TikTok Boom by
''It is rare for a business analysis to read like a thriller - this one does.'' - Azeem Azhar, Founder, Exponential View ''Vital to understanding how[TikTok] works and the impact it''s having.'' - Damian Collins MP, former chairman of the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee ''TikTok Boom is a must read for students, scholars, and policy makers.'' - David Craig, Clinical Professor, USC Annenberg A whole generation is hooked on TikTok. In just a few years, it''s raced ahead of WhatsApp and Instagram to become the biggest app in the world. But how did it burst into life and overtake its rivals? Delving deep into its upstart origins, TikTok Boom charts the astonishingly rapid rise of China''s viral video app. It yields new insights into its culture, addictive algorithm, and influencer ecosystem. And it reveals the influence its owners in Beijing are having on hundreds of millions worldwide through the use of little-known content guidelines. TikTok is the emerging battleground for a geopolitical tussle between East and West for control of social media. TikTok Boom is a rollercoaster business story bristling with ambition and drama. Find out where TikTok came from and where it''s going. Find out how TikTok Works and whether it can work for you. Reviews ''A careful, detailed teardown of the people, culture and technology behind the world''s most dynamic social network. It is rare for a business analysis to read like a thriller - this one does.'' - Azeem Azhar, Founder, Exponential View ''It''s clear that Stokel-Walker''s strength is that he''s not just TikTok-literate, he''s TikTok-fluent. He knows the product, the people, and the entire ecosystem inside and out, and it is this familiarity that makes his telling so compelling, because he knows how to make you feel like you, too, are an insider in this strange new world.'' - Rui Ma, founder, Tech Buzz China ''Blending journalistic narrative with state-of-the-art academic research, no other author comes close to weaving this epic tale of the rise of China''s first global platform threatening Silicon''s Valley hegemony while operating as inflection point around the rise of one globe two Internet systems. This is a must read for students, scholars, and policy makers.'' - David Craig, Clinical Professor, USC Annenberg ''This book charts the story of an app on the rise that''s changing the world of tech, charting the future of culture, and creating a new world of work: the creator economy... it breaks down some of the biggest questions for the future of work and culture.'' - Li Jin, Atelier Ventures Extract: ByteDance Ask most people what ByteDance is and they''ll likely meet you with a blank stare. Yet it is the owner of TikTok and a host of other world-leading apps. Founded in March 2012, it''s worth about $180 billion - up from its $75 billion in 2018 when the Japanese technology investors SoftBank Group bought into the company. Despite the fact that its apps are used by two billion people worldwide, earning it $34 billion in revenue in 2020, ByteDance deliberately keeps a low profile among the general public in the West. It wants its products to take centre stage. It''s a strategy devised by its low-key, but intensely-driven founder, Yiming Zhang. Whereas his fellow Chinese rival, Musical.ly''s Alex Zhu, is creative and flighty, Zhang is measured and focussed. Compared to his more brash counterparts in China, such as Jack Ma, the former boss of Alibaba Group, who''s known for his exuberance and outgoing personality, he is even a little dull. Considered. He practises ''delayed gratification.'' He''s rational - though his choice of clothing, T-shirts and jeans, makes him more laid back than the average Chinese executive. Imagine the slightly underwhelming disappointment of Mark Zuckerberg, rather than the zany pinball personality of Elon Musk. Born in 1983 in the city of Longyan in the coastal province of Fujian that''s known for having the highest proportion of emigrants to the Western world in all of China, Zhang is, however, fiercely independent. While many people entering China''s tech sector are comfortable to land a job at one of the pre-existing Chinese tech giants, Zhang ignored that route. He was not after the quick buzz of instant success by piggybacking onto a pre-existing victor: he played the long game. Buy the book to carry on reading
The Atlas of AI by
The hidden costs of artificial intelligence--from natural resources and labor to privacy, equality, and freedom "This study argues that [artificial intelligence] is neither artificial nor particularly intelligent. . . . A fascinating history of the data on which machine-learning systems are trained."--New Yorker "A valuable corrective to much of the hype surrounding AI and a useful instruction manual for the future."--John Thornhill, Financial Times "It's a masterpiece, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it."--Karen Hao, senior editor, MIT Tech Review What happens when artificial intelligence saturates political life and depletes the planet? How is AI shaping our understanding of ourselves and our societies? Drawing on more than a decade of research, award‑winning scholar Kate Crawford reveals how AI is a technology of extraction: from the minerals drawn from the earth to the labor pulled from low-wage information workers to the data taken from every action and expression. Crawford reveals how this planetary network is fueling a shift toward undemocratic governance and increased inequity. Rather than taking a narrow focus on code and algorithms, Crawford offers us a material and political perspective on what it takes to make AI and how it centralizes power. This is an urgent account of what is at stake as technology companies use artificial intelligence to reshape the world.
Climate Future: Averting and Adapting to Climate Change by
Most people would probably agree on what should be done to avert severe climate change: The world must reduce CO2 emissions as much and as quickly as possible. But we must also ask what will be done. Is it realistic to expect worldwide emissions to fall rapidly enough to prevent severe climate change? And if we conclude it is not realistic, and so higher temperatures and rising sea levels are likely, what should we do? What actions should we take now to reduce the likely impact of climate change? Whatever climate policies are adopted, there will be a great deal of uncertainty over what will happen as a result. In Climate Future, Robert Pindyck, an authority on the economics of climate change and global catastrophes, explains what we know and what we don't know about the extent of climate change and its impact, why there is so much uncertainty, and what it means for climate policy. This book shows that given the economic and political realities, it is simply not realistic to expect emission reductions needed to avert substantial global warming. Pindyck argues that investments in adaptation-developing new hybrid crops, discouraging building in flood-prone or wildfire-prone areas, building sea walls and dikes, and geoengineering-are needed to insure against catastrophic climate change events. We should invest now in adaptation, and Pindyck shows how that can be done.
Dialogues on Gun Control (Philosophical Dialogues on Contemporary Problems) by
What happens when two intelligent American college students with different attitudes about guns launch into a careful exploration of the ethics of gun policy? What might a European exchange student add to the mix? All three characters in this book are fictional, the creation of author David DeGrazia's imagination. But their vigorous, respectful conversations over six meetings--well-informed by the latest empirical data and the best available philosophical arguments--shed needed light on the reality of guns in the U.S. today. These dialogues introduce students, professional academics, and others to the American experience with gun violence and gun policy, articulating ethical arguments supporting and opposing substantial gun control, and specific possibilities for reform. They also demonstrate how those who initially disagree about the place of guns in American society can communicate constructively and agree on many ideas. Dialogue 1 distinguishes the legal rights to private gun ownership from the ethics of gun policy and illustrates how the U.S. is an outlier with respect to gun violence, gun ownership, and gun politics. Dialogue 2 explores the overall social consequences of high rates of gun ownership and minimal regulation and enforcement. Then, turning to moral rights, Dialogue 3 probes the subtle relationships among a right to self-defense, its possible foundation(s), and alleged gun rights. Dialogue 4 turns to appeals to various liberties as possible bases for gun rights. Next, Dialogue 5 examines the possibility that various other moral rights--such as a right to a reasonably safe environment--can illuminate gun policy ethics. Finally, Dialogue 6 concludes with a fairly detailed exploration of the shape of morally defensible gun policy in the United States. Key features: Dialogue format provides an engaging and accessible exchange throughout the book. Depth of the ethical analysis refutes those who believe the issues pertaining to guns are simple. Up-to-date references and examples make the book more current than the competition.
To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick--and How We Can Fight Back by
A Silent Spring for your wardrobe, To Dye For is a jolting expose that reveals the true cost of the toxic, largely unregulated chemicals found on most clothing today. Many of us are aware of the ethical minefield that is fast fashion- the dodgy labor practices, the lax environmental standards, and the mountains of waste piling up on the shores of developing countries. But have you stopped to consider the dangerous effects your clothes are having on your own health? Award-winning journalist Alden Wicker breaks open a story hiding in plain sight- the unregulated toxic chemicals that are likely in your wardrobe right now, how they're harming you, and what you can do about it. In To Dye For, Wicker reveals how clothing manufacturers have successfully swept consumers' concerns under the rug for more than 150 years, and why synthetic fashion and dyes made from fossil fuels are so deeply intertwined with the rise of autoimmune disease, infertility, asthma, eczema, and more. In fact, there's little to no regulation of the clothes and textiles we wear each day-from uniforms to fast fashion, outdoor gear, and even the face masks that have become ubiquitous in recent years. Wicker explains how we got here, what the stakes are, and what all of us can do in the fight for a safe and healthy wardrobe for all.
An Introduction to Veganism and Agricultural Globalism by
In this helpful vegan guide and cookbook with various recipes, including smoothies and a detox juice, MaRLI scholar and champion boxer Omowale delves deep beyond cooking class to uncover the dirt about the United States' global plan to work with Monsanto to sell GMO crops to Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Australia and the entire world. Along the way, he gives insight into phytoestrogens and soy, while helping readers learn where vegans can easily obtain their protein and vitamin B12.Whether you're a transitioning vegan, bodybuilder or a political enthusiast, the book touches all the necessary points and returns full circle with a solution.
A Long, Long Way: Hollywood's Unfinished Journey from Racism to Reconciliation by
From the beginning, American cinema has been both a powerful mythmaker and a social critic. D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, arguably the first feature film, shows us just how early in its history cinema had established its influence. In 1915 it was the first movie to be screened at the White House. After the screening, President Woodrow Wilson is rumored to have said, "It's like history writ with lightning. And my only regret is that it is all terribly true." Birth of a Nation famously portrayed the Klu Klux Klan in a favorable light, a portrayal that contributed to the modern resurgence of the group and brought racist depictions of African Americans imported from the minstrel show to the silver screen. Such white fantasies of black American life have played out on our movie screens for the last century. In response, filmmakers of color have created nuanced and indelible portraits of race, as in Ava DuVernay's Selma or Barry Jenkin's Moonlight. Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman shows us just how far into our culture Birth of a Nation has reached.In this powerful new book, Greg Garrett brings his signature brand of theologically motivated cultural criticism to bear on this history. After more than a century of cinema, he argues, movies have altered our cultural perspectives in the same way that religious narratives have. And in fact, religious traditions offer powerful correctives to our cultural narratives. A Long, Long Way incorporates both cinematic and religious truth-telling to the subject of race and reconciliation. In acknowledging the racist history of America's national art form, Garrett offers the possibility of hope for the future.
Vaccine Hesitancy: Public Trust, Expertise, and the War on Science (Science, Values, and the Public) by
Winner, 2022 PSA Women's Caucus Prize in Feminist Philosophy of Science Award The public has voiced concern over the adverse effects of vaccines from the moment Dr. Edward Jenner introduced the first smallpox vaccine in 1796. The controversy over childhood immunization intensified in 1998, when Dr. Andrew Wakefield linked the MMR vaccine to autism. Although Wakefield's findings were later discredited and retracted, and medical and scientific evidence suggests routine immunizations have significantly reduced life-threatening conditions like measles, whooping cough, and polio, vaccine refusal and vaccine-preventable outbreaks are on the rise. This book explores vaccine hesitancy and refusal among parents in the industrialized North. Although biomedical, public health, and popular science literature has focused on a scientifically ignorant public, the real problem, Maya J. Goldenberg argues, lies not in misunderstanding, but in mistrust. Public confidence in scientific institutions and government bodies has been shaken by fraud, research scandals, and misconduct. Her book reveals how vaccine studies sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, compelling rhetorics from the anti-vaccine movement, and the spread of populist knowledge on social media have all contributed to a public mistrust of the scientific consensus. Importantly, it also emphasizes how historical and current discrimination in health care against marginalized communities continues to shape public perception of institutional trustworthiness. Goldenberg ultimately reframes vaccine hesitancy as a crisis of public trust rather than a war on science, arguing that having good scientific support of vaccine efficacy and safety is not enough. In a fraught communications landscape, Vaccine Hesitancy advocates for trust-building measures that focus on relationships, transparency, and justice.
1. Library services available online:
This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new window This link opens in a new windowSIFT is an online evaluation strategy, developed by digital literacy expert Michael Caulfield (Washington State University Vancouver), to help you judge whether or not online content can be trusted for credible and reliable information. SIFT is quick and simple 4-step process, and can be applied to all types of online content.
SIFT stands for:
STOP
INVESTIGATE THE SOURCE
FIND BETTER COVERAGE
TRACE CLAIMS, QUOTES, AND MEDIA BACK TO THEIR ORIGINAL CONTEXT
