| Technological advancements associated with the development of home computers and the subsequent popularity of the internet as a means of mass communication have sparked a popular and scholarly interest in the "gap" between those with and without access to these technologies. Academics have aknowleged this gap or "digital divide" as it is often referred, as one worthy of study. My dissertation examines the construct of a digital divide based on application of internet technology.;This study examines background and theory to include the ideology of information, history of legislative policy, technology and social exclusion, policy implications, institutional definitions. Data gathered from the U.S. census Bureau in 2000 and 2003, and the Federal communications Commission in 2009, is used to classify and compare internet application in different demographic sets, at different time periods.;This dissertation advances the understanding of the digital divide by applying it to a new subset based on "application" as opposed to "access" of computers and internet technology. This analysis shows that institutionalized conceptions of the digital divide do not address the concept of application. Some general questions regarding the definition of the digital divide and specifically this definition based on application are answered by my research. The results of this study indicate that while there is an application based digital divide, it si not based on the same demographic variables as the access based divide. This conclusion can offer guidance to policy-makers in the United States and elsewhere as to the effectiveness of internet application and access policy, and the process by which those decisions regarding such policies are made. This dissertation develops methodological tools for the applicability of inferential statistics in examining other techno-social issues. |
