Recent innovations have created significant developments in data storage and management. These new technologies now allow for greater security in databases and other applications. Decentralized Computing Using Block Chain Technologies and Smart Contracts: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a concise and informative source of academic research on the latest developments in block chain innovation and their application in contractual agreements. Highlighting pivotal discussions on topics such as cryptography, programming techniques, and decentralized computing, this book is an ideal publication for researchers, academics, professionals, students, and practitioners seeking content on utilizing block chains with smart contracts.

ICT Sustainability is about how to assess, and reduce, the carbon footprint and materials used with computers and telecommunications. These are the notes for an award winning on-line graduate course on strategies for reducing the environmental impact of computers and how to use the Internet to make business more energy efficient. These notes have been used for courses by the Australian Computer Society, Australian National University and Athabasca University (Canada). The book includes an extensive bibliography. Free open access course-ware is available on-line to accompany this text.

The security of information and communication technology is a high priority for any organization. By examining the current problems and challenges this domain is facing, more efficient strategies can be established to safeguard personal information against invasive pressures. Security and Privacy Management, Techniques, and Protocols is a critical scholarly resource that examines emerging protocols and methods for effective management of information security at organizations. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as cryptography, secure routing protocols, and wireless security, this book is geared towards academicians, engineers, IT specialists, researchers, and students seeking current research on security and privacy management.

Using the familiar software Microsoft ® Excel, this book examines the applications of complex variables. Implementation of the included problems in Excel eliminates the “black box” nature of more advanced computer software and programming languages and therefore the reader has the chance to become more familiar with the underlying mathematics of the complex variable problems. This book consists of two parts. In Part I, several topics are covered that one would expect to find in an introductory text on complex variables. These topics include an overview of complex numbers, functions of a complex variable, and the Cauchy integral formula. In particular, attention is given to the study of analytic complex variable functions. This attention is warranted because of the property that the real and imaginary parts of an analytic complex variable function can be used to solve the Laplace partial differential equation (PDE). Laplace's equation is ubiquitous throughout science and engineering as it can be used to model the steady-state conditions of several important transport processes including heat transfer, soil-water flow, electrostatics, and ideal fluid flow, among others. In Part II, a specialty application of complex variables known as the Complex Variable Boundary Element Method (CVBEM) is examined. CVBEM is a numerical method used for solving boundary value problems governed by Laplace's equation. This part contains a detailed description of the CVBEM and a guide through each step of constructing two CVBEM programs in Excel. The writing of these programs is the culminating event of the book. Students of complex variables and anyone with interest in a novel method for approximating potential functions using the principles of complex variables are the intended audience for this book. The Microsoft Excel applications (including simple programs as well as the CVBEM program) covered will also be of interest in the industry, as these programs are accessible to anybody with Microsoft Office.

For any organization, analysis of performance and effectiveness through available data allows for informed decision making. Data envelopment analysis, or DEA, is a popular, effective method that can be used to measure productive efficiency in operations management assessment. Data Envelopment Analysis and Effective Performance Assessment addresses the myriad of practical uses and innovative developments of DEA. Emphasizing the importance of analyzing productivity by measuring inputs, goals, economic growth, and performance, this book covers a wide breadth of innovative knowledge. This book is essential reading for managers, business professionals, students of business and ICT, and computer engineers.

Technology continues to make great strides in society by providing opportunities for advancement, inclusion, and global competency. As new systems and tools arise, novel applications are created as well. Smart Technology Applications in Business Environments is an essential reference source for the latest scholarly research on the risks and opportunities of utilizing the latest technologies in different aspects of society such as education, healthcare systems, and corporations. Featuring extensive coverage on a broad range of topics and perspectives including virtual reality, robotics, and social media, this publication is ideally designed for academicians, researchers, students, and practitioners seeking current research on the improvement and increased productivity from the implementation of smart technologies.

The internet of things (IoT) is quickly growing into a large industry with a huge economic impact expected in the near future. However, the users' needs go beyond the existing web-like services, which do not provide satisfactory intelligence levels. Ambient intelligence services in IoT environments is an emerging research area that can change the way that technology and services are perceived by the users. Ambient Intelligence Services in IoT Environments: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a unique source that systemizes recent trends and advances for service development with such key technological enablers of modern ICT as ambient intelligence, IoT, web of things, and cyber-physical systems. The considered concepts and models are presented using a smart spaces approach with a particular focus on the Smart-M3 platform, which is now shaping into an open source technology for creating ontology-based smart spaces and is shifting towards the development of web of things applications and socio-cyber-physical systems. Containing coverage on a broad range of topics such as fog computing, smart environments, and virtual reality, multitudes of researchers, students, academicians, and professionals will benefit from this timely reference.

Human computer interaction is constantly evolving in many areas and facets of modern society. Analyzing these interactions can provide a more balanced understanding of these technological advances as they pertain to people's lives. Experience-Based Human-Computer Interactions: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a pivotal reference source that provides in-depth discussions on the progression and contemporary applications of human computer interaction. Highlighting relevant topic areas such as semantic support, software intensive systems, ontology applications, and conceptual objects, this publication is ideal for engineers, academicians, students, and researchers that would like to attain more information on recent advances being made to bridge the gap between human and computer interactions.

Information Security and Ethics: Social and Organizational Issues brings together examples of the latest research from a number of international scholars addressing a wide range of issues significant to this important and growing field of study. These issues are relevant to the wider society, as well as to the individual, citizen, educator, student and industry professional. With individual chapters focusing on areas including web accessibility; the digital divide; youth protection and surveillance; Information security; education; ethics in the Information professions and Internet voting; this book provides an invaluable resource for students, scholars and professionals currently working in information Technology related areas.

With the continued progression of technologies such as mobile computing and the internet of things (IoT), cybersecurity has swiftly risen to a prominent field of global interest. This has led to cyberattacks and cybercrime becoming much more sophisticated to a point where cybersecurity can no longer be the exclusive responsibility of an organization's information technology (IT) unit. Cyber warfare is becoming a national issue and causing various governments to reevaluate the current defense strategies they have in place. Cyber Security Auditing, Assurance, and Awareness Through CSAM and CATRAM provides emerging research exploring the practical aspects of reassessing current cybersecurity measures within organizations and international governments and improving upon them using audit and awareness training models, specifically the Cybersecurity Audit Model (CSAM) and the Cybersecurity Awareness Training Model (CATRAM). The book presents multi-case studies on the development and validation of these models and frameworks and analyzes their implementation and ability to sustain and audit national cybersecurity strategies. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as forensic analysis, digital evidence, and incident management, this book is ideally designed for researchers, developers, policymakers, government officials, strategists, security professionals, educators, security analysts, auditors, and students seeking current research on developing training models within cybersecurity management and awareness.

An integral element of software engineering is model engineering. They both endeavor to minimize cost, time, and risks with quality software. As such, model engineering is a highly useful field that demands in-depth research on the most current approaches and techniques. Only by understanding the most up-to-date research can these methods reach their fullest potential. Advancements in Model-Driven Architecture in Software Engineering is an essential publication that prepares readers to exercise modeling and model transformation and covers state-of-the-art research and developments on various approaches for methodologies and platforms of model-driven architecture, applications and software development of model-driven architecture, modeling languages, and modeling tools. Highlighting a broad range of topics including cloud computing, service-oriented architectures, and modeling languages, this book is ideally designed for engineers, programmers, software designers, entrepreneurs, researchers, academicians, and students.

As the world has adapted to the age of digital technology, present day business leaders are required to change with the times as well. Addressing and formatting their business practices to not only encompass digital technologies, but expand their capabilities, the leaders of today must be flexible and willing to familiarize themselves with all types of global business practices. Global Business Leadership Development for the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a collection of advanced research on the methods and tactics utilized to succeed as a leader in the digital age. While highlighting topics including data privacy, corporate governance, and risk management, this book is ideally designed for business professionals, administrators, managers, executives, researchers, academicians, and business students who want to improve their understanding of the strategic role of digital technologies in the global economy, in networks and organizations, in teams and work groups, in information systems, and at the level of individuals as actors in digitally networked environments.

This book is a celebration of Leslie Lamport's work on concurrency, interwoven in four-and-a-half decades of an evolving industry: from the introduction of the first personal computer to an era when parallel and distributed multiprocessors are abundant. His works lay formal foundations for concurrent computations executed by interconnected computers. Some of the algorithms have become standard engineering practice for fault tolerant distributed computing - distributed systems that continue to function correctly despite failures of individual components. He also developed a substantial body of work on the formal specification and verification of concurrent systems, and has contributed to the development of automated tools applying these methods. Part I consists of technical chapters of the book and a biography. The technical chapters of this book present a retrospective on Lamport's original ideas from experts in the field. Through this lens, it portrays their long-lasting impact. The chapters cover timeless notions Lamport introduced: the Bakery algorithm, atomic shared registers and sequential consistency; causality and logical time; Byzantine Agreement; state machine replication and Paxos; temporal logic of actions (TLA). The professional biography tells of Lamport's career, providing the context in which his work arose and broke new grounds, and discusses LaTeX - perhaps Lamport's most influential contribution outside the field of concurrency. This chapter gives a voice to the people behind the achievements, notably Lamport himself, and additionally the colleagues around him, who inspired, collaborated, and helped him drive worldwide impact. Part II consists of a selection of Leslie Lamport's most influential papers. This book touches on a lifetime of contributions by Leslie Lamport to the field of concurrency and on the extensive influence he had on people working in the field. It will be of value to historians of science, and to researchers and students who work in the area of concurrency and who are interested to read about the work of one of the most influential researchers in this field.