Paul Adams | The University of Texas at Austin (original) (raw)
Papers by Paul Adams
Studies of social processes at the aggregate level reduce worker identity to an abstraction defin... more Studies of social processes at the aggregate level reduce worker identity to an abstraction defined by social structures. This paper considers the daily routine of one worker to clarify the construction of identity. A homeworker is chosen because the contrast between her structurally defined identity and her personally defined identity is particularly salient. Her relation to distant situations--via television, radio, computer networking, telephone, and traditional postal communication--is a central element of her involvement in time and space. This worker's perception of achieving a desirable lifestyle and the actual reduction of various forms of oppression problematizes Castells' structurally defined representation of identity. Her lifestyle also suggests a mechanism for transformation in the status of the home and city as well: home becomes less of a container than an access node linking experience and action to the world, while the city recovers a level of neighborhood activity lost earlier through automobile-dependent lifestyles.
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Jan 1, 1995
An appropriate image of the person for geographers is an entity with fluctuating boundaries that ... more An appropriate image of the person for geographers is an entity with fluctuating boundaries that reach through space and time in constantly changing patterns. Such extensions through space and time are not merely "internal" or psychological states of being in the world; they are integral to economic, political, and cultural processes. Human extensibility is fundamental to the ongoing processes of social structuration in which social practices are constitutive of social structures and social structures constrain persons and practices. Whereas the body is a point-entity located at a particular space-time, important aspects of personhood are not confined to this point entity. Authority depends on ranges of sensation, knowledge, and action through diverse communication sysstesm. While extensibility is partly determined by the body, as categorized by society, the distinction between presence and absence can be considered as a gradation rather than a binary opposition. Extensibility transcends the body, allowing a person to overcome social and physical limitations and to participate in distant social contexts which affect his or her personal situation and shape social processes.
Geographical Review, Jan 1, 1997
Computer networks are often described in terms that imply a virtual space or place: electronic fr... more Computer networks are often described in terms that imply a virtual space or place: electronic frontier, cyberspace, and information superhighway have been used to indicate computer networks as a whole; cafes, dungeons, and virtual offices are some of the "places" people refer to as being in or on networks. The use of this language, which I collectively call "virtual-place metaphors," indicates three broad metaphorical themes: virtual architecture, electronic frontier, and cyberspace. The metaphors encourage control, surveillance, and capitalist expansion through computer technologies--and also evasion and resistance through computer technologies.
Annals of the Association of American …, Jan 1, 1992
An examination of television as a center of meaning and as a social context supports the concept ... more An examination of television as a center of meaning and as a social context supports the concept of a place without a location. Similar ideas have appeared in media theory since the 1960s, but have not been the subject of geographic research. Comparison of television with other media, including books, radio, and film, reveals that it is uniquely place-like. Television functions as a social context, providing sensory communion and social congregation; it also functions as a center of meaning, helping a society define "us" and "them," conferring value on persons and objects, and, possibly, supporting hegemonic social control. A comparison of television and certain architectural structures identifies similarities and differences that may be related to long-term historical changes in society.
Political Geography, Jan 1, 1996
Telecommunications do not simply rearrange information and ideas in space, they also alter the ba... more Telecommunications do not simply rearrange information and ideas in space, they also alter the balance of power in social struggles. Although it supports centralization of power and capital, subordinated groups can achieve certain goals by exploiting the existing telecommunication infrastructure. This tactic is geographical in that it refuses to accept the territorial boundaries fundamental to established systems of domination. Protest is therefore a politics of scale. Examination of these scale politics in China, the Philippines and the USA indicates that distant bystanders may or may not be of assistance to protesters, and that the media affect but do not determine the course of events. The protest in China does not yet appear to have succceeded; that in the Philippines did not solve long-term problems; while the US protest brought political but not economic power to a racial minority. Regardless of their success, these protests show new terrains of struggle not yet acknowledged by geography.
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Jan 1, 1998
The use of terms such as "cyberspace," "electronic frontier," and "information superhighway" impl... more The use of terms such as "cyberspace," "electronic frontier," and "information superhighway" implies a project for geographers: the attempt to incorporate such innovative views of place within an ontological framework sensitive to geographical concerns. Combinatorial theory and structuration theory provide a basis for this incorporation. Just as places are dialectically related to social processes, so too are communication media. Similar factors related to the patterning of communication flows pertain in both cases. In particular, geographers can identify similar patterns of nodes (communicators) and links (communication paths) in places and in communication media. These patterns, or topologies, provide a set of opportunities and constraints for social interaction. They can be compared quantitatively through the use of combinatorial theory.
Studies of social processes at the aggregate level reduce worker identity to an abstraction defin... more Studies of social processes at the aggregate level reduce worker identity to an abstraction defined by social structures. This paper considers the daily routine of one worker to clarify the construction of identity. A homeworker is chosen because the contrast between her structurally defined identity and her personally defined identity is particularly salient. Her relation to distant situations--via television, radio, computer networking, telephone, and traditional postal communication--is a central element of her involvement in time and space. This worker's perception of achieving a desirable lifestyle and the actual reduction of various forms of oppression problematizes Castells' structurally defined representation of identity. Her lifestyle also suggests a mechanism for transformation in the status of the home and city as well: home becomes less of a container than an access node linking experience and action to the world, while the city recovers a level of neighborhood activity lost earlier through automobile-dependent lifestyles.
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Jan 1, 1995
An appropriate image of the person for geographers is an entity with fluctuating boundaries that ... more An appropriate image of the person for geographers is an entity with fluctuating boundaries that reach through space and time in constantly changing patterns. Such extensions through space and time are not merely "internal" or psychological states of being in the world; they are integral to economic, political, and cultural processes. Human extensibility is fundamental to the ongoing processes of social structuration in which social practices are constitutive of social structures and social structures constrain persons and practices. Whereas the body is a point-entity located at a particular space-time, important aspects of personhood are not confined to this point entity. Authority depends on ranges of sensation, knowledge, and action through diverse communication sysstesm. While extensibility is partly determined by the body, as categorized by society, the distinction between presence and absence can be considered as a gradation rather than a binary opposition. Extensibility transcends the body, allowing a person to overcome social and physical limitations and to participate in distant social contexts which affect his or her personal situation and shape social processes.
Geographical Review, Jan 1, 1997
Computer networks are often described in terms that imply a virtual space or place: electronic fr... more Computer networks are often described in terms that imply a virtual space or place: electronic frontier, cyberspace, and information superhighway have been used to indicate computer networks as a whole; cafes, dungeons, and virtual offices are some of the "places" people refer to as being in or on networks. The use of this language, which I collectively call "virtual-place metaphors," indicates three broad metaphorical themes: virtual architecture, electronic frontier, and cyberspace. The metaphors encourage control, surveillance, and capitalist expansion through computer technologies--and also evasion and resistance through computer technologies.
Annals of the Association of American …, Jan 1, 1992
An examination of television as a center of meaning and as a social context supports the concept ... more An examination of television as a center of meaning and as a social context supports the concept of a place without a location. Similar ideas have appeared in media theory since the 1960s, but have not been the subject of geographic research. Comparison of television with other media, including books, radio, and film, reveals that it is uniquely place-like. Television functions as a social context, providing sensory communion and social congregation; it also functions as a center of meaning, helping a society define "us" and "them," conferring value on persons and objects, and, possibly, supporting hegemonic social control. A comparison of television and certain architectural structures identifies similarities and differences that may be related to long-term historical changes in society.
Political Geography, Jan 1, 1996
Telecommunications do not simply rearrange information and ideas in space, they also alter the ba... more Telecommunications do not simply rearrange information and ideas in space, they also alter the balance of power in social struggles. Although it supports centralization of power and capital, subordinated groups can achieve certain goals by exploiting the existing telecommunication infrastructure. This tactic is geographical in that it refuses to accept the territorial boundaries fundamental to established systems of domination. Protest is therefore a politics of scale. Examination of these scale politics in China, the Philippines and the USA indicates that distant bystanders may or may not be of assistance to protesters, and that the media affect but do not determine the course of events. The protest in China does not yet appear to have succceeded; that in the Philippines did not solve long-term problems; while the US protest brought political but not economic power to a racial minority. Regardless of their success, these protests show new terrains of struggle not yet acknowledged by geography.
Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Jan 1, 1998
The use of terms such as "cyberspace," "electronic frontier," and "information superhighway" impl... more The use of terms such as "cyberspace," "electronic frontier," and "information superhighway" implies a project for geographers: the attempt to incorporate such innovative views of place within an ontological framework sensitive to geographical concerns. Combinatorial theory and structuration theory provide a basis for this incorporation. Just as places are dialectically related to social processes, so too are communication media. Similar factors related to the patterning of communication flows pertain in both cases. In particular, geographers can identify similar patterns of nodes (communicators) and links (communication paths) in places and in communication media. These patterns, or topologies, provide a set of opportunities and constraints for social interaction. They can be compared quantitatively through the use of combinatorial theory.