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A fundamental tension created by this trend, and analyzed in this dissertation, is one between both pursuing social betterment and seeking economic gain through a GII. Analysis of the above mentioned trend shows that the potential economic structure of a GII calls for treating information as a marketable commodity, a commodity to which some will be denied access, and for establishing labor categories which have the potential to increase economic disparity. It also shows that the organization of information in a GII, our ability to use that information effectively, and the potential use of marketing in this electronic forum raise important issues about a GII's role in a democratic society.","abstract_html":"This dissertation analyzes a fundamental tension in the development of a Global Information Infrastructure (GII) by examining one of the signficant historical trends of 20th century mass media from which this tension stems. 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It also shows that the organization of information in a GII, our ability to use that information effectively, and the potential use of marketing in this electronic forum raise important issues about a GII's role in a democratic society.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Wheary, Jennifer M."],"institution":"University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign","degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Page, Ralph C."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-05-07T12:46:57Z","date_published":"2011-05-07T12:46:57Z","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:25:16Z","subjects":["Mass Communications","Information Science"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":["Copyright 1996 Wheary, Jennifer M."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["9780591199628","AAI9712480","(UMI)AAI9712480"],"render_values":[{"text":"9780591199628","href":null,"code":true},{"text":"AAI9712480","href":null,"code":true},{"text":"(UMI)AAI9712480","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/2142/20705","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Page, Ralph C."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Wheary, Jennifer M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2011-05-07T12:46:57Z","10000-01-01","1996"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["text"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Mass Communications","Information Science"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 1996 Wheary, Jennifer M."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["9780591199628","AAI9712480","(UMI)AAI9712480","http://hdl.handle.net/2142/20705"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["This dissertation analyzes a fundamental tension in the development of a Global Information Infrastructure (GII) by examining one of the signficant historical trends of 20th century mass media from which this tension stems. 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