Connecting Families

Norita Ahmad, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Excerpts from full review posted Apr 2 2013 to Computing Reviews [Review #: CR141100] This collection offers a diverse overview of research about technologies for connecting families. It suggests ways technology can be used to keep families together, regardless of composition. The handful of different technologies presented are sometimes intricate and complex, and sometimes rather simple. Some are aimed at specific family configurations, such as a long-distance relationship between a son in college and his mother at home, or grandparents and their grandchildren. ...the authors do provide some very useful technologies to connect families. This book is for readers who want to explore ways to contact and keep in touch with their loved ones when they are away.

• Connecting Families: An Introduction.- Section 1: Couples.- Designing for Collocated Couples.- Shared Living, Experiences, and Intimacy over Video Chat in Long Distance Relationships.- Section 2: Immediate Families and Children.- Intra-Family Messaging with Family Circles.- Enriching Virtual Visitation in Divorced Families.- Kids & Video: Playing with Friends at a Distance.- Section 3: The Extended, Distributed Family.- Connecting Families Across Time Zones.- Inter-Family Messaging with Domestic Media Spaces.- Reading, Laughing, and Connecting with Young Children.- Connecting Grandparents and Grandchildren.- Index.