Overview

An examination of a range of information and communication issues at stake in the European Union, from employment and the labour market, to the domestication of technologies in households, to larger implications for political processes and democracy. Extending comparisons to other industrialized countries, it demonstrates that the information society is far too diverse and rich to be typified in simplistic dichotomies such a information haves and have nots and that simple upbeat or pessimistic responses to the new technologies are surely false messengers for the future. The authors discern general social trends and patterns in the way that these very important technologies already affect our lives and work. But they find there is still considerable room to use the technologies as a positive force for social change or, equally, to fail to take up any positive opportunities.

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Reviews

An important collection that demonstrates why European scholars have taken a leading role in the debate about the social dimensions of the revolution in information and communication technologies. Looking beyond the technology of the day, the contributions address enduring issues of significance to policy and practice in Europe and the world. -- William H. Dutton, University of Southern California, author of Society on the Line I recommend that Americans read this book to better understand why Europeans resist following their American counterparts into a homogenized technological world. Journal Of Communication There are three major strengths. First, it addresses IS topics that have been neglected, including work, healthcare, learning, democracy, and gender. Second, the contributors come from various fields, including geographers, sociologists, education and technology specialists. Third, it is a goldmine of potential research topics. This book can be used in many disciplinary classes and also interdisciplinary seminars. Progress In Human Geography This book illustrates neatly the broadness and pervasiveness of the concept of 'Information Society' by bringing together a variety of contributions on social and societal aspects of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). The flexibility of ICT use remains a characteristic emphasis of the European debate, which has been particularly rich in insights applicable to the global context. This timely volume brings to the forefront the underlying social and societal choices that face policy makers--and, for that matter, businesses--in this information age. -- Luc Soete, Maastrict Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology, Maastrict University

This book illustrates neatly the broadness and pervasiveness of the concept of Information Society by bringing together a variety of contributions on social and societal aspects of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). The flexibility of ICT use remains a characteristic emphasis of the European debate, which has been particularly rich in insights applicable to the global context. This timely volume brings to the forefront the underlying social and societal choices that face policy makers and, for that matter, businesses in this information age.--Luc Soete

An important collection that demonstrates why European scholars have taken a leading role in the debate about the social dimensions of the revolution in information and communication technologies. Looking beyond the technology of the day, the contributions address enduring issues of significance to policy and practice in Europe and the world. -- William H. Dutton, University of Southern California, author of Society on the Line I recommend that Americans read this book to better understand why Europeans resist following their American counterparts into a homogenized technological world. * Journal of Communication * There are three major strengths. First, it addresses IS topics that have been neglected, including work, healthcare, learning, democracy, and gender. Second, the contributors come from various fields, including geographers, sociologists, education and technology specialists. Third, it is a goldmine of potential research topics. This book can be used in many disciplinary classes and also interdisciplinary seminars. * Progress In Human Geography * This book illustrates neatly the broadness and pervasiveness of the concept of `Information Society' by bringing together a variety of contributions on social and societal aspects of new information and communication technologies (ICTs). The flexibility of ICT use remains a characteristic emphasis of the European debate, which has been particularly rich in insights applicable to the global context. This timely volume brings to the forefront the underlying social and societal choices that face policy makers-and, for that matter, businesses-in this information age. -- Luc Soete, Maastrict Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology, Maastrict University

Author Information

Ken Ducatel is currently seconded to the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission in Sevilla, Spain, from his post as senior lecturer in the Management of New Technology at PREST, the University of Manchester, UK. Juliet Webster is a research fellow in the employment research unit at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. Werner Herrmann is unit head in the directorate general for education and culture of the European Commission, Brussels, Belgium, and visiting professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

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