scholarly journals From Digital Divide to Social Inclusion: A Tale of Mobile Platform Empowerment in Rural Areas

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisha Ye ◽  
Huiqin Yang
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Rural China ◽  
Mobile Platform ◽  
The World ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Practical Implications

The digital divide in rural areas is an important social issue, especially in developing countries. Although Internet and broadband penetration have increased in the world generally, there are many obstacles for rural China to get access to ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and its services. The mobile platform is regarded as a novel and effective tool to reduce the digital divide. Based on a case of one mobile platform, namely WeCountry in Chinese rural areas, this study illustrates how a mobile platform bridges the digital divide and helps rural areas achieve social inclusion. Results show that: (1) the mobile platform mainly acts on the digital capability divide elimination, and it has to guide and increase users’ usage capability; (2) the mobile platform can empower villagers in structural, psychological, and resource dimensions, achieving political inclusion, social participation inclusion, and economic inclusion; (3) platform providers and government are key organizations during the divide elimination process. This paper concludes with theoretical and practical implications.

Telemedecine the the Context of COVID-19 in Ecuador

2022 ◽  
pp. 69-83
Author(s):  
Danilo Piaggesi ◽  
Helena Landazuri ◽  
Bo Jia
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Disease Prevention ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Delivery Of Healthcare ◽  
The World ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Practical Implications

The improvement in the delivery of healthcare services in geographically remote and rural areas is one of the most promising and clearly demonstrated applications of information and communication technology (ICT) in sustainable development. ICT provides considerable benefits and capabilities when applied to disease prevention and response efforts during epidemics and pandemics. The expansion of the COVID-19 outbreak that began in Wuhan, China alerted all the countries of the world from the beginning of 2020 and reached Latin America in mid-February 2020. In this chapter, VERIS, an Ecuadorian successful practice of telemedicine during the COVID-19 times, is presented. VERIS allows remote consultation with a certified doctor, following the WHO protocol, and other relevant services provided also remotely. The VERIS experience is particularly relevant during the present COVID-19 pandemic because it eliminates the risks of contagion deriving from visiting hospitals in person and could be particularly useful for emerging economies with practical implications for mature ones.

scholarly journals Bridging Indonesia’s Digital Divide: Rural-Urban Linkages?

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aulia Hadi
Keyword(s):  
Material Culture ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Digital Skills ◽  
Information And Communication

While Indonesia is recorded as one of the greatest social media republics in the world, the gap of rural-urban internet access remains a great challenge. As reported in the 2016 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Indicators, the number of households with internet access in rural areas is nearly half of those in urban areas; 26.3% and 48.5% in a consecutive way. Rather than simply seeing the internet as a medium, this paper discusses the internet as material culture; therefore, it goes beyond the access and focuses on the ways people use the internet to define their culture. From this perspective, this paper draws the two levels of the digital divide of Indonesian rural-urban dwellers. Lack of motivation and limited material access due to social inequality is at the very base of the digital divide. Subsequently, digital skills and usage deepen the digital divide. While splitting people into either rural or urban categories often produces misleading policies, this paper proposes the rural-urban linkages to bridge the digital divide in Indonesia. The rural-urban linkages particularly incorporate the flow of people and information across space as well as the interconnection between sectors, such as agriculture and service.

Affecting Change from the Grassroots

2006 ◽  
pp. 62-94
Author(s):  
Timlynn T. Babitsky ◽  
James F. Salmons
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Community Development ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Local Networks ◽  
Marginalized Groups ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Development Agendas

Information and communication technology (ICT) is a potentially potent force for empowering marginal communities in developing countries. To be successful, ICT projects must involve local stakeholders, provide participatory forms of communication, and take advantage of local networks of relationships. Drawing from concepts originally presented in the management classic Influence Without Authority and the authors’ fieldwork, this chapter helps grassroots organizers to develop a key set of skills for choosing community development agendas, and provides a practical step-by-step guide for mobilizing diverse stakeholders in support of desired outcomes. This chapter showcases empowering social processes that can prepare marginalized individuals to take best advantage of a well-conceived ICT project. The goal of using ICT [information and communication technology] with marginalized groups is not to overcome a digital divide but rather to further a process of social inclusion. To accomplish this, it is necessary to focus on the transformation, not the technology. (Mark Warschauer — Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide)

Information and Communication Technology and Cultural Change

2012 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Hansen ◽  
Tom Postmes ◽  
Nikita van der Vinne ◽  
Wendy van Thiel
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Cultural Change ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Self Construal ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Ict For Development ◽  
Practical Implications

This paper studies whether and how information and communication technology (ICT) changes self-construal and cultural values in a developing country. Ethiopian children were given laptops in the context of an ICT for development scheme. We compared children who used laptops (n = 69) with a control group without laptops (n = 76) and a second control group of children whose laptop had broken down (n = 24). Results confirmed that after 1 year of laptop usage, the children’s self-concept had become more independent and children endorsed individualist values more strongly. Interestingly, the impact of laptop usage on cultural values was mediated by self-construal (moderated mediation). Importantly, modernization did not “crowd out” traditional culture: ICT usage was not associated with a reduction in traditional expressions (interdependent self-construal, collectivist values). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Contribution and Prospect of 5G Technology to China's Economic Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiawen Fu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Key Technology ◽  
World Power ◽  
The World ◽  
The Status ◽  
Information And Communication

Since the birth of 5G, it has attracted much attention from all countries in the world. The development of 5G industry is particularly important for domestic economic development. 4G changes life, 5G changes society. 5G will not only accelerate the speed of people surfing the Internet, but also bring revolutionary changes to all aspects of social life, making people's lives, work and entertainment more convenient and diverse. The economic impact of the development of the 5G industry on China cannot be underestimated. Nowadays, information and communication technology has increasingly become a new driving force for economic development. 5G technology has already become a key technology pursuit for countries to compete for the status of world power, and it has also become an indispensable part of contemporary economic and social development. We should give full play to the government's guiding role, and work with network giants to build a new platform for cooperation, promote coordinated industrial development, achieve win-win results, and promote economic and social prosperity and development.

Reconsidering the digital divide: an analytical framework from access to appropriation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Ai-Chi Loh ◽  
Arul Chib
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Factor Analyses ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Comprehensive Index ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Methodological Problems

PurposeThis paper presents a framework to measure the digital divide by considering a more comprehensive index of information and communication technology (ICT) predictors. The authors also address the conceptual and methodological problems in the digital divide field, given that its focus has been shifted from technological access to higher-order divides over the years. The proposed framework is hypothesized and tested in the context of unemployed and underemployed residents in Singapore.Design/methodology/approachThrough a quantitative survey, 302 unemployed and underemployed workers were asked what ICT “access”, “usage” and “appropriation” meant to them. Factor analyses were deployed to identify the underlying, granular dimensions of ICT access, usage and appropriation.FindingsThe factor analyses revealed an interesting breakdown of the main factors of ICT access, usage and appropriation. The authors found that one's purpose for which technology is accessed, used and appropriated determines how each of the levels of ICT assets is defined. Thus, the authors propose new operational definitions for ICT access, usage and appropriation based on the analyses.Originality/valueThis study aims to provide a more robust measure of the digital divide from access, capabilities to outcomes. The authors hope that this framework, besides complementing current digital divide models, can be applied to different types of participants.

scholarly journals The Effect of Customer Perceived Value and E-Service Recovery One-Loyalty with E-Satisfaction and E-Trust as Intervening Variables on E-Commerce Shopee Indonesia Customers in Medan City

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 246-258
Author(s):  
Dewi Kartika ◽  
Amrin Fauzi ◽  
Arlina Nurbaity Lubis
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Service Recovery ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Customer Perceived Value ◽  
The World ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Intervening Variables

The rapid development of information and communication technology is currently having an impact on changes in various fields, one of which is changes in people's lifestyles, including consumption in society. The development of information and communication technology has resulted in easier access for people in the world to access the internet and use it to buying and selling transactions online via the internet. The report Global Web Index notes that Indonesia has a high level of users e-commerce highest in the world and as many as 96% of internet users looking for a product or service to make purchases online. This has resulted in the development of e-commerce in Indonesia and throughout the world which is increasing as a consequence of which the competition is getting harder service providers are e-commerce required to provide the best service in order to increase customer satisfaction and trust so that customers will be loyal to using these services. This can be achieved by paying attention to customer value and corrective actions in an effort to restore service to customers. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of customer perceived value and e-service recovery on e-loyalty with e-satisfaction and e-trust as intervening variables. This study uses a quantitative approach by distributing questionnaires to ecommerce Shopee Indonesia customers in Medan City with a total sample of 328 respondents. The sampling technique in this study used non-probability sampling. Data analysis was carried out through SEM-PLS using the SmartPLS program. The results of this study indicate that customer perceived value has a significant effect on e-satisfaction and also e-loyalty. However, customer perceived value has no significant effect on e-trust. The variable e-service recovery directly has a significant effect on e-satisfaction, e-trust, and e-loyalty. E-satisfaction and e-trust cannot mediate the relationship between customer perceived value and e-loyalty, but they are able to mediate the relationship between e-service recovery and e-loyalty. Keywords: Customer perceived value, E-Service Recovery, E-Satisfaction, ETrust, E-Loyalty.

A Design Framework for Evolving a Citizen-Centric Information Society

2015 ◽  
pp. 25-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charru Malhotra
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technology ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Information Society ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The World ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Local Populace ◽  
Technology Trends

Typically, designers of ICT based initiatives tend to consider the emerging trends of information and communication technology (ICT) as the starting point for designing an e-initiative rather than first inculcating a clarity on what services are to be delivered by such e-initiatives. ‘Technology first' or ‘Citizens First' is a conflict all designers have been confronted with, especially in the wake of all technology trends infesting the world now. To resolve this dichotomy, the present study proposes a citizen-centric framework, christened by author as G2C2G framework, which advocates combining technology in equal measures with the respective ‘socio-cultural issues' of the local populace.

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