Author: Mark Warschauer Publisher: MIT Press ISBN: 0262303698 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 221
Book Description
Much of the discussion about new technologies and social equality has focused on the oversimplified notion of a "digital divide." Technology and Social Inclusion moves beyond the limited view of haves and have-nots to analyze the different forms of access to information and communication technologies. Drawing on theory from political science, economics, sociology, psychology, communications, education, and linguistics, the book examines the ways in which differing access to technology contributes to social and economic stratification or inclusion. The book takes a global perspective, presenting case studies from developed and developing countries, including Brazil, China, Egypt, India, and the United States. A central premise is that, in today's society, the ability to access, adapt, and create knowledge using information and communication technologies is critical to social inclusion. This focus on social inclusion shifts the discussion of the "digital divide" from gaps to be overcome by providing equipment to social development challenges to be addressed through the effective integration of technology into communities, institutions, and societies. What is most important is not so much the physical availability of computers and the Internet but rather people's ability to make use of those technologies to engage in meaningful social practices.
Author: Kim M. Thompson Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 0810892723 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 202
Book Description
Digital Literacy and Digital Inclusion: Information Policy and the Public Library examines the interrelationships between digital literacy, digital inclusion, and public policy, emphasizing the impacts of these policy decisions on the ability of individuals and communities to successfully participate in the information society. This book is the first detailed consideration of digital literacy and digital inclusion as policy problems and as core issues in information policy and libraries. The unique features of this book include drawing together the key themes and findings from the discourse on digital literacy and digital inclusion widely spread among many fields; analyzing digital literacy and digital inclusion as policy issues, both being driven and regulated by policy; building on a wealth of original research conducted by the authors using different quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches on four different continents when analyzing these issues, providing unique examples, case studies, and perspectives; using information behavior theory to provide important insights about these issues at individual, community, and political levels; providing recommendations to inform practice in libraries and help libraries to frame their advocacy for public policies that support literacy and inclusion; and providing policy recommendations to improve the creation and implementation of policy instruments that promote digital literacy and digital inclusion. The authors of this book have been involved in this research for many years, and their experience provides a broad view across the literature, inherent problems, and national perspectives. This breadth allows this book to offer comprehensive policy recommendations, solutions, and best practices for an area that is fragmented in discourse, practice, and policy.
Author: Massimo Ragnedda Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 1498562132 Category : Language Arts & Disciplines Languages : en Pages : 245
Book Description
The volume examines the risks and opportunities of a digital society characterized by the increasing importance of knowledge and by the incessant rise and pervasiveness of information and communication technologies (ICTs). At a global level, the pivotal role of ICTs has made it necessary to rethink ways to avoid forms of digital exclusion or digital discrimination. This edited collection comprises of chapters written by respected scholars from a variety of countries, and brings together new scholarship addressing what the process of digital inclusion means for individuals and places in the countries analyzed. Each country has its own strategy to guarantee that people can access and enjoy the benefits of the information society. While this book does not presume to map all the countries in the world, it does shed light into these strategies, underlining what each country is doing in order to reduce digital inequalities and to guarantee that socially disadvantaged people (in terms of disabilities, availability of resources, age, geographic location, lack of education, or ethnicity) are digitally included.
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Welsh Affairs Committee Publisher: The Stationery Office ISBN: 9780215540768 Category : Digital media Languages : en Pages : 360
Book Description
The Wales Office and the Welsh Assembly Government must ensure UK digital inclusion initiatives meet Welsh needs and build on existing good work to deliver on Welsh digital ambitions, says the Welsh Affairs Committee in a report published today. This report "Digital Inclusion in Wales", examines the use of digital technologies in Wales, highlights the urgent need for the eradication of broadband ’notspots' - areas with limited or no access to high speed internet connections - and says this issue must continue to receive priority attention. There should be more support to help a wider range of people use technology effectively. Employers told the Committee they need staff with better IT skills and more training opportunities. The Committee recommends the Welsh Assembly Government explicitly includes this issue in its digital inclusion strategy. The digital inclusion agenda is a complex mix of reserved and devolved matters. This brings a risk that key issues can be overlooked, for example no account has been taken of Welsh language speakers' needs in the Government's Digital Inclusion Action Plan. The Secretary of State for Wales must ensure that bodies in Wales across all sectors are fully engaged with initiatives and that the next stage of Digital Britain adequately reflects Welsh needs. Higher education institutions also have a vital role to play and should be involved in any new research opportunities. The Welsh Assembly already has successful digital inclusion projects in Wales and it should find a way to become fully involved with the UK digital inclusion and Digital Britain work so it does not miss out on policy developments and funding opportunities. The Committee also recommends the creation of a one-stop shop providing advice on the risks for young people using technology, and commends the Assembly's work tackling internet related crimes which it says should be promoted as part of the economic development strategy in Wales.
Author: Michael Crandall Publisher: Information Today, Inc. ISBN: 157387373X Category : Computers Languages : en Pages : 200
Book Description
In this important book, Michael Crandall and Karen E. Fisher and a dozen contributors have made Digital Inclusion their rallying cry. They provide a framework for thinking about the effects of community technology on digital inclusion and present concrete examples of the impact successful community technology providers have had on individual users, communities, and society as a whole.
Author: Regine M. Gilbert Publisher: Apress ISBN: 1484250168 Category : Computers Languages : en Pages : 292
Book Description
What is inclusive design? It is simple. It means that your product has been created with the intention of being accessible to as many different users as possible. For a long time, the concept of accessibility has been limited in terms of only defining physical spaces. However, change is afoot: personal technology now plays a part in the everyday lives of most of us, and thus it is a responsibility for designers of apps, web pages, and more public-facing tech products to make them accessible to all. Our digital era brings progressive ideas and paradigm shifts – but they are only truly progressive if everybody can participate. In Inclusive Design for a Digital World, multiple crucial aspects of technological accessibility are confronted, followed by step-by-step solutions from User Experience Design professor and author Regine Gilbert. Think about every potential user who could be using your product. Could they be visually impaired? Have limited motor skills? Be deaf or hard of hearing? This book addresses a plethora of web accessibility issues that people with disabilities face. Your app might be blocking out an entire sector of the population without you ever intending or realizing it. For example, is your instructional text full of animated words and Emoji icons? This makes it difficult for a user with vision impairment to use an assistive reading device, such as a speech synthesizer, along with your app correctly. In Inclusive Design for a Digital World, Gilbert covers the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 requirements, emerging technologies such as VR and AR, best practices for web development, and more. As a creator in the modern digital era, your aim should be to make products that are inclusive of all people. Technology has, overall, increased connection and information equality around the world. To continue its impact, access and usability of such technology must be made a priority, and there is no better place to get started than Inclusive Design for a Digital World. What You’ll LearnThe moral, ethical, and high level legal reasons for accessible design Tools and best practices for user research and web developers The different types of designs for disabilities on various platforms Familiarize yourself with web compliance guidelines Test products and usability best practicesUnderstand past innovations and future opportunities for continued improvementWho This Book Is For Practitioners of product design, product development, content, and design can benefit from this book.
Author: Kim Andreasson Publisher: CRC Press ISBN: 1482216604 Category : Political Science Languages : en Pages : 328
Book Description
The rapid development of the information society has accentuated the importance of digital divides, which refer to economic and social inequalities among populations due to differences in access to, use of, or knowledge of information and communication technologies (ICT). This book discusses the current state of digital divides, ranging from global
Author: Jonathan Donner Publisher: MIT Press ISBN: 0262029928 Category : Technology & Engineering Languages : en Pages : 307
Book Description
An expert considers the effects of a more mobile Internet on socioeconomic development and digital inclusion, examining both potentialities and constraints. Almost anyone with a $40 mobile phone and a nearby cell tower can get online with an ease unimaginable just twenty years ago. An optimistic narrative has proclaimed the mobile phone as the device that will finally close the digital divide. Yet access and effective use are not the same thing, and the digital world does not run on mobile handsets alone. In After Access, Jonathan Donner examines the implications of the shift to a more mobile, more available Internet for the global South, particularly as it relates to efforts to promote socioeconomic development and broad-based inclusion in the global information society. Drawing on his own research in South Africa and India, as well as the burgeoning literature from the ICT4D (Internet and Communication Technologies for Development) and mobile communication communities, Donner introduces the “After Access Lens,” a conceptual framework for understanding effective use of the Internet by those whose “digital repertoires” contain exclusively mobile devices. Donner argues that both the potentialities and constraints of the shift to a more mobile Internet are important considerations for scholars and practitioners interested in Internet use in the global South.
Author: Jyoti Choudrie Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1317387791 Category : Business & Economics Languages : en Pages : 326
Book Description
Social Inclusion and Usability of Innovative ICT-enabled Services is a cutting-edge research book written for researchers, students, academics, technology experts, activists and policy makers. The book explores a wide range of issues concerning innovative ICT-enabled digital services, their usability and their consequent role in social inclusion, It includes the impacts of the use of ICT-enabled digital services on individuals, organisations, governments and society, and offers a theoretically informed and empirically rich account of the socio-technical, management and policy aspects of social inclusion and innovative ICT-enabled digital services. This publication offers insights from the perspectives of Information Systems, Media and Communications, Management and Social Policy, drawing on research from these disciplines to inform readers on diverse aspects of social inclusion and usability of innovative ICT-enabled digital services. The originality of this book lies in the combination of socio-technical, management and policy perspectives offered by the contributors, and integrated by the editors, as well as in the interdisciplinary and both theoretically framed and empirically rich features of the various chapters of the book. While providing a timely account of existing evidence and debates in the field of social inclusion and technology usability, this book will also offer some original insights into what practitioners, experts and researchers are to expect in the near future to be the emerging issues and agendas concerning the role of technology usability in social inclusion and the emerging forms and attributes of the latter. Through a collection of high quality, peer reviewed papers; Social Inclusion and Usability of Innovative ICT-enabled Services will enhance knowledge of social inclusion and usability of innovative ICT-enabled digital services and applications at a diverse level.
Author: Mark Warschauer
Author: Kim M. Thompson
Author: Simeon Yates
Author: Massimo Ragnedda
Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Welsh Affairs Committee
Author: Michael Crandall
Author: Regine M. Gilbert
Author: Kim Andreasson
Author: Jonathan Donner
Author: Jyoti Choudrie