The Digital Hand: How Computers Changed the Work of American Financial, Telecommunications, Media, and Entertainment Industries

Cortada is ideally if not uniquely qualified to approach this important topic. ... This is an important attempt at synthesis, and Cortada is to be commended both for taking it on and for what he has managed to accomplish. The material is exhaustively researched and extensively footnoted. Charts and tables help to summarize the data, and the occasional photograph reminds us that technologies and business are not abstract concepts but are human activities.

• 1. Role of Financial Industries in the U.S. Economy ; 2. Uses of Computing in the Banking Industry ; 3. Deployment of Digital and Telecommunications Applications in the Banking Industry ; 4. Business Patterns and Digital Applications in the Insurance Industry ; 5. Business Patterns and Digital Applications in the Brokerage Industry ; 6. Role of Telecommunications Industries in the U.S. Economy ; 7. Business Patterns and Digital Applications in the Telecommunication Industry ; 8. Role of Media and Entertainment Industries in the U.S. Economy ; 9. Uses of Computing in Print Media Industries: Book Publishing, Newspapers, Magazines ; 10. Digital Applications in Electronic Media Industries: Movies and Recorded Music ; 11. Digital Applications in Entertainment Industries: Video Games and Photography ; 12. Conclusions: Lessons Learned, Implications for Management ; Appendix A: Role and Use of Industries, Sectors, and Economic Models as Concepts for Understanding Business and Economic Activities ; Appendix B: How a Telephone Works and the Basics of Telecommunications and Networking ; Notes ; Bibliographic Essay ; Index