Monday, July 04, 2005

A Digital Divide?

Reading the chapter on Congressional websites there was one question bothering me, how do the characteristics of the district affect the Internet use? Are wealthier Congressional Districts more likely to have an excellent website than a poorer district? Does demand for a website affect the quality? With an incomplete dataset it would be tough to draw a real conclusion, but of the 10 websites cited, only 3 had median incomes below the national average and those same three were the only ones whose poverty level exceeded the national average. Together the ten averaged a median income of $46,000 and 11.8% below the poverty line. While it cannot be fully explored here, I would hypothesize that district wealth plays some part in the quality of a Congressional website.

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