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A note on the origins of the 'information society'

Duff, Alistair; Criag, David; McNeill, David A

Authors

Alistair Duff

David Criag

David A McNeill



Abstract

The origins of the 'information society' are not well under stood. This paper assembles and evaluates the available data with a view to providing clarification of the provenance of a now widely-used and influential concept. Two main accounts have appeared. The first features Machlup's 1962 monograph The Production and Distribution of Knowledge in the United States. The second claims Japanese proven ance, citing articles in the broadcasting journal Hoso Asahi. Various equivocations and confusions are discussed, such as the tendency in both accounts to conflate the 'information society' with the concept of an 'information industry'. The second account quickly emerges as the stronger. However, it is argued (perhaps controversially) that ultimate credit for the invention of the 'information society' belongs not to the authors of the articles published in Hoso Asahi, but to that journal's editorial staff. While the paper is primarily inter pretative, some additional research data are cited.

Citation

Duff, A., Criag, D., & McNeill, D. A. (1996). A note on the origins of the 'information society'. Journal of Information Science, 22(2), 117-122. https://doi.org/10.1177/016555159602200204

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 1996-04
Deposit Date May 16, 2016
Journal Journal of Information Science
Print ISSN 0165-5515
Electronic ISSN 1741-6485
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 22
Issue 2
Pages 117-122
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/016555159602200204
Keywords Information society; knowledge;
Public URL http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/id/eprint/9943
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/016555159602200204




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