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Viewing report
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Information Society Working for Inclusiveness. Edition No. 1
VDM Publishing House, March 2009, Pages: 256
The aim of the doctoral dissertation is to find the
answer to the broad question: How can the benefits
of information and communication technologies and
the so-called information society be extended to
rural-peripheral regions and communities? In
answering the question, a conceptual model
of ‘access’ is developed, which encompasses not only
physical access and financial ability to pay, but
also the mental aspects of access – such as skills
and attitudes – and questions concerning the
relevance of content.
The strength of the thesis lies in the detailed
understanding that is built up of how
the ‘information society project’ is given meaning
and relevance to rural areas in the very different
contexts of Finland and Hungary. It demonstrates
most effectively that there is no single path to
follow; the different ways in which the information
society is being realised in the rural areas of
Finland and Hungary provides ample evidence of the
importance of place and of the cultural and social
shaping of what at first appears to be a universal
and ‘placeless’ concept. Andrew Gillespie, Professor
of Communications Geography, Newcastle University.
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