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The Information Society and the Welfare State Manuel Castells (Professor of Sociology and Professor of City and Regional Planning, University of California at Berkeley)

The Information Society and the Welfare State By Manuel Castells (Professor of Sociology and Professor of City and Regional Planning, University of California at Berkeley)

Summary

Finland has moved into the limelight of the information and communication technology world. Yet its social and cultural values and institutional arrangements are in marked contrast to Silicon Valley, another and better known model of an innovative region. In this book the authors explain the features and context of the Finnish Information Society.

The Information Society and the Welfare State Summary

The Information Society and the Welfare State: The Finnish Model by Manuel Castells (Professor of Sociology and Professor of City and Regional Planning, University of California at Berkeley)

Silicon Valley has been considered as the model that societies must imitate to succeed in the information age. However, recently another alternative has attracted strong international interest: the Finnish model. This is equally dynamic in technological and economic terms, but combines the information society with the welfare state. The Information Society and the Welfare State is the first accessible academic study of what the Finnish model really is. The authors analyse the factors that have enabled Nokia to become the world's leading telecommunications company, for example, and Linux to become the biggest challenger to Microsoft in the operating systems market. They discuss the development of Nokia and the Finnish innovation model, with important lesssons for businesses and national technology policies. However, the Finnish model's most radical and interesting feature is its attempt to combine technological and economic success with social justice and equality. The book shows how Finland has uniquely created a 'virtuous cycle' out of the information society and the welfare state: the successful information society makes the continued financing of the welfare state possible and the welfare state generates well-educated people in good shape for the information society's continued success. This model has significant implications for all societies where policy debates about the information society and/or public policy are on the agenda. Ultimately, the Finnish model proves that there is no one model for the information age, but that there is room for different policies and values.

The Information Society and the Welfare State Reviews

... this is an important piece of work that contains an impressive range of imformation about present-day Finland and it information society. * Enterprise & Society *
... discusses the lessons from both Nokia, and the Finnish Innovation model, for business and national technology policies. Essential reading for anyone with responsibilities in those areas - as well as being of interest to many general readers. * Long Range Planning *

About Manuel Castells (Professor of Sociology and Professor of City and Regional Planning, University of California at Berkeley)

Manuel Castells is Professor of Sociology, and Professor of City & Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley, where he was appointed in 1979 after teaching for twelve years at the University of Paris. He has also been a visiting professor in fifteen universities around the world, and an invited lecturer in hundreds of academic and professional institutions in thirty-five countries. Pekka Himanen works as a researcher in Europe and the United States. Following the completion of his Ph.D. eight years ago, he has also carried out field study in India, China, and Japan. He has been an adviser to the Finnish government on the information society, and to the Finnish Ministry of Eduacation and numerous universities on the virtual university. He works with some of the world's leading information technology companies on the human-oriented approaches to the information society.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Finnish Information Society in Global Context ; 1. The Mobile Valley: Nokia, Finland, and the Transformation of the Finnish Economy ; 2. Innovative about Innovating: The Unlikely Innovation System - The State, Corporate Business, Universities, and Hackers ; 3. The Welfare of the Nation: The Information Society and the Welfare State ; 4. The Local Information Society: Spatial Dynamics, Information Technology, and Public Policy ; 5. The Power of Identity: Identity Driving the Information Society and the Information Society Building Identity ; 6. The Finnish Model of the Information Society ; 7. Conclusion I: The Challenges for Finland ; 8. Conclusion II: Lessons from Finland

Additional information

GOR005016970
9780199256990
0199256993
The Information Society and the Welfare State: The Finnish Model by Manuel Castells (Professor of Sociology and Professor of City and Regional Planning, University of California at Berkeley)
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Oxford University Press
2002-10-03
212
Winner of Manuel Castells was awarded the Holberg International Memorial Prize in 2012.
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - The Information Society and the Welfare State