Research

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Research Overview

My research examines how digital technologies reproduce and transform social inequalities. It focuses on digital capital, digital inequalities, and the intersection between artificial intelligence and environmental sustainability. I combine sociological theory with empirical research to analyse how digital resources, skills, and infrastructures shape unequal social outcomes.

What are digital inequalities?

Digital inequalities refer to structured differences in access to technologies, digital skills, and the outcomes derived from their use. They are not limited to access alone but emerge from the interaction between resources, competencies, and social position. My work shows that these inequalities are embedded within broader processes of social stratification rather than being purely technological issues.

What is digital capital?

Digital capital is the set of digital competencies and resources that individuals mobilize to achieve social, economic, and cultural advantages. This framework extends existing theories of capital by capturing how digital technologies mediate opportunities and inequalities across contexts. It provides a conceptual and empirical basis for analysing how digital resources are unevenly distributed and converted into social advantage.

How does AI reproduce inequality?

Artificial intelligence systems can reinforce and reconfigure existing inequalities by redistributing visibility, access, and opportunities. Algorithmic systems shape what is seen, prioritized, and valued within digital environments. My research examines how AI contributes to new forms of inequality, particularly through algorithmic power and the uneven distribution of digital capabilities required to interact with these systems.

Research Profile

I am recognized as part of the top 2% of scholars in the world, according to Stanford University’s prestigious list of “World’s Top 2% Scientists.” This distinction highlights my contributions to research and scholarship, placing me among the most influential researchers across various scientific disciplines. I have published 9 monographs, 8 edited books (Palgrave, Routledge, Lexington Books and Amsterdam University Press), edited 10 special issues, and more than 80 articles and chapters. I have published in English, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese.

These publications develop a sociological approach to digital inequalities, with particular attention to digital capital, stratification processes, and emerging AI-driven forms of inequality.

Monographs:

Edited Special Issues

  1. Muschert, Ragnedda M., (2024) Digital Inequalities in the Middle East and North Africa” Special Issue of Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies 
  2. Robinson L., Schulz J., Ragnedda M., Chiaraluce, C. (2023), Digitizing the Pandemic: COVID-19 Communication and Media, American Behavioral Scientist. 
  3. Robinson L., Schulz J., Ragnedda M. (2022), Mediating Crisis: Covid-19 and beyond. First Monday.
  4. Muschert, Ragnedda M., (2021) Sustainability and Digital Transformation, First Monday.
  5. Ragnedda M., Muschert (2021) Digital Sustainability, Digital Policy, Regulation and Governance.
  6. Robinson L., Schulz J., McClain N., Ragnedda M., Khlnani A., (2021)  Cascading Crises: Society in the Age of COVID-19 , American Behavioral Scientist
  7. Mutsvairo B, Ragnedda M., and Orgeret K.S. (2020). Era or Error of Transformation? Assessing Afrocentric Attributes to Digitalization. Information, Communication and Society.
  8. Robinson L., Schulz J., Ragnedda M., Straubhaar J., Khilnani A., (2020) Global Perspectives on Digital Inequalities. First Monday.
  9. Robinson L, Ragnedda M. and Schulz J. (2020). Digital Inequalities: Contextualizing Problems and Solutions. Journal of Information, Communication & Ethics in Society.
  10. Ragnedda M., and Muschert Glenn (2015), Max Weber and Digital Divide. International Journal of Communication. (SJR: Q1, Communication and Sociology)

Edited Books:

Peer-Reviewed Articles:

Peer-review Chapters

  • Ragnedda, M., Muschert G. and Ruiu, ML., (2022) Digital stratification: Class, status group, and party in the age of the Internet, In Housley, W., Edwards, A., Beneito-Montagut, R., and Fitzgerald, R., Sage Handbook of Digital Society, Sage.
  • Ruiu, ML., and Ragnedda, M. (2022). Between Moral and Climate Crisis Interpreting Panic Climate Change Through the Lens of Moral, In Punziano, G., and Delli Paola, A. (eds) Handbook of Research on Advanced Research Methodologies for a Digital Society, Pennsylvania: IGI Global, pp. 727-745.
  • Ragnedda, M., and Ruiu, ML., (2021). COVID-19 in the UK: The Exacerbation of inequality and a digitally-based response, Milan S (ed) COVID-19 from the Margins. Pandemic Invisibilities, Policies and Resistance in the Datafied Society, Institute of Network Cultures, Amsterdam, pp. 106-110.
  • Massimo Ragnedda and Anna Gladkova, Understanding Digital Inequalities in the Global South, In Massimo Ragnedda and Anna Gladkova (eds) Digital Inequalities in the Global South, Palgrave, 2020.
  • Hanna Kreitem, Massimo Ragnedda and Glenn W. Muschert (2020). Digital Inequalities in European Post-Soviet States. In Sergey Davydov (ed), Internet in Russia. Russia in Internet, Springer.
  • Massimo Ragnedda (2019), Reconceptualising the Digital divide. In Mutsvairo Bruce and Ragnedda, Massimo (eds), Mapping Key Perspectives on Digital Divide in Africa. Amsterdam University Press (AUP), 2019.
  • Mutsvairo Bruce and Ragnedda, Massimo (2019) Comprehending the digital disparities in Africa. In Mutsvairo Bruce and Ragnedda, Massimo (eds), Mapping Key Perspectives on Digital Divide in Africa. Amsterdam University Press (AUP), 2019.
  • Massimo Ragnedda (2018), Reducing and Preventing Digital Discrimination: Digital Inclusion Strategies in Europe. In Ragnedda, Massimo and Bruce Mutsvairo (eds), Digital Inclusion: An International Comparative Analysis, Lexington Books
  • Massimo Ragnedda and Bruce Mutsvairo (2018) Digital Inclusion: Empowering People Through Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). In Ragnedda, Massimo and Bruce Mutsvairo (eds), Digital Inclusion: An International Comparative Analysis, Lexington Books.
  • Massimo Ragnedda (2018), Tackling Digital Exclusion: Counter Social Inequalities Through Digital Inclusion. Agenda for Social Justice: Global solution, University of Bristol: Polity Press, pp.151-158.
  • Massimo Ragnedda and Maria Laura Ruiu (2017), Social capital and the three levels of digital divide in Ragnedda, Massimo, Muschert Glenn (eds), Theorizing Digital Divide, London: Routledge, 2018.
  • Massimo Ragnedda, Glenn W. Muschert (2016), Theorizing Digital Divides and Digital Inequalities, in Jan Servaes and Toks Oyedemi (editors) Social Inequalities, Media and Communication: A Global Perspective, Lexington Books.
  • Massimo Ragnedda and Bruce Mutsvairo (2016), Demystifying Digital Divide and Digital Leisure. Chapter in David McGillivray, Gayle McPherson, Sandro Carnicelli (eds) Digital Leisure Cultures: Critical Perspectives, Routledge, pp. 107-119.
  • Massimo Ragnedda (2014), Radio Broadcasting in Fascist Italy: Between Censorship, Total Control, Jazz and Futurism, in Feldman, M., Mead, H., Tonning, E. (eds) Broadcasting in the Modernist Era, Bloomsbury, London., pp. 195-211.
  •  Muschert G.W. and Massimo Ragnedda (2011) Media and Control of Violence: The Framing of School Shootings, in Heinz-Gerhard Haupt, Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Andrea Kirschner, and Stefan Malthaner (eds.) Control of Violence, New York: Springer Publishing, 2011, pp. 345-361.
  • Massimo Ragnedda  and Glenn W. Muschert, “The Regime of Propaganda in a NeoliberalState: Berlusconi and the Italian Media,” in G. Sussman (eds) The Propaganda Society: Promotional Culture and Politics in Global Context, Peter Lang Publishers, 2011.
  • Dall’iperrealtà alla costruzione della realtà: lo scenario offerto dai new media, in Luigi Spedicato (a cura di) La vita on line. Strategie di costruzione del sé in rete, Besa edizioni, Lecce, 2008, pp. 248-265.
  • Sorveglianza, reti e vita quotidiana, in Calenda D., Fonio C. (a cura di), Sorveglianza e società, Bonanni editore, Firenze, 2010.
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