Traugott, M, & Ling, R. (2006). On the move: The role of
cellular communications in American life. University of Michigan.
Sunday, January 1, 2006
Magic in the Air
Magic in the Air: Mobile Communication and the Transformation of Social Life.
James E. Katz
About the Book
In this timely volume, James E. Katz, a leading authority on social consequences of communication technology, analyzes the way new mobile telecommunication affects daily life both in the United States and around the world.
In this timely volume, James E. Katz, a leading authority on social consequences of communication technology, analyzes the way new mobile telecommunication affects daily life both in the United States and around the world.
“Magic in the air” is the most wide-ranging analysis of
mobile communication to date. Katz investigates the spectrum of social aspects
of the cell phone’s impact on society and the way social forces affect the use,
display, and reconfiguration of the cell phone. Surveying the mobile phone’s
current and emerging role in daily life, Katz finds that it provides many
benefits for the user, and that some of these benefits are subtle and even
counter-intuitive. He also identifies ways the mobile phone has not been
entirely positive. After reviewing these, he outlines some steps to ameliorate
the mobile phone’s negative effects. Katz also discusses use and abuse of
mobile phones in educational settings, where he finds that their use is helping
students to cheat on exams and cut class. Parents no longer object to their
children having mobile phones in class in a post-Columbine and 9/11 era;
instead they are pressing schools to change their rules to allow students to
have their mobiles available during class. And mobile phone misbehavior is by
no means limited to students; Katz finds that teachers are increasingly taking
calls in the middle of class, even interrupting their own lectures to answer
what they claim are important calls.
In keeping with the book’s title, Katz explores the often
overlooked psychic and religious uses of the mobile phone, an area that has
only recently begun to command scholarly interest.“Magic in the air” will be
essential reading for communication specialists, sociologists, and social
psychologist.
James E. Katz is professor of communication at Rutgers, The
State University of New Jersey and director of the Rutgers University Center
for Mobile Communication Studies, the first academic center dedicated to the
study of social aspects of mobile communication. His books include
"Perpetual contact: Mobile communication, private talk and public
performance" (co-edited with Mark Aakhus), "Connections: Social and
cultural studies of the telephone in American life," published by
Transaction, and "Social consequence of Internet use: Access, involvement,
expression" (co-authored with Ronald E. Rice).
Citation:
Citation:
Katz, J. E. (2006). Magic in the air: Mobile communication
and the transformation of social life. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction
Publishers.
New Technologies in Global Societies
Peilin Luo, Leopoldina Fortunati, and Shanhua Yang (eds.)
Review
A strong point is the heavy emphasis on China ... China is, after all, the largest single mobile telephony market in the world. -- International Journal of Communication
A strong point is the heavy emphasis on China ... China is, after all, the largest single mobile telephony market in the world. -- International Journal of Communication
Product Description
Technological advancements in the West since the last millennium have contributed to global modernity. Technologies set conditions for the closeness of the nation-states and for the affinity of the global and the local. They are also penetrating everyday life, and even sometimes the body, producing radical social changes. Yet, arguing that new technologies bring a new life and a promising future to global societies remains a questionable thesis. This book attempts to explore the relationship between new technologies and global societies, to gain an understanding of how the positive as well as negative influences of technologies bear on global societies, how their practices of use are resisted or re-interpreted by these societies, and how their social meaning is constituted through the process of negotiation with these societies. Part 1 is on science, technology, culture, and the body; Part 2 is on new media and generations, and Part 3 is on information and communication technologies (ICTs) and work.
Technological advancements in the West since the last millennium have contributed to global modernity. Technologies set conditions for the closeness of the nation-states and for the affinity of the global and the local. They are also penetrating everyday life, and even sometimes the body, producing radical social changes. Yet, arguing that new technologies bring a new life and a promising future to global societies remains a questionable thesis. This book attempts to explore the relationship between new technologies and global societies, to gain an understanding of how the positive as well as negative influences of technologies bear on global societies, how their practices of use are resisted or re-interpreted by these societies, and how their social meaning is constituted through the process of negotiation with these societies. Part 1 is on science, technology, culture, and the body; Part 2 is on new media and generations, and Part 3 is on information and communication technologies (ICTs) and work.
Citation:
Law, P.-L., Fortunati, L. & Yang, S. (Eds.) (2006). New
technologies in global societies. New Jersey, NJ: World Scientific.
Mobile Communication
Mobile Communication in Everyday Life: Ethnographic Views, Observations and Reflections.
Joachim R. Höflich and Maren Hartmann (eds.)
Book Description
The mobile phone has become an integral part of our everyday life communication – in this sense a domestication of a ‘nomadic’ medium has taken place. For the very reason that the telephone has left its fixed home environment, it requires us to take an ‘ethnographic view’ in describing both this development and the changes taking place therein. Mobile Communication in Everyday Life takes a closer look at the mobile phone as an object of inquiry in the tradition of the so-called media ethnography. Consequently, the bene- fits and limitations of such research designs are the focus of the book. Some contributions focus on the tension between private and public communication, others on cultural dimensions. Overall, the book presents a range of the most up-to-date research in the field of mobile communication.
The mobile phone has become an integral part of our everyday life communication – in this sense a domestication of a ‘nomadic’ medium has taken place. For the very reason that the telephone has left its fixed home environment, it requires us to take an ‘ethnographic view’ in describing both this development and the changes taking place therein. Mobile Communication in Everyday Life takes a closer look at the mobile phone as an object of inquiry in the tradition of the so-called media ethnography. Consequently, the bene- fits and limitations of such research designs are the focus of the book. Some contributions focus on the tension between private and public communication, others on cultural dimensions. Overall, the book presents a range of the most up-to-date research in the field of mobile communication.
The Authors
Joachim R. Höflich is a professor at the University of Erfurt, Germany. He is also a leading expert in the field of mobile technologies and interpersonal communication. Joachim has published several books on the topic in German as well as many articles in English.
Joachim R. Höflich is a professor at the University of Erfurt, Germany. He is also a leading expert in the field of mobile technologies and interpersonal communication. Joachim has published several books on the topic in German as well as many articles in English.
Maren Hartmann joined the University of Erfurt in 2004 (and
can soon be found at the University of Bremen). Her research interests include
media ethnographies, cybercultures and the domestication concept. She has
published books as well as several articles on these topics.
Mobile Understanding
Mobile Understanding
The Epistemology of Ubiquitous Communication
The Epistemology of Ubiquitous Communication
Herausgegeben von Kristóf Nyíri
Reihe Passagen Philosophie
The content and structure of knowledge are at all times fundamentally moulded by the media through which knowledge is communicated. Today, the internet and mobile telephony are essential parts of these media. Minds have become bound up with technological devices. Face-to-face communication on the one hand, and the solitary study of documents on the other, merge with a world of continuous digital networking, texts with a world of images. Education is confronted by radical challenges; a revolution in epistemology is underway.
The content and structure of knowledge are at all times fundamentally moulded by the media through which knowledge is communicated. Today, the internet and mobile telephony are essential parts of these media. Minds have become bound up with technological devices. Face-to-face communication on the one hand, and the solitary study of documents on the other, merge with a world of continuous digital networking, texts with a world of images. Education is confronted by radical challenges; a revolution in epistemology is underway.
The volume contains papers by, among others, Ian Hacking, Andrew Brook, Richard Coyne, Maurizio Ferraris, James Katz, and Mike Sharples.
Citation:
Nyíri, K. (Ed.) (2006). Mobile understanding: The
epistemology of ubiquitous communication. Vienna: Passagen Verlag.
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