The Future Internet ― Alternative Visions

Readers seeking to gain a handle on the internet's global expansion will find this book rich in scholarly foundations combined with cutting-edge discussion of emerging ICTs and services and the complex societal contexts in which they are embedded. To explore possibilities to the fullest extent, a sociotechnical systems approach is employed, focusing on the interplay of technical, social, cultural, political, and economic dynamics to explore alternative futures (ones that are not part of the dominant discourse about the internet).

These shared perspectives are not well addressed elsewhere in current discussions. Awareness of these dynamics, and the fluidity of the future, is important, as humankind moves forward into the uncertain future. Due to the sociotechnical complexity of the Internet, policymakers, businesspeople, and academics worldwide have struggled to keep abreast of developments. This volume's approach is intended to stimulate dialogue between academics and practitioners on a topic that will affect most aspects of human life in the near-term future.

Dr. Jenifer Sunrise Winter is an Associate Professor in the School of Communications at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her research focuses on communication policies in the context of so-called network societies, in particular privacy and network surveillance. She has twice been a fellow of the National Science Foundation’s Team for Research in Ubiquitous Secure Technology (TRUST) Women’s Institute in Summer Enrichment. She received the interdisciplinary PhD in Communication and Information Sciences and the MLIS from the Department of Information and Computer Science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and she received the AB from Occidental College.

Dr. Ryota Ono is an Associate Professor in the Department of Business Administration at Aichi University, Japan. He managed a variety of development projects in developing countries as a staff member of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for nine years. His research focuses on telecommunication policy and planning in developing countries, information and communication convergence, futures planning, and images of the future. He taught and conducted research at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He was a visiting fellow at Queensland University of Technology, Australia. He received an interdisciplinary PhD in Communication and Information Sciences from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and an MS in Telecommunication from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He received his BS from the University of Electro Communications in Japan. Among his publications are Electronic Communication Convergence: Policy Challenges in Asia (2000), Knowing and Challenging Yourself (2005), and Tips to Change the Future (2010).