About the Book
The development of technology and the hunger for information has caused a wave of change in daily life in America. Nearly every American's environment now consists of cable television, video cassette players, answering machines, fax machines, and personal computers. Schement and Curtis argue that the information age has evolved gradually throughout the twentieth century. National focus on the production and distribution of information stems directly from the organizing principles and realities of the market system, not from a revolution sparked by the invention of the computer.
Now available in paperback, Tendencies and Tensions of the Information Age, brings together findings from many disciplines, including classical studies, etymology, political sociology, and macroeconomics. This valuable resource will be enjoyed by sociologists, historians, and scholars of communication and information studies.
About the Author :
Jorge Reina Schement is associate dean for graduate studies and research in the College of Comunications at Pennsylvania State University, as well as professor of communications and information studies. His publication include seven books and numerous articles. He has lectured in Latin America and Europe.
Terry Curtis is professor of communication design at California State University, Chico. He is author of numerous papers and articles on telecommunications, as well as a lecturer to business audiences around the world.
Review :
-Schement and Curtis contend that, contrary to prevailing wisdom, the emergence of the information society is not as revolutionary as one might think... Schement and Curtis suggest that the information society emerged gradually and is the product of three forces: the idea that information is a thing that can be, among other things, traded as a commodity; capitalism, which provided a profit motive for trading information; and industrialization, which needed information for controlling far-flung enterprises... An excellent contribution to the theoretical discussion on the information society. Recommended. Graduate; faculty.-
--R. Aluri, Choice
-This is an important book and a fine work of synthesis. Professors Schement and Curtis effectively demystify the new media and information technologies, emphasizing their essential interactions with Western economic and political systems. The book is worth the close attention not only of scholars and policymakers, but of all those seeking to understand the real importance and impact of the new information environment.-
--Walter S. Baer, The RAND Corporation
-This book . .. deals in a thorough and illuminating way with all the key issues which have arisen in connection with what is often seen as a communications revolution occurring in our time. Three particular merits raise it well above the average of books on this theme: it sets current change in a long-term historical perspective; it does justice to the complexity of the societal causes and effects of information phenomena; it is measured and cautious in its overall evaluation of the significance and direction of the 'information revolution.' I would strongly recommend the book both as an integrative and state of the art account of the current debates and as a starting point and source-book for pursuing new lines of enquiry.-
--Denis McQuail, professor of mass communication, University of Amsterdam
-The most interesting thing about this book is not the discussion of tendencies and tensions but its theory about the underlying character of the society displaying those tendencies and tensions.-
--Patrick C. Wilson, The Library Quarterly
-The strong points in Schnapper's argument are a reflection of her emphasis on the processes of political socialization in modern liberal democratic nations.-
--Bernard Yack, American Journal of Sociology
"Schement and Curtis contend that, contrary to prevailing wisdom, the emergence of the information society is not as revolutionary as one might think... Schement and Curtis suggest that the information society emerged gradually and is the product of three forces: the idea that information is a thing that can be, among other things, traded as a commodity; capitalism, which provided a profit motive for trading information; and industrialization, which needed information for controlling far-flung enterprises... An excellent contribution to the theoretical discussion on the information society. Recommended. Graduate; faculty."
--R. Aluri, Choice
"This is an important book and a fine work of synthesis. Professors Schement and Curtis effectively demystify the new media and information technologies, emphasizing their essential interactions with Western economic and political systems. The book is worth the close attention not only of scholars and policymakers, but of all those seeking to understand the real importance and impact of the new information environment."
--Walter S. Baer, The RAND Corporation
"This book . .. deals in a thorough and illuminating way with all the key issues which have arisen in connection with what is often seen as a communications revolution occurring in our time. Three particular merits raise it well above the average of books on this theme: it sets current change in a long-term historical perspective; it does justice to the complexity of the societal causes and effects of information phenomena; it is measured and cautious in its overall evaluation of the significance and direction of the 'information revolution.' I would strongly recommend the book both as an integrative and state of the art account of the current debates and as a starting point and source-book for pursuing new lines of enquiry."
--Denis McQuail, professor of mass communication, University of Amsterdam
"The most interesting thing about this book is not the discussion of tendencies and tensions but its theory about the underlying character of the society displaying those tendencies and tensions."
--Patrick C. Wilson, The Library Quarterly
"The strong points in Schnapper's argument are a reflection of her emphasis on the processes of political socialization in modern liberal democratic nations."
--Bernard Yack, American Journal of Sociology
"Schement and Curtis contend that, contrary to prevailing wisdom, the emergence of the information society is not as revolutionary as one might think... Schement and Curtis suggest that the information society emerged gradually and is the product of three forces: the idea that information is a thing that can be, among other things, traded as a commodity; capitalism, which provided a profit motive for trading information; and industrialization, which needed information for controlling far-flung enterprises... An excellent contribution to the theoretical discussion on the information society. Recommended. Graduate; faculty."
--R. Aluri, Choice
"This is an important book and a fine work of synthesis. Professors Schement and Curtis effectively demystify the new media and information technologies, emphasizing their essential interactions with Western economic and political systems. The book is worth the close attention not only of scholars and policymakers, but of all those seeking to understand the real importance and impact of the new information environment."
--Walter S. Baer, The RAND Corporation
"This book . .. deals in a thorough and illuminating way with all the key issues which have arisen in connection with what is often seen as a communications revolution occurring in our time. Three particular merits raise it well above the average of books on this theme: it sets current change in a long-term historical perspective; it does justice to the complexity of the societal causes and effects of information phenomena; it is measured and cautious in its overall evaluation of the significance and direction of the 'information revolution.' I would strongly recommend the book both as an integrative and state of the art account of the current debates and as a starting point and source-book for pursuing new lines of enquiry."
--Denis McQuail, professor of mass communication, University of Amsterdam
"The most interesting thing about this book is not the discussion of tendencies and tensions but its theory about the underlying character of the society displaying those tendencies and tensions."
--Patrick C. Wilson, The Library Quarterly
"The strong points in Schnapper's argument are a reflection of her emphasis on the processes of political socialization in modern liberal democratic nations."
--Bernard Yack, American Journal of Sociology
"Schement and Curtis contend that, contrary to prevailing wisdom, the emergence of the information society is not as revolutionary as one might think... Schement and Curtis suggest that the information society emerged gradually and is the product of three forces: the idea that information is a thing that can be, among other things, traded as a commodity; capitalism, which provided a profit motive for trading information; and industrialization, which needed information for controlling far-flung enterprises... An excellent contribution to the theoretical discussion on the information society. Recommended. Graduate; faculty."
--R. Aluri, Choice
"This is an important book and a fine work of synthesis. Professors Schement and Curtis effectively demystify the new media and information technologies, emphasizing their essential interactions with Western economic and political systems. The book is worth the close attention not only of scholars and policymakers, but of all those seeking to understand the real importance and impact of the new information environment."
--Walter S. Baer, The RAND Corporation
"This book . .. deals in a thorough and illuminating way with all the key issues which have arisen in connection with what is often seen as a communications revolution occurring in our time. Three particular merits raise it well above the average of books on this theme: it sets current change in a long-term historical perspective; it does justice to the complexity of the societal causes and effects of information phenomena; it is measured and cautious in its overall evaluation of the significance and direction of the 'information revolution.' I would strongly recommend the book both as an integrative and state of the art account of the current debates and as a starting point and source-book for pursuing new lines of enquiry."
--Denis McQuail, professor of mass communication, University of Amsterdam
"This is an important book and a fine work of synthesis. Professors Schement and Curtis effectively demystify the new media and information technologies, emphasizing their essential interactions with Western economic and political systems. The book is worth the close attention not only of scholars and policymakers, but of all those seeking to understand the real importance and impact of the new information environment."
--Walter S. Baer, The RAND Corporation
"This book . .. deals in a thorough and illuminating way with all the key issues which have arisen in connection with what is often seen as a communications revolution occurring in our time. Three particular merits raise it well above the average of books on this theme: it sets current change in a long-term historical perspective; it does justice to the complexity of the societal causes and effects of information phenomena; it is measured and cautious in its overall evaluation of the significance and direction of the 'information revolution.' I would strongly recommend the book both as an integrative and state of the art account of the current debates and as a starting point and source-book for pursuing new lines of enquiry."
--Denis McQuail, professor of mass communication, University of Amsterdam
"This is an important book and a fine work of synthesis. Professors Schement and Curtis effectively demystify the new media and information technologies, emphasizing their essential interactions with Western economic and political systems. The book is worth the close attention not only of scholars and policymakers, but of all those seeking to understand the real importance and impact of the new information environment."
--Walter S. Baer, The RAND Corporation
"This book . .. deals in a thorough and illuminating way with all the key issues which have arisen in connection with what is often seen as a communications revolution occurring in our time. Three particular merits raise it well above the average of books on this theme: it sets current change in a long-term historical perspective; it does justice to the complexity of the societal causes and effects of information phenomena; it is measured and cautious in its overall evaluation of the significance and direction of the 'information revolution.' I would strongly recommend the book both as an integrative and state of the art account of the current debates and as a starting point and source-book for pursuing new lines of enquiry."
--Denis McQuail, professor of mass communication, University of Amsterdam
