Social networks, social capital,and the use of information technology in the urban village: A study of community groups in Manchester, England

• 作者: Kate WILLIAMS
• 来源期刊: 中国文献情报：英文版
• 学科: 社会科学
• 关键词: SOCIAL network Information technology SOCIAL capit
• 年，卷（期）: 2011,（Z1）
• 页码范围: 35-48
• 页数: 14页
• 分类号: G203

摘要

Underresourced or socially excluded communities in Manchester,England demonstrate active use of information technologies despite continuing digital inequalities.A systematic look at 31 grassroots community groups,at how they use IT and who helps them,reveals possible mechanisms towards a more inclusive network society.Social network and social capital theories help make apparent how people are self-organizing with respect to information technology in ways that reach across ethnicity,class,gender,and generations for skilled help,yet stay close to their strong-tie,bonding-social-capital networks,relying largely on people in their own communities.Based on 25 measures of IT use,the groups fall into three progressively more extensive categories:Downloaders(using computers and the Internet,particularly e-mails),uploaders(maintaining a group web presence),and cyberorganizers(helping others to become uploaders or downloaders).These categories align with each individual group’s purpose.