Kulterer Jasmin - Social inequality, childhood and the media. A longitudinal study of the mediatization of socialisation.

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This book, Social Inequality, Childhood and the Media: A Longitudinal Study of the Mediatization of Socialisation , is based on an investigation of the role of media within the socialisation of socially disadvantaged children and their families in Austria. It was initiated by Ingrid Paus-Hasebrink in 2005 and subsequently extended to cover adolescents. Our study, therefore, aligns with three German books (Paus-Hasebrink & Bichler, 2008; Paus-Hasebrink & Kulterer, 2014; Paus-Hasebrink (Ed.), 2017) and many articles in journals and chapters in edited volumes. It provides insight into over twelve years of research in a challenging field and tackles issues in developing theory and those of methodology. In doing so, we pay special attention to the last six years, when our children passed through their late childhood or adolescence, respectively.

Such a long-term project may be considered something akin to a gold standard in order to research not only in the short-term but also cater for development. The project was underpinned by the firm belief that socially disadvantaged people, and children in particular, deserve the support of the whole society, of which academia is no less a part. Therefore, the book follows the premise behind Norbert Elias idea of research, namely that it is obligated to serve humanity (Elias, 1987); this means its goal is both academic and social. On the one hand, it provides evidence-based research on the role media plays at various stages in the lives of the children in our panel. On the other, it advocates developing concepts to enable different stakeholders to provide individualised support for children and their families. This book intends to draw attention to, and raise awareness of, the situation of socially disadvantaged children, their needs and rights.

However, we have to emphasise that it would have been impossible to realise such a long-term project alone without support from a wide range of people. We, therefore, wish to thank all those who have supported us. Firstly, we want to thank all 20 (later on 18) families who invited us to their homes over and over again, although they were simultaneously coping with everyday demands and challenges. Secondly, a project like this needs a reliable partner keeping faith with us. In this respect, we would like to thank The Anniversary Fund of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) for financing the whole study in three separate peer-reviewed projects from 2005 to 2017. We felt particularly honoured when the project was invited to the 50th anniversary of the fund and named a