This book reflects on the emerging trends, development, and challenges of policy on sustainability using information technology, and provides valuable insights to both research and practice communities. Sustainability has become an important focus for government, civil society and the corporate community world-wide. Growing interest in addressing environmental deterioration and associated socia…
There has been much attention paid to the idea of Smart Cities as researchers have sought to define and characterize the main aspects of the concept, including the role of creative industries in urban growth, the importance of social capital in urban development, and the role of urban sustainability. This book develops a critical view of the Smart City concept, the incentives and role of govern…
This book probes the hollow rhetoric of debt, deficits and austerity. It explores the decisions of parties of the left which have attempted to deflect criticisms of economic mismanagement and gain trust by depoliticising the budget process and financial management with various rules, albeit with elements of discretion. The book argues that this is a perverse form of trust as it is premised on t…
The goal of this book is to provide a comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach to research and practice in e-government 2.0 implementation. Contributions from an international panel of experts apply a variety of methodological approaches and illustrative case studies to present state-of-the-art analysis and perspectives. Around the world, governments are employing technological advancements…
This book tests many of the assumptions, hypotheses, and conclusions connected with the presumed role of civil society organizations in the democratization of African countries. Taking a comparative approach, it looks at countries that have successfully democratized, those that are stuck between progress and regression, those that have regressed into dictatorship, and those that are currently i…
Understanding the governance of nations is a key challenge in contemporaneous political economy. This book provides new advances and the latest research in the field of political economy, dealing with the study of institutions, governance, democracy and elections. The volume focuses on issues such as the role of institutions and political governance in society, the working of democracy and the …
The Yearbook on Space Policy is the reference publication analyzing space policy developments. Each year it presents issues and trends in space policy and the space sector as a whole. Its scope is global and its perspective is European. The Yearbook also links space policy with other policy areas. It highlights specific events and issues, and provides useful insights, data and information on sp…
This volume provides fresh insights and management understanding of the changing role of the ambulance services against the backdrop of massive cuts in health budgets around the world and the changing context of pre-hospital care within the wider healthcare networks. The challenges of funding, training and cultural transformation are now felt globally. The need to learn and adapt from suitable …
This starkly lucid and timely book absorbs the nuances of the largest festival – the elections – of the world's largest democracy. Hailing from a political family, the author conveys his passion and knowledge on the intricacies, as well as the heat and dust of his national fête. All data and events have been methodically examined in this absorbing analytical work which is an indispensable …
This book is the first comprehensive, full-scale treatment of the politics, law, and economics with regard to the policies and policy instruments for budget stabilization at the local level. It examines budget stabilization in the United States from the 1910s to 2010 (from adoption of public budgeting in this country through the Great Recession). In addition, it provides details on the methods …