This book provides engineers with the necessary information to design sustainable processes, products and value chains. It describes the current consensus on sustainable development for four context levels: Planet, Society, Business, and Engineers. It also presents all required design steps: from problem definition, via synthesis of potential solutions, analysis of solutions, improvements to the final solution evaluation. For each design step, methods and guidelines are provided in relatio...

Methodology is a field which is indisputably complex. In the academic world, it is often said to be important, yet in everyday academic practice, it is not always treated accordingly. In teaching, methodology is often a mandatory course. Usually, it consists of learning how to adopt several common approaches when doing research, and how to conceive a research design (often leading to a survey). This usually leads to collecting data on a modest scale and – when the opportunity arises – anal...

As a result of the industrialization, urbanization, and population increase during the last two centuries, the global landscape has been irreversibly damaged. These anthropological pressures have create endless problems on the global level, and individuals and organizations are beginning to realize their own ever-increasing responsibility to consider the welfare and interests of all stakeholders as a whole. Although the improvements in the legal framework at the national and international ...

In the last decade and a half, great progress has been made in the development of concepts and models for mixture toxicity, both in human and environmental toxicology. However, due to their different protection goals, developments have often progressed in parallel but with little integration. Arguably the first book to clearly link ecotoxicology an

This upper-level Open Access textbook aims to educate students and professionals on how to develop business models that have a positive impact on people, society, and the social and ecological environment. It explores a different view of how to organize value creation, from a focus on an almost exclusively monetary value creation to one that creates positive impact through multiple values.The book offers students and entrepreneurs a structured approach based through the Business Mo...

Why use qualitative methods? What kinds of questions can qualitative methods help you answer? How do you actually do rigorous and reflective qualitative research in the real world?Written by a team of leading researchers associated with NatCen Social Research (the National Centre for Social Research) this textbook leads students and researchers through the entire process of qualitative research from beginning to end - moving through design, sampling, data collection, analysis and r...

`It′s not often that you′ll find an article or book that explains what you need to know in such plain, simple terms. Treasure it′ - Andrew Farrell, Doctoral Researcher, Loughborough University`Entertaining and authoritative without being patronising′ - Professor Chris Hackley, Royal Holloway, University of London`This is a gem of a book from two of the outstanding management researchers of their generation. Easy to read and entertaining, yet rigoro...

Starting with the basics and fully grounded in the context of actually doing research, this practical book is the perfect companion as students tackle a business research project head on for the first time.Guiding readers through the research process in author David E. Gray’s approachable style, the book helps them build their understanding and develop the skills they need to establish good practice when planning and doing research in the business world. This second edition offers:...

Most managers know very little about the technology they introduce into their firms, often preferring to leave such decisions to a small band of technological 'experts'. As a result large amounts of time and money are often wasted on inappropriate and inefficient systems. The cost of retraining and reorganising can also be prohibitive if the new technology does not deliver the desired results.In a business environment where technology is of increasing importance, the non-technical m...

The problems we face in the 21st century require innovative thinking from all of us. Be it students, academics, business researchers of government policy makers. Hopes for improving our healthcare, food supply, community safety and environmental sustainability depend on the pervasive application of research solutions. The research heroes who take on the immense problems of our time face bigger than ever challenges, but if they adopt potent guiding principles and effective research lifecycl...

***Shortlisted for the BPS Book Award 2014 in the Textbook Category**Winner of the 2014 Distinguished Publication Award (DPA) from the Association for Women in Psychology (AWP)***Successful Qualitative Research: A Practical Guide for Beginners is an accessible, practical textbook. It sidesteps detailed theoretical discussion in favor of providing a comprehensive overview of strategic tips and skills for starting and completing successful qualitative researc...

This is a concise introduction to the richness and scope of interviewing in social science research, teaching the craft of interview research with practical, hands-on guidance. Incorporating discussion of the wide variety of methods in interview-based research and the different approaches to reading the data, this book will help you to navigate the broad field of qualitative research with confidence and get out there and start collecting your data.