Defining Away the Digital Divide: A Content Analysis of Institutional Influences on Popular Representations of Technology

It is our contention that information technology is a cultural commodity whose influence is spread through economic and political action of institutions such as the government and corporations. Informed by Bourdieu’s sociology of language, we conduct a content analysis of political speeches regarding “digital opportunities” delivered by U. S. government officials. In this analysis we demonstrate how institutions actively (re)produce and legitimize popular representations of technology and its role in the new economy. The broader implication of this analysis is to offer a way in which information systems researchcanconsiderthelargersocio-politicalcontextinwhich so many of our research activities and debates are situated.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2001
• Where: IFIP
• Authors: Lynette Kvasny, Duane P. Truex
• Keywords: Bourdieu’s Sociology, Cultural Commodity, IFIP 2001, Political Action, Programming Languages