Digital information and communication technologies can be seen as a threat to privacy, a step forward for freedom of expression and communication, a tool in the fight against terrorism or the source of a new economic wealth. Computerization has unexpectedly progressed beyond our imagination, from a tool of management and control into one of widespread communication and expression. This book revisits the major questions that have emerged with the progress of computerization over nearly half a century, by describing the context in which these issues were formulated. By taking a social and digital approach, the author explores controversial issues surrounding the development of this "digital revolution", including freedom and privacy of the individual, social control, surveillance, public security and the economic exploitation of personal data. From students, teachers and researchers engaged in data analysis, to institutional decision-makers and actors in policy or business, all members of today's digital society will take from this book a better understanding of the essential issues of the current "digital revolution".

Places Keynes's concern with probability and uncertainty in full historical context.

New Jersey historian John T. Cunningham explores the overlooked Revolutionary War winters of General George Washington¿s army encampments at Morristown and Middlebrook. He makes the case that the Continental Army ¿ and the American Revolution ¿ may have survived from 1777 until 1781 because of the ¿geological fortress¿ of New Jersey¿s Watchung Mountains and because of the residents of the region¿s small towns and farms. He also explores the founding of the country¿s first National Historical Park in 1933 to preserve the physical places where Washington and his army survived in the Watchungs.

In November of 2003, a stolen election in the former Soviet republic of Georgia led to protests and the eventual resignation of President Eduard Shevardnadze. Shevardnadze was replaced by a democratically elected government led by President Mikheil Saakashvili, who pledged to rebuild Georgia, orient it toward the West, and develop a European-style democracy. Known as the Rose Revolution, this early twenty-first-century democratic movement was only one of the so-called color revolutions (Orange in Ukraine, Tulip in Kyrgyzstan, and Cedar in Lebanon). What made democratic revolution in Georgia thrive when so many similar movements in the early part of the decade dissolved? Lincoln A. Mitchell witnessed the Rose Revolution firsthand, even playing a role in its manifestation by working closely with key Georgian actors who brought about change. In Uncertain Democracy, Mitchell recounts the events that led to the overthrow of Shevardnadze and analyzes the factors that contributed to the staying power of the new regime. The book also explores the modest but indispensable role of the United States in contributing to the Rose Revolution and Georgia's failure to live up to its democratic promise. Uncertain Democracy is the first scholarly examination of Georgia's recent political past. Drawing upon primary sources, secondary documents, and his own NGO experience, Mitchell presents a compelling case study of the effect of U.S. policy of promoting democracy abroad.

This important new book introduces, analyzes and takes forward a post-Keynesian theory of the firm. It makes a vital contribution to the conceptualisation of uncertainty that is consistent with the methodological presuppositions of Post Keynesian economics. The author attempts to make a positive contribution to the development of Post Keynesian economics by refuting allegations of incoherence, detailing some of the salient implications of a transmutable conception of economic processes and then starting to explore what this means for how Post Keynesians conceptualise uncertainty. The book argues that the Post Keynesian distinctive view of time, understood as a non-deterministic open systems process, is a core and defining characteristic which is linked to its theoretical discussion of money and the principle of effective demand. Covering areas such as the coherence of Post Keynesianism, the future of Post Keynesian economics and Keynesian methodological debates, this book is useful reading for all Post Keynesian scholars with a strong interest in economic methodology and the philosophical underpinnings of economics.

The former Google executive and political activist tells the story of the Egyptian revolution he helped ignite through the power of social media. In the summer of 2010, thirty-year-old Google executive Wael Ghonim anonymously launched a Facebook page to protest the death of an Egyptian man at the hands of security forces. The page’s following expanded quickly and moved from online protests to a nonconfrontational movement. On January 25, 2011, Tahrir Square resounded with calls for change. Yet just as the revolution began in earnest, Ghonim was captured and held for twelve days of brutal interrogation. After he was released, he gave a tearful speech on national television, and the protests grew more intense. Four days later, the president of Egypt was gone. In this riveting story, Ghonim takes us inside the movement and shares the keys to unleashing the power of crowds in the age of social networking. “A gripping chronicle of how a fear-frozen society finally topples its oppressors with the help of social media.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Revolution 2.0 excels in chronicling the roiling tension in the months before the uprising, the careful organization required and the momentum it unleashed.” —NPR.org

This sweeping inquiry into the present condition of the human sciences addresses the central questions: What sort of knowledge do the human sciences claim to be offering? To what extent can that knowledge be called scientific? and What do we mean by "scientific" in such a context? In this wide-ranging book, one of the most esteemed cultural historians of our time turns his attention to major questions about human experience and various attempts to understand it "scientifically." Mazlish considers the achievements, failings, and possibilities of the human sciences--a domain that he broadly defines to include the social sciences, literature, psychology, and hermeneutic studies. In a rich and original synthesis built upon the work of earlier philosophers and historians, Mazlish constructs a new view of the nature and meaning of the human sciences. Starting with the remote human past and moving through the Age of Discovery to the present day, Mazlish discusses the sort of knowledge the human sciences claim to offer. He looks closely at the positivistic aspirations of the human sciences, which are modeled after the natural sciences, and at their interpretive tendencies. In an analysis of scientific method and scientific community, he explores the roles they can or should assume in the human sciences. His approach is genuinely interdisciplinary, drawing upon an array of topics, from civil society to globalization to the interactions of humans and machines.

Demonstrating that humanity faces an imminent and prolonged global food crisis, Michael Brownlee issues a clarion call and manifesto for a revolutionary movement to localize the global food supply. He lays out a practical guide for those who hope to navigate the challenging process of shaping the local or regional food system, providing a roadmap for embarking on the process of righting the profoundly unsustainable and already-failing global industrialized food system. Written to inform, inspire, and empower anyone—farmers or ranchers, community gardeners, aspiring food entrepreneurs, supply chain venturers, commercial food buyers, restaurateurs, investors, community food activists, non-profit agencies, policy makers, or local government leaders—who hopes to be a catalyst for change, this book provides a blueprint for economic action, with specific suggestions that make the process more conscious and deliberate. Brownlee, cofounder of the nonprofit Local Food Shift Group, maps out the underlying process of food localization and outlines the route that communities, regions, and foodsheds often follow in their efforts to take control of food production and distribution. By sharing the strategies that have proven successful, he charts a practical path forward while indicating approaches that otherwise might be invisible and unexplored. Stories and interviews illustrate how food localization is happening on the ground and in the field. Essays and thought-pieces explore some of the challenging ethical, moral, economic, and social dilemmas and thresholds that might arise as the local food shift develops. For anyone who wants to understand, in concrete terms, the unique challenges and extraordinary opportunities that present themselves as we address one of the most urgent issues of our time, The Local Food Revolution is an indispensable resource.

France's liberation was expected to trigger a decisive break both with the Vichy régime and with the pre-war Third Republic. What happened was an untidy patchwork of unplanned continuities and false starts. This volume analyses the complex process of regime change, economic renewal, social transformation, and adjustment to a fast-evolving world.