MPTM 680-01 ICT4D: Information and Communication Technologies for Development M a r i a F . T r u j i l l o , P h D .
2 Class 5 The Digital Divide Does the digital divide have anything to do withprogressin development?
3 “Internet Girl” 1990
4 The Digital Divide Described in different ways
5 Article based on dissertation •Written in 2003, focuses on the relation between the use of digital ICT, progress in development, economic growth and poverty reduction •Was a discoursein policy circles, yet very little empirical work had been carried out to prove or disprove the natureof the relation. •50-60s Modernization developmenttheory -> Infrastructure •70s Human development •80s Washington consensus –> Shift from centralized to decentralized •A gap produced due to unequal capacity among countries toaccess, adaptandcreateknowledge via the use of digital information and communication technologies.
6 1997 Sample and Model •The developing world consisted of124countries (out of 174) collectively accounting for 78.39% of the world’s population. •More than 85.34% of the world’s population (more than 4.9 billion people) lived in developing countries, whereas only 14.66% lived in industrialized countries. •The dissertation produced a quantitativemodel which explained more than 91% of the variability in national developmentfor 118 countries in 1997 in terms of the nationalinfo tech infrastructure, and another quantitativemodel which explained more than 43% of thechangesin development over the last decade for 120 countries in terms of the national core computing and networking capacity.
7 Research Strategy and Methodology •The research strategy and methodologycarried out to analyze the relationsbetweenthe global digital divideand national developmentprocesses included: •A progressive multistage strategy using of indexes created by the use of factor analysis, and careful consideration of the assumptions of the regression model before its application.
8 Underlying concepts •IT-infrastructure •Wired-structure: •Phones •Electrical grid •National Computing and Networking capacity
9 Findings •Internet and personal computers made a difference especially inprogressin human development •Differences created by the global digital divide, in other words unequal country capacity in access, adaptation and creation of knowledge via the use of digital information and communication technologies, are of two types: 1.Differences inlevelsof development 2.Differences inprogress(or declines) in development from 1990 to 1997
10 Major Conclusion A major conclusion is that the importance of the core national computing and networking infrastructure lies in its ability to explain progressmuch better thananyother variable.
11 Islands of prosperity are surrounded by oceans of povertyand frustration.
Digital Divide M a r i a F . T r u j i l l o , P h D .
13 Definition The termdigital dividedescribes a gap in terms of access to
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