[Air-l] Netville dissertation online

[Keith N Hampton]

Dear all,

For those who have expressed an interest in the past. You can now
download a copy of my dissertation on the Netville project "Living the
Wired Life in the Wired Suburb: Netville, Glocalization and Civil
Society" from the publications section of my website
http://www.mysocialnetwork.net

Cheers,

-Keith

Abstract:
This dissertation addresses the question, what will be the fate of
community and social relations as a result of the growth of new
home-based information and communication technologies? How have social
networks, social capital and community involvement been affected by the
rise of
personal computers, the Internet and computer mediated communication
(CMC)? Will the Internet reconnect the disaffiliated, or will CMC only
contribute to a further disengagement of American community life? Survey
and ethnographic data from a long-term study of “Netville,” a wired
suburb near Toronto, are used to investigate the effects of advanced
communication technology on social relationships. Netville was one of
the first residential developments in the world to be built from the
ground up with a broadband high-speed local computer network. Netville
provided a unique opportunity to observe the effects of advanced
information and communication technology on people’s daily interactions
with family, friends and neighbours. The “wired” residents of Netville
are compared with a similar group of non-wired residents who lived in
the same neighbourhood, but who were never connected to the local
computer network. Greater involvement with friends, family and
neighbours is  inked to use of CMC. Internet use is associated with high
levels of in-person and telephone contact, the exchange of support, the
growth of personal network and increased community involvement. 


-- 
Keith N. Hampton
Assistant Professor
Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 9-547
Cambridge, MA 02139 USA
          
Email: knh at mit.edu     
Phone: (617) 258-0461  
Fax:   (617) 253-2654
Web:   http://www.mysocialnetwork.net