Today, information and the technologies that store and disseminate it are producing deep-rooted and widespread changes in society - changes of the same magnitude as those that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. The purpose of this book is to give a complete picture of the information society by examining in detail the social, economic, political, and cultural roles of information and information technology. This book is effectively a second edition of the author's classic The Information Society. In it, the author illustrates the major trends in and inter-relationships between information, information and communication technologies, and the global economy and society. In tracing the direction of information-based change he reveals the implications for ordinary citizens, for the quality of everyday life, for economic and social activity, and examines the prospects of nations and trading blocs. This book provides a new way of looking at society, one that is essential for understanding social and economic structures and processes in the information age.

This work explores the regulation of the Internet from an interdisciplinary perspective. In-depth coverage includes areas such as international political economy, law, politics, economics and sociology.

Today, information and the technologies that store and disseminate it are producing deep-rooted and widespread changes in society - changes of the same magnitude as those that occurred during the Industrial Revolution. The purpose of this book is to give a complete picture of the information society by examining in detail the social, economic, political, and cultural roles of information and information technology. This book is effectively a second edition of the author's classic The Information Society. In it, the author illustrates the major trends in and inter-relationships between information, information and communication technologies, and the global economy and society. In tracing the direction of information-based change he reveals the implications for ordinary citizens, for the quality of everyday life, for economic and social activity, and examines the prospects of nations and trading blocs. This book provides a new way of looking at society, one that is essential for understanding social and economic structures and processes in the information age.

In the first edition of Theories of the Information Society Frank Webster set out to make sense of the information explosion, taking a sceptical look at what thinkers mean when they refer to the information society, and critically examining all the major post-war theories and approaches to informational development.

Copyright is of considerable importance in today's global information society, and the rapid pace of technological developments has posed a significant challenge for copyright policymakers and legislators. The problems international, regional and national bodies are currently grappling with include: identifying and defining the range of rights to cover all the important economic methods of exploiting copyright works; enforcing these rights at a time when all such works have become capable of being digitized, transmitted instantaneously and, with or without authority, reproduced flawlessly and at minimal cost. Copyright in a Global Information Society examines the scope of authors' rights in relation to the exploitation of their works by broadcasting, whether terrestrial or by satellite, cabling or over computer networks, in three important jurisdictions and under relevant international conventions. The analysis traces the gradual expansion of the various exclusive rights granted by copyright law in response to technological developments and puts them in their modern context, focusing on the overarching right of public performance or communication. The author argues that the advent of modern technologies, which recognize no national boundaries, necessitate the adoption of an internationally harmonized concept of 'communication to the public' as the primary right applicable to the dissemination of copyright works in non-material form. This work is a valuable contribution to the study and understanding of copyright law and will be of great interest to academic and practising lawyers, and to those involved in shaping modern copyright policy.

"This book brings together an international and interdisciplinary forum of scholars and researchers to provide a comprehensive understanding of the role that information plays in all aspects of modern society including law enforcement, democracy, governance, finance, rural development, and more"--