Technology and Society: Social Networks, Work, and Inequality (Themes in Canadian Sociology) - Softcover

Technology-whether crude tools in the Stone Age or smart phones in the twenty-first century-has always found its way into our everyday lives, as we work and play. But how does that technology influence and change our society?

In Technology and Society, a new text in the Themes in Canadian Sociology series, author Anabel Quan-Haase examines those places in which technology and society intersect, connecting the reality of our technological age to issues of social networks, work, and inequality. The text also places an emphasis on experiential learning, serving as a bridge between abstract, theoretical thinking about technology and real-life events and experiences: issues and examples plucked from readers' daily realities clearly illustrate the history and concepts that form the foundational chapters of the book. The result is an action-oriented volume, one that initiates curiosity and sparks a desire to know more about technology and society: what the tools we use are, where they come from, and how they are changing our perceptions of ourselves and the relationships we form with others.

Anabel Quan-Haase is an associate professor in the Faculty of Information and Media Studies as well as the Department of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario, where her work and teaching focuses on the technology and its effects on society, as well as computer-mediated communication. She is also the director of the Sociodigital Lab, which explores how information and communication technologies lead to social change. Some of her current projects involve examining the impact of the e-book and electronic networks of exchange on humanist scholarship, 'breakup 2.0' (ending relationships in era of digital communication), facets of serendipity in everyday chance encounters, and the media's role in disaster early-warning systems in Brazil. She has also authored numerous book chapters and journal articles on instant messaging, social networking, information technology, and internet use.