Technology and In/equality Questioning the Information Society

Technology and In/equality explores the diverse implications of the new information and communication technologies through case studies of their applications in three main areas - media, education and training, and work. Questions of access to and control over crucial resources such as information, knowledge, skills and income ae addressed drawing upon insights from science and technology studies, innovation theory, sociology and cultural studies. All of the chapters question the meanings of the terms 'technology' and 'inequality' and of the widespread association of technology with progress. Written with a non-specialist readership in mind, all complex theories and key concepts are carefully explained making the book easily accessible and relevant to a wide range of courses.

1. Critical Perspectives on Technologies, In/equalities and the Information Society Flis Henwood, Sally WYatt, Nod Miller and Peter Senker Part I. Promises and Threats: Access and Control in Media Technologies 2. Access is Not The Only Problem: Using and Controlling the Internet, Graham Thomas and Sally Wyatt 3. Panaceas and Promises of Democratic Participation: Reactions to New Channels, From the Wireless to the World Wide Web, Rod Allen and Nod Miller 4. Public Service Broadcasting and New Distribution Technologies: Issues of Equality, Access and Choice in the Transactional Television Environment, Kathy Walker 5. Limited Horizons (inc.): Access, Democracy and Technology in Community Television in Canada, Herbert F. Pimlott Part II. Exclusion, Inclusion and Segregation: New Technology and Skill in Education 6. A Tale of Two Cultures? Gender and Inequality in Computer Education, Flis Henwood, Sarah Plumeridge and Linda Stepulevage 7. Tending to the Tamagotchi: Rhetoric and Reality in the New Technologies for Distance Learning Nod Miller, Helen Kennedy and Linda Leung Part III. Technology, Inequality and Economic Development 8.Socially Inequality, Technology and Economic Growth, Chris Freeman 9. Inequality, Work and Technology in the Services Sector,Gavin Poynter and Alvaro de Miranda 10. A Dynamic Perspective on Technology, Economic Inequality and Development, Peter Senker