The world is at the cusp of yet another new era of computing as the physical and digital infrastructures of the world converge as we continue to infuse intelligence into more and more connected things. Many agree that this new era in computing is being driven by Cloud Computing, Big Data and the Internet of Things (IOT). This will once again reshape and transform the future of people, businesses, society and nations. This volume is a collection of leading edge and recent research papers in the areas of Cloud Computing Technology, Computer Gaming and IOT, and was conceived at the 7th Annual Computer Gaming and Allied Technologies Conference (CGAT) organised and administered by the Global Science and Technology Forum (GSTF).

This book is a joint effort of researchers who have been involved in research-projects and programmes that have been trying to chart and reflect upon the implications of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Public Administration (Tilburg/Rotterdam, Kassel, Irvine, Nottingham/Glasgow). Since the fifties, computers had largely facilitated and the transformation of the minimal 'Night-Watch-state' into the modern 'Welfare-state', through their contribution to their effectivity, productivity and efficiency. In most Handbooks of Public Administration, computers are seen as neutral instruments and, most of the time, the role of computer technologies in the transformation of public administration is completely neglected. This 'deafening silence' is a great contrast with the way ICT's are actually changing public administration. The faster the developments in a field of study are, the more difficult it is to let the theories, related to that field of study, mature. In such circumstances, most statements will remain provisial and context-dependent. 25 years of research in Irvine (California) and Kassel (Germany) and more than 10 years of research in Tilburg/Rotterdam (The Netherlands) and about seven years of research in Glasgow/Nottingham (the United Kingdom) nonetheless enables the presentation of a modest image of public administration as it is entering the information age. Researchers in each of these groups have, nevertheless, not stopped trying to phrase theories about the implications of informatization for public administration with a more or less larges scope, that are robust in different contexts and over longer periods of time. These results and theories, covering a broad set of elements of the body of knowledge of public administration, are presented in this volume. As the authors try to demonstrate in this book, informatization developments in public administration do not only challenge the existing body of knowledge of the public administration discipline, but they are also opening up new perspectives and paradigms for the study of public administration.

The major focus of this Handbook is the design and potential of IT-based student learning environments. Offering the latest research in IT and the learning process, distance learning, and emerging technologies for education, these chapters address the critical issue of the potential for IT to improve K-12 education. A second important theme deals with the implementation of IT in educational practice. In these chapters, barriers and opportunities for IT implementation are studied from several perspectives. This Handbook provides an integrated and detailed overview of this complex field, making it an essential reference.

By outlining a social theory of the internet and the information society, this book demonstrates how the ecological, economic, political and cultural systems of contemporary society have been transformed by new information and communication technologies.

This report documents how the ongoing digital transformation is affecting people’s lives across the 11 key dimensions that make up the How’s Life? Well-being Framework (Income and wealth, Jobs and earnings, Housing, Health status, Education and skills, Work-life balance, Civic engagement and ...

For several decades Rafael Capurro has been at the forefront of defining the relationship between information and modernity through both phenomenological and ethical formulations. In exploring both of these themes Capurro has re-vivified the transcultural and intercultural expressions of how we bring an understanding of information to bear on scientific knowledge production and intermediation. Capurro has long stressed the need to look deeply into how we contextualize the information problems that scientific society creates for us and to re-incorporate a pragmatic dimension into our response that provides a balance to the cognitive turn in information science. With contributions from 35 scholars from 15 countries, Information Cultures in the Digital Age focuses on the culture and philosophy of information, information ethics, the relationship of information to message, the historic and semiotic understanding of information, the relationship of information to power and the future of information education. This Festschrift seeks to celebrate Rafael Capurro’s important contribution to a global dialogue on how information conceptualisation, use and technology impact human culture and the ethical questions that arise from this dynamic relationship.

This volume provides examples of current developments on the role of ICT for education, development, and social justice within an international context. Chapters draw on advanced contemporary thinking from scholars and practitioners in the field to present case studies of how ICT can be used to promote sustainable development and social justice. Social justice is understood in a wide sense as the pursuit of democracy, justice and development in the struggle against any form of oppression; it is within this context that ICT is explored as a tool for social change. The objectives of this book are: - To analyze the philosophical, historical, political, and cultural backgrounds and contexts that are constitutive of contemporary challenges and tensions in the role of ICT for education, development, and social justice around the world; - To appreciate the contextual and international dimensions of the tensions and challenges faced by educators around the world and contribute to ongoing efforts to sketch a vision for addressing their needs; - To explore ways in which ICT in education can promote social justice and contribute toward sustaining communities around the world