This timely volume offers an in-depth theoretical analysis of children's experiences growing up with mobile internet technologies. Drawing on up-to-date research, it explores the relationship between childhood as a social and cultural construction and the plethora of mobile internet technologies which have become ubiquitous in everyday life.
Historically, children were often understood in relation to their development towards adulthood, but the 'new paradigm' of childhood studies has since shown how they should be taken more seriously as active participants in their own lives. Studying childhood is not just a question of research on children, but increasingly a practice of research with them. With this 'new paradigm' having now come of age, Sally McNamee offers a comprehensive overview of the current state of childhood studies and its history. Taking a thematic approach, she looks at how issues such as rights and citizenship, the state, the family, school, work, leisure, health and globalisation shape and are shaped by children. The Social Study of Childhood is an accessible introduction for students from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds such as childhood studies, sociology, psychology, social work and education. With reflection points for discussion and suggestions for further reading at the end of each chapter, it is an engaging and stimulating account of how and why children's voices deserve to be heard in today's world.
This book explores the ways in which notions of childhood are being influenced by a rapidly expanding consumer-media culture in the 21st Century. It has been argued that new stages of childhood are being created and defined by children’s role as consumers. The concept of ‘tween’, girls aged between 9 and 14, has generated the greatest debate. While the fantasy world of ‘tween’ offers girls a space to fashion a young, feminine identity it has been widely argued that the consumer-media’s messages pressure tween girls to consume and adopt highly sexualised appearances and behaviours. The author considers how the art of consumption for ‘tween’ girls is intrinsically linked with their desire for independence and belonging, and how their consumption is interwoven with other important social and cultural influences. The book will be of interest to scholars and students in the fields of Childhood and Youth Studies, Cultural Studies, Feminist and Women’s Studies and Sociology.
In recent years, our world has experienced a profound shift and progression in available computing and knowledge sharing innovations. These emerging advancements have developed at a rapid pace, disseminating into and affecting numerous aspects of contemporary society. This has created a pivotal need for an innovative compendium encompassing the latest trends, concepts, and issues surrounding this relevant discipline area. During the past 15 years, the Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology has become recognized as one of the landmark sources of the latest knowledge and discoveries in this discipline. The Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Fourth Edition is a 10-volume set which includes 705 original and previously unpublished research articles covering a full range of perspectives, applications, and techniques contributed by thousands of experts and researchers from around the globe. This authoritative encyclopedia is an all-encompassing, well-established reference source that is ideally designed to disseminate the most forward-thinking and diverse research findings. With critical perspectives on the impact of information science management and new technologies in modern settings, including but not limited to computer science, education, healthcare, government, engineering, business, and natural and physical sciences, it is a pivotal and relevant source of knowledge that will benefit every professional within the field of information science and technology and is an invaluable addition to every academic and corporate library.
Mobile communication has dramatically changed over the past decade with the diffusion of smartphones. Unlike the basic 2G mobile phones, which "merely" facilitated communication between individuals on the move, smartphones allow individuals to communicate, to entertain and inform themselves, to transact, to navigate, to take photos, and countless other things. Mobile communication has thus transformed society by allowing new forms of coordination, communication, consumption, social interaction, and access to news/entertainment. All of this is regardless of the space in which users are immersed. Set in the context of the developed and the developing world, The Oxford Handbook of Mobile Communication and Society updates current scholarship surrounding mobile media and communication. The 43 chapters in this handbook examine mobile communication and its evolving impact on individuals, institutions, groups, societies, and businesses. Contributors examine the communal benefits, social consequences, theoretical perspectives, organizational potential, and future consequences of mobile communication. Topics covered include, among many other things, trends in the Global South, location-based services, and the "appification" of mobile communication and society.
This book will be of interest to undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers in disability studies, childhood studies, medicine and health sciences, and sociology. It also provides insights that will be of use and value to professionals working with disabled children and adolescents in education, health and in disability-specific services. Opening with four narratives that offer the reader a window into the lived experience of disabled children, adolescents and their families, subsequent chapters explore a range of issues facing disabled children from early childhood through to late adolescence. Topics include family life, early intervention, inclusive and post-secondary education, the right to play, digital participation, the effects of labelling and matters relating to agency and sexuality. With chapters discussing research from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden and the UK amongst others, this book: • contributes to the existing body of knowledge about the lives of disabled children and adolescents, with a focus on socially created disabling factors; • provides the reader with analysis of issues affecting disabled children and adolescents according to different conceptual frameworks, national contexts and with regard to different types of impairments/disabilities; • highlights the main issues that confront disabled children and adolescents, their families and their allies in the early twenty-first century; • highlights the importance of actively listening to the perspectives of disabled children and adolescents. It provides a rich source of knowledge and information about the lives of disabled children and adolescents, and a variety of perspectives on how their lives are affected by material and non-material factors, social structures and cultural constructions.
This book explores the nexus of Sustainability and Information Communication Technologies that are rapidly changing the way we live, learn, and do business. The monumental amount of energy required to power the Zeta byte of data traveling across the globe’s billions of computers and mobile phones daily cannot be overstated. This ground-breaking reference examines the possibility that our evolving technologies may enable us to mitigate our global energy crisis, rather than adding to it. By connecting concepts and trends such as smart homes, big data, and the internet of things with their applications to sustainability, the authors suggest that emerging and ubiquitous technologies embedded in our daily lives may rightfully be considered as enabling solutions for our future sustainable development.
There is much evidence to show that digital technologies greatly impact children's lives through the use of computers, laptops and mobile devices. Children's uses of digital technologies are, therefore, currently of huge concern to academics, teachers and parents. Disabled Children and Digital Technologies investigates disabled children's learning with digital technologies within the context of inclusive education. Sue Cranmer explores the potential benefits of using digital technologies to support disabled children's learning whilst recognising that these technologies also have the potential to act as a barrier to inclusion. Cranmer provides a critical overview of how digital technologies are being used in contemporary classrooms for learning. The book includes detailed analysis of a recent study carried out with disabled children with visual impairments aged between 13 – 17 years old in mainstream secondary schools. The chapters consider the use of digital technologies in relation to access, engagement, attitudes, and skills, including safety and risk. These perspectives are complemented by interviews with teachers to explore how digital technologies can support disabled children's learning and inclusion in mainstream settings more effectively.
Governments must continuously update policies, laws, and legislation as the world continues to rapidly evolve due to technologies and changing cultural perspectives. To streamline policy creation and implementation, governments seek new and efficient methods to ensure their citizens’ and communities’ safety while also encouraging citizen participation. Advanced Methodologies and Technologies in Government and Society provides research on emerging methodologies in effective governing including sections on public sector management and socioeconomic development. While highlighting the challenges facing government officials and law enforcement such as crisis response and natural disaster management, this book shows how technology use can make those areas of government more efficient and improve preventative measures. This book is an ideal resource for law enforcement, government officials and agencies, policymakers, public servants, citizen activists, researchers, and political leaders seeking cutting-edge information to strengthen their government’s relationship with society and their constituents while also strengthening their policy measures through new technology and methods.
This book explores the policing response to teen sexting – the digital exchange, both consensual and non-consensual, of intimate images among youth peers. With a particular focus in England and Wales, it also considers other international responses and the challenges faced in policing youth practices with legislation being applied beyond its intended scope. It uses the police responses in England and Wales as a case study of the challenges of policy evolving the digital cultural phenomenon and the tensions between enforcing the law, while knowing it’s not fit for purpose, and supporting vulnerable minors. It explores the policy responses that have developed from the problematic legislation and whether these policy interventions have helped or hindered the policing process. It draws in parallels with drugs policy and policing, and brings in progressive, harm reduction approaches in contrast to traditional solutions.
