Discussing the ongoing and future challenges of EU Cohesion Policy, this book critically addresses the economic, social and territorial challenges at the heart of the EU's policy. It identifies the multifaceted and dynamic nature of the policy as well as the interlinkage with other policies and considers unresolved questions of strategic importance in territorial governance, urban and regional inequalities, and social aspects and well-being. Interdisciplinary perspectives offer well-founded historical views, conceptual thoughts, policy insights and empirical analyses of EU Cohesion Policy, exploring under-represented territorial and spatial perspectives. Fostering a long term, visionary debate, the book looks into the controversial aspects of the policy. It concludes with a rich synthesis of the debate, emphasising three key concerns: disintegration as an alternative to the eroding idea of greater European integration; the discontent of cities and regions due to widening inequalities; and the discretion of member states which prevents the EU from engaging more deeply with social issues. With commentaries on each of the key areas provided by top scholars, this book will be an invigorating read for EU policy makers keen to gain a more critical understanding of key issues around territorial, social and economic cohesion. It will also be an insightful read for economic geography, spatial planning, political science, international relations, European studies and social science scholars in general.

This ground-breaking Handbook presents a state-of-the-art exploration of entropy, complexity, and spatial dynamics from fundamental theoretical, empirical and methodological perspectives. It considers how foundational theories can contribute to new advances, including novel modeling and empirical insights at different sectoral, spatial, and temporal scales. With the help of leading experts worldwide, the Handbook examines how and to what extent entropic and non-entropic forces and processes in complex spatial socio-economic systems shape and are shaped by their structure and dynamics. Moreover, considering current concerns that big data and related data-driven methods may signal an end to theory, this Handbook is intended to investigate the potential and possibilities for complexity science to engage, revitalize, and advance theory in spatial economics. Overall, this Handbook reaches beyond qualitative generalizations, contributing to the identification of fundamental structural and dynamic properties of the complex space-economy. Drawing upon diverse foundations and perspectives, the Handbook on Entropy, Complexity and Spatial Dynamics: A Rebirth of Theory? will be an essential resource for researchers and students of many fields and disciplines, including economics, urban planning and geography, regional science, information science, physics, and biology.

Fruit and Vegetable Waste Utilization and Sustainability presents strategies to address the amount of waste generated from the industrial processing of fruits and vegetables. Sections address the valorization of fruit and vegetable waste for high-value products, the techno-economic assessment of fruit and vegetable biorefinery/valorization, environmental impacts through real-life examples of lifecycle assessment, and content on integrated biorefineries, policies and case studies. Food scientists and nutrition researchers, as well as food industry professionals working toward zero waste and academics and students studying related fields, are sure to benefit from this reference.

This incisive Research Handbook examines the relationship between energy and society, across both macro- and micro-scales, in the context of the climate crisis. Featuring an extensive examination of current research in the field from fifty expert international contributors, it offers important insights into the inter-connections between the globally organised fossil fuel energy system and the changing structures of society. Structured in four thematic parts, the Research Handbook begins with an analysis of the evolution of large-scale energy production and consumption using coal, oil and gas. Chapters then explore social divisions and inequalities in energy systems in different countries, before moving on to discuss energy governance, policy and politics, along with strategies to achieve transformation. In the final part, the Research Handbook investigates forms of knowledge, stories and public engagement being used to re-make energy futures, concluding that social sciences are identifying the inter-locking societal and technical changes needed to enable rapid systemic changes in energy. The Research Handbook on Energy and Society will be a crucial resource for social science scholars and students interested in the intersections of energy, climate change and society, including aspects of governance, policy and politics, social identity, social justice and inequalities.

This cutting-edge book invites readers to rethink environmental law and its critical role in ensuring a sustainable future for all. Featuring international narratives, it demonstrates how environmental law can be a potent tool to secure multi-actor engagement, to improve ocean governance and to usher in effective policy reforms. Contributors illustrate narratives of successful historic and contemporary developments in environmental law, setting out innovative approaches to issues such as environmental enforcement and monitoring, effective forest protection, climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Drawing out key lessons and practices for effective reform, this insightful book highlights opportunities by which we can respond to the acute environmental challenges facing the planet. Bringing together perspectives from both established and up-and-coming scholars, this book will be of interest to academics and students of environmental law, as well as researchers of environmental management. Policy makers and practitioners will also find inspiration in fruitful stories of environmental law and policy reform. Contributors include: T.N. Adimazoya, T. Daya-Winterbottom, R.-L. Eisma-Osorio, D. Estrin, A. Foerster, L.L. Heng, E.A. Kirk, Y. Lin, R.V. Percival, F.-K. Phillips, A. Pickering, N. Robinson, J. Steinberg-Albin

Elgar Research Agendas outline the future of research in a given area. Leading scholars are given the space to explore their subject in provocative ways, and map out the potential directions of travel. They are relevant but also visionary. This timely Research Agenda provides a state-of-the-art review of existing research on manufacturing, as well as highlighting key areas of study to advance the field. Expert contributors from across the globe analyse the central role of manufacturing industries in the global economy, considering it as a multi-scalar process and assessing the impact of climate change in necessitating the decarbonization of production processes. Chapters identify and explore disruptive innovations in production technologies, including additive manufacturing, and their implications for future research. The book further highlights megatrends in automotive, electronics and emerging industries, including small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, Asian electronics production networks, global production networks, and operations and supply chain management. It develops a framework for accessing corporate elites and for guiding the process of undertaking qualitative semi-structured interviews. This Research Agenda will be a critical collection for economic geography, urban studies, city and regional planning, and business and management studies scholars seeking a forward-looking approach to the topic. It will also be useful to policymakers and practitioners working in regional economic development and planning.

Myxomycetes: Biology, Systematics, Biogeography and Ecology, Second Edition provides a complete collection of general and technical information on myxomycetes microorganisms. Its broad scope takes an integrated approach, considering a number of important aspects surrounding their genetics and molecular phylogeny. The book treats myxomycetes as a distinct group from fungi and includes molecular information that discusses systematics and evolutionary pathways. Written and developed by an international team of specialists, this second edition contains updated information on all aspects of myxomycetes. It incorporates relevant and new material on current barcoding developments, plasmodial network experimentation, and non-STEM disciplinary assimilation of myxomycete information. This book is a unique and authoritative resource for researchers in organismal biology and ecology disciplines, as well as students and academics in biology, ecology, microbiology, and similar subject areas. Cover image used with permission from Steve Young Photography

Personal Sustainability Practices is a collection of 19 academic and practitioner perspectives on the topic of faculty personal sustainability. The book addresses the issues of whether, how, where, and when faculty who teach, research, consult, and perform academic and community service are, or need to be, practicing and communicating their own sustainability behaviors to students and other stakeholders. The contributors represent multiple countries, disciplines, academic levels and affiliations, and orientations on those issues and on the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals related to their personal sustainability practices. The chapter contributions highlight the several main concepts of systems, internal and external integration, curriculum development, and social movements. The key takeaway is that many sustainability scholars are practicing and communicating a wide variety of sustainability actions but that greater consistency and frequency among faculty sustainability values, expression, and actions are generally possible and necessary, and that further exploration of this overall topic is encouraged. Current faculty and doctoral students in the field of environmental or socio-economic sustainability, as well as business, government and nonprofit organization executives who interact with said faculty, will be inspired by the examination of values and personal practices.

"Old maps lead you to strange and unexpected places, and none does so more ineluctably than the subject of this book: the giant, beguiling Waldseemuller world map of 1507." So begins this remarkable story of the map that gave America its name.
For millennia Europeans believed that the world consisted of three parts: Europe, Africa, and Asia. They drew the three continents in countless shapes and sizes on their maps, but occasionally they hinted at the existence of a "fourth part of the world," a mysterious, inaccessible place, separated from the rest by a vast expanse of ocean. It was a land of myth--until 1507, that is, when Martin Waldseemuller and Matthias Ringmann, two obscure scholars working in the mountains of eastern France, made it real. Columbus had died the year before convinced that he had sailed to Asia, but Waldseemuller and Ringmann, after reading about the Atlantic discoveries of Columbus's contemporary Amerigo Vespucci, came to a startling conclusion: Vespucci had reached the fourth part of the world. To celebrate his achievement, Waldseemuller and Ringmann printed a huge map, for the first time showing the New World surrounded by water and distinct from Asia, and in Vespucci's honor they gave this New World a name: America.
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The Fourth Part of the World "is the story behind that map, a thrilling saga of geographical and intellectual exploration, full of outsize thinkers and voyages. Taking a kaleidoscopic approach, Toby Lester traces the origins of our modern worldview. His narrative sweeps across continents and centuries, zeroing in on different portions of the map to reveal strands of ancient legend, Biblical prophecy, classical learning, medieval exploration, imperial ambitions, and more. In Lester's telling the map comes alive: Marco Polo and the early Christian missionaries trek across Central Asia and China; Europe's early humanists travel to monastic libraries to recover ancient texts; Portuguese merchants round up the first West African slaves; Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci make their epic voyages of discovery; and finally, vitally, Nicholas Copernicus makes an appearance, deducing from the new geography shown on the Waldseemuller map that the earth could not lie at the center of the cosmos. The map literally altered humanity's worldview.
One thousand copies of the map were printed, yet only one remains. Discovered accidentally in 1901 in the library of a German castle it was bought in 2003 for the unprecedented sum of $10 million by the Library of Congress, where it is now on permanent public display. Lavishly illustrated with rare maps and diagrams, "The Fourth Part of the World "is the story of that map: the dazzling story of the geographical and intellectual journeys that have helped us decipher our world.

Tapping the Oceans provides a detailed analysis of the political and ecological debates facing water desalination in the twenty-first century. Water supplies for cities around the world are undergoing profound geographical, technological and political transformations. Increasingly, water-stressed cities are looking to the oceans to fix unreliable, contested and over-burdened water supply systems. Yet the use of emerging desalination technologies is accompanied by intense debates on their economic cost, governance, environmental impact and poses wider questions for the sustainable and just provision of urban water. Through a series of cutting-edge case studies and multi-subject approaches, this book explores the perspectives, disputes and politics surrounding water desalination on a broad geographical scale. As the first book of its kind, this unique work will appeal to those researching water and infrastructure issues in the fields of political ecology, geography, environmental science and sustainability. Industry and water managers who wish to understand the political debates around desalination technology more fully will also find this an informative read. Contributors include: E. Feitelson, M. Fragkou, S. Gorostiza, A. Loftus, H. March, J. McEvoy, D. Pavon Gamero, D. Sauri, A. Scheba, S. Scheba, E. Swyngedouw, M. Usher, J. Williams

With human-induced environmental impacts disrupting human life in deeper ways and at a wider scale than anything previously experienced, this multidisciplinary book looks at the ways that current knowledge bases seem inadequate to help us deal with such realities. It offers a critical appraisal of the current knowledge infrastructure, including science, technology, innovation, education and informal knowledge systems. Contributions from a wide spectrum of social scientists, philosophers, activists and decision-makers tackle the importance of knowledge for the Anthropocene using a mosaic of data, theories, cases, models, methods and experiences. Chapters highlight what relevant knowledge will become critical to dealing with deteriorating environmental conditions, as well as how science, technology, education and innovation can be radically transformed to deal with these challenges. The book further explores the behavioural, economic, social and cultural aspects of the Anthropocene, and how knowledge impacts both these and our possible futures. This will be a critical read for human geography and environmental science scholars, as well as social science scholars more broadly, particularly with its in-depth glossary and digital resource list. It will also aid practitioners in the planning, design, management and evaluation of knowledge systems by providing deeper understandings of the potential circumstances of knowledge in the Anthropocene.

Waste Biorefineries: Advanced Design Concepts for Integrated Waste to Energy Processes presents a detailed guide to the design of energy-efficient and cost-effective waste-integrated biorefineries. Integrating thermochemical processing of waste with existing waste-to-energy technologies, the book includes the latest developments and technologies. It introduces current waste valorization techniques and examines reasons to modify existing waste-to-energy systems through the integration of new processes. In addition, the book explains the design of novel biorefineries and methods to assess these processes alongside detailed results, including the integration of waste-based CHP plants with waste gasification and the integration of pyrolysis technologies and biogas plants with waste thermochemical processing. Other sections discuss the issues and challenges of commercializing waste-to-energy technologies, including uncertainty in waste thermochemical process designs, the environmental impact of waste-integrated biorefineries, and the role of integrated waste-to-energy management in smart cities and urban energy systems. This book will be an invaluable reference for students, researchers and those in industry who are interested in the design and implementation of waste-to-energy systems, waste biomass-based combined heat and power plants, biogas plants and forest-based industries.

Modeling and Mitigation Measures for Managing Extreme Hydrometeorological Events Under a Warming Climate explores the most recent computational tools, modeling frameworks, and critical data analysis measures for managing extreme climate events. Extreme climate events-primarily floods and droughts-have had major consequences in terms of loss of life and property around the world. Managing extreme occurrences, reducing their effects, and establishing adaptation strategies requires significant policy and planning improvements. This practical guide explores the latest research literature, recent advanced modeling approaches, and fundamental ideas and concepts to provide a variety of solutions for managing extreme events.

In business, does it pay to be good? Drawing from two decades of published conceptual and empirical scholarship, this book outlines the mechanisms of the business case for corporate social responsibility and demonstrates the conditions that cause good corporate acts to succeed, or fail, in turning a profit. Central to the explanation is the role of stakeholders, who are portrayed as agents who can turn corporate ''good into gold'' but lack the capacity to do so consistently. This book takes a critical perspective, noting significant limits on the ability of stakeholders to reward good corporate behavior and rein in bad corporate acts. It concludes with several ways that scholars can improve this important and popular research topic. Using arguments built from two decades of highly cited and award-winning published scholarship, Michael L. Barnett uses strong theoretical building blocks and a well-vetted critical perspective to chart the boundaries of the business case for corporate social responsibility. The original introduction organizes and integrates this world-class research into a coherent and convincing story, while the original concluding chapter takes the reader beyond the current literature and provides a path forward that can build a better business case. A multifaceted mix of conceptual and empirical work across levels of analysis (individual, firm, and industry) provides a comprehensive perspective, warts and all. This critical and approachable collection will be a key resource for management scholars, from doctoral students to senior professors, whether they seek to gain a foothold on the core topic of the relationship between business and society or wish to find a way to add to this rich literature. The book would fit as a resource in doctoral seminars and university libraries. Consulting firms and practitioners may also take interest, as they prepare for, and prepare others for, leadership roles in corporations.

This Handbook is a state-of-the-art analysis of proximity relations, offering insights into its history alongside up-to-date scientific advances and emerging questions. Its broad scope - from industrial and innovation approaches through to society issues of living and working at a distance, territorial development and environmental topics - will ensure an in-depth focus point for researchers in economics as well as geography, organizational studies, planning and sociology. Split into four distinctly thematic parts, the Handbook explores the precise definition of proximity relationships and their diversity, including the role they play in social and economic interactions as well as examining the origins and evolution of such relationships. It further presents a detailed overview of the main methods of analysis, highlighting the link between proximity relationships and exchange of information while explaining how exchanges at a distance rely on links of organized proximity, something that plays an increasing role in our societies. This engaging Handbook will provide an excellent update for scientists and researchers on the recent developments in the analysis of proximity relations as well as students looking for precise and detailed information on the main characteristics of proximity relations, regional and spatial analysis, and the major analytical tools.

Sustainable tourism should not be limited to environmental preservation; the sociocultural and economic sides should also be considered. There is a need for an integrated approach recognizing the resources, facilities, and infrastructures that are interrelated with the social, cultural, and natural environment. Community development becomes a reality only by merging the principles of sustainability with growth objectives. Even though investments in environmentally friendly infrastructure and related services are fundamental, there is a need to address gender inequalities, exploitation, and commercialization of culture. Further, there is a need to prioritize the link between tourism and poverty reduction. Inclusive Community Development Through Tourism and Hospitality Practices explores various viable strategies for the adoption of sustainable approaches that can eventually boost economic growth and poverty reduction all over the world. Covering topics such as international tourism, sustainable development, and tourism reinforcement, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for business leaders and managers, students and educators of higher education, community leaders, government officials, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

Written in a comprehensive yet accessible style, Urban Violence, Resilience and Security investigates the diverse nature of urban violence within Latin America, Asia and Africa. It further analyzes how regular and irregular governing mechanisms can provide human security, despite the presence of chronic violence. The empirically rich and conceptually grounded contributions of established and emerging scholars evaluate the current state and future trajectory of urban development. They also question common explanations of the drivers of violence in urban areas and also provide measured recommendations for improved policy and future governance. Chapters thoroughly examine the opportunities and hazards of focusing on resilience as the only method to improve security and identify governance and policy practices that can move beyond the rhetoric of resilience to evaluate diverse approaches to attaining human security in urban areas of the Global South. This invigorating book will be an excellent resource for academic researchers interested in urban dynamics in the Global South as well as scholars embarking on geography, human security, political science and policy studies. Based on a set of original case studies, policymakers will also benefit from the questions and challenges to the conventional approaches to urban planning and governance that it raises.

Exploring water scarcity issues in light of the growing crisis in global water management, this book examines the applicability of water markets. It provides an overview and understanding of the presence of water markets across the globe, analysing the ways in which different countries and regions are grappling with water scarcity. This timely book offers an insight into the benefits of water markets, and their identified market failures. A water market framework is applied to key case studies, highlighting that the majority of regions have not had sufficient water reforms to allow for the introduction of water markets without negative social consequences. The book addresses existing hydrological and institutional capacity across countries and areas where water reform is needed, and lessons are provided for future water markets, taking into account these limitations. The case studies of different countries tackling water scarcity issues and reform will make this an essential read for scholars of environmental studies, water economics, sustainability management and environmental policies. It will also be an invigorating book for water policy-makers interested in lessons for change, and in how to better implement reforms for water markets to help address both water scarcity and improve productivity.

Exploring the growing field of mobilities research, this Handbook focuses on the flows and movements of people, artefacts, capital, information and signs on different social and geographical scales. It examines the systems and practices of mobilities within societies, politics, cultures and economies from different theoretical, epistemological and methodological perspectives. Reflecting the variety and diversity of research methods and applications, contributions from top scholars highlight the multiple dimensions of mobilities, from transport to tourism, cargo to information, and across physical, virtual and imaginative mobilities. Chapters analyse mobilities from different angles and scales, emphasising interdisciplinarity by looking at how researchers engage with mobile methods. An inspirational toolbox of research methods and applications for mobilities, sociology and human geography scholars, this Handbook provides both qualitative and quantitative insights to the topic. It will be of interest to policymakers and urban planners looking for a better understanding of the impact and importance of mobilities in contemporary societies. Contributors include: K. Barry, N.M. Bennetsen, J. Berg, T. Birtchnell, T. Boehme, G. Bourg, R. Boyd, A.V.H. Bueno, M. Buscher, E.C. Cabalquinto, C.B. Christensen, F. da Costa Portugal Duarte, M. de Neergaard, A. Elliott, M. Freudendal-Pedersen, J. Germann Molz, K. Goetz, N. Grauslund Kristensen, K. Hartmann-Petersen, M. Henriksson, J.M. Hildebrand, F. Hirschhorn, M. Huyghe, O. Jarv, H.L. Jensen, O.B. Jensen, S. Kesselring, H. Krobath, G.R. Larsen, C. Lassen, A. Maddrell, K. Manderscheid, A. Masso, L. Murray, L. Nitschke, A. Paulsson, A. Perkins, R. Rackham, A. Rocci, L. Schindler, M. Sheller, S. Silm, L.C. Smith, S. Smith, S. Sodero, G. Sunderer, C.H. Sorensen, B. Szerszynski, K.S. Tan, S. Thulin, M. Trandberg Jensen, C. Tschoerner-Budde, D. Tyfield, R. Tzanelli, P. Vannini, S. Wilson, D. Zuev