The Digital Divide and the Transformation of Work Crystal
Soo
Slide 3
What is the Digital Divide? Economic and social inequality
between groups of persons Information and communication technology
gap More than access issue Information utilization and information
receptiveness An economic and civil rights issue Overcoming the
divide: Infrastructure Social media
Slide 4
Cybertech & Disabled Persons 36% of Britains disabled can
access internet Bulk of disabled in public service ie: IT systems,
websites Unite technological capacity growth and disabled Build
accessibility in early stages Disability Discrimination Act
Beginning to raise issues in public sector regarding
accessibility
Slide 5
Cybertech & Racism Overt racism seems marginal in physical
society Racism exists in institutions, laws, and cultural
assumptions On the internet: a)Group polarization Racist opinions
become more hardcore b)Getting noticed Loud and inflammatory
opinions Anonymity
Slide 6
Cybertech & Gender Issues Cybertechnology educate, inform,
empower Gender gap disempowerment Low and middle-income countries
Women 21% less likely than men to own cellphone Women 37% less
likely than men to own cellphone in South Asia UN findings: Vote on
priorities via paper, online, mobile Paper: 50-50 split Online:
52-48 split Mobile: 25-75 split
Slide 7
Cybertech & Work Nature of work Communication Conference
calls and email chains Challenging to get to know partners
Collaboration technology New way to work dynamic and global Quality
of work life Evolve technology to make new way of working more
human Mobile work-from-home Closer collaboration
Slide 8
Surveillance & Social and Ethical Issues Privacy advocates
worried over fine-grained, digital monitoring Lee Tien, senior
staff lawyer: Companies have few legal obligations aside from
informing Questions effectiveness of such monitoring Ben Waber,
Sociometric Solutions Privacy policy should deal with consumer
issues AND workplace Workers can opt in to have aggregate
statistics collected Skeptics fear return of scientific management
Surveillance can motivate sales