This journal subline serves as a forum for stimulating and disseminating innovative research ideas, theories, emerging technologies, empirical investigations, state-of-the-art methods, and tools in all different genres of edutainment, such as game-based learning and serious games, interactive storytelling, virtual learning environments, VR-based education, and related fields. It covers aspects from educational and game theories, human-computer interaction, computer graphics, artificial intelligence, and systems design. This issue contains a special section on serious games with 8 outstanding contributions from the VS-Games 2011 conference; furthermore, there are 13 regular papers. These contributions clearly demonstrate the use of serious games and virtual worlds for edutainment applications and form a basis for further exploration and new ideas.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Computer Games Workshop, CGW 2013, held in Beijing, China, in August 2013, in conjunction with the Twenty-third International Conference on Artificial Intelligence, IJCAI 2013. The 9 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 15 submissions. The papers cover a wide range of topics related to computer games. They discuss six games that are played by humans in practice: Chess, Domineering, Chinese Checkers, Go, Goofspiel, and Tzaar. Moreover, there are papers about the Sliding Tile Puzzle, an application, namely, Cooperative Path-Finding Problems, and on general game playing.

This book constitutes the refereed post-proceedings of the First International Workshop on Cognitive Agents for Virtual Environments, CAVE 2012, held at AAMAS 2012, in Valencia, Spain, in June 2012. The 10 full papers presented were thoroughly reviewed and selected from 14 submissions. In addition one invited high quality contribution has been included. The papers are organized in the following topical sections: coupling agents and game engines; using games with agents for education; visualization and simulation; and evaluating games with agents.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Interactive Storytelling, ICIDS 2013, Istanbul, Turkey, November 2013. The 14 revised full papers presented together with 10 short papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 51 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on theory and aesthetics; authoring tools and applications; evaluation and user experience reports; virtual characters and agents; new storytelling modes; workshops.

Personal computing has taken many forms over recent years, as trends have seen the emergence of mobile and tablet technologies taking over the PC marketplace. Emergent Trends in Personal, Mobile, and Handheld Computing Technologies offers a vital compendium of the latest research within the field of personal computing, highlighting the latest trends in research and development of personal technology. As tablets and mobile phones begin to replace traditional hardware, it is important to stay abreast of the latest market research to keep your institution on the technological cutting-edge. This collection of case studies, best practices, and research offers chapters from experts from around the world, offering a critical resource for practitioners and academics alike.

Peer-to-peer systems are now widely used and have become the focus of attention for many researchers over the past decade. A number of algorithms for decentralized search, content distribution, and media streaming have been developed. This book provides fundamental concepts for the benchmarking of those algorithms in peer-to-peer systems. It also contains a collection of characteristic benchmarking results. The chapters of the book have been organized in three topical sections on: Fundamentals of Benchmarking in P2P Systems; Synthetic Benchmarks for Peer-to-Peer Systems; and Application Benchmarks for Peer-to-Peer Systems. They are preceded by a detailed introduction to the subject.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Entertainment Computing, ICEC 2012, held in Bremen, Germany, in September 2012. The 21 full papers, 13 short papers, 16 posters, 8 demos, 4 workshops, 1 tutorial and 3 doctoral consortium submissions presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 115 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on story telling; serious games (learning and training); self and identity, interactive performance; mixed reality and 3D worlds; serious games (health and social); player experience; tools and methods; user interface; demonstrations; industry demonstration; harnessing collective intelligence with games; game development and model-driven software development; mobile gaming, mobile life - interweaving the virtual and the real; exploring the challenges of ethics, privacy and trust in serious gaming; open source software for entertainment.

The First Conference on the History of Nordic Computing (HiNC1) was organized in Trondheim, in June 2003. The HiNC1 event focused on the early years of computing, that is the years from the 1940s through the 1960s, although it formally extended to year 1985. In the preface of the proceedings of HiNC1, Janis Bubenko, Jr. , John Impagliazzo, and Arne Solvberg describe well the peculiarities of early Nordic c- puting [1]. While developing hardware was a necessity for the first professionals, quite soon the computer became an industrial product. Computer scientists, among others, grew increasingly interested in programming and application software. P- gress in these areas from the 1960s to the 1980s was experienced as astonishing. The developments during these decades were taken as the focus of HiNC2. During those decades computers arrived to every branch of large and medium-sized businesses and the users of the computer systems were no longer only computer s- cialists but also people with other main duties. Compared to the early years of comp- ing before 1960, where the number of computer projects and applications was small, capturing a holistic view of the history between the 1960s and the 1980s is conside- bly more difficult. The HiNC2 conference attempted to help in this endeavor.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th International Conference on E-Learning and Games, Edutainment 2012, held in conjunction with the 3rd International Conference on Serious Games for Training, Education, Health and Sports, GameDays 2012, held in Darmstadt, Germany, in September 2012. The 21 full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in this book. They are organized in topical sections named: game-based training; game-based teaching and learning; emerging learning and gaming technologies; authoring tools and mechanisms; and serious games for health.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Informatics in Schools: Situation, Evolution, and Perspectives, ISSEP 2013, held in Oldenburg, Germany, in February/March 2013. The 15 full papers included in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 48 submissions; in addition the book contains two keynote talks in full-paper length. The contributions are organized in topical sections named: from computer usage to computational thinking; algorithmic and computational thinking; games; informatics in the context of other disciplines; and competence-based learning and retention of competencies.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Joint Conference of the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Technology, Education, Communication, and the Scientific Network on Critical and Flexible Thinking, held in Ghent, Belgium, in October 2011. The 12 papers in this volume represent extended versions of the 20 papers presented at the conference and selected from numerous submissions. The conference brought together scholars and researchers who study the use of serious games in educational settings from different perspectives, such as instructional design, domain specific didactics, cognitive and computer science.

What constitutes an identity, how do new technologies affect identity, how do we manage identities in a globally networked information society? The increasing div- sity of information and communication technologies and their equally wide range of usage in personal, professional and official capacities raise challenging questions of identity in a variety of contexts. The aim of the IFIP/FIDIS Summer Schools has been to encourage young a- demic and industry entrants to share their own ideas about privacy and identity m- agement and to build up collegial relationships with others. As such, the Summer Schools have been introducing participants to the social implications of information technology through the process of informed discussion. The 4th International Summer School took place in Brno, Czech Republic, during September 1-7, 2008. It was organized by IFIP (International Federation for Infor- tion Processing) working groups 9.2 (Social Accountability), 9.6/11.7 (IT Misuse and the Law) and 11.6 (Identity Management) in cooperation with the EU FP6 Network of Excellence FIDIS and Masaryk University in Brno. The focus of the event was on security and privacy issues in the Internet environment, and aspects of identity m- agement in relation to current and future technologies in a variety of contexts.

Time series with mixed spectra are characterized by hidden periodic components buried in random noise. Despite strong interest in the statistical and signal processing communities, no book offers a comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of the subject. Filling this void, Time Series with Mixed Spectra focuses on the methods and theory for the statistical analysis of time series with mixed spectra. It presents detailed theoretical and empirical analyses of important methods and algorithms. Using both simulated and real-world data to illustrate the analyses, the book discusses periodogram analysis, autoregression, maximum likelihood, and covariance analysis. It considers real- and complex-valued time series, with and without the Gaussian assumption. The author also includes the most recent results on the Laplace and quantile periodograms as extensions of the traditional periodogram. Complete in breadth and depth, this book explains how to perform the spectral analysis of time series data to detect and estimate the hidden periodicities represented by the sinusoidal functions. The book not only extends results from the existing literature but also contains original material, including the asymptotic theory for closely spaced frequencies and the proof of asymptotic normality of the nonlinear least-absolute-deviations frequency estimator.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-workshop proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Web-Based Learning, ICWL 2010, held in Shanghai, China, in December 2010. The 36 revised full papers and 8 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 192 submissions. They deal with topics such as e-learning platforms and tools, technology enhanced learning, Web-based learning for oriental languages, mobile/situated e-learning, learning resource deployment, organization and management, design, model and framework of e-learning systems, e-learning metadata and standards, collaborative learning and game-based learning, as well as practice and experience sharing, and pedagogical issues.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 1st IFIP Entertainment Computing Symposium held in Milan, Italy on September 7-10, 2008.

The IFIP series publishes state-of-the-art results in the sciences and technologies of information and communication. The scope of the series includes: foundations of computer science; software theory and practice; education; computer applications in technology; communication systems; systems modeling and optimization; information systems; computers and society; computer systems technology; security and protection in information processing systems; artificial intelligence; and human-computer interaction. Proceedings and post-proceedings of refereed international conferences in computer science and interdisciplinary fields are featured. These results often precede journal publication and represent the most current research. The principal aim of the IFIP series is to encourage education and the dissemination and exchange of information about all aspects of computing.

This book identifies vulnerabilities in the physical layer, the MAC layer, the IP layer, the transport layer, and the application layer, of wireless networks, and discusses ways to strengthen security mechanisms and services. Topics covered include intrusion detection, secure PHY/MAC/routing protocols, attacks and prevention, immunization, key management, secure group communications and multicast, secure location services, monitoring and surveillance, anonymity, privacy, trust establishment/management, redundancy and security, and dependable wireless networking.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Online Communities and Social Computing, OCSC 2011, held in Orlando, FL, USA in July 2011 in the framework of the 14th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2011 with 10 other thematically similar conferences. The 77 revised papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers accepted for presentation thoroughly cover the thematic area of online communities and social computing, addressing the following major topics: on-line communities and intelligent agents in education and research; blogs, Wikis and Twitters; social computing in business and the enterprise; social computing in everyday life; information management in social computing.

This volume contains the extended papers selected for presentation at the ninth edition of the International Symposium on Web & Wireless Geographical Information Systems 2 (WGIS 2009) hosted by the National Centre for Geocomputation in NUI Maynooth 2 (Ireland). WGIS 2009 was the ninth in a series of successful events beginning with Kyoto 2001, and alternating locations between East Asia and Europe. We invited s- missions that provided an up-to-date review of advances in theoretical, technical, and 2 practical issues of W GIS and Intelligent GeoMedia. Reports on ongoing implemen- tions and real-world applications research were particularly welcome at this symposium. 2 Now in its ninth year, the scope of W GIS has expanded to include continuing - vances in wireless and Internet technologies that generate ever increasing interest in the diffusion, usage, and processing of geo-referenced data of all types - geomedia. Spatially aware wireless and Internet devices offer new ways of accessing and anal- ing geo-spatial information in both real-world and virtual spaces. Consequently, new challenges and opportunities are provided that expand the traditional GIS research scope into the realm of intelligent media - including geomedia with context-aware behaviors for self-adaptive use and delivery. Our common aim is research-based innovation that increases the ease of creating, delivering, and using geomedia across different platforms and application domains that continue to have dramatic effect on today's society.

This book constitutes the joint refereed proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Communication Technologies for Vehicles, Nets4Cars 2011and the First International Workshop on Communication Technologies for Vehicles in the Railway Transportation, Nets4Trains 2011, held in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, in March 2011. The 7 full papers of the rail track and 12 full papers of the road track presented together with a keynote were carefully reviewed and selected from 13 and 21 submissions respectively. They provide an overview over the latest technologies and research in the field of intra- and inter-vehicle communication and present original research results in areas relating to communication protocols and standards, mobility and traffic models, experimental and field operational testing, and performance analysis.

TheIMC2009programconsistedofthreeinvitedtalksfrominternational- perts, four tutorials on fundamental techniques related to the conference topics, nine regular paper sessions, and a short paper / poster session. We received close to 50 submissions from 15 countries world-wide. Based on the ano- mous reviews provided by members of the international Program Committee, the Steering Committee recommended accepting 50% of the contributions as regular papers and another 15% as short papers with poster presentation. To our regret there were a few interesting papers that we had to reject. However, the reviewing results showed a high quality as well as an interesting variety of submissions. We would like to thank all authors for carefully preparing the results of their worksubmitted to IMC 2009,thus enabling an interesting and high-quality c- ferenceprogram.Moreover,wearedeeplygratefultoallmembersoftheProgram and Steering Committees for their e?orts in quickly and thoroughly evaluating the papers. Finally, our special thanks go to the organizers Ulrike Lucke and Daniel Versick for their great work.They handled all the organizationaltasks as well as the communications, the electronic submission, reviewing, and publi- tion procedure in an e? cient and timely manner.

Copy the following link for free access to the first chapter of this title: http: //www.springerlink.com/content/j23468h304310755/fulltext.pdf

This book is a warning. It aims to warn policy-makers, industry, academia, civil society organisations, the media and the public about the threats and vulnerabilities facing our privacy, identity, trust, security and inclusion in the rapidly approaching world of ambient intelligence (AmI).

In the near future, every manufactured product - our clothes, money, appliances, the paint on our walls, the carpets on our floors, our cars, everything - will be embedded with intelligence, networks of tiny sensors and actuators, which some have termed "smart dust." The AmI world is not far off. We already have surveillance systems, biometrics, personal communicators, machine learning and more. AmI will provide personalised services - and know more about us - on a scale dwarfing anything hitherto available.

In the AmI vision, ubiquitous computing, communications and interfaces converge and adapt to the user. AmI promises greater user-friendliness in an environment capable of recognising and responding to the presence of different individuals in a seamless, unobtrusive and often invisible way. While most stakeholders paint the promise of AmI in sunny colours, there is a dark side to AmI.

This book aims to illustrate the threats and vulnerabilities by means of four "dark scenarios." The authors set out a structured methodology for analysing the four scenarios, and then identify safeguards to counter the foreseen threats and vulnerabilities. They make recommendations to policy-makers and other stakeholders about what they can do to maximise the benefits from ambient intelligence and minimise the negative consequences.

The 13th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI Inter- tional 2009, was held in San Diego, California, USA, July 19-24, 2009, jointly with the Symposium on Human Interface (Japan) 2009, the 8th International Conference on Engineering Psychology and Cognitive Ergonomics, the 5th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction, the Third International Conf- ence on Virtual and Mixed Reality, the Third International Conference on Internati- alization, Design and Global Development, the Third International Conference on Online Communities and Social Computing, the 5th International Conference on Augmented Cognition, the Second International Conference on Digital Human Mod- ing, and the First International Conference on Human Centered Design. A total of 4,348 individuals from academia, research institutes, industry and gove- mental agencies from 73 countries submitted contributions, and 1,397 papers that were judged to be of high scientific quality were included in the program. These papers - dress the latest research and development efforts and highlight the human aspects of the design and use of computing systems. The papers accepted for presentation thoroughly cover the entire field of human-computer interaction, addressing major advances in knowledge and effective use of computers in a variety of application areas.

Use your Raspberry Pi to get smart about computing fundamentals In the 1980s, the tech revolution was kickstarted by a flood of relatively inexpensive, highly programmable computers like the Commodore. Now, a second revolution in computing is beginning with the Raspberry Pi. Learning Computer Architecture with the Raspberry Pi is the premier guide to understanding the components of the most exciting tech product available. Thanks to this book, every Raspberry Pi owner can understand how the computer works and how to access all of its hardware and software capabilities. Now, students, hackers, and casual users alike can discover how computers work with Learning Computer Architecture with the Raspberry Pi. This book explains what each and every hardware component does, how they relate to one another, and how they correspond to the components of other computing systems. You'll also learn how programming works and how the operating system relates to the Raspberry Pi's physical components. * Co-authored by Eben Upton, one of the creators of the Raspberry Pi, this is a companion volume to the Raspberry Pi User Guide * An affordable solution for learning about computer system design considerations and experimenting with low-level programming * Understandable descriptions of the functions of memory storage, Ethernet, cameras, processors, and more * Gain knowledge of computer design and operation in general by exploring the basic structure of the Raspberry Pi The Raspberry Pi was created to bring forth a new generation of computer scientists, developers, and architects who understand the inner workings of the computers that have become essential to our daily lives. Learning Computer Architecture with the Raspberry Pi is your gateway to the world of computer system design.

The 8th edition of the International Symposium on Web and Wireless Geograp- cal Information Systems (W2GIS 2008) was held in December 2008, in the vibrant city of Shanghai, China. This annual symposium aims at providing a forum for discussing advances on recent developments and research results in the ?eld of Web and wireless geographical information systems. Promoted from workshop to s- posium in 2005, W2GIS now represents a prestigious event within this dynamic research community. These proceedings contain the papers selected for presen- tion at this international event. For the 2008 edition, we received 38 submissions from 16 countries. All subm- ted papers were related to topics of interest to the symposium. Each paper received three reviews. Based on these reviews, 14 papers were selected for presentation and inclusion in the proceedings. The accepted papers are all of excellent quality and cover topics that range from mobile networks and location-based services, to contextual representation and mapping, to geospatial Web techniques, to object tracking in Web and mobile environments. We wish to thank all authors that contributed to this symposium for the high quality of their papers and presentations. Our sincere thanks go to Springer's LNCS team. We would also like to acknowledge and thank the Program C- mittee members for the quality and timeliness of their reviews. Finally, many thanks to the Steering Committee members for providing continuous support and advice.