The Universitas Kuningan International Conference on Social Science, Environment and Technology (UNISET) will be an annual event hosted by Universitas Kuningan. This year (2020), will be the first UNISET will be held on 12 December 2020 at Universitas Kuningan, Kuningan, West Java, Indonesia. “Exploring Science and Technology to the Improvement of Community Welfare” has been chosen at the main theme for the conference, with a focus on the latest research and trends, as well as future outlook of the field of Call for paper fields to be included in UNISET 2020 are: Social Sciences, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Technology, Electrical Engineering, Material Sciences and Engineering, Food and Agriculture Technology, Informatics Engineering and Technologies, Medical and Health Technology. The conference invites delegates from across Indonesian and South East Asian region and beyond, and is usually attended by more than 100 participants from university academics, researchers, practitioners, and professionals across a wide range of industries.

The 2nd Universitas Kuningan International Conference on System, Engineering, and Technology (UNISET) will be an annual event hosted by Universitas Kuningan. This year (2021), will be the second UNISET will be held on 2 December 2021 at Universitas Kuningan, Kuningan, West Java, Indonesia. “Opportunity and challenge in environmental, social science and humanity research during the pandemic Covid-19 era and afterward” has been chosen at the main theme for the conference, with a focus on the latest research and trends, as well as future outlook of the field of Call for paper fields to be included in UNISET 2021 are: natural science, education, social science and humanity, environmental science, and technology. The conference invites delegates from across Indonesian and South East Asian region and beyond, and is usually attended by more than 100 participants from university academics, researchers, practitioners, and professionals across a wide range of industries.

The International Student Conference in Tourism Research (ISCONTOUR) offers students a unique platform to present their research and establish a mutual knowledge transfer forum for attendees from academia, industry, government and other organisations. The annual conference, which is jointly organized by the IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems and the Management Center Innsbruck, takes place alternatively at the locations Krems and Innsbruck. The conference research chairs are Prof. (FH) Mag. Christian Maurer (University of Applied Sciences Krems) and Prof. (FH) Mag. Hubert Siller (Management Center Innsbruck). The target audience include international bachelor, master and PhD students, graduates, lecturers and professors from the field of tourism and leisure management as well as businesses and anyone interested in cutting-edge research of the conference topic areas. The proceedings of the 10th International Student Conference in Tourism Research include a wide variety of research topics, ranging from consumer behaviour, tourist experience, information and communication technologies, marketing, destination management, and sustainable tourism management.

The essays in this book cover a fast-paced 150 years of Vatican diplomacy, starting from the fall of the Papal States in 1870 to the present day. They trace the transformation of the Vatican from a state like any other to an entity uniquely providing spiritual and moral sustenance in world affairs. In particular, the book details the Holy See’s use of neutrality as a tool and the principal statecraft in its diplomatic portmanteau. This concept of “permanent neutrality,” as codified in the Lateran Treaties of 1929, is a central concept adding to the Vatican's uniqueness and, as a result, the analysis of its policies does not easily fit within standard international relations or foreign policy scholarship. These essays consider in detail the Vatican’s history with “permanent neutrality” and its application in diplomacy toward delicate situations as, for instance, vis a vis Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Imperial Japan, but also in the international relations of the Cold War in debates about nuclear non-proliferation, or outreach toward the third world, including Cuba and Venezuela. The book also considers the ineluctable tension between pastoral teachings and realpolitik, as the church faces a reckoning with its history.

The book discusses smart governments and innovation in the public sector. In hopes of arriving at a clear definition of innovation in the field of public administration, the volume provides a wide survey of global policies and practices, especially those aimed at reducing bureaucracy and using information-communication technologies in public service delivery. Chapters look at current applications across countries and multiple levels of government, from public innovation labs in the UK to AI in South Korea. Providing concrete examples of innovation culture at work in public institutions, this volume will be of use to researchers and students studying new public management, public service delivery, and innovation as well as practitioners and professionals working in various public agencies.

David G. Haglund’s Sister Republics tells the story of the unique relationship between the United States and its first ally, France. Historians and political scientists have characterized interactions between the two countries in the spheres of security and defense policy in radically different ways: either the two comport themselves in a highly cooperative fashion, befitting their status as old allies and steadfast friends, or they act as bitter rivals, revealing their alliance to be at best dysfunctional and at worst destructive. Haglund uses a fresh approach to reconcile these divergent positions, examining the Franco-American bond through the prism of strategic culture. In doing so, he reveals the cultural factors that have contributed to the suboptimal relationship between the two nations.