Research Paper on:
The Internet as a Tool for Increased Political Participation

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
observation made by some as the Internet virtually takes over the lives of many individuals. In a hypothetical case study submitted by a student, a consultant is able to devote  a great deal of time to the topic of politics on the Internet. This individual is rather sophisticated. After several very profitable years in the consulting business, an individual cashes  out and returns to academia. He has a significant, but not unlimited, budget for a project that is expected to last 18 months. A student writing such a  proposal must narrow the topic. Thus, one topic of interest might be how the Internet has affected politics. Has the Internet prompted more people to ignore politics and just play  video games, or has the presence of political web sites actually encouraged people to become more politically active? The answer is rather obvious as many people have become familiar  with politically oriented sites. It is how political groups get the word out and it has also been useful for politicians. With the Internet so convenient, there is even talk  of Internet voting in the future. II. Internet Use and Its Effect on Political Involvement In a book entitled "Democratic Phoenix: Reinventing Political Activism," Pippa Norris rejects  the conventional wisdom that suggests there is a pervasive decline in political participation in western democracies ("Power," 2003). Voter turnout has declined as has membership of political parties, but  a great deal more political activity is now being channeled through single-issue, grass-roots movements and expressed by means of "protest politics" like petitions, demonstrations and consumer boycotts (2003). The trend  had been well established before the Internet, but the Internets arrival has accelerated it a great deal (2003). The ability to organize, proselytize as well as communicate at low cost