The Future Internet: Alternative Visions [Hardcover]

Readers seeking to gain a handle on the internet's global expansion will find this book rich in scholarly foundations combined with cutting-edge discussion of emerging ICTs and services and the complex societal contexts in which they are embedded. To explore possibilities to the fullest extent, a sociotechnical systems approach is employed, focusing on the interplay of technical, social, cultural, political, and economic dynamics to explore alternative futures (ones that are not part of the dominant discourse about the internet).

These shared perspectives are not well addressed elsewhere in current discussions. Awareness of these dynamics, and the fluidity of the future, is important, as?humankind moves forward into the uncertain future.?Due to the sociotechnical complexity of the Internet, policymakers, businesspeople, and academics worldwide have struggled to keep abreast of developments. This volume's approach is intended to stimulate dialogue between academics and practitioners on a topic that will?affect most aspects of human life in the near-term future.

Introduction to the Future Internet.- Inclusion and exclusion on the Future Internet.- New political technologies for new political cultures.- Inclusive futures of disabilities.- Information versus noise on the Future Internet.- Higher Education, Democratic Governance, and the Future Internet.

Dr. Jenifer Sunrise Winter is an Associate Professor in the School of Communications at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her research focuses on communication policies in the context of so-called network societies, in particular privacy and network surveillance. She has twice been a fellow of the National Science Foundations Team for Research in Ubiquitous Secure Technology (TRUST) Womens Institute in Summer Enrichment. She received the interdisciplinary PhD in Communication and Information Sciences and the MLIS from the Department of Information and Computer Science at tl£$