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Modern life and society are heavily reliant on technology. Technology has the potential to revolutionize educational access by transcending geographical barriers and catering to diverse learning needs, paving the way for equitable and inclusive education for all. Various studies have confirmed that use of technology tools in education would democratize access, personalize learning experiences, enhance engagement and promote learning opportunities. Background digital infrastructure is a critical enabler of educational technology tools. This study is such an attempt. It tries to systematically evaluate the digital infrastructure ecosystem, needed to advance technology in education. Specifically, the study tries to assess the status of digital infrastructure for online learning in higher education. We focused this study on India, which has the third largest higher education system in the world. A composite index was developed with the use of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to evaluate the IT infrastructure by relying on relevant secondary data. Based on this index score, digital infrastructure status of various States of the country was determined. Results suggested regional disparities in digital infrastructure and areas to focus to strengthen digitally enabled higher education. The study's findings have implications for reducing the digital divide by improving digital infrastructure and designing policy interventions, particularly in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Roca: Revista Científico-Educacional de la Provincia de Granma is the property of Universidad de Granma, Departamento Editorial 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 Revista de Ciencias Sociales (13159518) is the property of Revista de Ciencias Sociales de la Universidad del Zulia Venezuela 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.)

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of digital inequality between those who have access to digital technology and those who do not, with the widespread digitization in education aimed at lifelong learning, equal opportunities in education, and support for professional development. The study seeks to explain the phenomenon of inequality that occurs globally and in Turkey in the field of education due to digital inequality. In this context, research and indices used to assess digital inequality worldwide and Turkey are examined to analyze the situation revealed by these measurements. It is aimed to contribute to the literature by understanding the dimensions of digital inequality in hybrid education and effectively addressing this issue. Method: In this study, digital inequality in hybrid education was evaluated using approaches to determine digital inequality, such as the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Development Index, Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) Household Information Technologies Usage Survey, and Network Readiness Index. The reflections on digital inequality in hybrid education were discussed with a comprehensive literature review using international and national comparisons. Findings: The findings of the study show that state and private sector actors have important responsibilities in addressing digital inequality. Conclusion: This study emphasizes the steps that need to be taken to raise awareness about digital inequality and ensure equal education opportunities. To fully realize the potential of hybrid education, it is essential for all stakeholders to work collaboratively in the fight against digital inequality. Originality: Examining the conceptual and theoretical literature on the relationship between digital inequality and hybrid education highlights the importance of this study. Additionally, it is thought that it can make a significant contribution to identifying potential areas for future research by filling existing knowledge gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing the digital gap of teachers implies making an analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that allow a broader understanding of how and why this phenomenon occurs. The objective of this study is to identify the main analytical and methodological fields under which the digital divide in teachers and the factors related to it have been studied. The research was developed following the PRISMA statement, searching the Scopus, Web of Science and ERIC databases, using digital divide teacher and digital gap teacher as key descriptors. From this investigation, 31 records met the selection criteria established under the PICO methodology. The results suggest that it is important to diversify research methodologies of the digital divide as a multi-causal phenomenon; the need to delve deeper into the personal and sociocultural contexts and elements of teachers is also identified. Likewise, elements such as beliefs, attitudes and motivations that can constitute possible barriers around the implementation of technological resources in pedagogical practices. Finally, studies should not focus only on the implementation of technological resources, but should be directed towards the construction of the teacher's cultural capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In alignment with the sustainability strategy focusing on good governance, sustainable development, and racial harmony, this study investigates the access, use, and effects of ICT training on women in Sarawak. Its primary objective is to assess how ICT training benefits women in managing small homebased businesses. Data was gathered through questionnaires from 62 participants who attended training sessions in various Sarawak locations: Kota Samarahan, Sri Aman, Sarikei, Kuching, and Bako. This research holds significant importance for the state government, as it strives to increase the number of individuals with ICT skills and narrow the digital divide between urban and rural areas. The study reveals a strong consensus among respondents regarding the positive impact of ICT on empowering women, boosting their self-esteem, enriching their knowledge and skills, benefiting the socio-economic community, and fostering efficient management practices. The findings offer valuable insights into the effectiveness of ICT training for Sarawakian women engaged in home-based businesses. The mean scores for all variables indicate high agreement among respondents, with values exceeding four for each variable. This study underscores the substantial role of ICT in knowledge dissemination and empowering individuals, particularly in advancing gender equality. It suggests that ICT is an invaluable tool for successful training in rural areas and underscores the need for a systematic strategy to enhance ICT literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyze the possibilities and actions required to foster the introduction of technologies consistent with the term "agriculture 4.0" in Mexico. Design/Methodology/Approach: To identify providers of technology in Mexico. To present the cost-benefit equation regarding the adoption of said technology as applied to the cultivation of maize in different regions. To design and construct an adoption propensity index that will serve as a basis to propose focused and adequate actions to remove technology access barriers. Results: Mexico has a young and wide offer of technology, both tangible and intangible, where digital platforms of agricultural management, mobile apps, and remote monitoring predominate. The cost-benefit relationship offers a large margin to adopt new technologies. However, there are adoption barriers (related to education or infrastructure, for instance) that represent a challenge to different regions of the country: the northern, northeastern, and western states of Mexico are more likely to adopt new technologies. Study limitations/Implications: Further experimental and field analyses are required to delve deeper into potential additional barriers (culture-related, for example). Findings/Conclusions: The cost-benefit analysis offers a large margin for adoption. However, the propensity to adopt is associated to restricting factors such as the producers' educational level, the production unit's size and level of mechanization, the access to and use of Information and Communication Technologies, and the telecoms infrastructure, whose geographic disparity is significant. The public sector's intervention is desirable to reduce the gap between the supply and demand of technologies, as well as the access barriers to the latter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Formación Universitaria is the property of Centro de Informacion Tecnologica (CIT) 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.)

it is evident how technology has involved in recent years at an ever-increasing rate, impacting different areas of society, including education. To recognize the incidence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Colombian schools, it is valuable to identify the research trends in the 21st century (2000 - 2021) that address this field. In this way, in the present state of the art, because of doctoral research, a search for academic articles is carried out in different databases which addresses the ICT basic and secondary school relationship in Colombia. Subsequently, a qualitative and documentary analysis is carried out from the Grounder's theory perspective in three coding moments: open, axial, and selective. Finally, as a result of the analysis of the documentary corpus, made up of forty-six documents, six research trends can be glimpsed: historical approaches to ICTs at school; ICT teacher training, digital divide, school reconfigurations, youth and teacher subjectivity, "and factors of use of ICTs at school". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ever-increasing digital divide around the globe has turned into one of the greatest challenges to several areas of the information society with direct and indirect consequences. This has also increased the demand for more research in this field. This study, which is based on Bourdieu's cultural capital reproduction theory, is an attempt to answer the question as: To what extent individuals' cultural capital affects the digital gap among them? The survey method was applied in this research where a questionnaire was used to collect the data. The population of the study consisted of 183,198 youths from the city of Bābol (Mazandaran, Iran) aged 18-29 years. The sample size was estimated to be 385 by Cochran formula. The data were then collected randomly in a multistage cluster sampling from 8 areas in the above city. The results showed that there is a digital divide among people with different cultural capitals. The results of multiple regression analysis showed that the objectified dimension of the cultural capital (β = 0.472), the embodied dimension (β = 0.41) and the institutionalized dimension (β = 0.20) had the greatest effect on the people's digital divide. The results also showed that the independent variable of the research, i.e. cultural capital, explained about 0.26 percent of the variance of the dependent variable, i.e. the digital divide.

The objective of this research was to identify barriers to the adoption of a technological innovation perceived by professors at a public university in southeastern Mexico, in which a strategy for the use of virtual classrooms was implemented as a measure to address the social distancing forced by the covid-19 pandemic. A descriptive, non-experimental, cross-sectional, quantitative descriptive study was carried out in which two groups of incident factors were considered: intrinsic (attitudes and beliefs; knowledge and skills) and extrinsic (available resources and educational system). A questionnaire with 30 items was designed and measured with a Likert-type scale and applied to 805 teachers. The results showed that teachers perceive extrinsic barriers as the most important in adopting technological innovations, especially those related to equipment and connectivity, while intrinsic barriers are are mainly focused on the beliefs, so the early adopters and early majority profiles are distinguished. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digital divide constitutes a barrier to achieving equal opportunities for the population. In this article, we examine how the lockdown and online teaching affected rural schools. Although connectivity is poor and resources may be scarce in these schools, communication with families is fluid and the teacher-student ratio is lower. We designed a questionnaire that was administered to 157 rural schools during the lockdown process. The results show a digital gap for 30% of the student body, notable efforts by teachers to adapt to the needs of students, weekly changes in the way teaching is organized, related didactic proposals, and concern for curricular assessment. The rural schools participating in the study have tried to respond to the multiple demands arising from this new situation and narrow the digital gap by adapting to the communication needs of their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article collected information that describes Costa Rican educational scenario during the closing of schools due to COVID-19 pandemic. It is described the strategies the Ministry of Public Education embraced to have students engaged in the learning process, and how teachers and parents were coping to provide a meaningful and quality education to the students despite the lack of resources and infrastructure. The strategy MEP implemented was "Learning at Home," which encompassed television and radio teaching, Microsoft Teams learning online platform, social media apps such as WhatsApp, digital resources, and autonomous didactic guides. Nonetheless, lack of the appropriate infrastructure, digital resources and digital skills hindered the continuation of the learning process for several pupils, exacerbating the existing social disparities that broadens the digital divide and educational gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital divide is among the most important problems required to be overcome by our contemporary information society, where skills are among the principle determinants of such inequalities. This study examines the digital divide in a non-Western population which has not been studied before, and specifically it measures the digital skill levels of the people living in the Northeastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The primary contribution of the study is confirmatory of previous research regarding digital skills, though in the context of a previously-unexamined population. By using a sample representing the region (n = 400), the digital skill levels of the participants were measured. Data were collected through performance tests developed by van Deursen, A.J.A.M., and J.A.G.M. van Dijk (2010. Internet skills and the digital divide. New Media & Society 13, no. 6: 893–911. doi:10.1177/1461444810386774). Findings indicate that the digital skill level of the participants is generally low. The users are most successful at the formal level, followed by operational, informational and strategic skills, respectively. The level of strategic skills is quite low, which hints at the fact that the users studied are not able to translate their Internet use into real-world tangible benefits. It is also found that age, gender, education, household income significantly predict digital skill levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this work is to present a review of the frameworks established in today's society of the forms of production and reproduction of knowledge. Similarly, some considerations of literacy from the point of view of the construction of citizenship and the political subject will be addressed in this work. The perspective of a politicization of the notion of literacy provides ideological content; thus, literacy is linked to forms of oppression and exploitation. A key element in this society will be access to information. The concept of digital divide has been defined in terms of access to computers, to the Internet and to the development of skills and knowledge in the use and application of these technologies. This first basic notion will be developed throughout this text and it will be related to the critical approach of studies on literacy and literacy. The digital divide has become a concept linked to the most recent works on the introduction of information technologies in society and, especially, in the education system, through the idea that ICT must reach all citizens to overcome implicit inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses about the digital gap or digital divide. it focus to understand the digital gap in the world in general and in the Arab world in particular. More specifically, it aims to measure the digital divide in the Arab world using the developed ICT Index that published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The method of this index is to measure digital gap in three dimensions: the ICT access, ICT use and ICT skills. Talking about the digital gap leads us to talk about digital competence and digital literacy. In this regard, this study showed the importance of digital competence for work, learn and even live in today's world. Finally, the results show that: the digital gap one of the most important challenge in the Arab countries; digital competence is a requirement of the digital economy and its absence widens the digital divide; and the digital divide between developed and Arab countries is widening, and therefore strategies must be developed to address them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There seems to be a difference among diverse communities, regarding the access and the use of technological tools, to satisfy necessities and to improve the quality of life of people, which is a phenomenon defined as: digital gap. To reduce the gap, there have been carried out several proposals and processes, by means of the digital inclusion phenomenon. It has been noted that, these two phenomena integrate social and technological factors, that must be considered to implement the programs or projects concerning this matter. Additionally, the Information Systems Management is a field of study, that comprises the sufficient knowledge to study this type of phenomena, since the management is a social sciences discipline, and the information systems are products developed in the exact sciences field. In this paper, it is appointed the relation between the Information Systems Management and the study (analysis, improvement, design and proposal) concerning the digital gap and the inclusion gap phenomena. Existe uma diferença entre as comunidades em relação ao acesso e uso de ferramentas tecnológicas para atender às necessidades e melhorar as condições de vida; fenômeno definido como divisão digital. Para reduzir a diferença, propostas e processos foram feitos dentro do marco do fenômeno com inclusão digital. Foi identificado que esses dois fenômenos integram aspectos sociais e tecnológicos que devem ser abordados na implementação de programas e projetos. Além disso, a Administração de Sistemas de Computação é uma área que integra o conhecimento necessário para estudar esses fenômenos. A administração é uma disciplina das ciências sociais e dos sistemas de computação que estão dentro da estrutura das ciências exatas. Este documento apresenta a relação entre a Administração de Sistemas de Computação e o estudo (análise, melhoria, design e proposta) dos fenômenos de exclusão e inclusão digital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A framework of indicators and a media competence self-assessment test for public administrations is proposed, in a field where few evaluation methods have been implemented up until now. The study is based on media literacy (ML) indicators divided in five general criteria defined by Pérez-Tornero and Celot (2009). These are: availability of media, ML context, use, critical understanding, and communication. The initial frameworks were compared with those used in in highly-regarded international media assessment systems. The article presents a test based on the qualitative comparison of international evaluation methods, as well as through in-depth interviews. The proposed tool is applied and refined through a research process that combines quantitative and qualitative methods. The study concludes that competences can be assessed by means of a questionnaire, but also finds that there are others, especially those related to the critical reading of information, that present greater complexity and that demand various types of tests. The application of the survey allows us to obtain useful recommendations for the development and improvement of ML indicators within public administrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ICT plays an increasingly prominent role in daily life, and is used in varying contexts to fulfill different objectives, but one sector of the population is denied the opportunities offered by ICT; this exclusion is dictated by socio-economic status. This study draws on national databases to provide a descriptive-correlational analysis of ICT adoption and use in the student population in primary and secondary education. The results show that Internet and technology access is strongly segmented; digital stratification goes beyond access, and different uses are observed based on the student's cultural capital. Schools are most successful at offsetting the digital divide, making access to ICT possible (albeit restricted) for a significant number of students in lower-income sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of International Social Research is the property of Journal of International Social Research 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 article presents the results of a research study carried out in 2010 and 2011 on the evolution of the digital divide in two different cultural contexts: Europe and the United States of America. Using an Internet-based questionnaire parents and teenagers were surveyed regarding some variables related to their digital skills and their participation in social networks. Their answers were analyzed taking into account a range of factors such as age, gender and place of residence. The results highlight that there are significant differences between the United States of America and Europe regarding the presence of parents and teens on social networks, even though the generational digital divide decreases between minors and parents in both cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses data from a representative survey on the applications of information and communication technologies to investigate the use of the mobile phone as a cultural object by different groups of respondents/consumers. Setting out from the premise that the symbolic and artefactual nature of new media, their 'thingness', should be a central part of any investigation of their social and cultural significance, the article focuses on the meaning of the mobile phone as a cultural object and commodity sign for various groups of users/consumers. It also concentrates on the social structuring of mobile phone use by young people and addresses the relationship between class and the practices and meanings of mobile phone use in the context of young people's consumption of other media and cultural technologies. It addresses one of the central questions in the sociology of culture—how are consumption tastes and practices related to class—and examines it through the case of mobile phone use. The study suggests that the general 'technosensibility' of young people, which seems a universal generational phenomenon, when interpreted in the context of the consumption of other 'old' and 'new' media and cultural consumption in general, is differentiated according to class and cultural capital. The article concludes that class distinctions produce a digital divide that results in two distinct populations of young users: the interacting and the interacted users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Politicas y Sociales is the property of Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Politicas y Sociales 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 Ciencia y Sociedad is the property of Ciencia y Sociedad 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.)

The Information and Communication Society introduced the use of IT in the midst of everyday life and modified conventional wisdom concerning media and its processes of communication. Thus, new mobility conditions were created based on the imaginary assumption (or prejudice) that the young are more competent than adults vis-à-vis the use of IT. Nevertheless, it has been established that the young aren't aware of the IT's reach and range, because they use them as entertainment rather than as a tool to communicate, research, and analyze our society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Internet and its uses are creating a different vision of the world in the university students generating new skills and making an impact in their social and academic life. This essay makes a theoretical approach about the digital gap between university students & professors. The unavoidable incorporation of technology in the university classrooms is leading to new challenges regarding the way the learning-teaching process is developed among the 2 main characters of the process: student & professor. Two very different generations (technologically speaking) means two different approaches and this may lead to confront their traditional relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The appearance of the Information and Communication Technologies has generated new forms of inequality. This is the case of the digital divide, which refers to the unequal access to the technologies by different social groups due to, among other reasons, their place of residence, their age, or their educational level. However, despite of the growth of the number of studies about this social phenomenon, we are still unaware of important aspects of the digital divide. In this paper we try to contribute to the explanation of some of these aspects showing the relationship between the digital divide and the social differences that characterizes some territory. From a statistical model, specifically designed for this purpose, we will defend that the differences in the use of Internet among different territories can be completely explained resorting to the unequal social distribution among these territories. This will lead us to conclude, with authors like Van Dijk (2002), that the reduction of the digital divide is conditioned to the decrease of social differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper raises different points of view about digital exclusion. It begins with a historical dimension, approaching the upcoming of the digital revolution, goes on with a sociological approach about the meanings and effects of the informational society, recovers some definitions and concepts of information society, digital exclusion and digital illiteracy, and, finally, it comes to the social and economic scopes, trying to show some data about the Brazilian reality of digital exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]