Opting for the Best
Opting for the Best

Author: Douglas W. Portmore

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2019-06-11

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 0190945362

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We ought to opt for the best-that is, we ought to choose the option that is best in terms of whatever ultimately matters. So, if maximizing happiness is what ultimately matters, then we ought to perform the option that results in the most happiness. And if, instead, abiding by the Golden Rule is what ultimately matters, then we ought to perform the option that best abides by this rule. However, even if we know what ultimately matters, this is not always sufficient for determining which option we ought to perform. There are other questions that we need to consider as well. Which events are options for us? How do we rank our options-in terms of their own goodness or in terms of the goodness of the best options that entail them? How exactly does that which ultimately matters determine which options we ought to perform? In Opting for the Best, Douglas W. Portmore focuses on these three questions, which he argues can best be answered by putting aside any specific determination of what ultimately matters. He argues that tackling these three questions is crucial to solving many of the puzzles concerning what we ought to do, including those involving supererogation, indeterminate outcomes, overdetermined outcomes, predictable future misbehavior, and good acts that entail bad acts, among others. Engaging with arguments in areas as wide-ranging as action theory and deontic logic, the solutions that Portmore offers systematize our thinking about some of the most complex issues in practical philosophy.

Opting Out?
Opting Out?

Author: Pamela Stone

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2007-05-04

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 9780520941793

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Noting a phenomenon that might seem to recall a previous era, The New York Times Magazine recently portrayed women who leave their careers in order to become full-time mothers as "opting out." But, are high-achieving professional women really choosing to abandon their careers in order to return home? This provocative study is the first to tackle this issue from the perspective of the women themselves. Based on a series of candid, in-depth interviews with women who returned home after working as doctors, lawyers, bankers, scientists, and other professions, Pamela Stone explores the role that their husbands, children, and coworkers play in their decision; how women’s efforts to construct new lives and new identities unfold once they are home; and where their aspirations and plans for the future lie. What we learn—contrary to many media perceptions—is that these high-flying women are not opting out but are instead being pushed out of the workplace. Drawing on their experiences, Stone outlines concrete ideas for redesigning workplaces to make it easier for women—and men—to attain their goal of living rewarding lives that combine both families and careers.

The Opt Out Revolt
The Opt Out Revolt

Author: Lisa A. Mainiero

Publisher: Davies-Black Publishing

Published: 2006-12-15

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 9780891061861

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Learn how to be a New Careerist--blazing trails and redesigning the corporate landscape

Opting Back In
Opting Back In

Author: Pamela Stone

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2019-10-15

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 0520964799

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Taking a career break is a conflicted and risky decision for high-achieving professional women. Yet many do so, usually planning, even as they quit, to return to work eventually. But can they? And if so, how? In Opting Back In, Pamela Stone and Meg Lovejoy revisit women first interviewed a decade earlier in Stone’s book Opting Out? Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home to answer these questions. In frank and intimate accounts, women lay bare the dilemmas they face upon reentry. Most succeed but not by returning to their former high-paying, still family-inhospitable jobs. Instead, women strike out in new directions, finding personally gratifying but lower-paid jobs in the gig economy or predominantly female nonprofit sector. Opting Back In uncovers a paradox of privilege by which the very women best positioned to achieve leadership and close gender gaps use strategies to resume their careers that inadvertently reinforce gender inequality. The authors advocate gender equitable policies that will allow women—and all parents—to combine the intense demands of work and family life in the twenty-first century.

Opting Out
Opting Out

Author: Maya A. Beasley

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-07-24

Total Pages: 236

ISBN-13: 0226040127

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Why has the large income gap between blacks and whites persisted for decades after the passage of civil rights legislation? More specifically, why do African Americans remain substantially underrepresented in the highest-paying professions, such as science, engineering, information technology, and finance? A sophisticated study of racial disparity, Opting Out examines why some talented black undergraduates pursue lower-paying, lower-status careers despite being amply qualified for more prosperous ones. To explore these issues, Maya A. Beasley conducted in-depth interviews with black and white juniors at two of the nation’s most elite universities, one public and one private. Beasley identifies a set of complex factors behind these students’ career aspirations, including the anticipation of discrimination in particular fields; the racial composition of classes, student groups, and teaching staff; student values; and the availability of opportunities to network. Ironically, Beasley also discovers, campus policies designed to enhance the academic and career potential of black students often reduce the diversity of their choices. Shedding new light on the root causes of racial inequality, Opting Out will be essential reading for parents, educators, students, scholars, and policymakers.

Artificial Unintelligence
Artificial Unintelligence

Author: Meredith Broussard

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2019-01-29

Total Pages: 247

ISBN-13: 026253701X

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A guide to understanding the inner workings and outer limits of technology and why we should never assume that computers always get it right. In Artificial Unintelligence, Meredith Broussard argues that our collective enthusiasm for applying computer technology to every aspect of life has resulted in a tremendous amount of poorly designed systems. We are so eager to do everything digitally—hiring, driving, paying bills, even choosing romantic partners—that we have stopped demanding that our technology actually work. Broussard, a software developer and journalist, reminds us that there are fundamental limits to what we can (and should) do with technology. With this book, she offers a guide to understanding the inner workings and outer limits of technology—and issues a warning that we should never assume that computers always get things right. Making a case against technochauvinism—the belief that technology is always the solution—Broussard argues that it's just not true that social problems would inevitably retreat before a digitally enabled Utopia. To prove her point, she undertakes a series of adventures in computer programming. She goes for an alarming ride in a driverless car, concluding “the cyborg future is not coming any time soon”; uses artificial intelligence to investigate why students can't pass standardized tests; deploys machine learning to predict which passengers survived the Titanic disaster; and attempts to repair the U.S. campaign finance system by building AI software. If we understand the limits of what we can do with technology, Broussard tells us, we can make better choices about what we should do with it to make the world better for everyone.

Adventures in Opting Out
Adventures in Opting Out

Author: Cait Flanders

Publisher: Little, Brown Spark

Published: 2020-09-15

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 0316536938

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Opt out of expectations and live a more intentional life with this refreshing guide from the national bestselling author of The Year of Less. We all follow our own path in life. At least, that's what we're told. In reality, many of us either do what is expected of us, or follow the invisible but well-worn paths that lead to what is culturally acceptable. For some, those paths are fine -- even great. But they leave some of us feeling disconnected from ourselves and what we really want. When that discomfort finally outweighs the fear of trying something new, we're ready to opt out. After going through this process many times, Cait Flanders found there is an incredible parallel between taking a different path in life and the psychological work it takes to summit a mountain -- especially when you decide to go solo. In Adventures in Opting Out, she offers a trail map to help you with both. As you'll see, reaching the first viewpoint can be easy -- and it offers a glimpse of what you're walking toward. Climbing to the summit for the full view is worth it. But in the space between those two peaks you will enter a world completely unknown to you, and that is the most difficult part of the path to navigate. With Flanders's guidance and advice, drawn from her own journey and stories of others, you'll have all the encouragement and insight you'll need to take the path less traveled and create the life you want. Just step up to the trailhead and expect it to be an adventure.

How to Do Nothing
How to Do Nothing

Author: Jenny Odell

Publisher: Melville House

Published: 2019-04-23

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1612197507

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** A New York Times Bestseller ** NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY: Time • The New Yorker • NPR • GQ • Elle • Vulture • Fortune • Boing Boing • The Irish Times • The New York Public Library • The Brooklyn Public Library "A complex, smart and ambitious book that at first reads like a self-help manual, then blossoms into a wide-ranging political manifesto."—Jonah Engel Bromwich, The New York Times Book Review One of President Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of 2019" Porchlight's Personal Development & Human Behavior Book of the Year In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention, and our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity, it can seem impossible to escape. But in this inspiring field guide to dropping out of the attention economy, artist and critic Jenny Odell shows us how we can still win back our lives. Odell sees our attention as the most precious—and overdrawn—resource we have. And we must actively and continuously choose how we use it. We might not spend it on things that capitalism has deemed important … but once we can start paying a new kind of attention, she writes, we can undertake bolder forms of political action, reimagine humankind’s role in the environment, and arrive at more meaningful understandings of happiness and progress. Far from the simple anti-technology screed, or the back-to-nature meditation we read so often, How to do Nothing is an action plan for thinking outside of capitalist narratives of efficiency and techno-determinism. Provocative, timely, and utterly persuasive, this book will change how you see your place in our world.

Opting in to Optimization
Opting in to Optimization

Author: R. Jon MacDonald

Publisher:

Published: 2021-10-05

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781544524962

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With the explosion of direct-to-consumer online retailers, things have been heating up in the e-commerce industry. The differentiators of yesterday have become table stakes for modern brands-those that want to defend their position or gain market share will need to level up from foundational practices to advanced tactics. Opting in to Optimization provides a collection of principles that, when applied in a disciplined manner, has proven to help e-commerce leaders capitalize on unprecedented market demand and build sustainable, thriving businesses. Author R. Jon MacDonald has more than a decade of experience helping globally recognized brands like Nike, Xerox, Adobe, and The Economist design highly effective online purchasing experiences. In this book, he condenses all of that knowledge into a handful of powerful strategies and principles that will accelerate growth without compromising customer experience. Brief enough to review in a week, but impactful enough to last a lifetime, this book is a must-read for anyone in a leadership position at an ambitious online retailer.

Think Again
Think Again

Author: Adam Grant

Publisher: Random House

Published: 2021-02-04

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 0753553902

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THE MILLION-COPY BESTSELLER If you can change your mind you can do anything. Why do we refresh our wardrobes every year, renovate our kitchens every decade, but never update our beliefs and our views? Why do we laugh at people using computers that are ten years old, but yet still cling to opinions we formed ten years ago? There's a new skill for the modern world that matters more than raw intelligence - the ability to change your mind. To have the edge we all need to develop the flexibility to unlearn old beliefs and adapt when the evidence and the world changes before us. Told through fascinating stories, informed by cutting-edge research and illustratedwith amazing insights from Adam Grant's conversations with people such as Elon Musk, Hilary Clinton's campaign team, top CEOs and leading scientists, this is the ultimate guide to keeping your thinking fresh, learning when to question your ideas and update your own opinions, and how to inspire those around you to do the same.