Professional Context of ICT INFO3020

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Professional Context of ICTINFO3020

• The Digital Divide

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What is the Digital Divide?

• The gap between individuals, households,
  businesses and geographic areas at different
  socio-economic levels with regard both to their
  opportunities to access ICTs and to their use of
  the Internet for a wide variety of activities
• Socio-demographic barriers
• Income, education levels, gender, age,
  disabilities

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The Digital Divide

• Concern is growing that society may eventually
  become divided into 2 distinct groups
• One having access to technology and able to
  obtain information from the Internet
• Others unable to gain access to technology and
  information

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The broadband divide

• Concern that the current divide between those
  with Internet access and those without will be
  exacerbated with the rollout of high-speed access
  and broadband services
• This divide will become increasingly important as
  the availability of advanced telecommunications
  becomes essential

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Urban/rural divide

• Those without enhanced data capability will be
  unable to access the benefits expected
  particularly in relation to education, health and
  government services.

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International digital divide

• Exists between different countries
• Concern that people in the developing countries
  will not enjoy the benefits of the new
  knowledge-based economy

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Internet usage (Johnston, 2001)

• 95 of Internet hosts and secure severs used for
  EC are located in OECD area
• 60 of the adult population of Norway use the
  Internet
• Less than 3 in Indonesia and Ukraine
• US 60
• Germany and UK between 35-40

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The Digital Divide

• Somalia
• 200 Internet Users out of 7 million
• South Africa
• 1.8 million Internet Users 60 of all of those
  Internet users located in Africa (Global Internet
  Liberty Campaign, 4 May 2001 www.gilc.org)
• Africa
• 0.2 of population have Internet access
• Europe
• Expected to reach 230 million by 2004 60 of
  the population (Nua Internet Surveys, 8 May, 2001)

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The Digital Divide

• UK
• 13.5 million Internet users 32 of homes
• 60 of the most well-off homes have Internet
  access
• 10 of the bottom 40 can surf from home
  numbers are growing far more quickly among the
  wealthier sections (Computer Weekly, 20 December,
  2000)
• Implications for business lack of suitably
  qualified and experienced staff

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UK Users

• 94 of 16 - 24-year olds have used the Internet
• 17 of those over 65 have used the Internet
• Barriers
• Physiological effects of ageing, lack of
  confidence or familiarity with new technologies,
  cost, location and a belief by older people that
  e-services are of no relevance to them
• Design of Websites an examination of 65
  websites revealed that none complied with all the
  criteria and only 25 passed test checking
  adherence with worldwide standards

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UK Users (Foley, 2000)

• Occupation
• 1996 dominance of service sector users
• 1999 less of a difference between service
  sector and manufacturing users
• Rurality
• 1996 slight bias in favour of users from urban
  locations
• 1999 trend has reversed to a more normal
  distribution

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UK Users (Foley, 2000)

• Age
• Greatest uptake is where head of household is
  between 36 and 45
• Household type 1997-1999
• Reduction
• High income families
• Country dwellers
• Stylish singles
• Suburban semis

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UK Users (Foley, 2000)

• Household type 1997-1999
• Growth
• Institutional areas
• Mortgaged families
• Town houses flats
• Victorian low status
• Blue collar owners
• Independent elders
• Council flats
• Low rise council

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USA Users

• September 2001 - 54 of the population used the
  Internet
• 90 of children aged 5-17 use computers
• 75 of 14-17 year olds and 65 of 10-13 year olds
  use the Internet
• Households
• Family income still a factor but
• Lowest income increased at 25
• Highest income increased at 11

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USA Users

• Employment Status
• Employed
• 73.2 used computers
• 65.4 were Internet users
• Unemployed
• 40.8 used computers
• 36.9 were Internet users
• Both employed and unemployed saw growth since 1997

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USA Users

• Age
• Internet use rates climb steadily as age
  increases for children to young adults, level off
  at relatively high rates for people aged 26-55
  and then fall among people at higher ages
• Gender
• Approximately equal rates of computer use
• Males more likely than females to be Internet
  users in 1997. Difference disappeared by August,
  2000
• Annual growth rates were similar
• 19 male
• 20 female

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USA Users

• Educational Attainment
• Adults aged gt25
• Education beyond college most likely to use the
  computer and Internet
• Bachelors degrees close behind
• Lowest level those whose highest level of
  education is less than high school
• 1998-2001
• Growth rate greatest for those with only a high
  school diploma 30

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USA Users

• Ethnic origin
• Blacks increase 33
• Hispanics increase 30
• Whites, Asian American and Pacific Islanders
  increase 20
• Rural households
• 24 growth percentage of Internet users in
  rural areas is now 53 - almost the same as the
  national average

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The Unconnected

• In the US non-users include
• People in households with low family incomes
• Adults with low levels of overall education
• Hispanics
• Blacks

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USA Users

• Highest growth rate
• Single mothers with children
• Disabilities
• People with mental or physical disabilities
  (blindness, deafness, or difficulty walking,
  typing or leaving home) are less likely to use
  computers or the Internet

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Latest world news on the Digital Divide

• Africas total international bandwidth has more
  than doubled in the last year
• Mobile has overtaken fixed-lines
• http//www.apc.org/english/rights/africa/news-cont
  ent.shtml?x6639
• Global Cities Dialogue (GCD) approved an action
  plan for the development of eGovernment services
• Has members in 41 countries and more than 100
  cities worldwide
• http//www.globalcitiesdialogue.org

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The Digital Divide

• Does not merely mirror the divide between
  developed and developing countries
• It reshapes the social map because it occurs
  between individuals rather than countries or
  whole societies
• It abolishes space and time constraints but
  creates new technological barriers between
  insiders and outsiders

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• Technologies are not only tools but are also
  vehicles of
• Affordances
• Values
• Interpretations of the surrounding reality
• Any significant technology is ethically charged

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Coping with the Digital Divide (Floridi, 2001)

• The DD disempowers, discriminates and generates
  dependency
• It can engender new forms of colonialism and
  apartheid that must be prevented, opposed and
  ultimately eradicated.
• Information Ethics is the new ecological ethics
  for the information environment

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Sustainable development (Floridi, 2001)

• Sound construction of the infosphere must be
  associated with an equally important, ethical
  concern for the way in which the latter affects
  and interacts with the physical environment
• Positive telework as a solution for traffic and
  fuel pollution
• Negative rising energy consumption,
  ICT-generated waste, computer-related forms of
  illness.

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Bridging the Digital Divide (Floridi, 2001)

• Means developing an informational ecosystem
  management that can implement four basic norms of
  a universal information ethics
• Information entropy (destruction, corruption,
  pollution, depletion or unjustified closure of
  the infosphere)
• ought not to be caused in the infosphere
• ought to be prevented in the infosphere
• ought to be removed from the infosphere
• Information
• ought to be promoted by extending, improving,
  enriching and opening the infosphere by
  ensuring information quantity, quality, variety,
  security, ownership, privacy, pluralism and access

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Bridging the Digital Divide

• G8 Dot.force - 9 Action Points
• Improve connectivity, increase access and lower
  costs
• Enhance human capacity development, knowledge
  creation and sharing
• Establish and support universal participation in
  addressing new international policy and technical
  issues raised by the Internet and ICT
• Establish and support dedicated initiatives for
  the ICT inclusion of Least Developed Countries

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Bridging the Digital Divide

• How can this be done in developing countries?
• Elimination of corruption
• Good governance - Application of the rule of law,
  market liberalisation, fair competition, an
  appropriate regulatory framework, and a well
  functioning financial sector
• Key to establishing availability, accessibility
  and affordability
• Capability education
• Johnston, 2001

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Government initiatives

• Demand stimulation measures
• Relevant local content, applications and services
  to stimulate demand
• Available on the Internet, via call centres,
  electronic kiosks and digital TV
• Identification of real service needs of regional,
  rural and remote communities
• Developing community networks to stimulate demand
  for enhanced services
• Provision of refurbished computers to those on
  low incomes, including pensioners on Minimum
  Income Guarantee

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Government initiatives

• Demand aggregation measures
• To aggregate customer demand sufficient to
  warrant infrastructure investment
• Strategies to sustain demand and service delivery
• Encouraging social entrepreneurs to broker
  new strategic partnerships between the private
  sector and communities
• Bringing access to people in the home, in school
  and at work

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UK Government Strategic Plan (1997)

• Roll out of broader-band networks on a national
  basis
• Appointment of an e-Minister and e-Envoy
• Partnerships with major UK businesses to ensure
  5th Framework European Programme for the
  promotion of an information society
• Strong partnership with OFTEL to ensure a fair,
  competitive market and value for consumers and
  SMEs

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UK Government Strategic Plan (1997)

• Free narrowband Internet connections within the
  public sector (e.g. schools, colleges, hospitals)
• Access through ICT to all groups
• Target figures of 1.5 million SMEs linked to
  digital marketplace and 1 million SMEs trading
  on-line by 2002
• Direct marketing to increase awareness of
  e-commerce
• Make advice more accessible ISI Centre
• E-Commerce Resource Centres to assist new stat ups

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Conclusion

• The Digital Divide exists
• Access is still a major issue but
• Offering the whole world a phone and a computer
  screen will not in itself help to bridge the
  digital divide
• Technology is worthless unless people are
  equipped with the know-how and the willingness to
  use it
• Still a disparity between the richest and poorest
  sectors of society.
• Still a discrimination against older and disabled
  people

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Recent Initiatives

• eEurope 2002 Action Plan
• Designed to bring Europe online as fast as
  possible
• Identifies successes plus remaining obstacles to
  the full development of the information society
  in Europe
• UK Government Report on Digital Divide in
  deprived areas (January, 2003)
• Proposes 21 recommendations to boost access to
  technology by people from minority ethnic
  communities in deprived areas
• EU Commission
• urges Europe to move to broadband
• Invited all member states to commit to a
  comprehensive broadband strategy by the end of
  2003
• New EU agency for cyber security proposed
  February, 2003
• To prevent and respond to network and information
  security problems

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Forthcoming Initiatives

• In December 2003 World Summit and 21st World
  Congress of Philosophy Conference
• Task
• to build a global consensus around a core of
  ethical values and principles for the information
  society
• Fostering the formulation of universally
  recognized principles and common ethical
  standards that will be a major contribution to
  the construction of a better world.
• Goals -
• to extend the ethical concern in the biosphere to
  the infosphere, to sensitize humanity to the new
  ethical needs of intangible, intellectual
  environments, and to indicate how the Digital
  Divide can be bridged
• To collaborate to develop a coherent and robust
  environmental information ethics for the future
  of humanity.