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Books in Social sciences and humanities

Prospects of Regional Economic Cooperation in South Asia
With Special Studies on indian Industry
1st Edition
December 7, 2011
Gordhan Saini
English
This book is aimed at researchers and students at graduate and post-graduate level in the field of economics and international trade. The book is written against the backdrop of sluggish progress of multilateral trade negotiations under the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) regime which has provided impetus to the signing of regional/bilateral trade agreements the world over. This book examines the prospects and impact of regional economic cooperation in the South Asia region using various approaches; and focuses specifically on the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). The book also includes special studies on Indian industries: pharmaceuticals, textiles and clothing, and traditional (i.e. lock, brassware and glassware) industries in north India.
Handbook of Health Economics
1st Edition
Volume 2
December 5, 2011
Mark V. Pauly + 2 more
English
What new theories, evidence, and policies have shaped health economics in the 21st century? Editors Mark Pauly, Thomas McGuire, and Pedro Pita Barros assemble the expertise of leading authorities in this survey of substantive issues. In 16 chapters they cover recent developments in health economics, from medical spending growth to the demand for health care, the markets for pharmaceutical products, the medical workforce, and equity in health and health care. Its global perspective, including an emphasis on low and middle-income countries, will result in the same high citations that made Volume 1 (2000) a foundational text.
Verbal Minds
Language and the Architecture of Cognition
1st Edition
December 5, 2011
Toni Gomila
English
Ten years ago, the hegemonic idea was that language was a kind of independent module within the mind, a sort of "print-out" of whatever cognitive activity was taking place, but without any influence whatsoever in that activity. While this view is still held, evidence amassed in the last 10 years suggests another view of their inter-relationships, even though exactly which one is not clear yet, in part because of the lack of a unified view, and in part because of the inertia of the previous position, in part because all this evidence must be considered together. An increasing number of researchers are paying attention to the issues involved as the human language specificity may provide a clue to understand what makes humans "smart," to account for the singularities of human cognition. This book provides a comprehensive review of the multiple developments that have taken place in the last 10 years on the question of the relationships between language and thought and integrates them into a coherent framework. It will be relevant for anyone working in the sciences of languages.
When Tradition Turns Into Innovation
How Firms Can Create and Appropriate Value Through Tradition
1st Edition
December 5, 2011
Antonio Petruzzelli + 1 more
English
Starting from the increasing difficulties firms face to create new value for customers and achieve competitive advantage, this book proposes an innovative strategy to sustain innovation at the product level, based on the notion of tradition. Specifically, the authors argue that firms may successfully innovate, exploiting the whole set of competencies, knowledge, values and culture that characterize a specific firm, territory, and/or age. Analyzing several international case studies, this book clearly shows how tradition may be effectively used, allowing companies to create successful new products and how to profit from them. The book tackles the main issues and problems of a tradition-based innovation approach, tracing the patterns of how old and new knowledge can be combined.
Introduction to Homeland Security
Principles of All-Hazards Risk Management
4th Edition
December 2, 2011
George Haddow + 2 more
English
Bullock, Haddow, and Coppola have set the standard for homeland security textbooks, and they follow up their #1-selling third edition with this substantially improved version. Students will value the decades of experience that the authors bring to their analysis, and the new edition offers still more research-based data to balance the field-tested practical information included in each chapter. Additionally, links to the most current online government information help to keep the text up-to-date in this rapidly developing field. As with its predecessors, the book clearly delineates the bedrock principles of preparing for, mitigating, managing, and recovering from emergencies and disasters. However, this new edition emphasizes their value with improved clarity and focus. NEW TO THIS EDITION: This edition has been thoroughly revised to include changes that are based both on changes relevant to the political, budgetary, and legal aspects of homeland security that have changed since the 2008 Presidential election (and subsequent change in the administration), but also in recognition of an expanding academic demand that is both larger in size and changing in scope (most notably with regard to an increase in the number of government employees and officials who are taking courses that have adopted the text). These include: an expansion of material on the organization of the Department of Homeland Security; strategic and philosophical changes that are recommended and/or that have occurred as a result of the Quadrennial Homeland Security Review completed in 2010; updated budgetary information on both homeland security programs and on the homeland security grants that have supported safety and security actions at the state and local levels, as well as in the private sector; and changes in the way the public perceives and receives information about security risk, including the possible elimination of the Homeland Security Advisory System.
An Interactive History of the Clean Air Act
Scientific and Policy Perspectives
1st Edition
December 1, 2011
Jonathan M Davidson + 1 more
English
The Clean Air Act of 1970 set out for the United States a basic, yet ambitious, objective to reduce pollution to levels that protect health and welfare. The Act set out state and federal regulations to limit emissions and the Environmental Protection Agency was established to help enforce the regulations. The Act has since had several amendments, notably in 1977 and 1990, and has successfully helped to increase air quality. This book reviews the history of the Clean Air Act of 1970 including the political, business, and scientific elements that went into establishing the Act, emphasizing the importance that scientific evidence played in shaping policy. The analysis then extends to examine the effects of the Act over the past forty years including the Environmental Protection Agency’s evolving role and the role of states and industry in shaping and implementing policy. Finally, the book offers best practices to guide allocation of respective government and industry roles to guide sustainable development. The history and analysis of the Clean Air Act presented in this book illustrates the centrality of scientific analysis and technological capacity in driving environmental policy development. It would be useful for policy makers, environmental scientists, and anyone interested in gaining a clearer understand of the interaction of science and policy.
Library Classification Trends in the 21st Century
1st Edition
November 18, 2011
Rajendra Kumbhar
English
Library Classification Trends in the 21st Century traces development in and around library classification as reported in literature published in the first decade of the 21st century. It reviews literature published on various aspects of library classification, including modern applications of classification such as internet resource discovery, automatic book classification, text categorization, modern manifestations of classification such as taxonomies, folksonomies and ontologies and interoperable systems enabling crosswalk. The book also features classification education and an exploration of relevant topics.
Succeed or Sink
Business Sustainability Under Globalisation
1st Edition
November 17, 2011
Chris Rowley + 2 more
English
Aimed at business strategists, policy makers, researchers and adult learners, this book has an Asian perspective on business sustainability and is about understanding how recent developments and future actions in one part of the world will have a global impact. The book magnifies the concept of so-called ‘globalisation’ and examines the topic of business sustainability from a broad and integrated approach to business: encapsulating people, prosperity and the planet. Furthermore, it acknowledges the contributions, challenges and potential of not only the big corporate houses, but also the smaller ones, in this situation. Chapters discuss the benefits organisations can attain with better governance, and social and environmental practices are also analysed.
Moving To The Cloud
Developing Apps in the New World of Cloud Computing
1st Edition
November 16, 2011
Geetha Manjunath + 1 more
English
Moving to the Cloud provides an in-depth introduction to cloud computing models, cloud platforms, application development paradigms, concepts and technologies. The authors particularly examine cloud platforms that are in use today. They also describe programming APIs and compare the technologies that underlie them. The basic foundations needed for developing both client-side and cloud-side applications covering compute/storage scaling, data parallelism, virtualization, MapReduce, RIA, SaaS and Mashups are covered. Approaches to address key challenges of a cloud infrastructure, such as scalability, availability, multi-tenancy, security and management are addressed. The book also lays out the key open issues and emerging cloud standards that will drive the continuing evolution of cloud computing.
HR Due Diligence
Mergers and Acquisitions in China
1st Edition
November 16, 2011
ChyeKok Ho + 1 more
English
This book examines how to conduct due diligence on mergers and acquisitions for organisations in China written from a management perspective. Aimed primarily at practitioners within the field of International Human Resource Management, it highlights models that appear straightforward and yet are susceptible to oversights and failings. It examines the roles of human resource practitioners from when a target company is identified for mergers or acquisitions through to assessing its risks. The book incorporates adopting human resource management strategies under differing business conditions, negotiating to secure the deal and integrating the new business unit to the merged or acquired organisation. This title gives a fantastically detailed analysis of due diligence, capturing the nuances of the Chinese way of doing things and how this affects a business environment.

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