Understanding Computers in a Changing Society gives your students a classic introduction to computer concepts and societal issues, delivering content that is relevant to today's career-focused student. Important Notice: Media content referenced within the product description or the product text may not be available in the ebook version.
UNDERSTANDING COMPUTERS IN A CHANGING SOCIETY, 5E, International Edition gives readers a classic introduction to computer concepts and societal issues, delivering content that is relevant to today's career-focused student.
A dynamic, comprehensive approach to basic through intermediate computer concepts. Known for its readability and the depth of topics covered, this book also includes an interactive Web site, which contains Web Tutors, Further Explorations, and links to NEW TechTV video projects!
Traces the story of Lofti Zadeh, an Iranian-American professor at Berkeley who began developing fuzzy logic - the way to program computers so they can mimic the imprecise way that humans make decisions.
The Social Impact of Computers should be read as a guide to the social implications of current and future applications of computers. Among the basic themes presented are the following: the changing nature of work in response to technological innovation as well as the threat to jobs; personal freedom in the machine age as manifested by challenges to privacy, dignity, and work; the relationship between advances in computer and communications technology and the possibility of increased centralization of authority; and the emergence and influence of artificial intelligence and its role in decision-making, especially in military applications. The book begins with background and historical information on computers and technology. Separate chapters then cover major applications: business, medicine, education, government; major social issues, including crime, privacy, work; and new technologies and problems: industry regulation, electronic funds transfer systems, international competition, national industrial policies, robotics and industrial automation, productivity, the information society, videotex. The final chapter discusses issues associated with ethics and professionalism. The material presented should be accessible to most university students who have had an introductory course in computer science. Self taught or sufficiently motivated individuals who have gained an understanding of how computers operate should also profit from this book. Especially useful are backgrounds in sociology, economics, history, political science, or philosophy.
The use of computers in education allows us to convey instructions or ideas by all means. Globalizations of the entities comprising the learning processes are ............
In this revolutionary book, a renowned computer scientist explains the importance of teaching children the basics of computing and how it can prepare them to succeed in the ever-evolving tech world. Computers have completely changed the way we teach children. We have Mindstorms to thank for that. In this book, pioneering computer scientist Seymour Papert uses the invention of LOGO, the first child-friendly programming language, to make the case for the value of teaching children with computers. Papert argues that children are more than capable of mastering computers, and that teaching computational processes like de-bugging in the classroom can change the way we learn everything else. He also shows that schools saturated with technology can actually improve socialization and interaction among students and between students and teachers. Technology changes every day, but the basic ways that computers can help us learn remain. For thousands of teachers and parents who have sought creative ways to help children learn with computers, Mindstorms is their bible.
The Closed World offers a radically new alternative to the canonical histories of computers and cognitive science. Arguing that we can make sense of computers as tools only when we simultaneously grasp their roles as metaphors and political icons, Paul Edwards shows how Cold War social and cultural contexts shaped emerging computer technology--and were transformed, in turn, by information machines. The Closed World explores three apparently disparate histories--the history of American global power, the history of computing machines, and the history of subjectivity in science and culture--through the lens of the American political imagination. In the process, it reveals intimate links between the military projects of the Cold War, the evolution of digital computers, and the origins of cybernetics, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence. Edwards begins by describing the emergence of a "closed-world discourse" of global surveillance and control through high-technology military power. The Cold War political goal of "containment" led to the SAGE continental air defense system, Rand Corporation studies of nuclear strategy, and the advanced technologies of the Vietnam War. These and other centralized, computerized military command and control projects--for containing world-scale conflicts--helped closed-world discourse dominate Cold War political decisions. Their apotheosis was the Reagan-era plan for a " Star Wars" space-based ballistic missile defense. Edwards then shows how these military projects helped computers become axial metaphors in psychological theory. Analyzing the Macy Conferences on cybernetics, the Harvard Psycho-Acoustic Laboratory, and the early history of artificial intelligence, he describes the formation of a "cyborg discourse." By constructing both human minds and artificial intelligences as information machines, cyborg discourse assisted in integrating people into the hyper-complex technological systems of the closed world. Finally, Edwards explores the cyborg as political identity in science fiction--from the disembodied, panoptic AI of 2001: A Space Odyssey, to the mechanical robots of Star Wars and the engineered biological androids of Blade Runner--where Information Age culture and subjectivity were both reflected and constructed. Inside Technology series
Understanding Social Entrepreneurship is the leading textbook that provides students with a comprehensive overview of the field. It brings the mindset, principles, strategies, tools and techniques of entrepreneurship into the social sector to present innovative solutions to today’s vexing social issues. Kickul and Lyons cover all the key topics relevant to social entrepreneurship, including a detailed examination of each of the steps in the entrepreneurial process. This edition includes several new features: New international cases and examples – providing students with a broader understanding of social entrepreneurship globally Updated ‘voices from the field’ boxes – this popular feature shows how social entrepreneurship functions in the real world Four new chapters – covering the emerging topics of lean start-up, support ecosystems, social intrapreneurship, and social entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability Bringing together a rigorous theoretical foundation and a strong practical focus, it is the go-to resource for students of social entrepreneurship. A companion website includes an instructor’s manual, PowerPoint slides, test bank, and other tools to provide additional support for students and instructors.
In the Fourth Edition of Cultures and Societies in a Changing World, author Wendy Griswold illuminates how culture shapes our social world and how society shapes culture. She helps students gain an understanding of the sociology of culture and explore stories, beliefs, media, ideas, art, religious practices, fashions, and rituals from a sociological perspective. Cultural examples from multiple countries and time periods will broaden students′ global understanding. They will develop a deeper appreciation of culture and society, gleaning insights that will help them overcome cultural misunderstandings, conflicts, and ignorance; equip them to be more effective in their professional and personal lives, and become wise citizens of the world.
