The impact of openness on bridging educational digital divides

Openness has been a feature of higher education for many decades, particularly through the establishment of Open Universities, although there remain debates about what openness means in practice. Digital technologies, some based on open principles, and digital content, aided by open licences, have both recently contributed to an extension of what is deemed possible under the heading of openness. Nevertheless, while in principle there may be greater degrees of openness available in higher education it does not mean in practice that many people can still readily avail themselves of these new opportunities to learn, not just because they do not have access to digital technologies but personal circumstances mean they also lack the necessary skills and the confidence to use such technologies in general or for education in particular. In fact it can be argued that this new openness, characterised mainly through the open educational resources movement, may actually widen rather than bridge the digital and educational divides between groups both within and across national boundaries through the increasing sophistication in both technologies and the competencies expected of learners. This paper reviews some of the evidence supporting these different areas of interest and attempts to provide a synthesis of them. It then argues that actions may be required by many inter-mediaries to help reduce the diverse social and cultural digital divides within education, including through the mediated use of open educational resources between teachers and learners

Bridging the digital divide for hard-to-reach groups

Boeltzig and Pilling identified specific groups of people who typically are not connected to the Internet and examined the circumstances of each - rural, poor, disabled, seniors, and ethnic minorities. They focused on how these groups of people, such as homebound individuals, could benefit most from using online government services. They also identified technical as well as social barriers that limit access. Their recommendations are aimed at both increasing access for these targeted groups and increasing use by individuals in the targeted groups. They also provide valuable recommendations aimed at service or application providers who have a major role in increasing both access and accessibility. The case studies resulted in insights and lessons that are broadly applicable. Based on the case studies, the authors offer recommendations that are practical and serve as useful guides to practitioners and policy makers at all levels of government

Disability in a Technology-Driven Workplace

New Internet and Web-based technology applications have meant significant cost and time efficiencies to many American businesses. However, many employers have not yet fully grasped the impact of these new information and communication technologies on applicants and employees with certain disabilities such as vision impairments, hearing problems or limited dexterity. Although not all applicants and employees who have a disability may experience IT-access problems, to select groups it can pose a needless barrier. The increasing dominance of IT in the workplace presents both a challenge and an opportunity for workers with disabilities and their employers. It will be up to HR professionals to ensure that Web-based HR processes and workplace technologies are accessible to their employees with disabilities.

An Approach for e-inclusion: Bringing illiterates and disabled people into play

In emergent economies, the continued process of digitalizing the ICTs, summed up with some sociocultural particularies and porvety, contributes to cleave the society into two groups: the connected and the increasingly more disconnected or socially excluded. However, efforts to effectively narrow this kind of divide transcends the provision of access to web and other digital networks, mainly if the attention is focused on people with disabilities and lack of literacy. For these social groups, accessibility and intelligibility are the key barriers to e-society. A manner to mitigate then is the objective of an ongoing research project in which we are engaged and that comprises the elaboration and application of a methodology for developing solutions to e-inclusion in Brazil. This paper presents the central aspects of such an appoach, focusing on some activities which go beyond the connectivity provision and may help the most “excludeds” in bridging the divide.En las economías emergentes, el continuo proceso de digitalización de las TICs, en adición a algunas particularidades socioculturales y la pobreza, contribuye a dividir la sociedad en dos grupos: los conectados y los cada vez más desconectados o socialmente excluidos. Sin embargo, esfuerzos para efectivamente estrechar esta división trasciende la provisión de acceso a la web y otras redes digitales, principalmente si la atención está enfocada a personas con discapacidades y analfabetismo. Para estos grupos sociales, la accesibilidad e inteligibilidad son barreras para el ingreso a una sociedad electrónica. Una manera de mitigar este problema es teniendo como objetivo una investigación de avanzada, la cual tenga un compromiso y contacto con la elaboración y aplicación de una metodología para el desarrollo de soluciones y de inclusión electrónica en Brasil. Este trabajo presenta los aspectos centrales de tal aproximación, enfoscándose en algunas actividades que van más allá de la conectividad, provisión y una posibilidad de conectar a los excluidos de éste sistemaIn emergent economies, the continued process of digitalizing the ICTs, summed up with some sociocultural particularies and porvety, contributes to cleave the society into two groups: the connected and the increasingly more disconnected or socially excluded. However, efforts to effectively narrow this kind of divide transcends the provision of access to web and other digital networks, mainly if the attention is focused on people with disabilities and lack of literacy. For these social groups, accessibility and intelligibility are the key barriers to e-society. A manner to mitigate then is the objective of an ongoing research project in which we are engaged and that comprises the elaboration and application of a methodology for developing solutions to e-inclusion in Brazil. This paper presents the central aspects of such an appoach, focusing on some activities which go beyond the connectivity provision and may help the most “excludeds” in bridging the divide

The role of intermediaries in facilitating e-government diffusion in Saudi Arabia

Recent studies of e-government activity have highlighted adoption and diffusion issues as important subjects for rating e-government success. However in developing countries inadequate resources and limited citizens’ capabilities regarding new e-government have resulted in low diffusion and adoption of e-government services. This paper examines the role of intermediaries, which can be played by a third party; in bridging the gap between e-government implementation and social reality, and looks at the roles a third party can add within the e-government services mechanism. This paper uses a case study approach in order to reflect e-government progress within the context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as one developing country. The result of this paper shows that intermediaries play an important role in the diffusion of e-services in relation to improving the availability, accessibility and enhancing privacy and security

Current state of e-services in Saudi Arabia: the case of intermediaries in facilitating government services in Madinah city

The government of Madinah has launched ‘Khdamatec’ electronic Offices (e-Offices) concept under their national electronic Government (e-Government) modernisation agenda to facilitate service delivery to citizens and seamless interaction to communicate their needs. By offering e-Offices around the government departments, Madinah government hopes to increase accessibility of e-Government services and make steps forward to electronic age, encourage Medina' citizens to participate and use e-Services and bridging digital divide. However, the empirical findings illustrate that the adoption and diffusion of the e-Office concept and e-Government in the wider context at a lethargic pace. This paper highlights some of the challenges faced by the Madinah city in implementing the e-Office concept and e-Government

Digital inclusion - the vision, the challenges and the way forward

This paper considers the vision and aspiration of digital inclusion, and then examines the current reality. It looks beyond the rhetoric to provide an analysis of the status quo, a consideration of some facilitators and challenges to progress and some suggestions for moving forward with renewed energy and commitment. The far-reaching benefits of digital inclusion and the crucial role it plays in enabling full participation in our digital society are considered. At the heart of the vision of universal digital inclusion is the deceptively simple goal to ensure that everyone is able to access and experience the wide-ranging benefits and transformational opportunities and impacts it offers. The reality is a long way from the vision: inequality of access still exists despite many national campaigns and initiatives to reduce it. The benefits and beneficiaries of a digital society are not just the individual but all stakeholders in the wider society. Research evidence has shown that the critical success factors for successful digital participation are (i) appropriate design and (ii) readily available and on-going ICT (Information and Communication Technology) support in the community. Challenges and proven solutions are presented. The proposition of community hubs in local venues to provide user-centred ICT support and learning for older and disabled people is presented. While the challenges to achieve digital inclusion are very considerable, the knowledge of how to achieve it and the technologies which enable it already exist. Harnessing of political will is necessary to make digital inclusion a reality rather than a vision. With the cooperation and commitment of all stakeholders actualisation of the vision of a digitally inclusive society, while challenging, can be achieved and will yield opportunities and rewards that eclipse the cost of implementation

A framework for accessible m-government implementation

The great popularity and rapid diffusion of mobile technologies at worldwide level has also been recognised by the public sector, leading to the creation of m-government. A major challenge for m-government is accessibility – the provision of an equal service to all citizens irrespective of their psychical, mental or technical capabilities. This paper sketches the profiles of six citizen groups: Visually Impaired, Hearing Impaired, Motor Impaired, Speech Impaired, Cognitive Impaired and Elderly. M-government examples that target the aforementioned groups are discussed and a framework for accessible m-government implementation with reference to the W3C Mobile Web Best Practices is proposed