"Social networks are collections of individuals linked together by a set of relations. The linkage of social networks to people and business contexts as well as to critical government domains is important for the emerging information ecosystems of the knowledge society. Knowledge Networks: The Social Software Perspective concentrates on strategies that exploit emerging technologies for the knowledge effectiveness in social networks. This comprehensive book delivers an excellent mix of information for readers and is a must for those thirsty for knowledge on social networks and information systems."

Strategy management has always been a crucial business aspect that a company must understand to remain successful in the business world. However, there are a number of different approaches that a company can employ in order to differentiate themselves from thecompetition. Knowledge Management for Competitive Advantage During Economic Crisis brings together the various approaches that affect the superiority of a company's organizational performance and the gains they can make over their competitors. By focusing on concepts such as organizational learning and intellectual capital, this book is an indispensable reference source for researchers, practitioners, graduate students, and business managers interested in understanding what approaches are necessary to ensure superior organizational performance.

Each new generation of upcoming professionals requires different strategies for effective management within the workforce. In order to promote a cohesive and productive environment, managers must take steps to better understand their employees. The Handbook of Research on Human Resources Strategies for the New Millennial Workforce is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on theoretical frameworks and applications for the management of millennials entering the professional realm. Focusing on methods and practices to enhance organizational performance and culture, this book is ideally designed for managers, professionals, upper-level students, and researchers in the fields of human resource and strategic management.

With the proper management, knowledge-based resources (human capital, relational capital, structural capital) aim to contribute to the creation of a competitive advantage not only for companies and institutions, but also for nations and economic regions. Intellectual Capital Strategy Management for Knowledge-Based Organizations brings together new perspectives on the knowledge-based view of strategy management as it considers the role of companies, organisations, and nations in the storage and measurement of their knowledge. This book is useful for industry leaders, practitioners, academics and scholars interested in emerging aspects of knowledge management and industry services.

As technology grows as the largest source of modern economic growth, the emergence of new models is currently challenging the standard western model of organizational management. Companies from all over the world have succeeded in creating emerging economies with these new models and are now competing with established multinational corporations Organizational Innovation and IT Governance in Emerging Economies develops a methodological framework that supports new approaches of technological innovation by companies. This reference book provides contributions from experts in emerging economies, highlighting specific case studies of home grown companies from these emerging markets, offering lessons on how traditional multinationals can compete with these new companies for policymakers, government officers, academics, researchers, students, and practitioners.

Strategic Role of Tertiary Education and Technologies for Sustainable Competitive Advantage explores how education enables social and economic development through the targeted training of human capital and the evaluation and dissemination of knowledge resources across generations. This book provides entrepreneurs, leaders, policy makers, and educators with the necessary tools to make the most of higher education in order to meet emerging economic and social challenges through the use of new technologies enabling effective collaboration and knowledge sharing.

This institute was organized and presented by an international group of scholars interested in the advancement of instructional design automation through theory, research and applied evaluation. Members of the organizing committee included Dr. Klaus Breuer from disce (Germany), Dr. Jose J. Gonzalez from Agder College of Engineering (Norway), Dr. Begofia Gros from the University of Barcelona, Dr. J. Michael Spector from the Armstrong Laboratory (USA). Dr. Gonzalez, co-director of the institute, and the staff of Agder College were directly responsible for the preparation and operation of the institute in Grimstad, Norway. The institute was held on the campus of Agder College of Engineering, July 12-23, 1993. The theme of the institute extended the initial work developed by the presenters at a NATO Advanced Research Workshop held in Sitges, Spain in 1992. During the two week institute, 21 presentations were made including papers and demonstrations. In addition to the formal presentations, working groups and on-site study groups provided opportunities for the students to participate directly in program activities. An important outcome for the working groups was the formal preparation of their efforts in chapters for this volume.

E-Procurement Management for Successful Electronic Government Systems enhances the understanding and collaboration in e-government and the role of information technologies in supporting the development of improved services for citizens. By analyzing recent developments in theory and practices as well as providing fresh ideas and research, this reference source aims to bridge the gap between academia, industry, and government.

In recent years, the use of information technologies, mobile devices, and social media, along with the evolving needs of students, professionals, and academics, has grown rapidly. New ways of bringing learning content to students, new learning environments, and new teaching practices are necessary to keep up with these changes. Assessing the Role of Mobile Technologies and Distance Learning in Higher Education provides a comprehensive understanding of m-learning processes by discussing challenges in higher education and the role of information technologies for effective learning. This reference book offers both real experiences and theoretical input for academicians, professionals, students, practitioners, policymakers, and managers.

Instructional design theory and practice has evolved over the past 30 years from an initial narrow focus on programmed instruction to a multidimensional field of study integrating psychology, technology, evaluation, measurement, and management. The growth of instructional design (ID) has occurred because of direct needs, problems, and goals from society. Its application in planning instruction first developed in the United States with the Department of Defense during World War II with the purpose of meeting immediate concerns for effective training of larger numbers of military personnel. From the beginning, ID has rapidly expanded into applications in industrial and executive training, vocational training, classroom learning, and professional education. Although ID has its roots in the U.S., applications and theoretical growth is an international activity. However, literature at the international level is still limited to either individual author contributions or collections primarily represented by single countries. As a result, there is no standard reference source that contains the rich variety of theories and applications to form the international foundation for the field. The goal of this two-volume set is to establish international foundations for ID theory, research, and practice within the framework of the two following objectives: * to identify and define the theoretical, research, and model foundations for ID, and * to bridge the gap between ID foundations and application. Volume I includes chapters on philosophical and theoretical issues on learning theory and ID models. Volume II provides an overview of the state of the art of solving ID problems. The contributors offer contrasting points of view which provide a rare opportunity to see the diversity and complexity in the field. The editorial committee has selected a wide range of internationally known authors to make presentations in the topic areas of the field.

Instructional design theory and practice has evolved over the past 30 years from an initial narrow focus on programmed instruction to a multidimensional field of study integrating psychology, technology, evaluation, measurement, and management. The growth of instructional design (ID) has occurred because of direct needs, problems, and goals from society. Its application in planning instruction first developed in the United States with the Department of Defense during World War II with the purpose of meeting immediate concerns for effective training of larger numbers of military personnel. From the beginning, ID has rapidly expanded into applications in industrial and executive training, vocational training, classroom learning, and professional education. Although ID has its roots in the U.S., applications and theoretical growth is an international activity. However, literature at the international level is still limited to either individual author contributions or collections primarily represented by single countries. As a result, there is no standard reference source that contains the rich variety of theories and applications to form the international foundation for the field. The goal of this two-volume set is to establish international foundations for ID theory, research, and practice within the framework of the two following objectives: * to identify and define the theoretical, research, and model foundations for ID, and * to bridge the gap between ID foundations and application. Volume I includes chapters on philosophical and theoretical issues on learning theory and ID models. Volume II provides an overview of the state of the art of solving ID problems. The contributors offer contrasting points of view which provide a rare opportunity to see the diversity and complexity in the field. The editorial committee has selected a wide range of internationally known authors to make presentations in the topic areas of the field.

Instructional design theory and practice has evolved over the past 30 years from an initial narrow focus on programmed instruction to a multidimensional field of study integrating psychology, technology, evaluation, measurement, and management. The growth of instructional design (ID) has occurred because of direct needs, problems, and goals from society. Its application in planning instruction first developed in the United States with the Department of Defense during World War II with the purpose of meeting immediate concerns for effective training of larger numbers of military personnel. From the beginning, ID has rapidly expanded into applications in industrial and executive training, vocational training, classroom learning, and professional education. Although ID has its roots in the U.S., applications and theoretical growth is an international activity. However, literature at the international level is still limited to either individual author contributions or collections primarily represented by single countries. As a result, there is no standard reference source that contains the rich variety of theories and applications to form the international foundation for the field. The goal of this two-volume set is to establish international foundations for ID theory, research, and practice within the framework of the two following objectives: * to identify and define the theoretical, research, and model foundations for ID, and * to bridge the gap between ID foundations and application. Volume I includes chapters on philosophical and theoretical issues on learning theory and ID models. Volume II provides an overview of the state of the art of solving ID problems. The contributors offer contrasting points of view which provide a rare opportunity to see the diversity and complexity in the field. The editorial committee has selected a wide range of internationally known authors to make presentations in the topic areas of the field.

With the evolution of information technologies, mobile devices, and social media, educators must learn to build and utilize new forms of content delivery, new teaching methodologies for academics, and special learning environments tailored to the needs of adult students. Impact of Economic Crisis on Education and the Next-Generation Workforce provides comprehensive coverage on the complexities and challenges of the learning process in the context of higher education and the role information technologies can play in mobile and distance learning. Through this book, professors, students, politicians, policymakers, corporate leaders, senior general managers, managing directors, information technology directors, and managers will understand the evolution and needs of new labor markets, including challenges for education, higher education and reforms, mobile and distance learning in higher education, problems in the current labor market, and the role of faculty with respect to workforce training.

This book constitutes the proceedings of the 4th World Summit on the Knowledge Society, WSKS 2011, held in Mykonos, Greece, in September 2011. The 90 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 198 submissions. The papers address issues such as information technology, e-learning, e-business, cultural heritage, e-government.

This institute was organized and presented by an international group of scholars interested in the advancement of instructional design automation through theory, research and applied evaluation. Members of the organizing committee included Dr. Klaus Breuer from disce (Germany), Dr. Jose J. Gonzalez from Agder College of Engineering (Norway), Dr. Begofia Gros from the University of Barcelona, Dr. J. Michael Spector from the Armstrong Laboratory (USA). Dr. Gonzalez, co-director of the institute, and the staff of Agder College were directly responsible for the preparation and operation of the institute in Grimstad, Norway. The institute was held on the campus of Agder College of Engineering, July 12-23, 1993. The theme of the institute extended the initial work developed by the presenters at a NATO Advanced Research Workshop held in Sitges, Spain in 1992. During the two week institute, 21 presentations were made including papers and demonstrations. In addition to the formal presentations, working groups and on-site study groups provided opportunities for the students to participate directly in program activities. An important outcome for the working groups was the formal preparation of their efforts in chapters for this volume.

This workshop was organized and presented by an international group of scholars interested in the advancement of automating instructional design. Although the principal leader for this effort was myself, each of the committee members devoted equally in time and effort in the total preparation and conducting of the workshop. Members of the organizing committee included Dr. Klaus Breuer from disce and the University ofPaderbom (Germany), Dr. Begofia Gros from the University of Barcelona, and Dr. Daniel Muraida and Dr. Michael Spector from the Armstrong Laboratory (USA). Dr. Gros participated as the co-director of the workshop and was directly responsible for the preparation and operation of the workshop in Sitges, Spain. The workshop was held in Sitges, a short distance from Barcelona, March 23-27, 1992. Because of preparations at that time for the 1992 summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, the workshop was moved to a more convenient location. The theme of the workshop included three main topics: planning, production, and implementation. Dr. Peter Goodyear, from the Lancaster University (England), presented the invited keynote address. During the four day workshop, 14 papers were presented and discussed. Following each of the three topic areas, Drs. Gros and Breuer led discussions critiquing the ideas presented.

It is a great pleasure to share with you the Springer LNCS proceedings of the Second World Summit on the Knowledge Society, WSKS 2009, organized by the Open - search Society, Ngo, http: //www.open-knowledge-society.org, and held in Samaria Hotel, in the beautiful city of Chania in Crete, Greece, September 16-18, 2009. The 2nd World Summit on the Knowledge Society (WSKS 2009) was an inter- tional scientific event devoted to promoting 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 of years has brought to the fore the need to discuss in depth new policies and strategies for a human centric developmental processes in the global context. This annual summit brings together key stakeholders involved in the worldwide development of the knowledge society, from academia, industry, and government, including policy makers and active citizens, to look at the impact and prospects of - formation technology, and the knowledge-based era it is creating, on key facets of l- ing, working, learning, innovating, and collaborating in today's hyper-complex world. The summit provides a distinct, unique forum for cross-disciplinary fertilization of research, favoring the dissemination of research on new scientific ideas relevant to - ternational research agendas such as the EU (FP7), OECD, or UNESCO. We focus on the key aspects of a new sustainable deal for a bold response to the multidimensional crisis of our times.

It is a great pleasure to share with you the Springer CCIS proceedings of the First World Summit on the Knowledge Society - WSKS 2008 that was organized by the Open Research Society, NGO, http://www.open-knowledge-society.org, and hosted by the American College of Greece, http://www.acg.gr, during September 24-27, 2008, in Athens, Greece. The World Summit on the Knowledge Society Series is an international attempt to promote a dialogue on the main aspects of a knowledge society toward a better world for all based on knowledge and learning. The WSKS Series brings together academics, people from industry, policy makers, politicians, government officers and active citizens to look at the impact of infor- tion technology, and the knowledge-based era it is creating, on key facets of today's world: the state, business, society and culture. Six general pillars provide the constitutional elements of the WSKS series: * Social and Humanistic Computing for the Knowledge Society--Emerging Te- nologies and Systems for the Society and Humanity * Knowledge, Learning, Education, Learning Technologies and E-learning for the Knowledge Society * Information Technologies--Knowledge Management Systems--E-business and Enterprise Information Systems for the Knowledge Society * Culture and Cultural Heritage--Technology for Culture Management--Management of Tourism and Entertainment--Tourism Networks in the Knowledge Society * Government and Democracy for the Knowledge Society * Research and Sustainable Development in the Knowledge Society The summit provides a distinct, unique forum for cross-disciplinary fertilization of research, favoring the dissemination of research that is relevant to international re-