Conceptual Issues in Cyberspace

MIT3107/3207/M207

Stringer, G

University of Exeter
Creative Media and Information Technology (CMIT)

Exeter, UK

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Abstract

Module Purpose. This CMIT module can be taken for 15 or 20 credits, at level 3 or level M. It examines the role of the Internet in today's society, and discusses the problems the information society is bringing about.


Table of Contents

Preface
Education and Research
Higher Education
Delivering learning content effectively
Negotiating content online
Self-directed learning tools
Resource-based Learning
Digitising resources for preservation
Creating electronic documents
The social life of documents
Other Research Perspectives
Has the Internet helped or hindered research?
How are technologies affecting scholarship?
The Internet in Schools
How will schools use the Internet to enhance their teaching?
Will schools be able to keep up with rapidly advancing technology?
Should Internet research be encouraged?
Should we limit access to certain areas of the web?
The Virtual Marketplace
Trends in the Digital Economy
Information becomes a commodity
Information exchange is vital
Markets become global
Disintermediation and cybermediaries
Ebay - the Ultimate Cybermediary?
Evolution of E-commerce
Initial resistance
Reluctant first steps
Buying and selling online
Enhancing the online shopping experience
Buying and selling information-based products
Virtual Products and New Economies
iTunes and the Virtual Product
Web Advertising
Something for Nothing? Gift Economies
Problems arising from the Virtual Marketplace
Taxation across Borders
Further reading
Discussion
The Information Society
Social theory and the Internet
Post-industrial Societies
Network Societies and Flows
Work in the Information Society
Remote working
Work, Surveillance and Privacy
Equality and Human Rights
The Digital Divide
Open Societies, Open Governments
Internet Subversion
New Interactive Media
Singularity Theory and Inhumanism
Legal Issues 1
Patents and the Digital World
Some benchmark cases
Domain Name Piracy or Cybersquatting
Copyright Law
Copyright on the Web
Hyperlinking and Reuse of Information
The Public Domain and Finite Copyright
The Concept of the Commons
Eldred vs. Ashcroft
Practical Considerations
The Digital Copy
Peer to Peer File Sharing
A Current Case: Music Publishing
Some Solutions
Code, Copyright and Law
Some conclusions
Legal Issues 2
The need for security
Three areas of Internet security
Three aspects of data protection
Cryptography
Types of Encryption 1: Symmetric
Types of Encryption 2: Asymmetric
Problems with Strong Cryptography
Computer Crime and Legislation
Computer Misuse
Content Regulation
Firewalls and Intranets
Privacy and Data Protection
The Data Protection Acts
Further reading
Intelligence and Ubiquity
What is AI?
Uses of AI on the Internet
AI in Infrastructure
AI in Usability and Interaction
Autonomous Agents, Crawlers and Bots
What is an agent anyway?
Agents in Online Communities
Robots for Data Harvesting
Robot Protocols
Aside: Robot Ethics
AI today and tomorrow
The Ubiquitous Computer
Calm Technology
Wearable Computers
The Cyborg Body
Cyberspace Philosophy
What is Cyberspace?
The Shape of Cyberspace
Mathematical approaches
Approaches from Geography
The Death of Distance
New Geographies
Knowledge and the Internet
What is Knowledge?
Hyperlinks - meaningful and meaningless
Transient and persistent
Memory and Findability
Authority and the creation of canonical works
The Semantic Web
Cyberspace and Responsibility
Is cyberspace really a space?
The Future of Cyberspace
The Internet as a Technological Revolution
Bibliography
Glossary of Terms
Index