Social and ethical aspects Books

Book SynopsisManuel Castells - one of the world's pre-eminent social scientists - has drawn together a stellar group of contributors to explore the patterns and dynamics of the network society in its cultural and institutional diversity. The book analyzes the technological, cultural and institutional transformation of societies around the world in terms of the critical role of electronic communication networks in business, everyday life, public services, social interaction and politics. The contributors demonstrate that the network society is the new form of social organization in the Information age, replacing the Industrial society.The book analyzes processes of technological transformation in interaction with social culture in different cultural and institutional contexts: the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Finland, Russia, China, India, Canada, and Catalonia. The topics examined include business productivity, global financial markets, cultural identity, the uses of the Internet in education and health, the anti-globalization movement, political processes, media and identity, and public policies to guide technological development. Taken together these studies show that the network society adopts very different forms, depending on the cultural and institutional environments in which it evolves.The Network Society is an outstanding and original volume of direct interest in academia - particularly in the fields of social sciences, communication studies, and business schools - as well as for policymakers engaged in technological policy and economic development. Business and management experts will also discover much of value to them within this book.Trade Review‘The Network Society stimulates the reader to think about the network society in an innovative way. Because of its analytical aims and a well-balanced presentation of empirical findings and theoretical insights coming from a remarkable variety of authors, this is a book that might become a model for collaborative research in the years to come, as well as an invaluable reference for teaching and research on networking as an organizational form.' -- International Sociology - Review of BooksTable of ContentsContents: Part I: The Theory of the Network Society Part II: The Cultural and Institutional Diversity of the Network Society Part III: The Network Economy Part IV: Sociability and Social Structure in the Age of the Internet Part V: The Internet in the Public Interest Part VI: Networked Social Movements and Informational Politics Part VII: The Culture of the Network Society Index

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Book SynopsisThe new digital media offers us an unprecedented memory capacity, an ubiquitous communication channel and a growing computing power. How can we exploit this medium to augment our personal and social cognitive processes at the service of human development? Combining a deep knowledge of humanities and social sciences as well as a real familiarity with computer science issues, this book explains the collaborative construction of a global hypercortex coordinated by a computable metalanguage. By recognizing fully the symbolic and social nature of human cognition, we could transform our current opaque global brain into a reflexive collective intelligence.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements xv Chapter 1. General Introduction 1 1.1. The vision: to enhance cognitive processes 2 1.2. A transdisciplinary intellectual adventure 5 1.3. The result: toward hypercortical cognition 27 1.4. General plan of this book 35 PART 1. THE PHILOSOPHY OF INFORMATION 37 Chapter 2. The Nature of Information 41 2.1. Orientation 41 2.2. The information paradigm 45 2.3. Layers of encoding 56 2.4. Evolution in information nature 66 2.5. The unity of nature 69 Chapter 3. Symbolic Cognition 75 3.1. Delimitation of the field of symbolic cognition76 3.2. The secondary reflexivity of symbolic cognition 78 3.3. Symbolic power and its manifestations 80 3.4. The reciprocal enveloping of the phenomenal world and semantic world 82 3.5. The open intelligence of culture 84 3.6. Differences between animal and human collective intelligence 85 Chapter 4. Creative Conversation 89 4.1. Beyond “collective stupidity” 89 4.2. Reflexive explication and sharing of knowledge 92 4.3. The symbolic medium of creative conversation 103 Chapter 5. Toward an Epistemological Transformation of the Human Sciences 113 5.1. The stakes of human development 113 5.2. Critique of the human sciences 120 5.3. The threefold renewal of the human sciences 125 5.4. The Ouroboros 133 Chapter 6. The Information Economy 135 6.1. The symbiosis of knowledge capital and cognitive labor 136 6.2. Toward scientific self-management of collective intelligence 140 6.3. Flows of symbolic energy 144 6.4. Ecosystems of ideas and the semantic information economy 148 6.5. The semantic information economy in the digital medium 154 PART 2. MODELING COGNITION 159 Chapter 7. Introduction to the Scientific Knowledge of the Mind 161 7.1. Research program 161 7.2. The mind in nature 165 7.3. The three symbolic functions of the cortex 171 7.4. The IEML model of symbolic cognition. 176 7.5. The architecture of the Hypercortex 184 7.6. Overview: toward a reflexive collective intelligence 187 Chapter 8. The Computer Science Perspective: Toward a Reflexive Intelligence 189 8.1. Augmented collective intelligence 189 8.2. The purpose of automatic manipulation of symbols: cognitive modeling and self-knowledge 194 8.3. The means of automatic manipulation of symbols: beyond probabilities and logic 202 Chapter 9. General Presentation of the IEML Semantic Sphere 207 9.1. Ideas 208 9.2. Concepts 213 9.3. Unity and calculability 217 9.4. Symmetry 220 9.5. Internal coherence 225 9.6. Inexhaustible complexity 230 Chapter 10. The IEML Metalanguage 235 10.1. The problem of encoding concepts 235 10.2. Text units 238 10.3. Circuits of meaning 241 10.4. Between text and circuits 244 Chapter 11. The IEML Semantic Machine 253 11.1. Overview of the functions involved in symbolic cognition 253 11.2. Requirements for the construction of the IEML semantic machine 258 11.3. The IEML textual machine (S) 261 11.4. The STAR (Semantic Tool for Augmented Reasoning) linguistic engine (B) 264 11.5. The conceptual machine (T) 267 11.6. Conclusion 270 Chapter 12. The Hypercortex 275 12.1. The role of media and symbolic systems in cognition 275 12.2. The digital medium 277 12.3. The evolution of the layers of addressing in the digital medium 284 12.4. Between the Cortex and the Hypercortex 289 12.5. Toward an observatory of collective intelligence 291 12.6. Conclusion: the computability and interoperability of semantic and hermeneutic functions 296 Chapter 13. Hermeneutic Memory 299 13.1. Toward a semantic organization of memory 299 13.2. The layers of complexity of memory 302 13.3. Radical hermeneutics 304 13.4. The hermeneutics of information 308 13.5. The hermeneutics of knowledge 312 13.6. Wisdom 317 13.7. Collective interpretation games 318 Chapter 14. The Perspective of the Humanities: Toward Explicit Knowledge 323 14.1. Context 323 14.2. Methodology: the digital humanities 327 14.3. Epistemology: explicating symbolic cognition 331 Chapter 15. Observing Collective Intelligence 341 15.1. The semantic sphere as a mirror of concepts 341 15.2. The structure of the cognitive image 346 15.3. The two eyes of reflexive observation 350 Bibliography 353 Index 377

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Book SynopsisThis book is a study of the causes of spam, the behaviors associated to the generation of and the exposure to spam, as well as the protection strategies. The new behaviors associated to electronic communications are identified and commented. Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the number of e-mail and textual messages in your inbox, be it on your laptop, your Smartphone or your PC? This book should help you in finding a wealth of answers, tools and tactics to better surf the ICT wave in the professional environment, and develop proper protection strategies to mitigate your exposure to spam in any form.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ix Preface xi Introduction xv Chapter 1. Electronic Mail 1 1.1. Electronic mail, what is it exactly? 1 1.2. The most used communication tool in the professional world 2 1.2.1. E-mail or telephone? 2 1.2.2. A growth that is not slowing down 3 1.2.3. A perfectly adapted tool for a business in touch 4 1.3. Characteristics and beginning of misuse 4 1.3.1. A remote and asynchronous means of communication 5 1.3.2. Almost instantaneous and interactive 6 1.3.3. Textual 7 1.3.4. Ubiquitous and mobile 8 1.3.5. Which allows numerous messages to be sent 8 1.3.6. On to the storing and archiving of messages 9 1.4. E-mail versus other communication tools 10 1.5. The structure of e-mail and its susceptibility to misuse 12 1.5.1. Structure 12 1.5.2. Envelope and body of the message: two possible targets 14 1.6. Other forms of electronic communication, other flaws 15 1.6.1. Instant messaging 15 1.6.2. Micro-blogging 16 1.6.3. Social networks 17 1.7. Conclusion 17 Chapter 2. From Role to Identity 19 2.1. Roles, boundaries and transitions 19 2.1.1. Spatial and temporal boundaries 20 2.2. Roles 21 2.2.1. Definition 21 2.2.2. Role boundaries 23 2.2.3. Transitions between roles 26 2.3. Identities 28 2.4. Conclusion 30 Chapter 3. Roles and the Digital World 33 3.1. When electronic communications disrupt space-time 33 3.1.1. The transformation of space 34 3.1.2. The transformation of time 34 3.1.3. The transformation of distance 35 3.1.4. Mobility and ubiquity 37 3.2. Role transformation 38 3.2.1. Role boundaries 38 3.2.2. Flexibility 38 3.2.3. Permeability 41 3.2.4. Role separation 41 3.2.5. Transitions between roles 42 3.3. Conclusion 43 Chapter 4. Challenges in Communication 45 4.1. Interpersonal communication: a subtle tool 45 4.2. Misunderstanding in communication 46 4.2.1. Sources of misunderstanding 47 4.2.2. The absence of an operating communication channel 47 4.2.3. The absence of a common vocabulary 48 4.2.4. Exclusive information context 48 4.2.5. Situations involving incomprehension 49 4.2.6. Distance communication 49 4.2.7. Asynchronous communication 50 4.2.8. Heterogeneous competence domains or levels 50 4.2.9. Man–machine communication 50 4.2.10. E-mail: the accumulation of obstacles to comprehension 50 4.3. From misunderstanding to a lack of respect 51 4.4. A challenge for digital managers: communicating with the absent other 53 4.4.1. A lower volume of communication 53 4.4.2. A drop in communication quality 54 4.5. Conclusion 55 Chapter 5. Defining Spam 57 5.1. What is spam? 57 5.2. Preface: the influence of role on users’ perceptions of messages 57 5.3. Classifying e-mails according to role management theory 61 5.3.1. Roles and direct and indirect idiosyncratic connections 61 5.3.2. Roles played, transitions and perception of e-mail 65 5.4. Message classification model 68 5.4.1. E-mails received from unknown sources 68 5.4.2. Commercial spam 69 5.4.3. Fraudulent spam 70 5.4.4. E-mail received from known (trusted) sources 70 5.5. Conclusion 73 Chapter 6. A Lack of Ethics that Disrupts E-mail Communication 75 6.1. There is a new behavior behind every technical asset 75 6.2. Ethics and Information and Communication Technologies 76 6.3. Glossary of misuses and some of their consequences 79 6.4. Conclusion 104 Chapter 7. The Deadly Sins of Electronic Mail 105 7.1. Carefree exuberance 105 7.2. Confused identity 107 7.3. Cold indifference 108 7.4. Impassioned anger 109 7.5. Lost truth 111 7.6. The door of secrets 112 7.6.1. The ethical approach 112 7.6.2. The managerial approach 113 7.7. Fraudulent temptation 114 7.8. What answers should be given to these questions? 115 Chapter 8. The Venial Sins of Electronic Mail 117 8.1. Information overload 117 8.2. Anonymous disrespect 118 8.3. Communication poverty 118 8.4. Misunderstanding 119 8.4.1. Poorly written messages 119 8.4.2. Misread messages 119 8.4.3. When faced with misunderstanding, is empathy a solution? 120 8.5. Culpable ambiguity 120 8.6. Humor, love, rumors, and all the rest 120 Chapter 9. Exposure to Spam and Protection Strategies 123 9.1. Risk behaviors 123 9.1.1. Dynamic factors of spam exposure 124 9.1.2. Static factors of spam exposure 131 9.1.3. Other risks of spam exposure 133 9.2. Protection strategies 134 9.2.1. Keeping separate e-mail accounts 134 9.2.2. Using complex addresses 136 9.2.3. Treating received spam appropriately 136 9.2.4. Checking our e-proximity and network 138 9.2.5. Filters 139 9.2.6. Modify our sensitivity to spam 142 9.3. Conclusion 142 Concluding Recommendations 145 Bibliography 151 Index 157

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Book SynopsisThis book discusses the media, beliefs, the news, the Internet, etc. but it should not be seen as yet another critique of the media system, exploring with indignant fascination the idea of a machination against truth set up to serve a society of domination. These kinds of theories, whether they pertain to conspiracy theories or, more subtly, to a self-styled "critical" way of thinking, have always seemed to be the expression of a form of intellectual puerility. This is not to say that attempts at manipulating opinions do not occur, or that our world is free from compromised principles, or indeed corruption; far from it, but none of this is the key issue. In fact, reality can somehow be even more unsettling than those myths, however sophisticated they may be, that envisage the media system hand-in-hand with industry, science, and so forth, all in agreement so as to lead the "people" away from the truth. It is more unsettling because the processes described in this book and that allow falsehood and dubiousness to take hold of the public sphere are boosted by the development of IT, the workings of our minds, and the very nature of democracy. And finally, it is more unsettling because we are all responsible for what is going to happen to us.Table of ContentsPreface vii Introduction ix Chapter 1. More is Less: Mental Avarice and Mass Information 1 1.1. The revolution of the cognitive market 1 1.2. Amplification of the confirmation bias 6 1.3. The Seattle affair 9 1.3.1. The Wason experiment 10 1.4. The theorem of information credulity 14 1.5. Filter bubbles 17 Chapter 2. Why Does the Internet Side with Dubious Ideas? 19 2.1. The utopia of the knowledge society and the empire of beliefs 19 2.2. The ditherer’s problem 20 2.3. Competition between belief and knowledge on the Internet 23 2.4. Psychokinesis 27 2.5. The Loch Ness Monster 27 2.6. Aspartame 28 2.7. Crop circles 28 2.8. Astrology 29 2.9. Overview of resutls 30 2.10. How can we explain these results? 30 2.11. The Titanic syndrome 31 2.12. When Olson’s paradox plays against knowledge 34 2.13. Charles Fort, his life, and his works in a few words 36 2.14. Fort products: argumentative mille-feuilles 38 2.15. The sharing of the arguments of conviction 40 2.16. A Fortean product in the making: Michael Jackson’s fake death 42 2.17. When Fort reinforces Olson 44 2.18. Would you believe it! 46 2.19. It is all in the Bible, all of it 49 2.20. The transparency paradox 52 2.21. A shorter incubation period 56 Chapter 3. Competition Serves the Truth, Excessive Competition Harms It 61 3.1. Michael Jackson’s son, abused by Nicolas Sarkozy 61 3.2. A “prisoner’s dilemma” kind of situation 63 3.3. Presidential unfaithfulness and the burnt Koran 66 3.4. The IRC curve (information reliability/competition) 72 Chapter 4. What Can Be Done? From the Democracy of the Gullible to the Democracy of Enlightenment 77 4.1. The hope of the astrophysicist 77 4.2. The bad education 80 4.3. When gullibility looks like intelligence 83 4.4. The sum of imperfections 88 4.5. Toward cognitive demagogy 93 4.6. How to keep the illusion scholar inside us in check 96 4.7. Declaration of mental independence 98 4.8. The fourth power 102 4.9. A new form of scientific communication 104 4.10. A new militancy 106 Conclusion 109 Bibliography 111 Index 121

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a biographical history of the field of systems thinking, by examining the life and work of thirty of its major thinkers. It discusses each thinker’s key contributions, the way this contribution was expressed in practice and the relationship between their life and ideas. This discussion is supported by an extract from the thinker’s own writing, to give a flavour of their work and to give readers a sense of which thinkers are most relevant to their own interests.Trade ReviewFrom the reviews: “Ramage and Shipp wrote this book as a textbook for a course in the UK’s Open University. … This work examines 30 major figures from all disciplines. The authors describe each figure in terms of how their work fits the ‘systems thinking’ pattern … . This book is suitable for its stated purpose as a resource tool for a course in a specialized academic discipline. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, researchers, and faculty.” (C. G. Wood, Choice, Vol. 47 (9), May, 2010)Table of ContentsEarly Cybernetics.- Gregory Bateson.- Norbert Wiener.- Warren McCulloch.- Margaret Mead.- W. Ross Ashby.- General Systems Theory.- Ludwig von Bertalanffy.- Kenneth Boulding.- Geoffrey Vickers.- Howard Odum.- System Dynamics.- Jay Forrester.- Donella Meadows.- Peter Senge.- Soft and Critical Systems.- C. West Churchman.- Russell Ackoff.- Peter Checkland.- Werner Ulrich.- Michael Jackson.- Later Cybernetics.- Heinz von Foerster.- Stafford Beer.- Humberto Maturana.- Niklas Luhmann.- Paul Watzlawick.- Complexity Theory.- Ilya Prigogine.- Stuart Kauffman.- James Lovelock.- Learning Systems.- Kurt Lewin.- Eric Trist.- Chris Argyris.- Donald Schön.- Mary Catherine Bateson.

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Book SynopsisThe internet may be a utopia for free expression, but it also harbours nihilistic groups and individuals spreading bizarre creeds, unhindered by the risk-averse gatekeepers of the mass media - and not all are as harmless as the Virtual Church of the Blind Chihuahua or Sexastrianism. With few entry barriers, ready anonymity and no centralised control, the internet offers wired extremists unprecedented access to a potential global audience of billions. Technology allows us to select the information we wish to receive - so those of a fanatical bent can filter out moderating voices and ignore countervailing arguments, retreating into a virtual world of their own design that reaffirms their views. In The Devil's Long Tail, Stevens and O'Hara argue that we misunderstand online extremism if we think intervention is the best way to counter it. Policies designed to disrupt radical networks fail because they ignore the factors that push people to the margins. Extremists are driven less by ideas than by the benefits of participating in a tightly-knit, self-defined, group. Rather, extreme ideas should be left to sink or swim in the internet's marketplace of ideas. The internet and the web are valuable creations of a free society. Censoring them impoverishes us all while leaving the radical impulse intact.Trade Review'In this well-reasoned book, the authors argue that censorship won't quash extremism - only free speech will.' -- Publishers Weekly'An engaging and original exploration of the analytically complex - and politically fraught - relationships between technology, religion and the politics of security. - Stevens and O'Hara make a compelling, accessible and well-structured case for why violent extremism - at least those forms in which religion plays a constitutive role - is best countered by leaving it to adapt or survive in the global "marketplace" of religious ideas. Their book brings maturity and insight to a field in which political expediency has often trumped coherent and reasoned discussion and hampered or even degraded societal security itself.' -- Tim Stevens, Department of War Studies, King's College London'Stevens and O'Hara adopt a refreshingly original and multidisciplinary market-based approach to analysing the complex intersection between religion, extremism, and the internet to challenge the received wisdom on advisable policy responses. Referencing everyone from Adam Smith to Jurgen Habermas, and Sherry Turkle to Joseph Conrad, Nicholas Negroponte, and Eli Pariser, The Devil's Long Tail is essential reading.' -- Maura Conway, Senior Lecturer in International Security, School of Law and Government, Dublin City University'Stevens and O'Hara explore the metaphor of the "marketplace of ideas" - religious beliefs as e-commerce product. They interrogate the relationship between religious radicalism and violent extremism, and question whether the internet plays a role in driving the two together. Setting out to bridge the gap between the intuitive and the evidenced, their contribution to the heated discourse around terror is both thought-provoking and timely.' -- Neville Bolt, King's College London, author of The Violent Image: Insurgent Propaganda and the New Revolutionaries

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Book SynopsisThis clear and accessible textbookand its associated website offer a state of the art introduction to the burgeoning field of computer ethics and professional responsibility. Includes discussion of hot topics such as the history of computing; the social context of computing; methods of ethical analysis; professional responsibility and codes of ethics; computer security, risks and liabilities; computer crime, viruses and hacking; data protection and privacy; intellectual property and the “open source” movement; global ethics and the internet Introduces key issues and concepts at the start of each section, and features classroom-tested study questions, and lists of useful websites and further reading Provides a wealth of relevant case studies, and an easy-to learn case-analysis technique Is accompanied by a website, offering sample student answers, additional study questions, example case analyses, and discussion forums Visit the website at www.southernct.edu/organizations/RCCS/Textbook Trade Review"Bynum and Rogerson succeed at the difficult task of putting together a lasting collection of papers for a cutting-edge field that changes direction every other month. The collection is essential for anyone doing advanced research on the ethical standards of computer professions. At the same time, the collection stands as an outstanding teaching text for most university courses." John Snapper, Illinois Institute of Technology "This book includes significant pieces from members of the global computer ethics community. Among its strengths are the worked-out case studies for ethical analysis and a nice section on computer security. It is an ideal text for those teaching professional ethics." Frances S. Grodzinsky, Sacred Heart UniversityTable of ContentsPreface and Acknowledgements. Foreword: About The Computing Curricula 2001 Guidelines Of Ieee-Cs And Acm. Editors’ Introduction: Ethics In The Information Age. Part I: What Is Computer Ethics?. Introduction: Defining Computer Ethics. 1. Reason, Relativity, And Responsibility In Computer Ethics: James H. Moor. 2. Unique Ethical Problems In Information Technology: Walter Maner. 3. Ethical Decision Making And Case Analysis In Computer Ethics: Terrell Ward Bynum. Additional Readings And Web Resources On The Nature Of Computer Ethics. Part II: Professional Responsibility:. Introduction To Professional Responsibility. 4. Unintentional Power In The Design Of Computing Systems: Chuck Huff. 5. Informatics And Professional Responsibility: Donald Gotterbarn. 6. The Ethics Of Software Development Project Management: Simon Rogerson. Case To Analyze: The London Ambulance Case. Additional Readings And Web Resources On Professional Responsibility. Part III: Codes of Ethics:. Introduction To Codes Of Ethics. 7. No PAPA: Why Incomplete Codes Of Ethics Are Worse Than None At All: N. Ben Fairweather. 8. On Licensing Computer Professionals: Donald Gotterbarn. Case To Analyze: The Chemco Case. Additional Readings And Web Resources On Codes Of Ethics. Appendix To Part III: Example Codes of Ethics. The Software Engineering Code Of Ethics. IEEE-CS/ACM Joint Task Force On Software Engineering. The ACM Code Of Ethics And Professional Conduct. Association For Computing Machinery. The ACS Code Of Ethics. The Australian Computer Society. The BCS Code Of Conduct. The British Computer Society. The IEEE Code Of Ethics. The Institute Of Electrical And Electronics Engineers. The IMIS Code Of Ethics. Institute For The Management Of Information Systems. Part IV: Sample Topics In Computer Ethics:. Computer Security. Introduction To Computer Security. 9. Computer Security And Human Values: Peter G. Neumann. 10. Are Computer Hacker Break-Ins Ethical? Eugene H. Spafford. Case To Analyze: A Flight Of Fancy At Aero Wright. Additional Readings And Web Resources On Computer Security. Privacy And Computing. Introduction To Privacy And Computing. 11. Towards A Theory Of Privacy In The Information Age: James H. Moor. 12. Data Protection In A Changing World: Elizabeth France. Case To Analyze: A Small Matter Of Privacy. Additional Readings And Web Resources On Privacy. Computing And Intellectual Property. Introduction To Computing And Intellectual Property. 13. Proprietary Rights In Computer Software: Deborah G. Johnson. 14. Why Software Should Be Free: Richard Stallman. Case To Analyze: Free-Range Property. Additional Readings And Web Resources On Intellectual Property. Global Information Ethics. Introduction To Global Information Ethics. 15. The Computer Revolution And The Problem Of Global Ethics: Krystyna Gorniak-Kocikowska. 16. Giving Offence On The Internet: John Weckert. Case To Analyze: A Clever Idea. Additional Readings And Web Resources On Global Information Ethics. A Final Case To Analyze. Case To Analyze: Corner Shop Goes Virtual. Bibliography. Index

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Book SynopsisThe computer has in many respects become so common that it largely disappears from view. Originally a room-sized, esoteric, carefully-tended machine, breeding fear, awe and respect, over the years it has decreased in size, and with the rise of the personal computer it has now become a prosaic appliance little-more noted than a toaster or vacuum-cleaner. In "Computer" designer and design historian Paul Atkinson shows how changes in attitudes have been reflected in the physical design of the computer, and the ways in which the computer has been represented and promoted by manufacturers in advertising media. Informed by the office and sexual politics of the time, brochures for computers up until the 1980s clearly demonstrate the manufacturers' views on the ways in which they would be used. By contrast, today's PC is very PC genderless, and largely status free. "Computer" also considers the role of the computer as a cultural touchstone, as evidenced by its regular appearance in popular media: "Dan Dare" and the iconography of the space age for example, "2001: A Space Odyssey's" Hal, James Bond's bespoke gadgetry, "Stars War and Trek", and a myriad more besides.Atkinson also explores the role of fashion in the design and promotion of computers, showing the relationship between popular culture and the design of the computer to be complex and interdependent. Computer covers many issues ignored by other histories of computing, which have focused largely on technology and the economics involved in their production, but rarely on their physical design or their reception, consumption and representation. The book will appeal to professionals, students, and the lay reader in the fields of design, technology and computing, as well as social, cultural and economic history.Table of ContentsIntroduction 1 Establishment 2 Becoming Personal 3 Control, Status and Sex 4 Presentation and Representation References Select Bibliography Photo Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisThis book places IT in perspective by tracing its development through time, covering its origins in business, the massive expansion of the role of IT at the end of the 20th century, the growth of the internet, and the successes and failures of companies involved in this development. Despite its ubiquity in the modern world, the author highlights that efficient use of IT by businesses can only be gained by a good understanding of its potentials and pitfalls, highlighting how its informed use in practice is essential for companies to succeed. Finally, questions are raised concerning the future of IT: who will reap the benefits and why? Will IT continue to provide solutions and will it always deliver on its promise? Will it cease to advance and thus cease to be studied or will it continue to develop and thus provide new opportunities and challenges to users?Table of ContentsForeword by Louis Schweitzer, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Renault 9 Introduction – All Set for an E-journey 13 Chapter 1. The First Information Revolution 17 1.1. Information: the catalyst for the development of the human community 17 1.2. Writing 19 1.3. Counting 20 1.4. Sorting: Hollerith’s tabulating machines 23 1.5. Europe lagging behind 24 Chapter 2. From Electromechanics to Electronics 27 2.1. The NCR crucible 27 2.2. A company named CTR 29 2.3. IT: a product of World War II 30 2.4. IT: a complex, precious and expensive commodity 32 2.4.1. The UNIVAC venture 33 2.4.2. The IBM riposte 34 2.4.3. The BUNCH 35 2.5. The trials and tribulations of IT in Europe 36 2.5.1. France: caught between state intervention and US domination 37 2.5.2. Great Britain’s vanishing greatness 40 2.6. Centralization of IT power and work organization 42 Chapter 3. The Dawn of the Digital Era 47 3.1. The quest for new freedom 47 3.2. The colorful saga of major firsts 49 3.2.1. The first micro-computers 50 3.2.2. Sources of inspiration 53 3.2.2.1. PARC 53 3.2.2.2. MIT54 3.2.3. The first groundbreaking software 56 3.2.3.1. The spreadsheet revolution 56 3.2.3.2. An e-mail odyssey 57 3.2.3.3. The birth of Bill Gates and Microsoft 58 3.2.3.4. The world of games 58 3.2.4. A three-dimensional world 59 3.2.5. Scientific instrumentation through servers: the story of HP 60 3.3. The internet explosion 61 3.3.1. From ARPANET to the web 62 3.3.2. 1993: the official birth of the web 65 Chapter 4. Light and Shade in the Digital World 69 4.1. The family tree of the digital world 69 4.1.1. Stalwarts undergoing change 69 4.1.1.1. Honor to whom honor is due 70 4.1.1.2. Telephone companies 71 4.1.2. How golden was my Valley! 72 4.1.3. Integrated software editors 74 4.1.4. Microsoft: an entirely separate case 75 4.1.5. The web generation 77 4.1.6. The inescapable consultants and service providers 78 4.2. The slippery slope 80 4.2.1. The victims of the second wave 80 4.2.2. Ousted leaders 81 4.2.3. Micro-computing à la française 82 4.2.4. Broken promises: could do better! 83 4.3. The engines powering progress in the digital era 84 4.3.1. Human/machine interface 85 4.3.2. The laws in the new world 87 4.3.2.1. Moore’s Law 88 4.3.2.2. Metcalfe’s Law 89 4.3.2.3. Ruettger’s Law 89 4.3.2.4. Gilder’s Law 89 4.3.2.5. Shannon’s Law 89 4.3.3. Machine diversification and interoperability 89 Chapter 5. The Promise and Reality of New Technology 91 5.1. IT effectiveness called into question 91 5.2. The value of IT92 5.2.1. IT and economic savings: can the case be closed? 93 5.2.1.1. The macroeconomic approach 95 5.2.1.2. The microeconomic approach 97 5.3. The IT sector set up as a model 102 5.4. Telecommunications in the eye of the storm 105 5.5. Shifting boundaries and extended companies 108 5.6. Corporate network players 110 5.6.1. The customer is always right! 110 5.6.2. Marketplaces113 5.6.3. Employee-centric 115 5.7. New opportunities and new competition 117 5.8. The new time/space framework 119 Chapter 6. IT Policies in Efficient Enterprises 121 6.1. Reduce the shortfall between promises and reality 121 6.2. Shedding light on IT and information systems 124 6.3. Information governance 126 6.4. Making choices 126 6.4.1. Interoperability 127 6.4.2. Scalability 128 6.4.3. Reversibility and independence vis-à-vis suppliers 128 6.4.4. Predictability of performance 129 6.5. Structuring 130 6.6. Realization 134 6.7. Measurements and monitoring 136 6.7.1. Keys to IT operations 140 6.7.2. Monitoring maintenance programs and new projects 141 6.8. To do it oneself or ask someone else to do it? 141 6.8.1. The rise of purchased tools 142 6.8.2. The transformation of in-house IT 143 6.8.2.1. Purchasing logic 143 6.8.2.2. The informed decision not to purchase 145 6.8.3. The merciless world of contracts 147 6.9. Sisyphus and security 150 Chapter 7. New Instructions for CIOs 153 7.1. Lessons of the past 154 7.1.1. Key IT issues since 1970, as seen through the eyes of CIGREF reports 156 7.1.2. With the benefit of hindsight: the major stakes of the 1990s 158 7.2. The CIO’s missions 161 7.2.1. The CIO-teacher 162 7.2.2. The CIO-leader 164 7.2.3. The CIO-manager 165 Chapter 8. New Vision(s)? 167 8.1. Gurus and a New Economy in a perfect world 167 8.1.1. Shattered dreams? 168 8.1.2. What remains of the dot-com years? 169 8.2. The technological outlook 170 8.2.1. What a beautiful world! 170 8.2.2. Open source software: the alternative? 174 8.2.3. Cyborg and the cyberworld: reality and delirium 176 8.3. Citizenship and economic development 177 8.3.1. Unequal access to internet resources 177 8.3.2. The first hesitant steps towards electronic democracy 181 8.3.2.1. Electronic voting 181 8.3.2.2. Access to public services 182 8.4. Developments in the Third World 184 8.5. Security and freedom: what are the real threats? 184 8.6. Press, media and culture 185 8.7. Health and education 187 Conclusion 191 References and Bibliography 193 Acknowledgements 197

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Book SynopsisHow many times do you check something on the internet but find you are drifting aimlessly from one link to another? If you can't not answer the phone when it rings, and you spend hours a week on social media, and you read your texts instead of kissing your loved one goodnight, and you don't give your kids proper attention because you just have to prioritize new responses to your tweet...then this book is for you. The digital world is spreading like an inferno - a swirling, hot storm of change, possibility, addiction, passion, manipulation, creativity and abuse. It demands our attention and encourages us to be always on, with its constant updates and feedback. It is exciting, but it can also be overwhelming. And it's developing faster than our ability to deal with it. To adherents of digital living and working, any criticism is uncool, a sign of being out of touch. Refreshingly, Digital Inferno is neither simple indictment nor unqualified endorsement. Rather, it's about holding your own in the digital realm - adapting in a healthy way to the new reality. It offers a conscious path that allows you to derive the benefits you need but also to manage the dangers. Packed with a wealth of practical advice, Digital Inferno describes numerous methods to enable you to step back from constant digital activity and virtual living, and to pay more attention to the real world. You'll find exercises to overcome tiredness from digital contact and to develop skills to enable you to remain awake and aware. Crucially, you will be master of the digital realm: to abstain from contact when you need to, but also freely to immerse yourself when you choose to. We don't need to shun new technology, but we do need to be armed with an understanding of its challenges, problems and limitations. This book provides the tools you will need to meet the future consciously.Trade Review'This book is visionary and practical and both are needed at this time as the digital inferno spreads, setting fire to more and more elements of daily life.' - Tom Bourner, Emeritus Professor of Personal and Professional Development, University of Brighton, co-author of Workshops That Work 'An exciting book, full of hope for the future. By applying the concept of mindfulness to digital interactions, Paul Levy shows how we can get the most out of technology without losing touch with our essential humanity. Great stuff - thoughtful, insightful and very timely.' - Sue Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood 'An insightful guide for those seeking to consciously navigate the noise and confusion of the digital age.' - Daniel T. Jones, author of The Machine That Changed The World and founder of the Lean Enterprise Academy 'A fascinating and thought-provoking survey of our digital times.' - Cliff McNish, author of The Doomspell Trilogy 'Our generation is gradually noticing the subtle effects of digital media in our lives. There are no clear answers as the effects are generative and emergent but it is useful to be mindful of the path we are creating. Paul Levy's book is an eye opener. It is written with precision and full of insights on this ongoing interplay between people and technology. It is a great book for anyone keen to regain control of their relationship with gadgets and digital media in general.' - Professor John Baptista, Associate Professor of Information Systems, University of Warwick 'A fascinating, moving and practical dance of content exploring what awfully is and what awe fully might be as human civilization embraces digital virtuality. Brilliantly conceived and written.' - Angus Jenkinson, author of From Stress to Serenity, Chief Organising Officer of the Civil Society Forum

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Book SynopsisThis book argues that identity is changing profoundly and that money is changing equally profoundly. Because of technological change the two trends are converging so that all that we need for transacting will be our identities captured in the unique record of our online social contacts. Social networks and mobile phones are the key technologies. They will enable the building of an identity infrastructure that can enhance both privacy and security - there is no trade-off. The long-term consequences of these changes are impossible to predict, partly because how they take shape will depend on how companies (probably not banks) take advantage of business opportunities to deliver transaction services. But one prediction made here is that cash will soon be redundant - and a good thing too. In its place we will see a proliferation of new digital currencies.Trade Review"Dave Birch gives one of the best accounts available today on how we'll navigate the challenges of the emerging payments landscape, and how traditional data points on identity don't really make sense in a digital world. An outstanding piece of work which may well define our journey moving forward." Brett King, Founder and CEO of Moven.com. "Dave Birch's thoughts on digital identity were seminal to the UK's Identity Assurance Scheme. Anyone entering the field of digital identity should take this book with them." David Rennie, Identity Assurance Programme, Government Digital Service, Cabinet Office.

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Book SynopsisThe two most wanted terrorists in Southeast Asia — a Malaysian and a Singaporean — are on the run in the Philippines, but they manage to keep their friends and family updated on Facebook. Filipinos connect with al-Qaeda-linked groups in Somalia and Yemen. The black flag — embedded in al-Qaeda lore — pops up on websites and Facebook pages from around the world, including the Philippines, Indonesia, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Australia, and North Africa. The black flag is believed to herald an apocalypse that brings Islam's triumph. These are a few of the signs that define terrorism's new battleground: the Internet and social media.In this groundbreaking work of investigative journalism, Maria Ressa traces the spread of terrorism from the training camps of Afghanistan to Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Through research done at the International Center for Political Violence & Terrorism Research in Singapore and sociograms created by the CORE Lab at the Naval Postgraduate School, the book examines the social networks which spread the virulent ideology that powered terrorist attacks in the past 10 years.Many of the stories here have never been told before, including details about the 10 days during which Ressa led the crisis team in the Ces Drilon kidnapping case by the Abu Sayyaf in 2008. The book forms the powerful narrative that glues together the social networks — both physical and virtual — which spread the jihadi virus from bin Laden to Facebook.Table of ContentsKidnapped; Crisis; Roots; A Piece of the Action; The Virus; Deadline; Ultimatum; Double-Cross; Breakdown; Homecoming.

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Book SynopsisA gripping new investigation into the underbelly of digital technology, which reveals not only how costly the virtual world is, but how damaging it is to the environment. If digital technology were a country, it would be the third-highest consumer of electricity behind China and the United States. Every year, streaming technology generates as much greenhouse gas as Spain — close to 1 per cent of global emissions. One Google search uses as much electricity as a lightbulb left on for up to two minutes. It turns out that the ‘dematerialised’ digital world, essential for communicating, working, and consuming, is much more tangible than we would like to believe. Today, it absorbs 10 per cent of the world’s electricity and represents nearly 4 per cent of the planet’s carbon dioxide emissions. We are struggling to understand these impacts, as they are obscured to us in the mirage of ‘the cloud’. The result of an investigation carried out over two years on four continents, The Dark Cloud reveals the anatomy of a technology that is virtual only in name. Under the guise of limiting the impact of humans on the planet, it is already asserting itself as one of the major environmental challenges of the twenty-first century.Trade Review‘Guillaume Pitron recalls the origins of digital technology and explains how this new communication tool has catastrophic consequences on our environment … What happens when you send an email? What is the geography of clicks? What ecological and geopolitical challenges do they bring without our knowledge? This is the subject of The Dark Cloud … For two years, the journalist followed, on four continents, the route of our emails, our likes, and our vacation photos.’ -- Margherita Nasi * Le Monde *‘It reveals the environmental cost of a dematerialised sector. Between the strategies of the giants who keep us in the illusion of a clean internet and the difficulty of feeling pollution that has no taste or smell, the investigator reveals the underside of the internet.’ -- Marina Fabre, Novethic‘An incredible investigation.’ -- France Inter‘Absolutely fascinating.’ -- Ali Baddou, C l’hebdo, France 5‘A landmark book.’ * Le Figaro *‘An illuminating study.’ * L’Obs *‘A riveting investigation that, just like a thriller, sets out to open our eyes about the material impact as well as the economic and geopolitical issues of a totally wired world.’ * L’ADN *‘Insightful.’ * Sciences et Avenir *‘A colossal work.’ * Marianne *‘In The Dark Cloud, Guillaume Pitron exposes the supposed immateriality of the internet as one of the more pernicious of tech bro delusions. … rather than saving us from the destructive tendencies of capitalism, the digital realm intensifies them, with the tech companies committed to exponential, unplanned growth irrespective of the environmental consequences …[The Dark Cloud] demonstrates convincingly that we can’t flee from our messed-up analogue world into some digital alternative. Our problems are material – and they require material solutions.’ -- Jeff Sparrow * The Saturday Paper *‘Today has two battlegrounds - carbon and silicon. In The Dark Cloud, journalist Guillaume Pitron explains the distinction between these two battlegrounds is a carefully crafted illusion. Our screens are not portals to an infinity beyond the material. Far from lacking a footprint, technology actually has an immense cost in resources, energy and environmental destruction … Pitron is a master of articulating the material cost of the “immaterial” … It’s only through works such as Dark Cloud … that laboriously map the immense, insatiable machine that we realise it’s one minute to midnight on the doomsday clock, and we’re all asleep. Well, here is your wake-up call.’ -- Jason Steger * The Sydney Morning Herald *‘This illuminating report from journalist Pitron (The Rare Metals War) … succeeds in exposing the unseen hardware and processes that keep the modern world running … Anyone who’s ever wondered where, exactly, “the cloud” is located will want to check this out.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Pitron’s captivating book delivers an illuminating and exquisitely written insight into the hidden world explaining the often hidden environmental costs that come with, for example, downloading this book review.’ -- Thomas Klikauer * International Journal of Communication *Praise for The Rare Metals War: ‘Recognising that the latest technologies might not be as green as we like to think is a good place to start planning for a better world.’ -- John Arlidge * The Sunday Times *Praise for The Rare Metals War: ‘Pitron weighs the awful price of refining the materials, ably blending investigative journalism with insights from science, politics, and business.’ -- Simon Ings * New Scientist *Praise for The Rare Metals War: ‘[E]xposes the dirty underpinnings of clean technologies in a debut that raises valid questions about energy extraction.’ * Publishers Weekly *Praise for The Rare Metals War: ‘An expert account of a poorly understood but critical element in our economy … Pitron delivers a gripping, detailed, and discouraging explanation … A well-rendered explanation of further bad news on the clean energy front.’ * Kirkus Reviews *Praise for The Rare Metals War: ‘[T]he journalist and filmmaker warns against the optimistic belief that technology is the solution … At a time when many claim to be “citizens of the world” or retreat into naive or hypocritical protectionism, Pitron’s book is an attempt to open people’s eyes to the consequences of their societal choices and lifestyles.’ * Green European Journal *

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Book SynopsisCommunications technology is advancing at such speed, heralding a world of choice and opportunity, that we sometimes struggle to navigate each new turn. And yet, with technology, as with life, we need to equip our children to make good choices and to deal with all the hidden dangers, as well as to take hold of the positive opportunities. Fully revised and updated to keep pace with this quickly changing digital world, Katharine Hill's clear, informative book explores the impact of the digital world on teenagers and younger children. Offering encouragement, wisdom and practical advice on topics such as screen time, social media and consumer culture, as well as how to tackle some of the more serious issues of online bullying, grooming and pornography, this book is a lifeline for parents, carers and teachers in an age of digital confusion. Whether you are a new parent or living with teenagers, a stranger to Snapchat or have 500 followers on Twitter, this book is for mums and dads who want to confidently parent in a world of screens.

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Book SynopsisAfter many years on the fringe, online counselling has rapidly become mainstream practice, propelled by the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet too often practitioners assume they can transition from in-person counselling without need for further training. In this essential book, Sarah Worley-James brings her many years' experience of online counselling and supervision to explore with the reader the practical and technical requirements of the work and also, importantly, the relational issues that working online brings. The book covers video, audio and text-based counselling, using vivid vignettes and case examples to bring to life its contents. All aspects, from transitioning and setting up the room and the equipment needed through to contracts, data storage and, above all, risk, are covered, with practical exercises to help you gain confidence in using these emerging media to their full creative potential.Trade Review'Reading Online Counselling made me realise just of how far online therapy has matured as a profession over the past 10 years. Sarah's warm and inviting style of writing nails the subject of online therapy from page one. Any online therapist, whether experienced or not, will find so much in this book that will benefit them and, consequently, their online clients.' Pip Weitz, Training Director, Academy for Online Therapy - 'This is sure to be a core text for counselling courses.' Adrian Rhodes, Chair, ACTO; President, European Confederation of Psychoanalytic Psychotherapies (ECPP) - 'Sarah Worley-James has written the book we have been waiting for. It is up-to-date and has a clear, inclusive, user-friendly style.' Anne Stokes, Patron of ACTO; Director (retired) of Online Training Ltd - 'The book is an excellent resource for those new to online therapy and practitioners who are fine-tuning their existing online knowledge and skills.' Jane Evans MA, BACP (Senior Accred), author of Online Counselling and Guidance Skills (2009).Table of ContentsIntroduction, 1. What is online counselling? 2. Transitioning to online counselling, 3. Getting started, 4. Ethical practice online, 5. Developing a therapeutic relationship through video, 6. Developing a therapeutic relationship in audio and telephone counselling, 7. Developing a therapeutic relationship in text-based counselling, 8. Assessing risk online, 9. Working with risk online, 10. Supervision for online counsellors, 11. Self-care for online counselling

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Book SynopsisThis book is a guide to living your life online, offering practical and sanity-saving tips to help you block out distractions and detractors.Nobody owns the internet, but it can own us. Between updates from our exes and half-hearted flirtations, abuse from trolls and doomscrolling, it''s easy to get sucked in and much harder to log off. The internet is addictive, but Gabrielle Alexa Noel has advice to save our mental health and offline relationships from social media and tech monopolies. Whether it''s sending nudes safely, protecting our data, or helping LGBTQI+ youth thrive, How to Live With the Internet and Not Let It Run Your Life is here to keep us safer, happier, and free to keep sliding into DMs.

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Book SynopsisEdmund C. Berkeley (1909 – 1988) was a mathematician, insurance actuary, inventor, publisher, and a founder of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). His book Giant Brains or Machines That Think (1949) was the first explanation of computers for a general readership. His journal Computers and Automation (1951-1973) was the first journal for computer professionals. In the 1950s, Berkeley developed mail-order kits for small, personal computers such as Simple Simon and the Braniac. In an era when computer development was on a scale barely affordable by universities or government agencies, Berkeley took a different approach and sold simple computer kits to average Americans. He believed that digital computers, using mechanized reasoning based on symbolic logic, could help people make more rational decisions. The result of this improved reasoning would be better social conditions and fewer large-scale wars. Although Berkeley’s populist notions of computer development in the public interest did not prevail, the events of his life exemplify the human side of ongoing debates concerning the social responsibility of computer professionals.This biography of Edmund Berkeley, based on primary sources gathered over 15 years of archival research, provides a lens to understand social and political decisions surrounding early computer development, and the consequences of these decisions in our 21st century lives.Table of Contents Modern Methods of Thinking, 1927–1941 Navy Assignment at the Harvard Computation Lab, 1944–1946 Establishing Open Communication Channels for Technology Development, 1945–1948 Robots and Giant Brains, 1942–1961 National Security Investigations, 1948–1955 Engineering Peace, 1948–1970 A Denunciation of Killing Devices, 1952–1972 The Remaking of Man, 1973–1987 Bibliography Author's Biography

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Book SynopsisEdmund C. Berkeley (1909 – 1988) was a mathematician, insurance actuary, inventor, publisher, and a founder of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). His book Giant Brains or Machines That Think (1949) was the first explanation of computers for a general readership. His journal Computers and Automation (1951-1973) was the first journal for computer professionals. In the 1950s, Berkeley developed mail-order kits for small, personal computers such as Simple Simon and the Braniac. In an era when computer development was on a scale barely affordable by universities or government agencies, Berkeley took a different approach and sold simple computer kits to average Americans. He believed that digital computers, using mechanized reasoning based on symbolic logic, could help people make more rational decisions. The result of this improved reasoning would be better social conditions and fewer large-scale wars. Although Berkeley’s populist notions of computer development in the public interest did not prevail, the events of his life exemplify the human side of ongoing debates concerning the social responsibility of computer professionals.This biography of Edmund Berkeley, based on primary sources gathered over 15 years of archival research, provides a lens to understand social and political decisions surrounding early computer development, and the consequences of these decisions in our 21st century lives.Table of Contents Modern Methods of Thinking, 1927–1941 Navy Assignment at the Harvard Computation Lab, 1944–1946 Establishing Open Communication Channels for Technology Development, 1945–1948 Robots and Giant Brains, 1942–1961 National Security Investigations, 1948–1955 Engineering Peace, 1948–1970 A Denunciation of Killing Devices, 1952–1972 The Remaking of Man, 1973–1987 Bibliography Author's Biography

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Book SynopsisCommunities of Computing is the first book-length history of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), founded in 1947 and with a membership today of 100,000 worldwide. It profiles ACM's notable SIGs, active chapters, and individual members, setting ACM's history into a rich social and political context. The book's 12 core chapters are organized into three thematic sections. ""Defining the Discipline"" examines the 1960s and 1970s when the field of computer science was taking form at the National Science Foundation, Stanford University, and through ACM's notable efforts in education and curriculum standards. "Broadening the Profession" looks outward into the wider society as ACM engaged with social and political issues - and as members struggled with balancing a focus on scientific issues and awareness of the wider world.Chapters examine the social turbulence surrounding the Vietnam War, debates about the women's movement, efforts for computing and community education, and international issues including professionalization and the Cold War. "Expanding Research Frontiers" profiles three areas of research activity where ACM members and ACM itself shaped notable advances in computing, including computer graphics, computer security, and hypertext.Featuring insightful profiles of notable ACM leaders, such as Edmund Berkeley, George Forsythe, Jean Sammet, Peter Denning, and Kelly Gotlieb, and honest assessments of controversial episodes, the volume deals with compelling and complex issues involving ACM and computing. It is not a narrow organizational history of ACM committees and SIGS, although much information about them is given. All chapters are original works of research. Many chapters draw on archival records of ACM's headquarters, ACM SIGs, and ACM leaders. This volume makes a permanent contribution to documenting the history of ACM and understanding its central role in the history of computing.Table of Contents 1. ACM and the Computing Revolution (Thomas J. Misa) Theme 1: Defining the Discipline 2. From Handmaiden to 'Proper Intellectual Discipline': Creating a Scientific Identity for Computer Science in 1960s America (Janet Abbate) 3. George Forsythe, the ACM, and the Creation of Computer Science As We Know It (Joseph November) 4. Solving a Career Equation: The First Doctoral Women in Computer Science (Irina Nikivincze) 5. The History and Purpose of Computing Curricula (1960s to 2000s) (Sebastian Dziallas) Theme 2: Broadening the Profession 6. 'Deeply Political and Social Issues': Debates within ACM 1965-1985 (Janet Toland) 7. Organized Advocacy for Professional Women in Computing: Comparing Histories of the AWC and the ACM-W (Amy Sue Bix) 8. The Development of Computer Professionalization in Canada (Scott Campbell) 9. The Anatomy of an Encounter: Transnational Mediation and Discipline Building in Cold War Computer Science (Ksenia Tatarchenko) 10. Concern for the 'Disadvantaged': ACM's Role in Training and Education for Communities of Color 1958-1975 (R. Arvid Nelsen) Theme 3: Expanding Research Frontiers 11. Other Places of Invention: Computer Graphics at the University of Utah (Jacob Gaboury) 12. Framing Computer Security and Privacy, 1967-1992 (Rebecca Slayton) 13. Hypertext, Digital Libraries, and Beyond: A History of SIGWEB (Inna Kouper) Bibliography

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Book SynopsisCommunities of Computing is the first book-length history of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), founded in 1947 and with a membership today of 100,000 worldwide. It profiles ACM's notable SIGs, active chapters, and individual members, setting ACM's history into a rich social and political context. The book's 12 core chapters are organized into three thematic sections. "Defining the Discipline" examines the 1960s and 1970s when the field of computer science was taking form at the National Science Foundation, Stanford University, and through ACM's notable efforts in education and curriculum standards. "Broadening the Profession" looks outward into the wider society as ACM engaged with social and political issues - and as members struggled with balancing a focus on scientific issues and awareness of the wider world.Chapters examine the social turbulence surrounding the Vietnam War, debates about the women's movement, efforts for computing and community education, and international issues including professionalization and the Cold War. "Expanding Research Frontiers" profiles three areas of research activity where ACM members and ACM itself shaped notable advances in computing, including computer graphics, computer security, and hypertext.Featuring insightful profiles of notable ACM leaders, such as Edmund Berkeley, George Forsythe, Jean Sammet, Peter Denning, and Kelly Gotlieb, and honest assessments of controversial episodes, the volume deals with compelling and complex issues involving ACM and computing. It is not a narrow organizational history of ACM committees and SIGS, although much information about them is given. All chapters are original works of research. Many chapters draw on archival records of ACM's headquarters, ACM SIGs, and ACM leaders. This volume makes a permanent contribution to documenting the history of ACM and understanding its central role in the history of computing.Table of Contents 1. ACM and the Computing Revolution (Thomas J. Misa) Theme 1: Defining the Discipline 2. From Handmaiden to 'Proper Intellectual Discipline': Creating a Scientific Identity for Computer Science in 1960s America (Janet Abbate) 3. George Forsythe, the ACM, and the Creation of Computer Science As We Know It (Joseph November) 4. Solving a Career Equation: The First Doctoral Women in Computer Science (Irina Nikivincze) 5. The History and Purpose of Computing Curricula (1960s to 2000s) (Sebastian Dziallas) Theme 2: Broadening the Profession 6. 'Deeply Political and Social Issues': Debates within ACM 1965-1985 (Janet Toland) 7. Organized Advocacy for Professional Women in Computing: Comparing Histories of the AWC and the ACM-W (Amy Sue Bix) 8. The Development of Computer Professionalization in Canada (Scott Campbell) 9. The Anatomy of an Encounter: Transnational Mediation and Discipline Building in Cold War Computer Science (Ksenia Tatarchenko) 10. Concern for the 'Disadvantaged': ACM's Role in Training and Education for Communities of Color 1958-1975 (R. Arvid Nelsen) Theme 3: Expanding Research Frontiers 11. Other Places of Invention: Computer Graphics at the University of Utah (Jacob Gaboury) 12. Framing Computer Security and Privacy, 1967-1992 (Rebecca Slayton) 13. Hypertext, Digital Libraries, and Beyond: A History of SIGWEB (Inna Kouper) Bibliography

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Book SynopsisThe Counterfeit Coin argues that games and related entertainment media have become almost inseparable from fantasy. In turn, these media are making fantasy itself visible in new ways. Though apparently asocial and egocentric—an internal mental image expressing the fulfillment of some wish—fantasy has become a key term in social contestations of the emerging medium. At issue is whose fantasies are catered to, who feels powerful and gets their way, and who is left out. This book seeks to undo the monolith of commercial gaming by locating multiplicity and difference within fantasy itself. It introduces and tracks three broad fantasy traditions that dynamically connect apparently distinct strata of a game (story and play), that join games to other media, and that encircle players in pleasurable loops as they follow these connections.Trade Review“Christopher Goetz’s The Counterfeit Coin: Videogames and Fantasies of Empowerment is a triumphant theoretical leap forward for game studies. The Counterfeit Coin invites readers to go on an adventure in game and media studies by unlocking how games and media let us play through our fantasies, whether those fantasies are what tether us into a safe spot, let us exceed and transcend bodily limitations, or just accrue more and more loot. Reading across a wide range of games, film, anime and television series, Goetz’s The Counterfeit Coin illuminates how and why players find comfort, transcendence, and accomplishment in the routine and familiar ways we play." -- Sheila C. Murphy * author of How Television Invented New Media *Table of Contents Introduction: Feeling Powerful and Getting Your Way   1  The Fantasy of Bodily Transcendence    2  The Fantasy of Bodily Transcendence in Narrative Media    3  The Tether Fantasy    4  The Fantasy of Accretions     Conclusion: Surface Narratives and the Contrivance of Fantasy     Acknowledgments     Notes     Works Cited     Index  

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Book SynopsisThe Counterfeit Coin argues that games and related entertainment media have become almost inseparable from fantasy. In turn, these media are making fantasy itself visible in new ways. Though apparently asocial and egocentric—an internal mental image expressing the fulfillment of some wish—fantasy has become a key term in social contestations of the emerging medium. At issue is whose fantasies are catered to, who feels powerful and gets their way, and who is left out. This book seeks to undo the monolith of commercial gaming by locating multiplicity and difference within fantasy itself. It introduces and tracks three broad fantasy traditions that dynamically connect apparently distinct strata of a game (story and play), that join games to other media, and that encircle players in pleasurable loops as they follow these connections.Trade Review“Christopher Goetz’s The Counterfeit Coin: Videogames and Fantasies of Empowerment is a triumphant theoretical leap forward for game studies. The Counterfeit Coin invites readers to go on an adventure in game and media studies by unlocking how games and media let us play through our fantasies, whether those fantasies are what tether us into a safe spot, let us exceed and transcend bodily limitations, or just accrue more and more loot. Reading across a wide range of games, film, anime and television series, Goetz’s The Counterfeit Coin illuminates how and why players find comfort, transcendence, and accomplishment in the routine and familiar ways we play."— Sheila C. Murphy, author of How Television Invented New MediaTable of ContentsIntroduction: Feeling Powerful and Getting Your Way   1  The Fantasy of Bodily Transcendence    2  The Fantasy of Bodily Transcendence in Narrative Media    3  The Tether Fantasy    4  The Fantasy of Accretions     Conclusion: Surface Narratives and the Contrivance of Fantasy     Acknowledgments     Notes     Works Cited     Index  

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Book SynopsisLOL cats. Grumpy Cat. Dog-rating Twitter. Pet Instagram accounts. It’s generally understood the internet is for pictures of cute cats (and dogs, and otters, and pandas). But what motivates people to make and share these images, and how do they relate to other online social practices? The Internet is for Cats examines how animal images are employed to create a lighter, more playful mood, uniting users within online spaces that can otherwise easily become fractious and toxic. Placing today’s pet videos, photos, and memes within a longer history of mediated animal images, communication scholar Jessica Maddox also considers the factors that make them unique. She explores the roles that animals play within online economies of cuteness and attention, as well as the ways that animal memes and videos respond to common experiences of life under neoliberalism. Conducting a rich digital ethnography, Maddox combines observations and textual analysis with extensive interviews of the people who create, post and share animal media, including TikTok influencers seeking to make their pets famous, activists tweeting about wildlife conservation, and Redditors upvoting every cute cat photo. The Internet is for Cats will leave you with a new appreciation for the human social practices behind the animal images you encounter online. Trade Review"By exploring the ambivalent overlaps between attention, cuteness, toxicity, and neoliberalism - among other key themes - in animal imagery sharing practices, The Internet is for Cats is essential reading for understanding how and why the fun of animal memes is serious cultural business." — Whitney Phillips, author of You Are Here: A Field Guide for Navigating Polarized Speech, Conspiracy Theories, and Our Polluted Media Landscape "The Internet is for Cats skillfully demonstrates that the visual cultures of animals and pets in social media are not only cute and entertaining—they can also mask the Internet’s hateful and toxic content. Maddox’s project is an important reminder that even the most seemingly frivolous aspects of culture must be carefully examined." — Melissa A. Click, associate professor of communication studies at Gonzaga University "By exploring the ambivalent overlaps between attention, cuteness, toxicity, and neoliberalism - among other key themes - in animal imagery sharing practices, The Internet is for Cats is essential reading for understanding how and why the fun of animal memes is serious cultural business." — Whitney Phillips, author of You Are Here: A Field Guide for Navigating Polarized Speech, Conspiracy Theories, and Our "[The Internet is for Cats]'s major claim is convincing: there is more to cat (and other animal) pics than meets the eye."— Gregory Hays, New York Review of BooksTable of ContentsContents List of Illustrations Introduction 1 Kittens in Context 2 “I’ve Heard People on TikTok Love This": Attention as Materiality and Looking Relation 3 Beyond Doomscrolling in an Internet of Cute 4 “You Can’t Buy Happiness, But You Can Rescue It”: Neoliberal Pets and Animals 5 Feels Good, Man: Collisions, Collusions, and Cloaks in Pet and Animal Social Media 6 Nature is Healing, We are the Virus: Beyond Signifiers Appendix Acknowledgments Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisLOL cats. Grumpy Cat. Dog-rating Twitter. Pet Instagram accounts. It’s generally understood the internet is for pictures of cute cats (and dogs, and otters, and pandas). But what motivates people to make and share these images, and how do they relate to other online social practices? The Internet is for Cats examines how animal images are employed to create a lighter, more playful mood, uniting users within online spaces that can otherwise easily become fractious and toxic. Placing today’s pet videos, photos, and memes within a longer history of mediated animal images, communication scholar Jessica Maddox also considers the factors that make them unique. She explores the roles that animals play within online economies of cuteness and attention, as well as the ways that animal memes and videos respond to common experiences of life under neoliberalism. Conducting a rich digital ethnography, Maddox combines observations and textual analysis with extensive interviews of the people who create, post and share animal media, including TikTok influencers seeking to make their pets famous, activists tweeting about wildlife conservation, and Redditors upvoting every cute cat photo. The Internet is for Cats will leave you with a new appreciation for the human social practices behind the animal images you encounter online. Trade Review"By exploring the ambivalent overlaps between attention, cuteness, toxicity, and neoliberalism - among other key themes - in animal imagery sharing practices, The Internet is for Cats is essential reading for understanding how and why the fun of animal memes is serious cultural business." -- Whitney Phillips * author of You Are Here: A Field Guide for Navigating Polarized Speech, Conspiracy Theories, and Our Polluted Media Landscape *"The Internet is for Cats skillfully demonstrates that the visual cultures of animals and pets in social media are not only cute and entertaining—they can also mask the Internet’s hateful and toxic content. Maddox’s project is an important reminder that even the most seemingly frivolous aspects of culture must be carefully examined." -- Melissa A. Click * associate professor of communication studies at Gonzaga University *"[The Internet is for Cats]'s major claim is convincing: there is more to cat (and other animal) pics than meets the eye." -- Gregory Hays * New York Review of Books *"The Internet is for Cats skillfully demonstrates that the visual cultures of animals and pets in social media are not only cute and entertaining—they can also mask the Internet’s hateful and toxic content. Maddox’s project is an important reminder that even the most seemingly frivolous aspects of culture must be carefully examined." -- Melissa A. Click * associate professor of communication studies at Gonzaga University *"By exploring the ambivalent overlaps between attention, cuteness, toxicity, and neoliberalism - among other key themes - in animal imagery sharing practices, The Internet is for Cats is essential reading for understanding how and why the fun of animal memes is serious cultural business." -- Whitney Phillips * author of You Are Here: A Field Guide for Navigating Polarized Speech, Conspiracy Theories, and Our *Table of ContentsContents List of Illustrations Introduction 1 Kittens in Context 2 “I’ve Heard People on TikTok Love This": Attention as Materiality and Looking Relation 3 Beyond Doomscrolling in an Internet of Cute 4 “You Can’t Buy Happiness, But You Can Rescue It”: Neoliberal Pets and Animals 5 Feels Good, Man: Collisions, Collusions, and Cloaks in Pet and Animal Social Media 6 Nature is Healing, We are the Virus: Beyond Signifiers Appendix Acknowledgments Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTwo oversimplified narratives have long dominated news reports and academic studies of China’s Internet: one lauding its potentials to boost commerce, the other bemoaning state control and measures against the forces of political transformations. This bifurcation obscures the complexity of the dynamic forces operating on the Chinese Internet and the diversity of Internet-related phenomena. China and the Internet analyzes how Chinese activists, NGOs, and government offices have used the Internet to fight rural malnutrition, the digital divide, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other urgent problems affecting millions of people. It presents five theoretically informed case studies of how new media have been used in interventions for development and social change, including how activists battled against COVID-19. In addition, this book applies a Communication for Development approach to examine the use and impact of China’s Internet. Although it is widely used internationally in Internet studies, Communication for Development has not been rigorously applied in studies of China’s Internet. This approach offers a new perspective to examine the Internet and related phenomena in Chinese society.Trade Review"Documentarily exact, methodologically rigorous, and commandingly timely, China and the Internet offers a welcome example of grounded research that scholars in media and development studies will do well to follow, regardless of their regional foci or preferences." -- Briankle G. Chang * author of Deconstructing Communication: Subject, Representation, and Economies of Exchange *Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Connecting Every Village Project: Government Engagement in ICT for Development 3. The NGO 2.0 Project: Using New Media for the Empowerment of NGOs 4. Tiger Gate: A New Media Action for Government Accountability 5. Free Lunches: Activist, NGO, and State Collaboration in Development and Social Change 6. Contention and Reciprocity in the Free Lunch Project: Complex and Multi-dimensional Relations between Activists, the State, and Corporations 7. NCP Life Support Network: New Media Actions against Covid-19 8. Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisTwo oversimplified narratives have long dominated news reports and academic studies of China’s Internet: one lauding its potentials to boost commerce, the other bemoaning state control and measures against the forces of political transformations. This bifurcation obscures the complexity of the dynamic forces operating on the Chinese Internet and the diversity of Internet-related phenomena. China and the Internet analyzes how Chinese activists, NGOs, and government offices have used the Internet to fight rural malnutrition, the digital divide, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other urgent problems affecting millions of people. It presents five theoretically informed case studies of how new media have been used in interventions for development and social change, including how activists battled against COVID-19. In addition, this book applies a Communication for Development approach to examine the use and impact of China’s Internet. Although it is widely used internationally in Internet studies, Communication for Development has not been rigorously applied in studies of China’s Internet. This approach offers a new perspective to examine the Internet and related phenomena in Chinese society.Trade Review"Documentarily exact, methodologically rigorous, and commandingly timely, China and the Internet offers a welcome example of grounded research that scholars in media and development studies will do well to follow, regardless of their regional foci or preferences." -- Briankle G. Chang * author of Deconstructing Communication: Subject, Representation, and Economies of Exchange *Table of Contents1. Introduction 2. Connecting Every Village Project: Government Engagement in ICT for Development 3. The NGO 2.0 Project: Using New Media for the Empowerment of NGOs 4. Tiger Gate: A New Media Action for Government Accountability 5. Free Lunches: Activist, NGO, and State Collaboration in Development and Social Change 6. Contention and Reciprocity in the Free Lunch Project: Complex and Multi-dimensional Relations between Activists, the State, and Corporations 7. NCP Life Support Network: New Media Actions against Covid-19 8. Conclusion Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the discrimination encountered and propagated by individuals in online environments. The editors develop the concept of 'online othering' as a tool through which to analyse and make sense of the myriad toxic and harmful behaviours which are being created through, or perpetuated via, the use of communication-technologies such as the internet, social media, and ‘the internet of things’. The book problematises the dichotomy assumed between real and virtual spaces by exploring the construction of online abuse, victims' experiences, resistance to online othering, and the policing of interpersonal cyber-crime. The relationship between various socio-political institutions and experiences of online hate speech are also explored.Online Othering explores the extent to which forms of information-technologies facilitate, exacerbate, and/or promote the enactment of traditional offline offences (such as domestic abuse and stalking). It focuses on the construction and perpetration of online abuse through examples such as the far-right, the alt-right and Men's Rights Activists. It also explores experiences of, and resistance to, online abuse via examples such as victims' experiences of revenge porn, online abuse and misogyny, transphobia, disability hate crime, and the ways in which online othering is intersectional. Finally, the collection addresses the role of the police and other agencies in terms of their interventions, and the regulation and governance of virtual space(s). Contributions to the volume come from fields including sociology; communication and media studies; psychology; criminology; political studies; information science and gender studies. Online Othering is one of the very first collections to explore a multitude of abuses and their relationship to information and communication technology.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements ‘Online othering’: An introduction (by Emily Harmer and Karen Lumsden) Section I: Online Culture Wars: The Rise of the Alt-Right, Trumpism and White Masculinities Section I: Editors’ Introduction (by Emily Harmer and Karen Lumsden) Chapter 1: Online hate movements: From the far-right to the 'alt-right' and from the margins to the mainstream (by Aaron Winter) Chapter 2: Libcucks, fags and useful idiots: The othering of oppositional white masculinities by the ‘alt-right’ (by Alex Green) Chapter 3: ‘“I want to kill you in front of your children” is not a threat. It's an expression of a desire, not of an intent’: Discourses of trolling and gendered violence on a Reddit Men’s Rights Activist (MRA) forum (by Karen Lumsden) Section II: Experiences of Online Abuse: Gendered Othering, Sexism and Misogyny Editors’ Introduction (by Emily Harmer and Karen Lumsden) Chapter 4: Online/offline continuities: Online abuse of feminists as a form of violence against women (by Ruth Lewis, Mike Rowe and Clare Wiper) Chapter 5: Power, pleasure and pain: Approaching sexting and revenge porn with post-feminism (by Rikke Amundsen) Chapter 6: ‘There’s a bit of banter’: How male teenagers ‘do boy’ on social networking sites (by John Whittle, Dave Elder-Vass and Karen Lumsden) Chapter 7: Othering political women: Online misogyny and racism towards women in public life (by Emily Harmer and Rosalynd Southern) Section III: Online Exclusion: Boundaries, Spaces and Intersectionality Editors’ Introduction (by Karen Lumsden and Emily Harmer) Chapter 8: The online ‘othering’ of transgender and non-binary people: A discourse analysis of comments on Youtube videos on ‘gender neutral toilets’ (by Ben Colliver, Adrian Coyle and Maria Silvestri) Chapter 9: Invisible needs: Young people with physical disabilities seek sexual information online (by Herminder Kaur) Chapter 10: Rural racism in the digital age (by Nathan Kerrigan) Section IV: Responding to, Regulating and Policing Online Hate Editors’ Introduction (by Karen Lumsden and Emily Harmer) Chapter 11: ‘When I saw women being attacked…it has made me want to stand up and fight’: Reporting, responding to, and resisting online misogyny (by Jo Smith) Chapter 12: Disability hate speech: Interrogating the online/offline distinction (by Phillipa Hall) Chapter 13: Critique of the stalking risk profile: The changing nature of online relationships in cases of cyberstalking (by Brianna O’Shea, R. Julian, J. Prichard and S. Kelty)

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Book SynopsisThis book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Persuasive Technology, PERSUASIVE 2020, held in Aalborg, Denmark, in April 2020. The 18 full papers presented in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 79 submissions. The papers are grouped in the following topical sections: methodological and theoretical perspectives on persuasive design; persuasive in practice, digital insights; persuasive technologies for health and wellbeing; persuasive solutions for a sustainable future; and on security and ethics in persuasive technology.Table of ContentsMethodological and theoretical perspectives on persuasive design.- Persuasive in practice, digital insights.- Persuasive technologies for health and wellbeing.- Persuasive solutions for a sustainable future.- On security and ethics in Persuasive Technology.

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Book SynopsisThis book focuses on the innovation of blockchain technology and the advantages it offers. It provides a clear and comprehensive overview of blockchain technology and its possibilities, and thereby helps readers to form an opinion and draw their own conclusions about its potential exploitations.The book begins with a chapter on the topic of decentralized networks, which familiarizes readers with their challenges by using the example of an online trading platform. Hereinafter, it is then detailed what blockchain technology is, where it comes from, and how it works. The necessary underlying technologies are explained, and various individual approaches as well as their composition are presented. Using well-known examples such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as an illustration, the book looks at the architecture of blockchain technology and focuses on the challenges such as security and scalability. The options available when introducing blockchain technology are also outlined, and best-practice examples are presented to get a better idea of what areas benefit from this technology.Numerous examples and detailed explanations will accompany the readers throughout the book. By the time they have reached the end, they will be able to decide for themselves what is truly innovative about blockchain technology and what is nothing more than hype.Table of Contents​1. Introduction.- 2. What Is Hidden Behind the Term “Blockchain”?.- 3. Technical Basics for a Better Understanding of Blockchain Technology.- 4. Where Does the Hype End, and Where Does the Innovation of Blockchain Technology Begin?.- 5. The Right Use Leads to Success.- 6. Projects and Application Areas of Blockchain Technology.- 7. Summary.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides information on data-driven infrastructure design, analytical approaches, and technological solutions with case studies for smart cities. This book aims to attract works on multidisciplinary research spanning across the computer science and engineering, environmental studies, services, urban planning and development, social sciences and industrial engineering on technologies, case studies, novel approaches, and visionary ideas related to data-driven innovative solutions and big data-powered applications to cope with the real world challenges for building smart cities.Table of Contents1. Smart City Ecosystem – An Introduction.- 2. Datafication for secured smart cities.- 3. Secured big data infrastructure services.- 4. Intelligent infrastructure of secured smart cities.- 5. Cyber-physical systems for secured smart cities.- 6. Blockchain for smart cities.- 7. Context-aware security and privacy of smart cities.- 7. Privacy and social Issues in smart cities.- 8. Sensor and RFID applications of smart cities.- 9. Advanced data mining for secured smart cities.- 10. Big data for secured smart cities.- 11. Data analytics tools and technologies for smart cities.- 12. Machine learning and AI for secured smart cities.

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Book SynopsisDesign for flexibility requires anticipation, preparation, creativity and experience. Future highly digital sociotechnical systems should contrast with those stemming from technology-centered engineering that produces objects and machines with the immensely codified and rigid practices we know today. Most of the time, current technologies are designed and developed for normal situations, leaving users to manage abnormal and emergency situations themselves, sometimes under unforeseen, extreme and/or dangerous conditions. Putting humans at the center of the design of flexible sociotechnical systems means visualizing possible futures, modeling them, simulating them and leading them down the right paths. This book is for the engineering designers, who seek to better understand the roles of humans and organizations developing complex life-critical systems. It is also for those who train future designers who will have to take into account the well-being, safety, sustainability and efficiency of the actors of future sociotechnical systems. It is about an emergent discipline, human systems integration (HSI). The aim of the flexibility challenge is to put the artificial at the service of the natural, and not the other way around. The author, an aerospace engineering designer, has worked for 40 years in the field of human-centered design (HCD) of complex systems, discovering repeatedly that automation leads to rigidity, especially when things go wrong. It is urgent we had a new paradigm where flexibility is a major asset in human systems integration. HCD is seen here as the combination of practices and technologies to come.Table of ContentsIntroduction.- A framework for flexibility analysis in sociotechnical systems.- A few methodological clarifications.- Articulating human systems integration.- Activity-based design: Scenarios, HSI evolution and innovation.- Model-based human systems integration flexibility.- The unavoidable issue of tangibility.- Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis book constitutes the refereed post-conference proceedings of the 7th EAI International Conference on Smart Objects and Technologies for social Good, GOODTECHS 2021, held in September 2021. Due to COVID-19 pandemic the conference was held virtually. The 24 full papers presented were selected from 53 submissions and issue design, implementation, deployment, operation, and evaluation of smart objects and technologies for social good. Social goods are products and services provided through private enterprises, government, or non-profit institutions and are related to healthcare, safety, sports, environment, democracy, computer science, and human rights. The papers are arranged in tracks on machine learning; IoT; social considerations of technology; technology and ageing; healthcare.Table of ContentsLearning.- Balancing activity recognition and privacy preservation with a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm.- Biometric data capture as a way to identify lack f physical activity in daily life.- Comparative Analysis of Process Mining Algorithms in Python.- COVID-19 Next Day Trend ForecastAnomaly Detection in Cellular IoT with Machine Learning.- Internet of Things.- A Smart IoT System for Water Monitoring and Analysis.- Decentralising the Internet of Medical Things with Distributed Ledger Technologies and Off-Chain Storages: a Proof of Concept.- Towards a Monitoring Framework for Users of Retirement Houses with Mobile Sensing.- Temporal authorization graphs: Pros, Cons and Limits.- Advanced 5G Network Slicing Isolation Using Enhanced VPN+ for Healthcare Verticals.- Social considerations of technology.- GuideSwarm: A Drone Network Design to Assist Visually-impaired People.- LISA - Lingua Italiana dei Segni Accessibile: A Progressive Web App to Support Communication Between Deaf People and Public Administrations.- Building emotionally stable, inclusive, and healthy communities with ICT: from state of the art to PSsmile app.- issue design, implementation, deployment, operation, and evaluation of smart objects and technologies for social good. Social goods are products and services provided through private enterprises, government, or non-profit institutions and are related to healthcare, safety, sports, environment, democracy, computer science, and human rights. The papers are arranged in tracks on machine learning; IoT; social considerations of technology; technology and ageing; healthcare.- Machine Management Technology for Institutional Environment in Pandemic Times.- Technology and ageing.- Augmented Reality, Vrtual Reality and Mixed Reality as driver tools for promoting cognitive activity and avoid isolation in ageing population.- Ageing@home: A secure 5G welfare technology solution for elderlies.- Defining the instruments for zero-measurement of psychological well-being at older adults.- DERCA Tool: A set of Tests for Analysis of Elderly Dexterity in Information and Communications Technologies.- Building Inclusive Environments for All Ages with Citizens.- Healthcare.- The New Era of Technology applied to Cardiovascular Patients: State-of-the-art and Questionnaire applied for a System Proposal.- Co-design and engineering of user requirements for a novel ICT healthcare solution in Murcia, Spain.- What do nurses and carers in Portual wish and need from a digital intelligent assistant for nursing applications.- Examining Furniture Preferences of The Elderly in Greece.

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Book SynopsisThis open access book aims at deepening the understanding of the relation between cyber-physical systems (CPSs) as socio-technical systems and their digital representations with intertwined artificial intelligence (AI). The authors describe why it is crucial for digital selves to be able to develop emotional behavior and why a humanity-inspired AI is necessary so that humans and humanoids can coexist. The introductory chapter describes major milestones in computer science which form the basis for the implementation of digital twins and digital selves. The subsequent Part I then lays the foundation to develop a socio-technical understanding of the nature of digital twins as representations and trans-human development objects. Following the conceptual understanding of digital twins and how they could be engineered according to cognitive and organizational structures, Part II forms the groundwork for understanding social behavior and its modeling. It discusses various perception-based socio-emotional approaches before sketching behavior-relevant models and their simulation capabilities. In particular, it is shown how emotions can substantially influence the collective behavior of artificial actors. Part III eventually presents a symbiosis showing under which preconditions digital selves might construct and produce digital twins as integrated design elements in trans-human ecosystems. The chapters in this part are dedicated to opportunities and modes of co-creating reflective socio-trans-human systems based on digital twin models, exploring mutual control and continuous development. The final epilog is congenitally speculative in its nature by presenting thoughts on future developments of artificial life in computational substrates. The book is written for researchers and professionals in areas like cyber-physical systems, robotics, social simulation or systems engineering, interested to take a speculative look into the future of digital twins and autonomous agents. It also touches upon philosophical aspects of digital twins, digital selves and humanoids.Table of Contents1. Major Historical Landmarks in Computer Science.- Part I: Digital Twins: Advent and Trans-human Development.- 2. Background and Foundations.- 3. Beyond Data: Unifying Behavior Modeling.- Part II: Social Behavior of Artificial Agents.- 4. Background and Motivation.- 5. Simulation Methods and Game Theory.- 6. Social Dilemmas and Problems of Social Order.- 7. Emotional Modeling with Spatial Games.- 8. Agent-Based Stochastic Simulation of Emotions.- Part III: A Symbiosis.- 9. System-of-Systems Thinking.- 10. Provision of Information as Relational Task.- 11. Enabling Contextual Adaptation.- 12. Embodying Social Behavior.- 13. How to Create Digital Selves.

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Book SynopsisThis book constitutes the refereed conference proceedings of the 10th Annual Privacy Forum, APF 2022 in Warsaw, Poland in June 2022. The 8 full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 38 submissions. The papers are organized in the area of privacy and data protection while focusing on privacy related application areas. A large focus of the 2022 conference was on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).Table of ContentsUsers’ Rights.- Security of Personal Data.- Privacy Enhancing Technologies.- Privacy Engineering.

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Book SynopsisThis open access book deals with cultural and philosophical aspects of artificial intelligence (AI) and pleads for a “digital humanism”. This term is beginning to be en vogue everywhere. Due to a growing discontentment with the way digitalization is being used in the world, particularly formulated by former heroes of Internet, social media and search engine companies, philosophical as well as industrial thought leaders begin to plead for a humane use of digital tools. Yet the term “digital humanism” is a particular terminology that lacks a sound conceptual and philosophical basis and needs clarification still – and this gap is exactly filled by this book. It propagates a vision of society in which digitization is used to strengthen human self-determination, autonomy and dignity and whose time has come to be propagated throughout the world. The advantage of this book is that it is philosophically sound and yet written in a way that will make it accessible for everybody interested in the subject. Every chapters begins with a film scene illustrating a precise philosophical problem with AI and how we look at it – making the book not only readable, but even entertaining. And after having read the book the reader will have a clear vision of what it means to live in a world where digitization and AI are central technologies for a better and more humane civilization.Table of Contents1. Introduction.- 2. Robots as New (Digital) Slaves.- 3. Digital Simulations of Emotions.- 4. The Problem of Autonomy and Determination in the Digital World.- 5. The World as the Perfect Machine Universe.- 6. Digital Optimization, Utilitarianism and AI.- 7. Economic Rationality as a Software Program.- 8. Why Robots Don't Have Moral Judgment.- 9. Ethical Non-Comparability.- 10. Why AIs Fail at Moral Dilemmas.- 11. Why AIs Can't Think.- 12. Digital Virtualities and Sober Realities.- 13. On the Ethics of Internet Communication.- 14. On the Ethics of Communication between Humans and AI.- 15. Cultural Aspects of Digitalisation.- 16. Digital Education.- 17. Utopia of Liquid Democracy.- 18. Socio-Economic Aspects of Digitisation.- 19. Transhumanist Temptations.- 20. On the Metaphysics of digitalisation.- 21. Afterword.

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Book SynopsisHave you thought of how it feels to be an AI brain in the world of humans? This book allows such a brain to tell us how it takes on its mission of helping humans to develop a more efficient, sustainable, diverse and inclusive society.This book explains the principles and applications of artificial intelligence for a broad audience. Artificial intelligence, as part of computer science, is often inspired by human intelligence. At the same time, there is still reluctance in the applications and usability of artificial intelligence among citizens. Industries are deploying AI in their products and processes but the level of maturity is varying. The book is written as a first person narrative, from an AI perspective, having the AI brain tell the story.Table of ContentsPrologue.- Chapter 1: Baby steps.- Chapter 2: Basic Needs of an AI Brain.- Chapter 3: My Role in Internet of Things.- Chapter 4: Managing Relathionships.- Chapter 5: Working with Humans.- Chapter 6: Avoiding the Criminal Path.- Chapter 7: My Role in Climate Change.- Chapter 8: My Role in Diversity.- Chapter 9: My Creative Side.- Chapter 10: Growing Older and Staying in Shape.- Epilogue.

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Book SynopsisRecent technological advances have resulted in a new generation of powerful text processing and generation tools, that produce text very similar to what a human could do. Such tools have the potential to change the way we work, learn and teach – and this book enables you to understand and be part of this exciting development. Did you wonder how tools like ChatGPT or Bard work, but do not have a technical background? Then this is the right book for you! To discuss and better understand what such technologies are capable of and how this will impact our lives and our society, a basic background knowledge about text processing and generation technologies is required. In particular, the book discusses the following questions: How did the field of automated text processing and generation evolve over the last years, and what happened to allow the incredible recent advances? Are chatbots such as ChatGPT or Bard truly understanding humans? What pitfalls exist and how are stereotypes of the society reflected in such models? What is the potential of such technology, and how will the digital society of the future look like in terms of human-chatbot-collaboration? The book is aimed for a general audience, briefly explaining mathematical or technical background when necessary. After having read this book, you will be confident to participate in public discussions about how this new generation of language models will impact society. You will be aware of the risks and pitfalls these technologies can bring along, and how to deal responsibly when making use of tools built from AI technology in general.Trade Review“Mascha Kurpicz-Briki’s book takes readers under the hood of today’s chatbots by explaining how LLMs work and looks through the hype. ... Her guide to how LLMs work steps through all of the need-to-know concepts underpinning natural language processing. And by the end of the journey, readers will have a clear understanding of what it takes for computers to process written text.” (James Tyrrell, T_HQ technology and business, techhq.com, December 20, 2023)Table of Contents1. Introduction.- 2. An Introduction to Machine Learning.- 3. Processing Written Language.- 4. Do Chatbots Have Emotions?.- 5. The True and the False.- 6. Stereotypes in Language Models.- 7. The Future of Humans and Language Models.

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Book SynopsisThis book describes in an easily accessible way how artificial intelligence (AI) will help us to overcome the ongoing rise in complexity and thus shape our lives and work in a not-too-distant future. AI has proven to be the latest tool for resolving issues created by the most recent surge in complexity, and the corollary is: those who delay or ignore AI, will be overwhelmed by complexity. The book starts with a broad description of the coevolution of technology and society that irreversibly leads to the sharp increase in complexity of our socioeconomic environment. The second chapter then covers concepts and principles of the new science of complexity which helps us to understand issues caused by socioeconomic complexity and provides methods for resolving them. Subsequently, a beginner’s guide to artificial intelligence helps readers to glance at fundamentals of this powerful technology capable of resolving issues created by socioeconomic complexity. The danger of allowing intelligent digital systems to make high-risk decisions as well as the consequences of possible misuse of AI for fraud and fake are also discussed. The following chapter explores the concepts of natural and digital ecosystems. Digital transformation of rigidly structured corporations and administrations into adaptive and evolving organisations are illustrated by a number of case studies. Next, the current hectic transition of industrial to digital society is described, its origins identified and outcomes predicted, highlighting issues created by the increase in complexity and showing how to resolve them using thinking tools such as a complexity mindset and digital tools such as artificial intelligence. Eventually, the last two chapters outline the author’s vision of the future digital economy and digital society. This book is accessible to everyone who is curious to glimpse into the future, no previous special knowledge of digital technology is required. Especially decision makers in politics, business, administration, banking, policy making, education, healthcare and defence, and their advisors will benefit from the book, as it will help them to contribute to the creation of the brave new digital world. It may also support investors to recognise which elements of digital technology will play the most important role in the near future.Table of Contents1. Coevolution of Technology and Society.- 2. A Gentle Guide to Complexity.- 3. Artificial Intelligence: Friend or FOE.- 4. Natural and Digital Ecosystems.- 5. We are in Transition from Industrial to Digital Economy.- 6. The New Digital Economy.- 7. The New Digital Society.

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Book SynopsisThis book constitutes the proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Electronic Government and the Information Systems Perspective, EGOVIS 2023, which took place in Penang, Malaysia, during August 28-30, 2023.The 8 full papers presented together with 1 short paper were carefully reviewed and selected from a total of 17 submissions. They were organized in topical sections as follows: e-Government; strategy; artificial intelligence.Table of Contentse-Government.- NSFASonto: An Ontology for South African National Student Financial Aid Scheme Operations.- The Utilization of Public-Private Partnership Frameworks in the Management of eID Projects.- Strategy.- OntoSBehaviour: An Ontology of Students’ Behaviours at Institutions of Higher Learning.- Public Health Data and International Privacy Rules and Practices: A Case Study of Singapore.- Sentiment Analysis Application in E-Commerce Current Models and Future Directions.- Artificial Intelligence.- Evolving Justice Sector: An Innovative Proposal for Introducing AI-based Techniques in Court Offices.- Ontology-Driven Parliamentary Analytics: Analysing Political Debates on COVID-19 Impact in Canada.- Hybrid AI Analysis of the drug micro-trafficking in Italy.- Exploring the Potential of AI & MDL for Enhancing E-Government Services: A review paper.

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Book Synopsis.- Historical Characteristics of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Research in Japan in Relation to Postwar Political and Cultural Background..- The History of AI in Thailand: Thickening our Vision of AI by Caring for a Marginalised Actor..- Generative AI-Augmented Decision-Making for Business Information Systems..- Consideration of App Store-Related Cases and New Legislations in the EU, the US and Japan..- Machine-learning Phishing Detection Model Used in the E-Banking Environment..- Online Gambling in the Rural Global South: Probably the Next Major Silent Killer..- The Digital Transformation of Microbusinesses in Indonesia: Dichotomous Effects and Consequences..- French-style Applications of Artificial Intelligence to Human Health in a European Context..- Survey Instruments for Measuring Digital Inequality at the Individual Level.

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Book SynopsisIn 1941 Isaac Asimov famously introduced us to the idea of Robots with the ability to tell between right and wrong. However, as his stories go on to show, the Laws of Robotics' weren't quite able to govern robots in a way that we would deem acceptable for humanity. In recent years, scientists have worked to try to understand how we might create robots with this capability robots with morals and as Robots and Artificial Intelligence Systems become more integrated into society and our lives, it seems that achieving this aim is as pertinent as ever. This book introduces this pursuit, known as Machine Ethics, and aims to outline some of the art and science behind the field including the philosophy, psychology and computer science that underpins much of the research into this area. After the necessary background, and an exploration of the problem, a new theory is proposed inspired how we might envisage moral agency developing in a child. The proposal is that we need to cultivate moral development in a robot, in pretty much the same way we might parent a child: Raising Robots to be Good.

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Book SynopsisIntroduction.- The Prediction Room: A Rough Outline of a Model of Cognition.- Part I: Problem Solving and Reasoning.- Einstellung.- Analogical Reasoning.- More Reasoning: Inference and Prediction.- Transfer Skills, Production Rules, and Prediction.- Qualitative Physics.- Situated Cognition.- Part II: Memory.- Recall from Long Term Memory.- Interference with Real World Knowledge.- Speed-Accuracy Tradeoffs.- Is Knowledge Represented in Propositions?.- Associationism.- Procedural and Declarative Knowledge.- Part III: Language.- Language.- Inner Speech.- Babies and Other Primates.- Gestures.- Part IV: Action.- Action and Identity.- Predictive Modeling and Active Inference.- Part V: Being Human and Being Artificial.- Embodiment and Grounding.- Concepts?.- Emotions.- Intuition.- Belief-Desire Psychology.- Part VI: Mechanisms and Interpretation.- In the Engine Room: Transformer Models.- In the Engine Room--The Brain.- Virtuality, Reading in, and Emergence.- Coda.

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