Information and Communication Technologies - Visions and Realities illuminates the social and economic implications of advances in information and communication technologies. It has been written and edited to reach a broad audience across the social sciences interested in constructive ways of thinking about the social dynamics of the revolution in digital media. Based on a decade of research, this book explains how social factors influence technological innovation and convergence; why organizations seek to transform work, services, and management; ways in which households domesticate new media; and how public policy and regulation shape the impact of technology on employment, media concentration, privacy, and access in an information society.