The purpose of this site is to examine the question “Is equality of technology necessary to the success of the modern nation state?” Given the gap that exists between those with access and those without internet access, a gap known as the “digital divide,” we seek to determine whether or not bridging the gap is crucial to the development and sustenance of the modern nation-state.

One must decide whether or not:

• Equality of technology is necessary to democracy
• The digital divide must be bridged
• It is feasible to bridge the gap, and who will be responsible for it
• Without equality of information is a modern nation-state not responsible for human dignity, economic stability, educational opportunities, globalism or democratic ideals?

The question of equality of technology is important to consider as our world becomes increasingly more advanced and more globally oriented. It is our hope that this site will allow you to become informed on the topic and take away from the site an opinion on this most important issue facing our society.

Why is the digital divide an important issue?

"The digital divide is real, and it will only get worse if we ignore it . . . [it] is one of the most important civil rights issues facing our modern information economy."

-Andy Carvin from article "Mind the Gap: The Digital
Divide as the Civil Rights Issue of the New Millennium"

"The digital divide is not a crisis, and it is certainly not the civil liberties issue of the 21st century. The real issues are the sorry state of education and the push to raise the taxes that affect lower income families most."

-Sonia Arrison from the article "What Digital Divide?"

The following is a section of the Riverdeep website. This article supports bridging the gap and importance of doing so. It stresses a future that would include those who have the internet being able to capitalize on the information technologies and increase their earning potential, whereas those without the internet will continue to live in poverty and continue to live at the bottom of our societal structure.
http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2002/01/011402t_divide.jhtml

Group members who created this site

	Erika Bramley is a junior Political Science major with a minor in Art History. Her great passion is working with children and she hopes to someday go into education and education policy. Erika loves art, sports, photography,hanging out with her friends, watching cheesy love stories, and traveling. She is a total London buff after spending a semester there and she can't wait to have the opportunity to return to Europe!
	Wendy Kosek is a double major in English and Computer Applications from Fort Worth, Texas.  She is planning on attending law school in the South next year and is still trying to figure out which school to attend.  In her spare time, she enjoys running, working out, reading, doing Google searches on random people, looking at Prof. McAdams's website, and trying to suppress her sweet tooth and her addiction to Starbucks.
	Andy Grau is a sophomore MIS (Management Information Systems) student who likes working with computers, studying graphic design, and helping others learn how to better use technology.  He founded iProductions, Inc., a web and print design company, in 1997, and continues to manage it to this day.  Andy hopes to one day be a systems analyst for a Fortune 500 company.
	Kara Helmig is a senior Political Science major with a concentration in the Hesburgh Program in Public Policy from Lima, Ohio. Sports and reading are her passion, as well as any quality reality TV shows. She will be attending law school next fall at Tulane, in hopes of having a future career in sports law. Kara is also anxiously awaiting graduation in mid-May.
	Professor Jim McAdams teaches CAPP and Comparative Politics at the University of Notre Dame. In his free time, he enjoys traveling to communist countries and yelling at their respective secret police forces. (Click on his picture for a secret link!)