From the Publisher:
This book sets out to examine and assess the variety of theories of information in society currently available. Frank Webster sceptically examines what thinkers mean by an information society, and looks closely at different approaches to informational developments. He provides critical commentaries on the major postwar theories: Daniel Bell's ideas on a post-industrial information society, Anthony Giddens' thoughts on the growth of surveillance and the expansion of the nation state, Herbert Schiller's insistence that information both expresses and consolidates the interests of corporate capitalism: Jurgen Habermas' account of the diminishment of the public sphere; Jean Baudrillard's thoughts on postmodernism and information, and Manuel Castells' depiction of the 'informational city'. Each theorisation is subjected to close scrutiny and is tested against empirical evidence to assess its worth. The author concludes that, while there has undoubtedly been an information explosion, it is premature to conceive of an information society. We should rather emphasise the 'informatisation' of established relations.

/pdf/theories-of-the-information-society-2e4432tztu.pdf

The New Class project, I

Theories of the Information Society

Increasingly, information is regarded as a defining feature of the modem world, and it is commonplace to refer to countries such as the United States and Britain as “information societies. “ Commentators are, however, strikingly vague about the criteria used to define either information or information societies. Five analytical criteria, i.e., technological, economic, occupational, spatial, and cultural, are used to define either information or information societies. Most definitions are concerned with quantitative measures, which fail to consider important qualitative dimensions of the criteria, though ironically, there is the widespread presumption that quantitative changes in information herald a new type of society, one qualitatively different from predecessors. Further, proponents of an information society operate with nonsemantic conceptions of information. Against this, when information is approached in common sense terms, that is, in terms of its meanings, then the prospects for an approa...

What information society

Early childhood cultural capital, parental habitus, and teachers’ perceptions

/pdf/la-professionnalisation-des-enseignants-les-limites-d-un-b96110strj.pdf

La Professionnalisation des enseignants : les limites d'un mythe

Previous scholarship pertaining to the social bases of proenvironmental behavior presents an equivocal picture of the influence of social class indicators. In further investigation of this possible association, the author examined municipal-level data in Massachusetts, compiled by various state agencies, exploring whether sociodemographics are associated with recycling rates, hybrid car ownership, and the presence of sustainability advocacy groups. Results indicate that the proportion of college-educated population was significantly associated with recycling and hybrid auto ownership, whereas results for the civic action group presence show population density and political voting were significant but not sociodemographics. The insignificance of economic metrics implies that policy makers and social scientists in this specific case should focus more on cultural factors than financial barriers in encouraging certain behaviors.

The New Class project, I

Citations

Theories of the Information Society

What information society

Early childhood cultural capital, parental habitus, and teachers’ perceptions

La Professionnalisation des enseignants : les limites d'un mythe

The Influence of Social Class and Cultural Variables on Environmental Behaviors: Municipal-Level Evidence From Massachusetts

Related Papers (5)

The new sociology of education

The Production and Distribution of Knowledge in the United States

Sociology and the Power of (Ordinary) Language

A primer on citizenship

Whole life social theory