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Information Society (Code:PR117)
Academic Year 2001-2
M.Sc. in Technical Change and Industrial Strategy, PREST
Non-Core Module
Second Semester
Credit Rating 7.5 credits
Contact Hours 18
Study Hours 54
Time Fridays 10-12am
Venue Room 3.09 PREST Conference Room
Contact Persons: Ian Miles (CRIC and PREST);
Phone: Ext. 55921 (PREST), 57360 (CRIC), Email: Ian.Miles@man.ac.uk
Lawrence Green (PREST room 3.10); Phone: Ext.
55928, e-mail: lawrence.c.green@man.ac.uk
Lecturers: Professor Ian Miles, Dr Kieron
Flanagan, Professor Denis Loveridge, Lawrence Green
1. Aims
"Information Society" has come into wide use - by policymakers,
scholarly commentators, journalists, and others. It is employed to denote significant
changes in the economy and society of developed countries around the turn of
the millennium. Different accounts emphasise distinctive elements of these changes,
however. These elements include: new modes of business and institutional organisation
("knowledge-based economies", "post-Fordism", "control revolution"), rapid increases
in capabilities for information processing and communication (the "IT revolution",
the "e-economy"), new information- and IT-based industries ("information economies",
"content is king"). Yet other efforts to understand the social transformations
that are underway talk about "post-modernism" and the like. This course aims
to explore the issues raised by these various accounts, especially focusing
on their implications for innovation strategies, technological choices, and
problems of social analysis and empirical methodology. Drawing upon both theoretical
and empirical material, with the latter spanning macrostatistics and case-studies
, the course seeks to provide students with improved understanding of the different
accounts of "information society" and related terms, and of the implications
that these share (or dispute) concerning social and technological change and
the formulation of appropriate policies and strategies.
2. Course Objectives
The course seeks to provide an introduction to academic, business
and policy concepts surrounding "information society". It will also examine
the key elements of technological, social and economic change in this context.
After successfully completing the course, you should have:
(in relation to Subject Knowledge and Understanding)
- Covered the main academic literature relating to "information society",
and have a much improved understanding of the key concepts and disputes in
this subject area.
- An awareness of established and emerging themes relating to the application
of Information technology across the economy and society, and the lines of
research into these themes that have been developed.
- An awareness of wider policy and strategy issues facing firms, governments
and social actors related to the information society, and the approaches being
adopted by management and policymakers.
(in relation to Cognitive Skills)
- An ability to identify and assess indicators relevant to these themes,
and develop outline research projects in the field.
- An ability to locate relevant literature and data sources from libraries
and the Web, and to use this effectively for seminar contributions and for
in the written essay.
(in relation to Professional and Practical Skills)
- Prepared an essay on one relevant theme, and made a presentation on a further
topic within the seminar series
(in relation to Transferable Skills)
- Participated in group discussion and team work.
- Developed your presentational skills to report on a topic to the seminar
group.
And finally, as in some other modules, the Information Society module should
allow you to be sufficiently well-informed and skilled that you could consider
undertaking further research associated with the topics addressed, for example
in the context of a PhD degree.
3. Teaching Style and Methods The first half of each session
will consist of a lecture. For about half of the series, this will be continued
into the second half, often with contribution from "guest speakers". For other
seminars, the second half will involve structured discussion of specified readings,
or presentations by seminar members of overviews of relevant topics. In some seminars
there will be groupwork, for instance to consider indicators appropriate to measuring
the development of ""information society" in different regions.
4. Method
of Assessment The main method of assessment will be the essay to be prepared
at the end of the seminar series. This will be a document you prepare of around
2,500 words, focused on one of the topics covered in the course, and agreed with
the course organiser.
Deadlines for SubmissionThese are as follows:
- one page outline for approval (by 22nd March 2002)
The one page outline should have your name and contact details (address and
email address), the proposed title of your assignment and a brief description
of your study (up to 500 words). We will respond to you within a week to approve
the study or to suggest changes.
b) full report (by 19th April 2002)Marks will be given
for:
- Adequacy of approach, methods and argument to topic addressed. (50% marks);
- Application of relevant concepts from the course and associated literature
(25% marks); and
- Quality of analysis, synthesis of material, and written presentation (25%
marks).
First Marker: Ian Miles
Second Marker: Lawrence
Green
5. Key Readings
- W Dutton (ed.) Information and Communications Technologies:
Visions and Realities Oxford, Oxford University Press
- K Robins (ed.) Understanding Information, London, Pinter
- N Heap, R Thomas, G Einon, R Mason, H Mackay (eds.) 1995, Information
Technology and Society London, Sage
- K Ducatel (ed.) Employment and Technical Change in Europe
Aldershot, Edward Elgar, 1994
- Alistair Duff, 2000, Information Society Studies London:
Routledge
Plus such websites as:
And check out Ian’s website, where there are course archives and various downloadable
papers: http://les1.man.ac.uk/cric/Ian_miles
Where copyright allows, a loan collection of readings will be kept by Lesley
Price.A good deal of material is available on the Web - key links include the
Foresight ITEC Panel, the OECD’s STI sections, the EC’s ISPO, and many other
international organisation and governmental sites. Additional materials authored
by Miles and colleagues are available for download from the Web pages for this
course. 6. Course Timetable*
|
Date/Time
|
Topic
|
Lecturer
|
|
Monday, 21-01-02,
10-12 a.m.
|
1. Introduction – Theorising Information Society: Alternative
Approaches
|
Ian Miles
|
|
Friday, 25-01-02,
10-12a.m.
|
2. Information Technology and the ‘Measurement’ of Information
Society
|
Ian Miles
|
|
Friday, 01-02-02,
10-12a.m.
|
3. Underpinning IT: a Brief Story
|
Denis Loveridge
|
|
Friday, 08-02-02,
10-12 a.m.
|
4. Electronic Commerce and Business Communications
|
Lawrence Green
|
|
Friday,15-02-02,
10-12 a.m.
|
5. Services and the Information Society: a new Industrial
Revolution?
|
Ian Miles
|
|
Friday, 22-02-02,
10-12 a.m.
|
6. New Media: Towards a Paperless Society?
|
Kieron Flanagan, Ian Miles
|
|
Friday, 01-03-02,
10-12 a.m.
|
7. Work and Employment in the Knowledge-Based Economy
|
Lawrence Green
|
|
Friday, 08-03-02,
10-12 a.m.
|
8. Consumers and Domestic IT
|
Ian Miles
|
|
Friday, 15-03-02,
10-12 a.m.
|
9. Research, Innovation, and the IT industries: Information
Society Policies
|
Ian Miles
|
|
Friday, 22-03-02
|
Submission of Essay Outline
|
|
|
Friday, 19-04-02
|
Submission of Essay
|
|
*Please note: owing to the commitments of PREST staff, the timing and sequence
of lectures may be subject to change
6. Session Outline 1.
Introduction – Theorising Information Society: Alternative Approaches (Monday,
21-01-02) Ian MilesIntroduction to the course and subject area. Basic
foundations: Why has the concept of information society become important, where
does it originate? What are the main orientations adopted by commentators? What
are the virtues and limitations of various approaches?
Readings
- J R Beniger, 1986, The Control Revolution Cambridge, Mass:
Harvard University Press
- Manuel Castells 1997 The Network Society London:
Blackwells
- Daniel Bell The Coming of Post-Industrial Society
Basic Books
- Carlota Perez, 1983, Structural Change and Assimilation of New Technologies
Futures 15 no 5 pp357-375
- Frank Webster 1995 Theories of the Information Society
Routledge
- The Information Society Journal: http://www.slis.indiana.edu/TIS/index.html
(full text versions of all articles are available via the JRULM website (enter
a periodicals search for ‘The Information Society’ and follow the links)
Seminar question/exercise: ‘Consider how some key perspectives (e.g., ‘Business/Economic’;
‘Sociological/Cultural’; and ‘Socio-technical’) can inform our understanding of
the nature and implications Information Society.’
2. Information
Technology and Information Society (Friday, 25-01-02) Ian MilesThe nature
of new Information Technology, the case for it constituting the basis of a technological
revolution. Critical enabling technologies, their pace of development and diffusion.
The IT industry and its size and location.
Readings
- I Miles 1991, Measuring the Future, Futures vol. 23 no
8 November 1991 pp915-934
- European Information Market Observatory Annual Statistical
Report
- European Information Technology Observatory Annual
Statistical Report
- OECD (biannual) Information Technology Outlook
- The Information Society Journal: http://www.slis.indiana.edu/TIS/index.html
(full text versions of all articles are available via the JRULM website (enter
a periodicals search for ‘The Information Society’ and follow the links)
Seminar question/exercise: ‘Compare various attempts (e.g., those of Webster and
Miles et al.) to map and measure the development and dynamics of Information Society.’
3. Underpinning IT: a Brief Story (Friday, 01-02-02) Denis LoveridgeThe
development of computer technologies (from the late 1940s to date). The convergence
of computing and communications technologies and the development of ever more
sophisticated applications. The diffusion of computer technologies and the expansion
of access to ICT facilities.
Readings
- I Miles 2001 "Information technology: A continuing revolution" Background
paper for the World Employment Report 2001 : Life at Work in the Information
Economy, published in the CD-ROM version ISBN 92-2-112343-X Geneva,
ILO 2001 – circulated in seminar
- I Miles 2002 "Rethinking Organisation in the Information Society"in Work,
Organisation and Social Exclusion in the Information Society Frankfurt:
Campus Frankfurt/M forthcoming available electronically from
IM
- Websites of interest include: http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/resources/infoecon/
- http://vmoc.museophile.sbu.ac.uk/
- http://www6.compaq.com/rcfoc/
- and many more!
4. Electronic Commerce and Business Communications(Friday, 08-02-02)
Lawrence GreenThe development, diffusion and impact of electronic business
communications tools. The transition from EDI to B2B e-commerce. The development
of new relationships, coalitions and markets. Electronic trading and the growth
of B2C e-commerce. New forms of exchange – the arrival of P2P.
Readings
Seminar question/exercise: ‘What are the key issues that surround any decision
(at firm level) to launch into (a) B2B, or (b) B2C environments?’
5.
Services and the Information Society: a new Industrial Revolution? (Friday, 15-02-02)
Ian MilesWhat lies behind the growth of the services sector, and the
prominence of "service" in industrial activity? Why are services such prominent
users of new IT, and what implications does this have for their functioning and
innovation processes?
Readings
- Ian Miles 2001, Services Innovation: A Reconfiguration of Innovation
Studies, University of Manchester: PREST discussion paper DP01-05
(available online at http:\\les1.man.ac.uk\prest )
- I Miles et al 1995, Knowledge-Intensive Business Services: Users,
Carriers and Sources of Innovation, Luxembourg, European Innovation
Monitoring Service, Publication no. 15 (ed./d-00801 mas)
- J Gershuny and I Miles 1983, The New Service Economy, London:
Frances Pinter
- N Marshall & P Wood, 1996, Services and Space Harlow,
Longmans
- D Bell The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (UK edition
1976, Penguin, Harmondsworth)
- S Metcalfe and I Miles (eds) 2000, Innovation Systems in the Service
Economy,Dordrecht: Kluwer
- I Miles and M Boden (eds) 2000 forthcoming with publisher,Services,
Innovation and the Knowledge Economy, London, Continuum
- B Andersen, J Howells, R Hull, I Miles, and J Roberts (eds) 2000 Knowledge
and Innovation in the New Service Economy, Aldershot, Elgar
- Material at sites like: http://www.sitrends.org/
Seminar question/exercise: "Services are never going to be as innovative as manufacturing
industry" versus "Services are where we should look for the innovations of the
future".
6. New Media: Towards a Paperless Society? (Friday, 08-02-02)
Kieron Flanagan, Ian MilesInformation processing and distribution systems
are making it possible to create new forms of media (e.g. CDROMs, webpages), and
to distribute media in new ways (e.g. MP3 music). For a long time commentators
have been announcing the substitution of traditional media by new ones. What is
really happening, and what are the strategies deployed by content industries in
the information society?
Readings
- R S Slack, J K Stewart & R A Williams (eds) The Social Shaping
of Multimedia Luxembourg, Office for Offical Publications of the
European Commission, 1989, isbn 92-928-6751-X EUR 18899EN
- H Lefebvre The Coming of the Book , London, Verso
- G Thomas and I Miles 1989, Telematics in Transition: the emergence
of new interactive services, Harlow: Longmans
- Office of Technology Assessment, 1990, Critical Connections: Communication
for the Future,Washington, Office of Technology Assessment
- A good source of Internet material is NUA: see http://www.nua.ie/surveys/analysis/weekly_editorial/archives/index.htm
Seminar question/exercise: ‘Consider the relative merits of ‘traditional’ versus
‘new’ media: is ‘new media’ poised to replace its more conventional counterparts?’
7.
Work and Organisational Structures in The Knowledge-Based Economy (Friday, 01-03-02)
Lawrence GreenNew methods of processing, storing and communicating data
are changing organisational structures, and new techniques of knowledge management
are providing frameworks for such activities. But what are the implications for
employment and skills? What are the emerging organisational styles and structures?
Readings
- D Foray & B-A Lundvall (eds.) 1996 Employment and Growth in
the Knowledge-Based Economy , Paris, OECD
- European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
(1990a). Participation in Change: New Technology and the Role of Employee
Involvement. Dublin: European Foundation
- RD Galliers & B S H Baker (eds.), 1995, Strategic Information
Management London, Butterworth-Heinemann
- Patricia Vendremain & Gerard Vàlenduc, 2000, Le Travail
Flexible à l’Aube du 21ème Siecle: Un defi pour les politiques
publiques (conference papers) Namur, Belgium: Fondation Travail-Universite
ISBN 2-93062-16-9
- OECD 1997, Working Party on the Information Economy, Use Of Information
And Communication Technologies At Work, DSTI/ICCP/IE(97)8/FINAL (try
looking on oOECD website!)
- A useful website : http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/strat/stwer/links/index.htm
Seminar question exercise: ‘What are the prospects for teleworking? What are its
implications for (a) firms, and (b) individual workers?’
8. Consumers
and Domestic IT (Friday, 08-03-02) Ian MilesNew Technologies are not
just restricted to industrial applications, but are finding major markets in all
spheres of life. What are the strategies firms adopt to create new consumer products?
What are the implications of information society for everyday life in the home?
Readings
- I Miles 1995, IT Makes Itself at Home?, Town and Country Planning
January 1995 pp13-15
- M Bauer (ed.) 1995 Resistance to New Technology Cambridge,
Cambridge University Press
- A Cawson, L Haddon and I Miles, 1995, The Shape of Things to Consume,
Aldershot, Avebury available online at: website http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Users/ssfd2/Title.htm
- R Silverstone & E Hirsch (eds.) 1992 Consuming Technologies
London, Routledge
- Knut Sorenson and Anne-Jorum Berg, 1990, Technology and Everyday
Life Oslo, Norwegian Research Council for Science and the Humanities
- The Virtual Society website is good for this seminar: http://virtualsociety.sbs.ox.ac.uk/intro.htm
Seminar question/exercise: ‘The diffusion of ICTs is sweeping away traditional
forms of domestic organisation (in terms of time allocation, leisure, learning
etc.)’ versus ‘Domestic consumption of ICTs has exerted only a marginal influence
on the organisation of home life’.
9. Information Society Policies(Friday,
15-03-02) Ian MilesThis seminar will also address the information society
policies, and related R&D and industrial policies being pursued by different
countries, and participants will be expected to prepare presentations on the experiences
of their own countries/regions.
Readings
- John de la Mothe and Gilles Pacquet (eds) Information, Innovation,
and Impacts Norwell, Mass: Kluwer
- P Buigues, A. Jacquemin & J-F Marchipont (eds) Competitiveness
And The Value of Intangible Assets Aldersht, Edward Elgar ISBN 1
84064 391 9
- D Loveridge, l Georghiou & M Nedeva, 1996, Technology Foresight
Programme: Delphi Survey Manchester, PREST.
- European Information Observatory (annual) EITO Yearbook
Frankfurt, VDMA
- OECD (biannual) IT Outlook Paris, OECD (earlier years
available on OECD website)
- A Molina, 1989, The Social Basis of the Microelectronics Revolution
Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press
- See the website of the EC DG Information Society at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/information_society/index_en.htm
Seminar question/exercise: ‘Describe the development and aims of Information Society
policies in a selected territory (i.e., a geographical region or nation state).’
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