Due to differences in the legal systems and business environments, it is difficult to compare the process of buying and selling land in different European countries. Illustrated by a range of European case studies, this book identifies and discusses the problems of this and similar comparisons. It then examines how ontological modelling can be applied to real estate transactions and advocates this as a basis for comparing the various processes used across Europe. The book consists of four parts: the economic, legal and ontological aspects of real property transactions; a discussion of the current situation in different countries, thus showing the heterogeneity and complexity of processes that have to be captured; whilst the third and fourth parts describe ontological modelling and its benefits for the purpose of understanding the nature of real property transactions together with examples of modelling techniques applied to cadastre and real property.

Transactions in land and other real property differ between countries throughout Europe. The transaction procedures reflect formal rules, but they are also normalized through conventions and professional codes of conduct. This complex of technical, legal and economic issues was investigated from the point of view of transaction economics through an ESF-COST supported Action G9 ‘Modeling Real Property Transactions’. The research was performed between 2001 and 2005 by researchers mainly from university departments related to land surveying, real estate management, geo-information sciences and knowledge engineering. This book represents the final outcome of that study. A modeling approach was elaborated and tested on a number of countries (especially Sweden and Slovenia, for which the models are shown in this book in the Unified Modeling Language (UML)). The modeling approach leads to transparency and allows comparison. Nevertheless, the influence of the national and social contexts, and the different perspectives that can be taken, prevent a simple ranking of the studied procedures. For those planning or comparing transaction procedures or parts thereof, the book supplies a tested approach and methodology. But the book eventually warns of simplification in this field full of complex national institutional arrangements.

This work is an assessment of how to manage risk in property transactions in the context of the move from paper-based to electronic conveyancing (eConveyancing). In particular the focus is on risks that impact on title registration, and the security, protection or lack thereof that this registration offers to land owners, third parties and property claimants. The impact is the extent to which a change in the transactional process may unintentionally affect risk (being the consequence of change and the likelihood of that consequence having a negative effect). The risks are identified, analysed and evaluated against the backdrop of title registration and the development of eConveyancing through a comparative analysis of the systems in Ireland and Ontario, while also referencing other developing electronic systems around the globe.

Bringing together case studies from Europe, Africa and North and South America, this book makes a fresh assessment of the role of the individual and the state in land development. It discusses a range of issues related to land reform, land development and land management, providing a unique reflection of the current state of research. Particular emphasis is laid on the implementation of sustainable processes of land development as an integrated principle of land management. The book examines the rights of the land users and addresses a number of issues relating to sustainability and land development, ranging from emerging land markets and environmental issues, through to natural resource development. The case studies provide practical examples of the application of land reform and land development to land management.

This book provides close examination of ontology and the work of Professor Barry Smith, one of the most prolific philosophers of the modern day. In this book numerous scholars who have collaborated with Smith explore the various disciplines in which the impact of his work has been felt over the breadth of his career, including biology, computer science and informatics, cognitive science, economics, genetics, geography, law, neurology, and philosophy itself. While offering in-depth perspectives on ontology, the book also expands upon the breadth of Smith’s influence. With insights from renowned and influential scholars from many different countries, this book is an informative and enlightening celebration of all Smith has contributed to numerous academic schools of thought.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refered post-proceedings of the 11th Conference of the Spanish Association for Artificial Intelligence, CAEPIA 2005, held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain in November 2005. The 48 revised full papers presented together with an invited paper were carefully selected. The papers span the entire spectrum of artificial intelligence from foundational and theoretical issues to advanced applications in various fields.

These proceedings gather cutting-edge papers exploring the principles, techniques, and applications of Microservices in Big Data Analytics. The ICETCE-2019 is the latest installment in a successful series of annual conferences that began in 2011. Every year since, it has significantly contributed to the research community in the form of numerous high-quality research papers. This year, the conference’s focus was on the highly relevant area of Microservices in Big Data Analytics.

Increasingly, technology, the Internet and social media are playing a major part in our lives. What should we think about the ethical issues that arise, such as the changing role of intelligent machines in this Information Age? The impact of technology upon society is a perennial question, but the power of computing and artificial intelligence has ratcheted up the ethical implications of this relationship. It merits careful consideration. Ethics in the AI, Technology, and Information Age brings together a cohort of international scholars to explore the ethical ramifications of the latest technologies and their effects on our lives. This it does in three parts: (1) theoretical considerations, (2) practical applications, and (3) challenges. Beginning with theoretical essays, the book investigates the relationship between technology and nature, the limits of being “human” versus “machine,” and the moral implications of artificial intelligence. The book then examines key questions; such as ownership of technology, artificial intelligence’s replacement of human jobs and functions, privacy and cybersecurity, the ethics of self-driving cars, and the problematic aspects of drone warfare. With an appendix of films and documentaries to inspire further discussion on these topics, students and scholars will find Ethics in the AI, Technology, and Information Age an essential and engaging resource both in the classroom and in their daily technology-filled lives.

The Semantic Web o?ers new options for information processes. Dr. Visser is dealing with twocore issuesin this area:the integrationofdata onthe sem- tic level and the problem of spatio-temporalrepresentation and reasoning. He tackles existing research problems within the ?eld of geographic information systems(GIS), thesolutionsofwhichareessentialfor animprovedfunction- ity of applicationsthat makeuse of the Semantic Web (e.g., for heterogeneous digitalmaps).Inaddition,theyareoffundamentalsigni?canceforinformation sciences as such. In an introductory overview of this ?eld of research, he motivates the - cessity for formal metadata for unstructured information in the World Wide Web. Without metadata, an e?cient search on a semantic level will turn out to be impossible, above all if it is not only applied to a terminological level but also to spatial-temporal knowledge. In this context, the task of infor- tionintegrationisdividedinto syntactic,structural,andsemanticintegration, the last class by far the most di?cult, above all with respect to contextual semantic heterogeneities. A current overview of the state of the art in the ?eld of information in- gration follows. Emphasis is put particularly on the representation of spatial and temporal aspects including the corresponding inference mechanisms, and also the special requirements on the Open GIS Consortium.

This book “Preservation in Digital Cartography: Archiving Aspects” should give an overview on how to preserve digital cartographic appli- tions and geospatial data in a sustainable way. The intention of this book is to shape the opinion of affected parties and to bring together various d- ciplines. Therefore adjacent chapters will generally deal with information technologies, Service-Oriented Architectures, cybercartography, reprod- tion and historic cartography, which all together can be subsumed in p- spective cartographic heritage. The survival of this digital cartographic heritage will base on long-term preservation strategies that make use of - tensive dissemination on the one hand and sustainable digital archiving methods on the other. This includes a massive development of paradigm that expands from “store-and-save” to “keep-it-online”. The paradigm “store-and-save” is mainly used for analogue masters that consist of st- age media, like vellum, and their visible content. Avoiding the storage - dia from degeneration in climate-controlled areas will help to keep the content accessible. In the digital domain the high interdependency of st- age media, format, device and applications leads to the paradigm “keep-- online” which for example describes the migration to new storage devices. In fact this expansion of paradigm means that the digital domain calls for ongoing actions in order to preserve cartography for a long term.