In the eighteenth century, the printing press enabled the rise of an independent press--the Fourth Estate--that helped check the power of governments, business, and industry. In similar ways, the internet is forming a more independent collectivity of networked individuals, which William H. Dutton identifies as the Fifth Estate. Their network power is contributing to a more pluralist role of individuals in democratic political processes and society, which is not only shaping political accou...

How is society being reshaped by the continued diffusion and increasing centrality of the Internet in everyday life and work? Society and the Internet provides key readings for students, scholars, and those interested in understanding the interactions of the Internet and society. This multidisciplinary collection of theoretically and empirically anchored chapters addresses the big questions about one of the most significant technological transformations of this century, through a ...

Internet Studies has been one of the most dynamic and rapidly expanding interdisciplinary fields to emerge over the last decade. The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies has been designed to provide a valuable resource for academics and students in this area, bringing together leading scholarly perspectives on how the Internet has been studied and how the research agenda should be pursued in the future. The Handbook aims to focus on Internet Studies as an emerging field, e...

This book responds to an ever-increasing call from educators, policy makers, journalists, parents and the public at large for analysis that cuts through the hype surrounding the information revolution to address key issues associated with new media in higher education and learning. This collection is of value to those who are seeking a critical, non-commercial exposition of both the enormous opportunities and challenges for higher education that are tied to the use of new information and c...

On September 11, 2001, AT&T's traffic was 40 percent greater than its previous busiest day. Wireless calls were made from the besieged airplanes and buildings, with the human voice having a calming influence. E-mail was used to overcome distance and time zones. And storytelling played an important role both in conveying information and in coping with the disaster. Building on such events and lessons, Crisis Communications features an international cast of top contributors exploring emergen...

How is society being reshaped by the continued diffusion and increasing centrality of the Internet in everyday life and work? Society and the Internet provides key information for students, scholars, and those interested in understanding the interactions of the Internet and society. This multidisciplinary collection of theoretically and empirically anchored chapters addresses the big questions about one of the most significant technological transformations of this century, through...

This book builds on the idea that peer-to-peer infrastructures are gradually becoming the general conditions of work, economy, and society. Using a four-scenario approach, the authors seek to simplify possible outcomes and to explore relevant trajectories of the current techno-economic paradigm within and beyond capitalism.

Online news sites play an ever-pervasive role in the daily gathering and flow of political information. Media has always played an intermediary role in the way that citizens receive and process news, but, with the speed of information transmission, the segmentation of news sources, and the rise of citizen journalism, issues of authority, audience, and even the definition of “news” have shifted and become blurred. News on the Internet synthesizes research on developing and current ...

Now in a fully revised and expanded second edition, this widely adopted text and practical reference addresses all aspects of developing and using geographic information systems (GIS) within an organization. Coverage includes the role of the GIS professional, how geographic information fits into broader management information systems, the use of GIS in strategic planning, and ways to navigate the organizational processes that support or inhibit the success of GIS implementation. All chapte...

Media Literacy Education in Action brings together the field’s leading scholars and advocates to present a snapshot of the theoretical and conceptual development of media literacy education—what has influenced it, current trends, and ideas about its future. Featuring a mix of perspectives, it explores the divergent ways in which media literacy is connected to educational communities and academic areas in both local and global contexts. The volume is structured around seven themes:...

This book is the first of its kind – a global overview of extant research on ethics in small and medium sized enterprises. While vast amounts of corporate money, government policy and media time are directed at the social and ethical activities of large corporations, small businesses don’t generally attract the spotlight. This is wildly inappropriate, however, since upward of 90% of private businesses are small or medium sized. This book goes some way to helping us understand the social an...

In 2014, California suffered the largest and deadliest outbreak of pertussis, also known as "whooping cough," in more than fifty years. This tragedy was avoidable. An effective vaccine has been available since the 1940s. In recent years other diseases, like measles and mumps, have also made a comeback. The reason for these epidemics can be traced to a group whose vocal proponents insist, despite evidence to the contrary, that vaccines are poison. As a consequence, parents and caretakers ar...