Pragmatic Internet of Everything (IOE) has emerged as a powerful paradigm for representing and solving complex problems. This reference demonstrates how to coordinate behaviour among a collection of semi-autonomous problem-solving agents: how they can coordinate their knowledge, goals and plans to act together, to solve joint problems, or to make individually or globally rational decisions in the face of uncertainty and multiple, conflicting perspectives. The book presents a collection of articles surveying several major recent developments in Pragmatic Internet of Everything (IOE). The book focuses on issues and challenges that arise in building IOE systems for smart cities in real-world settings. It also presents solutions to the issues faced by system architects. The synthesis of recent thinking, both theoretical and applied, on major IOE problems makes this essential reading for anyone involved in the design and planning of IOT systems for smart cities. Key Features - Summarizes available literature and practical ventures with references - Merges different perspectives on IoT technology thereby giving a 360-degree perspective to the reader - Gives some tips for implementation of practical ventures in this space - Includes an analysis of information gathered from citizens of smart cities

Young Voices Unheard: Children's Views from Scotland and Greece on Education is a compelling exploration of the perspectives of five to six-year-old children in Greece and Scotland regarding various aspects of their school experiences and their awareness of children's rights. This enlightening book aims to uncover which rights children prioritize and value most in their educational environment, shedding light on critical issues related to their schooling. The book divides its content into two main parts. The theoretical section offers a comprehensive overview of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and its implications for children's education, emphasizing the importance of respecting children's rights. The author also provides an overview of schooling models for young children. The empirical research section employs a meticulous methodology, involving focus group sessions with 56 children from both Greece and Scotland. Through these sessions, the book captures children's views on three distinct school models, each representing a different degree of adherence to children's rights. The data analysis reveals that young children prioritize rights such as the right to play, safety, consultation, and education. In essence, Young Voices Unheard offers a unique and valuable perspective on children's rights in education. By giving voice to young children and considering their views on educational practices and provisions, this book contributes to the ongoing dialogue about creating more inclusive and rights-respecting educational environments around the world. It serves as a valuable resource for educators, policymakers, and researchers seeking to better understand and enhance the educational experiences of young children.

Evaluating the impact of Laws Regulating Illicit Drugs on Health and Society serves as an informative reference for social science researchers and policymakers on the science behind drug regulation. The book presents contributions from many leading researchers in drug law and policy evaluation. The 12 chapters highlight scientific evidence from a diverse range of international projects on evaluation of different illicit drug laws. Each contribution takes policies into account while also using methodological tools and relevant data sets. For a priori evaluation, the modern leximetric approach is applied to compare different drug laws. For posterior evaluation the analysis of social and health outcomes, using standard and new indicators are presented, discussed and applied. Next, the book covers the use of drug market estimation methods in policy research. Specific new indicators allowing the evaluation of interventions such as harm reduction and prevention are presented and analysed using international research data. The book concludes with a summary of the links of illegal drug market gains with corruption, and its consequences. Evaluating the impact of Laws Regulating Illicit Drugs on Health and Society gives readers a unique, evidence-based perspective on the relationship between drugs, laws, policy and socioeconomic conditions. Key Features 1. Features 12 contributions from international experts on drug legislation and social science 2. Demonstrates evidence-based evaluation of drug laws and policies 3. Highlights Leximetric and forecast methods applied to illicit drug laws with examples 4. Highlights the use of standard and new socioeconomic indicators to evaluate drug laws and policies 5. Informs readers about different policy approaches to drug regulation and their consequences 6. Summarizes the links of illegal drug markets with corruption 7. Provides detailed references for further reading

The widespread digitalization of all aspects of life, including the disruption caused by the Internet and the invasion by artificial intelligence, necessitates rethinking educational transformation processes. The broader purpose of the digital transformation of education is to develop an effective educational system that fits the needs of the digital economy and guarantees easy access to information for stakeholders in this sector. Digital Transformation in Education: Emerging Markets and Opportunities provides a comprehensive understanding of the emergence and evolution of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in the field of education. It presents 12 reviews that shed light on the various advantages and drawbacks of digital technology along with the opportunities and markets that are emerging because of such a digital education transition. Each chapter is written by a group of distinguished contributors and presents a detailed literature review, methodology (where appropriate), discussion and reference list. The book content equips educators at all levels with essential information required to adapt to educational technology in order to improve teaching, student support and learning outcomes. This book is an informative resource for post-graduate scholars, academics, policymakers, educators, and researchers in pedagogy, learning theory, digital learning, communication and education research.

Elements Of Clinical Study Design, Biostatistics & Research is designed as a toolbox for biomedical researchers. The book's primary focus is on applications in clinical research, and will benefit students and researchers involved in the biomedical field. This book addresses the problems that many practitioners experience in choosing and implementing fit-for-purpose data analysis methods to answer critical inferential questions for binomial and count data. The book is written in simple language avoiding complex derivations and mathematical formulae allowing it to explain the most basic concepts of research methodology. Making good use of numerous tables, graphs and tips, this book demystifies the process for readers. 7 structured Chapters take the reader through the entire research process: choosing a question, designing a study, collecting the data, using univariate, bivariate, and multivariable analysis, and publishing the results. Each chapter discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the methods and suggests practical recommendations. An appendix on ethical research guidelines, along with a glossary and reference list comprehensively round up the book contents. It gives students and practitioners a multidisciplinary understanding of the concepts and techniques involved in designing, monitoring, and analyzing various types of studies. The book's balanced set of homework assignments and in-class exercises are appropriate for students and researchers in the areas of biostatistics, epidemiology, medicine, pharmacy, and public health.

Thriving Across the Lifespan and Around the Globe: Day in the Life Visual Research Approach is the result of several decades of international, pan-disciplinary research-team collaborations using quasi-ecological visual methodologies to investigate the psychosocial development of children in diverse communities. The initial studies highlighted in this work involved filming a ‘Day in the Life’ of toddlers and primary school children, their families, and schools in diverse communities in Asia, South and North America, and Europe. Filmed in their homes and communities for an entire day, the youngest participants were commonly seen to be thriving in diverse psychosocial domains, such as in their security strivings, emergent literacy and graphic representations, and musicality. Research shows that the nature of a child's development can vary in as many ways as there are diverse contexts. Thriving in the transition from home to primary school is a second developmental milestone investigated in the research. The book serves as an account of the lived experiences of thriving children,among their families, their schools and their communities. The contents give an invaluable insight into the psychology of early childhood while giving the reader an opportunity to understand the resilience of mobile early teenagers as well as independent older adults. The contributions in the book also provide an additional layer to our understanding of visual ethnography by covering such phenomena as agency and communitarianism, spirituality, and the place of humour in the context of challenges encountered across the lifespan. Through presenting quasi-ecological experimental approaches, this reference enhances the reader’s insight into the texture and nature of thriving in situ, in natural contexts.

The art of architecture is an important aesthetic element that can leave a lasting impression in one's mind about the values of a society. Today's architectural art, education, and culture have gradually turned into engineering practices and more technical pursuits. Architecture in Fictional Literature is a book written with the aim of understanding the concept of living spaces as portrayed in works of fiction and to open the doors to a new perspective for readers on the art of architecture. It is a collection of essays written by educators and literary critics about how architecture is presented in 28 selected literary works of fiction. These selected works, which include well-known works such as Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, Kafka’s The Castle, Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, among many others, collectively attempt to illustrate facets of human life in a lucidly expressive way while also having an architectural background added in the narrative. Each essay is unique and brings a diverse range of perspectives on the main theme, while also touching on some niche topics in this area, (such as spatial analysis, urban transformation and time-period settings), all of which have exploratory potential. With this collection, the contributors aspire to initiate the transformation of architectural education by including a blend of literary criticism. By building a foundation of architectural aesthetics, they hope to bridge the gap between the artist and the architect, while also inspiring a new generation of urban planners, landscape artists, and interior designers to consider past works when designing living spaces. Architecture in Fictional Literature is also essential to any enthusiast of fictional works who wants to understand the fictional portrayal of living spaces and architecture in literature.

Animal disease models are a vital tool to study diseases and associated conditions. Studies on animal models can, in some cases, be used as a basis for modeling and understanding human diseases. Biomedical scientists face a challenge to choose the correct animal model to study disease pathology, and neurological diseases are no exception to this rule. <p> Animal Models for Neurological Disorders covers different animal models which have been used for studying neurological disorders. 13 topical chapters have been contributed by a group of experts on the subject with an aim to cover emerging experimental models of a range of neurological diseases encountered in the clinic including Alzheimer’s disease, psychosis, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease, vascular dementia, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis and brain tumors, among others. The chapters also inform readers about relevant clinical correlations in each disease model where appropriate. <p> Animal Models for Neurological Disorders is intended for all scholarly researchers and students of biomedical sciences, pharmacology, medicine (oncology, neurology, psychiatry), pharmacy, biochemistry, and biotechnology. The organized contents of the book also serve as a quick reference point for scientists working in applied areas of neuroscience including the study of neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive dysfunction in living organisms.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic has prompted educators to utilize online learning resources in order to comply with public health and social distancing mandates. The transition to virtual classrooms has created several opportunities and challenges for all stakeholders involved in the educational ecosystem. The ability of the classroom instructor to impart learning to students requires considerable adjustments from both students and teachers, which can be a new experience for educational professionals. Virtual and Classroom Learning in Higher Education serves as a handy guide for instructors to effective online teaching with a focus on higher education. The book presents reviews on different aspects of online teaching, distilling key findings in an easy to understand manner for the reader. It provides educators with knowledge which familiarizes them with online teaching models and concepts (such as micro-learning, synchronous and asynchronous learning, online pedagogy, dynamic learning experience and more). Chapters are contributed by experts in online learning and cover the topic from different angles, giving the reader a broad perspective on virtual classrooms. Virtual and Classroom Learning in Higher Education is an essential read for administrators and educators involved in higher education settings, and general readers who are interested in widening their view of the online teaching model.

The Abu Serga Church is one of the oldest known Coptic churches in Egypt, with a history of almost 1700 years. This reference work presents a comprehensive geotechnical and geophysical survey of the vicinity of the Abu Serga Church. The book details the information of the survey using classical and modern methods of geotechnical engineering while keeping contemporary issues faced by site investigators in view. Chapters provide the data of the church site while covering topics of interest to students such as seismic analysis, 3-D modeling and historical preservation principles. Advanced methods of interest to engineers such as mathematical analysis using finite element methods are also covered. This work provides key data about the Abu Sega Church site and is of interest to scholars and engineers involved in conservation engineering of architectural heritage (or built heritage), as well as readers interested in church studies.