Information Society Working for Inclusiveness

The aim of the doctoral dissertation is to find the
answer to the broad question: How can the benefits
of information and communication technologies and
the so-called information society be extended to
rural-peripheral regions and communities? In
answering the question, a conceptual model
of access is developed, which encompasses not only
physical access and financial ability to pay, but
also the mental aspects of access such as skills
and attitudes and questions concerning the
relevance of content.
The strength of the thesis lies in the detailed
understanding that is built up of how
the information society project is given meaning
and relevance to rural areas in the very different
contexts of Finland and Hungary. It demonstrates
most effectively that there is no single path to
follow; the different ways in which the information
society is being realised in the rural areas of
Finland and Hungary provides ample evidence of the
importance of place and of the cultural and social
shaping of what at first appears to be a universal
and placeless concept. Andrew Gillespie, Professor
of Communications Geography, Newcastle University.

Autorentext

Dr Sarolta Németh is a researcher at the Department of Geography, University of Joensuu, Finland. She comes from Budapest, Hungary, but she has been working in Eastern Finland during the past seven years concentrating mainly on rural development. The present book is a summary of the findings of her doctoral research in Social Sciences.

Klappentext

The aim of the doctoral dissertation is to find the answer to the broad question: How can the benefits of information and communication technologies and the so-called information society be extended to rural-peripheral regions and communities? In answering the question, a conceptual model of 'access' is developed, which encompasses not only physical access and financial ability to pay, but also the mental aspects of access - such as skills and attitudes - and questions concerning the relevance of content.The strength of the thesis lies in the detailed understanding that is built up of how the 'information society project' is given meaning and relevance to rural areas in the very different contexts of Finland and Hungary. It demonstrates most effectively that there is no single path to follow; the different ways in which the information society is being realised in the rural areas of Finland and Hungary provides ample evidence of the importance of place and of the cultural and social shaping of what at first appears to be a universal and 'placeless' concept. Andrew Gillespie, Professor of Communications Geography, Newcastle University.