Promotions - Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles 2021 -

The title of this work, with its dichotomous structure, summarizes the theme of the book: the computer revolution, generally regarded as having begun in the second half of the 20th century, actually has roots going a long way back. Robertson (emer., University College London) summarizes this in his prologue: "in many significant ways, the information technology (IT) world not only draws on the past but is rooted in it." He illustrates this in 12 chapters showing how the invention of writing and the development of alphabets, eventually leading to the invention of printing and later to communications by post, telegraph, and telephone, and even the development of cryptography, were all steps on the path to the modern use of computers as the primary tool of information technology. Notably, chapter 11 traces the origins of the modern concept of data to the 19th-century invention of punched cards by Herman Hollerith, addressing the US Census Office's need for a tabulation technology. This reviewer found the book an absorbing read, arguably a good supplementary resource for students of IT and library science as well as undergraduates not majoring in any aspect of computer or information science. Freely available online, the text should also appeal to general readers interested in the modern information environment.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

Social media applications are probably among the most critical software systems in today's economy. A book that discusses design issues in the context of global, cultural, philosophical, and scientific utility could be worth reading in depth. Sun (Univ. of Washington, Tacoma) offers an intense discussion about the dynamic structure of factors that influence application design. She includes extensive bibliographical references on the many schools of thought and design scholarship that have influenced the human-computer interaction community for decades. As diverse and often conflicting as design frameworks may be, it is challenging to find a holistic perspective that can be applicable for different cultures, demographics, and geographic locations. Sun's book will confirm readers' intuitive feeling that successful design is hard in the environment where everything is "global." Successful applications are notoriously difficult to replicate to serve different tasks or contexts. The research community that has developed around this problem has created sophisticated statistical models to capture intricate relationships among multiple required characteristics. The interconnectedness of the multiplicity of factors that constitute the design problem is this book's central premise and strength. It is an essential text to be studied seriously, a crucial resource for organizations working on the next successful app, or for any future designer working on a professional portfolio.Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals.

Web GIS developers are in high demand owing to their unique skill set, which encompasses programming, web design, and integrating spatial databases with web applications. The languages used for developing online mapping applications are HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and SQL. Dorman (Ben-Gurion Univ. of the Negev) deftly addresses this combination of proficiencies by focusing on the most relevant aspect of each for web mapping in particular. Based on course materials developed at BGU, the text is organized in 13 chapters, including sample exercises with solutions. Following brief introductions to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and JSON, Dorman employs plant data examples to illustrate development of web GIS applications using Leaflet (an open source JavaScript library) and database query implementation using CARTO (a specialized cloud computing platform). Such content will be welcomed by GIS students and professionals in need of guidance, especially for working with Leaflet and integrating PostGIS into web applications. Exercises require no previous GIS experience, a significant feature for programmer learners acquiring web mapping development skills for the first time. This textbook will be essential in graduate and undergraduate courses with technical GIS focus, as found in applied geography, computer science, and library science programs, to support deeper interest in GIS aside from using the well-known packaged solutions offered by ESRI.Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Students enrolled in two-year technical programs. Graduate students and professionals.

Aphalo (Univ. of Helsinki) has written an excellent introduction to the R statistical programming language, using an approach that is perfect for self-directed learning. He provides "explanations and guidance," but recommends and expects the reader to "play" along by trying and modifying all the examples to observe what happens. He doesn't offer downloadable code samples, since the action of typing in the examples is part of his pedagogy: as he maintains, reading, writing, and running scripts best facilitate learning. Beyond the usual language features, Aphalo highlights important exceptions and counterintuitive situations in callout textboxes. He uses easily parsed icons to flag exercises, important items to remember, and in-depth explanations. Every chapter begins with a summary of learning objectives and ends with suggested readings. Additionally, Aphalo has created an R package (learnrbook) that includes example data written as R objects and any required R package names as character vectors for easy installation. Roughly 50 percent of Aphalo's text is focused on base R with a short chapter on statistical functions. The grammar of creating graphics and related implementation using the ggplot2 package occupies nearly 25 percent of the book. Importing and exporting data to and from R concludes this very useful text, making it a most thoughtful introduction to R.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.

This book makes a simple yet compelling point: cyber warfare envelops us all. It is impossible for the innocent and unsuspecting to escape the deleterious effects of the new cyber technologies. Juxtaposing myths about this new domain against facts, military historian Sambaluk (The Other Space Race, CH, Aug'16, 53-5379) devotes the first four chapters to providing the reader with usable information. For example, deploying malware is not always an inexpensive way to attack nation-states. The Stuxnet worm or virus said to have brought down Iran's centrifuges was half a megabyte in size and cost millions to develop. Furthermore, unraveling the source of cyber attacks doesn't help much. Malevolent states employ "patriotic hackers" living abroad to create mischief. Chapters 5 and 6, devoted to social media, constitute an original and innovative contribution to the cyber literature, effectively arguing that Facebook and Twitter are successfully militarized platforms. Terrorists use these platforms not only to communicate with each other but to identify and trace prospective victims. Gone are the days when civilians could bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the spectacle of a major battle. Cyber technology draws unsuspecting spectators into the battle. This is the grim reality that 21st-century citizens must face. Credit Professor Sambaluk with having made the case.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.