Too often the suggestion of using games and virtual environments in an educational setting is met with skepticism and objections. Many traditionally-oriented educators are simply not aware of the benefits that come from implementing digital games into an instructional environment. Serious Games and Virtual Worlds in Education, Professional Development, and Healthcare seeks to counter these doubts by explaining how digital environments can easily become familiar and beneficial for educational and professional development. Highlighting techniques beyond the traditional practice, this reference source is useful for researchers, academics, professionals, and students interested in the benefits to implementing these games into various aspects of our environment.

This book has a focus on the development and deployment of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) paradigm, discussing frameworks, methodologies, benefits and limitations, as well as providing case studies of employing the IoT vision in the industrial domain. IIoT is becoming an attractive business reality for many organisations such as manufacturing, logistics, oil and gas, energy and other utilities, mining, aviation, and many more. The opportunities for this paradigm are huge, and according to one report, the IIoT market is predicted to reach $125 billion by 2021. The driving philosophy behind the IIoT is that smart machines are better than humans at accurately capturing, analysing and communicating real-time data. The underlying technologies include distributed computing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and machine-to-machine communication, with a typical IIoT system consisting of intelligent systems (applications, controllers, sensors, and security mechanisms), data communication infrastructure (cloud computing, edge computing, etc.), data analytics (to support business intelligence and corporate decision making), and most importantly the human element. The promised benefits of the IIoT include enhanced safety, better reliability, smart metering, inventory management, equipment tracking, and facilities management. There are, however, numerous issues that are also becoming the focus of active research, such as concerns regarding service availability, data security, and device communication. Lack of ubiquitous interoperability between heterogeneous devices is also a major concern. This book intends to fill a gap in the IIoT literature by providing the scientific contributions and latest developments from researchers and practitioners of international repute, focusing on frameworks, methodologies, benefits, and inherent issues/barriers to connected environments, especially in industrial settings. The intended audience includes network specialists, hardware engineers, and security experts who wish to adopt newer approaches for device connectivity, IoT security, and sensor-based devices design. University level students, researchers and practitioners will also find the latest innovation in technology and newer approaches relevant to the IIoT from a distributed computing perspective.

Over one million people write political blogs, yet a select few wield enormous power within the political blogosphere and over politics in general. Known as the "political blogging A-list", these bloggers command the majority of blogging traffic; set the agenda for the rest of the political blogosphere; and have a strong influence on politics, whether it is directly through blogging, or indirectly through influencing mainstream news media. In Making it in the Political Blogosphere, Tanni Haas profiles and interviews twenty of the world's top political bloggers, who share the secrets of their success. Despite the partisan nature of blogging, in which Liberals, Conservatives and Libertarians share the same space, the twenty bloggers are in surprising agreement about what makes a successful blogger. In securing access to the political blogging A-list, Haas has provided us with an entertaining sequence of interviews, which are invaluable to any aspiring political blogger.

This volume is number 67 in the series Advances in Computers that began back in 1960. This is the longest continuously published series of books that chronicles the evolution of the computer industry. Each year three volumes are produced presenting approximately 20 chapters that describe the latest technology in the use of computers today. Volume 67, subtitled "Web technology," presents 6 chapters that show the impact that the World Wide Web is having on our society today. The general theme running throughout the volume is the ubiquity of web services. Topics such as wireless access and its problems and reliability of web communications are emphasized.

Key features:

- In-depth surveys and tutorials on software development approaches.
- Well-known authors and researchers in the field.
- Extensive bibliographies with most chapters.
- All chapters focus on Internet and web technology issues.
- Discussion of wireless communication and forensic issues, currently important research areas.
- In-depth surveys and tutorials on software development approaches.
- Well-known authors and researchers in the field.
- Extensive bibliographies with most chapters.
- All chapters focus on Internet and web technology issues.
- Discussion of wireless communication and forensic issues, currently important research areas.

Access to government information faces many roadblocks in developing and emerging economies due to lack of appropriate legal frameworks and other requisite information laws. However, there is hope that many countries are now recognizing the importance of providing access to public information resources. Digital Access and E-Government: Perspectives from Developing and Emerging Countries explores the relationships that exist between access to information laws and e-government. It shares the strategies used in encouraging access to information in a variety of jurisdictions and environments, to be of use to e-government designers and practitioners, policymakers, and university professors.

Service Design is an eminently practical guide to designing services that work for people. It offers powerful insights, methods, and case studies to help you design, implement, and measure multichannel service experiences with greater impact for customers, businesses, and society.

The massive volume of data that some medical and biological applications generate require special processing resources that guarantee privacy and security, creating a crucial need for cluster and grid computing. Biomedical Diagnostics and Clinical Technologies: Applying High-Performance Cluster and Grid Computing disseminates knowledge regarding high performance computing for medical applications and bioinformatics. Containing a defining body of research on the subject, this critical reference source includes a valuable collection of cutting-edge research chapters for those working in the broad field of medical informatics and bioinformatics.

This innovative monograph focuses on a contemporary form of computer-based literature called 'literary hypertext', a digital, interactive, communicative form of new media writing. Canonizing Hypertext combines theoretical and hermeneutic investigations with empirical research into the motivational and pedagogic possibilities of this form of literature. It focuses on key questions for literary scholars and teachers: How can literature be taught in such a way as to make it relevant for an increasingly hypermedia-oriented readership? How can the rapidly evolving new media be integrated into curricula that still seek to transmit traditional literary competence? How can the notion of literary competence be broadened to take into account these current trends? This study, which argues for hypertexts integration in the literary canon, offers a critical overview of developments in hypertext theory, an exemplary hypertext canon and an evaluation of possible classroom applications.

Tired of writing all your user IDs and passwords on sticky notes and pieces of scrap paper? This convenient address book stores them all in one place. This is not your typical address book There are also special sections for online banking info and one for storing e-mail addresses.

As the Internet has grown, so have the challenges associated with delivering static, streaming, and dynamic content to end-users. This book is unique in that it addresses the topic of content networking exclusively and comprehensively, tracing the evolution from traditional web caching to today's open and vastly more flexible architecture. With this evolutionary approach, the authors emphasize the field's most persistent concepts, principles, and mechanisms--the core information that will help you understand why and how content delivery works today, and apply that knowledge in the future.
+ Focuses on the principles that will give you a deep and timely understanding of content networking.
+ Offers dozens of protocol-specific examples showing how real-life Content Networks are currently designed and implemented.
+ Provides extensive consideration of Content Services, including both the Internet Content Adaptation Protocol (ICAP) and Open Pluggable Edge Services (OPES).
+ Examines methods for supporting time-constrained media such as streaming audio and video and real-time media such as instant messages.
+ Combines the vision and rigor of a prominent researcher with the practical experience of a seasoned development engineer to provide a unique combination of theoretical depth and practical application.

XML in Data Management is for IT managers and technical staff involved in the creation, administration, or maintenance of a data management infrastructure that includes XML. For most IT staff, XML is either just a buzzword that is ignored or a silver bullet to be used in every nook and cranny of their organization. The truth is in between the two. This book provides the guidance necessary for data managers to make measured decisions about XML within their organizations. Readers will understand the uses of XML, its component architecture, its strategic implications, and how these apply to data management.
To view a sample chapter and read the Foreword by Thomas C. Redman, visit http: //books.elsevier.com/mk/?isbn=0120455994
* Takes a data-centric view of XML.
* Explains how, when, and why to apply XML to data management systems.
* Covers XML component architecture, data engineering, frameworks, metadata, legacy systems, and more.
* Discusses the various strengths and weaknesses of XML technologies in the context of organizational data management and integration.

Smart homes, smart cities, and wearable technologies are the growing applications of the internet of things (IoT). Ranging from healthcare tracking applications to smart watches and smart bands for personal safety, the IoT has turned out to be one of the most indispensable parts of our lives even as it is becoming more interconnected to better serve people. With the exponential growth of the IoT and its applications, building the next-generation smart world becomes much more feasible. The IoT and the Net Revolutions Automating the World covers a spectrum of intelligent applications of the IoT in parking, traffic management, waste management, lighting, air pollution controlling, healthcare, weather tracking, retail, and other areas calling for automation. Highlighting a wide range of topics such as e-commerce, security management, and web infrastructure, this book is ideal for academicians, students, researchers, industry professionals, IT consultants, engineers, and scientists.