Access Denied in the Information Age

We live in an information society. Or so we are told. Access to unlimited information will promote equality for all. But is the information society really going to be like this? Who is going to reap the rewards of new information and communication technologies? Focusing on a theme of exclusion, Access Denied in the Information Age dispels the myths of the information society. The authors here take a few steps back from the hype and consider the real place of these new technologies in society.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables and Figures Notes on the Contributors Introduction; S.Lax PART I: ACCESS 'Beepless in America': The Social Impact of the Galaxy IV Pager Blackout; W.Dutton, A.Elberse, T.Hong & S.Matei Trade Union and Access to the Internet; J.Holly & G.Herman Getting Our Hands on It: Gendered Inequality in Access to Information and Communication Technologies; G.Kirkup PART II: KNOWLEDGE The Postmodern University? The Loss of Purpose in British Universities; F.Webster Brickies or Bricoleurs? Gender in Computing and Design Courses; D.Trayhurn Information, Education and Inequality: Is New Technology the Solution?; S.Lax The Process of Change: An Empirical Examination of the Uptake and Impact of Technology; D.Morrison & M.Svennevig The Value of the Ephemeral: Assessing New Output about Yugoslavia (1989-1999); M.Palmer PART III: POWER Smell the Tulips: The Internet, Neoliberalisn and Millenarian Hype; B.Winston Selling off Cyberspace; G.Williams From Crystal Palaces to Silicon Valleys: Market Imperfection and the Enduring Digital Divide; A.Wilhelm From an Answer to a Question: Globalization in the Information Age; R.Brown Index

About the Author :
ROBIN BROWN Lecturer in Political Communications, University of Leeds WILLIAM DUTTON Professor, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California ANITA ELBERSE Researcher, London Business School's Future Media Research Programme GARY HERMAN IT Consultant and Writer JOE HOLLY Workers' Educational Association's National Programme Officer and Director of the Labour Telematics Centre TRACI HONG Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California GILL KIRKUP Senior Lecturer in Educational Technology, Open University SORIN MATEI Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California DAVID MORRISON Professor of Communications Research, University of Leeds MICHAEL PALMER Professor of International Communications, UFR Communication, Sorbonne Nouvelle University, Paris MICHAEL SVENNEVIG Research Director, Research Centre for Future Communications, University of Leeds DEBORAH TRAYHURN Principal Lecturer, School of Information Management, Leeds Metropolitan University FRANK WEBSTER Professor of Sociology, University of Birmingham ANTHONY WILHELM Program Director for Communications Policy and Practice, Benton Foundation, Washington DC GRANVILLE WILLIAMS Lecturer in Journalism and Media Policy, University of Huddersfield BRIAN WONSTON Professor and Head of School of Communication, Design and Media, University of Westminster

Review :
"The well-written essays certainly are provocative." - Journal of Technology Transfer