The robots are coming! So too is the ‘age of automation’, the march of ‘invasive’ species, more intense natural disasters, and a potential cataclysm of other unprecedented events and phenomena of which we do not yet know, and cannot predict. This book is concerned with how to account for these non-humans and their effects within theories of social practice. In particular, this provocative collection tackles contemporary debates about the roles, relations and agencies of constantly changing, disruptive, intelligent or otherwise 'dynamic' non-humans, such as weather, animals and automated devices. In doing so contributors challenge and take forward existing understandings of dynamic non-humans in theories of social practice by reconsidering their potential roles in everyday life. The book will benefit sociology, geography, science and technology studies, and human- (and animal-) computer interaction design scholars seeking to make sense of the complex entanglement of non-human phenomena and things in the performance of social practices.

The robots are coming! So too is the ‘age of automation’, the march of ‘invasive’ species, more intense natural disasters, and a potential cataclysm of other unprecedented events and phenomena of which we do not yet know, and cannot predict. This book is concerned with how to account for these non-humans and their effects within theories of social practice. In particular, this provocative collection tackles contemporary debates about the roles, relations and agencies of constantly changing, disruptive, intelligent or otherwise 'dynamic' non-humans, such as weather, animals and automated devices. In doing so contributors challenge and take forward existing understandings of dynamic non-humans in theories of social practice by reconsidering their potential roles in everyday life. The book will benefit sociology, geography, science and technology studies, and human- (and animal-) computer interaction design scholars seeking to make sense of the complex entanglement of non-human phenomena and things in the performance of social practices.

Introducing Human Geographies is a ‘travel guide’ into the academic subject of human geography and the things that it studies. The coverage of the new edition has been thoroughly refreshed to reflect and engage with the contemporary nature and direction of human geography. This updated and much extended fourth edition includes a diverse range of authors and topics from across the globe, with a completely revised set of contributions reflecting contemporary concerns in human geography. Presented in four parts with a streamlined structure, it includes over 70 contributions written by expert international researchers addressing the central ideas through which human geographers understand and shape their subject. It maps out the big, foundational ideas that have shaped the discipline past and present; explores key research themes being pursued in human geography’s various sub-disciplines; and identifies emerging collaborations between human geography and other disciplines in the areas of technology, justice and environment. This comprehensive, stimulating and cutting-edge introduction to the field is richly illustrated throughout with full colour figures, maps and photos. The book is designed especially for students new to university degree courses in human geography across the world, and is an essential reference for undergraduate students on courses related to society, place, culture and space.

Social Change in a Material World offers a new, practice theoretical account of social change and its explanation. Extending the author’s earlier account of social life, and drawing on general ideas about events, processes, and change, the book conceptualizes social changes as configurations of significant differences in bundles of practices and material arrangements. Illustrated with examples from the history of bourbon distillation and the formation and evolution of digitally-mediated associations in contemporary life, the book argues that chains of activity combine with material events and processes to cause social changes. The book thereby stresses the significance of the material dimension of society for the constitution, determination, and explanation of social phenomena, as well as the types of space needed to understand them. The book also challenges the explanatory significance of such key phenomena as power, dependence, relations, mechanisms, and individual behavior. As such, it will appeal to sociologists, geographers, organization studies scholars, and others interested in social life and social change.

Set in the ‘human–environment’ interaction space, this book applies new theoretical and practical insights to understanding what makes healthy urban environments. It stems from recognition that the world is rapidly urbanising and the international concern with how to create healthy settings and liveable cities in the context of a rapidly changing planet. A key argument is that usual attempts to make healthy cities are limited by human-centrism and bifurcated, western thinking about cities, health and nature. Drawing on the innovative ‘more-than-human’ scholarship from a range of disciplines, it presents a synthesis of the main contributions, and how they can be used to rethink what healthy urban environments are, and who they are for. In particular, the book turns its attention to urban biodiversity and the many non-human species that live in, make and share cities with humans. The book will be of interest to scholars and students in human geography, health sociology, environmental humanities, public health, health promotion, planning and urban design, as well as policymakers and professionals working in these fields.

Pluralism in Ecosystem Governance, Volume 66 in the Advances in Ecological Research series, highlights new advances in the field, with this release including chapters on An exploration of the effects of political pluralism on decision making for sustainability: Implications for membership on public sector boards, Transdisciplinary agroecological research on biodiversity and ecosystem services for sustainable and climate resilient farming systems in Malawi, Pluralistic approaches in research advance farming and freshwater sustainability efforts in the Great Lakes Basin, Pluralism to manage the complexity of ecosystem services co-production, Of green spaces and gray areas: An Ethnography of Ecosystem Governance in Peri-Urban Bangaluru, India, and more. Additional chapters include Charting Evidence-based Biodiversity Pathways for Sustainable Development in Canada, Community-scientist collaboration in the creation, management and research for two new National Wildlife Areas in Arctic Canada, Rigid social-ecological governance: how discourse inertia has limited pluralism in Doñana, and a variety of other topics. - Provides the authority and expertise of leading contributors from an international board of authors - Presents the latest release in the Advances in Ecological Research series - Updated release includes the latest information on Pluralism in Economic Governance

Within a digital context in contemporary consumer societies, Curating Digital Lives: Consumer Cultures, Digital Platforms, and Everyday Practices draws on practice theories to explore Chinese urban residents’ lived experiences of digital platforms in their ordinary lives, mapping digital geographies of consumption at micro scales. Using the conception of “curation,” this book teases out the engagements of different types of digital platforms and devices within daily practices to understand the connections between local cultures and the global development of digital technologies. The empirical discussions in this book address how urban residents curate their digital geographies of consumption in various urban spaces on a daily basis, how urban consumers embrace and resist the digital cultures shaped by online platforms and the data these platforms produce, and the social and environmental impacts generated by the digitalization or platformization of consumption. Through these discussions, Chen Liu provides insights on digitalized and platform-mediated daily practices, including eating in/out, traveling, living with smart home technologies, buying and selling things, and using social media in urban China.

The life and times of the Smart Wife--feminized digital assistants who are friendly and sometimes flirty, occasionally glitchy but perpetually available. Meet the Smart Wife--at your service, an eclectic collection of feminized AI, robotic, and smart devices. This digital assistant is friendly and sometimes flirty, docile and efficient, occasionally glitchy but perpetually available. She might go by Siri, or Alexa, or inhabit Google Home. She can keep us company, order groceries, vacuum the floor, turn out the lights. A Japanese digital voice assistant--a virtual anime hologram named Hikari Azuma--sends her "master" helpful messages during the day; an American sexbot named Roxxxy takes on other kinds of household chores. In The Smart Wife, Yolande Strengers and Jenny Kennedy examine the emergence of digital devices that carry out "wifework"--domestic responsibilities that have traditionally fallen to (human) wives. They show that the principal prototype for these virtual helpers--designed in male-dominated industries--is the 1950s housewife: white, middle class, heteronormative, and nurturing, with a spick-and-span home. It's time, they say, to give the Smart Wife a reboot. What's wrong with preferring domestic assistants with feminine personalities? We like our assistants to conform to gender stereotypes--so what? For one thing, Strengers and Kennedy remind us, the design of gendered devices re-inscribes those outdated and unfounded stereotypes. Advanced technology is taking us backwards on gender equity. Strengers and Kennedy offer a Smart Wife "manifesta," proposing a rebooted Smart Wife that would promote a revaluing of femininity in society in all her glorious diversity.

The Climate Crisis and Other Animals is a must-read for anyone who cares about the future of our planet and the animals who live on it. Twine examines the impact of the climate crisis on nonhuman animals and argues for the importance of a climate and food justice movement inclusive of nonhuman animals. The book examines the ways in which climate breakdown is affecting nonhuman animal species and delves deeply into the politicised controversy over the extent of emissions from animal agriculture, demonstrating the markedly lower emissions of eating vegan. Critical of misguided human-centred framings of the climate crisis, Twine makes clear the necessity of including practices of animal commodification, the importance of documenting the effect of a changing climate on other animal species, and the mitigative opportunities of a radical remaking of dominant human–animal relations. The Climate Crisis and Other Animals addresses the emissions impacts of radical land-use changes and the twentieth century scaling-up of animal commodification within the animal-industrial complex, revealing how this system is interwoven in the gendered and racialised histories of capitalism. Twine collates an impressive body of scientific research that demonstrate both the already enormous impact of the climate crisis on the lives of nonhuman animals and the need to tackle the dominance of meat-based cultures. Twine critically explores approaches to food transition and three potentially transformative scenarios for global food systems that could help dismantle the animal-industrial complex and create a more sustainable and just food system. Averting the climate and biodiversity crises requires nothing less than a radical transformation in how we see ourselves in relation to other species.

This book advances the practice and theory of design ethnography. It presents a methodologically adventurous and conceptually robust approach to interventional and ethical research design, practice and engagement. The authors, specialising in design ethnography across the fields of anthropology, sociology, human geography, pedagogy and design research, draw on their extensive international experience of collaborating with engineers, designers, creative practitioners and specialists from other fields. They call for, and demonstrate the benefits of, ethnographic and conceptual attention to design as part of our personal and public everyday lives, society, institutions and activism. Design Ethnography is essential reading for researchers, scholars and students seeking to reshape the way we research, live and design ethically and responsibly into yet unknown futures.