Thanks to all the helpful comments and pointers to resources-- just to clarify Jeremy's remark: I am not including information seeking as part of social capital. What I expect to find is that people who seek actively information (read the news, go to libraries, subscribe to magazines) will also be the ones who are more politically engaged. Putnam writes that information seeking (or more precisely: people's interest in politics) has declined and that this is an intracohort change (thus, younger people are the ones less inclined to be interested in these matters). So, I am thinking that the web is a new medium for acquiring information that could potentially serve to counteract this trend, as young people tend to be more net savvy. Thanks again and greetings from Toronto, Many Regards, Anabel Quan Haase ---------------------------------- Ph.D. Student Faculty of Information Studies McLuhan Program in Culture and Technology University of Toronto 140 St. George Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G6 Tel: 416-978-7097 Fax: 416-971-1399