The Annual International Conference on Shi‘i Studies is organised by the Research and Publications Department of The Islamic College, London. The conference aims to provide a broad platform for scholars working in the field of Shi‘i Studies to present their latest research and to explore diverse opinions on Shi‘i thought, practice, and heritage. This book comprises a selection of papers from the sixth conference held on 13 March 2021.

The Annual International Conference on Shi‘i Studies is organised by the Research and Publications Department of The Islamic College, London. The conference aims to provide a broad platform for scholars working in the field of Shi‘i Studies to present their latest research and to explore diverse opinions on Shi‘i thought, practice, and heritage. This book comprises a selection of papers from the first conference held on 9–10 May 2015. Themed ‘Shi‘i Studies: Past and Present’, the conference focused on the study of Shi‘ism from the seminary to academia.

This book explores how developing solutions with heuristic tools offers two major advantages: shortened development time and more robust systems. It begins with an overview of modern heuristic techniques and goes on to cover specific applications of heuristic approaches to power system problems, such as security assessment, optimal power flow, power system scheduling and operational planning, power generation expansion planning, reactive power planning, transmission and distribution planning, network reconfiguration, power system control, and hybrid systems of heuristic methods.

This book explores three interwoven and challenging areas of research and development for future ICT-enabled applications: software intensive systems, complex systems and intelligent systems. Software intensive systems are systems that extensively interact with other systems, sensors, actuators, devices and users. More and more domains are now employing software intensive systems, e.g. the automotive sector, telecommunication systems, embedded systems in general, industrial automation systems and business applications. Moreover, the outcome of web services offers a new platform for enabling software intensive systems. Complex systems research is focused on the overall understanding of systems rather than their components. Complex systems are very much characterized by the changing environments in which they operate through their multiple internal and external interactions. They evolve and adapt through (internal and external) dynamic interactions. The development of intelligent systems and agents, which is increasingly characterized by the use of ontologies, can be beneficial for software intensive systems and complex systems alike. Accordingly, recent research in the areas of intelligent systems, robotics, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and the cognitive sciences is essential to the future development of software intensive and complex systems.

This is an open access book. The aim of 2022 6th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2022) is to bring together innovative academics and industrial experts in the field of Education, Management and Social Sciences to a common forum. The primary goal of the conference is to promote research and developmental activities in Education, Management and Social Sciences and another goal is to promote scientific information interchange between researchers, developers, students, and practitioners working all around the world. The conference will be held every year to make it an ideal platform for people to share views and experiences in Education, Management and Social Sciences and related areas.

There is no denying the increasing importance of AI and human-computer interaction for societies worldwide. The potential for good in these fields is undeniable, but the challenges which arise during research and in practice must be carefully managed if this potential for good is to be realized without harm. This book presents the proceedings of ArtInHCI2023, the 1st International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Human-Computer Interaction, held as an online event from 27-28 October 2023, and attended by around 70 participants from around the world. The aim of the conference was to promote academic exchange within and across disciplines, addressing theoretical and practical challenges and advancing current understanding and application. A total of 72 submissions were received for the conference, of which 41 were selected for presentation and publication following a thorough peer review process, resulting in an acceptance rate of 57%. Topics covered included deep learning, artificial neural networks, computer vision and pattern recognition and papers were focused on the challenges of research as well as application. Providing a fascinating overview of developments and innovation in the field, the book will be of interest to all those working with AI or human-computer interaction.

With the world facing increasingly serious global climate change and resource scarcity issues, ecology and the environment have received much attention in recent years. As a major factor in human activity, design plays an important part in protecting the environment, as does the role of digital technology in finding solutions to the pressing problems faced in this regard. This book presents the proceedings of ISWED2023, the International Symposium on World Ecological Design, held on 17 December 2023 in Guangzhou, China. Sponsored by the World Eco-Design Conference (a UN Consultative NGO), the conference provides a platform for professionals and researchers from industry and academia to present and discuss recent advances in the field of ecological design. This year, the conference focused on the four topics of digital technology and health, digital technology and transportation, digital technology and energy, and digital technology and the environment. A total of 518 submissions on these topics were received for the conference, of which 125 were accepted for presentation and publication here. Providing a current overview of research and innovation in ecological design around the world, the book will be of interest to all those working in the fields of ecological design and digital-technology integration.

This open access book provides researchers and professionals with a foundational understanding of online privacy as well as insight into the socio-technical privacy issues that are most pertinent to modern information systems, covering several modern topics (e.g., privacy in social media, IoT) and underexplored areas (e.g., privacy accessibility, privacy for vulnerable populations, cross-cultural privacy). The book is structured in four parts, which follow after an introduction to privacy on both a technical and social level: Privacy Theory and Methods covers a range of theoretical lenses through which one can view the concept of privacy. The chapters in this part relate to modern privacy phenomena, thus emphasizing its relevance to our digital, networked lives. Next, Domains covers a number of areas in which privacy concerns and implications are particularly salient, including among others social media, healthcare, smart cities, wearable IT, and trackers. The Audiences section then highlights audiences that have traditionally been ignored when creating privacy-preserving experiences: people from other (non-Western) cultures, people with accessibility needs, adolescents, and people who are underrepresented in terms of their race, class, gender or sexual identity, religion or some combination. Finally, the chapters in Moving Forward outline approaches to privacy that move beyond one-size-fits-all solutions, explore ethical considerations, and describe the regulatory landscape that governs privacy through laws and policies. Perhaps even more so than the other chapters in this book, these chapters are forward-looking by using current personalized, ethical and legal approaches as a starting point for re-conceptualizations of privacy to serve the modern technological landscape. The book's primary goal is to inform IT students, researchers, and professionals about both the fundamentals of online privacy and the issues that are most pertinent to modern information systems. Lecturers or teachers can assign (parts of) the book for a “professional issues” course. IT professionals may select chapters covering domains and audiences relevant to their field of work, as well as the Moving Forward chapters that cover ethical and legal aspects. Academics who are interested in studying privacy or privacy-related topics will find a broad introduction in both technical and social aspects.

"This book gives in-depth coverage of state-of-the-art research on virtual community participation,covering the concept of virtual community participation, followed by several streams of virtual community participation theories"--Provided by publishe

Traditional methods of viewing the world through the scientific method or instrumental knowledge do not adequately serve the needs of theory, research, and practice within an increasingly complex world. Through transdisciplinary theory, the focus is on a new form of learning and problem solving involving cooperation among different parts of society to meet the complex challenges of society. The Handbook of Research on Transdisciplinary Knowledge Generation is a critical scholarly resource that examines mutual learning across disciplinary lines as a strategy by which to understand the world and apply practical knowledge. Featuring a wide array of topics such as linguistic diversity, medical education, and social constructivism, this book is essential for educational professionals, researchers, students, administrators, and academicians.