As the planet's natural resources continue to be depleted, society's environmental awareness has grown. Businesses especially are being coerced into incorporating more sustainable approaches to carrying out their activities. Organizations that develop sustainable business strategies that deliver enhanced value by radically reducing material inputs and engaging consumers on circular economy will be well-positioned for success. Mapping, Managing, and Crafting Sustainable Business Strategies for the Circular Economy is an essential reference source that discusses implementing sustainable business strategies as well as economic policies for the modern business era. Featuring research on topics such as global business, urban innovation, and cost management, this book is ideally designed for managers, operators, manufacturers, academics, practitioners, policymakers, researchers, business professionals, and students seeking coverage on utilizing natural resources in the most sustainable way.

Technology has been hailed as one of the catalysts toward economic and human development. In the current economic era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, information acquisition, transformation, and dissemination processes are posed to be the key enablers of development. However, in the context of developing countries, there is a need for more evidence on the impact that ICT has on addressing developmental issues. Such evidence is needed to make a case for investments in ICT-led interventions to improve people's lives in developing countries. Perspectives on ICT4D and Socio-Economic Growth Opportunities in Developing Countries is a collection of innovative research on current trends that portray the ICT and development nexus (ICT4D) from economic and human development perspectives within developing countries. While highlighting topics including mobile money, poverty alleviation, and consumer behavior, this book is ideally designed for economists, government officials, policymakers, ICT specialists, business professionals, researchers, academicians, students, and entrepreneurs.

The development of information technology in supply chains has shown that this digital revolution can be a source of performance for enterprises and governments. Among these technologies is blockchain. The application of blockchains in cryptocurrency reduces information security risks and eliminates several processing and transaction fees and allows countries with volatile currencies to have a more stable currency. Blockchain Applications in Cryptocurrency for Technological Evolution features a collection of contributions related to the application of blockchain technology in cryptocurrency. It further explains the ways in which these applications have affected the industry. Covering topics such as crypto mining attacks, data processing architecture, and purchase power, this premier reference source is an excellent resource for business leaders and executives, IT managers, logistics specialists, students and faculty of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

This book presents a remarkably broad yet detailed description and analysis of the various roles played by universities in the workings of modern economies, with a particular focus on Europe. It provides both a wide survey of research by others on the topics addressed, and an account of the authors' own important work. The complex policy issues are clearly drawn, and the authors informed pragmatic position on them clearly articulated. This is the best book on the subject that I have seen.' - Richard Nelson, Columbia University, US'This book, with its wealth of information and its broad perspective, goes a long way toward educating us in the United States about how research at European universities is conducted and funded and details differences between Europe and the US. It is a must-read for anyone who wants to have a broader perspective on the relationship between universities and the economy.' - Paula Stephan, Georgia State University and NBER, US The University and the Economy provides an in-depth exploration of the many ways in which universities contribute to economic development and growth. By providing readers with theoretical tools and evidence to explain the means by which university activities impact the economic system, the book offers a robust analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of specific university systems. In offering a solid foundation of conceptual and statistical knowledge, this book supports the current debate on the role of the university in the contemporary economy. It also offers insights to enhance understanding of why some university systems are not contributing to their economies as well as others. The book adopts an economic perspective, which allows the actions of universities, as well as the individuals who study and work within them, to be analyzed in the context of economic models of behavior. From this perspective, it explains the organization, governance and funding of universities' activities and explores how these could be structured to improve their efficiency and effectiveness. Academics, policymakers, managers and professionals working in universities will find a wealth of valuable information in this book. It will also be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of science and technology policy, higher education economics and the economics and management of innovation.

The book provides an analytical exposition of the law concerning directors’ liability for the losses sustained by their companies’ creditors, when the directors’ companies are in financial distress or become insolvent. It is a detailed one-stop resource for obtaining a good understanding of the law which has developed from legislation and case law. In particular, there is a detailed consideration of what needs to be proved, what defences there are, and what might be the issues of concern for all parties. A doctrinal method is adopted and there is extensive analysis of the relevant legislation and case law. Rather than merely referring to cases to support propositions, the discussion considers many of the cases in context and in depth and their relevance to the aim of the book. The book also endeavours to provide views, in a practical way, on aspects of the law and it identifies problems and how they may be addressed. Of interest to legal practitioners and insolvency practitioners alike, in addition the book will be useful to directors, government officials and academics.

In the field of 'climate change', no terrain goes uncontested. The terminological tug of war between activists and corporations, scientists and governments, has seen radical notions of 'sustainability' emptied of urgency and subordinated to the interests of capital. 'Just Transition' is the latest such battleground, and the conceptual keystone of the post-COP21 climate policy world. But what does it really mean? Just Transition emerged as a framework developed within the trade union movement to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers' and frontline communities' jobs and livelihoods as economies shift to sustainable production. Just Transitions draws on a range of perspectives from the global North and South to interrogate the overlaps, synergies and tensions between various understandings of the Just Transition approach. As the concept is entering the mainstream, has it lost its radical edge, and if so, can it be recovered? Written by academics and activists from around the globe, this unique edited collection is the first book entirely devoted to Just Transition.

Mutant Ecologies traces the spinning of new synthetic threads into the web of life. It is a critical cartography of the shifting landscapes of capital accumulation conjured by recent developments in genomic science, genome editing and the biotech industry. CRISPR crops, fast-growing salmons, heat-resistant Slick (TM) cows, Friendly (TM) Mosquitoes, humanised mice, pigs growing human organs - these are but a few of the dazzling new life-forms that have recently emerged from corporate and university laboratories around the world, all promising to lubricate the circuits of capital accumulation in distinct ways. The deliberate induction of genetic mutations is increasingly central to business operations in a number of sectors, from agriculture to pharmaceuticals. While the Nobel Committee recently proclaimed the life sciences to have entered 'a new epoch', the authors show how these technological innovations continue to operate within a socio-historical context defined by the iron rules of capitalist competition and exploitation. Capital no longer contents itself with simply appropriating the living bodies of plants and animals. It purposefully designs their internal metabolism, and in that way it redesigns the countless living vectors that constitute the global biosphere. It is driving a biological revolution, which will ripple through the everyday lives of people everywhere.

The Covid-19 pandemic has tragically exposed how today's welfare state cannot properly protect its citizens. Despite the valiant efforts of public sector workers, from under-resourced hospitals to a shortage of housing and affordable social care, the pandemic has shown how decades of neglect has caused hundreds to die. In this bold new book, leading policy analyst Ursula Huws shows how we can create a welfare state that is fair, affordable, and offers security for all. Huws focuses on some of the key issues of our time - the gig economy, universal, free healthcare, and social care, to criticize the current state of welfare provision. Drawing on a lifetime of research on these topics, she clearly explains why we need to radically rethink how it could change. With positivity and rigor, she proposes new and original policy ideas, including critical discussions of Universal Basic Income and new legislation for universal workers' rights. She also outlines a 'digital welfare state' for the 21st century. This would involve a repurposing of online platform technologies under public control to modernize and expand public services, and improve accessibility.

This work on environmental planning focuses on open-cast mining. It addresses the issues around open-cast mining that are central to the context of social science debate: risk; the division of public and private; environmental protest and politics; and new social movements.