In this eye-opening book, author Lloyd J. Dumas argues that our capacity for developing ever more powerful technologies and the unavoidable fallibility of both machine and man will lead us towards a disaster of an unprecedented scale. Most of us assume that those in charge can always find a way to control any technology mankind creates, no matter how powerful. But in a world of imperfect human beings who are prone to error, emotion, and sometimes to malevolent behavior, this could be an arrogant—and disastrous—assumption. This book is filled with compelling, factual stories that illustrate how easy it is for situations to go terribly wrong, despite our best efforts to prevent any issue. The author is not advocating an anti-technology "return to nature," nor intending to highlight the marvels of our high-tech world. Instead, the objective is to reveal the potential for disaster that surrounds us in our modern world, elucidate how we arrived at this predicament, explain the nature and ubiquity of human fallibility, expose why proposed "solutions" to these Achilles heels cannot work, and suggest alternatives that could thwart human-induced technological disasters.

Recent advances in array-based detectors and imaging technologies have provided high throughput systems that can operate within a substantially reduced timeframe and other techniques that can detect multiple contaminants at one time. These technologies are revolutionary in terms of food safety assessment in manufacturing, and will also have a significant impact on areas such as public health and food defence. This book summarizes the latest research and applications of sensor technologies for online and high throughput screening of food. The book first introduces high throughput screening strategies and technology platforms, and discusses key issues in sample collection and preparation. The subsequent chapters are then grouped into four sections: Part I reviews biorecognition techniques; Part II covers the use of optical biosensors and hyperspectral imaging in food safety assessment; Part III focuses on electrochemical and mass-based transducers; and finally Part IV deals with the application of these safety assessment technologies in specific food products, including meat and poultry, seafood, fruits and vegetables.

Technical Career Survival Handbook: 100 Things You Need To Know provides the information needed to survive a technical career, enabling prospective technical career candidates and those currently in technical careers to explore all technical education possibilities, industries, disciplines, and specialties. This handbook better equips the reader to deal with the tough situations and decisions they have to make throughout their career. Topics include preparing for the workforce, employment challenges, and dealing with on the job situations. This book is a practical guidebook for scientists, engineers, and technicians who apply the principles of science and mathematics to develop practical solutions to technical problems.