When in 1989 the authors started research on infrastructure, they did not foresee that this would lead to a long-term involvement in this area. Our beginning happened to coincide with the publication of David Aschauer's article on public capital and productivity, which induced a large flow of publications in this field. Infrastructure has indeed been a hot topic in policy and research during the past decade. It is surprising, however, that the number of monographs on spatial and economic impacts of infrastructure has remained very limited. The aim of this book is to contribute to the literature in a consolidated way. A distinguishing feature of our book is that we analyze infrastructure impacts using various methods (both modelling and non-modelling) at a variety of spatial levels (from local to international). Other special features are that we make ample use of 'accessibility' as a bridge concept between the areas of infrastructure and the economy. Finally, we not only treat transport infrastructure projects as given, as is the usual approach in infrastructure impact research, but we also analyze the factors influencing infrastructure supply. We have adopted a mainly non-technical approach throughout most of the book. This means that it can also be used by readers without a strong back ground in statistics, modelling or micro-economics.
Nowadays organized crime is a very important political issue in Europe. However, scientific studies on the nature and seriousness of this problem are very scarce in the member states of the Council of Europe and the European Union. This national study on organized crime in the Netherlands was prepared for the Commission of Inquiry of the Dutch Parliament that recently made an investigation into the regulation and use of undercover policing. It not only contains an analysis of the contemporary manifestations of traditional organized crime, but also answers the question whether organized crime already has penetrated legitimate sectors of the economy or not. In addition special attention is paid to the role of the liberal professions and the banking system; and to the use of counter-strategies by criminal groups (corruption, intimidation, violence, disinformation, etc.)
When in 1989 the authors started research on infrastructure, they did not foresee that this would lead to a long-term involvement in this area. Our beginning happened to coincide with the publication of David Aschauer's article on public capital and productivity, which induced a large flow of publications in this field. Infrastructure has indeed been a hot topic in policy and research during the past decade. It is surprising, however, that the number of monographs on spatial and economic impacts of infrastructure has remained very limited. The aim of this book is to contribute to the literature in a consolidated way. A distinguishing feature of our book is that we analyze infrastructure impacts using various methods (both modelling and non-modelling) at a variety of spatial levels (from local to international). Other special features are that we make ample use of 'accessibility' as a bridge concept between the areas of infrastructure and the economy. Finally, we not only treat transport infrastructure projects as given, as is the usual approach in infrastructure impact research, but we also analyze the factors influencing infrastructure supply. We have adopted a mainly non-technical approach throughout most of the book. This means that it can also be used by readers without a strong back ground in statistics, modelling or micro-economics.
Nowadays organized crime is a very important political issue in Europe. However, scientific studies on the nature and seriousness of this problem are very scarce in the member states of the Council of Europe and the European Union. This national study on organized crime in the Netherlands was prepared for the Commission of Inquiry of the Dutch Parliament that recently made an investigation into the regulation and use of undercover policing. It not only contains an analysis of the contemporary manifestations of traditional organized crime, but also answers the question whether organized crime already has penetrated legitimate sectors of the economy or not. In addition special attention is paid to the role of the liberal professions and the banking system; and to the use of counter-strategies by criminal groups (corruption, intimidation, violence, disinformation, etc.)
Dislocations are lines of irregularity in the structure of a solid analogous to the bumps in a badly laid carpet. Like these bumps, they can be easily moved, and they provide the most important mechanism by which the solid can be deformed. They also have a strong influence on crystal growth and on the electronic properties of semiconductors.
Knowledge externalities - i.e. intellectual gains made by exchange of information for which no direct compensation is given to the producer of the knowledge - result in higher economic growth rates across urban areas, as well as higher degrees of innovation intensity in those locations where economic activity is dense. By combining theories and methodologies on localised growth and innovation density from the fields of geography and economics, he puts forward an innovative spatial econometric model which contributes to a clearer understanding of actual processes of growth and innovation and their linkages to industry and spatially determined agglomeration factors. In doing so, the book acknowledges the increasing importance of geographical composition and distance for the transmission of knowledge and skills in a society in which information becomes easier to access.
This Element engages with recent attempts by economists and political scientists to rigorously estimate impacts of missionary work in sub-Saharan Africa. It argues that, although these efforts contribute to more accurate assessments of the 'true' effects of missionary presence, they also have a tendency to present Christian involvement in the region as a largely apolitical process, that was relatively unaffected by the rapidly evolving geopolitical and socio-cultural contexts of the colonial period. Countering this trend, this Element illustrates aspects of missionary behavior that were inherently more political and context-dependent, such as local struggles for religious hegemony between Protestants and Catholics and interactions between colonial regimes and the church-based provision of goods like education. The Element draws heavily on market-based theories of organized religious behavior. These perspectives are entirely compatible with the analytical language of economists and political scientists. Yet, they played surprisingly limited roles in recent literature on missionary impacts.
Comprehensive and engaging, this textbook introduces students not only to foundational sociological work, but also to insights from contemporary sociological theory and research. This combined approach ensures that students become familiar with the core of sociology: key concepts, theories, perspectives, methods, and findings. Students will acquire the ability to think like a sociologist, investigate and understand complex social phenomena. This text presents a complete sociological toolkit, guiding students in the art of asking good sociological questions, devising a sophisticated theory and developing methodologies to observe social phenomena. The chapters of this book build cumulatively to equip students with the tools to quickly understand any new sociological topic or contemporary social problem. The textbook also applies the sociological toolkit to selected key sociological issues, showing how specific sociological topics can be easily investigated and understood using this approach. Taking a global and comparative perspective, the book covers a rich diversity of sociological topics and social problems, such as crime, immigration, race and ethnicity, media, education, family, organizations, gender, poverty, modernization and religion. The book presents a range of helpful pedagogical features throughout, such as: Chapter overview and learning goals summaries at the start of every chapter; Thinking like a sociologist boxes, encouraging students to reflect critically on learning points; Principle boxes, summarizing key sociological principles; Theory schema boxes, presenting sociological theories in a clear, understandable manner; Stylized facts highlighting key empirical findings and patterns; Key concepts and summary sections at the end of every chapter; and Companion website providing additional material for every chapter for both instructors and students, including PowerPoint lecture notes, discussion questions and answers, multiple-choice questions, further reading and a full glossary of terms. This clear and accessible text is essential reading for students taking introductory courses in sociology. It will also be useful for undergraduate and graduate courses in other social science disciplines, such as psychology, economics, human geography, demography, communication studies, education sciences, political science and criminology.
By analyzing historic and contextualized transit practices and case studies of travel in technological cultures, car travel, air travel, and cycling in Dutch towns, this book argues that travel cannot simply be reduced to getting from A to B.
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