People and Chips: Human Implications of Information Technology Book

This work discusses the human implications of information technology in relation to manufacturing, office work, and activities in the home. It considers the changing nature of IT and how it affects such issues as employment, new work patterns, automation, gender,organizational change, networks, democracy, surveillence, privacy, computer crime, data protection, broadcasting, industrial relations and the work ethic. The text begins with a discussion of the nature of IT, considers the interface between society and technology, and highlights the importance of technological choice. Two main perspectives - optimist and pessimists - are presented and a distinction made between those who see IT as representing a "new industrial revolution" and those who view it more as a "social product" and a further tool of exploitation for ruling dominant groups.Read More