Archive for April 2023

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[Commlist] New book: Digital Capabilities: ICT Adoption in Marginalized Communities in Israel and the West Bank

Wed Apr 26 19:56:08 GMT 2023





So proud to announce the publication, today, of *"Digital Capabilities: ICT Adoption in Marginalized Communities in Israel and the West Bank,"* a culmination of 8 years and 10 research projects with 8 talented PhD and MA candidates, who have all completed their studies: Baruch Shomron, Muhammad Abu Jaffar, Ghalia Abu Kaf, Jonathan Mendels, Shula Mola, Malka Shacham, Amneh Al Sharha and Noam Tirosh.

Digital Capabilities is a first-of-its-kind exploration of the capabilities that communities in positions of inequality in Israel and the West Bank seek to realize by utilizing information and communication technologies (ICT), the opportunities they have to communicate, and the way ICTs serve their desire to do so. It is the outcome of an eight-year research project in which the nine authors of this book, some of whom came from within the studied communities, conducted their work among the studied populations over an extended period of time. The capabilities approach, much discussed theoretically, takes on a life in this project and is presented as an empirically observable phenomenon for assessing whether ICTs are serving actual needs, whether communication resources are justly allocated and distributed and whether they serve the goal of a universally accessible right to communicate.

What reviewers have said:

"This book offers a deep exploration of capabilities necessary for people in marginalised communities to make use of ICTs to achieve goals that they value. Framed by a creative application of Sen’s capabilities approach, case studies reveal how individuals and communities are integrating ICTs into their lives. The authors demonstrate why information needs must be taken seriously by policymakers if access to ICTs is to be translated into practices consistent with people’s right to communicate and which enable them to live fulfilling lives. There are crucial lessons here for all those who struggle with persistent digital inequality." *Professor Emerita Robin Mansell, London School of Economics and Political Science*

"This unique volume provides grounded insights in how a range of technology systems, from broadcasting to social networking platforms, interact with conditions of inequality. A timely and important book, Digital Capabilities introduces populations and environments unknown to many readers: the disenfranchised communities in Israel and the West Bank, including Arab-Israeli teachers, Bedoin journalists, Palestinian activists, ultra-orthodox women, and immigration activists, among others. A product of eight years of research, the research team behind this collection use Amartya Sen’s capabilities approach to produce detailed case studies examining the specific competencies catalyzed by communication technologies. In so doing they make a case for the liberatory potential of media, but also highlight the impediments standing in the way of realizing these communities’ full potential. This book speaks to foundational issues of fairness and media policies that can be life-changing." *Professor Sharon Strover, Philip G. Warner Regents Professor in Communication at the University of Texas at Austin*

“The most sustained and impressive application of the capability approach to media and communication that I have yet encountered”
*Professor David Hesmondhalgh, University of Leeds*

You can learn more about the book here:

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-22930-5

For more information, contact Prof. Amit Schejter at
(schejter /at/ gmail.com)
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