This wide-ranging introductory text looks at the virtual community of cyberspace and analyses its relationship to real communities lived out in today's societies. Issues such as race, gender, power, economics and ethics in cyberspace are grouped under four main sections and discussed by leading experts: * identity * social order and control * community structure and dynamics * collective action. This topical new book displays how the idea of community is being challenged and rewritten by the increasing power and range of cyberspace. As new societies and relationships are formed in this virtual landscape, we now have to consider the potential consequences this may have on our own community and societies. Clearly and concisely written with a wide range of international examples, this edited volume is an essential introduction to the sociology of the internet. It will appeal to students and professionals, and to those concerned about the changing relationships between information technology and a society which is fast becoming divided between those on-line and those not.

The chapters in this book provide a basis for thinking about the dynamics of Internet community building. The book will interest educators, psychologists, sociologists, and researchers in human-computer interaction.

Reading is both a social process and a social formation, as this book illustrates across centuries and cultural contexts. Highlighting links evident in reading communities from literary salons to online environments, each essay reflects the rich repertoire of research methods available to reading scholars.

How is global togetherness possible? How does the availability of the Internet alter migrants' everyday lives and senses of belonging? This book introduces an 'alien people' inhabiting a specific common virtual space in the World Wide Web, while the members of this space - most of them ethnic Paraguayans - are physically located in many different parts of the world. By developing an innovative and 'uniquely adequate' set of research methods, the author explores the interrelation of media and migration practices in their own right and sheds light not only on the living conditions of contemporary (Paraguayan) migrants, but also on emerging global forms of living together. The concentration on a single case facilitates an in-depth understanding of contemporary migration practices, cultural meanings of digital media and senses of belonging. The book discusses empirical data, methods and theoretical concepts in a reflexive writing style, allowing readers to follow the research process, and to learn from its choices and challenges which are rarely visible in most research reports. The reflexive research procedure contributes not only to the understanding of social realities in the light of globalization, but also to an advancement of sociological methods and concepts for researching social phenomena in global landscapes and mediatization.

This book studies computer-mediated, interpersonal Internet activity up to the turn of the century, examining virtual misbehavior across a wide range of online environments. It also lays out the theoretical framework and fundamental ideas of media ecology, a branch of communication scholarship, highly relevant for understanding digital technology.

Howard Rheingold tours the "virtual community" of online networking. Howard Rheingold has been called the First Citizen of the Internet. In this book he tours the "virtual community" of online networking. He describes a community that is as real and as much a mixed bag as any physical community—one where people talk, argue, seek information, organize politically, fall in love, and dupe others. At the same time that he tells moving stories about people who have received online emotional support during devastating illnesses, he acknowledges a darker side to people's behavior in cyberspace. Indeed, contends Rheingold, people relate to each other online much the same as they do in physical communities. Originally published in 1993, The Virtual Community is more timely than ever. This edition contains a new chapter, in which the author revisits his ideas about online social communication now that so much more of the world's population is wired. It also contains an extended bibliography.

Building Online Learning Communities further explores the development of virtual classroom environments that foster a sense of community and empower students to take charge of their learning to successfully achieve learning outcomes. This is the second edition of the groundbreaking book by Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt and has been completely updated and expanded to include the most current information on effective online course development and delivery. A practical, hands-on guide, this resource is filled with illustrative case studies, vignettes, and examples from a wide variety of successful online courses. The authors offer proven strategies for handling challenges that include: Engaging students in the formation of an online learning community. Establishing a sense of presence online. Maximizing participation. Developing effective courses that include collaboration and reflection. Assessing student performance. Written for faculty in any distance learning environment, this revised edition is based on the authors many years of work in faculty development for online teaching as well as their extensive personal experience as faculty in online distance education. Rena M. Palloff and Keith Pratt share insights designed to guide readers through the steps of online course design and delivery.

Health Online turns a computer into your most important health tool. For newcomers, it makes going online easy by explaining e-mail and showing what's on the big commercial online services. Later chapters explore Internet mailing lists, newsgroups, and World Wide Web pages. Even online veterans will benefit from the book's listings of hundreds of health resources, especially self-help support groups. Health Online finds the healing power of electronic networks not in technology or data, but in the worldwide community of people helping each other.

Virtual Politics is a critical overview of the new - digital - body politic, with new technologies framing the discussion of key themes in social theory. This book shows how these new technologies are altering the nature of identity and agency, the relation of self to other, and the structure of community and political representation.

This book highlights cyber racism as an ever growing contemporary phenomenon. Its scope and impact reveals how the internet has escaped national governments, while its expansion is fuelling the spread of non-state actors. In response, the authors address the central question of this topic: What is to be done? Cyber Racism and Community Resilience demonstrates how the social sciences can be marshalled to delineate, comprehend and address the issues raised by a global epidemic of hateful acts against race. Authored by an inter-disciplinary team of researchers based in Australia, this book presents original data that reflects upon the lived, complex and often painful reality of race relations on the internet. It engages with the various ways, from the regulatory to the role of social activist, which can be deployed to minimise the harm often felt. This book will be of particular interest to students and academics in the fields of cybercrime, media sociology and cyber racism.