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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.

  • 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.

  • Technological Inclusion and Climate Innovation

    Comparative Pathways for Just and Equitable Transitions Across Global Societies
    • 1st Edition
    • Samuel Chukwujindu Nwokolo + 3 more
    • English
    Technological Inclusion and Climate Innovation: Comparative Pathways for Just and Equitable Transitions Across Global Societies offers a groundbreaking, equity-focused roadmap that redefines climate innovation by integrating sociotechnical inclusion, institutional foresight, and comparative global metrics. Sections cover global disparities in climate exposure and technological capacity, social equity, governance, cultural interfaces, national strategies, geopolitics, smart cities, circular economies, digital climate governance, innovation ecosystems, climate education, and future scenarios. Novel indices such as the Inclusion-Readiness Nexus (IRN), Innovation Gradient Index (IGI), and Synergistic Transition Potential (STP) are introduced to assess and compare climate-tech inclusion.The work also presents strategic foresight models and policy roadmaps for equitable climate technology deployment aligned with Sustainable Development Goals. It is invaluable to interdisciplinary scholars, policymakers, strategists, and practitioners engaged in sustainability, technology, governance, and equity. It benefits environmental scientists, political scientists, urban planners, STS scholars, digital sociologists, global governance experts, climate policy researchers, innovation economists, and professionals in public-private partnerships, climate-tech startups, and multilateral organizations.

  • Social Justice and Healthcare

    Intersections of Political Philosophy and Healthcare
    • 1st Edition
    • William O'Donohue
    • English
    Social Justice and Healthcare: Intersections of Political Philosophy and Healthcare addresses the pressing need for a comprehensive resource that connects the principles of social and economic justice with the realities of healthcare practice. Clinical psychologists and psychiatrists, nurses, and medical professionals face daily challenges related to fairness, discrimination, and access to care, yet lack a unified reference that integrates philosophical frameworks with actionable insights for healthcare delivery. The reference surveys nearly 70 influential social justice theorists and 20 healthcare economists, offering an extensive overview of major thought in this domain. Structured into two major sections, the book first explores the evolution of political philosophy as it relates to justice, fairness, and access, profiling key figures from Plato and Kant to Rawls and Nussbaum. The second section contextualizes these theories within the field of healthcare, introducing foundational health economists and examining core issues such as managed care, the Affordable Care Act, and healthcare reform. Each chapter distills complex ideas into accessible, clinically relevant summaries, providing the historical context and practical implications essential for healthcare professionals. Social Justice and Healthcare empowers clinicians with the knowledge to navigate ethical dilemmas, advocate for justice in healthcare systems, and improve patient outcomes. By integrating diverse scholarly voices and economic perspectives, this reference enhances critical thinking and problem-solving skills, equipping its readers to address inequities and advance reform within their clinical practice.

  • 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.

  • Safety Analysis and Risk Control

    From Theory to Implementation
    • 1st Edition
    • Mohammad Yazdi
    • English
    Safety Analysis and Risk Control: From Theory to Implementation provides a comprehensive overview of the fundamental principles of risk analysis, emphasizing their relevance and application in making safety a top priority across industries, offering both depth and breadth in coverage. Following an introduction to core concepts and methodologies, the book considers hazard identification, risk assessment techniques, mitigation strategies, and the implementation of safety measures, supported by real-world, integrated case studies and applications throughout. Each chapter provides practical exercises, tools, and resources to enable readers to apply safety and risk control concepts directly to their work environments.Interac... data sets, hosted on a companion website, encourage active engagement with the material, while an instructor's manual and lecture slides support teaching. As industries face increasingly complex safety challenges and regulatory requirements, this book fulfills an urgent need for clear guidelines and tools to implement effective risk control measures of relevance to students and professionals across the fields of occupational health and safety, environmental science, engineering, business management, and public health, among others.

  • Introduction to International Disaster Management

    • 5th Edition
    • Damon P. Coppola
    • English
    Introduction to International Disaster Management, Fifth Edition, offers an unbiased, global perspective for students and practitioners alike. It provides a comprehensive understanding of the disaster management profession, covering the varied sources of risk and vulnerability, the systems that exist to manage hazard risk, and the many different stakeholders involved, from individuals to global organizations. This text also serves as a reference on scores of disaster management topics, including various technological and intentional hazards, on international disaster management structures and systems, on global humanitarian spending and support, and much more. Taking a real-world approach with considerable illustration through case studies and recent and historical disaster events, this book prepares students interested in joining the disaster management community to understand the work they will be doing. In addition, it assists those who already work with the disaster management community by helping them better navigate this complex environment.Fully updated throughout, the new edition includes revised workflows and communications, coverage of emerging global hazards and recent disaster events, and revised sections on the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems, and emerging technologies for disaster risk reduction and resilience. Special emphasis is placed throughout on environmental justice, social justice, gender, and equality in global disaster management approaches. Recent disasters addressed across in-depth case studies include the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Tonga Eruption, regional heatwaves, the Beirut Port Explosion, the 2021 Haiti Earthquake, Typhoon Rai, the 2021 Surfside Condo Collapse, the 2022 South Asia Floods, and notable earthquakes. Another Voice - Expert Input boxes, along with extended exhibits, key word definitions, and chapter summaries enhance understanding, along with updated ancillary materials for students and instructors alike.

  • 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.

  • Smart Cities: A System of Systems Perspective

    Engineering, Analytics, and Innovations for Sustainable Urban Development
    • 1st Edition
    • Iman Rahimi + 3 more
    • English
    Smart Cities: A System of Systems Perspective offers a comprehensive exploration of System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) principles as they pertain to the development of smart cities. This multidisciplinary volume delves into how analytics and innovative technologies can transform urban environments, equipping readers with the knowledge to optimize city operations, enhance public services, and promote sustainable urban growth. With a blend of theoretical foundations, practical methodologies, and real-world examples, this book serves as an essential guide for anyone interested in the future of urban living.Structured into seven insightful parts, the book begins with the foundational concepts of SoSE and key principles of smart cities, exploring emergent behavior and interoperability. It then examines the integration of SoSE within urban infrastructure, highlighting the roles of IoT, AI, and machine learning. Subsequent sections focus on core technologies and analytical tools, including data analytics, predictive modeling, and decision support systems tailored for urban planning. Readers will also discover innovative solutions to pressing urban challenges, such as sustainability, cybersecurity, and governance, alongside detailed case studies showcasing successful smart city initiatives from around the globe.This book is invaluable for academics and researchers in urban studies, engineering, analytics, IoT, and AI, as well as data scientists and analytics professionals working with urban datasets. Graduate and postgraduate students in engineering, analytics, computer science, or urban studies will find it a crucial resource, while educators designing courses on smart cities or system analytics can leverage its insights to enhance their curriculum. Whether you are a policymaker, planner, or industry professional, Smart Cities: A System of Systems Perspective provides the tools and knowledge needed to navigate and shape the future of urban development.

  • The Next Frontiers of Quantum Generative Intelligence for Smarter Eco-Cities

    Transforming Environmental Sustainability Through Augmented Deep Generative and Foundation Models
    • 1st Edition
    • Simon Elias Bibri
    • English
    The Next Frontiers of Quantum Generative Intelligence for Smarter Eco-Cities: Transforming Environmental Sustainability Through Augmented Deep Generative and Foundation Models presents groundbreaking advances in the convergence of quantum computing, artificial intelligence, deep generative models, foundation models, and urban and environmental systems to transform sustainable urban development practices. The book offers conceptual frameworks, theoretical insights, evidence syntheses, applied innovations, operational models, empirical case studies, and real-world use cases that showcase how various forms of quantum-enhanced intelligence can advance the analysis, simulation, prediction, and optimization of energy systems, transportation networks, mobility flows, water and waste systems, biodiversity and ecosystems, air quality dynamics, and carbon capture processes while strengthening climate resilience in smarter eco-cities.Detailed chapters examine deep generative models, hybrid and mixed architectures, urban and environmental foundation models, hybrid quantum-classical architectures, quantum generative adversarial networks, quantum variational autoencoders, quantum diffusion models, and quantum transformer-based models, providing readers with foundational knowledge, applied methodologies, and practical solutions. The book bridges theoretical advances with deployment strategies, encompassing policy guidance and system constraints to support evidence-based decision-making in urban ecological sustainability contexts.This seminal resource benefits urban planners, city managers, environmental scientists, policymakers, technology experts, academics, and graduate students by equipping them with innovative tools and frameworks to design, operate, manage, and plan smarter eco-cities. It serves researchers and practitioners at the intersection of quantum AI, quantum generative AI, and urban-environmental systems, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration to address the urgent challenges of ecological degradation, resource depletion, and climate change.

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