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IDSB10 Week_Two

Page history last edited by Matthew NeeFa Wang 11 years, 5 months ago

IDSB10H3 Knowledge and Communication for Development

 

Week of Sept. 17: From Information Society to Network Society

Framing the conceptual links between ICT, Knowledge and Development

 


 

Overview:

We are often told, by academics, businesses, governments, and development think tanks, that we now live in a knowledge-based economy. According to to the World Bank (World Development Report 1988-89), "Knowledge, not capital, is the key to sustained economic growth and improvements." And the World Bank report went on to suggest that access to modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and the knowledge and skills to make use of ICT, are keys for developing countries in moving into a global, integrated knowledge economy. 

 

This week, we will look closely at the origins and rationale of such a claim by looking at concepts and assumptions on which this claim is based. In particular, we will track the roots of the concept of Information Society and its economic assumptions about modes of production and consumption of knowledge. We will then look at the emergence of the concept of Network Society, which is now increasingly replacing the notion of Information Society.

 

What are the key characteristics of the Network Society and its mode of production, and how do these differ from the other forms of social and economic institutions? We will look at the early work of economist Fritz Machlup on the knowledge society, followed by other influential works by Peter Drucker, Daniel Bell, Manuel Castells (see assigned reading), and more recently, the work of Yochai Benkler, whose book The Wealth of Network (2006), has provided an important conceptual framework and vocabularies for describing and analyzing a host of new social collaborative behavour enabled by network architecture and design. Finally, we will look at what all these concepts mean for the understanding of development. Will people in the developing countries benefit from the potential of what the network economy has to offer, or will they fall further behind in the so-called Digital Divide? What is the appropriate way to frame the discussion about the role of technology in development, and why is the proper framing so important for policy development?

 


 

Key Learning Objectives:

By the end of the week, students should have a good understanding of:

  • The nature of the "New Economy"and its relations to industrial economy and the broad context of globalization
  • The technology infrastructure that makes the new Networked Information Economy possible
  • The ideological interpretations and assumptions underlying the various forms of the knowledge economy
  • Some key implications of the Network society in terms of social organizations, the nature of economic activities, and the role of the governments and their relations with their citizens
  • Why knowledge is considered to be key for understanding human development, and how different conception of the knowledge economy will have different policy implications

 


 

Key terms and concepts:

Knowledge, ICT, Information Society, Knowledge Society, Network Society, Knowledge Economy, Digital Divide, Technological Determinism, New Economy, Post-Industrial age, Globalization, Commons-based Peer Production, Networked Information Economy, Creative Economy, Learning Economy, Narrowcasting,

Fritz Machlup, Daniel Bell,  Manuel Castells, Yochai Benkler

 


Required Readings:

 

Castells, M. (2002). The Contours of the Network Society. Foresight , 2 (2), 151-157.

 

Peters, M. (2010). Three Forms of the Knowledge Economy: Learning, Creativity and Openness. British Journal of Educational Studies, 58 (1), 67-88.


 

Lecture Material:

While reviewing the lecture slides and video, feel free to take note on this Google doc, and also feel free to use it to flag questions you may have. You may also use the comment feature on this page to react to specific issues raised in the presentation.

Idsb10 week2 network_society

 

 

 

Slides with audio

 

 


Additional Resources:

 

Howard Rheingold's critique of conventional economic thinking based on the assumption of rational individual self-interest and competition as the driving force of market. He calls for more understanding and study of collaboration, especially new forms of collaboration made possible by network.

 


"Law professor Yochai Benkler explains how collaborative projects like Wikipedia and Linux represent the next stage of human organization. By disrupting traditional economic production, copyright law and established competition, they're paving the way for a new set of economic laws, where empowered individuals are put on a level playing field with industry giants. "                                                                                                                                
   

 


Discussion Questions:

These questions are to be answered in the course's Discussion Forum . The discussion forum is where you will provide in-depth and more reflective answers to questions that are posted weekly. Please read the guidelines on how to respond to the weekly questions.

1. This week’s readings and presentation highlight the broader shift away from rigid vertical modes of organization towards ones that are more fluid and horizontal.  How do you see this shift manifested in our political, social or economic systems?  Reflecting upon your own surroundings or experiences, how are we implicated by these shifts as citizens and consumers?

 

2. Benkler argues that networking technology has completely disrupted the "industrial" mode of economic production. Why and how is this disruption taking place, and what does this transition from the industrial information economy to networked information economy mean for international development?

 

 


Online Activities

 

1. Complete your individual profile on your own wiki page and link it to the student directory. The profile exercise should be completed by Friday Sept. 24.

See other students' pages for inspiration and see this page for Instructions for Creating an Online Profile .

 

2. Pick ONE of the terms or names from the "Key Terms and Concepts" section above and provide a definition of the term on this Glossary page. If the terms are all taken, please edit or improve on the existing definitions started by others.


Comments (22)

Matthew NeeFa Wang said

at 2:59 pm on Sep 17, 2012

Hello,

The IDSB10-Week 2 readings do not appear when I click the Required Readings links as shown above. When I click the Required Readings links, this appears: The page you were looking for was not found.
When I click slides with audio, this appears: Sorry-There was an error encountered while loading this video.

Thanks!

Leslie Chan said

at 4:23 pm on Sep 17, 2012

Thanks for pointing this out. It may have been a permission problem and I just fixed it.

With regard to the video, I am not sure what the problem is from your end. It may be a connectivity issue, or it may be an issue with your computer.

Is anyone else have problem with viewing the video? Is so, let me know what problem you are encountering.

Ketheesakumaran Navaratnam said

at 4:59 pm on Sep 17, 2012

The audio-slides didn't work for me either at the first attempt and I had the same failure message as Matthew had. But now it works fine :)

Matthew NeeFa Wang said

at 6:53 pm on Sep 17, 2012

At the 20:50 mark of the slides with audio-slide 16 in the week 2 powerpoint slides, are there different colours on each cylinder to distinguish between the different firms, governments and NGOs? What do the horizontal lines represent?

How should I construct the definitions of certain words on the Glossary page? By Googling it?

Leslie Chan said

at 7:57 pm on Sep 17, 2012

The horizontal lines represent new kinds of network that cut across institutional or organizational boundaries. This is the new kind of network that Castells and Benkler talked about.

With regard to the definitions, I would expect them to be your own synthesis in the first instance, based on the readings, presentations, and additional resources. Only then should you google for additional information. I should also mention that it would be a good and necessary practice to provide citations for your sources.

Great questions, Matthew!

Matthew NeeFa Wang said

at 9:14 am on Sep 18, 2012

how would you like the glossary terms to be cited? Citing the last name and page number of a certain article such as: (Castells 153)?

Matthew NeeFa Wang said

at 9:29 am on Sep 18, 2012

how come I cannot get a free account for the Discussion Forum? Whenever I enter the required information and by following the directions to the graphic I am not able to sign into the Forum? Is it because I am not providing a birth year?

Leslie Chan said

at 10:24 pm on Sep 18, 2012

I am having some problem with the Discussion forum software in terms of configurations. Once I figured this out I will send out some instructions on logging in and using the forum. Thanks for your patience.

Naseem Khan said

at 11:42 am on Sep 19, 2012

Brittany Yard said

at 5:42 pm on Sep 19, 2012

When watching rheingold, it made me think about collective action and how it was in the past compared to now. In some ways, I feel as if actual collective action to social dillemmas have decreased due to the convenience of technology. Does anyone feel the same or different?

Saman Goudarzi said

at 8:46 pm on Sep 23, 2012

Much like Castells suggests, the interenet is a tool for social change - not the cause of it. It connects billions of people together and helps get the "word" out much more efficiently than ever before. I don't think something like the Arab Spring would have become what it did without technology. I mean it all started with a Tunisian street vendor.
However, I do see where you're coming from, there are people who don't transform their technological actions to real world actions and believe it's sufficient enough to just "like" a facebook group.

Naseem Khan said

at 9:43 pm on Sep 20, 2012

I noticed that the discussion questions posted above and the ones in the discussion board are different. I've already wrote up answers for the ones posted above. Should I do both sets?

Naseem Khan said

at 4:43 pm on Sep 22, 2012

Nevermind!

Alessia Piccolo said

at 11:55 am on Sep 21, 2012

Professor Chan, which day must the Online Activities be completed each week?

Raissa Chua said

at 12:27 pm on Sep 21, 2012

Hi Professor Chan, I can't seem to get on the discussion forum. I tried making a UserID and password, but I keep getting denied.

rabia said

at 6:41 pm on Sep 22, 2012

Waiting to get accepted on the forums! :)
Aside from that. unfortunately, I feel like I'm falling behind. Is this course really suitable for first years like me?

Danielle Phan said

at 6:47 pm on Sep 22, 2012

Is there a forum we're suppose to be on? If so which one?

I've read all the readings required, and watched the videos posted. Keep up with the readings and the materials in the course; you shouldn't feel 'behind' if you you haven't done so.

rabia said

at 7:17 pm on Sep 22, 2012

I do read and try to catch up. But I feel like there is so much to remember. Material wise, I'm not lagging behind. It's the in depth understanding that I feel that I'm missing. Anyways..I've decided to re-read the material and write out all the stuff I've understood on a word document as a summary. Not sure how effective it will be, but hoping for the best.

rabia said

at 7:17 pm on Sep 22, 2012

The forum is listed on the course wiki main page. You have to register and get approved by the Professor.

Connor McCauley said

at 4:30 pm on Sep 23, 2012

With regards to the audio lecture. I do believe that the return seen through knowledge production is very high and it is very valuable in todays economy however I think its immediate return is not visible at least not in the education sector. Many students are coming out of school with high earning potentials and finding that there is no job for them. Even those finding jobs out of school are struggling to pay back thousands of dollars in student loans. This is definitely a flaw that I see in our knowledge society.

katarina said

at 6:59 pm on Sep 23, 2012

After watching the videos on Howard Rheingold's and Yochai Benkler's views, I felt that the words "collaboration" and "sharing" have never been more technologically relevant, as they are today. New networks that exist today require and encourage collaboration, so interaction and greater understanding, can be made possible. I agree with Benkler, when he says that Wikipedia is "the next stage of human organization". The laws that exist and have existed don't acknowledge this, and thus need to be changed to better reflect this current stage of human organization. I also like the point he makes that, by making these laws more relevant, individuals can have the same opportunities and recognition that "larger industry giants" would have. Hierarchy doesn't seem to matter in this respect. Collaboration is much more reflective of the views Benkler and Rheingold present.

Mina Waziri said

at 8:32 pm on Sep 23, 2012

In response to the second discussion question, I don't think there really can be a one way path towards development, as I have learned from previous courses, even with the transition towards a network economy. You can't expect technology to come to the rescue of development issues so to speak without taking into consideration the underlying development issues like literacy, women's empowerment etc.. what is the use of making these technologies available to the developing countries if the tools to use them effectively and for the desired purposes are not there?

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