Festivals across the world represent the joy, recreation, and traditions of their different societies and cultures. There is a plethora of reasons to commemorate and organize such events. Every festival has its own distinct personality, charms, appeal, and experiences that are closely linked to culture, customs, issues, core values, and more. All of these factors combine to create a one-of-a-kind selling offer for specific destinations. Festival attractions can serve to popularize and strengthen the tourist economy, as well as to promote employment, entrepreneurship, and tourism destination branding for the location. Managing Festivals for Destination Marketing and Branding addresses the most current and promising parts of tourism-centric festivals, which are held in numerous tourist areas throughout the world. It links tourism festivals around the world as a catalyst for destination marketing and identity. Covering topics such as destination brand equity, social media networks, and motivations and expectations of tourists, this premier reference work is a dynamic resource for business executives and leaders, brand managers, event managers, festival managers, government officials, students and educators of higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a disruption for many industries at its emergence, including the rental industry. The rental industry consists of more than just car rentals. It also includes Airbnb, house rentals, cruises, and other means of transport. This industry, which relies on tourism, was negatively affected by the travel restrictions that were put in place due to the pandemic. As such, it had to quickly adapt and grow to abide by the rules of the ""new normal"" in order to survive both during the pandemic, as well as implement new models and strategies that would help it to regain its success post-COVID-19. Socio-Economic Effects and Recovery Efforts for the Rental Industry: Post-COVID-19 Strategies is a critical reference book that discusses the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the rental industry and the ways in which the rental industry adapted under the new global restrictions affecting tourism. This book covers recovery efforts for the rental industry, analyzes global cases of the effects and adaptations the rental industry has undergone, and discusses the sociological aspects of the pandemic. While highlighting topics such as e-commerce, financial leasing, second home tourism, and sharing economies, this book is essential for executives, business owners, managers, rental agencies, ridesharing companies, academicians, researchers, and students interested in the current state of the rental industry and how it plans to overcome the challenges caused by the pandemic.

With immense consumption of resources, increased global warming, and environmental pollution, the energy sector has inevitably embraced sustainability. Countries are releasing plans and programs to shift their fossil fuel-dependent energy sectors into clean energy sectors, and projections show that renewable energy will be a significant part of nations' energy mixes in the near future. Optimization and decision-making techniques have been commonly used in the energy sector as problems encountered in this sector are complex and therefore need comprehensive techniques to solve them. With the uncertainty and high-cost issues of renewable resources, the complexity increases in the sector and requires optimization and decision-making techniques. Optimization and Decision-Making in the Renewable Energy Industry analyzes renewable energy sources using current mathematical methods and techniques and provides advanced knowledge on key opportunities and challenges. The book discusses current and trending mathematical methods, tests their validity and verification, and considers their practical application in the field. Covering topics such as urban sustainability and renewable energy systems, this reference work is ideal for practitioners, academicians, industry professionals, researchers, scholars, instructors, and students.

Global Journalism: Understanding World Media Systems provides an overview of the key issues in global journalism today and traces how media systems have evolved over time in different world regions. Taking into account local context as well as technological change across media industries, the book lays down the foundation for today's journalism students learning about the practice, growth and impact of global media. It offers an up-to-date, thorough overview of media developments in all world regions embedded in their unique political, cultural and economic context. The book explains the theoretical foundations of global journalism, from the classic Four Theories of the Press to more nuanced media models, and proposes a framework for studying world media systems. Readers will gain knowledge about a wide range of topics, including media freedom, global news cultures, professional ethics and responsibilities, and education of global journalists. The book underscores the essential role of technology and social media and discusses issues such as "fake news" and disinformation, soft power and public diplomacy, foreign news reporting and international news flow. Case studies serve as an excellent supplement to the conceptual content, exposing students to a number of hot topics-from Russia's troll factories to the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

Global Journalism: Understanding World Media Systems provides an overview of the key issues in global journalism today and traces how media systems have evolved over time in different world regions. Taking into account local context as well as technological change across media industries, the book lays down the foundation for today's journalism students learning about the practice, growth and impact of global media. It offers an up-to-date, thorough overview of media developments in all world regions embedded in their unique political, cultural and economic context. The book explains the theoretical foundations of global journalism, from the classic Four Theories of the Press to more nuanced media models, and proposes a framework for studying world media systems. Readers will gain knowledge about a wide range of topics, including media freedom, global news cultures, professional ethics and responsibilities, and education of global journalists. The book underscores the essential role of technology and social media and discusses issues such as "fake news" and disinformation, soft power and public diplomacy, foreign news reporting and international news flow. Case studies serve as an excellent supplement to the conceptual content, exposing students to a number of hot topics-from Russia's troll factories to the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

The growing intensity and complexity of public service has spurred policy reform efforts across the globe, many featuring attempts to promote more collaborative government. Collaboration in Public Service Delivery sheds light on these efforts, analysing and reconceptualising the major types of collaboration in public service delivery through a governance lens. Featuring careful analysis with a global scope, this book unpacks the concept of collaborative service delivery and its practice, drawing from the fields of public policy, public administration, and management. Chapters by leading authors in these areas address service delivery arrangements including co-production, co-management, consultations, contracting-out, commissioning and certification. With a keen focus on conditions that are critical for the success of such collaborative arrangements, as well as their different pathways and pitfalls, the authors suggest ways to improve the analytical, managerial and political capacities needed for successful collaboration in public service delivery. This timely and comprehensive book is useful for students at all levels interested in public policy, governance, administration and management, as well as researchers investigating the governance of collaborative service delivery. Policymakers and practitioners working to re-evaluate and improve public service provision, especially, will also benefit from its insightful discussions of the conditions and mechanisms under which collaborative arrangements operate and fail or succeed.