This volume critically explores the contentions in the emerging debate surrounding new media technologies and the extent to which they are challenging traditional political and government models.

Examining a range of citizen/government interactions which together form e-government in different contexts, this book assesses the potential of new media technologies to facilitate new institutional patterns for governance and participation, as experienced primarily, but not only, across Europe. Analysing a range of challenges spanning from those of a technological and conceptual nature to those of a more political and legal nature, the authors scrutinise the central policies at governmental and organisational levels and consider the following questions:

• Is society driving or responding to e-government and is it ready to cope with it?
• What implications does e-government have for the power/democracy relationship?
• Is the technology right for e-government? What is needed to ensure government services are delivered optimally?
• How is e-government perceived and is it trusted?
• How are the sensitive issues of identity, privacy and social inclusion dealt with?
• How are management and safety dealt with when one considers issues such as activism, cyberterrorism, biometrics, and new implications for international relations?

This comprehensive text will be of interest to students and scholars of public policy, politics, media and communication studies, sociology, law and European studies. It will also offer insights of relevance to practitioners and policy-makers in regional, national, and transnational governance, reform and innovation.

New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman declared the modern age in which we live as the 'age of distraction' in 2006. The basis of his argument was that technology has changed the ways in which our minds function and our capacity to dedicate ourselves to any particular task. Others assert that our attention spans and ability to learn have been changed and that the use of media devices has become essential to many people's daily lives and indeed the impulse to use technology is harder to resist than unwanted urges for eating, alcohol or sex. This book seeks to portray the see-saw like relationship that we have with technology and how that relationship impacts upon our lived lives. Drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives that cross traditional subject boundaries we examine the ways in which we both react to and are, to an extent, shaped by the technologies we interact with and how we construct the relationships with others that we facilitate via the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) be it as discreet online only relationships or the blending of ICTs enabled communication with real life co present interactions.

For many years now we have witnessed the developing use of the internet and associated technologies by political actors and organisations. Claims and counter claims have been made as its suitability as a tool to help in the struggle to re-invigorate political participation in democracies across the globe has been contested. This book charts the shifting sands of political activity in the digital age. It interrogates the hybrid nature of modern politics as online and offline actions blur the boundaries of traditional politics between 'real-life' co-presence and the booming virtual domain of politics. By so doing, it critically reflects on the latest scholarship on the subject while concurrently advancing stimulating new insights into it. Encapsulating both the range and the diverse velocities of change in different political arenas and geographical locations, this volumes seeks to map out a path if not towards the politics of tomorrow then towards a better comprehension of the politics of today. Featuring a range of international and comparative case studies presenting research on the UK, US, Italy, France, Spain, Romania, Africa and China, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Politics and Media, Political Communication, New Media studies, Public Administration, Sociology, Communication Studies, Computing and Information and Communications Technologies.

For many years now we have witnessed the developing use of the internet and associated technologies by political actors and organisations. Claims and counter claims have been made as its suitability as a tool to help in the struggle to re-invigorate political participation in democracies across the globe has been contested. This book charts the shifting sands of political activity in the digital age. It interrogates the hybrid nature of modern politics as online and offline actions blur the boundaries of traditional politics between 'real-life' co-presence and the booming virtual domain of politics. By so doing, it critically reflects on the latest scholarship on the subject while concurrently advancing stimulating new insights into it. Encapsulating both the range and the diverse velocities of change in different political arenas and geographical locations, this volumes seeks to map out a path if not towards the politics of tomorrow then towards a better comprehension of the politics of today. Featuring a range of international and comparative case studies presenting research on the UK, US, Italy, France, Spain, Romania, Africa and China, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Politics and Media, Political Communication, New Media studies, Public Administration, Sociology, Communication Studies, Computing and Information and Communications Technologies.

This volume critically explores the contentions in the emerging debate surrounding new media technologies and the extent to which they are challenging traditional political and government models.

Examining a range of citizen/government interactions which together form e-government in different contexts, this book assesses the potential of new media technologies to facilitate new institutional patterns for governance and participation, as experienced primarily, but not only, across Europe. Analysing a range of challenges spanning from those of a technological and conceptual nature to those of a more political and legal nature, the authors scrutinise the central policies at governmental and organisational levels and consider the following questions:

• Is society driving or responding to e-government and is it ready to cope with it?
• What implications does e-government have for the power/democracy relationship?
• Is the technology right for e-government? What is needed to ensure government services are delivered optimally?
• How is e-government perceived and is it trusted?
• How are the sensitive issues of identity, privacy and social inclusion dealt with?
• How are management and safety dealt with when one considers issues such as activism, cyberterrorism, biometrics, and new implications for international relations?

This comprehensive text will be of interest to students and scholars of public policy, politics, media and communication studies, sociology, law and European studies. It will also offer insights of relevance to practitioners and policy-makers in regional, national, and transnational governance, reform and innovation.

This volume provides a broad examination of how technology and globalisation have influenced contemporary higher education institutions and how moves towards internationalisation within and between educational providers continue to be a force for change in this context. Showcasing the varied responses to and utilisation of new technologies to support international teaching and learning endeavours at a range of higher education institutions, this book introduces content from around the world, emphasising the global importance of the internationalisation of education. Featuring contributions from some fresh young voices alongside the work of experienced and internationally renowned scholars this collection critically scrutinises the potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the capacities and patterns of university education; assesses and refines the contention that ICTs are facilitating the (re-)shaping of university practices as well as challenging traditional educational models and learning strategies; provides a comprehensive portrait of the ways in which ICT use engages higher education providers, society, and individuals to facilitate potentially more democratic, globally focussed access to knowledge generation, creation, investigation, and consumption processes through internationally focussed education; and examines the differing pace and scope of change in international educational practice and context between and within countries and disciplines. With an international range of carefully chosen contributors, this book is a must-read text for practitioners, academics, researchers, administrators, policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of the university in an information age.

New York Times columnist, Thomas Friedman declared the modern age in which we live as the 'age of distraction' in 2006. The basis of his argument was that technology has changed the ways in which our minds function and our capacity to dedicate ourselves to any particular task. Others assert that our attention spans and ability to learn have been changed and that the use of media devices has become essential to many people's daily lives and indeed the impulse to use technology is harder to resist than unwanted urges for eating, alcohol or sex. This book seeks to portray the see-saw like relationship that we have with technology and how that relationship impacts upon our lived lives. Drawing on a range of theoretical perspectives that cross traditional subject boundaries we examine the ways in which we both react to and are, to an extent, shaped by the technologies we interact with and how we construct the relationships with others that we facilitate via the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) be it as discreet online only relationships or the blending of ICTs enabled communication with real life co present interactions.