Communities and Technologies 2005
Communities and Technologies 2005

Author: Peter van den Besselaar

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2005-06-06

Total Pages: 488

ISBN-13: 9781402035906

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book includes 23 papers dealing with the impact of modern information and communication technologies that support a wide variety of communities: local communities, virtual communities, and communities of practice, such as knowledge communities and scientific communities. The volume is the result of the second multidisciplinary "Communities and Technologies Conference", a major event in this emerging research field. The various chapters discuss how communities are affected by technologies, and how understanding of the way that communities function can be used in improving information systems design. This state of the art overview will be of interest to computer and information scientists, social scientists and practitioners alike.

Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities and Technologies
Encyclopedia of Virtual Communities and Technologies

Author: Dasgupta, Subhasish

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2005-10-31

Total Pages: 620

ISBN-13: 1591407974

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"This encyclopedia of virtual communities and technologies provides a much needed integrated overview of all the critical concepts, technologies and issues in the area of virtual communities"--Provided by publisher.

Digital Habitats
Digital Habitats

Author: Etienne Wenger

Publisher: CPsquare

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 250

ISBN-13: 0982503601

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Technology has changed what it means for communities to "be together." Digital tools are now part of most communities' habitats. This book develops a new literacy and language to describe the practice of stewarding technology for communities. Whether you want to ground your technology stewardship in theory and deepen your practice, whether you are a community leader or sponsor who wants to understand how communities and technology intersect, or whether you just want practical advice, this is the book for you.

Communities and Technologies 2007
Communities and Technologies 2007

Author: Charles Steinfield

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2010-05-27

Total Pages: 570

ISBN-13: 184628905X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book covers the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and communities – both physical and virtual. Community technology applications are studied in many contexts. The book demonstrates the dynamic and interdisciplinary nature of evolving communities and technologies scholarship.

The Social Design of Technical Systems
The Social Design of Technical Systems

Author: Brian Whitworth

Publisher:

Published: 2014-05-01

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 9788792964090

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Hundreds of millions of people use social technologies like Wikipedia, Facebook and YouTube every day, but what makes them work? And what is the next step? The Social Design of Technical Systems explores the path from computing revolution to social evolution. Based on the assumption that it is essential to consider social as well as technological requirements, as we move to create the systems of the future, this book explores the ways in which technology fits, or fails to fit, into the social reality of the modern world. Important performance criteria for social systems, such as fairness, synergy, transparency, order and freedom, are clearly explained for the first time from within a comprehensive systems framework, making this book invaluable for anyone interested in socio-technical systems, especially those planning to build social software. This book reveals the social dilemmas that destroy communities, exposes the myth that computers are smart, analyses social errors like the credit meltdown, proposes online rights standards and suggests community-based business models. If you believe that our future depends on merging social virtue and technology power, you should read this book.

Community Media
Community Media

Author: Kevin Howley

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2005-04-07

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 9781139443395

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

While transnational conglomerates consolidate their control of the global mediascape, local communities struggle to create democratic media systems. This groundbreaking study of community media, first published in 2005, combines original research with comparative and theoretical analysis in an engaging and accessible style. Kevin Howley explores the different ways in which local communities come to make use of various technologies such as radio, television, print and computer networks for purposes of community communication and considers the ways these technologies shape, and are shaped by, the everyday lived experience of local populations. He also addresses broader theoretical and philosophical issues surrounding the relationship between communication and community, media systems and the public sphere. Case studies illustrate the pivotal role community media play in promoting cultural production and communicative democracy within and between local communities. This book will make a significant contribution to existing scholarship in media and cultural studies on alternative, participatory and community-based media.

The Role of Renewable Energy Technology in Holistic Community Development
The Role of Renewable Energy Technology in Holistic Community Development

Author: Alexander Zahnd

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2014-01-25

Total Pages: 621

ISBN-13: 331903989X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This thesis documents almost twenty years of the author’s work on the development and implementation of a new approach to holistic community development in remote and disadvantaged villages in Nepal. It describes the theoretical basis of the work, the main research activities, and the practical outcomes of the implemented programs. One of the fundamental cornerstones of holistic community development is the provision of appropriate and sustainable solutions for the long-term development of local communities. This requires that people’s own identified needs be recognized and addressed in partnership with them in holistic ways. The author explains the many synergies that result from this holistic approach to community development. Another cornerstone of his approach is to utilise the communities’ locally available renewable resources for long-term sustainable development. One of the key findings of the thesis is that improved access to energy services, such as cooking with a smokeless metal stove in a clean indoor environment, basic indoor lighting, and increased food production and safe food storage (through a greenhouse and a solar drier respectively), need to be at the very heart of any long-term holistic community development project. The thesis demonstrates that tapping into locally available renewable energy resources and converting them, through contextualized and locally manufactured renewable energy technologies, has a central role in long-term holistic community development programs. Such programs are successful because they provide both appropriate technologies and life-changing experiences for the local users involved.

Online Communities and Open Innovation
Online Communities and Open Innovation

Author: Linus Dahlander

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-07-16

Total Pages: 129

ISBN-13: 1317981952

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The advent of Internet marked a significant change in how users and customers can be involved in the innovative process. History is rife with examples of how users innovate, but Internet and its associated communication technologies brought radically new means for individuals to interact rapidly and at little cost in communities that spur new innovations. These communities are initiated and governed by people that differ in their motivations for taking part and participate to varying degrees. Such communities are outside the immediate control of companies seeking to develop open innovation strategies aimed at harnessing their work. This book brings together distinguished scholars from different disciplines: economics, organization theory, innovation studies and marketing in order to provide an improved understanding of how technological as well as symbolic value is created and appropriated at the intersection between online communities and firms. Empirical examples are presented from different industries, including software, services and manufacturing. The book offers food for thought for academics and managers to an important phenomenon that challenges many conventional wisdoms for how business can be done. This book was published as a special issue of Industry and Innovation.