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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.

  • Library Career Management in the Digital Age

    A New Tool for Development
    • 1st Edition
    • Katarina Michnik
    • English
    Library Career Management in the Digital Age, A New Tool for Development presents a new model, the Librarian Career Management Tool, that can be used to identify and structure possible opportunities and challenges to the career development of academic librarians in the digital age. Because of this heterogeneity in the field, there is a need for a theoretical and practical tool that distils variation down to fundamental principles which people can then work with. The tool discussed in the book collates all possible career paths into a taxonomy of influencing factors and natural relationships between these factors for the digital librarian context.The advantage of modeling these distinct patterns is to enable informed and far-sighted decisions on the motivations for the next steps in an individual’s career. In addition, it enables key trends in digital information management to be better understood.
  • The Solo Librarian

    A Practical Handbook
    • 1st Edition
    • Lucy Roper
    • English
    Actively diversifying the content to increase its relevance to an international audience, this practical handbook provides a one-stop-shop with accompanying time-saving templates that can be easily adapted to help aid the daily activities and processes often faced by those working in information, knowledge, libraries and related disciplines.The Solo Librarian: A Practical Handbook provides an internationally applicable and practical handbook that shows a timeline of key activities that happen throughout, in this example, an academic year. Sections provide examples on Acquisitions, cataloguing, updating library guidance (before academic year start - September), Student and Staff Inductions (September/October), Quarterly Business Review to review updates and library usage (Oct – Dec), Library cover over student/staff holiday period (Dec), Quarterly Business Review (Jan – Mar), Quality standard(s) re-accreditation (April), Research methods/study skills webinars (April), Library cover over student holiday period (April), Quarterly Business Review (April –June), and much more.The idea behind this practical handbook is to provide guidance and templates to cover responsibilities, challenges, benchmarking, acquisitions, classification, archiving, copyright management, and so much more.
  • Being a Sustainable Firm

    Takeaways for a Sustainability-Oriented Management
    • 1st Edition
    • Maria Cristina Longo + 1 more
    • English
    Being a Sustainable Firm: Takeaways for a Sustainability-Orien... Management addresses the key strategic issues that firms encounter when entering the complex world of sustainability. Faced with a proliferation of approaches, regulations and procedures, the text outlines the contours of the meaning of being a sustainable firm and provides a theoretical framework within which to place the environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategic decisions.The volume critically retraces the way in which companies approach sustainability starting from the EU SDG goals content and the set of indicators for sustainable business. It pays particular attention to SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 12: Ensure Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns for their interrelationships and implications on the firm competitiveness and the development of cities of the future. In addition, it unfolds across the broad spectrum of international standards and sustainability reporting guidelines, as relevant voluntary socio-environmental reporting systems recognized at international level. Understanding the logic of sustainability reporting and applying sustainable reporting models to specific business areas offers critical insights and application tools for organizations committed to integrating sustainability into their business and creating new sources of value starting from a common vision of sustainable development and social responsibility. The book highlights these aspects by linking them to the firm challenges and sustainability models in sectors particularly interested in sustainable development, including fashion, tourism, and public-private partnerships for sustainable local communities.The book provides useful support for students and scholars of managerial disciplines, interested in the topics of innovation management, sustainability-based strategies, sustainable entrepreneurship, socio-environmental reporting systems and performance evaluation. The delineation of the regulatory framework and sustainability reporting standards within which strategic decisions are placed constitutes a valuable guide for consultants and entrepreneurs interested to deepen the state of the art of the tools connected to corporate sustainability management and provides takeaways for managers and practitioners on sustainable practices implementation and reporting of activities.
  • Health on the Move 3: the Reviews

    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 13
    • English
    Health on the Move 3: the Reviews, Volume 13 covers this important field of interdisciplinary study. As part of the Transport and Health Science Group’s process of updating Health on the Move 2 it has commissioned a number of in-depth reviews of various aspects of the field. This new release includes chapters such as T&H, inequalities, social exclusion, etc., What are the impacts of disability on travel?, What interventions increase active travel?, Impact of active commuting to school on children’s health: an overview of systematic reviews, How important is travel mode in determining injury and fatality rates related to travel?, and more.Other chapters in this new release include What are the impacts of area-wide 20mph [30kph] speed limits?, What policies are effective in reducing congestion?, What are the economic and social impacts of public transport and how do these relate to health?, Health outcomes of public transport: a systematic review, Transport and Loneliness, Costs of transport and mental health and wellbeing, and What contribution does each of the factors affecting gender differences in travel patterns make?
  • Securing Integrated Transportation Networks

    • 1st Edition
    • Gary A. Gordon + 1 more
    • English
    Securing Integrated Transportation Networks provides a comprehensive look at multimodal transportation security—its dynamics, evolving threats, and technology advances that enhance operational security and related infrastructure protection and hardening, as well as the regulatory environment. As threats are evolving, so is the technology used in enhancing transportation security, operational procedures, and regulations. This book addresses this dynamic evolution of transportation security, serving as a primary reference for information on the range of activities and components involved in transportation security. It covers the myriad parts involved in the relationship between, and among, logistics, the supply chains and transportation entities, and more.In addition, it looks at operations, infrastructure, equipment, laws and regulations, policies and procedures, and risk focused on transportation safety and security by mode and transportation in general. Cooperation and partnering with and among the industry, to include transportation providers and government agencies, is the way forward to ensure that security is maintained and keeps pace with the evolving threat and regulatory landscape.
  • Safe and Sustainable Arctic Shipping Management and Development

    • 1st Edition
    • Mawuli Afenyo + 2 more
    • English
    Safe and Sustainable Arctic Shipping Management and Development presents insight into the Arctic and shipping and natural resource exploration in the region. The book discusses the challenges in harnessing the Arctic's potential, and making it sustainable and productive. It enables both researchers and practitioners to apply the theoretical knowledge obtained in the field to solve challenging issues. The book focuses on the management and development of Arctic shipping, including the use of shipping for natural resource exploration and the socio-economic implications of shipping activities. Sections cover the geography, planning, environmental, economics, management, policy, regulations, and governance.The book also closely integrates the implications of Arctic activities with indigenous ways of life. It is divided into four major sections, namely Theoretical Settings, Economic Opportunities and Risks, Operational Challenges, and Environmental and Social Implications. This book is a quality companion to any researchers, policymakers, and industrial practitioners involved in transport and environmental planning and management as a solid platform for further research, planning, and development of appropriate policies and practices.
  • Homelessness to Hope

    Research, Policy and Global Perspectives
    • 1st Edition
    • Uday Chatterjee + 4 more
    • English
    Homelessness to Hope: Research, Policy and Practices on Global Perspectives brings together stories, observations and critical appraisals that have emerged out of interdisciplinary studies spanning the global North and South. It explores how diverse accounts on homelessness and homeless people are situated within the structural-instituti... arrangements of the developing and developed worlds. Through its comparative framework, the book offers a broader understanding of the multiple ways in which homelessness is experienced, perceived, and addressed. The book uses cross-cutting theoretical framings (such as resilience, wellbeing, social-ecological systems, sustainability, urban planning, institutions, gender) and emerging discourses on homelessness to complement current empirical findings.In addition, it provides insights on diverse concepts, meanings, perceptions, identities, and values concerning homelessness across rural and urban settings to promote a comprehensive understanding. In doing so, the book critically addresses the limits of contemporary discussions on homelessness, eviction, and poverty. Broadly, the book's authors explore the causations and processes of homelessness to shed light on physical, social, ontological, territorial, and cognitive facets of homelessness at both local and regional contexts across the world. Furthermore, the book lays a strong focus on viable transitions through identifying, comparing, and advocating for inclusive, collaborative, actionable measures and policies.
  • Landscape Evolution of Continental-Scale River Systems

    A Case Study of North America’s Pre-Pleistocene Bell River Basin
    • 1st Edition
    • Volume 24
    • James W. Sears
    • English
    Landscape Evolution of Continental-Scale River Systems: A Case Study of North America's Pre-Pleistocene Bell River Basin provides a detailed case study and complete analysis of this continental-scale North American paleo-river system. The book uses detrital zircon provenance data to link incision of the Grand Canyon to deposition of its erosional products in a giant drowned delta in the Labrador Sea, in the context of sedimentary source-to-sink processes and Plio-Pleistocene continental drainage changes. The case study describes the tectonic changes in this continental-scale paleo-river system, with global implications, and contrasts this system to other continental-scale river systems around the world.This book is a valuable reference for postgraduate students, academics and researchers in the fields of geology, fluvial geomorphology and other geosciences. Readers will be able to use this detailed case study to better understand the implications for how active tectonics of headwaters regions influence delta deposition in continental-scale river systems around the world.
  • The Metaverse and Smart Cities

    Urban Environments in the Age of Digital Connectivity
    • 1st Edition
    • Zaheer Allam + 1 more
    • English
    The Metaverse and Smart Cities: Urban Environments in the Age of Digital Connectivity explores the intersection between the rapidly growing metaverse and the future of cities. The metaverse is a virtual world that is increasingly gaining attention as a new frontier for human interaction and commerce. At the same time, cities are undergoing significant transformation as they face challenges such as population growth, urbanization, and environmental degradation. Urban planners and city administrators will find valuable insights on how the metaverse can be integrated into the planning and development of smart, sustainable, and future cities.The book begins with an introduction to the concepts and technology of the metaverse as well as its history. It then sheds light on the current and future challenges and opportunities that the metaverse presents to cities and the quality of life of urban dwellers. It delves into the ways in which the metaverse can change cities, both in terms of their physical and virtual environments, and the impact it can have on the lives of those who live in them. It brings together the latest research and perspectives from experts in the fields of virtual reality, urban planning, and sustainability, to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of this rapidly evolving field.
  • Managing Airport Corporate Performance

    Leveraging Business Intelligence and Sustainable Transition
    • 1st Edition
    • Dimitrios J. Dimitriou + 2 more
    • English
    Managing Airport Corporate Performance: Leveraging Business Intelligence and Sustainable Transition provides a comprehensive and up-to-date resource that explores the integration of business intelligence (BI) techniques in management practices of airport operators. The book sheds light on how BI can play a pivotal role in enhancing corporate performance, strategic decision-making, and operational efficiency within the aviation industry. It uniquely explores the relationship between intelligent and effective management practices in airport operations and the achievement of corporate performance objectives in the aviation industry.This book showcases the practical applications of BI in the airport operators' context by providing a contemporary and holistic review of the strategies, best practices, and challenges involved in managing airport operations based on BI to drive corporate performance. Additionally, it recognizes the increasing focus on sustainability and the need for airport operators to align their operations with environmental considerations, corporate social responsibility, and economic viability.