Ethical issues: scientific and medical developments Books
Yale University Press The End of Genetics
Book SynopsisAn urgent plea for a broader understanding and awareness of the unconsidered dangers of new genetic technologiesTrade Review“Geneticist David B. Goldstein thinks that advances in human genomic sequencing and editing signal the end of present-day genetics. . . . An intriguing and disturbing book.”—NatureCHOICE Outstanding Academic Title 2022“An essential antidote to hubris . . . a thought-provoking exploration of the limits of current knowledge and the power and perils of the coming genetic technologies.”—Olivia Judson, author of Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation: The Definitive Guide to the Evolutionary Biology of Sex“David Goldstein methodically describes the evolution of genetic technology, highlighting the potential quagmire if reproductive genomic design occurs before the thoughtful consideration of scientific limitations and ethical issues.”—Vandana Shashi, Duke University School of Medicine“Whether you agree or disagree, David Goldstein has provided an opinionated, clear-sighted, and ultimately compelling treatise on the moral imperative to mitigate congenital suffering.”—Greg Gibson, author of It Takes a Genome“The End of Genetics brings readers directly to the front lines of modern genetics, presenting a bold yet compelling vision of what the future holds. Already a pioneer in the history of modern genetics, David Goldstein is clearly shaping its future as well.”—Matthew Might, director, Hugh Kaul Precision Medicine Institute, University of Alabama at Birmingham
£19.00
Yale University Press As If Human
Book Synopsis
£19.00
Taylor & Francis The Ethics of Geoengineering the Global Climate
Book SynopsisIn the face of limited time and escalating impacts, some scientists and politicians are talking about attempting grand technological interventions into the Earth's basic physical and biological systems (geoengineering) to combat global warming. Early ideas include spraying particles into the stratosphere to block some incoming sunlight, or enhancing natural biological systems to withdraw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere at a higher rate. Such technologies are highly speculative and scientific development of them has barely begun.Nevertheless, it is widely recognized that geoengineering raises critical questions about who will control planetary interventions, and what responsibilities they will have. Central to these questions are issues of justice and political legitimacy. For instance, while some claim that climate risks are so severe that geoengineering must be attempted, others insist that the current global order is so unjust that interventions are highly likely to be iTable of ContentsIntroduction: Geoengineering, Political Legitimacy and Justice1. The Tollgate Principles for the Governance of Geoengineering: Moving Beyond the Oxford Principles to an Ethically More Robust Approach2. Climate Change, Climate Engineering, and the "Global Poor": What Does Justice Require?3. Indigeneity in Geoengineering Discourses: Some Considerations4. Recognitional Justice, Climate Engineering, and the Care Approach5. Institutional Legitimacy and Geoengineering Governance6. Legitimacy and Non-Domination in Solar Radiation Management Research7. Toward Legitimate Governance of Solar Geoengineering Research: A Role for Sub-State Actors8. Fighting risk with risk: solar radiation management, regulatory drift, and minimal justice9. The Panglossian politics of the geoclique10. Democratic authority to geoengineer11. A mission-driven research program on solar geoengineering could promote justice andlegitimacy12. Geoengineering the climate and ethical challenges: what we can learn from moral emotions and art
£37.99
University of California Press Reinventing the Wheel Volume 65 Milk Microbes and
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£22.46
Pluto Press Gadget Consciousness Collective Thought Will and
Book SynopsisInvestigates how electronic devices we use affect our consciousness, both as individuals and classes.Trade Review'Our obsession with gadgets is a key token of how deeply computer-based connection is now embedded in everyday life and consciousness. Joss Hands offers a highly thoughtful and theoretically astute reading of the possibilities for human reflexivity and agency that still remain' -- Nick Couldry, Professor of Media, Communications and Social Theory, London School of Economics'A Swiss army knife of a book, unfolding tools to convert digital devices from exploitation and isolation to meaning and connection. Joss Hands gives us a handheld manifesto for gadget communism' -- Sean Cubitt, Goldsmiths University of London'Takes the seemingly apolitical and trivial concept of 'the gadget' and transforms it into a fascinating path to explore not only the most recent phase of capitalist techno-fetishism, but also, with exemplary radical experimentalism, the blasphemous idea of 'gadget communism'' -- Nick Dyer-Witheford, University of Western OntarioTable of ContentsSeries Preface Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Question Concerning Gadgets 2. Gadget Materialism 3. Gadget Brain 4. Gadget Consciousness 5. Gadget Action 6. Gadget Futures Bibliography Index
£68.00
Pluto Press Gadget Consciousness
Book SynopsisInvestigates how electronic devices we use affect our consciousness, both as individuals and classes.Trade Review'Our obsession with gadgets is a key token of how deeply computer-based connection is now embedded in everyday life and consciousness. Joss Hands offers a highly thoughtful and theoretically astute reading of the possibilities for human reflexivity and agency that still remain' -- Nick Couldry, Professor of Media, Communications and Social Theory, London School of Economics'A Swiss army knife of a book, unfolding tools to convert digital devices from exploitation and isolation to meaning and connection. Joss Hands gives us a handheld manifesto for gadget communism' -- Sean Cubitt, Goldsmiths University of London'Takes the seemingly apolitical and trivial concept of 'the gadget' and transforms it into a fascinating path to explore not only the most recent phase of capitalist techno-fetishism, but also, with exemplary radical experimentalism, the blasphemous idea of 'gadget communism'' -- Nick Dyer-Witheford, University of Western OntarioTable of ContentsSeries Preface Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Question Concerning Gadgets 2. Gadget Materialism 3. Gadget Brain 4. Gadget Consciousness 5. Gadget Action 6. Gadget Futures Bibliography Index
£20.69
Pluto Press The Struggle for Food Sovereignty
Book SynopsisA crucial exploration into the globally important struggles faced by peasant societies today.Trade Review'Cogently underscores the global threat of financialisation to family farming, identifying possibilities for peasant mobilisation to protect land, food and society. It breathes new life and meaning into the agrarian question.' -- Professor Philip McMichael, Cornell University, author of Food Regimes and Agrarian Questions (2013)'With historically unprecedented hunger sitting side by side with historically unprecedented obesity, it is apparent that the world food system is broken. As a result, around the world peasants and family farmers are struggling to construct a new, socially just, food system that cools the planet and feeds the world.' -- Haroon Akram-Lodhi, Professor, Department of International Development Studies, Trent University, CanadaTable of ContentsWorld Forum for Alternatives List of Abbreviations Introduction - Rémy Herrera and Kin Chi Lau 1. Theoretical Framework - Samir Amin 2. Latin America - João Pedro Stedile 3. Africa - Sam Moyo 4. Asia (I) - Erebus Wong and Jade Tsui Sit 5. Asia (II) - Utsa Patnaik 6. Oceania - Rémy Herrera and Poeura Tetoe 7. Europe - Gérard Choplin et al. Conclusion - Rémy Herrera and Kin Chi Lau References List of Contributors Index
£25.19
Pluto Press Faith and Charity Religion and Humanitarian
Book SynopsisAn innovative perspective on the relationship between religion, civil society and development through the prism of faith-based NGOs in West AfricaTrade Review'In this outstanding collection, familiar debates about the depoliticising effects of charity, the marketisation of civil society, and the ambiguities of religious networks are given fresh life' -- Jonathan Benthall, Honorary Resarch Fellow, Department of Anthropology, UCL, author of Islamic Charities and Islamic Humanism in Troubled Times (Manchester University Press, 2016)Table of ContentsSeries Preface Acknowledgements List of Acronyms 1. Introduction: Faith, Charity and the Ethics of Volunteerism in West Africa - Marie Nathalie LeBlanc and Louis Audet Gosselin Part I: Religion, Politics and Development: NGO-isation and Religious Influence in the Twenty-First Century 2. Reflections on the Socio-Political Roles of Islamic NGOs in West Africa: Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso - Mathias Savadogo, Muriel Gomez-Perez and Marie Nathalie LeBlanc 3. Muslim NGOs in Côte d’Ivoire: Towards an Islamic Culture of Charity - Issouf Binaté 4. Catholic NGOs in Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire: A Case Apart? - Louis Audet Gosselin and Boris Koenig Part II: Religious Actors and the Making of NGOs 5. Precarious Agency in the Face of ‘Good Governance’: The NGO-isation of Muslim Women’s Associations in Côte d’Ivoire - Marie Nathalie LeBlanc 6. Leaders of National and Transnational Muslim NGOs in Burkina Faso: Diverse Forms and Experiences of Islamic Civic Engagement - Kathéry Couillard, Frédérick Madore and Muriel Gomez-Perez 7. Private Evangelical Assistance to Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Burkina Faso: Religious Voluntarism and the Road to Success - Louis Audet Gosselin 8. From Local to Transnational Challenges: Religious Leaders and Muslim NGOs in Burkina Faso - Mara Vitale 9. Christian Citizenship, Evangelical NGOs and the Ethics of Holistic Rehabilitation among Socially Marginalised Groups in Côte d’Ivoire - Boris Koenig 10. Conclusion - Louis Audet Gosselin and Marie Nathalie LeBlanc Notes Bibliography Notes on Contributors Index
£42.50
The University of Alabama Press What are Stem Cells Definitions at the
Book SynopsisIdentifies the moral stalemate between the rights of the embryo and the rights of the patient and uses it as the framework for a larger discussion about the role of definitions as a key rhetorical strategy in the debate. Importantly, this work recognises definitions as central to issues, not only within stem cell research, but in all argumentation.Trade ReviewAlthough bioethical issues surrounding stem cell research during the Bush and Obama administrations form a backdrop, Lynch (communication, Univ. of Cincinnati) is more concerned here with how language is used than with ethical positions. He presents definitions not so much as reflections of reality, but more as malleable tools for shaping public debate and policy. He introduces the idea of "scientistic idioms" to describe how various proponents and opponents of stem cell research incorporate the language of science to bolster their positions. Ironically, critics of stem cell research often use scientific idioms to challenge and undermine the authority of stem cell researchers. Lynch also frames his analysis in terms of a 'Manichean idiom' that presents stem cell research in terms of struggles between good and evil. For proponents of stem cell research, the Manichean idiom may take the form of scientific progress versus benighted religious or political agendas. Opponents may use the same idiom to contrast overreaching science with protection of human values. Lynch's analysis is useful for understanding not only debates over stem cell research, but also contentious issues such as teaching evolution in schools--a topic briefly addressed in the conclusion. Part of the 'Rhetoric, Culture, and Social Critique' series. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals." —CHOICE
£33.95
Duke University Press The Professional Guinea Pig
Book SynopsisAn ethnography focused on professional guinea pigs, healthy, paid research subjects who earn their living by participating in multiple Phase I clinical trials testing the safety of drugs in development.Trade Review“The book makes a compelling argument for why test subjects in the US should be given more protection - and I take my hat off to the author for arguing the case.” - Clint Witchalls, New Scientist“[An] intriguing and worrying book.” - Scott McLemee, Inside Higher Ed“[A]disturbing account. . . . The Professional Guinea Pig raises important questions.” - Meredith Wadman, Nature“Roberto Abadie has written an absorbing ethnographic study of clinical trials that focuses not on the clinic or the clinicians, the science or its development, but the research participants in phase one trials (the first stage of testing in humans). . . . [A] fascinating description of the subculture of regular drug-trial volunteers.” - Nathan Emmerich, Times Higher Education Supplement“The Professional Guinea Pig gives voice to volunteers skeptical of the current ethical protections in phase 1 trials, even as they endure the risks of those trials. . . . Readers will learn something about a fascinating counterculture. . . .” - Deborah R. Barnbaum, Nature Medicine“The Professional Guinea Pig tells a fascinating story at the entrepreneurial and pharmaceuticalized heart of neoliberal medicine. . . . It is a riveting read and makes important contributions to the anthropologies of neoliberalism, pharmaceuticals, and the body.” - Anne Pollock, American Anthropologist“Roberto Abadie has given us a deep, complex, and profoundly disturbing investigation into the dark underside of the clinical trials industry. The Professional Guinea Pig is not just ethnography. It is a call to action.” —Carl Elliott, author of Better than Well: American Medicine Meets the American Dream“The Professional Guinea Pig gives voice to volunteers skeptical of the current ethical protections in phase 1 trials, even as they endure the risks of those trials. . . . Readers will learn something about a fascinating counterculture. . . .” -- Deborah R. Barnbaum * Nature Medicine *“The Professional Guinea Pig tells a fascinating story at the entrepreneurial and pharmaceuticalized heart of neoliberal medicine. . . . It is a riveting read and makes important contributions to the anthropologies of neoliberalism, pharmaceuticals, and the body.” -- Anne Pollock * American Anthropologist *“[A]disturbing account. . . . The Professional Guinea Pig raises important questions.” -- Meredith Wadman * Nature *“Roberto Abadie has written an absorbing ethnographic study of clinical trials that focuses not on the clinic or the clinicians, the science or its development, but the research participants in phase one trials (the first stage of testing in humans). . . . [A] fascinating description of the subculture of regular drug-trial volunteers.” -- Nathan Emmerich * Times Higher Education *“The book makes a compelling argument for why test subjects in the US should be given more protection - and I take my hat off to the author for arguing the case.” -- Clint Witchalls * New Scientist *Table of ContentsA Note on Method ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction. A Guinea Pig's Wage: Risk, Body Commodification, and the Ethics of Pharmaceutical Research in America 1 1. Guinea-Pigging: The In/Formal Economy of Phase I Clinical Trials in Philadelphia 21 2. Market Recruitment, Identity, and Resistance among Professional Guinea Pigs 45 3. Local Knowledge and Risk Management among Professional Guinea Pigs 65 4. Big Pharma and HIV Clinical Trials: A Case Study 85 5. Strategies of Survival: HIV Clinical Trials and the Fight for Their Lives 97 6. From Prisoners to Professionals: A Brief History of the Clinical-Trial Enterprise 121 7. Ethics and the Exploitation of the Poor in Clinical Trials Research 137 Conclusion. Living in/off the Mild Torture Economy as Trial Subjects 157 Epilogue. Following Up: Robert Helms, Frank Little, Dave Onion, and Spam One Last Time 167 Bibliography 171 Index 181
£74.70
Vanderbilt University Press A Laboratory of Her Own
Book SynopsisA Laboratory of Her Own: Women and Science in Spanish Culture gathers diverse voices to address women's interaction with STEM fields in the context of Spanish cultural production. This volume focuses on the many ways the arts and humanities provide avenues for deepening the conversation about how women have been involved in, excluded from, and represented within the scientific realm. While women's historic exclusion from STEM fields has received increased scrutiny worldwide in recent years, women within the Spanish context have been perhaps even more peripheral given the complex socio-cultural structures emanating from gender norms and political ideologies dominant in the Spanish nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Nonetheless, Spanish female cultural producers have long been engaged with science and technology within the cultural realm, as expressed in literature, art, film, and other areas. Spanish cultural production offers diverse representations of the relationships between womeTrade ReviewThis is a careful, cogent, fascinating, and well-researched collection of essays about the cultural, historical, and political contexts in which artists and authors interrogated STEM and gender themes in Spain. . . . A groundbreaking collection." - Mary Wyer, editor of Women, Science, and Technology (2014)Table of Contents Acknowledgments Foreword Roberta Johnson Introduction 'The Story of Women and STEM in Spanish Culture' Victoria L. Ketz, Dawn Smith-Sherwood, & Debra Faszer-McMahon Part I: On Role Models: Female Scientists and Spanish Letters Chapter One 'Las chicas raras de STEM: Recuperating #WomensPlace in Spanish Literary and Scientific Histories' Dawn Smith-Sherwood Chapter Two '‘The Doctor Is In': Elena Arnedo Soriano (1941-2015), Women's Health, and the Cultural History of Gender and Medicine in Spain' Silvia BermÚdez Chapter Three 'Gender and the Critique of 'Ascientific Traditions': Science as Text and Intertext in Rosa Montero's La ridÍcula idea de no volver a verte' Ellen Mayock Chapter Four 'From la santidad de la escoba to la trinidad higiÉnica: Rosario de AcuÑa (1851-1923) and a More Inclusive Vision of Spain's Public Health Erika M. Sutherland Chapter Five 'Science, History, and Gender: An Interview with MarÍa JesÚs Santesmases' MarÍa JesÚs Santesmases, Victoria L. Ketz and Debra Faszer-McMahon Part II: On STE(A)M: Integrating Scientific Inquiry into the Cultural Realm Chapter Six 'Science in the Works of Clara JanÉs: A Poetics of Theoretical (Meta)physics' Debra Faszer-McMahon Chapter Seven 'An Extension of Sympathy: Science and Posthumanism in the Paintings of Remedios Varo' Marta del Pozo Ortea Chapter Eight 'Subversive, Combative, Corrective: Carmen de Burgos' Interventionist Translation of MÖbius' Űber den physiologischen Schwachsinn des Weibes [The Mental Inferiority of Women]' Leslie Anne Merced Chapter Nine 'Contrasting Images of Women Scientists in the Early Post-war Period (1940-45) and the Novel MarÍa Elena, ingeniero de caminos by Mercedes Ballesteros Miguel Soler Gallo Chapter Ten 'Unorthodox Theories and Beings: Science, Technology, and Women in the Narratives of Rosa Montero' Maryanne L. Leone Part III: On Gender: Using STEM to Critique Gendered Roles Chapter Eleven 'Biotech, BarcelÓ, Bustelo: Reproduction, Motherhood and Gendered Hierarchies in Spanish Science Fiction' Mirla GonzÁlez Chapter Twelve 'Challenging Boundaries of Time, Science, and Gender: Einstein's Theory of Relativity in Mayoral's ‘Admirados colegas'' Victoria L. Ketz Chapter Thirteen 'Technological Portrayals: Framing Fernandinas in the Colonial Context through Photography and Press during the Spanish Second Republic' InÉs Plasencia Chapter Fourteen 'Punishing Narratives: The Challenges of Gender and Scientific Authority in Spanish Science Fiction Film' Raquel Vega-DurÁn Chapter Fifteen 'Rethinking STEM through Digital Spanish Literature: Women, Rupture, and Community in the Works of Remedios Zafra and BelÉn Gache' Parissa Tadrissi Appendix: List of Works by Genre Addressed in this Volume Index
£28.46
Berghahn Books identitypoliticsandthenewgenetics
Book SynopsisRacial and ethnic categories have appeared in recent scientific work in novel ways and in relation to a variety of disciplines: medicine, forensics, population genetics, and also developments in popular genealogy. Once again, biology is foregrounded in the discussion of human identity.Trade Review “This wide-ranging, international collection considers many of the practical, ethical and political questions raised by the proliferation of genetic research and testing around the world…Almost all of the chapters deal in a sophisticated way with questions about how ideas of identity, race, and kinship are being shaped by their interaction with genetic technologies and the way those technologies are being interpreted.” · Contemporary Sociology. A Journal of Reviews “Overall, the book successfully highlights the complex and often contradictory nature of the relationship between politics and science…[It]offers an original contribution to debates on identity, race and genetics…The overall strength of the collection (as the editors argue) lies in its use of a range of rich and illuminating case studies from locations across the globe.” · Ethnic and Racial Studies “This is an important and extremely timely collection that will inform ongoing and evolving discussions within the social sciences and beyond about the changing relationship between identity and genomics. It captures and contributes to an emerging moment in social science engagement with genomics and issues of identity and the politics of difference.” · Sahra Gibbon, University College LondonTable of Contents List of Illustrations and Tables Acknowledgments Introduction: Ideas in Motion: Making Sense of Identity After DNA Katharina Schramm, David Skinner, Richard Rottenburg Chapter 1. ‘Race’ as a Social Construction in Genetics Andrew Smart, Richard Tutton, Paul Martin, George Ellison Chapter 2. Mobile Identities and Fixed Categories: Forensic DNA and the Politics of Racialised Data David Skinner Chapter 3. Race, Kinship and the Ambivalence of Identity Peter Wade Chapter 4. Identity, DNA, and the State in Post-Dictatorship Argentina Noa Vaisman Chapter 5. ‘Do You Have Celtic, Jewish, Germanic Roots?’ – Applied Swiss History Before and After DNA Marianne Sommer Chapter 6. Irish DNA: Making Connections and Making Distinctions in Y-Chromosome Surname Studies Catherine Nash Chapter 7. Genomics en route: Ancestry, Heritage, and the Politics of Identity Across the Black Atlantic Katharina Schramm Chapter 8. Biotechnological Cults of Affliction? Race, Rationality, and Enchantment in Personal Genomic Histories Stephan Palmié Notes on Contributors Bibliography Index
£89.10
Cambridge University Press God and Technology
This Element brings work from the philosophy of technology into conversation with media, religion, culture studies, and work in digital religion studies. It seeks to create a platform for scholarly study and critical discourse on technology's religious and spiritual representation in digital and emerging media cultures and contexts.
£18.00
Cambridge University Press HumanAI Interaction and Collaboration
£61.74
Cambridge University Press Manipulation
Book Synopsis
£19.80
Pan Macmillan Is This OK
Book SynopsisHarriet Gibsone began her career as a runner for MTV, before becoming a music journalist in the 00s, writing for publications such as Q, NME, Time Out and Nylon. She spent eight years as a Guardian staff writer and editor and now has a column for its weekend magazine. Is This OK? is her first book.Trade ReviewLaugh-out-loud-on-the-train funny . . . swings between silliness and profundity . . . This is a book to hold on to and one to share, a warning and a map created by a watchful girl, telling others what may lie ahead -- Maeve Higgins, GuardianThis book is a delight - very real and very entertaining. -- Bob MortimerPersistently funny, ill-advisedly honest and deadly accurate . . . My mind is blown -- Caitlin Moran, author of More Than a WomanA hugely enjoyable read . . . [a] delight of a memoir -- Otegha Uwagba, The TimesEye-wateringly honest and all-too-relatable . . . funny and wise * Observer *Very funny and deeply moving. -- Sara PascoeHilarious and brutal! I could not put it down -- Lou SandersBrutally honest but brilliantly funny and poignant too . . . Utterly relatable * Glamour *Hilarious and cringe-inducingly nostalgic . . . It’s a cliché to say “You’ll laugh, you’ll cry”, but with this book, you really will * New Statesman *A singular and truly funny voice -- Jamie DemitriouDeeply intense, and insane (in a great way). -- Robert Popper, creator of Friday Night DinnerWritten with humour and intelligence * Stylist *A raw and funny memoir exploring mental health, illness and motherhood against the backdrop of obsessive internet and social media activity. * Huffington Post *Gloriously unfiltered, hilariously unhinged and utterly unlike anything else you'll read this year. Harriet's incredibly moving memoir made me laugh out loud, cringe, reminisce and think deeply. What a wonderful introduction to a truly singular comedic voice; I remain in awe! -- Yomi AdegokeVery funny and moving * Evening Standard *Devastating and funny as f*ck. I can't remember when I was last so struck by a voice . . . Harriet Gibsone is a SPECTACULAR writer -- Terri WhiteJust read this from its giggly heights to its mortifying depths . . . I feel like I've been through something. Something really worth going through. -- Frank Cottrell-BoyceBrilliant. Incredibly funny, chillingly accurate, real sad. Harriet Gibsone is a spectacular writer -- Stevie Martin
£15.29
Pan Macmillan Is This OK
Book Synopsis
£9.89
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd The Rise of Algorithmic Society and the Strategic
Book SynopsisIllustrating the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and changes it has generated in the economy, society and culture, this expansive book continues the debate concerning the digital revolution and the rise of the algorithmic society.Trade Review‘There is a fantasy that AI will decide the future on its own. This book shows us that, on the contrary, it is up to us to create meaning and value through these new technologies. Luciana Lazzeretti allows us to measure these challenges and the renewed importance of culture for the development of cities and territories. An important contribution for those who think about innovation today.’ -- Olivier Crevoisier, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland‘Lazzeretti describes an unbrave new world where metrics run wild and humans have a hard time imposing a logic of “responsible innovations.” To overcome the tyranny of data-driven decisions, she urges a return to narrative, craftsmanship, and trust – a sane, creative plea to protect memory and diversity while nurturing economic growth.’ -- Sharon Zukin, Brooklyn College and City University Graduate Center, New York, US and author of The Innovation Complex: Cities, Tech, and the New Economy‘This important book demystifies: artificial intelligence (AI), algorithms, digital “learning” and “big data”, their malign designs and benign uses. Museums suffer attacks, so high security demands toughened glass and high hanging for masterpieces. But digital reproduction returns their original colours, durability and accessibility. This take on “algorithmic society” is valuable, useful and thought-provoking in equal measure.’ -- Philip Cooke, The Mohn Center of Innovation and Regional Development, Bergen, NorwayTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction to The Rise of Algorithmic Society and the Strategic Role of Arts and Culture 2. The artificial intelligence ecosystem 3. The algorithmic society: a narrative of the past 4. Technology and culture in digital transformation: a narrative of the future References Index
£66.50
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd A Modern Guide To Labour and the Platform Economy
Book SynopsisProviding an insightful analysis of the key issues and significant trends relating to labour within the platform economy, this Modern Guide considers the existing comparative evidence covering all world regions. It also provides an in-depth look at digital labour platforms in their historical, economic and geographical contexts.Trade Review‘This collected volume on the world of work produced by platform companies should be required reading for anyone interested in the modern politics of labor. Drahokoupil and Vandaele have brought together cutting-edge scholars and scholarship to historicize the emergence of the platform economy and to understand its complex, transnational implications for work and workers. Together, the chapters help to contextualize both the challenges and opportunities posed by digital labor and should be required reading for regulators, policymakers, and academics alike.’ -- Veena Dubal, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, US‘Here’s everything you need to know about the platform economy and workers—and perhaps hadn’t even thought of asking—in this comprehensive Modern Guide. It covers emerging trends, particular cases, regulatory issues and much else, and is likely to become an essential guide for researchers and policy makers.’ -- Jayati Ghosh, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USTable of ContentsContents: 1 Introduction: Janus meets Proteus in the platform economy 1 Jan Drahokoupil and Kurt Vandaele PART I CONTEXT AND ISSUES 2 The business models of labour platforms: Creating an uncertain future 33 Jan Drahokoupil 3 Moving on, out or up: The externalization of work to B2B platforms 49 Pamela Meil and Mehtap Akgü. 4 Measuring the platform economy: Different approaches to estimating the size of the online platform workforce 66 Agnieszka Piasna 5 A historical perspective on the drivers of digital labour platforms 81 Gérard Valenduc 6 The platform economy at the forefront of a changing world of work: Implications for occupational health and safety 96 Pierre Bérastégui and Sacha Garben 7 How place and space matter to union organizing in the platform economy 112 Benjamin Herr, Philip Schörpf and Jörg Flecker PART II REGULATING PLATFORM WORK 8 Embedding platforms in contemporary labour law 129 Valerio De Stefano and Mathias Wouters 9 The regulation of platform work in the European Union: Mapping the challenges 145 Sacha Garben 10 Workers, platforms and the state: The struggle over digital labour platform regulation 162 Sai Englert, Mark Graham, Sandra Fredman, Darcy du Toit, Adam Badger, Richard Heeks and Jean-Paul Van Belle 11 Trade union responses to platform work: An evolving tension between mainstream and grassroots approaches 177 Simon Joyce and Mark Stuart PART III CASE STUDIES ACROSS THE GLOBE: ONLINE LABOUR PLATFORMS 12 The uneven potential of online platform work for human development at the global margins 194 Mark Graham, Vili Lehdonvirta, Alex J. Wood, Helena Barnard, Isis Hjorth and David Peter Simon 13 From outsourcing to crowdsourcing: Assessing the implications for Indian workers of different outsourcing strategies 209 Janine Berg, Uma Rani and Nora Gobel 14 The geographic and linguistic variety of online labour markets: The cases of Russia and Ukraine 225 Mariya Aleksynska, Andrey Shevchuk and Denis Strebkov PART IV CASE STUDIES ACROSS THE GLOBE: LOCATION-BASED LABOUR PLATFORMS 15 Aliada and Alia: Contrasting for-profit and non-profit platforms for domestic work in Mexico and the United States 242 Andrea Santiago Páramo and Carlos Piñeyro Nelson 16 The role of worker collectives among app-based food delivery couriers in France, Germany and Norway: All the same or different? 258 Kristin Jesnes, Denis Neumann, Vera Trappmann and Pauline de Becdelièvre 17 The pitfalls and promises of successfully organizing Foodora couriers in Toronto 274 Raoul Gebert 18 Labour management and resistance among platform-based food delivery couriers in Beijing 290 Jack Linchuan Qiu, Ping Sun and Julie Chen 19 Struggles over the power and meaning of digital labour platforms: A comparison of the Vienna, Berlin, New York and Los Angeles taxi markets 308 Hannah Johnston and Susanne Pernicka 20 Passenger transport in Australia: Injury compensation, public policy and the health pandemic 323 David Peetz PART V CLOSING THOUGHTS 21 Institutional experimentation and the challenges of platform labour 339 Maria Figueroa Index
£41.75
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Data Ethics of Power
Book SynopsisTrade Review’In this concise work, Hasselbalch outlines the ramifications of power with respect to data ethics and cultural data practices. Beginning with definitions of common terminology used in the field, Hasselbalch establishes common ground for readers and takes them through a breadth of power scenarios in various areas of data ethics practice. She explores the influence of power in realistic situations such as policy vacuums and surveillance society. Though a number of publications address data science ethics, what sets this work apart is the robust depth of knowledge the author brings to the topic; she moves beyond a descriptive approach to focus on the interactive relationship between power and data ethics. The text usefully identifies regional differences between the European Union and other areas of the world in light of the EU's stringent data-protections regime. Given the regional differences and international nature of many data science operations, this work is relevant to students worldwide. Hasselbalch offers a rich bibliography for extended study along with the usual backmatter. Undergraduate and graduate students studying computer science and related technologies will profit from reading the book. Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates.’ -- K J Whitehair, CHOICE‘Data Ethics of Power is an instant classic of technology law and policy. Its wise and topical policy recommendations stand on rigorous philosophical foundations. In Hasselbalch’s work, we are taken on a journey to the origins of ethics, to understand the critical importance of empowering institutions for wise governance of AI. As policymakers work to promote and channel AI, they should find much here to guide their deliberations. Deeply relevant to academics, practitioners, and anyone interested in the future development of advanced technology, Data Ethics of Power revitalizes the field of AI ethics.’ -- Frank Pasquale, Brooklyn Law School, US‘This book offers a unique and timely contribution to the fields of data and AI ethics by examining power structures in both the big data and the AI ethics space. Dr. Hasselbalch provides a paradigm shift in thinking about data ethics and power stating that data ethics is not only about power but also is power. Re-framing the discussion in this way uncovers novel solutions to the pressing problems created by big data and AI. This book is required reading for academics, industry leaders, and policy makers in the data and AI ethics space looking to address the future of data and AI in society on a global scale.’ -- Aimee van Wynsberghe, University of Bonn, Germany‘Data Ethics of Power by Gry Hasselbalch provides a deeply impactful approach to a subject typically bogged down by technical or political dogma by identifying the systems of power that create the highest levels of obfuscation around data. But it is in her revelation that open, unconditional love will provide the individual and communal willingness for genuine change that her words bring essential human healing regarding autonomous data ethics governance.’ -- John C. Havens, author of Heartificial Intelligence: Embracing our Humanity to Maximize Machines‘A recurring criticism of tech ethics is that ideas about responsible innovation are idealizations—aspirational wish lists too far removed from inequitable real-world power struggles. Gry Hasselbalch’s Data Ethics of Power: A Human Approach in the Big Data and AI Era provides a much-needed corrective. This masterful, interdisciplinary work makes a deep, human-centered case for conceptualizing and practicing data ethics as interrogating and negotiating infrastructures of power and their complex underlying cultural conditions.’ -- Evan Selinger, Rochester Institute of Technology, USTable of ContentsContents: Preface Introduction to Data Ethics of Power 1. Big Data Sociotechnical Infrastructures (BDSTIs) 2. Sociotechnical change and data ethical governance 3. Artificial Intelligence Sociotechnical Infrastructures (AISTIs) 4. Data interests and data cultures 5. What is data ethics? 6. Conclusion to Data Ethics of Power Bibliography Index
£27.50
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Handbook on Alternative Theories of Innovation
Book SynopsisThis insightful Handbook scrutinizes alternative concepts and approaches to the dominant economic or industrial theories of innovation. Providing an assessment of these alternatives, it questions the absence of these neglected types of innovation and suggests diverse theories.This title contains one or more Open Access chapters.Trade Review‘This Handbook truly deserves its designation as such. It provides a comprehensive and multi-faceted overview of different conceptual meanings, theories, usages and interpretations of “innovation”. Far beyond the most familiar association with technology and industry, the reader is introduced to “social“, “responsible“, “sustainable“, “disruptive“ and other variations of innovation, their respective rationales, theoretical underpinnings, philosophical and policy implications. This collection of contributions by well-respected authors is a fascinating and unique attempt to capture the many paths covered by “innovation“ as a traveling concept.’ -- Peter Weingart, Bielefeld University, GermanyTable of ContentsContents: Introduction to the Handbook on Alternative Theories of Innovation 1 Benoît Godin, Gérald Gaglio and Dominique Vinck PART I VISIONS OF INNOVATION 1 Innovation theology 11 Benoît Godin 2 Imaginaries of innovation 23 Harro van Lente PART II THEORIZING INNOVATION IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: THE FOUNDATIONS 3 Theories of innovation 38 Benoît Godin 4 Economic approaches to industrial technological innovation 59 Irwin Feller PART III ALTERNATIVE APPROACHES TO INNOVATION 5 Mapping innovation diversity 79 Mónica Edwards-Schachter 6 Social innovation: contested understandings of social change 106 Cornelius Schubert 7 Sustainable innovation: analysing literature lineages 122 Frank Boons and Riza Batista-Navarro 8 Responsible innovation: challenging an alternative 135 Lucien von Schomberg PART IV ALTERNATIVE TYPES OF INNOVATION 9 User-centred innovation: from innovative users to user centred programmes 148 Bastien Tavner 10 Open innovation: the open society and its entrepreneurial bias 162 Tiago Brandão 11 Disruptive innovation: an organizational strategy and a technological concept 182 Darryl Cressman 12 Common innovation: the oldest species of innovation? 197 G.M. Peter Swann 13 Grassroots innovation: mainstreaming the discourse of informal sector 212 Fayaz Ahmad Sheikh and Hemant Kumar 14 Frugal innovation: reaching an ‘empowered’ developing-countries end-user 233 Céline Cholez and Pascale Trompette PART V SUPPORTING INNOVATION: REFRAMING THE INSTRUMENTS 15 X-innovation and international organizations narratives 252 Carolina Bagattolli 16 Transformative innovation policy: a novel approach? 276 Markus Grillitsch, Teis Hansen and Stine Madsen 17 Business innovation measurement: history and evolution 292 Giulio Perani PART VI IMMUNE DISCIPLINES AND FORGOTTEN THEORIZATIONS 18 Religion and innovation: charting the territory 310 Boris Rähme 19 Anthropology of and for innovation 334 Ulrich Ufer and Alexandra Hausstein 20 Philosophical reflections on the concept of innovation 354 Vincent Blok PART VII THEORIZING THE THEORIES 21 Ideology, engine or regime. Styles of critique and theories of innovation 369 Brice Laurent 22 Collateral innovation: renewing theory from case-studies 387 Gérald Gaglio and Dominique Vinck Conclusion to the Handbook on Alternative Theories of Innovation 404 Gérald Gaglio, Dominique Vinck and Benoît Godin Index
£43.65
Cambridge University Press Industry Unbound
Book SynopsisIn Industry Unbound, Ari Ezra Waldman exposes precisely how the tech industry conducts its ongoing crusade to undermine our privacy. With research based on interviews with scores of tech employees and internal documents outlining corporate strategies, Waldman reveals that companies don''t just lobby against privacy law; they also manipulate how we think about privacy, how their employees approach their work, and how they weaken the law to make data-extractive products the norm. In contrast to those who claim that privacy law is getting stronger, Waldman shows why recent shifts in privacy law are precisely the kinds of changes that corporations want and how even those who think of themselves as privacy advocates often unwittingly facilitate corporate malfeasance. This powerful account should be read by anyone who wants to understand why privacy laws are not working and how corporations trap us into giving up our personal information.Trade Review'How did privacy policies become licenses to spy? And do we have any hope of effective data regulation? In vivid and accessible prose, Industry Unbound offers deep insight into contemporary corporate power to monitor workers, manipulate consumers, and influence governments. With a skilled attorney's understanding of contracts and statutes and a rigorous sociologist's command of empirical methods, Waldman tells a story of 'privacy professionals' who gradually accommodate themselves to surveillance capitalism. This brilliant book is a must-read for understanding the failures of contemporary privacy laws, and how they might evolve toward more robust protections.' Frank Pasquale, Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School, and author of The Black Box Society and The New Laws of Robotics'Ari Waldman peels back the curtain on internal privacy practices at the most powerful tech companies to reveal an alarming trend: Despite robust privacy programs, teams of employees devoted to protecting privacy, and significant laws and regulations requiring many internal measures to safeguard privacy, the reality on the ground is that these things are often failing. Waldman provocatively contends that corporate power turns compliance with even robust privacy laws into an often hollow exercise. As legislatures rush to pass privacy laws, Industry Unbound is a wakeup call that these efforts will not end the nightmare. This eye-opening and unsettling book is also constructive, as it offers productive recommendations for a new direction in privacy law. Lively, alarming, and insightful, Industry Unbound deftly unites theory, practice, and law. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of privacy.' Daniel J. Solove, John Marshall Harlan Research Professor of Law, George Washington University, and author of Understanding Privacy'Ari Waldman's powerful new book combines fascinating on-the-ground insights and a sharp critical eye to help us understand why, despite touted improvements in data protection, our privacy remains in jeopardy. Industry Unbound is clear, compelling, and essential reading for the personal data field and anyone who is concerned about privacy.' Woodrow Hartzog, Professor of Law and Computer Science, Northeastern University, and author of Privacy's Blueprint'Painstakingly researched and beautifully written, Industry Unbound chronicles the ways in which tech companies use their power to undermine our privacy. Ari Waldman went under the hood of the information industry for this project, and the result is a fantastic piece of law and sociology scholarship. But Industry Unbound isn't just for students and academics. It's a must read for anyone interested in privacy and political economy, for policymakers looking to write new privacy laws, for regulators trying to rein in Big Tech, and for anyone curious about how law really works on the ground. Everyone should read it.' Danielle Keats Citron, Jefferson Scholars Foundation Schenck Distinguished Professor in Law, University of Virginia School of Law, and recipient of the MacArthur 'Genius' Fellowship'Why is there so much privacy law but so little privacy? The answer lies in the way privacy compliance is practiced on the ground. Ari Waldman supplies a lucid, rigorous explanation of how privacy law has become captured from the inside out. Essential reading.' Julie E. Cohen, Mark Claster Mamolen Professor of Law and Technology, Georgetown, and author of Between Truth and Power'No one but law professor and sociologist Ari Waldman could have written Industry Unbound. Drawing from years of qualitative study, Waldman develops a 'social practice of privacy' that lays bare the cultural, political, and discursive forces winnowing our privacy even as regulatory requirements proliferate. Waldman's sober-eyed, sophisticated, and wisely prescriptive work should be required reading for anyone who studies or cares about privacy. We are not doomed to push the privacy rock up the hill, only for it tumble back down. There is a path to resistance, and Industry Unbound is its map.' Ryan Calo, Lane Powell and D. Wayne Gittinger Professor, University of Washington School of Law'Clearly written, insightful, polemical, sophisticated, and based upon extensive fieldwork, Industry Unbound is an instant classic. It is a rare combination of a sophisticated academic study, a penetrating sociological critique, and an accessible explanation of what's actually happening inside the information industry for the general reader. Few books have changed our understanding of privacy like this one; it is a must-read for anyone who studies, works in the field of, or worries about privacy and the power that human information confers.' Neil Richards, Koch Distinguished Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis, and author of Intellectual PrivacyTable of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Privacy and the Information Industry: 1. A day at the office; 2. Spotting the issues; Part II. A Vicious Cycle: 3. Privacy's discourses; 4. Privacy compliance; 5. Designing data-extractive technologies; Part III. Power and Resistance: 6. Power; 7. Fighting back; 8. Conclusion.
£24.43
St Martin's Press The Battle for Your Brain
Book SynopsisA new dawn of brain tracking and hacking is coming. Will you be prepared for what comes next?Imagine a world where your brain can be interrogated to learn your political beliefs, your thoughts can be used as evidence of a crime, and your own feelings can be held against you. A world where people who suffer from epilepsy receive alerts moments before a seizure, and the average person can peer into their own mind to eliminate painful memories or cure addictions.Neuroscience has already made all of this possible today, and neurotechnology will soon become the universal controller for all of our interactions with technology. This can benefit humanity immensely, but without safeguards, it can seriously threaten our fundamental human rights to privacy, freedom of thought, and self-determination.From one of the world's foremost experts on the ethics of neuroscience, The Battle for Your Brain offers a path forward to navigate the complex legal and ethic
£22.09
Kogan Page Responsible AI
Book SynopsisOlivia Gambelin is a leading AI ethicist who specializes in the practical application of ethics to technological and artificial intelligence innovation. She is the founder of Ethical Intelligence, an AI ethics advisory firm. Gambelin works directly with business leaders on the operational and strategic development of Responsible AI, has advised multiple organizations in utilizing ethics as a decision-making tool and also advises on AI policy, governance and regulation. Gambelin is based between San Francisco, California and Brussels, Belgium.
£30.39
Kogan Page Responsible AI
Book SynopsisOlivia Gambelin is a leading AI Ethicist who specializes in the practical application of ethics to technological and artificial intelligence innovation. She is the founder of Ethical Intelligence, an AI Ethics advisory firm. Gambelin works directly with business leaders on the operational and strategic development of Responsible AI, has advised multiple organizations in utilizing ethics as a decision-making tool and also advises on AI policy, governance and regulation. Gambelin is based between San Francisco, California and Brussels, Belgium.
£87.30
Hodder & Stoughton If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal
Book SynopsisCHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023 BY WATERSTONES AND THE TIMES''Entertaining and original.'' Guardian''Accessible and insightful, it''s a thought-provoking read.'' Observer'' Highly readable.'' The Times''Nothing less than brilliant.'' Wall Street JournalWhat if human intelligence is actually more of a liability than a gift? After all, the animal kingdom, in all its diversity, gets by just fine without it. At first glance, human history is full of remarkable feats of intelligence, yet human exceptionalism can be a double-edged sword. With our unique cognitive prowess comes severe consequences, including existential angst, violence, discrimination, and the creation of a world teetering towards climate catastrophe. What if human exceptionalism is more of a curse than a blessing?As Justin Gregg puts it, there''s an evolutionary reason why human intelligence isn''t moreTrade ReviewI love the book and everyone should read it -- Ryan HolidayIf Nietzsche Were A Narwhal makes some extraordinary and thought-provoking points. It is not only engagingly written, but its controversial thesis is worth taking seriously... some of the cognitive concepts introduced...are nothing less than brilliant. * Wall Street Journal *Beautiful, thought-provoking, and often hilarious * BBC Science Focus *Gregg's clever and provocative book is full of irreverent notions and funny anecdotes - the creative upside to being a human animal. But our ability to abstract from our immediate experience means we can take that creativity too far....undeniably entertaining * New York Times *A dazzling, delightful read on what animal cognition can teach us about our own mental shortcomings. You won't just tear through this book in one sitting - you'll probably want to invite Justin Gregg over for dinner to spend more time inside his brilliant mind. This is one of the best debuts I've read in a long time, and I dare you to open it without rethinking some of your basic ideas about intelligence. -- Adam GrantI defy you not to be interested by this book - it finds a novel way of getting at very deep questions about who we are and what it means, and does so with clear-eyed compassion and a certain humor that softens the conclusion a bit -- Bill McKibbenCombining first rate story-telling with the latest research on animal minds and cognitive psychology, If Nietzsche Were A Narwhal is the rare book that will cause readers to think deeply about big questions and moral issues and to laugh out loud on nearly every page. I loved it. -- Hal HerzogIf Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is a book full of observations as surprising and off-the-beaten-path as its title. It's scientifically very well informed. It's not a treatise - it's a pleasure. -- Carl SafinaI felt dumber after reading this book. Mission accomplished, Justin! -- David GrimmWe've heard that a mind is a terrible thing to waste, but have you ever considered that having a human mind is more a bane than a gift? Justin Gregg's delightful and provocative book melds science with anecdote to explore that question. Read it, have your preconceptions challenged, and feel some humility. It might do you good. -- Jonathan BalcombeA highly original take on the nature of intelligence across life forms. Simultaneously thought -provoking and delightfully humorous, Justin Gregg guides readers into an essential re-thinking of human exceptionalism. This is a welcome upending of all we have been molded to believe about humans and other animal minds. -- Lyanda Lynn HauptThis is an important book to read if you want to understand animals for what they are - not as cardboard cutouts, or as furry humans. Animal minds aren't in competition with us, although Gregg makes a good case that if they were, they would win hands down. The idea that human intelligence may be nothing more than a failed evolutionary dead end, gives humanity an important challenge to which we must rise. -- Arik KershenbaumWhat's it like to be a bat, a bee, or a bed bug? In this enthralling book, Justin Gregg offers a window into the minds of other creatures, and debunks many of the myths of human exceptionalism. He makes the provocative argument that human thinking may be complex, but it is by no means superior - and its unique qualities could even be the cause of our species' ultimate downfall. If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is both a humbling and awe-inspiring read. -- David RobsonA funny, perceptive book that answers questions we've been told not to ask. Like many of the great sages, Justin Gregg uses animal stories to treat deep questions of consciousness and justice. The result is a deft field guide to the mixed blessings of intelligence and the real possibility that consciousness (and joy) exist perfectly well without it. -- William PoundstoneA sparkling and witty tour of the many minds we share this planet with. Nietzsche might be surprised to find himself contemplated in the company of beasts from narwhals to slugs - but the fascinating and detailed payoff of the cognitive lives of so many animals is immense. -- Clive WynneEnlightening! If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is a hilarious and thrilling look at intelligence that asks: are humans really the best? Gregg will dazzle and sweep you off your feet with his detailed exploration of the animal kingdom and its many secrets. This is an absolute must-read. -- Wednesday MartinIf Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is an unusual, delightful, and entertaining book that will help us achieve a more precise understanding of human nature, counterintuitively by looking at our reflection in light of the clues of conscious behavior expressed by our fellow animals. I loved Dr. Gregg's book because I learned quite a few interesting things from each chapter. As a scholar, I can offer no higher praise. Highly recommended. -- Oné R PagánIf Nietzsche were a Narwhal is a beautiful, thought-provoking and often hilarious exploration of this planet's different kinds of minds. Justin Gregg points out that while many of the hallmarks of human intelligence are also found, in some form, in animals from insects to narwhals, humans are by all means exceptional. But our intelligence is still constrained by our evolutionary history; we may be too intelligent for own good, and too stupid to look after our planet with a sufficiently long-term planning perspective. Gregg's magnificent book is a poignant reminder that if we don't raise our game fast, we might once again cede Earth to the rule of insects and other supposedly less intelligent creatures. -- Lars Chittka[If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal] challenges deep-seated ideas about the superiority of human intelligence by contrasting it with stories of animals who've gotten along just fine without it * Publishers Weekly *A fascinating take on human intelligence. * Kirkus Reviews *Wonderfully accessible and charmingly narrated, this is a fascinating investigation of intellect and cognition -- Publishers Weekly(An) entertaining and original book...Gregg is a brilliant communicator of complex ideas, with a writing style that is rich in both humour and detail. His argument is also surprisingly convincing. * PD Smith, Guardian *So many of our narratives describe how our mega-human brains have allowed us to conquer the world. But these brains have also led us to a point where we might make ourselves extinct. And crucially, do they make us any happier? These are deep and important questions; Gregg harnesses his marvellous human brain to also make them really funny. This is a great way to get acquainted with the current understanding of other animal intelligence and an interesting corrective to our anthropocentric instincts. * BBC Science Focus *Justin Gregg's witty exploration of animal intelligence is a useful guide - but there is more to human life than a search for contentedness... No one who reads Gregg's witty and instructive book will come away without having learnt some humbling truths about themselves and their animal kin. His argument is twofold. He details instances of intelligent behaviour which show that attributes believed to be uniquely human are present, in varying degrees, in animals, birds, fish and insects. On the other hand, he suggests that in humans these attributes come at a price. Consciousness - the hallmark of the human species in many philosophies - is double-edged in precisely this way. * New Statesman *'By melding science, history and philosophy, the book becomes a highly readable, and on occasion quite surprising, tour of the limits of consciousness.' * The Times *'His understanding of human and animal cognition provides real insight into how we think, why our brains have evolved to think that way, and what we might want to do about it - since, perhaps uniquely as a species, we can.' * Financial Times *'A fascinating work of popular science... Accessible and insightful, it's a thought-provoking read.' * The Observer *
£19.80
Hodder & Stoughton If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal
Book SynopsisCHOSEN AS A BOOK OF THE YEAR BY WATERSTONES AND THE TIMES''Nothing less than brilliant'' Wall Street Journal''Entertaining and original'' Guardian''Accessible and insightful, it''s a thought-provoking read'' Observer''Highly readable'' The Times__________What''s it like to be a bat, a bee, or a bed bug? From narwhals to slugs, Dr Justin Gregg offers a window into the minds of other creatures and debunks many of the myths of human exceptionalism. With the latest research on animal minds and cognitive psychology, he shows us what animal minds can teach us about humanity''s shortcomings. Mind-bending, humbling and hilarious, If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal will change how you think about animals, humans, and the meaning of life itself.__________''Provides real insight into hoTrade ReviewI love the book and everyone should read it -- Ryan HolidayIf Nietzsche Were A Narwhal makes some extraordinary and thought-provoking points. It is not only engagingly written, but its controversial thesis is worth taking seriously... some of the cognitive concepts introduced...are nothing less than brilliant. * Wall Street Journal *Beautiful, thought-provoking, and often hilarious * BBC Science Focus *Gregg's clever and provocative book is full of irreverent notions and funny anecdotes - the creative upside to being a human animal. But our ability to abstract from our immediate experience means we can take that creativity too far....undeniably entertaining * New York Times *A dazzling, delightful read on what animal cognition can teach us about our own mental shortcomings. You won't just tear through this book in one sitting - you'll probably want to invite Justin Gregg over for dinner to spend more time inside his brilliant mind. This is one of the best debuts I've read in a long time, and I dare you to open it without rethinking some of your basic ideas about intelligence. -- Adam GrantI defy you not to be interested by this book - it finds a novel way of getting at very deep questions about who we are and what it means, and does so with clear-eyed compassion and a certain humor that softens the conclusion a bit -- Bill McKibbenCombining first rate story-telling with the latest research on animal minds and cognitive psychology, If Nietzsche Were A Narwhal is the rare book that will cause readers to think deeply about big questions and moral issues and to laugh out loud on nearly every page. I loved it. -- Hal HerzogIf Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is a book full of observations as surprising and off-the-beaten-path as its title. It's scientifically very well informed. It's not a treatise - it's a pleasure. -- Carl SafinaI felt dumber after reading this book. Mission accomplished, Justin! -- David GrimmWe've heard that a mind is a terrible thing to waste, but have you ever considered that having a human mind is more a bane than a gift? Justin Gregg's delightful and provocative book melds science with anecdote to explore that question. Read it, have your preconceptions challenged, and feel some humility. It might do you good. -- Jonathan BalcombeA highly original take on the nature of intelligence across life forms. Simultaneously thought -provoking and delightfully humorous, Justin Gregg guides readers into an essential re-thinking of human exceptionalism. This is a welcome upending of all we have been molded to believe about humans and other animal minds. -- Lyanda Lynn HauptThis is an important book to read if you want to understand animals for what they are - not as cardboard cutouts, or as furry humans. Animal minds aren't in competition with us, although Gregg makes a good case that if they were, they would win hands down. The idea that human intelligence may be nothing more than a failed evolutionary dead end, gives humanity an important challenge to which we must rise. -- Arik KershenbaumWhat's it like to be a bat, a bee, or a bed bug? In this enthralling book, Justin Gregg offers a window into the minds of other creatures, and debunks many of the myths of human exceptionalism. He makes the provocative argument that human thinking may be complex, but it is by no means superior - and its unique qualities could even be the cause of our species' ultimate downfall. If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is both a humbling and awe-inspiring read. -- David RobsonA funny, perceptive book that answers questions we've been told not to ask. Like many of the great sages, Justin Gregg uses animal stories to treat deep questions of consciousness and justice. The result is a deft field guide to the mixed blessings of intelligence and the real possibility that consciousness (and joy) exist perfectly well without it. -- William PoundstoneA sparkling and witty tour of the many minds we share this planet with. Nietzsche might be surprised to find himself contemplated in the company of beasts from narwhals to slugs - but the fascinating and detailed payoff of the cognitive lives of so many animals is immense. -- Clive WynneEnlightening! If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is a hilarious and thrilling look at intelligence that asks: are humans really the best? Gregg will dazzle and sweep you off your feet with his detailed exploration of the animal kingdom and its many secrets. This is an absolute must-read. -- Wednesday MartinIf Nietzsche Were a Narwhal is an unusual, delightful, and entertaining book that will help us achieve a more precise understanding of human nature, counterintuitively by looking at our reflection in light of the clues of conscious behavior expressed by our fellow animals. I loved Dr. Gregg's book because I learned quite a few interesting things from each chapter. As a scholar, I can offer no higher praise. Highly recommended. -- Oné R PagánIf Nietzsche were a Narwhal is a beautiful, thought-provoking and often hilarious exploration of this planet's different kinds of minds. Justin Gregg points out that while many of the hallmarks of human intelligence are also found, in some form, in animals from insects to narwhals, humans are by all means exceptional. But our intelligence is still constrained by our evolutionary history; we may be too intelligent for own good, and too stupid to look after our planet with a sufficiently long-term planning perspective. Gregg's magnificent book is a poignant reminder that if we don't raise our game fast, we might once again cede Earth to the rule of insects and other supposedly less intelligent creatures. -- Lars Chittka[If Nietzsche Were a Narwhal] challenges deep-seated ideas about the superiority of human intelligence by contrasting it with stories of animals who've gotten along just fine without it * Publishers Weekly *
£10.44
John Wiley and Sons Ltd What Is Nanotechnology and Why Does It Matter
Book SynopsisOngoing research in nanotechnology promises both innovations and risks, potentially and profoundly changing the world. This book helps to promote a balanced understanding of this important emerging technology, offering an informed and impartial look at the technology, its science, and its social impact and ethics. Nanotechnology is crucial for the next generation of industries, financial markets, research labs, and our everyday lives; this book provides an informed and balanced look at nanotechnology and its social impact Offers a comprehensive background discussion on nanotechnology itself, including its history, its science, and its tools, creating a clear understanding of the technology needed to evaluate ethics and social issues Authored by a nanoscientist and philosophers, offers an accurate and accessible look at the science while providing an ideal text for ethics and philosophy courses Explores the most immediate and urgent areas oTrade Review“This book deserves to be read by anyone interested in why nanotechnology is important and why it matters, and particularly by anyone new to this field. For those already familiar with some (if not all) of the topics that the book covers, there is still some benefit to be gained from reading about some of the latest applications in areas in which they may not have such detailed knowledge. It also permits the reader to take a critical stance on the topics and arguments raised in the book, especially since the book’s objective is to prompt the dialogue that is needed to achieve further progress and to continue to broaden the debates.” (Nanoethics, 1 October 2014)” “However, for the reader looking for general background about nanotechnology and many of its social and ethical issues, the book is worth reading, as long as its arguments are carefully scrutinized and increased understanding of connections among such issues is not expected.” (Bioethical Inquiry, 2011) “I highly recommend this book. It is certain that nanotechnology’s advance will continue, affecting many facets of our lives. Fritz Allhof, Patrick Lin, and Daniel Moore have provided the best available overview of the many changes that one can expect to see as a result of nanotechnology’s continued advances, and the many ethical implications inherent in this advance. While the authors ask many more questions than they answer, they prepare the intellectual landscape for the ethical debates that are certain to take place over the coming years regarding the often-insidious infusion of various manifestations of nanotechnology into our society.” (Journal of Military Ethics, 19 April 2012) "In their recent publication, What is Nanotechnology and Why Does it Matter: From Science to Ethics, the authors Fritz Allhoff, Patrick Lin, and Daniel Moore search for answers to these two questions-questions which, whether directly addressed or not, underlie all scholarly, political, and consumer protection writings on nanotechnology. In this 260 page, thirteen-chapter book, the authors come impressively close to providing satisfying answers to these questions." (Amber Hottes, Nanotechnology Law & Business, Volume 7, Issue 2) "As with a number of other such books in print, "What is Nanotechnology and why does it Matter?" brings both scientific knowledge and Ethical/Legal/Societal implications (ELSI) to bear. It heralds the profound changes of nanotechnology while attempting to provide an effective way to deliberate ELSI, as nanotechnology unfolds into full development. In seeking to "tame a riot of speculation" [ix], Allhoff, Lin, and Moore reveal much of the complexity of the ongoing discourse on this matter, leaving quandary on multiple related issues. The tripartite layout of the book demarcates particular areas of expertise represented by the individual authors, in an unusual collaboration that brings distinctive breadth to a relatively well-published area of inquiry." (Rosalyn W. Berne, The Journal of Philosophy, Science & Law, Volume 11, 10 October 2011) "The book is well-suited to be used either as a coherent text for introductory courses focused specifically on nanotechnology, or used as stand-alone chapters that can be selected to augment and supplement readings in a wide range of courses in fields such as public policy, engineering, sociology, or philosophy of science. The highly interdisciplinary perspective offered in this book should also serve as a model of how scholars can effectively collaborate across fields in ways that break down obstacles and connect findings across disciplines that are all-too-often isolated." (Evan S. Michelson, Science and Public Policy, 2011) "Overall What is Nanotechnology and Why does it Matter? From Science to Ethics makes an important contribution to the literature as it offers an overview of the nature and implications of nanotechnology. Scientists, researchers, students, industry executives and policymakers will find this volume extremely informative and useful. As advancements in nanotechnology will take place, further dialogues and debates are needed to move nano-products responsibly into the market." (Fabrice Jotterand, International Journal of Applied Philosophy,2010) "Undoubtedly, reading this book will stimulate a great deal of discussion, which is, perhaps, its chief merit. From this viewpoint the great breadth of coverage is a definite advantage, because it ensures that there is a great variety of food for thought in the content." (Nanotechnology Perceptions, 1 November 2010) "This book was very carefully constructed. Painstaking internal cross-reference refer the reader to fuller discussions of topics in other chapters. Nearly every chapter, at the start and conclusion, includes a few sentences on scope." (Nanotechnology Law & Business, summer 2010) Table of ContentsPreface viii Unit I What Is Nanotechnology? 1 1 The Basics of Nanotechnology 3 1.1 Definitions and Scales 3 1.2 The Origins of Nanotechnology 5 1.3 The Current State of Nanotechnology 8 1.4 The Future of Nanotechnology 12 1.5 Nanotechnology in Nature and Applications 16 2 Tools of the Trade 20 2.1 Seeing the Nanoscale 21 2.2 Basic Governing Theories 30 3 Nanomaterials 36 3.1 Formation of Materials 36 3.2 Carbon Nanomaterials 37 3.3 Inorganic Nanomaterials 44 4 Applied Nanotechnology 56 4.1 Using Nanomaterials 56 4.2 Nanotechnology Computing and Robotics 62 4.3 Predicting the Future of Technology 67 Unit II Risk, Regulation, and Fairness 71 5 Risk and Precaution 73 5.1 Risk 73 5.2 Cost–Benefit Analysis 79 5.3 Precautionary Principles 82 5.4 Evaluating the Precautionary Principle 89 6 Regulating Nanotechnology 96 6.1 The Stricter-Law Argument 97 6.2 Learning from History 100 6.3 Objections to the Stricter-Law Argument 102 6.4 An Interim Solution? 120 6.5 Putting the Pieces Together 124 7 Equity and Access 126 7.1 Distributive Justice 127 7.2 Nanotechnology and the Developing World 132 7.3 Water Purification 135 7.4 Solar Energy 140 7.5 Medicine 143 7.6 Nanotechnology, the Developing World, and Distributive Justice 145 Unit III Ethical and Social Implications 151 8 Environment 153 8.1 Society, Technology, and the Environment 154 8.2 Environmental Risks of Nanotechnology 159 8.3 Nanotechnology Solutions to Environmental Problems 161 8.4 Overall Assessments: Risk and Precaution 168 9 Military 170 9.1 The Military and Technology 170 9.2 A Nano-Enabled Military 173 9.3 A Nano-Enabled Defense System 177 9.4 Ethical Concerns 179 10 Privacy 185 10.1 Historical and Legal Background 186 10.2 Philosophical Foundations 192 10.3 Radio Frequency Identity Chips 198 10.4 Item-Level Tagging 201 10.5 Human Implants 204 10.6 RFID-Chipped Identification 207 10.7 Is RFID a Threat to Privacy? 210 11 Medicine 215 11.1 The Rise of Nanomedicine 216 11.2 Diagnostics and Medical Records 219 11.3 Treatment 223 11.4 Moving Forward 227 12 Human Enhancement 230 12.1 What is Human Enhancement? 231 12.2 Defining Human Enhancement 234 12.3 The Therapy–Enhancement Distinction 237 12.4 Human Enhancement Scenarios 240 12.5 Untangling the Issues in Human Enhancement 243 12.6 Restricting Human Enhancement Technologies? 252 13 Conclusion 254 13.1 Chapter Summaries 255 13.2 Final Thoughts and Future Investigations 258 References 261 Index 282
£30.56
Johns Hopkins University Press The Pursuit of Parenthood
Book SynopsisA wide-ranging history of assisted reproductive technologies and their ethical implications. Finalist of the PROSE Award for Best Book in History of Science, Medicine and Technology by the Association of American PublishersSince the 1978 birth of the first IVF baby, Louise Brown, in England, more than eight million children have been born with the help of assisted reproductive technologies. From the start, they have stirred controversy and raised profound questions: Should there be limits to the lengths to which people can go to make their idea of family a reality? Who should pay for treatment? How can we ensure the ethical use of these technologies? And what can be done to address the racial and economic disparities in access to care that enable some to have children while others go without?In The Pursuit of Parenthood, historian Margaret Marsh and gynecologist Wanda Ronner seek to answer these challenging questions. Bringing their unique expertise in gender history and women's healTrade ReviewMargaret Marsh and Wanda Ronner are clear in what they advocate . . . they are wonderfully level-headed guides.—Michele Pridmore-Brown, Times Literary SupplementTable of ContentsPreface Introduction. The Past as Prologue Chapter 1. Test-Tube Babies Just around the Corner Chapter 2. From First Dream to First Baby Chapter 3. IVF Comes to America Chapter 4. From Miracle Births to Medical Mainstream Chapter 5. The Elusive Search for National Consensus Chapter 6. A Lot of Money Being MadeChapter 7. Beyond InfertilityChapter 8. Can the Wild West of Reproductive Medicine Be Tamed?Appendix. Assisted Reproductive Technologies by (Some of) the Numbers Acknowledgments NotesIndex
£22.50
Taylor & Francis Ltd The Ethics of Nanotechnology Geoengineering and
Book SynopsisNanotechnology, clean technology, and geoengineering span the scale of human ingenuity, from the imperceptibly small to the unimaginably large. Yet they are united by a commonality of ethics that permeates how and why they are developed, and how the resulting consequences are managed. The articles in this volume provide a comprehensive account of current thinking around the ethics of development and use within each of the technological domains, and addresses challenges and opportunities that cut across all three. In particular, the collection provides unique insights into the ethics of 'noumenal' technologies - technologies that are impossible to see or detect or conceive of with human senses or conventional tools. This collection will be of relevance to anyone who is actively involved with ensuring the responsible and sustainable development of nanotechnology, geoengineering or clean technology.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements -- Series Preface -- Introduction -- Part I: Nanotechnology -- 1. Grunwald, A. “Nanotechnology - A new field of ethical inquiry?” Science and Engineering Ethics 11(2), 2005, pp187-201 -- 2. Lewenstein, B.V. “What Counts as a ‘Social and Ethical Issue’ in Nanotechnology?” Hyle 11(1-2), 2005, pp5-18 -- 3. Nurock, V. “Nanoethics: Ethics For, From, or With Nanotechnologies?” Hyle 16(1), 2010, pp31-42 -- 4. Mnyusiwalla, A., A.S. Daar and P.A. Singer ‘“Mind the gap’: science and ethics in nanotechnology.” Nanotechnology 14(3), 2003, R9-R13 -- 5. Nordmann, A. “Noumenal technology: Reflections on the incredible tininess of nano.” Nanotechnology Challenges: Implications for Philosophy, Ethics and Society, J. Schummer and D. Baird (eds), World Scientific Publishing Company: pp49-72 -- 6. Dupuy, J.P. “Some Pitfalls in the Philosophical Foundations of Nanoethics.” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 32(3), 2007, pp237-261 -- 7. Nordmann, A. “If and Then: A Critique of Speculative NanoEthics.” Nanoethics 1, 2007, pp31-46 -- 8. Rip, A. “Folk Theories of Nanotechnologists.” Science as Culture 15(4), 2006, pp349-365 -- 9. Khushf, G. “Systems theory and the ethics of human enhancement - A framework for NBIC convergence.” Coevolution of Human Potential and Converging Technologies 1013, 2004, pp124-149 -- 10. Sparrow, R. “The Social Impacts of Nanotechnology: an Ethical and Political Analysis.” Journal of Bioethical Inquiry 6(1), 2009, pp13-23 -- 11. Wolbring, G. “Nanoscale science and technology and social cohesion.” International Journal of Nanotechnology 7(2-3), 2010, pp155-172 -- Part II: Geoengineering -- 12. Keith, D.W. “Geoengineering the Climate: History and Prospect.” Annual Review of Energy and the Environment 25, 2000, pp245-284 -- 13. Jamieson, D. “Ethics and intentional climate change.” Climatic Change 33(3), 1996, pp323-336 -- 14. Morrow, D.R., R.E. Kopp and M. Oppenheimer “Toward ethical norms and institutions for climate engineering research.” Environmental Research Letters 4(4), 2009, pp1-8 -- 15. Preston, C.J. “Ethics and geoengineering: reviewing the moral issues raised by solar radiation management and carbon dioxide removal.” Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews - Climate Change 4(1), 2013, pp23-37 -- 16. Hale, B. and L. Dilling “Geoengineering, Ocean Fertilization, and the Problem of Permissible Pollution.” Science Technology & Human Values 36(2), 2011, pp190-212 -- 17. Hulme, M. “Climate change: Climate engineering through stratospheric aerosol injection.” Progress in Physical Geography 36(5), 2012, pp694-705 -- 18. Gardiner, S.M. “Some Early Ethics of Geoengineering the Climate: A Commentary on the Values of the Royal Society Report.” Environmental Values 20(2), 2011, pp163-188 -- 19. Stilgoe, J., R. Owen and P. Macnaghten “Developing a framework for responsible innovation.” Research Policy 42(9), 2013, pp1568-1580 -- 20. Corner, A., and Pidgeon, N. “Like artificial trees? The effect of framing by natural analogy on public perceptions of geoengineering.” Climatic Change, 2014, pp1-14 -- Part III: Clean Technology -- 21. Dyer, H. (2013). “Ethical dimensions of renewable energy.”. International Handbook of Energy Security. H. Dyer and M.J. Trombetta. Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd, pp443-461 -- 22. Matson, R.J. and M. Carasso “Sustainability, energy technologies, and ethics.” Renewable Energy 16(1-4), 1999, pp1200-1203 -- 23. Leonard, R.S. “Synthetic fuels, and a sustainable set of civilizations.” Solar Energy 56(1), 1996, pp61-77 -- 24. Thompson, P.B. “The agricultural ethics of biofuels: A first look.” Journal of Agricultural & Environmental Ethics 21(2), 2008, pp183-198 -- 25. Schot, J.W. “Constructive Technology-Assessment and Technology Dynamics: The Case of Clean Technologies.” Science Technology & Human Values 17(1), 1992, pp36-56 -- Part IV: Overarching Issues and Challenges -- 26. Fortun, M. “For an ethics of promising, or: a few kind words about James Watson.” New Genetics and Society 24(2), 2005, pp157-173 -- 27. Jasanoff, S. “Constitutional Moments in Governing Science and Technology.” Science and Engineering Ethics 17(4), 2011, pp621-638 -- 28. Schuurbiers, D. “What happens in the Lab: Applying Midstream Modulation to Enhance Critical Reflection in the Laboratory.” Science and Engineering Ethics 17, 2011, pp769-788 -- 29. Guston, D.H. “The Pumpkin or the Tiger? Michael Polanyi, Frederick Soddy, and Anticipating Emerging Technologies.” Minerva 50(3), 2012, pp363-379 -- Index.
£285.00
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Turned On
Book Synopsis''Illuminating, witty and written with a wide open mind'' - Sunday TimesAn exploration of humans, sexuality, interaction and technology through the lens of the sex robot.The idea of the seductive sex robot is the stuff of myth, legend and science fiction. From the myth of Laodamia in Ancient Greece to twenty-first century TV shows such as Westworld, robots in human form have captured our imagination, our hopes and our fears. But beyond the fantasies there are real and fundamental questions about our relationship with technology as it moves into the realm of robotics.Turned On explores how the emerging and future development of sexual companion robots might affect us and the society in which we live. It explores the social changes arising from emerging technologies, and our relationships with the machines that someday may care for us and about us. Sex robots are here, and here to stay, and more are coming. Computer scientistTrade ReviewIlluminating, witty and written with a wide open mind. * Sunday Times *A lively, waggish guide to these uncharted waters, tracing ethics, sexuality, intimacy and the uncanny. * Tatler *A highly readable romp through the history of computers, robots and sex toys [...] A fascinating introduction to the state of sex-tech. * Science *For fans of Humans, Westworld and I, Robot. Or anyone who's ever enjoyed a flirtation with Alexa. Devlin takes us right through the AI revolution and its potential impact on our relationships [with] a relaxed and chatty tone. * Cosmopolitan *An engaging survey of the history of humanoids. * Financial Times *A timely, vital treatise [...] With charm and wit she tackles thorny issues. * Wired *An unusually cool-headed tour of the current sexbot terrain. [...] Devlin's calmer, more evidence-based middle path seems appealing, especially in an area where so much polemic has already risked deadening the nerves. * Harper's Magazine *One of Devlin's achievements is to humanise the sex robot makers and users – we are invited not to laugh at them, but to understand them. * The Times *Big on breadth and charm ... loaded with facts and anecdotes. * The Saturday Paper *This brilliant book is an intelligent, clear-eyed and often very funny deep dive into the history and future of love and machinery. -- Warren Ellis, author of TransmetropolitanAfter millennia of fornicating with foreign objects, the ultimate sex toy has finally arrived. Kate Devlin unpacks the very long, very dense history of the sex robot with style and wit. Spoiler alert: we haven't reached Westworld ... yet. -- Christopher Trout, Editor-in-Chief, EngadgetIn Turned On, Kate Devlin – the thinking person's navigator to the complex and potentially life-enhancing terrain of the sex robot – looks at the history of AI-enhanced erotic toys, then ventures far beyond our wildest imaginings. -- Rowan Pelling, Editor of The AmoristTable of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1: Been There, Done That Chapter 2: I, For One, Welcome Our New Robot Overlords Chapter 3: On Paperclips, Cats and Zombies Chapter 4: You Had Me at ‘Hello World’ Chapter 5: Silicone Valleys Chapter 6: Killer Gynoids and Manic Pixie Dream Bots Chapter 7: It’s All Academic Chapter 8: Utopia/Dystopia Chapter 9: Law and Disorders Chapter 10: What Comes Next? Epilogue: Better Loving Through Technology Select References Acknowledgements Index
£14.24
Edinburgh University Press Buying Your Self on the Internet
Book SynopsisThis book examines the rise of the direct-to-consumer genetic testing industry (DTC) and its use of 'wrap' contracts. It uses the example of DTC to show the challenges that disruptive technologies pose for societies and for regulation. It also uses the wrap contracts of DTC companies to explore broader issues with online contracting.
£94.50
McFarland & Co Inc Death by Technology
Book Synopsis This book refutes the 21st-century notion that advancing technology is an unambiguous social good, and examines the effects of this uncritical acceptance and dependence. The author argues that technology has become the new religion for the digital age, and that elevating technology to nearly the status of a deity allows for the denial of problems created by reliance upon machines. From the release of toxins into the environment to the unsustainable energy demands of the modern era, technological dependence is driving humanity near the brink of extinction. Despite these problems, and existential issues such as artificial intelligence and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, many people have an unwavering belief in the ability of technology, particularly any device labeled smart, to create a perfect future--while denying the history of unmet promises and unintended consequences of technological innovation. The author explores the psychological underpin
£32.39
Duke University Press Bodies as Evidence
Book SynopsisThrough global case studies that explore biometric identification, border control, forensics, militarized policing, and counterterrorism, the contributors show how bodies have become critical sources of evidence that is organized and deployed to classify, recognize, and manage human life.Trade Review"The volume certainly highlights what a conceptual anthropological engagement with 'security,' as well as with 'evidence' means. The volume will be worth reading for scholars in- and out-side anthropology interested in the production of knowledge, technologies, security and governmentality." -- Monika Weissensteiner * Surveillance Studies *“Bodies as Evidence poses a bold premise. It argues that not only is evidence beholden to social and political influences but that the glorification of evidence has demonstrable, and often dangerous, side effects on already marginalized communities. Its exemplary use of ethnographic and reflexive methodologies illustrates the vast complexity of seemingly objective data, and the practical limitations of collecting and employing it.” -- Sarah Maya Rosen * Journal of International & Global Studies *“This timely book will be of interest to political, legal, and social geographers concerned with the embodied and spatial implications of shifting laws and borders, and demands for evidence by and against the state.” -- Emily C. Kaufman * Social & Cultural Geography *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Bodies as Evidence / Mark Maguire and Ursula Rao 1 1. The Truth of the Error: Making Identity and Security through Biometric Discrimination / Elida Jacobsen and Ursula Rao 24 2. Injured by the Border: Security Buildup, Migrant Bodies, and Emergency Response in Southern Arizona / Ieva Jusionyte 43 3. E-Terrify: Securitized Immigration and Biometric Surveillance in the Workplace / Daniel M. Goldstein and Carolina Alonso-Bejarano 62 4. "Dead-Bodies-at-the-Border": Distributed Evidence and Emerging Forensic Infrastructure for Identificiation / Amade M'charek 89 5. The Transitional Lives of Crimes against Humanity: Forensic Evidence under Changing Political Circumstances / Antonius C. G. M. Robben and Francisco J. Ferrándiz 110 6. Policing Future Crimes / Mark Maguire 137 7. "Intelligence" and "Evidence": Sovereign Authority and the Differences that Words Make / Gregory Feldman 159 8. The Secrecy/Threat Matrix / Joseph P. Masco 175 9. What Do Your Want? Evidence and Fantasy in the War on Terror / Joseba Zulaika 201 Conclusion: Discontinuities and Diversity / Mark Maguire and Ursula Rao 228 Contributors 237 Index 241
£98.60
Duke University Press Bodies as Evidence
Book SynopsisFrom biometrics to predictive policing, contemporary security relies on sophisticated scientific evidence-gathering and knowledge-making focused on the human body. Bringing together new anthropological perspectives on the complexities of security in the present moment, the contributors to Bodies as Evidence reveal how bodies have become critical sources of evidence that is organized and deployed to classify, recognize, and manage human life. Through global case studies that explore biometric identification, border control, forensics, predictive policing, and counterterrorism, the contributors show how security discourses and practices that target the body contribute to new configurations of knowledge and power. At the same time, margins of error, unreliable technologies, and a growing suspicion of scientific evidence in a “post-truth” era contribute to growing insecurity, especially among marginalized populations. Contributors. Carolina Alonso-BejaraTrade Review"The volume certainly highlights what a conceptual anthropological engagement with 'security,' as well as with 'evidence' means. The volume will be worth reading for scholars in- and out-side anthropology interested in the production of knowledge, technologies, security and governmentality." -- Monika Weissensteiner * Surveillance Studies *“Bodies as Evidence poses a bold premise. It argues that not only is evidence beholden to social and political influences but that the glorification of evidence has demonstrable, and often dangerous, side effects on already marginalized communities. Its exemplary use of ethnographic and reflexive methodologies illustrates the vast complexity of seemingly objective data, and the practical limitations of collecting and employing it.” -- Sarah Maya Rosen * Journal of International & Global Studies *“This timely book will be of interest to political, legal, and social geographers concerned with the embodied and spatial implications of shifting laws and borders, and demands for evidence by and against the state.” -- Emily C. Kaufman * Social & Cultural Geography *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Bodies as Evidence / Mark Maguire and Ursula Rao 1 1. The Truth of the Error: Making Identity and Security through Biometric Discrimination / Elida Jacobsen and Ursula Rao 24 2. Injured by the Border: Security Buildup, Migrant Bodies, and Emergency Response in Southern Arizona / Ieva Jusionyte 43 3. E-Terrify: Securitized Immigration and Biometric Surveillance in the Workplace / Daniel M. Goldstein and Carolina Alonso-Bejarano 62 4. "Dead-Bodies-at-the-Border": Distributed Evidence and Emerging Forensic Infrastructure for Identificiation / Amade M'charek 89 5. The Transitional Lives of Crimes against Humanity: Forensic Evidence under Changing Political Circumstances / Antonius C. G. M. Robben and Francisco J. Ferrándiz 110 6. Policing Future Crimes / Mark Maguire 137 7. "Intelligence" and "Evidence": Sovereign Authority and the Differences that Words Make / Gregory Feldman 159 8. The Secrecy/Threat Matrix / Joseph P. Masco 175 9. What Do Your Want? Evidence and Fantasy in the War on Terror / Joseba Zulaika 201 Conclusion: Discontinuities and Diversity / Mark Maguire and Ursula Rao 228 Contributors 237 Index 241
£25.19
New York University Press Virtual Searches Regulating the Covert World of
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewWell-written, encyclopedic, and persuasive, Virtual Searches offers a fully-formed theory on the Fourth Amendment’s future in the face of new technologies. The rigor and depth of Slobogin’s analysis is rock solid and he offers a clear approach to regulating the hardest questions emerging around new policing technologies. -- Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, author of The Rise of Big Data Policing: Surveillance, Race, and the Future of Law EnforcementCutting-edge and well-written, this is an important book on a critical issue in policing and surveillance, and it presents a number of original ideas that will assist academics and policymakers in navigating these issues. I have never seen any other scholar offer such a comprehensive typology for different types of digital surveillance. -- Ric Simmons, Jacob E. Davis and Jacob E. Davis II Chair in Law, Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State UniversityIn a world of pervasive cameras and sensors, data harvesting, and artificial intelligence, what will become of privacy? Steering a middle course between outright bans and hands-off complacency, Christopher Slobogin argues persuasively that different investigative strategies pose different levels of risks and deserve different kinds of oversight. He offers an invaluable road map to new forms of surveillance and a thoughtful set of proposals for how they can and should be regulated in a democratic society. This is essential reading for anyone interested in balancing the interests of privacy and crime control as technology changes the nature of law enforcement. -- David Alan Sklansky, author of A Pattern of Violence: How the Law Classifies Crimes and What It Means for Justice"A leading scholar of the security and privacy implications of digital policing, Slobogin points out that Virtual Searches is not actually about searches—at least not within the legal meaning of the term. And that is exactly the book’s point (as its clever double-entendre of a title suggests): the Supreme Court’s narrow interpretation of a Fourth Amendment 'search' allows police to adopt a vast swath of investigative tactics without having to get a warrant based on probable cause. At the same time, Slobogin recognizes that not all 'virtual searches' are created equal, and he provides a reasonable framework for thinking about how to regulate the different kinds of investigations enabled by existing surveillance technology." -- Emily Berman * Boston Review *
£23.74
Anansi Eve
Book Synopsis
£15.29
University of Toronto Press Cybersecurity Management
Book SynopsisCybersecurity Management looks at the current state of cybercrime and explores how organizations can develop resources and capabilities to prepare themselves for the changing cybersecurity environment.Trade Review"This volume can be an excellent textbook for an MBA or cybersecurity course because each chapter contains a summary, a basic concepts vignette, definitions, discussion questions, and a relevant case study...In conclusion, this book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the global impacts of cybersecurity." -- Robert Vinaja, Texas A&M University * Journal of Global Information Technology Management *Table of ContentsPart 1: Mechanisms and Growth of Cybercrimes and the Current State of Cybersecurity 1. Growth of Cybercrimes and the Current State of Cybersecurity 2. The Economics of Cybercrimes 3. Positive Externality, Increasing Returns, and the Rise in Cybercrimes Part 2: Macrolevel Factors Affecting Cybercrime and Cybersecurity 4. Political, Social, Cultural, and Economic Factors Affecting Cybercrimes 5. Political, Cultural, Organizational, and Economic Factors Affecting Cybersecurity 6. Cybersecurity Policies and Strategies of Major Economies 7. Cybersecurity Issues in International Relations and National Security Part 3: Strategic and Organizational Issues Associated with Cybersecurity 8. Corporate Cybersecurity Strategy 9. Cybersecurity and Marketing: Illustration of Advertising and Branding 10. Cybersecurity in Human Resources Management Part 4: Privacy and Security Issues Associated With New and Evolving ICTs and Systems 11. Social Media 12. Cloud Computing 13. Big Data 14. Smart Cities and the Internet of Things (IoT) Part 5: Integrative Cases of Cybercrime Organizations’ Operations and Cybersecurity Measures Firms and Industries Appendix 1: Case Studies of Cybercrime Organizations’ Operations Appendix 2: Industry Analysis: Banking and Financial Services Industry’s Response to Cyberattacks and Related Problems Appendix 3: Case Studies of Legitimate Firms’ Cybersecurity Measures
£82.45
University of Toronto Press Cybersecurity Management
Book SynopsisCybersecurity Management looks at the current state of cybercrime and explores how organizations can develop resources and capabilities to prepare themselves for the changing cybersecurity environment.Trade Review"This volume can be an excellent textbook for an MBA or cybersecurity course because each chapter contains a summary, a basic concepts vignette, definitions, discussion questions, and a relevant case study...In conclusion, this book is highly recommended for anyone interested in the global impacts of cybersecurity." -- Robert Vinaja, Texas A&M University * Journal of Global Information Technology Management *Table of ContentsPart 1: Mechanisms and Growth of Cybercrimes and the Current State of Cybersecurity 1. Growth of Cybercrimes and the Current State of Cybersecurity 2. The Economics of Cybercrimes 3. Positive Externality, Increasing Returns, and the Rise in Cybercrimes Part 2: Macrolevel Factors Affecting Cybercrime and Cybersecurity 4. Political, Social, Cultural, and Economic Factors Affecting Cybercrimes 5. Political, Cultural, Organizational, and Economic Factors Affecting Cybersecurity 6. Cybersecurity Policies and Strategies of Major Economies 7. Cybersecurity Issues in International Relations and National Security Part 3: Strategic and Organizational Issues Associated with Cybersecurity 8. Corporate Cybersecurity Strategy 9. Cybersecurity and Marketing: Illustration of Advertising and Branding 10. Cybersecurity in Human Resources Management Part 4: Privacy and Security Issues Associated With New and Evolving ICTs and Systems 11. Social Media 12. Cloud Computing 13. Big Data 14. Smart Cities and the Internet of Things (IoT) Part 5: Integrative Cases of Cybercrime Organizations’ Operations and Cybersecurity Measures Firms and Industries Appendix 1: Case Studies of Cybercrime Organizations’ Operations Appendix 2: Industry Analysis: Banking and Financial Services Industry’s Response to Cyberattacks and Related Problems Appendix 3: Case Studies of Legitimate Firms’ Cybersecurity Measures
£43.20
University of Toronto Press Rescuing Humanity
Book SynopsisRescuing Humanity ?examines the possible roots of most planetary crises and reveals how we might instead create a livable and sustainable future.Table of ContentsPreface Introduction Suspended in Language and Culture Attempts at Escaping Our Suspension in Language and Culture Foundationalism and the Architecture of Non-Life The Technical Division of Labour and the Architecture of Non-Life Technique and the Architecture of Non-Life Technique, the State, and the Law Growing Up and Living with Technique 1. Our Physical Embodiment within the Relativity of Life and the World Can We Escape Our Embodiment? The Great Cultural Divide in the Relativity of Human Life The Relativity of Our Lives before Screen-Based Devices The General Relativity of Human Life and the World before Screen-based Devices 2. Our Social and Cultural Embodiment in the Relativity of Human Life in the World A Hidden Discontinuity The Artificiality of a Culture Screens as Magic Portals Growing Up with Symbolization and Desymbolization Two Streams of Experiences Language Acquisition in Anti-Societies with Three Frames of Reference 3. Living with a Dual Relativity beyond Cultural Embodiment A General Interpretation of Our Dual Relativity Living and Constructed Entities The Emergence of Cultural Mediation in a General Relativity From Cultural to Technical Mediation The Economy, Art, and the Order of Non-Sense Making Sense of Non-Sense 4. Mathematics as the Non-Language of Science and Technique Mathematical Foundations and Truths The Emergence of a Secular Religious Daily-Life World Science and Mathematics Disciplines, Games, and the General Relativity of Human Life Mathematics as a Discipline Mathematics, Languages, and Games Mathematics and Time Mathematics and Daily Life Mathematics and Education Is Mathematics the Secular Religion of Technique? 5. Human Knowing and Discipline-Based Science Is Our Science Unlike All Others? Disciplines and Daily-Life Knowing The Known and the Unknown Culture and Discipline-Based Science Science, Reality, and Our Life-Milieu Physics as a Mathematical Game? Our Metaphors for Space, Time, Matter, and Numbers Science, Religion, and Christianity 6. Human Doing, Technique, and the Living of Our Lives Naming What We Have Lost Recognizing the Symptoms of What We Have Lost Absolute and Relative Efficiency Economics as Technique Our Daily Lives and the Professions of Technique Technique and Non-Life Technique as Response to Relativism, Nihilism, and Anomie Epilogue: Possessed by Secular Myths Endangered by Secular Religious Attitudes Is Humanity Truly against Enslavement? Notes Index
£55.25
University of Toronto Press Rescuing Humanity
Book SynopsisIn Rescuing Humanity, Willem H. Vanderburg reminds us that we have relied on discipline-based approaches for human knowing, doing, and organizing for less than a century. During this brief period, these approaches have become responsible for both our spectacular successes and most of our social and environmental crises. At their roots is a cultural mutation that includes secular religious attitudes that veil the limits of these approaches, leading to their overvaluation. Because their use, especially in science and technology, is primarily built up with mathematics, living entities and systems can be dealt with only as if their architecture or design is based on the principle of non-contradiction, which is true only for non-living entities. This distortion explains our many crises. Vanderburg begins to explore the limits of discipline-based approaches, which guides the way toward developing complementary ones capable of transcending these limits. It is no different froTable of ContentsPreface Introduction Suspended in Language and Culture Attempts at Escaping Our Suspension in Language and Culture Foundationalism and the Architecture of Non-Life The Technical Division of Labour and the Architecture of Non-Life Technique and the Architecture of Non-Life Technique, the State, and the Law Growing Up and Living with Technique 1. Our Physical Embodiment within the Relativity of Life and the World Can We Escape Our Embodiment? The Great Cultural Divide in the Relativity of Human Life The Relativity of Our Lives before Screen-Based Devices The General Relativity of Human Life and the World before Screen-based Devices 2. Our Social and Cultural Embodiment in the Relativity of Human Life in the World A Hidden Discontinuity The Artificiality of a Culture Screens as Magic Portals Growing Up with Symbolization and Desymbolization Two Streams of Experiences Language Acquisition in Anti-Societies with Three Frames of Reference 3. Living with a Dual Relativity beyond Cultural Embodiment A General Interpretation of Our Dual Relativity Living and Constructed Entities The Emergence of Cultural Mediation in a General Relativity From Cultural to Technical Mediation The Economy, Art, and the Order of Non-Sense Making Sense of Non-Sense 4. Mathematics as the Non-Language of Science and Technique Mathematical Foundations and Truths The Emergence of a Secular Religious Daily-Life World Science and Mathematics Disciplines, Games, and the General Relativity of Human Life Mathematics as a Discipline Mathematics, Languages, and Games Mathematics and Time Mathematics and Daily Life Mathematics and Education Is Mathematics the Secular Religion of Technique? 5. Human Knowing and Discipline-Based Science Is Our Science Unlike All Others? Disciplines and Daily-Life Knowing The Known and the Unknown Culture and Discipline-Based Science Science, Reality, and Our Life-Milieu Physics as a Mathematical Game? Our Metaphors for Space, Time, Matter, and Numbers Science, Religion, and Christianity 6. Human Doing, Technique, and the Living of Our Lives Naming What We Have Lost Recognizing the Symptoms of What We Have Lost Absolute and Relative Efficiency Economics as Technique Our Daily Lives and the Professions of Technique Technique and Non-Life Technique as Response to Relativism, Nihilism, and Anomie Epilogue: Possessed by Secular Myths Endangered by Secular Religious Attitudes Is Humanity Truly against Enslavement? Notes Index
£28.80
Stanford University Press Regulating Human Research: IRBs from Peer Review
Book SynopsisInstitutional review boards (IRBs) are panels charged with protecting the rights of humans who participate in research studies ranging from biomedicine to social science. Regulating Human Research provides a fresh look at these influential and sometimes controversial boards, tracing their historic transformation from academic committees to compliance bureaucracies: non-governmental offices where specialized staff define and apply federal regulations. In opening the black box of contemporary IRB decision-making, author Sarah Babb argues that compliance bureaucracy is an adaptive response to the dynamics and dysfunctions of American governance. Yet this solution has had unforeseen consequences, including the rise of a profitable ethics review industry.Trade Review"Beautifully done. Sarah Babb adroitly explains IRBs as but one expression of a general feature of distributed governance in the United States. Like it or not, this is what happens to ethics in complex systems."—Mitchell Stevens, Stanford University"Scientific research has long been portrayed as self-regulating, governed by practices of peer review and professionalism. But in recent decades, this self-regulation has been brought into question by research gone drastically wrong and transformed by federal policy. Focusing on institutional review boards, Regulating Human Research uses this case to document how the American state relies on private organizations to interpret and implement policy. In this succinct and insightful account, Sarah Babb illuminates policy developments and organizational changes that have been felt by a wide range of researchers, in academic and commercial institutions alike."—Elisabeth S. Clemens, Civic Gifts: Voluntarism and the Making of the American Nation-State"It sounded so good: colleagues reviewing each others' projects to ensure that human research subjects were properly protected. And yet that project, like many, went badly off the rails. Sarah Babb's exceptionally lucid book explains how a flexible, locally controlled system morphed into a quasi-legal body of arcane rules, spawned a new profession, and split into private and for-profit branches that do more to protect research institutions than research subjects. Rounding out her story and seamlessly stitching together several fields, Babb explains why the pressures of ambiguous federal rules nevertheless led to quite different compliance bureaucracies in other fields such as financial services and equal employment law. If you have time for only one piece on IRBs—or indeed on responses to federal regulation—this book should be your hands-down choice. Or you could just read it because it's a fantastic and elegant piece of scholarship."—Carol A. Heimer, Northwestern University and American Bar Foundation"[An] outstanding volume....Babb's discussion of the differences between the ways equal employment opportunity, IRBs, and financial services approach compliance is compelling, particularly her consideration for the reliance of IRBs and financial services on efficiency goals. Thoughtful and readable. Highly recommended."—K. E. Murphy, CHOICETable of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Federal Crackdown and the Twilight of Approximate Compliance 2. Leaving It to the Professionals 3. Organizing for Efficiency 4. Ethics Review, Inc. 5. The Common Rule and Social Research 6. Varieties of Compliance Conclusion
£68.00
Stanford University Press Regulating Human Research: IRBs from Peer Review
Book SynopsisInstitutional review boards (IRBs) are panels charged with protecting the rights of humans who participate in research studies ranging from biomedicine to social science. Regulating Human Research provides a fresh look at these influential and sometimes controversial boards, tracing their historic transformation from academic committees to compliance bureaucracies: non-governmental offices where specialized staff define and apply federal regulations. In opening the black box of contemporary IRB decision-making, author Sarah Babb argues that compliance bureaucracy is an adaptive response to the dynamics and dysfunctions of American governance. Yet this solution has had unforeseen consequences, including the rise of a profitable ethics review industry.Trade Review"Beautifully done. Sarah Babb adroitly explains IRBs as but one expression of a general feature of distributed governance in the United States. Like it or not, this is what happens to ethics in complex systems."—Mitchell Stevens, Stanford University"Scientific research has long been portrayed as self-regulating, governed by practices of peer review and professionalism. But in recent decades, this self-regulation has been brought into question by research gone drastically wrong and transformed by federal policy. Focusing on institutional review boards, Regulating Human Research uses this case to document how the American state relies on private organizations to interpret and implement policy. In this succinct and insightful account, Sarah Babb illuminates policy developments and organizational changes that have been felt by a wide range of researchers, in academic and commercial institutions alike."—Elisabeth S. Clemens, Civic Gifts: Voluntarism and the Making of the American Nation-State"It sounded so good: colleagues reviewing each others' projects to ensure that human research subjects were properly protected. And yet that project, like many, went badly off the rails. Sarah Babb's exceptionally lucid book explains how a flexible, locally controlled system morphed into a quasi-legal body of arcane rules, spawned a new profession, and split into private and for-profit branches that do more to protect research institutions than research subjects. Rounding out her story and seamlessly stitching together several fields, Babb explains why the pressures of ambiguous federal rules nevertheless led to quite different compliance bureaucracies in other fields such as financial services and equal employment law. If you have time for only one piece on IRBs—or indeed on responses to federal regulation—this book should be your hands-down choice. Or you could just read it because it's a fantastic and elegant piece of scholarship."—Carol A. Heimer, Northwestern University and American Bar Foundation"[An] outstanding volume....Babb's discussion of the differences between the ways equal employment opportunity, IRBs, and financial services approach compliance is compelling, particularly her consideration for the reliance of IRBs and financial services on efficiency goals. Thoughtful and readable. Highly recommended."—K. E. Murphy, CHOICETable of ContentsIntroduction 1. The Federal Crackdown and the Twilight of Approximate Compliance 2. Leaving It to the Professionals 3. Organizing for Efficiency 4. Ethics Review, Inc. 5. The Common Rule and Social Research 6. Varieties of Compliance Conclusion
£18.89
Pan Macmillan Sex Robots & Vegan Meat: Adventures at the
Book Synopsis‘Like Louis Theroux channelling Margaret Atwood’ – New Statesman‘A tour of the lurid fringes of the tech world’ – The Times‘A moreish page-turner of a book’ – HeraldImagine if it was possible to have the perfect sexual relationship without compromise, eat meat without killing animals, have babies without the need to bear them, and choose the time of our painless death. Life would be better, right?All over the globe, people are trying to make this a reality. They want to use technology to solve the thorniest problems of humanity. But what if these ‘problems’ are the very things that make us human? Join Jenny Kleeman on an entertaining, thought-provoking adventure to a place where sex robots and vegan meat are no longer science fiction – right here, right now.Trade ReviewA tour of the lurid fringes of the tech world . . . Kleeman is an acerbic guide, whose understated common sense contrasts with the grandiosity of her interviewees. * The Times *Kleeman’s entertaining survey of the latest advances in life sciences . . . a little like Louis Therouxchannelling Margaret Atwood. She is an accomplished storyteller -- Johanna Thomas-Corr * New Statesman *A moreish page-turner of a book that will leave you feeling informed and ready for the next dinner party. * Herald *A pleasingly sceptical investigation into the innovations that could change the way we eat, have sexand die . . . compelling and thoughtful -- Fiona Sturges * Guardian *A fascinating book . . . It was so absolutely absorbing. I really, really loved this book. -- Jane Garvey * BBC Radio 4 *Mesmerising * Daily Mail *Thoughtful and diverting . . . Even if it doesn’t have the answers, this elegantly written and eye-opening book poses the right questions -- Ed Cumming * inews.co.uk *A fascinating examination of what the future holds . . . you will never look at a chickennugget in quite the same way again -- Elizabeth Day, author How to FailThe future is a fairly scary place, but there is no better guide to it than Jenny Kleeman. By turns alarming, funny, thought-provoking and fascinating, this is a book that brilliantly shows us where much of our life (and death) is heading. -- Stig AbellFascinating . . . an epic exercise in concision – all four of these sprawling chapters could have run to books on their own, and at times I wish they had -- Eleanor Halls * Daily Telegraph *Thoughtful scepticism makes Kleeman a savvy guide, and her fresh insights into, for example, disruptive technology’s gender dimension, underpin provocative takes on progress and human nature itself. Thoroughly absorbing * Observer *
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The System: Who Owns the Internet, and How It
Book Synopsis'A fascinating exposé of the world behind your screen. Timely, often disturbing, and so important' Caroline Criado Perez, author of Invisible Women 'Takes us beyond Zuckerberg, Bezos et al to a murkier world where we discover how everything online works and who benefits from it. Fascinating, engaging and important' Observer 'Could not be more timely' Spectator The internet is a network of physical cables and connections, a web of wires enmeshing the world, linking huge data centres to one another and eventually to us. All are owned by someone, financed by someone, regulated by someone. We refer to the internet as abstract from reality. By doing so, we obscure where the real power lies. In this powerful and necessary book, James Ball sets out on a global journey into the inner workings of the system. From the computer scientists to the cable guys, the billionaire investors to the ad men, the intelligence agencies to the regulators, these are the real-life figures powering the internet and pulling the strings of our society. Ball brilliantly shows how an invention once hailed as a democratising force has concentrated power in places it already existed – that the system, in other words, remains the same as it did before.Trade ReviewIn The System, James Ball takes a critical look at who runs the internet . . . His book is a sprightly history of the internet seen from the perspective of its inventors, investors, custodians, rule-makers and rebels . . . Ball recommends that we should pay far more attention to how the internet works and not allow ourselves to be “bamboozled into inaction” as we were with the finance industry before the 2008 crash * Financial Times *Ball, with this biography of the internet, takes us beyond Zuckerberg, Bezos et al into a murkier world where we discover how everything online works and who benefits from it. Fascinating, engaging and important, too * Observer *Ball is a sprightly writer and a master explainer . . . He has a gift for choosing which details to bring forth . . . He does an excellent job here of showing how the system works, where its levers of power are, and how they can be moved. Which is important. It’s important because you have an interest too . . . The System could not be more timely * Spectator *'An illuminating and focused guide on who controls the internet and how it controls us. Will change how you see the world -- Peter Pomerantsev, author of 'This is Not Propaganda'An excellent summary of how we got where we are, and how we can move forwards to build a better internet -- Jimmy Wales, founder of WikipediaA crisp, highly informative introduction to what ails the information industry and what can be done about it. Ball's analysis is thorough and courageously even-handed -- Praise for 'Post-Truth' * The Times *A vivid analysis of how the business models and incentives currently prevailing in digital media render decent discourse all but inaudible -- Kazuo Ishiguro, Praise for 'Post-Truth' * Guardian, Summer Reads *
£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Frontline Midwife: Finding hope in life, death
Book Synopsis‘Brutally powerful . . . Totally absorbing’ Independent ‘A gripping, honest and moving account of healthcare work in a war zone’ Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm At twenty-six years old, Anna Kent helped a woman deliver her baby in a tropical storm by the light of a headtorch. At age thirty she would be responsible for the female health of 30,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh. But returning to work for the NHS in the UK, she soon learned that even at home the right to a safe birth was impossible to take for granted. Frontline Midwife is Kent’s compassionate testament to the critical work of healthcare professionals around the world. ‘An extraordinary, profoundly moving, all-consuming memoir’ Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks ‘The heart-wrenching tale of one midwife’s quest to help others – and make peace with herself’ Leah Hazard, author of Hard PushedTrade ReviewSearingly honest . . . This brutally powerful memoir is full of incidents and suffering that will stay in your head . . . Although it’s a stark read, Frontline Midwife is totally absorbing because Kent holds nothing back, including about her own tragic experiences of miscarriage and loss. The book offers a window into a world that few of us could honestly face’ * Independent *Few can lay claim to a career as eventful as that of Anna Kent, a midwife who spent years delivering babies in war zones and refugee camps across the world. Her poignant memoir is a deeply thought-provoking read, at once devastating and brimming with hope * Woman's Own *Extraordinary . . . A sensationally powerful account of humanitarian aid work, the amazing people working in the field and attending patients, and the life-giving work of the medical profession both at home and overseas. A book that will stay with you * WI Life *An extraordinary, profoundly moving, all-consuming memoir that transports the reader deep into its world of heat, heartbreak, agonising moral dilemmas, and joy eked out against the backdrop of crisis. I haven't stopped thinking about Frontline Midwife since I finished reading it -- Oliver Burkeman, author of FOUR THOUSAND WEEKSThe heart-wrenching tale of one midwife’s quest to help others –and make peace with herself – in some of the world’s most challenging environments -- Leah Hazard, author of HARD PUSHEDIn this stunning, gripping true story, Anna Kent confronts unimaginable hardships to do good in the world . . . I was riveted and fascinated by her bravery, her journey and her spirit -- Delia EphronA gripping, honest and moving account of healthcare work in a war zone -- Henry Marsh
£9.49
Cambridge Scholars Publishing Latin American Perspectives on Scientific
Book SynopsisThis collection of papers presents case studies and reflections on research bioethics from the standpoint of two Latin American academics involved in the teaching and dissemination of good practices and essential information on bioethics and various related topics. While limited in scope to a few key issues, the text may be read as an inspiration to comparative analyses of research practices involving human subjects and as an example of the reception of fundamental ideas on science and technology adopted in the Latin American region after their development in other areas of the globe.
£22.49
Vintage Publishing Science Fictions: Exposing Fraud, Bias,
Book Synopsis'Required reading for everyone' Adam RutherfordShortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize 2021 Medicine, education, psychology, economics - wherever it really matters, we look to science for guidance. But what if science itself can't always be relied on?In this vital investigation, Stuart Ritchie reveals the disturbing flaws in today's science that undermine our understanding of the world and threaten human lives. With bias, careless mistakes and even outright forgery influencing everything from austerity economics to the anti-vaccination movement, he proposes vital remedies to save and protect science - this most valuable of human endeavours - from itself.* With a new afterword by the author *'Thrilling... Reminds us that another world is possible' The Times, Books of the Year'Excellent... We need better science. That's why books like this are so important' Evening StandardTrade ReviewThrilling ... Ritchie reminds us that another world is possible * The Times *Fascinating and often shocking * Sunday Times, Best Paperbacks of 2021 *The most important science story of our times ... evocative and engaging ... sometimes funny, sometimes shocking * Unherd *Excellent ... we need better science. That's why books like this are so important * Evening Standard *Entertaining ... revelatory ... brilliantly highlights the problems in current practices and sets out a path towards new ones * Daily Mail *A desperately important book, Science Fictions brilliantly exposes the fragility of the science on which lives, livelihoods and our whole society depend ... Required reading for everyone -- ADAM RUTHERFORD, author of How to Argue With a RacistRitchie's engaging tour of the dark side of research [...] has rumbled science's guilty secret ... the tragedy is that the current system does not just overlook our foibles, it amplifies them ... he's entertaining company ... an illuminating and thoughtful guide. Ultimately, he comes to praise science, not to bury it -- ROGER HIGHFIELD * Literary Review *An engagingly accessible set of cautionary tales to show how science and scientists can be led astray, in some instances with fatal consequences ... clear-eyed and chillingly accurate ... should be compulsory reading for anyone involved in the communication of science to policy makers and to the public -- GINA RIPPON, author of The Gendered BrainGripping tales of increasing recent villainy and bias in the laboratory, which should worry those of us who love science -- MATT RIDLEY, author of How Innovation WorksAll the replication-failure and scientific-misconduct stories you've ever heard are here - along with more that you haven't ... This comprehensive collection of mishaps, misdeeds and tales of caution is the great strength of Ritchie's offering ... Ritchie's four themes carve complex, interconnected issues at natural joints, and allow his case studies to shine -- Fiona Fidler * Nature *He has come to praise science, not to bury it; nevertheless, his analyses of science's current ethical ills - fraud, hype, negligence and so on - are devastating -- Simon Ings * Telegraph *Science Fictions... is a useful account of ten years or more of debate, mostly in specialist circles, about reproducibility -- John Whitfield * London Review of Books *
£10.44
