Hegemony Online

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Hegemony Online

• The Quiet Convergence of Power,
• Culture, and Computers
• by
• Michael D. Dorsher, Ph.D.
• Assistant Professor, Department of Communication
  and Journalism
• University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

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Abstract
This dissertation study uses qualitative
methods to develop a theory of how online
communication mediates the relationship between
power and culture. It then tests this theory of
hegemony online with quantitative methods applied
to a survey of 137 Internet users. The
study finds that most users of online
communication spend most of their time on
hegemonic Web pages. Specifically, it concludes
that subjects who are less alienated from
society, low on e-mail usage and high on Web
usage are most likely to choose Web pages that
are highly hegemonic.
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Research Questions

• How does online communication mediate the
  relationship between power and culture?
• Which variables best predict the usage of
  hegemony online?

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Definitions

• Hegemony
• An iterative process whereby people in power
  deepen their dominance by using culture to
  negotiate for the consent of the subjugated.
• Counterhegemony
• An alternative process whereby people attempt to
  gain dominant power by countering, co-opting and
  compromising dominant culture. It is not the
  opposite of hegemony it is merely someone else's
  hegemony one that has not yet become dominant.
• Pluralism
• The sharing of power among groups in society. It
  is the opposite of hegemony and counterhegemony.

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Definitions

• Cybernetic
• A system that uses continuous feedback to control
  and progressively correct unsatisfactory actions.
  
• Hegemony online
• A cybernetic process whereby people in power
  deepen their dominance by using online
  communication to negotiate for the consent of the
  subjugated.

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Hypotheses

• Most of the study's subjects will spend most of
  their online time using hegemonic Web pages.
• The longer they use an online page or message,
  the higher they'll rate it.
• Online counterhegemony usage will be higher if
  they are nonwhite.
• Online hegemony usage will be higher among men
  than women.
• Online hegemony usage will be higher the more
  they rate toward the masculine end of the gender
  scale.
• Online hegemony usage will be higher the lower
  they rate on the alienation scale.

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The Sample

• 137 volunteers
• 106 undergraduates from U. of Md., American U.,
  Howard U.
• 87 whites, 16 blacks, 6 Asians, 3
  Asian-Americans, 3 Hispanics
• 90 women, 47 men
• 72 feminine on Bem Sex Roles Inventory, 65
  masculine

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How they spent time online

• 75.4 of the time spent on the Web (993 pages),
  24.6 on e-mail (162 messages)
• 13.9 spent on Web surfing for personal
  information
• 12.2 on newspaper Web sites
• 11.8 writing e-mails
• 11.4 on sports Web sites
• 9.1 reading personal e-mails
• 0.3 responding to Web ads

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Negotiated Hegemonic
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Closed Hegemonic
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Pluralism
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Closed Counterhegemonic
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Negotiated Counterhegemonic
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Hegemony Online, by Alienation
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Multiple Regression



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Multiple Regression
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Conclusions

• There is support for the theory that online
  communication mediates power and culture to yield
  hegemony online.
• i.e., online communication is better at
  concentrating power than redistributing it.
• The manifestation of hegemony online will
  continue to evolve and be negotiated through
  cybernetics, a process of control and correction.

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Limitations of the Study

• Convenience sample, mostly comprising students
• But they are the vanguard of the online audience.
• The hypotheses were theory-based, not derived
  from data.
• The data do not support five of my 14 hypotheses.
• Should have oversampled for users with their own
  home pages and users who shopped online.
• The study tests for the existence of hegemony
  online but not the cybernetic process of
  deepening dominance.

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Future Research

• There is a need for longitudinal studies of
  online communication
• To assess how it evolves in negotiation with its
  users, and to assess how it affects
  subjugation/alienation
• These studies should be generalizable, by drawing
  upon random samples that reflect the universe of
  online communication and its users.