Beyond Smarter

Originally developed to help students overcome learning obstacles created by emotional trauma or neurobiological learning disabilities, Reuven Feuersteins work is now used in major cities around the world to support improved thinking and learning by all students. This book is the most up-to-date summary of his thinking and includes accessible descriptions of his tools and methods for cognitive modifiablilty and mediated learning. With dramatic case studies throughout the text, Feuerstein and his co-authors define intelligence as a dynamic force that drives the human organism to change the structure of thinking in order to answer the needs it encounters. They describe in detail the specific skills of the three stages of thinking: input or observation and data-gathering stage; development or processing stage; and output stage, including analysis, synthesis, and communication. They show how student thinking can stall in multiple ways at any of these stages and how intentional mediation can help students restructure their thinking and improve their ability to learn. Similarly to cognitive mediated learning, the authors address mediation of social and emotional skills that impact learning.

"We've all been involved in group decisions--and they're hard. And they often turn out badly. Why? Many blame bad decisions on 'groupthink' without a clear idea of what that term really means. Now, Nudge coauthor Cass Sunstein and leading decision-making scholar Reid Hastie shed light on the specifics of why and how group decisions go wrong--and offer tactics and lessons to help leaders avoid the pitfalls and reach better outcomes"--Dust jacket flap.

Increasing depopulation is causing huge problems for rural communities, leading to a reduction in services and infrastructure in areas with ageing populations. This book examines the concept of the Smart Village, an ICT-conscious integrated strategy which provides a sustainable solution to these problems, helping to revitalize rural areas.

Named the Best Management Book of 2021 by strategy+business Named one of "this month's top titles" in the Financial Times in September 2021 Named to the longlist for the 2021 Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Award in the Management & Culture category A plan for conquering collaborative overload to drive performance and innovation, reduce burnout, and enhance well-being. Most organizations have created always-on work contexts that are burning people out and hurting performance rather than delivering productivity, innovation and engagement. Collaborative work consumes 85% of employees' time and is drifting earlier into the morning, later into the night, and deeper into the weekend. The dilemma is that we all need to collaborate more to create effective organizations and vibrant careers for ourselves. But conventional wisdom on teamwork and collaboration has created too much of the wrong kind of collaboration, which hurts our performance, health and overall well-being. In Beyond Collaboration Overload, Babson professor Rob Cross solves this paradox by showing how top performers who thrive at work collaborate in a more purposeful way that makes them 18-24% more efficient than their peers. Good collaborators are distinguished by the efficiency and intentionality of their collaboration—not the size of their network or the length of their workday. Through landmark research with more than 300 organizations, in-depth stories, and tools, Beyond Collaboration Overload will coach you to reclaim close to a day a week when you: Identify and challenge beliefs that lead you to collaborate too quickly Impose structure in your work to prevent unproductive collaboration Alter behaviors to create more efficient collaboration It then outlines how successful people invest this reclaimed time to: Cultivate a broad network—not a big one—for innovation and scale Energize others—a strong predictor of high performance Connect with others to reduce micro-stressors and enhance physical and mental well-being Cross' framework provides relief from the definitive problem of our age—dysfunctional collaboration at the expense of our performance, health and overall well-being.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th International Conference entitled Beyond Databases, Architectures and Structures, BDAS 2019, held in Ustroń, Poland, in May 2019. It consists of 26 carefully reviewed papers selected from 69 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections, namely big data and cloud computing; architectures, structures and algorithms for efficient data processing and analysis; artificial intelligence, data mining and knowledge discovery; image analysis and multimedia mining; bioinformatics and biomedical data analysis; industrial applications; networks and security.

In an ever-shrinking global landscape, "Beyond the Wall" dives deep into the future of border security, bridging the historical fortifications of the past with the digital guardians of tomorrow. With each page, readers are transported across time, from the towering walls of ancient civilizations to the cutting-edge surveillance technologies of the 21st century. As nations grapple with questions of security, sovereignty, and the preservation of individual freedoms, the roles of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Facial Recognition Technology emerge as pivotal players in the theater of international relations. These technologies, once the realm of science fiction, are now at the forefront, redefining what it means to protect a nation's boundaries. Through meticulously researched case studies, "Beyond the Wall" showcases global efforts to integrate traditional and tech-driven border security measures. The book delves into the successes and pitfalls of these integrations, presenting a balanced analysis that is both technically sound and geopolitically insightful. For tech enthusiasts, the detailed explorations of AI algorithms and the intricacies of facial recognition systems will provide a thorough understanding of the mechanics behind these revolutionary tools. Those keen on security and international relations will gain insights into how these technologies are reshaping global politics, alliances, and the very concept of national sovereignty. "Beyond the Wall" isn't just a book; it's an invitation to envision a world where technology and humanity coalesce, forging a path for a more secure, intelligent, and interconnected global community.

The pressing need for a smarter and greener grid is obvious, but how this goal should be achieved is much less clear. This book clearly defines the environmental promise of the smart grid and describes the policies necessary for fully achieving the environmental benefits of the digital energy revolution. The United States' electrical grid is an antique. It was built to serve a 20th-century economy and designed in an era when the negative environmental impacts of electricity production were poorly understood. It must be upgraded and modernized. The proposed solution is a "smart grid"—a network of new digital technologies, equipment, and controls that can respond quickly to the public's changing energy needs by facilitating two-way communication between the utility and consumers. This book explains the environmental benefit of a smart grid, examines case studies of existing smart grids, and identifies the legal and regulatory policy hurdles that must be overcome to fully realize the smart grid's benefits. Based on six diverse organizations' experience as "early adopters" in the digital energy revolution, the authors explore how a smart electric grid offers real promise for supercharging energy efficiency, democratizing demand response, electrifying transportation, preparing for ubiquitous distributed clean energy technologies, and automating the distribution system. Against the backdrop of climate change and continuing economic uncertainty, setting a path for environmental improvement and upgrading our electric grid with new digital technologies and associated smart policies is more critical than ever before.

Innovation is often presented as being in the exclusive domain of the private sector. Yet despite widespread perceptions of public-sector inefficiency, government agencies have much to teach us about how technological and social advances occur. Improving governance at the municipal level is critical to the future of the twenty-first-century city, from environmental sustainability to education, economic development, public health, and beyond. In this age of acceleration and massive migration of people into cities around the world, this book explains how innovation from within city agencies and administrations makes urban systems smarter and shapes life in New York City. Using a series of case studies, Smarter New York City describes the drivers and constraints behind urban innovation, including leadership and organization; networks and interagency collaboration; institutional context; technology and real-time data collection; responsiveness and decision making; and results and impact. Cases include residential organic-waste collection, an NYPD program that identifies the sound of gunshots in real time, and the Vision Zero attempt to end traffic casualties, among others. Challenging the usefulness of a tech-centric view of urban innovation, Smarter New York City brings together a multidisciplinary and integrated perspective to imagine new possibilities from within city agencies, with practical lessons for city officials, urban planners, policy makers, civil society, and potential private-sector partners.