Handbook of Research on Digital Technologies: Innovations, Methods, and Ethical Issues

Citation

du Preez, M. (2009), "Handbook of Research on Digital Technologies: Innovations, Methods, and Ethical Issues", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 481-482. https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830910988595

Modern media are affecting social structures while various digital information communication technologies (ICT) are penetrating individual spheres of life and affecting collaborative processes between people. Despite these developments, face‐to‐face human interaction still has an important role in mediating and communicating information. Researchers are now questioning how people value these digital information systems and apply them to different solutions. This line of questioning also requires new approaches to study the ongoing evolution of exchanging information.

The focus of this new handbook edited by Thomas Hansson is on communication. A total of 70 researchers from around the world contributed to the project by providing a number of research approaches to the development of digital information technologies. These approaches include ways and results of reasoning, thinking and learning. In his selection of contributing researchers, Hansson has attempted to mirror the variety of research on digital information technologies related to global and local environments, academic disciplines, and national cultures. Consequently, the handbook covers a comprehensive set of relevant research findings, methods, concepts, issues, and emerging technologies.

The handbook is divided into three parts: innovations, methods, and ethical issues. The chapters in the first part deal with artefacts, the processes of verbal communication and contextualising settings where purposeful activities take place. The authors of some of these chapters attempt to clarify some of the latest information communication technology buzz words, such as “Web 2.0” and “learning objects”. Other chapters describe digitised entities which can be used or referenced during technology‐supported learning. The idea with this part is to break the contents down into units of information that can be reused in various communicative environments, and to communicate independent and self‐contained units of learning.

Many researchers have explored the field of digital information technology. Part 2 reflects on the methodological development which has occurred through innovative research methods that have produced results clarifying people's understanding of the potentials, problems and challenges of old methodological approaches and principles.

The final part focuses on the digital information technology industry's attempts to deal with social issues in general. The contributions in this part introduce and analyse the development of morals, values and ethical behaviour. The ethical issues dealt with in this part include ethics relating to communication and relation building in social systems, human factors and innovation with mobile devices, self‐construction in computer‐mediated discourse, and mobile learning in a social, ethical, and legal environment.

Handbook of Research on Digital Technologies: Innovations, Methods, and Ethical Issues provides a collection of successful information communication technology‐related research designs. The handbook includes a longitudinal perspective on past mistakes, current trends and future opportunities. It can be highly recommended, regardless of whether the readers are looking for strategies, management procedures, software materials, information management clues, web content or learning management systems. This is a “must‐have” for beginners in the field as well as for qualified professionals exploring the full potential of human interactions.