Decisively Digital


Book Description

Discover how to survive and thrive in an increasingly digital world Digital strategy should consist of more than just updating your business’ desktop computers and buying the newest smartphones for your employees. It requires the reimagining of existing business processes and the implementation of the latest technologies into current business activity to enable new capabilities for your firm. In Decisively Digital: From Creating a Culture to Designing Strategy, digital strategy advisor and author Alexander Loth leverages his extensive experience working with Microsoft, CERN, and SAP to deliver a robust and accessible exploration of what it takes for a company to unlock the potential of new digital technologies. You’ll discover how to: Utilize new technologies to establish a digital culture and realize the benefits of modern work for your employees Unleash the abilities that come with processing big data and taking advantage of data democracy, analytics, and cloud computing Implement artificial intelligence, blockchain, process automation, and IoT in a way that goes beyond the hype and delivers real business results Packed with interviews with industry leaders and real-world customer examples, Decisively Digital is ideal for CIOs, CDOs, and other executives and professionals who need to know how technology can improve their businesses and power results today and tomorrow.




Bookishness


Book Description

Twenty-first-century culture is obsessed with books. In a time when many voices have joined to predict the death of print, books continue to resurface in new and unexpected ways. From the proliferation of “shelfies” to Jane Austen–themed leggings and from decorative pillows printed with beloved book covers to bookwork sculptures exhibited in prestigious collections, books are everywhere and are not just for reading. Writers have caught up with this trend: many contemporary novels depict books as central characters or fetishize paper and print thematically and formally. In Bookishness, Jessica Pressman examines the new status of the book as object and symbol. She explores the rise of “bookishness” as an identity and an aesthetic strategy that proliferates from store-window décor to experimental writing. Ranging from literature to kitsch objects, stop-motion animation films to book design, Pressman considers the multivalent meanings of books in contemporary culture. Books can represent shelter from—or a weapon against—the dangers of the digital; they can act as memorials and express a sense of loss. Examining the works of writers such as Jonathan Safran Foer, Jennifer Egan, Mark Z. Danielewski, and Leanne Shapton, Pressman illuminates the status of the book as a fetish object and its significance for understanding contemporary fakery. Bringing together media studies, book history, and literary criticism, Bookishness explains how books still give meaning to our lives in a digital age.







Digital Rebirth


Book Description

Digital Rebirth transcends digital transformation. It involves a revolutionary reinventing of the purpose, nature and processes of a company, with accompanying digital business and technological platforms. This book presents a clear framework for practical digital rebirth of companies, contrasting it to prevalent "digital transformation" approaches. Aimed at large and medium-sized companies, as well as their subcontractors and service providers, but also at budding entrepreneurs, it should be read and used by company boards, executives, managers, startup leaders and business consultants.. - In every section of the book you will find proven concepts of Digital Rebirth, digital reinvention, collaborative digital practices, combinatorial technologies, digital platforms, digital ecosystems and pointers how to move from obsolete mindsets and left-over baggage to reinvented digitalization minds and processes. - It shows clearly how some major companies have digitally rebirthed themselves - or are in the process of it - to be or to become a leading player in the digital economy. - Company (and industry) illustrations are accompanied by descriptions of Digital Rebirth approaches, methodologies and practical tools. - The book's content is ideal for use in company workshops and executive sessions, as well as business leadership mindset sessions, and has been validated in such activities by the authors, including boards of highly renowned companies on all continents. - At the end of the book, the unique approach of Digital Rebirth is condensed into a framework of five digital drivers, to assist in the right activities for purposeful and successful company rebirth. The concept of Digital Rebirth shows clearly that, in the light of recent developments like Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, Industry 4.0 and Cloud-based Services, well-established traditional industry and competitive models are not any longer satisfactory to understanding and dealing with digital realities.




Liberation Technology


Book Description

Liberation Technology brings together cutting-edge scholarship from scholars and practitioners at the forefront of this burgeoning field of study. An introductory section defines the debate with a foundational piece on liberation technology and is then followed by essays discussing the popular dichotomy of liberation'' versus "control" with regard to the Internet and the sociopolitical dimensions of such controls. Additional chapters delve into the cases of individual countries: China, Egypt, Iran, and Tunisia.




DECISIVE


Book Description

One of the main takeaways of the book is the "WRAP" framework, which stands for "Widen your options, Reality-test your assumptions, Attain distance before deciding, and Prepare to be wrong." This approach helps readers to expand their decision-making horizons and avoid common biases and blind spots. Another key concept in the book is the importance of gathering diverse perspectives and data when making decisions. The authors encourage readers to seek out dissenting opinions and challenge their own assumptions to arrive at more well-informed conclusions. Throughout the book, the authors provide engaging anecdotes and real-world examples to illustrate their points, making the content accessible and relatable. The writing style is clear and concise, with the occasional touch of humor to keep readers engaged. Overall, "Decisive" is a must-read for anyone looking to improve their decision-making skills. Its practical advice, grounded in research and real-world experience, will undoubtedly help readers to make more informed and effective choices in their personal and professional lives.




Skin


Book Description

Revised and thoroughly updated, this practical guide to photographing people is better than ever! What is the color of skin? You may think you know, until you enter the world of digital photography and try to reproduce what you see. Differences in software, lighting, computer calibration—everything has an impact on color. And that’s all before you get into differences between people in terms of skin types, ethnicities, age, gender, and more! Hollywood-based photo-illustrator Lee Varis guides you step-by-step through the maze. This new edition covers the very newest trends and techniques in photographing, lighting, and editing skin—and offers plenty of tips, examples, and valuable advice from the author’s own professional experience in the field. Shows you how to digitally capture all skin types: male, female, young, old, different skin tones and ethnicities, with makeup or without, wrinkled, tattooed, and more Covers a wealth of topics in addition to photo editing, such as how to obtain model releases and compose shots, how to shoot groups, and how to create promotional headshots Incorporates the latest on working with Photoshop and Lightroom Showcases exceptional work from a variety of photographers and artists If you're photographing people, you’ll want this valuable and unique guide on your shelf.




Digital @ Scale


Book Description

A blueprint for reinventing the core of your business Value in the next phase of the digital era will go to those companies that don't just try digital but also scale it. Digital@Scale examines what it takes for companies to break through the gravitational pull of their legacy organizations and capture the full value of digital. Digging into more than fifty detailed case studies and years of McKinsey experience and data, the authors, along with a group of expert contributors, show how companies can move beyond incremental change to transform the business where the greatest value is generated—at its core. The authors provide practical insights into the three pillars of digital transformations that successfully scale: reinventing the business model, building out a business architecture from the customer back into the organization, and establishing an 'amoeba' IT and organizational foundation that learns and evolves. This is the ideal guide for all leaders who recognize the power and promise of a digital transformation.




Digital Empires


Book Description

Financial Times Best Books of 2023 in Economics The global battle among the three dominant digital powers—the United States, China, and the European Union—is intensifying. All three regimes are racing to regulate tech companies, with each advancing a competing vision for the digital economy while attempting to expand its sphere of influence in the digital world. In Digital Empires, her provocative follow-up to The Brussels Effect, Anu Bradford explores a rivalry that will shape the world in the decades to come. Across the globe, people dependent on digital technologies have become increasingly alarmed that their rapid adoption and transformation have ushered in an exceedingly concentrated economy where a few powerful companies control vast economic wealth and political power, undermine data privacy, and widen the gap between economic winners and losers. In response, world leaders are variously embracing the idea of reining in the most dominant tech companies. Bradford examines three competing regulatory approaches—the American market-driven model, the Chinese state-driven model, and the European rights-driven regulatory model—and discusses how governments and tech companies navigate the inevitable conflicts that arise when these regulatory approaches collide in the international domain. Which digital empire will prevail in the contest for global influence remains an open question, yet their contrasting strategies are increasingly clear. Digital societies are at an inflection point. In the midst of these unfolding regulatory battles, governments, tech companies, and digital citizens are making important choices that will shape the future ethos of the digital society. Digital Empires lays bare the choices we face as societies and individuals, explains the forces that shape those choices, and illuminates the immense stakes involved for everyone who uses digital technologies.




Digital Paper


Book Description

“Shows the reader how to harness new technology while upholding the highest standards of research. The result is a joy to read . . . a boon for students.” —Robert J. Sampson, professor of the social sciences at Harvard University Today’s researchers have access to more information than ever before. Yet the new material is both overwhelming in quantity and variable in quality. How can scholars survive these twin problems and produce groundbreaking research using the physical and electronic resources available in the modern university research library? In Digital Paper, Andrew Abbott provides some much-needed answers to that question. Abbott tells what every senior researcher knows: that research is not a mechanical, linear process, but a thoughtful and adventurous journey through a nonlinear world. He breaks library research down into seven basic and simultaneous tasks: design, search, scanning/browsing, reading, analyzing, filing, and writing. He moves the reader through the phases of research, from confusion to organization, from vague idea to polished result. He teaches how to evaluate data and prior research; how to follow a trail to elusive treasures; how to organize a project; when to start over; when to ask for help. He shows how an understanding of scholarly values, a commitment to hard work, and the flexibility to change direction combine to enable the researcher to turn a daunting mass of found material into an effective paper or thesis. More than a mere how-to manual, Abbott’s guidebook helps teach good habits for acquiring knowledge, the foundation of knowledge worth knowing. Those looking for ten easy steps to a perfect paper may want to look elsewhere. But serious scholars, who want their work to stand the test of time, will appreciate Abbott’s unique, forthright approach and relish every page of Digital Paper.




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