ATTN: Race, Place, and Information Technology
This is a paper being presented at the upcoming Telecommunications Policy Research Conference: Race, Place, and Information Technology By Karen Mossberger and Caroline J. Tolbert http://intel.si.umich.edu/tprc/archive-search-abstract.cfm?PaperID=184 Two points in the paper mirror what I've been saying and experiencing forever: 1. "Social networks facilitate technology use, according to our survey. Computers and the Internet are used far more frequently at the homes of friends or relatives than at public access sites. Twenty percent of all respondents reported using computers and the Internet at the homes of others, and twenty-four percent of respondents without home computers relied on friends and relatives. This is about 10 percentage points higher than rates of usage of public access computers at libraries (Mossberger, Tolbert, and Stansbury 2003). Informal processes of learning about computers and their uses may be as significant as public access and formal training." 2. "Race and ethnicity influence attitudes toward technology, in a surprising way. African-Americans had more positive attitudes toward information technology than similarly-situated white respondents, across a range of questions. While over 2/3 of Americans view the Internet and computers as important for keeping up with the times, or as important for economic opportunity, African Americans are significantly more likely to agree with these statements. They are also more likely than whites to be willing to learn new computer skills in a variety of ways, and are more willing to use public access sites for computers and the Internet. In terms of actual behavior, we found that African-Americans are more likely than whites to have used computers for job search or to have taken an online course. Our findings agree with other survey research on Internet job search (Pew 2000), but our analysis shows that these racial differences are statistically significant even after controlling for differences in income and education. Ethnic differences are less pronounced, but Latinos are more likely than whites to say that the Internet is necessary to keep up with the times, and are more willing than white respondents to take computer classes to learn new skills. Otherwise, their attitudes differ little from white respondents in the sample. Taken together, these statements show a fairly consistent pattern of positive attitudes about information technology for African Americans especially, as well as Latinos. Some other studies have also shown that African- Americans, Latinos, and urban residents are among the Internet nonusers who are most likely to say they will use the Internet someday (Lenhart 2003). Because apathy is an insufficient explanation for racial and ethnic differences, and individual income is also insufficient to account for these differences, environmental influences may be at work." Art McGee Principal Consultant Virtual Identity Communications+Media+Technology 1-510-967-9381
These are very interesting findings, and I am saying this without having read the complete paper yet. Some of the passages under point #2 below remind me of some of the things said in Daniel Miller and Don Slater's _The Internet: An Ethnographic Approach_, based on research in Trinidad & Tobago, where I have also lived and conducted my research. I was able to generally and impressionistically corroborate their findings that Trinidadians, of all classes, viewed the Internet as an important element in socio-economic advancement. I have also been able to witness library patrons in some of the smaller and economically depressed towns of Trinidad lining up to be the first into the library when it opened, and rushing to sign in for use of the Internet terminals. Internet cafes, whose number seems to always grow, sometimes two or three side by side on one short street, are becoming ubiquitous, and very heavily used. There has been little or no apparent rejection, as far as I can tell, of the Internet as a "white man's technology", as extraneous and irrelevant to local cultural life, or as an overpriced commodity imported from abroad (and that it definitely is). This of course speaks to the particularities of Trinidad, and I would not expect similar findings in all parts of whatever one may call it, the Third World, the lesser developed countries, ex-colonies, etc., etc. Thanks, Max. Dr. Maximilian C. Forte Assistant Professor Dept. of Anthropology and Sociology University College of Cape Breton 1250 Grand Lake Road P.O. Box 5300 Sydney, NS B1P-6L2, Canada E-mail: max_forte@uccb.ca Faculty Web page: http://faculty.uccb.ns.ca/mforte/ Office B.273 Telephone: 902-563-1947 ----- Original Message ----- From: "Art McGee" <amcgee@virtualidentity.org> To: "Association of Internet Researchers" <air-l@aoir.org> Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2003 3:51 AM Subject: [Air-l] ATTN: Race, Place, and Information Technology
This is a paper being presented at the upcoming Telecommunications Policy Research Conference:
Race, Place, and Information Technology By Karen Mossberger and Caroline J. Tolbert http://intel.si.umich.edu/tprc/archive-search-abstract.cfm?PaperID=184
Two points in the paper mirror what I've been saying and experiencing forever:
1. "Social networks facilitate technology use, according to our survey. Computers and the Internet are used far more frequently at the homes of friends or relatives than at public access sites. Twenty percent of all respondents reported using computers and the Internet at the homes of others, and twenty-four percent of respondents without home computers relied on friends and relatives. This is about 10 percentage points higher than rates of usage of public access computers at libraries (Mossberger, Tolbert, and Stansbury 2003). Informal processes of learning about computers and their uses may be as significant as public access and formal training."
2. "Race and ethnicity influence attitudes toward technology, in a surprising way. African-Americans had more positive attitudes toward information technology than similarly-situated white respondents, across a range of questions. While over 2/3 of Americans view the Internet and computers as important for keeping up with the times, or as important for economic opportunity, African Americans are significantly more likely to agree with these statements. They are also more likely than whites to be willing to learn new computer skills in a variety of ways, and are more willing to use public access sites for computers and the Internet. In terms of actual behavior, we found that African-Americans are more likely than whites to have used computers for job search or to have taken an online course. Our findings agree with other survey research on Internet job search (Pew 2000), but our analysis shows that these racial differences are statistically significant even after controlling for differences in income and education. Ethnic differences are less pronounced, but Latinos are more likely than whites to say that the Internet is necessary to keep up with the times, and are more willing than white respondents to take computer classes to learn new skills. Otherwise, their attitudes differ little from white respondents in the sample. Taken together, these statements show a fairly consistent pattern of positive attitudes about information technology for African Americans especially, as well as Latinos. Some other studies have also shown that African- Americans, Latinos, and urban residents are among the Internet nonusers who are most likely to say they will use the Internet someday (Lenhart 2003). Because apathy is an insufficient explanation for racial and ethnic differences, and individual income is also insufficient to account for these differences, environmental influences may be at work."
Art McGee Principal Consultant Virtual Identity Communications+Media+Technology 1-510-967-9381
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participants (2)
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Art McGee -
Maximilian C. Forte