[Air-l] book announcement

[ebucy]

Hi everyone, 

I'd like to make a new book announcement that some people may find of interest.
For more detailed information, check the Erlbaum website at:
http://www.erlbaum.com/

- Erik Bucy


Media Access: Social and Psychological Dimensions of New Technology Use
Erik P. Bucy and John E. Newhagen (Eds.)
Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004
Hardcover: $69.95
Paperback: $34.50

Media Access, a new book edited by Erik Bucy of Indiana University and John
Newhagen of the University of Maryland, presents a series of original studies
examining the social and psychological dimensions of new technology use.
Although much research attention and policy discussion relating to the digital
divide remains focused on physical access to information and communication
technology (ICT)or has declared the digital divide all but resolvedthe studies
gathered here demonstrate that differential use of ICTs is a more telling, and
problematic, indicator than simple measures of computer and Internet access.
While demographic markers have been employed to track whether the digital divide
is widening or receding, profitable use of new media hinges more on the
motivations, individual-level characteristics, and abilities of individual
usersdimensions of access whose critical evaluation requires novel approaches,
typically at the individual level, and often involving intensive data-gathering
techniques. Though important for telecommunications policymaking, next
generation studies of the digital divide have been slow in coming. This volume
covers three aspects of media access research: cognitive effects, social and
cultural consequences, and studies geared toward media access to the public
sphere. Interdisciplinary and multi-methodological in nature, the studies
collected here rely on large-scale survey data, psychological explanations
inferred from experimental data, and cultural explanations derived from depth
interviews and ethnographic methods. Media Access should be of interest to a
wide variety of teachers and scholars interested in issues relating to
technology adoption, public access to new communication technology, and research
relating to the digital divide. 


__________________

Erik P. Bucy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Telecommunications 
Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Informatics
Radio-TV Center, Rm. 327
1229 E. 7th Street                             
Indiana University 
Bloomington, IN 47405-5501

ebucy at indiana.edu
http://php.indiana.edu/~ebucy
tel 812.856.5207/fax 812.855.7955