Wonderful to have an opportunity to catch up with Professor Noriko Hara, currently a professor in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering and the Director of the Rob Kling Center for Social Informatics at Indiana University, Bloomington. I met her when she was a graduate student of Rob Kling’s, a former colleague of mine when I was … Continue reading Noriko Hara Visits Oxford
Information Communication and the Social Sciences
A. Michael Noll on (De-)Centralization
[This post is distributed with the permission of the author. Professor Noll's discussion of centralisation versus Decentralisation illuminates how this issue has endured overtime and across information and communication infrastructures.] CENTRALIZATION vs DECENTRALIZATION A. Michael Noll December 21, 2025 © Copyright 2025 AMN Centralization versus decentralization has always been controversial – in politics, in economics, … Continue reading A. Michael Noll on (De-)Centralization
Technology, Society, and Power
Technology & Society Meets Power A new book by Professor Jan van Dijk signals a major shift in debate on technology and society – the increasing centrality of power. I’ve endorsed his book, which is aptly entitled Power and Technology (Polity 2024). Jan van Dijk, an emeritus professor at the University of Twente, has been … Continue reading Technology, Society, and Power
Courtney Bower Joins the Ukraine Case Studies
The Ukraine Case Studies Team is delighted to be joined by Courtney Bower, a Ph.D. candidate in regional science at Cornell University and a Senior Fellow at the Portulans Institute. Courtney’s research examines technological resilience and regional innovation systems. Related topics of his research include the circular economy, post-war reconstruction, infrastructure policy, and Black Sea … Continue reading Courtney Bower Joins the Ukraine Case Studies
ICA Communication & Technology Awards, 2024
To Members and Friends of ICA's Communication & Technology Division: The Communication and Technology (CAT) Division of the International Communication Association (ICA) seeks nominations for the (1) Frederick Williams Prize for Contribution to the Study of Communication and Technology and the (2) Herbert S. Dordick Dissertation Award. I am pleased to again be chairing the … Continue reading ICA Communication & Technology Awards, 2024
Information Policy: An Unsettled Issue of the Digital Age
Information Policy: Broadening our Perspective on the Issue for the Digital Age There is widespread awareness that we are living in a post-industrial, information society, as we have learned from such seminal thinkers as Daniel Bell (1973). Given such an awareness, it is surprising to that the study of “information policy” is not more prominent. … Continue reading Information Policy: An Unsettled Issue of the Digital Age
Call for Nominations for ICT Communication & Technology Awards
Dear Colleagues, I am pleased to be chairing the Awards Committee of the ICA Communication and Technology (CAT) Division and would like to draw your attention to the call for nominations for two awards: (1) the Frederick Williams Prize for Contribution to the Study of Communication and Technology and the (2) Herbert S. Dordick Dissertation … Continue reading Call for Nominations for ICT Communication & Technology Awards
Society and the Internet
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven the Internet and related social media and digital technologies to the forefront of societies across the globe. Whether in supporting social distancing, working at home, or online courses, people are increasingly dependent on online media for everyday life and work. If you are teaching courses on the social aspects of … Continue reading Society and the Internet
Libraries without Buildings
What is a library if the building is closed? One response to the coronavirus pandemic has been the closing of libraries around the world. In light of these closures, Don Means - @donmeans - of Gigbit Libraries (GLN) , has been holding weekly video conferences or Webinars on ‘What is a library if the building is closed?’, … Continue reading Libraries without Buildings
Women and the Web
News reports today citing one of the inventors of the Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, as arguing that the Web “is not working for women and girls”. Tim Berners-Lee is a hero of all of us involved in study and use of the Internet, Web, and related information and communication technologies. Clearly, many women and girls … Continue reading Women and the Web