Niklas Luhmann: Ecological Communication (1986–) [DE, EN]

“This work by Niklas Luhmann further develops the theories of the author by offering a challenging analysis of the relationship between society and the environment.

Luhmann extends the concept of ‘ecology’ to refer to any analysis that looks at connections between social systems and the surrounding environment. He traces the development of the notion of ‘environment’ from the medieval idea—which encompasses both human and natural systems—to our modern definition, which separates social systems from the external environment.

In Luhmann’s thought, human beings form part of the environment, while social systems consist only of communications. Utilizing this distinctive theoretical perspective, Luhmann presents a comprehensive catalog of society’s reactions to environmental problems. He investigates the spheres of the economy, law, science, politics, religion, and education to show how these areas relate to environmental issues.”

Publisher Westdeutsches Verlag, Opladen, 1986
4th edition published by VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften/GWV Fachverlage GmbH, Wiesbaden, 2004
ISBN 3531517759
275 pages

English edition
Translated by John Bednarz, Jr.
Publisher University of Chicago Press, 1989
ISBN 0226496511, 9780226496511
187 pages

Ökologische Kommunikation. Kann die moderne Gesellschaft sich auf ökologische Gefährdungen einstellen? (German, 4th ed., 1986/2004, updated on 2012-7-17)
Ecological Communication (English, 1989, no OCR, updated on 2012-7-17)

Marleen Wynants, Jan Cornelis (eds.): How Open Is the Future? Economic, Social and Cultural Scenarios inspired by Free & Open Source Software (2008)

In this book a wide range of free-thinking programmers, scientists, artists, designers, engineers, activists, researchers and scholars express their views about various ways of creating and sharing knowledge in an age characterised by thephenomenal rise of the Internet and the growing tendency to protect all intellectual property.

There are two reasons why the free and open-source software issue has become such an inspirational and powerful force today: the rise of the Internet and the growing tendency to protect all intellectual property. Internet technology made it possible to handle massive decentralized projects and irreversibly changed our personal communication and information research. Intellectual property, on the other hand, is a legal instrument which – due to recent excesses – became the symbol of exactly the opposite of what it had been developed for: the protection of the creative process. As a result, free-thinking programmers, scientists, artists, designers, engineers and scholars are daily trying to come up with new ways of creating and sharing knowledge.

Publisher Asp / VUB Press / Upa, Brussel, 2008
Crosstalks Series
ISBN 9054873787, 9789054873785
534 pages

publisher
google books

PDF

Raymond Wacks: Privacy: A Very Short Introduction (2010)

It is widely recognized that our privacy is under threat. Electronic surveillance, biometrics, CCTV, ID cards, RFID codes, online security, encryption, the interception of email, the monitoring of employees–all raise fundamental questions about privacy. Legal expert Raymond Wacks here provides a compact introduction to this complex and controversial concept. He explores the tension between free speech and privacy which is often tested by paparazzi, with their intrusive journalism and sensational disclosures of the private lives of celebrities. He also looks at laws in many nations that regulate the collection and use of personal information, whether highly sensitive–medical and financial information–or commonplace transactions and details about us. The protection of personal data represents a classic instance of the law’s struggle to keep abreast with technology, as the nullinformation revolutionnull has spawned problems that test the ability of the law to provide adequate protection against abuse. The book concludes that, while under attack from many quarters, privacy remains an essential human right, recognized as such by many international organizations.

* Examines why we need privacy and value it so much, and what constitutes an invasion of privacy
* Considers the issues of privacy and security, privacy and the paparazzi, and the protection of personal data
* Discusses the importance of privacy in debates about law and ethics
* Puts privacy in its wider social context by giving examples of its sociological and psychological impact
* Ray Wacks is an expert on the legal protection of privacy and how this protection varies in different countries
* Part of the bestselling Very Short Introductions series – over three million copies sold worldwide

Publisher Oxford University Press, 2010
Series: Very Short Introductions
ISBN 0199556539, 9780199556533
Length 160 pages

publisher
google books

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