social aspects

"This [book] takes an expansive and inclusive approach meant to broaden and challenge traditional views of music and technology. In its most common use, 'music technology' tends to evoke images of twentieth and twenty-first century electronic devices: synthesizers, recording equipment, music notation software, and the like. This volume, however, treats all tools used to create, store, reproduce, and transmit music--new or old, electronic or not--as technologies worthy of investigation. All musical instruments can be considered technologies. The modern piano, for example, is a marvel of keys, hammers, strings, pedals, dampers, and jacks; just the sound-producing mechanism, or action, on a piano has more than 50 different parts. In this broad view, technology in music encompasses instruments, whether acoustic, electric, or electronic; engraving and printing; sound recording and playback; broadcasting; software; and much more. This volume challenges the view that technology is unnatural, something external to music. It was sometimes said in the early twentieth century that so-called mechanical music (especially player pianos and phonographs) was a menace to 'real' music; alternatively, technology can be freighted with utopian hopes and desires, as happens today with music streaming platforms. Positive or negative, these views assume that technology is something that acts upon music. By contrast, this volume characterizes technology as an integral part of all musical activity and portrays traditional instruments and electronic machines as equally technological"--Provided by publisher.

"Synthetic biology is the . . . controversial technology platform that combines biology and artificial intelligence, opening up the potential to program biological systems much as we program computers. Synthetic biology enables us not just to read and edit DNA--the technique of CRISPR--but also write it. Rather than life being 'a beautiful game of chance', synthetic biology creates the potential to control our genetic destiny, to say 'no' to bad genes and build a veritable genetic app store for downloading and adding new capabilities into any cell, microbe, plant, or animal. [The authors'] . . . stories include: the work of scientists to develop plants that can be grown in sprawling indoor farms capable of feeding millions with a fraction of the usual resources required; a synthetic, self-regulating insulin that doesn't require injections or a pump; life-altering regenerative, personalized medicine; and novel, durable solutions to climate change. By examining both the science and the ethical, moral, and religious issues surrounding synthetic biology, [the authors] provide the background for preventing its misuse by some to re-engineer their bodies and that of their children, further increasing the disturbing division and polarization of societies into the haves (the enhanced) and the have nots. They provide the background for making wise decisions about issues such as: whether to program novel viruses to fight diseases, what genetic privacy will look like, who will 'own' living organisms, how companies should earn revenue from engineered cells, and how to contain a synthetic organism in a lab"--Provided by publisher.

Looks at stadiums in the United States.

"[The author] assembles twenty-five . . . scientific minds, people who have been thinking about the field artificial intelligence for most of their careers, for a . . . round-table examination about mind, thinking, intelligence, and what it means to be human"--Provided by publisher.

Describes climate change and its effects on society.

"A linguistic exploration of the speech habits we love to hate-and why our "um"s, "like"s, and "you know"s actually make us better communicators. Do you hate that you say "like" too much? Do you go over your email drafts to remove excess "so"s and "really"s? Do you wish your presentation at work wasn't so full of "um"s and "uh"s? Do you get tripped up by slang, overly familiar greetings, or new pronouns? What if these features of our speech weren't a sign of cultural and linguistic degeneration or newfangled trends that won't stick around, but rather, some of the most dynamic and revolutionary tools in our arsenal? In Like, Literally, Dude, linguist Valerie Fridland argues that our most hated or confusing speech habits shape our conception of the world and our place in it in remarkable ways. With a mix of laugh-out-loud anecdotes and expertise built over two decades of research, Fridland helps us understand the history, cultural significance, and impact of how we speak today. We are all the products of centuries of linguistic progress, and the innovation hasn't stopped in our lifetimes. Writing in an accessible style and focusing on real-life examples, Fridland explains how filled pauses benefit both speakers and listeners when they're discussing new or tough topics; how the use of "dude" can help people bond across social divides; why we're always trying to make our intensifiers ever more intense; as well as many other language tics, habits, and developments. Language change is natural, built into the language system itself, and we wouldn't be who we are without it. This book will speak to anyone who talks, empowering them to communicate dynamically and effectively in their daily lives"--.

"An eye-opening look at how America's elite colleges and suburbs help keep the rich rich--making it harder than ever to fight the inequality dividing us today"--.

"Waste. We spend a great deal of energy trying to avoid it, but once you train your eyes to look for it, you'll see it all around you-in your home, your business, and your everyday life. In Wasted, futurist Byron Reese and entrepreneur Scott Hoffman take readers on a fascinating journey through this modern world of waste, drawing on science, economics, and human behavior to envision what a world with far less of it-or none of it at all-might look like. Along the way, they explore thought-provoking issues such as why the United States got a higher proportion of its energy from renewable sources in 1950 than it does today whether the amount of gold in unused consumer electronics can be mined for profit how switching to water fountains on a single flight from Singapore to Newark could prevent the use of 3,400 plastic bottles whether the amount of money you save buying goods in bulk is offset by the amount you lose when some spoil Ultimately, the question of reducing waste is scientific, philosophical, and, most of all, complex. According to Reese and Hoffman, the rush toward simple answers has often led to well-meaning efforts that cause more waste than they save. The only way we can hope to make progress is to treat waste as the complicated issue it is. While the authors don't promise easy answers, in this compelling book they take an important step toward solutions by examining the questions at play, giving actionable steps, and ensuring that you'll never see the world of waste the same way again"--.

The former "Vice" journalist and producer of the Netflix documentary, "Fyre," presents a revelatory examination of the con-artists, grifters, and scammers of the digital age that outlines recommendations for protecting consumers.

"As one of the most prestigious high schools in the nation, St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, has long been the exclusive domain of America's wealthiest sons. But times have changed. Today, a new elite of boys and girls is being molded at St. Paul's, one that reflects the hope of openness but also the persistence of inequality. In Privilege, Shamus Khan returns to his alma mater to provide an inside look at an institution that has been the private realm of the elite for the past 150 years. He shows that St. Paul's students continue to learn what they always have -- how to embody privilege. Yet, while students once leveraged the trappings of upper-class entitlement, family connections, and high culture, current St. Paul's students learn to succeed in a more diverse environment. To be the future leaders of a more democratic world, they must be at ease with everything from highbrow art to everyday life -- from Beowulf to Jaws -- and view hierarchies as ladders to scale. Through deft portrayals of the relationships among students, faculty, and staff, Khan shows how members of the new elite face the opening of society while still preserving the advantages that allow them to rule."--.