Mobile technology and social transformations: access to knowledge in global contexts
London; New York:
Routledge
(2021), xviii, 180 pp.
ISBN 978-0-367-54522-2 (hbk); 978-0-367-54524-6 (pbk); 978-1-00-308957-5 (online)
"This book investigates the ways in which the mobile telephone has transformed societies around the world, bringing both opportunities and challenges. At a time when knowledge and truth are increasingly contested, the book asks how mobile technology has changed the ways in which people create, disseminate, and access knowledge. Worldwide, mobile internet access has surpassed desktop access, and it is estimated that by 2022 there will be an excess of 6 billion mobile phone users in the world. This widespread proliferation raises all sorts of questions around who creates knowledge, how is that knowledge shared and proliferated, and what are the structural political, economic, and legal conditions in which knowledge is accessed. The practices and power dynamics around mobile technologies are location specific. They look different depending on whether one chooses to highlight the legal, social, political, or economic context. Bringing together scholars, journalists, activists and practitioners from around the world, this book embraces this complexity, providing a multifaceted picture that acknowledges the tensions and contradictions surrounding accessing knowledge through mobile technologies. With case studies from Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Syria, Egypt, Botswana, Brazil, and the US, this book provides an important account of the changing nature of our access to knowledge, and is key reading for students, researchers, activists and policy makers with an interest in technology and access to knowledge, communication, social transformation, and global development." (Publisher)
Contents
INTRODUCTION
1 Introduction: Mobile Technologies and Access to Knowledge / Ramesh Subramanian & Stefanie Felsberger, 1
I. ACCESS
2 Access: Mobile Technologies and A2K / Ramesh Subramanian, 13
3 India and Foreign Language Teaching: Enhancing A2K through M-Learning / John B. Lourdusamy & Rishika Czarzasta, 17
4 India and the Pain of the Last Mile: Human to Human ICT Interface for the Poor and the Marginalized / Saji Matthew, Arun Kumar & Ramesh Subramanian, 29
5 Botswana and A2K: The Diffusion and Civic Application of Mobile Telephony / William O. Lesitaokana, 42
6 Brazil and the Blocking of Non-Approved Cell Phones: An A2K Perspective / Celina M.A. Bottino, Carlos Affonso Souza & Beatriz L.M. Nunes, 56
II. CONTROL
7 Control: Mobile Technologies and A2K / Stefanie Felsberger, 71
8 Syria and the Tragic Dream of Autonomous Internet Access: The Case of Bassel Safadi and the Syrian Revolution / Harry Halpin, 75
9 The United States and Government-Provided Internet Access: Infrastructures of Free Expression and the Role of the State / Enrique Armijo, 93
10 Brazil and the Treasure Trove's Tale: A Study on the Evolution and Popularization of Phones and Law Enforcement Access to Communications / Dennys Antonialli & Jacqueline de Souza Abreu, 106
III. SOCIAL CHANGE & ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
11 Social Change, Economic Opportunity & Mobile Technologies / Stefanie Felsberger, 123
12 Hong Kong and the Umbrella Movement: Mobile Social Media, Activism, and Social Change / Colin Agur, 125
13 South Korea and A2K: The Role of Mobile Technologies in the 2016 Impeachment Scandal / Shubhangi Gokhale, 136
14 Egypt and the Case of Uber: An A2K Perspective on Ride-Sharing Legislation / Nagla Rizk, 147
CONCLUSION
15 Contradictions and Tensions in Mobile Technologies and A2K / Stefanie Felsberger, 166
1 Introduction: Mobile Technologies and Access to Knowledge / Ramesh Subramanian & Stefanie Felsberger, 1
I. ACCESS
2 Access: Mobile Technologies and A2K / Ramesh Subramanian, 13
3 India and Foreign Language Teaching: Enhancing A2K through M-Learning / John B. Lourdusamy & Rishika Czarzasta, 17
4 India and the Pain of the Last Mile: Human to Human ICT Interface for the Poor and the Marginalized / Saji Matthew, Arun Kumar & Ramesh Subramanian, 29
5 Botswana and A2K: The Diffusion and Civic Application of Mobile Telephony / William O. Lesitaokana, 42
6 Brazil and the Blocking of Non-Approved Cell Phones: An A2K Perspective / Celina M.A. Bottino, Carlos Affonso Souza & Beatriz L.M. Nunes, 56
II. CONTROL
7 Control: Mobile Technologies and A2K / Stefanie Felsberger, 71
8 Syria and the Tragic Dream of Autonomous Internet Access: The Case of Bassel Safadi and the Syrian Revolution / Harry Halpin, 75
9 The United States and Government-Provided Internet Access: Infrastructures of Free Expression and the Role of the State / Enrique Armijo, 93
10 Brazil and the Treasure Trove's Tale: A Study on the Evolution and Popularization of Phones and Law Enforcement Access to Communications / Dennys Antonialli & Jacqueline de Souza Abreu, 106
III. SOCIAL CHANGE & ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES
11 Social Change, Economic Opportunity & Mobile Technologies / Stefanie Felsberger, 123
12 Hong Kong and the Umbrella Movement: Mobile Social Media, Activism, and Social Change / Colin Agur, 125
13 South Korea and A2K: The Role of Mobile Technologies in the 2016 Impeachment Scandal / Shubhangi Gokhale, 136
14 Egypt and the Case of Uber: An A2K Perspective on Ride-Sharing Legislation / Nagla Rizk, 147
CONCLUSION
15 Contradictions and Tensions in Mobile Technologies and A2K / Stefanie Felsberger, 166
