Communication Technology

The Series in Communication Technology and Society is an integrated series centering on the social aspects of communication technology. Written by outstanding communications specialists, it is designed to provide a much-needed interdisciplinary approach to the study of this rapidly changing field. The industrial nations of the world have become Information Societies. Advanced technologies have created a communication revolution, and the individual, through the advent of computers, has become an active participant in this process. The "human" aspect, therefore, is as important as technologically advanced media systems in understanding communication technology. The flagship book in the Series in Communication Technology and Society, Communication Technology introduces the history and uses of the new technologies and examines basic issues posed by interactive media in areas that affect intellectual, organization, and social life. Author and series co-editor Everett M. Rogers defines the field of communication technology with its major implications for researchers, students, and practitioners in an age of ever more advanced information exchange. CONTENTS The Changing Nature of Human Communication What Are the New Communication Technologies? History of Communication Science Adoption and Implementation of Communication Technologies Social Impacts of Communication Technologies New Theory New Research Methods Applications of the New Communication Technologies

Table of Contents:
Contents Preface CHAPTER 1. The Changing Nature of Human Communication Nature of the New Communication Technologies Implications for Communication Research Welcome to the Information Society Changes in the Labor Force From Massification to Individualization Why Information? Why Now? The Research University in the Information Society The MCC Moves to Austin Governing the Future Information Society A Kentucky Farmer Joins the Information Society Summary CHAPTER 2. What Are the New Communication Technologies? Four Eras in the Evolution of Human Communication I. Writing II. Printing III. Telecommunication How the Telegraph Impacted Newspapers IV. Interactive Communication Computer Communication Transistors and Semiconductors Invention of the Microprocessor The Rise of Computer Communication Computer Bulletin Boards Videotext and Teletext Teleconferencing: Electronic Meetings Social Presence and Nonverbal Communication The New Cable TV Satellite Communication Qube in Columbus Wired Cities Summary CHAPTER 3. History of Communication Science A Personal Perspective European Roots: Trade and Simmel Four American Roots John Dewey: Pragmatism Charles Horton Cooley: The Looking-Glass Self Robert E. Park and the Chicago School of Sociology George Herbert Mead: The Self The Engineers of Communication: Claude Shannon and Norbert Wiener The Mathematical Theory of Communication Shannon's Information Theory The Impact of Shannon's Theory Norbert Wiener and Cybernetics The Yellow Peril The Impact of Wiener's Cybernetic Theory The Four Founders: Lasswell, Lewin, Hovland, Lazarsfeld Harold D. Lasswell: Propaganda Effects Kurt Lewin: Gatekeeping Carl Hovland: Persuasion Research Paul F. Lazarsfeld: Toolmaker Wilbur Schramm: Institutionalizer Communication Technology and Communication Science CHAPTER 4. Adoption and Implementation of Communication Technologies Diffusion of Innovations What Is Special About the Diffusion of Communication Technologies? Diffusion of Home Computers Innovation That Failed: The Context System at Stanford University Smashing the ATM Wall Uses of an Electronic Mail System Innovation Clusters and the Hot Market Characteristics of the Adopters of the New Media The Rapid Diffusion of VCR's Naming a New Communication Technology The Innovation Process in Organizations A Model of the Innovation Process The Diffusion of Microcomputers in California High Schools Summary CHAPTER 5. Social Impacts of Communication Technologies From Audience Research to Effects Research Past Research on Communication Effects The Era of Minimal Effects The Era of Conditional Effects Process Versus Effects In Communication Research A Typology of Impacts Unemployment and Social Class Silicon Valley Today: The Information Society of Tomorrow? Impacts on Inequality Communication Technology and Information Gaps The Green Thumb in Kentucky Gender Inequality in Computer Use Computer Romance on DEAFNET Information Overload Privacy Your Bank's Computer Knows a Lot About You Decentralization Teleworking Impacts of a New Medium on Older Media Impacts of Television on Radio and Film in the 1950's Summary CHAPTER 6. New Theory Background Inadequacies of the Linear Model for Studying Interactive Communication Criticism of the Linear Model A Convergence Model of Communication Units of Analysis, Variables, and Time in the Data-Cube Communication Network Analysis The Information-Exchange as a Unit of Analysis Electronic Emotion: Socio-Emotional Content in Computer Communication Time as an Essential Dimension of Communication Behavior Studying Interactivity in Computer Bulletin Boards Investigating Interactivity Summary CHAPTER 7. New Research Methods New Methods for the Study of New Media The Typical Evaluation Research Design Shortcomings of Existing Methods New Data from New Media Types of New Data Computer Content Analysis Advantages of Computer-Monitored Data Disadvantages of Computer-Monitored Data Summary CHAPTER 8. Application of the New Communication Technologies Education and Children The Home Electronic Politics The Office Applications to Third World Development Small Media for a Big Revolution Conclusions References Index

About the Author :
Everett M. Rogers is Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Communications and Associate Dean at the Annenberg School of Communications at the University of Southern California. His other works include Diffusion of Innovations and Communication Networks.