The transformation of the world economy from a system of nations trading materials-intensive goods to a system of seamless global networks for information-intensive goods and services has created the need for a comprehensive restructuring of transportation and communications activities. The contributors - transportation and communications analysts from Japan and the United States - address this restructuring from a variety of perspectives ranging from theoretical treatments of the role of information in the economy to applications of communications technologies for the collection of travel...

A collection of carefully selected papers from the International Conference on Multi-National Joint Ventures for Construction Works held in varying locations within the Asia Pacific region. The book endeavours to report ongoing debates on the theory and practice of contract and contract formation, governance, performance and risk in joint ventures, with special emphasis on countries within the Asia and Pacific region.

Social capital is often considered a key factor for local development. This book analyzes the role of social capital for rural areas' survival and development in the current age of metropolitan growth - an era in which urban is the norm and where rural areas must adapt to this new situation and build innovative urban-rural relations. The traditional division between 'rural' and 'urban' is no longer valid in the knowledge society. Instead of being a homogeneous unit based on primary sector production, the countryside in the developed world increasingly consists of areas with very different...