2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

A Sociological Study On Regional Informatization As Social Changing Process Of Local Society

Research Project

Project/Area Number	23530668
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Sociology
Research Institution	Kagoshima University
Principal Investigator	KIDO Hideyuki 鹿児島大学, 法文学部, 教授 (00204933)
Project Period (FY)	2011 – 2013
Keywords	地域情報化 / 情報 / メディア / コミュニケーション
Research Abstract	Since 2001 Japanese Government has purposed the advanced informatization in ICT policy. On national level it was achieved, but on regional level rather new regional imbalances are found. It is considered technology determinism. of the policy pursues the unilinear development and omitted diversities of local societies in rural area. I approached this problem from sociology. I regard the process of regional informatization as the social process as changes of local society, so search for the social requirements to utilize ICT effective in local society. I conducted researches in Oita Prefecture, where people has attempted regional informatization with local sectors cooperation since 1980's. I have two findings; (1) The effective informatization of local society needs some social apparatuses to make ICT fit to its regional matters; (2) In the rural area, local society projects informatization different from the urban area with not high but fitted technologies and services.