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The book "Decolonising African University Knowledges" explores the need for African universities to break away from colonial influences in curricular content, research, technology, and language. The editors emphasize the importance of a relevant curriculum that reflects the cultural and environmental experiences of diverse African learners to empower them and transform the world. The book addresses issues of social exclusion based on disability and gender, advocating for a decolonized and inclusive African university education that celebrates diversity and cognitive justice. The text highlights the importance of recognizing Deaf culture as distinct from disability and calls for African universities to embrace ubuntu principles in accommodating diverse student populations. [Extracted from the article]

"Impromptu: Amplifying our humanity through AI" by Reid Hoffman explores the capabilities of generative AI, particularly the GPT-4 model, and its potential impacts on various fields such as education, creativity, justice, journalism, social media, and the transformation of work. The book discusses the benefits and challenges of using the GPT-4 model, including model hallucinations, and highlights the importance of considering diverse perspectives when integrating AI technologies. Written by Vivek Kumar Singh, the book provides insights for business scholars and practitioners interested in the future of AI, although it may have limitations in discussing other aspects of generative AI and prompt engineering." [Extracted from the article]

The article reviews "The Routledge International Handbook of Digital Social Work," emphasizing the increasing importance of integrating digital technologies into social work practice, especially in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The book explores various aspects of digital social work, including client engagement, digital storytelling, collaboration, and ethical implications. It provides a comprehensive analysis of digitalization in social work, offering insights into current practices and future directions, making it a valuable resource for professionals and academics in social work, law, and computer science. [Extracted from the article]

The book "Global Fintech Revolution: Practice, Policy, and Regulation" by Lerong Lu explores the impact of financial technology (fintech) on traditional banking practices, consumer behaviors, and regulatory frameworks worldwide. Lu's comprehensive analysis covers various fintech developments, practices, and policies, with a focus on regulatory challenges. The book examines fintech from multiple perspectives using Lu's Analysis Model, offering insights into the dynamic fintech landscape, including discussions on central bank digital currencies and other innovations. While the book emphasizes the potential benefits of fintech in democratizing finance, it also acknowledges the need for balanced regulatory approaches to address risks such as data privacy and cybersecurity threats. [Extracted from the article]

"Brave New Words: How AI Will Revolutionize Education (and Why That's a Good Thing)" by Salman Khan explores the use of AI in education and highlights its potential benefits. The book provides examples of dialogue between human and AI tutors, raising questions about the ethical implications and design principles of AI in education. It suggests that rethinking fundamental concepts in education and information systems is necessary to fully benefit from AI tutoring. The text also discusses the potential impact of generative AI on education and the need to reconsider what we assess and what it means to know something. It introduces the concept of "prompt engineering" to design prompts for AI and raises questions about the value of reading and writing in a world with powerful AI tools. The author emphasizes the importance of further research on the impact of AI on global issues and cultural differences. Overall, the book encourages readers to explore the possibilities and challenges of AI in education. [Extracted from the article]

Reid Hoffman's book, "Impromptu: Amplifying our humanity through AI," explores the capabilities and potential impacts of generative AI, particularly the GPT-4 model. The book discusses the use of AI in various fields such as education, creativity, justice, journalism, social media, and the transformation of work. It highlights the benefits and challenges of using AI tools like ChatGPT, including increased productivity, democratization of creativity, and potential biases and misinformation. The book also addresses the concern of model hallucinations and the impact of AI on public discourse. Overall, it provides a user's perspective on generative AI and can be a valuable resource for those interested in the future of AI. However, it has some limitations, such as limited coverage of non-text-based generative AI models and the lack of discussion on prompt engineering best practices. [Extracted from the article]

"Social Work Education and the COVID-19 Pandemic" edited by Yael Latzer and Liat Shklarski delves into the impact of the pandemic on social work education globally. The book explores the challenges faced in transitioning to online learning, maintaining fieldwork experiences, and addressing the digital divide. It emphasizes the need for equitable educational policies and offers insights into innovative approaches and adjustments made in different regions. The book serves as a valuable resource for educators, students, and policymakers seeking to understand the long-term effects of the pandemic on social work education and highlights the importance of resilience and responsiveness in adapting to changing circumstances. [Extracted from the article]

"The Pandemic Divide: How Covid Increased Inequality in America" is a book that examines the racial inequalities in America and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on racialized minorities. The authors argue that institutional and structural racism created conditions that made certain groups more vulnerable to disease and medical neglect. The book provides data on COVID-19 statistics disaggregated by race, highlighting the higher death rates among Black people. It also explores the impact of the pandemic on mental health, education, and vaccine hesitancy within racialized communities. The authors emphasize the role of structural racism in perpetuating health disparities and call for a better understanding of these issues. [Extracted from the article]

The book review discusses the publication "Digital Technologies for Smart Business, Economics, and Education: Towards a Hopeful Future," edited by Amina Omrane, Gouranga Patra, and Sumona Datta. The book explores the current state and future prospects of digitalization in various fields, such as business, economics, and education. It also examines the challenges faced by underdeveloped regions in adopting digital technologies and proposes tailored strategies to mitigate these challenges. The review acknowledges the advantages and disadvantages of digitalization and emphasizes the need for practical and context-specific solutions to ensure that digitization brings positive outcomes to less developed areas. [Extracted from the article]

The book "Civic Participation in a Digital World," coordinated by María R. Belando Montoto, analyzes how teenagers and young people express their civic participation in a digital world. It highlights the role of the digital environment as an inclusion tool and warns about the privatization of mass media. It also investigates youth identities in the network society and analyzes the use of social networks by Mexican youth. The book concludes with considerations about the digital divide and the motivations behind the perception of online civic participation. [Extracted from the article]

Sustainable Development Goal 9 targets (SDG 9 targets) are mainly tracked through the indicators of penetration of internet and mobile broadband subscription, logistic performance index, quality and ranking of the universities, investment in research and development initiatives, industrial reforms and emission control, and connectivity to rural areas. The attainment of many of these targets and tracking of indicators is confronted by challenges of poor awareness, funding issues, distorted policies, and implementation failures. This systematic review on achievements, challenges, and future scope in attaining SDG 9 consolidates the literature from the Web of Science, related to SDG 9 and indicators, since 2017; develops bibliometric patterns; conducts thematic analysis by focusing the leading indicators of SDG 9; and develops agenda for future research. The major limitations of this study include focusing on selected indicators and limited literature availability. This review recommends policymakers, researchers, and administrators to focus on promising themes such as tackling the digital divide and ensuring digital justice and digital equality; clean fuel and technology adoption; enhancing internet and mobile broadband subscription with reduced negative impacts, logistic sector reforms; industrial policy reforms and technology integration; improving the quality and sustainability of universities; and increasing funding and support for research and development initiatives and improving the rural connectivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Can we hope for autonomous (self-contained in situ) sensing of subsurface soil and groundwater pollutants to satisfy relevant regulatory criteria? Global advances in sensors, communications, digital technologies, and computational capacity offer this potential. Here we review past efforts to advance subsurface investigation techniques and technologies, and computational efforts to create a digital twin (representation) of subsurface processes. In the context of the potential to link measurement and sensing to a digital twin computation platform, we outline five criteria that might make it possible. Significant advances in sensors based on passive measurement devices are proposed. As an example of what might be achievable, using the five criteria, we describe the deployment of online real-time sensors and simulations for a case study of a petroleum site where natural source zone depletion (NSZD) is underway as a potential biodegradation management option, and where a high-quality conceptual site model is available. Multiple sensors targeting parameters (major gases and temperature influenced by soil moisture) relevant to the subsurface NSZD biodegradation processes are shown to offer the potential to map subsurface processes spatially and temporally and provide continuous estimates of degradation rates for management decisions, constrained by a computational platform of the key processes. Current limitations and gaps in technologies and knowledge are highlighted specific to the case study. More generally, additional key advances required to achieve autonomous sensing of subsurface soil and groundwater pollutants are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycosylation has been shown to define the safety and efficacy of biopharmaceuticals, thus classified as a critical quality attribute. However, controlling glycan heterogeneity has always been a major challenge owing to the multivariate factors that govern the glycosylation process. Conventional approaches for controlling glycosylation such as gene editing and metabolic control have succeeded in obtaining desired glycan profiles in accordance with the Quality by Design paradigm. Nonetheless, the development of smart algorithms and omics‐enabled complete cell characterization has made it possible to predict glycan profiles beforehand, and manipulate process variables accordingly. This review thus discusses the various approaches available for control and prediction of glycosylation in biopharmaceuticals. Further, the futuristic goal of integrating such technologies is discussed in order to attain an automated and digitized continuous bioprocess for control of glycosylation. Given, control of a process as complex as glycosylation requires intense monitoring intervention, we examine the current technologies that enable automation. Finally, we discuss the challenges and the technological gap that currently limits incorporation of an automated process in routine bio‐manufacturing, with a glimpse into the economic bearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oil palm plantations face important challenges in terms of balancing agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability. This research synthesis aims to answer key questions regarding the state and knowledge gaps of oil palm (OP) research and technological development (R&D) at a global scale, in Latin America and in Mexico, using all Web of Science® databases and agriculture categories and time spans between 1960 and 2018. Three thousand nine hundred and forty-eight publications were analysed. The research themes started with the generation of agronomic knowledge in 1960. Since 1963, studies in Latin America have focused on yield improvement; since 2010, topics related to agroecology, product quality, health issues, biodiversity, conservation impacts, and biofuel uses have been widely integrated, although some relevant themes are lacking. In addition, considering the high domestic demand for crude palm oil and great available natural resources, few Mexican institutions have participated in publications registered in Web of Science (WOS) on this topic. This research proposes a quick exploratory and reliable instrument for evaluating the agronomic interest of any agricultural production system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrocarbons are produced offshore in more than 50 countries and contributed about a quarter of world production c.2020, slightly more for crude oil and slightly less for natural gas. All oil and gas projects involve technical, environmental, economic, and financial challenges, but offshore projects are especially sensitive to these factors and often require advanced engineering and innovative technologies to commercialise. Offshore projects may be put on-hold for many years due to technology gaps or technology too expensive to implement. In this review, highlights of the world's deepest, largest, longest, tallest, heaviest, most complex, most difficult, and most expensive wells, structures, pipelines, and subsea equipment are presented in offshore development and decommissioning projects. Key engineering considerations and technology innovations are described. The perspective of this review is broad and aimed toward the general non-specialist reader bringing many topics together for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During a long‐duration manned spaceflight mission, such as flying to Mars and beyond, all crew members will spend a long period in an independent spacecraft with closed‐loop bioregenerative life‐support systems. Saving resources and reducing medical risks, particularly in mental heath, are key technology gaps hampering human expedition into deep space. In the 1960s, several scientists proposed that an induced state of suppressed metabolism in humans, which mimics 'hibernation', could be an ideal solution to cope with many issues during spaceflight. In recent years, with the introduction of specific methods, it is becoming more feasible to induce an artificial hibernation‐like state (synthetic torpor) in non‐hibernating species. Natural torpor is a fascinating, yet enigmatic, physiological process in which metabolic rate (MR), body core temperature (Tb) and behavioural activity are reduced to save energy during harsh seasonal conditions. It employs a complex central neural network to orchestrate a homeostatic state of hypometabolism, hypothermia and hypoactivity in response to environmental challenges. The anatomical and functional connections within the central nervous system (CNS) lie at the heart of controlling synthetic torpor. Although progress has been made, the precise mechanisms underlying the active regulation of the torpor–arousal transition, and their profound influence on neural function and behaviour, which are critical concerns for safe and reversible human torpor, remain poorly understood. In this review, we place particular emphasis on elaborating the central nervous mechanism orchestrating the torpor–arousal transition in both non‐flying hibernating mammals and non‐hibernating species, and aim to provide translational insights into long‐duration manned spaceflight. In addition, identifying difficulties and challenges ahead will underscore important concerns in engineering synthetic torpor in humans. We believe that synthetic torpor may not be the only option for manned long‐duration spaceflight, but it is the most achievable solution in the foreseeable future. Translating the available knowledge from natural torpor research will not only benefit manned spaceflight, but also many clinical settings attempting to manipulate energy metabolism and neurobehavioural functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to encompass the technological advancements in the area of flexible sensing electronics fabrication particularly for wearable device development applications. In the recent past, it is evident that there is a tremendous growth in the field of flexible electronics and sensors fabrication technologies all around the world. Even though, there is a significant amount of research has been carried in the past decade, but still there is a huge need for exploring novel materials for low temperature processing, optimized printing methods and customized printing devices with accurate feature control. Design/methodology/approach: The author has done an extensive literature survey in the proposed area and found that the researchers are showing significant interest in exploring novel materials, new conductive ink processing methods suitable for additive manufacturing, and fabrication technologies for developing the plastic substrate-based flexible electronics for the on growing demands of wearable devices in the market. Findings: The author has consolidated some of the recent advancements in the area of flexible sensing electronics using the inkjet-printing platform carried out by the researchers. The novel customized inkjet-printing technology, materials selections for device development, compatibility of the materials for the inkjet-printing process and the interesting results of the devices fabricated are highlighted in this paper. Originality/value: The author has reported the novel inkjet-printing platforms explored by researchers in the recent past for various applications which primarily includes gas sensing. The author has consolidated in a crisp manner about the technology, materials compatible for inkjet-printing, and the exciting results of the printed devices. The author has reported the advantages and challenges of the proposed methods by the researchers. This work will bridge the technical gap in the inkjet-printing technology and will be useful for the researchers to take forward the research work on this domain to the next level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chapters 3 through 7 make up the core of the book on the antecedents, characteristics, and consequences of digital media usage divides. The book's nine chapters are each introduced with a structuring question and - based on Van Dijk's own and many others' research - usually a clear, textbook-appropriate answer is provided without concealing the findings' inherent tentativeness. Perhaps, further development of Van Dijk's resources and appropriation theory can consolidate these "zoomed in" views into a comprehensive digital inequality model. [Extracted from the article]

Reviews the book "Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide," by Mark Warschauer.

Yet the underlying theme in all of the chapters is the importance of recognizing that students are individuals, and that we need to tailor the learning experiences for their individual needs. And despite the lofty vision of MOOCs making education available for all, in "The Learner Who Took Advantage of the Openness of MOOCs", Veletsianos cites studies showing that MOOCs actually reflect and replicate existing inequalities. The Student Experience contains 17 chapters about just that: what students experience when they take online learning classes. [Extracted from the article]

A review of the book "Dignity in a Digital Age: Making Tech Work for All of Us," by Ro Khanna, is presented.

The article reviews the book "Without a Net: Librarians Bridging the Digital Divide," by Jessamyn C. West.