Information Technology and Society

Dr Hugh Mackay is an Honorary Associate of the Faculty of Sociology at Open University

Introduction - Nick Heap PART ONE: DIFFERING PERSPECTIVES Introduction - Ray Thomas The Social Shaping of Technology - David Edge The Hacker Crackdown - Bruce Sterling Evolution of the US Telephone Network Theorising the IT/Society Relationship - Hugh Mackay The Roots of the Information Society Idea - David Lyon A Gendered Socio-Technical Construction - Anne-Jorun Berg The Smart House Access and Inequality - Ray Thomas PART TWO: IT IN THE WORKPLACE Introduction - Geoff Einon Robotics, Automation and a New Industrial Revolution - Paul Kennedy The Pursuit of Flexible Specialization in Britain and West Germany - Christel Lane Computerized Machine Tools, Manpower Consequences and Skill Utilization - Gert Hartmann, Ian Nicholas, Arndt Sorge and Malcolm Warner A Study of British and West German Manufacturing Firms Technological Change and the Future of Work - Peter Senker Technological Change at Work - Ian McLoughlin and Jon Clark PART THREE: IT AND LEARNING Introduction - Robin Mason Do Companies Need Technology-Based Training? - David Hawkridge Computer Supported Collaborative Learning - Anthony Kaye The Educational Value of ISDN - Robin Mason Access to Books for Visually Impaired Learners - Tom Vincent and Mary Taylor An Investigation into the Use of Compact Disc Technology (CD-ROM) Supporting Resource Based Learning - Josie Taylor and Diana Laurillard Constructivist Learning Theories and IT - Ann Jones PART FOUR: IT AND THE HOME Introduction - Hughie Mackay Conceptualizing Home Computing - Graham Murdock, Paul Hartmann and Peggy Gray Resources and Practices The Feminine Culture of the Telephone - Ann Moyal People, Patterns and Policy Patterns of Ownership of IT Devices in the Home - Hughie Mackay PART FIVE: IT FUTURES Introduction - Nick Heap Extra Terrestrial Relays - Arthur C Clarke Can Rockets Give World-Wide Radio Coverage? Iridium - Lawrence W Lockwood A High Flying Phone System No Silver Bullet - Frederick P Brooks, JR Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering There Is a Silver Bullet - Brad J Cox Virtual Reality in the Real World - Ralph Schroeder History, Applications and Projections Telework and the Changing Relation of Home and Work - Leslie Haddon and Roger Silverstone The New Space Race - David B Crosbie Satellite Mobile Communications

`Compiled with care.... One aspect of information technology which is growing fast... is electronic mail. Professor Palme has been working on computer-mediated-communication since 1977 and is well qualified to write on the subject of e-mail which he does concisely and with clarity' - Intermedia `Providing a complete overview of the issues that inform any discussion about the impact of information technology, this book is an invaluable resource for teaching and research' - Current Literature on Science of Science