The Oxford Handbook of Digital Technology and Society

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Technology And Society ◽  
Health Politics ◽  
State Of Research ◽  
The Uk

This book is a guide into the increasingly interconnected domains of digital technology and society. It presents extensive reviews into several domains affected by digital technology and media, such as health, politics, and interpersonal relationships, which are developed from the findings of the “Ways of Being in a Digital Age” project commissioned by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The book includes interdisciplinary, comprehensive reviews on central aspects of the current digital age. Aside from a look into the methodology of the ESRC project, the book contains chapters discussing individual and relational domains to more organizational, community, and citizenship domains, and then to more societal and governance domains. The chapters within each section provide a solid foundation for understanding the current state of research and theory in each of these areas, and for grounding future research, theory, and practice. They also bring to bear literature from a wide variety of disciplines, necessary for understanding the interrelationships between digital technology and society.

Conclusion

2020 ◽  
pp. 698-719
Author(s):  
Ronald E. Rice ◽  
Simeon J. Yates ◽  
Jordana Blejmar
Keyword(s):  
Digital Technology ◽  
Digital Literacy ◽  
Theory Development ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Technology And Society ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Research Areas

We conclude the Handbook of Digital Technology and Society by identifying topics that appear in multiple chapters, are more unique to some chapters, and that represent general themes across the material. Each of these is considered separately for the ESRC theme chapters and the non-ESRC chapters. In the ESRC theme chapters, cross-cutting research topics include digital divides and inequalities; data and digital literacy; governance, regulation, and legislation; and the roles and impacts of major platforms. Cross-cutting challenges include methods; theory development, testing, and evaluation; ethics; big data; and multi-platform/holistic studies. Gaps include policy implications, and digital culture. In the non-ESRC chapters, more cross-cutting themes include future research and methods; technology venues; relationships; content and creation; culture and everyday life; theory; and societal effects. More unique, these were digitization of self; managing digital experience; names for the digital/social era; ethics; user groups; civic issues; health, and positive effects. The chapter also shows how the non-ESRC chapters may be clustered together based on their shared themes and subthemes, identifying two general themes of more micro and more macro topics. The identification of both more and less common topics and themes can provide the basis for understanding the landscape of prior research, what areas need to be included in ongoing research, and what research areas might benefit from more attention. The chapter ends with some recommendations for such ongoing and future research in the rich, important, and challenging area of digital technology and society.

scholarly journals “A child with autism only has one childhood”: main themes and questions for research from the “Digital Bubbles” seminar series

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 113-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Parsons ◽  
Nicola Yuill ◽  
Mark Brosnan ◽  
Judith Good
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Responsible Innovation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Community Stakeholders ◽  
Autistic People ◽  
Seminar Series ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Main Ideas

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the main messages and key questions for further research arising from the seven-seminar series entitled, “Innovative technologies for autism: critical reflections on digital bubbles”, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council in the UK. Design/methodology/approach A synthesis of the main ideas is presented, drawing on the presentations, discussions, participant feedback, and short papers from across the seminar series, which took place between November 2014-2016. Findings There were many positive examples where technologies were positioned and used as facilitative “bridges” between ideas, communities, understanding, and experiences. Researchers and community stakeholders also emphasised the importance of taking different perspectives and working in stronger partnerships with each other. Four overarching research questions were developed from these themes to provide a roadmap for future research, relating to: responsible innovation, technology-enabled social interaction, learning and pedagogy, and engagement. Originality/value The findings and methodologies produced by the Digital Bubbles seminar series, available on the project website (http://digitalbubbles.org.uk/) and in a series of short papers, provide a rich repository of state-of-the-art thinking in the field of autism and technology that is being utilised nationally and internationally in teaching and learning. This paper suggests some valuable future research directions and highlights the importance of establishing and maintaining multi-disciplinary research teams, with autistic people and their families at their core.

Dynamics of Intra-Party Organisation in the Digital Age: A Grassroots Analysis of Digital Adoption

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine Dommett ◽  
Luke Temple ◽  
Patrick Seyd
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Party Organisation ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract Over recent decades, scholars have explored political parties’ adoption of digital technology. Tracing successive eras of change, scholarship has examined the degree to which digital disrupts or embeds traditional power structures—with many studies finding evidence of ‘controlled-interactivity’. In this article, we revisit debates around the adoption of digital tools from a bottom-up perspective. Moving beyond attempts to categorise elite strategies for digital adoption, we consider practices on the ground to document how, in practice, digital technology is being taken up and used. Using a case study of the UK Labour Party, we categorise a range of different practices, highlighting and theorising the presence of digital adherents, laggards, entrepreneurs, renegades and refuseniks. Discussing the drivers of these practices, we offer new insight into variations in digital adoption and consider the significance of these trends for our understanding of party organisation.

scholarly journals Forgiveness Predictors and Trust in a Digital Age

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-42
Author(s):  
Meriem Laifa ◽  
Roya Imani Giglou ◽  
Akrouf Samir ◽  
Ramdane Maamri
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Valuable Contribution ◽  
New Techniques ◽  
Main Technique ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
Significant Direct Effect

This article describes how interpersonal relationships structures and standards are evolving. By focusing on a social network context, this study examined different factors that can affect forgiveness decision of a victim of an online offense. In addition, it inspected whether the decrease of trust after an online-related offense can be affected by forgiveness. 323 participants took part in this study by completing a questionnaire that recorded different measurements. Structural equation modeling was used as the main technique for data analysis, and AMOS was used as a tool. Surprisingly, while empathy and commitment had no significant direct effect, results showed that the severity of the offense, its frequency and pretransgression trust are the main factors that influence forgiveness. Moreover, a victim's trust towards the transgressor decreased much more in the absence of forgiveness than in its presence. A valuable contribution of this article is in the prospect for related future research as well as the potential for applications that explore new techniques to facilitate forgiveness in the digital age.

scholarly journals Zero Hours Contracts and Their Perceived Impact On Job Motivation of Event Catering Staff

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 735-752 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viachaslau Filimonau ◽  
Sara Corradini
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Job Insecurity ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Corporate Image ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Family Status ◽  
Perceived Fairness ◽  
Staff Motivation ◽  
Market Situation ◽  
The Uk

Catering is a cornerstone of events. Motivating catering staff, who can be either permanent or "hourly paid" employees, represents an important managerial challenge, especially in the UK, where controversial zero hours contracts (ZHCs) prevail within the events industry. This article reports a representative case study of a London-based event catering company that relies upon ZHCs. In pursuit of corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals, directed at enhancing the well-being of employees and improving corporate image, the company considers replacing ZHCs with alternative contracts, but wishes to examine the potential impact of this intervention first. To aid in decision making, 18 indepth, semistructured interviews are conducted with company's managers and employees to examine the drivers of staff motivation and the perceived effect of ZHCs. The study finds that interpersonal relationships, remuneration rates, and perceived fairness of managerial treatment drive staff motivation in event catering. The major positive (flexibility and no mutual obligation) and negative (job insecurity and instable income) implications of ZHCs are well understood by employees. The internal (personal finances, family status, and individual lifestyles) and environmental (current job market situation and managerial abilities) circumstances determine the level of preparedness and the degree of willingness of event catering staff to accept ZHCs. Implications for policy making, professional practice, and future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Managing Technological Change in the Digital Age: The Role of Architectural Frames

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ola Henfridsson ◽  
Lars Mathiassen ◽  
Fredrik Svahn
Keyword(s):  
Technological Change ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Design Patterns ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Loosely Coupled ◽  
Complementary Approach ◽  
Powerful Approach

Inspired by Herbert Simon's notion of nearly decomposable systems, researchers have examined modularity as a powerful approach to manage technological change in product innovation. We articulate this approach as the hierarchy-of-parts architecture and explain how it emphasizes decomposition of a design into loosely coupled parts and subsequent aggregation of these into an industrial product. To realize the scale benefits of modularity, firms successively freeze design specifications before production and therefore only allow limited windows of functionality design and redesign. This makes it difficult to take advantage of the increased speed by which digitized products can be developed and modified. To address this problem, we draw on Christopher Alexander's notion of design patterns to introduce a complementary approach to manage technological change that is resilient to digital technology. We articulate this approach as the network-of-patterns architecture and explain how it emphasizes generalization of ideas into patterns and subsequent specialization of patterns for different design purposes. In response to the increased digitization of industrial products, we demonstrate the value of complementing hierarchy-of-parts thinking with network-of-patterns thinking through a case study of infotainment architecture at an automaker. As a result, we contribute to the literature on managing products in the digital age: we highlight the properties of digital technology that increase the speed by which digitized products can be redesigned; we offer the notion of architectural frames and propose hierarchy-of-parts and network-of-patterns as frames to support innovation of digitized products; and, we outline an agenda for future research that reconsiders the work of Simon and Alexander as well as their followers to address key challenges in innovating digitized products.

Socio-Mediated Scandals: Theorizing Political Scandals in a Digital Media Environment

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Zulli
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Digital Age ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Future Research ◽  
American Democracy ◽  
Collaborative Process ◽  
Media Environment ◽  
Political Scandals

Abstract Political scandals are a conspicuous characteristic of American democracy, and yet they have received little theoretical attention that might nuance our understanding of their nature and form. One key context yet to be extensively explored is digital technology and the enabling of vernacular discourses in the scandal narrative. Thus, this article develops a theoretical framework for studying political scandals in the digital age. I discuss this as a transformation from mediated scandals to socio-mediated scandals. Socio-mediated scandals: (a) reflect a more collaborative process, (b) are increasingly personalized, (c) are subject to amplified partisanship, and (d) are characterized by liveness, wherein scandals are quick, explosive, and then dissipate. The implications of this framework and opportunities for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Interdisciplinary perspectives on designing, understanding and evaluating digital technologies for autism

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Parsons ◽  
Nicola Yuill ◽  
Mark Brosnan ◽  
Judith Good
Keyword(s):  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Research Council ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Technology Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Interdisciplinary perspectives and collaboration in technology research are regarded as vital for producing effective and usable solutions that meet real needs. The purpose of this paper is to draw upon the fifth seminar in an Economic and Social Research Council funded series in the UK on “Innovative Technologies for Autism”. This seminar focused on the contributions that different disciplines can make to the field of autism and technology, and offers some interesting avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach A synthesis of key messages from the speakers’ talks is presented, interspersed with comments and observations from delegates which were written on post-it notes during the day and shared amongst the group. Findings Interdisciplinarity can be conceptualised in many different ways and is not simply about academic contributions. Collaborative research involving genuine stakeholder participation can provide fertile grounds for respecting and exploring individual differences and needs. Investigating the uses of existing technologies as well as developing innovative ideas and prototypes through inclusive design are important avenues for future research. Originality/value This paper offers a rare glimpse into a range of perspectives within a broad field of research and draws out some important connections between these different viewpoints. There are valuable avenues for collaboration and further exploration that would extend research in productive ways.

scholarly journals A study protocol of qualitative data sharing practices in clinical trials in the UK and Ireland: towards the production of good practice guidance

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Catherine Houghton ◽  
Megan McCarthy ◽  
Katie Gillies ◽  
Nikki Rousseau ◽  
Julia Wade ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Data Sharing ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Work Package ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Information Leaflets ◽  
The Uk

Background: Data sharing enables researchers to conduct novel research with previously collected data sets, thus maximising scientific findings and cost effectiveness, and reducing research waste. The value of sharing anonymised data from clinical trials is well recognised with a moderated access approach recommended. While substantial challenges to data sharing remain, there are additional challenges for qualitative data. Qualitative data including videos, interviews, and observations are often more readily identifiable than quantitative data. Existing guidance from UK Economic and Social Research Council applies to sharing qualitative data but does not address the additional challenges related to sharing qualitative data collected within trials, including the need to incorporate the necessary information and consent into already complex recruitment processes, with the additional sensitive nature of health-related data. Methods: Work package 1 will involve separate focus group interviews with members of each stakeholder group: trial managers, clinical trialists, qualitative researchers, members of research funding bodies and trial participants who have been involved in qualitative research. Data will be analysed using thematic analysis and managed within QSR NVivo to enhance transparency. Work package 2 will involve a documentary analysis of current consent procedures for qualitative data collected as part of the conduct of clinical trials. We will include documents such as participant information leaflets and consent forms for the qualitative components in trials. We will extract data such as whether specific clauses for data sharing are included in the consent form. Content analysis will be used to analyse whether and how consent is being obtained for qualitative data sharing. Conclusions: This study will provide insight into the existing practice of sharing of qualitative data in clinical trials and the current issues and opportunities, to help shape future research and development of guidance to encourage maximum learning to be gained from this valuable data.

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