ICT for rural development

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Kim J. Vicente

"In The Human Factor, Kim Vicente coined the term 'Human-tech' to describe a more encompassing and ambitious approach to the study of Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) than is now evident in any of its participating disciplines, such as human factors, human-computer interaction, cognitive science and engineering, industrial design, informatics or applied psychology. Observing that the way forward is 'not by widgets alone,' Vicente's Human-tech approach addresses every level--physical, psychological, team, organizational, and political--at which technology impacts quality of life, identifies a human or societal need, and then tailors technology to what we know about human nature at that level. The Human Factor was written for a broad audience, in part to educate general readers beyond the HTI community about the need to think seriously about the tremendous impact that poorly designed technology can have, ranging from user frustration to the tragic loss of human life. The articles collected in this book provide much of the technical material behind the work that was presented in The Human Factor, and the commentaries by Alex Kirlik situate these articles in their broader historical, scientific and ethical context. This collection of articles and commentaries forms a set of recommendations for how HTI research ought to broaden both its perspective and its practical, even ethical, aspirations to meet the increasingly complicated challenges of designing technology to support human work, to improve quality of life, and to design the way will live with technology. As the first book both to integrate the theory and research underlying Human-tech, and to clearly delineate the scientific challenges and ethical responsibilities that await those who either design technology for human use, or design technology that influences or even structures the working or daily lives of others, Human-tech: Ethical and Scientific Foundations will appeal to the broad range of students and scholars in all of the HTI disciplines"--Provided by publisher. "In The Human Factor, Kim Vicente coined the term 'Human-tech' to describe a more encompassing approach to the study of Human-Technology Interaction (HTI) than now exists in any of its participating disciplines, such as human factors, human-computer interaction, cognitive science and engineering, industrial design, informatics or applied psychology. Vicente's Human-tech approach addresses every level--physical, psychological, team, organizational, and political--at which technology impacts quality of life, identifies a human or societal need, and then tailors technology to what we know about human nature at that level. The articles collected in this book provide the technical foundation for the work presented in The Human Factor, and the commentaries by Alex Kirlik situate the articles in their broader scientific and ethical context. As the first book to integrate the research underlying Human-tech, and to describe the scientific challenges and ethical responsibilities that await those who design technology for people, Human-tech: Ethical and Scientific Foundations will appeal to students and scholars in all HTI disciplines"--Provided by publisher.

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Everett L. Worthington

The scientific study of forgiveness is a new approach to an age-old problem. For thousands of years, people have practiced forgiveness within religious systems. Now, the field of scholarly research of forgiveness reveals the beneficial aspects of the process.

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René Thomas

"The scientific study of sexual identity has made great strides in the five decades since Kinsey's early investigations. We know that sexual orientation exists on a continuum and not within a list of static categories such as "straight" and "gay", yet it's not always clear what should be measured, or what should "count." It's understood that sexual orientation is an intricate blend of sexual attraction, behavior, and identity, but it can also be informed by political identity, social behavior, and nuances of attraction that may possibly transcend sex." "However one defines sexuality, Contemporary Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identities relates these concepts to larger societal issues while also highlighting critical grey areas in the knowledge base, from the psychobiology of desire to the fluidity of adolescent sexual experience and self-expression."--Jacket.

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Gustavo Mesch and Ilan Talmud

"This book presents an up-to-date review of the literature on youth sociability, relationship formation, and online communication, examining the way young people use the internet to construct or maintain their inter-personal relationships. Using a social network perspective, the book systematically explores the various effects of internet access and use on adolescents' involvement in social, leisure and extracurricular activities, evaluating the arguments that suggest the internet is displacing other forms of social ties. The core of the book investigates the motivations for online relationship formation and the use of online communication for relationship maintenance. The final part of the book focuses on the consequences, both positive and negative, of the use of online communication, such as increased social capital and online bullying."--Jacket.