digital divides
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2022 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 0-0

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are omnipresent and define the interactions in society. Within society, there are vulnerable groups of people for whom ICT use is more challenging. Disabled people are the most vulnerable ICT users. To identify the digital divides of access and impact of ICT on disabled users, an exploratory qualitative study was conducted. Relying on a French national association for disability that grants unique access to disabled ICT users, two focus groups and 10 in-depth interviews were carried. The study allows to propose a model of ICT use and effects for disabled people, integrating several types of disabilities. The results show that ICT appropriation by disabled users depends on their perceived self-efficacy in ICT. ICT use can lead to negative effects, including social exclusion and low perceived normalcy. To address societal interests and develop the literature, a research agenda is proposed.


Hikma ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 399-427
Author(s):  
Elena Ruiz-Cortés

Digitally mediated communication in the public sector has changed how citizens and authorities communicate. Within this digital context, it has been identified that language problems may be an underlying cause of social exclusion for migrant groups (see Khorshed and Imran, 2015, p. 347), which seems to indicate that the lack of language proficiency in the host country’s language may give rise to new forms of digital divides in migratory contexts. Bearing this in mind, here we contend that, for migrants with language barriers, access to key digital services within the public sector can happen through translation provision, which may be used as a tool to digitally empower them. Thus, based on this logic, in this paper the digital empowerment (Mäkinen, 2006) of migrant communities is explored assessing to what extent the implementation of translation policy empowers migrants’ digital communication with the host country’ authorities within the public services. To this end, we will focus on a case study, the translation policy implemented in the case of the digital communication between the Spanish ministry for Migration and migrants in the case of two immigration procedures, which will be investigated from a descriptive stance using the methodological concept of domain. Our initial findings suggest that the translation policy implemented by this Spanish ministry results in diametrically opposed levels of migrants’ digital empowerment in our case study. Thus, arguably, even if translation policy could be used as a tool to digitally empower all migrants in our case study, it seems to be used as a tool to empower only some of them; the most powerful group of migrants


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 476-476
Author(s):  
Lisa Gibbs ◽  
Julie Rousseau ◽  
Sonia Sehgal ◽  
Neika Saville ◽  
Jung-Ah Lee

Abstract Early in the pandemic, the University of California, Irvine (UCI), GWEP pivoted to focus on building telehealth and remote patient monitoring, while supporting team-based interdisciplinary learners. Our Health Assessment Program for Seniors (HAPS) adapted to provide hybrid remote/in-person evaluations with our Geriatric Fellows and Doctor of Nurse Practitioner (DNP) students working alongside our multi-disciplinary team. Learner teams innovatively bridged the digital divide through weekly DNP support phone calls, and the Fellows delivered family conferences through Zoom. In ASSIST, medical students and nursing students gained digital competencies through a phone support system for isolated older adults with friendly weekly check-ins providing referrals to community resources. Another IRB-approved pilot, Healing at Home, diverted patients from the Emergency Room and In-Patient care with a team of ED, Hospitalists, Geriatricians teaching DNP and Fellows telehealth management. GWEP successfully piloted symbiotic learning for both older adults and health profession students through new virtual formats.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 119-120
Author(s):  
Kathryn Nearing ◽  
Camilla Pimentel ◽  
Eileen Dryden ◽  
Laura Kernan ◽  
Lauren Moo

Abstract Compared to urban Veterans, rural Veterans are more likely to be older (55-74), not employed, have less education, more service-related disabilities and unmet healthcare needs. Interviews with a national sample of community-based outpatient clinic providers described highly-rural Veterans who are “off the grid.” These Veterans, by choice and/or circumstance, do not have access to reliable internet, associated devices or knowledge/skills. Providers described the difficulties of connecting with these Veterans even by phone. The healthcare shift to virtual telehealth modalities in response to COVID-19 highlights the digital divide as a social determinant of health. For “off-the-grid” Veterans, past experiences and present-day circumstances converge to perpetuate and exacerbate inequalities in accessing healthcare. Their situation underscores that telehealth is not a panacea for increasing access to care and confronts us with the moral imperative to reach those with whom it may be most difficult to connect to span social, geographic and digital divides.


Author(s):  
Deborah Warr ◽  
Georgina Luscombe ◽  
Danielle Couch

Despite high unmet demand for health services across rural Australia, uptake of telehealth has been slow, piecemeal and ad hoc. We argue that widespread failure to understand telehealth as a socio-technical practice is key to understanding this slow progress. To develop this argument, we explore how technocentric approaches to telehealth have contributed to critical blind spots. First, the ‘hype’ associated with the technological possibilities of telehealth discourages thoughtful consideration of the unanticipated consequences when technologies are rolled out into complex social fields. Second, it contributes to critical gaps in the telehealth evidence base, and particularly a paucity of analyses focussing on the experiences of service users and patients. A third blind spot concerns the limited attention paid to the social determinants of health and digital divides in rural areas. The final blind spot we consider is an apparent reluctance to engage community stakeholders in co-designing and coproducing telehealth services. We used an iterative approach to identify studies and commentary from a range of academic fields to explain the significance of the telehealth blind spots and how they might be addressed. Insights suggest how expanding understanding of the social dimensions of telehealth could enhance its accessibility, effectiveness and responsiveness to community needs and contexts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junyi Zhang ◽  
Tao Feng ◽  
Jing Kang ◽  
Shuangjin Li ◽  
Rui Liu ◽  
...  

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused various impacts on people’s lives, while changes in people’s lives have shown mixed effects on mitigating the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Understanding how to capture such two-way interactions is crucial, not only to control the pandemic but also to support post-pandemic urban recovery policies. As suggested by the life-oriented approach, the above interactions exist with respect to a variety of life domains, which form a complex behavior system. Through a review of the literature, this paper first points out inconsistent evidence about behavioral factors affecting the spread of COVID-19, and then argues that existing studies on the impacts of COVID-19 on people’s lives have ignored behavioral co-changes in multiple life domains. Furthermore, selected uncertain trends of people’s lives for the post-pandemic recovery are described. Finally, this paper concludes with a summary about “what should be computed?” in Computational Urban Science with respect to how to catch up with delays in the SDGs caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, how to address digital divides and dilemmas of e-society, how to capture behavioral co-changes during the post-pandemic recovery process, and how to better manage post-pandemic recovery policymaking processes.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146144482110548
Author(s):  
Marcelo Santos ◽  
Magdalena Saldaña ◽  
Ksenia Tsyganova

Internet, social media, and app shutdowns have become frequent, not only in authoritarian states but also in emerging and fragile democracies. As Russian authorities enforced a legal blockage to Instant Messenger Telegram during the past 2 years, many users kept using the app seamlessly thanks to what we call a subversive affordance: a built-in proxy functionality that allows users to seamlessly circumvent the blockage. We claim it is subversive because it allows users to overcome the blockage as the consequence of the app’s development, with a significant fraction of users who did not have to take action to bypass the blockage. By conducting an online survey and performing a meta-cluster analysis, we found a group we labeled the undeprived: people that, despite presenting traits frequently associated with digital divides—such as gender, age, and low levels of digital skills—were able to keep using the app.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Iréne Bernhard ◽  
Elin Wihlborg

The increasing use of automated systems for decision-making and decision support in public administration is forming new practices and challenging public values since public services must be impartially accessible and designed for everyone. New robotistic process automation (RPA) systems are generally designed based on back-office structures. This requires clients to submit relevant data correctly in order for these services to function. However, not all potential or intended users of these services have the competence and the capacity to submit accurate data in the correct way. Front-line case workers at public agencies play critical roles in supporting those who have problems using the services due to the aforementioned accessibility requirements and thereby work in bridging digital divides. This article analyses strategies used by front-line case workers to complement RPA and improve the inclusion of all clients in the services. It builds on qualitative case studies at two Swedish authorities, including in-depth interviews and observations. The study shows that the discretion of the front-line case workers is limited by the RPA systems, and they also have limited discretion to support clients in their use of the digital services. Instead, they develop strategies in line with more service- and socially-oriented values; duty-oriented values are integrated into the RPA. The analysis shows the importance of forming new support structures for inclusion when public services are automated to maintain the core public values of inclusion and democratic legitimacy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-26
Author(s):  
Racheal Ddungu Mugabi ◽  
Rosemary Nakijoba ◽  
Deborah Sarah Nakirijja ◽  
May Sengendo

The aim of the article was to explore ways in which formal and non-formal skills development programmes can be improved for education continuity and employability of marginalised youth. This is attributed to the fact that coronavirus disease (COVID-19) with its related lockdowns is causing not only unprecedented disruption in the provision of skills, but also catalysed innovation in distance learning. A qualitative case study with some elements of action research, systematic inquiry and non-participant classroom observation with capability and empowerment theories supported the inquiries. Thematic analysis was used. Results reveal that while access to skills development was maintained in some spaces through a rapid shift to distance learning, the pre-existing social and digital divides deprived marginalized groups of continued learning and putting them behind schedule. Many institutions and learners lack operational distance-learning platforms, digital skills and devices. Save for the few exceptions, distance learning policies by the government have not yet been able to facilitate the acquisition of practical skills, which are critical components for the success of education and employability. Evidence points not only to pedagogical dimensions with educator’s incompetence to provide a supportive environment, but also to designing structured educational resources versus the abundance of online resources, disruptions to assessment and certification, and a general decline in the quality of practical training causing demotivation among learners and educators. The general increased economic hardship has also increased the likelihood of marginalised youth dropping out of education. The study recommends a robust shift on how skills are delivered-shift to digital literacy and adoption to technology, forge national and regional public private partnerships to increase the availability of accessible distance learning solutions, allocate more financial resources, develop new training programmes by marrying curricula to real life working situations, assess and certify online for educational continuity and employability.


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