Internet Research, Theory, and Practice

Book excerpt: From 2000 to 2012 the number of Internet users rose from less than 0.4 billion to 2.4 billion. Scholarly, evidence-based Internet research is of critical importance. The field of Internet research explores the Internet as a social, political and educational phenomenon, providing theoretical and practical contributions to understanding, and informing practice, policy and further research. This new collection is a unique and welcome work. The editors have compiled a diverse range of new scholarly, peer-reviewed research, spanning the fields of education, arts, the social sciences and technology. The authors provide academic perspectives, both theoretical and practical, on the Internet and citizenship, education, employment, gender, identity, friendship, language, poetry, literature and more. The collection comprises a rich resource for researchers and practitioners alike. Following Notes on Contributors, Acknowledgements, a Foreword, and "Introduction on Internet Research, Theory, and Practice: Perspectives from Ireland" (Cathy Fowley, Claire English, and Sylvie Thous͡ny), the following sections and papers are included: Section 1: Research and Reflections on Ethics and Digital Culture: (1) "Ethical Issues in Internet Research: International Good Practice and Irish Research Ethics Documents" (Heike Felzmann); (2) "Studying Young "People's Blogs: Ethical Implications" (Cathy Fowley); (3) "Poetic Machines: From Paper to Pixel" (Jeneen Naji); (4) "A Second Level Pictorial Turn? The Emergence of Digital Ekphrasis from the Visuality of New Media" (Nina Shiel); and (5) "Digital Reading: A Question of Prelectio?" (Noel Fitzpatrick). Section 2: Research and Reflections on Societal Practices; (6) "Constructions of Violence and Masculinity in the Digital Age" (Jennifer Patterson); (7) "The Public Sphere and Online Social Media: Exploring the Use of Online Social Media as Discursive Spaces in an Irish Context" (Claire English); (8) "Not Quite Kicking Off Everywhere: Feminist Notes on Digital Liberation" (Angela Nagle); (9) "We are All Friends Nowadays: But What is the Outcome of Online Friendship for Young People in Terms of Individual Social Capital?" (Anne Rice); (10) "Romanian Diaspora in the Making? An Online Ethnography of Romaniancommunity.net" (Gloria Macri); (11) "What's 'Smart' About Working from Home: Telework and the Sustainable Consumption of Distance in Ireland?" (Michael Hynes); and (12) "Surveillance Privacy and Technology: Contemporary Irish Perspectives" (Kenny Doyle). Section 3: Research and Reflections on Educational Practices: (13) Digital Divide in Post-Primary Schools (Ann Marcus-Quinn and Oliver McGarr); (14) "The Use of a Task-Based Online Forum in Language Teaching: Learning Practices and Outcomes (Marie-Thřs̈e Batardir̈e); (15) "Using Facebook in an Irish Third-Level Education Context: A Case-Study" (Catherine Jeanneau); (16) "Internet-Based Textual Interventions and Interactions: How Language Learners Engage Online in a Written Task" (Sylvie Thous͡ny); and (17) "Information and Communication Technology in Foreign Language Teaching: Leveraging the Internet to Make Language Learning Real" (Etìn Watson). Section 4: Research and Reflections on Irish Resources: (18) "The Born Digital Graduate: Multiple Representations of and Within Digital Humanities PhD Theses" (Sharon Webb, Aja Teehan, and John Keating); (19) DHO: Discovery--Stargazing from the Ground Up" (Niall O'Leary); (20) "Database in Theory and Practice: The Bibliography of Irish Literary Criticism" (Sonia Howell); (21) "Digital Humanities and Political Innovation: The SOWIT Model" (Vanessa Liston, Clodagh Harris, Mark O'Toole, and Margaret Liston). A Name Index is included.