Blockchain technology provided a buzz-seeking opportunity for all industries to implement improved corporate procedures and trust-building. Still, some industries, such as the banking sector, may view it as a disruptive technology that must be adopted. A transaction ledger's contents can be verified, maintained, and synchronized by community members using blockchain technology. A transaction can never be changed or removed from the blockchain; updates may only be made by participants in the system. Its distributed database cannot be manipulated, disrupted, or hacked in the same manner as conventional, user-controlled access systems and centralized databases. Building Secure Business Models Through Blockchain Technology: Tactics, Methods, Limitations, and Performance studies and explores the status of blockchain technology and, through the latest technology, builds business models to secure the future direction in the field of business. This book discusses the tactics and methods, as well as their limitations and performance. Covering topics such as AI-based efficient models, digital technology and services, and financial trading, this premier reference source is a valuable resource for business leaders and managers, IT managers, students and educators of higher education, entrepreneurs, government officials, librarians, researchers, and academicians.

H. M. Cartwright: An Introduction to Evolutionary Computation andEvolutionary Algorithms; B. Hartke: Application of Evolutionary Algorithms to Global Cluster Geometry Optimization; K.D.M. Harris, R.L. Johnston, S. Habershon: Application of Evolutionary Computation in Structure Solution from Diffraction Data; S. M.

The rapid growth in electronic systems in the past decade has boosted research in the area of computational intelligence. As it has become increasingly easy to generate, collect, transport, process, and store huge amounts of data, the role of intelligent algorithms has become prominent in order to visualize, manipulate, retrieve, and interpret the data. For instance, intelligent search techniques have been developed to search for relevant items in huge collections of web pages, and data mining and interpretation techniques play a very important role in making sense out of huge amounts of biomolecular measurements. As a result, the added value of many modern systems is no longer determined by hardware only, but increasingly by the intelligent software that supports and facilitates the user in realizing his or her objectives. This book is the outcome of a series of discussions at the Philips Symposium on Intelligent Algorithms,

Intelligent Technologies for Bridging the Grey Digital Divide offers high-quality research with both industry- and practice-related articles in the broad area of intelligent technologies for seniors. The main focus of the book is to provide insights into current innovation, issues to be resolved, and approaches for widespread adoption so that seniors, their families, and their caregivers are able to enjoy their promised benefits.

In VLSI CAD, difficult optimization problems have to be solved on a constant basis. Various optimization techniques have been proposed in the past. While some of these methods have been shown to work well in applications and have become somewhat established over the years, other techniques have been ignored. Recently, there has been a growing interest in optimization algorithms based on principles observed in nature, termed Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs). Evolutionary Algorithms in VLSI CAD presents the basic concepts of EAs, and considers the application of EAs in VLSI CAD. It is the first book to show how EAs could be used to improve IC design tools and processes. Several successful applications from different areas of circuit design, like logic synthesis, mapping and testing, are described in detail. Evolutionary Algorithms in VLSI CAD consists of two parts. The first part discusses basic principles of EAs and provides some easy-to-understand examples. Furthermore, a theoretical model for multi-objective optimization is presented. In the second part a software implementation of EAs is supplied together with detailed descriptions of several EA applications. These applications cover a wide range of VLSI CAD, and different methods for using EAs are described. Evolutionary Algorithms in VLSI CAD is intended for CAD developers and researchers as well as those working in evolutionary algorithms and techniques supporting modern design tools and processes.

Digital Humanities is rapidly evolving as a significant approach to/method of teaching, learning and research across the humanities. This is a first-stop book for people interested in getting to grips with digital humanities whether as a student or a professor. The book offers a practical guide to the area as well as offering reflection on the main objectives and processes, including: Accessible introductions of the basics of Digital Humanities through to more complex ideas A wide range of topics from feminist Digital Humanities, digital journal publishing, gaming, text encoding, project management and pedagogy Contextualised case studies Resources for starting Digital Humanities such as links, training materials and exercises Doing Digital Humanities looks at the practicalities of how digital research and creation can enhance both learning and research and offers an approachable way into this complex, yet essential topic.

This work fills an important gap in the literature by providing an important link between MAPLE and its successful use in solving problems in Operations Research (OR). The symbolic, numerical, and graphical aspects of MAPLE make this software package an ideal tool for treating certain OR problems and providing descriptive and optimization-based analyses of deterministic and stochastic models. Detailed is MAPLE's treatment of some of the mathematical techniques used in OR modeling: e.g., algebra and calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations, linear algebra, transform methods, and probability theory.

A number of examples of OR techniques and applications are presented, such as linear and nonlinear programming, dynamic programming, stochastic processes, inventory models, queueing systems, and simulation. Throughout the text MAPLE statements used in the solutions of problems are clearly explained. At the same time, technical background material is presented in a rigorous mathematical manner to reach the OR novice and professional. Numerous end-of- chapter exercises, a good bibliography and overall index at the end of the book are also included, as well as MAPLE worksheets that are easily downloadable from the author's website at www.business.mcmaster.ca/msis/profs/parlar, or from the Birkhauser website at www.birkhauser.com/cgi-win/ISBN/0-8176-4165-3.

The book is intended for advanced undergraduate and graduate students in operations research, management science departments of business schools, industrial and systems engineering, economics, and mathematics. As a self-study resource, the text can be used by researchers and practitioners who want a quick overview ofMAPLE's usefulness in solving realistic OR problems that would be difficult or impossible to solve with other software packages.

The book deals with similarity relations defined on a set with functions. The functions are required to map similar elements to similar ones. The book presents basic mathematical properties of structures consisting of similarity-preserving functions and logics for reasoning about similarities. The presented text is self-contained. The notions and results are demonstrated through examples which are graphically illustrated. The book is useful for researchers, but it can also be used as a graduate text.

A Selection of Papers from the EEC Conference on Social Experiments with Information Technology in Odense, Denmark, January 13-15, 1986

This book is for both specialist and generalist. For Information Technology (IT) and Educational Management (EM) researchers, it brings together the latest information and analysis of ITEM projects in eleven countries. But the issues raised by this collection of papers are so important for schools, school systems and the future of education that it is essential reading not only for researchers but also for teachers, administrators and all concerned with the planning and governance of our education systems. New technologies may improve our lives in two ways: by enabling us to do things better (accomplishing what we do already more efficiently) and by enabling us to do better things (accomplishing new things that we were not able to do before). Sometimes "doing things better" merges into "doing better things." Thus in the 19th century the coming of the railway enabled our forbears to accomplish their existing journies in less time and in greater comfort. But it also opened up the prospect of new journies to more distant places, and led ultimately to far-reaching changes in lifestyles in new, commuter settlements far from the old city centres. So it is in the present day with Information Technology in Educational Management. Some of the papers in this volume focus on specialist tasks, for example how to develop a computer-based decision-support system to help those drawing up school timetables. Others address situations in which the power of the technology offers us the potential to change radically what we do.

Educational technology in the broadest sense is knowledge and competence forimproving the educational process: for using hardware (equipment), software (methods), and "underware" (underlying organizational structures). This volume in the Special Programme on Advanced Educational Technology presents the results of a NATO Advanced Research Workshop on educational systems design as a new educational technology. The objective of the workshop was toadvance our knowledge about the comprehensive systems design approach for improving educational systems. The workshop was organized for the transdisciplinary interaction of three scientific groups representing design science, organizational/systems science, and educationaltechnology. Participants were selected based on their scholarship as members of one or more of these three groups. The book opens with theframing papers sent by the editors to participants prior to the workshop, then presents five sets of thematic contributions: the conceptual and empirical contexts of comprehensive systems design, the systems design focus, a systems view of designing educational systems, the educational context of systems design, and high technology focus in systems design.

The success of an enterprise today is dependent upon its information system, which comprises Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Supply Chain Management (SCM), and Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Disruption of Enterprise Information Systems (EIS), even for a short period of time, can cause large problems for business operations. Enterprise Information Systems and Implementing IT Infrastructures: Challenges and Issues aims at identifying potential research problems and issues in EIS, allowing research scholars and practitioners to develop suitable strategies and operational policies for EIS, thus improving communication within organizations. The cutting-edge research discussed in this book intends to spark the discussion of new ideas and developments in the field of EIS amongst researchers and practitioners.

With the recent advancements and implementations of technology within the global community, various regions of the world have begun to transform. The idea of smart transportation and mobility is a specific field that has been implemented among countless areas around the world that are focused on intelligent and efficient environments. Despite its strong influence and potential, sustainable mobility still faces multiple demographic and environmental challenges. New perspectives, improvements, and solutions are needed in order to successfully apply efficient and sustainable transportation within populated environments. Implications of Mobility as a Service (MaaS) in Urban and Rural Environments: Emerging Research and Opportunities is a pivotal reference source that provides vital research on recent transportation improvements and the development of mobility systems in populated regions. While highlighting topics such as human-machine interaction, alternative vehicles, and sustainable development, this publication explores competitive solutions for transport efficiency as well as its impact on citizens' quality of life. This book is ideally designed for researchers, environmentalists, civil engineers, architects, policymakers, strategists, academicians, and students seeking current research on mobility advancements in urban and rural areas across the globe.

Object-based Distributed Computing is being established as the most pertinent basis for the support of large, heterogeneous computing and telecommunications systems. The advent of Open Object-based Distributed Systems (OODS) brings new challenges and opportunities for the use and development of formal methods. Formal Methods for Open Object-based Distributed Systems presents the latest research in several related fields, and the exchange of ideas and experiences in a number of topics including: formal models for object-based distributed computing; semantics of object-based distributed systems and programming languages; formal techniques in object-based and object oriented specification, analysis and design; refinement and transformation of specifications; multiple viewpoint modeling and consistency between different models; formal techniques in distributed systems verification and testing; types, service types and subtyping; specification, verification and testing of quality of service constraints and formal methods and the object life cycle. It contains the selected proceedings of the International Workshop on Formal Methods for Open Object-based Distributed Systems, sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing, and based in Paris, France, in March 1996.

This book presents an in-depth discussion of the semiconductor-laser gain medium. The optical and electronic properties of semiconductors, particularly semiconductor quantum-well systems, are analzyed in detail, covering a wide variety of near-infrared systems with or without strain, as well as wide-gap materials such as the group-III nitride compounds or the II-VI materials. The important bandstructure modifications and Coulomb interaction effects are discussed, including the solution of the longstanding semiconductor laser lineshape problem. Quantitative comparisons between measured and predicted gain/absorption and refractive index spectra for a wide variety of semiconductor-laser materials enable the theoretical results to be used directly in the engineering of advanced laser and amplifier structures. A wealth of examples for many different material combinations bestow the book with quantitative and predictive value for a wide variety of applications.

ELLENBALKA Simon Fraser University ebalka@Sfu. ca 1. INTRODUCTION In developing the call for papers for the 7th International Federation of Information Processors (IFIP) Women, Work and Computerization Conference, we sought to cast our net widely. We wanted to encourage presenters to think broadly about women, work and computerization. Towards this end, the programme committee developed a call for papers that, in its final form, requested paper submissions around four related themes. These are (1) Setting the Course: Taking Stock of Where We Are and Where We're Going; (2) Charting Undiscovered Terrain: Creating Models, Tools and Theories; (3) Navigating the Unknown: Sex, Time, Space and Place, and (4) Taking the Helm: Education and Pedagogy. Our overall conference theme, 'Charting a Course to the Future' was inspired in part by Vancouver's geography, which is both coastal and mountainous. As such, navigation plays an important part in the lives of many as we seek to enjoy our environs. In addition, as the first Women, Work and Computerization conference of the new millennium, we hoped to encourage the broad community of scholars that has made past Women, Work and Computerization conferences a success to actively engage in imagining--and working towards-- a better future for women in relation to computers. The contributions to this volume are both a reflection of the hard work undertaken by many to improve the situation of women in relation to computerization, and a testament to how much work is yet to be done.

Statistical Modeling and Analysis for Complex Data Problems treats some of today's more complex problems and it reflects some of the important research directions in the field. Twenty-nine authors - largely from Montreal's GERAD Multi-University Research Center and who work in areas of theoretical statistics, applied statistics, probability theory, and stochastic processes - present survey chapters on various theoretical and applied problems of importance and interest to researchers and students across a number of academic domains.

In the context of the 18th IFIP World Computer Congress (WCC'04), and beside the traditional organization of conferences, workshops, tutorials and student forum, it was decided to identify a range of topics of dramatic interest for the building of the Information Society. This has been featured as the "Topical day/session" track of the WCC'04. Topical Sessions have been selected in order to present syntheses, latest developments and/or challenges in different business and technical areas.

Building the Information Society provides a deep perspective on domains including: the semantic integration of heterogeneous data, virtual realities and new entertainment, fault tolerance for trustworthy and dependable information infrastructures, abstract interpretation (and its use for verification of program properties), multimodal interaction, computer aided inventing, emerging tools and techniques for avionics certification, bio-, nano-, and information technologies, E-learning, perspectives on ambient intelligence, the grand challenge of building a theory of the Railway domain, open source software in dependable systems, interdependencies of critical infrastructure, social robots, as a challenge for machine intelligence.

Building the Information Society comprises the articles produced in support of the Topical Sessions during the IFIP 18th World Computer Congress, which was held in August 2004 in Toulouse, France, and sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP).

Engineering the Knowledge Society (EKS) - Event of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) This book is the result of a joint event of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) and the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) held during the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, Switzerland, December 11 - 12, 2003. The organisation was in the hands of Mr. Raymond Morel of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW). Information Technology (or Information and Communication Technology) cannot be seen as a separate entity. Its application should support human development and this application has to be engineered. Education plays a central role in the engineering of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for human support. The conference addressed the following aspects: Lifelong Learning and education, - inclusion, ethics and social impact, engineering profession, developing- society, economy and e-Society. The contributions in this World Summit event reflected an active stance towards human development supported by ICT. A Round Table session provided concrete proposals for action

One of the major concerns of theoretical computer science is the classifi cation of problems in terms of how hard they are. The natural measure of difficulty of a function is the amount of time needed to compute it (as a function of the length of the input). Other resources, such as space, have also been considered. In recursion theory, by contrast, a function is considered to be easy to compute if there exists some algorithm that computes it. We wish to classify functions that are hard, i.e., not computable, in a quantitative way. We cannot use time or space, since the functions are not even computable. We cannot use Turing degree, since this notion is not quantitative. Hence we need a new notion of complexity-much like time or spac that is quantitative and yet in some way captures the level of difficulty (such as the Turing degree) of a function."

Building Scalable Network Services: Theory and Practice is on building scalable network services on the Internet or in a network service provider's network. The focus is on network services that are provided through the use of a set of servers. The authors present a tiered scalable network service model and evaluate various services within this architecture. The service model simplifies design tasks by implementing only the most basic functionalities at lower tiers where the need for scalability dominates functionality.
The book includes a number of theoretical results that are practical and applicable to real networks, such as building network-wide measurement, monitoring services, and strategies for building better P2P networks. Various issues in scalable system design and placement algorithms for service nodes are discussed. Using existing network services as well as potentially new but useful services as examples, the authors formalize the problem of placing service nodes and provide practical solutions for them.

Schmidt and Bannon (1992) introduced the concept of common information space by contrasting it with technical conceptions of shared information: Cooperative work is not facilitated simply by the provisioning of a shared database, but rather requires the active construction by the participants of a common information space where the meanings of the shared objects are debated and resolved, at least locally and temporarily. (Schmidt and Bannon, p. 22) A CIS, then, encompasses not only the information but also the practices by which actors establish its meaning for their collective work. These negotiated understandings of the information are as important as the availability of the information itself: The actors must attempt to jointly construct a common information space which goes beyond their individual personal information spaces. . . . The common information space is negotiated and established by the actors involved. (Schmidt and Bannon, p. 28) This is not to suggest that actors' understandings of the information are identical; they are simply "common" enough to coordinate the work. People understand how the information is relevant for their own work. Therefore, individuals engaged in different activities will have different perspectives on the same information. The work of maintaining the common information space is the work that it takes to balance and accommodate these different perspectives. A "bug" report in software development is a simple example. Software developers and quality assurance personnel have access to the same bug report information. However, access to information is not sufficient to coordinate their work.