The Development Of Computer Science A Sociocultural Perspective

Addresses current issues of research into socio-technical systems (STSs). Provides suggestions on how social knowledge can synergize with technical knowledge.

Covers the development, design, and utilization of virtual organizations and communities and the resulting impact of these venues.

For many years Esko Ukkonen has played a major role in the advancement of computer science in Finland. He was the key person in the development of the school of algorithmic research and has contributed considerably to post-graduate education in his country. Esko Ukkonen has over the years worked within many areas of computer science, including numerical methods, complexity theory, theoretical aspects of compiler construction, and logic programming. However, the main focus of his research has been on algorithms and their applications. This Festschrift volume, published to honor Esko Ukkonen on his 60th birthday, includes 18 refereed contributions by his former PhD students and colleagues, with whom he has cooperated closely during the course of his career. The Festschrift was presented to Esko during a festive symposium organized at the University of Helsinki to celebrate his birthday. The essays primarily present research on computational pattern matching and string algorithms, two areas that have benefited significantly from the work of Esko Ukonen.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Informatics in Schools: Situation, Evolution, and Perspectives, ISSEP 2015, held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in September/October 2015. The 14 full papers presented together with 3 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 36 submissions. The focus of the conference was on following topics: sustainable education in informatics for pupils of all ages; connecting informatics lessons to the students’ everyday lives; teacher education in informatics; and research on informatics in schools (empirical/qualitative/quantitative/theory building/research methods/comparative studies/transferability of methods and results from other disciplines).

This book presents the user-facing aspects of digital media, from the web and computer games, to mobile technologies and social media, and demonstrates how these are continuously growing and developing. The convergence of IT, telecommunications, and media is bringing about a revolution in the way information is collected, stored, accessed and distributed. Rae Earnshaw's book explores the principal factors driving this and the ways in which social and cultural contexts are affected by media content. This is Professor Earnshaw's fourth book in a series that focuses on digital media and creativity, and through the use of Case Studies; the theoretical, practical and technical aspects of digital media are examined. Readers are informed about how the user as content creator, publisher and broadcaster is changing the traditional roles of news media, publishers and entertainment corporations. Topics such as the evolution of digital imaging and the phenomenon of social media are discussed in relation to this. Professor Earnshaw also demonstrates how changes in technology produce shifts in the ways that consumers utilize it, in an increasing variety of application domains such as e-books, digital cameras, Facebook and Twitter. State of the Art in Digital Media and Applications will be invaluable for readers that want a comprehensive look at how emerging digital media technologies are being used, and how they are transforming how we create, consume, exchange and manipulate media content.

This book is a philosophical exploration of the theoretical causes behind the collapse of classical cybernetics, as well as the lesson that this episode can provide to current emergent technologies. Alcibiades Malapi-Nelson advances the idea that the cybernetic understanding of the nature of a machine entails ontological and epistemological consequences that created both material and theoretical conundrums. However, he proposes that given our current state of materials research, scientific practices, and research tools, there might be a way for cybernetics to flourish this time. The book starts with a historical and theoretical articulation of cybernetics in order to proceed with a philosophical explanation of its collapse—emphasizing the work of Alan Turing, Ross Ashby and John von Neumann. Subsequently, Malapi-Nelson unveils the common metaphysical signature shared between cybernetics and emergent technologies, identifying this signature as transhumanist in nature. Finally, avenues of research that may allow these disruptive technologies to circumvent the cybernetic fate are indicated. It is proposed that emerging technologies ultimately entail an affirmation of humanity.