Is there really an information revolution? What are the implications of information technology for our lives and social institutions? What social, political and ethical issues does it raise? This collection of papers by international specialists confronts these controversial questions. The book aims to provide a challange to many facile assumptions, making it a valuable resource for teaching and research on information technology at university level, particularly in social scientific and interdisciplinary courses. Designed to accompany the Open University course DT200 - An Introduction to Information Technology - the reader aims to go beyond usual conclusions, futurist speculation and specialist appraisal, and builds on social scientific research and thinking to bring out social rather than purely technical implications.