Digitaalisen kuilun vaikutukset etäopiskeluun koronapandemian aikana

Digitaalinen kuilu on termi, jolla havainnollistetaan digitaalista eriarvoisuutta erilaisten ihmisryhmien välillä ja niiden kesken. Digitaalisen kuilun tutkimus ei rajoitu vain eroihin informaatioteknologian saatavuudessa ja käyttötaidoissa, vaan se pyrkii selittämään myös näistä eroista johtuvaa lopputulosten epätasa-arvoa. Informaatioteknologian hyödyntäminen on opinnoissa ja elämässä nykyään todella tärkeää, varsinkin 2020 alkaneen koronapandemian alettua, kun suuri osa opiskelusta siirtyi etätoteutukseen. Tämän vuoksi digitaalisen kuilun ja sen vaikutusten tutkiminen on tärkeää ja ajankohtaista. On näyttöä, että varsinkin valmiiksi heikommassa asemassa olevat ihmiset kärsivät eniten myös digitaalisesta eriarvoisuudesta. Tässä kirjallisuuskatsauksessa selvitettiin, miten digitaalinen kuilu vaikuttaa korkeakouluopiskelijoiden etäopiskelumahdollisuuksiin globaalisti. Etäopiskelu on tuoreehko ilmiö, joka parhaimmillaan voi tuoda huomattavaa lisäarvoa oppilaitoksille ja opiskelijoille, kun opiskelu on vapaata ajan ja paikan asettamista rajoitteista ja esimerkiksi kirjastomateriaaleja on saatavilla digitaalisesti enemmän. Sujuva etäopiskelun käyttöönotto kuitenkin vaatii tiettyjä materiaalisia ja kognitiivisia valmiuksia sekä oppilaitokselta että opiskelijoilta onnistuakseen. Koronapandemia laittoi todella monet oppilaitokset ja opiskelijat tilanteeseen, jossa ne joutuivat siirtymään etäopetukseen huolimatta siitä, oliko niillä valmiuksia siihen. Varsinkin taloudellisesti heikommassa asemassa olevat opiskelijat kärsivät tästä erityisesti. Huomattiin, että varsinkin kaupunkien ja maaseudun välillä oli valtavia eroja materiaalisissa olosuhteissa, välillä jopa niin että opiskelijat eivät pystyneet suoriutumaan opinnoistaan tai osallistumaan niihin ollenkaan laitteiden ja verkkoyhteyksien huonon saatavuuden takia. Näissä tuloksissa konkretisoitui digitaalisen kuilun materiaalinen ulottuvuus. Siinäkin tapauksessa, että heikommassa asemassa olevat opiskelijat pystyivät osallistumaan etäopetukseen, kohtasivat he huomattavasti enemmän haasteita kuin paremmin toimeentulevat vertaisensa, mikä kertoi digitaalisen kuilun vaikutuksista opiskelijoiden kognitiivisiin valmiuksiin ja kykyyn hyödyntää informaatioteknologiaa. Kirjallisuudesta ei löytynyt nopeita ratkaisuja löydettyihin ongelmiin. Oppilaiden ja oppilaitosten valmiutta siirtyä etäopetukseen voi parantaa panostamalla materiaalisiin valmiuksiin ja järjestämällä koulutusta myös etäopetuksessa käytettävistä työkaluista, mutta tämä on paljon aikaa ja resursseja vaativa prosessi

Can e-Government Systems Bridge the Digital Divide?

Electronic Government systems are often seen as panacea in the remedy of all failings of governance. With a history span of almost two decades, e-government implementations have often reached dead ends and have regularly failed to deliver the promise that the governments that have initiated them have made to their citizens. Despite an abundance of development models and best case scenarios identified in literature, e-government services are continually failing to attract the citizens and to capture their trust and faith. The main reason quoted for such failures is the lack of innovation and inclusivity in the way a service is designed and delivered. The digital divide is the major risk of marginalizing sectors of society or even whole continents due to lack of access to web based services. In the developing world it is mainly the lack of, or poor infrastructure that maintains and often widens the divide, while in the developed world it is lack of skills and difficulty of accessing services that leads citizens to abandon their efforts in using services online. Whatever the reason that leads to non-access of services the effect is similar and those citizens that fall victim to it are increasingly consumed into the trap of the digital divide. Efforts and initiatives to address the divide have primarily focused on building the infrastructure and providing access to the web. However, the quality and accessibility of online services is quite often then reason why citizens distance themselves from web-based services and the internet in total. This paper attempts to explore the shortfall in criteria for evaluating a government’s efforts in planning, implementing and delivering services that address the operational requirements of efficient government, but equally cater for the needs of the citizens as end users of the service

DÉFICIT FUNCIONAL DOS SERVIÇOS DIGITAIS DO ESTADO FRENTE AO ACELERAMENTO DO PROCESSO VIRTUAL PÓS-PANDEMIA

O presente texto trata dos serviços digitais do Estado: As dificuldades de acesso da sociedade e o déficit funcional das plataformas frente às grandes demandas e ao aceleramento do processo virtual pós-pandemia. O objetivo proposto é descrever como a sociedade, mesmo tendo um considerável avanço do processo de evolução tecnológica, impulsionada pela pandemia de COVID-19, ainda enfrenta dificuldade de acesso, seja por problemas técnicos, seja por deficiência no acesso às tecnologias. A pesquisa realizada foi de caráter descritivo; o método, que forneceu as bases lógicas, foi o histórico. A coleta de dados e informações foi realizada por meio de pesquisas bibliográficas e documentais. Conclui-se que as tecnologias são fundamentais e estão em um rumo que não existirá retrocesso, contudo, se faz necessário desenvolver mecanismos para evitar a exclusão daqueles que não tem acesso, conhecimento ou, se tem acesso, esse é deficitário e resulta em um afastamento de rotinas cotidianas

Analyzing Government-Resident Communication Methods in the City of Bangor

The objective of this study is to analyze the communication preferences of Bangor residents, with a particular focus on two of Bangor’s largest demographics, renters and residents aged 60 or older. Based on results from existing literature, it was hypothesized that both renters and elderly residents of Bangor would be less satisfied with the city’s communication efforts than the general population, due to less knowledgeability of municipal information and limited internet access, respectively. 510 residents participated in an online survey that asked residents to describe their preferences regarding city communication methods. In addition to the survey, a series of six focus groups were held in which eleven renters and eleven residents aged 60 or older were interviewed. These focus group participants were asked questions that were meant to supplement the survey data by determining why or why not the original hypotheses were correct. The results suggested that the elderly age group is relatively satisfied with city communications compared with other age groups, and that a lack of computer or smartphone access has virtually no effect on satisfaction. In addition, while renters are generally less knowledgeable in terms of city-related information, they are no less satisfied than homeowners. Furthermore, the survey results as well as the focus group interviews both suggested that many residents are unaware of certain channels of communication used by the city, such as the email alerts or the Go Bangor app. However, Bangor is doing an overall excellent job of relaying important information to residents

The multi-dimensional digital divide: Perspectives from an e-government portal in Nigeria

© 2017 Elsevier Inc.There is a widespread recognition that a digital divide exists between countries and individuals, and that understanding and addressing that divide is pivotal to the empowerment of citizens. Furthermore, although governments have often seen e-government services as one means of eroding the digital divide, prior research into the digital divide in the e-government context is limited. Hence, this research seeks to contribute to understanding of the nature of the digital divide as it affects Nigerian citizens, specifically users of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) web portal. The NIS portal is a rich context in which to study the digital divide: it is the most well-developed e-government service in Nigeria; its use is compulsory for citizens seeking to travel outside of Nigeria; and, its users reside within both Nigeria (a developing country) and in more developed countries, such as the US and the UK. Using an online survey, and snowball sampling, 351 completed questionnaires were collected and analysed using t-tests and Anova. The digital divide was represented in terms of the three dimensions: previous Internet experience, access to computing facilities, and previous e-government experience. Analysis demonstrated a multi-dimensional digital divide with demographic, social-economic, and locational factors affecting e-government users' Internet experience, their access to computing facilities and their e-government experience. Overall, this research offers insights into the complexity of the digital divide

Perceived User Adoption Barriers in e-Government viewed from the practitioner’s lens

Going digital is a common fad shared amongst organisations today, in gaining the efficiencies by replacing tradition brick and mortar services with digital online services. There are a vast amount of different users we must consider when making such decision such as removing brick and mortar services. There are defined forces and adoption barriers faced by users not either willing to change or the inability to transition easily on to digital services. Making a decision to go digital organisations must be better informed about these forces and adoption barriers. The research will aim to provide insights on the key barriers to adoption that are impacting on effective implementation of digital services to support results 9 and 10. The research assesses the perceived barriers to adoption in e-Government from a practitioner’s point of view. Thus, the main question this project seeks to address is “What are the level of awareness and importance placed on barriers to adoption in e-Government services from a practitioner’s point of view?” The research will aim to provide the rich insights from data collected from practitioners to determine the size of the problem within New Zealand

Electronic Democracy

The timely book takes stock of the state of the art and future of electronic democracy, exploring the history and potential of e-democracy in global perspective. Analysing the digital divide, the role of the internet as a tool for political mobilisation, internet Voting and Voting Advice Applications, and other phenomena, this volume critically engages with the hope for more transparency and political participation through e-democracy

Electronic Democracy

The timely book takes stock of the state of the art and future of electronic democracy, exploring the history and potential of e-democracy in global perspective. Analysing the digital divide, the role of the internet as a tool for political mobilisation, internet Voting and Voting Advice Applications, and other phenomena, this volume critically engages with the hope for more transparency and political participation through e-democracy