- Paperback: 208 pages
- Publisher: Yale University Press; New edition edition (Oct 11 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0300101570
- ISBN-13: 978-0300101577
- Product Dimensions: 2.1 x 1.3 x 0.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 236 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Avid e-mailers and zealous Web surfers recognize that the Internet possesses its own linguistic system: grammar and mechanics are less important, abbreviations and "emoticons" are more so. But the differences in communication don't stop there. Gurak (Persuasion and Privacy in Cyberspace), an associate professor and director of the Internet Studies Center at the University of Minnesota, goes beyond examining the electronic world's free-and-easy wordsmithing to tackle the fundamental characteristics of how people online really communicate with one another. Becoming cyberliterate, she writes, means that one must "recognize that technologies have consequences, and that we can decide how we allow the Internet to be part of our lives." Cyberliteracy is a new skill: not only do online communications have aspects of both oral and written speech, they vary in their legitimacy netizens must analyze them to separate logical argument from illogical rant and e-mail hoax from e-mail truth. When defining cyberliteracy and detailing its effects, the book is convincing; when Gurak describes what an e-mail flame is, or how easy it is to shop online, however, she treads on familiar ground. Her thoughts on anonymity and gender are shared by many of her colleagues and other writers, and the enduring online privacy debates are given a cursory glance that fails to advance either side of the argument. When she sticks close to her academic rhetorician's roots, Gurak's writing is lively and edifying, but when she strays into broader and oft-considered topics, the work falters.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Gurak's premise is that "technologies have social consequences," and that an engaged, informed citizenry is essential if we are to tap technical advances in communication for the public good, and not just for commercial success. In opening chapters, she articulates four elements that characterize Internet communication-speed, reach, anonymity, and interactivity-and, in subsequent discussion, shows how these features conspire to spark changes in language use, attitudes, and behaviors on the part of online users. A laissez-faire approach by government to regulation of the Internet is viewed as inadequate in the face of concerns for privacy, and the U.S. posture on this key issue is contrasted with that taken in Europe. Gurak uses telling examples to flesh out her reasoning that it is vital to take control of our e-spaces, and in so doing provides a valuable alert to students willing to consider both the potential and the pitfalls of this medium. She urges the online community to be proactive, to develop critical analytical skills, and to voice concerns with an eye to industry decisions that have an impact on our wired lives. A final, well-phrased caution is that, ultimately, when the physical meets the virtual, "physicality rules." This book is a solid resource for contemporary-issues reports or for debate material; it offers an ample bibliography, plus links to Web sites of professional organizations interested in preserving privacy, shaping public policy, and focusing on the challenges of cyberspace.
Lynn Nutwell, Fairfax City Regional Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Lynn Nutwell, Fairfax City Regional Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Guide for "Navigating the Internet with Awareness",
By
This review is from: Cyberliteracy: Navigating the Internet with Awareness (Hardcover)
Cyberliteracy is, as its title might suggest, and as the author writes, "a rubric or a guide to literacy in cyberspace: a guide to cyberliteracy" (5). The book examines theories of literacy in light of the increase of computer mediated communication practices. Gurak argues that we need to develop a new cyberliteracy, one that will allow us not only to passively use computer technologies, but also to engage with them critically. Critical cyberliteracy involves understanding that artifacts have politics as well as understanding that users of technologies can also shape the future of technologies. Gurak writes: "Changes to our social spaces, our use of language, and our political and economic realities are ever more complex as the Internet becomes the mass communications medium of a new era" (4). Gurak's primary terms of analysis are speed, reach, anonymity, and interactivity, "the functional units by which most Internet communication takes place" (29). Each of these factors has changed dramatically as everyday life involves more and more computer mediated interactions. Understanding the implications of these four terms in relation to computer technologies forms the foundation of Gurak's proposed cyberliteracy.Cyberliteracy is not simply the functional "computer literacy" that we are commonly sold these days. Critical cyberliteracy involves not only knowing how to use computer technologies; not only realizing that technologies have a politics; not only understanding that technologies embody choices, but also an ability to put these understandings to work for us. A critical cyberliteracy is all of these, and also the power to interpret information encountered in cyberspace. This means, as Gurak argues, being able to analytically engage with data online. Does a particular web page have a subtle (or not-so-subtle) bias? Are online communications affected by perceptions of gender, even though gender is difficult to determine online? Who perpetrates flame wars and hoaxes, and why? What about privacy, copyright, and the commercialization of the online commons? For students and academics, research methods and distance education have drastically changed, but to what effect? Gurak explores all of these questions in Cyberliteracy, and does so in a clear, readable manner. As a guide to cyberliteracy, this book is accessible, entertaining, and informative. The book is also extremely timely: more than half of the U.S. population now uses the Internet. It is time we develop the tools for "navigating the Internet with awareness," as the subtitle suggests. Gurak's book is a good place to start.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Guide for "Navigating the Internet with Awareness",
By Laurie - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Cyberliteracy: Navigating the Internet with Awareness (Hardcover)
Cyberliteracy is, as its title might suggest, and as the author writes, "a rubric or a guide to literacy in cyberspace: a guide to cyberliteracy" (5). The book examines theories of literacy in light of the increase of computer mediated communication practices. Gurak argues that we need to develop a new cyberliteracy, one that will allow us not only to passively use computer technologies, but also to engage with them critically. Critical cyberliteracy involves understanding that artifacts have politics as well as understanding that users of technologies can also shape the future of technologies. Gurak writes: "Changes to our social spaces, our use of language, and our political and economic realities are ever more complex as the Internet becomes the mass communications medium of a new era" (4). Gurak's primary terms of analysis are speed, reach, anonymity, and interactivity, "the functional units by which most Internet communication takes place" (29). Each of these factors has changed dramatically as everyday life involves more and more computer mediated interactions. Understanding the implications of these four terms in relation to computer technologies forms the foundation of Gurak's proposed cyberliteracy.Cyberliteracy is not simply the functional "computer literacy" that we are commonly sold these days. Critical cyberliteracy involves not only knowing how to use computer technologies; not only realizing that technologies have a politics; not only understanding that technologies embody choices, but also an ability to put these understandings to work for us. A critical cyberliteracy is all of these, and also the power to interpret information encountered in cyberspace. This means, as Gurak argues, being able to analytically engage with data online. Does a particular web page have a subtle (or not-so-subtle) bias? Are online communications affected by perceptions of gender, even though gender is difficult to determine online? Who perpetrates flame wars and hoaxes, and why? What about privacy, copyright, and the commercialization of the online commons? For students and academics, research methods and distance education have drastically changed, but to what effect? Gurak explores all of these questions in Cyberliteracy, and does so in a clear, readable manner. As a guide to cyberliteracy, this book is accessible, entertaining, and informative. The book is also extremely timely: more than half of the U.S. population now uses the Internet. It is time we develop the tools for "navigating the Internet with awareness," as the subtitle suggests. Gurak's book is a good place to start.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Berglund Center for Internet Studies Review by Jeffrey Barlow,
By Berglund Center for Internet Studies - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Cyberliteracy: Navigating the Internet with Awareness (Paperback)
This book is very difficult to typify. At bottom, I think it intended to be a sort of survival manual, though the author might prefer that we view it as the McGuffey's reader of cyberspace. Its audience is the Internet user who can fully understand the postmodern voice and analysis, but who is too naïve to have already come to many if not most of Gurak's conclusions. It is definitely worth reading, but in part because it is a short work, quickly assimilated...For a full review see Interface, Volume 3, Issue 8. 0 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Cyberliteracy Book,
By J. Booth "amberle404" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Cyberliteracy: Navigating the Internet with Awareness (Hardcover)
The book was delivered in a reasonable amount of time and in good condition. I would definately do business with them again!
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