This paper discusses the concerns on the digital divide and illustrates, through case studies, how the recent developments in the Information and Communication Technology can be gainfully employed in social development and in bridging the digital divide. It also addresses the phenomenon of E-Commerce and identifies the efforts made by different industry groups, international organizations and m...

policy leaders and social scientists have grown increasingly concerned about a societal split between those with and those without access to computers and the Internet. The U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration popularized a term for this situation in the mid-1990s: the “digital divide.” The phrase soon became used in an international context as well, to describe the s...

It is widely acknowledged that the label “digital divide” can be partially misleading, because it emphasizes a binary dichotomy (“haves vs. have nots”) and a mere technological dimension (in terms of physical availability of devices or conduits). Behind the dichotomous model, however, lie different use and adoption strategies. People cannot be described as being either in or out. Evaluating the...

Community technology centers and libraries have been crucial components of public policy initiatives to reduce the digital divide. Using theories of structuration and the social construction of technology, this paper examines the gender dynamics of the digital divide at public access points in Austin, TX over 10 years. Using extensive participant observations, we foundmale users outnumber femal...

Tom Misa indicates in a proposition in his chapter. This implies a further proposition about technology and modernity being interconnected. It is this idea of interconnectedness that led us to deplore the “great divide” between detailed technology studies, with their claim of situated developments and contingency, and abstract or theoretical discussions of modernity. We exaggerated a bit in ord...

Zusammenfassung Schweizer Nutzer*innen suchen dreimal häufiger nach Cyberrisiken als die User in den USA. Wir lebten aufgrund der Pandemie plötzlich einer weitgehend digitalen Schweiz und 8,01 Mio. aktive Menschen nutzten gemäss ITU zahllosen Chancen des Internets. Ein Leben ohne Internet ist kaum mehr vorstellbar. Doch welches sind wichtigsten Risiken, welche Bevölkerung tatsächlich beschäftig...

The term ‘digital divide’ refers to the gap between individuals, households, businesses and geographic areas with regard to both their opportunities to access Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and to their use of Internet. Composite indicators are regularly used for measuring the divide and in benchmarking the country’s performance. But often it creates controversies regarding th...

Abstract Although the map of technology ethics is expanding, growing subdomains within it may raise misgivings. In a recent and very interesting article, Sætra Danaher have argued that current dynamic sub-specialization harmful to technology. this commentary, we offer three reasons diminish their concern about ethical proliferation. We argue first problem demarcation weakened if attend other su...

This paper looks at the role that an online academic conference might play in bridging the digital divide. It is argued in this paper that the digital divide is more than comparing haves with havenots. Instead, when looking at mechanisms to bridge the divide it is more sensible to consider the social context of the users. The paper reports on the relative success of the CybErg conference series...