Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This insightful Advanced Introduction explores the key attributes of cities, identifying their five basic characteristics; innate complexity, the agglomeration of activities, inter-city connectivities, the projection of power, and relations to states. Peter J. Taylor gives a broad and engaging overview of how these characteristics work and relate to each other, supplemented by ten short city insights which offer readers specific examples of cities and themes. Key features include: analysis of cities as the creative nodes of societies discussion of both contemporary and historical cities exploration of the different spaces created by cities and states identification of the demands of cities in relation to climate change. This Advanced Introduction will be a valuable guide for scholars and advanced students of urban studies, cities, urban geography, urban sociology, and social and cultural geography.

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world's leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. This insightful Advanced Introduction explores the key attributes of cities, identifying their five basic characteristics; innate complexity, the agglomeration of activities, inter-city connectivities, the projection of power, and relations to states. Peter J. Taylor gives a broad and engaging overview of how these characteristics work and relate to each other, supplemented by ten short city insights which offer readers specific examples of cities and themes. Key features include: analysis of cities as the creative nodes of societies discussion of both contemporary and historical cities exploration of the different spaces created by cities and states identification of the demands of cities in relation to climate change. This Advanced Introduction will be a valuable guide for scholars and advanced students of urban studies, cities, urban geography, urban sociology, and social and cultural geography.

This Handbook offers an unrivaled overview of current research into how globalization is affecting the external relations and internal structures of major cities in the world. By treating cities at a global scale, it focuses on the 'stretching' of urban functions beyond specific place locations, without losing sight of the multiple divisions in contemporary world cities. The book firmly bases city networks in their historical context, critically discusses contemporary concepts and key empirical measures, and analyzes major issues relating to world city infrastructures, economies, governance and divisions. The variety of urban outcomes in contemporary globalization is explored through detailed case studies. Edited by leading scholars of the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research Network and written by over 60 experts in the field, the Handbook is a unique resource for students, researchers and academics in urban and globalization studies as well as for city professionals in planning and policy. Contributors: M. Acuto, A.S. Alderson, H. Ali, D. Bassens, H. Bathelt, J.V. Beaverstock, J. Beckfield, A. Boulton, S.D. Brunn, L.C.S. Budd, T. Bunnell, K. Datta, B. Derudder, A. De Vos, L. Devriendt, E. Engelen, Y. Evans, J. Faulconbridge, R. Grant, T.H. Grubesic, C. Grundy-Warr, S. Hall, C. Hamnett, J. Harrison, J. Herbert, M. Hoyler, P. Hubbard, R. Keil, A.D. King, R. Kloosterman, P. Knox, E. Korcelli-Olejniczak, K.P.Y. Lai, B. Lambregts, R.E. Lang, L. Lees, C. Lizieri, E.J. Malecki, T.C. Matisziw, J. May, C. McIlwaine, D. Murakami Wood, C. Nagel, P. Newman, C. Nicholas, J. Nijman, S. Oosterlynck, K. Pain, C. Parnreiter, A.C. Pratt, J. Rennie Short, J.D. Sidaway, D. Smith, R.G. Smith, M. Sparke, P.J. Taylor, A. Thornley, B. van der Knaap, H. van der Wusten, R. Wall, A. Watson, J. Wills, F. Witlox

'Peter J. Taylor has produced a sweeping, empirically grounded, defense of cities as fundamental building blocks of long-term, large scale social structures; a way of freeing social science from state-centric bias; and indeed, mankind's hope. However, the single greatest strength of this complex, seductive, argument is the insistence on treating cities relationally, as process. Here the key to understanding the significance of cities is by studying them in terms of the dynamic networks they form and in their relations to states.' - Richard E. Lee, Binghamton University, US Accepting that cities are extraordinary, this book provides an original city-centred narrative of human creativity, past, present and future. In this innovative, ambitious and wide-ranging book, Peter Taylor demonstrates that cities are the epicenters of human advancement. In exploring cities as sites through which economies flourish, by harnessing the creative potential of myriad communication networks, the author considers cities from varying temporal and spatial perspectives. Four stories of cities are told: the origins of city networks; the domination of cities by world-empires; the genesis of a singular modern creative interval in which innovation culminates in today s globalised cities; and finally, the need for cities to act as centres for human creativity to produce a more resilient global society in the current crisis century. Providing a long-term view through which to consider the role of cities in attending to incipient crises of the twenty-first century, this closely argued thesis will prove essential for students and scholars of urban studies, geography and sociology, and all those with a professional interest in, or personal fascination for, cities. Contents: Preface Part I: Setting Down and Setting Up 1. A Cities' Perspective 2. Conceptual Toolkits Part II: Narrative I: Beginning Conjectures 3. City and State Beginnings: Western Asia's Great Creative Interlude 4. Geographies of Beginning Creative Interludes Part III: Narrative II: World-systems 5. Normal History 6. Making the Modern World-system: Western Europe's Great Creative Interlude Part IV: Narrative III: Prospective Conjectures - Where Are We and Where Are We Going? 7. Working in an Urban World 8. Towards Green Networks of Cities for the Twenty-first Century References Index

This comprehensive handbook covers all the rodents occurring in Southern, Central, East and West Africa, south of the Sahara. Detailed treatments of 79 genera and 420 species are provided for the following families: Anomaluridae (anomalures), Bathyergidae (mole-rats), Gliridae (dormice), Hystricidae (porcupines), Muridae (rats and mice), Nesomyidae (nesomyids), Pedetidae (springhares), Sciuridae (squirrels) and Thryonomyidae (canerats). The work comprises short reviews of the systematics of African rodents and African biogeography, identification matrices and keys,79 detailed genus accounts, 420 species accounts and an extensive bibliography. Genus and species accounts include diagnostic descriptions, systematics and taxonomy, biogeographical environment, fossil species, photographs of skull and mandible, illustrations of molar dentition, photographs of live animals, distribution maps and tables of standard museum measurements. This is an essential handbook for all zoologists.

All the information researchers, students, and practitioners need to conducted innovative, state-of-the-art research on small mammals. Rodents and insectivores constitute the vast majority of mammals on our planet, yet we often overlook the importance of this group. As seed dispersers, prey species, and disease regulators, these animals are critical to the functioning of our ecological systems. While considerable material exists that describes these species, there has been no dedicated guide explaining how to effectively research them-until now. Methods for Ecological Research on Terrestrial Small Mammals is a one-stop resource compiling all the information readers need to conduct state-of-the-art research on small terrestrial mammals across the globe. The authors cover the full spectrum of issues, from capture, handling, identification, reproduction, demography, and taxonomy to behavior, diet, evolution, diseases, movements, morphometrics, and more. They also: * highlight the latest techniques while carefully explaining the tried-and-tested methods needed to conduct rigorous scientific inquiries; * provide step-by-step examples and case studies, demonstrating how the methods discussed can be used in actual research projects; * compare and contrast methodologies, analytical techniques, and software packages, helping researchers determine which pathways and tools will yield the best results for their studies. A comprehensive and invaluable resource, Methods for Ecological Research on Terrestrial Small Mammals is a must-have for any ecologist working on small mammals.

'Peter J. Taylor has produced a sweeping, empirically grounded, defense of cities as fundamental building blocks of long-term, large scale social structures; a way of freeing social science from state-centric bias; and indeed, mankind's hope. However, the single greatest strength of this complex, seductive, argument is the insistence on treating cities relationally, as process. Here the key to understanding the significance of cities is by studying them in terms of the dynamic networks they form and in their relations to states.' - Richard E. Lee, Binghamton University, US Accepting that cities are extraordinary, this book provides an original city-centred narrative of human creativity, past, present and future. In this innovative, ambitious and wide-ranging book, Peter Taylor demonstrates that cities are the epicenters of human advancement. In exploring cities as sites through which economies flourish, by harnessing the creative potential of myriad communication networks, the author considers cities from varying temporal and spatial perspectives. Four stories of cities are told: the origins of city networks; the domination of cities by world-empires; the genesis of a singular modern creative interval in which innovation culminates in today s globalised cities; and finally, the need for cities to act as centres for human creativity to produce a more resilient global society in the current crisis century. Providing a long-term view through which to consider the role of cities in attending to incipient crises of the twenty-first century, this closely argued thesis will prove essential for students and scholars of urban studies, geography and sociology, and all those with a professional interest in, or personal fascination for, cities. Contents: Preface Part I: Setting Down and Setting Up 1. A Cities' Perspective 2. Conceptual Toolkits Part II: Narrative I: Beginning Conjectures 3. City and State Beginnings: Western Asia's Great Creative Interlude 4. Geographies of Beginning Creative Interludes Part III: Narrative II: World-systems 5. Normal History 6. Making the Modern World-system: Western Europe's Great Creative Interlude Part IV: Narrative III: Prospective Conjectures - Where Are We and Where Are We Going? 7. Working in an Urban World 8. Towards Green Networks of Cities for the Twenty-first Century References Index

Global Urban Analysis provides a unique insight into the contemporary world economy through a focus on cities. It is based upon a large-scale customised data collection on how leading businesses use cities across the world: as headquarter locations, for finance, for professional and creative services, for media. These data - involving up to 2000 firms and over 500 cities - provide evidence for both how the leading cities, sometimes called global cities, are coming to dominate the world economy, and how hundreds of other cities are faring in this brave new urban world. Thus can the likes of London, New York and Hong Kong be tracked as well as Manchester, Cleveland and Guangzhou, and even Plymouth, Chattanooga and Xi'an. Cities are assessed and ranked in terms of their importance for various functions such as for financial services, legal services and advertising, plus novel findings are reported for the geographical orientations of their connections. This is truly a comprehensive survey of cities in globalization covering global, world-regional, and national scales of analysis: - 4 key chapters outline the global structure of the world economy featuring the leading cities; - 9 regional chapters covering the whole world also feature the level of services provided by 'medium' cities; - 22 chapters on selected countries and sub-regions indicate global-ness and local-ness and feature an even wider range of cities. Written in an easy to understand style, this book is a must read for anybody interested in their own city in the world and how it relates to other cities.

The essays in this collection show how electoral geography has shifted from empiricist activity towards a closer involvement with the wider issues addressed by social scientists. They illustrate the potential contributions that electoral geographers can make towards the understanding of global, national and local societies.

Within an international framework, this work provides a fully comprehensive approach to the geographical coverage of elections. Numerous applications of ides and concepts from human geography are incorporated into a new political context, illustrating the manner in which electoral patterns reflect and help produce the overall geography of a region or state. Discussions of various topics are well supported by numerous maps and diagrams which help clarify arguemnts and serve to define elections within their basic geographical context.

Global Urban Analysis provides a unique insight into the contemporary world economy through a focus on cities. It is based upon a large-scale customised data collection on how leading businesses use cities across the world: as headquarter locations, for finance, for professional and creative services, for media. These data - involving up to 2000 firms and over 500 cities - provide evidence for both how the leading cities, sometimes called global cities, are coming to dominate the world economy, and how hundreds of other cities are faring in this brave new urban world. Thus can the likes of London, New York and Hong Kong be tracked as well as Manchester, Cleveland and Guangzhou, and even Plymouth, Chattanooga and Xi'an. Cities are assessed and ranked in terms of their importance for various functions such as for financial services, legal services and advertising, plus novel findings are reported for the geographical orientations of their connections. This is truly a comprehensive survey of cities in globalization covering global, world-regional, and national scales of analysis: - 4 key chapters outline the global structure of the world economy featuring the leading cities; - 9 regional chapters covering the whole world also feature the level of services provided by 'medium' cities; - 22 chapters on selected countries and sub-regions indicate global-ness and local-ness and feature an even wider range of cities. Written in an easy to understand style, this book is a must read for anybody interested in their own city in the world and how it relates to other cities.

The essays in this collection show how electoral geography has shifted from empiricist activity towards a closer involvement with the wider issues addressed by social scientists. They illustrate the potential contributions that electoral geographers can make towards the understanding of global, national and local societies.

Within an international framework, this work provides a fully comprehensive approach to the geographical coverage of elections. Numerous applications of ides and concepts from human geography are incorporated into a new political context, illustrating the manner in which electoral patterns reflect and help produce the overall geography of a region or state. Discussions of various topics are well supported by numerous maps and diagrams which help clarify arguemnts and serve to define elections within their basic geographical context.

This book presents an incisive outline of the historical development and geography of cities. It focuses on three themes that constitute essential foundations for any understanding of urban form and function. These are: (a) the shifting patterns of urbanization through historical time, (b) the role of cities as centers of production and work in a globalizing world, and (c) the diverse housing and shelter needs of urban populations. The book also explores a number of critical urban problems and the political challenges that they pose. Empirical evidence from urban situations on all five continents is brought into play throughout the discussion.

In the mid 1980s, the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) inaugurated a series of studies in mathematics education by comm- sioning one on the influence of technology and informatics on mathematics and its teaching. These studies are designed to thoroughly explore topics of c- temporary interest, by gathering together a group of experts who prepare a Study Volume that provides a considered assessment of the current state and a guide to further developments. Studies have embraced a range of issues, some central, such as the teaching of algebra, some closely related, such as the impact of history and psychology, and some looking at mathematics education from a particular perspective, such as cultural differences between East and West. These studies have been commissioned at the rate of about one per year. Once the ICMI Executive decides on the topic, one or two chairs are selected and then, in consultation with them, an International Program Committee (IPC) of about 12 experts is formed. The IPC then meets and prepares a Discussion Document that sets forth the issues and invites interested parties to submit papers. These papers are the basis for invitations to a Study Conference, at which the various dimensions of the topic are explored and a book, the Study Volume, is sketched out. The book is then put together in collaboration, mainly using electronic communication. The entire process typically takes about six years.

This Handbook offers an unrivaled overview of current research into how globalization is affecting the external relations and internal structures of major cities in the world. By treating cities at a global scale, it focuses on the 'stretching' of urban functions beyond specific place locations, without losing sight of the multiple divisions in contemporary world cities. The book firmly bases city networks in their historical context, critically discusses contemporary concepts and key empirical measures, and analyzes major issues relating to world city infrastructures, economies, governance and divisions. The variety of urban outcomes in contemporary globalization is explored through detailed case studies. Edited by leading scholars of the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Research Network and written by over 60 experts in the field, the Handbook is a unique resource for students, researchers and academics in urban and globalization studies as well as for city professionals in planning and policy. Contributors: M. Acuto, A.S. Alderson, H. Ali, D. Bassens, H. Bathelt, J.V. Beaverstock, J. Beckfield, A. Boulton, S.D. Brunn, L.C.S. Budd, T. Bunnell, K. Datta, B. Derudder, A. De Vos, L. Devriendt, E. Engelen, Y. Evans, J. Faulconbridge, R. Grant, T.H. Grubesic, C. Grundy-Warr, S. Hall, C. Hamnett, J. Harrison, J. Herbert, M. Hoyler, P. Hubbard, R. Keil, A.D. King, R. Kloosterman, P. Knox, E. Korcelli-Olejniczak, K.P.Y. Lai, B. Lambregts, R.E. Lang, L. Lees, C. Lizieri, E.J. Malecki, T.C. Matisziw, J. May, C. McIlwaine, D. Murakami Wood, C. Nagel, P. Newman, C. Nicholas, J. Nijman, S. Oosterlynck, K. Pain, C. Parnreiter, A.C. Pratt, J. Rennie Short, J.D. Sidaway, D. Smith, R.G. Smith, M. Sparke, P.J. Taylor, A. Thornley, B. van der Knaap, H. van der Wusten, R. Wall, A. Watson, J. Wills, F. Witlox

In the mid 1980s, the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) inaugurated a series of studies in mathematics education by comm- sioning one on the influence of technology and informatics on mathematics and its teaching. These studies are designed to thoroughly explore topics of c- temporary interest, by gathering together a group of experts who prepare a Study Volume that provides a considered assessment of the current state and a guide to further developments. Studies have embraced a range of issues, some central, such as the teaching of algebra, some closely related, such as the impact of history and psychology, and some looking at mathematics education from a particular perspective, such as cultural differences between East and West. These studies have been commissioned at the rate of about one per year. Once the ICMI Executive decides on the topic, one or two chairs are selected and then, in consultation with them, an International Program Committee (IPC) of about 12 experts is formed. The IPC then meets and prepares a Discussion Document that sets forth the issues and invites interested parties to submit papers. These papers are the basis for invitations to a Study Conference, at which the various dimensions of the topic are explored and a book, the Study Volume, is sketched out. The book is then put together in collaboration, mainly using electronic communication. The entire process typically takes about six years.

The dominating influence of a relatively small number of cities has characterized the shift to a more global economy during the 1970s and 1980s. Eighteen original essays accordingly examine the nature, demands and relationships of world cities such as New York, Tokyo and London.

The new and updated seventh edition of Political Geography once again shows itself fit to tackle a frequently and rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. It retains the intellectual clarity, rigour and vision of previous editions based upon its world-systems approach, and is complemented by the perspective of feminist geography. The book successfully integrates the complexity of individuals with the complexity of the world-economy by merging the compatible, but different, research agendas of the co-authors. This edition explores the importance of states in corporate globalization, challenges to this globalization, and the increasingly influential role of China. It also discusses the dynamics of the capitalist world-economy and the constant tension between the global scale of economic processes and the territorialization of politics in the current context of geopolitical change. The chapters have been updated with new examples - new sections on art and war, intimate geopolitics and geopolitical constructs reflect the vibrancy and diversity of the academic study of the subject. Sections have been updated and added to the material of the previous edition to reflect the role of the so-called Islamic State in global geopolitics. The book offers a framework to help students make their own judgements of how we got where we are today, and what may or should be done about it. Political Geography remains a core text for students of political geography, geopolitics, international relations and political science, as well as more broadly across human geography and the social sciences.

The new and updated seventh edition of Political Geography once again shows itself fit to tackle a frequently and rapidly changing geopolitical landscape. It retains the intellectual clarity, rigour and vision of previous editions based upon its world-systems approach, and is complemented by the perspective of feminist geography. The book successfully integrates the complexity of individuals with the complexity of the world-economy by merging the compatible, but different, research agendas of the co-authors. This edition explores the importance of states in corporate globalization, challenges to this globalization, and the increasingly influential role of China. It also discusses the dynamics of the capitalist world-economy and the constant tension between the global scale of economic processes and the territorialization of politics in the current context of geopolitical change. The chapters have been updated with new examples - new sections on art and war, intimate geopolitics and geopolitical constructs reflect the vibrancy and diversity of the academic study of the subject. Sections have been updated and added to the material of the previous edition to reflect the role of the so-called Islamic State in global geopolitics. The book offers a framework to help students make their own judgements of how we got where we are today, and what may or should be done about it. Political Geography remains a core text for students of political geography, geopolitics, international relations and political science, as well as more broadly across human geography and the social sciences.

Ambitiously identifying fresh issues in the study of complex systems, Peter J. Taylor, in a model of interdisciplinary exploration, makes these concerns accessible to scholars in the fields of ecology, environmental science, and science studies. "Unruly Complexity" explores concepts used to deal with complexity in three realms: ecology and socio-environmental change; the collective constitution of knowledge; and the interpretations of science as they influence subsequent research.
For each realm Taylor shows that unruly complexity-situations that lack definite boundaries, where what goes on "outside" continually restructures what is "inside," and where diverse processes come together to produce change-should not be suppressed by partitioning complexity into well-bounded systems that can be studied or managed from an outside vantage point. Using case studies from Australia, North America, and Africa, he encourages readers to be troubled by conventional boundaries-especially between science and the interpretation of science-and to reflect more self-consciously on the conceptual and practical choices researchers make.

This text is a self-contained Second Edition, providing an introductory account of the main topics in numerical analysis. The book emphasizes both the theorems which show the underlying rigorous mathematics andthe algorithms which define precisely how to program the numerical methods. Both theoretical and practical examples are included.

* a unique blend of theory and applications
* two brand new chapters on eigenvalues and splines
* inclusion of formal algorithms
* numerous fully worked examples
* a large number of problems, many with solutions