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The
"Digital Divide" and Community Technology
A recurrent issue
surrounding the development of the Internet is whether this
technology is creating a new class of "have-nots," those
without access to the Internet or to the money required to
acquire access. Internet access is not cheap -- it requires
a computer, a modem, and an Internet account. There are also disparities
in access to broadband technologies. The "digital divide" exists within
nations and of course between nations and regions of the world.
What is the scope
of this problem? What should we do about it? Should we do
anything, or will it take care of itself over
time?
We will also look
at the concept of "community technology," which is often the approach
used to bridge the "digital divide." This covers community networks,
community technology centers, and new tools meant to encourage participation
and expression.
Readings
The
United States government agency, the National Telecommunications
and Information Administration (NTIA), published a series
of reports on the "digital divide" in the U.S., beginning
in 1995. The following three reports are part of this series;
the first two are from the Clinton administration and the
last is from the Bush administration. Review these reports
briefly, skimming them for background information about the
historical character of the concept of the "digital divide"
in the United States, keeping in mind that the data presented
in these reports is now considerably out of date. Also note
the change in emphasis and philosophy from the Clinton-era
to the Bush-era reports.
Falling
Through the Net: A Survey of the "Have Nots" in Rural
and Urban America, U.S. Department of Commerce, July
1995. At: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fallingthru.html.
Falling
Through the Net 1999, at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/fttn99/contents.html.
A
Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of
the Internet, February 2002, National Telecommunications
and Information Administration, at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/dn/index.html.
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See the World Internet User Statistics page at http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm.
See the Digital Access Indicator Statistics page
at http://www.internetworldstats.com/list3.htm.
"Behind
the 'digital divide,'" The Economist, March 10, 2005, at http://www.economist.com/science/tq/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3714058
"The
real 'digital divide,'" in The
Economist, March 10, 2005,
at http://www.economist.com/printedition/displaystory.cfm?Story_ID=3742817.
Browse the links and resources on the Digital Divide Network, at
http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/.
"Reconceptualizing the Digital Divide," by Mark Warschauer, First
Monday, at http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue7_7/warschauer/index.html.
"Effective use: A community informatics strategy beyond the Digital
Divide," by Michael Gurstein, in First Monday, December 2003, at http://www.firstmonday.org/issues/issue8_12/gurstein/.
"Bridging
the Organizational Divide: Toward a Comprehensive Approach to the
Digital Divide," a PolicyLink document, Fall 2001, at http://www.policylink.org/pdfs/Bridging_the_Org_Divide.pdf. (Requires
Adobe Acrobat Reader or other PDF-file reading application. Also
on course E-Res.)
Review
documents and links of the Community Technology Centers
Network, at http://www.ctcnet.org/.
Look
at the site for Plugged In, in East Palo Alto, California, at: http://www.pluggedin.org/.
Look
at the site for Austin Free-Net, at:
http://www.austinfree.net/.
Look
at the site for the Austin Learning Academy, at:
http://www.alaweb.org/
Further
Optional Reading:
Democracy
in the Digital Age: Challenges to Political Life in
Cyberspace, Anthony Wilhelm, Routledge,
1999.
High
Technology and Low-Income Communities, William J.
Mitchell, Donald A. Schön and Bish Sanyal (eds.),
The MIT Press, 1999.
The
Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture,
Manuel Castells, Blackwell, 1999.
Technology
and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the Digital Divide,
Mark Warschauer, MIT Press, 2004.
Bridging
the Digital Divide: Technology, Community, and Public Policy,
Lisa J. Servon, Blackwell, 2002.
Digital
Nation: Toward an Inclusive Information Society, Anthony Wilhelm,
MIT Press, 2005.
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