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A Guide to Publishing for Academics: Inside the Publish or Perish Phenomenon
by Jay LiebowitzMost academics still wrestle with the "publish or perish" phenomenon. Based on Dr. Liebowitz's 25 years serving as the editor-in-chief of a leading international journal, along with insights from some of the most knowledgeable journal editors, this book shares key lessons learned to help new professors, doctoral students, and practitioner-scholars
A Guide to SQL (Eighth Edition)
by Mary Z. Last Philip J. PrattA GUIDE TO SQL, 8E, continues to be the essential SQL reference. It builds on the success of previous editions by presenting basic SQL commands in the context of a running case in which a business uses SQL to manage orders, parts, customers, and sales reps. The book covers the fundamentals of SQL programming using straightforward instruction and extensive hands-on exercises. Continuing with its focus on learning the basics regardless of the database environment chosen, this edition features examples from the latest databases: Oracle 11g, Access 2007, and MySQL. The eighth edition expands on the use of running case studies by adding a third running case to the extensive hands-on pedagogy at the end of every chapter.
A Guide to Selecting Software Measures and Metrics
by Capers JonesGoing where no book on software measurement and metrics has previously gone, this critique thoroughly examines a number of bad measurement practices, hazardous metrics, and huge gaps and omissions in the software literature that neglect important topics in measurement. The book covers the major gaps and omissions that need to be filled if data about software development is to be useful for comparisons or estimating future projects. Among the more serious gaps are leaks in reporting about software development efforts that, if not corrected, can distort data and make benchmarks almost useless and possibly even harmful. One of the most common leaks is that of unpaid overtime. Software is a very labor-intensive occupation, and many practitioners work very long hours. However, few companies actually record unpaid overtime. This means that software effort is underreported by around 15%, which is too large a value to ignore. Other sources of leaks include the work of part-time specialists who come and go as needed. There are dozens of these specialists, and their combined effort can top 45% of total software effort on large projects. The book helps software project managers and developers uncover errors in measurements so they can develop meaningful benchmarks to estimate software development efforts. It examines variations in a number of areas that include: Programming languages Development methodology Software reuse Functional and nonfunctional requirements Industry type Team size and experience Filled with tables and charts, this book is a starting point for making measurements that reflect current software development practices and realities to arrive at meaningful benchmarks to guide successful software projects.
A Guide to Software Quality Engineering
by Shravan PargaonkarIn today’s fast-paced digital world, delivering high-quality software is not just a goal; it’s an absolute necessity. A Guide to Software Quality Engineering is a companion book for anyone involved in software development, testing, or quality assurance.This comprehensive book takes you on a transformative journey through the world of software quality engineering, providing invaluable insights, practical methodologies, and expert advice that will elevate your projects to new levels of excellence.The book features the following points:• Performance Testing Security Testing• Usability Testing• Continuous Integration and Continuous Testing• Requirements Engineering and Quality• Code Quality and Static Analysis• Defect Management and Root Cause Analysis• Release and Deployment ManagementDive into the fundamental principles of software quality engineering, understanding the critical role it plays in ensuring customer satisfaction, user experience, and the overall success of your software products. Whether you’re a seasoned professional or a budding enthusiast, this book caters to all levels of expertise.
A Guide to UX Design and Development: Developer’s Journey Through the UX Process (Design Thinking)
by Joseph Labrecque Tom GreenGain a thorough understanding of the two pillars of any User Experience project: the mission and the process. The mission is to keep the user in mind at each step or milestone as the developer progresses through the project. The process is how that mission is accomplished through collaboration and the use of research, design and development technologies. This book walks you through a developer's journey through the UX process, from start to finish. A Guide to UX Design and Development concentrates on the intersection of what is called “DesignOps” and “DevOps.” That intersection is where collaboration between all members of the team, including stakeholders and clients, occurs and neither DesignOps nor DevOps can go beyond being considered just buzzwords if they instead silo design and development. To highlight the UX Mission and illustrate the responsibility developers also hold for the user experience, authors Tom Green and Joseph Labrecque take you through a hypothetical project involving the development of a parking app for a municipal parking authority. As the book progresses, they concentrate on the developer's journey through the whole project from discovery to product release. In this journey, you will see how developers can make an impact and contribute to the user experience. This will include such topics as why there is a need for both a user journey map and a technical journey map. The authors explain why prototyping is not as complicated as it is made out to be because it is simply an early low-cost and disposable minimal viable product that gives the developer a deep understanding of the project's intent in support of the UX Mission. You will also explore the creation and use of design systems and why the developer's role is just as important as the people who create the design system. The role and responsibility of the developer in user testing is discussed in the context of a variety of testing and assessment methods conducted to achieve the UX mission. Finally, you’ll gain an understanding of how design and development deliverables are negotiated, prepared and sent out for research at each step of the process, and how the developer is involved. What You Will Learn Understand the evolving role of the developer in a team-based environmentLearn the five stages of the UX process Discover the importance of collaboration and communication with stakeholders, designers, and developers at every stage of the processLearn a variety of design and development documents created during the UX process Who This Book Is For Developers and designers involved in the UX Process, as well as developers trying to make sense of the confusing amount of information out there regarding their role in the UX process.
A Guide to Using the Anonymous Web in Libraries and Information Organizations: Enhancing Patron Privacy and Information Access (Routledge Guides to Practice in Libraries, Archives and Information Science)
by Brady D. Lund Matthew A. BeckstromA Guide to Using the Anonymous Web in Libraries and Information Organizations provides practical guidance to those who are interested in integrating the anonymous web into their services. It will be particularly useful to those seeking to promote enhanced privacy for their patrons. The book begins by explaining, in simple terms, what the anonymous web is, how it works, and its benefits for users. Lund and Beckstrom also explain why they believe access to the anonymous web should be provided in library and information organizations around the world. They describe how to provide access, as well as educate library users on how to utilize the anonymous web and navigate any challenges that might arise during implementation. The authors also encourage the development of library policies that guide appropriate conduct and filter content, where appropriate, in order to deter illegal activity. A Guide to Using the Anonymous Web in Libraries and Information Organizations reminds us that libraries and other information providers have a duty to educate and support their communities, while also preserving privacy. Demonstrating that the anonymous web can help them to fulfil these obligations, this book will be essential reading for library and information professionals working around the world.
A Guide to Video Game Movies
by Christopher CartonHave you ever wondered if that game you love was made into a movie? Flip this book open and find out! Explore the fascinating journey of your favorite video games as they make their way to the silver screen! This comprehensive guide contains information on over forty big-screen adaptations of popular video games, including the histories of the series that inspired them. Covering four decades of movies, readers can learn about some of the most infamous movies in video game history, with genres such as horror, martial arts, comedy and children’s animation ensuring there’s plenty of trivia and analysis to keep gamers hooked. With nearly two-hundred full color stills, posters and screenshots, the book is a go-to guide to discovering facts about some of the biggest box office hits and the most disappointing critical bombs in history. From bizarre science fiction like Super Mario Bros. to the latest big budget releases like Monster Hunter, and dozens in between, A Guide to Video Game Movies should please film buffs and die-hard game fans alike. Whether you’re looking for rousing blockbuster action, family-friendly entertainment or a late-night B-movie to laugh at with your friends, you’re bound to find a movie to fit your taste. Put down your controller and grab your popcorn!
A Guide to Web Development Using Adobe® Dreamweaver® CS5, with Fireworks® CS5 and Flash® CS5
by Jan MarrelliA Guide to Web Development Using AdobeA(R) Dreamweaver CS5 teaches Flash Fireworks and Dreamweaver in a full-color format. Students learn about Web development HTML CSS and how to use Dreamweaver to create websites. Each chapter discusses concepts which are then reinforced within hands-on activiesAll explanations problems and answers have been produced using Dreamweaver CS5 Fireworks CS5 and Flash CS5. Students are introduced to the history terminology and concepts of networks and the Internet. Email protocol and careers associated with web development are also discussed.
A Guide to the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education: A Guide To The National Initiative For Cybersecurity Education (nice) Framework (2. 0) (Security, Audit and Leadership Series)
by Dan Shoemaker Anne Kohnke Ken SiglerA Guide to the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Workforce Framework (2.0) presents a comprehensive discussion of the tasks, knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA) requirements of the NICE Cybersecurity Workforce Framework 2.0. It discusses in detail the relationship between the NICE framework and the NIST’s cybersecurity framework (CSF), showing how the NICE model specifies what the particular specialty areas of the workforce should be doing in order to ensure that the CSF’s identification, protection, defense, response, or recovery functions are being carried out properly. The authors construct a detailed picture of the proper organization and conduct of a strategic infrastructure security operation, describing how these two frameworks provide an explicit definition of the field of cybersecurity. The book is unique in that it is based on well-accepted standard recommendations rather than presumed expertise. It is the first book to align with and explain the requirements of a national-level initiative to standardize the study of information security. Moreover, it contains knowledge elements that represent the first fully validated and authoritative body of knowledge (BOK) in cybersecurity. The book is divided into two parts: The first part is comprised of three chapters that give you a comprehensive understanding of the structure and intent of the NICE model, its various elements, and their detailed contents. The second part contains seven chapters that introduce you to each knowledge area individually. Together, these parts help you build a comprehensive understanding of how to organize and execute a cybersecurity workforce definition using standard best practice.
A Guided Tour of Artificial Intelligence Research: Volume I: Knowledge Representation, Reasoning and Learning
by Henri Prade Pierre Marquis Odile PapiniThe purpose of this book is to provide an overview of AI research, ranging from basic work to interfaces and applications, with as much emphasis on results as on current issues. It is aimed at an audience of master students and Ph.D. students, and can be of interest as well for researchers and engineers who want to know more about AI. The book is split into three volumes: - the first volume brings together twenty-three chapters dealing with the foundations of knowledge representation and the formalization of reasoning and learning (Volume 1. Knowledge representation, reasoning and learning) - the second volume offers a view of AI, in fourteen chapters, from the side of the algorithms (Volume 2. AI Algorithms) - the third volume, composed of sixteen chapters, describes the main interfaces and applications of AI (Volume 3. Interfaces and applications of AI). Implementing reasoning or decision making processes requires an appropriate representation of the pieces of information to be exploited. This first volume starts with a historical chapter sketching the slow emergence of building blocks of AI along centuries. Then the volume provides an organized overview of different logical, numerical, or graphical representation formalisms able to handle incomplete information, rules having exceptions, probabilistic and possibilistic uncertainty (and beyond), as well as taxonomies, time, space, preferences, norms, causality, and even trust and emotions among agents. Different types of reasoning, beyond classical deduction, are surveyed including nonmonotonic reasoning, belief revision, updating, information fusion, reasoning based on similarity (case-based, interpolative, or analogical), as well as reasoning about actions, reasoning about ontologies (description logics), argumentation, and negotiation or persuasion between agents. Three chapters deal with decision making, be it multiple criteria, collective, or under uncertainty. Two chapters cover statistical computational learning and reinforcement learning (other machine learning topics are covered in Volume 2). Chapters on diagnosis and supervision, validation and explanation, and knowledge base acquisition complete the volume.
A Guided Tour of Artificial Intelligence Research: Volume II: AI Algorithms
by Henri Prade Pierre Marquis Odile PapiniThe purpose of this book is to provide an overview of AI research, ranging from basic work to interfaces and applications, with as much emphasis on results as on current issues. It is aimed at an audience of master students and Ph.D. students, and can be of interest as well for researchers and engineers who want to know more about AI. The book is split into three volumes: - the first volume brings together twenty-three chapters dealing with the foundations of knowledge representation and the formalization of reasoning and learning (Volume 1. Knowledge representation, reasoning and learning) - the second volume offers a view of AI, in fourteen chapters, from the side of the algorithms (Volume 2. AI Algorithms) - the third volume, composed of sixteen chapters, describes the main interfaces and applications of AI (Volume 3. Interfaces and applications of AI). This second volume presents the main families of algorithms developed or used in AI to learn, to infer, to decide. Generic approaches to problem solving are presented: ordered heuristic search, as well as metaheuristics are considered. Algorithms for processing logic-based representations of various types (first-order formulae, propositional formulae, logic programs, etc.) and graphical models of various types (standard constraint networks, valued ones, Bayes nets, Markov random fields, etc.) are presented. The volume also focuses on algorithms which have been developed to simulate specific ‘intelligent” processes such as planning, playing, learning, and extracting knowledge from data. Finally, an afterword draws a parallel between algorithmic problems in operation research and in AI.
A Guided Tour of Artificial Intelligence Research: Volume III: Interfaces and Applications of Artificial Intelligence
by Henri Prade Pierre Marquis Odile PapiniThe purpose of this book is to provide an overview of AI research, ranging from basic work to interfaces and applications, with as much emphasis on results as on current issues. It is aimed at an audience of master students and Ph.D. students, and can be of interest as well for researchers and engineers who want to know more about AI. The book is split into three volumes: - the first volume brings together twenty-three chapters dealing with the foundations of knowledge representation and the formalization of reasoning and learning (Volume 1. Knowledge representation, reasoning and learning) - the second volume offers a view of AI, in fourteen chapters, from the side of the algorithms (Volume 2. AI Algorithms) - the third volume, composed of sixteen chapters, describes the main interfaces and applications of AI (Volume 3. Interfaces and applications of AI). This third volume is dedicated to the interfaces of AI with various fields, with which strong links exist either at the methodological or at the applicative levels. The foreword of this volume reminds us that AI was born for a large part from cybernetics. Chapters are devoted to disciplines that are historically sisters of AI: natural language processing, pattern recognition and computer vision, and robotics. Also close and complementary to AI due to their direct links with information are databases, the semantic web, information retrieval and human-computer interaction. All these disciplines are privileged places for applications of AI methods. This is also the case for bioinformatics, biological modeling and computational neurosciences. The developments of AI have also led to a dialogue with theoretical computer science in particular regarding computability and complexity. Besides, AI research and findings have renewed philosophical and epistemological questions, while their cognitive validity raises questions to psychology. The volume also discusses some of the interactions between science and artistic creation in literature and in music. Lastly, an epilogue concludes the three volumes of this Guided Tour of AI Research by providing an overview of what has been achieved by AI, emphasizing AI as a science, and not just as an innovative technology, and trying to dispel some misunderstandings.
A Hacker Manifesto
by McKenzie WarkA double is haunting the world—the double of abstraction, the virtual reality of information, programming or poetry, math or music, curves or colorings upon which the fortunes of states and armies, companies and communities now depend. The bold aim of this book is to make manifest the origins, purpose, and interests of the emerging class responsible for making this new world—for producing the new concepts, new perceptions, and new sensations out of the stuff of raw data. A Hacker Manifesto deftly defines the fraught territory between the ever more strident demands by drug and media companies for protection of their patents and copyrights and the pervasive popular culture of file sharing and pirating. This vexed ground, the realm of so-called “intellectual property,” gives rise to a whole new kind of class conflict, one that pits the creators of information—the hacker class of researchers and authors, artists and biologists, chemists and musicians, philosophers and programmers—against a possessing class who would monopolize what the hacker produces. Drawing in equal measure on Guy Debord and Gilles Deleuze, A Hacker Manifesto offers a systematic restatement of Marxist thought for the age of cyberspace and globalization. In the widespread revolt against commodified information, McKenzie Wark sees a utopian promise, beyond the property form, and a new progressive class, the hacker class, who voice a shared interest in a new information commons.
A Hacker's Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society's Rules, and How to Bend them Back
by Bruce SchneierIt’s not just computers—hacking is everywhere. Legendary cybersecurity expert and New York Times best-selling author Bruce Schneier reveals how using a hacker’s mindset can change how you think about your life and the world. A hack is any means of subverting a system’s rules in unintended ways. The tax code isn’t computer code, but a series of complex formulas. It has vulnerabilities; we call them “loopholes.” We call exploits “tax avoidance strategies.” And there is an entire industry of “black hat” hackers intent on finding exploitable loopholes in the tax code. We call them accountants and tax attorneys. In A Hacker’s Mind, Bruce Schneier takes hacking out of the world of computing and uses it to analyze the systems that underpin our society: from tax laws to financial markets to politics. He reveals an array of powerful actors whose hacks bend our economic, political, and legal systems to their advantage, at the expense of everyone else. Once you learn how to notice hacks, you’ll start seeing them everywhere—and you’ll never look at the world the same way again. Almost all systems have loopholes, and this is by design. Because if you can take advantage of them, the rules no longer apply to you. Unchecked, these hacks threaten to upend our financial markets, weaken our democracy, and even affect the way we think. And when artificial intelligence starts thinking like a hacker—at inhuman speed and scale—the results could be catastrophic. But for those who would don the “white hat,” we can understand the hacking mindset and rebuild our economic, political, and legal systems to counter those who would exploit our society. And we can harness artificial intelligence to improve existing systems, predict and defend against hacks, and realize a more equitable world.
A Handbook of Internet of Things in Biomedical and Cyber Physical System (Intelligent Systems Reference Library #165)
by Raghvendra Kumar Valentina E. Balas Vijender Kumar Solanki Md. Atiqur Rahman AhadThis book presents a compilation of state-of-the-art work on biomedical and cyber-physical systems in connection with the Internet of Things, and successfully blends theory and practice. The book covers the studies belonging to Biomedical and Cyber-physical System, so it is a unique effort by the research experts, who are divulging in the domain deeply. The book is very easy for the audience, who are doing study in the Biomedical and Cyber-physical System; it helps to read some real-time scenarios from where the reader in general gets many sparking ideas to convert it into the research problems in their studies. This book is of use to solve down the problems of graduate, postgraduate, doctoral industry executives, who are involving in the cutting-edge work of Internet of Things with Biomedical or Cyber-physical System, with the help of real-time solutions, given in the formation of chapters by subject’s experts.The key uses of this book are in the area of Internet of Things in connection with Cyber-physical System as well as Biomedical domain.
A Handbook of Statistical Analyses Using S-PLUS
by Brian S. EverittSince the first edition of this book was published, S-PLUS has evolved markedly with new methods of analysis, new graphical procedures, and a convenient graphical user interface (GUI). Today, S-PLUS is the statistical software of choice for many applied researchers in disciplines ranging from finance to medicine. Combining the command line languag
A Hands-On Course in Sensors Using the Arduino and Raspberry Pi (Series in Sensors)
by Volker ZiemannA Hands-On Course in Sensors Using the Arduino and Raspberry Pi is the first book to give a practical and wide-ranging account of how to interface sensors and actuators with micro-controllers, Raspberry Pi and other control systems. The author describes the progression of raw signals through conditioning stages, digitization, data storage and presentation. The collection, processing, and understanding of sensor data plays a central role in industrial and scientific activities. This book builds simplified models of large industrial or scientific installations that contain hardware and other building blocks, including services for databases, web servers, control systems, and messaging brokers. A range of case studies are included within the book, including a weather station, ground-vibration measurements, impedance measurements, interfacing medical sensors to web browsers, the profile of a laser beam, and a remote-controlled and fire-seeking robot. This second edition has been updated throughout to reflect new hardware and software releases since the book was first published. Newly added features include the ESP32 microcontroller, several environmental and medical sensors, actuators for signal generation, as well as a chapter on web sockets; all illustrated in new case studies. This book is suitable for advanced undergraduate and graduate students taking hands-on laboratory courses in physics and engineering. Hobbyists in robotics clubs and other enthusiasts will also find this book of interest. Features: Includes practical, hands-on exercises that can be conducted in student labs, or even at home Covers the latest software and hardware, and all code featured in examples is discussed in detail All steps are illustrated with practical examples and case studies to enhance learning https://github.com/volkziem/HandsOnSensors2ed Volker Ziemann obtained his PhD in accelerator physics from Dortmund University in 1990. After post-doctoral positions in Stanford at SLAC and in Geneva at CERN, where he worked on the design of the LHC, in 1995 he moved to Uppsala where he worked at the electron-cooler storage ring CELSIUS. In 2005 he moved to the physics department where he has since taught physics. He was responsible for several accelerator physics projects at CERN, DESY and XFEL. In 2014 he received the Thuréus prize from the Royal Society of Sciences in Uppsala.
A Hands-on Introduction to Big Data Analytics
by Funmi Obembe Ofer EngelThis practical textbook offers a hands-on introduction to big data analytics, helping you to develop the skills required to hit the ground running as a data professional. It complements theoretical foundations with an emphasis on the application of big data analytics, illustrated by real-life examples and datasets. Containing comprehensive coverage of all the key topics in this area, this book uses open-source technologies and examples in Python and Apache Spark. Learning features include: - Ethics by Design encourages you to consider data ethics at every stage. - Industry Insights facilitate a deeper understanding of the link between what you are studying and how it is applied in industry. - Datasets, questions, and exercises give you the opportunity to apply your learning. Dr Funmi Obembe is the Head of Technology at the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology, University of Northampton. Dr Ofer Engel is a Data Scientist at the University of Groningen.
A Hands-on Introduction to Big Data Analytics
by Funmi Obembe Ofer EngelThis practical textbook offers a hands-on introduction to big data analytics, helping you to develop the skills required to hit the ground running as a data professional. It complements theoretical foundations with an emphasis on the application of big data analytics, illustrated by real-life examples and datasets. Containing comprehensive coverage of all the key topics in this area, this book uses open-source technologies and examples in Python and Apache Spark. Learning features include: - Ethics by Design encourages you to consider data ethics at every stage. - Industry Insights facilitate a deeper understanding of the link between what you are studying and how it is applied in industry. - Datasets, questions, and exercises give you the opportunity to apply your learning. Dr Funmi Obembe is the Head of Technology at the Faculty of Arts, Science and Technology, University of Northampton. Dr Ofer Engel is a Data Scientist at the University of Groningen.
A Hetero-functional Graph Theory for Modeling Interdependent Smart City Infrastructure
by Amro M. Farid Inas S. Khayal Wester C. SchoonenbergCities have always played a prominent role in the prosperity of civilization. Indeed, every great civilization we can think of is associated with the prominence of one or more thriving cities. And so understanding cities -- their inhabitants, their institutions, their infrastructure -- what they are and how they work independently and together -- is of fundamental importance to our collective growth as a human civilization. Furthermore, the 21st century “smart” city, as a result global climate change and large-scale urbanization, will emerge as a societal grand challenge. This book focuses on the role of interdependent infrastructure systems in such smart cities especially as it relates to timely and poignant questions about resilience and sustainability. In particular, the goal of this book is to present, in one volume, a consistent Hetero-Functional Graph Theoretic (HFGT) treatment of interdependent smart city infrastructures as an overarching application domain of engineering systems. This work may be contrasted to the growing literature on multi-layer networks, which despite significant theoretical advances in recent years, has modeling limitations that prevent their real-world application to interdependent smart city infrastructures of arbitrary topology. In contrast, this book demonstrates that HFGT can be applied extensibly to an arbitrary number of arbitrarily connected topologies of interdependent smart city infrastructures. It also integrates, for the first time, all six matrices of HFGT in a single system adjacency matrix. The book makes every effort to be accessible to a broad audience of infrastructure system practitioners and researchers (e.g. electric power system planners, transportation engineers, and hydrologists, etc.). Consequently, the book has extensively visualized the graph theoretic concepts for greater intuition and clarity. Nevertheless, the book does require a common methodological base of its readers and directs itself to the Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) community and the Network Science Community (NSC). To the MBSE community, we hope that HFGT will be accepted as a quantification of many of the structural concepts found in model-based systems engineering languages like SysML. To the NSC, we hope to present a new view as how to construct graphs with fundamentally different meaning and insight. Finally, it is our hope that HFGT serves to overcome many of the theoretical and modeling limitations that have hindered our ability to systematically understand the structure and function of smart cities.
A History of Communications
by Marshall T. PoeA History of Communications advances a new theory of media that explains the origins and impact of different forms of communication – speech, writing, print, electronic devices and the Internet – on human history in the long term. New media are 'pulled' into widespread use by broad historical trends and these media, once in widespread use, 'push' social institutions and beliefs in predictable directions. This view allows us to see for the first time what is truly new about the Internet, what is not, and where it is taking us.
A History of Cyber Security Attacks: 1980 to Present
by Bruce MiddletonStories of cyberattacks dominate the headlines. Whether it is theft of massive amounts of personally identifiable information or the latest intrusion of foreign governments in U.S. government and industrial sites, cyberattacks are now important. For professionals and the public, knowing how the attacks are launched and succeed is vital to ensuring cyber security. The book provides a concise summary in a historical context of the major global cyber security attacks since 1980. Each attack covered contains an overview of the incident in layman terms, followed by a technical details section, and culminating in a lessons learned and recommendations section.
A History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication
by Howard Wainer Michael FriendlyA comprehensive history of data visualization—its origins, rise, and effects on the ways we think about and solve problems. With complex information everywhere, graphics have become indispensable to our daily lives. Navigation apps show real-time, interactive traffic data. A color-coded map of exit polls details election balloting down to the county level. Charts communicate stock market trends, government spending, and the dangers of epidemics. A History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication tells the story of how graphics left the exclusive confines of scientific research and became ubiquitous. As data visualization spread, it changed the way we think. Michael Friendly and Howard Wainer take us back to the beginnings of graphic communication in the mid-seventeenth century, when the Dutch cartographer Michael Florent van Langren created the first chart of statistical data, which showed estimates of the distance from Rome to Toledo. By 1786 William Playfair had invented the line graph and bar chart to explain trade imports and exports. In the nineteenth century, the “golden age” of data display, graphics found new uses in tracking disease outbreaks and understanding social issues. Friendly and Wainer make the case that the explosion in graphical communication both reinforced and was advanced by a cognitive revolution: visual thinking. Across disciplines, people realized that information could be conveyed more effectively by visual displays than by words or tables of numbers. Through stories and illustrations, A History of Data Visualization and Graphic Communication details the 400-year evolution of an intellectual framework that has become essential to both science and society at large.
A History of Fake Things on the Internet
by Walter ScheirerA Next Big Idea Club "Must Read" for December 2023 As all aspects of our social and informational lives increasingly migrate online, the line between what is "real" and what is digitally fabricated grows ever thinner—and that fake content has undeniable real-world consequences. A History of Fake Things on the Internet takes the long view of how advances in technology brought us to the point where faked texts, images, and video content are nearly indistinguishable from what is authentic or true. Computer scientist Walter J. Scheirer takes a deep dive into the origins of fake news, conspiracy theories, reports of the paranormal, and other deviations from reality that have become part of mainstream culture, from image manipulation in the nineteenth-century darkroom to the literary stylings of large language models like ChatGPT. Scheirer investigates the origins of Internet fakes, from early hoaxes that traversed the globe via Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs), USENET, and a new messaging technology called email, to today's hyperrealistic, AI-generated Deepfakes. An expert in machine learning and recognition, Scheirer breaks down the technical advances that made new developments in digital deception possible, and shares behind-the-screens details of early Internet-era pranks that have become touchstones of hacker lore. His story introduces us to the visionaries and mischief-makers who first deployed digital fakery and continue to influence how digital manipulation works—and doesn't—today: computer hackers, digital artists, media forensics specialists, and AI researchers. Ultimately, Scheirer argues that problems associated with fake content are not intrinsic properties of the content itself, but rather stem from human behavior, demonstrating our capacity for both creativity and destruction.
A History of Video Games in 64 Objects
by World Video Game Hall of FameInspired by the groundbreaking A History of the World in 100 Objects, this book draws on the unique collections of The Strong museum in Rochester, New York, to chronicle the evolution of video games, from Pong to first-person shooters, told through the stories of dozens of objects essential to the field’s creation and development.Drawing on the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s unmatched collection of video game artifacts, this fascinating history offers an expansive look at the development of one of the most popular and influential activities of the modern world: video gaming.Sixty-four unique objects tell the story of the video game from inception to today. Pithy, in-depth essays and photographs examine each object’s significance to video game play—what it has contributed to the history of gaming—as well as the greater culture.A History of Video Games in 64 Objects explains how the video game has transformed over time. Inside, you’ll find a wide range of intriguing topics, including:The first edition of Dungeons & Dragons—the ancestor of computer role-playing gamesThe Oregon Trail and the development of educational gamingThe Atari 2600 and the beginning of the console revolutionA World of Warcraft server blade and massively multiplayer online gamesMinecraft—the backlash against the studio systemThe rise of women in gaming represented by pioneering American video game designers Carol Shaw and Roberta Williams’ game development materialsThe prototype Skylanders Portal of Power that spawned the Toys-to-Life video game phenomenon and shook up the marketplaceAnd so much more!A visual panorama of unforgettable anecdotes and factoids, A History of Video Games in 64 Objects is a treasure trove for gamers and pop culture fans. Let the gaming begin!