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Appropriating civic information and communication technology: a critical study of Swedish ICT policy visions

Olsson, Tobias LU (2006) In New Media & Society 8(4). p.611-627
Abstract
With 71 percent of its households owning computers and having internet access, Sweden is one of the world's leading information and communication technology (ICT) nations. The prevalence of ICT has inspired the Swedish government to ascribe it as a civic tool, capable of cultivating more active citizenship and a stronger democracy. However, despite its lofty intentions, Sweden's ICT policy has a significant shortcoming: it is uninformed about the everyday lives of citizens. This article aims to shed light on ICT policy through an analysis of the appropriation of the computer and the internet in Swedish working-class households. Specifically, by drawing on semi-structured interviews, observations and media diaries with household... (More)
With 71 percent of its households owning computers and having internet access, Sweden is one of the world's leading information and communication technology (ICT) nations. The prevalence of ICT has inspired the Swedish government to ascribe it as a civic tool, capable of cultivating more active citizenship and a stronger democracy. However, despite its lofty intentions, Sweden's ICT policy has a significant shortcoming: it is uninformed about the everyday lives of citizens. This article aims to shed light on ICT policy through an analysis of the appropriation of the computer and the internet in Swedish working-class households. Specifically, by drawing on semi-structured interviews, observations and media diaries with household respondents, the article critically discusses civic visions in Swedish ICT policy. It concludes with a recontextualizion of the discussion within an international arena. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
working class, qualitative methodology, internet, ICT policy, democracy, civic, appropriation, citizenship, Sweden
in
New Media & Society
volume
8
issue
4
pages
611 - 627
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • wos:000240032100005
  • scopus:33746144415
ISSN
1461-4448
DOI
10.1177/1461444806065659
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
efbff400-f40e-41b9-befe-e5f1cf2129c9 (old id 686232)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:59:57
date last changed
2022-03-30 19:48:06
@article{efbff400-f40e-41b9-befe-e5f1cf2129c9,
  abstract     = {{With 71 percent of its households owning computers and having internet access, Sweden is one of the world's leading information and communication technology (ICT) nations. The prevalence of ICT has inspired the Swedish government to ascribe it as a civic tool, capable of cultivating more active citizenship and a stronger democracy. However, despite its lofty intentions, Sweden's ICT policy has a significant shortcoming: it is uninformed about the everyday lives of citizens. This article aims to shed light on ICT policy through an analysis of the appropriation of the computer and the internet in Swedish working-class households. Specifically, by drawing on semi-structured interviews, observations and media diaries with household respondents, the article critically discusses civic visions in Swedish ICT policy. It concludes with a recontextualizion of the discussion within an international arena.}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Tobias}},
  issn         = {{1461-4448}},
  keywords     = {{working class; qualitative methodology; internet; ICT policy; democracy; civic; appropriation; citizenship; Sweden}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{611--627}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{New Media & Society}},
  title        = {{Appropriating civic information and communication technology: a critical study of Swedish ICT policy visions}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1461444806065659}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/1461444806065659}},
  volume       = {{8}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}