This book provides unique insights into the adoption and use of ICTs. In contrast to the common generalisations about the impact of technology on society, this fascinating collection of original studies shows that we can only really understand ICTs by looking at how they are adopted and used in everyday life settings. The book provides a valuable resource for anyone seriously interested in the implications of new technologies. Judy Wajcman, Australian National University What shapes the role of Information and Communication Technologies in our everyday life? In spite of the speed with which information and communication technologies such as the PC, mobile telephone and internet have found their way into society, there remains a good deal of debate surrounding their adoption and use. Through empirical studies covering a broad range of everyday life and work settings, this volume provides grounded insights into the social dynamics influencing how ICTs are both shaped and experienced. Specifically, the book examines the contributions of diverse disciplines to our understanding of these processes, the symbolic nature of technologies, the influence of design on the experience of ICTs, the role of users in influencing that design, the social constraints affecting the use of those technologies and strategies that have been employed to evaluating the social consequences of ICT innovations. Contents: Introduction, Leslie Haddon, Enid Mante-Meijer and Eugcne Loos. Part 1 Disciplinary Insights into the Social Dynamics of Innovation and Domestication: Computer anxiety in daily life: old history?, John Beckers, Henk Schmidt and Jelte Wicherts; ICTs and the human body: an empirical study in 5 countries, Alberta Contarello, Leopoldina Fortunati, Perdo Gomez Fernandez, Enid Mante-Meijer, Olga Vershinskaya and Daniel Volovici; The adoption of terrestrial digital TV: technology push, political will or users' choice?, Tomaz Turk, Bartolomeo Sapio and Isabella Maria Palombini; The flexible room: technology for communication and personalization, Marianne Jensen, Heidi Rognskog Mella and Kirstin Thrane. Part 2 The Internet as a Tool to Enable Users to Organise Daily Life: Uses of the family internet sites: a virtual community between intimate space and public space, Fanny Carmagnat, Julie Deville and Aurélia Mardon; Legal self-help and the internet, Lieve Gies; On older people, internet access and electronic service delivery: a study of sheltered homes, Maria Sourbati. Part 3 ICTs in Organizational Settings: A Tool or a Curse?: Resistance to innovation: a case study, Raija Halonen; Using ICT in human service organizations: an enabling constraint? Social workers, new technology and their organization, Eugcne Loos; The impact of ICT implementations on social interaction in work communities, Niina Rintala. Part 4 The Future: The Boundaries Between Work and Non-Work Life: There is no business like small business: the use and meaning of ICTs for micro-enterprises, Jo Pierson; Teleworking behind the front door: the patterns and meaning of telework in the everyday lives of workers, Arjan de Jong and Enid Mante-Meijer. Part 5 Future Developments: Enabling humans to control the ethical behaviour of their virtual peers, Boldur Barbat, Andrei Moiceanu and Hermina Anghelescu; Challenging sensory impairment, Keith Gladstone; Conclusion, Enid Mante-Meijer, Leslie Haddon and Eugcne Loos; Index. About the Author: Eugene Loos and Enid Mante-Meijer are both Lecturers at the Utrecht School of Governance, The Netherlands. Leslie Haddon is Research Associate in the Media and Communications Department at the London School of Economics, UK.