Smart Cities and Digital Transformation offers a three-tiered approach to tomorrow’s cities in terms of limitless innovation, sustainable development and empowering communities. Discussing key issues including civic engagement, communication, ethicality, participation and motivation, Smart Cities and Digital Transformation proposes best practices, applied research and lessons learnt in the fields of digital transformation and sustainable development. Authors integrate scientific knowledge and industry services with significant social sciences research to provide an end-to-end understanding of the components of future smart city applications or services. Emphasising emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, open sources platforms and virtual reality, chapters also provide the reader with a unique analysis of a new generation of transparent technologies for the improvement of the quality of life and well-being in modern cities. Employing an active learning approach focused on building critical thinking skills, Smart Cities and Digital Transformation serves a diverse ecosystem of industry changemakers to jointly mobilize a new form of economy directly linked to the development, value and impact of smart cities.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused mass disruption to higher education institutions (HEIs) across the world and has since led to vast debate on how to manage HEIs and how to deliver course content to students beyond the crisis. The emergency shift to remote learning has led many HEIs to adopt more flexible course delivery in the longer term. Drawing on international and multidisciplinary perspectives, Moving Higher Education Beyond Covid-19 explores how HEIs may use crises as an opportunity to develop, to transform, and to improve their institutional resilience. Authors draw on many novel and innovative practices mastered during the pandemic, including approaches to teaching, and the related learning and managerial practices. Collectively, the authors argue that Covid-19 has served as one of the most important push factors for universities to redesign their approaches to teaching and learning, and thereby also rethink their business models. With insights for researchers, course designers, and higher education leaders, Moving Higher Education Beyond Covid-19 is a must-read for moving your institution forward beyond the pandemic.

Digital Innovation for Healthcare in COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies and Solutions provides comprehensive knowledge and insights on the application of information technologies in the healthcare sector, sharing experiences from leading researchers and academics from around the world. The book presents innovative ideas, solutions and examples to deal with one of the major challenges of the world, a global problem with health, economic and political dimensions. Advanced information technologies can play a key role in solving problems generated by the COVID-19 outbreak. The book addresses how science, technology and innovation can provide advances and solutions to new global health challenges. This is a valuable resource for researchers, clinicians, healthcare workers, policymakers and members of the biomedical field who are interested in learning how digital technologies can help us avoid and solve global disease dissemination.

In the era of the 21st century knowledge society, higher education can play an important role as a driver for innovation, leadership and creativity, as it helps develop not only well informed and knowledgeable citizens but also responsible and creative individuals. The challenges of globalization, tightly linked with rapid developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the need to address issues of quality and inclusiveness for a better quality of life and a sustainable future, have become drivers of change in higher education institutions. We are experiencing a shift towards more interdisciplinary curricula and a more integrated and student-centred approach to teaching. Instructors increasingly use active learning and other pedagogies of engagement as a means to increase learning and improve student attitudes. This book explores best practices for effective active learning in higher education. Experienced instructors from different disciplines and countries share their experiences and reflect on best practices, as well as on the theoretical underpinnings of active learning. Contributors share their thinking on strategies based on different active learning methods such as the use of ICTs, collaborative learning and experiential learning, as well as their implications for teaching, assessment, curriculum design and higher education administration. Active learning provides skills for real life problem solving and prepares students to become responsible and active citizens. This book will be a very significant resource for educators who are interested in making a difference in students' lives.

This book focuses on approaches to teaching and learning that integrate emerging technologies to enhance the quality of education. It brings together conceptual and empirical insights to elaborate on the design of effective programs, educational policies and educational administration requirements. The chapters cover topics such as social media's use in learning, virtual learning, innovative pedagogy, data mining, massive open online courses (MOOCs) and sustainable education. Special emphasis is placed on virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), and the use of electronic devices such as tablets and smartphones in the classroom. The authors explore how advances in information and communication technology (ICT) can improve opportunities through education for all. It presents an international perspective, with authors from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America.

Written by leading academics and practitioners in the field, Smart Villages in the EU and Beyond offers a detailed insight into issues and developments that shape the debate on smart villages, together with concepts, developments and policymaking initiatives including the EU Action for Smart Villages. This book derives from the realization that the implications of the increasing depopulation of rural areas across the EU is a pending disaster. This edited collection establishes a framework for action today, which will lead to sustainable revitalization of rural areas tomorrow. Using country-specific case studies, the chapters examine how integrated and ICT-conscious strategies and policy actions focused on wellbeing, sustainability and solidarity could provide a long-term solution in the revitalization of villages across the EU and elsewhere. Best practices pertinent to precision farming, energy diversification, tourism, entrepreneurship are discussed in detail. As an in-depth exploration of the Smart Village on a multinational scale, this book will serve as an indispensable resource for students, researchers and policy leaders in the fields of politics, strategic management and urban and rural studies.

This book focuses on approaches to teaching and learning that integrate emerging technologies to enhance the quality of education. It brings together conceptual and empirical insights to elaborate on the design of effective programs, educational policies and educational administration requirements. The chapters cover topics such as social media's use in learning, virtual learning, innovative pedagogy, data mining, massive open online courses (MOOCs) and sustainable education. Special emphasis is placed on virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), and the use of electronic devices such as tablets and smartphones in the classroom. The authors explore how advances in information and communication technology (ICT) can improve opportunities through education for all. It presents an international perspective, with authors from Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America.

In the era of the 21st century knowledge society, higher education can play an important role as a driver for innovation, leadership and creativity, as it helps develop not only well informed and knowledgeable citizens but also responsible and creative individuals. The challenges of globalization, tightly linked with rapid developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the need to address issues of quality and inclusiveness for a better quality of life and a sustainable future, have become drivers of change in higher education institutions. We are experiencing a shift towards more interdisciplinary curricula and a more integrated and student-centred approach to teaching. Instructors increasingly use active learning and other pedagogies of engagement as a means to increase learning and improve student attitudes. This book explores best practices for effective active learning in higher education. Experienced instructors from different disciplines and countries share their experiences and reflect on best practices, as well as on the theoretical underpinnings of active learning. Contributors share their thinking on strategies based on different active learning methods such as the use of ICTs, collaborative learning and experiential learning, as well as their implications for teaching, assessment, curriculum design and higher education administration. Active learning provides skills for real life problem solving and prepares students to become responsible and active citizens. This book will be a very significant resource for educators who are interested in making a difference in students' lives.

This book features research presented and discussed during the Research & Innovation Forum (Rii Forum) 2020. As such, this book offers a unique insight into emerging topics, issues and developments pertinent to the fields of technology, innovation and education and their social impact. Papers included in this book apply inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches to query such issues as technology-enhanced teaching and learning, smart cities, information systems, cognitive computing and social networking. What brings these threads of the discussion together is the question of how advances in computer science - which are otherwise largely incomprehensible to researchers from other fields - can be effectively translated and capitalized on so as to make them beneficial for society as a whole. In this context, Rii Forum and Rii Forum proceedings offer an essential venue where diverse stakeholders, including academics, the think tank sector and decision-makers, can engage in a meaningful dialogue with a view to improving the applicability of advances in computer science.

Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have directly impacted the way in which politics operates today. Bringing together research on Europe, the US, South America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, this book examines the relationship between ICT and politics in a global perspective. Technological innovations such as big data, data mining, sentiment analysis, cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, social media and blockchain technology are reshaping the way ICT intersects with politics and in this collection contributors examine these developments, demonstrating their impact on the political landscape. Chapters examine topics such as cyberwarfare and propaganda, post-Soviet space, Snowden, US national security, e-government, GDPR, democratization in Africa and internet freedom. Providing an overview of new research on the emerging relationship between the promise and potential inherent in ICT and its impact on politics, this edited collection will prove an invaluable text for students, researchers and practitioners working in the fields of Politics, International Relations and Computer Science.

It is a great pleasure to share with you the Springer CCIS 112 proceedings of the Third World Summit on the Knowledge Society--WSKS 2010--that was organized by the International Scientific Council for the Knowledge Society, and supported by the Open Research Society, NGO, (http://www.open-knowledge-society.org) and the Int- national Journal of the Knowledge Society Research, (http://www.igi-global.com/ijksr), and took place in Aquis Corfu Holiday Palace Hotel, on Corfu island, Greece, September 22-24, 2010. The Third World Summit on the Knowledge Society (WSKS 2010) was an inter- tional scientific event devoted to promoting the dialogue on the main aspects of the knowledge society towards a better world for all. The multidimensional economic and social crisis of the last couple years brings to the fore the need to discuss in depth new policies and strategies for a human-centric developmental process in the global c- text. This annual summit brings together key stakeholders of knowledge society dev- opment worldwide, from academia, industry, government, policy makers, and active citizens to look at the impact and prospects of it information technology, and the knowledge-based era it is creating, on key facets of living, working, learning, innovating, and collaborating in today's hyper-complex world.

Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) have directly impacted the way in which politics operates today. Bringing together research on Europe, the US, South America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, this book examines the relationship between ICT and politics in a global perspective. Technological innovations such as big data, data mining, sentiment analysis, cognitive computing, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, social media and blockchain technology are reshaping the way ICT intersects with politics and in this collection contributors examine these developments, demonstrating their impact on the political landscape. Chapters examine topics such as cyberwarfare and propaganda, post-Soviet space, Snowden, US national security, e-government, GDPR, democratization in Africa and internet freedom. Providing an overview of new research on the emerging relationship between the promise and potential inherent in ICT and its impact on politics, this edited collection will prove an invaluable text for students, researchers and practitioners working in the fields of Politics, International Relations and Computer Science.

The new challenges in healthcare education require new methodological approaches and transparent integration of technology enhanced learning approaches. Technology-Enhanced Healthcare Education promotes the best practices and lessons learnt from COVID-19 and highlights the importance and impact of using information systems to increase levels of health literacy. The chapter authors cover processes such as augmented or virtual reality to allow for distraction and decreased anxiety of the patient and services such as telemedicine and tele-consultation in the follow-up of non-acute patients. These are just a few ways in which health professionals can utilise information systems and transformative technology to increase the quality of health care, levels of health literacy and, thus, increase the health outcomes of their patients. Technology-Enhanced Healthcare Education is an innovative volume for health specialists, educators, higher education medical experts, medical school students and health management professionals. It is key reading for those looking to learn more about the latest developments on active and transformative learning within health education and medical technology (MedTech).

Strategic disruptors in companies and economies, including blockchain technology, big data, and artificial intelligence, can contribute to the creation of new business opportunities, jobs, and growth. Research is needed on the impacts of these disruptors in Asia, as well as analyses on new business ecosystems and policy implications. Global Challenges and Strategic Disruptors in Asian Businesses and Economies presents a rich collection of chapters that explore and discuss the state of the art, emerging topics, challenges, and success factors in business, big data, innovation, and technology in Asia. The book explores how the internet of things, big data, and artificial intelligence can provide solutions for global challenges and companies. Including topics on digital economy, strategic management, and information technologies, this book is ideal for managing directors, general managers, corporate heads of firms, politicians, executives, entrepreneurs, academicians, decision makers, policymakers, researchers, and students looking to enhance their understanding and collaboration in business, disruptive innovation, and technology in Asia.

Strategic disruptors in companies and economies, including blockchain technology, big data, and artificial intelligence, can contribute to the creation of new business opportunities, jobs, and growth. Research is needed on the impacts of these disruptors in Asia, as well as analyses on new business ecosystems and policy implications. Global Challenges and Strategic Disruptors in Asian Businesses and Economies presents a rich collection of chapters that explore and discuss the state of the art, emerging topics, challenges, and success factors in business, big data, innovation, and technology in Asia. The book explores how the internet of things, big data, and artificial intelligence can provide solutions for global challenges and companies. Including topics on digital economy, strategic management, and information technologies, this book is ideal for managing directors, general managers, corporate heads of firms, politicians, executives, entrepreneurs, academicians, decision makers, policymakers, researchers, and students looking to enhance their understanding and collaboration in business, disruptive innovation, and technology in Asia.

Active and Transformative Learning in STEAM Disciplines is a unique reference volume for the new student-centric and objectives-oriented learning environment where individual and team learning paths enhance problem solving capabilities. These practices may range from simple teaching methods such as class discussion and role playing, to peer teaching and flipped learning. Focusing on STEAM education (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics), scholars from the three disciplines of education, business, and Information Technology highlight the importance of the class as a place for collaborative knowledge sharing, involving active engagement of both students and instructors, and explore the connection between innovation and sustainability at the curriculum and research levels. Chapter authors discuss the timely issues of digital transformation in higher education, the required active learning strategies, the novel methodological approaches to instructional design and the new student-centric paradigm for active and collaborative exploration of learning content. Filling a significant gap in the body of knowledge related to the emerging agenda of active and transformative learning strategies for STEAM disciplines, this volume is a helpful tool to faculty, higher education administrators, policymakers, curriculum designers and school leaders aiming to develop value-based strategies for promoting quality education with an emphasis on active and transformative learning.

Written by leading academics and practitioners in the field, Smart Villages in the EU and Beyond offers a detailed insight into issues and developments that shape the debate on smart villages, together with concepts, developments and policymaking initiatives including the EU Action for Smart Villages. This book derives from the realization that the implications of the increasing depopulation of rural areas across the EU is a pending disaster. This edited collection establishes a framework for action today, which will lead to sustainable revitalization of rural areas tomorrow. Using country-specific case studies, the chapters examine how integrated and ICT-conscious strategies and policy actions focused on wellbeing, sustainability and solidarity could provide a long-term solution in the revitalization of villages across the EU and elsewhere. Best practices pertinent to precision farming, energy diversification, tourism, entrepreneurship are discussed in detail. As an in-depth exploration of the Smart Village on a multinational scale, this book will serve as an indispensable resource for students, researchers and policy leaders in the fields of politics, strategic management and urban and rural studies.

This book features research presented and discussed during the Research & Innovation Forum (Rii Forum) 2020. As such, this book offers a unique insight into emerging topics, issues and developments pertinent to the fields of technology, innovation and education and their social impact. Papers included in this book apply inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches to query such issues as technology-enhanced teaching and learning, smart cities, information systems, cognitive computing and social networking. What brings these threads of the discussion together is the question of how advances in computer science - which are otherwise largely incomprehensible to researchers from other fields - can be effectively translated and capitalized on so as to make them beneficial for society as a whole. In this context, Rii Forum and Rii Forum proceedings offer an essential venue where diverse stakeholders, including academics, the think tank sector and decision-makers, can engage in a meaningful dialogue with a view to improving the applicability of advances in computer science.

This book features research presented and discussed during the Research & Innovation Forum (Rii Forum) 2019. As such, this volume offers a unique insight into emerging topics, issues and developments pertinent to the fields of technology, innovation and education and their social impact. Papers included in this volume apply inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches to query such issues as technology-enhanced teaching and learning, smart cities,, information systems, cognitive computing and social networking. What brings these threads of the discussion together is the question of how advances in computer science - which are otherwise largely incomprehensible to researchers from other fields - can be effectively translated and capitalized on so as to make them beneficial for society as a whole. In this context, Rii Forum and Rii Forum proceedings offer an essential venue where diverse stakeholders, including academics, the think tank sector and decision-makers, can engage in a meaningful dialogue with a view to improving the applicability of advances in computer science. In brief, Rii Forum takes the imperative inherent in the 4th industrial revolution seriously, in that it identifies ways of making technology usable and therefore inclusive.

While cognitive informatics and natural intelligence are receiving greater attention by researchers, multidisciplinary approaches still struggle with fundamental problems involving psychology and neurobiological processes of the brain. Examining the difficulties of certain approaches using the tools already available is vital for propelling knowledge forward and making further strides. Innovations, Algorithms, and Applications in Cognitive Informatics and Natural Intelligence is a collection of innovative research that examines the enhancement of human cognitive performance using emerging technologies. Featuring research on topics such as parallel computing, neuroscience, and signal processing, this book is ideally designed for engineers, computer scientists, programmers, academicians, researchers, and students.