The authors conducted a two-year study on the implementation of computer technologies, including in-depth interviews and classroom observation at thirty-two elementary and secondary schools across Canada. Based on this research, Policy Unplugged explores the intersections and disconnections between provincial technology policy, school board policy, and school-based practices. The authors consider the ways in which technology policy has become "unplugged" from daily experience, showing that teachers, students, and administrators are part of complex pedagogical and social systems that have been badly served by the enforced and hasty introduction of technology. They also show how small, often unquestioned practices and power relations in schools can create seemingly insurmountable impediments to technological implementation.

"Medical technology has helped mankind conquer tuberculosis, polio, and countless other once certain-death diseases. It has given us hope against cancer and AIDS, allowed heart and brain surgeries that have saved untold numbers of lives, and delivered us from the pain and crippling legacy of injury. Medical technology, it seems, is a never-ending string of miracles. But it is also a double-edged sword. More often than not, death today happens because of a decision to stop doing something, or to not do it at all. As the tragic life and death of Terri Schiavo so poignantly illustrated, universal definitions of life, death, nature, and many other concepts are elusive at best. Unplugged addresses the fundamental questions of the right-to-die debate, and discusses how the medical advances that bring so much hope and healing have also helped to create today's dilemma. This compelling book explores recent high-profile cases, including that of Mrs. Schiavo, and illuminates the complex legal, ethical, medical, and deeply personal issues of a debate that ultimately affects us all. Compassionate and beautifully written, the book helps readers understand the implications of current laws and proposed legislation, various medical options (including hospice), and the typical end-of-life decisions we all must face in order to make informed decisions for ourselves and our loved ones."

**Check out the Doug Unplugs animated series on Apple TV!** It's easy being a robot, if you play by all the rules—but when Doug gets curious, he decides to unplug and forge his own path. And he discovers a whole world of what's possible. Doug is a robot. His parents want him to be smart, so each morning they plug him in and start the information download. After a morning spent learning facts about the city, Doug suspects he could learn even more about the city by going outside and exploring it. And so Doug . . . unplugs. What follows is an exciting day of adventure and discovery. Doug learns amazing things by doing and seeing and touching and listening—and above all, by interacting with a new friend. Dan Yaccarino's funny story of robot rebellion is a great reminder that sometimes the best way to learn about the world is to go out and be in it. Praise for Doug Unplugged: "A gentle robotic rebellion." —USA Today A sweet tale . . . Yaccarino [is] especially good at slipping in the small, nourishing details that are savored upon repeated readings." —The New York Times

From the creator of the bestselling Mr. Panda series comes an amusing picture book about the fun you can have when you unplug. Meet Blip. Blip loves being plugged into her computer. When a blackout occurs, Blip trips over her wire and tumbles outside. Suddenly, Blip's gray world is filled with color and excitement. She plays with her new friends and has adventures all day long. When Blip finally returns home, she realizes that the world can be even brighter once you unplug.

For managers, talk IS action. This ground-breaking book argues that what senior executives do should rest squarely on what they say. The logical conclusion is that organizations are a network of conversations - between employees, employers, suppliers and customers - the only thing executives can influence is the debate, discussion or dialogue they happen to be in at the moment. The authors explore how twelve global firms have tackled the art and science of strategic conversations and the book contains a range of new tools and techniques for leading effective change and implementing strategy using this philosophy.

It's time to drop the rose-colored glasses and face the facts: most new businesses fail, with often devastating consequences for the would-be entrepreneur. The Entrepreneur Equation helps you do the math before you set down the entrepreneurial path so that you can answer more than just Could I be an entrepreneur? but rather Should I be an entrepreneur?. By understanding what it takes to build a valuable business as well as how to assess the risks and rewards of business ownership based on your personal circumstances, you can learn how to stack the odds of success in your favor and ultimately decide if business ownership is the best possible path for you, now or ever.Through illustrative examples and personalized exercises, tell-it-like-it-is Carol Roth helps you create and evaluate your own personal Entrepreneur Equation as you: Learn what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in today's competitive environment. Save money, time and effort by avoiding business ownership when the time isn't right for you.Identify and evaluate the risks and rewards of a new business based on your goals and circumstances. Evaluate whether your dreams are best served by a hobby, job or business. Gain the tools that you need to maximize your business success. The Entrepreneur Equation is essential reading for the aspiring entrepreneur. Before you invest your life savings, invest in this book!

Life Unplugged makes digital detox easy with alternative activities and better ways to feel connected to your friends, family, and the world around you. By unplugging your electronics, you'll be able to take that much-needed vacation you've been craving. For busy entrepreneurs and families, it can seem impossible to find time for yourself or to stay connected to your loved ones, but with Life Unplugged, staying connected is much simpler than you imagine. This workbook guides you through ways to de-stress, cultivate mindfulness, and improve your mood and health while also helping you find balance and joy in your daily life through digital detox. It’s the mini vacation without the extra cost of actually going away and all the wellness benefits you need for a more fulfilling lifestyle. You'll find: Habit-tracking worksheets to keep you on task Fun challenges to help you be the most successful in your detox Journaling prompts to get your creative juices flowing Tips to finding and integrating alternative activities into your daily routine Ways to optimize your free time, so you're more productive throughout the day With this life-changing journal, you'll learn to live without being attached to your phone, TV, laptop, or social media. It can be as easy as taking a few breaks from your digital devices a day to make you feel refreshed, enlightened, and purposeful. Sleep better and improve your overall mental and physical health by taking a break from the internet. The practice of digital detoxing has proven to improve your memory, posture, blood pressure, and give you greater feelings of gratitude and happiness. Live a more connected, purposeful life by staying in tune with the world around you.

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Unteachables, Gordon Korman, comes a hilarious middle grade novel about a group of kids forced to “unplug” at a wellness camp—where they instead find intrigue, adventure, and a whole lot of chaos. Perfect for fans of Korman’s Ungifted and the Masterminds series, as well as Carl Hiaasen’s eco mysteries. As the son of the world’s most famous tech billionaire, spoiled Jett Baranov has always gotten what he wanted. So when his father’s private jet drops him in the middle of the Arkansas wilderness, at a place called the Oasis, Jett can’t believe it. He’s forced to hand over his cell phone, eat grainy veggie patties, and participate in wholesome activities with the other kids, who he has absolutely no interest in hanging out with. As the weeks go on, Jett starts to get used to the unplugged life and even bonds with the other kids over their discovery of a baby-lizard-turned-pet, Needles. But he can’t help noticing that the adults at the Oasis are acting really strange. Jett is determined to get to the bottom of things, but can he convince everybody that he is no longer just a spoiled brat who is making trouble?

In the tradition of M. T. Anderson’s Feed and Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, Unplugged is the first in a provocative and compelling new series from acclaimed author Donna Freitas. Humanity is split into a dying physical world for the poor and an extravagant virtual world for the wealthy. Years ago, Skylar Cruz crossed over to the App World for a chance at a better life, and her family stayed behind in the Real World. Now Skye is a virtual teenager, surrounded by glamorous apps and expensive downloads—yet she’s never felt like she fits in, and all she wants is to see her mother and sister again. Skye is desperate and ready to risk everything to unplug from the App World. But she soon learns that the only person she can trust—in either world, including friends and family—is herself.

ÒIf you remember the Sixties,Ó quipped Robin Williams, Òyou werenÕt there.Ó That was, of course, an oblique reference to the mind-bending drugs that clouded perceptionÑyet time has proven an equally effective hallucinogen. This book revisits the Sixties we forgot or somehow failed to witness. In a kaleidoscopic global tour of the decade, Gerard DeGroot reminds us that the ÒBallad of the Green BeretÓ outsold ÒGive Peace a Chance,Ó that the Students for a Democratic Society were outnumbered by Young Americans for Freedom, that revolution was always a pipe dream, and that the Sixties belong to Reagan and de Gaulle more than to Kennedy and Dubcek. The Sixties Unplugged shows how opportunity was squandered, and why nostalgia for the decade has obscured sordidness and futility. DeGroot returns us to a time in which idealism, tolerance, and creativity gave way to cynicism, chauvinism, and materialism. He presents the Sixties as a drama acted out on stages around the world, a theater of the absurd in which ChinaÕs Cultural Revolution proved to be the worst atrocity of the twentieth century, the Six-Day War a disaster for every nation in the Middle East, and a million slaughtered Indonesians martyrs to greed. The Sixties Unplugged restores to an era the prevalent disorder and inconvenient truths that longing, wistfulness, and distance have obscured. In an impressionistic journey through a tumultuous decade, DeGroot offers an object lesson in the distortions nostalgia can create as it strives to impose order on memory and value on mayhem.