Search results for "Digital divide"
showing 10 items of 49 documents
The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Competence of the Young
2009
This chapter discusses the information and communication technology (ICT) competence of the young. The discussion focuses on students at lower and upper secondary school, especially young people aged 10-18. It explores how the strategic initiatives and implementation efforts of ICY have reached out to the level of young citizens. The aim is to consider their ICT competence as well as their use of ICT in school and during the leisure time. The authors also consider the significance and role of gaming, the gender differences regarding ICT skills and use, and the differences between the young and adults in their skills and use of ICT.
Internet Use and Self-Rated Health Among Older People: A National Survey
2009
Background Older people are among the segments of the population for which the digital divide is most persistent and are considered to be at risk of losing out on the potential benefits that the information society can provide to their quality of life. Little attention has been paid, however, to relationships between Internet use and actual indicators of health among older people. Objective The aim of this study was to examine the association between Internet use and self-rated health among older people and determine whether this association holds independently of socioeconomic position. Methods Data were from a survey about the digital divide and quality of life among older people in Spain…
La mala educación. Povertà educativa e pandemia
2022
This paper aims to propose a reflection on the repercussions that Covid-19 has had on children and adolescents who already were in conditions of educational poverty, trying to identify possible ways of intervention and future research. The specific literature identifies children and adolescents as the most vulnerable subjects of socio-economic distress, even at risk of dropping out or dropping out of school. The conditions of isolation and potential risks of abandonment of children and adolescents have been amplified by the Covid-19 emergency, as emerges from the latest report of Save the Children. The situation is transversal throughout the entire country, but it is accentuated in the regi…
Technology for supporting web information search and learning in Sign Language
2009
Sign Languages (SL) are underrepresented in the digital world, which contributes to the digital divide for the Deaf Community. In this paper, our goal is twofold: (1) to review the implications of current SL generation technologies for two key user web tasks, information search and learning and (2) to propose a taxonomy of the technical and functional dimensions for categorizing those technologies. The review reveals that although contents can currently be portrayed in SL by means of videos of human signers or avatars, the debate about how bilingual (text and SL) versus SL-only websites affect signers' comprehension of hypertext content emerges as an unresolved issue in need of further empi…
Teledu: Transmedia Learning Ecosystem for People at Risk of Exclusion
2021
The TELEDU tele-education ecosystem, integrated by software and hardware components, allows the use of Web resources through Interactive Digital TV (iDTV) without the need to be continuously connected. It works with any existing digital TV standard and is especially useful for users who do not have broadband, being a very effective solution in places where there is a digital divide. The user must have, at least, a cell phone with 3G connection and any of these three options: Digital Terrestrial TV (DTT), Satellite TV or Cable TV. The conception of TELEDU is based on the premise that the software will offer a friendly interaction. Based on this, an interoperable, open and scalable environmen…
Frames of digital divide in digitalization policies in Finland, Denmark and Sweden and the legitimacy of the implementing agency
2020
The process whereby digital technologies are integrated to everyday functions of the lives of citizens is commonly referred to as digitalization. While the benefits of utilization of technology are undeniable and manifold, digitalization also causes inequality in society. Digital divide is the academic concept that originally referred to the gap between those who have access to technology and those who do not, but nowadays it is understood as a wider phenomenon that encompasses various inequalities brought about by digitalization. Nordic countries are at the forefront in taking advantage of new technological opportunities, but also for these welfare states digital divide is a concern and go…
The usage of social media among young adults living in Nairobi, Kenya : only entertainment or contributions to societal change?
2015
Social media usage has been found to have increased all over the world, also in the so-called developing countries. Although the percentages are still rather low, it can be argued that the use of social media is becoming increasingly important also in African countries. Kenya has been found to be one of the leading countries regarding social media usage in East Africa. Although research on social media has been conducted, for instance, on the use of social media in protest movements and in the areas of users’ motivation, less emphasis has been placed on their developmental aspects. Thus, to gain a deeper understanding of the usage of social media in the so-called developing countries, this …
Digital Infrastructure Enabling Platforms for Health Information and Education in the Global South
2020
This chapter aims at documenting how digital divide determinants are affecting the ability of digital infrastructure to be used as a platform for health information and education in Sub-Saharan Africa. More specifically, the chapter draws from case studies in Madagascar, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Tanzania, and we showcase the best praxis on how digital technologies are used to improve learning and health information usage. Some tested experiments have been successful but rarely scaled up, depriving part of the population—the poorest and those living in rural areas who “consume” few public resources—from opportunities to access improved education and health services. Along with the …
Digital divide in Europe: assessing and comparing the e-readiness of a developed and an emerging economy in the Nordic region
2005
This paper discusses the digital divide in the Nordic region of Europe by comparing the e-readiness of Norway and Estonia. The e-readiness of both countries is above the average score; Norway, however, is better than Estonia. In general, e-readiness was used solely to quantify any divide for both countries.