In this book, distributional justice theories developed by John Rawls and Amartya Sen are applied to the governance of today's media, proposing a fresh, and innovative assessment of the potential role for media in society. Three case studies describe the utilization of new media by marginalized communities in Israel - Ethiopian immigrants, the Bedouin and Palestinians - and set the stage for media policy scholars, teachers and students to discuss an analytic framework for media policy that is fresh, different, innovative and original. Departing from the utilitarian principles that dominate Western liberal regimes, and that have led to the proliferation of media systems in which control is concentrated in the hands of the few, this work proposes an alternative that focuses on redistributing power and voice.

After broadband access, what next? What role do metrics play in understanding "information societies"? And, more importantly, in shaping their policies? Beyond counting people with broadband access, how can economic and social metrics inform broadband policies, help evaluate their outcomes, and create useful models for achieving national goals? This timely volume examines not only the traditional questions about broadband, like availability and access, but also explores and evaluates new metrics more applicable to the evolving technologies of information access.
Beyond Broadband Access brings together a stellar array of media policy scholars from a wide range of disciplines--economics, law, policy studies, computer science, information science, and communications studies. Importantly, it provides a well-rounded, international perspective on theoretical approaches to data-based communications policymaking in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Showcasing a diversity of approaches, this invaluable collection helps to meet myriad challenges to improving the foundations for communications policy development.

One of the most significant developments in contemporary education is the view that knowing and understanding are anchored in cultural practices within communities. This shift coincides with technological advancements that have reoriented end-user computer interaction from individual work to communication, participation and collaboration. However, while daily interactions are increasingly engulfed in mobile and networked Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), in-school learning interactions are, in comparison, technologically impoverished, creating the phenomenon known as the school-society digital disconnect. This volume argues that the theoretical and practical tools of scientists in both the social and educational sciences must be brought together in order to examine what types of interaction, knowledge construction, social organization and power structures: (a) occur spontaneously in technology-enhanced learning (TEL) communities or (b) can be created by design of TEL. This volume seeks to equip scholars and researchers within the fields of education, educational psychology, science communication, social welfare, information sciences, and instructional design, as well as practitioners and policy-makers, with empirical and theoretical insights, and evidence-based support for decisions providing learners and citizens with 21st century skills and knowledge, and supporting well-being in today's information-based networked society.

In this book, distributional justice theories developed by John Rawls and Amartya Sen are applied to the governance of today's media, proposing a fresh, and innovative assessment of the potential role for media in society. Three case studies describe the utilization of new media by marginalized communities in Israel - Ethiopian immigrants, the Bedouin and Palestinians - and set the stage for media policy scholars, teachers and students to discuss an analytic framework for media policy that is fresh, different, innovative and original. Departing from the utilitarian principles that dominate Western liberal regimes, and that have led to the proliferation of media systems in which control is concentrated in the hands of the few, this work proposes an alternative that focuses on redistributing power and voice.

After broadband access, what next? What role do metrics play in understanding "information societies"? And, more important, in shaping their policies? Beyond counting people with broadband access, how can economic and social metrics inform broadband policies, help evaluate their outcomes, and create useful models for achieving national goals? This timely volume not only examines the traditional questions about broadband, like availability and access, but also explores and evaluates new metrics more applicable to the evolving technologies of information access. Beyond Broadband Access brings together a stellar array of media policy scholars from a wide range of disciplines-economics, law, policy studies, computer science, information science, and communications studies. Importantly, it provides a well-rounded, international perspective on theoretical approaches to databased communications policymaking in the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Showcasing a diversity of approaches, this invaluable collection helps to meet myriad challenges to improving the foundations for communications policy development.

"Telecommunications, Broadcasting, and Information: Law, Policy, and Regulation is a collection of readings designed to accompany an upper-level undergraduate course that introduces students to the challenges confronting regulators, practitioners, stakeholders, and the public as a result of the convergence of information technologies and their towering impact on democracy and on quality of life. The approach adopted in this anthology introduces students to basic concepts of economics, law, competition, and regulatory governance, and to the fundamentals of communications and antitrust policymaking, in order to set the foundation for class discussions on issues pertaining to what have been distinct industries telecommunications and broadcasting as they become one the information industry. The issues covered in this collection range from indecency regulation and political speech to interconnection oversight and network neutrality; from media ownership and the role of public and educational broadcasting to the technological underpinnings of the American regulatory system and the quest for universal service. Short introductions accompanying each of the readings set them in the context of the field of knowledge needed to fully comprehend the framework in which they are embedded.
Amit M. Schejter (Ph.D., Rutgers) is associate professor of communications and co-director of the Institute for Information Policy at the College of Communications of Penn State University. His books, law reviews, and academic studies on communications policy have been published and presented worldwide in four languages. Sangyong Han (M.A., Indiana University) is a doctoral candidate and research fellow at the Institute for Information Policy at the College of Communications at Penn State University. Previously, he has held managerial and marketing positions in the Korean telecommunications industry."

In . . . And Communications for All, 16 leading communications policy scholars present a comprehensive telecommunications policy agenda for the new federal administration. This agenda emphasizes the potential of information technologies to improve democratic discourse, social responsibility, and the quality of life along with the means by which it can be made available to all Americans. Schejter has assembled an analysis of the reasons for the failure of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and offers an international benchmark for the future of telecommunications. Addressing a range of topics, including network neutrality, rural connectivity, media ownership, minority ownership, spectrum policy, universal broadband policy, and media for children, it articulates a comprehensive vision for the United States as a twenty-first-century information society that is both internally inclusive and globally competitive.

In . . . And Communications for All, 16 leading communications policy scholars present a comprehensive telecommunications policy agenda for the new federal administration. This agenda emphasizes the potential of information technologies to improve democratic discourse, social responsibility, and the quality of life along with the means by which it can be made available to all Americans. Schejter has assembled an analysis of the reasons for the failure of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, and offers an international benchmark for the future of telecommunications. Addressing a range of topics, including network neutrality, rural connectivity, media ownership, minority ownership, spectrum policy, universal broadband policy, and media for children, it articulates a comprehensive vision for the United States as a twenty-first-century information society that is both internally inclusive and globally competitive.

The result of years of critical analysis of Israeli media law, this book argues that the laws governing Israeli electronic media are structured to limit the boundaries of public discourse. Amit M. Schejter posits the theory of a "mute democracy," one in which the media are designed to provide a platform for some voices to be heard over others. While Israel's institutions may be democratic, and while the effect of these policies may be limited, this book contends that free speech in Israel is institutionally muted to ensure the continued domination of the Jewish majority and its preferred interpretation of what Israel means as a Jewish-democratic state. Analyzing a wide range of legal documents recorded in Israel from 1961 to 2007, "Muting Israeli Democracy" demonstrates in scrupulous detail how law and policy are used to promote the hegemonic national culture through the constraints and obligations set on electronic media.