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Showing papers by "Paul DiMaggio published in 2001"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Internet is a critically important research site for sociologists testing theories of technology diffusion and media effects, particularly because it is a medium uniquely capable of integrating modes of communication and forms of content.
Abstract: The Internet is a critically important research site for sociologists testing theories of technology diffusion and media effects, particularly because it is a medium uniquely capable of integrating modes of communication and forms of content. Current research tends to focus on the Internet's implications in five domains: 1) inequality (the “digital divide”); 2) community and social capital; 3) political participation; 4) organizations and other economic institutions; and 5) cultural participation and cultural diversity. A recurrent theme across domains is that the Internet tends to complement rather than displace existing media and patterns of behavior. Thus in each domain, utopian claims and dystopic warnings based on extrapolations from technical possibilities have given way to more nuanced and circumscribed understandings of how Internet use adapts to existing patterns, permits certain innovations, and reinforces particular kinds of change. Moreover, in each domain the ultimate social implications of t...

1,754 citations


01 Feb 2001
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that as Internet penetration increases, students of inequality of access to the new information technologies should shift their attention from the digital divide to digital inequality, by which they refer not just to differences in access, but also to inequality among persons with formal access to Internet.
Abstract: We contend that as Internet penetration increases, students of inequality of access to the new information technologies should shift their attention from the “digital divide” --- inequality between “haves” and “have-nots” differentiated by dichotomous measures of access to or use of the new technologies --- to digital inequality, by which we refer not just to differences in access, but also to inequality among persons with formal access to the Internet. After reviewing data on Internet penetration, we describe five dimensions of digital inequality --- in equipment, autonomy of use, skill, social support, and the purposes for which the technology is employed -- that we believe deserve additional attention. In each case, we develop hypotheses to guide research, with the goal of developing a testable model of the relationship between individual characteristics, dimensions of inequality, and positive outcomes of technology use. Finally, because the rapidity of organizational as well as technical change means that we cannot presume that current patterns of inequality will persist into the future, we call on students of digital inequality to study institutional issues in order to understand patterns of inequality as evolving consequences of interactions among firms’ strategic choices, consumers’ responses, and government policies.

119 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, auteurs examinent a travers leurs recherches le phenomene de radicalisation de l'opinion publique, en utilisant en contre point la question of l'avortement, confrontent les methodes d'autres chercheurs and discutent de la validite des modeles statistiques employes.
Abstract: Cet article s'interesse a l'evolution des mouvements d'opinion americains. Les auteurs examinent a travers leurs recherches le phenomene de radicalisation de l'opinion publique. En utilisant en contre point la question de l'avortement, ils confrontent les methodes d'autres chercheurs et discutent de la validite des modeles statistiques employes

46 citations



Posted Content
TL;DR: The Internet is a critically important research site for sociologists testing theories of technology diffusion and media effects, particularly because it is a medium uniquely capable of integrating modes of communication and forms of content as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Internet is a critically important research site for sociologists testing theories of technology diffusion and media effects, particularly because it is a medium uniquely capable of integrating modes of communication and forms of content. Current research tends to focus on the Internet's implications in five domains: 1) inequality (the "digital divide"); 2) community and social capital; 3) political participation; 4) organizations and other economic institutions; and 5) cultural participation and cultural diversity. A recurrent theme across domains is that the Internet tends to complement rather than displace existing media and patterns of behavior. Thus in each domain, utopian claims and dystopic warnings based on extrapolations from technical possibilities have given way to more nuanced and circumscribed understandings of how Internet use adapts to existing patterns, permits certain innovations, and reinforces particular kinds of change. Moreover, in each domain the ultimate social implications of this new technology depend on economic, legal and policy decisions that are shaping the Internet as it becomes institutionalized. Sociologists need to study the Internet more actively and, particularly, to synthesize research findings on individual user behavior with macroscopic analyses of institutional and political-economic factors that constrain that behavior.

1 citations