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Using an original survey fielded during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper contributes to understanding the phenomenon of blaming minorities during health crises and public perceptions of minorities more generally. We pose direct and indirect (split-sample) survey questions that gauge explicit blame of minorities, and potential implicit blame of particular groups and intergroup bias. Findings reveal that significant numbers tend to explicitly blame minorities for the spread of COVID-19; when asked about behaviors of the UK’s two largest religious minority groups – Muslims and Hindus – clear majorities blame these groups, with smaller percentages appearing to blame the country’s dominant ingroup. We test hypotheses drawn from theories of perceived threat, locus of control and authoritarianism: blaming minorities is expected to be associated with COVID-19-related (disease) threat, generally low sense of personal control, concern about the country’s lack of control over COVID-19, and general need for social conformity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a study of focus groups on three vulnerable population categories (ethnic minorities, older people and people with disabilities) and explores the patterns of intersectionality in these populations' digital inclusion and its role in their social inclusion. The paper illustrates the value of the concept of intersectionality within the study of the aforementioned three vulnerable populations' digital inclusion and questions the existing evidence available on the roles of nationality, ageing and disability in their digital inclusion. It identifies patterns of intersectionality that stress the role of individuality and life circumstances (such as life changes and periods of transition), as well as the stigma and concomitant experiences of social marginalisation regarding the digital inclusion of these populations. The paper concludes by pointing out the policy significance of intersectional patterns in the digital domain and calls for a systematic study of the different categories of the cultural and social specificities of vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a focus group study of the role of digital inclusion in overcoming disability stigma. It reviews stigma literature and contrasting disability models, ultimately arguing in favor of the value of the biopsychosocial approach to the role of digital inclusion in disability stigma. The paper qualitatively explores the stigma experienced by people with disabilities and the ways in which digital inclusion might affect such experiences. It asserts that the benefits of digital inclusion depend, simultaneously, on bio-medical, social, and personal/psychological levels. In addition, prominent barriers to digital inclusion, such as low accessibility and usability and ineffective technology design, are determined by complex biopsychosocial factors, rather than purely bio-technical or social parameters. Thus, the paper recommends the adoption of the biopsychosocial model of disability, in order digital inclusion research to generate longitudinal insights into the actual and potential role of digital inclusion in people with disabilities' social inclusion and welfare. This is a study of what people with different or similar disabilities think of the role of digital technologies in their experiences of disability stigma. The people with disabilities who participated in the study argued about the positive role that digital technologies play in alleviating: a) medical aspects of their stigma by helping them cope with everyday life tasks; b) social aspects of their stigma by helping them socialise and participate in the society; and c) psychological aspects of their stigma by helping them express freely and be more confident. At the same time, the participants criticised the design of digital technologies and argued that digital design often worsens their experiences of stigma, as it reinforces medical, social and psychological aspects of such stigma. The study recommends that future research on the role of digital technologies in disability stigma should shed light on medical, social and psychological aspects and forces of disability stigma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does aging present the two faces of Janus when it comes to digital inclusion, influencing older people’s digital inclusion in some cases, but not in others? This article presents qualitative research and finds that older people—namely, men and women at least 65 years of age—are highly selective in the digital domain, and diversity marks their attitudes toward and uses and critiques of digital technologies. Thus, older people’s digital inclusion is marked by intragenerational diversity, in which a complex interplay of structural/external and individual/internal factors exists and aging plays a context- and life-experience–driven role. Thus, this article supports a psychosocial approach that views age identity as formed not only by biology, but also on the basis of sociocultural and other systemic factors that are integrated and adapted and create varying differences at the level of the individual. The article closes with theoretical and empirical recommendations for future research on the role of aging in older people’s digital inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an in-depth study of intra-disability diversity in the digital realm and the related role of individuality and selectiveness in the digital choices and experiences of people with disabilities (PwD). The study adopts the interactionist model of disability and problematises conceptual uniformity in research that focuses on the medical and socially-constructed features of disability as those determining digital constraints and affordances for PwD. Through primary qualitative evidence, it argues that individuality and selectiveness shape a complex terrain of intra-disability diversity, which forms the nuances and experiences of digital inclusion for PwD. Thus, it invites researchers to move beyond disability-fixed categorisations and offers a 3-tier recommendation for future research to explain the range of PwD' perceptions and experiences in the digital realm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the views of researchers in five social science and humanities disciplines on their digital literacy and the training they need or have undertaken. Theoretically, this article draws upon two competing conceptualisations of digital literacy: digital literacy as ‘user skills’ and digital literacy as ‘user–technology interactivity’. Empirically, it suggests that social science and humanities researchers’ understandings and evaluations of their digital literacy unfold at two levels – the factual and the perceptual – and involve not only (technical) skills but also user experiences, emotions and complex processes of learning, practising and self-development when interacting with technology. Furthermore, researchers challenge the value of generic institutional training for literacy enhancement and envision the development of informal communities of experience exchange and knowledge-sharing across the research community. These findings lead to recommendations on training provision and support the conceptualisation of digital literacy as a process where user interactivity with technology results in certain experiences, reflections and lessons, rather than merely reflecting users’ technical skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which explores the successful reponses to cyberbullying by students, parents and schools. The different domains of the responses are outlined which include reducing risks, combatting the problem and buffering negative impact. The authors reported a lack of evidence concerning successful responses.