Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

′Selected contributions are all of high quality and do indeed contribute to the editors goal; synthesis combined with new horizons, cross-disciplinary approaches combine with state of the art description. This makes the Handbook of New Media de facto required reading for anybody involved in new media and its understanding.... The aim of this book was ambitious and the size of the book is impressive but the result is there, a handbook of new media, which will remain a key referance in new media research for some considerable time′

- Learning Media Technology

`A landmark volume that provides a foundation stone for a new subject - the study of new media. It is stunningly well-edited, offering a very high standard of original contributions in a skilfully orchestrated and organised textbook′ - James Curran, Goldsmiths College, University of London

`This is the first major review of interactive technologies and their cultural and social context. This is more than a welcome addition to one′s library; it is the authoritative overview of international research perspectives on interactive media technologies by leading scholars around the world′ - Ellen Wartella, University of Texas, Austin

`The Handbook of New Media is a landmark for the study of information and communication technologies within the field of communication. Its international team of editors and authors has brought together insights gained from over two decades of scholarly research. This indispensable reference demonstrates an increased maturity and stature for "new media" research within the field′ - William H Dutton, University of Southern California

`A truly comprehensive and authoritative volume. This Handbook will be an absolutely essential text for anyone concerned with social aspects of the new media′ - Kevin Robins, Goldsmiths College, University of London

The past 20 years have seen remarkable growth in research and scholarship addressing new information and communication technologies and their social contexts. Often called `new media′ research, this growing field is both international and interdisciplinary.

The Handbook of New Media sets out boundaries of new media research and scholarship and provides a definitive statement of the current state-of-the-art of the field. Divided into six sections covering major problem areas of research, the Handbook includes an introductory essay by the editors and a concluding essay by Ron Rice. Each chapter, written by an internationally renowned scholar, provides a review of the most significant social research findings and insights.

This Handbook will be an indispensable volume on the personal bookshelves of all scholars working in the area, required reading for graduate students, a reference work for established researchers and newcomers to new media scholarship, and an intellectual benchmark for the field.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction
• The Social Shaping and Consequences of ICTs
• Part 1 The Changing Social Landscape
• Introduction
• The Information Society Revisited
• Creating Community with Media
• History, Theories and Scientific Investigations
• Politics and New Media
• Interpersonal Life Online
• The Electronic Generation?
• Children and New Media
• New Media and New Literacies
• Reconstructing Education for the New Millennium
• Primary Issues in Internet Use
• Access, Civic and Community Involvement, and Social Interaction and Expression
• Part 2 Technology Design And Development
• Introduction
• New Media History
• How to Infrastructure
• Exploring Models of Interactivity from Multiple Research Traditions
• Users, Documents and Systems
• Determination and Contingency in New Media Development
• Diffusion of Innovations and Social Shaping of Technology Perspectives
• Part 3 New Media And Organizing
• Introduction
• Smart Agents and Organizations of the Future
• New Media and Organizing at the Group Level
• The Social Construction of Technology in Studies of the Workplace
• New Media Implementation and Industrial Organization
• Part 4 Systems, Industries And Markets
• Introduction
• The Development and Use of Online Newspapers
• What Research Tells Us and What We Might Want to Know
• New Media and New Economy Cluster Dynamics
• Globalization and the Structure of New Media Industries
• Information Society, Trade and Industry Policy
• The Economics of Information and Industrial Change
• The New Economy
• Internet, Telecommunications and Electronic Commerce?
• Universal Access to the New Information Infrastructure
• Part 5 Policy And Regulation
• Introduction
• The Governance of Media Markets
• Wired Cities and Transnational Communications
• New Forms of Governance for Telecommunications and the New Media
• New Global Media and Communication Policy
• The Role of the State in the Twenty-First Century
• About Scarcities and Intermediaries
• The Regulatory Paradigm Shift of Digital Content Reviewed
• The Real Digital Divide
• Citizens versus Consumers
• Labour and New Media
• Part 6 Culture And New Media
• Introduction
• Cultural Studies and Technology
• Discursive Displacement and the Seminal Ambiguity of Space and Place
• Power and Political Culture
• Social Relationships and Identity Online and Offline