StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Global management, people, and the digital divide - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
These vital advances make it possible for the contemporary populace to gain access to professional and social networks traversing the entire globe. The…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.8% of users find it useful
Global management, people, and the digital divide
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Global management, people, and the digital divide"

Global Management, People, and the Digital Divide Emergence of computers and their advanced peripherals has played a significant role in revolutionising the modern society. These vital advances make it possible for the contemporary populace to gain access to professional and social networks traversing the entire globe. The developments further point to an increasingly sophisticated and crucial information and communication technology (ICT) framework. Regardless of the significant role played by advanced ICT infrastructure in the 21st century, this field is not devoid of digital divide cases.

The latter are particularly common among the underprivileged in society, given the numerous expenses associated with ICT adoption. In poverty stricken areas, many people do not enjoy the benefits afforded by ICT, such as internet accessibility and networking. This is why such regions extensively rely on markets and donor driven aid to build their ICT infrastructure (Jonathan, 2005, pp. 22-25). However, failure to access such funds continues to widen the gap between the poor and the rich, especially in regard to internet accessibility.

This inequality is rampant not only in developing countries, but in developed ones as well. In recognition of the identified digital divide, donors are increasingly considering the need to bridge this gap, through creation of low cost technologies, which can aid in enhancing internet accessibility in these regions. An excellent example is the recently adopted laptop per child policy, which seeks to ensure that children in underprivileged societies attain some level of technological advancement (Strover, 2003, pp. 275-277). The program further seeks to ensure that students experience a media rich environment both at home and school, which will make them more creative and critical with information technology.

The program is also instrumental in increasing opportunities for students to overcome educational inequality. The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program is a high profile initiative designed to bridge the digital divide, by providing poor kids with low cost computers that support network capability. These laptops are specifically designed to handle low-power supply, as well as, the ruggedness of poor rural and urban regions (vanDuersen and vanDijk, 2011, pp. 895-905). Additionally, the laptops’ software features graphical programs and user interface that are designed to enhance learning.

For instance, in the largely rural state of Maine, students from poor backgrounds have benefited from the OPLC program by acquiring means to access information through networking and internet accessibility (Halford and Savage, 2010, pp. 945-952). This clearly shows that the OLPC program is set to provide an all-inclusive digital infrastructure. Approximately 3-4 million laptops have been distributed with immense success in the South, since inception of the OPLC program in 2005 by Nicholas Negroponte.

Therefore, if the same program is well executed in other underprivileged societies it would serve to boost education systems and give students a chance to access and familiarise with the digital environment (Selwyn, 2004, pp. 345-360).In summation, even though the digital divide poses a significant threat to ICT development, concerted efforts like the OLPC programme will aid in bridging it and enhancing technology education outcomes. Such programmes will afford needy students the substantive resources they require to keep abreast with the rapidly developing world of technology.

With such ICT improvement efforts, there will be enhanced equality in information accessibility and technological development. Finally, in support of these strategies, government policies should be tailored toward encouraging programme sponsorship from willing donors and market participants. BibliographyHalford, S., and Savage, M. 2010. Reconceptualising Digital Social Inequality. Information, Communication & Society, 13(7), pp. 937-955Jonathan, S. 2005. The Social Exclusion Debate: Strategies, Controversies and Dilemmas.

Policy Studies, 26, pp. 3-27. Selwyn, N. 2004. Reconsidering Popular and Political Understandings of the Digital Divide. New Media and Society, 6(3), pp. 341–362. Strover, S. 2003. Remapping the digital divide. The Information Society, 19, pp. 275-277.VanDuersen, A., and VanDijk, J. 2011. Internet skills and the internet divide. New Media and Society, 13, pp. 893-911.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Global management, people, and the digital divide Essay - 4”, n.d.)
Global management, people, and the digital divide Essay - 4. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/business/1644946-global-management-people-and-the-digital-divide
(Global Management, People, and the Digital Divide Essay - 4)
Global Management, People, and the Digital Divide Essay - 4. https://studentshare.org/business/1644946-global-management-people-and-the-digital-divide.
“Global Management, People, and the Digital Divide Essay - 4”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/business/1644946-global-management-people-and-the-digital-divide.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Global management, people, and the digital divide

Personal Digital Assistants and Nursing

Personal digital assistants (PDAs) have today emerged as an increasingly used information technology tool to enhance the quality and speed of patient care services.... Webopedia (2005) defines a PDA or personal digital assistant as "a handheld device that combines computing, telephone/fax, Internet and networking features.... Nurses can thus have access to this large library of digital information on real time whenever they need.... Wilcox and La Telle (2001) see the personal digital assistant as "a new medical instrument for the exchange of clinical information at the point of care"....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Software localisation

(d) Localization increases the digital divide Since there is a need for the digital content, browsers and other software tools to be available in the person's own language, therefore localization is rapidly increasing the division of digital content, while making the digital content user friendly for the users.... when the "symbols" sent for translation represent people of different skin color from the target region, flags of a given country, characteristic road signs, or even vegetation characteristic for the climate prevailing in a given country, all of these have to be adapted to fit the target culture"....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Critical Evaluation the Market Entry Strategy of Amazon

The site is accessible worldwide and it is a global company that is capable of shipping products all around the globe.... They have been in this business since a number of years and now they are endeavoring to enter a new market that sells products digitally over the… Usually, the company ships the items ordered but now they have decided to make them available through the internet only and not exactly ship some of their items....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Summarizing for the exam

Through Business Process Re-engineering, there occurs a fundamental re-think of the organizational processes and other systems and procedures including people.... There are various ways in which change can occur.... These include the changes into business processes, skills, organizational structure, roles and… However, it must also be noted that all these factors can interact with each other and can change at the same time for example when resurrection of Apple is mostly the result of changes in the business processes and organizational Similarly the case study conducted by the Carlo, Lyyntines and Boland suggest that the organizations when view the IT systems as socio-technical systems, they tend to mitigate the risks of change through the combination of social/technical actors....
18 Pages (4500 words) Essay

Benefits of and Problems with Information, Entertainment, and Communication Technologies

ICT has blurred, not only the geographic boundaries but also greatly bridged the digital divide separating the disabled section of the population.... One of the greatest challenges faced by users in the digital world includes privacy issues and identity theft.... Violation of privacy has been one of the most significant enduring social issues associated with digital and electronic information technologies, globally (Nissenbaum 1).... Also, there has been a rapid rise in cases involving violation of intellectual property rights, digital rights management as well as blatant plagiarism (Cowhey, Aronson, Abelson 258) thus indicating the flip side of ICT....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Global Positioning System

"global Positioning System" paper focuses on G.... .... used for locating, tracking and mapping service.... The need for such a system arose when mankind was confronted with difficult and unforeseen situations in natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis.... nbsp;… The multimedia approach would allow a view beyond 2D....
6 Pages (1500 words) Coursework

The Brand Name of Divine Chocolate: the Fair Trade Certification and Implementing

The more the fair trade products are consumed the more the people are moving towards the consumption of the ethical products produced by the developing countries.... This report presents the brand communication plan of Divine chocolate.... The company at the moment is planning to further penetrate the market and improving its branding....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Advantages and Disadvantages of Mobile Technology

Consider both the positive and negatives of this, as well as how this connects to ideas of accessibility and the digital divide.... Some of the areas that will be highlighted in the paper include the background information that surrounds mobile technology, the implications of mobile technology, the benefits and drawbacks of mobile technology as well as the effect of mobile technology on accessibility and the digital divide.... obile technology and the ideas of accessibility and the digital divideAccessibility and the digital divide are essential concepts when it comes to the discussion of mobile technology....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us