New Connectivities in China Virtual, Actual and Local Interactions [Paperback]

The fast diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in China has brought forth new forms of connection among the Chinese and has changed their social lives. Virtual networks have been developed and in turn have led to the formation of networks in the actual world. This collection explores the resultant complications in the relationship between virtual, actual, and local interactions. It discusses various aspects of the implications of the new connectivities on these three types of interactions in China. The topics examined include: the possibility of the development of civil society in China, the implications for the migrant workers in the south, the challenge posed to the traditional social order, and the relationship between the new connectivities and the Chinese social context.

This book explores new connections among Chinese people forged by the rapid spread of information and communication technologies. Covers virtual, actual and local interactions, probes impact on migrant workers, challenges to traditional social order and more.Acknowledgements.- Notes on Contributors.- Chapter 1. Introduction. PART I.? THE INTERNET COMMUNICATION AND THE ISSUE OF CIVIL SOCIETY.- Chapter 2.?NPOs in China: Some Issues Concerning Internet Communication; Boxu Yang.- Chapter 3. Dot the Is and Cross the Ts: A Sociological Interpretation of Chinese Cyberspace and Grace Wang Qianyuan Incident; Chung-tai Cheng.- Chapter 4. Rage and Reflection: Chinese Nationalism Online Between Emotional Venting and Measured Opinion; David Kurt Herold.- PART II. STUDIES ON mOBILE PHONE USES IN BEIJING.- Chapter 5. Beijing Calling... Mobile Communication in Contemporary China; Leopoldina Fortunati, Anna Maria Manganelli, Pui-lam Law, Shanhua Yang.- Chapter 6.?The Mobile Face of Contemporary China; Leopoldina Fortunati, Anna Maria Manganelli, Pui-lam Law, Shanhua Yang.- Chapter 7.?A Preliminary Study on the Use of Mobile Phones amongst Migrant Workers in Beijil3‡