Social media are applications that have a networking dimension at the heart of their use. They attract language learners, teachers and providers for different reasons, although they are a controversial issue in language education as we lack evidence whether and how they promote language learning. This book studies the impact of networking with the social media on language learning, through a collection of chapters offering theoretical perspectives and empirical studies of learner experiences in a wide range of networking settings, illustrating through a variety of teaching as well as research methodologies. Through focusing on communities and socialization, together the editors and contributors help to identify priority issues (such as identity and community-building) that need attention if today's social media culture is to work to the benefit of language learners.

The authors present a framework for thinking about technologies that allow for online communication for language learning, and investigate practical issues of using, for example, forums, chats, audio and visual real-time platforms as well as virtual worlds and mobile devices. By examining numerous studies written about such tools in use in educational settings, the authors offer a thorough appraisal of the potential benefits and challenges of learning and teaching a language online. The book talks directly and practically to teachers about research issues of relevance to them and suggests do-able small-scale projects.

Is it possible to energise the reuse of urban abandoned spaces with low financial capital investment? Addressing this question requires a normative and cultural change, where the rules are less focused on the material processes of producing space and more aimed at fostering the construction of relationships. The reality of several European cities shows how traditional forms of stimulating urban renewal - with respect to the financing of operations, how to design and build, and urban planning legislation - no longer work. This book examines an alternative culture of design and regulation, drawing on the richness of the various approaches to the subject to present an integrated study of the phenomenon of reuse across its economic, architectural and urban dimensions. From this theoretical base, it empirically analyses six Italian case studies in terms of the broadness of geography and in their governance models, and of the important role of the unity of cultural destination for their reuse proposal. The book is intended for all those involved in the cultural challenge of reusing urban abandoned spaces, including public administrators, entrepreneurs, architects, planners and academics.

Eurocorridors are characterized by intensive transport flows and dynamic patterns of establishment and household locations. They are also considered the backbones of powerful spatial and economic forces in the areas that connect urban regions. One of the main difficulties in the spatial planning of eurocorridors has been the need to engage in different types of collective action. Such an approach can be extremely challenging in practice, useful to researchers in the fieldand to professionals as well.

In the light of this, the book s main objectives are:

- To define the problem by analyzing the key features, which include freight and passenger transport policies and issues; the territorial context, with its geographical, social, economic and cultural aspects; the plurality of subjects with different aims and resources and the lack of homogeneous information.

- To illustrate assessment models and evaluation frameworks (MCDA; Discrete Choice Analysis; Collaborative Assessments; Geovisualization Technologies) in theoretical terms and by the use of case studies."

Social networking is now one of the ways in which anyone can set out to learn or improve their language skills. This collection brings together different sets of learning experiences and shows that success depends on the wider environment of the learner, the kind of activity the learner engages in and the type of learning priorities he or she has.

The authors present a framework for thinking about technologies that allow for online communication for language learning, and investigate practical issues of using, for example, forums, chats, audio and visual real-time platforms as well as virtual worlds and mobile devices. By examining numerous studies written about such tools in use in educational settings, the authors offer a thorough appraisal of the potential benefits and challenges of learning and teaching a language online. The book talks directly and practically to teachers about research issues of relevance to them and suggests do-able small-scale projects.

Is it possible to energise the reuse of urban abandoned spaces with low financial capital investment? Addressing this question requires a normative and cultural change, where the rules are less focused on the material processes of producing space and more aimed at fostering the construction of relationships. The reality of several European cities shows how traditional forms of stimulating urban renewal - with respect to the financing of operations, how to design and build, and urban planning legislation - no longer work. This book examines an alternative culture of design and regulation, drawing on the richness of the various approaches to the subject to present an integrated study of the phenomenon of reuse across its economic, architectural and urban dimensions. From this theoretical base, it empirically analyses six Italian case studies in terms of the broadness of geography and in their governance models, and of the important role of the unity of cultural destination for their reuse proposal. The book is intended for all those involved in the cultural challenge of reusing urban abandoned spaces, including public administrators, entrepreneurs, architects, planners and academics.

The political party system in the United States has periodically undergone major realignments at various critical junctures in the country's history. The Civil War boosted the Republican Party's fortunes and catapulted it into majority status at the national level, a status that was further solidified during the Populist realignment in the 1890s. Starting in the 1930s, however, Roosevelt's New Deal reversed the parties' fortunes, bringing the Democratic Party back to national power, and this realignment was further modified by the "culture wars" beginning in the mid-1960s. Each of these realignments occasioned shifts in the electorate's support for the major parties, and they were superimposed on each other in a way that did not negate entirely the consequences of the preceding realignments. The story of realignment is further complicated by the variations that occurred within individual states whose own particular political legacies, circumstances, and personalities resulted in modulations and modifications of the patterns playing out at the national level.

In this book, Renee Lamis investigates how Pennsylvania experienced this series of realignments, with special attention to the period since 1960. She uses a wealth of data from a wide variety of sources to produce an analysis that allows her to trace the evolution of electoral behavior in the Keystone State in a narrative that is accessible to a broad range of readers. Her account helps explain why Senator Arlen Specter was reelected whereas Senator Rick Santorum was not, and why Pennsylvania Republicans have been highly successful in major statewide elections in an era when Democratic presidential standard-bearers have regularly carried the state. Overall, her book constitutes a gold mine of information and interpretation for political junkies as well as scholars who want to know more about how national-level politics plays out within individual states.