Nová beseda is an independent publisher from the Czech Republic. Nová beseda studies and makes observable connections between specialized fields of knowledge. Not information, but working with knowledge is the key to the world we live in.
We connect professionals from areas of social, natural and technical sciences. The motion which is created on the cross-sections of the fields produces ideas and interpretations which contribute to a sustainable and responsible society.
We perceive art as another mean of analysis and reflection on everyday life and the long-term situation. Facts and science can be productively integrated with artistic approaches.
Co je nového? (What´s new?) is the flagship edition of Nová beseda. Major Czech scientists and professionals present hot debates from their field on 100 pages. They step out of their comfort zone and engage in discussions crossing the boundaries of their area of expertise. Books from this edition are meant to be read on the tram, during coffee break and provoke a change in perspectives.
What’s New in Linguistics?
Linguistics is a critically important science in this day and age, and it is good to understand both where it is now and how it is evolving. The author clearly and concisely describes current trends in linguistics – covering areas such as language manuals and quantitative linguistics. Learn what happens when you modify the rules for capitalization, or what a linguistic analysis of the kung pao dish looks like. The book also includes linguistic analyses of such things as presidential speeches and genetic text.
“A great read! Dan Faltýnek clearly explains that linguistics has long not been only about spelling and grammar but that it is also an ideal tool in many other respects, such as for examining the genetic code. Everything is text!”
- Petr Fischer, Editor-in-Chief, Czech Radio Vltava
Linguist Dan Faltýnek has written several articles on the topics of grammar and biosemiotics for both professional and popular periodicals.
What’s New in Artificial Intelligence?
This book provides an overview of current global trends in artificial intelligence research, explaining both its substance and the methodologies that are used. Today, automated systems already solve many tasks better than people – but they also make humanly inconceivable mistakes. Will artificial intelligence steal our jobs? Or should we rather look forward to the fact that we will have more time for other activities? Should we be afraid that some sort of super-intelligence will lead to the end of humanity? The book looks behind the scenes at both the more and the less publicized consequences of artificial intelligence. The reader learns about the range of issues that systems built using artificial intelligence attempt to address, how they work, and the new issues emerging as a result of progress in the field of artificial intelligence.
“Perceptive readers will certainly find themselves captivated by compelling arguments regarding the role of computational complexity, as it is specifically this factor that motivates the search for new methods and tools within the realm of artificial intelligence. The author also addresses the relationship between the products of artificial intelligence and mankind, emphasizing the importance of mutual cooperation. The book explains not only the technical principles of already existing systems, but also points out that artificial intelligence research and the way its decision-making principles are designed raise questions that may contribute to a deeper understanding of the principles behind the human thought process. I highly recommend it to all who want to better understand how smart machines work in the world around us, as well as to those who warn us against a future with them.”
- Professor RNDr. Olga Štěpánková, CSc., Cybernetician, Czech Technical University in Prague
Roman Barták is a computer scientist and professor at Charles University in Prague. He is the head of the Constraint & Logic Programming Research Group, and his research interests include automated planning and the optimization of industrial processes.
What’s New in Psychology?
This concise and readable book reflects on how to understand new insights in the field of psychology without introducing any misleading simplification. The author explores whether it is due to ubiquitous psychology that we know more about ourselves. Have you heard that material possessions are unrelated to happiness? Or that children who are self-disciplined by the age of four will be more successful in their lives? According to popular psychology, that is exactly how simple it is to understand the world. But how do we explain more complicated situations? Psychologists attempt to solidify the foundations of their discipline which were established in the twentieth century, only to find out that some of those deep-rooted theories are no longer valid.
“We owe Zbynek Vybíral a debt of gratitude for his insight and the way that he relentlessly draws attention to the difficulties associated with the interpretation of psychological research, and for raising ethical and practical questions.”
- Mgr. et Mgr. Pavla Koucká, Psychologist
What’s New in Film Studies?
What can film studies – a discipline that deals with critical, historical, and theoretical approaches to film – reveal about this medium? Due to technological advances – and also to meet the changing expectations of viewers – the film medium is constantly changing, thus impacting on how film is perceived, interpreted, and explored. Stimulating topics in this field include not only filmosophy and neuro-aesthetic approaches to perceiving film, but also cover cinephilia, production and distribution mechanisms, and festivals. Film studies is an area of scholarship in which different social and empirical sciences meet. This beautiful and concise book will enhance each of your subsequent cinematic experience to include thoughts about distribution strategies and the role of personal perception.
“What does the discipline of film studies look like at the end of the second decade of this century? When searching for answers to this question, this book is a remarkably well-written resource. It's also an important publication for students of the arts.”
- Milan Kruml, Media Analyst
What’s New in Management?
Futuristic visions predicted that technological development would enable each of us to spend less time at work. Although much has changed around us, the most common model of workplace relationships remains the superior-subordinate hierarchy. Could our relationship to work and our colleagues look different? This book discusses the current search for new ways to set up organizations and lead co-workers.
“I hope that this readable book will inspire all those managers who doggedly follow the traditional style of management to change – which is what they usually want their subordinates to do.”
- Petra Prošková, CEO & Managing Director, GATO Consulting; Lecturer
Stanislav Háša is the Head of the Department of Management at the University of Economics in Prague. Previously, he served as the Personnel Director at Česká pojišťovna, led a Deloitte consulting team for human capital projects, and worked in the field of mergers and acquisitions. He is the founder of the PoPoli development and therapeutic center, where he acts as a coach, lecturer, and therapist.
What’s New in Aesthetics?
This book follows some of the contemporary attempts to bring together two ways of speaking – philosophical reflection and scientific research about what, at first glance at least, seems like the same subject: artistic work. What is the point of art? Why should society encourage the creation and reception of works of art? These questions long asked by philosophers are now more often heard from scientific positions. Psychologists, biologists, and neuroscientists are trying to find out where the powerful effect of artworks lies. The answers found are not revolutionary, but it does seem that, due to them, something new is happening in aesthetics.
“This concise book serves as an important introduction to what is a joyful science. … Aesthetic judgments emerge from the psyche, and thus the study of this extraordinarily complex phenomenon poses a challenge to the next generation of aestheticians, who all love their field of study.”
- Michal Hvorecký, Writer
Tereza Hadravová is the editor of the international professional journal Estetika: The Central European Journal of Aesthetics and author of many professional and popular articles about art.
Next Book
We are currently developing a prototype of an interactive book. The format is aimed for non-fiction literature. We strongly believe it is the digital environment and models of services offered to readers that could overcross the boundaries put in the publishing industry by the language barriers.
We bring innovations to the publishing industries – by developing new outlooks, perspectives and products.
The project Next Book changes the publishing of non-fiction texts in digital space and also the reader/user´s experience by enhancing the power of culture with digital skills. This electronic product is a hybrid version of a book that combines well-validated forms such as e-books, mobile reading applications, multimedia books, e-distribution methods, or tools for sharing of information.
The content of interactive books is carefuly prepared manuscripts that undergoes careful phases of expert evaluation, editorial corrections, language revisions and precise fact-checking. The content, enhanced with multimedia add-ons, is implemented into the template with many interactive functions. The resulting book is “closed” at a specific time as a published "book\“ designed for focused reading, but it is also open to easy and convenient updates and connections with the digital surroundings.
Nova beseda has already developed the prototpe of the interactive book in the basic version with basic features. It was adapted for the book What is new in Film Science (2017). Now, Nova beseda is working together with its partners on further development and polishing the different variants of the template of the Next Book.
Project key words: book, interactive book, publisher, non-fiction literature, innovation in publishing, innovation in work with non-fiction content, work with information
Next Book