The New Realities of a Digital World


Book Description

"The New Realities of a Digital World" offers a comprehensive exploration of the profound changes brought by digitalization and technology. With chapters covering the rise of AI, ethical dilemmas, cryptocurrency’s impact, the gig economy, and more, the book delves into the opportunities and challenges of the modern digital age. It addresses pressing issues such as privacy, mental health, social justice, and the digital divide, all while highlighting the paradoxes of hyperconnectivity and the struggles faced by marginalized communities. This book serves as a thoughtful guide to understanding and preparing for a future shaped by technology.




Education for a Digital World


Book Description

This important book explores key areas of educational technology research and development within an education system infused by technology. The book explores the opportunities and challenges associated with planning and implementing educational technology within higher education. It is unique in that it is a multi-perspective view of key contempora




Digital Shock


Book Description







Designing Reality


Book Description

That's the promise, and peril, of the third digital revolution, where anyone will be able to make (almost) anything Two digital revolutions -- computing and communication -- have radically transformed our economy and lives. A third digital revolution is here: fabrication. Today's 3D printers are only the start of a trend, accelerating exponentially, to turn data into objects: Neil Gershenfeld and his collaborators ultimately aim to create a universal replicator straight out of Star Trek. While digital fabrication promises us self-sufficient cities and the ability to make (almost) anything, it could also lead to massive inequality. The first two digital revolutions caught most of the world flat-footed, thanks to Designing Reality that won't be true this time.




The Dark Side of Our Digital World


Book Description

An all-in-one guide to understanding and managing the dark side of our digital lives. It all started out so well: the online world began as an effective tool for communication that carried with it a great promise to level the playing field and eliminate borders. But it’s morphed into something totally unintended. We’ve all had to endure the troll that derails a generally benign conversation; or received that scam email from a wealthy Nigerian prince; or felt the strange feeling of being watched and tracked by advertising companies as we navigate the web. Welcome to the modern internet. These are but a few of the topics that The Dark Side of Our Digital World: And What You Can Do about It examines to get at the root causes of our current problems with information technology, social media, and problematic online behavior. The book explores the issues raised by the negative side of information technology, including surveillance and spying, declining privacy, information overload, surveillance capitalism and big data analytics, conspiracy theories and fake news, misinformation and disinformation, trolling and phishing. What’s ultimately at stake is how we are able to cope with increasingly invasive anti-social behaviors, the overall decline of privacy in the face of total surveillance technologies, and the lack of a quality online experience that doesn’t devolve into flame wars and insults. The future of the internet as well as our societies depends upon our ability to discern truth from lies and reality from propaganda. The book will therefore also examine the possible directions we could take to improve the situation, looking at solutions in the areas of psychology and behavioral conditioning, social engineering through nudging techniques, the development of e-democracy movements, and the implementation of public policy.




The Next Story


Book Description

Even the least technical among us are being pressed from all sides by advances in digital technology. We rely upon computers, cell phones, and the Internet for communication, commerce, and entertainment. Yet even though we live in this “instant message” culture, many of us feel disconnected, and we question if all this technology is really good for our souls. In a manner that’s accessible, thoughtful, and biblical, author Tim Challies addresses questions such as: • How has life—and faith—changed now that everyone is available all the time through mobile phones? • How does our constant connection to these digital devices affect our families and our church communities? • What does it mean that almost two billion humans are connected by the Internet … with hundreds of millions more coming online each year? Providing the reader with a framework they can apply to any technology, Tim Challies explains how and why our society has become reliant on digital technology, what it means for our lives, and how it impacts the Christian faith.




The McDonaldization of Society


Book Description

The McDonaldization of Society is George Ritzer's seminal work of critical sociology that links classical sociological theory to many aspects of contemporary life in a globalized world--Max Weber's rationalization thesis updated and applied to the the late 20th and early 21st century. Where Weber focused on bureaucracies as the "iron cages" of rationalization in his time, the central premise of McDonaldization is that the fast food restaurant has become the model for the rationalization process today. The book examines ways in which fast food businesses have created a system of operation based on efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control; and how the same principles have been applied to other settings and contexts as diverse as motel chains, "big box" stores, churches, child care centers, college rankings, health care providers, political participation, and most recently, the Internet.




Unprecedented


Book Description

A remarkable collection of exclusive, first-person stories on leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic from 29 chief executives at iconic Canadian companies. Unprecedented is an extraordinary business book for extraordinary times: a collection of exclusive, first-person stories on leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic from twenty-nine chief executives at Canada’s most iconic and largest companies. These are unforgettable accounts from senior leaders at companies on the front lines during the pandemic—nursing homes, grocery stores, airlines, hotels, pharmacies, shopping malls—along with valuable lessons on crisis management. The insights in Unprecedented are remarkable. Readers get a seat at the table when the CEO of Tim Hortons visits the White House to discuss financial relief initiatives for business. Canada Goose’s CEO tells of retooling the parka maker to turn out surgical gowns. The head of one of Canada’s largest paper producers reveals what happened when the country almost ran out of toilet paper. COVID-19 is a shared challenge, a crisis that touches everyone. Unprecedented captures that shared experience with personal essays that mix struggle and achievement, fear, humour, and compassion. At their heart, these are stories about overcoming adversity, a theme that resonates with managers, professionals, entrepreneurs, and students of business. Unprecedented gives us rare insight into how leaders navigated the pandemic and the social unrest and technological changes that marked this era—what was gained, what was lost, and what was learned that can help serve companies, employees, and customers better in an uncertain future. The authors’ net proceeds from the sales of Unprecedented are being donated to United Way Centraide Canada for COVID recovery across Canada.




War and Peace and IT


Book Description

The Business-IT Wall Must Come Down With A Seat at the Table, thought leader Mark Schwartz pulled out a chair for CIOs at the C-suite table. Now Mark brings his unique perspective and experience to business leaders looking to lead their company into the digital age by harnessing the expertise and innovation that is already under their roof: IT. In the war for business supremacy, Schwartz shows we must throw out the old management models and stereotypes that pit suits against nerds. Instead, business leaders of today can foster a space of collaboration and shared mission, a space that puts technologists and business people on the same team. For business leaders looking to unlock their enterprise's digital transformation, War and Peace and IT provides clear context and strategies. Schwartz demystifies the role IT plays in the modern enterprise, allowing business leaders to create new strategies for the new digital battleground. It is time to change not only the enterprise's relationship with technology, but its relationship with technologists. To accelerate, enterprises must bring technology to the heart of their work, for just as technology is causing this disruption, it is technology that provides the solution. Unlike Napoleon, it is time for business leaders to come down from the hill atop the Battle of Borodino and enter the fray with the technologists, for that is where the war will be won or lost.