From single in Hawaii to 'it’s complicated' in Boston! In this Boston Christmas Miracles story, top of paediatric nurse Ailani’s wish-list is a white Christmas, so swapping sunny Hawaii for a stint on a Boston children’s ward is unmissable. Ailani expects icy temperatures…but her boss, Javier, is scorching hot! This single dad’s disillusioned with everything. And while Ailani has lost more than most, she’s determined to prove he’s wrong. Can she do it before the holidays are over? Can one man—and a pup — restore her faith in love? In this Boston Christmas Miracles story, jilted on her honeymoon, Bryn Bedford is forgoing men for woman’s best friend: her therapy dog Honey. Healing little patients on Ward 34 is the distraction she needs this Christmas. Gorgeous new paediatrician Nick Walker is not! But Nick playing Santa melts her frozen heart. Honey clearly trusts Nick…will Bryn ever believe he’s the real deal?

Is he ready to love again? In this Miracle Medics story, to billionaire doctor David, his transplant foundation means everything. But when a case brings him together with nurse Valerie she soon has his attention-and his heart pounding... Trust isn't something that comes easily to either of them, but a secret romance to explore their mutual attraction might be the perfect place to start! Can driving together reunite them? In this Miracle Medics story, a week with her ex sounds like a nightmare, but it's doctor Emma's reality when her partner in a charity classic car rally bails at the last minute. Now, with surgeon Josh acting as her replacement navigator, the confined space forces them to confront just what went wrong between them...and tempts them to start again...right where they left off!

Will their spark simmer in the sun? When diamond magnate Diego is asked to escort Sister Clare halfway across Brazil, he is determined to repay the church for getting him off the streets. But one look in Clare's innocent eyes is enough to undo him. When Diego learns that Clare is only disguised as a nun to save her kidnapped sister, he trades his prize diamond to help her. And Clare's debt is one he intends to collect...! * Struggling to bond with his orphaned nephew, surgeon Jake Cooper hopes a summer in Brazil will help them connect. And it's Jake's chance to meet renowned medical researcher Flavia Maura. He didn't expect an immediate attraction, or for career-driven Flavia to be a natural with Brady. Is she just what they need to become a family? * Dr Krysta Simpson feels a connection with brooding Francisco Carvalho immediately. The ex-model turned surgeon is nothing like the cruel rumours he would have her believe. And if she's determined to use this temporary placement in Sao Paulo to reset her priorities, she's running out of time. Leaving one important question: will Francisco show her the pleasure she's never experienced?

Back on her wife’s doorstep with a double baby bombshell! Facing a custody battle over her unborn twins, Nurse McKenzie Bonham knows there’s just one person who can help—Dr Saana Ameri, Kenzie’s estranged wife! Pretending their marriage is going strong is the only way Kenzie can guarantee she won’t lose her babies. But if she thinks convincing Saana will be the hardest part, she’s wrong. Because it’s much harder to resist making their reunion real! Unwanted roommate… Undeniable fireworks! Since being jilted at the altar, brooding vet Antoine pushes everyone away, preferring the solace of his Montmartre mansion. So when he must play host to secondment colleague Geraldine he’s not pleased! Especially when she invades his space with her adorable English ways… Newly divorced, Geri’s also nursing a broken heart, but Ant finds her positive attitude infectious and their chemistry… Irresistible! Could Geri become more than just his temporary houseguest…?

The rapid development and the growing penetration of information and communication technologies (ICT) provide tremendous opportunities for a wide and cost effective application of the ideas of participative democracy and public participation in government decision and policy making. ICT can drive dramatic transformations in the quantity and quality of communication and interaction of government organizations with citizens, revitalizing and strengthening the modern representative democracy which currently faces big problems of reduced citizens' trust and involvement. This book deals with the application of these e-participation ideas in the special and 'difficult', and at the same time highly interesting, national context of Southern Europe and the Balkans. The first chapter provides an overview of e-participation concepts and practices whilst the following chapters analyse pilot applications of e-participation concepts in eight different Southern European and Balkan countries (Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, Albania, Greece, Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)). They cover both the 'classical' e-participation paradigm, based on official e-participation spaces created, operated and controlled by government organizations as well as emerging new e-participation paradigms including e-participation based on web 2.0 social media, and 'scientific-level' e-participation, based on opening government data to the scientific community. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies.

The rapid development and the growing penetration of information and communication technologies (ICT) provide tremendous opportunities for a wide and cost effective application of the ideas of participative democracy and public participation in government decision and policy making. ICT can drive dramatic transformations in the quantity and quality of communication and interaction of government organizations with citizens, revitalizing and strengthening the modern representative democracy which currently faces big problems of reduced citizens' trust and involvement. This book deals with the application of these e-participation ideas in the special and 'difficult', and at the same time highly interesting, national context of Southern Europe and the Balkans. The first chapter provides an overview of e-participation concepts and practices whilst the following chapters analyse pilot applications of e-participation concepts in eight different Southern European and Balkan countries (Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia, Albania, Greece, Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)). They cover both the 'classical' e-participation paradigm, based on official e-participation spaces created, operated and controlled by government organizations as well as emerging new e-participation paradigms including e-participation based on web 2.0 social media, and 'scientific-level' e-participation, based on opening government data to the scientific community. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 6th IFIP WG 8.5 International Conference on Electronic Participation, ePart 2014, held in Dublin, Ireland, in September 2014. The 11 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 20 submissions. The papers have been organized in the following topical sections: social media; review and analysis; engaging citizens online; and software platforms and evaluation.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th IFIP WG 8.5 International Conference on Electronic Participation, ePart 2013, held in Koblenz, Germany, in September 2013. The 13 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 30 submissions. The papers cover a wide range of research in both social and technological scientific domains, seeking to demonstrate new theories, concepts, methods and styles of eParticipation with the support of innovative ICT. They have been organized in the following topical sections: research directions, social media and eParticipation, and online deliberation.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Fourth IFIP WG 8.5 International Conference, ePart 2012, held in Kristiansand, Norway, in September 2012. The 14 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. This volume includes complete research work organised in five groups as follows: * Keynote Speech * Reviews * Policy Consultations * Case Studies * Techniques and Analysis.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Third International Conference on Electronic Participation, ePart 2011, held in Delft, The Netherlands, in August/September 2011. The 26 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on appreciation of social media; visualizing arguments; understanding eParticipation; eParticipation initiatiaves and country studies; participation and eServices; and innovative technologies.

At last, a right up-to-the-minute volume on a topic of huge national and international importance. As governments around the world battle voter apathy, the need for new and modernized methods of involvement in the polity is becoming acute. This work provides information on advanced research and case studies that survey the field of digital government. Successful applications in a variety of government settings are delineated, while the authors also analyse the implications for current and future policy-making. Each chapter has been prepared and carefully edited within a structured format by a known expert on the individual topic.

Welcometothe?rstintheePartseriesofannualinternationalconferences.ePart is dedicated to reviewing research advances in both social and technological scienti?c domains, seeking to demonstrate new concepts, methods and styles of eParticipation. ePart is dedicated to innovative and rigorous eParticipation research. It aims to bring together researchers from a wide range of academic disciplines and provide the scienti?c community with a platform for discussing and advancing research ?ndings. The conference itself is preceded by a doctoral colloquium providing young researchers with the important opportunity to be part of the eParticipation research community. This book bringstogether 16 papers representing the completed, compreh- siveresearchof41authorswithfromcountriesrangingfromSwedentoAustralia. Re?ecting on the highly complex and multi-faceted nature of eParticipation - search undertaken by these authors, the papers are clustered under the three headings: - Research Review and Outlook - Evaluation and Assessment - Tools, Techniques and Case Studies Papers include those that consider future multi-disciplinary research directions, examine the potential contribution of social networking sites to political enga- ment, provide evaluation frameworks for both eParticipation policy and speci? c projects, and those that describe emerging tools and techniques with which to conduct and analyze eParticipation. The ongoing research, projects, and general development issues, which have alsobeenacceptedforePart2009,arepublishedinacomplementaryproceedings volume by Trauner Druck, Linz, Austria.

At last, a right up-to-the-minute volume on a topic of huge national and international importance. As governments around the world battle voter apathy, the need for new and modernized methods of involvement in the polity is becoming acute. This work provides information on advanced research and case studies that survey the field of digital government. Successful applications in a variety of government settings are delineated, while the authors also analyse the implications for current and future policy-making. Each chapter has been prepared and carefully edited within a structured format by a known expert on the individual topic.

The papers in this volume are the refereed application papers presented at AI-2005, the Twenty-fifth SGAI International Conference on Innovative Techniques and Applications of Artificial Intelligence, held in Cambridge in December 2005.

The papers present new and innovative developments in the field, divided into sections on Synthesis and Prediction, Scheduling and Search, Diagnosis and Monitoring, Classification and Design, and Analysis and Evaluation.

This is the thirteenth volume in the Applications and Innovations series. The series serves as a key reference on the use of AI Technology to enable organisations to solve complex problems and gain significant business benefits.

The Technical Stream papers are published as a companion volume under the title Research and Development in Intelligent Systems XXII.

A. L. Macintosh, Napier University, UK The papers in this volume are the refereed application papers presented at ES2004, the Twenty-fourth SGAI International Conference on Innovative Techniques and Applications of Artificial Intelligence, held in Cambridge in December 2004. The conference was organised by SGAI, the British Computer Society Specialist Group on Artificial Intelligence. This volume contains twenty refereed papers which present the innovative application of a range of AI techniques in a number of subject domains. This year, the papers are divided into sections on Synthesis and Prediction, Scheduling and Search, Diagnosis and Monitoring, Classification and Design, and Analysis and Evaluation This year's prize for the best refereed application paper, which is being sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry, was won by a paper entitled "A Case-Based Technique for Tracking Concept Drift in Spam Filtering." The authors are Sarah Jane Delany, from the Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland, and Padraig Cunningham, Alexey Tsymbal, and Lorcan Coyle from Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. This is the twelfth volume in the Applications and Innovations series. The Technical Stream papers are published as a companion volume under the title Research and Development in Intelligent Systems XXI. On behalf of the conference organising committee I should like to thank all those who contributed to the organisation of this year's application programme, in particular the programme committee members, the executive programme committee and our administrators Linsay Turbert and Collette Jackson.

Frans Coenen University of Liverpool, UK This volume comprises the refereed technical papers presented at AI2003, the Twenty third SGAI International Conference on the theory, practice and application of Artificial Intelligence, held in Cambridge in December 2003. The conference was organised by SGAI, the British Computer Society Specialist Group on Artificial Intelligence (previously known as SGES). The papers in this volume present new and innovative developments in the field, divided into sections on Machine Learning, Knowledge Representation and Reasoning, Knowledge Acquisition, Constraint Satisfaction, Scheduling and Natural Language Processing. This year's prize for the best refereed technical paper was won by a paper entitled An Improved Hybrid Genetic Algorithm: New Results for the Quadratic Assignment Problem by A. Misevicius (Department of Practical Informatics, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania). SGAI gratefully acknowledges the long-term sponsorship of Hewlett-Packard Laboratories (Bristol) for this prize, which goes back to the 1980s. This is the twentieth volume in the Research and Development series. The Application Stream papers are published as a companion volume under the title Applications and Innovations in Intelligent Systems XI. On behalf of the conference organising committee I should like to thank all those who contributed to the organisation of this year's technical programme, in particular the programme committee members, the referees and our administrator Fiona Hartree and Linsay Turbert."

M.A.Bramer University of Portsmouth, UK This volume comprises the refereed application papers presented at AI-2003, the Twenty-third SGAI International Conference on Innovative Techniques and Applications of Artificial Intelligence, held in Cambridge in December 2003. The conference was organised by SGAI, the British Computer Society Specialist Group on Artificial Intelligence. The papers present new and innovative developments in the field, divided into sections on Personalisation, E-Commerce and Resource Management, Hazard Prediction, Fault Diagnosis and Design, Medical and Social Services and Image Recognition, Knowledge Bases and Attribute Selection. This year's prize for the best refereed application paper, which was sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry, was won by a paper entitled Design-a-Trial: A Rule-Based Decision Support System for Clinical Trial Design, which has no fewer than nine authors: K Nammuni, C Pickering (lnferMed Ltd), S Modgil (University College, London), A Montgomery (lnferMed Ltd), P Hammond (University College, London), IC Wyatt (National Institute for Clinical Excellence), DG Altman (Centre for Statistics in Medicine), R Dunlop (lnferMed Ltd) and H Potts (Kings College, London). This is the eleventh volume in the Applications and Innovations series. The Technical Stream papers are published as a companion volume under the title Research and Development in Intelligent Systems XX. On behalf of the conference organising committee I should like to thank all those who contributed to the organisation of this year's application programme, in particular the programme committee members, the referees and our administrators Fiona Hartree and Linsay Turbert.

The papers in this volume are the referred Applications papers presented at ES 2002, the Twenty-second SGES international Conference on Knowledge Based Systems and Applied Artificial Intelligence, to be held in Cambridge during December 2002. The Application stream is the largest annual showcase in Europe of real applications using AI technology. Papers presented in this volume describe the application of AI to address real-world problems, including commerce, manufacturing and defence and every major AI technique; and highlight critical areas of success (and failure) and present the benefits and lessons of value to other developers. This is the tenth volume in the Applications and Innovations in Intelligent Systems series. The series serves as a key reference as to how AI technology has enabled organisations to solve complex problems and gain significant business benefits. The Technical Stream papers are published as a companion volume under the title Research and Development in Intelligent Systems XIX.

The papers in this volume are the Applications papers presented at ES 2001, the Twenty-first SGES International Conference on Knowledge Based Systems and Applied Artificial Intelligence, held in Cambridge in December 2001.The scope of the Application papers has expanded over recent years to cover not just innovative applications using traditional knowledge based systems, but also to include applications demonstrating the whole range of AI technologies. These papers continue to illustrate the maturity of AI as a commercially viable technology to solve real world problems.This is the eighth volume in the "Applications and Innovations in Intelligent Systems" series. The series serves as a key reference as to how AI technology has enabled organisations to solve complex problems and gain significant business benefits.The Technical Stream papers from ES 2001 are published as a companion volume under the title "Research and Development in Intelligent Systems XVIII".

Ann Macintosh Napier University, UK The papers in this volume are the refereed application papers presented at ES2000, the Twentieth SGES International Conference on Knowledge Based Systems and Applied Artificial Intelligence, held in Cambridge in December 2000. The scope of the Application papers has expanded over recent years to cover not just innovative applications using traditional knowledge based systems, but also to include applications demonstrating the whole range of AI technologies. This volume contains thirteen refereed papers describing deployed applications or emerging applications, together with an invited keynote paper by Dr. Daniel Clancy of NASA Ames Research Centre. The papers were subject to refereeing by at least two "expert" referees. All papers which were controversial for some reason were discussed in depth by the Application Programme Committee. For the application stream, a paper is acceptable even if it describes a system which has not yet been installed, provided the application is original and the paper discusses the kinds of things that would help others needing to solve a similar problem. Papers have been selected to highlight critical areas of success (and failure) and to present the benefits and lessons learnt to other developers. Papers this year cover topics as diverse as: KBS for maintaining offshore platforms; Data Mining to predict corporate business failure; integrated AI techniques to support field service engineers; Natural Language applied to the Data Protection Act; knowledge management and the application of neural networks.

This volume contains the refereed technical papers presented at ES99, the Nineteenth SGES International Conference on Knowledge-Based Systems and Applied Artificial Intelligence, held in Cambridge in December 1999. The papers in this volume present new and innovative developments in the field, divided into sections on knowledge engineering, knowledge discovery, case-based reasoning, learning and knowledge representation and refinement. This is the sixteenth volume in the Research and Development series. The series is essential reading for those who wish to keep up to date with developments in this important field. The Application Stream papers are published as a companion volume under the title Applications and Innovations in Intelligent Systems VII.

R. MILNE Intelligent Applications Ltd The papers in this volume are the Application Papers presented at ES98, the Eighteenth International Conference of the British Computer Society's Specialist Group on Expert Systems. This year has been yet another "applications" success for the conference with this volume containing seventeen papers describing either deployed applications or emerging applications. All these documented case studies provide clear evidence of the success of AI technology in solving real business problems. Six of these papers were nominated for the Best Application Award during the review process. These nominations were then reviewed by the members of the Programme Committee to select the winning paper. The papers in the volume were subject to refereeing by at least two referees. All papers which were controversial for some reason were discussed in depth by the Application Programme Committee. Ten referees from the industrial and commercial sector and nine referees from the academic sector assisted me in reviewing the papers. The review form asked the referee to score the papers according to a number of dimensions, to rate it overall, and to offer critical comments to me, and to the authors. It also asks the referee to score their expertise in the area of each paper they review. Only reviews from 'expert' referees are used.

stolen moments ER doctor Liz Prudhomme is stunned that nomadic ex-army doc Cort Smith is her hospital’s new trauma surgeon. Instantly, she’s transported back to that amazing night when he showed her unimaginable pleasure. Their passion is quickly reignited, and Cort realigns Liz’s career-focused world. Before he moves on again, can she help this doc realise they have something worth staying for? • Sparks fly between playboy neurosurgeon Alastair North and his trainee surgeon Claire Mitchell. He’s on a mission to help über-serious Claire relax, but his cavalier approach is driving her crazy. Alistair is off-limits – even if he is gorgeous, he’s her boss! But after a difficult surgery, desire overcomes reason. With secrets holding them both back, can they find a way to turn their forbidden passion into forever? • Ambitious doctor Julia Montgomery is thrilled by the opportunity to train in France under top surgeon Bernard Cappelle. The only challenge is the great man himself! She can handle his gruff arrogance, but she’s finding it almost impossible to resist her attraction to this gorgeous single dad…

A storm is raging between them! With her daughter now grown up and married, dedicated doctor Mel is finally taking some 'me time'. Until a tropical storm interrupts her Maldives break. She doesn't hesitate to help, but working alongside the only other doctor on the island-insufferable yet handsome widower Rafe-isn't without its challenges. Especially when the tension between them turns into chemistry! One night will change her whole life! Nurse Kendra lives a jet-set life. Who needs a home and family when they only let you down? So when meeting gorgeous Massimo results in one unforgettable night Kendra has no regrets-until he turns out to be her new boss! Continuing their Mediterranean fling is risky...and irresistible. Will Kendra realise that it's not her fling that's at risk, but her 'no strings attached' relationship rule!

Love Me As I Am is an affordable book of theoretical and practical information, in dealing with children of all ages. The author holds a degree in Montessori, Child Development and Development of Human Resources. The ideas in the book were used by the author, with extraordinary success. Love Me As I Am, as the title suggests is a book, that was written to give parents, grandparents, teachers, and other caregivers of children positive ways of guiding children under their care, in their development needs. The book deals with children from infancy to adolescence. The reader is advised to read every topic because he/she can benefit from it, even though it may not apply for the situation at hand. The suggestions may help with other concerns. The goal to achieve is not perfection. Adults should make it their goal to treat children with understanding and compassion. They can then positively guide youngsters to achieve a healthy self-esteem and to face life with a confident spirit. Children in turn will fulfill their ambitions and become well-adjusted adults, caring and contributing to family and society. Do you think, or has a teacher told you, your child may have ADD or ADHD? Read this informative book to find options and make intelligent decisions about your child. Relieve stress and frustration and enjoy children in your care. Children are unique masterpieces. If treated with understanding, compassion, love, and respect they will become an asset to you and themselves. Buy this invaluable book and pass one on to a friend.