Applying User-Centered Design in the Development of a Software Application For the Treatment of a Mental Health Disorder

The research that follows will provide a process for applying a user-centered design methodology to the development of a virtual environment software application for the treatment of a mental health disorder, specifically post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The goal is to create a screen-based virtual environment product that focuses on the end user rather than the technological aspects of the system. Moreover, past and present treatments in the mental health and healthcare fields and their effectiveness will be analyzed through an extensive literature review

Evolutionary Computation 2020

Intelligent optimization is based on the mechanism of computational intelligence to refine a suitable feature model, design an effective optimization algorithm, and then to obtain an optimal or satisfactory solution to a complex problem. Intelligent algorithms are key tools to ensure global optimization quality, fast optimization efficiency and robust optimization performance. Intelligent optimization algorithms have been studied by many researchers, leading to improvements in the performance of algorithms such as the evolutionary algorithm, whale optimization algorithm, differential evolution algorithm, and particle swarm optimization. Studies in this arena have also resulted in breakthroughs in solving complex problems including the green shop scheduling problem, the severe nonlinear problem in one-dimensional geodesic electromagnetic inversion, error and bug finding problem in software, the 0-1 backpack problem, traveler problem, and logistics distribution center siting problem. The editors are confident that this book can open a new avenue for further improvement and discoveries in the area of intelligent algorithms. The book is a valuable resource for researchers interested in understanding the principles and design of intelligent algorithms

If it feeds, it leads : eating, media, identity, and ecofeminist food journalism

This project explored contemporary food journalism and placed it in the larger context of American history, asking how such media made eating a matter of public concern. In other words, it asked: how does food journalism invite us to our eating identities and what are the ethical obligations of food journalists? I used Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to examine three contemporary media outlets, each originating at a different point in food journalism's history: The New York Times Food section, TV Food Network, and Vox Media's Eater. I historically contextualized these outlets and their content, further using them to make a larger critique of the current social order. Incorporating the history of food, media, consumerism, and the political economic institutions of the U.S., I also investigated how the active negotiation of civic/eating/consumer identities transformed into ethically compromised positions of hyperindividualism. This occurred within a context of a neoliberal consensus where market fundamentalism dominates the political conversations of worldmaking. Individuals are now expected to be isolated entrepreneurs, conforming to the needs of 'the market.' I thus argue that food media is neoliberalized and food journalists must match the logic of this worldview or face exclusion from a commercialized attention economy built on surveillance, predictability, and control. Taking the long view, I delineate how the liberalism that created modern journalism transformed into neoliberal media. Keeping residual elements of liberalism's once progressive project, I deconstruct the misguided presuppositions of neo/liberalism and offer a counterhegemonic approach to journalism and food media. Establishing a position of ecofeminist food journalism, I then explore how such media invites new, more caring citizens and better feeds the social and ecological connections necessary for democratic, human, and multi-species flourishing

Data Mining

The availability of big data due to computerization and automation has generated an urgent need for new techniques to analyze and convert big data into useful information and knowledge. Data mining is a promising and leading-edge technology for mining large volumes of data, looking for hidden information, and aiding knowledge discovery. It can be used for characterization, classification, discrimination, anomaly detection, association, clustering, trend or evolution prediction, and much more in fields such as science, medicine, economics, engineering, computers, and even business analytics. This book presents basic concepts, ideas, and research in data mining

Efficient Decision Support Systems

This series is directed to diverse managerial professionals who are leading the transformation of individual domains by using expert information and domain knowledge to drive decision support systems (DSSs). The series offers a broad range of subjects addressed in specific areas such as health care, business management, banking, agriculture, environmental improvement, natural resource and spatial management, aviation administration, and hybrid applications of information technology aimed to interdisciplinary issues. This book series is composed of three volumes: Volume 1 consists of general concepts and methodology of DSSs; Volume 2 consists of applications of DSSs in the biomedical domain; Volume 3 consists of hybrid applications of DSSs in multidisciplinary domains. The book is shaped decision support strategies in the new infrastructure that assists the readers in full use of the creative technology to manipulate input data and to transform information into useful decisions for decision makers

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main opportunities and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey was defined with the aim to involve the highest possible number of relevant CSR topics and give the issue a more wholesome perspective. It provides a basis for further comprehension and deeper analyses of specific CSR areas. The conditions determining the success of CSR in Romania have been defined in the paper on the basis of the previously cumulative knowledge as well as the results of various researches. This paper provides knowledge which may be useful in the programs promoting CSR.Corporate social responsibility, Supportive policies, Romania