Culture, Communication and Change: Reflections on the use and impact of
modern media and technology in our lives
The University of Cambridge's Engineering Design Centre was commissioned by BT in 2010 to conduct a research project with the objective of starting to build a comprehensive understanding of the role and impact of modern technology in modern life. Importantly, this study has drawn on a variety of information sources, including unique data, in order to create a more complete picture of the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).The project, international in its scope, was run in the United Kingdom, United States, Australia and China. The outputs of the study were both descriptions of how communications technologies are currently used in different cultures and countries and ideas for what the best balance of communication methods, both face-to-face and electronic, might be for people and their families in the future.
This book presents the views of experts from a wide range of disciplines - including neuroscience, psychology, human-computer interaction, computer science, behavioural economics and well-being - on the debate on the individual and societal effects of modern ICT. Experts were selected to provide the broadest possible range of perspectives on this issue, each being able to share uniquely informed views and insights. These experts are renowned in their respective fields, and their opinions are formed not only from their own research, but also from the research and contributions of others in their disciplines.
