an urban context. It provides new methods of urban freight transport simulation, taking into account the challenges of sustainable development goals, and uses the most recent approaches in modelling for city logistics scenario design and planning. It also outlines the relationships between measures and main components (expressed by indicators) of sustainable development.This book guides readers in implementing the most effective city logistics measures and actions, addressing the choice of a set of measures and the definition of planning scenarios. Readers are introduced to simulation methods for estimating impacts and system performance, which can be used for comparing the future scenario outcomes according to the set of target indicators defined by Agenda 2030. The book first specifies end consumer behaviors in purchasing processes, analyzing the individual phases of the purchase. The retailer’s behaviors are then specified, and after specifying the patterns of the decision makers, the quantities of goods that constitute the references for the choices of the decision makers are analyzed. Finally, the book presents the problems whose solution makes it possible to identify the vehicles of the various types and then the flows on the network. The overall structure of the model system and the specification of each single model are then given. Some models calibrated in different real cases are presented, highlighting their applicability to other contexts. Finally, implementable measures are presented and the relationships between measures and main components (expressed by indicators) of sustainable development are examined.Transport technicians, post-graduate students, and academics alike will find this a valuable resource for understanding how to incorporate user behavior into transport planning and logistics modeling, ultimately helping them to optimize processes and promote sustainability.

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