1、ON THE BRINK OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE英On the brink of the digital divide Nomi Fiser Department of Business Management, University of Miskolc3515 Miskolc-Egyetemvros, Hungaryfisernoemicitromail.hu Field of research: information technology in businessAbstract: In this paper I consider the digital divide
2、and the disparities in computer use and Internet access between countries within the European Union. I examine the reasons of the digital abyss and how new information technologies are changing the nature of work. In particular I look at how these technologies affect the way workers view the work an
3、d the way work is organized and unionized. Finally, I focus on growth in information technology and the resulting globalization of production and explore how this growth affects peoples work, families, communities and societies.1. The use of information technology in Hungary and in the European Unio
4、nThe digital divide is a major issue at a national, European and world-wide level. Ironically, technology has always been viewed as a greater equalizer. The Internet especially has created high hopes for a future of free information, where totalitarian control of speech is impossible, borders are ir
5、relevant, and each citizen participates equally in the global conversation. The development of the Internet in fact is seen as having such a strong potentional to revolutionize world culture that it has been likened to the invention of the printing press. This may be an apt analogy insofar as the In
6、ternet, like the printing press, has revolutionized the spread of information, making it faster, cheaper, and, theoretically at least, available to everyone. The Internet has also changed the stakes. As we all become more reliant on this marvelous new invention, as it transforms our society and our
7、economy, what happens to those people who have no ability to access it. Do they become as a result of their inability to operate a computer or go onlone, a disenfranchised underclass just as surely as if they could not read or write. (thousands)Country199719981999200020012002Austria21123526028033536
8、9Belgium246285313342361240Cyprus101121173199224276Czech Republic8297107122136177Denmark360378414507541577Estonia96113135160183210Finland312350360396425442France194233268305329347Greece455257768582Holland283326362397432467Ireland241273316360392421Poland3949626985106Latvia406182143152172Lithuania34545
9、96570110Luxemburg383389396459453590Hungary58657487100108Malta134159185210230255Great-Britain239269303339368406Germany239279297336382431Italy113132156179195231Portugal738082105117134Spain97109121146169196Sweden339396452508563621Slovakia7087109137148180Slovenia189212253276276301Table 1. Estimated numb
10、er of Internet users(KSH)Comparing the numbers in the table we can see that according to the number of the Internet users there is a digital divide within the European Union. In modern economies, access to computers, the Internet and increasingly broadband communications is seen as essential for fut
11、ure prosperity. Consequently, lack of access could be a significant brake on economic growth. On a national basis, in countries such as the UK where penetration of computers and Internet usage is high, provision of access to broadband connection is important enough to be embodied in government polic
12、y. This view is held by most Western European countries, the European Union and the United Nations. With the enlargement of the EU, the need to provide equitable access to what is referred to as the Information Society is seen as essential. 2. Determining the concept of the digital divideIn simple t
13、erms, it is the divide between those who have access to computers and the Internet and those who do not. The “digital divide,” or the gap between the ability of privileged members of our society, and that of historically disadvantaged members, to access and use technology (Ermann 2003).A fundamental
14、 question must be addressed before one can state whether inequalities in ICT are growing or closing: Is the inequality a lack of an existing technology, or is it because of the relative gap between haves and have-nots, regardless of the particular technology? On the whole, current technologies are d
15、iffusing across national, ethnic, gender, income and age boundaries, but new technologies are causing new divisions. Adoption of broadband access has followed the same pattern as that of the computer - primarily among wealthy, white individuals and large companies. Since the technology is newer (and
16、 more expensive), it currently shows an even wider gap around the world.3. The causes of the digital divideThere are several reasons of developing of the digital divide from the infrastructure through the language to the ethnicity. In the following we examine each step by step. 3.1 Physical ICT acce
17、ss between countries - The number of PCs, amount of Internet bandwidth number of telephone main lines, mobile phones, and other information technology are slowly rising for all countries, but the information have countries are growing fastest, thus widening the divisions.3.2 Pricing - Computer and I
18、nternet access prices are decreasing around the world, putting these technologies within reach of increasing numbers of people. Nonetheless, within OECD countries at least, the lowest income households are increasing their computer and Internet levels faster than the highest income groups - in part
19、since high income groups already had high penetration rates and lower incomes groups had greater room for increase (OECD 2001c). Will lower prices be enough for everyone in developing countries to have a PC in every home? The answer, unfortunately, is no. 3.3 National infrastructure - Network infras
20、tructure is slowly growing around the world, and information have-nots will gain increasing bandwidth and telephone access. But as new technologies come along, especially in broadband infrastructure, they will remain behind the curve and be years behind the information haves. 3.4 Internet usage - In
21、 terms of Internet Hosts, the relative gap is increasing - the gap between North America and Africa was a multiple of 267 in 1997, by October 2000 it was 540 (OECD 2001b). The entire African Continent has 0.25% of all Internet Hosts, the majority of which are in South Africa, and the overall percent
22、age is decreasing. (OECD 2001b). Nonetheless, the total number of users in all areas is increasing. 3.5 English language - Because of the sheer numbers of new people starting to use the Internet, the US will lose its predominance on the basic metrics of number of users and English as the majority la
23、nguage Current predictions indicate that Internet users could exceed the 1 billion mark by 2006, with 700 million located outside However, even as the language divide decreases in term of the relative number of non-English websites, English is still the lingua-franca of e-commerce and most heavily f
24、unded resources on the Net. As the Net diversifies, the language of the business community and related websites can be expected to reflect the existing use of language in non-online groups (with some delay), which often excludes non-English (and especially non-major language speakers).3.6 ICTs in th
25、e economy - While a few countries have successfully developed local ICT sectors and captured a significant portion of international ICT trade, it seems unlikely that many new countries can compete in this arena. Nonetheless, technologies specifically targeted for underserved populations hold great p
26、romise for easing divisions in ICT access.3.7 Divisions by education - In countries with already high Internet access rates among the highly educated, those with lower education levels are increasing ICT use more rapidly than those with the highest levels of education (which have higher ICT use) - i
27、n part because they are growing from a smaller starting point Nonetheless, a gap remains, and may reoccur with new technologies. In countries where Internet access is only starting to take off, one can expect that those with higher education will use the technology first, increasing local divisions.
28、3.8 Divisions by ethnicity - In the EU at least, ethnic differences in technology have decreased significantly - but only when income is taken into account. In other words, ethnic groups of the same income level have relatively the same average usage of technology. 3.9 Divisions by gender - The gend
29、er divide will steadily decrease, at least in terms of users of the Internet. However, the number of users online statistic is only a small part of the gender divide. Male users of information technology at the corporate level and IT professions are still in the vast majority and receive higher pay
30、for the same jobs, and will likely remain so for some time to come.3.10 Rural - urban divisions - Experience to date has shown that new information technologies are usually adopted first in central cities, and slowly disperse to peripheral cities and rural areas. This appears to be because of higher
31、 infrastructure costs, lower average wages, and a lower likelihood of jobs in rural areas using computers (OECD 2001c). In countries where a particular technology has recently reached the capital cities, divisions with rural can be expected to grow before they significantly disperse. Additionally, new technologies show gaping new divisions - as is occurring with broadband access in some countries. 3.11 Age - In newly adopting countries, youngish groups will get the technology first, the divide is then expected
