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

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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