Europe’s Information Society project and Digital Inclusion: universal service obligations or social solidarity?

The importance of digital inclusion to Europe is obvious: as we move towards an ever more internet-communicating society the lack of access to basic digital infrastructures for a significant segment of the population is both problematic for those individuals without access and also problematic for those providing services which should be efficient and fully utilised. The EU’s ‘Information Society’ project has been the central plank of the European attempt to build a European digital marketplace, a concept which necessitates digital inclusion of the population at large. It is a project which prefers universal service obligations to achieve inclusion. If that is to be the preferred solution I suggest that we must consider exclusion from the banking system, given that the Information Society is at root an economic community.

However, universal service obligations are not the only method whereby digital inclusion can be encouraged and I posit we may need to reconsider the role of the state as supplier of services through the concept of ‘social solidarity’.

Digital proficiency and digital inclusion: Comparison between students of computer science, public relations and engineering

New information and communication technologies may be useful for providing more in-depth knowledge to students in many ways, whether through online multimedia educational material, or through online debates with colleagues, teachers and other area professionals in a synchronous or asynchronous manner. This paper focuses on participation in online discussion in e-learning courses for promoting learning. Although an important theoretical aspect, an analysis of literature reveals there are few studies evaluating the personal and social aspects of online course users in a quantitative manner. This paper aims to introduce a method for diagnosing inclusion and digital proficiency and other personal aspects of the student through a case study comparing Information System, Public Relations and Engineering students at a public university in Brazil. Statistical analysis and analysis of variances (ANOVA) were used as the methodology for data analysis in order to understand existing relations between the components of the proposed method. The survey methodology was also used, in its online format, as a research instrument. The method is based on using online questionnaires that diagnose digital proficiency and time management, level of extroversion and social skills of the students. According to the sample studied, there is no strong correlation between digital proficiency and individual characteristics tied to the use of time, level of extroversion and social skills of students. The differences in course grades for some components are partly due to subject 'Introduction to Economics' being offered to freshmen in Public Relations, whereas subject 'Economics in Engineering' is offered in the final semesters of Engineering and Information Systems courses. Therefore, the difference could be more tied to the respondent's age than to the course. Information Systems students were observed to be older, with access to computers and Internet at the workplace, compared to the other students who access the Internet more often from home. This paper presents a pilot study aimed at conducting a diagnosis that permits proposing actions for information and communication technology to contribute towards student education. Three levels of digital inclusion are described as a scale to measure whether information technology increases personal performance and professional knowledge and skills. This study may be useful for other readers interested in themes related to education in engineering. © 2013 IEEE.

Digital inclusion in education in Tarija, Plurinational State of Bolivia

This study analyses digital inclusion in secondary education in the Tarija School District in the Plurinational State of Bolivia for the 2012-2013 school year, using the indicators in the Plan of Action for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (Plan of Action elac). This is an exploratory and descriptive analysis based on a sample of 311 students, 108 teachers and 15 school principals. According to the findings, teenagers use the Internet to look for information and entertainment; the expansion of mobile technology among them offers numerous educational opportunities; and insufficient training for teachers on how to integrate information and communications technologies (icts) into the learning process is a top challenge. The existence of icts in schools has been confirmed, but not their use. Local and national efforts are helping to reduce the digital divide and promote equality of opportunity for young people.

Inclusão digital: estratégia de co-participação de idosos no lazer virtual = Digital inclusion: strategies for elderly co-participation in virtual leisure

Pós-graduação em Ciências da Motricidade - IBRC

The promotion of digital inclusion through MOOC design and use: a literature review

The use of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is being increasingly equated as a viable option by several educational shareholders in the scope of many scientific areas; nevertheless, research as to its potentialities in terms of digital (and consequently social) inclusion is still sparse and somehow atomised. Thus, this paper aims at putting forward the results of a thorough literature review focussed on the studies that bring together the concepts of MOOC and digital inclusion, published between January 2014 and January 2015. Thus, the main goal was to find out if there is evidence that MOOCS can be an important means for embracing digital inclusion, in particular, by promoting the development of soft skills (e.g., digital skills, communication skills, interaction skills). First and because the concept is becoming more and more polysemic (due to its manifold uses, theoretical frameworks, and application contexts), the MOOC’s main facets are depicted, considering its derivatives (e.g., cMOOC and xMOOC). Moreover, some critical aspects that stand out from the content analysis of the results of the literature review are also highlighted, namely as to: accessibility, employability and lifelong learning promoted through MOOC use. In general, results suggest that there is still a long way to go for MOOCs to fully address the digital inclusion challenge.

Using digital storytelling as a change agent for women’s participation in the Turkish public sphere

This thesis builds on the scholarship and practical know-how that have emerged from digital storytelling projects around the world with diverse groups of participants in a range of institutions. I have used the results of these projects to explore the opportunities Digital Storytelling workshop practice may hold for women’s participation in the public sphere in Turkey. Through theoretical discussion and practical experimentation, I examine the potential of Digital Storytelling workshop practice as a means to promote agency and self-expression in a feminist activist organisation, focusing in particular on whether Digital Storytelling can be used as a change agent – as a tool for challenging the idea of public sphere in ways that make it more inclusive of women’s participation. The thesis engages with feminist scholarship’s critiques of the public/private dichotomy, as well as the concept of gender, to seek connections with narrative identity in the light of the analysis of the Digital Storytelling workshops and the digital stories that were created in a feminist context. The study on which this thesis is based saw the introduction of Digital Storytelling to Turkey for the first time through workshops in Istanbul and Antakya, conducted in partnership with the feminist activist organisation Amargi Women’s Academy. Applying the principles of feminist post-structuralist discourse analysis as used by Judith Baxter (2003), I examine two sets of data collected in this project. First, I analyse the interactions during the Digital Storytelling workshops, where women from Amargi created their digital stories in a collaborative setting. This is done through participatory observation notes and in-depth interviews with the workshop participants and facilitators. Second, I seek to uncover the strategies that these women used to ‘speak back to power’ in their digital stories, reading these as texts. I conclude that women from the Amargi network used the workshops to create digital content in order to communicate their concerns about issues that can be classified as gender-specific matters. During this process, they also cooperated, established new connections, and at the end of the process even defined new ways of using, circulating and repurposing their digital stories for feminist activism in Turkey. My research thereby contributes equally to feminist discourse analysis, the study of new-media usage and uptake among non-professionals, and the study of media–public sphere interactions in a particular national setting: Turkey. My conclusion indicates that the process of production is as important as the product itself, and from that I am able to draw out some strategies for developing digitally equipped women’s activism in Turkey.

Enhancing women’s participation in Turkey through digital storytelling

This paper explores the process of introducing Digital Storytelling (DST) workshop practice to Turkey through a project called “Digital Stories from Amargi Women”, which was part of my Ph.D. research in the Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Australia. In the resulting dissertation, I examined the potential of Digital Storytelling workshop practice as a means to promote agency and self-expression in a feminist activist organization (such as Amargi Women), focusing in particular on whether or not Digital Storytelling can be used as a change agent – as a tool for challenging the idea of a single public sphere in ways that make it more inclusive of women’s participation. In order to explore the issue in depth, my thesis engaged with feminist scholarship’s critiques of the public/private dichotomy, as well as the concept of gender. The conducted workshops, the resulting digital stories, and in-depth interviews were analyzed to seek connections between these topics and narrative identity. The results indicated that the participating women defined new activist usages for digital stories, as well as their overall activated networking habits in the DST workshop settings. Digital Stories from Amargi Women became the first Digital Storytelling project that aimed to enable women’s participation in Turkey through facilitating a co-creative environment where the participants could share their stories and learn digital skills that they could make use of after the workshops.

Social Living Labs for Digital Participation: Designing with Regional and Rural Communities [workshop proceedings]

“Fostering digital participation through Living Labs in regional and rural Australian communities,” is a three year research project funded by the Australian Research Council. The project aims to identify the specific digital needs and practices of regional and rural residents in the context of the implementation of high speed internet. It seeks to identify new ways for enabling residents to develop their digital confidence and skills both at home and in the community. This two-day symposium will bring together researchers and practitioners from diverse backgrounds to discuss design practices in social living labs that aim to foster digital inclusion and participation. Day one will consist of practitioner and research reports, while day two will provide an opportunity for participants to imagine and design future digital participation strategies. Academic participants will also have an opportunity to contribute to a refereed edited volume by Chandos Publishing (an imprint of Elsevier).

Experiência de leitura: entre o digital e o tradicional

Perceber a leitura como prática social, histórica e cultural a partir da evolução e das variações textuais construídas e exercidas junto à sociedade é o primeiro caminho para discutir os reflexos dos processos da leitura.Revisando a história da leitura, em autores como Fischer, Chartier e Manguel, busca-se uma imersão na construção da leitura ao longo de alguns séculos. Ao comparar os usos e as apropriações da leitura ao longo da história da escrita percebe-se que o indivíduo é fator determinante nas práticas da utilização da tecnologia. Tendo como objeto de estudo dois grupos de alunos de pós-graduação do Centro Universitário Geraldo Di Biase, onde pela primeira vez foi inserida a tecnologia digital como ferramenta didática, observa-se, com esse trabalho, uma nova experimentação da leitura. Dessa forma, o tablet como suporte de leitura é ferramenta pontual na observação in loco, de forma que a própria sala de aula é local de observação. Para as práticas metodológicas buscou-se na pesquisa empírica de observação não participante e participante meios de perceber o cotidiano dos alunos e professores inseridos em tal prática. Formado por diversas ações culturais e oriundo de uma educação tradicional, encontra-se um indivíduo proveniente da exclusão digital, que está sendo inserido constantemente num processo de inclusão digital, de forma frágil, mas reforçado pelas práticas do consumo e de marketing.Leitores cercados por leituras efêmeras e fragmentadas estão imersos numa era em que a concepção de quantidade é sobreposta à qualidade levando a um questionamento quanto às diversas leituras ou a procedência dos textos. De forma que até mesmo as relações sociais são estimuladas pela multisensorialidade midiática, encontra-se a tela como espaço de escrita e de leitura, mas essa não garante uma efetiva imersão tecnológica, mas um processo cognitivo que tenta inserir no cotidiano dos indivíduos o letramento digital.

Rural realities: digital communication challenges for rural Australian local governments

Purpose – This article explores challenges for rural Australian local governments during the transition to high-speed broadband infrastructure. Despite the National Broadband Network’s promised ubiquitous connectivity, significant access discrepancies remain between rural and urban areas.Methodology – Empirical findings are drawn from a full-day workshop on digital connectivity, which included participants from seven rural local governments in New South Wales, Australia. Thematic analysis of the workshop transcript was undertaken in order to extrapolate recurring nuances of rural digital exclusion. Findings – Rural communities face inequitable prospects for digital inclusion, and authorities confront dual issues of accommodating connected and unconnected citizens. Many areas have no or poor broadband access, and different digital engagement expectations are held by citizens and local governments. Citizens seek interactive opportunities, but rural authorities often lack the necessary resources to offer advanced participatory practices. Research limitations/implications – While this research draws from a small sample of government officials, their insights are nonetheless heuristically valuable in identifying connectivity issues faced in rural Australia. These issues can guide further research into other regions as well as civic experiences of digital inclusion. Practical/social implications – There is a need to reconceive Australia’s current policy approach to broadband. Greater rural digital inclusion may be achieved by focusing on connectivity as a public interest goal, targeting infrastructure developments to suit local contexts, and implementing participatory digital government practices. Originality/value – The actions suggested would help ensure equity of digital inclusion across Australian municipal areas. Without such changes, there is a risk of rural citizens facing further marginalisation through digital exclusion.

Piraí digital e a teoria ator-rede: a trajetória de inclusão e desenvolvimento de Piraí

A cidade de Piraí, no estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, é palco do programa Piraí Digital, um leque de iniciativas, em cinco áreas de atuação – governo, educação, saúde, negócios e cidadania –, com o objetivo de vencer a exclusão digital no município e contribuir para seu desenvolvimento. O programa foi estudado por meio da associação entre um modelo heurístico para análise da inclusão digital e a Teoria Ator-Rede (ANT). O trabalho apresenta a descrição da evolução do programa segundo os atores que o construíram. Entre 1997 e 2009, Piraí Digital contribuiu para uma série de mudanças positivas em Piraí, notadamente nas áreas de educação, a qual adotou a computação 1:1 em toda a rede municipal no ano de 2009; saúde, que utiliza a estrutura de rede de computadores e internet da cidade para disseminar seus sistemas; e governo, onde a administração pública teve ganhos de produtividade e arrecadação por meio da informatização da máquina administrativa. O estudo de Piraí Digital permite compreender a importância da associação de artefatos – rede de computadores, telecentros, Planos Diretores e outros – e das pessoas nos esforços para vencer a exclusão digital e contribuir para o desenvolvimento local. Explorando o contraste entre a grande notoriedade de Piraí Digital fora do município e o baixo conhecimento do programa pela população local, o autor faz a analogia com uma obra de saneamento, pouco conhecida e visível, mas essencial para a população. Em Piraí, o saneamento digital está pronto, com bits jorrando das torneiras nas escolas e a saúde se beneficiando da TI para escoar seu fluxo de informações para benefício dos cidadãos piraienses.

Análise da rede de atores na trajetória de implantação de lan houses no Brasil e seu possível papel de agente propiciador de inclusão digital

A Lan House, surgida no Brasil como um meio de entretenimento para os jovens, se tornou, em um curto espaço de tempo, uma febre nas periferias das grandes cidades brasileiras. Essa disseminação se deu, principalmente, após o programa “Computador para Todos” lançado pelo Governo Federal a título de política pública de inclusão digital. Assim, as Lan Houses se constituíram em uma oportunidade de acesso ao computador e à Internet para aqueles que não teriam ingresso à rede se não fosse a existência desse tipo de instituição comercial (CDI, 2010), sendo a segunda principal provedora de acesso público às TIC no país (CETIC, 2010). Diante desse cenário, este estudo se propõe a descrever a trajetória na implantação das Lan Houses no Brasil, sob a ótica da Teoria Ator-Rede, identificando os atores relevantes na formação de uma rede sociotécnica, por meio do método de estudo de caso único realizado no bairro Jardim Catarina, em São Gonçalo. O trabalho apresenta, ainda, o modelo heurístico de inclusão digital para avaliar se este tipo de estabelecimento apresenta fatores relevantes para fomentar a inclusão digital. O resultado desta análise revela que as Lan Houses não são um agente de inclusão digital, apesar de sua relevância para as regiões com menores índices de renda e, por conseguinte, restritas ao uso de computadores e Internet, como o bairro Jardim Catarina.

Pré-decisão em políticas públicas: a entrada da temática da inclusão digital na agenda do Governo do Estado de São Paulo

O objetivo da presente dissertação é analisar como a temática da inclusão digital entrou na agenda governamental do Estado de São Paulo e como foi concebido o programa de inclusão digital Acessa São Paulo. Ao estudar essa política pública, buscou-se identificar quem foram às pessoas que discutiram esse tema, por que fizeram, como foi feito, quem participou, enfim, entrar nos bastidores dessas discussões que antecederam a concepção dessa política pública. Para se chegar aos atores relevantes que participaram da concepção da política pública de inclusão digital no Estado de São Paulo, foi realizado um levantamento bibliográfico sobre o tema e vários contatos foram feitos via email e/ou redes sociais buscando nomes que participaram dessas discussões que antecederam a implantação do programa de inclusão digital no Estado de São Paulo. A partir da confirmação do envolvimento desses atores foi feito um convite para que esses participassem do trabalho através de uma entrevista. A entrada da temática da inclusão digital foi um processo lento e gradual que se iniciou desde a posse do governador Mario Covas para seu primeiro mandato (1995-1998). O uso da informatização pelo governo estava previsto em seu plano de governo em 1994 como forma de modernizar a maquina administrativa e aproximar o Estado dos cidadãos. A necessidade de se criar um programa de inclusão digital para que os cidadãos de baixa renda pudessem ter acesso à internet deve, sobretudo, as iniciativas de governo eletrônico promovidas pelo governo do Estado que tinha por objetivo disponibilizar serviços públicos via internet aos cidadãos. No inicio da década de 2000 acesso a internet era privilégio para poucos. Daí a necessidade de se pensar em uma política que promovesse a inclusão digital dessas pessoas. Essa foi a razão principal para que o governo assumisse que a questão da inclusão digital era um problema a ser resolvido. E entrasse definitivamente na agenda do governo e posteriormente dando origem ao Acessa São Paulo.