Current Controversies - The Information Highway (hardcover edition) [Hardcover]

Charles P. Cozic (Author)

Book Description

Series: Current Controversies | Publication Date: June 1, 1994

The merging of computer and communications technologies into an "electronic superhighway" is transforming the way society works and plays. This anthology contains the following chapters: What Is the Information Highway? How Should the Information Highway Be Developed? Will the Information Highway Benefit Society? Should Computer Content Be Regulated? (20040901)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Greenhaven. 1996. PLB $19.95; pap. $11.55. Grade 8 Up-The editors have gathered newspaper and magazine articles and book and speech excerpts that express different viewpoints on a number of questions. Because none of the pieces were written specifically for these books, they do not dovetail together or answer one another's points consistently. Information Highway includes readily readable pieces, but few clear-cut controversies to discuss. One of its four topics simply attempts to define the "information highway." The others explain how to develop it, whether it's good or bad for society, and whether and how to regulate it. Reproductive Technologies has no difficulty finding controversies to address, including surrogate motherhood, creating pregnancy in post-menopausal women, genetic testing, and regulation of the reproductive technology industry. But readers will not have an easy time wading through these arguments, which range from warm, fuzzy personal accounts to shrill, feminist horror stories to dry, clinical arguments full of abbreviations and double negatives. An additional problem is that in the excerpting process, sources of some of the authors' references have been lost. This title may be useful as a starting place for debate research, particularly where periodical resources are limited, but readers will find the relevant chapters of Carl Heintze's Medical Ethics (Watts, 1987; o.p.) or Ruth Macklin's Surrogates & Other Mothers (Temple Univ., 1994) better organized. In both volumes, type size and margins are comfortable, but there are no illustrations. Quotes from the articles are printed against gray boxes scattered throughout, often a page or two away from where they occur in the text. The extensive bibliographies make it clear that many other sources exist.?Margaret Chatham, Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library of Fairfax County Library System, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 9^-12. With the majority of its articles sporting 1994 and 1995 copyright dates, this book should already be out-of-date. After all, it deals with that fast-moving target, the Internet. Yet, surprisingly, it isn't. In spite of the rapidly changing technology involved in transporting information across the superhighway, the theoretical and philosophical questions regarding its use remain much the same: Should we filter its contents for children? Should government or private business shoulder most of the costs of the infrastructure? Is the information highway an ultimate boon or threat to society? Each of these policy-setting questions--and others--are debated in this collection of carefully selected speeches and articles pulled from a variety of technology and mainstream magazines and newspapers. Additional books and periodicals are included in the bibliography; organizations to contact and a comprehensive index round out an excellent volume. Students writing research papers, involved in debates, or simply interested in the topic will find this offering in the Current Controversies series an invaluable resource. Frances Bradburn

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Greenhaven Press; 1 edition (June 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565103750
• ISBN-13: 978-1565103757
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,519,792 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)