Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd – förlag

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 academic and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas.Frank W. Geels provides an insightful and evidenced introduction to one of the most important and dynamic topics in contemporary debates on how to address grand challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss.This book outlines current theories and research avenues in the rapidly growing field of sustainability transitions. Using a diverse range of empirical case studies, it emphasises the role of green innovations in relation to business, user, political, and cultural contexts in situated energy, mobility, and food systems. To capture this, the book shows how insights from mainstream disciplines have been integrated into the multi-level perspective, which has become the field’s central middle-range conceptual framework.Written in an accessible style, this Advanced Introduction is vital for students and scholars of development economics, innovation, environmental politics and policy, sustainability studies and human geography.Key Features:Interdisciplinary in scopeDiscusses essential characteristics, theories, frameworks and actors of sustainability transitionsCovers topics including incumbent firm resistance and reorientation, the role of the state, policy instrument mixes and policymaking processes, social justice, grassroots innovation, consumption, emerging economies and geopolitics

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. Jon Pierre and Guy Peters expertly guide the reader through governance - one of the most widely used terms in political science - and its differing interpretations, with comprehensive discussion of the key issues covering global as well as local level governance. A detailed look into what constitutes 'good governance', whether produced by a government or by more informal means, is also explored. Key features include: examination of what governance is, how it is created and the differing styles of governancehow governance is becoming more collaborative between governments and the private sectoran investigation into the governance process and outcomes, including topics such as bargaining, negotiation and the use of political power. This insightful Advanced Introduction will be an excellent resource for both graduates and undergraduates studying governance and political science.  It will also be a useful guide for academics who are interested in governance and who need a concise introduction.

This fourth edition of a bestselling textbook expertly unravels the central paradoxes every entrepreneur must face. Written in a comprehensive and engaging style, it combines essential theories with real-world examples, making complex concepts accessible and relatable. It includes case studies crafted by world-renowned experts, offering fresh insights into the more nuanced aspects of entrepreneurship.Key benefits include:A broad overview of entrepreneurship from a theoretical and practical perspectiveOpportunities for student involvement through theory, paradoxes, actions and exercisesNew content exploring diverse types of external crises and how they shape the world of entrepreneurshipLearning essential crisis strategies and actions that entrepreneurs can use not only to survive but to thrive in the face of adversityEntrepreneurship in Theory and Practice is designed for all students with or without prior entrepreneurship education. It is ideal for introductory courses in entrepreneurship but is also highly valuable for advanced students seeking to deepen their understanding of entrepreneurial opportunities, processes and contexts. This latest edition will furthermore prove immensely beneficial for aspiring entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, startup mentors, entrepreneurship advisors, and educators at universities, colleges, and business schools, who are currently face-to-face with a world full of multiple crises.

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 highly informative Advanced Introduction explores the diverse and far-reaching legal implications of some of the key findings of behavioral economics. Cass Sunstein, a leader in this field, adopts an interdisciplinary approach to examining cutting-edge topics such as air pollution and climate change; public health and safety; pandemic response; occupational safety; road safety; and contract, property, and tort law. This Advanced Introduction provides a much-needed assessment and analysis of the law as a critical domain for the use of behavioral economics, and investigates how techniques including nudging, mandates, and taxes can be used to enhance the effectiveness and improve the implementation of the law.Key Features:Explains how legal systems and governments employ behavioral economicsExplores the crucial relationship between law, behavioral economics and human welfareHighlights the use of algorithms in law and policy, considering the relationship between algorithms, noise and bias Examines key concepts from behavioral economics including sludge, present bias, loss aversion, unrealistic optimism, and anchoringThis erudite Advanced Introduction will be an essential read for legal students, academics and researchers with an interest in behavioral economics, public policy and economic psychology. Highlighting how behavioral economics interacts with various other disciplines, it will also prove valuable to professionals and practitioners working in law, medicine, education and politics.

Fully revised and refined, this new edition of Institutional Theory and Organizational Change considers the developments in the field of institutional organization theory over the past decade. With each chapter being significantly updated, the book explains what the institutional organization approach means by bringing special attention to how the institutional environment is made up and how organizations are governed by it.Throughout the book, Staffan Furusten also brings attention to core concepts and arguments within institutional theory and presents them in an easily tangible model for understanding institutional pressure on organizations. New analysis featured in the book includes organizing beyond management and markets, organizational change through re-contextualization and institutional pressure through institutional elements. The examples presented in the book can be used as a navigation tool for additional learning about what the institutional environment consists of and what organizations can do to handle institutional demands.The second edition of this book is a lucid introduction to contemporary institutional organizational analysis and will be a key resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students in critical management studies, organizational studies, as well as managers and policy makers.

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 Advanced Introduction provides a comprehensive guide to the vibrant and expanding global production network (GPN) approach. Neil M. Coe deftly explores the antecedents and theoretical underpinnings of GPN analysis, as well as debates and controversies surrounding the approach and its position in wider interdisciplinary discussions. He argues overall that, during a time of profound ongoing challenges within the global economic system, the need for a GPN framework has never been more pressing.Key features include:an up-to-date assessment of current debates in the literaturean integrated perspective on how GPN thinking can aid understanding of capitalist uneven developmenta wide range of sectoral and geographical examplesa thorough discussion of connections to cognate debates in the wider social sciences and business and management studiesidentification of future research challenges in the field.In short, Advanced Introduction to Global Production Networks is an ideal introductory book for students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in geography, economics and business looking to understand the organization and dynamics of the global economy.

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 stimulating and accessible Advanced Introduction critically engages with dominant, modernist, and ahistorical narratives of development, foregrounding the overlooked dissonant discourses that are largely written out of mainstream development. It argues that development discourse and practice must remain aware of how historically unequal relations continue to be reproduced today and outlines a range of effective strategies for guiding change towards achieving global social justice.Features include:challenges to the claims of universality evident in much development scholarshipexposure of critical discourses overlooked by conventional development historiesidentification of progressive ways to guide change towards achieving global social justiceguidance on development approaches and ideas that avoid reproducing colonial forms of representation, knowledge, power, and controlthe foregrounding of critical postcolonial, decolonial, and feminist perspectives to identify how progressive possibilities for change can emerge.This insightful Advanced Introduction will be beneficial to students and scholars of development studies, geography, sociology, anthropology, history, and indigenous studies seeking an understanding of unequal global relations, knowledge production, and the exercise of global power and control. Further, it will be of great value to academics and students interested in postcolonialism, contemporary colonial legacies, and processes of decolonisation and decoloniality.

Benjamin Redekop expertly presents a comprehensive overview of the rise and evolution of environmentally sustainable leadership from the early 19th century to the present day. Redekop not only assesses the approaches of various historical and contemporary leaders, but also provides a foundation for understanding the challenges, dilemmas, and opportunities for sustainable leadership today.Through the lens of contemporary theories and models of leadership, including the Eco-Leadership paradigm, this erudite book highlights the development of various forms and styles of sustainable and unsustainable leadership. Incorporating real-world examples, chapters provide in-depth analyses of individual leaders and their influence while paying close attention to other factors in the leadership process. Redekop explores the notion of environmentally sustainable leadership from numerous perspectives and in a variety of historical, geographical, and theoretical settings.This book will prove essential to researchers, academics and students interested in business and management, politics and public policy, business leadership, corporate social responsibility, management and sustainability, and environmental management. It will also appeal to those looking to better understand environmental leadership and the history of the environmental movement.

In this thoroughly updated second edition of what has quickly become the definitive text in the field of international humanitarian law (IHL), leading expert Marco Sassòli evaluates the application of IHL, the way in which hostilities should be conducted against an adversary, and the pertinence of traditional distinctions, such as that between international and non-international armed conflicts or civilians and combatants. Drawing on the author’s practical experience to provide unique and invaluable insights, the second edition discusses the rules protecting certain categories of persons, including prisoners of war, as well as governing different types of conduct of hostilities and the difficulties in determining whether a destruction was unlawful. Significantly, the edition takes the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine into account, discussing what remains of neutrality, defending the strict separation between the prohibition of aggression and the humanitarian rules to be respected by both sides, which must however be nuanced in the field of naval warfare. New sections explore IHL in relation to persons with disabilities, sieges and humanitarian corridors, the role of the media, IHL in outer space, and the concept of meaningful human control over lethal autonomous weapons systems. Structured in a clear and accessible manner, this new edition is essential reading for all students and scholars of international humanitarian law, as well as those in human rights, and public international law. For military practitioners and NGO lawyers, as well as those working in intergovernmental organizations, this is simply a must-have resource.

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.Fully revised and updated, this Advanced Introduction provides a comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurial finance of new and growing ventures. With a unique research-based focus, Hans Landström synthesizes contemporary knowledge and presents diverse theoretical approaches to explain financial decision-making in entrepreneurial ventures.New features include:An updated synthesis of knowledge on entrepreneurial finance, which highlights accumulated knowledge as well as new contributions in entrepreneurial finance researchEmphasis on entrepreneurial finance from the perspective of both entrepreneurs as well as capital providersAn elaboration of financial issues not only in high-tech and high growth ventures, but also in the financing of more 'everyday' venturesA consideration of the ways the financial landscape has changed, featuring analysis of the FinTech revolution, crowdfunding and initial coin offerings (ICOs).This second edition will serve as an excellent up-to-date resource for advanced students and scholars in entrepreneurship, innovation, finance and business. Policy-makers interested in financial issues in young and growing ventures will also find this Advanced Introduction a useful tool for exploring financial decision-making from an entrepreneur’s perspective.

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.Providing a concise overview of resilience in the context of unprecedented global environmental change, this Advanced Introduction addresses the intertwined systems of people and nature. It explores ecological resilience, incorporating social science approaches and concepts, and identifies and discusses innovative ways of planning for an increasingly unpredictable future. Key Features:Identifies practical resilience-building strategies applicable to multiple areasProvides an interdisciplinary discussion of the fundamentals of social and ecological resilienceProposes new ways of dealing with complex environmental problems which present fundamental challenges to conventional science and technologyHighlights knowledge and issues concerning the resilience of Indigenous peoples across the globe, and the lessons that may be learnedExamining the concept of resilience rooted in historical analysis, from Greenland’s Vikings to the collapse of Maya civilization, this insightful Advanced Introduction will be essential reading for students and scholars of environmental studies, ecological economics, environmental and human geography, political studies, socio-economics, sociology and social policy. It includes key concepts for practitioners in the areas of climate change, development studies, disaster management, and natural resources management.

Technological Revolutions and Financial Capital presents a novel interpretation of the good and bad times in the economy, taking a long-term perspective and linking technology and finance in an original and convincing way.Carlota Perez draws upon Schumpeter's theories of the clustering of innovations to explain why each technological revolution gives rise to a paradigm shift and a 'New Economy' and how these 'opportunity explosions', focused on specific industries, also lead to the recurrence of financial bubbles and crises. These findings are illustrated with examples from the past two centuries: the industrial revolution, the age of steam and railways, the age of steel and electricity, the emergence of mass production and automobiles, and the current information revolution/knowledge society.By analyzing the changing relationship between finance capital and production capital during the emergence, diffusion and assimilation of new technologies throughout the global economic system, this seminal book sheds new light on some of the most pressing economic problems of today.A bold interpretation of how the changing relationship between technological advances and financial capital shapes the patterns of economic cycles, this path-breaking book will provide essential insights for business leaders, policymakers, academics and others concerned with managing change in the world economy.

This fully revised second edition offers a comprehensive examination of the policy process through a range of perspectives, including rationalism, culturalism, institutionalism, and political analysis. By combining these perspectives, the book enhances our understanding of the complex challenges that today’s policymakers face and promotes a reflexive approach to policy practice. It enables students to discover key concepts and gain a deeper understanding of how public policy is discussed academically and shaped empirically.Key Features:Coverage of all key elements of the policy cycleCritical reflections on the roles of policy analystsInsight into the complexity of policymaking in practiceUp-to-date review of the literature on the policy processFresh case studies on topics including migration, water management, social policies, and climate change.Providing an insight into the complexity of policymaking in today’s world, this engaging textbook is an invaluable resource for undergraduate and master’s students of public policy, policy analysis and public administration.

For some, Sweden is proof that a generous welfare state is fully compatible with a growing competitive economy. For others, it is a frightening example of what big government can do to a once thriving economy. Sweden and the Revival of the Capitalist Welfare State tackles a number of controversial questions regarding Sweden's economic and political development: How did Sweden become rich? How did Sweden become egalitarian? Why has Sweden since the early 90s grown faster than the US and most EU-countries despite its high taxes and generous welfare state?The author uses new research on institutions and economic reforms to explain the rise, the fall and the recent revival of the Swedish welfare state. The central argument is that a generous welfare state like that of Sweden can work well, provided that it is built on well-functioning capitalist institutions and economic openness. The book expertly explains how Sweden developed from a poor and highly unequal society to one of the richest and most egalitarian countries in the world by building a universal welfare state on a capitalist foundation. It also engages in an important discussion about the current and future challenges for the welfare state in general.The book will fit well in introductory and advanced courses on welfare state policy, social work, sociology, economic history, institutional economics and political science. In all these disciplines, the case of Sweden has always provoked interest and debate, due to Sweden's combination of prosperity, equality and extensive welfare state. The rapid pace of change in Sweden over the last 25 years, however, means that most other books are descriptively dated.

This pioneering book compares public administration in two distinct countries to examine the development of a new form of bureaucratisation. Taking a mixed-method empirical approach, Karl Löfgren and Patrik Hall explore the differences and commonalities in this intriguing global phenomenon.The New Public Bureaucracy investigates the growing number of organisational professionals whose primary role is the management of internal functions, such as quality control, audits, performance review and organisational branding. The book examines and verifies this growth by drawing on public sector workforce data and case studies from New Zealand and Sweden concerning transport agencies, police forces and higher education sectors. Löfgren and Hall also identify patterns of growing attention to accountability through the expansion of managerialism, politicisation and professionalisation. They explain the development of a new type of bureaucratisation as the result of the tension between politics and public administration.This book is an essential resource for students and academics in management, human resources and public administration. The New Public Bureaucracy is also beneficial to government professionals working in management to resolve internal organisational issues.

This comprehensive Research Handbook challenges familiar success stories and polished narratives, advancing Critical Entrepreneurship Studies by asking bold questions about entrepreneurship as a social and economic phenomenon. Spanning diverse themes and perspectives, it maps contemporary debates, emerging ideas and future directions for the field of Critical Entrepreneurship Studies. Leading academics provide novel conceptual tools and empirical insights that expand how entrepreneurship can be studied, understood and taught. Proposing a reorientation of entrepreneurial scholarship, chapters analyse key themes, including class elements of immigrant entrepreneurship, online harassment, public policy priorities and instances where entrepreneurship becomes a transgressive practice. Exploring decolonialism, marginalisation, organisation creation and alternative futures, the Research Handbook invites readers to question, rethink, and rediscover entrepreneurship in all its complexity. The Research Handbook of Critical Entrepreneurship Studies is an invaluable resource for scholars and students of business, management, organisation and entrepreneurial studies. Policymakers and practitioners will also benefit from its critical proposals and in-depth scope.

Following on from their highly acclaimed Guide to Success in Opposition and Appeal, this new and authoritative Practical Guide provides a toolkit for handling the procedural aspects of appeals before the European Patent Office. The book provides insight and guidance for all stages of the appeal proceedings with the following key features:Outlines the various steps to be taken during appeal proceedings including relevant time limitsGives advice on how to draft written submissions in appealPresents best practice guidelines and actionable advice for oral proceedings before the BoardsDiscusses the specific aspects of oral proceedings by video conferenceExplores the implications of the Rules of Procedure and recent case law for various aspects of appeal proceedingsPresents a detailed analysis on how Boards deal with late submissions in appeal including the impact of first-instance proceedingsThis Practical Guide is an essential go-to resource for patent lawyers and patent attorneys at all levels of experience.

This major textbook provides a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to the economics of innovation, written for students with some basic knowledge of economics. G.M. Peter Swann contends that innovation is one of the most important economic and business phenomena of our time and a topic of great practical and policy interest, with widespread implications for our economy and society. This book engages with the reader to explore some of the key economic issues concerning innovation. Bridging a gap in the literature, this timely textbook addresses critical questions such as: How should different aspects of innovation be described and classified? What are the incentives to innovate? How should firms organize themselves to promote innovation? What are the effects of innovation on the economy? Do governments have a role in supporting and guiding innovation?Introducing the student to a broad range of issues surrounding the economics of innovation, this text will prove invaluable to students on a variety of courses including economics, business and management, innovation, and science and technology studies.

Investment Treaty Arbitration is an excellent teaching tool for lecturers and readers of international investment arbitration. This casebook includes over forty exercises based on real-life disputes, helping readers evaluate and analyze all aspects of the topic. Intended to set out a basis for discussion in seminars, the material has been developed by the eminent practitioner and academic Kaj Hobér, using a teaching structure proven to be successful. Key features include: • extensive examples of cases alongside seminar exercises and mini mock arbitrations to help students put their knowledge into practice material built on the problem-based learning method, using fact patterns and allowing for in-depth discussion and a confident understanding of complex arbitration cases• exercises including questions to answer, problems to solve and group exercises, alongside excerpts of the relevant cases for annotation and analysis.The most wide-ranging textbook in the area, covering both substantive investment law and arbitration, this will become the key casebook for Master’'s level courses or other advanced courses in international arbitration. It will also serve as a supplementary text for those studying investment law more broadly.

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.Tackling the complex issues surrounding what shapes a person’s vote, this cutting-edge Advanced Introduction analyses the main findings in current research on electoral behavior to provide a comprehensive understanding of electoral choice.Key Features:Treats the voting decision as the cumulation of a lifetime of learningStudies global voting examples, from Europe and the Anglo-American democracies to newly democratic statesPlaces the act of voting in context to cover all dimensions of the voting decision, examining the causes of an individual's vote and how that interacts with the design of the country's institutionsConsiders the ideological effects of short-term factors like issues and leaders which dominate election campaigns, and long-term factors like social backgrounds, looking at how class and economic interests can influence votersAnalysing the incentives behind party loyalties and political participation, this Advanced Introduction will be an invaluable guide for students and scholars interested in political and electoral behavior and comparative politics.

Timely and original, Rethinking Communication Geographies explores the human condition under digital capitalism, depicting an environment in which digital logistics have taken centre stage in day-to-day life. The book responds to a pressing need to address the key questions of human autonomy and security, as well as the social power relations of the platform economy, in a world in which media and space have become increasingly entangled. Establishing a framework for understanding ‘geomedia’ as an environmental regime that shapes human subjectivity, André Jansson advances a humanistic and interdisciplinary approach to the study of communication geographies, arguing that human activities are accommodated to sustain the circulation of digital data. The book examines concrete examples related to audio-streaming, transmedia tourism, and platform urbanism, ultimately demonstrating how digital skills and logistical expertise have become forms of capital in contemporary society. Mapping ongoing transitions related to how digitalization affects spatial processes, the unique perspectives explored in this book will be of equal interest to postgraduates and researchers in the fields of human geography and media and communication studies. The innovative concepts and approaches to the study of digital geography introduced throughout will also enhance the dialogue between a vast range of disciplines across the humanities and social sciences.

How Entrepreneurs Do What They Do presents 13 case studies of knowledge intensive entrepreneurship. The book focuses on 'doing', in essence, what happens when entrepreneurs are engaging practically in venture creation processes.Case studies can be used as a key element in learning and understanding what really occurs, as well as for illustrating theoretical points. This insightful book provides a series of in-depth case studies of knowledge intensive entrepreneurship from different industries to elucidate relevant phenomena and topics. They focus upon the venture creation process, involving close interactions between the individual, the company, and the external eco-system and environment. The cases primarily provide a managerial perspective on the process, from the sources of ideas, through opportunities and strategies, to outcomes and interactions with external networks.This enriching book will be relevant to academics and practitioners, as well as advanced students. The suggestions for further reflections can be used as inspiration for class discussions, Master thesis projects, academic research projects or stimulating successful entrepreneurship.Contributors: A.-S. Axelsson, R. Bekkers, L. Bordoli, J. Brink, O. Broberg, M.M. Godinho, J. Laage-Hellman, A.H. Lassen, D. Ljungberg, R. Mamede, M. McKelvey, C.R. Østergaard, E. Park, A. Rosa, G. Sjöblom, D. Slepniov, S. Szücs, B. Timmermans, B.V. Waehrens, O. Zaring, Y. Zhu

This original and exciting work differs from existing books on entrepreneurship by focusing specifically on the relationship between knowledge and entrepreneurship.The book uniquely combines an academic review of theoretical and empirical contributions with an analysis of the practical implications for engaging in and learning about venture creation. The authors concentrate on specific types of firms reliant upon advanced knowledge and show how a systemic perspective of entrepreneurship is required, involving design thinking, in order to capture the relationships between individual, venture and eco-system.Managing Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship will be insightful for academics and practitioners, as well as advanced students on entrepreneurship courses.Contents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. The KIE Creation Model 3. Accessing Resources and Ideas 4. Managing and Developing the Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship Venture 5. Evaluating Performance and Outputs 6. Design Thinking as a Tool for Entrepreneurship 7. Societal Impacts of Knowledge Intensive Entrepreneurship and the Role of Public Policy Appendix References Index

This extensively updated textbook introduces the transport system and its societal impacts in a holistic and multidisciplinary way. A timely second edition, it includes new analyses of travel behaviour and the transport system’s impacts on health and well-being.Key Features:Guidance for transport policy evaluation methods and modelling approachesSystematic approach to analysing higher-order impacts of interventions in the transport systemDiscussion of topical issues in transport policy, including analysis of current transport innovationsThe use of case studies to highlight interconnected aspects of the transport system and their relevance to decision makingExploration of the role of transport systems in providing accessibility and their impact on the environment, safety, health and well-beingInternational in scope, this textbook will be invaluable for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying disciplines such as transport policy and transport geography. It will also be useful to the professionals and policymakers in the transport industry.

This engaging Research Handbook offers a comprehensive overview of research on social factors and mental health, examining how important it is to consider the social context in which mental health issues develop. It illustrates how social factors contribute to problems with mental health and how society, in turn, responds to people diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. Expert contributors provide an in-depth review of the history of social factors and mental health, and also discuss how boundaries between disorders such as bipolar and borderline personality disorder can be blurred and contested. Past and current social factors are thoroughly reviewed such as refugee mental health, stressors linked to discrimination based on race, gender or sexual orientation, exposure to police violence and the impact of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The challenges and stigma faced by those diagnosed with disorders, alongside prejudices and discrimination in the health care system are also examined. The Research Handbook on Society and Mental Health will be an excellent resource for scholars studying social issues in relation to mental health or illness and researchers wishing to take an interdisciplinary approach by studying biopsychosocial factors. Mental health providers interested in well-rounded learning and those people experiencing and living with mental illness will find the alternative viewpoints to mainstream psychiatry and psychology informative and illuminating.

The Elgar Companion to Health Economics is a comprehensive and accessible look at the field, as seen by its leading figures.'- Joseph Newhouse, Harvard Medical School, USThis comprehensive collection brings together more than 50 contributions from some of the most influential researchers in health economics. It authoritatively covers theoretical and empirical issues in health economics, with a balanced range of material on equity and efficiency in health care systems, health technology assessment and issues of concern for developing countries. This thoroughly revised second edition is expanded to include four new chapters, while all existing chapters have been extensively updated.The Elgar Companion to Health Economics, Second Edition intends to take an audience of advanced undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers to the current frontier of research by providing concise and readable introductions to key topics.Contributors: T. Adam, H. Al-Janabi, M.C. Auld, P.P. Barros, A. Basu, S. Birch, D. Bishai, H. Bleichrodt, W.D. Bradford, J. Brazier, F. Breyer, A. Briggs, J.F. Burgess Jr, L. Burgess, M. Chalkley, D. Chisholm, K. Claxton, J. Coast, P. Contoyannis, R. Cookson, G. Currie, D. Dawson, P. Deb, C. Donaldson, B. Dowd, M. Drummond, T.T.-T. Ensor, S.L. Ettner, D.B. Evans, D. Feeny, R. Feldman, E. Fenwick, A. Gafni, P.-Y. Geoffard, K. Gerard, J. Glazer, D.C. Grabowski, H. Gravelle, P. Grootendorst, P.J. Huckfeldt, T. Iversen, A.M. Jones, D. Kenkel, A.N. Kleit, D.N. Lakdawalla, M. Lindeboom, P. Lorgelly, J. Louviere, H. Lurås, W. Manning, X. Martinez-Giralt, H. Mason, A. McGuire, T.G. McGuire, D. Meltzer, A. Mills, C. Mitton, S. Morris, J. Mullahy, D. Nair, E.C. Norton, J.A. Nyman, O. O'Donnell, T. Olmstead, N. Palmer, S.J. Peacock, T.J. Philipson, J.L. Pinto, D. Polsky, C. Propper, M. Raikou, R. Rannan-Eliya, N. Rice, T. Rice, J. Roberts, D. Rowen, C.J. Ruhm, M. Ryan, M. Schoenbaum, M.J. Sculpher, P. Shackley, L. Siciliani, J.L. Sindelar, P.C. Smith, R. Smith, A. Somanathan, A. Street, D.J. Street, M. Sutton, R. Thompson, P.K. Trivedi, A. Tsuchiya, E. van Doorslaer, C.H. Van Houtven, D.J. Vanness, S. Venkatapuram, R. Viney, A. Wagstaff, M.C. Weinstein, J.A. Williams, D. Wilson, P. Zweifel

This thoroughly revised, extended and updated second edition of Silvia Gherardi's classic book gives the reader a must-read orientation through the myriad of methods and styles involved in practice-based research. Practice-based approaches to knowing, learning, innovating, and managing have thrived in recent years. Calling upon numerous narratives from a range of research fields, the author offers insight into the many possibilities of practice research, highlighting the inextricable links between humans and technology as the key emergent trend in management studies. Developing an innovative posthumanist approach, this novel book offers a useful and insightful compass for the navigation of practice-based studies through the lens of exemplar vignettes from internationally acclaimed researchers.A valuable and instructive work, this book is critical to any scholars of practice theories, as well as management and organizational studies and those with a keen interest in research methods. Masters students seeking insight into the development of practice-based studies, and PhD researchers developing their own methodologies will also find the guidance of this book indispensable in their studies.

This ground-breaking collection introduces readers to the fascinating research field of political anthropology. The chapters engage in major theoretical and methodological debates to provide interpretive frames, analytical tools and ethnographic illustrations for culturally based interpretations of political phenomena, revealing the intersection between anthropology, culture, politics and international relations. Theoretical tools such as liminality, sacrifice, mimesis, ethics, trickster and interpretation of meaning provide understanding of key challenges in a globalised world. These include war zones, revolutions, migration, securitization, territorial borders, climate change and ethno-religious violence. The contributing authors focus on the ethnographies of power, political culture and forms of cultural intimacy in informal networks. Using self-critical and reflexive approaches, they show that disciplinary boundaries have been reshaped by changing meanings of power, including reconfigurations of state and sovereignty. With reflections on the potential and limits of political anthropology, this Handbook explores the art of understanding human interaction within political frameworks in a globalising world. Offering a unique reference resource in the area with exceptional cross-disciplinary research, this Handbook will suit political, social and cultural anthropologists as well as scholars in comparative political analysis and social theory. Students and researchers of politics, anthropology and international relations will also benefit from the key methodological tools explaining the challenges and consequences of globalisation.Contributors include: S. Coleman, J.-P. Daloz, G. de Anna, H. Donnan, T.H. Eriksen, R. Farneti, M. Fog Olwig, J. Gledhill, J. Gould, S. Haugbølle, A. Horvath, C. Illies, J. Kubik, N. Long, M. Mälksoo, K. Martin, M. Moodie, M. Nuijten, P. Rabinow, M. Rasaratnam, P. Raman, E. Ranta, A. Sanchez, D. Sausdal, A. Stavrianakis, F. Stepputat, A. Szakolczai, B. Thomassen, H. Vigh, H. Wydra

This book enlarges the understanding of decision-making on mega-projects and suggest recommendations for a more effective, efficient and democratic approach. Authors from different scientific disciplines address various aspects of the decision-making process, such as management characteristics and cost-benefit analysis, planning and innovation and competition and institutions. The subject matter is highly diverse, but certain questions remain at the forefront. For example, how do we deal with protracted preparation processes, how do we tackle risks and uncertainties, and how can we best divide the risks and responsibilities among the private and public players throughout the different phases of the project?Presenting a state-of-the-art overview, based on experiences and visions of authors from Europe and North America, this unique book will be of interest to practitioners of large-scale project management, politicians, public officials and private organisations involved in mega-project decision-making. It will also appeal to researchers, consultants and students dealing with substantial engineering projects, complex systems, project management and transport infrastructure.