Contrary to optimistic visions of a free internet for all, the problem of the ‘digital divide’ – the disparity between those with access to internet technology and those without – has persisted for close to twenty-five years.In this textbook, Jan van Dijk considers the state of digital inequality and what we can do to tackle it. Through an accessible framework based on empirical research, he explores the motivations and challenges of seeking access and the development of requisite ...

The digital landscape has changed dramatically in recent years with the continued rise of social media, Artificial Intelligence, and Internet of Things applications, creating a complex ‘thick’ mediated reality spanning numerous online and offline platforms (e.g., TV, radio, newspapers, smartphones, smart devices, apps, websites, social media, and more). These changes have transformed the digital skills required to participate in contemporary society. In this book, Alexander van Deursen and...

During the mid 90′s, around the time the Internet became popular, it became apparent that there was still one critical issue holding back limitless opportunities. Computer professionals had to find a way to close the gap between those who do not have computer or Internet access and those who do, also known as the digital divide. Suddenly, hundreds of conferences of computer professionals, social scientists, and government policy experts worldwide dedicated themselves to this concern. Then ...

A seminal shift has taken place in the relationship between Internet usage and politics. At the turn of the century, it was presumed that digital communication would produce many positive political effects like improvements to political information retrieval, support for public debate and community formation or even enhancements in citizen participation in political decision-making. While there have been positive effects, negative effects have also occurred including fake news and other po...

In times of disruption, venturing becomes a key source of value creation. As new opportunities emerge and existing models fade, entrepreneurs, corporates and investors are eager to explore and exploit those opportunities. Venture governance, i. e. defining, implementing and following a fit-for-purpose model to provide direction and control in the best interest of all stakeholders, plays a crucial role in enabling and ensuring entrepreneurial value creation. This book presents twelve perspe...

The definition of power varies across disciplines. Social scientists tend to deal with social power, philosophers of technology with the relation between technology and society, and ecologists with the relation between natural and social power. Concepts of power and technology are freely used but this relationship is complex and multifaceted.In this analytic and ambitious textbook, Jan van Dijk brings these perspectives together to provide a more comprehensive answer. In attempting...

*"This book is important for students who want to put domestic crime and justice issues and criminological theories in an international perspective....It is more than likely that this book will also interest all those who are professionally or privately interested in issues of crime, corruption, terrorism, law enforcement, criminal justice and sustainable development."—*Johnson Thomas, BUSINESS INDIAIn today′s interdependent world, governments must become more transparent a...

The Network Societyisa clear, engaging guide to the past, consequences and future of digital communication, and forms a comprehensive introduction to how new media functions in contemporary society.Integrating both face-to-face and online communication, the fourth edition explores crucial new issues and challenges in today’s digital media ecology, in doing so exploring the centralityof power to understanding life in the network society. Featuring:The rise of ...

How best can we understand why the application of information and communication technology in organizations succeeds or fails? Calling on technical, organisational, social, psychological and economic perspectives, this book provides a fresh and comprehensive framework for answering this question.Consideration is given to how ICT is adopted, implemented and used within organizations. Throughout special features will help readers clarify their understanding. These features include:

Now in a fully revised and expanded second edition, this widely adopted text and practical reference addresses all aspects of developing and using geographic information systems (GIS) within an organization. Coverage includes the role of the GIS professional, how geographic information fits into broader management information systems, the use of GIS in strategic planning, and ways to navigate the organizational processes that support or inhibit the success of GIS implementation. All chapte...

The first book to systematically discuss the skills and literacies needed to use digital media, particularly the Internet, van Dijk and van Deursen's clear and accessible work distinguishes digital skills, analyzes their roles and prevalence, and offers solutions from individual, educational, sociological, and policy perspectives.

With the radical changes in information production that the Internet has introduced, we stand at an important moment of transition, says Yochai Benkler in this thought-provoking book. The phenomenon he describes as social production is reshaping markets, while at the same time offering new opportunities to enhance individual freedom, cultural diversity, political discourse, and justice. But these results are by no means inevitable: a systematic campaign to protect the entrenched industrial...