Bridging or Deepening the Digital Divide: Influence of Household Internet Access on Formal and Informal Volunteering

During the 1990s, the digital divide figured prominently in the discourses of academics, corporate leaders, educators, and policymakers worldwide. In the U.S., we witnessed a massive infusion of computers and Internet access in homes, schools, libraries, and other neighborhood institutions. This has significantly increased citizens’ physical access to information and communication technology (ICT) artifacts and has enhanced citizens’ opportunities for acquiring and strengthening technical skills. However, does increased physical access and technical skills signal closure of the digital divide? In this chapter, I address this question by describing the preconstructed ways in which the digital divide is conceptualized by academics and policymakers, and inferring what these conceptualizations suggest about the existential significance of the digital divide as experienced by historically underserved groups in the U.S.

Download Full-text

Overcoming the Digital Divide

Encyclopedia of Distance Learning, Second Edition ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-198-8.ch232 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 1578-1584

Author(s):

Al P. Mizell ◽

Cecil Sugarman

Keyword(s):

Digital Divide ◽

Senior Citizens ◽

Age Groups ◽

Internet Access ◽

The Internet ◽

Income Levels ◽

Information Tracking ◽

Education And Employment ◽

The Impact ◽

The U.S

We all know that technology has become a dominant force in today’s society for people of all ages. However, certain elements of society have less access to technology than others. In the literature, discussions and research on these discrepancies tend to focus on factors such as gender, sex, socioeconomic status, race, education, and employment. Occasionally, age is taken into consideration. In reviewing online articles related to the digital divide, it appears that there are many more articles, reports, and projects that focus on factors other than age. Few looked at the impact of the digital divide on senior citizens. One article, “The Internet and Older Adults” (U.S. Administration on Aging, 2004), reports that: Senior citizens comprise 13% of the U.S. population, but just 4% of the U.S. Internet population. Since their numbers are so small, there has not been much research about what these ‘wired seniors’ are doing online and how they feel about the Internet. It turns out that seniors who have Internet access benefit greatly from the resources available online—communicating with family, researching health information, tracking their investments—all from the comfort of their home or senior center. (paragraph 2) The term “digital divide” is often heard and freely used, but what is it? It has been defined by Carvin (2000) as: “…the gap between those people and communities with access to information technology and those without it. Yet, the fact is there are many divides, characterized by community, ethnic, economic, and age groups.” He goes on to add that “households earning incomes over $75,000 are over 20 times more likely to have home Internet access than those at the lowest income levels” (Carvin, 2000, paragraph 1).

Download Full-text

Universal Internet Access under an Ethical Lens

Encyclopedia of Information Ethics and Security ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-987-8.ch095 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 655-661

Author(s):

Alessandro Arbore

Keyword(s):

European Union ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Geographic Location ◽

Internet Access ◽

Universal Service ◽

Telecommunications Policy ◽

The European Union ◽

Green Book ◽

Telecommunications Services ◽

The U.S

Universal service is a long-standing tradition of telecommunications policy, designed to ensure that all citizens have access to affordable, quality telecommunications services regardless of geographic location and socioeconomic status. The origins of it are usually traced to the U.S. 1934 Communications Act and, also within the European Union, this principle was made explicit since the very first documents on the issue, as in the Green Book of 1995 or, even before, in the Council Resolution (93/C213/01) accepting the Commission guidelines for the liberalization of voice telecommunications (COM(93)159).

Download Full-text

The Existential Significance of the Digital Divide for America's Historically Underserved Populations

Information Technology Ethics ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-310-4.ch014 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 200-212 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

L. Kvasny

Keyword(s):

Digital Divide ◽

Underserved Populations ◽

Internet Access ◽

Technical Skills ◽

Corporate Leaders ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Underserved Groups ◽

Physical Access ◽

The U.S

During the 1990s, the digital divide figured prominently in the discourses of academics, corporate leaders, educators, and policymakers worldwide. In the U.S., we witnessed a massive infusion of computers and Internet access in homes, schools, libraries, and other neighborhood institutions. This has significantly increased citizens’ physical access to information and communication technology (ICT) artifacts and has enhanced citizens’ opportunities for acquiring and strengthening technical skills. However, does increased physical access and technical skills signal closure of the digital divide? In this chapter, I address this question by describing the preconstructed ways in which the digital divide is conceptualized by academics and policymakers, and inferring what these conceptualizations suggest about the existential significance of the digital divide as experienced by historically underserved groups in the U.S.

Download Full-text

The Existential Significance of the Digital Divide for America's Historically Underserved Populations

Global Information Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-59904-939-7.ch183 ◽

2008 ◽

pp. 2520-2540

Author(s):

Lynette Kvasny

Keyword(s):

Digital Divide ◽

Underserved Populations ◽

Internet Access ◽

Technical Skills ◽

Corporate Leaders ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Underserved Groups ◽

Physical Access ◽

The U.S

During the 1990s, the digital divide figured prominently in the discourses of academics, corporate leaders, educators, and policymakers worldwide. In the U.S., we witnessed a massive infusion of computers and Internet access in homes, schools, libraries, and other neighborhood institutions. This has significantly increased citizens’ physical access to information and communication technology (ICT) artifacts and has enhanced citizens’ opportunities for acquiring and strengthening technical skills. However, does increased physical access and technical skills signal closure of the digital divide? In this chapter, I address this question by describing the preconstructed ways in which the digital divide is conceptualized by academics and policymakers, and inferring what these conceptualizations suggest about the existential significance of the digital divide as experienced by historically underserved groups in the U.S.

Download Full-text

The Digital Divide in the U.S. in the 21st Century

Handbook of Research on Overcoming Digital Divides ◽

10.4018/978-1-60566-699-0.ch007 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 112-130 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Barney Warf

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Digital Divide ◽

Adult Population ◽

Internet Access ◽

The United States ◽

Internet Usage ◽

Racial Inequalities ◽

Internet Users ◽

Using Data ◽

The U.S

The United States has the world’s largest national population of Internet users, roughly 170 million people, or 70% of the adult population. However, the deep class and racial inequalities within the U.S. are mirrored in access to cyberspace. This chapter examines the nature of the U.S. digital divide, differentiating between Internet access and usage, using data from 1995 to 2005. Although Internet usage has grown among all sociodemographic groups, substantial differences by income and ethnicity persist. The chapter also examines discrepancies in access to broadband technologies.

Download Full-text

The Digital Divide and K-12 Student Computer Use

10.28945/2926 ◽

2005 ◽

Author(s):

James N. Morgan ◽

Craig A. VanLengen

Keyword(s):

Digital Divide ◽

Computer Use ◽

Census Data ◽

Internet Access ◽

Demographic Characteristics ◽

The Internet ◽

Substantial Impact ◽

Limited Basis ◽

K 12 ◽

The Impact

The divide between those who have computer and Internet access and those who do not appears to be narrowing, however overall statistics may be misleading. Measures of computer availability in schools often include cases where computers are only available for administration or are available only on a very limited basis (Gootman, 2004). Access to a computer and the Internet outside of school helps to reinforce student learning and emphasize the importance of using technology. Recent U.S. statistics indicate that ethnic background and other demographic characteristics still have substantial impact on the availability and use of computers by students outside of the classroom. This paper examines recent census data to determine the impact of the household on student computer use outside of the classroom. Encouragingly, the findings of this study suggest that use of a computer at school substantially increases the chance that a student will use a computer outside of class. Additionally, this study suggests that computer use outside of the classroom is positively and significantly impacted by being in a household with adults who either use a computer at work or work in an industry where computers are extensively used.

Download Full-text

Corporate Governance of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Interest

Information ◽

10.3390/info12070275 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 275

Author(s):

Peter Cihon ◽

Jonas Schuett ◽

Seth D. Baum

Keyword(s):

Artificial Intelligence ◽

Corporate Governance ◽

Law Enforcement ◽

Nonprofit Organizations ◽

Public Interest ◽

Department Of Defense ◽

The Public ◽

Wide Range ◽

The Media ◽

The U.S

Corporations play a major role in artificial intelligence (AI) research, development, and deployment, with profound consequences for society. This paper surveys opportunities to improve how corporations govern their AI activities so as to better advance the public interest. The paper focuses on the roles of and opportunities for a wide range of actors inside the corporation—managers, workers, and investors—and outside the corporation—corporate partners and competitors, industry consortia, nonprofit organizations, the public, the media, and governments. Whereas prior work on multistakeholder AI governance has proposed dedicated institutions to bring together diverse actors and stakeholders, this paper explores the opportunities they have even in the absence of dedicated multistakeholder institutions. The paper illustrates these opportunities with many cases, including the participation of Google in the U.S. Department of Defense Project Maven; the publication of potentially harmful AI research by OpenAI, with input from the Partnership on AI; and the sale of facial recognition technology to law enforcement by corporations including Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft. These and other cases demonstrate the wide range of mechanisms to advance AI corporate governance in the public interest, especially when diverse actors work together.

Download Full-text