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Social capital and community building through an electronic network.
- Source :
-
Australian Journal of Social Issues (Australian Council of Social Service) . Nov2004, Vol. 39 Issue 4, p369-379. 11p. - Publication Year :
- 2004
-
Abstract
- This paper describes a social policy experiment that explores current and potential links between trends in Australian public policy. The central example is provided by the implementation of a wired community set up in a low-income public housing estate by an entrepreneurial not-for-profit internet service provider, InfoXchange. 'Reach for the Clouds', the wired community being established at Atherton Gardens in Fitzroy, Melbourne, is attractive to policy-makers and funding bodies, combining community-building, public-private partnerships, self-help and place-based management. However, although the project is promoted as an exercise in community-building through technology, many of the key assumptions are untested. It seems self-evident that low-income people who are socially and economically excluded would benefit from greater 'connectedness' with one another. However, it is not clear that such exchanges, online or off-line, will build 'community'. The paper attempts to establish some distinctions between online communities of interest and place based communities, untangling the relationship between social connectedness and models of social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 01576321
- Volume :
- 39
- Issue :
- 4
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Australian Journal of Social Issues (Australian Council of Social Service)
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 15494993
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1839-4655.2004.tb01188.x