Search

This study aims to explore the evolution of the literature on the sociological implications of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) as an educational tool, particularly its influence on digital inequalities. While AI technologies, such as AI-based language models, have begun transforming educational practices by personalizing learning, fostering student autonomy, and supporting educators, concerns remain regarding access disparities, ethical implications, and the potential reinforcement of existing social inequalities. To address these issues, a bibliometric analysis employing science mapping was conducted on 1515 studies sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection. This analysis traces the thematic evolution of social science perspectives on AI's role in education and its relationship with digital inequalities. The results indicate a growing academic interest in AI in education, with a notable progression from understanding its basic impact to exploring complex themes such as vulnerability, disability, bias, and community. The studies show that AI's application has expanded from isolated research on specific populations to broader discussions on inclusivity, equity, and the impact of AI on governance, policy, and community. However, the findings also reveal a significant gap in sociological perspectives, particularly regarding issues like digital illiteracy and socio-economic access disparities. Although AI holds promise for promoting more inclusive education, further research is essential to address these sociological concerns and to guide the ethical, equitable implementation of AI as its influence on governance, policy, and community impact continues to grow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While cities on a global scale embrace smartness as a roadmap for efficient urban governance, disparities persist in the domain of digital accessibility, literacy, and skills, with manifestations of digital exclusion, ageism, and ableism prevalent in most digital urban experiences. Despite their commitment to bridging the digital divide, governments lack comprehensive frameworks to inform policymaking and action for inclusion in smart cities. This review paper aims to deepen the understanding of the multifaceted challenges confronting the governance of inclusion in smart cities. Drawing from a review of research encompassing digital inclusion, digital transitions, smart cities, and urban governance, we discuss who is included and excluded in the governance of smart cities; what are the necessary conditions to be met for smart cities to be considered inclusive; and how can smart city governance deliver public value and equal benefits for all. As a novel contribution, this paper outlines a reflective framework to inform citizen inclusion in the governance of smart cities. This framework is meant to act as a starting point in the design of inclusive digital urban policies, and can also be employed to assess the directions taken to date in public organizations towards more inclusive urban practices.

Copyright of Socioloski Pregled is the property of Srpsko Sociolosko Drustvo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Education / Revue Canadienne de l'Éducation is the property of Canadian Society for the Study of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study aims to explore the evolution of the literature on the sociological implications of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) as an educational tool, particularly its influence on digital inequalities. While AI technologies, such as AI-based language models, have begun transforming educational practices by personalizing learning, fostering student autonomy, and supporting educators, concerns remain regarding access disparities, ethical implications, and the potential reinforcement of existing social inequalities. To address these issues, a bibliometric analysis employing science mapping was conducted on 1515 studies sourced from the Web of Science Core Collection. This analysis traces the thematic evolution of social science perspectives on AI’s role in education and its relationship with digital inequalities. The results indicate a growing academic interest in AI in education, with a notable progression from understanding its basic impact to exploring complex themes such as vulnerability, disability, bias, and community. The studies show that AI’s application has expanded from isolated research on specific populations to broader discussions on inclusivity, equity, and the impact of AI on governance, policy, and community. However, the findings also reveal a significant gap in sociological perspectives, particularly regarding issues like digital illiteracy and socio-economic access disparities. Although AI holds promise for promoting more inclusive education, further research is essential to address these sociological concerns and to guide the ethical, equitable implementation of AI as its influence on governance, policy, and community impact continues to grow.

The rapid pace of technological advancements of the last decades, accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, has increased the importance of digital skills for individuals, businesses, and society. However, despite efforts to increase digital ownership and educational initiatives, the digital divide remains a persistent issue and a barrier to social inclusion. Digital exclusion is not limited to access vs. no access but encompasses a spectrum of participation influenced by factors such as geographical location, skills, motivation, and identity. The study explores what sociodemographic and sociotechnical aspects shape users’ digital skills. It is based on an online survey of English internet users aged between 20–55 with school-aged children (N = 2,004), to measure their digital skills across six dimensions and analyzes the relationship between these skills and sociodemographic and sociotechnical variables. Results show that among the sociodemographic aspects, including gender, age, education level, employment status, income, and residential area, only income significantly contributes to distinguishing groups per level of digital skills. The study also shows that motivation gap, access gap, usage gap, and social support, are all associated with individuals’ digital skills.

The aim of the paper is to analyze the characteristics of students'students'digital capital, with a particular focus on education and digital inequalities. It is assumed that students'students'digital capital is relatively high, as they are digital natives. Auxiliary hypotheses relate to characteristics of digital capital in education, as well as the dependence of digital capital on students'students'socio-demographic and educational characteristics. The analysis is based on the data from a survey conducted on a sample of 438 students. For the purposes of the analysis, a five-dimensional index of students'students'digital capital was constructed. The results partially confirm the main hypothesis and an auxiliary one, while the hypotheses regarding digital capital in education and the impact of educational portfolio are fully confirmed.

The present study investigates teachers’ views on their experience as digital actors in the context of Greek educational policy. The interview was used as a tool for data collection. Findings revealed that the teachers in our survey highlighted the shortcomings of the Greek educational approach in terms of material and technical infrastructure and the training of teachers regarding ICT. Through this new digital context of education, teachers conceptualize their competence and self-efficacy, their self-perception, and their emotional response to integrating new digital tools into teaching practice.

The purpose of the article is to assess the gap between people’s readiness for effective activity in the digital economy and to identify the functional capabilities of universities to reduce this gap. The research used methods of generalizations, logical, systematic, and comparative analysis, and statistical-economic, sociological, and economic-mathematical methods and techniques. The results of the study showed that the digitalization of the economy, the state, and society, which is taking place in Ukraine, requires a significant increase in the level of society’s readiness for digital changes. For effective integration into the digital environment, in particular in the field of education, it is necessary to create a digital infrastructure that meets EU standards. The authors conducted a study of the development of the digital inclusive component of the regions of Ukraine.Proposed ways of digital development of society. In particular, it has been proven that promoting the development of the provision of educational services improves the digital literacy of the population for daily tasks and for employers to minimize the gaps between the digital environment and people’s skills. It is substantiated that the acquisition of new digital skills and competencies of employees requires the development of training networks and the improvement of foreign language knowledge, both for young people and for other generations.

Shaping digital inclusion policy and practice to meet community-defined goals requires more than access to digital devices and connectivity; it must also enable their effective design and use in situated local settings. For the Nation of Hawai’i, a Kānaka Maoli (Hawai’ian) sovereignty organization with a land base in Pu‘uhonua o Waimānalo on the island of Oahu, these activities are closely associated with broader goals of Nation-building and sovereignty. Recognizing there are many different approaches to sovereignty among diverse Kānaka Maoli, in this paper we document how the Nation of Hawai’i is conceptualizing the ongoing evolution of their community networking project. We suggest that the Pu‘uhonua o Waimānalo initiative reflects one Indigenous organization’s efforts to frame community networks as a means to generate a “sovereignty mindset” among members of the Nation, as well as share resources and experience among local community members and with other communities in Hawai’i and beyond.

In this thematic issue, we present research from authors who seek to contest, challenge, and reimagine what digital inclusion is and what it might be. Authors present work from understudied vantage points and “hard to reach” terrains, such as communities that remain geographically, technically, socially, economically, and metaphorically “disconnected”—sometimes by choice. Through their attention to the role of intangible factors like relationality, social capital, emotion, sovereignty, and liminality, the articles collectively push against and expand the boundaries of digital inclusion research and practice.

Bourdieu's sociological concepts and approach are well suited to capture and interpret the new phenomena of the information society. The present paper shows how these concepts and notions have been applied in recent literature, both theoretically and empirically. We focus on the notion of digital capital, which is considered a new factor in the process of Bourdieu's cultural reproduction concept. Thus our starting point is that status in digital inequalities, and thus digital capital, plays a significant role in determining educational inequalities and school performance. We illustrate this hypothesis by analysing data of PISA 2015 from Hungary, namely the impact of different dimensions of ICT use on test scores in mathematics, reading literacy and science. Our results suggest that digital capital plays a crucial role in shaping educational inequalities, but that the effects vary across dimensions of digital inequalities and ICT use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Elementary Education / Revija za Elementarno Izobraževanje is the property of University of Maribor, Faculty of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Shaping digital inclusion policy and practice to meet community‐defined goals requires more than access to digital devices and connectivity; it must also enable their effective design and use in local settings. For the Nation of Hawaiʻi, a Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) organization with a land base on the island of Oahu, these activities are closely associated with broader goals of nation‐building and sovereignty. In this article, we document how the Nation of Hawaiʻi is conceptualiz‐ ing its community networking project as an example of an Indigenous organization’s efforts to frame community networks as a means to generate a “sovereignty mindset” among its members, as well as share resources and experience among community members and with other communities in Hawaiʻi and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this thematic issue, we present research from authors who seek to contest, challenge, and reimagine what digital inclusion is and what it might be. Authors present work from understudied vantage points and “hard to reach” terrains, such as communities that remain geographically, technically, socially, economically, and metaphorically “disconnected”— sometimes by choice. Through their attention to the role of intangible factors like relationality, social capital, emotion, sovereignty, and liminality, the articles collectively push against and expand the boundaries of digital inclusion research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I critically examine the New Zealand Human Rights Commission's interactive website the Voice of Racism, to highlight the limitations and radical potentialities of vernacular affordances for anti-racism campaigns. I draw on Melissa Harris-Perry's concept of the Crooked Room, to assert that online encounters across difference operate within a "crooked platform," which can problematize the recognition of marginalized bodies. I use a multimodal analytic technique called Critical Technocultural Discourse Analysis to analyze the anti-racism campaign and explore the complex and interdependent relationship between user experiences and architectural structures of inequality. I show how vernacular affordances of platforms and audio-visual cues influence users' perceptions of self and "other" in relationship to their environmental reality. I encourage anti-racist activists to attune themselves to the often imperceptible tilt of digital platforms by listening and engaging in reflexive practices of digital recognition. Throughout this article, I maintain that our perceived alignment with digital platforms is an optical illusion, inequality remains an invisible structural feature of the online environments that we inhabit. The room is still crooked, we simply can no longer see the walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant literature has increased our understanding of the multifaceted nature of the digital divide, showing that it entails more than access to information and communication resources. Research indicates that digital inequality mirrors to a significant extent offline inequality related to socioeconomic resources. Bridging digital divides is critical for sustainable digitalized societies. Ιn this paper, we present a literature review of Information Systems research on the digital divide within settings with advanced technological infrastructures and economies over the last decade (2010–2020). The review results are organized in a concept matrix mapping contributing factors and measures for crossing the divides. Building on the results, we elaborate a research agenda that proposes [1] extending established models of digital inequalities with new variables and use of theory, [2] critically examining the effects of digital divide interventions, and [3] better linking digital divide research with research on sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2021 military coup d’état in Myanmar and the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic commencing at the end of 2019 have had major impacts on the already existing digital divide in this Southeast Asian country. This paper aims to explore the effects of these two events on the digital divide and their consequences on the learning practices of students in Myanmar. Following a broad review of relevant literature, primary data were collected from students in Myanmar about their use of IT for online learning and the outcomes. The raw data resulting from this field research has been shared with stakeholders who analyzed, evaluated, and commented on it during expert interviews. The main findings are: IT usage for online education among students in Myanmar is a matter of major concern. A majority of students nationwide have no access to computers. The IT skill level in the country corresponds to this finding and is only on an average level. Smartphones are more accessible but are often old or of lower quality. Internet connections are available but are vulnerable to disruptions initiated by the military regime. Therefore, it can be concluded that students in Myanmar in many cases did not have the technical equipment or skills necessary to learn effectively through the usage of IT during the national crises. Nevertheless, it can be stated that IT helped and was also supportive in sustaining and improving the well-being of students in Myanmar.

The purpose of this study was to investigate level of teachers’ technological competencies and the effect of teachers’ age, gender, educational level and teaching experience in relation to their technological competencies they hold. Questionnaires were used to collect the data from 139 teachers from selected schools using simple random and purposive sampling procedures. Descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out using SPSS software version 23. The study found that majority of teachers were at the first level of technological competency (KA). It was also found that there was significant difference between teachers’ level of education and technological competencies they hold. However, the study found that there is no significant difference between teachers’ gender, age and working experience and technological competencies they hold at p-value of 0.05, though there were some variations. The study recommends that provision of training among teachers should focus on uplifting teachers from KA level to another levels.

In the last few years, we have witnessed a surge in scholarly interest and scientific evidence of how algorithms can produce discriminatory outcomes, especially with regard to gender and race. However, the analysis of fairness and bias in AI, important for the debate of AI for social good, has paid insufficient attention to the category of age and older people. Ageing populations have been largely neglected during the turn to digitality and AI. In this article, the concept of AI ageism is presented to make a theoretical contribution to how the understanding of inclusion and exclusion within the field of AI can be expanded to include the category of age. AI ageism can be defined as practices and ideologies operating within the field of AI, which exclude, discriminate, or neglect the interests, experiences, and needs of older population and can be manifested in five interconnected forms: (1) age biases in algorithms and datasets (technical level), (2) age stereotypes, prejudices and ideologies of actors in AI (individual level), (3) invisibility of old age in discourses on AI (discourse level), (4) discriminatory effects of use of AI technology on different age groups (group level), (5) exclusion as users of AI technology, services and products (user level). Additionally, the paper provides empirical illustrations of the way ageism operates in these five forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the experiences of Venezuelan refugees in the city of Boa Vista (Brazil) in exercising their communication rights in the context of social and digital inequalities aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. This article outlines a perspective on digital inequalities from a rights-based approach, which focuses on granting the right to communicate to those who lack it rather than providing access to technology without highlighting the structural changes that are needed for promoting representation and participation of marginalized communities. Building on online and face-to-face interviews with 12 Venezuelan refugees, we identified three scenarios where inequalities regarding access and uses of ICTs are materialized: (a) reduction of digital communication interactions and affective networks due to the deterioration of connectivity in Venezuela and the suspension of local communication services provided by humanitarian agencies; (b) barriers to accessing information about rights and basic services, such as education, health, work, and shelter, given the reduction of communication channels and the closure of reference centers supporting refugees; and (c) increased exposure to fake news, scams, and hate speech in social media platforms and message apps, generating disinformation and enhancing risks of exploitation and marginalization of refugees.

The COVID-19 pandemic acted as an accelerant in many aspects of social life, speeding up existing social trends rather than fostering entirely new behaviors. This was particularly evident in relation to technology use. We examine intergenerational technology guidance--how parents help children, and how children help parents--within lower-income families one year into the pandemic. We draw on nationally representative, cross-sectional surveys of lower-income U.S. parents with school-age children in 2015 and 2021 to compare families' pandemic experiences to an earlier point in time. We ask whether sociodemographic patterns of intergenerational technology guidance changed between 2015 and 2021 and identify factors that might explain these changes. Logistic regressions show that intergenerational technology guidance increased within these families--but also, that sociodemographic differences in parental technology guidance evident in 2015 had largely fell away by 2021. This suggests a "silver lining" of the pandemic period: a key form of digital inequality among lower-income U.S. parents was much less pronounced by 2021. Our findings have important implications for policy and practice in the aftermath of pandemic remote learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue here that data literacies and capabilities are an integral part of data justice. Based on focus group data collected as part of a 3-year empirical project research project, we find that citizens remain unaware of key aspects of the digital ecosystem, which exacerbate the power imbalance between big technology (data processors) companies and citizens (data subjects). Citizens feel concerned about the way it is operating, they do not feel confident enough to be able to address that. We find that "networks of literacy" among friends, colleagues, and trusted organizations are crucial for citizens' capabilities. These networks influence citizens' ability to convert their available means into capabilities to support civic engagement and their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although we have evolved digitally and technologically in the 21st century, disparities still exist in society. The research problem cited for the study is the need to assess the impact of the digital divide in the formation of digital capital, where the already stratified society based on variables such as age, gender, education, and region (rural–urban) will act as moderators to mitigate the digital inequalities for a sustainable world. The research objectives are to explore the underpinning reasons for the digital divide in reinforcing social inequalities, quantify the impact of the digital divide on digital capital statistically, and to evaluate the moderating effect of social strata variables comparatively. The idea of digital capital culminates into five hypotheses for this study as the digital divide impacts digital capital, as well as the assessment of moderating effects of age, education, and region. Statistical tools, specifically frequency, percentage, reliability, ANOVA, correlation, and regression, have been used to test the hypothesis and proposed conceptual model. The social strata dimension in the study revealed a higher variance of opinion. Digital capital is taken as the dependent variable and the digital divide is the independent variable, which shows Beta as 0.591 and B as 0.585, indicating a good relationship of 59.1% and an effect of 58.5%. Finally, the research reveals that there exists a digital divide and, hence, digital inequalities in India need to be addressed for attaining various Sustainable Development Goals. The study has significant implications for the leaders and policymakers to work towards inclusivity by bridging the digital divide and eliminating digital inequalities in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital activism is now considered a widespread form of activism. Studies on its impact and use have proliferated. Most research into this phenomenon has tended to analyze the impact of digital technologies on action and activism. In contrast, this study explores the role of organizations and organizational structures, focusing on internal processes and the functioning of digital campaigning. Based on ethnographic observation and interviews with staff of online campaigning organizations, this paper presents findings on how digital communication and its logic can affect the organization’s internal processes. The paper challenges two established ideas: a) the idea of de-materialization of organizational structures from digital activism; b) that digital platforms tend to support the dissemination of opinions of previously marginalized actors. My fieldwork’s findings demonstrate that the reality in both cases is far more nuanced, with significant identifiable inconsistencies. This research shows that organizations and organizational structures have not de-materialized and that the material conditions of digital activism are key to better understanding this phenomenon and new forms of inequality it might generate.

Older adults are increasingly using smartphones. Researchers have identified demographic, attitudinal factors and social outcomes related to inequalities in access, skills, and activities of internet use. While this research has been ongoing for years, studies about the digital inequalities related to the use of smartphones by older adults are still scarce, and they rarely have undertaken sociocultural comparisons of usage. This article builds on an analysis of tracking data of older adults' (pp. 55–79) smartphone use, to explore digital inequalities around traditional axes of inequality and sociocultural factors that shape older adults' smartphone use. It adds a comparative perspective for understanding emerging inequalities related to sociocultural contexts to the existing literature. The results show that differences cannot be explained solely by sociodemographic factors, but also possibly by national policies and culture. Particularly, age, on its own, is not able to explain the differences reported. Older adults engage in a range of different activities on their smartphones, and differences between groups across the traditional axes of inequalities do not mirror exactly the differences found in previous research on internet use. This is important considering the risk of emerging new inequalities and the ongoing revisiting of policies to mitigate them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Our overall aim is to analyse the patterns and impacts of inequalities in the access to and use of digital learning technologies in Scottish secondary schools, especially for young people experiencing socio-economic inequalities. Approach Using a novel dataset arising from the Scholar online learning platform (https://scholar.hw.ac.uk/), which (between June 2020 and June 2021) recorded usage data for c.133,000 students in 339 (95%) publicly-funded Scottish secondary schools, registered for Scottish Qualifications Agency exams: National 5 (age 15/16); Highers (age 16/17) and Advanced Highers (age 17/18). We focused on engagement, measured through average page visits and percentage of active users. We used descriptive statistics and visualisation to understand the patterns of usage across levels and portfolios/subjects, and multilevel negative binomial models to ascertain the extent of the variation across schools and its association with deprivation alongside other characteristics. Results We have found emerging evidence of a socio-economic gradient in the use of digital learning technologies, whereby the students attending the most deprived schools (according to SIMD and FSM-eligibility) show the lowest levels of engagement. Overall, engagement varies substantially across all levels and portfolios/subjects, but it is most noticeably higher in Sciences and in rural areas, which may well be unveiling student needs unmet by rural schools. Focusing on Sciences, variations across schools can be large, highlighting the need to understand what makes students in certain schools engage more or less with online learning. Should the data allow it, we will draw comparisons pre- and post-pandemic to explore the differences in engagement across students and schools. Conclusion In light of a widening socio-economic gap due to COVID-19 restrictions, these findings will help policymakers and practitioners better understand digital inequality, to assess the impacts of policy measures such as providing disadvantaged young people with laptops, to mitigate digital inequality and improve digital services to improve educational outcomes.

In this article, I explore how social class shapes the conditions and configurations of digital media practice in the everyday life of young people in Sweden. Drawing on Bourdieusian theory and qualitative interview data from two research projects, I complicate the notion of Sweden as a universally wired media welfare state by showing how economic and cultural forces are structuring Internet access and digital media practice along the lines of preexisting social divisions. Invoking Bourdieu's conceptualisation of social classes as defined both intrinsically and relationally, I identify and exemplify two different but interrelated processes whereby class makes a difference in young people's everyday relationship to digital media: class conditioning and class positioning. I conclude the article by arguing that distinguishing between these processes might offer a better understanding of the relationship between class and everyday media practice. The complexities of advancing a welfare-oriented media policy in the age of digital media are also discussed.

Copyright of Cuestiones de Sociologia: Revista de Estudios Sociales is the property of Universidad Nacional de La Plata and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

M edia market and media-related inequalities in society have been intensively discussed in academia. Yet it is unclear if the online media market environment reproduces existing inequalities, smoothens them or even creates new ones among media offerings and users, potentially reinforcing a social divide. In this study, we test to which extent inequalities found are truly digital-induced or reproduced from offl ine context using the German Longitudinal IntermediaPlus 2014-2016 dataset and descriptive statistics. Based on an integrative analysis we combine the perspectives of German media offerings (supply side) and media audiences (demand side). We rely on the comparison of the genre portfolios of offl ine-originated and online-born media offerings to evaluate inequalities in the German online media market, based on past research, assuming that offl ine-originated media providers primarily replicate their strategic product portfolio from the offl ine media market to the online media market. Using the media providers’ origin, we identify a typology of offl ine-originated and onlineborn media offerings. For inequalities in media use and potentially resulting social divides we refer to research on the knowledge gap hypothesis and digital divide studies. For 2016, we found German online-born media offerings having a thematically contradictory, entertainment-focused product portfolio that balances existing offl ine-originated inequalities. However, it provokes a ‘silent’ de-polarization, with political offerings almost exclusively offl ine-originated evolving into a niche market on the supply side. On the demand side, we found stronger inequalities in the use of offl ine-originated online media offerings by gender, education and socio-economic status. These mainly mirror the inequalities known from the offl ine context. For age, we found uniquely digital inequalities in online media use.

This article contributes to a better understanding of patterns of social support in relation to digital inequalities. Based on an extensive qualitative study, the diversity of support networks and supports seeking patterns are unveiled. A typology of six patterns of help-seeking is presented and described: the support-deprived, the community-supported, the supported through substitution, the network-supported, the vicarious learners, and the self-supported. The article also critically engages with the often unnuanced academic literature on social support. The research and the typology reveal that the quality of support, as well as the availability of potential or actual support, is not only influenced by socio-economic factors. Rather, the strength of the relationship and the level of intimacy between individuals is an important predictor of support-seeking. As such, this article shows that mechanisms of in/exclusion are highly social, as they entail a diversity of formal and informal support-seeking patterns, which in turn have an important influence on the adoption and use of digital media. The article argues that understanding such mechanisms is rooted in reconciling micro-level interactions to macro-level patterns of inequalities. To show the specificity of social support within digital inequalities research, and to demarcate the concept from definitions of other academic disciplines, the concept of social support for digital inclusion is introduced. It is defined as the aid (emotional, instrumental, and informational) that an individual receives from his/her network in his/her use of digital technologies.

The concept of digital literacy has been defined in numerous ways over the last two decades to incorporate rapid technological changes, its versatility, and to bridge the global digital divide. Most approaches have been technology-centric with an inherent assumption of cultural and political neutrality of new media technologies. There are multiple hurdles in every stage of digital literacy implementation. The lack of solutions such as local language digital interfaces, locally relevant content, digital literacy training, the use of icons and audio excludes a large fraction of illiterate people. In this article, we analyse case studies targeted at under-connected people in sub-Saharan Africa and India that use digital literacy programmes to build knowledge and health literacy, solve societal problems and foster development. In India, we focus on notable initiatives undertaken in the domain of digital literacy for rural populations. In Sub-Saharan Africa, we draw from an original project in Kenya aiming at developing digital literacy for youth from low-income backgrounds. We further focus on Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Tanzania, where field studies have been conducted on the use of digital technologies by low-literacy people and on how audio and icon-based interfaces and Internet lite standard could help them overcome their limitations. The main objective of this article is to identify key performance indicators (KPIs) in the context of digital literacy skills as one of the pillars for digital inclusion. We will learn how digital literacy programmes can be used to build digital literacy and how KPIs for sustainable development can be established. In the final discussion, we offer lessons learned from the case studies and further recommendation for stakeholders and decision-makers in the field of digital health literacy.

This research brings together digital inequality scholars from across the Americas and Caribbean to examine efforts to tackle digital inequality in Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, the United States, and Canada. As the case studies show, governmental policy has an important role to play in reducing digital disparities, particularly for potential users in rural or remote areas, as well as populations with great economic disparities. We find that public policy can effectively reduce access gaps when it combines the trifecta of network, device, and skill provision, especially through educational institutions. We also note, that urban populations have benefitted from digital inclusion strategies to a greater degree. This underscores that, no matter the national context, rural-urban digital inequality (and often associated economic inequality) is resistant to change. Even when access is provided, potential users may not find it affordable, lack skills, and/or see no benefit in adoption. We see the greatest potential for future digital inclusion in two related approaches: 1) initiatives that connect with hard-to-reach, remote, and rural communities outside urban cores and 2) initiatives that learn from communities about how best to provide digital resources while respecting their diversely situated contexts, while meeting social, economic and political needs.

This article theorizes fresh connections between Bourdieusian social theory, and the digital divide in five key areas: political, economic, cultural, social, and personal digital advantage. In so doing it makes new arguments about how digital resources result in benefits that accrue from the combination of both access to and use of ICTs. In this way, the findings shed additional light on the third level of the digital divide by focusing on the role played by digital capital in influencing the uneven distribution of benefits that derive from the use of the Internet. Based on a structured sample of the UK population, the article adopts the model of digital capital developed by Ragnedda, Ruiu and Addeo (2019). Findings show that varied levels of digital capital are related to engagement in activities that have political, social, economic, cultural, and personal valence. Thus, the study offers compelling evidence of the increasing importance of digital capital in everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of digital technologies in most countries brings significant benefits from their use. These so-called digital dividends have a positive impact on economic growth, widening the scope for socio-economic development. However, their unequal distribution across countries makes digital technologies not equally beneficial to all countries and entities, and is gradually deepening the digital divide resulting in a gap in terms of between-countries income inequalities. These can be afterwards translated into other socioeconomic characteristics of the countries. In the paper, we evaluate the digitization level of EU countries within the panel of 62 world’s countries. Using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method, we examine the extent to which unequal distribution of digital readiness across countries translates into the level of their economic performance. At the same time, we identify potential digital enhancements to bring the country closer to efficiency

This article engages with evaluating the usefulness of distance education for people with intellectual disabilities. It focuses primarily on the situation of students in special schools during the pandemic. In order to recognise the contexts and determinants of digital inclusion, the research makes use of the results of expert interviews and questionnaires completed by heads of special schools. Schools and other institutions usually evaluate the support of both local and national governments in remote education negatively. The pandemic has confi rmed and emphasised the existing digital inequalities (also in terms of hardware). The usefulness of distance learning for people with intellectual disabilities is mostly rated as low. Its main advantage is perceived to be the cooperation between the teachers. The pandemic has, to a certain extent, contributed to raising awareness about the need for developing digital skills by all those involved in education. The article concludes with proposed solutions for diminishing digital inequalities, marginalisation and exclusion of people with intellectual disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Estudos Politicos is the property of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Revista Brasileira de Estudos Politicos) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Education / Revue Canadienne de l'Éducation is the property of Canadian Society for the Study of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In Italy the comparatively late diffusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) within society is accompanied by significant disparities between women and men in access to and use of the computer and the internet. What are the main factors hampering a greater participation of Italian women to the information society (IS)? The article considers this question integrating the analysis of national statistics with the results of a qualitative research investigating on the relationship of Italian women to ICT. Conclusions suggest that patterns of interaction where women access and use ICT are nested within an institutional context still largely based on an unequal sex-gender system. This system is however increasingly challenged through individual strategies or specific policy measures, both in the ICT as well as in other sectors of the Italian society.

In the theoretical study we propose, we have identified, following the analysis of the specialized literature and some research studies conducted by us, pursuing the characteristics of digital natives generation, the implications of the digital era on the educational phenomenon. The current generations of learners are the exponents of the major changes that have occurred globally: globalization, internationalization and digitization. As a consequence, these phenomena increasingly influence educational systems, forcing the change of the old educational model based on teacher-centered, student-centered, collaborative learning and individualization of educational paths. This paradigm shift is associated with the future changes in the way and type of work. Thus, prognostic studies related to the dynamics of trades call attention to the fact that in the next 10-20 years approximately 60% of the current professions will no longer exist on the labor market. Moreover, given the widespread use of digital technologies, new competencies are required that the current curriculum does not address. The new digital culture built in the proximity of the "Fourth Industrial Revolution", that of digitization, offers education, training and learning a variety of opportunities and challenges, with great chances to recreate the whole architecture of the curriculum in accordance with the real needs of the labor market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]