Prelims
Citation
Ragnedda, M. and Ruiu, M.L. (2020), "Prelims", Digital Capital, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. i-xiii. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83909-550-420201008
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020 Massimo Ragnedda and Maria Laura Ruiu
Half Title Page
Digital Capital
Endorsements
Praise for Digital Capital
As digital communications becomes ever more central to everyday life, work and leisure, their impact on inequality becomes increasingly profound. Is there a new ‘digital capital’ acquired by those who gain most from these technologies? The authors, established experts in this field, address this problem with a thorough and informed analysis of the concept, and its implications for policy and understanding.
Peter Golding, Professor, Northumbria and Newcastle Universities, UK
Taking their inspiration from Bourdieu's analysis of capital, Ragnedda and Ruiu extend the concept theoretically to the digital. Digital capital is operationalised through the creation of an index that accounts for differences in digital skills and competencies. Digital capital is then related to other forms of capital – economic, social and cultural – showing how digital capital works as a bridging capital allowing those with economic and cultural resources to use the digital to acquire ever greater advantage. This speaks to an important new wave of research on the ‘third level of the digital divide’ that seeks to measure outcomes. This is a highly cogent and important book both theoretically and empirically that should be of interest to sociologists of class and inequality as well as communication scholars seeking to understand the digital divide.
John Downey, Professor of Comparative Media Analysis and Head of Communication and Media, Loughborough University; Vice-President, European Communication Research & Education Association
Ragnedda and Ruiu build the field of Bourdieusian analysis of digital inequalities in their timely scholarship that speaks to key issues in the emergent field of digital divide studies: theory, methodology and implications. The authors push the field forward by conceptualising and operationalising digital capital, thus integrating important theoretical insights with replicable empirical examination. Meeting this challenge allows their work to make real impact concerning the implications of digital inequalities for theorists, academics, policy-makers and practitioners.
Laura Robinson, Associate Professor, Santa Clara University
Title Page
DIGITAL CAPITAL
A Bourdieusian Perspective on the Digital Divide
MASSIMO RAGNEDDA AND MARIA LAURA RUIU
Northumbria University, Uk
United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India Malaysia – China
Copyright Page
Emerald Publishing Limited
Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK
First edition 2020
© 2020 Massimo Ragnedda and Maria Laura Ruiu
Published under exclusive licence by Emerald Publishing Limited.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: 978-1-83909-553-5 (Print)
ISBN: 978-1-83909-550-4 (Online)
ISBN: 978-1-83909-552-8 (Epub)
List of Figures
| Figure 1.1 | First Section of the Bridge between Offline and Online Experience |
| Figure 1.2 | Second Section of the Bridge |
| Figure 1.3 | Examples of Interaction between Capitals |
| Figure 1.4 | Double Loop Process |
| Figure 1.5 | Convertibility, Effort, Accumulation and Benefits of Digital Capital |
| Figure 2.1 | Constitutive Components of Digital Capital |
List of Tables
| Table 2.1 | Types of Access Included in Digital Capital |
| Table 2.2 | Competences Included in Digital Capital |
| Table 2.3 | Digital Capital per Age Cohort |
| Table 2.4 | Digital Capital per Annual Income |
| Table 2.5 | Digital Capital per Education Level |
| Table 2.6 | Digital Capital Index per Residential Area |
| Table 2.7 | Digital Capital per Gender |
About the Authors
Massimo Ragnedda (PhD) is a Senior Lecturer in Mass Communication at Northumbria University, Newcastle (UK), where he conducts research on the digital divide and digital media. He is vice chair of Digital Divide Working Group, (IAMCR) and co-convenors of NINSO (Northumbria Internet and Society Research Group). He has authored 12 books with his publications appearing in numerous peer-reviewed journals and book chapters in English, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese texts. His last books include Mapping the Digital Divide in Africa (co-edited with Bruce Mutsvairo), Amsterdam University Press (2019); Digital Inclusion. An international Comparative Analysis (co-edited with Bruce Mutsvairo), Lexington (2018); Theorizing the Digital Divide (co-edited with G Muschert), Routledge (2018); The third Digital Divide: a Weberian approach to Digital Inequalities (2017), Routledge.
Maria Laura Ruiu has been recently awarded her second Doctorate in Social Sciences, Curriculum in Arts, Media and Communication (Northumbria University, Newcastle upon Tyne). Her research interests fall into environmental and media sociology with specific focus on climate change communication, social capital and digital media. She is author of several publications that have appeared in peer-reviewed journals. She has been actively involved (as a team member) in several international cooperation and research projects.