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Rapid digitalization and an aging population are leading to an increasingly prominent age-based digital divide among the world's elderly population. This study focuses on China, one of the most rapidly aging and digitalizing countries in the world. Employing a mixed-method approach, this research examines how elderly individuals experience the digital transformation and the associated digital divide. The findings suggest that the elderly interviewees encounter multiple barriers to learning and using digital technologies, which highlights the significant role of social support and networks in facilitating their adaptation to the digital society and lifestyle. Attitudes toward digital engagement and digitalization vary greatly among the elderly, ranging from being optimistic to feeling left behind and having multiple concerns. Our findings further reveal that the Chinese government has implemented numerous digital apps tailored to the demands of the elderly and provided training opportunities to bridge the gray digital divide. This emphasizes the responsiveness and adaptiveness of Chinese authorities in addressing pressing societal issues. However, we identify a gap in digital outreach, as most elderly interviewees have limited awareness of government digital inclusion policies and programs. This article contributes to digital divide research and offers practical implications for countries grappling with the gray digital divide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The term digital divide refers to disparities in digital access, infrastructure, and opportunities. However, it is important to recognize that information and communication technologies (ICTs) do not operate in isolation. They are influenced by social and structural factors. This study focuses on Tunisia and Morocco to examine access to and usage of digital technologies, factors shaping these patterns, and the impact of unequal access and usage on employment and socioeconomic well-being in the post-Arab Spring era. Using Afrobarometer household surveys from 2013 to 2022, encompassing 9595 respondents, we construct a digital inclusion index and disaggregate results to illustrate the dynamics of digital inequalities. We employ pooled logistic regression to explore the determinants of digital inclusion and examine how disparities shape well-being. Findings show improved digital inclusion in Morocco and Tunisia from 2013 to 2022, yet over 80% of their populations remain partially or entirely excluded. We confirm previous studies suggesting that digitalization mirrors or exacerbates preexisting inequalities, with gender, age, education, and socioeconomic status significantly influencing digital inclusion, indicating persistent inequalities and barriers. Our findings also have broader implications for the MENA region, emphasizing the need to address the complex interactions among sociodemographic factors, including gender, age, education, and socioeconomic disparities, in order to achieve equitable digital inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile devices were key drivers for recent Internet expansion in lower-income countries, democratizing access. Nonetheless, concerns arose regarding their role in the creation of new digital underclass related to the capital-enhancing consequences of Internet use. Among these, e-government engagement allows individuals to reduce the administrative burdens of governmental interactions. Nonetheless, its uptake has been proven to be highly stratified in Latin American countries where most services are not digital-by-default. The article argues that disparities in digital access play a role in this e-government divides. It examines the antecedents and determinants of household computer access and mobile-only Internet use, and e-government engagement in Brazil. Based on "TIC Domicilios 2019" survey, using logistic regressions to predict household access to computers, mobile-only Internet access, and e-government engagement. Mediation analyses of the latter models are conducted, testing the sequential nature of socio-digital inequalities based on the DiSTO framework. Findings show that living in a household with computers reduces the chances of being a mobile-only user and increases the odds of e-government engagement. Mobile-only access reduces e-government engagement. The effects of socioeconomic status and digital inequalities are mediated by household access to computers and mobile-only use. Implications for digital inclusion policies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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.

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Law & Society/Revue Canadienne Droit et Societe (Cambridge University Press) is the property of Cambridge University Press 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]

Copyright of Esely: Journal of Social Policy is the property of Hilscher Rezso Alapitvany 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.)

Lack of access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is a key determinant of disadvantage among rural and remote communities in the developed and developing world that can limit economic development and obstruct digital forms of social and political participation. In this paper, we discuss how the ability – or inability – to access ICTs affects everyday life in Indigenous communities in remote Sarawak, Malaysia. We focus on social connectedness and on the role of relationships and networks as motivating factors for ICT uptake, for enabling new livelihood strategies and in supporting the maintenance of social networks. The paper is based on data collected between 2015 and 2017 in 20 villages located in the north-east of the state. Methods of data collections included semi-structured interviews, group discussions and participant observations carried out during multiple visits to these villages over a two-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a conceptual model that explores the extent to which various (non)-users can be subjected to mechanisms of inclusion or exclusion. The model consists of eight profiles of digital inequalities, ranging from deep exclusion to deep inclusion, and is based upon a combination of five key indicators at the social level (income, education, social participation, agency, well-being) and eight key indicators at the digital level (access, attitudes, digital skills, soft skills, media richness of the environment, autonomy of use, user practices and social support). This conceptual model, by going further than socio-demographics, (a) allows the formulation of an alternative lens through which to look at mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion and (b) brings a significant contribution to existing research by highlighting the co-action of social and digital indicators in mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disability is a long-standing area of digital inclusion finally emerging out of the shadows. In this article, we argue that a critical understanding of digital media from the perspectives of disability and intersectionality will offer generative insights for framing the terms and agenda of digital inclusion in the next decade. With a focus on the area of automated decision-making (ADM) in social and welfare services, we reflect upon the controversial 2015–2020 Australian government programme widely known as 'Robodebt' that recovers putative debts from support recipients – and we discuss implications for Indigenous Australians with disabilities in particular. We contrast the 'Robodebt' programme with explicit digital inclusion policy on disability in Australia, noting that such digital inclusion policy does not specifically acknowledge yet alone address ADM or other aspects of automation. Here, there is a major opportunity for overdue acknowledgement of disability and intersectionality to spur and shape an affirmative and just agenda on people with disabilities' digital inclusion, ADM and other associated areas of automated technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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 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]

The article presents selected topics on social inequalities in the information society. The concept of digital stratification was introduced along with the causes of digital inequalities. The second part of the article presents the problem of social exclusion in the digital age, to which seniors are particularly exposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of digital skills for all is a key focus of many educational policies across the globe. Despite the significant attention paid to the nature and suitability of such policies targeted at young people, there has been far less focus on digital skills policies targeted at adults. This article contributes to this literature. It outlines current digital skills policy in England. Having established this background, it analyses 30 interviews with digitally competent adults from lower socio‐economic backgrounds about their experiences of learning to use the Internet. In doing so, the article highlights that a narrow and instrumental digital skills agenda is emerging in the education of adults, driven by the needs of the commercial sector, that is in stark contrast to the experiences, motivations and hopes of adults who learn about, and use, digital technologies. Reframing digital skills as part of a broader adult education agenda may offer a way to facilitate the development of digital literacies that individuals seek. [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.)

This article develops a Digital Capital Index by adopting the definition provided by Ragnedda, who defines Digital Capital as the accumulation of digital competencies and digital technologies, and the model for measuring it developed by Ragnedda and Ruiu. It aims to develop a measure that can be replicated for comparison in different contexts. This article contributes both theoretically and empirically to the literature by (a) consolidating the concept of Digital Capital as a specific capital and (b) empirically measuring it. A Digital Capital Index is developed through an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and validated with a representative sample survey of 868 UK citizens. The validation procedure shows that the Digital Capital Index is associated with socioeconomic and sociodemographic patterns, such as age, income, educational level and place of residence, while it appears not to be related to gender. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many universal access policies are based on the assumption that the removal of the digital divide will enhance social mobility. But this assumption is not supported by the available evidence. Using four waves of longitudinal data from Britain we show that Internet use has a positive effect on social class mobility, while controlling for age, gender, education, health, and previous social class membership between 1997 and 2013. In doing so, we contribute to a wider discussion of the relationships between social and digital inequalities and highlight the challenges and potential of this methodological approach for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The research sheds light onto the gradual process of digital inclusion by creating a typology with three different types of people according to their level of digital inclusion, namely Advanced, Intermediate and Basic. • Our analysis shows the self-reinforcing effect of digital and social exclusion, by highlighting how, despite their access to the Internet, those people at risk of social exclusion are more likely to lack the digital experience necessary to fully exploit the possibilities the Internet can offer. • Those who tend to obtain more benefits from the use of the Internet are, on average, young, well-educated and with a higher income, thus reinforcing their already privileged social positions. • Socially vulnerable people have more difficulties in using digital technologies and gaining benefits from them, leading to further marginalisation of their position and deepening of inequalities. • By highlighting how different levels of digital inclusion are related to socioeconomic and sociodemographic features, this research contributes to reinforcing the idea that offline social structures and practices influence individuals' ability to use digital technologies as an empowering tool of social inclusion. Since an increasing number of daily activities are carried out online, an exclusion or limited access to the Internet prevent citizens from entering a world full of opportunities that cannot be accessed otherwise; in this sense, inclusion in the digital realm is strictly connected to social inclusion. Digital inclusion is not conceived as a mere dichotomy, access versus no access, but in terms of the degree to which e-inclusion improve wellbeing for individuals, community and society. Using a quantitative method based on a multivariate analysis, multiple correspondence analysis and cluster analysis, applied to a representative sample of UK citizens, this article sheds light onto the gradual process of digital inclusion, highlighting how social and digital inclusion are intertwined and how people who have one or more social or economic vulnerabilities are more likely to be in the group of those who are digitally excluded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The nature of the digital divide reflects inequalities in digital utilization. • The trajectory of the digital divide research includes three phases: ICTs connection, ICTs use, and ICTs affordance. • A practical framework to dealing with the digital-related social exclusion is proposed in this paper. • MPA contributes to exploration of the trajectory of digital divide literature and related knowledge flows. The nature of the digital divide reflects inequalities in digital utilization, which is understood to be a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing accessibility to ICTs, capabilities to use digital technologies, and the benefits from digital artifact usage. However, the growing fabric of the digital divide has changed the original conception of the phenomenon. To trace the dynamic nature of the digital divide, this study adopted key-route main path analysis (MPA) to track the most significant development trajectory from 2855 digital divide-related academic articles and the multiple global MPA to explore the present and future research trends. This study reviewed the major challenges of the digital divide and divided the path into three phases: ICTs connection, ICTs use, and ICTs affordance. In analyzing the main paths of the digital divide, we found three forms, including coverage of communication infrastructure, skills to use ICT devices, and an individual's online behaviors. This study, through key-route MPA, further proposes a practical framework, which provides an inclusive approach to dealing with the digital-related social exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]