I en tid då medielandskapet är i ständig förändring och traditionell medieforskning konstant utmanas ökar behovet av att förena teknik, humaniora och samhällsvetenskap. Medie- och teknikforskning kräver innovativa angreppssätt för att navigera bland komplexa relationer mellan kultur, samhälle, ekonomi och teknologi.

I den här boken bjuder ledande forskare in till samtal om teknologins utmaningar och möjligheter. Här presenteras redskap för att utforska, beskriva, begreppsliggöra och förstå nya relationer mellan medieteknologier och deras omvärld – en kunskap som förbereder läsaren att på egen hand kombinera samhällsvetenskapernas kritiska analyser med teknikvetenskapernas tradition att utveckla tillförlitliga och effektiva system.

Tekniska mediestudier riktar sig till studenter inom ämnen som medieteknik, medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap, kulturvetenskap, data- och systemvetenskap, interaktionsdesign och informatik.

Paradoxes of Media and Information Literacy contributes to ongoing conversations about control of knowledge and different ways of knowing. It does so by analysing why media and information literacy (MIL) is proposed as a solution for addressing the current information crisis.

Questioning why MIL is commonly believed to wield such power, the book throws into sharp relief several paradoxes that are built into common understandings of such literacies. Haider and Sundin take the reader on a journey across different fields of practice, research and policymaking, including librarianship, information studies, teaching and journalism, media and communication and the educational sciences. The authors also consider national information policy proposals and the recommendations of NGOs or international bodies, such as UNESCO and the OECD. Showing that MIL plays an active role in contemporary controversies, such as those on climate change or vaccination, Haider and Sundin argue that such controversies challenge existing notions of fact and ignorance, trust and doubt, and our understanding of information access and information control. The book thus argues for the need to unpack and understand the contradictions forming around these notions in relation to MIL, rather than attempting to arrive at a single, comprehensive definition.

Paradoxes of Media and Information Literacy combines careful analytical and conceptual discussions with an in-depth understanding of information practices and of the contemporary information infrastructure. It is essential reading for scholars and students engaged in library and information studies, media and communication, journalism studies and the educational sciences.

Participatory media are commonly used in today's society for a variety of purposes. The credibility associated with these media is sometimes contested, and their acceptance into school practices has been debated. Focus group interviews with teachers and librarians in upper secondary schools in Sweden are used to investigate conceptions and experiences of activities involving the critical evaluation of participatory media, with a particular focus on Wikipedia. Three themes are addressed. The first concerns how the teaching of the critical evaluation of sources is organized and comanaged between teachers and librarians. The second describes educators' experiences of print versus digital media, and their worry because students have problems negotiating the information architecture of print media. The third theme deals with conceptions of the credibility of Wikipedia. Four conceptions of credibility are identified: credibility is associated with the control and stability of a source; it is considered to be strengthened when several sources support a claim; it is viewed as situational and partial, rather than absolute; and it is associated with a multiplicity of voices and democratic forms of production. These findings may be used to inform educational activities around credibility and authority in schools by raising self-awareness among educators of various ways to talk about the credibility of sources with both colleagues and students.

The concept of information literacy refers to purposeful information practices in a society characterized by almost limitless access to information and where information practices in digital environments shape and constitute important elements in most people’s lives in our part of the world. The meaning of the term information literacy varies according to the theoretical lens from which it is approached. Theoretical starting points are not always clearly stated in, for instance, information literacy definitions, standards, research or educational practices. Regardless of whether the underlying theory is made explicit or not, it will nevertheless have a profound impact on the ways in which we teach or research information literacy. This article discusses alternative theoretical understandings of information literacy and their consequences for educational practices. Three theoretical perspectives are presented that represent different understandings of information literacy; phenomenography, sociocultural theory and Foucauldian discourse analysis. According to all three theoretical lenses, information literacy is embedded in and shaped by as well as shaping the context in which it is embedded. In consequence, we propose the notion of information literacies in the plural. The three perspectives offer different insights on information literacies, on both empirical and theoretical levels. However, a sociocultural perspective also involves particular theoretical assumptions about the ways in which digital environments and tools reshape conditions for learning.

Purpose - The article concerns information literacies in an environment characterised by the two partly competing and contradictory cultures of print and digital. The aim is to provide a better understanding of the ways in which students assess the credibility of sources they use in school, with a particular interest in how they treat participatory genres. Design/methodology/approach - An ethnographic study of a school class’s project work was conducted through observations, interviews, and log books in blog form. The analysis was influenced by a socio-cultural perspective. Findings - The study provides increased empirically based understanding of students’ information literacy practices. Four non-exclusive approaches to credibility stemming from control, balance, commitment, and multiplicity were identified. Originality/value - The study adds to the understanding of how credibility is assessed in school environments with a particular focus on how digital and participatory genres are treated.

En medievärld i förändring och ett ökat individuellt ansvar för sökning, värdering och sammanställning av information i skolan väcker frågor om hur elever, lärare, skolbibliotekarier och deltagare i sociala medier hanterar källkritiska frågor och trovärdighet. I våra studier av klassrumsaktiviteter och av deltagande i Wikipedia framkommer en komplex relation mellan preferenser för förhandsgranskade, stabila källor och för den mångfald av ståndpunkter som kommer till uttryck och förhandlas fram på Internet.