Overview

In the Information Age, information is power. Who produces all that information, how does it move around, who uses it, to what ends, and under what constraints?  Who gets that power? And what happens to the people who have no access to it? Disconnected begins with a striking vignette of two men: One is the thriving manager of a company selling personal computers and computer services. The other is just one among thousands of starving laborers. He has no way to find the information that might help him find a job, he cannot afford newspapers, rarely sees television, cannot understand the dialect of local radio broadcasts, will probably never touch a computer. These two men happen to live in Windhoek, Namibia, but this is not a story about Africa––it is a story that could be repeated almost anywhere in the world, even next door.   With vivid anecdotes and data, William Wresch contrasts the opportunities of the information-rich with the limited prospects of the information-poor. Surveying the range of information––personal, public, organizational, commercial­––that has become the currency of exchange in today’s world, he shows how each represents a form of power. He analyzes the barriers that keep people information-poor: geography, tyranny, illiteracy, psychological blinders, “noise,” crime. Technology alone, he demonstrates, is not the answer. Even the technology-rich do not always get access to important information––or recognize its value. Wresch spells out the grim consequences of information inequity for individuals and society. Yet he ends with reasons for optimism and stories of people who are working to pull down the impediments to the flow of information.

Full Product Details

Author:   William Wresch
Publisher:   Rutgers University Press
Imprint:   Rutgers University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9780813523705

ISBN 10:   0813523702
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   01 November 1996
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Preface Information Rich, Information Poor Part I. Problems at the Source Chapter 1. World Media Chapter 2. Personal Information Chapter 3. Organizational Information Chapter 4. Professional Information Chapter 5. Commercial Information Part II. Transmission Problems Chapter 6. Information Exiles Chapter 7. Tyranny Chapter 8. Information Criminals Part III. Reception Problems Chapter 9. World Education Chapter 10. Psychology Chapter 11. Noise Part IV. Solutions Chapter 12. Reasons for Hope References Index

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Author Information

WILLIAM WRESCH chairs the computing and mathematics department at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point. He has published five books and software on using computers to teach effective writing. His experience as a Fulbright Fellow helping the new University of Namibia design its computer curriculum sparked this book. His essay on Africa and the Internet appeared in Internet World.

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