Jeremy Price's Library tagged social_justice →  View Popular

a digital divide is marked not only by physical access to computers and connectivity, but also by access to the additional resources that allow people to use technology well.

there is not a binary division between information "haves and "have-nots", but rather a gradation based on different degrees of access to information technology.

The notion of a binary divide between the haves and the have-nots is thus inaccurate and can even be patronizing as it fails to value the social resources that diverse groups bring to the table.

the stereotype of disconnected minority groups could even serve to further social stratification, by discouraging employers or content providers from reaching out to those groups.

As Henry Jenkins, director of comparative media studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, argues, "The rhetoric of the digital divide holds open this division between civilized tool-users and uncivilized nonusers. As well meaning as it is as a policy initiative, it can be marginalizing and patronizing in its own terms"

the notion of a digital divide - even in its broadest sense - implies a chain of causality

technology and society are intertwined and co-constitutive, and this complex interrelationship makes any assumption of causality problematic.

the digital divide framework provides a poor roadmap for using technology to promote social development since it overemphasizes the importance of the physical presence of computers and connectivity to the exclusion of other factors that allow people to use ICT for meaningful ends.

[The] big problem with "the digital divide " framing is that it tends to connote "digital solutions, "

technology for social inclusion

Social inclusion is a matter not only of an adequate share of resources, but also of "participation in the determination of both individual and collective life chances" (Stewart, 2000).

There are many ways that the poor can have fuller participation and inclusion, even if they lack an equal share of resources. At the same time, even the well-to-do may face problems of social exclusion, due to reasons of political persecution or discrimination based on age, gender, sexual preference, or disability.

other barriers beyond affordability of computers (or of the broader computing package) will continue to play a major role in fostering digital inequality.

conduit model

The diffusion of conduits often involves a high degree of social mobilization and struggle to insure equal access.

What is most important about ICTs is not so much the availability of the computing device or the Internet line, but rather people's ability to make use of that device and line to engage in meaningful social practices.

A better model of access is provided by the concept of literacy.

many theorists prefer a broader definition that takes into account the social contexts of literacy practice.

There are many similarities between literacy and ICT access (see Table 1). First, both literacy and ICT access are closely connected to advances in human communication and the means of knowledge production. Second, just as ICT access is a prerequisite for full participation in the informational stage of capitalism, literacy was (and remains) a prerequisite for full participation in the earlier industrial stages of capitalism. Third, both literacy and ICT access necessitate a connection to a physical artifact (i.e., a book or a computer), to sources of information that get expressed as content within or via that physical artifact, and to a skill level sufficient to process and make use of that information. Fourth, both involve not only receiving information but also producing it. Finally, they are both tied to somewhat controversial notions of societal divides: the great literacy divide and the digital divide.

There is not one type of ICT access, but many; the meaning and value of access varies in particular social context; access exists in gradations, rather than in a bipolar opposition; computer and Internet use bring no automatic benefit outside of particular functions; ICT use is a social practice involving access to physical artifacts, content, skills, and social support; and, acquisition of ICT access is a matter not only of education, but also of power.

entail the engagement of a range of resources, all developed and promoted with an eye toward enhancing the social, economic, and political power of the targeted clients and communities.

(1) Physical Resources, (2) Digital Resources, (3) Human Resources, and (4) Social Resources

each of the resources is a contributor to effective use of ICTs