Making the Information Society: Experience, Consequences, and Possibilities

Preface

One can hardly escape the notion that many nations are evolving into new forms, often simply labeled the Information Age or the Information Economy. While changes are clearly underway, they are not isolated from past experiences. Societies have long rooted their values and behavior in earlier experiences, actions, and memories that influence today’s patterns of development. Current experiences surrounding rising standards of living in advanced industrial societies, the rapidly expanding deployment of telecommunications and the Internet, and the growing deployment of computer-based technologies in work and products all suggest that much is changing. To be sure, that is the case, but not the whole story. The whole story would have to take ...