Internet technology has arguably changed the rules by which individuals, social movements, and institutions compete for political and cultural influence in technologically advanced societies. The author considers this reality through reference to the concept of hegemony; looking to the ways in which diverse actors in American civil society compete with one another while simultaneously challenging dominant sources of authority. The Arab/Israeli conflict is drawn upon as a boundary object holding direct interest to a wide range of state-aligned lobbies, broadly-based social movements, and marginalized 'extremist' groups, each of which hopes to affect the course of U.S. Mid-East policy. While various dimensions of internet use and activism are explored, Stephen Marmura directs particular attention to the importance and limitations of the World Wide Web as a mass medium. Examining phenomena ranging from mainstream news dissemination to the propaganda warfare visible online amongst racist, religious fundamentalist, and ultra-nationalist organizations, he argues the Net's greatest advantages are ultimately accrued by those most vested in the political status quo. Marmura argues further that widespread use of the Web is likely contributing to processes of social fragmentation, even as it reinforces ideological discourses favorable to state power.

This book demystifies what artificial intelligence is, examines its strength and limitations in comparison to what humans are capable of, and investigates the nature of human adaptive expertise across the concept of metis. It also examines a particular family of mindsets that we as humans have adopted over the ages, namely epistemologies of representational knowledge. These representational perspectives have followed us into numerous fields, including how we perceive and comprehend human cognition - leading to 'with a hammer everything looks like a nail' syndrome. As such, this book presents the alternative phenomenological viewpoint of embodied direct reality within the cognitive sciences in the form of radical embodied cognition and, more importantly, how it allows us to better highlight and comprehend human metis and its adaptive expertise. We then examine why we collectively continue to enact and perpetuate predominant mindsets of representations across the phenomena of mindlessness. To counter this, we re-visit the practice of individual and collective mindfulness, providing a potential 'beachhead' in our re-appropriation of technology (artificial intelligence) towards achieving the best of both worlds - that is, allowing human creativity and ingenuity to be expressed with artificial intelligence as a tool to help us do just that across meaningful human control. Finally, we conclude by examining current top-of-the-horizon activities and debates regarding quantum physics in relation to the human mind and artificial intelligence and how, once again, representational mindsets need not be the only tool in town.

Computing is ubiquitous and if you think otherwise, that in itself might be the best evidence that it is so. Computers are omnipresent in modern life and the multimedia computing environment of today is becoming more and more seamless. Bringing together contributions from dozens of leading experts, Ubiquitous Multimedia Computing educates readers on Ubi-Media Computing on three levels: infrastructures, where fundamental technologies are being developed; middleware, where the integration of technologies and software systems continues to be defined; and applications, where its concepts are evolving into real-world products and processes. In presenting a wealth of new directions and new technology that is changing the way we communicate, learn, play, and live day by day, this book - Examines various architectures for delivering multimedia content including streaming devices , wireless networks, and various hybrids Looks at rapidly developing sensor technology including wearable computers Demonstrates the use of advanced HCI devices that allow the simplest body gestures to govern increasingly complex tasks Introduces newsputers that take the use of embedded image information in a host of practical directions Looks at how ubiquitous computing can eliminate traffic congestion and improve the efficiency and quality of medical care Looks at how computing is personalizing learning environments and revolutionizing our approach to the three R's. While these pages serve as a timely reference for researchers working in all areas of product development and human computer interaction, they also provide engineers, doctors, and many other professionals, as well as educators and graduate students with a view that reveals the otherwise invisible seams of this age of ubi-media computing.

Take a deep dive into the architectural approach, best practices, and key considerations needed to comprehend, evaluate, and design an efficient, scalable, and sustainable Salesforce-based solution. This book takes a comprehensive look at the seven architectural domains that must be considered when architecting a Salesforce-based solution and equips you to develop the artifacts needed for an end-to-end enterprise architecture blueprint for Salesforce implementation and DevOps. This must-have handbook helps Salesforce professionals implement and manage Salesforce in their organization. You will learn Salesforce architecture: solution architecture, data architecture, security architecture, integration architecture, identity and access management architecture, and strategies that can be used for Salesforce-based mobile applications. In addition to the main architecture concepts, the book also offers industry best practices and the recommended framework for approaching, managing, delivering, and continuously improving a Salesforce solution using its Salesforce Development & Deployment Lifecycle. What You Will Learn Get a detailed overview of the Salesforce multi-tenant, metadata-driven architectural framework and the under-the-hood technology stack that supports Salesforce Know the seven architecture domains, their intricacies, and the considerations needed within each when designing a Salesforce solution Have an architectural mindset and the artifacts needed to architect an end-to-end enterprise-level implementation of Salesforce Be familiar with the most common Salesforce products, licenses, AppExchange products, and the key considerations of using out-of-the-box declarative capabilities vs custom programmatic capabilities of Salesforce Understand data architecture design considerations that include data modeling in Salesforce, identifying and mitigating large data volume concerns, and the key considerations for data migration and data archiving strategies Understand security architecture considerations related to securing data within Salesforce and the various approaches to allow or restrict sharing and visibility from within Salesforce Understand integration architecture considerations that provide an overview of the integration patterns and the integrations solutions that can be used with Salesforce to connect Salesforce with a remote system hosted on-premises, on the cloud, or by third-party solution providers Understand identity and access management architectural considerations across the 9 stages of an identity and access management lifecycle Be aware of the strategies available to design mobile solutions with Salesforce and the options available for Salesforce mobile architecture Employ the principles of the DevOps & Development Lifecycle needed for an ideal state Salesforce implementation Who This Book Is For Professionals interested in implementing, optimizing, and architecting Salesforce solutions enterprise-wide; Salesforce implementation (SI) partners needing a detailed playbook for architecting and delivering successful Salesforce solutions; Salesforce admins, developers, and architects looking for a one-stop educational resource to mastering the Salesforce architect domains or those pursuing the Salesforce architecture domain certification exams, including the Salesforce Certified Technical Architect (CTA) board exam

Key Features: This work aims to be the most approachable book about UX. Many books on the topic are highly specialized and are not easy to read for people who just want to understand it better. This book is easy to read and aims to popularize the UX mindset while debunking its main misconceptions. Small format size makes it easy to carry around. Includes content relatable and meaningful to the readers by taking many examples from everyday life with a conversational and light writing style. It tackles the psychology, design, research, process, strategy, and ethics behind offering the best experience with products, systems, or services. Includes a glossary.

"Presence", the sense of "being there" in a mediated environment, has been applied to describe the user experience when interacting with advanced media interfaces such as virtual environments. Why examine the concept of presence? There are compelling practical and theoretical reasons. The definition of the construct of presence is of particular interest today because it has the potential relevance for the design and evaluation of a broad range of interactive and non-interactive media and applications in several areas such as medicine, entertainment, education and training. An enhanced sense of presence plays an important role in technologies such as the video telephone, high definition television (HDTV), 3G portable phones, home and arcade video games, the World Wide Web, and more. The book examines the different facets of the concept of presence. It begins by noting practical and theoretical reasons for studying this concept. Different theories of presence are identified and a detailed description of the concepts included in these conceptualizations is presented. Existing research and about the factors that encourage or discourage a sense of presence in media users as well as the physiological and psychological effects of presence are then outlined. Finally, suggestions concerning possible evolutions of this concept allowed by the diffusion of ambient intelligence and 3G portable communication are presented.

Understanding the complexity of tactic knowledge has become increasingly important to the enhancement of organizational flow. ""Tacit Knowledge in Organizational Learning"" aims to advocate the need for ""human factor"" consideration from a (tactic) knowledge capital point of view. ""Tacit Knowledge in Organizational Learning"" offers academicians and practitioners an illustration of the importance of tacit knowledge to an organization, presenting a means to measure and track tacit knowledge in individuals and recommendations on firm attributes and their ideal utilization of the tacit knowledge resource.

"Fundamentally, making games is designing with others, everyone contributing from different angles towards the best possible product. Conclusively, Garcia-Ruiz has chosen a collection of chapters that demonstrates several different aspects of working in gaming and working with others that stands to raise the level of expertise in the field." -Veronica Zammitto, Senior Lead Games User Research, Electronic Arts, Inc., from the Foreword Usability is about making a product easy to use while meeting the requirements of target users. Applied to video games, this means making the game accessible and enjoyable to the player. Video games with high usability are generally played efficiently and frequently while enjoying higher sales volumes. The case studies in this book present the latest interdisciplinary research and applications of games user research in determining and developing usability to improve the video game user experience at the human-computer interface level. Some of the areas examined include practical and ethical concerns in conducting usability testing with children, audio experiences in games, tangible and graphical game interfaces, controller testing, and business models in mobile gaming. Games User Research: A Case Study Approach provides a highly useful resource for researchers, practitioners, lecturers, and students in developing and applying methods for testing player usability as well as for conducting games user research. It gives the necessary theoretical and practical background for designing and conducting a test for usability with an eye toward modifying software interfaces to improve human-computer interaction between the player and the game.

This book explores Information theory (IT) tools, which have become state of the art to solve and understand better many of the problems in visualization. This book covers all relevant literature up to date. It is the first book solely devoted to this subject, written by leading experts in the field.

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel are some of the most highly trained people in the military, with a job description that spans defusing unexploded ordnance to protecting VIP's and state dignitaries. EOD are also one of the first military groups to work with robots every day. These robots have become an increasingly important tool in EOD work, enabling people to work at safer distances in many dangerous situations. Based on exploratory research investigating interactions between EOD personnel and the robots they use, this study richly describes the nuances of these reciprocal influences, especially those related to operator emotion associated with the robots. In particular, this book examines the activities, processes and contexts that influence or constrain everyday EOD human-robot interactions, what human factors are shaping the (robotic) technology and how people and culture are being changed by using it. The findings from this research have implications for future personnel training, and the refinement of robot design considerations for many fields that rely on critical small group communication and decision-making skills.

This book critically explores forms and techniques of calculation that emerge with digital computation, and their implications. The contributors demonstrate that digital calculative devices matter beyond their specific functions as they progressively shape, transform and govern all areas of our life. In particular, it addresses such questions as: How does the drive to make sense of, and productively use, large amounts of diverse data, inform the development of new calculative devices, logics and techniques? How do these devices, logics and techniques affect our capacity to decide and to act? How do mundane elements of our physical and virtual existence become data to be analysed and rearranged in complex ensembles of people and things? In what ways are conventional notions of public and private, individual and population, certainty and probability, rule and exception transformed and what are the consequences? How does the search for 'hidden' connections and patterns change our understanding of social relations and associative life? Do contemporary modes of calculation produce new thresholds of calculability and computability, allowing for the improbable or the merely possible to be embraced and acted upon? As contemporary approaches to governing uncertain futures seek to anticipate future events, how are calculation and decision engaged anew? Drawing together different strands of cutting-edge research that is both theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich, this book makes an important contribution to several areas of scholarship, including the emerging social science field of software studies, and will be a vital resource for students and scholars alike.

This book critically explores forms and techniques of calculation that emerge with digital computation, and their implications. The contributors demonstrate that digital calculative devices matter beyond their specific functions as they progressively shape, transform and govern all areas of our life. In particular, it addresses such questions as: How does the drive to make sense of, and productively use, large amounts of diverse data, inform the development of new calculative devices, logics and techniques? How do these devices, logics and techniques affect our capacity to decide and to act? How do mundane elements of our physical and virtual existence become data to be analysed and rearranged in complex ensembles of people and things? In what ways are conventional notions of public and private, individual and population, certainty and probability, rule and exception transformed and what are the consequences? How does the search for 'hidden' connections and patterns change our understanding of social relations and associative life? Do contemporary modes of calculation produce new thresholds of calculability and computability, allowing for the improbable or the merely possible to be embraced and acted upon? As contemporary approaches to governing uncertain futures seek to anticipate future events, how are calculation and decision engaged anew? Drawing together different strands of cutting-edge research that is both theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich, this book makes an important contribution to several areas of scholarship, including the emerging social science field of software studies, and will be a vital resource for students and scholars alike.

Emotion pervades human life in general, and human communication in particular, and this sets information technology a challenge. Traditionally, IT has focused on allowing people to accomplish practical tasks efficiently, setting emotion to one side. That was acceptable when technology was a small part of life, but as technology and life become increasingly interwoven we can no longer ask people to suspend their emotional nature and habits when they interact with technology. The European Commission funded a series of related research projects on emotion and computing, culminating in the HUMAINE project which brought together leading academic researchers from the many related disciplines. This book grew out of that project, and its chapters are arranged according to its working areas: theories and models; signals to signs; data and databases; emotion in interaction; emotion in cognition and action; persuasion and communication; usability; and ethics and good practice. The fundamental aim of the book is to offer researchers an overview of the related areas, sufficient for them to do credible work on affective or emotion-oriented computing. The book serves as an academically sound introduction to the range of disciplines involved - technical, empirical and conceptual - and will be of value to researchers in the areas of artificial intelligence, psychology, cognition and user-machine interaction.

Diagnostic Expertise in Organizational Environments provides a state-of-the-art foundation for a new paradigm in expertise research and practice. Skilled diagnosis is essential for accurate and efficient performance across a range of organizational contexts, including aviation, finance, rail, forensic investigation, firefighting, and medicine. However, it is also a complex process, subject to the abilities and experience of individual operators, the culture and practices of organizations, the relationships between operators, and the availability and usefulness of technology. As a consequence, diagnostic skills can be difficult to learn, maintain, and evaluate. This volume is a comprehensive approach that examines diagnostic expertise at the level of the individual practitioner, in the social context, and at the organizational level. The chapter authors comprise both academics and highly skilled practitioners so that there is a clear transition from understanding the problem of diagnostic skills to the implementation of solutions, either through redesign, training, and/or selection. It will appeal to those academics and practitioners interested and involved in this field and also prove useful to students of psychology, cognitive science education and/or computer interaction.

Designing good application interfaces isn't easy now that companies need to create compelling, seamless user experiences across an exploding number of channels, screens, and contexts. In this updated third edition, you'll learn how to navigate through the maze of design options. By capturing UI best practices as design patterns, this best-selling book provides solutions to common design problems. You'll learn patterns for mobile apps, web applications, and desktop software. Each pattern contains full-color examples and practical design advice you can apply immediately. Experienced designers can use this guide as an idea sourcebook, and novices will find a road map to the world of interface and interaction design. Understand your users before you start designing Build your software's structure so it makes sense to users Design components to help users complete tasks on any device Learn how to promote wayfinding in your software Place elements to guide users to information and functions Learn how visual design can make or break product usability Display complex data with artful visualizations

This book provides an understanding of how current research and practice has contributed towards improving quality issues in software, interaction and value. The book includes chapters on new methods/approaches that will enhance the field of usability. A balance between theoretical and empirical approaches is maintained throughout, and all those interested in exploring usability issues in human-computer interaction will find this a very useful book.

This book introduces the basics in game usability and overall game UX mindset and techniques, as well as looking at current industry best practices and trends. Fully updated for its second edition, it includes practical advice on how to include usability in already tight development timelines, and how to advocate for UX and communicate results to higher-ups effectively. The book begins with an introduction to UX strategy considerations for games, and to UX design, before moving on to cover core user research and usability techniques as well as how to fit UX practices into the business process. It provides considerations of player differences and offers strategies for inclusion as well as chapters that give platform and context specific advice. With a wealth of new interviews with industry leaders and contributions from the very best in game UX, the book also includes brand new chapters on: Accessibility Mobile Game Usability Data Science Virtual and Augmented Reality Esports This book will be vital reading for all professional game developers and game UX advocates, as well as those students aspiring to work in game development and game UX.

1. Provides a toolkit of templates for common VR interactions, as well as practical advice on when to use them and how to tailor them for specific use cases; 2. Includes case studies detailing the practical application of interaction theory discussed in each chapter; 3. Presents tables of guidelines for practicing VR developers, for reference during software development; 4. Covers procedures for Interface Evaluation - formulas and testing methodologies to ensure that VR interfaces are effective, efficient, engaging, error-tolerant, and easy to learn; 5. Non-linear organisation - chapters of the book on different concepts can be read to gain knowledge on a single topic, without requiring other chapters to be read beforehand; 6. Includes ancillaries - PowerPoint slides, 3D models, videos, and a teacher's guide

This is the first of two comprehensive volumes that provide a thorough and multi-faceted research into the emerging field of augmented reality games and consider a wide range of its major issues. These first ever research monographs on augmented reality games have been written by a team of 70 leading researchers, practitioners and artists from 20 countries. In Volume I, the phenomenon of the Pokemon GO game is analysed in theoretical, cultural and conceptual contexts, with emphasis on its nature and the educational use of the game in children and adolescents. Game transfer phenomena, motives for playing Pokemon GO, players' experiences and memorable moments, social interaction, long-term engagement, health implications and many other issues raised by the Pokemon GO game are systematically examined and discussed. Augmented Reality Games I is essential reading not only for researchers, practitioners, game developers and artists, but also for students (graduates and undergraduates) and all those interested in the rapidly developing area of augmented reality games.

This edited book introduces readers to the area of "Everyday Virtual and Augmented Reality". With Virtual and Augmented Reality technologies, becoming more pervasive in our homes and workplaces, new use cases and scenarios emerge together with new challenges that need to be addressed. These challenges encompass the design and implementation of appropriate VR/AR applications for ordinary environments that were not built with the explicit intention of supporting VR systems. The everyday/domestic environments present a range of issues that are usually not present in the physical locations purposed for VR and AR use in academic or professional environments, such as constrained spaces, presence of obstacles, absence of instrumentation, social and organizational restrictions etc. To address the above challenges, we collect the latest work from the Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality research community, by combining the presentation of general definitions and characterization of the field, of interaction concepts and techniques, of a variety of use cases and areas. The constellation of different environment examples (from education, sport to consumer and marketing), from across the globe and platforms, provide a comprehensive discussion on scientific and engineering methods, which enable the development of VR/AR systems in everyday context.

Takes an interdisciplinary approach to contribute to the ongoing development of human-AI interaction. Current debate and development of AI is "algorithm-driven" or technical-oriented in lieu of human-centered. At present, there is no systematic interdisciplinary discussion to effectively deal with issues and challenges arising from AI. This book offers critical analysis of the logic and social implications of algorithmic processes. Reporting from the processes of scientific research, the results can be useful for understanding the relationship between algorithms and humans, allowing AI designers to assess the quality of the meaningful interactions with AI systems.

Microsoft Power BI is a data analytics and visualization tool powerful enough for the most demanding data scientists, but accessible enough for everyday use for anyone who needs to get more from data. The market has many books designed to train and equip professional data analysts to use Power BI, but few of them make this tool accessible to anyone who wants to get up to speed on their own. This streamlined intro to Power BI covers all the foundational aspects and features you need to go from "zero to hero" with data and visualizations. Whether you work with large, complex datasets or work in Microsoft Excel, author Jeremey Arnold shows you how to teach yourself Power BI and use it confidently as a regular data analysis and reporting tool. You'll learn how to: Import, manipulate, visualize, and investigate data in Power BI Approach solutions for both self-service and enterprise BI Use Power BI in your organization's business intelligence strategy Produce effective reports and dashboards Create environments for sharing reports and managing data access with your team Determine the right solution for using Power BI offerings based on size, security, and computational needs

Digital media have become deeply immersed in our lives, heightening both hopes and fears of their affordances. While the internet, mobile phones, and social media offer their users many options, they also engender concerns about their manipulations and intrusions. Emotions Online explores the visions that shape responses to media and the emotional regimes that govern people's engagements with them. This book critically examines evidence on the role of digital media in emotional life. Offering a sociological perspective and using ideas from science and technology studies and media studies, it explores: * The dimensions and operations of the online emotional economy * Growing concerns about online harms and abuse, especially to children * 'Deepfakes' and other forms of image-based abuse * The role of hope in shaping online behaviours * 'Digital well-being' and its market * COVID-19's impacts on perceptions of digital media and Big Tech * Growing challenges to centralised control of the internet, and the implications for future emotional life The book breaks new ground in the sociological study of digital media and the emotions. It reveals the dynamics of online emotional regimes showing how deceptive designs and algorithm-driven technologies serve to attract and engage users. As it argues, digital media rely on the emotional labours of many people, including social media inf luencers and content moderators who make the internet seem smart. The book provides an invaluable overview of the evidence and debates on the role of digital media in emotional life and guidance for future research, policy, and action.