An Integrative View on Publication in Ubiquitous Era: Definition of U-Publication and its Relationship with e-Book

박아름, 이경전, 유비쿼터스 시대의 출판에 대한 통합적 시각 – U-Publication 정의 및 e-Book과의 관계, 한국출판학연구, 35(1):105-138, 2009. ISSN 1738-0421. pdf (in Korean)

Abstract

 

Information technology has changed the forms of publications and the way of producing, distributing, and consuming them. This paper analyzes the influence that the Ubiquitous Computing, as a recent information technology, brings about changes in publication. Prior studies defined u-book as a book with which readers can consume its contents anywhere, sometimes by any device. In other words, u-book was defined as being added mobility for the readers to consume its content. Ubiquitous Computing(UC) paradigm is a view contrary to Virtual Reality(VR) computing paradigm. UC emphasizes the construction of computer-embedded real world, u-space, while VR pursues the construction of computer-generated virtual world – the cyberspace. Based on the exact recognition of the ubiquitous computing paradigm and the critical literature review, this paper defines U-Publication and analyzes the relationship between U-Publication and e-Book through an integrative framework. To investigate the fundamental differences between e-Book and U-Publication, several cases belonging to each category are selected. The comparative case studies showed considerable differences in the way of configuring, producing, distributing, and consuming publication contents in e-Book and U-Publication. This demonstrates that the cases called ‘u-book’ in previous study may be classified as a category of e-Book rather than U-Publication.

 

Key Word 

ubiquitous media, ubiquitous publication, ubiquitous computing, business model, e-Book