Summary: The consensus of the world's science academies, reached after a series of annual conferences, is that climate change is real, and that it's caused by human activity. Why, then, do so many people doubt these findings? In this program Nobel Prize winner Paul Nurse seeks to understand what may be the greatest amount of suspicion of the scientific community since the Dark Ages. Nurse goes head to...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011

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Rees, Martin

Summary: Humanity has reached a critical moment. Our world is unsettled and rapidly changing, and we face existential risks over the next century. Various outcomes--good and bad--are possible. Yet our approach to the future is characterized by short-term thinking, polarizing debates, alarmist rhetoric, and pessimism. In this short, exhilarating book, renowned scientist and bestselling author Martin Rees...

Format: text

Publisher / Publication Date: Princeton University Press 2018

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Summary: "The balance of nature" is a widely-held belief that ecosystems function cooperatively rather than hierarchically, gradually adjusting for change - a concept that was co-opted by early computer scientists and hippies alike. This program examines that concept and how its mechanistic but egalitarian philosophy came to permeate the zeitgeist of the mid-20th century, only to be debunked later on as...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011

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Summary: The development of authentic self-esteem and a healthy sense of self has always been a vitally important part of growing up. But this process is a challenge that has gotten even trickier to negotiate due to the widespread integration of digital technology into everyday living. Drawing on the insights of a clinical psychologist/family therapist, an adolescent psychologist, and a number of...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009

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Summary: As online gaming companies position themselves to tap an entertainment market that is projected to explode, researchers question the safety of deeply immersive virtual worlds. In this program, MIT psychologist and sociologist Sherry Turkle; David Greenfield, author of Virtual Addiction; Richard Garriott, creator of Ultima Online; Brad McQuaid, co-creator of EverQuest; representatives of Sony...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005

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Summary: No email, no Facebook, no blogging. No Google for researching term papers, even. From here on out it's pencils, spiral notebooks, typewriters, and good old-fashioned library books. What twenty-something in his or her right mind would partake of such insanity? Answer: three college students who have volunteered to spend 30 days without touching or using a computer. Documenting their "digital...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

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Summary: Tens of thousands of people "live" there, and tens of millions of U.S. dollars are exchanged there. Welcome to SecondLife.com! After introducing viewers to this compelling virtual world, You Only Live Twice grapples with overlapping in-world/real-world issues ranging from cybersex and the psychological repercussions of virtual sex crimes, to intellectual property rights fraud, to taxation on...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007

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Summary: By day, Jane is an unassuming single mother. At night she's a high-stakes poker player-thanks to the Internet. So far Jane has won thousands of dollars, as have many online gamblers, while others have lost huge sums. This program looks at the explosive cyber-gambling industry, examining some leading sites and profiling men and women whose lifestyles now revolve around card-playing by computer....

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: With nano-enabled drugs that destroy diseased cells and enable tissue repair, doctors may one day extend life expectancy far beyond our current capabilities—at least in countries wealthy enough to afford the technology. But the medicine that so radically redefines our standards of health and mortality will also profoundly challenge our social support systems and cultural values. In this Fred...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008

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Summary: When the Crisps confiscated their teenage son Brandon's Xbox, they never expected him to run away from home.or to die from injuries sustained while in hiding. Using Brandon's story as a case study, this program delves into the growing psychological problems of video game obsession and addiction. Interviews with Brandon's parents and best friend, a family therapist whose patient list includes...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010

View online at AVOD

Summary: How have mixed cultural signals and online social interaction impacted the average teenager's behavior? Is reducing violence, drug abuse, and dangerous sex a lost cause? This ABC News program examines those questions, presenting three eye-opening stories of teen life. First, a small Michigan town recoils from a school-hall stabbing, highlighting an alarming rise in abusive teenage...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: Americans have grown used to being watched at ATMs, in lobbies, and even while driving. Now they are being tracked by satellite if they rent a car or make a cellular phone call and timed if they use an electronic pass to pay a toll. In this program, ABC News anchor Ted Koppel and correspondent John Donvan survey the increasing intrusion-real or perceived-of technology into Americans' privacy....

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

View online at AVOD

Summary: Most people learn traditional standards of behavior and respect for others by the time they are teenagers-but many don't realize that those rules are just as valid in cyberspace. This program helps students take the high road on the information superhighway and avoid the temptations of the fast lane, pointing the way toward an ethically sound Internet presence and lifestyle. Guidelines for the...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007

View online at AVOD

Summary: The teenage years have always been tough-but digital technology has raised the dangers of the social battlefield to a whole new level. This ABC News program reports on how cell phones, digital cameras, and personal websites encourage and amplify the frequent cruelty of teen behavior. With the help of an experiment conducted by Brigham Young University child development researchers, the program...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007

View online at AVOD

Summary: In this Fred Friendly Seminar moderated by Harvard Law School's Arthur Miller, panelists such as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer; Nadine Strossen, president of the ACLU; Jamie Gorelick, of the U.S. Department of Justice; Professor Stephen Carter, of Yale Law School; and others examine the fine balance between the power of the government and the rights of the individual in a fictional...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005

View online at AVOD

Summary: Civil liberties advocates have warned against government surveillance for decades. Today, corporations use technology to monitor employees and customers. Is big business the new big brother? This program addresses the growing debate about our "surveillance society" and its erosion of privacy and anonymity-which could become casualties of the war for market supremacy as well as the war on...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007

View online at AVOD

Summary: Technological innovations are penetrating ever more deeply into the substance of society-faster, in fact, than people can assimilate them. As ethical dilemmas and unforeseen consequences pile up, will techno-enthusiasts succeed in weaving a net that will ultimately trap us all? Following a concise summary of Technoscience, this disturbing program addresses diverse topics such as virtual...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: Was the performance of IBM's Deep Blue against Gary Kasparov an example of supersonic calculation or the first step toward artificial intelligence? Does the acclaimed performance artist Stelarc, striving to become a cyborg-like hybrid, represent the possibility of a strange new race? This startling program tracks advances in robotics at Stanford University and Honda Motors, biotechnology as...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

View online at AVOD

Summary: One of the ironies of the ubiquitous technologies now in use is that they were supposed to save time and improve the quality of life. What went wrong? This cautionary program examines the social and ethical consequences of the increasingly fast pace of life in the U.S. It contrasts the American 24/7 work ethic with the business traditions of other countries and, in the process, examines the...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

View online at AVOD

Summary: The Amish rarely allow themselves to be photographed or filmed, yet several members of the isolated religious community agreed to appear in this eye-opening documentary. Filmed on location in Pennsylvania and Ohio Amish country, the program goes beyond stereotypes and common misconceptions, presenting a fully human portrait of a misunderstood people. Interviews with Amish men and women-some...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

View online at AVOD

Summary: Whether they live in America, Britain, or elsewhere, most teenage boys have been exposed to some form of pornography. But the Internet has radically escalated that exposure-to the point at which many adolescents are addicted. This program follows the stories of teenage porn addicts as they struggle with the issues that drive their behavior-although not all are open to soul-searching. Darryl,...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007

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Summary: Ireland never had an industrial revolution-its economy leaped from agrarian gloom into high-tech high-gear almost overnight. This Wide Angle case study visits Limerick, one of the country's largest cities and the epitome of the Celtic Tiger's rise. Once the blighted setting of Angela's Ashes, today's Limerick boasts the glories and the growing pains of all economic boomtowns: heavy foreign...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006

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Summary: Is the surveillance society inevitable? In No Place to Hide, Peter Jennings examines high-tech monitoring methods that promise greater safety and security but threaten personal privacy. The program shows how Acxiom, ChoicePoint, and other companies use supercomputers to obtain data on more than 90 percent of American households-and how law enforcement and government intelligence agencies...

Format: software, multimedia

Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005

View online at AVOD