Information And Communication Technologies In Everyday Life

How do cell phones change society? How do children use computers? How can we manage relationships via text messages? The internet, television, email and other new forms of information technology are changing at a rapid pace with potentially profound but also subtle influences on social life. This book offers a succinct introduction to both the experience and implications of these information and communication technologies (ICTs) in everyday life. Drawing on a wide variety of studies from different countries, the author considers the potential, or feared, social consequences of ICTs. Throughout, he analyzes what factors are shaping the debates surrounding information and communication technologies. The outcome is a cutting-edge book that offers a fresh approach to understanding ICTs and everyday life.

Information and Communication Technologies in Real-Life Learning presents the results of an International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) working conference held December 2004 in Melbourne, Australia. The working conference was organized by IFIP Working Group 3.2 (Informatics and ICT in Higher Education) and IFIP Working Group 3.4 (Professional and Vocational Education in Information Technology). The papers in this book present a cross-section of issues in real-life learning in which Information and Communication Technology (ICT) plays an important role. Some of the issues covered include: education models for real-life learning enabled by ICT; effective organization of a real-life learning environment; the changing role of the student; the changing role of educational institutions and their relationship with business and industry; the changing role of teachers and their use of ICT; and managment of ICT-rich education change.

What shapes the role of Information and Communication Technologies in our everyday life? Despite the speed with which information and communication technologies such as the PC, mobile telephone and internet have found their way into society, there remains a good deal of debate surrounding their adoption and use. Through empirical studies covering a broad range of everyday life and work settings, this volume provides grounded insights into the social dynamics influencing how ICTs are both shaped and experienced. Specifically, the book examines the contributions of diverse disciplines to our understanding of these processes, the symbolic nature of technologies, the influence of design on the experience of ICTs, the role of users in influencing that design, the social constraints affecting the use of those technologies, and strategies for evaluating the social consequences of ICT innovations.

The production and consumption of Information and Communication Technologies (or ICTs) have become embedded within our societies. The influence and implications of this have an impact at a macro level, in the way our governments, economies, and businesses operate, and in our everyday lives. This handbook is about the many challenges presented by ICTs. It sets out an intellectual agenda that examines the implications of ICTs for individuals, organizations, democracy, and the economy. Explicity interdisciplinary, and combining empirical research with theoretical work, it is organised around four themes covering the knowledge economy; organizational dynamics, strategy, and design; governance and democracy; and culture, community and new media literacies. It provides a comprehensive resource for those working in the social sciences, and in the physical sciences and engineering fields, with leading contemporary research informed principally by the disciplines of anthropology, economics, philosophy, politics, and sociology.

The rapid development of information communication technologies (ICTs) is having a profound impact across numerous aspects of social, economic, and cultural activity worldwide, and keeping pace with the associated effects, implications, opportunities, and pitfalls has been challenging to researchers in diverse realms ranging from education to competitive intelligence.

This book is intended for researchers, academics, analysts, and practitioners with an interest in the development of information and communication technologies.

The importance of the daily experience of new information and communication technologies is highlighted by this timely volume. The book is based on work carried out in the European Media Technology and Everyday Life Network and is structured round a series of seven empirical case studies drawn from research within Europe. The application of this perspective draws attention not just to the significance of information and communication technologies for a mature understanding of the conduct of everyday life in contemporary Europe, but also for the significance of that understanding for the development of communication and information policy. The research makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the dynamics and evolution of a core dimension of European society as well as informing on-going and important debates on the nature of the relationship between the social and the technological in the information and communication arena.