Commoning was a way of life for most of our ancestors. In Reclaiming the Commons for the Common Good, author Heather Menzies journeys to her roots in the Scottish Highlands, where her family lived in direct relation with the land since before recorded time. Beginning with an intimate account of unearthing the heritage of the commons and the real tragedy of its loss, Menzies offers a detailed description of the self-organizing, self-governing, and self-informing principles of this nearly forgotten way of life, including its spiritual practices and traditions. She then identifies pivotal commons practices that could be usefully revived today. A final "manifesto" section pulls these facets together into a unified vision for reclaiming the commons, drawing a number of current popular initiatives into the commoning frame, such as local food security, permaculture, and the Occupy Movement. An engaging memoir of personal and political discovery, Reclaiming the Commons for the Common Good combines moving reflections on our common heritage with a contemporary call to action, individually and collectively; locally and globally. Readers will be inspired by the book's vision of reviving the commons ethos of empathy and mutual respect, and energized by her practical suggestions for connection people and place for the common good. Heather Menzies is an award-winning writer and scholar and member of the Order of Canada. She is the author of nine books, including Whose Brave New World? and No Time.

Building on the work of Elinor Ostrom (Governing the Commons) the author examines how the different shared goods of a democratic society are shaped by technology and demonstrates how club goods, common pool resources, and public goods are supported, enhanced, and disrupted by technology. He further argues that as the common good is undermined by different interests, it should be possible to reclaim technology, if the members of the society conclude that they have something in common.

Proponents of the concept of ecological integrity argue that it is a necessary component of global governance on which the sustainable future of the planet and its inhabitants depends. This book presents the latest research and current thinking on the role of ecological integrity in support of life on Earth and the importance of governance for the common good, or the benefit of all. The book considers whether present forms of governance support the common good, or whether they are endangering its very foundations. It explores the connection between consumerism and capitalism, the destruction of natural resources and with it, the elimination of many of the ecosystem services that support life in general, and human life in particular. Chapters focus on the defence of human rights, and in particular the rights to key resources such as food, water and general health/wellbeing, as well as energy and security. Topics covered include climate change, biodiversity, migration and conflict resolution, with approaches from various perspectives such as politics, ethics, sociology and law. Overall the book provides a stimulating insight into the multifaceted debates surrounding ecological integrity, global governance and sustainability.

Ethnography in the digital age presents new methods for research. It encourages scientists to think about how we live and study in a digital, material, and sensory world. Digital ethnography considers the impact of digital media on the methods and processes by which we perform ethnography and how the digital, methodological, practical, and theoretical aspects of ethnographic research are becoming increasingly interwoven. This planet does not exist in a static state; as technology grows and shifts, we must learn how to appropriately analyze these changes. Practices, Challenges, and Prospects of Digital Ethnography as a Multidisciplinary Method examines the pervasiveness of digital media in digital ethnography’s setting and practice. It investigates how digital settings, techniques, and procedures are reshaping ethnographic practice and explores the ethnographic-theoretical interactions through which “old” opinions are influenced by digital ethnography practice, going beyond merely transferring conventional concepts and techniques into digital research settings. Covering topics such as data triangulation, indigenous living systems, and digital technology, this premier reference source is an essential resource for libraries, students, teachers, sociologists, anthropologists, social workers, historians, political scientists, geographers, public health officials, archivists, government officials, researchers, and academicians.

Marketing is among the most powerful cultural forces at work in the contemporary world, affecting not merely consumer behaviour, but almost every aspect of human behaviour. While the potential for marketing both to promote and threaten societal well-being has been a perennial focus of inquiry, the current global intellectual and political climate has lent this topic extra gravitas. Through original research and scholarship from the influential Mendoza School of Business, this book looks at marketing’s ramifications far beyond simple economic exchange. It addresses four major topic areas: societal aspects of marketing and consumption; the social and ethical thought; sustainability; and public policy issues, in order to explore the wider relationship of marketing within the ethical and moral economy and its implications for the common good. By bringing together the wide-ranging and interdisciplinary contributions, it provides a uniquely comprehensive and challenging exploration of some of the most pressing themes for business and society today.

Will capitalism give way to a commons-centric society as many scholars and activists predict? Viewing the commons as a vehicle for a new world order, Randal Joy Thompson proposes ‘proleptic leadership’, which envisions how leaders will continue to be essential as the custodians of responsible agency and conscious choice.

When Nathalie Chambers and her husband, David, first took over Madrona Farm, 27 acres on southern Vancouver Island with a deep history, they never thought their small-scale agricultural business would blossom into an international political act. As pressures from heirs, land developers and industrial farmers grew alongside their rows of organically produced food, the Chambers took action. Considered by many to be revolutionary and by some to be rebellious, their story opened many eyes to the future of food. Saving Farmland introduces readers to stories of lost farmland and bees saving lives. It shows how sustainability, ecosystems and biodiversity transcend the paradox of our own, man-made losses. Saving Farmland describes overcoming obstacles, choosing models, identifying vital farmland, building community and fundraising. Concluding stories of commonly shared land, international trusts, regained farmland and several heroes provide ongoing inspiration. This practical book teems with fascinating history and facts. Saving Farmland will help us all support local farming and sustainable land development so we can indulge in good eating—forever.

An investigation of the practice of “commoning” in urban housing and its necessity for challenging economic injustice in our rapidly gentrifying cities Provoked by mass evictions and the onset of gentrification in the 1970s, tenants in Washington, D.C., began forming cooperative organizations to collectively purchase and manage their apartment buildings. These tenants were creating a commons, taking a resource—housing—that had been used to extract profit from them and reshaping it as a resource that was collectively owned by them. In Carving Out the Commons, Amanda Huron theorizes the practice of urban “commoning” through a close investigation of the city’s limited-equity housing cooperatives. Drawing on feminist and anticapitalist perspectives, Huron asks whether a commons can work in a city where land and other resources are scarce and how strangers who may not share a past or future come together to create and maintain commonly held spaces in the midst of capitalism. Arguing against the romanticization of the commons, she instead positions the urban commons as a pragmatic practice. Through the practice of commoning, she contends, we can learn to build communities to challenge capitalism’s totalizing claims over life.

Asks whether personalised medicine is superior to 'one-size-fits-all' treatment. Does it elevate individual choice above the common good?

The variety, pace, and power of technological innovations that have emerged in the 21st Century have been breathtaking. These technological developments, which include advances in networked information and communications, biotechnology, neurotechnology, nanotechnology, robotics, and environmental engineering technology, have raised a number of vital and complex questions. Although these technologies have the potential to generate positive transformation and help address 'grand societal challenges', the novelty associated with technological innovation has also been accompanied by anxieties about their risks and destabilizing effects. Is there a potential harm to human health or the environment? What are the ethical implications? Do this innovations erode of antagonize values such as human dignity, privacy, democracy, or other norms underpinning existing bodies of law and regulation? These technological developments have therefore spawned a nascent but growing body of 'law and technology' scholarship, broadly concerned with exploring the legal, social and ethical dimensions of technological innovation. This handbook collates the many and varied strands of this scholarship, focusing broadly across a range of new and emerging technology and a vast array of social and policy sectors, through which leading scholars in the field interrogate the interfaces between law, emerging technology, and regulation. Structured in five parts, the handbook (I) establishes the collection of essays within existing scholarship concerned with law and technology as well as regulatory governance; (II) explores the relationship between technology development by focusing on core concepts and values which technological developments implicate; (III) studies the challenges for law in responding to the emergence of new technologies, examining how legal norms, doctrine and institutions have been shaped, challenged and destabilized by technology, and even how technologies have been shaped by legal regimes; (IV) provides a critical exploration of the implications of technological innovation, examining the ways in which technological innovation has generated challenges for regulators in the governance of technological development, and the implications of employing new technologies as an instrument of regulatory governance; (V) explores various interfaces between law, regulatory governance, and new technologies across a range of key social domains.