This book offers insights into how modern technologies are transforming agriculture with a focus on their effects in aiding sustainability. It explores the current applications of technologies such as AI, IoT, and machine learning, and their impact on improving crop yield, resource efficiency, and environmental impact. Through practical examples and case studies, it demonstrates how these technologies can address challenges in agriculture and enhance operational efficiency.

Key Features:

• Analysis of how IoT devices and sensor networks are used for real-time monitoring of farm operations, soil conditions, and weather patterns.
• Studies emerging technologies like machine vision, predictive modelling, and natural language processing, for tasks such as crop monitoring and pest detection.
• Detailed discussion on machine learning algorithms, including supervised, unsupervised, and reinforcement learning, tailored for agricultural applications.
• Insights into how AI, IoT, and machine learning optimize resource use, improve crop yield and quality, and enhance sustainability.
• Case studies to highlight real-life examples from crop management to livestock and water conservation.

Smart Agriculture for Sustainable Practices is for researchers, professionals, and policymakers interested in leveraging technology for sustainable agricultural practices.

This book dedicates three essays each to three different theological problems regarding the Holy Spirit: In God and for Us (The "Filioque" and "Uncreated Grace"); Thomas's Understanding (Not His Commentators) of the Relation between nature and sanctifying grace; and our ability (and that of the angels at their creation) in fact to resist God' grace and thus be the first cause of sin. This later problem is developed in an "excursus" on the way God moves the free will, one that takes into consideration much recent work on this issue and situates the essays' position in relation to it. The book ends with a brief epilogue on the credibility of God, again giving Thomas's account of this.

The principal aim throughout is to understand the doctrine of Thomas Aquinas. It places his views in relation to three audiences: chiefly to the orthodox regarding the first issue; to Catholics in relation to the second; and to Protestants in relation to the third. Thus, its second aim is to join "ecumenical debate" about these matters. The essays were mostly written to be delivered orally, to an informed audience of philosophers and theologians., but one that consisted of "generalists" and serious students of Thomas, as well as of "professional" philosophers and theologians. All three of the debated issues discussed have generated an enormous amount of disagreement and debate, not a little of it being quite "technical." Thus, each issue would easily require a long and significant book to be addressed as it deserves. The essays do not do this, but they do indicate what Torre holds is the "directive line" of Thomas's thought that deserves to be defended and developed in each case, and, in each case, this line is held to be markedly different than many have thought it to be.

While much attention has rightly been given to abuse survivors and institutional accountability, less has been said about how the sexual abuse crisis has shaped the experience of clergy themselves. Drawing on findings from the National Study of Catholic Priests (NSCP)-the most comprehensive survey of American priests in over 50 years- Rebuilding Trust explores how the abuse crisis and the Church's institutional response have affected priestly well-being and morale, perceptions of episcopal leadership, and the culture of the presbyterate more broadly. The study reveals a striking breakdown in trust between priests and their bishops, exacerbated by concerns over due process in the wake of an abuse allegation, inconsistent application of abuse prevention policies, and a widening ideological divide between younger and older clergy. The book combines sociological analysis with theological, psychological, historical, canonical, and pastoral perspectives to contextualize these findings. Contributors from various fields examine shifts in the priesthood over the past few decades, assess the implementation of the 2002 Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People (the "Dallas Charter") and explore practical strategies for strengthening clergy formation, fostering fraternity, and improving bishop-priest relationships. By integrating empirical research with theological reflection, this volume offers a timely and necessary addition to the discussion of how the Church can rebuild trust, support priests, and cultivate a healthier presbyterate. It will be essential reading for Church leaders, seminary formators, scholars of Catholicism, and anyone concerned with the future of the priesthood in the United States.

Luke was a Gentile and physician. Though not one of Jesus' initial Jewish disciples, Luke was a traveling companion of Paul. As with the Old Testament and the Gospels, Luke provides the theological and ecclesial significance of the historical events he is narrating. In so doing, he accentuates what the risen and ascended Jesus is doing through the Holy Spirit by means of the nascent church, primarily through Peter and Paul. Although the book is entitled the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit is the primary actor throughout its entirety. Luke is traditionally believed to be the author of both the third Gospel as well as the Acts of the Apostles. As Luke, in his Gospel, first wrote "an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, concerning the truth of the gospel," so he now writes what has taken place after Jesus' departure. Thus, the Acts of the Apostles is a continuation of a historical narrative. The Gospel contains what Jesus historically said and did until his Ascension into Heaven. Acts is the historical narrative of what followed upon Jesus' ascension and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that gave birth of the Church, and the first preaching of the Good News.

If in Luke's gospel account one finds Jesus becoming Jesus through his saving actions which culminate in his death and resurrection, in the Acts of the Apostles, one finds the risen Jesus being Jesus through the preaching and actions of the apostolic church. Jesus continues to enact his name, YHWH-Saves. Such saving words and actions are particularly within the evangelistic ministry of Peter and Paul.

Honorius Augustodunensis ("of Regensburg"), born perhaps in the 1070s, was a native son of southern Germany or Austria who pursued his studies in England with St. Anselm of Canterbury. Under Anselm's influence he became a Benedictine monk before returning to Germany in the opening years of the twelfth century. During his life-long monastic career he blossomed as a prolific writer. He died around 1140. The epithet "of Autun," as a translation of "Augustodunensis," was applied to him by scholars a century ago and earlier, but it has long been discredited, and the meaning of "Augustodunensis" remains a mystery. Although Honorius has been appropriately described as an enigmatic figure, his strong influence on Western theologians is widely recognized.

Despite his large corpus, now known to consist of approximately thirty texts (but almost certainly more), Honorius Augustodunensis is the most unjustly neglected writer of the twelfth- century renaissance. Although he is best known as a popularizer, he also composed a major philosophical text, The Key to Natural Philosophy ( Clavis physicae), ca. 1125-30. Taking the form of a dialogue between master and disciple, the Clavis is an abridged paraphrase of Eriugena's Periphyseon, the most radical work of Neoplatonic thought in the time frame between pseudo-Dionysius and Meister Eckhart. Honorius treats such topics as the unknowability of God, apophatic and cataphatic theology, the primordial causes, the cosmological process of creation and return, human and angelic nature, the Fall, the four elements, and the findings of ancient astronomers. Although Eriugena was condemned for heresy in the thirteenth century, Honorius managed to escape that censure. The Key to Natural Philosophy thus became the chief conduit of the Carolingian philosopher's thought in the later Middle Ages, influencing readers from Eckhart through Nicholas of Cusa.

This work explores a Christian understanding of God's presence in the world. As the Creator of all that exists, the Creator-Trinity is mysteriously present to all things, and truly but imperfectly knowable as such. In addition to this creative presence, however, there is also the manifestation of God's presence as a gift of grace. By supernatural faith, the trinitarian life of God is made known to us as an object of the Christian mystical life. This life is centered especially upon God's unique presence by way of Incarnation, human life, death, and resurrection, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. This work explores these notions in comparison with other religious traditions, in a Catholic as well as ecumenical perspective. Original considerations are offered regarding the nature of scriptural inspiration, the Church as the mystical body of Christ, and the sacraments as instrumental expressions of the Incarnation, all with a view to the notion of mystical experience, and union with God.

Principles of Catholic Theology, Book 5 is a continuation of Fr. Thomas Joseph White's collection of essays, extending over a range of fundamental topics in Catholic dogmatic theology.

Scholarly academics, cloistered monks, and high-ranking prelates once found abundantly fertile material for theological reflection in the Exodus descriptions of Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. Where traditional scholarly accounts of the rise of scholasticism tend to focus almost entirely on the incorporation of Aristotelian thought and the legacy of Peter Lombard's sententiae, attention to these works illuminates some of the deeply biblical roots of scholastic patterns of thought. The Tabernacle often appealed to these early interpreters because it provided a valuable source for exploring the structural patterns embedded in creation.

The first part of this book examines the works of four major twelfth-century figures on this popular interpretive theme. Richard of St. Victor, Stephen Langton, Peter of Poitiers, and Adam of Dryburgh each share the conviction that the details of the Tabernacle's material structure reflect the structures of immaterial truths. The second part of the book shows the rich inheritance of this tradition, as received by Saint Bonaventure and Saint Thomas Aquinas.

In the twelfth-century, the image of the Tabernacle, composed of diverse parts arranged in a coherent whole, provides a divinely-given source for theological method and a model for attempts to systematize and integrate various forms of knowledge. At times, the Tabernacle structure suggests for these interpreters certain correspondences with Aristotelian insights, while elsewhere, the edifice undergirds attempts to offer a rigorous counterbalance to perceived philosophical excesses. In both cases, the Tabernacle is taken as a biblical locus for working through methodological questions prompted by the increasing availability of Aristotle's corpus. These biblical interpreters bequeathed to the thirteenth-century magistri a structural framework and a confidence that disparate forms of human knowing all fit together.

Commentators today generally agree that we are at an inflection point in the history of capitalism. This economic system in its long-regnant neoliberal form-privileging free international trade, promoting the transnational movement of capital and labor, and advocating a limited role for the state-has faltered, if not failed, and needs to be superseded by a new political-economic architecture that accommodates pressing concerns relating to national security, climate change, inequality and equity, and resiliency among others. Few serious writers are calling for capitalism to be razed, as this system has proven far superior to others in generating wealth and providing higher living standards. Moreover, since its emergence centuries ago, capitalism has proved highly adaptable, able to survive, even to thrive, in both hospitable and inhospitable circumstances and surroundings, often in the face of stiff competition and outright opposition.

In Challenging Capitalism, an interdisciplinary group of distinguished scholars addresses some of the likely challenges of a new political-economic order that minimizes capitalism's deficiencies without impeding unduly its ability to facilitate and support wealth creation and human flourishing. An introductory chapter traces the development of capitalism as an economic system and identifies the three major eras in the modern version of capitalism. This chapter sets the stage for a baker's dozen chapters that examine important features and forms of the dominant economic system, including racial capitalism, platform capitalism, surveillance capitalism, authoritarian capitalism, and stakeholder capitalism. The authors approach capitalism and its future from different angles and from a variety of ideological perspectives, offering keen insights into the capitalist paths we have traveled, our position today, and the road or roads ahead.

The book is essential reading for anyone interested in capitalism from across the social sciences and humanities, including political economy, sociology, history, political science, public policy, and economics.

Based on Dr. Leon Kaganovskiy's 15 years of experience teaching statistics courses at Touro University and Brooklyn College, Applied Statistics with Python, Two-Volume Set focuses on applied and computational aspects of statistics, ANOVA, multivariate models such as multiple regression, model selection, and reduction techniques, regularization methods like lasso and ridge, logistic regression, K-nearest neighbors (KNN), support vector classifiers, nonlinear models, tree-based methods, clustering, and principal component analysis.

Python programming language is used throughout due to its flexibility and widespread adoption in data science and machine learning and the books heavily rely on tools from the standard sklearn package, which are integrated directly into the discussion. Unlike many other resources, Python is not treated as an add-on, but as an organic part of the learning process.

Applied Statistics with Python has been expanded from eight chapters to thirteen chapters in two volumes, and is intended for undergraduate students in business, economics, biology, social sciences, and natural science, while also being useful as a supplementary text for more advanced students and professionals. While some familiarity with basic statistics is helpful, it is not required-core concepts are introduced and explained along the way, making the material accessible to a wide range of learners.

Key Features:

• Covers both introductory topics such as descriptive statistics, probability, probability distributions, proportion and means hypothesis testing, one-variable regression, as well as advanced machine-learning topics
• Employs Python as an organic part of the learning process
• Removes the tedium of hand/calculator computations
• Weaves code into the text at every step in a clear and accessible way
• Uses tools from Standardized sklearn Python package

This book presents a theoretical and empirical investigation of predatory raiding in Russia. Predatory raiding in Russia is the process of depriving lawful owners of their businesses and property with the help of criminal methods, including corruption, fraud, and violence, wrapped in the clothes of legality. The book argues that significant changes in value of corporations, property, and land in Russia incentivize predatory raiders. The appreciation of economic assets influences predatory raiders' decision-making regarding the selection of potential targets for hostile takeovers. Unlike Western corporate raiders, who target weak companies in financial distress, Russian predatory raiders target primarily the most profitable, lucrative or economically promising companies, as well as private and public property, and land. Russian predatory raiders give clear preference to non-economic instruments for staging hostile takeovers. These comprise legal battles, corruption, fraud, intimidation and violence. Russian predatory raiders are distinctive for their frequent use of force, threat of force, or violence, as applied to businesses and property owners. This research relies on extensive video footage of violent hostile takeovers to draw inferences about the phenomenon of predatory raiding in Russia. In defining the perspective directions for the corporate predatory raiding movement and the anti-raiding campaign, the process of re-valuation of assets may be more important than the mass privatization of the 1990s.

The concept of disability is actively used by social justice movements and welfare state systems, but it is often rejected by people involved with patient organisations, neurodiversity movements, and comparable diversity proponents.

This book unites these social actor positions by outlining an overarching disability model. It discusses the potential for the model to serve as a boundary object for people with impairments, activist organisations, professionals, redistributive welfare systems, and scholarly works in Disability Studies. Using a three-fold model in which disability is understood as a social construction, a valued condition, and an unwanted state that can improve from therapy, it shows the potential of the three frameworks as discursive powers inherent to a broad and unifying model of disability as well as the possible use of such a broad disability model for diverse actors positioned in heterogeneous social arenas.

It will be of interest to all scholars, students, and professionals working within the field of Disability Studies, sociology, social policy, health studies, and social work.

The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.

Epidemiology ostensibly exists to reveal and ascribe features to burdens of disease at a population level. However, as the designated arbiter of visibility in public health, it is well-positioned to also obscure burdens of disease with significant implications for both social justice and disease control. This edited volume brings together empirical accounts of epidemiological obfuscation developed by public health researchers from diverse fields, including medicine, history, anthropology, sociology, epidemiology, and rhetoric. In reading across these rich accounts, we begin to characterise what epidemiological obfuscation is, the situations in which it occurs, and the practices underlying it. As such, the book serves not only as a catalogue of independently interesting and robustly developed accounts of important episodes in the history and contemporary practice of epidemiology but also as a foundational body of scholarship on this central but oft overlooked aspect of epidemiology, namely, its ability to obscure as well as elucidate.

Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license and Introduction, Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 are available open access under Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) 4.0.

The real estate industry is undergoing unprecedented transformations driven by emerging technologies and sustainability practices. This textbook explores the intersection of PropTech, blockchain, and sustainability, shaping the future landscape of real estate investment and finance. The book is a straightforward guide to understanding how new technologies are changing the real estate industry. It explains in clear, everyday language the key digital innovations like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and blockchain transforming how homes and buildings are designed, constructed, bought, sold, financed, and managed.

The book shows how these new PropTech tools make real estate transactions faster, easier, and more efficient for buyers, sellers, agents, investors, developers, and property managers through real-world examples and case studies. Readers will learn how smart sensors and automated systems make buildings and homes smarter, greener, and more sustainable. They will discover how innovations like digital listing platforms and virtual tours are improving marketing and connectivity between agents and clients.

The book covers property search, online transactions, crowdfunding, blockchain for fractional ownership, automated valuations, and sustainability in real estate. In a simple, modular format, readers can focus on the real estate tech topics most relevant to their needs and test their knowledge and understanding using the end-of-chapter engagement exercises. Whether you are a real estate professional, student, investor, or just a technology enthusiast, this book provides the essential knowledge you need to understand the digital transformation of the real estate sector in simple language anyone can understand.

The book equips readers with the necessary information to leverage these PropTech tools and innovations for smarter, more efficient, future-oriented real estate.

Freud Against God traces the development of Freud's atheism, from his youth through to Moses and Monotheism, published in 1939.

Christfried Toegel takes a largely chronological approach, tracing how biographical developments in Freud's life and political events gradually led to his conviction that it is "a greater risk if we maintain our present attitude to religion than if we give it up." The book considers Freud's life, his writing, and the influence of politics and society. Chapter 1 covers the genesis of Freud's critical attitude towards religion and the influence of Ludwig Boerne, Charles Darwin, and John Stuart Mill. Chapter 2 focuses on Freud's critiques of religion in his writing between 1907 and 1939. Chapter 3 describes how Freud dealt with the deaths of his daughter and his grandson, and with cancer and death. Chapter 4 focuses on religion, politics, and society, particularly the role of the Catholic Church in relation to Freud and psychoanalysis.

Written by a leading Freud scholar, this book provides a compact overview of Freud's atheism. Freud Against God will be of great interest to academics and scholars of Freud and religion.

War Economy: Gendered Circuits of Violence and Capital examines the war economy from feminist perspectives, bringing fresh thinking in the context of heightened geopolitical tensions.

This book challenges the common understanding of war economy as a state-driven, top-down project necessitated by a conflictual international order. It introduces the concept of gendered circuits of violence - different types of violence across space and time - to conceptually and empirically link crises and wars through flows of capital, bodies, weapons, and militarised technologies. It deals with real-world conflicts, including in Gaza and Russia/Ukraine as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Liberia, and Mexico. With increasing calls for the development of a war economy, especially in Europe, and broad acceptance that the global political economy is rapidly being primed for war, this book's feminist political economy analysis and alternatives are vital and urgent.

War Economy will appeal to students, scholars, and policymakers in the areas of International Political Economy, Politics and International Relations, Gender Studies, Security Studies, and War, Peace, and Conflict Studies.

Chapter 1 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons [Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND)] 4.0 license.

This second edition of The Routledge Handbook of Heterodox Economics presents a comprehensive overview of the latest work on economic theory and policy from a pluralistic heterodox perspective.

The Handbook aims, firstly, to provide realistic and coherent theoretical frameworks to understand the capitalist economy. Secondly, it delineates future directions, as well as the current state, of heterodox economics, and then provides both 'heat and light' on controversial issues, drawing out the commonalities and differences among different heterodox economic approaches. The Handbook also envisions transformative economic and social policies for populations across society and explains why the discipline of economics is, and should be treated as, a social science. Contributions throughout the Handbook's two volumes explore several theoretical perspectives, including but not limited to Marxian-radical political economics; Post Keynesian-Sraffian economics; institutionalist-evolutionary economics; feminist economics; social economics; Regulation theory; the Social Structure of Accumulation approach; and ecological economics.

This Handbook will be of compelling interest to those, including students, who wish to learn about economic theories and policies that are rarely found in conventional economics textbooks or discussed in the mainstream media and critical economists and other social scientists who are concerned with analyzing pressing socio-economic issues.

This second edition of The Routledge Handbook of Heterodox Economics presents a comprehensive overview of the latest work on economic theory and policy from a pluralistic heterodox perspective.

The Handbook aims, firstly, to provide realistic and coherent theoretical frameworks to understand the capitalist economy. Secondly, it delineates future directions, as well as the current state, of heterodox economics, and then provides both 'heat and light' on controversial issues, drawing out the commonalities and differences among different heterodox economic approaches. The Handbook also envisions transformative economic and social policies for populations across society and explains why the discipline of economics is, and should be treated as, a social science. Contributions throughout the Handbook's two volumes explore several theoretical perspectives, including but not limited to Marxian-radical political economics; Post Keynesian-Sraffian economics; institutionalist-evolutionary economics; feminist economics; social economics; Regulation theory; the Social Structure of Accumulation approach; and ecological economics.

This Handbook will be of compelling interest to those, including students, who wish to learn about economic theories and policies that are rarely found in conventional economics textbooks or discussed in the mainstream media and critical economists and other social scientists who are concerned with analyzing pressing socio-economic issues.

Real Estate Economics: A Point-to-Point Handbook introduces the main tools and concepts of real estate (RE) economics. It covers areas such as the relation between RE and the macro-economy, RE finance, investment appraisal, taxation, demand and supply, development, market dynamics and price bubbles, price estimation, and policy responses to the current housing crisis, including the key role of assetisation and financialisation. It discusses both housing and commercial property economics.

This textbook takes an international approach and introduces the reader to the necessary 'toolbox' of models required in order to properly understand the mechanics of real estate. It combines theory, technique, up-to-date real-life cases, and practical examples. The second edition has been fully updated to take account of all the latest developments and issues in the field, including a stronger societal perspective than was the case in the first edition. It also extends to significant emerging economies (China first and foremost) and other global trends, as between 'developed' and 'developing' economies.

Real Estate Economics will be particularly useful to undergraduate students of RE or urban economics, and postgraduates who want to specialise in RE economics, as well as to RE practitioners and students reading for RE-related professional qualifications.

Gender Politics of Monetary Governance in Germany and the Eurozone provides a nuanced reading of how gender politics matter in monetary governance, contributing to a gendered critique of the political economy of Germany and the Eurozone and to efforts of 'de-patriarchalising' monetary and economic governance.

While gender aspects of economic governance have increasingly been made visible in critical scholarship, less focus has been placed on the role of masculinities and monetary governance. This book shows that the intersection of gender politics and monetary governance plays a fundamental role in the making of the political economy. It argues that, materially, monetary governance amplifies gendered power hierarchies in (re)productive relations. Culturally, gendered narratives play an important role in establishing the credibility and legitimacy of monetary governance. They do so by metaphorically making sense of monetary policy through masculinised gender qualities of authority, (self-) control, toughness, while disavowing feminised qualities such as temptation and excess. The book shows how these narratives have been mobilised at key junctures to promote a prioritisation of monetary and fiscal 'discipline' in German economic history, the institutional design of EMU, and in the governance of the Eurozone crisis. These narratives are vital in producing opportunities for some and restricting them for others, enabling particular, hierarchical forms of accumulation while foreclosing possibilities for different ways of doing economic relations. Yet, meanings are contingent, incomplete, and open to challenge, and thus monetary governance can be re-signified to facilitate social thriving beyond the strictures of heteronormativity and austerity.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars researching International Political Economy, Gender and Politics, Men and Masculinity Studies, Economic Sociology and Cultural Economy, and European Studies.

This book delves into the interrelationship among gender, power, and economic disparity in the Global South through an intersectional lens. It analyses the interplay of diverse forms of oppression, such as class, caste, race, ethnicity, and geography, and their impacts on individual lives and prospects for success. This analysis employs diverse case studies to examine how historical legacies, social and political institutions, and economic mechanisms generate and perpetuate inequality across various domains.

Gender, Power, and Economic Inequality in the Global South illustrates how women, particularly from Dalit, black, indigenous, and other marginalized groups, wield power and resist exclusion while challenging patriarchal norms and advocating for equity in politics, the economy, the environment, and the digital realm. It distinctly focusses on the Global South and critically examines global development narratives, prioritizing local knowledge, action, and feminist futures in its endeavours. Further, the book examines the dynamics of power within institutions, informal economy, housing, technology, peacebuilding, and international cooperation. Encompassing a broad spectrum of disciplines, including economics, political science, sociology, law, and environmental studies, the book also examines how global trends, such as the green transition and digital innovation, influence gendered realities.

This edited text serves as an invaluable resource for scholars, researchers, practitioners, and advanced students in gender studies, development studies, international relations, and related fields due to its pertinent information and policy recommendations. It urges readers to critically examine conventional notions and consider gender and power in the Global South with greater openness and equity.

The greatest challenge humanity faces in the 21st century is the climate crisis. A successful green transition towards a sustainable economy requires various policy initiatives, including promoting innovation, financing, and tax incentives for selected activities, cheap credit, and subsidies. To achieve these aims, a massive redistribution of capital will be necessary, requiring cooperation between public and private sectors, the States, and civil society.

This book introduces the idea of a "Sustainable Development Convention". A convention is a form of social production and shared knowledge that establishes collective reality. The Sustainable Development Convention is proposed in opposition to the neoliberal convention, according to which pure market coordination is superior to State coordination. The Sustainable Development Convention intends to effect a radical change in both the mission and actions of the State, developing new economic policy tools and institutions focusing on the green transition. In particular, the transition calls for a complete reordering of financial systems and capital flows, making the actions of development banks ever more critical. Development banks have been essential institutions in promoting public policies worldwide - their credit and other forms of finance and cooperation have been central tools in catching-up processes for developing and emerging economies. In times of structural change, such as the green transition, development banks are required to play a central role.

This book marks a significant addition to the literature on development banks, the green transition, the political economy of climate change, and economic and monetary policy.

In 2024, the BRICS alliance expanded to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and is now informally referred to as BRICS+. This book explores the impact of these nations on governance practices and sustainable development in Southern African countries.

It examines how BRICS+ countries influence political policies, including trade relationships, investment flows, and diplomatic engagements and how they contribute to or challenge the sustainable development agenda within Southern Africa, addressing issues such as poverty reduction, climate change, and social inequality. It analyzes how BRICS+ interactions affect regional governance frameworks, such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and other regional initiatives and offers insight into how BRICS+ economic activities, including resource extraction and industrialization, impact environmental sustainability efforts in Southern Africa. Further, the book discusses the way BRICS+ states can facilitate the transfer of technology and innovative governance practices to improve sustainable development strategies in the region. A critical assessment of the challenges posed by BRICS+ engagement in terms of ethical governance, corruption, and dependency versus the opportunities for regional empowerment and capacity building is examined in the book. It compares the influence of BRICS+ with other global powers or regional groupings, analysing their different approaches to governance and sustainability and includes specific case studies from Southern African countries to illustrate how connections with these nations have led to significant outcomes-both positive and negative-in governance and sustainability initiatives.

The book is primarily aimed at scholars, researchers and advanced students, as well as policymakers and government officials in Southern Africa and BRICS+ countries.

Recent crises relating to non-governmental aid organisations have brought into sharp focus the need for a greater understanding of the safeguarding challenges which the international aid and development sector faces, and how to respond to them in a consistent, systematic and effective way. This essential safeguarding guide provides insight to operational, organisational and cultural challenges within the international aid and development sector.

The book brings together carefully chosen key professionals who have extensive operational experience of addressing and responding to these issues. In a highly challenging environment, with multiple competing demands, this book is a clearly focused and accessible resource. It sets out what those leading in the field need to be aware of, what responses they need to make and how to maintain necessary change in the long term. In relation to each key issue, through its range of chapters, the book explores what the challenge is, what is current or suggested best practice and what future developments are needed.

It provides the sector with an accessible, authoritative and ultimately essential handbook for all those working in the international aid and development sector, whether they are practitioners, safeguarding specialists, senior leaders in governance roles or regulators. The emphasis is on facilitating sector-wide change, embedding best practice and encouraging work that effectively ensures the safety and wellbeing of the world's most vulnerable people.