Transforming Society

High-tech innovations are created at a dazzling speed, and it all points to a world that is getting faster at a dizzying pace. Azeem Azhar knows this better than most. Over the last three decades, he has founded companies bought by Amazon and Microsoft, served as the Economist’s first ever internet correspondent, and created a leading international tech newsletter and podcast, the Exponential View. Now, Azhar offers a revelatory new model for understanding how technology is changing the world.

The volumes of data we now access can give unparalleled abilities to make predictions, respond to customer demand, and solve problems. But Big Brother’s shadow hovers over it. Although big data can set us free and enhance our lives, it has the potential to create an underclass and a totalitarian state. With big data ever present, you can’t afford to ignore it. In this book, acclaimed science writer Brian Clegg - a habitual early adopter of new technology - brings big data to life.

In a world where values shift like sands in the wind, how can Christians stand firm in their faith and make a meaningful impact on the culture around them? "Counter Culture: Living by Faith in a Secular World" is your indispensable roadmap for not just resisting the currents of secularism but transforming them. Drawing wisdom from the timeless words of the Apostle Paul's letter to Titus, this eBook explores the art of countering culture with unwavering faith, grace, and a commitment to Christian values. Scott, a pastor, author, and devoted family man, provides a profound and practical guide...

Mindfulness has become a mainstay of modern life. Millions have found it to be a powerful tool for reducing stress, enhancing attention, and instilling tranquility - but Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu insists it can be so much more. There is too much mind in mindfulness today. It shouldn't just be about thinking and relaxing - Murphy-Shigematsu shows us how much more enlightening an experience it can be when we add caring and a concern for our fellow beings to the practice.

One of the least understood countries in the world, North Korea has long been known for its repressive regime. Yet it is far from being an impenetrable black box. Media flows covertly into the country, and fault lines are appearing in the government's sealed informational borders. Drawing on deeply personal interviews with North Korean defectors from all walks of life, ranging from propaganda artists to diplomats, Jieun Baek tells the story of North Korea's information underground.

Coal, iron ore, and oil were the key productive assets that fueled the Industrial Revolution. Today data is the vital raw material of the information economy. The explosive abundance of this digital asset, more than doubling every two years, is creating a new world of opportunity and challenge. Data-ism is about this next phase, in which vast, Internet-scale data sets are used for discovery and prediction in virtually every field. It is a journey across this emerging world with people, illuminating narrative examples, and insights.

Christians have been called to care for the community they serve as “salt and light”. The concept of mission work in the Church seems to be more focused on “the ends of the earth” than our “Jerusalem”. Our “Jerusalem” represents our immediate community or society. This book calls on Christians to look for ministry opportunities outside the walls of the church building, especially in the workplaces, that is, bring Jesus into their work lives.

With every news report, the world seems to be careening off the rails. It's all too easy to slip into despair waiting for co-opted, self-serving governments to act. Hope and action is the antidote. We each hold the power to make personal changes that can drive local changes and cascade into large-scale social transformation. This is the guidebook for ordinary people who want to create a new society now.