The telegraph: A case study in the sociology of technology innovation.
Item
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Title
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The telegraph: A case study in the sociology of technology innovation.
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Identifier
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AAI9605626
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identifier
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9605626
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Creator
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Lubrano, Annteresa.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Dean Savage
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Date
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1995
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, General
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Abstract
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Technology is often perceived to be the impetus for social change. Information technologies help to shape the economic, political, and cultural life of a country. Because of the importance of new technologies, much sociological and economic research has been conducted on the origin, diffusion and impact of new technologies. Communication, being the lifeblood of society, was chosen as the area of concentration concerning innovations. This work examines the innovation process from a sociological point of view, focusing on the telegraph as the first modern communication technology which significantly altered the ways in which people interacted with each other. The telegraph proved to be typical of many of the communication innovations which followed it, and this history is also examined.;The diffusion phase of the innovation process is crucial to the new invention becoming embedded in the social structure. This work offers a new model for technology diffusion that is specific to interpersonal communication technology, one that is sensitive to the special needs of such technologies, that is, the systemic and infrastructure needs of interpersonal communication technologies. Part I of this work examines the diffusion models of Rogers (1983), Markusen (1989), and Markus (1987) in comparison to the newly hypothesized model, and applies this new model to telegraph technology. Part II of this work focuses on the impact of telegraph technology on business, especially as it relates to organizational structure, monopoly, and the introduction of new jobs. Furthermore the impact on social stratification (as it relates to the telegraph's role in aiding the emergence of the new lower middle class, and in terms of women's place in this new area of work) and politics (focused mainly on the contribution of telegraph technology to the emergence of the global community) is also examined.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
