Computation for Humanity: Information Technology to Advance Society / Edition 1

by Justyna Zander, Pieter Mosterman

Overview

The exponential progress and accessibility of computing has vastly increased data flows and revolutionized the practice of science, engineering, and communication. Computing plays a critical role in advancing research across almost every scientific discipline.

Computation for Humanity: Information Technology to Advance Society is a guide for the creation of services, products, and tools that facilitate, support, and enhance progress of humanity toward more sustainable life. This book:

• Provides a deep understanding of the practical applications of computation to solve human-machine problems
• Delivers insight into theoretical approaches in an accessible manner
• Provides a comprehensive overview of computational science and engineering applications in selected disciplines
• Crosses the boundaries between different domains and shows how they interrelate and complement one another
• Focuses on grand challenges and issues that matter for the future of humanity
• Shows different perspectives of computational thinking, understanding, and reasoning
• Provides a basis for scientific discoveries and enables adopting scientific theories and engineering practices from other disciplines
• Takes a step back to provide a human-related abstraction level that is not ultimately seen in pure technological elaborations/collections

The editors provide a collection of numerous computation-related projects that form a foundation from which to cross-pollinate between different disciplines and further extensive collaboration. They present a clear and profound understanding of computing in today's world, and provide fundamental solutions to some of the most pertinent humanity-related problems.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439883273
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/07/2013
Series:	Computational Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Dynamic Systems
Pages:	520
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Justyna Zander, Pieter Mosterman

Table of Contents

Context and Intent: Introduction. Computation Taxonomy: Capabilities and Challenges. Computing for a Sustainable Society: Sustainability through Computation. Computer as a Tool for Creative Adaptation: Biologically Inspired Simulation for Architecture and Urban Design. Advanced Structural Health Monitoring Based on Multiagent Technology. ICT for Smart Cities: Innovative Solutions in the Public Space. Computational Discovery and Ingenuity: Domain Science & Engineering: A Foundation for Computation for Humanity. Human–Robot Interaction. Multimedia Retrieval and Adaptive Systems. Accelerated Acquisition, Visualization, and Analysis of Zoo-Anatomical Data. Quantum Frontier. DYVERSE: From Formal Verification to Biologically Inspired Real-Time Self-Organizing Systems. Computing for Models of the World. Citizen and Artisan Computing: Ad-Opera: Music-Inspired Self-Adaptive Systems. Fuzzy Methods and Models for a Team-Building Process. Opportunities and Challenges in Data Journalism. Visualizing Emancipation: Mapping the End of Slavery in the American Civil War. Synergistic Sharing of Data and Tools to Enable Team Science. Visionary Pondering and Outlook on Computation for Humanity: Evolution of the Techno-Human. Computation in Human Context: Personal Dataspace as Informational Construct.

Editorial Reviews

The book will be useful as a research and reference guide to scientists, engineers, and professionals from different domains in the process of investigating important questions about the observed world with the help of computational methodologies. A direct contribution of the book are the several examples that can be adapted or replicated to problems that a human being encounters in the course of daily activities.
—Pawel Skruch, AGH University of Science and Technology, Department of Automatics and Biomedical Engineering

"Three decades ago, IT moved out of the machine room and into the home. Now it is moving into the whole world, as the cloud and the net become united with new technologies that permit computation to sense and act within the world and among social groups. The editors and authors of this book perceive that the bursting of computational technologies into the world will result in fundamental change in the relations within social groups, the practice of the arts, professions and sciences, and the ways in which society manages its practical operations such as maintaining the health of its citizens, designing its infrastructure, and operating its political processes.

In order to support such a wide-ranging hypothesis, equally wide ranging evidence must be martialed. The contributors to this volume have done an admirable job, at that task providing case studies in fields ranging from history to zoology, from city planning to knowledge discovery.
—Lee Barford, Agilent Measurement Research Laboratory, Reno, Nevada and Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada

"This is an insightful book that will fascinate and inspire all those interested in the technological progress of various disciplines and its role in society and everyday life. By presenting the most recent solutions and the achievements of computing and engineering in various applications, ranging from arts to sciences and engineering, the book not only consists a proof of the presence of computing in every aspect of our everyday life but it also highlights the human aspect and social sustainability as the ultimate goal of the computation-related advances."
—Virginia Papailiopoulou, Software Engineer

"This book is a good and fresh read. It covers a various current topics related to the influence of information technology to the advancement of the society. While it covers technical topics, the language used in this book is quite light, that it is readable not only to specialist but also non-specialist. This way, it will reach a wider target of readers and hence also function as good source of information to non-specialists who are interested in the topics covered in this book."
—Dina Shona Laila, University of Southampton

From the Publisher