Understanding Digital Inequality

Digital inequality is one of the most critical issues in the knowledge economy. Governments, businesses, and the public have devoted tremendous resources to address such inequality, yet the results are inconclusive. Theoretical understanding, complemented with theory-based empirical assessment of the phenomenon, is essential to inform effective policy-making and intervention. The context of our investigation is a city government project known as the LaGrange Internet TV initiative that allowed all city residents to access the Internet via their cable TVs at no additional cost. We examine the residents’ acceptance behavior through the lens of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), which focuses on attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, as explanatory variables of innovation decisions. The theoretical focus of TPB is expanded to include exposure to innovation. Furthermore, we elaborate potential behavioral differences between privileged and underprivileged adopters. The results of the multigroup analysis reveal different behavioral models between the two groups. Enjoyment and confidence in using information and communication technologies (ICT) and accessibility are more influential in shaping ICT innovation decisions for the underprivileged than the privileged. The privileged group has a higher tendency to respond to exposure to innovation and may adopt ICT faster than the underprivileged. Implications are discussed for policy-making and theoretical development

Understanding digital inequality

2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Invited conference paperVersion of RecordPublishe

Disability and Digital Inequalities: Rethinking Digital Divides with Disability Theory

Disability has had a chequered career, when it comes to discussions, policies, and practices addressing digital divides and digital inequalities. Over time disability has become an acknowledged element in digital inequality approaches, yet still it is often passed over briefly, and not well understood. In this chapter, I argue that we need better theory of disability and digital divides. However, I also contend that this cuts two-ways: that we cannot have an adequate understanding of digital inequality and divides unless we engage with, and draw upon, critical theories of disability. To make this case, the chapter reviews how disability has been regarded in digital divide and associated digital inequality and inclusion literature. With some exceptions, I suggest digital divide research is fissured by a theoretical awareness of contemporary disability research and, especially, theories of disability. To redress this, I look at what an adequate critical theory of disability and technology can tell us. I also propose key elements of an ideal approach to digital inequality that are evident when we do rethink the digital divide via disability theory.Australian Research Counci

Analyzing gender inequality through large-scale Facebook advertising data

Online social media are information resources that can have a transformative power in society. While the Web was envisioned as an equalizing force that allows everyone to access information, the digital divide prevents large amounts of people from being present online. Online social media in particular are prone to gender inequality, an important issue given the link between social media use and employment. Understanding gender inequality in social media is a challenging task due to the necessity of data sources that can provide large-scale measurements across multiple countries. Here we show how the Facebook Gender Divide (FGD), a metric based on aggregated statistics of more than 1.4 Billion users in 217 countries, explains various aspects of worldwide gender inequality. Our analysis shows that the FGD encodes gender equality indices in education, health, and economic opportunity. We find gender differences in network externalities that suggest that using social media has an added value for women. Furthermore, we find that low values of the FGD are associated with increases in economic gender equality. Our results suggest that online social networks, while suffering evident gender imbalance, may lower the barriers that women have to access informational resources and help to narrow the economic gender gap

Understanding digital inequality: a theoretical kaleidoscope

The pandemic affected more than 1.5 billion students and youth, and the most vulnerable learners were hit hardest, making digital inequality in educational settings impossible to overlook. Given this reality, we, all educators, came together to find ways to understand and address some of these inequalities. As a product of this collaboration, we propose a methodological toolkit: a theoretical kaleidoscope to examine and critique the constitutive elements and dimensions of digital inequalities. We argue that such a tool is helpful when a critical attitude to examine ‘the ideology of digitalism’, its concomitant inequalities, and the huge losses it entails for human flourishing seems urgent. In the paper, we describe different theoretical approaches that can be used for the kaleidoscope. We give relevant examples of each theory. We argue that the postdigital does not mean that the digital is over, rather that it has mutated into new power structures that are less evident but no less insidious as they continue to govern socio-technical infrastructures, geopolitics, and markets. In this sense, it is vital to find tools that allow us to shed light on such invisible and pervasive power structures and the consequences in the daily lives of so many

Leverage Points for Addressing Digital Inequalities: Comparing Under-Privileged Adopters and Non-Adopters of High Speed Internet TV

Digital inequality, or the unequal access and use of information communication technologies, inhibits under-privileged people from opportunities in the digital world. Although government and private organizations have devoted considerable resources to address this inequality, issues remain unsolved. A theory-based investigation of the phenomenon is essential for effective policy-making and intervention. The context of the field study is the “Free Internet TV” initiative in LaGrange, Georgia, which provided high-speed Internet to every household via cable at no cost. This research investigates underprivileged residents’ innovation behavior through the lens of Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Exposure to Innovation and Trust in Government are included to elaborate the theoretical focus of TPB. The research compares the models that characterize under-privileged adopters and non-adopters’ innovation decisions. The results advance the theoretical understanding of digital inequality, enrich the knowledge of adoption of innovation, and identify leverage points for policymakers devising interventions to address the inequality

Measuring urban inequalities:Spatial patterns of service access in sixteenth-century Leiden

This contribution develops a broader understanding of well-being in premodern towns and by using digital methods to map social and economic inequalities, thereby drawing on insights from research on socio-spatial equity from urban studies. The key questions are how socio-economic inequality was reflected in the urban social topography and to what extent these spatial patterns reproduced inequality. Taking sixteenth-century Leiden as a case study, the spatial patterns of economic inequality and social segregation in this town are first examined. Next, the level of location-based inequality is explored by mapping and calculating urban spatial patterns of service accessibility

Chapter Measuring urban inequalities. Spatial patterns of service access in sixteenth-century Leiden

This contribution develops a broader understanding of well-being in premodern towns and by using digital methods to map social and economic inequalities, thereby drawing on insights from research on socio-spatial equity from urban studies. The key questions are how socio-economic inequality was reflected in the urban social topography and to what extent these spatial patterns reproduced inequality. Taking sixteenth-century Leiden as a case study, the spatial patterns of economic inequality and social segregation in this town are first examined. Next, the level of location-based inequality is explored by mapping and calculating urban spatial patterns of service accessibility

Qualitative investigation of digital divide in Indonesia : toward a comprehensive framework

The issue of digital divide has attracted many researchers for over a decade, yet the understanding of digital divide is not comprehensive. This research examines three commonly recognised orders of the digital divide, which are: economic divide, the inequality of access to ICT associated with economic conditions; access divide, the disparity of access to ICT; and capability divide, the inequality of ability in using ICT, while conceptualising a fourth divide, innovativeness divide, which is defined as the disparity of individual&rsquo;s willingness to try out any new information technology. The paper presents a tentative model based on extensive literature review which was explored using qualitative method. The findings generate new insights into the relationships among those four orders of digital divide which contribute to the theoretical framework to understand the digital divide more comprehensively and provide evidence on the impact of digital divide on e-government use. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed in this paper.<br /

Qualitative Investigation of Digital Divide: Toward a Comprehensive Framework

The issue of digital divide has attracted many researchers for over a decade, yet the understanding of digital divide is not comprehensive. This research examines three commonly recognised orders of the digital divide, which are: economic divide, the inequality of access to ICT associated with economic conditions; access divide, the disparity of access to ICT; and capability divide, the inequality of ability in using ICT, while conceptualising a fourth divide, innovativeness divide, which is defined as the disparity of individual’s willingness to try out any new information technology. The paper presents a tentative model based on extensive literature review which was explored using qualitative method. The findings generate new insights into the relationships among those four orders of digital divide which contribute to the theoretical framework to understand the digital divide more comprehensively and provide evidence on the impact of digital divide on e-government use. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed in this paper