Diving into the bitstream : information technology meets society in a digital world / M. Barry Dumas.

"Nationwide, and indeed worldwide, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of access to information. Accordingly, information technology (IT), broadly defined and its role beyond the internal workings of businesses has leapt into the social consciousness. Diving into the Bitstream distinguishes itself by weaving together the concepts and conditions of IT. What distinguishes these trends is their focus on the impacts of IT on societies, and the responsibilities of IT's creators and users. The author pulls together important, often complex issues in the relationships among information, information technologies, and societal constructs. The text explores a synopsis of these issues that are foundations for further consideration. "-- Provided by publisher.

"This book weaves together the concepts and conditions of IT to offer a contextualized look at one of the most popular, relevant, and promising industries of today. But what distinguishes this book is its focus on the impact of IT on societies, and the responsibilities of IT's creators and users. The author pulls together important, often complex issues from the relationships among information, information technologies, and societal constructs. With its wide array of topics and easy-to-process language and presentation, this book creates a space for a reader to not only learn, but also to evaluate and question the implications of IT's place in society"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [258]-260) and index.

Can we suspend our beliefs? -- Understanding numbers -- reading between the lines -- An aura of accuracy -- Precision may not be relevant -- Extreme values render averages misleading -- Forecasts presume continuance -- Correlation is not causation -- Comparability counts -- Missing information -- Rounding does not mean loss of accuracy -- Context eliminates vagueness -- And so -- we are what we know -- Consequences -- The business difference -- when too much information isn't -- Personalization -- the answer or the question? -- Attention everyone -- now hear this -- Who's on it first? -- 3. Connections -- the Internet, the Web, and the others -- In the beginning -- a little shiny ball -- A modest start -- the ARPANET -- Slow progress, then boom -- the Internet -- So what actually is the Internet and how does it work? -- Finding the trees in the forest -- the domain name system -- Sorry, we're all out of addresses -- IP revisited -- Addresses galore and more -- IPv6.

Connecting to the Internet -- Consumers and providers -- the network neutrality debate -- The regulation dilemma -- On the go -- bringing the Internet along -- The World Wide Web -- It began with a proposal -- So what actually is the Web? -- The Web 203-2-1 -- Behind the portal -- A Web site for any business -- or for you -- And the others -- And so -- wielding power -- The persistent digital divide -- 4. That is to say -- free expression and privacy -- The free expression mandate -- Limits to protection -- Many limits are contextual -- Audience and purpose can make a difference -- So can the type of IT and the role of the FCC -- Broadcast media -- Different treatment for cell phones, VoIP, and cable TV -- Venue ownership takes precedence -- Censorship -- the one-way street -- The Chinese experience -- Breaching the barriers -- A stealth approach -- Privacy complicates the picture -- A fuzzier mandate -- Disclosure -- Public lives, private lives -- IT affects outcomes.

Identifying the unidentified -- With our knowledge and without -- Personalization revisited -- Personalization's analog, data profiling -- The whistleblower -- risk and reward -- Laws and protections, more or less -- WikiLeaks -- global whistleblower, global hero, global villain -- Security -- yet another complication -- And so -- where do we stand? -- IT on the job -- Which leaves us where? -- 5. What's mine is whose? -- intellectual property -- Intellectual property -- what and why -- Copyright -- a little history -- The IT effect -- Legislators try to cope -- WIPO to the rescue -- The DMCA -- DRM invigorated -- BitTorrent joins the fray -- Unlocking content -- Copyright holders fight infringement -- Rethinking business models -- Patent -- a little history -- WIPO steps in -- Types of patents -- Protection but not secrecy -- The IT effect -- Taking unfair advantage -- Legislative difficulty -- Patent cache -- the new battle armor and armament -- Trademark -- a little history.

Types of trademarks -- Trademark dilution -- And so -- innovation stimulator or destroyer -- Copyright -- sensible and strange -- Patents follow a similar path -- Trademarks -- not quite as clear-cut as they seem -- It all comes down to this -- 6. You, me, and everyone else -- alone together and vice versa -- Relationships -- Some definitions -- A little history -- Bulletin boards -- a precursor -- Fidonet, expanding reach -- Next up, social networks -- Aspects of socializing -- The socialization debates -- Business on board -- Impacts rising -- A variety of purposes -- Upending the social order -- a spark and sometimes a flame -- And so -- the many directions of impact -- Implications for control -- From the bottom -- replacing formal organizations -- Spreading the news -- Too much of a good thing? -- balance, please -- 7. Attacks, bit by bit -- from nuisance to cyber warfare -- A brief history of hacking -- A broad range of activities -- Inside out -- leaky barriers.

The privacy sphere deflates -- A big bag of tricks -- Spam -- Denial of service attacks -- Spoofing -- Social engineering -- Malware -- Fighting back -- Firewalls -- Proxy servers -- Screening software -- Antivirus programs -- Spam avoidance -- Identification -- Human at the keyboard -- Two key user authentication adds security -- Code signing -- Securing transmissions -- Honeypots -- laying a trap to catch hackers -- Cyber terrorism and cyber warfare -- a rain of bit bombs to attack people, systems, and infrastructure -- Points of attack -- And so -- keeping the bad guys at bay -- Security adds other issues -- 8. Mind and machine -- artificial intelligence -- A little history -- A different view -- The imitated mind -- Sense and sensibility -- Progress on many fronts -- Becoming ordinary -- And so -- master or slave? -- Computing power -- the end of the line? -- Day to day -- Mind and matter -- 9. We are what we do -- ethics and responsibilities -- A little background.

Some major concepts -- Conflict of interest -- IT enters the picture -- IT as a neutral actor -- IT as a preordained actor -- IT as an ethical actor -- Funding influences development -- Intersections -- Free expression -- Privacy -- Implications -- Intellectual property -- Artificial intelligence -- Professional ethics -- The green way -- And so -- reaping what we sow -- 10. The future lies ahead -- we're off to see ... -- Some semi-persistent patterns -- Platform convergence -- Dedicated devices have a role -- Media convergence -- Cultural convergence -- The cloud -- More clouds in the forecast -- Revaluing privacy -- Identity, hidden or revealed -- Tracking and more -- Facial recognition software -- Legal safeguards fall short -- Network neutrality, up or down? -- The shifting digital divide -- Another look at AI -- The cyborg scenario -- Helping or snooping? -- Workforce shifts -- old trend, new twist -- And so -- the global imperative, keeping up with the chip.