Dear aoir colleagues, I noticed this interesting new study by Hargittai & Shafer is out, and it is getting some great press. Aside from the research value, this is also a great item for classroom discussion. I quote: "[M]en and women do not differ significantly in their abilities to find...information online. However, young women are less likely to perceive themselves as skilled...[this] may affect significantly the extent of their online behavior and the types of uses to which they put the medium." (p. 444) The cite: Differences in Actual and Perceived Online Skills: The Role of Gender Eszter Hargittai & Steven Shafer. 2006. Social Science Quarterly. 87(2):432-448. http://eszter.com/research/a17-genderskills.html The press: <http://eszter.com/research/a17-genderskills.html> "Gender differences non-existent when it comes to surfing skills" Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-0607070132jul07,1,152691.column... (FREE REGISTRATION REQUIRED) Minnesota Public Radio segment: http://download.publicradio.org/podcast/futuretense/mpr_20060707_futuretense... I hope this is helpful, Christian -- http://www.niftyc.org/