Theories, Practices & Examples for Community & Social Informatics

Description

Community Informatics involves study of the relationship between the design of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and local communities. This book uses a combination of theoretical and case study approaches to explore connections between Community Informatics, Social Informatics, and broader social theory.

Dr Tom Denison is a Lecturer and Research Associate with the Centre for Organisational and Social Informatics (COSI) in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University. He conducts research within the fields of social and community informatics, specialising in research relating to the effective use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) by communities and their members. Particular foci of his research include: ICTs as a form of mediated communication and the consequences of such use, for example by migrants and migrant groups; the use of ICTs by non-profit organisations and cultural institutions; and the role of social networks. He has also consulted widely in Australia and Vietnam, assisting libraries and non-profit organisations in making more effective use of ICT. Dr Mauro Sarrica works in the Faculty Of Communications Science, Sapienza University of Rome. His main research interests are the social construction of knowledge, stability and change of social beliefs, and peace psychology, with a focus on how people interpret and co-construct social reality in order to face changes and innovation. He is member of EAESP, ISPP and AIP scientific associations. Dr Larry Stillman is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Organisational and Social Informatics (COSI) in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University and a Senior Research Fellow in the Oxfam Australia Monash University Partnership. He specializes in research about the interaction between technology and communities in developed and developing countries and has a long-standing interest in participatory program evaluation and its application to community-based settings.