2.2 The effect of technology on productivity In each industrial revolution, new inventions radically changed the way that production and distribution were organised, and often led to large and rapid increases in the efficiency of production. The rise of electricity, for example, allowed US productivity to increase in the manufacturing sector (as opposed to the agricultural or service sector) by more than 5 per cent per annum throughout the 1920s. Let us pause a moment and consider what this means. The term productivity refe
1.5.2 Ways of organising yourself How do you organise yourself? Make a note of how you organise your: emails internet bookmarks or favorites computer files you 1.4.7 T is for Timeliness The date when information was produced or published can be an important aspect of quality. This is not quite as simple as saying that 'good' information has to be up to date. Here is an example of a news item from an on 1.4.6 P is for Provenance The provenance of a piece of information (i.e. who produced it? where did it come from?) may provide another useful clue to its reliability. It represents the 'credentials' of a piece of information that support its status and perceived value. It is therefore very important to be able to identify the author, sponsoring body or source of your information. Why is this important? 1.4.3 R is for Relevance Relevance is an important factor to consider when you are evaluating information. It isn’t so much a property of the information itself but of the relationship it has with your question or your ‘information need’. For example,if you are writing an essay about the geography of Chile, a book or website about Chilean political history would not be relevant. So there are a number of ways in which a piece of information may not be relevant to your query: 1.4.2 P is for Presentation By presentation, we mean, the way in which the information is communicated. You might want to ask yourself: Is the language clear and easy to understand? Is the information clearly laid out so that it is easy to read? Are the fonts large enough and clear? Are the colours effective? (e.g. white or yellow on black can be difficult to read) If there are graphics or photos, do they help 1.3.10 Choosing the right tool for the job Before searching it is always a good idea to check what the source you have chosen covers to make sure it will unearth information that matches your search need (you will notice that all the resources we’ve covered in this guide have short descriptions to enable you to decide which to use). Some of the decision makers, depending on the context of your search might be: Does it have full text? Does it cover the right subject? 1.3.9 Internet resources There are many websites where you will find useful information on society. With all information on the internet you need to make a judgement on the reliability of the information. 1.3.6 Journals Journals and articles written by academics or experts are an excellent source of information. Journals are usually published monthly or quarterly, and contain a selection of articles providing details of recent research. Often they will also contain reviews of relevant books. They are usually published more quickly than books, and so are often more up to date. To access content of journals, most publishers require a subscription. There are, however, some journals which you can freely ac 1.3.1 Introduction You can find a lot of information about society on the internet. To find this information you might choose to use: internet resources; search engines and subject gateways; books and electronic books; databases; journals; encyclopedias. Learning outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: conduct your own searches efficiently and effectively; find references to material in bibliographic databases; make efficient use of full text electronic journals services; critically evaluate information from a variety of sources; understand the importance of organising your own information; identify some of the systems available; describe how 2.3 Watching the programme There are two main themes to consider as you watch the programme: (a) Image and identity Note down examples o 2.2 Postscript A headline-grabbing weekend of ‘midsummer madness’, when six murders occurred in (parts of) Glasgow over the weekend of 5–6 August 1995, reinforced the ongoing nature of contestation and debate about the issues discussed in the programme. As noted in The Scotsman (8 August 1995), the legacy of the imagery of No Mean City was quickly resurrected by the press – for example, ‘a darker side to that much-vaunted transformation of Glasgow from No Mean City to Culture City’ Learning outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: explore ideas about place and identity using our concept of ‘geographical imagination’ by examining the images that represent a place to reveal how those images came about; explore ideas about place and identity by examining the images that represent a place to reveal two sets of relationships that are important in understanding the character of a place: power relations and local-global relations. 2.1 Activity 1: Oil Lives Oil Lives consists of a series of photographs of an individual and some written text based on interviews with them. Two of these series are reproduced in this section, with Logan's ‘War Scrapbook’ in between them. Take some time to look at the photographs and to read the words accompanying them. Try to work out first what parts of the photographs have been brought together from different originals. What do Owen Logan's decisions about how to picture the industry and some of its workers su Acknowledgements The material below is contained in chapter 1 of Economics and Economic Change Microeconomics (2006) (eds) Graham Dawson, Maureen Mackintosh and Paul Anand which is published by Pearson Education Limited in association with The Open University. Copyright © The Open University The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and not subject to Creative Commons Licence and used under licence (see terms and conditions). Grate 3.5 Looking ahead: economic change and human well-being There are different interpretations of the new economy and its impact on human well-being, on whether the changes sometimes labelled the ‘new economy’ are desirable or beneficial. It is time to review the benefits and costs of the new economy. 3.1 Introduction As well as looking at the behaviour of firms and the industries and markets to which they belong, economists also engage in a different style of inquiry, thinking about what economic change means for the lives of the people involved. Once again there is a variety of interpretations and different ideas but this time they concern the desirability of economic change. What benefits does the ‘new economy’ bring and what costs, or negative effects, does it impose on people? In analysing these b 2.4 Information and communication technologies The new economy is much more than a shift from manufacturing to services and the increased integration of economies on a global scale. It is also strongly linked to the development of ICT, which has facilitated the development of new processes and products, especially ‘knowledge goods’ which are described below. The internet has increased the ‘connectivity’ or interconnectedness between economies by making textual communication possible in real time as well as providing a new me Learning outcomes After studying this unit you should be able to: appreciate different understandings of the new economy; understand claims about the benefits and costs of the new economy.
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SocioWeb An independent guide to Sociological resources available on the Web.
Activity 1: Watching the programme
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