Discusses Japan's policy structure for its telecommunications sector, claiming that the move toward deregulation is responding less to international example and more to internal pressures from new entrants into the market. (MM)

Outlines the British teletext information dissemination system and some of its practical uses. Discusses innovations being developed and considers the system's application in the United States. (JMF)

Examines the reactions of various New Yorkers to a twenty-three day phone service blackout in that state. Results indicate that the blackout affected their feelings of connectedness with and control over their environment. (MH)

Analyzes the communications policy review process since the 1960s, encompassing task forces, Congress, and the Federal Communications Commission. Concludes that the process "has been doing little more than seeking a means of negotiating the conflicting needs of the major industrial interests already in control of most aspects of American…

Examines the interactions between the physical and social aspects of the telephone. (JMF)

Describes the nature and operations of Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN). Argues that while Western European nations have advanced centralized planning for the introduction of ISDN, the United States is proceeding slowly because of a lack of universal standards and the state of deregulatory policy. (MM)

Discusses organizational growth in communications in the context of technological innovation and institutional evolution. Notes that firms are conglomerating and elaborating their administrative structures. Focuses on these trends and how they affect the telecommunications community and the interdependent actions of government and business firms.…

Examines various approaches to establishing nationally available videotext systems, in which text and graphics are offered to a mass audience on television screens with keypad converters. Asserts that a successful approach creates a hybrid between the competitive approach found in the United States and a state-encouraged system. (MM)