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James E. Katz is an American communication scholar specializing in new media.
Katz served as the head of the social science research unit at Bell Communications Research, where he held the title of Distinguished Member of Staff.[1] He has also acted as editor-in-chief of the journal Human Communication Research.[2]
Katz was chair of the Department of Communication at Rutgers University, and the founder and director of its Center for Mobile Communication Studies. Also at Rutgers University, in 2012, he received "the highest honor the University can bestow on a member of its faculty", the designation of Board of Governors Professor of Communication.[1]
In 2012,[citation needed] Katz was appointed the Feld Professor of Emerging Media at Boston University's College of Communication. He founded and directs the college's Division of Emerging Media Studies.[3][1]
Since receiving his Ph.D. in Sociology from Rutgers University, Katz's work has been cited more than 18,000 times, according to Google Scholar. He has published a number of books on topics ranging from telecommunications policy to museums, and from social consequences of Internet and mobile devices to how social media use affects presidential politics. His books have been translated into a dozen languages.[3]
Along with Rutgers colleague Mark Aakhus, Katz developed the concept of Apparatgeist, related to how people develop relationships with their technologies, and how they seek to find transcendental ways to communicate. [4]
In 2013, Katz published The Social Media President: Barack Obama and the Politics of Digital Engagement (Palgrave Macmillan, 228 pp.) with Michael Barris and Anshul Jain.[5] The study examines the White House's use of Twitter and other online tools for policy initiatives and strategic campaigns since 1992, and in particular since 2009 during Barack Obama's presidency. The authors discuss the strengths and weaknesses of social media for public engagement, and concludes that its impacts in promoting the efficiency of democratic institutions have often been exaggerated. Drawing on interviews, case studies and social-media content, the book provokes academic and popular discussions about the successes, limitations and missed opportunities in the strategic use of social media in Obama's administration.
Selected publications
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Katz, James E., Michael Barris & Anshul Jain. (2013). The Social Media President: Barack Obama and the Politics of Digital Engagement. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.[5]
Katz, James E., Wayne LaBar & Ellen Lynch. (Eds.), (2011). Technology and creativity: Social media, mobiles and museums. Edinburgh, UK: MuseumsEtc.
Katz, James E.; Halpern, Daniel (2013), "Attitudes toward robots suitability for various jobs as affected robot appearance.", Behaviour & Information Technology, 33 (9): 1–13, doi:10.1080/0144929X.2013.783115, S2CID 11497237
Katz, James E. (2013). Mobile gazing two-ways: Visual layering as an emerging mobile communication service. Mobile Media & Communication, 1(1), 129-133.
Katz, James E.; Halpern, Daniel (2013). "Political and developmental correlates of social media participation in government: A global survey of national leadership websites". International Journal of Public Administration. 36 (1): 1–15. doi:10.1080/01900692.2012.713286. S2CID 153338922.
Lai, Chih-Hui & James E. Katz. (2012). Are we evolved to live with mobiles? An evolutionary view of mobile communication. Social and Management Sciences. Periodica Polytechnica, 20 (1), 45-54.
Katz, James E.; Lai, Chih-Hui (2009), "News blogging in cross-cultural contexts: A report on the struggle for voice.", Knowledge, Technology & Policy, 22 (2), Springer: 95–107, doi:10.1007/s12130-009-9072-1, S2CID 109947675
Katz, James E.; Rice, Ron E (2009), "Public views of mobile medical devices and services: A US national survey of consumer sentiments towards RFID healthcare technology", International Journal of Medical Informatics, 78 (2), Elsevier Ireland: 104–114, doi:10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2008.06.001, PMID 18619897
Chen, Yi-Fan; Katz, James E (2009), "Extending family to school life: College students' use of the mobile phone", International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 67 (2), London: 179, doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2008.09.002, ISSN 1071-5819, OCLC 299507436
Katz, James E. (2009), Kristóf Nyíri (ed.), "Social structure, new communication technology and citizen journalism.", Engagement and Exposure: Mobile Communication and the Ethics of Social Networking, Vienna: Passagen Verlag: 123–28
Katz, James E.; Lai, Chih-Hui (2009), Kristóf Nyíri (ed.), "A Multi-stakeholder Investigation of Ethical and Usage Issues of Mobile Social Networking.", Engagement and Exposure: Mobile Communication and the Ethics of Social Networking, Vienna: Passagen Verlag: 139–46
Katz, James E. (2009), "I media, la democrazia, e l'amministrazione Obama: La speranza, senza cambiamento?", Comunicazione Politica, 10 (3), Bologna: 421–31
Katz, James E. (2008), "Of mobiles and the meaning of life.", TALK: The Voice of Orascom Telecom, 6, Winter, Cairo:Orascom Telecom: 26–27
Rice, Ronald E; Katz, James E (2008), "Assessing new cell phone text and video services", Telecommunications Policy, 32 (7), [Amsterdam, etc. Elsevier Ltd., etc.]: 455, doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2008.05.005, ISSN 0308-5961, OCLC 233956945
Lever, Katie M.; Katz, James E (2007), "Cell phones in campus libraries: An analysis of policy responses to an invasive technology", Information Processing and Management, 43 (3), []: 1133–1139, doi:10.1016/j.ipm.2006.07.002
Katz, James E. (2007), "Mobile media and communication", Communication Monographs, 74 (3), United Kingdom: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group: 389–94, doi:10.1080/03637750701543519, S2CID 143874379
Katz, James E. (2006), "Mobile communication and the transformation of daily life: The next phase of research on mobiles.", Knowledge, Technology & Policy, 19 (1), Springer: 63–71, doi:10.1007/s12130-006-1016-4, ISSN 1946-4789, S2CID 143010338
Gross, Matthias; Katz, James E; Rice, Ronald E, "Review of Social Consequences of Internet Use: Access, Involvement, and Interaction", Contemporary Sociology, 32, Contemporary Sociology, Nov., 2003, vol. 32, no. 6: 691–692, doi:10.2307/1556636, ISSN 0094-3061, JSTOR 1556636, OCLC 482556403{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
Katz, James E (November 1998), "Struggle in Cyberspace: Fact and Friction on the World Wide Web", Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 560: 194–199, doi:10.1177/0002716298560001015, ISSN 0002-7162, OCLC 480885882, S2CID 144166448
Katz, James E (1998), "Social Side of Information Networking", Society, 35 (2), [New Brunswick, N.J., etc., Transaction, inc.]: 402, doi:10.1007/bf02838169, ISSN 0147-2011, OCLC 90499429, S2CID 189887755
References
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^ abc"James Katz". School of Communication and Information | Rutgers University. Retrieved 21 March 2025.