This title presents a uniquely human perspective on the quest to explore space and to understand the universe through the lens of the arts, humanities, and social sciences. It considers early stories about the universe in various cultures; recent space fiction; the origins and cultural rationale for the space age; experiences of humans in space and their emerging interactions with robots and artificial intelligence; how humans should treat environments and alien life; and the alternative f...

Mutative Media is a sweeping examination of how communication technologies have contributed to changes in people’s thoughts and actions, and thus in the power structures of societies, in the past, at present, and in four alternative futures.We start by surveying what is generally known about the emergence of human language and speech that has enabled humans to extend their organizing abilities beyond that of other hominids. We then review research on the emergence of signs...

The dioceses of San Joaquin, Pittsburgh, Fort Worth, and Quincy voted to secede from the Episcopal Church. The bishop of Pittsburgh was deposed for abandonment of communion, with several other bishops removed from ministry in the Episcopal Church after declaring their alignment with other provinces of the Anglican Communion. The diocese of Virginia is in the midst of protracted legal battles with parishes seeking to leave with property, with Virginia lower courts issuing rulings reflecting...

The accelerating technological transformation in learn- ing has necessitated an ability to search and differentiate among the one billion web pages, libraries, databases, books, newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, and opinion columns available online. This volume focuses on the normative challenges that the current technological transformation presents to all professionals engaged in higher education. Part I concentrates on the current social and technological trends. Dav...