James W. Cortada
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195165869
- eISBN:
- 9780199868025
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195165869.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Business History
This book, the third of three volumes, completes the sweeping survey of the effect of computers on American industry began in the first volume and continued in the second volume. It turns finally to ...
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This book, the third of three volumes, completes the sweeping survey of the effect of computers on American industry began in the first volume and continued in the second volume. It turns finally to the public sector, examining how computers have fundamentally changed the nature of work in government and education. This book goes far beyond generalizations about the Information Age to the specifics of how industries have functioned, now function, and will function in the years to come. The book provides a broad overview of computing's and telecommunications' role in the entire public sector, including federal, state, and local governments, and in K-12 and higher education. Beginning in 1950, when commercial applications of digital technology began to appear, the book examines the unique ways different public sector industries adopted new technologies, showcasing the manner in which their innovative applications influenced other industries, as well as the US economy as a whole. The book builds on the surveys presented in the first volume, which examined sixteen manufacturing, process, transportation, wholesale and retail industries, and the second volume, which examined over a dozen financial, telecommunications, media, and entertainment industries. This book completes the trilogy and provides a picture of what the infrastructure of the Information Age really looks like and how we got there.Less
This book, the third of three volumes, completes the sweeping survey of the effect of computers on American industry began in the first volume and continued in the second volume. It turns finally to the public sector, examining how computers have fundamentally changed the nature of work in government and education. This book goes far beyond generalizations about the Information Age to the specifics of how industries have functioned, now function, and will function in the years to come. The book provides a broad overview of computing's and telecommunications' role in the entire public sector, including federal, state, and local governments, and in K-12 and higher education. Beginning in 1950, when commercial applications of digital technology began to appear, the book examines the unique ways different public sector industries adopted new technologies, showcasing the manner in which their innovative applications influenced other industries, as well as the US economy as a whole. The book builds on the surveys presented in the first volume, which examined sixteen manufacturing, process, transportation, wholesale and retail industries, and the second volume, which examined over a dozen financial, telecommunications, media, and entertainment industries. This book completes the trilogy and provides a picture of what the infrastructure of the Information Age really looks like and how we got there.
Stuart Macdonald
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199241477
- eISBN:
- 9780191696947
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199241477.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation, Organization Studies
Information is not taken seriously. Much is said about the information age, the information economy, the information society, and particularly about information technology, but little about ...
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Information is not taken seriously. Much is said about the information age, the information economy, the information society, and particularly about information technology, but little about information itself. Information has some very odd characteristics, conveniently overlooked by senior managers passionate about knowledge-based, learning organizations; by politicians and public servants, compensating with policy and programme for the information failure of organization and market; and by the IT and dotcom communities, bent on adding value to what they treat as just a commodity. This book looks at innovation from an information perspective; one that puts information first. Its information perspective is applied to eighteenth-century agriculture and high technology, to technology transfer and espionage, to corporate strategy and intellectual property.Less
Information is not taken seriously. Much is said about the information age, the information economy, the information society, and particularly about information technology, but little about information itself. Information has some very odd characteristics, conveniently overlooked by senior managers passionate about knowledge-based, learning organizations; by politicians and public servants, compensating with policy and programme for the information failure of organization and market; and by the IT and dotcom communities, bent on adding value to what they treat as just a commodity. This book looks at innovation from an information perspective; one that puts information first. Its information perspective is applied to eighteenth-century agriculture and high technology, to technology transfer and espionage, to corporate strategy and intellectual property.
Manuel Castells and Pekka Himanen
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199256990
- eISBN:
- 9780191698415
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256990.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology
Silicon Valley has been considered as the model that societies must imitate to succeed in the information age. However, recently another alternative has attracted strong international interest: the ...
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Silicon Valley has been considered as the model that societies must imitate to succeed in the information age. However, recently another alternative has attracted strong international interest: the Finnish model. This is equally dynamic in technological and economic terms, but combines the information society with the welfare state. This book looks at what the Finnish model really is. The chapters analyse the factors that have enabled Nokia to become the world's leading telecommunications company, for example, and Linux to become the biggest challenger to Microsoft in the operating systems market. They discuss the development of Nokia and the Finnish innovation model, with important lessons for businesses and national technology policies. However, the Finnish model's most radical and interesting feature is its attempt to combine technological and economic success with social justice and equality. The book shows how Finland has uniquely created a ‘virtuous cycle’ out of the information society and the welfare state: the successful information society makes the continued financing of the welfare state possible and the welfare state generates well-educated people in good shape for the information society's continued success. This model has significant implications for all societies where policy debates about the information society and/or public policy are on the agenda. Ultimately, the Finnish model proves that there is no one model for the information age, but that there is room for different policies and values.Less
Silicon Valley has been considered as the model that societies must imitate to succeed in the information age. However, recently another alternative has attracted strong international interest: the Finnish model. This is equally dynamic in technological and economic terms, but combines the information society with the welfare state. This book looks at what the Finnish model really is. The chapters analyse the factors that have enabled Nokia to become the world's leading telecommunications company, for example, and Linux to become the biggest challenger to Microsoft in the operating systems market. They discuss the development of Nokia and the Finnish innovation model, with important lessons for businesses and national technology policies. However, the Finnish model's most radical and interesting feature is its attempt to combine technological and economic success with social justice and equality. The book shows how Finland has uniquely created a ‘virtuous cycle’ out of the information society and the welfare state: the successful information society makes the continued financing of the welfare state possible and the welfare state generates well-educated people in good shape for the information society's continued success. This model has significant implications for all societies where policy debates about the information society and/or public policy are on the agenda. Ultimately, the Finnish model proves that there is no one model for the information age, but that there is room for different policies and values.
Don M. Tucker
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195316988
- eISBN:
- 9780199786848
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195316988.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter begins with a discussion of the information paradox, memory and vision, computational mind, the lost mind, the split between the “two cultures” of science and humanities, and dead-end ...
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This chapter begins with a discussion of the information paradox, memory and vision, computational mind, the lost mind, the split between the “two cultures” of science and humanities, and dead-end subjectivity. It then lays out the theoretical foundations of this book, and an overview of the succeeding chapters is presented.Less
This chapter begins with a discussion of the information paradox, memory and vision, computational mind, the lost mind, the split between the “two cultures” of science and humanities, and dead-end subjectivity. It then lays out the theoretical foundations of this book, and an overview of the succeeding chapters is presented.
Gerardo Patriotta
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199275243
- eISBN:
- 9780191719684
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199275243.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Strategy
Knowledge is a very seductive, but elusive concept. Following the wider debate about the emergence of the information age and the knowledge society, recent years have seen an explosion of writings ...
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Knowledge is a very seductive, but elusive concept. Following the wider debate about the emergence of the information age and the knowledge society, recent years have seen an explosion of writings about organizational knowledge from different disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. Yet, theoretical development has not always been accompanied by sound empirical research. Methodologies for studying knowledge as an empirical phenomenon are still lagging behind. This book aims to fill the gap between theory, method, and practice by developing a phenomenological approach to the study of knowing in the context of organizing. The book contributes to the fields of strategy and organization in three ways. First, it provides a critical review of the concepts, debates, and epistemological assumptions underpinning existing theories of organizational knowledge. Second, it develops a methodological framework for studying knowledge processes as an empirical phenomenon that is based on three methodological lenses: time, breakdowns, and narratives. Third, drawing on the three-lens framework, the book presents a phenomenological enquiry on knowing and organizing processes within two large car-manufacturing plants at Fiat Auto, Italy. The book highlights the need to re-think organizational knowledge from an action-based perspective, and suggests a new vocabulary for understanding knowledge-oriented phenomena in organizations.Less
Knowledge is a very seductive, but elusive concept. Following the wider debate about the emergence of the information age and the knowledge society, recent years have seen an explosion of writings about organizational knowledge from different disciplinary and theoretical perspectives. Yet, theoretical development has not always been accompanied by sound empirical research. Methodologies for studying knowledge as an empirical phenomenon are still lagging behind. This book aims to fill the gap between theory, method, and practice by developing a phenomenological approach to the study of knowing in the context of organizing. The book contributes to the fields of strategy and organization in three ways. First, it provides a critical review of the concepts, debates, and epistemological assumptions underpinning existing theories of organizational knowledge. Second, it develops a methodological framework for studying knowledge processes as an empirical phenomenon that is based on three methodological lenses: time, breakdowns, and narratives. Third, drawing on the three-lens framework, the book presents a phenomenological enquiry on knowing and organizing processes within two large car-manufacturing plants at Fiat Auto, Italy. The book highlights the need to re-think organizational knowledge from an action-based perspective, and suggests a new vocabulary for understanding knowledge-oriented phenomena in organizations.
Michael Heim
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195092585
- eISBN:
- 9780199852987
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195092585.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
Computers have dramatically altered life in the late 20th century. Today we can draw on worldwide computer links, speeding up communications for radio, newspapers, and television. Ideas fly back and ...
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Computers have dramatically altered life in the late 20th century. Today we can draw on worldwide computer links, speeding up communications for radio, newspapers, and television. Ideas fly back and forth and circle the globe at the speed of electricity. And just around the corner lurks full-blown virtual reality, in which we will be able to immerse ourselves in a computer simulation not only of the actual physical world, but of any imagined world. As we begin to move in and out of a computer-generated world, this book asks, how will the way we perceive our world change? This book considers this and other philosophical issues of the Information Age. With an eye for the dark as well as the bright side of computer technology, it explores the logical and historical origins of our computer-generated world and speculates about the future direction of our computerized lives. The book discusses such topics as the effect of word-processing on the English language. The book also looks into the new kind of literacy promised by Hypertext. And it also probes the notion of virtual reality, “cyberspace”—the computer-simulated environments that have captured the popular imagination and may ultimately change the way we define reality itself. Just as the definition of interface itself has evolved from the actual adaptor plug used to connect electronic circuits into human entry into a self-contained cyberspace, so too will the notion of reality change with the current technological drive. Like the introduction of the automobile, the advent of virtual reality will change the whole context in which our knowledge and awareness of life are rooted. And along the way, the book covers such intriguing topics as how computers have altered our thought habits, how we will be able to distinguish virtual from real reality, and the appearance of virtual reality in popular culture (as in Star Trek's holodeck, William Gibson's Neuromancer, and Stephen King's Lawnmower Man).Less
Computers have dramatically altered life in the late 20th century. Today we can draw on worldwide computer links, speeding up communications for radio, newspapers, and television. Ideas fly back and forth and circle the globe at the speed of electricity. And just around the corner lurks full-blown virtual reality, in which we will be able to immerse ourselves in a computer simulation not only of the actual physical world, but of any imagined world. As we begin to move in and out of a computer-generated world, this book asks, how will the way we perceive our world change? This book considers this and other philosophical issues of the Information Age. With an eye for the dark as well as the bright side of computer technology, it explores the logical and historical origins of our computer-generated world and speculates about the future direction of our computerized lives. The book discusses such topics as the effect of word-processing on the English language. The book also looks into the new kind of literacy promised by Hypertext. And it also probes the notion of virtual reality, “cyberspace”—the computer-simulated environments that have captured the popular imagination and may ultimately change the way we define reality itself. Just as the definition of interface itself has evolved from the actual adaptor plug used to connect electronic circuits into human entry into a self-contained cyberspace, so too will the notion of reality change with the current technological drive. Like the introduction of the automobile, the advent of virtual reality will change the whole context in which our knowledge and awareness of life are rooted. And along the way, the book covers such intriguing topics as how computers have altered our thought habits, how we will be able to distinguish virtual from real reality, and the appearance of virtual reality in popular culture (as in Star Trek's holodeck, William Gibson's Neuromancer, and Stephen King's Lawnmower Man).
Robin Mansell and W. Edward Steinmueller
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198295570
- eISBN:
- 9780191685149
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198295570.003.0011
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology, Innovation
Like the expected energy abundance of the Atomic Age, the flow of information during the Information Age is also expected to become ‘too cheap to meter’, since communication capacity and information ...
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Like the expected energy abundance of the Atomic Age, the flow of information during the Information Age is also expected to become ‘too cheap to meter’, since communication capacity and information exchange has increasingly become available and certain costs have been reduced. The fears associated with the Information Age are grounded on the disruptions and dislocations in the corresponding patterns of knowledge and work due to the introduction of new services and technologies. There is therefore a need to examine the consequences of exclusion, as well as the uncertainties related to the best means for taking advantage of these services and technologies to further human life quality and economic competitiveness. As we summarize the dominant themes in this book regarding the present era, we also have to know what to expect and how we should be taking on future applications.Less
Like the expected energy abundance of the Atomic Age, the flow of information during the Information Age is also expected to become ‘too cheap to meter’, since communication capacity and information exchange has increasingly become available and certain costs have been reduced. The fears associated with the Information Age are grounded on the disruptions and dislocations in the corresponding patterns of knowledge and work due to the introduction of new services and technologies. There is therefore a need to examine the consequences of exclusion, as well as the uncertainties related to the best means for taking advantage of these services and technologies to further human life quality and economic competitiveness. As we summarize the dominant themes in this book regarding the present era, we also have to know what to expect and how we should be taking on future applications.
John O. McGinnis
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691151021
- eISBN:
- 9781400845453
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691151021.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Public Policy
This introductory chapter analyzes the central political problem of our time, namely how to adapt democracy to the acceleration of the information age. Modern technology creates a supply of new tools ...
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This introductory chapter analyzes the central political problem of our time, namely how to adapt democracy to the acceleration of the information age. Modern technology creates a supply of new tools for improved governance, but it also creates an urgent demand for putting these tools to use. We need better policies to obtain the benefits of innovation as quickly as possible and to manage the social problems that speedier innovation will inevitably create—from pollution to weapons of mass destruction. Our task is to place politics progressively within the domain of information technology—to use its new or enhanced tools, such as empiricism, information markets, dispersed media, and artificial intelligence, to reinvent governance. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less
This introductory chapter analyzes the central political problem of our time, namely how to adapt democracy to the acceleration of the information age. Modern technology creates a supply of new tools for improved governance, but it also creates an urgent demand for putting these tools to use. We need better policies to obtain the benefits of innovation as quickly as possible and to manage the social problems that speedier innovation will inevitably create—from pollution to weapons of mass destruction. Our task is to place politics progressively within the domain of information technology—to use its new or enhanced tools, such as empiricism, information markets, dispersed media, and artificial intelligence, to reinvent governance. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.
Caroline Bassett
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- July 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780719073427
- eISBN:
- 9781781700907
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7228/manchester/9780719073427.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This book is a defence of narrative in an age of information. Stressing interpretation and experience alongside affect and sensation, it argues that narrative is key to contemporary forms of cultural ...
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This book is a defence of narrative in an age of information. Stressing interpretation and experience alongside affect and sensation, it argues that narrative is key to contemporary forms of cultural production and to the practice of contemporary life. Re-appraising the prospects for narrative in the digital age, the book insists on the centrality of narrative to informational culture and provokes a critical re-appraisal of how innovations in information technology as a material cultural form can be understood and assessed. It offers a careful exploration of narrative theory, a critique of techno-cultural writing, and a series of tightly focused case studies. All of which point the way to a restoration of a critical — rather than celebratory — approach to new media.Less
This book is a defence of narrative in an age of information. Stressing interpretation and experience alongside affect and sensation, it argues that narrative is key to contemporary forms of cultural production and to the practice of contemporary life. Re-appraising the prospects for narrative in the digital age, the book insists on the centrality of narrative to informational culture and provokes a critical re-appraisal of how innovations in information technology as a material cultural form can be understood and assessed. It offers a careful exploration of narrative theory, a critique of techno-cultural writing, and a series of tightly focused case studies. All of which point the way to a restoration of a critical — rather than celebratory — approach to new media.
Vaclav Smil
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195168747
- eISBN:
- 9780199835522
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195168747.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
This book is a systematic interdisciplinary account of the history of unprecedented technical advances that took place in Europe and North America during the three pre-WWI generations and of their ...
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This book is a systematic interdisciplinary account of the history of unprecedented technical advances that took place in Europe and North America during the three pre-WWI generations and of their truly epochal consequences. It takes a close look at four classes of fundamental innovations: formation, diffusion, and standardization of electricity-generating systems and the distribution and uses of this most versatile form of energy; invention and rapid adoption of internal combustion engines, the dominant prime mover in transportation; the unprecedented pace of the introduction of new materials and industrial chemical syntheses; and the birth of a new information age thanks to the new means of communication. These chapters are followed by an evaluation of the lasting impact these advances had on the 20th century, that is, the creation of high-energy societies engaged in mass production aimed at improving standards of living.Less
This book is a systematic interdisciplinary account of the history of unprecedented technical advances that took place in Europe and North America during the three pre-WWI generations and of their truly epochal consequences. It takes a close look at four classes of fundamental innovations: formation, diffusion, and standardization of electricity-generating systems and the distribution and uses of this most versatile form of energy; invention and rapid adoption of internal combustion engines, the dominant prime mover in transportation; the unprecedented pace of the introduction of new materials and industrial chemical syntheses; and the birth of a new information age thanks to the new means of communication. These chapters are followed by an evaluation of the lasting impact these advances had on the 20th century, that is, the creation of high-energy societies engaged in mass production aimed at improving standards of living.
Manuel Castells and Pekka Himanen
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199256990
- eISBN:
- 9780191698415
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199256990.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology
The world is currently characterized by the rise of information societies. During the 1990s, the market and other sectors embraced technology in order to make daily tasks simpler. A distinguishing ...
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The world is currently characterized by the rise of information societies. During the 1990s, the market and other sectors embraced technology in order to make daily tasks simpler. A distinguishing feature of the Information Age is diversity; information societies cannot be patterned exactly as one country from another. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a background in order to explain how Finland can serve as a model of development to other countries. In general, the chapter examines Finland's combination of a welfare state and information society, its history and economy which are both factors as to why the country has become one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world.Less
The world is currently characterized by the rise of information societies. During the 1990s, the market and other sectors embraced technology in order to make daily tasks simpler. A distinguishing feature of the Information Age is diversity; information societies cannot be patterned exactly as one country from another. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a background in order to explain how Finland can serve as a model of development to other countries. In general, the chapter examines Finland's combination of a welfare state and information society, its history and economy which are both factors as to why the country has become one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world.
Miklos Sarvary
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262016940
- eISBN:
- 9780262301176
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262016940.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Knowledge Management
We live in an “Information Age” of overabundant data and lightning-fast transmission. Yet although information and knowledge represent key factors in most economic decisions, we often forget that ...
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We live in an “Information Age” of overabundant data and lightning-fast transmission. Yet although information and knowledge represent key factors in most economic decisions, we often forget that data, information, and knowledge are products created and traded within the knowledge economy. This book describes the information industry—the far-flung universe of companies whose core business is to sell information to decision makers. These companies include such long-established firms as Thomson Reuters (which began in 1850 with carrier pigeons relaying stock market news) as well as newer, dominant players like Google and Facebook. The book highlights the special characteristics of information and knowledge, and analyzes the unusual behaviors of the markets for them. It shows how technology contributes to the spectacular growth of this sector and how new markets for information change our economic environment. Research in economics, business strategy, and marketing has shown that information is different from other goods and services; this is especially true in competitive settings and may result in strange competitive market outcomes. For example, the book points out, unreliable information may be more expensive than reliable information; information sellers may be better off inviting competitors into their market because this may allow them to increase their prices; and competition may lead to increased media bias—but this may benefit consumers who want to discover the truth. The book explores the implications of these and other peculiarities for information buyers and sellers.Less
We live in an “Information Age” of overabundant data and lightning-fast transmission. Yet although information and knowledge represent key factors in most economic decisions, we often forget that data, information, and knowledge are products created and traded within the knowledge economy. This book describes the information industry—the far-flung universe of companies whose core business is to sell information to decision makers. These companies include such long-established firms as Thomson Reuters (which began in 1850 with carrier pigeons relaying stock market news) as well as newer, dominant players like Google and Facebook. The book highlights the special characteristics of information and knowledge, and analyzes the unusual behaviors of the markets for them. It shows how technology contributes to the spectacular growth of this sector and how new markets for information change our economic environment. Research in economics, business strategy, and marketing has shown that information is different from other goods and services; this is especially true in competitive settings and may result in strange competitive market outcomes. For example, the book points out, unreliable information may be more expensive than reliable information; information sellers may be better off inviting competitors into their market because this may allow them to increase their prices; and competition may lead to increased media bias—but this may benefit consumers who want to discover the truth. The book explores the implications of these and other peculiarities for information buyers and sellers.
Manuel Castells
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199255771
- eISBN:
- 9780191698279
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199255771.003.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Information Technology
This chapter begins by describing the network as the organizational form of the Information Age, with the Internet as its technological basis. It discusses the network’s advantages in terms of ...
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This chapter begins by describing the network as the organizational form of the Information Age, with the Internet as its technological basis. It discusses the network’s advantages in terms of flexibility and its disadvantages in coordinating functions, focussing resources on specific goals, and in accomplishing a given task, beyond a network’s certain size and complexity. It then describes the Internet as a communication medium that allows the communication of many to many, in chosen time, on a global scale. It also explains the relationship of the stock market with the perception of the Internet. Next, it evaluates the purposes of the Internet as well as its new roles in society.Less
This chapter begins by describing the network as the organizational form of the Information Age, with the Internet as its technological basis. It discusses the network’s advantages in terms of flexibility and its disadvantages in coordinating functions, focussing resources on specific goals, and in accomplishing a given task, beyond a network’s certain size and complexity. It then describes the Internet as a communication medium that allows the communication of many to many, in chosen time, on a global scale. It also explains the relationship of the stock market with the perception of the Internet. Next, it evaluates the purposes of the Internet as well as its new roles in society.
Alan Liu
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226486987
- eISBN:
- 9780226487007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226487007.003.0013
- Subject:
- Literature, Film, Media, and Cultural Studies
There is much “more,” as mentioned in the introduction of this book. If we were to press the phantom “more” or “next” button at this point in this book's argument, we would come to additional topics ...
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There is much “more,” as mentioned in the introduction of this book. If we were to press the phantom “more” or “next” button at this point in this book's argument, we would come to additional topics in the study of knowledge work and information culture. Clearly, this book has not dealt in depth with the effect of information culture on any particular aspect of the group identities discussed earlier. Perhaps most important, this book has focused on the United States and thus does not give due attention to the “world” even while making the “World Wide Web” a case study in post-industrial cool. It is now time to offer up the anthropology of cool in order to start upon the book's concluding topic. That topic is the cultural education of the cool and, correlatively, the future of the humanities and arts in the information age.Less
There is much “more,” as mentioned in the introduction of this book. If we were to press the phantom “more” or “next” button at this point in this book's argument, we would come to additional topics in the study of knowledge work and information culture. Clearly, this book has not dealt in depth with the effect of information culture on any particular aspect of the group identities discussed earlier. Perhaps most important, this book has focused on the United States and thus does not give due attention to the “world” even while making the “World Wide Web” a case study in post-industrial cool. It is now time to offer up the anthropology of cool in order to start upon the book's concluding topic. That topic is the cultural education of the cool and, correlatively, the future of the humanities and arts in the information age.
MITROFF IAN I. and LINSTONE HAROLD A.
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195102888
- eISBN:
- 9780199854943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195102888.003.0009
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation
This chapter examines the fundamental role of ethics in the design of systems for the Information Age. The reality of Ideals is first discussed. Every philosophic system contains Ideals and unlike ...
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This chapter examines the fundamental role of ethics in the design of systems for the Information Age. The reality of Ideals is first discussed. Every philosophic system contains Ideals and unlike goals and objectives, they cannot be achieved within any finite time period. Its main purpose it to urge humankind on in quest of a better end state. The authors argue that the reformulation of Ideals not only is an expression and recognition of some of the extreme negative effects one is bequeathing to future generations, but also an attempt to pass on a more positive gift, the gift of hope, the reorientation of our civilization to a culture of respect for the environment, not one of blasphemous destruction. Four major threats are outlined as the reason for the need of reformulating Ideals. Subsequently, this chapter discusses the world as an interconnected whole.Less
This chapter examines the fundamental role of ethics in the design of systems for the Information Age. The reality of Ideals is first discussed. Every philosophic system contains Ideals and unlike goals and objectives, they cannot be achieved within any finite time period. Its main purpose it to urge humankind on in quest of a better end state. The authors argue that the reformulation of Ideals not only is an expression and recognition of some of the extreme negative effects one is bequeathing to future generations, but also an attempt to pass on a more positive gift, the gift of hope, the reorientation of our civilization to a culture of respect for the environment, not one of blasphemous destruction. Four major threats are outlined as the reason for the need of reformulating Ideals. Subsequently, this chapter discusses the world as an interconnected whole.
Manuel Castells and Pekka Himanen (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- October 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780198716082
- eISBN:
- 9780191784309
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198716082.001.0001
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Knowledge Management
This book proposes a new concept of what development consists of in our global information age. It analyzes the conditions of economic development and human development under the conditions of the ...
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This book proposes a new concept of what development consists of in our global information age. It analyzes the conditions of economic development and human development under the conditions of the new globalized world. It describes how the development models become more linked with the capacity to innovate, to invest in human capital, and to reform the industrial structures—all behind productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth in our information age. At the same time, the book analyzes how the forms of human development also have to reform: from the industrial welfare state to the new wellbeing society of the information age. In order to form a virtuous circle between this new type of economic development and human development, ecological sustainability has to be included as the basis—all of these linked together with a sustainable cultural link. Ultimately, the book proposes the new concept of “dignity as development,” that is, dignity as the final goal of development.Less
This book proposes a new concept of what development consists of in our global information age. It analyzes the conditions of economic development and human development under the conditions of the new globalized world. It describes how the development models become more linked with the capacity to innovate, to invest in human capital, and to reform the industrial structures—all behind productivity, competitiveness, and economic growth in our information age. At the same time, the book analyzes how the forms of human development also have to reform: from the industrial welfare state to the new wellbeing society of the information age. In order to form a virtuous circle between this new type of economic development and human development, ecological sustainability has to be included as the basis—all of these linked together with a sustainable cultural link. Ultimately, the book proposes the new concept of “dignity as development,” that is, dignity as the final goal of development.
MITROFF IAN I. and LINSTONE HAROLD A.
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195102888
- eISBN:
- 9780199854943
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195102888.003.0006
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Innovation
This chapter introduces Unbounded Systems Thinking (UST) and contends that it is the basis for the “new thinking” called for in the Information Age. The discussions in this chapter begin by briefly ...
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This chapter introduces Unbounded Systems Thinking (UST) and contends that it is the basis for the “new thinking” called for in the Information Age. The discussions in this chapter begin by briefly reviewing the four ways of knowing presented in the previous chapters. Agreement, Analysis, Multiple Realities, and Conflict as Idea System's all have strict limits. In contrast, UST asserts that “everything interacts with everything.” Every one of the sciences and professions is considered fundamental and none is superior to or better than any other. In UST, the supposed distinct and separate existence of the various ISs that was implied in the preceding chapters is a fiction. Given its complexity, a better understanding of this IS is demonstrated by the authors through a brief and general overview of the systems approach before they provide a concrete problem-solving method known as the Multiple Perspective Concept or Method to illustrate its application.Less
This chapter introduces Unbounded Systems Thinking (UST) and contends that it is the basis for the “new thinking” called for in the Information Age. The discussions in this chapter begin by briefly reviewing the four ways of knowing presented in the previous chapters. Agreement, Analysis, Multiple Realities, and Conflict as Idea System's all have strict limits. In contrast, UST asserts that “everything interacts with everything.” Every one of the sciences and professions is considered fundamental and none is superior to or better than any other. In UST, the supposed distinct and separate existence of the various ISs that was implied in the preceding chapters is a fiction. Given its complexity, a better understanding of this IS is demonstrated by the authors through a brief and general overview of the systems approach before they provide a concrete problem-solving method known as the Multiple Perspective Concept or Method to illustrate its application.
Alan Liu
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226486987
- eISBN:
- 9780226487007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226487007.003.0016
- Subject:
- Literature, Film, Media, and Cultural Studies
The rationale of contemporary knowledge work is “creative destruction,” with the emphasis on “creative” and almost no serious reflection on “destruction.” The question of a future aesthetics is the ...
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The rationale of contemporary knowledge work is “creative destruction,” with the emphasis on “creative” and almost no serious reflection on “destruction.” The question of a future aesthetics is the question of the general legitimation of art in such an age of creative destruction. What is the function of the creative arts in a world of perpetually “innovative” information and knowledge work? The special potential of the arts in the age of knowledge work may well be to complement the humanities lesson that “cool has a history” with the crucial inverse of that lesson: history can be cool. Cool à la mode—the cool of the instantaneous present—can no longer be the exclusive obsession of knowledge workers. In the age of “creative destruction,” the sense of history will also need to be cool. This chapter looks at viral aesthetics and the potential of the new aesthetics of “destructive creativity” in the information age.Less
The rationale of contemporary knowledge work is “creative destruction,” with the emphasis on “creative” and almost no serious reflection on “destruction.” The question of a future aesthetics is the question of the general legitimation of art in such an age of creative destruction. What is the function of the creative arts in a world of perpetually “innovative” information and knowledge work? The special potential of the arts in the age of knowledge work may well be to complement the humanities lesson that “cool has a history” with the crucial inverse of that lesson: history can be cool. Cool à la mode—the cool of the instantaneous present—can no longer be the exclusive obsession of knowledge workers. In the age of “creative destruction,” the sense of history will also need to be cool. This chapter looks at viral aesthetics and the potential of the new aesthetics of “destructive creativity” in the information age.
David Sarokin and Jay Schulkin
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262034920
- eISBN:
- 9780262336253
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262034920.003.0002
- Subject:
- Information Science, Library Science
“Information” has taken on new meanings and new significance in the Information Age. The subject has moved beyond the traditional realm of engineering. Encyclopedias and text books that formerly ...
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“Information” has taken on new meanings and new significance in the Information Age. The subject has moved beyond the traditional realm of engineering. Encyclopedias and text books that formerly ignored information as a topic now give it a major presence. However, we still overlook the central importance of information itself, focusing instead on information technology.Less
“Information” has taken on new meanings and new significance in the Information Age. The subject has moved beyond the traditional realm of engineering. Encyclopedias and text books that formerly ignored information as a topic now give it a major presence. However, we still overlook the central importance of information itself, focusing instead on information technology.
Alan Liu
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- February 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226486987
- eISBN:
- 9780226487007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226487007.003.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, Film, Media, and Cultural Studies
Cultural criticism has been brutally effective in demonstrating that the churning of literary capital has always been a part of the world of literature. A distinctive form of that churning in ...
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Cultural criticism has been brutally effective in demonstrating that the churning of literary capital has always been a part of the world of literature. A distinctive form of that churning in relation to the general economic and social churning is what Joseph A. Schumpeter, in his classic phrase about capitalism, called “creative destruction.” This book is a study of the cultural life of information or, more broadly, of contemporary “knowledge work.” It explores the role of literature in that cultural life and the future of the literary when the true aestheticism unbound of knowledge work—as seen on innumerable web pages—is “cool.” Cool is the techno-informatic vanishing point of contemporary aesthetics, psychology, morality, politics, spirituality, and everything. The book offers a historical sketch of knowledge work and a theoretical frame for investigating its culture of cool. It then follows up with an argument about the role of humanities education and the arts in the world of cool. This latter argument turns on the general character of historical and aesthetic knowledge in the information age.Less
Cultural criticism has been brutally effective in demonstrating that the churning of literary capital has always been a part of the world of literature. A distinctive form of that churning in relation to the general economic and social churning is what Joseph A. Schumpeter, in his classic phrase about capitalism, called “creative destruction.” This book is a study of the cultural life of information or, more broadly, of contemporary “knowledge work.” It explores the role of literature in that cultural life and the future of the literary when the true aestheticism unbound of knowledge work—as seen on innumerable web pages—is “cool.” Cool is the techno-informatic vanishing point of contemporary aesthetics, psychology, morality, politics, spirituality, and everything. The book offers a historical sketch of knowledge work and a theoretical frame for investigating its culture of cool. It then follows up with an argument about the role of humanities education and the arts in the world of cool. This latter argument turns on the general character of historical and aesthetic knowledge in the information age.
