Computers and Society

Citizenship in the Information Age

Edited by Colin Beardon, Diane Whitehouse

Publication date:

01 May 1994

Publisher

Intellect Books

ISBN-13: 9781567501698

BOOK DESCRIPTION
TABLE OF CONTENTS

"How do we ensure that computers are used for socially beneficial purposes, particularly in an age when market forces are the major arbiter of human affairs?"

This book is a reponse to this very important question. The papers represent an integration of research into technological and social aspects of computer technology that is relevant and accessible to the individual citizen. The book provides a discussion of common societal objectivees and provides a discussion of common societal objectives and provides a realistic assessment of the role, and sometimes the limits, of computer technology in their achievemnent. It will provide a reference point for future work on computers and society in the 1990s.

Contributors...v

Preface...ix
1 Social citizenship in the information age...1

Colin Beardon
1.1 Social citizenship...1
1.2 The crisis of citizenship and the crisis of legitimacy...3
1.3 The information age...6
1.4 Community in the information age...7
1.5 Equality in the information age...9
1.6 The institutions of citizenship in the information age...11
1.7 Social progress in the information age...12
1.8 Conclusion...13

2 Women as citizens and the role of information technology...15

Rian Voet
2.1 The present situation: women as second-sex citizens...15
2.2 The first option: exactly the same citizenship as men...17
2.3 The second option: reinterpreting citizenship from a female perspective... 19
2.4 The third option: reinterpreting citizenship starting from a feminist perspective... 22

3 Psychosocial environment and the information age... 27

Gunilla Bradley
3.1 Introduction... 27
3.2 Computers, psychosocial work environment and stress: from theory
to actions...28
3.3 Organisational communication and computer technology...38
3.4 Conclusion...44

4 Overcoming disability: a UK perspective...46

Tom Mangan
4.1 Introduction...46
4.2 "Modern Day Freak Show"...46
4.3 Integration...47
4.4 Enabling technology...48
4.5 Access to technology - Part I...49
4.6 Access to technology - Part II...50
4.7 Realising the potential...51

5 Education in the field of information technology...53

Anton Reiter
5.1 Introduction...53
5.2 The Challenges of information society...54
5.3 The new education crisis...56
5.4 Literacy in the information age...59
5.5 General approaches to implement IT...61
5.6 Evaluative research and findings...63
5.7 Information technology in Austrian education: a survey...66
5.8 Computers in the daily life of Austrian schoolchildren...71
5.9 Conclusion...72

6 Individuals, culture and the design of information systems...76

Karamjit Gill, Tania Funston, Jim Thorpe, Masao Hijikarta & John
Gøtze
6.1 Introduction...76
6.2 The human-centred tradition...76
6.3 IT and user involvement...77
6.4 Tensions local and global...83
6.5 A crossroad of IT and culture...85
6.6 From user friendly systems to human-centred design...87

7 Social aspects of computer viruses...91

Simone Fischer-Hübner & Morton Swimmer
7.1 Introduction...91
7.2 Technical misconceptions...91
7.3 The impact of computer viruses...94
7.4 Why computer viruses are written...99
7. 5 Legislation and computer viruses...100
7.6 Ethics and computer viruses...103
7. 7 Conclusion...105

8 What is happening now with technology assessment?...108

Jacques Berleur
8.1 Some definitions...108
8.2 Technology assessment as an institution... 110
8.3 The institutionalisation of TA...111
8.4 Functions of TA...112
8.5 TA methods...113
8.6 Link between function and methods...116
8.7 The balance after 20 years of TA...118

9 Development, self-determination and information...120

Chrisanthi Avgerou & Shirin Madon
9.1 Introduction...120
9.2 Theoretical perspectives on the significance of information and IT for development...121
9.3 Development and the notion of self-determination...123
9.4 Information related trends and the self-determination of developing countries...125
9.5 Information developments and the self-determination of the poor...130
9.6 Conclusions...132

10 The enforcement of foreign technology on Africa: its effect on society, culture and utilisation of information
technology...138

Mayuri Odedra
10.1 Introduction...138
10.2 The role of foreign forces on Africa...139
10.3 Impact of such forces on Africa and its society...142
10.4 Conclusion...146

11 Whose New World Order?...149

Vincent Mosco
11.1 Introduction...149
11.2 Background...149
11.3 The old order...151
11.4 Building a US order...151
11.5 The Strategic Defence Initiative and the New Order...152

12 The summer school on 'Social citizenship in the information age': origins, highlights, and outcomes...155

Diane Whitehouse
12.1 Introduction...155
12.2 Origins of the summer school...156
12.3 Aims and intentions of the summer school...157
12.4 Some highlights of the summer school...158
12.5 Outcomes of the summer school...161