The Information Technology Revolution is probably the most important force shaping communities today. While some of the key forces behind the IT revolution are universal, the impacts on any given community will be unique, depending on its individual make up, economic structure, attributes and responses. Technology proves us with the ability to create, process and store information. (Martin 1995, p 33)

It can also be said that the world is experiencing a 'third industrial revolution'. This revolution is total, effecting all aspects of our lives. It is a move from collective to individual. (Castells 2000, p 28-35)

According to Castells, we are currently experiencing an IT Revolution just as there was an Agricultural Revolution and an Industrial Revolution. He compares the two and then contrasts it by saying that the industrial revolution was slower and localised where as the IT revolution was faster and global. (Castells 2000, p30 )

There is a shift from industrialism (mass production) to informationalism (flexible production). Rather than companies producing in huge volumes, they are beginning to adopt techniq

Another term used is "Teleworking" simply means conducting work-- be it during the workday, after hours, or on an occasional basis -- from a remote location (like a home office) using telecommunications technology. Telework includes "telecommuting," which generally signifies a more formal arrangement under a company-organised program, in which an employee does some work at home instead of at a traditional office. Teleworking also includes the rising tide of self-employed workers and those operating other home-based businesses. (Castells 2000, p425)

level, Castells says, the decline in manufacturing in OECD nations is a European Problem. The problem of the political policies is that European nations Pursued. He looks at a lot of data, and finds no link between more technology and the rise of unemployment but did see that jobs move around the globe. IT doesn't cause unemployment, however the application of IT changes the nature of work. (Castells 2000, p280 & lec 7)

These changes offer a new paradigm for the information age. The world is being split between a techno-elite, globally connected, and communal identities, locally entrenched. Societies are increasingly structured upon the bipolar complementarity of the Net and the Self. In a world of global flows of wealth, power, images, the search for identity, whether its collective or individual, ascribed or constructed, becomes the fundamental source of social meaning.

ues, which customise products for individual need. In the westernised industrial world, Castells believes that producers have moved away from mass production to smaller volumes of individual needs. With the flexible forms of production in the west, mass production shifts to the less developed world. (Castells 2000, p166 & lec 3)

Freeman, C (1994) Work For All Or Mass Unemployment, Pinter Publishers.

The major change that Castells finds is polarisation, around those who have IT skills and those who don't. There is a dualised social structure. They are polarised around those who are IT rich and those who are IT poor. It's clear that IT is causing a major shift in the job market. In recent decades, the relative growth of managerial and professional occupations has grown. Many analysts have noted that information technology is resulting in a more polarised occupational structure, consisting of highly skilled, well-paying jobs at one end and lower skilled, low-wage "McJobs" at the other -- and fewer jobs in between. The implications for residential areas and housing preferences are particularly important. (Castells 2000, p232-236)

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