Assessing Robustness of Asian Countries Ranking

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-37
Author(s):  
Nilanjana Chakrabarty ◽  
Dibyojyoti Bhattacharjee

The term ‘digital divide' refers to the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas with regard to both their opportunities to access Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and to their use of Internet. Composite indicators are regularly used for measuring the divide and in benchmarking the country's performance. But often it creates controversies regarding the subjectivity that is connected with their construction methodology more specifically the weighting and aggregation issues. The paper attempts to assess the robustness of the ranks generated by the composite digital divide index using different weighting and aggregation schemes in case of Asian countries. Here four weighting techniques Iyengar-Sudarshan Method, Benefit of Doubt Method, Principal Component Analysis and Unobserved Component Model and three techniques of aggregation viz. Linear Aggregation, Geometric Aggregation and Weighted Displaced Ideal Method are used for mutual comparison.

Author(s):  
Nilanjana Chakrabarty ◽  
Dibyojyoti Bhattacharjee

The term ‘digital divide' refers to the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas with regard to both their opportunities to access Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and to their use of Internet. Composite indicators are regularly used for measuring the divide and in benchmarking the country's performance. But often it creates controversies regarding the subjectivity that is connected with their construction methodology more specifically the weighting and aggregation issues. The paper attempts to assess the robustness of the ranks generated by the composite digital divide index using different weighting and aggregation schemes in case of Asian countries. Here four weighting techniques Iyengar-Sudarshan Method, Benefit of Doubt Method, Principal Component Analysis and Unobserved Component Model and three techniques of aggregation viz. Linear Aggregation, Geometric Aggregation and Weighted Displaced Ideal Method are used for mutual comparison.


MedienJournal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 14-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula Maier-Rabler

This paper aims to make a contribution toward an improvement of European e-policy practice. lt is inspired by the conviction that successfuJ e-policy strategies can lead to ba­lanced chances for all members in certain societies to aquire the absolutely indispensable capabilities for decision-making in the context of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Following the path of the development of e-policy papers it has to be stated that many goals have not yet been achieved. The techno-deterministic concepts 'access' and 'usage' seem not to reach far enough to get people really involved andin­formed. Many more aspects have tobe considered in order to create a clirnate for inno­vation where different choices made by different individuals according to their different social, economic or cuJtural backgrounds do not lead automatically to the well known either or not, connected or not-connected, haves or have-nots, but to a variety of pat­terns of involvement. In this paper, we argue for different e-policy strategies according to cultural aspects in certain societies. And hereby we will focus on the cultural aspects of information itself, on the notion of information in different information cultures. lt also seems important to mention at this stage that we believe that getting all members of society involved in the ICT-innovation process in order to provide the basis for in­formed decisions by each individual member is the most important task of e-policy.


2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-19
Author(s):  
Iqbal S. Alsaleh ◽  
Shaymaa M. Rashad

Due to the undesirable effects of the gap between citizens to access and use information and communication technologies (ICT), most researchers have been paying much attention to the threat of a digital divide. Unfortunately an amazingly large number of people do not have the abilities to use the ICTs in a proper way and, therefore, cannot draw advantages from its usage. As a result, digital divide is commonly regarded as a potential barrier for participation in the information society. This study measure the digital divide in Saudi Arabia by analyzing the results of a small-scale study conducted at the University KAU, regarding students’ and university members’ perceptions toward the usage of ICT. This analysis measure the digital divide concerning some factors like gender, educational level using a questionnaire. The analysis shows that KAU has no digital divide. Key words: digital divide, information and communications technology, ICT, diffusion of technology, second order effects.


Author(s):  
Encarnación Soriano-Ayala ◽  
Adán Hermosilla-Rivera ◽  
Verónica C. Cala ◽  
Rachida Dalouh

ABSTRACT This work addresses the risk that adolescents face when they misuse the Internet. The results of an investigation carried out with 206 adolescents about the use of Internet, cyberbullying and sexting are presented. The results showed that parents of adolescents are unaware of their children's use of social networks, girls practice sexting more than boys, and there are more boys who practice cyberbullying in the role of executioner, while girls star in it as the victim.RESUMENEste trabajo aborda el riesgo que corren los adolescentes cuando hacen un mal uso de Internet. Se exponen los resultados de una investigación llevada a cabo con 206 adolescentes en los que se analiza el uso de Internet, el ciber acoso (ciberbullying) y el sexting. En los resultados señalamos que los padres de los chicos y las chicas adolescentes desconocen el uso que hacen sus hijos de las redes sociales, las chicas practican más el sexting que los chicos en la adolescencia, siendo el sexting una nueva forma de sexismo impulsado por las tecnologías, y son más los chicos que practican el ciberbullying en el rol de verdugo, mientras que las chicas lo protagonizan desde el papel de víctima.


2013 ◽  
pp. 698-720
Author(s):  
John Garofalakis ◽  
Andreas Koskeris

During the last years, due to the wide spread of World Wide Web (WWW), the Internet has become one of the most valuable and effective communications media and the most inclusive source of information. However, in many cases the difficulties of establishing universal effective access could serve to reinforce current patterns of social exclusion and produce barriers to balanced development instead of supporting it. World widely there is a rising concern over the so-called “digital divide”–a term that refers to the gap existing in the opportunities to access advanced information and communication technologies between geographic areas or by individuals at different socioeconomic levels. The experience shows that specialized initiatives are needed for disadvantaged areas in order to anticipate expansion of current digital divide. This chapter is focusing on the specific instance of digital divide occurring in rural territories, and examines the ways to foster digital culture among citizens, utilizing a specific initiative (the so called “Telecentres”).


Author(s):  
Liudmila Burtseva ◽  
Svetlana Cojocaru ◽  
Constantin Gaindric ◽  
Galina Magariu ◽  
Tatiana Verlan

In this chapter the authors introduce the digital-divide concept to the reader, bring its different definitions, and describe the short history of the problem. The basic figures and facts, which characterize the information and communication technologies’ usage in different countries and regions, are given as well. Also, basic indicators that allow the monitoring of the country’s advancement on the way to bridging the digital divide are stated. The main purpose for the authors was to show that the digital divide is not only (and not as much) a technical problem, but rather a social and political one. Hence, the approaches to this problem decision, both in the world community as a whole and in separate countries, are described.


2008 ◽  
pp. 3126-3148
Author(s):  
Gillian M. Marcelle

There is little shared understanding of the term “digital divide,” but this has not prevented the international community from investing a great deal of effort in projects that aim to reduce the digital divide by reducing disparities in access to information and communication technologies (ICT) (European Commission High Level Group, 1997; International Telecommunication Union [ITU], 1984, 2003; United Nations Economic and Social Commission [UN ECOSOC], 2000). The divergent rate at which ICT diffuses—the digital divide—is a reflection of broader socioeconomic divides, many of which exist within societies. The divide between men and women, rich and poor, young and old, urban and rural, literate and non-literate, also manifests itself in the digital world of media, computers, telecommunications, Internet, and jobs in software production. Information and communication flows carried by ICT are increasingly becoming an integral factor in international, institutional, and political processes. Lack of access to ICT therefore impacts on opportunities for developing countries’ economic growth, wealth distribution, social empowerment, and development. It is the digital divide which largely prevents the equal sharing of knowledge worldwide and leads to “information and knowledge poverty” among certain groups. If only a select number of countries, and within them certain groups, reap the benefits of ICT while others continue to lag behind, the digital divide will continue to grow and the virtuous cycle that ICT can create will not be enjoyed by many (Millward-Oliver, 2005). There is little acknowledgment and even less acceptance that gender constitutes an important influence in the structure of the “digital divide.” At first glance, this failure to admit context may seem strange and out of step with common sense. Why should gender relations, such an important and pivotal element of social structure, that is known to influence differentiated access to financial resources, employment opportunities, education and training, water and sanitation, health care, legal status, and enjoyment of human-rights not affect access to and control of ICT? This article will explore some of the key factors that lead to gender blindness in the digital divide debate and articulate a strategic response


2008 ◽  
pp. 1932-1937
Author(s):  
Jayapragas Gnaniah ◽  
Peter Songan ◽  
Alvin W. Yeo ◽  
Hushairi Zen ◽  
Khairuddin Ab. Hamid

The Malaysian government, through many initiatives, has seriously looked into reducing and if possible eliminating, the digital divide that exists between the developed urban and the technologically impoverished rural communities. The e-Bario Project, a successful research showcase of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, is one of the leading examples in Malaysia of such an attempt to bridge the digital gap and to achieve sustainable human development through the introduction of information and communication technologies (ICT). According to Harris, Bala, Songan, Khoo and Trang (2001), the World Bank had introduced a systematic approach to the application of ICT to meet the needs and bridge the digital divide of the rural community.


2008 ◽  
pp. 1431-1439
Author(s):  
Anastasia Papazafeiropoulou ◽  
Anastasia Pouloudi

Following an initial euphoria about the power of the information superhighway to provide better access to information and wealth for all, what we have experienced in reality instead is that information and communication technologies have created further inequalities at individual, business, national and international level. To ease the effects of this “digital divide,” policy makers have taken up the role of change agencies, influencing the public in using innovative information technologies. This chapter focuses on the role of these change agencies for technology diffusion and the elimination of the digital divide. It is argued that examining the interest of change agencies and the other stakeholders involved in the diffusion process from a normative perspective can help in the preparation of effective information technology diffusion policies.


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