Dynamics of the digital divide

The digital divide between Indigenous and other Australians describes the unequal access to information and communications technology (ICT) between these groups. Historically, researchers have focused on acquiring new technology, but we argue that it is important to understand all the dynamics of digital usage, including the loss of access to ICT within a household. For long-lived technology such as internet access, it is particularly important to acknowledge that retention of access to the technology needs to be considered. This paper builds on earlier work by exploring the rates of diffusion of ICT for Indigenous Australians using data from the Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset 2006-2011. This dataset allows a longitudinal analysis of changes in internet usage and apparent flows into and out of internet usage for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian households. This paper identifies and analyses the important observation that retention of internet access is almost as difficult as acquiring internet access for many Indigenous households (especially in remote areas). While earlier work analyses the digital divide in terms of 'diffusion' or adoption of ICT, this paper shows that retention of internet access is equally important in driving the digital divide. This observation could reflect 'antidiffusion' processes: factors that drive the loss of access to ICT over time. The dynamics of the digital divide have important and ongoing implications for the digital divide and addressing broader socioeconomic disadvantages experienced by Indigenous Australians. Antidiffusion is largely a phenomenon observed among Indigenous people. By analysing loss of access to ICT among both Indigenous and other Australians, we identify several factors that are associated with diffusion and antidiffusion of technology (e.g. household resources, employment, education, the age composition of households). The paper concludes with a discussion of an agenda for future research and potential implications for current policy settings

Evaluating a New Pattern Development Process for Interface Design: Application to Mental Health Services

Increased incidence of mental illness in Australia\u27s indigenous youth is a major concern. Despite significant investment in programs to improve the situation, the absence of reliable and valid tools to assess the quality of mental health services is hindering progress. This project creates patterns that can be used to build better evaluation tools. This study develops and tests a new pattern language development process for the design of culturally sensitive user interfaces. Drawing on the pattern approach within the human-computer interface literature, we propose a distinctive set of procedures that aim to: (1) improve the validity of patterns; (2) improve the organisation of pattern languages; and (3) integrate stakeholder values into the interface design process. As a proof of concept, we will test our approach in the mental health services setting using data from a sample of indigenous youth in the Northern Territory of Australia

Stone Chips to Silicon Chips: A Grounded Theory of Information and Communication Technology adoption in Australian Indigenous households rural, urban and remote.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become an everyday part of life. Communication networks within Australia link financial, educational, government and non-government services to Australian households. Both the 2001 and 2006 Australian Census data demonstrate that Indigenous Australians are 69% less likely to access the Internet at home than the rest of the Australian population. This study examines the factors affecting the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies in Australian Indigenous households and provides a plausible explanation as to why this gap exists. This study uses a multiple case study approach and draws on the Glaserian Grounded Theory Methodology to examine Indigenous household ICT adoption in a rural Indigenous community, an urban Indigenous community and a remote Indigenous community, to identify differences and commonalities of ICT adoption and non-adoption in diverse cultural and geographical locations across Australia. The theoretical lens draws on Pierre Bourdieu's theory of habitus to develop a practice perspective of household ICT adoption established through the habitus concepts of structures and agency or society and individual. The research establishes the existence of the Indigenous substantive field and postulates that new practices are formed with the intersection of the Indigenous field and external fields. Through the development of substantive fields this thesis develops a theoretical framework of Indigenous household ICT adoption. The findings suggest that a single model of ICT adoption can be applied to all Indigenous communities across Australia.The results could have considerable practical and policy significance

Dynamics of digital diffusion and disadoption:A longitudinal analysis of indigenous and other Australians

The digital divide between Indigenous and other Australians describes the unequal access to information and communications technology (ICT) between these groups. Historically, researchers have focused on acquiring new technology, but we argue that it is important to understand all the dynamics of digital usage, including the loss of access to ICT within a household. For long-lived technology such as internet access, it is particularly important to consider that retention of access to the technology. This paper conducts a longitudinal analysis of changes in internet usage for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian households using the Australian Census Longitudinal Dataset, 2006–2016. While earlier work analyses the digital divide in terms of ‘diffusion’ or adoption of ICT, this paper shows that the failure to retain internet access is also important in driving the digital divide. The dynamics of the digital divide have important and ongoing implications for addressing broader socioeconomic disadvantages experienced by Indigenous Australians. The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the urgency of policy addressing the digital divide, given the renewed momentum for remote learning and telecommuting

Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC) technical report: education

This report evaluates the education measures in the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC). Education measures in the LSIC were found to be internally valid and perform as expected. The LSIC is a robust dataset that, if used carefully, can improve our understanding of the development of Indigenous children, and help design good public policy. For analysts, we recommend using the data with confidence, while remaining aware that some variables perform better than others and that models using the education measures (especially those specific to the LSIC) tend to have low explanatory power. We also recommend taking advantage of the longitudinal data rather than the cross-sectional data. For reviewers of papers based on LSIC data, we recommend taking into account the unique circumstances of the survey, and that models will be estimated with low precision and with variables that differ from those collected in other datasets. Finally, for policy makers, we recommend making decisions using longitudinal research and considering funding a top-up sample

The Emergence of the Indigenous Field of Practice: Factors affecting Australian Indigenous Household ACT adoption

This paper examines the factors affecting adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Australian Indigenous households in a rural context. Drawing on the sociological notion of structure and agency it is argued that being engaged in external fields influences Indigenous household ICT adoption. In this paper, a conceptual schema is developed by drawing on Bourdieu's theory of habitus to explain the low uptake of ICTs in Indigenous households in Australia. The research illustrates the value of habitus to understand ICT adoption from a rural Australian Indigenous perspective. Case analysis suggests that this research has practical and policy implications

A case study of information and communication technology adoption in Indigenous households in a rural context : a grounded theory perspective

The integration of Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) in Australian society is almost taken for granted. The link between habitus and household use of ICT is poorly understood, and many further theoretical developments need to occur before advances in our knowledge transpire. This paper takes a case study approach using grounded theory techniques and develops a conceptual model by drawing on habitus theory as way of explaining the low uptake of ICTs in Indigenous households in Australia. The paper illustrates the value of habitus as an ontology to understand ICT adoption from an Australian Indigenous perspective