For all the attention globalization has received in recent years, little consensus has emerged concerning how best to understand it. For some, it is the happy product of free and rational choices; for others, it is the unfortunate outcome of impersonal forces beyond our control. It is in turn celebrated for the opportunities it affords and criticized for the inequalities in wealth and power it generates. David Singh Grewal’s remarkable and ambitious book draws on several centuries of political and social thought to show how globalization is best understood in terms of a power inherent in social relations, which he calls network power. Using this framework, he demonstrates how our standards of social coordination both gain in value the more they are used and undermine the viability of alternative forms of cooperation. A wide range of examples are discussed, from the spread of English and the gold standard to the success of Microsoft and the operation of the World Trade Organization, to illustrate how global standards arise and falter. The idea of network power supplies a coherent set of terms and concepts—applicable to individuals, businesses, and countries alike—through which we can describe the processes of globalization as both free and forced. The result is a sophisticated and novel account of how globalization, and politics, work.

Peter Taylor's compelling insights challenge us to view cities as part of a global network, divorced from the constraints of national or even regional boundaries.

Absent Rebels: Criticism and Network Power in 21st Century Dystopian Fiction focuses on the relationship between literary dystopia, network power and neoliberalism, explaining why rebellion against a dystopian system is absent in so many contemporary dystopian novels. Also, this book helps readers understand modern power mechanisms and shows ways how to overcome them in our own daily lives.

Green communications is a very hot topic. As mobile networks evolve in terms of higher rates/throughput, a consequent impact on operating costs is due to (aggregate) network energy consumption. As such, design on 4G networks and beyond have increasingly started to focus on `energy efficiency’ or so-called ‘green’ networks. Many techniques and solutions have been proposed to enhance the energy efficiency of mobile networks, yet no book has provided an in-depth analysis of the energy consumption issues in mobile networks nor has detailed theories, tools and solutions for solving the energy efficiency problems. This book presents the techniques and solutions for enhancing energy efficiency of future mobile networks, and consists of three major parts. The first part presents a general description of mobile network evolution in terms of both capacity and energy efficiency. The second part discusses the advanced techniques to green mobile networks. The third part discusses the solutions that enhance mobile network energy efficiency as well as provides future directions. Whilst the reader is expected to have basic knowledge of wireless communications, the authors present a brief introduction of the evolution of mobile networks, providing the knowledge base for understanding the content of the book. In addition, complicated network problems are illustrated using simple examples. This will help the reader understand the concept and intuition of various techniques and solutions. Incorporates the latest research results from both academia and industry, providing an up-to-date overview of existing technologies and solutions on making mobile networks greener Consists of three sections with a gradually increasing technical depth on green mobile networks, providing the reader with a systematic view of the research area, and helping those with different technical backgrounds to better understand the content Covers existing enabling technologies for green mobile networking, including an innovative discussion of state-of-the-art solutions and algorithms

As a result of global dynamics--the increasing interconnection of people and places--innovations in global environmental governance haved altered the role of cities in shaping the future of the planet. This book is a timely study of the importance of these social transformations in our increasingly global and increasingly urban world. Through analysis of transnational municipal networks, such as Metropolis and the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, Sofie Bouteligier's innovative study examines theories of the network society and global cities from a global ecology perspective. Through direct observation and interviews and using two types of city networks that have been treated separately in the literature, she discovers the structure and logic pertaining to office networks of environmental non-governmental organizations and environmental consultancy firms. In doing so she incisively demonstrates the ways in which cities fulfill the role of strategic sites of global environmental governance, concentrating knowledge, infrastructure, and institutions vital to the function of transnational actors.

This two-volume set LNCS 12239-12240 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Security, ICAIS 2020, which was held in Hohhot, China, in July 2020. The conference was formerly called “International Conference on Cloud Computing and Security” with the acronym ICCCS. The total of 142 full papers presented in this two-volume proceedings was carefully reviewed and selected from 1064 submissions. The papers were organized in topical sections as follows: Part I: Artificial intelligence and internet of things. Part II: Internet of things, information security, big data and cloud computing, and information processing.

The need for green technologies and solutions which will deliver the energy requirements of both the developed and developing world to support sustainability and protect the environment worldwide has never been more urgent. This book contains the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Green Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (GEESD2021) which, due to the COVID-19 pandemic around the world and with the strict travel restrictions in China, was held as a hybrid conference (both physically and online via Zoom) in Shanghai, China on 26 and 27 June 2021. It provided an opportunity to bring together an international community of leading scientists, researchers, engineers and academics, as well as industrial professionals, to exchange and share their experiences and research results in the energy, environment and sustainable development sector. In total, 80 participants were able to exchange knowledge and discuss the latest developments in the field. GEESD2021 attracted more than 250 submissions, 88 of which were accepted after an extensive period of peer review by more than 100 reviewers and members of the program committee. These are included here, grouped into 3 sections, with 28 papers on sustainable energy; 34 on ecology; and 26 papers covering environmental pollution and protection. Offering an overview of the most up-to-date findings and technologies in the field of sustainable energy and environmental protection, the book will be of interest to all those working in this field.