The Usage and Impact of ICTs during the Covid-19 Pandemic

This book takes a holistic view of the roles of ICTs during the pandemic through the lens of social informatics, as it is critical to our understanding of the relations between society and technology. Specific attention is given to various stakeholders and social contexts, with analysis at the individual, group, community, and society levels.

Pushing the boundaries of information science research with timely and critical research questions, this edited volume showcases information science research in the context of COVID-19, by specifically accentuating sociotechnical practices, activities, and ICT interventions during the pandemic. Its social informatics focus appeals to a broad audience, and its global and international orientation provides a timely, innovative, and much-needed perspective to information science. This book is unique in its interdisciplinary nature as it consists of research studies on the intersections between ICTs and health, culture, social interaction, civic engagement, information dissemination, work, and education. Chapters apply a range of research methods, including questionnaire surveys, content analyses, and case studies from countries in Asia, Europe, and America, as well as global and international comparisons.

The book’s primary target audience includes scholars and students in information and library science, particularly those interested in the social aspect of the information society. It may be of interest to information professionals, library practitioners, educators, and information policymakers, as well as scholars and students in science and technology studies, cultural studies, political science, public administration, sociology, and communication studies.

Shengnan Yang is a PhD candidate in the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University in Bloomington. Her main areas of research focus on social informatics, information policy, and digital inequality.

Xiaohua (Awa) Zhu is an Associate Professor at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her research focuses on digital rights, information policy, social informatics, and academic libraries.

Pnina Fichman is a Professor of Information Science at the Luddy School of Informatics Computing and Engineering, and the Director of the Rob Kling Center for Social Informatics at Indiana University, Bloomington. She has published five co-authored/edited books and over a hundred peer reviewed journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters about social informatics, trolling, information mediation, and communities of practice.