THE ADVANCED INFORMATION SOCIETY: A SUITABLE UTOPIA FOR AUSTRALIA?

Watt, Alan V.

doi:10.1080/08109028808629322

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Prometheus

Volume 6, Issue 2

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THE ADVANCED INFORMATION SOCIETY: A SUITABLE UTOPIA FOR AUSTRALIA?

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Author(s): Alan V. Watt

Publication date (Print): December 1988

Journal: Prometheus

Publisher: Pluto Journals

Keywords: information society, Australia, policy, future studies

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Abstract

This paper considers the nature of the information society and its perception as utopia or anti-utopia. Australia is already an information society, and in technological terms, is moving towards an advanced information society. However, recent evidence on the decreased rate of growth of the information sector in the United States, the growth in importance of such areas as biotechnology, and the rapidity with which distinctly different and important problems can appear, may cause the advanced information society to be relegated to just another rejected image of perceived future societies. Thus Australian policy-makers should be cautious about selecting it as a goal.

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Journal

Journal ID (publisher-id): cpro20

Journal ID (archive): CPRO

Title: Prometheus

Subtitle: Critical Studies in Innovation

Publisher: Pluto Journals

ISSN (Print): 0810-9028

ISSN (Electronic): 1470-1030

Publication date (Print): December 1988

Volume: 6

Issue: 2

Pages: 368-381

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Article

Publisher ID: 8629322 Coden ID: Prometheus, Vol. 6, No. 2, 1988: pp. 368–381

DOI: 10.1080/08109028808629322

SO-VID: 47d5c8aa-af9b-4a29-8082-30b9e0f910a8

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All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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Figures: 0, Tables: 0, References: 62, Pages: 14

NOTES AND REFERENCES

Yoneji Masuda, The Information Society as Post-Industrial Society, World Future Society, Washington D.C., 1981.
Reported in L. Bannon, U. Barry, and O. Holst, (eds), Information Technology: Impact on the Way of Life, Tycooly International Publishing Ltd., Dublin, 1982.
For example, given importance in the 1988 Centenary Congress of ANZAAS.
J. Naisbitt, Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming our Lives, Macdonald & Co., London, 1982, p. 11.
F. Polak, The Image of the Future, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 1973, p. 1.
Masuda, 1981, op. cit., pp. 29–35.
ibid, p. 29.
ibid., p. 3.
ibid, p. 33.
Commonwealth Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce, Australian Technology Magazine, September 1987, pp. 1–16.
Australian Telecommunications Commission, Annual Report 1987, pp. 54–55; The Overseas Telecommunications Commission, Annual Report 1987, pp. 16, 21.
Krishnan Kumar, Prophesy and Progress, Penguin Books, London, 1978, p. 193.
Michael Marien, ‘Some Questions for the Information Society’, in Tom Forester (ed.), The Information Technology Revolution, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1985, p. 649.
Norbert Wiener, The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society, Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1950, p. 186.
J. Halton, ‘The anatomy of computing’, in Tom Forester (ed.), The Information Technology Revolution, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1985, p. 3.
Barry Jones, Sleepers, Wake! Technology and the Future of Work, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, pp. 12–13.
ibid, p. 35.
Daniel Bell, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society: A Venture in Social Forecasting, Heinemann, London, 1974, p. x.
Masuda, 1981, op. cit., p. 2.
Ian Miles, ‘The new post-industrial state’, Futures, 17, 6, December 1985, p. 591.
Marien, 1985, op. cit., p. 650.
J. Rifkin, ‘The other half of the computer revolution’, Datamation, May, 1983, p. 260. (This is a brief summary from J. Rifkin, Algeny, Viking Press, New York, 1983.).
ibid., p. 262.
Yoneji Masuda, ‘Hypothesis on the genesis of homo-intelligens’, Futures, 17, 5, October 1985, p. 483.
John Platt, ‘The Future of AIDS’, The Futurist, 21, 6, 1987, p. 12.
ibid., p. 11.
ibid., p. 15.
Renee Sabatier, ‘The global costs of AIDS’, The Futurist, 21, 6, 1987, p. 20.
Ashley W. Goldsworthy, ‘Expanding economic horizons’, in Trevor Barr (ed.), Challenges and Change: Australia's Information Society, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1987, p. 38.
As stated by Daniel Bell in an introduction to Simon Nora & Alain Mine, The Computerisation of Society, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1980, pp. viii-ix.
Tom Forester (1985), in an editor's introduction to The Information Technology Revolution, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1985, pp. xiv-xv.
Tom Forester, High-Tech Society, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1987, p. 102.
Australian Telecommunications Commission, Annual Report 1987, p. 54 and other sources.
The Overseas Telecommunications Commission, Annual Report 1987, p. 16.
Alain Mine, ‘The informatisation of society’, in OECD, Information Computer Communications Policy 3: Policy Implications of Data Network Developments in the OECD Area. OECD, Paris, 1980, p. 156.
T. Mandeville and S. Macdonald, “Technological change and employment in the informaton economy: the example of Queensland’, Prometheus, 3, 1, June 1985, p. 71.
OECD, Information Activities, Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies: Impact on Employment, Growth and Trade, OECD, Paris, 1981, p. 22.
M. R. Rubin, ‘US information economy matures’, Transnational Data and Communications Report, June 1986, p. 23.
Fritz Machlup, The Production and Distribution of Knowledge in the United States, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1962.
M.U Porat and M.R. Rubin, The Information Economy: Definition and Measurement (9 Vols.), US Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1977.
M.R. Rubin and M.T. Huber, The Knowledge Industry in the United States: 1960-1980, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1986.
Fritz Machlup, Knowledge: Its Creation, Distribution and Economic Significance (3 Vols.), Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1980.
Rubin, op. cit., p. 23.
ibid.
(Editorial) The Knowledge Society, Futures, 18, 6, December 1986, p. 730.
J. F. Soupizet, ‘Information and new poles of power’, Information Age, 9, 3, July 1987, p. 170.
Hans-Jürgen Engelbrecht, ‘An exposition of the information sector approach with special reference to Australia’, Prometheus, 3, 2, December 1985, p. 382.
Jones, 1982, op. cit., p. 173.
Krishnan Kumar, Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Moden Times, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1987.
As collected in Eugene Kamenka (ed.), Utopias: Papers from the Annual Symposium of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1987.
Kumar, 1987, op. cit., p. 410-411.
Norman Macrae, The 2024 Report: A Concise History of the Future, 1974-2024, Sidgewick and Jackson Ltd., Great Britain, 1984.
Masuda, 1981, op. cit., p. 30.
Tom Stonier, The Wealth of Information: A Profile of the Post-Industrial Economy, Thames Methuen, London, 1983, p. 203.
Kumar, 1987, op. cit., p. 99.
George Orwell, Nineteen-Eighty-Four, Martin Seeker & Warburg Ltd., Great Britain, 1949.
R. Vacca, The Coming Dark Age, Doubleday & Co., New York, 1973, p. 14.
H. Rosenbrock et al., ‘A new industrial revolution?’ in T. Forester, (ed.), The Information Technology Revolution, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1985, p. 645.
Simon Nora & Alain Mine, The Computerisation of Society, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1980, p. 1.
ibid., p. 8.
Tom Forester, 1987, op. cit., p. 8.
Masuda, 1981, op. cit., p. 3.

Comments

Comment on this article

[1] Yoneji Masuda, The Information Society as Post-Industrial Society, World Future Society, Washington D.C., 1981.

[2] Reported in L. Bannon, U. Barry, and O. Holst, (eds), Information Technology: Impact on the Way of Life, Tycooly International Publishing Ltd., Dublin, 1982.

[3] For example, given importance in the 1988 Centenary Congress of ANZAAS.

[4] J. Naisbitt, Megatrends: Ten New Directions Transforming our Lives, Macdonald & Co., London, 1982, p. 11.

[5] F. Polak, The Image of the Future, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 1973, p. 1.

[6] Masuda, 1981, op. cit., pp. 29–35.

[7] ibid, p. 29.

[8] ibid., p. 3.

[9] ibid, p. 33.

[10] Commonwealth Department of Industry, Technology and Commerce, Australian Technology Magazine, September 1987, pp. 1–16.

[11] Australian Telecommunications Commission, Annual Report 1987, pp. 54–55; The Overseas Telecommunications Commission, Annual Report 1987, pp. 16, 21.

[12] Krishnan Kumar, Prophesy and Progress, Penguin Books, London, 1978, p. 193.

[13] Michael Marien, ‘Some Questions for the Information Society’, in Tom Forester (ed.), The Information Technology Revolution, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1985, p. 649.

[14] Norbert Wiener, The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society, Riverside Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1950, p. 186.

[15] J. Halton, ‘The anatomy of computing’, in Tom Forester (ed.), The Information Technology Revolution, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1985, p. 3.

[16] Barry Jones, Sleepers, Wake! Technology and the Future of Work, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982, pp. 12–13.

[17] ibid, p. 35.

[18] Daniel Bell, The Coming of Post-Industrial Society: A Venture in Social Forecasting, Heinemann, London, 1974, p. x.

[19] Masuda, 1981, op. cit., p. 2.

[20] Ian Miles, ‘The new post-industrial state’, Futures, 17, 6, December 1985, p. 591.

[21] Marien, 1985, op. cit., p. 650.

[22] J. Rifkin, ‘The other half of the computer revolution’, Datamation, May, 1983, p. 260. (This is a brief summary from J. Rifkin, Algeny, Viking Press, New York, 1983.).

[23] ibid., p. 262.

[24] Yoneji Masuda, ‘Hypothesis on the genesis of homo-intelligens’, Futures, 17, 5, October 1985, p. 483.

[25] John Platt, ‘The Future of AIDS’, The Futurist, 21, 6, 1987, p. 12.

[26] ibid., p. 11.

[27] ibid., p. 15.

[28] Renee Sabatier, ‘The global costs of AIDS’, The Futurist, 21, 6, 1987, p. 20.

[29] Ashley W. Goldsworthy, ‘Expanding economic horizons’, in Trevor Barr (ed.), Challenges and Change: Australia's Information Society, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1987, p. 38.

[30] As stated by Daniel Bell in an introduction to Simon Nora & Alain Mine, The Computerisation of Society, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1980, pp. viii-ix.

[31] Tom Forester (1985), in an editor's introduction to The Information Technology Revolution, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1985, pp. xiv-xv.

[32] Tom Forester, High-Tech Society, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1987, p. 102.

[33] Australian Telecommunications Commission, Annual Report 1987, p. 54 and other sources.

[34] The Overseas Telecommunications Commission, Annual Report 1987, p. 16.

[35] Alain Mine, ‘The informatisation of society’, in OECD, Information Computer Communications Policy 3: Policy Implications of Data Network Developments in the OECD Area. OECD, Paris, 1980, p. 156.

[36] T. Mandeville and S. Macdonald, “Technological change and employment in the informaton economy: the example of Queensland’, Prometheus, 3, 1, June 1985, p. 71.

[37] OECD, Information Activities, Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies: Impact on Employment, Growth and Trade, OECD, Paris, 1981, p. 22.

[38] M. R. Rubin, ‘US information economy matures’, Transnational Data and Communications Report, June 1986, p. 23.

[39] Fritz Machlup, The Production and Distribution of Knowledge in the United States, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1962.

[40] M.U Porat and M.R. Rubin, The Information Economy: Definition and Measurement (9 Vols.), US Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1977.

[41] M.R. Rubin and M.T. Huber, The Knowledge Industry in the United States: 1960-1980, Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1986.

[42] Fritz Machlup, Knowledge: Its Creation, Distribution and Economic Significance (3 Vols.), Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1980.

[43] Rubin, op. cit., p. 23.

[44] ibid.

[45] (Editorial) The Knowledge Society, Futures, 18, 6, December 1986, p. 730.

[46] J. F. Soupizet, ‘Information and new poles of power’, Information Age, 9, 3, July 1987, p. 170.

[47] Hans-Jürgen Engelbrecht, ‘An exposition of the information sector approach with special reference to Australia’, Prometheus, 3, 2, December 1985, p. 382.

[48] Jones, 1982, op. cit., p. 173.

[49] Krishnan Kumar, Utopia and Anti-Utopia in Moden Times, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1987.

[50] As collected in Eugene Kamenka (ed.), Utopias: Papers from the Annual Symposium of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1987.

[51] Kumar, 1987, op. cit., p. 410-411.

[52] Norman Macrae, The 2024 Report: A Concise History of the Future, 1974-2024, Sidgewick and Jackson Ltd., Great Britain, 1984.

[53] Masuda, 1981, op. cit., p. 30.

[54] Tom Stonier, The Wealth of Information: A Profile of the Post-Industrial Economy, Thames Methuen, London, 1983, p. 203.

[55] Kumar, 1987, op. cit., p. 99.

[56] George Orwell, Nineteen-Eighty-Four, Martin Seeker & Warburg Ltd., Great Britain, 1949.

[57] R. Vacca, The Coming Dark Age, Doubleday & Co., New York, 1973, p. 14.

[58] H. Rosenbrock et al., ‘A new industrial revolution?’ in T. Forester, (ed.), The Information Technology Revolution, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1985, p. 645.

[59] Simon Nora & Alain Mine, The Computerisation of Society, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1980, p. 1.

[60] ibid., p. 8.

[61] Tom Forester, 1987, op. cit., p. 8.

[62] Masuda, 1981, op. cit., p. 3.

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