How variation in internet access,digital skills,and media use are related to rural student outcomes: GPA,SAT, and educational aspirations

Some have pointed to divides in the availability of fixed home broadband Internet access as a contributor to rural students’ lower levels of educational attainment. Based on standardized exams (SAT Suite) and a survey of rural Michigan students in grades 8–11, we find that rural students with broadband home Internet access are more interested in school and leave homework incomplete less often. However, the relationship to classroom grades (GPA) is relatively trivial. Yet, we find that students who are not dependent on a cell phone for Internet access and those with higher digital skills, especially social media skills, rank considerably higher on the SAT. Rural students with broadband Internet access are able to participate in a more diverse array of online media activities, which supports building digital skills. Any negative relationship between time spent on social media, video games, other digital media and educational outcomes is outweighed by the benefit to digital skills. However, aspects of rural culture; including the emphasis on activities such as sports, as a path to postsecondary schooling and upward, social mobility; may be stunting the positive relationship between access, digital skills, and educational aspirations. Whereas extra-curricular sports have no direct relationship to SAT performance, students who spend more time on sports receive higher grades and have higher educational aspirations than those with more digital skills. We discuss the implications for rural students’ access to human capital and how the unequal relationship between digital skills and performance in the classroom and on the SAT may perpetuate inequalities.     

Africa and the digital divide

The digital divide is a phenomenon linked not only to the topic of access to the Internet, but also to the one of usage and usage benefit. In this paper we take a look at the global digital divide concerning Africa, we analyze the situation with the help of macro-data and by discussing specific examples (Ghana, South Africa). We also address suggestions that have been made for closing the global digital divide and point out that such solutions require more fundamental changes of society and cannot be achieved by technology alone.     

Digital inequality in the Appalachian Ohio: Understanding how demographics,internet access,and skills can shape vital information use (VIU)

Access to information and resources via the Internet is an increasingly vital dimension of contemporary life. However, there can be several impediments to optimal Internet utilization in the form of access, skills, and motivation. Even when access is available, several digital inequalities arise as citizens often lack the skills and motivations to pursue those vital uses through the Internet to the best of their advantage. Digital inequalities in the hills of the Appalachian area of Ohio are often manifested in terms of social, cultural and geographic divides. Not only do the hills block wireless signals and make cables expensive to install, but regional poverty also drives away telecom investment. We conducted a survey of Appalachian Ohio to explore digital inequity issues and the determinants of online participation for things that matter. Through a number of analyses, we explore how Internet access and digital skills impact online contribution to the community in terms of services and resources considered to be basic social needs: health, employment, education, and social media. These social needs, what we have called Vital Internet Use (VIU) can determine citizens’ political and civic participation, societal contribution, and overall benefit to their communities. Centered on the concepts of digital access, Internet skills, and benefit outcomes, we extend knowledge in this domain and propose a comprehensive framework of VIU.     

Determinants of social gratifications obtained by older adults moderated by public supports for Internet access in Spain

As the standard of living constantly improves, and as life expectancy increases in developed countries, the number of adults who want to have a gratifying life increases as well. Furthermore, although the Internet offers a world of potentially rewarding experiences, there is much heterogeneity among older people with respect to those who are able to benefit from its use. To reduce this gap, public access and digital literacy programs have been implemented. The aim of the study was to find out the extent to which these programs moderate the effects of age and socioeconomic status on social access to and use of the Internet in a sample of older users in Spain. Through quota sampling of retired users over 54 years of age in Spain (N = 560), who were regular users of public supports for Internet access, a structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis was conducted. The data showed a staggered association of access indicators (physical access, digital skills and social e-activities) on the social gratifications obtained, as well as the moderating role of institutional supports. This study provides empirical evidence of the ability of public supports to moderate the effect of socioeconomics inequalities on access and social exploitation of the Internet by older people. The findings point to the need to strengthen digital literacy actions, especially in supports that are more sensitive to the effect of age and socio-economic status.     

Empirical study of a sequence of access to Internet use in Ecuador

Ecuador is a country that represents the efforts that a few countries in the Latin American and the Caribbean region are making on infrastructures, regulations and policies that are favorable towards the use of the Internet. However, although the digital divide in its most basic form (physical access and use) is closing with respect to developed countries, a new, more complex digital divide is moving forward, and is related to the socio-economic advantages of the Internet. This study, which used a random sample stratified by provinces and which comprised 3754 respondents representing the secondary school students in Ecuador, had as objectives: (a) to verify the relationship and sequence among the different levels to access the Internet found on secondary school students; and (b) to verify to what degree the student’s family status influenced the different levels of Internet access. Through the empirical analysis of a structural model, the results showed a sequence between the relationships found among the different levels of Internet access, as well as the cumulative effect of the technical resources and levels of digital literacy on the academic use of the Internet. Likewise, it was observed that the influence of the student’s family status lost strength as the level of Internet access increased.     

Toward Meaningful Connectivity: Using Multilevel Communication Research to Reframe Digital Inequality

Digital inequality, or unequal access to the Internet and technologies that connect to it, has preoccupied communication scholars since the Internet's introduction into popular culture. The relationships between digital and broader social inequalities suggest that meaningful digital connectivity—that is, having the technical skills necessary to engage technology and mobilize information resources to address everyday needs—can empower socially disenfranchised individuals, families, and communities to address challenges related to those disparities. In this essay, we overview the arc of communication research on technology engagement and its consequences. On this foundation, we argue why multilevel research that accounts for individual‐, family‐, and community‐level influences on meaningful digital connectivity is the best path forward for research on digital inequality.     

Connectivity in emerging regions: the need for improved technology and business models

The digital divide is a pressing challenge for both technology and policy professionals. Connectivity is one aspect of the divide, albeit an important one. Availability and affordability remain important issues, but these depend on not only technology choices, but also business and regulatory models. While mobile phones have achieved spectacular growth in emerging regions, Internet access, especially broadband, lags far behind. A generalized model of costing broadband indicates that limited uplinking (interconnection) is a significant barrier to widespread and affordable connectivity, but last mile access also remains a challenge. In addition, policy distortions and regulations raise costs dramatically. Because of these, new technologies, business models, and regulations may be required to make connectivity available and affordable in emerging economies. These include advanced wireless technologies, greater fiber utilization, and open access networking     

Do educational inequalities affect Internet use? An analysis for developed and developing countries

This study investigates whether the existence of educational inequalities at the country level affects Internet use. Additionally, we explore the extent to which these impacts depend on countries’ economic development levels. We use a logit model and data set of 69 high- and middle-income countries for the period 2005–2015. We find a negative relationship between Internet use and education inequality for the whole sample. The results confirm that, in addition to the level of education and other socioeconomic variables, the distribution of formal education among citizens within a country is also important to explain Internet use. We also obtain that this distribution affects Internet use to a higher extent in middle-income economies in comparison with high-income ones. Unlike the positive influence of educational levels obtained in the academic literature, the existence of within-country educational disparities negatively influences Internet use. This study demonstrates the influence of countries’ educational structure in relative terms in explaining Internet use.     

The development of the Internet in South Africa

Predictions attesting to the evolution of the Internet from a non-commercial utility to a commercial oriented tool are coming to fruition. In the late 1990s, the development of the Internet is led by commercial interests supported by amongst others Supranational institutions to the detriment of the development of universal service oriented to the larger public. Commercial interests guide both the content, software and infrastructure of the Internet. This paper investigates the implications of such developments in particular in South Africa where the government is harnessing a wide definition of universal service to include the Internet as a basic service. It is argued that the government’s initiatives may not be realised as commercial prerogatives predominate over the Internet and coalesce with internal socio-economic and political shortcomings to subdue the potential universal uptake of the Internet in South Africa.     

Real-time call admission control for packet-switched networking by cellular neural networks

In this paper, novel call admission control (CAC) algorithms are developed based on cellular neural networks. These algorithms can achieve high network utilization by performing CAC in real-time, which is imperative in supporting quality of service (QoS) communication over packet-switched networks. The proposed solutions are of basic significance in access technology where a subscriber population (connected to the Internet via an access module) needs to receive services. In this case, QoS can only be preserved by admitting those user configurations which will not overload the access module. The paper treats CAC as a set separation problem where the separation surface is approximated based on a training set. This casts CAC as an image processing task in which a complex admission pattern is to be recognized from a couple of initial points belonging to the training set. Since CNNs can implement any propagation models to explore complex patterns, CAC can then be carried out by a CNN. The major challenge is to find the proper template matrix which yields high network utilization. On the other hand, the proposed method is also capable of handling three-dimensional separation surfaces, as in a typical access scenario there are three traffic classes (e.g., two type of Internet access and one voice over asymmetric digital subscriber line.     

Digital access,choice and agency in remote Sarawak

Internet use and access to digital devices continues to increase even in remote regions around the world, but users do not participate equally or engage in the same practices online. This leads to inequalities in the outcomes different groups of users can generate as a result of their online practices. Drawing from recent literature on digital divides and using a theoretical framework focused on user choice and agency, we present data from a study of internet and device use in remote villages in Sarawak, a state of Malaysia on the island of Borneo. These villages lack most basic infrastructure such as paved roads or grid electricity, but some have mobile phone and mobile internet access installed under Malaysia’s Universal Service Provision. We discuss qualitative and quantitative data collected between 2015 and 2017 to point to the opportunities as well as obstacles users in remote communities encounter in their engagements with digital devices and the internet. We argue that while remote areas seem to lag behind urban areas in terms of users’ internet skills and practices, people choose to engage with these technologies in ways that are appropriate to their needs and to the local low-bandwidth environment. To enable these communities to tap into additional potential benefits of internet use, however, faster and more reliable access is a prerequisite.     

Social participation of the elderly in China: The roles of conventional media,digital access and social media engagement

China is the most rapidly aging country and has the largest aging population in the world. However, social participation is an important intervention to boost the active and healthy aging. The present study investigated the effects of media usage, together with social-demographics and health variables, on Chinese older adults. Drawing upon a national research project with a representative sample (N = 1,399) of older adults (55+) from 58 cities in China, the research findings revealed that conventional media, digital access and social media usage had positive effects on older adults’ informal social participation, while age moderated the relationship between informal social participation and digital access, particularly regarding access to tablet PCs and smartphones. Moreover, conventional media, digital access and social media engagement largely explained seniors’ formal social participation regardless of their social-demographic backgrounds. Finally, the roles of conventional media and digital media in older adults’ social participation are discussed.     

Cyber elites: a survey of Internet Café users in Uganda

This study examines the prospects and problems of Internet use and access in Africa, focusing on a profile of Internet café users in Uganda. It concludes that while initiatives such as cyber cafés have brought the Internet and ICT closer to more people in developing countries, the bad news is that these initiatives, especially when they are commercially based, may only be increasing the digital divide within poor countries.     

Information and communication technology and women empowerment in Iran

Since the introduction of the Internet in Iran, Iranian women have used this medium not only as a means of accessing and disseminating information but also as the means of voicing their concerns about discriminatory laws and to participate in public discourse. In Iran, the Internet provided a voice to repressed and marginalized groups, particularly young people and educated women. In 2003 the number of female Internet users in Iran reached a remarkably high proportion of nearly half (49%) of the total Internet users in the country, according to the International Telecommunication Union report (ITU, 2008). This constitutes a total of 11.5 million female Internet users in Iran which is the highest level of Internet penetration rate among Islamic countries in the Middle East. Since the first Farsi blog appeared online in 2001, thousands of weblogs have been created including blogs related to women’s issues in Iran. Blogging in Iran has helped repressed and marginalized groups reach out, including women’s and human rights activists, ethnic and religious minorities and Iranian youth to get their voices heard and to challenge the long standing univocal government and Islamic religious authorities. Women bloggers have been among the leading bloggers within the Iranian blogosphere. By applying the theory of social action and mobilization, this study finds that women’s digital activities prove to be an effective means of participating in communication discourse and mobilizing the female population of Iran in their struggle for a just and fair society.     

Determinants of Internet skills,uses and outcomes. A systematic review of the second- and third-level digital divide

Recently, several digital divide scholars suggested that a shift is needed from a focus on binary Internet access (first-level digital divide) and Internet skills and use (second-level digital divide) to a third-level digital divide in which the tangible outcomes of Internet use are highlighted. A plethora of studies have been conducted to identify determinants of digital divides. Unfortunately, there is a lack of consistency in the terminology used. Moreover, terms are often not theoretically grounded. Therefore, we conducted a systematic literature review of digital divide determinants. The results show that the third-level digital divide was underexposed. The primary focus is on Internet use. More importantly, the identified determinants show that digital divide research is largely limited to sociodemographic and socioeconomic determinants.     

The challenge of e-participation in the digital city: Exploring generational influences among community telecentre users

A primary challenge for the development of e-government and the digital city is participation by low-income, older and technology-challenged citizens. This paper reports on the role of inter-generational interactions in community telecentres in facilitating low-income, older and technology-challenged citizens in gaining access and using digital city infrastructure. Our research also finds that virtual communities are playing a role in supporting e-participation among older, technology-challenged citizens. We examine the influence and interaction of members of offline communities, who use telecentres, on virtual community participation. These communities and telecentres can provide support for the provision of e-services and the development of the digital city. We explore these issues based on empirical field research in community-based telecentres in a developing country. Inter-generational interactions are explored through an analysis using social networks, social identity and social representations theories.     

数字化校园一卡通平台的构建与完善探讨

随着我国社会经济的不断发展,高校信息化也在慢慢的推进,校园卡得到了广泛的应用,但是由于很多校园应用系统并不相连,因此一个学生常常会有多张校园卡这给学生带来了很多的不便之处,所以为了让校园管理水平得到明显的提高,校园一卡通系统就应运而生了,它利用了现代的信息技术,构建的校园应用平台,这一系统的推出给学生的校园生活带来了极大的便利,本文就对数字化校园一卡通平台的构建问题进行了具体的分析,并对校园一卡通平台的管理方式进行阐述。     

A Critical Discourse Analysis of three US municipal wireless network initiatives for enhancing social inclusion

The US has a long history of telecommunications policy aimed at providing equitable access to information and communication services. In this paper we examine the most recent of these efforts, municipal wireless broadband Internet networks. Using three cases (Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; and Chicago, IL) we examine how social inclusion is expressed in the digital inclusion policy articulated in each municipality’s broadband network public rhetoric. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, our findings confirms that the growing use of digital inclusion rhetoric around broadband deployments has brought the social inclusion issue to the forefront, and effectively links discourse and technology with discursive practices and types.     

广播电视微波数字化设备的技术要点探析

通信技术在我国社会各项事业建设中发挥着重要作用,互联网科技的发展推动着我国通信技术的革新,通信技术的数字化也将使我国的通信行业向前推进了一大步,为大众呈现出更多精彩的广播电视节目.在广播电视数字化的过程中,不可避免地存在一些问题,特别是信号传输系统中路径的衰落问题,已经严重影响了广播电视节目的安全顺利播送.本文主要研究广播电视微波数字化设备的技术要点,希望给广播电视通信技术的优化提供参考价值,推动我国广播电视事业的繁荣.