Date of Award
Sociology, Social Structure and Development.
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Use of the microcomputer has expanded to almost routine utilization in Canada. Past research on computer use has promulgated the idea that access and use of the microcomputer is the privilege of those who are highly educated, hold prestigious occupations, and earn above average incomes. Other social status factors such as ethnicity and gender have also been demonstrated to have a bearing upon computer access and use. This research puts these findings to the test, by controlling for the primary forms of computer use in the contemporary era, such as word processing, computer programming, and internet use. This research has revealed that the contention that information age technology is being wielded as cultural capital by social groups that are socioeconomically privileged is primarily true. However, by controlling for computer use to the extent that this analysis has it is also revealed that the strategies of social reproduction also involve the widescale diffusion of certain computer uses, such as internet use. It must be considered, as this analysis points out, that the availability of certain types of technology over others gives a mixed a message. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)Dept. of Sociology and Anthropology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2002 .H64. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 41-04, page: 0975. Adviser: Reza Nakhaie. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2002.
Holland, Daniel James., "Social status and computer use: Sophisticated computer use as a cultural capital?" (2002). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3495.