There is a growing concern among academics and politics about accessing to ICT and inclusion in the Information Society. However, few concerns are made about the limits of ICT positive impacts and about individual needs. That is one of the reasons why EMTEL II network aims at investigating the realities and dynamics of the Information Society from a user point of view. My contribution to this network turns around existing concerns about inclusion and exclusion within the information society and raises questions about positive impacts of ICT use on social inclusion of 'less abled' people. The notion of 'less ability' refers to political discourses, which tend to designate vulnerable groups as excluded or threatened with exclusion because of such factors as: lack of skills, lack of income, age, gender, disability, etc. This conception of exclusion reflects many diverging groups and experiences, and does not consider individuals definition or 'self-designation' as included or excluded people. My research question addresses the debates around ICT and society, social inclusion and exclusion, and positive or inclusive potentials of ICT use among those political categories. In relation to different debates and an investigation of two specific cases, this project explores the relationship between ICT use and social inclusion in the everyday life of 'less abled' people.

Therefore, I refer to different theoretical backgrounds and analytical views on ICT use, such as the diffusion or translation theories. Namely, I focus on the social construction of ICT use and their inclusive and exclusive potentials through users' social profiles and symbolic universes, as well as on interactions and negotiations influencing innovation processes. Then, in line with recent studies that highlight the necessity for going beyond one-dimensional perspectives on social exclusion (Anthias, 2001; Bhalla and Lapeyre, 1997; Chapman et al. 1998; Commins, 1993), I question the prevalence of the economic sphere on other dimensions of everyday life and I tend to highlight the multidimensionality, dynamics and contingence of inclusion processes. I suggest to combine both theoretical backgrounds in one integrated model that I am using in an analytical and constructivist approach of ICT inclusive potentials.

In this direction, I question the hypothetical distance between, on the one hand, political objectives formulated in European and national programmes about the necessity to give all categories of citizens equal opportunities for accessing to ICT use as a prerequisite for digital and social inclusion; on the other hand, individuals representations about technology, needs for developing e-skills and to participate in socio-economic processes. This concern about the divergence between political and individuals aims or realities has risen from different observations. European documents about the Information Society policy mainly focus on 'diffusion' initiatives or the necessity to insure the so-called 'e-inclusion'. They strongly relate the economic potential of the information society to the quality of life of European citizens but do not insist on other aspects of living in society. This European policy is more and more translated into national programmes to become a substantial part of national action programmes, such as 'Objective 3' or 'Equal' in Belgium, which often give priority to ICT-based programmes in the fields of work and education to improve social inclusion among discriminated groups. Both political levels tend to assume the necessary inclusive impacts of ICT use.

Although many ICT-based actions are launched at the local level of discriminated groups, little attention is paid to their specific context, their real technological or social needs and the structural causes of social exclusion. There is also few understanding of durable positive impacts of such initiatives on the everyday life and inclusion or exclusion trajectories of target groups. Therefore, I tend to confront political views to individuals or users' perspectives about ICT and inclusion processes. The suggested integrated model tends to reflect interactions between global and individual points of view and the dynamics of individual experiences.

Furthermore, few qualitative research has been conducted on existing ICT use experiences among discriminated groups or who I call 'less abled' people. Therefore, the project focuses on two cases of ICT-based projects in the specific fields of work and training, as a starting point for investigating social inclusion in multidimensional terms. Those qualitative data have been gathered through biographical interviews and case studies among unemployed and physically disabled people in those specific fields. Preliminary results of this fieldwork have been presented at the "Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap" conference in Utrecht in November 2002. The project also raises some questions and political implications related to such experiences in the context of less abled people.