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The Digital divide

I forbindelse med Professor Sharon Strovers besøg på IMV afholder IMV og CFI et miniseminar om The Digital Divide.

Tid: Tirsdag d. 15. marts 2005 kl. 13-17
Sted: IT-parken, Helsingforsgade 14, lokale: Ada 333
Oplægsholdere: Professor, Head of Department, Sharon Strover, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio, Television, Film:



The Digital divide, cultural capital, and community:

The results of two recent research projects will be shared in this presentation. One compares the results of two major surveys, one from 2000 and the other in 2004, regarding the digital divide. While the survey results document increases in computer and broadband access and use, they also highlight structural features within certain demographic groups that maintain the divide. The second research study is based on 36 communities, many of them small and rural, that launched efforts to redress local digital divides. How communities conceptualize their local divides and structure their community projects are examined alongside an analysis of some of their successes and failures. The broader issues of community collaboration and power are critical dimensions that help to explain the direction of these digital divide efforts.


Lektor Niels Ole Finnemann, IMV/CFI:

Digital divides and cultural differences

As it is the case in all areas of society there are also huge inequalities related to the internet and other digital media. In the global perspective, for instance, only 10 % of the world population has access to the net, and 88% of those 10% are living in the industrialised areas. In the Nordic countries around 80% of the total population has access to the internet, while in Southern Europe this is the case for less than 40%. These figures are probably going to change, of course, but it is not likely that we are heading towards an equilibrium in the global spread of and access to IT in the foreseeable future. One reason for this is, that the inequalities are due to inequalities in economical and infrastructrual ressources, but another reason is that both the spread and development of the internet and other digital media also depends on cultural traditions, norms and needs in different areas of the world. Since digital divides are considered to be negative, while - some - cultural differences can be considered positive, we need to discuss the distinction between positive differences and negative divides. To this end I will suggest that the notion of digital divide is seen as a triple notion of negative divides concerning a) divides due to inequalities in economical ressources, b) divides in competences (what is net-literacy?) and c) language, culture, content and relevance.


Lektor Per Jauert, IMV/CFI:

Media in the community – communities in the media.

- A case study of the use of the internet and ‘traditional’ media in Odder , the average city of Denmark.

This research project, included in the MODINET project ( www.modinet.dk ), examines how the public sphere functions in a Danish average municipality of today. Which common spaces exist as meeting points for local politicians as well as citizens, and how do these public fora serve the articulation of the citizens demands and needs? The presentation will focus on ”Oddernettet” ( www.odder.dk ) and it’s specific role as a new kind of communication tool, based on the quantitative and qualitative analyses, performed in the project during 2003-2005.


Efter seminaret byder IMV og CFI på en forfriskning.