Dynamics of Digital Inequality in Russia

This article contains research about the phenomenon of digital inequality among different social groups in Russia. The short literature review, conducted in it, concerns the factors, which have an impact on the rise and spread of digital inequality. The types of digital inequality have been analyzed, and each of them has the relative digital divide indicators calculated. It has been revealed, that the digital divide in terms of the Internet and information and communications technology access between the rural and urban population has been decreased, however the divide in terms of digital skills has been increased. There is almost no digital divide in ICT among the middle-aged groups, and it is constantly decreasing. Although the digital divide among the older-aged groups is also growing down, it is still high, and the divide in digital skills remains unchanged. It is noted, that the country’s territory in length objectively increases the IT infrastructure costs, hampers providing for the high-quality internet-connection for the rural people and is the reason for digital divide in terms of Internet-access

The Ever-Shifting Internet Population

Presents findings from surveys conducted between March and May 2002. Takes a new look at Internet access and the digital divide. Explores factors of cost, lack of technology skills, and physical access (particularly for persons with disabilities)

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ SKILLS IN USING THE INTERNET FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES AND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

This article focuses on digital skills competence of students in higher education. It is considered to be one of the most prominent scientific research topics in recent decades since it leads to the digital divide. Based on the theory of Bourdieu, this research describes quantitative data with the aim to investigate the presence of the digital divide in higher education. The findings show that the students’ socioeconomic status influences the level of skills development. The relationship between SES and students’ skills shows the presence of the digital divide in higher education that increases learning inequalities. It concludes that the bridging of the digital divide has to be a priority for policies in order to implement new digital teaching and learning processes at all levels of education. New practices also have to be applied in higher education institutions and support students digitally promoting them to acquire sufficient skills and to make more effective use of the Internet.  Article visualizations

Examining the Digital Divide in Education during COVID-19 from Teachers’ Perspectives

The outbreak of COVID-19 resulted in unprecedented school closures in education, leading online education to become “the new normal.” Concurrently, emergency online instruction further exacerbated what is known as the digital divide, one of the contributing factors to inequality of educational opportunities. The purpose of our research is to examine in what ways the digital divide influences teachers and students during COVID-19. A better understanding of teachers\u27 perceptions of teaching online and the digital divide can offer more information for effective teaching during the pandemic. In this multi-method study, researchers collected data from 36 teachers through Likert scale questions and open-ended survey questions. The findings indicated that first- and second-level digital divides are the main problems affecting online education during the COVID-19 outbreak. Some students might not benefit from online learning due to the digital divide. Lack of access to technology and the internet, first-level digital divide, affected primarily students from lower SES. Further, even though some students had access to technology and the internet, students\u27 and teachers\u27 information and communication technology (ICT) skills, second-level digital divide, impacted how they use technology and profit from online education. Teachers need support to improve their own ICT skills, as well as their students, to reduce the impact of the digital divide in education

Internet freedom for all: public libraries have to get serious about tackling the digital privacy divide

Democratic engagement depends on critique and dialogue. Ian Clark looks at emerging issues related to digital literacy, online privacy and surveillance. Not only is a security divide emerging between those with digital knowledge and skills to protect themselves and those without, but also an intellectual privacy divide. There is scope for public libraries in the UK to teach the skills people need to ensure they can use the internet securely and privately, enabling wider engagement in the democratic process

Importance of Being Digital Ready – What Does that Mean?

Communities often determine if they are digital ready on whether or not high speed internet is available. The conversation then focuses on who has high speed internet and who does not. Hence, the divide. High speed internet is an important factor on whether or not a community can be competitive in a global market. But, it is not the only digital-ready factor necessary to compete in a global economy. One challenge of focusing on the divide is that assumptions are made that individuals do not have skills in rural areas to use technology and, that these rural residents may not need higher speed internet. These assumptions impact policy

Dynamics of Digital Inequality in Russia

This article contains research about the phenomenon of digital inequality among different social groups in Russia. The short literature review, conducted in it, concerns the factors, which have an impact on the rise and spread of digital inequality. The types of digital inequality have been analyzed, and each of them has the relative digital divide indicators calculated. It has been revealed, that the digital divide in terms of the Internet and information and communications technology access between the rural and urban population has been decreased, however the divide in terms of digital skills has been increased. There is almost no digital divide in ICT among the middle-aged groups, and it is constantly decreasing. Although the digital divide among the older-aged groups is also growing down, it is still high, and the divide in digital skills remains unchanged. It is noted, that the country’s territory in length objectively increases the IT infrastructure costs, hampers providing for the high-quality internet-connection for the rural people and is the reason for digital divide in terms of Internet-access

Towards bridging the digital divide in post-apartheid South Africa: a case of a historically disadvantaged university in Cape Town

South Africa’s historically disadvantaged university libraries are, like others, challenged to meet patrons’ demands through the provision of relevant infrastructure, services and information-related skills to enable users to function in the digital information age. Their historic disadvantage is compounded by two levels of the digital divide: their situation within a developing nation (the ‘global divide’), and contending with a relative paucity in skills and resources within this context (the ‘local divide’, as a legacy of apartheid). This paper reports on a master’s study undertaken to explore whether the electronic services initiated in post-apartheid South Africa by University of the Western Cape (UWC) Library are perceived by primary stakeholders (users and library staff) as effective in bridging the digital divide. The study employed a phenomenological qualitative design, supported by critical theory. Purposive sampling was used to select two sets of samples for data collection: postgraduate students and UWC librarians. Data was collected from forty students through an online questionnaire, and interviews were held with six UWC librarians. Findings suggest that the UWC Library has emerged as a competent agent of democracy: most of the users perceive the e-services being offered as useful and meeting their needs, and the library currently provides ICT infrastructure, internet access and information-related skills programmes to support the university community. However, challenges encountered include slow internet connection, security concerns, shortcomings in information literacy, problems of access and accessibility (including language), and reluctance to engage with unfamiliar technology. While the institution does make an effort to bridge the digital divide, recommended further research, such as evaluating the impact of slow internet speed on research and learning or enhanced interventions in information literacy, could further support more equitable access to information

Bridging the Digital Divide in Local Government: The Study of Internet Access and Digital Literacy in Nigeria Rural Area

Internet access and digital literacy is still lagging in the rural communities of Garun-Malam local government and there are needs to investigate the reasons behind this unfortunate situation in order to overcome this digital handicap. Of course, good access to information technology (IT) is the fundamental element of any rural development activities. Therefore, this study focuses in depth the Internet access and digital literacy (in terms of Internet technology applications skills) in the rural areas of Garun-Malam local government in Kano State, Nigeria. The purpose of the study is to investigate accessibility level of the Internet (the technological infrastructures being used), and the level of Internet technology applications skills among the rural communities. Therefore, the study employs quantitative data analysis method, 150 questionnaires were distributed, collected and analyzed for the selected rural areas. From the results, it shows that many respondents have access to Internet, despite the fact that there are poor IT infrastructures used in all the rural communities. The study also reveals that majority of the respondents does not have basic skills of Internet technology applications. Furthermore, this study will usher a new era for its internal values and the results can be used by both State and local government. However, the outcome from this study may empower policy makers to makes decision/ suggestions in bridging the digital divide that exist in the rural area of Garun-Malam local government. Bridging the digital divide is such a need that requires immediate attention for any concerned government

Fine-grained Patterns of the Digital Divide: Differences of Broadband Access within Finland

Access to the Internet plays a central role in the development of an information society. However, because of the required telecommunications infrastructure is very expensive to build, and telecommunications services are also relatively expensive, there is no sufficient demand for a market-based provision of relevant telecommunication infrastructures in many areas. As a result, some citizens and organisations are left without an (up-to-date) access to the Internet. This gap between social groups with and without access to the Internet, which is also often linked with a lack of motivation to use it, is referred to as Digital Divide. Several governments have implemented programmes aimed at diminishing this Divide, by means of providing access to the Internet in regions where the market does not provide it, and by enhancing the citizens? ?information society? skills and motivation. There are a variety of technologies available for connecting to the Internet. The traditional narrowband means include modem and ISDN. For faster connections in terms of data transfer rate, various broadband technologies have been introduced. Actually, these broadband connections, which usually offer a fixed pricing scheme, are often seen as the embodiment of an information society. Lately, also mobile connections have become a feasible in creating an access to the Internet, as their speed has increased to the level of the traditional modem connection, and their data transfer prices have been reduced. The aim of this paper is to explore spatial patterns and differences in internet access in Finland. Availability of all possible technologies (traditional, broadband and mobile) are investigated in detail. The findings are compared with demographic characteristics of the relevant regions. Not surprisingly, the tentative results support the view that regions with higher population densities have a better access to the Internet. With regard to the debate on the Digital Divide, it is especially interesting to observe that variations in access to the Internet do not follow administrative borders, but are much more fine-grained. Clearly, this has implications for effective and righteous information society policies, and for an evaluation of the effectiveness of such policies. The paper in an outgrowth of the project ?Telecommunications Services and Networks and Territorial Cohesion? funded from the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON) programme (see www.espon.lu). Key words: internet access, digital divide, telecommunications infrastructure, spatial differences, ESPON