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Data is the new asset of the current digital revolution. It is heralded as the "new oil" that will transform the world and function as a magic tool for development policies, with great potential to solve global health dilemmas. However, deep societal inequalities give datafication the risk of escalating disparities through data policies instead of solving them. The pandemic unmasked the price to pay for ignoring deep inequalities, helping this research to answer the question: "How did inequalities impact data policies for the Covid-19 pandemic in Brazil?" To investigate this link, the author develops a theoretical model linking the World-historical model of relational inequalities to the capability approach and data colonization theory. This model sustains the analysis of the data collected in 5 months of participant observation in the Covid-19 Favelas Unified Dashboard plus governmental data analysis and semi-structured interviews with data policymakers for Covid-19 in Brazil. As a result, the author demonstrates how inequalities worked as a trap for data policies and argues that data inequalities go beyond the digital divide. Data inequalities skyrocket vulnerability of the poor, increasing contamination rates, and inhibiting development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research suggests that older internet users are not a homogeneous group of users, as their level of digital inclusion varies widely, depending not only on their age, but also on their socio-demographic background, internet access characteristics, and the availability of social resources associated with "age-graded" life events (e.g., retirement and widowhood). This study presents a typology of internet users in late middle and late adulthood according to their levels of skills and uses and examines how socio-demographic characteristics, social networks and resources, and internet access shape differences between groups. Based on representative survey data, cluster analysis was used to identify four groups of users aged 50+: Apprehensive, Level-headed, Savvy, and Reluctant users. Three main conclusions emerge from their comparison. First, both internet skills and uses need to be considered, as more skills do not always lead to more varied use and the relationship is affected by access characteristics and proxy internet use. Second, socio-demographics remain critical in explaining gradations in digital inclusion, but their effects must be contextualized. Not all younger older adults were highly digitally engaged, so their broader life contexts need to be considered. Third, social networks and resources had little impact on aging internet users' digital engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Survey research is increasingly turning to online research and as a consequence, sampling only, or disproportionately from, households with internet access. While the percentage of non-internet households has declined, it persists at about one in ten households. This raises the question of coverage error and bias, and whether there is an approach to reduce possible biases in internet-only samples. We processed nearly 5000 variables from over a dozen major public and private datasets to assess the extent of the bias. Finding substantive differences, we then applied a series of data-reducing techniques to arrive at 38 variables that independently skew across internet and non-internet populations. We then developed and fielded a survey of these metrics to assess which dozen or less could be used to construct an efficient propensity model to reduce bias in internet-only samples. Our analyses revealed that many variables noted in prior research are important predictors of non-internet use, but also identified others. Our final propensity model of 10 variables was highly effective, reducing bias significantly. Many variables tested had bias reduced fourfold. Contributions: Prior research has not investigated the digital divide from a wide array of public datasets, nor done enough to consider the bias inherent in internet users-only samples. Our novel random-forest approach and subsequent survey of key candidate variables controlled for correlations among the variables in identifying the most important variables across multiple datasets. Our coding of 542 significant predictors of internet use contributes to the sociological understanding of internet access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to contribute to existing understandings of the relationships between social inequality and Internet use through 30 in-depth interviews with people in Britain who have digital access, are digitally competent, and use the Internet for a broad range of purposes, yet come from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Using a critical realist lens, it examines the everyday experiences and implications of using the Internet for this group. The paper explores individuals uses of the Internet, the ways people are able to exert agency using the affordances of the Internet and the structural conditions which constrain or enable what is possible for participants to achieve. The analysis provides a way to understand the complex mechanisms of agency and structure that help to explain the varied outcomes of Internet use for different individuals; and promotes a move beyond a focus on access and skills in digital inclusion policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theorists since Marx, Bourdieu, and DiMaggio have asked how individual choices on cultural preference interact with collective social network structure. The rise of social media in today's communication landscape motivates us to take a closer look at the involved dynamics. We designed an agent-based model to explore how different behavioral principles for cultural choice and communicative affiliation affect (1) collective consumption patterns, (2) social segregation, and (3) resilience of the emergent dynamic during exogenous distributions. We analyze the influence of individual agency on network structure, and vice versa, by simulating agents who pursue elite or popular culture, while communicating with others based on homophily or randomness. Our method allows us to go beyond specific constellations and explore the realm of theoretically possible combinations. We then used an exogenous disturbance on elite culture cost to test the resilience of social network structure. We found that only in societies where economic factors drive cultural consumption, increased access to elite culture can lead to reorganization in the social network and reduce segregation between different social groups. This is because the disturbance on consumption provides agents opportunities to connect with other social groups and opens a window for social mixing. We end by discussing how our model allows us to inform a diverse set of empirical research questions, including the cultural markets of social media, the digital divide, and the split between free misinformation and established news outlets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social networking sites (SNSs) might be important tools to contrast social exclusion in old age. However, the so-called gray digital divide (GDD) may undermine the potentialities of SNSs. Despite its relevance, there is very little research, which documented the characteristics of the digital divide in SNS use among the old-age population in Europe. Drawing on the " material access in resources and appropriation " theory developed by van Dijk, this work contributes to consolidate the body of research, documenting the nature of the GDD in SNS use in Europe and evaluating the role that older people's categorical, personal, and positional characteristics together with ICT characteristics play in gaining access to digital technologies. We analyze data from the 2013–2016 Eurostat Community Statistics on Information Societies (CSIS) survey and perform bivariate and multilevel regression analysis. Key findings are (i) the persistence of the intergeneration digital divide in old age together with the marked cross-countries differences in SNS use across European countries and over time and (ii) the stability over old-age generations, countries, and time of the positional categories associated with SNS use in old age, providing further empirical support to van Dijk's theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between mode of Internet access, variety of online activities, and the potential for the Internet to contribute to local social capital in distressed, urban communities. Based on a sample of 525 telephone surveys in Detroit, findings show that breadth of access predicts participation in a larger variety of online activities, which is associated with higher levels of local social capital. Neither public Internet access, home broadband, nor Internet access through a mobile phone data plan alone affords participation in a full range of social capital-enhancing activities. The findings highlight the potential problems of initiatives that assume equivalent social outcomes through nonequivalent modes of access, such as providing Internet access through mobile phones in place of home broadband. Efforts to enhance a city's social infrastructure by providing Internet access are best served when individuals have multiple points of access available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a sample of 21,546 individuals and 5,224 households, we use multilevel probit models to analyze the divides in the use of the Internet and online governmental services in Oman. We also study the main self-reported reasons for not using the Internet. The results reveal that characteristics such as education, employment status, nationality, role in the household, or age influence the likelihood of using both the Internet and online governmental services. Gender is only a relevant explanatory variable in the Internet use case. Although a gender divide exists in the online governmental services use, it is explained by differences in other individual characteristics. No need, lack of basic Information and Communication Technology skills and illiteracy are the most common explanations for not using the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public discourse about overuse as an undesired side effect of digital communication is growing. This article conceptually develops and empirically analyzes users' perceived digital overuse (PDO) as a widespread social phenomenon sensitive to existing inequalities. In an age of digital communication abundance and closing Internet access divides, overuse has not been systematically investigated nor are its social disparities known. In a first step, PDO is demarcated from Internet addiction, theoretically defined, and operationalized. Then, the prevalence of perceived overuse is assessed in a representative population sample of Italian Internet users (N = 2,008) and predictors of digital overuse are tested. Results show that digital communication use and the level of social pressure to function digitally are positively related to PDO. Education is negatively associated with PDO and positively with digital communication use and social digital pressure. Overuse is emerging as a new dimension of digital inequality with implications for theory and future research in digital well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that the non-Internet population is hesitant to respond to online survey requests. However, also subgroups in the Internet population with low digital affinity may hesitate to respond to online surveys. This latter issue has not yet received much attention by scholars despite its potentially detrimental effects on the external validity of online survey data. In this article, we explore the extent to which a person's digital affinity contributes to nonresponse bias in the German Internet Panel, a probability-based online panel of the general population. With a multidimensional classification of digital affinity, we predict response to the first online panel wave and participation across panel waves. We find that persons who belong to different classes of digital affinity have systematically different sociodemographic characteristics and show different voting behavior. In addition, we find that initial response propensities vary by classes of digital affinity, as do attrition patterns over time. Our results demonstrate the importance of digital affinity for the reduction in nonresponse bias during fieldwork and for postsurvey adjustments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second screening is a relatively new set of media practices that arguably empower audiences to shape public narratives alongside news organizations and political elites. But in developing countries such as Colombia, it is important to examine who participates in this process, as substantial inequalities in both access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) persist. This study examines how socioeconomic status (SES) relates to the adoption of second screening practices in Colombia, a country in which the technological access and literacy necessary to engage in these practices are becoming widespread but are not yet ubiquitous. Based on a random sample of face-to-face interviews, results show evidence of persistent digital divides in Colombia in terms of ICT access, ICT use, and second screening for news. Additionally, results indicate that the relationship between SES and second screening for news is indirect, mediated through technological access and public affairs engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combining data from a sample survey, the 2013 Oxford Internet Survey, with the 2011 UK Census, we employ small area estimation to estimate Internet use in small geographies in Britain. This is the first attempt to estimate Internet use at any small-scale level. Doing so allows us to understand the local geographies of British Internet use, showing that the area with least use is in the North East, followed by central Wales. The highest Internet use is in London and southeastern England. The most interesting finding is that after controlling for demographic variables, geographic differences become nonsignificant. The apparent geographic differences appear to be due to differences in demographic characteristics. We conclude by considering the policy implications of this fact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hundreds of papers have been published using Twitter data, but few previous papers report the digital divide among Twitter users. British Twitter users are younger, wealthier, and better educated than other Internet users, who in turn are younger, wealthier, and better educated than the off-line British population. American Twitter users are also younger and wealthier than the rest of the population, but they are not better educated. Twitter users are disproportionately members of elites in both countries. Twitter users also differ from other groups in their online activities and their attitudes. These biases and differences have important implications for research based on Twitter data. The unrepresentative characteristics of Twitter users suggest that Twitter data are not suitable for research where representativeness is important, such as forecasting elections or gaining insight into attitudes, sentiments, or activities of large populations. In general, Twitter data seem to be more suitable for corporate use than for social science research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns about a digital divide in U.S. politics that separates those who have and do not have access to technology have persisted for decades. Those concerns are prominent for immigrants and ethnoracial minorities who have tended to participate in politics, in general, and digital politics, in particular, at lower levels than others. Less attention has focused on the role representative nonprofits play in using technology to share political information and whether there is an institutional dimension to the digital divide. This article examines the adoption of social media by immigrant-serving nonprofits in the context of mobilization around elections. The findings suggest that responding organizations have adopted social media slowly and that key internal and external factors seem to relate to social media adoption. Hispanic American organizations were the fastest to adopt social media and have continued to be a technology leader. However, certain immigrant communities, especially the Asian American community, have been particularly slow to adopt social media suggesting that a digital divide exists within the population of immigrant-serving nonprofit organizations. These findings can be used by the leaders and managers of nonprofits to inform future decisions about the integration of technology into their operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the narrowing of Internet access divide, researchers have focused on Internet usage, taking for granted access issues. However, questions remain regarding who has Internet access in the United States: What is the status of the racial divide? Is there still a gender divide? How do Latinos compare to other racial and ethnic minority groups? How does gender intersect with race and ethnicity? I analyze nationally representative data to compare Internet access among adults from 2007 to 2012. I find that women are more likely to report having Internet access than men. Blacks and Latinos are equally likely to report having Internet access, and both groups are less likely to report having Internet access than Whites. Finally, Black men exhibited the greatest increase in access. This research complements Internet usage studies with a recent assessment of Internet access trends, important trends to monitor as policies and technological innovations aim for universal access. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional consumer theory assumes that welfare occurs at the point where a good is purchased, and this assumption forms a central part of standard neoclassical welfare analysis. This note argues by contrast that the use of products (including technologies) is also a fundamental determinant of the welfare effect of adopting mobile phones in developing countries. To show this, I rely on a new and detailed data set for 11 African countries and reach some important--albeit tentative--conclusions about the consequences of introducing mobile phone use into existing literatures. In particular, this variable offsets the degree of inequality measured only by adoption and reduces the digital divide as compared to the conventional measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political scientists have long been aware of the problem of unequal participation in democratic politics, the phenomenon we can call "political divide." The emergence of information and communication technologies over recent years has sparked a discussion on whether this long-standing political divide can now be resolved by "e-democracy." This study aims to answer two questions: (i) Can e-democracy, specifically e-petitions, attract traditional nonparticipants to participate in public affairs? (ii) In the context of promoting e-petitions, can "digital divide" alleviate the problem of "political divide?" The data used in this study were collected from a national poll on citizen experience of and willingness to participate in the petitioning for referendum. The results indicate that those who recall participating in paper petitions tended to be older, less educated, and with stronger party identification. Also, our results reveal that these people who can be effectively mobilized by traditional social networks are mostly, in fact, the "digital have-nots." Furthermore, regarding the potential participants in e-petitions, we find that those "digital haves," who had not been mobilized in previous paper-based petition sessions, were more likely to participate in e-petitions if they are implemented in the future. The results demonstrate the existence of a possible negative correlation between the political and the digital divide. This suggests that e-democracy might be potentially beneficial to alleviate the long worried negative effects of the political divide in democratic polity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tested the reproduction hypothesis that the Internet produces positive payoffs for those in privileged social positions, while disfavoring marginalized communities. Using a national sample of adult Internet users (n = 419), the first premise of this study investigated the impacts of (1) sociodemographic status, (2) Internet access indicators, and (3) their interactions on the variations of capabilities, as assessed through discrete measures of Internet-related personal information skill and knowledge. The second premise introduced the factor of individual motivation in interaction with sociodemographics and Internet access indicators. Hierarchical logistic regressions showed manifest age and gender disparities, with the significant interactions indicating that Internet access exacerbates existing offline status disparities. The reinforcement of digital divide was particularly salient in knowledge dimensions. The findings are discussed with regard to the conditions that incubate systematic differences in people’s ability to understand or resist data surveillance. Implications for policy initiatives are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study analyzes whether greater levels of Internet access closed the participation gap between individuals of lower and higher socioeconomic status (SES) in the early stages of the 2012 presidential campaign. Our analysis of data from the Pew Research Center demonstrates that greater levels of access to the Internet are significantly associated with greater political knowledge and engagement for low SES individuals, but not high SES individuals. We explain our results in the context of incidental learning among the disengaged public during high-profile political events, such as a presidential election. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the results of an exploratory study examining attitudes toward broadband advocacy, as related to attitudes toward and use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and a variety of other personal, political, and professional characteristics. A random sample (n = 297) of licensed social workers in Michigan was surveyed. There is a growing body of literature indicating that access to broadband Internet is an important element of the digital divide, especially in the United States, which after having led in this area has fallen behind. Findings from this study indicate significant relationships between willingness to engage in broadband advocacy and political views, attitudes toward and use of ICTs, and knowledge about broadband. The implications for a profession focused on social justice and advocacy on behalf of vulnerable populations are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is a dearth of survey instruments for measuring Internet skills. This article presents results from additional implementations of a previously-developed index measure. It considers the performance of the original instrument over time as well as shortened versions of it on two surveys of different populations. Drawing on analyses of five different data sets, the article makes recommendations for various length survey items for measuring people’s web-use skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors analyze the understudied relationship between social class and Internet-in-practice in the Spanish social space in order to develop a social theory of Internet use based on the concepts of scale of consumption, technological, social, and information linkage needs of individuals, and Bourdieu’s suggested homology between the social and consumption spaces. The authors test their theory with interdependence methods of analysis, which are suitable methodological instrument for relating Internet uses to social structure through the concepts of scale and linkage needs. The authors’ theory suggests that, since Internet uses are socially structured, the first-level digital divide may be reduced but will not disappear, and Internet uses will continue to differ (second-level digital divide). The theory not only explains Spaniards’ Internet use and more recent empirical findings but also proposes answers to critical contemporary social questions regarding the use of digital technologies and the digital inequality debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the persistence of the digital divide and its impact on political participation, and in particular, on the role that geographic location plays in unequal access. The authors findings, based on survey data from the 2007 Pew Internet and American Life project, indicate that physical location continues to play a key role in levels of access to broadband technology and that increased home Internet use is associated with a significantly higher probability of contacting government officials in various ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the United Kingdom has long lost its position at the heart of a practically global empire, the British capital London still continues to stand at the very center of a global telecommunication and information network. Yet, global connectivity is not evenly distributed throughout the metropolis. As recent studies show, information-dependent businesses tend to concentrate in particular quarters in and around the City of London and the West End despite the spatial flexibility that modern telecommunication technology allows for. This study seeks to demonstrate how the modern ''digital divide'' that rips through London continuously evolved from similarly uneven connectivity patterns in the telegraphic network of late 19th-century London. With the help of historical Geographic Information Systems (GIS), these patterns will be visualized. This examination will show how important a role continuity played in the evolution of modern informational patterns and how this sheds new light on issues of technological dynamism and agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is subject to the following research question: Is the role of income inequality in comparison to other factors an element that influences the digital divide? Eleven variables providing data on 126 countries are analyzed using multivariate regression to identify which of them influence Internet usage to what extent. The used data on 126 countries refer to the year 2005. The results show that income inequality measured by the Gini coefficient is an important influencing factor besides per capita income, the degree of urbanization, and the level of democratization. The results question reductionistic digital divide approaches that analyze information inequality via focusing on a single variable (such as technology or markets). Access to ICTs is shaped by the interaction of socioeconomic, political, cultural, social, and technological factors. These results cast doubt on technological determinism, economic reductionism, and linear trend projection in the digital divide debate. Digital divide causes are complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers information on historical shifts of socioeconomic positions caused by the diffusion of computers into the labor market. An account of the effects of using computers at work on gross monthly wages is offered, capturing significant changes over time within two decades (1979 to 1999). Empirical analyses are based on four large German labor market censuses. Results sustain the theoretical notion that early adopters receive a risk premium for using information technology, supporting the modernization hypothesis. Positive effects of computer training on income levels are found. Large gender income gaps are substantiated. Over time, income premiums for workers in the information segment increase. Indications for the downscaling of computerized jobs in the information segment are detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "digital divide" in the utilization of e-government between the industrialized and developing countries stands to spell serious consequences for the latter's political and economic development. Because African countries rank very low on the global measure of e-government readiness, critical variables were studied to find out which policy and programmatic areas should become priority in bridging the gap. Findings from a multiple regression analysis indicate that the low ranking of African countries on the global e-government readiness index indicates that the countries would need to develop, first, the internal utilization capacity as well as an enhanced public access to information, communication, and technology (ICT) infrastructures. These would, in turn, generate the demand necessary to spur increased government investment in ICT infrastructural development. What is mostly required is public sector leadership that creates the enabling environment for increased public and private sector participation in e-government interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given debate about the existence of a digital divide in the United States, the question remains: If individuals are in situations where all have access to the Internet (e.g., a university), will aspects of a digital divide still exist? The authors examine whether a racial digital divide exists among college students in the odds of their using the Internet and the different levels and types of usage. Data are from a random sample of full-time, residential college freshmen. Results indicate that aspects of a digital divide exist in terms of whether one uses the Internet for specific purposes; however, once individuals begin using the Internet, few racial differences exist. Internet experience and gender affect particular types of Internet usage, suggesting that the digital divide is multilayered. A policy implication from this study is that bringing individuals into structured environments with assured access may help to decrease aspects of the digital divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expanding the principles of the universal provision of telecommunications services to encompass elementary and secondary schools and libraries, lawmakers paved the way for the creation of the E-Rate program by passing the Telecommunications Act in 1996. The E-Rate program aims to bridge the digital divide in advanced telecommunications by offering services to eligible schools and libraries for educational purposes at discounted rates. Currently in its sixth cycle, the E-Rate program has provided nearly US$ 13 billion in discounts to eligible organizations. The program has inspired much controversy and criticism, yet studies provide evidence that the program is effectively helping to enhance the provision of services to traditionally disadvantaged communities. This study challenges these claims and presents empirical evidence that suggests E-Rate resources are not systematically allocated to underprivileged, rural states where funds would most effectively help to bridge the digital gap in access to telecommunications technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prospect of Internet voting has received much attention because of concerns over the integrity of the U.S. electoral system. Proponents of Internet voting contend that the internet will play an important role in revitalizing the American electorate. Opponents counter that internet voting will benefit already advantaged groups. Using data collected in Arizona during the 2000 general election campaign, this study examined the opinions of registered voters (N = 501) toward Internet voting and found that almost one half of survey respondents opposed Internet voting. Results suggest that Internet voting could change the sociodemographic and ideological composition of the voting electorate. Concerns about the composition of the electorate, however, were not prevalent in survey participants' open-ended responses about the potential disadvantages of internet voting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to use a computer is assumed to be a cornerstone of effective citizenship in the Information Age, with a range of initiatives and educational provisions being introduced to encourage people to become competent with information technology (IT). Despite such provision, levels of computer use and competence have been found to vary widely throughout the general population, and we know little of how different ways of learning to use computers contribute to people's eventual use of IT. Based on data from in-depth interviews with 100 adults in the United Kingdom, this article examines the range and social stratification of formal and informal learning about computers that is taking place, suggesting that formal computer instruction orientated toward the general public may inadvertently widen the digital knowledge gap. In particular, the data highlight the importance of informal learning about IT and of encouraging such learning, especially in the home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a survey of state legislators in Iowa, Georgia, and California, this article examines how often legislators use the Internet as a source for policy information, and which legislators tend to make more frequent use of the Internet to gather information. The author finds that there is tremendous variation as to how often state legislators use the Internet to gather policy information. The author did not find evidence of a digital divide as it pertains to urbanism, or gender. It appears that a digital divide remains, however, between young and old legislators--with younger legislators using the Internet more often-- and legislators in California versus legislators in Georgia and Iowa. In the end, it appears that the digital divide in the state legislature is shrinking. As the older generation of legislators retires, the author expects that the Internet will become a more institutionalized part of the information environment of state legislators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using representative national surveys, this study tracks education, occupation, and gender access and use of digital technology among adults between 1983 and 2002. Although greater parity has occurred, substantial divisions remain. For individuals who owned a home computer, gender, education, and labor force gaps in home Internet access had largely disappeared by 2002, although better educated males still most often used home e-mail. Male college graduates most often had work web access or email. Gender gaps in online time rose from 1995 to 2002; men and very well educated adults increased their hours the most. Occupational variables were critical: many gender differences in information technology (IT) access and use lessened when labor force participation or occupational type were controlled. Although disparities have diminished, digital gaps across gender and educational level and among those with different labor force experiences continue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a descriptive analysis of issues related to the access and use of information and communication technology (ICT) among Canadian youth. In particular, it examines the extent to which inequities in the use of and access to ICT exist among Canadian high school students based on gender, socioeconomic status, and rural-urban location. The analyses suggest that there is a digital divide for Canadian youth in access to and experience with ICT. Rural youth are less likely to have access to computers in the home; however, frequency of use and perceived competency levels are not compromised because they make greater use of computers at school. Female youth and those from families with low levels of parental education are also less likely to have access to computers in their homes; they tend to access computers less frequently and report lower levels of computer skills competency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the comparative dimension of the digital divide, the global digital divide, assessing processes of various sorts that shape this differentiating feature and mapping its trends of change. Indicators of the global digital divide; Description of national characteristics that contribute to the level of information technology connectedness; Description of the global digital divide; Trends of change of global digital divide.

Presents a study that examined the extent to which electronic information about schools is an effective means of facilitating informed school choice. Use of modern information technology to increase the level of information; Definition of digital divide; Examples of school-related Internet sites.

Examines university student perceptions based on area of residence of the digital divide. Definition of digital divide; Concerns raised by the impact of the Internet on future economic activity; Analysis of the differences in perceptions with regard to the digital divide.

The goal of this special issue was to include high-quality articles covering the complete spectrum of computing in sociology. The result is nine creative articles from three continents addressing a wide range of issues, including inequality in the form of the so-called digital divide, the use of computers in qualitative research and in teaching sociology, the relationship between research methods and the technologies of the Internet, and a historical analysis of the early use of computing machines in sociology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]