Social Science Computer Review

Volume 26, No. 2

Summer 2008

Table of Contents

Finding Online Sub-Cultures In Shared Meanings / Adam B. King

Abstract: This paper describes a cluster analysis of affective sentiments assigned by a sample of 2400 Internet users to a set of online-relevant concepts. The results of the cluster analysis, which identified five sub-cultures of the Internet population (Mainstream, Casual, Cliché, Enthusiast, and Neutral), are discussed in regard to demographic and use variations. The results of the study suggest that there is some utility in studying subcultures by seeking shared meanings rather than seeking demographic variations assumed to be culturally bounding. About Internet users in particular, the results suggest that online subcultural variation is mainly between novices and experienced users, although multiple subcultures persist even among experienced users. Interestingly, Internet users seem to affectively respond to online settings quite differently than offline settings, a finding that may recede as online settings become more nuanced.

Keywords: Internet, culture, subculture, cluster analysis, indigenous.

Framing the Internet: A Comparison of Gendered Spaces / Cindy Royal

Abstract: While access to the Internet in the United States has reached parity amongst males and females, over time, gender differences in terms of usage, agency, and representation with technology are becoming evident. Early thinking about the Internet indicated a more liberating and equalizing effect than previous media, due to its decentralized nature, reduced structural barriers to entry, and potential for diversity of voices. But over time, mainstream sites that have been developed for women are primarily interested in their value as consumers. Many sites have adopted a women's magazine model, using essentially feminine stereotypes to promote and position their content. This includes the ways in which these sites represent the ideas of technology and the Internet. This study compares two gendered spaces, iVillage and Askmen.com, and analyzes the differences in the ways that technology is framed and discussed.

Keywords: Internet, Web, World Wide Web, gender, women, technology

Embedding the Internet in the Lives of College Students: Online and Offline Behavior / Christine L. Ogan, Muzaffer Ozakca, & Jacob Groshek

Abstract: The Internet is increasingly becoming embedded in the lives of most American citizens. College students constitute a group that has made particularly heavy use of the technology for everything from downloading of music to distance education to instant messaging. We know a lot about the uses made of the Internet by this group of people, but we know less about the relationship between their offline activities and online behavior. This study reports the results of a web survey of a group of university undergraduates exploring the nature of both online and offline in five areas--the use of news and information, the discussion of politics, the seeking of health information, the use of blogs and the downloading of media and software.

Keywords: Internet, college students, information technology, online behavior, news, blogs, downloading

Perceived Authority and Communication Channel: Experiments with Instant Messaging / Mark Tremayne, Xin Chen, Nilo Figur, and J. Sonia Huang

Abstract: The effects of diminished social context cues in computer-mediated communication between students and instructors are examined using instant-messaging (IM) technology. Two experiments verified such effects, students perceived informal surroundings in IM and, in one experiment, decreased presence of the instructor, but results of hypothesized effects on the perceived authority of the instructor were mixed. Students did show more self-centered behavior in IM but experienced increased feelings of regulation.

Key words: Instant messaging, Computer-mediated communication, CMC, Social presence, Authority, Education

Do Campaign Websites Really Matter in Electoral Civic Engagement? Empirical Evidence from the 2004 Post-election Internet Tracking Survey / Hun Myoung Park

Abstract: This study explores the impact of campaign websites on electoral civic engagement by examining the 2004 Internet Tracking Survey data. The propensity score matching and the recursive bivariate probit model are employed to deal with endogeneity and the missing data problem, which are often ignored in existing literature. Findings show that effects of campaign websites vary across individual engagements and generally support the reinforcement theory rather than the mobilization theory.

Keywords:Civic engagement, campaign websites, reinforcement theory, mobilization theory.

Prenotification in Web-based Access Panel Surveys: The Influence of Mobile Text Messaging versus E-Mail on Response Rates and Sample Composition / Michael Bosnjak, Wolfgang Neubarth, Mick P. Couper, Wolfgang Bandilla, & Lars Kaczmirek

Abstract: Empirical evidence suggests that prenotification increases response rates in mail surveys. For Web-based surveys, including those conducted within online access panels, the results on prenotification appear to be mixed. One explanation may be that given the prevalence of SPAM, an e-mail prenotice does not have the same effect as a mailed prenotice. An alternative, such as a text message to a cellular phone (SMS), may increase awareness and legitimacy of the request. To compare the effectiveness of different prenotification and invitation procedures in a Web-based access panel survey, we experimentally varied the initial contact mode in a fully crossed two-factorial design with (1) three different prenotification conditions (SMS, e-mail, no prenotice) and (2) two 'invitation and reminder' conditions (SMS, e-mail). German university students, a group with nearly complete mobile phone coverage, were recruited for a Web-based access panel by completing a short paper-based questionnaire in a classroom setting consisting of basic demographics, psychological measures, and questions about lifestyles. Students who filled out the paper-based questionnaire were then randomly assigned to one of the six experimental conditions and were prenotified and invited to participate in a three-wave panel survey over three consecutive months. As expected, SMS prenotifications outperformed e-mail prenotifications in terms of response rates across all three waves. Furthermore, e-mail invitation response rates outperformed those for SMS invitations. The combination of SMS prenotification and e-mail invitation performed best. The different experimental treatments did not have an impact on the sample composition of respondents between groups.

Keywords: Web survey, online access panel, nonresponse, prenotification, SMS

Analysis of Kinship Relations with Pajek / Vladimir Batagelj & Andrej Mrvar

Abstract: In the paper two general approaches to analysis of large sparse networks are presented: fragment searching and matrix multiplication. These two approaches are applied to analysis of large genealogies. Genealogies can be represented as graphs in different ways: as Ore graphs, as p-graphs, or as bipartite p-graphs. We show that p-graphs are more suitable for searching for relinking patterns, while Ore graphs for computing kinship relations using matrix multiplication. Algorithms described in this paper are implemented in program Pajek.

Keywords: genealogy, Ore graph, p-graph, bipartite p-graph, calculating kinship relations, relinking marriages, relinking index, large networks, program Pajek

Reports and Communications

The Role of Internet Service Providers in Cases of Child Pornography and Child Prostitution / Kimberly A. McCabe

Abstract: Over the last two decades, the victimization of children via the Internet and the protection of those children have become a major focus of attention for parents and the criminal justice system as a whole. When President Clinton signed the Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998, new responsibilities to aide in the fight against child victimization were placed upon all US electronic communication services and remote computing service providers. Specifically, as stated in Title X (Sec. 604) of the Act, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must report to law enforcement any knowledge of facts or circumstances from which a violation of specified offenses involving child victimization or child pornography is apparent. This new level of responsibility has placed much media attention on the ISPs and their abilities to aide law enforcement in their efforts against child abuse. This study was an attempt to explore the partnership between ISPs and US law enforcement, and to identify the extent to which specific crimes of child pornography and child prostitution are reported to law enforcement by those service providers. Results of this study, suggested that the majority of the law enforcement agencies utilized in this study did not report any cases of child abuse referred to them through ISPs and in those cases that were reported to law enforcement, the overwhelmingly majority were cases of child pornography.

Keywords: Child Abuse, Child Pornography, Child Prostitution, Law Enforcement, Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Book Reviews

Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins / Reviewed by Andrew Ó. Baoill

Digital Era Governance – IT Corporations, the State and e-Government by P. Dunleavy, H. Margetts, S. Bastow, & J. Tinkler / Reviewed by Eur. N. Loukis

Dangerous Enthusiasms: E-government, Computer Failure and Information System Development by Robin Gauld and Shaun Goldfinch / Reviewed by Anne-Marie Oostveen

The Wealth of Networks. How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom by Yochai Benkler / Reviewed by Robert A. Cropf

Nonprofits & Technology. Emerging Research for Usable Knowledge. Michael Cortés & Kevin M. Rafter, eds. / Reviewed by Irena Ograjenšek

Impact of E-commerce on Consumers and Small Firms. Salvatore Zappala & Colin Gray, eds. / Reviewed by Subhajit Basu

Cultures of Technology and the Quest for Innovation. Helga Nowotny, ed. / Reviewed by Meliha Handzic

Information and Communications for Development: Global Trends and Policies by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, World Bank / Reviewed by Bantu L. Morolong