Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB)
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Growing Up Rural
No full textThis open access book explores the everyday lives of young people living in rural areas in Nordic countries, drawing on qualitative longitudinal methods. The young people’s life stories are set against a backdrop of Nordic welfare states under increasing global pressure. Growing Up Rural contributes to the growing literature on spatialized youth studies by providing a refreshing antidote to one-sided stories about depraved young lives in rural areas. By drawing on novel empirical analyses of longitudinal data, thereby foregrounding processual shifts and changes over time, it highlights the vast varieties in young people’s lives as well as the agency and navigation skills required to master vulnerabilities in transitions to adulthood. It contributes to ongoing discussions about how longitudinal qualitative research design provides a deeper understanding of the lives of young people as they unfold. This book provides useful and inspiring insights for scholars and students of youth studies, rural studies, life course studies, and qualitative research more generally
Conceptualisation and Measurement of Financial Competence
No full textThis Open access book offers a pivotal contribution to the field of financial literacy research as it advances the understanding of financial literacy as a holistic competence encompassing cognition, motivation, emotion, attitude, behaviour and their interrelationships. It provides a comprehensive overview and evaluation of concepts, constructs and frameworks related to financial literacy and instruments used to measure financial competence. The work also discusses identification, synthesis and systematisation of a wide range of cognitive and non-cognitive influences on financial behaviour. The book not only introduces a unique, holistic model of financial competence, but also presents a draft of an innovative technology-based test instrument designed to simulate and trace complex financial decision-making processes and elucidate challenges confronted in complex problem-solving situations. The aim of this book is to shift from an isolated focus on individual cognitive facets (mainly knowledge) to a holistic modeling of competence in order to systematise the landscape of research on financial literacy and financial competence. The work is instrumental for researchers, educators and policymakers in advancing their understanding and methodologies and in paving the way for effective financial education interventions and promoting financially competent behaviour
Role of Ecosystem Services in Enabling Rural-Urban Synergies
No full textThis open access book elaborates on the role Ecosystem Services play in relation to establishing, and enhancing, rural-urban synergies. It draws on the concept of Ecosystem Services (ESS) as the ecological characteristics, functions, or processes that directly or indirectly contribute to human wellbeing, that is, the benefits that people derive from functioning ecosystems. The empirical and theoretical research that supports the various contributions in this book was developed in the context of the project H2020 ROBUST - Rural-Urban Outlooks: Unlocking Synergies (GA: 727988). The project was structured in five Communities of Practice (CoP), as groups of researchers sharing a common thematic interest. One of these CoP was dedicated to ESS and aimed to investigate its role in unlocking synergies across rural and urban territories. Strategic approaches to integrate ESS in spatial planning were developed associating ESS use and delivery to planning instruments and governance models at multiple scales. The approach assumes the engagement of multiple actors both as users of ESS but also in their position as planners, regulators, land owners or other type of decision-making role, to explore the role of ESS in enhancing rural-urban synergies. The purpose has been to ensure the balance between supply and demand of ESS, seeking instruments, and the governance models for public policy, market and science and technology, that will encourage alternative practices and policy integrated goals, thus enabling resilience and social well-being. Ultimately the purpose has been to generate transition processes towards the recognition of socio-ecological systems inclusive of new ESS based societal values leading rural-urban synergies. In other words, such inclusive of socio-ecological systems are seen as a condition for human well-being. Theoretical investigation in five core themes and its implementation in six different living laboratories form the more substantive content of this book. In addition, ESS is analysed in the context of its integration with other relevant themes in a cross-sectoral perspective. Overall the purpose of the book is to communicate the multiple and constructive roles played by ESS in rural-urban synergies, using multiple lenses, looking particularly into challenges and merits, and into different imaginative forms of making such as abstract concept more concrete, operational and recognized by stakeholders in the field
Proceedings of the United Nations/Germany Workshop on the International Space Weather Initiative
No full textThis open access book presents peer reviewed articles from the United Nations/Germany Workshop on International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI 2024) held from 10 to 15 June at Neustrelitz, Germany. It highlights the current status of global space weather research, especially in developing countries. The topics of the workshop cover the entire Sun Earth system starting from the Sun where most space weather originates and the impact at various points in the inner heliosphere including those on Earth’s surface
Decentralized Autonomous Organizations—Governance, Technology, and Legal Perspectives
No full textThis open access book explores the transformative world of DAOs, where decentralized governance meets blockchain technology. Based on a competitive peer-reviewed selection of papers presented at the second European DAO Workshop at ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Zurich, Switzerland in 2025, this book provides an in-depth analysis of the current state of DAO research. In this context, it addresses key aspects of DAOs, from governance mechanisms and stakeholder dynamics to the development of essential tools and frameworks. Beyond examining how DAOs can redefine organizational structures, enhance transparency, and promote democratic decision-making, it also addresses important challenges such as centralization risks, legal uncertainties, and integration into existing economic and regulatory frameworks. This book is valuable for researchers and practitioners interested in understanding and promoting the potential of DAOs in creating a fairer and more innovative digital economy
Connecting Philosophy and Public Administration
No full textThis open access book provides a novel framework for understanding the connections between philosophy and public administration. It proposes four key directions of inquiry to help better understand the relationship between these two areas of research and practice: philosophy for public administration, mapping backwards, aligning philosophy and public administration, and philosophy of public administration. Each of these directions of inquiry are analyzed in turn, underlining the functions that philosophy applied to public administration perform, and the ways in which philosophy and philosophical thinking can benefit the development of public administration and governance. A research program outlining the features of a philosophy of public administration for the 21st century is delineated. An essential read for both academics and practitioners, the book will appeal to all those interested in public administration, public management, governance, and philosophy
Digital Education: Shaping Sustainable Lifelong Learning for All in the Era of AI
No full textThis open access book constitutes the proceedings of the 9th European MOOCs Stakeholders Summit, EMOOCs 2025, which took place in Paris, France, during June 30-July 2, 2025. The 20 full papers included in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 79 submissions. They deal with the ongoing transformation and critical challenges in online education — particularly in the context of artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainable lifelong learning
Working Through Planetary Breakdown
No full textThis book offers a genuinely interdisciplinary engagement with the future of paid and unpaid work in the context of the twin challenges of decarbonisation and the growing impacts of an unstable climate.
It is innovative in its grounding of such discussions in the everyday realities of workers’ experiences with an empirical focus on skill, occupational shifts and technological change at the workplace level. Part I: Skills and Training delves into how workers gain crucial skills across their lifetimes. From survivalist “preppers” to local microgrid operators, the chapters reveal practical and often unrecognised but essential expertise. Case studies include air-conditioning technical educators and construction trades leveraging tacit knowledge of sustainable practices. Part II: Industrial Transformation draws on empirical studies from coal mining, manufacturing, defence and construction to highlight workers’ experiences of climate shifts, heat and industrial transition. Theoretical contributions explore novel legal strategies such as fossil fuel “cessation” and examine the role of health and safety frameworks in addressing worker democracy and climate-change mitigation.
This collection will resonate with scholars, students, policymakers and trade unionists interested in environmental labour studies, just transitions and the future of work. It offers vital lessons for navigating complex industrial transformations.
Key features:
Detailed case studies in critical sectors such as energy, construction, defence and manufacturing;
A dynamic interdisciplinary fusion of human geography, political economy, sociology, industrial relations and law;
Emphasis on worker agency, practical skill and grassroots adaptability amid intensifying climate impacts
Philosophy of Science for Machine Learning
No full textThis open access book offers a comprehensive and systematic debate on the key concepts and areas of application of the philosophy of science for machine learning. The current landscape of the debate about the epistemic and methodological challenges raised by machine learning in scientific fields is fragmented and lacks a common thread that helps to understand the complexity of the issue. Against this background, this book brings together expert researchers in the field, structuring the debate in ways that allow readers to navigate quickly in this evolving field of research and pave the way to new paths of philosophical and technical research. Although the book is written from the perspective of philosophy of science and epistemology, it is of interest to philosophers in a myriad of fields, such as philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, philosophy of neuroscience, and metaphysics of science, STS studies, as well as to researchers working on technical and computational issues such as explainability, trustworthiness, interpretability, transparency
Sea Level Rise
No full textThis open access book explores the human rights implications of sea level rise. The recent data confirms that the global average sea level will continue to rise and to make coastal zones less habitable or uninhabitable. Furthermore, these changes are increasing human mobility at the domestic and international level. Against these challenges, the book explores how international law is changing in light of common concerns. For the first time, it offers a reflection on the application of the innovative human rights-justification theory (as being developed in the ongoingHorizon Europe ‘Human Rights Justification’ project) in this field by exploring the States’ use of justifications in interpreting their protective duties and in adopting climate measures. The book is structured around three thematic sessions: I ) Sea Level Rise, Stability and Security; II) Sea Level Rise and the Rights of Affected Population; III) Sea Level Rise: New Developments at International Level