Has the Internet Reduced Friendship? Scientific Relationships in Ghana, Kenya, and India, 1994-2010

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. Has the Internet changed the pattern of social relations? More specifically, have social relations undergone any systematic change during the recent widespread diffusion of new communications technology? This question is addressed using a unique longitudinal survey that bookends the entire period of Internet diffusion in two African nations and one Indian state. We analyze data on nine professional linkages reported by a population of agricultural and environmental scientists in Kenya, Ghana, and Kerala over a sixteen-year period (1994-2010). Factor analysis reveals two clusters of relationships, one interpretable as traditional scientific exchange, the other indicating mediated forms of collaboration. While collaboration increases in frequency, friendship declines. We interpret this shift as a consequence of communications technology that facilitates formal projects, reducing the affective dimension of professional association

Shakespeare\u2019s Queens and Collective Forces: Facing Aristocracy, Dealing with Crowds

Much as they usually move in a restricted circle and deal only with their consort and a few royal advisors, Shakespeare\u2019s queens are sometimes called to play on a wider political stage. Occasionally, they join the English aristocracy in the battle for the throne; at times they face another collective force, which can either take the form of a crowd or be evoked as the political nation. The way queens interact with collective forces is especially relevant in the historical context of Shakespeare\u2019s time. Queen Elizabeth dealt with similar powers; she ruled thanks to the careful management of Parliament and never forgot the feelings of public opinion, whereas James I soon faced the myth of the special relationship between his predecessor and the common people