HOW NATURE MATTERS presents an original theory of nature's value based on part-whole relations. James argues that when natural things have cultural value, they do not always have it as means to valuable ends. In many cases, they have value as parts of valuable wholes - as parts of traditions, for instance, or cultural identities. James develops his theory by investigating twelve real-world cases, ranging from the veneration of sacred trees to the hunting of dugongs. He also analyses some key policy-related debates and explores various fundamental issues in environmental philosophy, including the question of whether anything on earth qualifies as natural. This accessible, engagingly written book will be essential reading for all those who wish to understand the moral and metaphysical dimensions of environmental issues.

The argument that digitalization fosters economic activity has been strengthened by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Because digital technologies are general-purpose technologies that are usable across a wide variety of economic activities, the gains from achieving universal coverage of digital services are likely to be large and shared throughout each economy. However, the Middle East and North Africa region suffers from a "digital paradox+?: the region's population uses social media more than expected for its level of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita but uses the internet or other digital tools to make payments less than expected. The Upside of Digital for the Middle East and North Africa: How Digital Technology Adoption Can Accelerate Growth and Create Jobs presents evidence that the socioeconomic gains of digitalizing the economies of the region are huge: GDP per capita could rise by more than 40 percent; manufacturing revenue per unit of factors of production could increase by 37 percent; employment in manufacturing could rise by 7 percent; tourist arrivals could rise by 70 percent, creating jobs in the hospitality sector; long-term unemployment rates could fall to negligible levels; and female labor force participation could double to more than 40 percent. To reap these gains, universal access to digital services is crucial, as is their widespread use for economic purposes. The book explores how fast the region could approach universal coverage, whether targeting the rollout of digital infrastructure services makes a difference, and what is needed to increase the use of digital payment tools. The authors find that targeting underserved populations and areas can accelerate the achievement of universal access, while fostering competition and improving the functioning of financial and telecommunications sectors can encourage the adoption of digital technologies. In addition, building societal trust in the government and in related institutions such as banks and financial services is critical for fostering the increased use of digital payment tools.

Slavery is a live issue today, but the people who talk about it as such are not all of a piece. Some insist the world is now plagued by the contemporary equivalent of transatlantic slavery, and call on us to combat "modern slavery". Others hold that the on-going devaluation and destruction of black life continues the logic of transatlantic slavery. They urge us to address the "afterlives" of racial chattel slavery. These two groupings provide different answers to the questions, "what do we know and what should we do about slavery?" This book reviews what is known about the issues at the heart of each perspective, and argues that the concept of "afterlives" is more helpful than that of "modern slavery" to those seeking to challenge injustice, violence, inequality and oppression in the twenty-first century.

In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down criminal laws prohibiting medical assistance in dying (MAID) in its Carter v Canada ruling. Assisted Suicide in Canada delves into the moral and policy dimensions of this case, summarizing other key rulings and subsequent legislation. Travis Dumsday explores thorny topics such as freedom of conscience for healthcare professionals, public funding for MAID, and extensions of eligibility. Carter v Canada will alter Canadians' understanding of life, death, and the practice of medicine for generations. This nuanced work will help readers think through the legal, ethical, and policy issues surrounding assisted dying.

In little more than a century, industrial practices have altered every aspect of the cheesemaking process, from the bodies of the animals that provide the milk to the microbial strains that ferment it. Reinventing the Wheel explores what has been lost as raw-milk, single-farm cheeses have given way to the juggernaut of factory production. In the process, distinctiveness and healthy rural landscapes have been exchanged for higher yields and monoculture. However, Bronwen and Francis Percival find reason for optimism. Around the world--not just in France, but also in the United States, England, and Australia--enterprising cheesemakers are exploring the techniques of their great-grandparents. At the same time, using sophisticated molecular methods, scientists are upending conventional wisdom about the role of microbes in every part of the world. Their research reveals the resilience and complexity of the indigenous microbial communities that contribute to the flavor and safety of cheese. One experiment at a time, these dynamic scientists, cheesemakers, and dairy farmers are reinventing the wheel.

As advances in disruptive technologies transform politics and increase the velocity of information and policy flows worldwide, the public is being confronted with changes that move faster than they can comprehend. There is an urgent need to analyze and communicate the ethical issues of these advancements. In a perpetually updating digital world, data is becoming the dominant basis for reality. This new world demands a new approach because traditional methods are not fit for a non-physical space like the internet. Applied Ethics in a Digital World provides an analysis of the ethical questions raised by modern science, technological advancements, and the fourth industrial revolution and explores how to harness the speed, accuracy, and power of emerging technologies in policy research and public engagement to help leaders, policymakers, and the public understand the impact that these technologies will have on economies, legal and political systems, and the way of life. Covering topics such as artificial intelligence (AI) ethics, digital equity, and translational ethics, this book is a dynamic resource for policymakers, civil society, CEOs, ethicists, technologists, security advisors, sociologists, cyber behavior specialists, criminologists, data scientists, global governments, students, researchers, professors, academicians, and professionals.

The notion of surveillance has become increasingly more crucial in public conversation as new tools of observation are obtained by many different players. The traditional notion of "overseeing" is being increasingly replaced by multi-level surveillance where many different actors, at different levels of hierarchy, from the child surveilling the parent to the state surveilling its citizens, are entering the surveillance theater. This creates a unique surveillance ecosystem where the individual is observed not only as an analog flesh-and-blood body moving through real spaces such as a shopping mall, but also tracked as a data point where the volume of data is perpetually and permanently expanding as the digital life story is inscribed in the digital spaces. The combined narrative of the individual is now under surveillance. Modern Day Surveillance Ecosystem and Impacts on Privacy navigates the reader through an understanding of the self as a narrative element that is open for observation and analysis. This book provides a broad-based and theoretically grounded look at the overall processes of surveillance in a global system. Covering topics including commodity, loss of privacy, and big data, this text is essential for researchers, government officials, policymakers, security analysts, lawmakers, teachers, professors, graduate and undergraduate students, practitioners, and academicians interested in communication, technology, surveillance, privacy, and more.

Bioethics in Our World: A Reader explores issues related to public health, psychiatry, genetics, and more, and examines the moral worth of actions within these fields. The anthology features collected cases that examine various topics and encourage readers to consider the ethical dilemmas they may face in their futures as clinicians, researchers, and citizens. The book is organized into seven units. The first unit presents the theories of utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, and care ethics. Additional units cover topics that are salient to understanding the nature of bioethics and the world in which bioethics exists. These units address ethical issues in research; the history of eugenics and its relationship to eugenic practices today; and reproductive rights and technologies. Readers learn about experiences faced by patients, researchers, and healthcare professionals with regard to race, gender, age, and ability, and how these experiences are the result of a history of bias and stereotyping. Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, stem cell research, gene-editing technology, and medicalization are explored. Timely, thought-provoking, and essential, Bioethics in Our World is an exemplary text for courses in public health, psychiatry, genetics, medical research, or any other course that explores bioethics.

The digital era has redefined our understanding of ethics as a multi-disciplinary phenomenon. The newness of the internet means it is still highly unregulated, which allows for rampant problems encountered by countless internet users. In order to establish a framework to protect digital citizenship, an academic understanding of online ethics is required. Multidisciplinary Approaches to Ethics in the Digital Era examines the concept of ethics in the digital environment through the framework of digitalization. Covering a broad range of topics including ethics in art, organizational ethics, and civil engineering ethics, this book is ideally designed for media professionals, sociologists, programmers, policymakers, government officials, academicians, researchers, and students.

Multicultural Implications of Neuroethics: Issues in the Application of Neuroscience underscores the need for theory, research, and cultural perspective within neuroethics to thoughtfully address the ethical issues that arise from the application of neuroscience on an international scale. The text introduces readers to essential concepts in neuroethics, including cultural neuroethics, the foundation of neuroscience, and methodological issues. Dedicated chapters explore the key principles of neuroethics and various theoretical perspectives, including Western, Eastern, and Middle Eastern views. Readers will examine neuroethics and cultural issues, including discussions of brain enhancement and personnel selection using neuroscience, application of neuroscience in education, brain and neurofeedback methods, treatment of psychiatric and mental health conditions using neuroscience, and the application of neuroscience in law. Closing chapters address topical issues including the future of neuroethics with discussions on the use of nanotechnology, cultural considerations of neuroethical applications, informed consent, and how best to advance neuroscience. Featuring cutting-edge, essential research, Multicultural Implications of Neuroethics is an exemplary text for students and professionals in psychiatry, psychology, neuroscience, neurology, counselor education, educational neuroscience, as well as any social science that integrates research and practices inspired by neuroscience.

This charming allegory, suitable for all age groups, is about a boy called Freedom. Born the son of gipsy tinkers, the boy is left outside a monastery when his parents are refused help in the coldest of winters. At first he is raised by the monks and subsequently adopted by a gentle farmer and his wife. As their son he helps on the farm and learns to love the life of a shepherd so much that he refuses to give up his liberty to go to school. However when he is attacked by vicious wolves who kill his dog companion, he realises the value of education. At school he soon makes up for lost time and excels, despite the bullies he encounters. At the age of 18 he realises that he is invincible when others attack him, but this merely serves to provoke. Before long he is imprisoned. All forms of torture are tried on him, but he is so indomitable that he is eventually summoned by the king, who appoints him to his government to bring peace and stability to the country. Freedom makes sweeping changes to its structure, turning it from war to peace, and from hierarchy to democracy. Once again his peaceful stance, reflected in the peaceful, prosperous country he manages, provokes neighbouring states to attack, until finally it is conquered and devastated. When he is discovered, starved to death in a dungeon, his wife and daughter lead the procession to the grave and are joined by others who grieve and vow to re-establish the world that he showed them was possible. The story ends with the communal realisation that people who support each other can always rebuild peace and democracy to promote social cooperation and well-being, and to counter political opposition because he - Freedom - lives on in the minds of all people. Thus there is always hope and a future, as long as each person takes responsibility for it.

Cyberspace, Social Conflict, and Humanity: A Framework for Collapsing Disciplinary Barriers to Ethical Technology examines how our increasingly connected and digitized world is shaping our social experiences and interactions globally. It offers a new approach to human versus machine debate and builds the case for strategic collaboration between academia, industry, and governments who are committed to the humane advancement of knowledge and innovation. The text demonstrates how data and information can be used for or against any person, group, or a nation; the implication of cyber anxiety for states and nations; and how lack of ethical framework for the advancement of technology can lead to harmful results. It focuses on questions related to technological influence on society, individual privacy, cybercrimes and espionage, the battle over economy of attention and online engagement. By offering the latest case studies and examples, it offers ways to recognize and minimize the biases, misinformation, or disinformation within political and social context. Cyberspace, Social Conflict, and Humanity is ideal for courses in conflict resolution, social sciences, humanities, engineering, programming and multidisciplinary studies looking to the future of technology and society.