There’s been a rise of internet usage amongst every demographic group in Sweden the last 20 years. To use internet means that you’re a part of the information society and to be a part of the informatin society means that you’re a part of the democratic society. Even though more people use internet there are still those who does not use it. Within the group senior citizens we can also see a steady rise of internet usage. If we split the group senior citizens into a broader group, one can distinguish people born in the 1940’s as one of the most frequent users of internet. However, within the group there are still individuals who choose not to use internet. The purpose of this study is to help understand the concept of digital divides. Our aim was to do this through applying five different forms of capital: economic, cultural, social, technical and symbolic. With this theoretical framework we want to answer the following the following main question as well as try to answer a more descriptive research question without the use of the theoretical framework. – How can we understand a non-usage of internet through these five forms of capital? – How does individuals born in the 1940’s reason around their non-usage of internet? To answer these questions we did six qualitative interviews with people born in the 1940’s who don’t use internet. The results from the interviews have been analyzed with the previously mentioned capital forms. The result showed that all capital forms have in one way or another helped us understand a non-usage, though some capitals weighed more than others. Overall, the studie gave a greater understanding on how people born in the 1940s reason around their non-usage.

My diploma thesis addresses the usage of the internet for marketing of small-scale enterprises in our surroundings. My goal is to analyse the internet environment and the possibilities of its use for marketing purposes. The analysis of internet utilities is also included. There is one case study of small-scale enterprise with appropriate conclusions in the final part of my diploma thesis. My thesis is divided into two parts. In the first part I created theoretical footholds for my thesis and I described the dilemma of the internet marketing with the use of propriate specialized literature and internet sources. I describe small-scale enterprises and it's role in our economy. This parts also includes the development of the Internet in the whole world and in the Czech republic and I want to make the acquaintance of internet as a marketing tool. The second part, the practical one, covers specific possibilities of the usage of the internet for marketing of small-scale enterprises. This part contains their characteristics and their advantages and drawbacks in different surroundings. The most important point of the second part is the case study of the shopping portal Zoot.

Increasingly, computer and Internet usage play a vital role in connecting individuals to the larger society. Many factors may influence computer ownership and frequency of Internet usage by retired older adults. This thesis applies two theoretical frameworks, Cumulative Inequality theory and Intergenerational Solidarity theory, to explore major factors that may influence retired older adults' computer ownership and their frequency of Internet usage. Special attention will be paid to issues of social inequality: including retirement status (respondent and spouse), availability of an employer-paid pension (respondent and spouse), accumulated wealth, income, educational attainment, and employer-paid health insurance (respondent and spouse). In addition, this thesis will explore issues of intergenerational solidarity, specifically, number of children and number of children living in the household in relation to computer ownership and Internet usage, in particular. This study uses the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) data that were collected through phone surveys that were conducted in 2004.

Bakgrund: Internet används globalt inom många områden och aktuell forskning visar att gravida kvinnor använder Internet till att söka information om graviditet och förlossning. En graviditet innebär många frågor hos kvinnan och kvinnor söker efter information för att få en trygghet och försäkran om att allt är normalt med deras hälsa och barnet i magen. Syfte: Syftet är att undersöka gravida kvinnors informationssökning via Internet avseende graviditet och förlossning. Metod: Beskrivande tvärsnittstudie. Datainsamling skedde via en enkätundersökning och data analyserades med deskriptiv och jämförande ansats. Resultat: Nästan alla kvinnor i undersökningen använde Internet för att söka information om graviditet och förlossning. Kvinnorna söker information om barnets utveckling, kost/näring och graviditetslängd i hög utsträckning. Högutbildade kvinnor har andra kriterier för trovärdighet på hemsidor än kvinnor med lägre utbildning. Slutsats: Barnmorskor bör vara medvetna om gravida kvinnors användning av Internet samt själva skapa sig en uppfattning om informationen som de gravida kvinnorna läser på Internet. Vår studie visar att barnmorskors rekommendation av hemsidor på Internet har stor betydelse för gravida kvinnor. / Background: Internet is used globally in many areas and current research shows that pregnant women use the Internet to search for information about pregnancy and childbirth.  A pregnancy holds many questions and women seek information to get a sense of security and assurance that everything is “normal” with their health and the baby. Purpose: To investigate pregnant women´s use of the Internet to receive information about pregnancy and childbirth. Method: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Data was collected through a survey and were analyzed using descriptive and comparative approach. Results: Almost all women used the Internet for information about pregnancy and childbirth. Pregnant women seek information about child-development, diet/nutrition and gestational age to a great extent. Highly educated women have different criteria for credibility on websites than women with less education. Conclusion: Midwifes should be conscious to pregnant women`s usage of Internet and self-create an perception about the information the pregnant women read on the Internet. Our study shows that the midwives recommendation about websites on Internet has great significance to the pregnant women.

This study aims to find differences in the perceived usage and importance of the Internet within characteristics of students. METU undergraduate students having a proper Internet connection were defined as population, and asked to answer the online questionnaire about perceived usage and importance of the Internet. For 653 eligible answers, Factorial ANOVA and independent samples t-test were used to compare mean scores of dependent variables across three independent variables: gender, accommodation type and faculty. Results indicate that although genders spent equal times on the Internet, their perceived usage and importance of the Internet differs. Females&rsquo / perceived usage and importance of the Internet for academic works and instant messaging are more than males, whereas males are using Internet for seeking current information like news, sending content to interactive web services and playing online games. This study also states that there is no evidence of a statistically significant difference for amount of the Internet usage between 3 accommodation types, METU Dormitories with high speed Internet connection, house with family or relatives, house with friends or alone. However, it is observed that students staying at METU Dormitories stated more instant messaging usage than that of staying at house with friends or alone. Between faculties, there is evidence that students from Faculty of Education are using Internet for academic course work more than the other faculties. Finally, students who are living in campus are more satisfied with the access speed to university local area network and Turkish National Research Network.

Abstract Title: See each other on the Internet or on a café? A survey about social consequences of Internet usage. (Umgås på Internet eller på ett café? – en studie om Internetanvändningens sociala konsekvenser.) Number of pages: 34 (including enclosures). Author: Carolin Johansson. Tutor: Else Nygren. Course: Media and Communication Studies C. Period: Fall 2007. University: Division of Media and Communication, Department of Information Science, Uppsala University. Purpose/Aim: The purpose is to get increased knowledge about the social consequences that may come up when young people at the age of 16-20 are using the Internet. Material/Method: The material consists of a questionnaire that I made with questions about Internet usage that 84 young people from five classes (from three different upper secondary schools) answered. Main results: To have access to a computer and Internet and the fact that broadband is more inexpensive now than before leads to an increased usage of the Internet. I found out that chatting, music/movies, searching for information and using the Internet for entertainment is what most of the participants spent the most time on while using the Internet. I also found out that an increased usage of the Internet could lead to decreased time together with friends/family. Keywords: Internet usage, social consequences, Instant Messaging, Community, online communication.

Introduction This paper focuses on the Internet and more specifically on how non-profit organizations can use the Internet to enhance their online presence. Our choice of research object is Automation Region (AR), a non-profit cluster organization, whose purpose is to strengthen and make the cluster of companies within industrial automation in Mälardalen visible. This cluster consists of business-to-business companies in the automation industry and AR was formed to increase the productivity, growth and profitability of these companies. The organization has two goals set up, which include: (1) increased exposure for the automation industry as well as the region wherein AR operates and (2) attracting the best competence as well as getting youths and children interested in automation. AR currently has a website (www.automationregion.com) and the overall purpose for it is to support AR's goals. However, we have a difficulty seeing how this website, as it looks and functions today, is to achieve the goals and objectives of the cluster organization and we also find it difficult to see how AR should do in order to expose its website and its brand to its target audience. The two research questions then becomes: How is Automation Region's website being used today? How can Automation Region utilize the Internet to achieve its goals? Purpose The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of how cluster organizations like Automation Region may use the Internet to achieve its goals, and by doing this also be able to give recommendations on how Automation Region can benefit from the use of the Internet as their primary channel for goal achievement. Method - An Action Research based study This paper is based on an action research approach, which contains a real world problem, a framework of ideas, and a set of methodologies. The different means of collecting data used in this paper can be categorized in four separate categories: interviews, internet analysis tool, benchmarking, and other empirical data collected. Framework of ideas Our framework of ideas consists of an introduction to the term clusters, which then explains the different actors on the cluster stage. Then the benefits of clusters are discussed, leading to a further discussion on how non-profit cluster organizations can utilize the possible benefits of a cluster. This leads to a presentation of different ways to improve an organizations online presence. Analysis The analysis is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the results of the website analysis, where different reports from the web analysis program are analyzed. This will show how the website currently is being used and should lead to conclusions on how this usage can be improved. The second part focuses on the available Internet tools and how AR can utilize these to reach their explicit goals for the cluster organization. Conclusions The so called internal visitors are plentiful on AR's website site and we can conclude that the site is being used in an Intranet like way. Another conclusion is that AR should be able to increase the probability of achieving their goals by further enhancing the use of the Internet tools they currently have (website and e-mail), and also by expanding their online presence with the use of several other potential Internet tools.

This paper aims to examine whether there are any substantial differences between a generation of users born during the 1960’s and younger generation born during the 1990’s regarding the use of digital technologies connected to the Internet. Based on Marc Prensky’s theories on people born before and after 1980 saying those born before are not as natural when it comes to using digital technologies. We used diaries as a qualitative method to gather data from 16 respondents. The results show that there is a small percentage that differs in total use of digital technology in favor for the younger generation but not substantial enough to be ruled as a generation better fitted for Internet usage and digital technologies. The results also show that smartphones were the most used technology and surfing the web was the most performed activity.

Der Marketing-Lehrstuhl der Universität Leipzig führte erstmals eine Online-Umfrage über Bedürfnisse von Internet-Nutzern durch.

While the introduction of the Internet in the past 20 years has revolutionized the way people manage established firms, little is known about the effects of the Internet on the rate of new firm entry. Since government regulations have been identified to be one of the primary determinants of firm entry rates, this paper uses recent World Bank data on Internet usage to examine whether the Internet has had any effect on the relationship between government regulations and firm entry rates across 78 countries. The primary results show that Internet usage does not appear to have a significant effect on this relationship, but the results from a robustness check between high and low income countries suggest that in high-income countries, the Internet actually increases the burden of one of the main regulations; the cost to register a business.