Society on the Line Information Politics in the Digital Age

by Dutton, William

• ISBN13: 9780198774600
• ISBN10: 0198774605
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-04-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Society on the Line presents a new way of thinking about the social and economic implications of the revolution in information and communication technologies (ICTs). It offers a clear overview of information in the digital age, and explains how social and technical choices about ICTs influenceaccess to information, people, services, and technologies themselves. The author calls this process 'the shaping of tele-access' and shows how the concept challenges prevailing theoretical perspectives of the information and communication revolution. His clear, informed and challenging analysis ranges from the household; through the workplace and businessorganization; to the media as new information providers; and to government policies on information and economic strategy. In doing so he touches on important issues of information inequality, privacy, censorship, the Internet; information and organizational design; and information in the communityand public policy. The main text is fully supported by case studies, boxed information, and essays written by leading ICT experts on both sides of the Atlantic. This accessible and useful book offers an invaluable guide to the information politics of the digital age. Pre-publication Endorsements 'Society on the Line is a very useful book that organizes and analyses clearly and cogently a substantial body of relevant documentation. It will become required reading in universities around the world.' Manuel Castells, Professor of Sociology, University of California; author of the The Rise of the Network Society '...a fascinating perspective...which provokes fresh consideration of the issues. By showing us how to identify the games being played in the on-line environment, Dutton helps us focus on the pressure points for achieving respect for our information. Privacy need not be at risk as ICTs areexploited.The more we understand the drivers for change, the more we can influence the information handling culture which is emerging.' Elizabeth France, UK Data Protection Registrar

Author Biography

William H. Dutton, Professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles, was National Director of the UK's Programme on Information and Communication Technologies while a Visiting Professor at Brunel University. He is the author of Wired Cities and Computers and Politics.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	xi
List of Essays	xiii
List of Figures	xv
List of Tables	xvi
List of Boxes	xvii
List of Abbreviations and Acronyms	xx
Part I. A New Perspective on the Information Revolution	1	(46)
Introduction: Tele-Access---The Outcome of an Ecology of Games	3	(16)
Information Politics, Technology, and Society	19	(28)
Part II. Social Dimensions of the Technical: Social, Cultural, and Political Processes Shaping Tele-Access	47	(64)
The Technological Shaping of Tele-Access: A Force for Social Change	49	(30)
The Social Shaping of Tele-Access: Inventing our Futures	79	(32)
Part III. Tele-Access in Business, Management, and Work	111	(60)
The Reach and Boundaries of Management and Business: Virtual Organizations	113	(28)
Redesigning the Workplace: Challenging Geographical and Cultural Constraints on Access	141	(30)
Part IV. Public Access in Politics, Governance, and Education	171	(54)
Digital Democracy: Electronic Access to Politics and Services	173	(30)
Knowledge Gatekeepers: ICTs in Learning and Education	203	(22)
Part V. The Virtual City: Shaping Access in Everyday Life	225	(58)
The Intelligent Household: For Richer or Poorer	227	(30)
Wiring the Global Village: Shaping Access to Audiences	257	(26)
Part VI. Industrial Strategies and Public Policies	283	(56)
Regulating Access: Broadening the Policy Debate	285	(34)
The Politics of Tele-Access: Social Relations in a Network Society	319	(20)
Appendix The Programme on Information and Communication Technologies (PICT)	339	(6)
Glossary	345	(6)
References	351	(28)
Index	379