Brian K. Smith – författare

This is a comprehensive examination of the `varna' system - a classificatory scheme laid out in the classical Hindu Vedic literature and thought to underlie the concept of caste, which continues to exert a powerful and pervasive influence over Indian life.

Solving the God Problem is a biblical commentary on the gospel of John, designed for those with little or no Biblical background.

In 2004, The New England Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVIII and the CIA admitted that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Facebook was founded at Cambridge, Massachusetts and Scientists in South Korea announced the cloning of 30 human embryos. The last coal mine in France closed, ending nearly 300 years of coal mining and the last Oldsmobile rolls off of the assembly line. In North Korea mobile phones were banned and Terry Nichols was convicted by an Oklahoma state court on murder charges stemming from the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. In that year, the National World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington, DC and thousands of people in Hong Kong took to the streets to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Preliminary hearings began in Iraq in the trial of former president Saddam Hussein, for war crimes and crimes against humanity and Lance Armstrong of Austin, Texas won an unprecedented 6th consecutive Tour de France cycling title. The 2004 Summer Olympics were held in Athens and the TV series Lost aired its pilot.On December 26, 2004, one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history hit Southeast Asia, when the strongest earthquake in 40 years hit the entire Indian Ocean region. The massive 9.3 magnitude earthquake, epicentered just off the west coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, generated enormous tsunami waves that crashed into the coastal areas of a number of nations including Thailand, India, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Malaysia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. The official death toll in the affected countries stands at 186,983 while more than 40,000 people are still missing. It had been nine years since my last book, and I was married with two kids. Life was busy and I had only written on rare occasions until one day I was inspired to sit down and the words began to flow for weeks. I put together my third book of poems. Some were old ones that I had stuffed in a box and some were new. I had not picked up my pencil in a few years and I was rusty. You might say I was still a little Wet Behind The Ears.

The three-volume set LNCS 15806–15808 constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, LCT 2025, held as part of the 27th International Conference, HCI International 2025, which took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, June 22-17, 2025.The total of 1430 papers and 355 posters included in the HCII 2025 proceedings was carefully reviewed and selected from 7972 submissions.The papers have been organized in topical sections as follows:Part I: Designing Learning Experiences; Technological Innovation in EducationPart II: From Human Teachers to AI Educators; Intelligent Learning Environments Part III: Serious Games and Gamification; Immersive Learning; Understanding Learning Experiences

The three-volume set LNCS 15806–15808 constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, LCT 2025, held as part of the 27th International Conference, HCI International 2025, which took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, June 22-17, 2025.The total of 1430 papers and 355 posters included in the HCII 2025 proceedings was carefully reviewed and selected from 7972 submissions.The papers have been organized in topical sections as follows:Part I: Designing Learning Experiences; Technological Innovation in EducationPart II: From Human Teachers to AI Educators; Intelligent Learning Environments Part III: Serious Games and Gamification; Immersive Learning; Understanding Learning Experiences

The three-volume set LNCS 15806–15808 constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, LCT 2025, held as part of the 27th International Conference, HCI International 2025, which took place in Gothenburg, Sweden, June 22-17, 2025.The total of 1430 papers and 355 posters included in the HCII 2025 proceedings was carefully reviewed and selected from 7972 submissions.The papers have been organized in topical sections as follows:Part I: Designing Learning Experiences; Technological Innovation in EducationPart II: From Human Teachers to AI Educators; Intelligent Learning Environments Part III: Serious Games and Gamification; Immersive Learning; Understanding Learning Experiences

The 16-volume set LNCS 16331–16346 constitutes late breaking papers from the 27th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2025, held in Gothenburg, Sweden, during June 22-27, 2025.439 papers and 104 posters were included in the volumes of the proceedings published after the conference, as “Late Breaking Work”.The papers were organized in topical sections as follows:Part I: Theoretical and Conceptual Advances in HCI; and User Interface and Interaction Design; Design for Inclusivity and Social Impact.Part II: Robotics, Embodied Agents, and Human-Robot Interaction; Smart Environments and Manufacturing Systems; Human-AI Interaction and Generative AI in Design; and Ethics, Privacy and Sustainability in Digital Systems.Part III: Human Experience in Virtual Environments; Human Factors in Intelligent and Autonomous Systems; and Computational Methods for Human Behavior Analysis. Part IV: Human Performance and Safety in Aviation; Human-Automation Teaming; Eye Tracking, Cognition, and Situation Awareness; and Innovations in Adaptive and Responsive Environments.Part V: Accessibility and Inclusive Interaction Design; Accessibility and Innovations in Intelligent Environments; and Human-Centered Technologies for Autism and Neurodiverse Populations.Part VI: Designing for Positive Change: Well-Being, Inclusion, and Social Impact; Cross-Cultural and Creative Design Futures; Design and Engineering of Mobility Experiences; and Human Factors, Safety, and Driver Assistance.Part VII: Social Media, Society, and Digital Communities; LLMs and Intelligent Agents in Social Computing and Security; Understanding User Behavior in Social Computing; and Security, Privacy, and Trust in Digital Environments.Part VIII: Frameworks and Computational Methods in XR; Human Factors and User Experience in XR; XR, Culture, and Immersive Heritage Experiences; Extended Reality in Healthcare and Medical Training; and Serious Games and Interactive Narratives. Part IX: Ergonomics and Digital Human Modeling; Digital Human Modeling in Fashion and Textiles; Artificial Intelligence and Smart Services in Digital Human Modeling; and Health Monitoring, Decision-Making, and Care Optimization.Part X: Generational Differences and Technology Acceptance in Older Adults; Healthy Lifestyle, Physical Activity, and Active Aging; Cognitive Health, Well-Being; and Preventive Care; Intelligent Systems, Safety, and Aging in Place; and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Well-Being.Part XI: User Experience and Interaction for Positive Social Impact; User Experience Methods, Tools, and Metrics; User Experience in Education and Learning; and User Experience in Digital Heritage and Art. Part XII: User Experience in Product and Service Design; User Experience, AI, and Emerging Applications; Digital Innovation and Interactive Design for Cultural Heritage; and Technology-Driven Cultural Shifts: AI, Metaverse, and Digital Society.Part XIII: Human-Centered Perspectives on New Technologies Adoption and Impact; AI-Empowered Ageing, Education, and Healthcare; Advances in Commerce, Marketing, and Consumer Behavior; and Digital Transformation of Business and Governance.Part XIV: Immersive Technologies for Learning; Inclusive and Collaborative Learning Design; Adaptive Instructional Systems; AI, Data, and Intelligent Support in Education.Part XV: Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence: Frameworks and Lessons Learned; Frameworks and Approaches for Trustworthy and Explainable AI; Large Language Models – Capabilities, Biases, and Applications.Part XVI: Generative AI in Creativity and Design; Human-AI Interaction and Collaboration; and Mobile Technologies for Health, Education, and Digital Engagement.

The 16-volume set LNCS 16331–16346 constitutes late breaking papers from the 27th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2025, held in Gothenburg, Sweden, during June 22-27, 2025.439 papers and 104 posters were included in the volumes of the proceedings published after the conference, as “Late Breaking Work”.The papers were organized in topical sections as follows:Part I: Theoretical and Conceptual Advances in HCI; and User Interface and Interaction Design; Design for Inclusivity and Social Impact.Part II: Robotics, Embodied Agents, and Human-Robot Interaction; Smart Environments and Manufacturing Systems; Human-AI Interaction and Generative AI in Design; and Ethics, Privacy and Sustainability in Digital Systems.Part III: Human Experience in Virtual Environments; Human Factors in Intelligent and Autonomous Systems; and Computational Methods for Human Behavior Analysis. Part IV: Human Performance and Safety in Aviation; Human-Automation Teaming; Eye Tracking, Cognition, and Situation Awareness; and Innovations in Adaptive and Responsive Environments.Part V: Accessibility and Inclusive Interaction Design; Accessibility and Innovations in Intelligent Environments; and Human-Centered Technologies for Autism and Neurodiverse Populations.Part VI: Designing for Positive Change: Well-Being, Inclusion, and Social Impact; Cross-Cultural and Creative Design Futures; Design and Engineering of Mobility Experiences; and Human Factors, Safety, and Driver Assistance.Part VII: Social Media, Society, and Digital Communities; LLMs and Intelligent Agents in Social Computing and Security; Understanding User Behavior in Social Computing; and Security, Privacy, and Trust in Digital Environments.Part VIII: Frameworks and Computational Methods in XR; Human Factors and User Experience in XR; XR, Culture, and Immersive Heritage Experiences; Extended Reality in Healthcare and Medical Training; and Serious Games and Interactive Narratives. Part IX: Ergonomics and Digital Human Modeling; Digital Human Modeling in Fashion and Textiles; Artificial Intelligence and Smart Services in Digital Human Modeling; and Health Monitoring, Decision-Making, and Care Optimization.Part X: Generational Differences and Technology Acceptance in Older Adults; Healthy Lifestyle, Physical Activity, and Active Aging; Cognitive Health, Well-Being; and Preventive Care; Intelligent Systems, Safety, and Aging in Place; and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Well-Being.Part XI: User Experience and Interaction for Positive Social Impact; User Experience Methods, Tools, and Metrics; User Experience in Education and Learning; and User Experience in Digital Heritage and Art. Part XII: User Experience in Product and Service Design; User Experience, AI, and Emerging Applications; Digital Innovation and Interactive Design for Cultural Heritage; and Technology-Driven Cultural Shifts: AI, Metaverse, and Digital Society.Part XIII: Human-Centered Perspectives on New Technologies Adoption and Impact; AI-Empowered Ageing, Education, and Healthcare; Advances in Commerce, Marketing, and Consumer Behavior; and Digital Transformation of Business and Governance.Part XIV: Immersive Technologies for Learning; Inclusive and Collaborative Learning Design; Adaptive Instructional Systems; AI, Data, and Intelligent Support in Education.Part XV: Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence: Frameworks and Lessons Learned; Frameworks and Approaches for Trustworthy and Explainable AI; Large Language Models – Capabilities, Biases, and Applications.Part XVI: Generative AI in Creativity and Design; Human-AI Interaction and Collaboration; and Mobile Technologies for Health, Education, and Digital Engagement.

The 13th International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, LCT 2026, held as part of the 28th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2026 (HCII 2026), took place in Montreal, QC, Canada, during July 2026.A total of 7435 individuals from academia, research institutes, industry, and government agencies from 94 countries submitted contributions to HCII 2026. Following peer review, 1463 papers and 360 posters (as short research papers) are included in the volumes of the HCII 2026 proceedings published just before the start of the conference.Three volumes (LNCS 16731, 16732, and 16733) of the HCII 2026 proceedings are dedicated to this year’s edition of the LCT Affiliated Conference focusing on topics related to:Design, Usability, and Emerging Technologies in Collaborative Learning Ecosystems; Design and Evaluation for Domain-Specific Learning and Healthcare; Immersive, XR, and Embodied Learning Environments; Learning Analytics, Self-Regulated Learning, and Learner Monitoring; Collaborative Learning, Online Communities, and Belonging; Digital Equity, Cultural Reflection, and Inclusive Learning Design; Pedagogical Frameworks and Evaluative Metrics in Educational Technology;Generative AI in Writing and Learning; AI-Supported Teaching, Assessment, and Educator Tools; Game-Based, Playful, and creative Learning; and Chatbots, AI-supported Teaching, and Adaptive Support Systems.

The 13th International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, LCT 2026, held as part of the 28th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2026 (HCII 2026), took place in Montreal, QC, Canada, during July 2026.A total of 7435 individuals from academia, research institutes, industry, and government agencies from 94 countries submitted contributions to HCII 2026. Following peer review, 1463 papers and 360 posters (as short research papers) are included in the volumes of the HCII 2026 proceedings published just before the start of the conference.Three volumes (LNCS 16731, 16732, and 16733) of the HCII 2026 proceedings are dedicated to this year’s edition of the LCT Affiliated Conference focusing on topics related to:Design, Usability, and Emerging Technologies in Collaborative Learning Ecosystems; Design and Evaluation for Domain-Specific Learning and Healthcare; Immersive, XR, and Embodied Learning Environments; Learning Analytics, Self-Regulated Learning, and Learner Monitoring; Collaborative Learning, Online Communities, and Belonging; Digital Equity, Cultural Reflection, and Inclusive Learning Design; Pedagogical Frameworks and Evaluative Metrics in Educational Technology;Generative AI in Writing and Learning; AI-Supported Teaching, Assessment, and Educator Tools; Game-Based, Playful, and creative Learning; and Chatbots, AI-supported Teaching, and Adaptive Support Systems.

The 13th International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, LCT 2026, held as part of the 28th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2026 (HCII 2026), took place in Montreal, QC, Canada, during July 2026.A total of 7435 individuals from academia, research institutes, industry, and government agencies from 94 countries submitted contributions to HCII 2026. Following peer review, 1463 papers and 360 posters (as short research papers) are included in the volumes of the HCII 2026 proceedings published just before the start of the conference.Three volumes (LNCS 16731, 16732, and 16733) of the HCII 2026 proceedings are dedicated to this year’s edition of the LCT Affiliated Conference focusing on topics related to:Design, Usability, and Emerging Technologies in Collaborative Learning Ecosystems; Design and Evaluation for Domain-Specific Learning and Healthcare; Immersive, XR, and Embodied Learning Environments; Learning Analytics, Self-Regulated Learning, and Learner Monitoring; Collaborative Learning, Online Communities, and Belonging; Digital Equity, Cultural Reflection, and Inclusive Learning Design; Pedagogical Frameworks and Evaluative Metrics in Educational Technology;Generative AI in Writing and Learning; AI-Supported Teaching, Assessment, and Educator Tools; Game-Based, Playful, and creative Learning; and Chatbots, AI-supported Teaching, and Adaptive Support Systems.

The 13th International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, LCT 2026, held as part of the 28th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2026 (HCII 2026), took place in Montreal, QC, Canada, during July 2026.A total of 7435 individuals from academia, research institutes, industry, and government agencies from 94 countries submitted contributions to HCII 2026. Following peer review, 1463 papers and 360 posters (as short research papers) are included in the volumes of the HCII 2026 proceedings published just before the start of the conference.Three volumes (LNCS 16731, 16732, and 16733) of the HCII 2026 proceedings are dedicated to this year’s edition of the LCT Affiliated Conference focusing on topics related to:Design, Usability, and Emerging Technologies in Collaborative Learning Ecosystems; Design and Evaluation for Domain-Specific Learning and Healthcare; Immersive, XR, and Embodied Learning Environments;Learning Analytics, Self-Regulated Learning, and Learner Monitoring; Collaborative Learning, Online Communities, and Belonging; Digital Equity, Cultural Reflection, and Inclusive Learning Design; Pedagogical Frameworks and Evaluative Metrics in Educational Technology;Generative AI in Writing and Learning; AI-Supported Teaching, Assessment, and Educator Tools; Game-Based, Playful, and creative Learning; and Chatbots, AI-supported Teaching, and Adaptive Support Systems.

The 13th International Conference on Learning and Collaboration Technologies, LCT 2026, held as part of the 28th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCI International 2026 (HCII 2026), took place in Montreal, QC, Canada, during July 2026.A total of 7435 individuals from academia, research institutes, industry, and government agencies from 94 countries submitted contributions to HCII 2026. Following peer review, 1463 papers and 360 posters (as short research papers) are included in the volumes of the HCII 2026 proceedings published just before the start of the conference.Three volumes (LNCS 16731, 16732, and 16733) of the HCII 2026 proceedings are dedicated to this year’s edition of the LCT Affiliated Conference focusing on topics related to:Design, Usability, and Emerging Technologies in Collaborative Learning Ecosystems; Design and Evaluation for Domain-Specific Learning and Healthcare; Immersive, XR, and Embodied Learning Environments;Learning Analytics, Self-Regulated Learning, and Learner Monitoring; Collaborative Learning, Online Communities, and Belonging; Digital Equity, Cultural Reflection, and Inclusive Learning Design; Pedagogical Frameworks and Evaluative Metrics in Educational Technology;Generative AI in Writing and Learning; AI-Supported Teaching, Assessment, and Educator Tools; Game-Based, Playful, and creative Learning; and Chatbots, AI-supported Teaching, and Adaptive Support Systems.