Universal Access To E-mail: Feasibility And Societal Implications

Universal Access To E-mail: Feasibility And Societal Implications
by Robert H. Anderson

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About Book

Choice
A readable, informative, and thought-provoking report. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional.

Book Reviews on the Internet
Should be on the desk of all communications policymakers. Grade: A.

Larry Irving, U.S. Department of Commerce
I commend the team of RAND researchers...they did an outstanding job and made a great contribution to understanding the issues.

Frank Fukuyama, The End of History and Trust
Extremely useful . . . for addressing the social impact of these technologies.

Michael Nelson, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
A comprehensive treatment of issues pertaining to electronic mail....I urge you to read the report.

Kathryn Brown, National Telecommunications Information Agency
An excellent piece....I was struck by the consumer orientation of this report and was really gladdened by it.

Howard Rheingold, San Francisco Examiner
...thorough and far-reaching, worthwhile reading for anyone who wonders what good might come out of all these new telecommunications tools.

Howard Rheingold San Francisco Examiner
...thorough and far-reaching, worthwhile reading for anyone who wonders what good might come out of all these new telecommunications tools.

Library Journal
Recommended for libraries serving informed decisionmakers.

Journal of Governement Information
This book, replete with good and relevant statistical data, is a required purchase for any library.

Book Description
As e-mail sweeps the nation, it builds a gap between the rich and the disadvantaged. Here are recommendations to make e-mail accessible to all.

From the Publisher
Those of us who use electronic mail (e-mail) systems extensively toassist in conducting our business or personal affairs understand thesignificant advantages derived from its key attributes: Both parties to the transaction need not be on-line at the sametime-e-mail is stored in an electronic "inbox" until accessed. The information arrives in a "machine-readable" form such thatit can be stored, retrieved, forwarded, cut-and-pasted into newmessages, replied to, and reused in flexible ways. It is fast, with most messages arriving (worldwide) within minutesof being sent. Messages may contain combinations of text, pictures, diagrams,voice annotations, even video clips.As more of our correspondents obtain e-mail addresses, more of ourcommunication and commerce may be conducted through this efficientmedium. To those on-line, e-mail provides a general-oftensubstantial-increase in effectiveness, productivity, and access torelevant information.What if e-mail were as ubiquitous as telephones, TVs, and VCRs, sothat literally everyone were on-line, accessible by e-mail, and able tosend messages to bulletin boards, news groups, friends, family, andcolleagues? Is this technically feasible? If so, at what cost? Whatwould be the personal and societal benefits resulting from "universalaccess to e-mail?" In particular, in addition to possible economicbenefits, could universal access help in creating a more aware and participatory democracy by aiding the formation of interest groups("virtual communities"), access to current information, and person-to-person contacts?This is the final report of a two-year RAND study attempting to developsome answers to the above questions. It is designed as asourcebook on key social, technical, economic, and international issuesrelated to providing universal access to e-mail within the UnitedStates. It is our hope that this report will help stimulate public policydiscussions regarding the feasibility, desirability, and implications ofuniversal e-mail access. Decisionmakers involved with such publicpolicy issues are the primary audience for this report, but it shouldalso be of interest to academic and business professionals involvedwith telecommunications policy and its social implications.The study was sponsored by The Markle Foundation and has benefitedgreatly from the personal interest and commitment to this studyby its president, Dr. Lloyd Morrisett.The study was carried out under the auspices of RAND's Center forInformation Revolution Analyses (CIRA), directed by Dr. BryanGabbard.For further information on this study, please contact, Dr. BryanGabbard (Bryan_Gabbard@rand.org), Dr. Robert Anderson(Robert_Anderson@rand.org) or Dr. Tora Bikson (Tora_Bikson@rand.org).

About the Author
Robert H. Anderson (Ph.D., Applied Mathematics, Harvard University) is a Senior Information Scientist at RAND. Research areas include social implications of the information revolution; security and safety of internetted networks; computer languages and support environments for modeling and simulation; human-computer interface; use of computers for C3I and defenseintelligence operations; and software development methodologies.

Tora Kay Bikson (University of California at Los Angeles, Ph.D., Psychology) is a Behavioral Scientist at RAND and Technical Consultant for the Information Systems Coordination Committee of the United Nations.

Sally Ann Law, Ph.D. has principally focused on understanding the factors that impede or promote effective organizational change efforts, with a particular focus on the implementation of advanced communication technologies into various organizational settings.

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