Globally, poverty affects millions of people’s lives each day. Children are hungry, many lack the means to receive an education, and many are needlessly ill. It is a common scene to see an impoverished town surrounded by trash and polluted air. There is a need to debunk the myths surrounding the impoverished and for strategies to be crafted to aid their situations. Sociological Perspectives on Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction in Rural Populations is an authored book that seeks to clarify the understanding of poverty reduction in a substantive way and demonstrate the ways that poverty is multifaceted and why studying poverty reduction matters. The 12 chapters in this volume contribute to existing and new areas of knowledge production in the field of development studies, poverty knowledge production, and gender issues in the contemporary African experience. The book utilizes unique examples drawn purposely from select African countries to define, highlight, raise awareness, and clarify the complexity of rural poverty. Covering topics such as indigenous knowledge, sustainable development, and child poverty, this book provides an indispensable resource for sociology students and professors, policymakers, social development officers, advocates for the impoverished, government officials, researchers, and academicians.

"This book studies the concept of "poverty" and the ways that it is multifaceted and why studying poverty reduction matters"--

Blockchain technology has great potential to radically change our socio-economic systems by guaranteeing secure transactions between untrusted entities, reducing costs, and simplifying many processes. However, employing blockchain techniques in sustainable applications development for smart cities still has some technical challenges and limitations. Blockchain Technologies for Sustainable Development in Smart Cities investigates blockchain-enabled technology for smart city developments and big data applications. This book provides relevant theoretical frameworks and the latest empirical research findings in the area. Covering topics such as digital finance, smart city technology, and data processing architecture, this book is an essential reference for electricians, policymakers, local governments, city committees, computer scientists, IT professionals, professors and students of higher education, researchers, and academicians.

In recent years, the world has been changing considerably. Within the many obstacles, barriers, and opportunities, three significant challenges should be considered for the future planning of our territories and cities: seeking to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), facing climate change, and performing a shift towards digitalization. Considering these three challenges, we can work toward a more sustainable future for the environment. The Handbook of Research on Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Change, and Digitalization elaborates on sustainability issues in the planning and development field regarding the environment. This text promotes understanding about the dynamics, challenges, and opportunities for the new decade regarding our common future planning. Covering topics such as circular economy, economic-ecological principles, and sustainable resilience, this book is essential for academicians, researchers, policymakers, environmentalists, scientists, technicians, decision makers, practitioners, and students.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shocked every part of society. The rise of businesses to the important task of improving sustainability and responsibility has been interrupted by the stress of the pandemic. In its wake, organizational leaders must reassess the best strategies considering the changes made by the “new normal.” The Handbook of Research on Changing Dynamics in Responsible and Sustainable Business in the Post-COVID-19 Era provides valuable insight of the significant changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of defining, characterizing, presenting, and understanding the meaning, challenges, and implications of responsible and sustainable business. Covering topics such as consumerism, supply chain management, and sustainable organizational performance, this major reference work is an excellent resource for academicians, scientists, researchers, students, business specialists, business leaders, consultants, government institutions, and policymakers.

Access to water and sanitation remains a critical challenge in various countries in Africa. The crisis remains the crisis of governance rather than the physical and economic scarcity. In most countries, water is realized as a human right and subsidies are provided for the indigent households. The tricky issue in rural areas remains an issue of access that is often linked to willingness and ability to pay for the installation and daily consumption. The Handbook of Research on Resource Management and the Struggle for Water Sustainability in Africa presents practical examples of integrated water resources management (IWRM) implementation in African countries. It further addresses the contemporary issues of alternative energy as part of climate change mitigation and utilizes case studies to examine how communities adapt to climate change. Covering topics such as climate justice, ecological governance, and political ecology, this major reference work is a dynamic resource for government officials, sociologists, climate scientists, activists, students and educators of higher education, academicians, and researchers in the fields of social sciences, government, developmental studies, international relations, and political science.

In recent years, there has been an increased emphasis placed on the role of creativity and innovation in critical areas such as thinking and problem-solving, self-management, stress tolerance and flexibility, education, sustainability, and the new normal caused by COVID-19. Though creativity is a crucial cognitive skill and innovation is a requirement to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow, these concepts must be thoroughly examined and considered as they are often misunderstood and underestimated. Achieving Sustainability Using Creativity, Innovation, and Education: A Multidisciplinary Approach discusses important issues surrounding human creativity and innovation as well as how education can develop cognitive abilities and skills and be improved to meet future challenges and demands using creativity and innovation. Covering topics such as creative leadership and problem-solving skills, it is ideal for practitioners, academicians, managers, policymakers, consultants, development specialists, researchers, instructors, and students.