The Wonder Phone in the Land of Miracles: Mobile Telephony in Israel

by Cohen, Akiba; Lemish, Dafna; Schejter, Amit

• ISBN13: 9781572738546
• ISBN10: 1572738545
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-05-31
• Publisher: Hampton Pr

Summary

"Studies conducted over several years in Israel explored social aspects of the developing mobile phone phenomenon. Using a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods the research examined the place that the "Wonder Phone" has been occupying in many facets of life. It was concluded that the mobile is "not only talk" - as a recent campaign slogan of one of Israel's mobile providers suggests. Rather, it is a medium through which Israelis define their gendered and national identities; it offers an experience of "being there" and a security net holding family members and loved ones together, especially in times of terror and war; and it provides a lifeline during existential crises around which rituals of mourning are crystallized. In analyzing the mobile phone as it is contextualized in Israeli society, two opposing social forces can clearly be seen: on one hand, the mobile is an expression of late modernity and globalization; but on the other hand it is recruited as a tool - as well as a symbol - for the expression of locality and patriotic sentiments."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

Context
The Research Program	p. 3
History, Diffusion and Ubiquity	p. 17
Policy and Regulation	p. 33
Uses
Attitudes and Behaviors	p. 51
Sticking Together: Parents and Children	p. 75
Three Unique Groups: Soldiers, Yeshiva Students and Migrant Workers	p. 89
Terror
Living in a State of Terror	p. 109
The Aftermath of Terror: Emergency Care	p. 131
The Aftermath of Terror: Victims, Witnesses and the Media	p. 145
Identities
Constructing Gender and "Israeliness"	p. 161
What the Mobile Phone Sells: Themes in Television Advertising	p. 173
Vignettes
The Mobile Phone in the Lives of Palestinian-Israei.I Young Women	p. 185
The End of Male Fraternity? The Mobile Phone and Reserve Military Duty	p. 197
Epilogue	p. 205
Endnotes	p. 207
References	p. 209
Author Index	p. 223
Subject Index	p. 227
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