Digital worlds and cultures-social media, web 2.0, youtube, wearable technologies, health and fitness apps-dominate, if not order, our everyday lives. We are no longer 'just' consumers or readers of digital culture but active producers through facebook, twitter, Instagram, youtube and other emerging technologies. This book is predicated on the assumption that out understanding of our everyday lives should be informed by what is taking place in and through emerging technologies given these (virtual) environments provide a crucial context where traditional, categorical assumptions about the body, identity and leisure may be contested. Far from being 'virtual', the body is constituted within and through emerging technologies in material ways. Recent 'moral panics' over the role of digital cultures in teen suicide, digital drinking games, an endless array of homoerotic images of young bodies being linked with steroid use, disordered eating and body dissatisfaction, facebook games/fundraising campaigns (e.g. for breast cancer), movements devoted to exposing 'everyday sexism' / metoo, twitter abuse (of feminists, of athletes, of racist nature to name but a few), speak to the need for critical engagement with digital cultures. While some of the earlier techno-utopian visions offered the promise of digitality to give rise to participatory, user generator collaborations, within this book we provide critical engagement with digital technologies and what this means for our understandings of leisure cultures. The chapters originally published in a special issue in Leisure Studies.

This book offers comparative insights into the challenges and opportunities surrounding emerging technology and the internet as it is used and perceived throughout the world, providing students with cross-cultural and cross-national perspectives. The United Arab Emirates has a national goal of colonizing Mars by 2117, and China seeks to modernize its entire manufacturing process to produce cutting-edge technologies and research advances by 2025. How are other countries using the internet and emerging technologies to their advantage? This volume in the Global Viewpoints series examines 10 issues pertaining to the internet and technology, including access and censorship, alternative energy technologies, artificial intelligence, autonomous robots, cyberbullying, cybercrime, e-learning, GMOs, online privacy, and virtual and augmented reality. For each topic, the volume features eight country-level perspectives that span the world to allow for comparisons of different nations' specific approaches to the technology or issue. This encyclopedia takes a new direction in understanding the importance and impact of emerging technologies on the world, showing that even when experiencing similar technologically related challenges or advances, these technologies do not form one-size-fits-all solutions for every nation and population. Even when nations develop similar technologies, human dimensions-from policy to social norms to culture-influence people and society across the world differently. Shows the similarities and differences of emerging issues and successes surrounding technology development through perspectives from different world regions, allowing readers to make comparisons among the featured countries in each section Provides a brief primer on each technology- and internet-related issue that functions as a baseline for each section Highlights that different countries and populations having similar societal needs often need to make dissimilar technology-related choices, usually due to varying internal and external pressures ranging from social values and political systems to economic needs and developmental goals Includes photographs that help to illuminate the text

From the moment it was published almost ten years ago, "Elements of User Experience" became a vital reference for web and interaction designers the world over, and has come to define the core principles of the practice. Now, in this updated, expanded, and full-color new edition, Jesse James Garrett has refined his thinking about the Web, going "beyond "the desktop to include information that also applies to the sudden proliferation of mobile devices and applications.
Successful interaction design requires more than just creating clean code and sharp graphics. You must also fulfill your strategic objectives while meeting the needs of your users. Even the best content and the most sophisticated technology won't help you balance those goals without a cohesive, consistent user experience to support it. With so many issues involved--usability, brand identity, information architecture, interaction design-- creating the user experience can be overwhelmingly complex. This new edition of "The Elements of User Experience" cuts through that complexity with clear explanations and vivid illustrations that focus on ideas rather than tools or techniques. Garrett gives readers the big picture of user experience development, from strategy and requirements to information architecture and visual design.

In today's digital world our social interactions often take place in the form of written comments. We chat, disagree, worship, vent, confess, and even attack in written form in public digital spaces. Drawing on scholarly literature from media and cultural studies, psychology and sociology, Uncovering Commenting Culture charts this commenting territory and outlines why we behave in these ways online. In this timely book, Renee Barnes provides a participatory model for understanding commenting culture that is based on the premise that our behaviours online-including those that cause us most the concern-are not so much an internet problem as a social problem. By looking at a wide variety of online commenting habitats, from the comment threads following news stories, through to specialist forums and social media platforms, the volume provides a comprehensive understanding of the role of online commenting in society and provides suggestions for how we might mitigate bad behaviours.

As Web-based systems and e-commerce carry businesses into the 21st century, databases are becoming workhorses that shoulder each and every online transaction. For organizations to have effective 24/7 Web operations, they need powerhouse databases that deliver at peak performance-all the time. High Performance Web Databases: Design, Development, and Deployment arms you with every essential technique from design and modeling to advanced topics such as data conversion, performance tuning, Web access and interfacing legacy systems, and security

Traditional media is over. The internet reigns. And in the attention economy, influencers are royalty. But who are they … and how do you become one?

Break the Internet takes a deep dive into the influencer industry, tracing its evolution from blogging and legacy social media such as Tumblr to today’s world in which YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok dominate. Surveying the new media landscape that the rise of online celebrity has created, it is an insider account of a trend which is set to dominate our future — experts estimate that the economy of influence will be valued at $24bn globally by 2025.

Olivia Yallop enrols in an influencer bootcamp, goes undercover at a fan meetup, and shadows online vloggers, Instagrammers, and content creators to understand how online personas are built, uncovering what it is really like to live a branded life and trade in a ‘social stock market’. From mumfluencers and activists to governments and investors, everyone wants to build their online influence. But how do you stay authentic in a system designed to commodify identity? Break the Internet examines both the dangers and the transformative potential of online culture.

Internet marketing is leading the massive wave of electronic commerce, but contrary to what people think, the internet has been a hard sell right from the start. What were the first critical decisions for marketers and advertisers that locked internet marketing on its current path? Steinbock interviewed dozens of the early key players and finds that the internet had to sell the idea of itself as not just a new media but an entirely new marketspace--that is, a space in the consumer and business-to-business markets both. Covering the entire field, Steinbock's unique study proves that regardless of what may come next, it is crucial to understand what came first. His book will be essential for today's marketing, advertising, and internet decision makers, and a fascinating read for business and media watchers everywhere.

Steinbock shows the obstacle and barriers that faced the initial entrepreneurs and user companies, reconstructing the progression of internet marketing from the campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s, and in fact as far back as the 1940s and mid-1950s. He shows that internet marketing really began in business-to-business marketing, and only after AT&T and the Telcos argued that the internet was theoretically impossible and that it would crush American telecommunications if it ever did arrive. Ad agency execs? They hardly noticed the internet until the mid-1990s. Steinbock digs into the proliferation of marketing channels and the details of browsers, home pages, and web sites. He examines technology marketing, relationship marketing, and the connection between the internet, intranets, and marketing channels. In Chapter 4 he lays out the promise of internet marketing, the story of Zima and banner advertising, moving from there to the problems of online branding, online and offline advertising, broadcast hybrids, and online access to community providers. Steinbock ends with a look toward global markets and the war for eyeballs--the similarities and differences between television and the internet. His book is meticulously researched, authoritative, and well illustrated and will have special value for students and teachers in college courses in advertising, marketing, and media studies.

Geographic Information has an important role to play in linking and combining datasets through shared location, but the potential is still far from fully realized because the data is not well organized and the technology to aid this process has not been available. Developments in the Semantic Web and Linked Data, however, are making it possible to integrate data based on Geographic Information in a way that is more accessible to users. Drawing on the industry experience of a geographer and a computer scientist, Linked Data: A Geographic Perspective is a practical guide to implementing Geographic Information as Linked Data. Combine Geographic Information from Multiple Sources Using Linked Data After an introduction to the building blocks of Geographic Information, the Semantic Web, and Linked Data, the book explores how Geographic Information can become part of the Semantic Web as Linked Data. In easy-to-understand terms, the authors explain the complexities of modeling Geographic Information using Semantic Web technologies and publishing it as Linked Data. They review the software tools currently available for publishing and modeling Linked Data and provide a framework to help you evaluate new tools in a rapidly developing market. They also give an overview of the important languages and syntaxes you will need to master. Throughout, extensive examples demonstrate why and how you can use ontologies and Linked Data to manipulate and integrate real-world Geographic Information data from multiple sources. A Practical, Readable Guide for Geographers, Software Engineers, and Laypersons A coherent, readable introduction to a complex subject, this book supplies the durable knowledge and insight you need to think about Geographic Information through the lens of the Semantic Web. It provides a window to Linked Data for geographers, as well as a geographic perspective for so

Ubiquitous and pervasive technologies such as RFID and smart computing promise a world of networked and interconnected devices. Everything from tires to toothbrushes could soon be in communications range, heralding the dawn of an era in which today's Internet of People gives way to tomorrow's Internet of Things - where billions of objects will have the ability to report their location, identity, and history over wireless connections. Connectivity and Communication - Anything, Anywhere, and Anytime An examination of the exciting expansion period in this research, The Internet of Things: From RFID to the Next-Generation Pervasive Networked Systems provides comprehensive, technical, and practical deploying policy guidance that covers fundamentals and recent advances in pervasive networked systems. The book addresses the conceptual and technical issues that influence the technology roadmap and gives an in-depth introduction to the Internet of Things and its effect on businesses and individuals. Discussing case studies, experience reports, and best practice, it contains information on emerging technologies, market opportunities, and policy implications. Practical Guidance and Balanced Coverage The first book of its kind to address major new technological developments and define the Internet of Things, this text provides balanced coverage of theory and practical issues. Reflecting research trends and industry needs, itis a comprehensive technical and practical guide to recent advances in pervasive networked systems.

Intellectual property owners must continually exploit new ways of reproducing, distributing, and marketing their products. However, the threat of piracy looms as a major problem with digital distribution and storage technologies. Multimedia Encryption and Authentication Techniques and Applications covers current and future trends in the design of modern systems that use encryption and authentication to protect multimedia content. Containing the works of contributing authors who are worldwide experts in their fields, this volume is intended for researchers and practitioners, as well as for those who want a broad understanding of multimedia security. In the wake of the explosive growth of digital entertainment and Internet applications, this book is a definitive resource for scientists, researchers, programmers, engineers, business managers, entrepreneurs, and investors. Features Describes and evaluates the state of the art in multimedia encryption and authentication techniques and related technologies, architectures, standards, and applications Includes advanced topics, such as chaotic encryption techniques for digital images and video, as well as streaming media encryption Focuses on digital rights management issues for video and for consumer devices Covers key management and protection for IP multimedia, digital media fingerprinting, and signature-based media authentication

Millions of users have taken up residence in virtual worlds, and in those worlds they find opportunities to revisit and rewrite their religious lives. Robert Geraci argues that virtual worlds and video games have become a locus for the satisfaction of religious needs, providing many users with communities, a meaningful experience of history and human activity, and a sense of transcendence. Using interviews, surveys, and his own first-hand experience within the games, Geraci shows how World of Warcraft and Second Life provide participants with the opportunity to rethink what it means to be religious in the contemporary world. Not all participants use virtual worlds for religious purposes, but many online residents use them to rearrange or replace religious practice as designers and users collaborate in the production of a new spiritual marketplace. Using World of Warcraft and Second Life as case studies, this book shows that many residents now use virtual worlds to re-imagine their traditions and work to restore them to authentic sanctity, or else replace religious institutions with virtual communities that provide meaning and purpose to human life. For some online residents, virtual worlds are even keys to a post-human future where technology can help us transcend mortal life. Geraci argues that World of Warcraft and Second Life are virtually sacred because they do religious work. They often do such work without regard for and frequently in conflict with traditional religious institutions and practices; ultimately they participate in our sacred landscape as outsiders, competitors, and collaborators.

In-depth examination of concepts and principles of Web application development

Completely revised and updated, this popular book returns with coverage on a range of new technologies. Authored by a highly respected duo, this edition provides an in-depth examination of the core concepts and general principles of Web application development. Packed with examples featuring specific technologies, this book is divided into three sections: HTTP protocol as a foundation for Web applications, markup languages (HTML, XML, and CSS), and survey of emerging technologies. After a detailed introduction to the history of Web applications, coverage segues to core Internet protocols, Web browsers, Web application development, trends and directions, and more. Includes new coverage on technologies such as application primers, Ruby on Rails, SOAP, XPath, P3P, and moreExplores the fundamentals of HTTP and its evolutionLooks at HTML and its roots as well as XML languages and applicationsReviews the basic operation of Web Servers, their functionality, configuration, and securityDiscusses how to process flow in Web browsers and looks at active browser pagesAddresses the trends and various directions that the future of Web application frameworks may be headed

This book is essential reading for anyone who needs to design or debug complex systems, and it makes it easier to learn the new application programming interfaces that arise in a rapidly changing Internet environment.

A rapidly growing number of services and applications along with a dramatic shift in users' consumption models have made media networks an area of increasing importance. Do you know all that you need to know? Supplying you with a clear understanding of the technical and deployment challenges, Media Networks: Architectures, Applications, and Standards covers media networks basics, architectures, protocols, standards, specifications, advanced audiovisual and multimedia services, and future directions. Focusing on video and audio-visual services, it provides wide-scale reference on media networks and the audiovisual domain. The book investigates the different network architectures along with their related protocols and standards. It examines the different digital TV technologies as well as their deployment architectures. Illustrating the role of network operators, service providers, content providers, and manufacturers, this timely reference is divided into three parts: Presents digital TV technologies, including Open IPTV, Mobile TV, 3D video, and content delivery networks Covers media content delivery and quality of experience (QoE) Examines user-centricity and immersive technologies that take into account advanced services personalization, immersive technologies architectures and applications, e-health, and societal challenges The book considers emerging media content delivery architectures including Future Internet, CDN (Content Delivery Networks) architectures and Content Centric Networks (CCN) approaches, while examining the technical challenges and standardization efforts related to such issues. It presents the Quality of Experience (QoE) in Future Internet/ Next Generation Mobile Networks and also covers the management of media (audio/video) information in Future Internet, including transport protocols and compression technologies. The book concludes by describing pressing s

Boost Efficiency, Sales, and Profits by, Unleashing the Power of Web Technology "Forget Web hype, Internet academia, and all the new technology books you’ve read before. This one really delivers. The authors have created a practical and useful set of tools any CEO, manager, or entrepreneur can use to empower their organizations and themselves. I’m sending copies to all of my companies." —Ed Bennett, Chairman Prodigy Ventures "In this well-written and easy-to-read book, McEachern and O’Keefe help the business manager keep pace with technology and ahead of the competition by showing how business innovators have parlayed Internet technology into business advantage. McEachern and O’Keefe provide insight into how business can leverage the Internet as a powerful commercial tool and strategic weapon." —George Tillmann, Vice President Booz • Allen & Hamilton "Re-Wiring Business gives us the opportunity to not repeat our mistakes by focusing on the Internet as a fantastic communications tool that can increase worker productivity, raise service levels, and allow all who need information to have access to it." —Phyllis K. Sokol, Director of Educational Services for the Commerce Enterprise Business Unit, Sterling Commerce "A powerful reference for companies who are competing in the digital age, this book comes at an intriguing time in business and addresses many of the trends and issues facing organizations today." —Cheryl Currid, President, Currid & Company

Even though the semantic Web is a relatively new and dynamic area of research, a whole suite of components, standards, and tools have already been developed around it. Using a concrete approach, Introduction to the Semantic Web and Semantic Web Services builds a firm foundation in the concept of the semantic Web, its principal technologies, its real-world applications, and its relevant coding examples. This introductory yet comprehensive book covers every facet of this exciting technology. After an introduction to the semantic Web concept, it discusses its major technical enablers and the relationships among these components. The author then presents several applications of the semantic Web, including Swoogle, FOAF, and a detailed design of a semantic Web search engine. The book concludes with discussions on how to add semantics to traditional Web service descriptions and how to develop a search engine for semantic Web services. Covering the building blocks of an advanced Web technology, this practical resource equips you with the tools to further explore the world of the semantic Web on your own.

Aggressively being adopted by organizations in all markets, service-oriented architecture (SOA) is a framework enabling business process improvement for gaining competitive advantage. Service-Oriented Architecture:SOA Strategy, Methodology, and Technology guides you through the challenges of deploying SOA. It demonstrates conclusively that strategy and methodology are the keys to implementing SOA and provides the methodology needed for SOA success. The book examines the role of both non-agile and agile project management techniques for deploying SOA. Its methodology applies frameworks of governance, communications, product realization, project management, architecture, data management, service management, human resource management and post implementation processes. Filled with case studies, the book shows the methodology in action. This reference benefits business managers, business analysts, and technology project managers who are serious about adopting SOA as a long-term strategy. It is also benefits those new to business process management, enterprise architecture, and information systems and need to understand SOA, its business drivers, and its methodology.

Scalable and Secure Internet Services and Architecture provides an in-depth analysis of many key scaling technologies. Topics include: server clusters and load balancing; QoS-aware resource management; server capacity planning; Web caching and prefetching; P2P overlay network; mobile code and security; and mobility support for adaptive grid computing. The author discusses each topic by first defining a problem, then reviewing current representative approaches for solving it. He then describes in detail the underlying principles of the technologies and the application of these principles, along with balanced coverage of concepts and engineering trade-offs. The book demonstrates the effectiveness of the technologies via rigorous mathematical modeling and analysis, simulation, and practical implementations. It blends technologies in a unified framework for scalable and secure Internet services, delivering a systematic treatment based upon the author's cutting-edge research experience. This volume describes in breadth and depth advanced scaling technologies that support media streaming, e-commerce, grid computing, personalized content delivery, distributed file sharing, network management, and other Internet applications.

Topics covered in this volume include: research on web-based learning; ways to reduce cognitive load in multimedia learning; gathering and organizing web-based information; the risks in cyberspace; engineering perspectives; and the pedagogical impact of course management systems.

Emergence of Pharmaceutical Industry Growth with Industrial IoT Approach uses an innovative approach to explore how the Internet of Things (IoT) and big data can improve approaches, create efficiencies and make discoveries. Rapid growth of the IoT has encouraged many companies in the manufacturing sector to make use of this technology to unlock its potential. Pharmaceutical manufacturing companies are no exception to this, as IoT has the potential to revolutionize aspects of the pharmaceutical manufacturing process, from drug discovery to manufacturing. Using clear, concise language and real world case studies, this book discusses systems level from both a human-factors point-of-view and the perspective of networking, databases, privacy and anti-spoofing. The wide variety of topics presented offers readers multiple perspectives on a how to integrate the Internet of Things into pharmaceutical manufacturing.

Since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009 several hundred different 'cryptocurrencies' have been developed and become accepted for a wide variety of transactions in leading online commercial marketplaces and the 'sharing economy', as well as by more traditional retailers, manufacturers, and even by charities and political parties. Bitcoin and its competitors have also garnered attention for their wildly fluctuating values as well as implication in international money laundering, Ponzi schemes and online trade in illicit goods and services across borders. These and other controversies surrounding cryptocurrencies have induced varying governance responses by central banks, government ministries, international organizations, and industry regulators worldwide. Besides formal attempts to ban Bitcoin, there have been multifaceted efforts to incorporate elements of blockchains, the peer-to-peer technology underlying cryptocurrencies, in the wider exchange, recording, and broadcasting of digital transactions. Blockchains are being mobilized to support and extend an array of governance activities. The novelty and breadth of growing blockchain-based activities have fuelled both utopian promises and dystopian fears regarding applications of the emergent technology to Bitcoin and beyond. This volume brings scholars of anthropology, economics, Science and Technology Studies, and sociology together with GPE scholars in assessing the actual implications posed by Bitcoin and blockchains for contemporary global governance. Its interdisciplinary contributions provide academics, policymakers, industry practitioners and the general public with more nuanced understandings of technological change in the changing character of governance within and across the borders of nation-states.

This is the first book to systematically evaluate e-voting from the wider European perspective. It focuses on the European experience, thereby raising key issues at the heart of the social sciences, legal scholarship and technology studies in a penetrating and interdisciplinary manner. It coincides with a crucial juncture for European integration in which the Convention on the Future of Europe and the 2004 Intergovernmental Conference will discuss measures to further democratize the EU.

Information is a key factor in business today, and data warehousing has become a major activity in the development and management of information systems to support the proper flow of information. Unfortunately, the majority of information systems are based on structured information stored in organizational databases, which means that the company is isolated from the business environment by concentrating on their internal data sources only. It is therefore vital that organizations take advantage of external business information, which can be retrieved from Internet services and mechanically organized within the existing information structures. Such a continuously extending integrated collection of documents and data could facilitate decision-making processes in the organization. Filtering the Web to Feed Data Warehouses discusses areas such as:- how to use data warehouse for filtering Web content- how to retrieve relevant information from diverse sources on the Web - how to handle the time aspect - how to mechanically establish links among data warehouse structures and documents filtered from external sources - how to use collected information to increase corporate knowledge and gives a comprehensive example, illustrating the idea of supplying data warehouses with relevant information filtered from the Web.

Social Networking and Impression Management: Self-Presentation in the Digital Age, edited by Carolyn Cunningham, offers critical inquiry into how identity is constructed, deconstructed, performed, and perceived on social networking sites (SNSs), such as Facebook, and LinkedIn. The presentation of identity is key to success or failure in the Information Age, especially because SNSs are becoming the dominant form of communication among Internet users. The architecture of SNSs provide opportunities to ask questions such as who am I; what matters to me; and, how do I want others to perceive me? Original research studies in this collection utilize both quantitative and qualitative methods to study a range of issues related to identity management on SNSs including authenticity, professional uses of SNSs, LGBTQ identities, and psychological and cultural impacts. Together, the contributors to this volume draw on current research in the field and offer new theoretical frameworks and research methods to further the conversation on impression management and SNSs, making this text essential for both students and scholars of social media.

The Historical Web and Digital Humanities fosters discussions between the Digital Humanities and web archive studies by focussing on one of the largest entities of the web, namely national and transnational web domains such as the British, French, or European web. With a view to investigating whether, and how, web studies and web historiography can inform and contribute to the Digital Humanities, this volume contains a number of case studies and methodological and theoretical discussions that both illustrate the potential of studying the web, in this case national web domains, and provide an insight into the challenges associated with doing so. Commentary on and possible solutions to these challenges are debated within the chapters and each one contributes in its own way to a web history in the making that acknowledges the specificities of the archived web. The Historical Web and Digital Humanities will be essential reading for those with an interest in how the past of the web can be studied, as well as how Big Data approaches can be applied to the archived web. As a result, this volume will appeal to academics and students working and studying in the fields of Digital Humanities, internet and media studies, history, cultural studies, and communication.