1st Edition

Media, Technology and Everyday Life in Europe From Information to Communication

Edited By Roger Silverstone Copyright 2005
    256 Pages
    by Routledge

    256 Pages
    by Routledge

    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.

    Contents: Introduction, Roger Silverstone. Inclusion and Exclusion: Inclusion and exclusion in the information society, Kees Brants and Valerie Frissen; Mapping diasporic media cultures: a transnational cultural approach to exclusion, Myria Georgiou; ICT-usage among transnational social movements in the networked society: to organise, to mobilise and to debate, Bart Cammaerts; ICT and the everyday life experiences of less-abled people, Dorothée Durieux. Consumption and the Quality of Life: Consumption and quality of life in a digital world, Yves Punie, Marc Bogdanowicz, Anne-Jorunn Berg, Caroline Pauwels and Jean-Claude Burgelman; Internet consumption in Ireland: towards a ’connected’ domestic life, Katie Ward; The everyday of extreme flexibility: the case of migrant researchers’ use of new information and communication technologies, Thomas Berker; The discourse of the perfect future: young people and new technologies, Maren Hartmann; The future of ambient intelligence in Europe: the need for more everyday life, Yves Punie. Methodology and Policy: The information society in Europe: methods and methodologies, François Pichault, Dorothée Durieux and Roger Silverstone; ICTs in everyday life: public policy implications for ’Europe’s way to the information society’, Paschal Preston; Towards the ’communication society’, Roger Silverstone and Knut H. Sørensen; Glossary, prepared by Anita Howarth, Index.

    Biography

    Roger Silverstone is Professor of Media and Communications and Director of Media at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Recent publications include Television and Everyday Life (1994) and Why Study the Media? (1999).

    ’The revolution in European communications has been mostly about new technologies, policies and common markets. But ultimately it is about people and how their everyday lives are affected. This book, edited by a pioneer in this important field, provides new insights and understanding of the real people dimension.’ William H. Melody, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark ’...a highly readable mixture of overview and detailed results, of analysis and synthesis...an essential reference point for further work on a set of topics that will, if anything, continue to grow in importance.’ Ian Miles, University of Manchester, UK ’This is the most complete scholarly analysis to be published on media and technology in Europe for quite a long time. Roger Silverstone is one of the world’s leading social scientists in the field of communication, and he has assembled an excellent group of contributors from around Europe in a volume that covers key dimensions of everyday life. It will be mandatory reading for students, researchers, and policy makers wishing to understand the technological transformation of media in 21st-century Europe.’ Manuel Castells, Wallis Annenberg Chair, University of Southern California, USA ’...a good resource for any research institution as a guide to intelligent research designs and the source of new research questions.’ Information Research ’...presents the results of a number of well-founded qualitative empirical studies...certainly a worthwhile read... ’ Journal of Documentation 'The need to see the "European information society" as a site of communication, as well as a locus for information, is admirably argued for throughout this significant book.' European Journal of Communication ’...an enriching study. Morever, the essays embody the latest trends in audience research, which argue that audiences and users are no longer passive but, rather active and empowered to shape technology. This book is not only useful for