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Books > Computing & IT > Social & legal aspects of computing > Impact of computing & IT on society
The digital music revolution and the rise of piracy cultures has transformed the music world as we knew it. Digital Music Distribution aims to go beyond the polarized and reductive perception of 'piracy wars' to offer a broader and richer understanding of the paradoxes inherent in new forms of distribution. Covering both production and consumption perspectives, Spilker analyses the changes and regulatory issues through original case studies, looking at how digital music distribution has both changed and been changed by the cultural practices and politicking of ordinary youth, their parents, music counter cultures, artists and bands, record companies, technology developers, mass media and regulatory authorities. Exploring the fundamental change in distribution, Spilker investigates paradoxes such as: The criminalization of file-sharing leading not to conflicts, but to increased collaboration between youths and their parents; Why the circulation of cultural content, extremely damaging for its producers, has instead been advantageous for the manufacturers of recording equipment; Why more artists are recording in professional sound studios, despite the proliferation of good quality equipment for home recording; Why mass media, hit by many of the same challenges as the music industry, has been so critical of the way it has tackled these challenges. A rare and timely volume looking at the changes induced by the digitalization of music distribution, Digital Music Distribution will appeal to undergraduate students and policy makers interested in fields such as Media Studies, Digital Media, Music Business, Sociology and Cultural Studies.
Imagining, forecasting and predicting the future is an inextricable and increasingly important part of the present. States, organizations and individuals almost continuously have to make decisions about future actions, financial investments or technological innovation, without much knowledge of what will exactly happen in the future. Science and technology play a crucial role in this collective attempt to make sense of the future. Technological developments such as nanotechnology, robotics or solar energy largely shape how we dream and think about the future, while economic forecasts, gene tests or climate change projections help us to make images of what may possibly occur in the future. This book provides one of the first interdisciplinary assessments of how scientific and technological imaginations matter in the formation of human, ecological and societal futures. Rooted in different disciplines such as sociology, philosophy, and science and technology studies, it explores how various actors such as scientists, companies or states imagine the future to be and act upon that imagination. Bringing together case studies from different regions around the globe, including the electrification of German car infrastructure, or genetically modified crops in India, Imagined Futures in Science, Technology and Society shows how science and technology create novel forms of imagination, thereby opening horizons toward alternative futures. By developing central aspects of the current debate on how scientific imagination and future-making interact, this timely volume provides a fresh look at the complex interrelationships between science, technology and society. This book will be of interest to postgraduate students interested in Science and Technology Studies, History and Philosophy of Science, Sociology, Cultural Studies, Anthropology, Political Sciences, Future Studies and Literary Sciences.
It's hard to imagine a place more central to American mythology today than Silicon Valley. To outsiders, the region glitters with the promise of extraordinary wealth and innovation. But behind this image lies another Silicon Valley, one segregated by race, class, and nationality in complex and contradictory ways. Its beautiful landscape lies atop underground streams of pollutants left behind by decades of technological innovation, and while its billionaires live in compounds, surrounded by redwood trees and security fences, its service workers live in their cars. With arresting photography and intimate stories, Seeing Silicon Valley makes this hidden world visible. Instead of young entrepreneurs striving for efficiency in minimalist corporate campuses, we see portraits of struggle-families displaced by an impossible real estate market, workers striving for a living wage, and communities harmed by environmental degradation. If the fate of Silicon Valley is the fate of America-as so many of its boosters claim-then this book gives us an unvarnished look into the future.
Complexities and dilemmas are evident in journalism in the digital and data age. Scarcity of audiences' attention jeopardises the survival of information media in the market, technological penetration increasingly renders journalism a complex information system, and the rise of partisan journalism accompanies the crisis of objective reporting. Analysing the evolving industry as it turns to the help of digital technologies such as algorithms and cloud computing to reach and engage local and global audiences, Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era explores the challenges journalism faces in great depth and detail. Tong discusses the transformation of quality journalism that has become high-tech, interdisciplinary, saturated with human interest, and sometimes even fiercely partisan under the influence of multiple disruptions brought about by digital technology, economic uncertainty, and political irregularity. A timely and important contribution to the research of journalism, Journalism, Economic Uncertainty and Political Irregularity in the Digital and Data Era bridges media with the fields of sociology, politics, technology, and culture studies - central for academics, writers and researchers.
The spread of new information and communications technologies during the past two decades has helped reshape civic associations, political communities, and global relations. In the midst of the information revolution, we find that the speed of this technology-driven change has outpaced our understanding of its social and ethical effects. The moral dimensions of this new technology and its effects on social bonds need to be questioned and scrutinized: Should the Internet be understood as a new form of public space and a source of public good? What are we to make of hackers? Does the Internet strengthen or weaken community? In The Internet in Public Life, essayists confront these and other important questions. This timely and necessary volume makes clear the need for a broader conversation about the effects of the Internet, and the questions raised by these seven essays highlight some of the most pressing issues at hand.
"Online Communication" provides an introduction to both the
technologies of the Internet Age and their social implications.
This innovative and timely textbook brings together current work in
communication, political science, philosophy, popular culture,
history, economics, and the humanities to present an examination of
the theoretical and critical issues in the study of
computer-mediated communication.
Information technologies have become both a means and an end,
transforming the workplace and how work is performed. This ongoing
evolution in the work process has received extensive coverage but
relatively little attention has been given to how changing
technologies and work practices affect the workers themselves. This
volume specifically examines the institutional and social
environment of the workplaces that information technologies have
created.
In his 1989 book, Fast Capitalism, Ben Agger presented a framework for understanding late-20th century social problems. Speeding Up Fast Capitalism, a sequel to his earlier book, assesses social changes since the end of the 1980s brought about by information technologies such as the Internet, which have quickened the pace of everyday life. In Speeding Up Fast Capitalism, Agger assesses the impact of the Internet on consciousness, communication, culture and community, and evaluates the prospects of democratic social change. Where the earlier book was largely theoretical, Speeding Up applies critical theory to specific topics such as Internet culture, work, families, childhood, schooling, food, the body, and fitness. Although indebted to Fast Capitalism, the sequel appeals to an audience wider than theorists, including empirical sociologists, social scientists, and scholars in cultural disciplines.
In his 1989 book, Fast Capitalism, Ben Agger presented a framework for understanding late-20th century social problems. Speeding Up Fast Capitalism, a sequel to his earlier book, assesses social changes since the end of the 1980s brought about by information technologies such as the Internet, which have quickened the pace of everyday life. In Speeding Up Fast Capitalism, Agger assesses the impact of the Internet on consciousness, communication, culture and community, and evaluates the prospects of democratic social change. Where the earlier book was largely theoretical, Speeding Up applies critical theory to specific topics such as Internet culture, work, families, childhood, schooling, food, the body, and fitness. Although indebted to Fast Capitalism, the sequel appeals to an audience wider than theorists, including empirical sociologists, social scientists, and scholars in cultural disciplines.
The internet could have been purpose-built for fostering the growth of the social movements and citizen initiatives which have had such a significant impact on the political landscape since the 1990s. In "Cyberprotest" the contributors explore the effects of this synergy between ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) and people power, analysing the implications for politics and social policy at both a national and a global level.;Through a number of different international examples answers are sought to questions such as: to what extent and in what forms do social movements use ICTs?; how do new ICTs facilitate new patterns and forms of citizen mobilization?; how does this use affect the relationship between social movements and their members?; how do ICTs change the way social movement organizations communicate with each other?; and how do they affect the way these movements mobilize and intervene in public debates and political conflicts?
This authoritative landmark text examines the highly topical and important issue of ICT in literacy learning. Its distinctive focus on providing a systematic review of research in the field gives the reader an essential, comprehensive overview. As governments worldwide continue to invest heavily in ICT provisions in educational institutions, this book addresses the need to gather and synthesise evidence about the impact of ICT on literacy learning. An expert team of writers draw upon two recent reports by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, which highlighted the considerable differences between nations in the access and use of ICT, to take a discursive and expansive look at the subject. Within its wide range and scope, chapters cover areas on: * the history of literacy and ICT * evidence for the effectiveness of ICT on literacy learning * the impact of networked ICT on literacy learning * the relationship between verbal and visual literacies. This book will be an invaluable and informative read with international resonance for student teachers, teachers, academics and researchers worldwide.
This authoritative landmark text examines the highly topical and important issue of ICT in literacy learning. Its distinctive focus on providing a systematic review of research in the field gives the reader an essential, comprehensive overview. As governments worldwide continue to invest heavily in ICT provisions in educational institutions, this book addresses the need to gather and synthesise evidence about the impact of ICT on literacy learning. An expert team of writers draw upon two recent reports by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, which highlighted the considerable differences between nations in the access and use of ICT, to take a discursive and expansive look at the subject. Within its wide range and scope, chapters cover areas on: * the history of literacy and ICT * evidence for the effectiveness of ICT on literacy learning * the impact of networked ICT on literacy learning * the relationship between verbal and visual literacies. This book will be an invaluable and informative read with international resonance for student teachers, teachers, academics and researchers worldwide.
The ideas of information as an autonomous variable and of the primacy of theoretical knowledge have been recurrent themes in discussions of the information society. In this series of eight essays, Julian Warner provides a contrasting perspective on: Developing a manifesto for the study of information technologies in human history, Ways in which information technology is differentiated from standard economic concept of productive technology, Historical perspective to copyright, electronic communication and information retrieval, The meta-object distinction as manifested in information retrieval research and system development, Various forms and instruments of labor as related to the design and maintenance of information systems, Past and future developments in the evolution of a discipline.Together, they put a humanistic face on our often-unconscious notions of information technology
Few people think of an Internet domain name like .us or .in as anything other than an address when, in fact, it often serves as a roadmap to national identities and priorities. Addressing the World looks behind eleven of the 240 global domain names, from the United States and Australia to Moldova and East Timor, highlighting both the technology and the larger social constructs that make each distinct. Stories and first-person accounts by activists, journalists, Internet administrators, lawyers, and academics examine the sociological, historical, political, and technological development of Internet country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Addressing the World reveals that technology is not just science and domain names are not just practical they are an entryway into cultural education and understanding. Visit the author's website for additional information, including chapter abstracts and pictures and bios of all contributors."
Few people think of an Internet domain name like .us or .in as anything other than an address-when, in fact, it often serves as a roadmap to national identities and priorities. Addressing the World looks behind eleven of the 240 global domain names, from the United States and Australia to Moldova and East Timor, highlighting both the technology and the larger social constructs that make each distinct. Stories and first-person accounts by activists, journalists, Internet administrators, lawyers, and academics examine the sociological, historical, political, and technological development of Internet country code top-level domains (ccTLDs). Addressing the World reveals that technology is not just science and domain names are not just practical-they are an entryway into cultural education and understanding. Visit the author's website for additional information, including chapter abstracts and pictures and bios of all contributors.
Law on the Web is ideal for anyone who wants to access Law Internet resources quickly and efficiently without becoming an IT expert. The emphasis throughout is on the location of high quality law Internet resources for learning, teaching and research, from among the billions of publicly accessible Web pages. The book is structured so that it will be found useful by both beginners and intermediate level users, and be of continuing use over the course of higher education studies. In addition to extensive coverage on locating files and Web sites, Part III provides a substantial and annotated list of high quality resources for law students.
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