Hello, Dr. Murray, You wrote regarding "networking communities."
I would appreciate any help members of the list can provide regarding = studies of locally computer networked communities. Can anyone point me to = references that cover the impact of networking such communities (for = instance placing networked computers in peoples homes who all live on the = same street)? I am particularly interested in that work that looks at the = social capital that such initiatives produce.=20
There was an experiment in a small town in Japan, roughly about 1995 or 1996 (I can dig out the references for you if you can read Japanese or have access to someone who can help you translate). Approximately 300 to 400 residents of Yamada-cho in Toyama Prefecture had networked computers installed in their homes by the municipal government for approximately six months. While the response to the networked "smart-town" initiative was fairly positive overall, a number of older users apparently experienced learning-curve concerns in handling the computers. A number of university students from the Tokyo area volunteered their time during the summer holidays that year to instruct these older computer users on how to utilize computers. The experiment has since been disbanded, and I have not heard of similar initiatives in other communities. However, I speculate that in the future, similar programs may be developed further in Japan as part of the federal government's "E-Japan" policy. To date, though, I do not have knowledge of such further developments. Hope this helps. Please contact me privately if you would like the citations/references. -- Leslie M. Tkach Postgraduate Student Graduate School of International Political Economy University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Japan E-mail: tkach@japan.email.ne.jp