Databases and information systems are the backbone of modern information technology, and are crucial to the IT systems which support all aspects of our everyday life; from government, education and healthcare, to business processes and the storage of our personal photos and archives. This book presents 27 of the best revised papers selected from the 43 papers accepted following stringent peer review for the 2012 International Baltic Biennial Conference on Databases and Information Systems (Baltic DB&IS 2012), held in Vilnius, Lithuania, in July 2012. The conference provided a forum for the exchange of scientific achievements between the research communities of the Baltic countries and the rest of the world in the area of databases and information systems, bringing together researchers, practitioners and Ph.D. students from many countries. The subject areas covered at the conference included databases, data mining and optimization in IS, business modeling, cloud computing, IS engineering tools and techniques, as well as advanced E-learning environments and technologies. The book also includes presentations from two of the invited speakers at the conference: Exponential Growth of ICT: How Long Can It Last, by Prof. Arne Sølvberg and Variable Systems Model in Information Systems Development by Prof. Marite Kirikova.

This book contains the refereed proceedings of the 6th Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems, SCIS 2015, held in Oulu, Finland, in August 2015. The theme for this book as well as for the conference is “Design for, with, and by Users.” This theme has characterized information systems research already for decades, and it is still a vibrant topic, especially so within the Scandinavian tradition. The 16 full papers accepted for SCIS 2015 were selected from 44 submissions. In addition, two keynote extended abstracts and one keynote paper are included.

Due to market forces and technological evolution, Big Data computing is developing at an increasing rate. A wide variety of novel approaches and tools have emerged to tackle the challenges of Big Data, creating both more opportunities and more challenges for students and professionals in the field of data computation and analysis. Presenting a mix

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Model and Data Engineering, MEDI 2015, held in Rhodes, Greece, in September 2015. The 18 full papers and 9 short papers presented together with 2 invited talks were carefully reviewed and selected from 55 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections such as modeling and meta modeling; ontology-based modeling, reasoning and reuse; event-B and modeling languages; context modeling and model transformation; data mining; query processing; modeling activities and inference; prediction and recommendation; requirement and systems engineering.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Information and Software Technologies, ICIST 2013, held in Kaunas, Lithuania, in October 2013. The 34 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 60 submissions. The papers focus on the following topics: information systems, business intelligence, software engineering, and IT applications.

This book reports state-of-the-art results in Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Networking and Parallel/Distributed Computing. This edited book presents original papers on both theory and practice. It addresses foundations, state-of-the-art problems and solutions, and crucial challenges.

This timely book addresses the need for further measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union, arguing that the EU Emissions Trading Scheme does not offer sufficient incentives for the carbon-intensive materials sector. It highlights the challenge that emissions from industries such as iron and steel, cement and aluminium, amongst others, pose to the EU’s commitment to significantly cut emissions by 2030.

This companion investigates the ways in which designers, architects, and planners address ecology through the built environment by integrating ecological ideas and ecological thinking into discussions of urbanism, society, culture, and design. Exploring the innovation of materials, habitats, landscapes, and infrastructures, it furthers novel ecotopian ideas and ways of living, including human-made settings on water, in outer space, and in extreme environments and climatic conditions. Chapters of this extensive collection on ecotopian design are grouped under five different ecological perspectives: design manifestos and ecological theories, anthropocentric transformative design concepts, design connectivity, climatic design, and social design. Contributors provide plausible, sustainable design ideas that promote resiliency, health, and well-being for all living things, while taking our changing lifestyles into consideration. This volume encourages creative thinking in the face of ongoing environmental damage, with a view to making design decisions in the interest of the planet and its inhabitants. With contributions from over 79 expert practitioners, educators, scientists, researchers, and theoreticians, as well as planners, architects, and engineers from the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, this book engages theory, history, technology, engineering, and science, as well as the human aspects of ecotopian design thinking and its implications for the outlook of the planet.

This book brings together a broad range of research that interrogates how real estate market analysis, finance, planning, and investment for residential and commercial developments across the African continent are undertaken. In the past two decades, African real estate markets have rapidly matured, creating the conditions for new investment opportunities which has increased the demand for a deeper understanding of the commercial and residential markets across the continent. The chapters consider issues that pertain to formal real estate markets and the critical relationship between formal and informal property markets on the continent. With contributing authors from South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania, the book considers the achievements of African real estate markets while also highlighting the complex central themes such as underdeveloped land tenure arrangements, the availability of finance in both the commercial and residential sectors, rapidly growing urban areas, and inadequate professional skills. This book is essential reading for students in real estate, land management, planning, finance, development, and economics programs who need to understand the nuances of markets in the African context. Investors and policy makers will learn a lot reading this book too.