While the field of digital inequality continues to expand in many directions, the relationship between digital inequalities and other forms of inequality has yet to be fully appreciated. This article invites social scientists in and outside the field of digital media studies to attend to digital inequality, both as a substantive problem and as a methodological concern. The authors present current research on multiple aspects of digital inequality, defined expansively in terms of access, usage, skills, and self-perceptions, as well as future lines of research. Each of the contributions makes the case that digital inequality deserves a place alongside more traditional forms of inequality in the twenty-first century pantheon of inequalities. Digital inequality should not be only the preserve of specialists but should make its way into the work of social scientists concerned with a broad range of outcomes connected to life chances and life trajectories. As we argue, the significance of digital inequalities is clear across a broad range of individual-level and macro-level domains, including life course, gender, race, and class, as well as health care, politics, economic activity, and social capital.

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We present a new fabrication method, called ‘‘vertical spin coating,’’ to prepare highly oriented J aggregates dispersed in polymer films. Linear dichroic spectra of the oriented J aggregate of 1,1′-diethyl-2,2′-quinocyanine bromide PIC-Br were measured at 5 K. The dichroic ratio at the peak of J band was 5 to 10, dependent on the preparation conditions. Precise measurement of the dichroism at the J band revealed that the J band is composed of two bands with transition dipole moments perpendicular to each other. The films are stable even at room temperature, and have applications as nonlinear optical devices.

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Objective. This article examines whether there are differences in men's and women's use of the Internet and whether any such gender gaps have changed in recent years. Methods. We use data from several surveys during the period 1997–2001 to show trends in Internet usage and to estimate regression models of Internet usage that control for individuals’ socioeconomic characteristics. Results. Women were significantly less likely than men to use the Internet at all in the mid‐1990s, but this gender gap in being online disappeared by 2000. However, once online, women remain less frequent and less intense users of the Internet. Conclusions. There is little reason for concern about sex inequalities in Internet access and usage now, but gender differences in frequency and intensity of Internet usage remain.

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Mutations in ZFHX1B, encoding Smad-interacting protein 1 (SIP1), have been recently reported to cause a form of Hirschsprung disease (HSCR). Patients with ZFHX1B deficiency typically show mental retardation, delayed motor development, epilepsy, microcephaly, distinct facial features, and/or congenital heart disease, in addition to the cardinal form of HSCR. To investigate the breadth of clinical variation, we studied DNA samples from six patients with clinical profiles quite similar to those described elsewhere for ZFHX1B deficiency, except that they did not have HSCR. The results showed the previously reported R695X mutation to be present in three cases, with three novel mutations-a 2-bp insertion (760insCA resulting in 254fs262X), a single-base deletion (270delG resulting in 91fs107X), and a 2-bp deletion (2178delTT resulting in 727fs754X)-newly identified in the other three. All mutations occurred in one allele and were de novo events. These results demonstrate that ZFHX1B deficiency is an autosomal dominant complex developmental disorder and that individuals with functional null mutations present with mental retardation, delayed motor development, epilepsy, and a wide spectrum of clinically heterogeneous features suggestive of neurocristopathies at the cephalic, cardiac, and vagal levels.

This article examines how organizational environments affect labor market processes in Japan. I hypothesize that labor market inequality is generated through workers being “positioned” in either domestic or in foreign firms. I apply the concept of social versus economic exchange to distinguish the nature of transactions between domestic and foreign firms. I argue that foreign firms operate under an institutional context that is conducive to the economic mode of exchange, which has enormous consequences for their personnel practices and reward systems. Using a dataset of Japanese workers collected in 2000, I examine the extent to which employment practices in foreign firms deviate from the benchmark features observed in the Japanese labor market. My results confirm that employment in foreign firms significantly affects career outcomes. The highcommitment culture commonly associated with the Japanese workforce is an outcome of the organizational environment. I find little evidence of Japanese employment practices (e.g., seniority and lifetime employment) operating within foreign firms. I also find that workers in foreign firms trust their employers less and have a higher propensity to quit their jobs. My findings suggest that workers in domestic and foreign firms are subject to vastly different sets of institutional constraints.