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All Outputs (24)

Castells versus Bell: A comparison of two grand theorists of the information age (2022)
Journal Article
Duff, A. S. (2023). Castells versus Bell: A comparison of two grand theorists of the information age. European Journal of Social Theory, 26(1), 90-108. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310221099695

Daniel Bell (1919–2011) and Manuel Castells (1942–) are the grand theorists of the information age. The article provides a detailed, up-to-date, comparative analysis of their writings. It begins with their methodologies, identifying numerous commonal... Read More about Castells versus Bell: A comparison of two grand theorists of the information age.

Computopia Revisited: Yoneji Masuda’s Realistic Utopianism (2020)
Journal Article
Duff, A., & Ito, Y. (2020). Computopia Revisited: Yoneji Masuda’s Realistic Utopianism. Keio communication review, 42(3), 53-74

Utopianism has always had a bad press. The whole genre, not least classics such as Thomas More’s Utopia (More, 1516), Robert Owen’s New View of Society (Owen, 1813), and William Morris’s News From Nowhere (Morris, 1891), has allegedly been shot throu... Read More about Computopia Revisited: Yoneji Masuda’s Realistic Utopianism.

Pundit for post-industrial times? Walter Lippmann as an information society theorist. (2013)
Journal Article
Duff, A. (2013). Pundit for post-industrial times? Walter Lippmann as an information society theorist. Information, Communication and Society, 16, 967-988. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2012.755209

Walter Lippmann (1889–1974) was perhaps the most prominent pundit of the late-industrial era. His place in the annals of journalism is secure, but his legacy should not stop there. The article argues for a fresh interpretation of Lippmann as an early... Read More about Pundit for post-industrial times? Walter Lippmann as an information society theorist..

Neo-Rawlsian Co-ordinates: Notes on A Theory of Justice for the Information Age. (2006)
Journal Article
Duff, A. (2006). Neo-Rawlsian Co-ordinates: Notes on A Theory of Justice for the Information Age. International journal of information ethics, 6, 17-22

The ideas of philosopher John Rawls should be appropriated for the information age. A literature review identifies previous contributions in fields such as communication and library and information science. The article postulates the following neo-... Read More about Neo-Rawlsian Co-ordinates: Notes on A Theory of Justice for the Information Age..

‘Laying a Foundation of Fact’: Fabianism and the information society thesis. (2006)
Journal Article
Duff, A. (2006). ‘Laying a Foundation of Fact’: Fabianism and the information society thesis. Information, Communication and Society, 9, 515-536. https://doi.org/10.1080/13691180600858754

This article explores affinities between postindustrialism and modes of thinking characteristic of the Fabian Society, especially in the first half of the twentieth century. In the hands of Daniel Bell and others, the information society thesis postu... Read More about ‘Laying a Foundation of Fact’: Fabianism and the information society thesis..

Social Engineering in the Information Age (2005)
Journal Article
Duff, A. S. (2005). Social Engineering in the Information Age. Information Society, 21(1), 67-71. https://doi.org/10.1080/01972240590895937

This article explores the relevance of social engineering for the postindustrial epoch. The concept of social engineering has been dormant in recent years, stained by the behavior of police states in the 20th century. Yet stripped of its excesses,... Read More about Social Engineering in the Information Age.

Four “e”pochs: the story of informatization (2003)
Journal Article
Duff, A. (2003). Four “e”pochs: the story of informatization. Library Review, 52(2), 58-64. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530310462125

Informatization is a term of Japanese provenance denoting major systemic change resulting from the application of information technology. At the macro (economic and sociological) level, authors such as Fritz Machlup and Daniel Bell have outlined the... Read More about Four “e”pochs: the story of informatization.

The status of information society studies in the information science curriculum. (2002)
Journal Article
Duff, A. (2002). The status of information society studies in the information science curriculum. Library Review, 51(3/4), 139-148. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530210420997

Argues for a central role for information society studies in degree programmes. Information society studies is an interdisciplinary specialism devoted to examination of the macrolevel role of information flows and technologies. The views of informati... Read More about The status of information society studies in the information science curriculum..

On the present state of information society studies. (2001)
Journal Article
Duff, A. (2001). On the present state of information society studies. Education for Information, 19, (231-244). ISSN 0167-8329

The paper assesses the present condition of the emerging specialism. Topics include the information economy; information technology; the information explosion; the Japanese version of information society; information society as social democracy; soci... Read More about On the present state of information society studies..

Daniel Bell’s theory of the information society (1998)
Journal Article
Duff, A. (1998). Daniel Bell’s theory of the information society. Journal of Information Science, 24(6), 373-393. https://doi.org/10.1177/016555159802400601

Daniel Bell is recognised to be the foremost writer on the information society. The paper expounds his writings in detail, showing their development from the 1960s to the 1990s. It is argued that his position has always contained three distinguishabl... Read More about Daniel Bell’s theory of the information society.