April 8, 2004 (at 2:02 PM)
JOHN BAKEN writes:

Yes, here I am, 2 PM and counting.. sorry so late but this reading is dense material. Regarding
Pippa Norris's book, I have a few observations that I'm try to put in question form:

#1-- from page 77, Norris writes: "The digital divide is a mulitdimensional phenomenon tapping many social cleavages but differences of resources are commonly assumed to be among the most important, meaning the capacities based primarily on the income, occupation, and education that people bring to using new forms of info-tech." With this in mind, can we make general assumptions, based on usage, about countries that are on the latest wave of "connectedness" studies? For example, looking at Table 4.1 ("Trends in International Usage in Europe & America"), might we deduce that Sweden's income, occupation, and/or education is currently (well, in 1999, when study was conducted) "better" than the United States'? What assumptions can/cannot be made, based on these graphs/studies?

#2-- I like the graph (table 2.4, on page 34) entitled "Worldwide Diffusion of Radio, Television, and the Internet, 1950-2000," as it shows the Internet as just a small "jot of a line" in the lower right-hand part of the graph, measuring just a five year span from 1995-2000, heading at a steady 45-degree angle towards the northeast quadrant. Both TVs (starting in the 50s) and radio (before the 50s) began in the same way almost, then steadily increased, then plateaued (word??) out. How do you see the Internet use "graphical line" in 50 years?

#3-- As Table 4.1 (see title of graph above) clearly delineates, the Nordic European countries are clearly online more than their European neighbors to the south, as well as being connected more than the U.S. (in 1999). To what do you attribute this trend? What is it about Nordic people that allows them such technological savvy (could it be the fish in their diet? Wasn't Linux invented by a Finn? What's going on here??).

by John Baken
(1/4 Norwegian)