Synthetic Worlds, Virtual Worlds, and Alternate Realities are all terms used to describe the phenomenon of computer-based, simulated environments in which users inhabit and interact via avatars. The best-known commercial applications are in the form of electronic gaming, and particularly in massively-multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft or Second Life. Less known, but possibly more important, is the rapid adoption of platforms in education and business, where Serious Games are being used for training purposes, and even Second Life is being used in many situations that formerly required travel. The editors of this book captures the state of research in the field intended to reflect the rapidly growing yet relatively young market in education and business. The general focus is set on the scientific community but integrates the practical applications for businesses, with papers on information systems, business models, and economics. In six parts, international authors - all experts in their field - discuss the current state-of-the-art of virtual worlds/alternate realities and how the field will develop over the next years. Chapters discuss the influences and impacts in and around virtual worlds. Part four is about education, with a focus on learning environments and experiences, pedagogical models, and the effects on the different roles in the educational sector. The book looks at business models and how companies can participate in virtual worlds while receiving a return on investment, and includes cases and scenarios of integration, from design, implementation to application.

This book is dedicated to applied gamification in the areas of education and business, while also covering pitfalls to avoid and guidelines needed to successfully implement for a project. Using different theoretical backgrounds from various areas including behavioral economics, game theory, and complex adaptive systems, the contributors aim to help readers avoid common problems and difficulties that they could face with poor implementation. The book's contributors are scholars and academics from the many areas where the key theory of gamification typically comes from. Ultimately, the book's goal is to help bring together the theories from these different disciplines to the field of practice in education and business. The book is divided into four parts: Theory, Education, Business, and Use Cases. Part I provides a foundation on the theory of gamification and offers insight into some of the outstanding questions that have yet to be addressed. In Part II, the application and value that gamification can bring within the education sector is examined. The book then changes focus in Part III to spotlight the use of gamification within business environments. The topics also cover educational aspects like improved learning outcomes, motivation, and learning retention at the workplace. Finally Part IV concentrates on the applications and use of gamification through a series of case studies and key elements that are used in real situations to drive real results.

Synthetic Worlds, Virtual Worlds, and Alternate Realities are all terms used to describe the phenomenon of computer-based, simulated environments in which users inhabit and interact via avatars. The best-known commercial applications are in the form of electronic gaming, and particularly in massively-multiplayer online role-playing games like World of Warcraft or Second Life. Less known, but possibly more important, is the rapid adoption of platforms in education and business, where Serious Games are being used for training purposes, and even Second Life is being used in many situations that formerly required travel. The editors of this book captures the state of research in the field intended to reflect the rapidly growing yet relatively young market in education and business. The general focus is set on the scientific community but integrates the practical applications for businesses, with papers on information systems, business models, and economics. In six parts, international authors - all experts in their field - discuss the current state-of-the-art of virtual worlds/alternate realities and how the field will develop over the next years. Chapters discuss the influences and impacts in and around virtual worlds. Part four is about education, with a focus on learning environments and experiences, pedagogical models, and the effects on the different roles in the educational sector. The book looks at business models and how companies can participate in virtual worlds while receiving a return on investment, and includes cases and scenarios of integration, from design, implementation to application.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Network Optimization, INOC 2011, held in Hamburg, Germany, in June 2011. The 65 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from numerous submissions. The papers highlight recent developments in network optimization and are organized in the following topical sections: theoretical problems, uncertainty, graph theory and network design; network flows; routing and transportation; and further optimization problems and applications (energy oriented network design, telecom applications, location, maritime shipping, and graph theory).