The Network Society: From Knowledge to Policy

by Manuel Castells (Editor), Gustavo Cardoso (Editor)

The world stands at the crossroads of development of the network society. Yet current social systems stall the dynamics of creativity. Is government ready to accept democracy of communication? Are economics players aware of the need to redefine property rights? Jorge Sampaio, President of the Portugese Republic, invited prominent researchers and politicians from the U.S., EU and South America to examine the opportunities and challenges of the network society--and to offer recommendations for policy.

Paperback

First published February 1, 2006

About the author

Manuel Castells is Professor of Communication and the Wallis Annenberg Chair in Communication Technology and Society at the Annenberg School for Communication, University of Southern California, as well as Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, Research Professor at the Open University of Catalonia, and Marvin and Joanne Grossman Distinguished Visiting Professor of Technology and Society at MIT. He is the author of, among other books, the three-volume work The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture.

Reviews

[Luís Gouveia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este é um livro interessante sobre a sociedade em rede
Está disponível sem custo na Web (www.umass.edu/digitalcenter/research/...)

É um volume considerável que está organizado em 6 partes e que contém 18 capítulos que cobrem diversas áreas das questões da sociedade em rede, em especial os aspectos de dimensão de planeamento e de produção de políticas públicas para o "novo" mundo digital.

Está em Inglês e conta com a participação de autores com autoridade suficiente para constituir uma leitura interessante.

Um comentário crítico sobre parte do livro está disponível em http://www.slideshare.net/lmbg/memo-n...

Alguns dos dados do livro (do inicio da primeira década do século, demonstram um optimismo e um contexto que entretanto mudou. Até neste contexto, é interessante verificar como alguns dos pressupostos marcaram de forma tão diversa o progresso expectável e como pensar o futuro é sempre uma missão tão difícil - quem diria em 2005, que 2008 seria tão terrível para as finanças mundiais e, em especial, para o mundo ocidental,,,

[Radicle5 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quote Jorge Sampaio from the Afterword chapter: "... the Information Society is already having real effects on the value systems, beliefs and representations we use to guide our actions and with which we learn to perceive ourselves and others."
Although this book was published a decade ago, I found it enlightening to learn how various countries are trying to adapt to the changes coming about as a result of the information revolution. The countries in this study have all embraced the fact that in order to obtain the maximum benefits of technological change there must also be organizational change. Stategies for change, such as the Digital Agenda in Chile, have relatively quickly boosted the economy of Chile and provided a better way of life for the citizens.

[Donia]

Read for my Globalization and Communication course.

Reading about network societies near midnight should be avoided at all times, although at least Castells had SOMETHING positive to say about it.