Online social media have transformed the face of human interaction in the 21st century. Wikis, blogs, online groups and forums, podcasts, virtual worlds, and social tagging are but a few of the applications enabling innovative behaviors that support acquisition, access, manipulation, retrieval, and visualization of information. It is, therefore, no surprise that educational practitioners and theorists have begun to explore how social media can be harnessed to describe and implement new paradigms for communication, learning, and education.

The editors' goal in publishing this book was to identify original research on the application of online social media and related technologies in education as well as emerging applications in Web technologies that could provide and shape future educational platforms. The selected contributions deal with questions such as how social media can truly enrich and enhance learning and teaching experiences in ways not otherwise possible; how learning can be integrated in a distributed and ubiquitous social computing environment; or what theories, paradigms, and models are applicable for the support of social computing in education. Researchers in education or educational software will find interesting and sometimes provocative chapters on paradigms and methodologies, virtual and mobile learning spaces, and assessment and social factors. Practitioners in these fields will benefit from an additional section devoted to case studies and first experience reports.

This book presents the first paradigm of social multimedia computing completely from the user perspective. Different from traditional multimedia and web multimedia computing which are content-centric, social multimedia computing rises under the participatory Web2.0 and is essentially user-centric. The goal of this book is to emphasize the user factor in facilitating effective solutions towards both multimedia content analysis, user modeling and customized user services. Advanced topics like cross-network social multimedia computing are also introduced as extensions and potential directions along this research line.

The main objective of this book is to provide a multidisciplinary overview of methodological approaches, architectures, platforms, and algorithms for the realization of an Internet of Things (IoT)-based Smart Urban Ecosystem (SUE). Moreover, the book details a set of real-world applications and case studies related to specific smart infrastructures and smart cities, including structural health monitoring, smart urban drainage networks, smart grids, power efficiency, healthcare, city security, and emergency management. A Smart Urban Ecosystem (SUE) is a people-centric system of systems that involves smart city environments, applications, and infrastructures. SUEs require the close integration of cyber and physical components for monitoring, understanding and controlling the urban environment. In this context, the Internet of Things (IoT) offers a valuable enabling technology, as it bridges the gap between physical things and software components, and empowers cooperation between distributed, pervasive, and heterogeneous entities.

Each consumer now has the power to be a journalist, reviewer, and whistle blower. The prevalence of social media has made it possible to alter a brand's reputation with a single viral post, or spark a political movement with a hashtag. This new landscape requires a strategic plasticity and careful consideration of how the public will react to an organization's actions. Participation in social media is mandatory for a brand's success in this highly competitive online era. Managing Public Relations and Brand Image through Social Media provides the latest research and theoretical framework necessary to find ease in the shifting public relations and reputation management worlds. It provides an overview of the tools and skills necessary to deftly sidestep public affronts and to effectively use online outlets to enhance an organization's visibility and reputation. This publication targets policy makers, website developers, students and educators of public relations, PR and advertising professionals, and organizations who wish to better understand the effects of social media.

Fifty years ago, the political whistle-stop tour was thus named because trains blew their whistles twice when making unscheduled stops in backwater towns. Like its distant cousin, the "electronic" whistle-stop brings the candidate's message directly to the people, but with one outstanding difference: the new whistle-stop offers politicians an accuracy, efficiency, and success at voter persuasian unimaginable to by earlier whistle-stoppers such as Harry Truman.

As Selnow shows, American political campaigns have an extraordinary affinity for electronic devices. They have seized upon electronic bulletin boards, home pages, and electronic libraries. Since political campaigns are communication campaigns, Selnow concludes that candidates who successfully inform, persuade, enlighten, and even confuse voters will win votes. Selnow also examines the debate between those who argue that new technologies have improved efficiency and those who believe that the innovations have affected society in other ways. Scholars and students of American political communication must read this book; the lively style will also make it exciting reading for anyone interested in this new political tool.

Technological advances in the field of IT lead to the creation of new programs intended to merge the advantages of desktop-based programs with the advantages of Web-based programs in order to increase user accessibility and provide effective computer performance. Frameworks, Methodologies, and Tools for Developing Rich Internet Applications presents current research and analysis on the use of JavaScript and software development to establish new programs intended for the Web. With an in-depth look at computer and Web programming, this publication emphasizes the benefits and dynamic qualities of these emerging technologies. This book is an essential reference source for academicians, researchers, students, practitioners, and professionals interested in understanding and applying the advances in the combined fields of Web engineering and desktop programming in order to increase computer users' visual experience and interactivity.

Language teachers, social studies teachers, and school library media specialists will find this resource invaluable for providing lessons and activities in critical thinking for students in grades 7-12. It is filled with over 200 primary source Internet sites covering the Chinese, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, and Latin languages. Each Web site will help reinforce language skills while providing students with interactive lessons on the unique culture of the peoples who speak the language. The next best thing to visiting the country itself

For each of the 56 primary Web sites, a site summary is given describing its contents and usefulness to teachers and school library media specialists. Site subjects may include: a country's radio or news program; the history of a country and its visual arts, including museums; foods eaten by the people who speak this language and recipes on how to prepare them; ceremonies, customs, and sports enjoyed; geography of the countries who speak this language; and sites to help practice the language itself. Following are a list of questions and activities which students can prepare orally or in written form, and at least four more related Web sites are provided for further study. Using this book will not only help students increase their language skills, but it will also open up the entire culture, to enable students to experience it just as if they were visiting

Social networks and online communities are reshaping the way people communicate, both in their personal and professional lives. What makes some succeed and others fail? What draws a user in? What makes them join? What keeps them coming back? Entrepreneurs and businesses are turning to user experience practitioners to figure this out. Though they are well-equipped to evaluate and create a variety of interfaces, social networks require a different set of design principles and ways of thinking about the user in order to be successful.

Design to Thrive presents tried and tested design methodologies, based on the author s decades of research, to ensure successful and sustainable online communities -- whether a wiki for employees to share procedures and best practices or for the next Facebook. The book describes four criteria, called"RIBS," which are necessary to the design of a successful and sustainable online community. These concepts provide designers with the tools they need to generate informed creative and productive design ideas, to think proactively about the communities they are building or maintaining, and to design communities that encourage users to actively contribute.
Provides essential tools to create thriving social networks, helping designers to avoid common pitfalls, avoid costly mistakes, and to ensure that communities meet client needs

Contains real world stories from popular, well known communities to illustrate how the concepts work

Features a companion online network that employs the techniques outlined in the book "

This title explores research on new techniques for the virtual enterprise operation, and has opened up new ideas on the design principles and operation approaches in order to maximize benefits and overcome limitations.

This is an edited volume that develops a common understanding of the various technologies intended to facilitate the automation of mediation, choreography and discovery for Web Services using semantic annotations. The volume explores trade-offs among existing approaches, and reveals strengths and weaknesses of proposed approaches, as well as which aspects of the problem are not yet covered. The book is designed for a professional audience composed of practitioners and researchers in industry. Professionals can use it to evaluate SWS technology for their potential practical use. The book is also suitable for advanced-level students in computer science.

Web information systems engineering resolves the multifaceted issues of Web-based systems development; however, as part of an emergent yet prolific industry, Web site quality assurance is a continually adaptive process needing a comprehensive reference tool to merge all cutting-edge research and innovations. ""Handbook of Research on Web Information Systems Quality"" integrates invaluable research on the models, measures, and methodologies of Web information systems, software quality, and Web engineering into one practical guide to Web information systems quality, making this handbook of research an essential addition to all library collections.

The prominence of social media, especially in the lives of teenagers and young adults, has long been regarded as a significant distraction from studies. However, the integration of these forms of media into the teaching experience can improve the engagement of students. Global Perspectives on Social Media in Tertiary Learning and Teaching: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential scholarly publication that embeds innovative, current pedagogical practices into new and redeveloped courses and introduces digital and online learning tools to best support teaching practices. Featuring coverage on a wide range of topics including collaborative learning, innovative learning environments, and blended teaching, this book provides essential research for educators, educational administrators, education stakeholders, academicians, researchers, and professionals within the realm of higher education.

Ontology Managememt provides an up-to-date, scientifically correct, concise and easy-to-read reference on this topic. The book includes relevant tasks, practical and theoretical challenges, limitations and methodologies, plus available tooling support. The editors discuss integrating the conceptual and technical dimensions with a business view on using ontologies, stressing the cost dimension of ontology engineering and offering guidance on how to derive ontologies semi-automatically from existing standards and specifications.

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Help is here With the click of a mouse, products, services and information aimed at Black families are immediately accessible "Black Families Online" takes you on a journey through Cyberspace, directing you to hundreds of online resources for Black parents, kids, educators, and anyone seeking multiculturalism. "Black Families Online" shows you how easy it is to get things done without leaving the house: Research your family history Decorate your baby's room with Afrocentric bedding and accessories Learn how to braid your daughter's hair Find Afrocentric educational tools Learn Black history Find college scholarships Meet moms and dads like you: SAHMs, families with biracial children, home schooling families, and more

This book brings together the diversified areas of contemporary computing frameworks in the field of Computer Science, Engineering and Electronic Science. It focuses on various techniques and applications pertaining to cloud overhead, cloud infrastructure, high speed VLSI circuits, virtual machines, wireless and sensor networks, clustering and extraction of information from images and analysis of e-mail texts. The state-of-the-art methodologies and techniques are addressed in chapters presenting various proposals for enhanced outcomes and performances. The techniques discussed are useful for young researchers, budding engineers and industry professionals for applications in their respective fields.