Hi there, in response to Jeff's post below re David Levy's work on info overload...Canadian Heather Menzies has just published a new book called No Time: Stress and the Crisis of Modern Life (Douglas and McIntyre, 2005). Menzies is one of the most trenchant feminist critics of technology in Canada. I reviewed the book for the Globe and Mail this past Sat., the entire review is at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050416/BKTI... Excerpt: 'Mom, you work too hard," my teenage daughter tells me. "You never stop . . . you carry that laptop around with you, even while you're watching TV." "Well," I say defensively, "I just told someone I would get back to them on something . . . and a student e-mailed me about her paper topic, so I should respond . . ." I fear I'm one of those multi-tasking, high-achieving and frequently frazzled adults to whom Heather Menzies refers in her compellingly honest and evocative book, No Time: Stress and the Crisis of Modern Life. Like the Canadian academics she studied on a time-use survey, I find myself seduced and sucked up in the thrill and flotsam of e-mail to colleagues near and far away, to the rush of roaring across an ocean to another gab-fest conference, to the inevitable time-suck of managing grants and students and juggling administrivia. So, for many of us, Menzies's latest book will be an urgent wake-up call to slow down, reflect on our family and work priorities, and talk among ourselves. It's often not until the infrastructure -- whether physical or emotional -- breaks down that we engage in inner contemplation and a renewal of community connections. Cheers, and back to Grading Lockdown LESLIE

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Message: 11 Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2005 12:22:57 -0400 From: Jeff Young <jeff.young@chronicle.com> Subject: [Air-l] article and discussion on 'information overload' To: Air-l-aoir.org@listserv.aoir.org Message-ID: <4263DEE1.8060508@chronicle.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed

Hi,

I thought folks on this list might be interested in an article in this week's Chronicle of Higher Education about information overload and the social impacts of technology. The article is free to anyone (even non-subscribers):

Knowing When to Log Off http://chronicle.com/free/v51/i33/33a03401.htm

Also, we're hosting an online chat about the issues this Thursday: http://chronicle.com/colloquy/2005/04/overload/

-Jeff

-- Leslie Regan Shade Associate Professor Communication Studies Concordia University 7141 Sherbrooke St. W. Hingston Hall 421 Montreal Quebec H4B 1R6 514-848-2424 x2550