New Books November 2023: Home

The story of recorded sound - the technological developments, the people that made them happen and the impact they had on society - from the earliest inventions via the phonograph to LPs, EPs and the recent resurgence of vinyl. While Thomas Edison's phonograph, the first device that could both record and reproduce sound, represented an important turning point in the story of recorded sound, it was really only the tip of the iceberg, and came after decades of invention, tinkering and experiment. Into the Groove tells the story of the birth of recorded sound, from the earliest serious attempts in the 1850s all the way up to the vinyl resurgence we're currently enjoying. This book celebrates the ingenuity, rivalries and science of the modulated groove. Vinyl collector and music buff Jonathan Scott dissects a mind-blowing feat that we all take for granted today - the domestication of sound. He examines the first attempts to record and reproduce sounds, the origin of the phonograph, and the development of commercial shellac discs. Later he moves through the fascinating story of the LP record, from the rise of electric recording to the fall of 7-inch vinyl, the competing speed and format wars, and an epilogue that takes the story up to the present-day return of vinyl to vogue. Into the Groove is the story of the science of sound - the technological developments, the humans that made them happen and the impact they had on society. It uncovers tales of intrigue and betrayal, court battles and lesser-known names who are often left out of most histories. Read this book, and find a new appreciation of the not-so-simple black disc that holds a special place in the history of music and sound.

Secret Lives of Children in the Digital Age: Disruptive Devices and Resourceful Learners offers an examination of the impact on children, their families and their teachers, as digital technologies and new literacy practices have rapidly transformed how children learn, play and communicate. While ease of access to enormous knowledge bases presents many benefits and advantages, mobile screen technologies are often perceived by parents and teachers as disruptive and worrisome. Developed from a wide range of the authors' research over the past decade to an examination of remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, this book posits that while teachers, parents and governments are focused on protecting children, what is often neglected is children's own agency and capacity to engage with mobile technologies in ways that support them in pursuing their own interests, pleasures and learning. This text works to disrupt boundaries in research, policy and practice, between home and school, and across virtual and actual worlds, positing children as both users of media texts and coproducers of digitally mediated knowledge, with peers, family and teachers. Secret Lives of Children in the Digital Age contributes to research on digital literacies, and offers a pedagogical examination of digital possibilities for bringing playfulness and innovation into learning.

Incentivizing Cybersecurity goes beyond books that simply describe cybersecurity technology or law to provide a coherent and comprehensive explanation of why we are making so little progress in addressing the threat, and it lays out a specific path to address the threat in a new, more effective fashion. The book calls for a new market-based "social contract" between the public and private sectors. Since virtually every aspect of modern life is dependent on these cyber systems, cybersecurity is everybody's issue. It should be required reading for both industry and government leaders, as well as cybersecurity practitioners. The book is a collaborative effort of the Board of Directors of the Internet Security Alliance. Each author is a recognized expert in cybersecurity typically with substantial frontline responsibility for addressing the most sophisticated cyber attackers. Taken together, these authors bring elite-level cybersecurity expertise into one coherent volume.

Over the past 250 years, energy transitions have occurred repeatedly--the rise of coal in the nineteenth century, the explosion of oil in the twentieth century, the nuclear utopianism of the 1950s and 1960s. These transitions have been as revolutionary as any political or economic upheaval, and they required changes in infrastructure and behavior. Yet new energies never wholly replace old ones. This volume historicizes energy production and consumption while demonstrating how energy use has reshaped everything from social life and economic organization to political governance. It foregrounds the importance of energy for big historical questions about capitalism, democracy, inequality, the environment, and identity, and it argues that energy systems themselves merit attention as key agents of historical change. Given the urgency of climate change, and the central position that energy plays in causing and potentially solving global warming, this volume engages history as a discipline in the debate over what may be most monumental energy transition of all time: the shift away from fossil fuels.

Western Water A-to-Z is the first field guide dedicated to Western water. Reinventing this twentieth-century genre for a twenty-first-century audience, Crifasi describes water projects, the culture of water, the ecosystems that water projects have created or destroyed, and the reliance of modern life on this critical resource.

The Enlightened College Applicant presents a no-nonsense account of how students should approach the college search and admissions process.

Ryder's engaging text welcomes students and practicing teachers into the intellectual framework of current education systems and pedagogy. Not assuming prior knowledge of philosophy, the book outlines general principles, acknowledges outlying factors, and presents a systematic and socially conscious approach to the practice of teaching.

Gonsalves offers a long overdue and comprehensive examination of public education reform, specifically, its impact on high need schools.

Author Jordan Parkinson is a CEI employee in the Registrar's Office.