Computing in a New Zealand Urban Community

2008 ◽  
pp. 1348-1354
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Crump ◽  
Keri Logan ◽  
Andrea McIlroy
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Computing Centers ◽  
Introductory Classes

Governments and international organisations have expressed concern regarding what has been labeled the digital divide, that is, the gap between those people who have access to, and the ability to use, modern information technologies—such as computers, the Internet, e-mail, and other mobile technologies, often referred to as information communication technologies (ICTs)—and those who do not. As a result a range of measures have been put in place by public agencies in an attempt to reduce the inequities between the “haves” and the “have nots”. One strategy which has commonly been used is the establishment of free and easy access to computing and Internet facilities within communities identified as needing such assistance. In Wellington, New Zealand, a project called Smart Newtown has been implemented whereby free public access to computers and the Internet and free introductory classes are made available to all citizens. The researchers were employed to evaluate the implementation and sustainability of this project and this chapter discusses how, over a period of three years, the participation of women has changed. The questions asked were “How did the women benefit from their attendance?” and “What caused this change in participation?” The article begins with a brief background on gender and ICTs, followed by a short review of the literature regarding the digital divide and community computing. One of the successful computing centers in the Smart Newtown project is then examined from a gender viewpoint.

Computing in a New Zealand Urban Community

2011 ◽  
pp. 129-134
Author(s):  
Barbara J. Crump ◽  
Keri Logan ◽  
Andrea McIlroy
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Public Access ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Computing Centers ◽  
Introductory Classes

Governments and international organisations have expressed concern regarding what has been labeled the digital divide, that is, the gap between those people who have access to, and the ability to use, modern information technologies—such as computers, the Internet, e-mail, and other mobile technologies, often referred to as information communication technologies (ICTs)—and those who do not. As a result a range of measures have been put in place by public agencies in an attempt to reduce the inequities between the “haves” and the “have nots”. One strategy which has commonly been used is the establishment of free and easy access to computing and Internet facilities within communities identified as needing such assistance. In Wellington, New Zealand, a project called Smart Newtown has been implemented whereby free public access to computers and the Internet and free introductory classes are made available to all citizens. The researchers were employed to evaluate the implementation and sustainability of this project and this chapter discusses how, over a period of three years, the participation of women has changed. The questions asked were “How did the women benefit from their attendance?” and “What caused this change in participation?” The article begins with a brief background on gender and ICTs, followed by a short review of the literature regarding the digital divide and community computing. One of the successful computing centers in the Smart Newtown project is then examined from a gender viewpoint.

The Impact of Information Technology in Healthcare Privacy

2011 ◽  
pp. 186-227
Author(s):  
Maria Yin Ling Fung ◽  
John Paynter
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Social Engineering ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Communication Services ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
Reducing Costs

The increased use of the Internet and latest information technologies such as wireless computing is revolutionizing the healthcare industry by improving services and reducing costs. The advances in technology help to empower individuals to understand and take charge of their healthcare needs. Patients can participate in healthcare processes, such as diagnosis and treatment, through secure electronic communication services. Patients can search healthcare information over the Internet and interact with physicians. The same advances in technology have also heightened privacy awareness. Privacy concerns include healthcare Web sites that do not practice the privacy policies they preach, computer break-ins, insider and hacker attacks, temporary and careless employees, virus attacks, human errors, system design faults, and social engineering. This chapter looks at medical privacy issues and how they are handled in the U.S. and New Zealand. A sample of 20 New Zealand health Web sites was investigated.

The Impact of Information Technology in Healthcare Privacy

2011 ◽  
pp. 1071-1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Yin Ling Fung
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Social Engineering ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Communication Services ◽  
Human Errors ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
Reducing Costs

The increased use of the Internet and latest information technologies such as wireless computing is revolutionizing the healthcare industry by improving services and reducing costs. The advances in technology help to empower individuals to understand and take charge of their healthcare needs. Patients can participate in healthcare processes, such as diagnosis and treatment, through secure electronic communication services. Patients can search healthcare information over the Internet and interact with physicians. The same advances in technology have also heightened privacy awareness. Privacy concerns include healthcare Web sites that do not practice the privacy policies they preach, computer break-ins, insider and hacker attacks, temporary and careless employees, virus attacks, human errors, system design faults, and social engineering. This chapter looks at medical privacy issues and how they are handled in the U.S. and New Zealand. A sample of 20 New Zealand health Web sites was investigated.

Ethical Dilemma of the Digital Divide in the Threshold of Social Inequalities in Africa

2018 ◽  
pp. 73-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Essien Essien
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
New Information ◽  
The Social ◽  
Ict Tools ◽  
The Web

Despite the ubiquitous nature of the internet in our daily lives today, the digital divide discourse in Africa highlights the inequitable social distribution of ICT access. The failure to have equitable social access to ICT tools, or a lack of skills to operate them, clearly depicts a technological predicament and a metaphor that questions the social gaps between humans that can access and use the web, and those that cannot. Relying on content analysis of extensive literature on the digital divide, this paper explores the notion of digital divide social inequalities in Africa, especially as it concerns how it should be understood, valued and managed. Findings, reveals that though the new information technologies are rapidly changing lives of a small but growing number of people across Africa, decisions on content, knowledge and participation excludes Africans. The digital divide therefore, has the potential to create, perpetuate and exacerbate morally objectionable conditions that can replicate poverty, construct exclusion and foregrounds social inequality in many African societies.

Health in the Digital World

2010 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Kendall Ho
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Healthcare Service ◽  
Information Technologies ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Digital World ◽  
New Knowledge

While information technologies, the Internet, and mobile technologies are introducing innovative approaches to knowledge exchange, communication, and new knowledge generation, the health system is comparatively slow in taking up these approaches towards healthcare service delivery. This chapter discusses the opportunities that information technology (IT) can offer to health care system innovation and improvement, highlights some key IT trends that will guide research and development, and highlights some current examples. Some action steps are suggested to accelerate the adoption of IT into routine health practices.

scholarly journals Government Public Access Centres (PACs): A beacon of hope for marginalised communities

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Corrie Uys ◽  
Shaun Pather
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Internet Access ◽  
Access Point ◽  
Public Access ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Value Proposition ◽  
Policy Perspective ◽  
Computing Services ◽  
Average User

Notwithstanding massive injections into broadband infrastructure, large sectors of the world’s population remain without access to the internet.  One of the strategies employed by Government and the private sector to address the digital divide has been to provide basic computing services and internet access to communities in the form of public access centres (PACs) or otherwise known as telecentres.  Over the years PAC related interventions have been subjected to much introspection, and critique, given a number of examples of failures.  This paper examines a PAC program in South Africa which has been running with success for ten years.   The paper reports on a study which includes data collected from more than two thousand four hundred users of PACs.  The findings provide critical insights into the value proposition of PACs for communities in impoverished areas and whether this is still relevant from a policy perspective to tackle the digital divide.  The findings also provide insights into the profile of users; the factors which impact on their choice of a PAC as an internet access point; and the extent to which there is a reliance on PACs.  The most revealing finding from the study indicates that PACS provided the average user with something more than just an internet access point.  The study has determined that PACs have a significant effect on the hopefulness a citizen has for his or her self, community and country. 

scholarly journals The Role of the Legal Deposit Library in Bridging the Digital Divide: A Case Study of the Msunduzi Library in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. p151
Author(s):  
Mpubane E. Matlala
Keyword(s):  
Digital Divide ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Ict Tools

In the 21st Century, the pace of globalization and the growth of Information Communication Technology (ICT) facilities, such as computers and the Internet are fuelling human advancement. The development of ICT applications plays a vital role in providing information access. Access to the Internet is not enough, but ICT applications and the intellectual knowledge, expertise and skills to use them to find relevant information and solve problems is what is essential. It is critical that people who have access are in a better position as compared to those who lack access. This gap is known as the “digital divide”. In this digital era of information, people who do not have access to the Internet are at a disadvantage. This paper examines the role of a Legal Deposit Library in managing the Digital Divide in the Pietermaritzburg area. This is informed by the idea that libraries play a significant role in helping to bridge the digital divide by providing free access to the Internet and other ICT tools to users. It is well known that the library is the only place where people can access free information through ICTs without any costs. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the collection of data. Data is therefore, obtained through self-administered questionnaires, interviews, and observation. This triangulation of methods of data collection is designed to increase the validity and reliability of the results. The findings indicated that the Msunduzi library plays a key role in the delivery of digital inclusion activities, community engagement and social inclusion. The results indicated that while the Msunduzi library has made a considerable effort to ensure provincial-wide access to ICT, which currently constitutes an effective instrument for meeting information needs, a considerable number of challenges still exist. The factors impeding easy access are unearthed in this article and therefore, the paper recommends that the public library should engage on more outreach programs in order to include more people of the communities as it is clear that, ICT tools are the requirements for accessing information and participating in the global knowledge system because the ability to access ICT tools has become important to individuals to connect economically, politically, and socially with others in the world. 

scholarly journals Is the digital divide between young and elderly people increasing?

First Monday ◽  
2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerd Paul ◽  
Christian Stegbauer
Keyword(s):  
Informal Learning ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Peer Group ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Minor Role

Elderly people still play a minor role in research on information needs and usage patterns of Internet users. Online research and advocacy groups look optimistically at the (economic and social) potential of the active and technology–skilled elderly; other approaches dealing with the social appropriation of technology see obstacles and stress the dangers of an increasing digital divide between generations. Our objective is to refer to taken for granted normative assumptions of the digital divide discourse, highlighting different requirements for the appropriation of the Internet. Using the concept of technological generations we look at formal and informal learning of young and elderly people in the German context. We use survey material and field impressions we gained in various technology related studies. The results show that the "two worlds apart" assumption (young vs. elderly people) is too simplistic. Factors like gender, education and socio–economic status still play an important role for acceptance and diffusion of a technology. The diffusion rate among the elderly is increasing, but will continue to lag behind the figures of the young users. Cultural preparations and easy access modes are essential for the elderly, who could make use of latecomer advantages. Informal learning and peer group support will be crucial for the diffusion of the Internet among the elderly. In our conclusions we look at the specific social status of the elderly cohort, which makes a comparison with other social groups very difficult.

scholarly journals A Human Rights-Based Approach to Bridge Gender Digital Divide

2019 ◽  
pp. 24-44
Author(s):  
Ching Yuen Luk
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Internet Privacy ◽  
Distribution Of Resources ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach ◽  
And Training

Using India as a case study, this chapter examines four elements of gender digital divide, the causes of gender digital divide, and ways to bridge gender digital divide. It finds that girls and women do not have equal access to the internet and mobile technologies like men do. This is due to social norms favoring men in the distribution of resources and opportunities, women's lack of the economic means, and ineffective law enforcement. This study calls for a human rights-based approach to bridge gender digital divide, which emphasizes women's rights to ICT-related education and training, internet privacy and freedom of expression, and mobile phone ownership.

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