Information and Communication Technologies in Everyday Life

Offering an approach to understanding ICTs, this work covers topics in areas, such as the digital divide; children, youth and ICTs; the dynamics of ICTs within households; social networks and ICTs; and time, movement and public space in relationship to ICTs. It is aimed at professionals, policymakers and students, who work in the field of ICTs. The internet, television, mobile phones, computer-based devices and other new forms of information technology are changing at a rapid pace with potentially profound but also subtle influences on social life. Yet, they also pose challenges and have to be managed. This book offers a succinct introduction to both the experience and implications of these information and communication technologies (ICTs) in everyday life. Bringing together empirical and theoretical research in a coherent way, the author offers a fresh approach to understanding ICTs and everyday life. He covers topics in key areas, such as the digital divide; children, youth and ICTs; the dynamics of ICTs within households; social networks and ICTs; and time, movement and public space in relationship to ICTs. Drawing on a broad 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 in daily life. With its concise, international approach, this book will be invaluable to professionals, policymakers and students who work in the field of ICTs.

The idea behind this book emerges from the accumulative experience of conference organization. Since I organized many conferences as General or Program Chair, it, gives me an opportunity to meet young researchers and graduate students and participate in the discussion over brainstorming session and dinners, to get to know their challenges and difficulties in pursuing research in a specific domain for their study in information engineering. I attempted in this book to invite contribution from the best researchers around the globe and accumulate them in single topographic point and assist young researchers to look up this book while perusing their research topic. I hope this book will serve as a reference book for young researchers in Information communication domain and other peers to compare their results.