[WEB4LIB] Digital Divide (was Re: RE: Questia: who is behind it?)

[Robert Tiess]

Dan Lester wrote:

> the idea of there being a particular
> "digital divide" is nothing but political tripe.  Of course there are
> differences between rich and poor, rural and urban, etc.  That will
> always be so, and tilting at windmills or thinking up cutesy names for
> long standing problems doesn't do a darn thing to help to solve them.

I see no harm in granting problems proper names, making them popularly recognizable and accessible where it's appropriate and humane to do so.  "Digital Divide" became a catchphrase, a gimmicky mnemonic of a modern culture eager to digitize everything under the sun.  But what's in a name?  A Digital Divide by any other name would reek as badly.  Not long ago "Y2K Bug" was bandied about ad nauseum, achieving household word status.  Right now in the library world, the acronym of the hour is CIPA.  AIDS is easier to recall (and say) than "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome."  We know what it means.  As long as the given identifier raises consciousness and doesn't demean or diminish, great. Then it certainly does some good:  the first step to solving a problem is attaining awareness of it, then our ability to identify symptoms and describe it to others in generally agreed upon terms so solutions can be pursued, evaluated, applied.


Dan Lester wrote:

> Yes.  As others have pointed out, however, an African dying of AIDS in
> a village somewhere probably doesn't give a damn about the digital
> divide.  Even if he did, there would probably be no electricity and he
> probably couldn't read anyway.

I first suggested basic living issues and human rights need to be resolved in many countries before we talk about technology.  It's common sense to address fundamentals first.  Without a foundation, put the blueprints away and don't bother to build the house, because it won't last long.  That is why I believe democracy is the vital component in any digital divide solution:  The U.S. Constitution is the foundation on which great things in this country are built; the prerequisites and prescriptions for socioeconomic and technological prosperity are there.  Necessary changes to bring about social betterment may not occur for decades in struggling countries (or ever in certain places under their current misleadership), but even in those unfortunate areas technology can immigrate to relieve "digitally divided" populations (through distance education, environmental/agricultural improvement, health/telemedicine, wireless communications), even indirectly by helping those it helped help others:  Take a look at the many great things the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is doing (http://www.gatesfoundation.org).  More of this needs to happen to render a lasting positive impact future generations will benefit from.  Pessimism or defeatism will get us nowhere.


Dan Lester wrote:

> By your apparent definition of
> the Information Age, it'll happen the week after manna starts to fall
> from heaven again, which will be two weeks after world peace.

If people who could make a difference deny problems exist or do little more than complain, sure we can all wait for the winged pigs to fly overhead.  (That said, I believe world peace can be achieved and the Information Age dream can be fulfilled in our lifetime.  I also believe public libraries would factor heavily in solutions to both problems, which is why libraries must be supported and promoted whenever possible.)


Dan Lester wrote:

> Note from the first paragraph that it only wants to
> "provide all Americans with access to the Internet" and ignores the
> Australians, Africans, Armenians, et. al.

Digitaldivide.gov is a .gov domain, which as we know often focuses on U.S. issues, but this web site does have an international resources section (http://www.digitaldivide.gov/international.htm), brief as it is. Obviously the United States cannot bridge global divides alone.  Other countries able to do so must step up their own efforts within their relative spheres of influence, contributing insight and pooling resources.  It needs to occur at the United Nations level, and in fact, it starting to happen:
http://srch1.un.org:80/plweb-cgi/fastweb?state_id=981157985&view=unsearch&docrank=2&numhitsfound=100&query=digital%20divide&&docid=2118&docdb=pr2000&dbname=web&sorting=BYRELEVANCE&operator=adj&TemplateName=predoc.tmpl&setCookie=1
(COMMITTEE HEARS OF UNITED NATIONS EFFORTS TO BRIDGE ‘DIGITAL DIVIDE’ AS COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES EXPAND - Press Release GA/SPD/204)
Try other searches on "digital divide" at http://www.un.org


Dan Lester wrote:

> If you want to read political crap, start with the second speech on
> the speeches page, where you can find things like:  "I've been asked to talk about the subject of Digital Inclusion and the importance of expanding the circle of digital opportunity for the peoples of Asia and the Pacific." The "circle of digital opportunity"????  The what???

If you're quoting http://osecnt13.osec.doc.gov/public.nsf/docs/035AF457AEAF222D85256998005ADC8F  in the next paragraph of that speech, "Digital Inclusion" is defined as "... our efforts to bridge the gap between individuals or groups - ethnic minorities, the elderly, people with disabilities, those who live in rural areas...."  A noble concept if we can get past the name.

The Fulton reference cited connects concepts of government/business/private organization partnerships and open market competition with an economic environment consequently conducive and technologically enabled to yield new opportunities for citizens in countries taking these steps.  Deeper in this are key democratic concepts (free enterprise, freedom of information, anti-monopolization), certifying "Digital Inclusion" cannot be effectively realized under contrary criteria.  At its simplest level, the speech emphasizes people helping people.  Nothing political or nonsensical about that.  It's the essence of bipartisanship promoted throughout the global private sector.  Not such a bad idea.

Robert

rjtiess at warwick.net
http://rtiess.tripod.com