Abstracts of recent articles relating to a global information society.
The president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service notes that for the most part, "technology promises revolutions more often than it delivers them." He says that it is not too late to change the vision of the information superhighway.
Floridi, Luciano. INTERNET: WHICH FUTURE FOR ORGANIZED KNOWLEDGE, FRANKENSTEIN OR PYGMALION? (The Information Society, vol. 12, no. 1, January-March 1996, pp. 5-16)
The author, a philosopher, contends that "the global network is only a stage in the endless self-regulating process through which the human encyclopedia constantly strives to respond to its own growth."
McChesney, Robert W. THE INTERNET AND U.S. COMMUNICATION POLICY-MAKING in HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE (Journal of Communication, vol. 46, no. 1, Winter 1996, pp. 98-124)
This article explores trends that dominate the United States, global media, and communications. New communication technologies cannot solve social problems; this is the ultimate responsibility of humans who, acting consciously, can address and even resolve poverty, racism, sexism, militarism and environmental degradation.
THE WEB: WHERE IT'S @," (Washington Post, June 30 - July 3, 1996). Four-part series.
The Web, which has the potential to transform communications, is used by millions for research and pleasure. Even though a complicated, invisible technology runs the web, its future still looks bright. The articles are: "On the Internet, a World Wide Information Explosion Beyond Words" (June 30): A1, A14-A15; "There's No Place Like a Home Page" (July 1): A1, A8; "The Tangle Behind an Easy-to-Use Tool" (July 2): A1, A6-A7, and "The Site-Seers' Guide to Some Way-Out Internet Futures" (July 3): A1, A18.
This is part of a more comprehensive Article Alert offered on the international home page of the U.S. Information Agency: http://www.usia.gov/admin/001/wwwhapub.html)
Global
Issues
USIA Electronic Journals, Vol. 1, No. 12, September
1996