A simple walk around the block set journalist Spike Carlsen, bestselling author of A Splintered History of Wood, off to investigate everything he could about everything we take for granted in our normal life-from manhole covers and recycling bins to bike lanes and stoplights. In this celebration of the seemingly mundane, Carlsen opens our eyes to the engineering marvels, human stories, and natural wonders right outside our front door. He guides us through the surprising allure of sewers, the intricacies of power plants, the extraordinary path of an everyday letter, and the genius of recycling centers-all the while revealing that this awesome world isn't just a spectator sport. Engaging as it is endearing, A Walk Around the Block will change the way you see things in your everyday life. Join Carlsen as he strolls through the trash museum of New York City, explores the quirky world of squirrels, pigeons, and roadkill, and shows us how understanding stoplights, bike lanes, and fine art of walking can add years to our lives. In the end, he brings a sense of wonder into your average walk around the block, wherever you are. Guaranteed.

Novelist, cyber-theorist, and widely acclaimed hypertext fiction writer Michael Joyce weaves an evocative and provocative set of brief essays and short parable-like fictions into a compelling collection of meditations on how technology and new media affect our culture and everyday lives.

Nations around the globe consider physics education an important tool of economic and social development and currently advocate the use of innovative strategies to prepare students for knowledge and skills acquisition. Particularly in the last decade, a series of revisions were made to physics curricula in an attempt to cope with the changing needs and expectations of society. Educational transformation is a major challenge due to educational systems' resistance to change. Updated curriculum content, pedagogical facilities (for example, computers in a school), new teaching and learning strategies and the prejudice against girls in physics classes are all issues that have to be addressed. Educational research provides a way to build schemas and resources to promote changes in physics education. This volume presents physics teaching and learning research connected with the main educational scenarios.

The recent explosion of neuroscience techniques has been game-changing in terms of understanding the healthy brain, and in the development of neuropsychiatric treatments. One of the key techniques is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which allows us to examine the human brain non-invasively, and observe brain activity in real time. Through fMRI, we are beginning to build a deeper understanding of our thoughts, motivations, and behaviours. Already fMRI has been used to detect conscious activity in some patients who had all indications of being in a vegetative state, and even enabled us to communicate with some of them. This is just one of the many striking areas in which fMRI can be used to 'read minds'. As neuroscientists unravel the brain networks of self-control and morality, we might find abnormalities in criminal offenders. Could we predict crimes before they are committed? fMRI has also been used to detect racial bias in some people who regarded themselves as fair-minded. Meanwhile, the reliability of fMRI as a lie detector in murder cases or as a tool for marketing is being debated. Sex, Lies, and Brain Scans takes readers beyond the media headlines. Barbara Sahakian and Julia Gottwald consider what the technique of fMRI entails, and what information it can give us, showing which applications are possible today, and which ones are science fiction. They also consider the important ethical questions these techniques raise. Should brain scans be allowed at airports to screen for terrorists? Should they be used to vet future judges and teachers? How far will we allow neuroscience to go? It is time to make up our minds.

The internet could have been purpose-built for fostering the growth of the social movements and citizen initiatives which have had such a significant impact on the political landscape since the 1990s. In "Cyberprotest" the contributors explore the effects of this synergy between ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) and people power, analysing the implications for politics and social policy at both a national and a global level. Through a number of different international examples answers are sought to questions such as: to what extent and in what forms do social movements use ICTs?; how do new ICTs facilitate new patterns and forms of citizen mobilization?; how does this use affect the relationship between social movements and their members?; how do ICTs change the way social movement organizations communicate with each other?; and how do they affect the way these movements mobilize and intervene in public debates and political conflicts?

When you look at the marvels of Earth and outer space, have you ever wondered: How did this all come about? And that leads to that ultimate question: Why are we here? Guide to Creation is a fascinating survey that explores these questions and more: Why is our world so perfectly fit for life yet still full of imperfections? What best explains the precision and consistency in the laws of science? How should we handle the times when science and the Bible seem to disagree? This book will take you on an incredible journey for the answers, which can be found all around us-in things as tiny as cells to as large as superstars. Along the way you'll learn what both science and the Bible say. A wealth of discoveries await you!

'A terrific book - essential reading for everyone seeking to make sense of Artificial Intelligence.' Professor Sir Adrian Smith, Director and Chief Executive of the Alan Turing Institute 'Calm, informative and refreshingly free of hype, Wooldridge's effortlessly readable book is the perfect guide to the history and future of AI.' - Tom Chivers, author of The AI Does Not Hate You In this myth-busting guide to AI past and present, one of the world's leading researchers shows why our fears for the future are misplaced. The ultimate dream of AI is to build machines that are like us: conscious and self-aware. While this remains a remote possibility, its rapid progress is already profoundly changing our world. Yet the public debate and media hype is still largely centred on unlikely prospects from sentient machines to dystopian robot takeovers. In this lively and clear-headed guide, Michael Wooldridge challenges the prevailing narrative, revealing how these anxieties distract us from both the more immediate risks that this transformative technology poses - from algorithmic bias to fake news- and the true life-changing potential of the field. The Road to Conscious Machines elucidates the discoveries of its greatest pioneers from Alan Turing to Demis Hassabis, and shows us what today's AI researchers actually think and do. AI appeals to fundamental questions about what it means to be human; so too do the failures and limitations of its past. 'Nobody understands the past, the present, the promise and the peril of this new technology better than Michael Wooldridge. The definitive account of the new AI' Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist

Political revolutions, economic meltdowns, mass ideological conversions and collective innovation adoptions occur often, but when they do happen, they tend to be the least expected. Based on the paradigm of 'leading from the periphery', this groundbreaking analysis offers an explanation for such spontaneity and apparent lack of leadership in contentious collective action. Contrary to existing theories, the author argues that network effects in collective action originating from marginal leaders can benefit from a total lack of communication. Such network effects persist in isolated islands of contention instead of overarching action cascades, and are shown to escalate in globally dispersed, but locally concentrated networks of contention. This is a trait that can empower marginal leaders and set forth social dynamics distinct from those originating in the limelight. Leading from the Periphery and Network Collective Action provides evidence from two Middle Eastern uprisings, as well as behavioral experiments of collective risk-taking in social networks.

In the decades it takes to bring up a child, parents face challenges that are both helped and hindered by the fact that they are living through a period of unprecedented digital innovation. In Parenting for a Digital Future, Sonia Livingstone and Alicia Blum-Ross draw on extensive and diverse qualitative and quantitative research with a range of parents in the UK to reveal how digital technologies characterize parenting in late modernity, as parents determine how to forge new territory with little precedent or support. They chart how parents often enact authority and values through digital technologies since "screen time," games, and social media have become both ways of being together and of setting boundaries. Parenting for a Digital Future moves beyond the panicky headlines to offer a deeply researched exploration of what it means to parent in a period of significant social and technological change.

Learn how computer technology is helping school social workers collect information and synthesize it into meaningful data! Technology-Assisted Delivery of School Based Mental Health Services: Defining School Social Work for the 21st Century explores the many technological advances in school social work practices. This book also illustrates the ways technology is being used to manage and evaluate services provided by school social workers. This vital book contains: ways to use new technology to prevent and treat mental health issues in children through safe and effective learning experiences information on how biofeedback can be used to empower children to become more aware of their physical and emotional reactions to environmental stimuli an annotated bibliography of Internet sites covering topics and issues frequently encountered by social workers examinations of exciting software applications, including BARN, From Mad to Worse, Conflict Management, and Smart Team methods of online data collection for use in school social work practices and more!

Nautilus Award Gold Medal Winner, Ecology & Environment In Matter and Desire, internationally renowned biologist and philosopher Andreas Weber rewrites ecology as a tender practice of forging relationships, of yearning for connections, and of expressing these desires through our bodies. Being alive is an erotic process-constantly transforming the self through contact with others, desiring ever more life. In clever and surprising ways, Weber recognizes that love-the impulse to establish connections, to intermingle, to weave our existence poetically together with that of other beings-is a foundational principle of reality. The fact that we disregard this principle lies at the core of a global crisis of meaning that plays out in the avalanche of species loss and in our belief that the world is a dead mechanism controlled through economic efficiency. Although rooted in scientific observation, Matter and Desire becomes a tender philosophy for the Anthropocene, a "poetic materialism," that closes the gap between mind and matter. Ultimately, Weber discovers, in order to save life on Earth-and our own meaningful existence as human beings-we must learn to love.

With a razor wit, Nicholas Carr cuts through Silicon Valley's unsettlingly cheery vision of the technological future to ask a hard question: Have we been seduced by a lie? Gathering a decade's worth of posts from his blog, Rough Type, as well as his seminal essays, Utopia Is Creepy offers an alternative history of the digital age, chronicling its roller-coaster crazes and crashes, its blind triumphs, and its unintended consequences. Carr's favorite targets are those zealots who believe so fervently in computers and data that they abandon common sense. Cheap digital tools do not make us all the next Fellini or Dylan. Social networks, diverting as they may be, are not vehicles for self-enlightenment. And "likes" and retweets are not going to elevate political discourse. When we expect technologies-designed for profit-to deliver a paradise of prosperity and convenience, we have forgotten ourselves. In response, Carr offers searching assessments of the future of work, the fate of reading, and the rise of artificial intelligence, challenging us to see our world anew. In famous essays including "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" and "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Privacy," Carr dissects the logic behind Silicon Valley's "liberation mythology," showing how technology has both enriched and imprisoned us-often at the same time. Drawing on artists ranging from Walt Whitman to the Clash, while weaving in the latest findings from science and sociology, Utopia Is Creepy compels us to question the technological momentum that has trapped us in its flow. "Resistance is never futile," argues Carr, and this book delivers the proof.

'An elegant, thoughtful book . . . beautifully expresses the importance and experience of liberation from the battery-hen life of constant connection and crowds.' Daily Mail 'A compelling study of the subtle ways in which modern life and technologies have transformed our behaviour and sense of self.' Times Literary Supplement In a world of social media and smartphones, true solitude has become increasingly hard to find. In this timely and important book, award-winning writer Michael Harris reveals why our hyper-connected society makes time alone more crucial than ever. He delves into the latest neuroscience to examine the way innovations like Google Maps and Facebook are eroding our ability to be by ourselves. He tells the stories of the remarkable people - from pioneering computer scientists to great nineteenth-century novelists - who managed to find solitude in the most unexpected of places. And he explores how solitude can bring clarity and creativity to each of our inner lives. Urgent, eloquent and beautifully argued, Solitude might just change the way you think about being alone. 'Speaks to a long-overdue conversation we still haven't properly had in our society.' Vice 'A timely, elegant provocation to daydream and wander.' Nathan Filer, author of The Shock of the Fall 'The leading thinker about technology's corrupting influence on our collective psyche.' Newsweek 'A poetic, contemplative journey into the benefits of solo sojourning.' Elle

The Welfare of Animals used in Research: Practice and Ethics gives a complete and balanced overview of the issues surrounding the use of animals in scientific research. The focus of the book is on the animal welfare implications and ethics of animals in research. It covers the topics with sufficient depth to show a real understanding of varied and complex subjects, but conveys the information in a beautifully reader-friendly manner. Key features: * Provides those who are not working in the field with a reasonable understanding as to why and how animals are used in research. * Gives an introduction to the ethical issues involved in using animals, and explains how these are addressed in practice. * Details the advances in animal welfare and the use and development of the 3Rs principles, and how these have become fundamental to the everyday use and regulation of animals used in research. * The focus is on principles making it suitable for an international audience. This book is a useful introduction to the issues involved in laboratory animal welfare for those who intend to work in research involving animals. It is also useful to prospective animal care staff and animal welfare scientists, and to those involved in ethical review. It will help inform debate amongst those who are not involved in experimentation but who are interested in the issues. Published as a part of the prestigious Wiley-Blackwell UFAW Animal Welfare series. UFAW, founded 1926, is an internationally recognised, independent, scientific and educational animal welfare charity. For full details of all titles available in the series, please visit the

We've outsourced too much of our thinking. How do we get it back? Have you ever followed your GPS device to a deserted parking lot? Or unquestioningly followed the advice of an expert&#8212perhaps a doctor or financial adviser&#8212only to learn later that your own thoughts and doubts were correct? And what about the stories we've all heard over the years about sick patients&#8212whether infected with Ebola or COVID-19&#8212who were sent home or allowed to travel because busy staff people were following a protocol to the letter rather than using common sense? Why and how do these kinds of things happen? As Harvard lecturer and global trend watcher Vikram Mansharamani shows in this eye-opening and perspective-shifting book, our complex, data-flooded world has made us ever more reliant on experts, protocols, and technology. Too often, we've stopped thinking for ourselves. With stark and compelling examples drawn from business, sports, and everyday life, Mansharamani illustrates how in a very real sense we have outsourced our thinking to a troubling degree, relinquishing our autonomy. Of course, experts, protocols, and computer-based systems are essential to helping us make informed decisions. What we need is a new approach for integrating these information sources more effectively, harnessing the value they provide without undermining our ability to think for ourselves. The author provides principles and techniques for doing just that, empowering readers with a more critical and nuanced approach to making decisions. Think for Yourself is an indispensable guide for those looking to restore self-reliant thinking in a data-driven and technology-dependent yet overwhelmingly uncertain world.

New York Times bestselling author of The Everything Store Brad Stone takes us deep inside the new Silicon Valley. Ten years ago, the idea of getting into a stranger's car, or walking into a stranger's home, would have seemed bizarre and dangerous, but today it's as common as ordering a book online. Uber and Airbnb are household names: redefining neighbourhoods, challenging the way governments regulate business and changing the way we travel. In the spirit of iconic Silicon Valley renegades like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, a new generation of entrepreneurs is sparking yet another cultural upheaval through technology. They are among the Upstarts, idiosyncratic founders with limitless drive and an abundance of self-confidence. Young, hungry and brilliant, they are rewriting the traditional rules of business, changing our day-to-day lives and often sidestepping serious ethical and legal obstacles in the process. The Upstarts is the definitive account of a dawning age of tenacity, creativity, conflict and wealth. In Brad Stone's highly anticipated and riveting account of the most radical companies of the new Silicon Valley, we find out how it all started, and how the world is wildly different than it was ten years ago.

The Metaphysical Society was founded in 1869 at the instigation of James Knowles (editor of the Contemporary Review and then of the Nineteenth Century) with a view to "collect, arrange, and diffuse Knowledge (whether objective or subjective) of mental and moral phenomena" (first resolution of the Society in April 1869).
The Society was a private club which gathered together a latter-day clerisy. Building on the tradition of the Cambridge Apostles, they elected talented members from across the Victorian intellectual spectrum: Bishops, one Cardinal, philosophers, men of science, literary figures, and politicians. The Society included in its 62 members prominent figures such as T. H. Huxley, William Gladstone, Walter Bagehot, Henry Edward Manning, John Ruskin and Alfred Lord Tennyson.
The papers they produced are key primary sources which shed new light on the ideas of their authors on the burning subjects of the day, ranging from the existence and personality of God to the nature of conscience or the existence of the soul. They are a legacy of a period when intellectuals were wondering how, and what, to believe in a time of social change, spiritual crisis, and scientific progress.
The dissolution of the Society in 1880 did not diminish the value of the papers: they illustrate a tradition of private, open discussion among famous men of the most widely varying views; they offer detailed insight into the evolution of the relationships between different schools of Victorian scientific and religious thought; and they bring to light heretofore under-represented points of conflict and harmony. All 95 papers are included, accompanied by introductions and scholarly notes that set each paper into their proper context.

Militant atheism is on the rise. In recent years Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have produced a steady stream of best-selling books denigrating religious belief. These authors are merely the leading edge of a larger movement that includes much of the scientific community.

In response, mathematician David Berlinski, himself a secular Jew, delivers a biting defense of religious thought. "The Devil's Delusion" is a brilliant, incisive, and funny book that explores the limits of science and the pretensions of those who insist it is the ultimate touchstone for understanding our world.

This book attacks the conventional history of the press as a story of progress; offers a critical defence and history of public service broadcasting; provides a myth-busting account of the internet; a subtle account of the impact of social media and explores key debates about the role and politics of the media. It has become a standard book on media and other courses: but it has also gone beyond an academic audience to reach a wider public. Hailed as 'a classic of media history and analysis' by the Irish Times and a book that has 'cracked the canon' by the Times Higher, it has been translated into five languages. This edition contains six new chapters. These include the press and the remaking of Britain, the rise of the neo-liberal Establishment, the moral decline of journalism, the impact of social media and a history of attempts to reform the press. It contains new research on the relationship between programmes, institutions and society. It places key UK institutions in the wider context of international affairs and their impact. The book has been updated to take account of new developments like Brexit and the rise of Jeremy Corbyn and the shift in authority and legitimacy prompted by social media. It does this with a clear explanation of how policy can shape media outcomes.

James Lovelock, creator of the Gaia hypothesis and the greatest environmental thinker of our time, has produced an astounding new theory about future of life on Earth. He argues that the anthropocene - the age in which humans acquired planetary-scale technologies - is, after 300 years, coming to an end. A new age - the novacene - has already begun. New beings will emerge from existing artificial intelligence systems. They will think 10,000 times faster than we do and they will regard us as we now regard plants - as desperately slow acting and thinking creatures. But this will not be the cruel, violent machine takeover of the planet imagined by sci-fi writers and film-makers. These hyper-intelligent beings will be as dependent on the health of the planet as we are. They will need the planetary cooling system of Gaia to defend them from the increasing heat of the sun as much as we do. And Gaia depends on organic life. We will be partners in this project. It is crucial, Lovelock argues, that the intelligence of Earth survives and prospers. He does not think there are intelligent aliens, so we are the only beings capable of understanding the cosmos. Maybe, he speculates, the novacene could even be the beginning of a process that will finally lead to intelligence suffusing the entire cosmos. At the age 100, James Lovelock has produced the most important and compelling work of his life.

Featuring the work of an all-star cast of writers, Doing Science + Culture is a collection of new work in the cultural study of science, technology, and medicine. The contributors include anthropologists, sociologists, literature/communication scholars, and historians of science who focus on the analysis of science and scientific discourses within culture, rather than 'doing' science. Serving as a road map to the next stage of work in the cultural study of science, this book is a vital contribution by 'science watchers' - cultural analysts who will be explaining how and why we should look at the way science is used and talked about in the contemporary world.

Cybercrime focuses on the growing concern about the use of electronic communication for criminal activities and the appropriateness of the counter-measures which are being adopted by law enforcement agencies, security services and legislators to address such anxieties. Fuelled by sensational media headlines and news coverage which have done much to encourage the belief that technologies like the Internet are likely to lead to a lawless electronic frontier, Cybercrime provides a more considered and balanced perspective to what is an important and contested arena for debate. It looks at:
*legislation
*electronic criminal behaviour
*privacy and liberty
*the dangers of surveillance
Cybercrime explains the basic issues surrounding cybercrime and its impact on society.

This book, divided into six sections, discusses the earth and moon, the solar system, the stars, general science and technical terms. The book's question-and-answer format makes a practical tool for the classroom and home school. In this new edition, sky charts, and stargazing tips are included.

Science is often presented as a set of propositions to affirm. On those terms, the existence of God becomes yet another such proposition, and all science can offer is a yes or a no. Andy Walsh thinks science offers more. By enriching our language with new concepts, science can help us know God, rather than merely know of him. This is the pattern established in the Bible; the psalmists, the prophets, and the epistle writers all use language about nature to help us understand God. Even Jesus relied on metaphors from the natural world when he wanted to explain the kingdom of God. This book explores concepts from contemporary science to illuminate Scripture and reveal more about the God who has unfurled the multiverse. Sections of the book cover metaphors and parables from mathematics, physics, biology, and computer science.