ABSTRACT. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a sudden shift to online teaching and learning in higher education institutions. This abrupt transition had a significant impact on both students and staff. In this article, the author discusses how three academics identified students who were experiencing digital poverty and implemented trauma-responsive strategies as emergency mitigation measures. Through post qualitative inquiry, the author explores the collective narrative of these academics and uncover unfinished conversations related to digital poverty and trauma in blended learning as ‘hidden’ needs often not considered in discourse around the ways we develop accessibility technologies. Findings from research, include the recognition of hidden needs related to divergent identities of staff and students, as well as the importance of prioritizing safety and efficacy in remote learning spaces. The article argues that trauma-informed teaching practices in blended learning have had a positive impact on teaching and learning in contexts where digital poverty is prevalent; providing access to student otherwise denied an education. The findings of this study provide a contextualized understanding of digital poverty and blended learning, that are essential to develop inclusive and safe online classrooms.

ABSTRACT. Libraries have been strong advocates for digital inclusion for more than 30 years. Libraries were early adopters of digital technologies, not only to support their own operations, but also to improve customer services and help clients build their own digital technology skills. Libraries are also seen as safe and welcoming spaces by some of the most marginalised groups in the community who use data and devices that they may not have access to at home. However digital inclusion issues and challenges for libraries have changed significantly in the last few years, due in part to the turn to digital-by-default services and the impact of COVID-19.

The proposed paper presents findings of a review of digital inclusion activities and programs in Queensland public libraries and Indigenous Knowledge Centres (IKCs) between 2016 and 2022. The project applied the Digital Ability Program Evaluation Tool (based on Dezuanni et al., 2018) and used a range of desk-based, in-person and online research methods. We propose to present our findings based on the rich qualitative data gained from staying in communities; visiting libraries and an IKC, local councils, and other community infrastructure; and interviewing people with lived experience of helping Queenslander's access and use technology in everyday community contexts.

The evaluation found that digital inclusion programs delivered locally through public libraries and IKCs improve the digital skills, capabilities and knowledge of Queenslanders around the state. The impact of these programs extends beyond the walls of the library and lifts the digital capacity of the community in which they take place.

ABSTRACT. Public engagement through ‘traditional’ and social media is an increasingly important way for scholars to communicate research with wider audiences, with academics encouraged to maintain a public profile to disseminate work. This has important activist potential for radical knowledge production, but only if all voices are able to participate on equal, safe terms. No existing work on digital hate accounts for the diversity of the academic community, and therefore we cannot adequately account for how certain voices are being excluded from public debate.

Drawing on data from 85 survey responses and 13 in-depth interviews with academics across disciplines, this article argues that the risks of visibility are unevenly distributed in ways that exacerbate harm to already marginalised groups. Our data challenges popular notions that visibility is its own reward. We demonstrate how visibility exposes academics to the kinds of online misogyny, racism, ableism, classism, homophobia and transphobia that characterise cultures of online hate. We reflect upon how academics in the ‘wrong’ body are denied intellectual authority in public debate through abuse targeting their intersectional identities (Crenshaw, 1989; Grosz, 1994; Fisanick, 2007). Our data finds that digital hate not only affects academics’ careers, but causes significant physical and mental health harms that seep into academics’ personal lives. There cannot be meaningful radical potential in public knowledge sharing if we cannot protect those most at risk of harm.

ABSTRACT. This article focuses on how mechanisms of digital exclusion are experienced and ‘felt’ in everyday life, through situated perspectives of low (digital-) literate Dutch citizens. The Netherlands is considered one of the European frontrunners in terms of digitization and digital inclusion. Still, one in seven Dutch citizens lacks the necessary (digital) literacies to safely participate in the digital society. This fosters a digital divide where a progressively larger group of citizens with low digital skills and low-literacy are marginalized and excluded on the basis of lacking resources, skills and knowledge to access and make use of essential digital infrastructures. Research shows that digital technologies are still subject to disempowering structural inequalities, focused on stratified inequalities across different demographic intersections. While such studies acknowledge that a basic level of (digital) literacy is needed to access the digital realm and (digitally) participate, a situated emic understanding of what it means to be a digital citizen in a rapid digitizing democracy without possessing such skills lacks insight. Through a longitudinal ethnographic study of low (digital-) literate citizens in the Netherlands, based on participant observations and semi-structured interviews, this study analyses how exclusionary mechanisms are experienced and felt in everyday life, and what this means for their sense of belonging and (digital) citizenship. Our findings show that disadvantaged citizens do not identify as digital citizens, and experience digital citizenship as an opaque concept that is forced upon them, instead of co-created with them. Thus, digital inclusion policy might have an oppositional effect: it embeds and projects active (digital) citizenship ideals upon a disadvantaged populace in a matrix of social power where disadvantaged citizens lack the agency, autonomy and articulatory power to make themselves heard, vocalize their issues and vulnerabilities. This shifts the matrix of social power, further marginalizing disadvantaged citizens, countering values of social engagement, universal access, and solidarity. It also threatens to undermine democratic governance, civic values and public infrastructures, facilitates distrust in institutional actors, and upholds structural power imbalances. Hence, we argue to co-create an understanding of digital citizenship with disadvantaged citizens, one where the citizen should not have to self-optimize, self-manage, and self-rely to fit the (digital) mold and make use of public services that one is entitled to.

ABSTRACT. While not alone in its endeavor of leveraging digital technologies to enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of governance, the Netherlands has been at the forefront of the development of e-governance, ranking 9th on the UN E-governance Development Index of 2022 (United Nations, 2022). Key areas of focus include the development of digital government services (Digitale Overheid, 2020), which allow citizens to access a wide range of public services online, including tax filings, social benefits applications, and business registrations, and the development of a digital identification system called DigiD, which citizens can use to authenticate themselves when accessing digital government services (Logius, n.d.).

Despite its reputation as one of the most digitally advanced countries in the world (CBS, 2020), the Netherlands faces challenges in ensuring that everyone is included, as more than 1 in 5 adults in the Netherlands lack the digital skills to participate in the digital society, and 1.2 million people have never used the internet (Digitale overheid, 2022). In a society where public services become digital-by-default and where alternative entries disappear in an effort to reduce costs, those who cannot use digital technologies are excluded by the digital government. This research examines the changing relationship between citizens and the state as a result of digitalization, and examines the consequences for those left behind.

To better understand the causes and consequences of the development of e-governance throughout time, this paper examines the sociotechnical imaginaries (Jasanoff and Kim, 2009) that Dutch policymakers draw on to inform and justify the development of DigiD. Employing a historical-diachronic critical discourse analysis (Carvalho, 2008; Wodak & Meyer, 2001) of policy documents on DigiD published between 2003 and 2023, this paper gains novel insights in how technology can be instrumental to the propagation of political ideology. We argue that digital technologies should be conceptualized as ‘marginalizing machines’, tools used to amplify and reinforce power within a social order, leading to further marginalization of those who cannot access them.

References

Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek (CBS). (2020). Internet: toegang, gebruik en faciliteiten; 2012-2019. https://cbs.nl/nl-nl/cijfers/detail/83429NED?dl=35852 Digitale overheid (2020). NL DIGIbeter 2020: Agenda Digitale Overheid. https://archief29.sitearchief.nl/archives/sitearchief/20221104100849/https://www.digitaleoverheid.nl/overzicht-van-alle-onderwerpen/nldigibeter/

Jasanoff, S., & Kim, S.-H. (2009). Containing the atom: sociotechnical imaginaries and nuclear power in the united states and south korea. Minerva, 47(2), 119–146.

Logius. (n.d.). Hoe werkt DigiD? https://logius.nl/domeinen/toegang/digid/hoe-werkt het#:~:text=Gebruikers%20die%20inloggen%20op%20een,hun%20pincode%20in%20te%20vullen.

United Nations. (2022A). E-Government Development Index (EGDI). UN E-government Knowledgebase. https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/Data-Center

Wodak, R., & Meyer, M. (2001). Methods of critical discourse analysis. SAGE Publications, Ltd, https://doi.org/10.4135/9780857028020

ABSTRACT. A common perception of digital poverty in contemporary Britain is that it is characterised by those who have access to technology and those who lack such access. Recent work supported by the British Academy and Digital Poverty Alliance has begun to challenge this view and demonstrated a wider perspective on types of digital involvement. This is helping to redefine digital exclusion to incorporate online safety, individual privacy, motivations for use and levels of support to enable connectivity.

In our work we were commissioned by a social housing provider to see how users in a low-income community used broadband. We were interested in understanding how use could shape the wider engagement of low-income households in social and economic activity and whether a case could be made for free provision of broadband, that is ‘social broadband’. Our focus was on the Knowsley area in the Liverpool City Region and specifically on an urban neighbourhood in Huyton, were we conducted a face-to-face survey visiting over 400 households in the summer of 2022. In this presentation we provide commentary on this survey where we covered areas of interest such as costs of connectivity, skills’ levels, online services, community assets and hard infrastructure.

What we found is that the socio-economic characteristics of the neighbourhood were overwhelming. These are a consequence of low employment income, low levels of pension income, the volume of benefit recipients, poor health, over reliance on free school meals, relatively low levels of educational attainment and relatively low levels of market functionality and public services. The impact of the socio-economic context on both households and to those organisations providing basic services such as housing, health and education have undoubtedly shaped the way technologies such as broadband have been used. While access does not appear to be restricted solely by household income, the way we define the value from use is. The results show that understanding what digital poverty is and how it affects low-income urban communities is much more nuanced than previously thought.

ABSTRACT. During the COVID-19 pandemic, digital healthcare initiatives have had a profound impact on the lifestyle of the Chinese public. For example, the Chinese government and various medical platforms have successively promoted exclusive digital medical platform applications for citizens to conduct QR code scanning registration, online booking and payment, nucleic acid testing and evaluation. While digital healthcare initiatives have delivered a "digital dividend" in general, Internet usage among different groups also indicates a clear "digital gap" between rural residents, older age groups and low-income groups. Such minorities have been marginalized in the digital age, and to some extent digital technology has become a tool to deny them access to health care. They struggle with digital integration, finding relevant health codes and getting timely information about the outbreak. Because of the close link between digital exclusion and social exclusion, helping such minorities to integrate into the digital healthcare society has become an issue that the Chinese government cannot ignore. Therefore, the Chinese government's initiatives include: (1) setting regulations on the protection of personal information, as well as laws and review organizations related to the ethical review of AI applications; (2). Vigorously develop information technology and industry, reduce Internet costs, and follow the principle of universal telecommunications service; (3). Digital public education, such as large-scale digital literacy projects in rural and poor areas, with a particular focus on upgrading the digital skills involved at the intermediate level of digital competence. It is undeniable that in order to alleviate the digital divide, individuals must maintain their attention to digital technology, mastery of knowledge and open mind, maintain cognitive ability, absorb new information, and participate in lifelong learning - these are extremely important factors that require social inclusion in China.

ABSTRACT. Digital access directly and indirectly affects all the social determinants of health, not just access to primary healthcare. Being digitally excluded affects work, home life, education, diet and much more, which all contribute to a healthy life.

Working with Impact on Urban Health, we are developing a pilot project in South London to work with residents to explore the impact of digital access on their health and wellbeing. Through providing extremely cheap or free home broadband to a neighbourhood or community, we hope to demonstrate that improving affordability is a central requirement in addressing digital exclusion, and can contribute to improved health and wellbeing.

This session will present our research to date, including our Digital Access Health Benefits Model, and work in progress on the pilot.

ABSTRACT. Digital transformation of health services is ongoing, with key focus on pathways to care and the use of digital tools for patients to contact GPs and manage their own health (DHSC & NHS May 2023). Engaging with the digital tools can be a challenge, particularly for those with low digital skills (c. 14 million people) (Lloyds 2022).

We conducted research with patients in Humber and North Yorkshire to find out more about usage and attitudes to digital health tools. In addition to focus groups and interviews with patients, our research included interviews with practice managers, a staff survey, digital exclusion risk mapping and analysis of NHS data to identify GP practices with lowest / highest digital registrations.

Patients face personal barriers (lack of confidence, digital skills, devices or data; and impact of health issues) and organisational and health service barriers (challenges with usability of digital health tools; lack of human contact and concerns about privacy and quality of care). Patients need the right support at the right time, varying from a brief introduction by someone at the surgery, to more in-depth support. Person-centred support is crucial, as is providing choice, including non-digital ways to contact their surgery.

For GP surgeries the key challenges are staff time and capacity, and some staff having low digital skills. Demographic make-up of the patients has an impact: older and disabled people are more likely to be digitally excluded, while younger patients can be in better health, reducing the need for health services and digital health tools.

Our recommendations include improving staff awareness about digital exclusion, and training staff as digital champions. Surgeries should have a digital lead to drive embedding digital inclusion into all processes. Awareness of local support to signpost to is also key. We have created a signposting map about local support.

ABSTRACT. Youth mental health is an urgent challenge in today's society, and the positive impact of creative practices on well-being is well-established. However, the potential of heritage-led activities and digital tools in addressing the mental health needs of young individuals is often underestimated and underutilized. Despite the therapeutic potential of heritage-led activities, individuals affected by mental health conditions often face barriers to participating in such activities. Traditional rehabilitation programs tend to prioritize conventional therapeutic approaches, neglecting the unique benefits that heritage-led activities can offer. Additionally, these programs typically exclude digital tools and methods due to concerns about addiction and abuse risks. This paper proposal underscores the significance of digital tools in promoting the well-being of young individuals affected by mental health conditions through heritage-led activities. It recognizes that digital technologies can serve as powerful means to engage and support this vulnerable population. By integrating cultural heritage into collaborative practices, opportunities for self-expression, emotional resilience, and personal growth are enhanced. Furthermore, the inclusion of digital tools allows for a more immersive and accessible experience, facilitating engagement and connection. To validate the effectiveness of heritage-led collaborative practices and digital tools, a case study is presented: the "Healing Heritage" workshop held in Turin. The workshop involved 30 young participants with diverse backgrounds, including mental health experiences, and explored the impact of heritage-led activities on mental well-being. The multidisciplinary approach, facilitated by experts in psychology, architecture, design, and cultural heritage, fostered a supportive and inclusive environment. By shedding light on effective educational approaches for engaging youth in heritage-led collaborative practices and incorporating digital tools, this research aims to enhance the discourse and practice surrounding youth mental health, cultural heritage, and rehabilitation programs. Embracing heritage-led activities and digital tools within rehabilitation programs will enable young individuals to access meaningful and holistic approaches to mental health recovery, fostering personal growth, social connection, and a sense of identity.

ABSTRACT. Psychosocial disabilities in the form of mental health conditions may cause severe impairment in a person's daily life. Mental health conditions are highly prevalent, with 1 in 4 people diagnosed with a mental health condition worldwide (Kessler et al., 2009). In recent years, the significant growth in personal Internet-based electronic devices and Internet access increased their use in assisting individuals with psychosocial disabilities in coping with their conditions (e.g., Karyotaki et al., 2021; Yakisir & Duman, 2022). One such psychosocial disability is social anxiety disorder (SAD). SAD is an intense anxious response to social or performance situations (American Psychological Association [APA], 2013), leading to extreme hardships in face-to-face (FTF) communication (Radtke et al., 2020); however, individuals with SAD (ISAD) experience lower anxiety levels when interacting online and thus often prefer communicating online (Hutchins et al., 2021). Previous studies presented possible explanations for this tendency; however, a void exists in understanding whether modifying ISAD's online social behaviors may contribute to the quality of their offline communication, social skills, and well-being. The current study explores the contribution of a 12-15 weeks individual Internet-based intervention of ten ISAD between the ages of 20-35, which studies participants' online behavior and uses properties of the Internet to enhance the quality of their offline communication, social skills, and well-being. Hence contributing to the understanding of the possible contribution of the Internet to change users' offline social behaviors and well-being and the theory concerning the possible coping methods with SAD while providing a practical tool to assist ISAD in enhancing the quality of their social relationships and conditions.

ABSTRACT. Using a social diagnosis approach to health, wellbeing, and digital inequalities, COVID-19, this research bridges the fields of sociology of medicine, disaster response, digital sociology, and digital divides. Bringing these literatures into dialogue, we problematize the digitally mediated trauma ensuring from COVID-19 and its larger implications for digital health as an axis of inequality. Here we concentrate on the digital inequality channel to a social diagnosis of digital inequality trauma specific to sharp increase in reliance on digital media occasioned by the pandemic, which has only continued to accelerate. We map out how digital inequalities act as a social determinant of health by revealing linkages between physical symptoms of anxiety and lack of digital confidence (defined as both access to digital resources and the skills to use them effectively). To do so, we present logistic models examining how pandemic anxiety and COVID-19 comprehension vary with digital confidence among adults in the United States during the first wave of the pandemic. As we demonstrate statistically with a nationally representative data set, the digitally confident have lower probability of experiencing physical manifestations of pandemic anxiety and higher probability of adequately comprehending critical information on COVID-19. The effects of digital confidence on both pandemic anxiety and COVID-19 comprehension persist, even after a broad range of potentially confounding factors are taken into account, including sociodemographic factors such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, metropolitan status, and partner status. They also remain discernable after the introduction of general anxiety, as well as income and education. These results offer evidence that the digitally disadvantaged experience greater vulnerability to the secondary effects of the pandemic in the form of increased somatized stress and decreased COVID-19 comprehension. We conclude by offering insight into how health and well-being must become an integral component of the field of digital inequality.

ABSTRACT. Learn more about the range of activity being undertaken with partners at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority to tackle the digital divide across the region, with the establishment of a Digital Inclusion Network, co-designed interventions and additional skills support – to ensure no one is left behind.

ABSTRACT. Learn more about digital inclusion from the Welsh perspective.

ABSTRACT. Purpose: This research article investigates the digital literacy of senior citizens in Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on their ability to navigate social media and avoid misinformation. The article encompasses four main themes: social media literacy and senior citizens, how misinformation on social media affects senior citizens, COVID-19 misinformation on social media and senior citizens, and how to protect senior citizens in the misinformation era. Design/methodology/approach: The study utilizes interview methodology to explore the experiences of senior citizens with digital literacy and the impact of COVID-19 misinformation. Findings: The research findings reveal that senior citizens face challenges in understanding the complexities of social media and the risks of misinformation. The study also reveals that senior citizens are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 misinformation and that misinformation poses a threat to their health and well-being. The article concludes by providing recommendations for how to protect senior citizens from misinformation and improve their digital literacy skills. The recommendations include the importance of providing accessible and relevant education on digital literacy for senior citizens, the role of family and community in supporting senior citizens, and the need for effective regulation of social media platforms to prevent the spread of misinformation.

ABSTRACT. This article is based on fieldwork of the author since October 2019. The author interviewed 17 participants in Wuxi and 15 in Shanghai. Monthly visits were undertaken (except the lockdown period) by the author to simply chat and sometimes teaching new functions of digital devices, especially smartphones. An in-depth interview is done with every participants on a yearly basis to study their cultural lives, experience with digital devices and social lives. The practical fieldwork has taught 11 participants, all without any digital experience but with fear or resistance to digital devices, to use digital devices. The main strategy was to discover the cultural needs of these older adults through interviews and identify simple mobile applications that could fulfill such needs. This is a useful starting point to overcome the resistance to smartphones of the participants.

ABSTRACT. Artificial intelligence (AI) large language models (LLMs) have been widely applied in various domains, such as education, entertainment, and health. However, little is known about how different groups of users interact with these models and whether there are any digital inequalities in their use. In particular, older users, who have lower digital literacy and face more challenges in information input, are often neglected especially when they are using AI LLMs. This study aims to explore the digital inequality of older users in the use of AI LLM prompts, which are short texts that typed by participants to solve certain problems. We conducted an online experiment with 84 participants from different age groups, who had basic information input skills and were asked to use AI LLM prompts to complete some LLM-related tasks, such as writing a poem, summarizing a news article, or creating a chatbot. We did not assign any specific type of prompts to the participants, but let them choose their own prompts based on their preferences and goals. We used ChatGPT (GPT-3.5) as the LLM model and conducted semi-structured interviews to measure the participants’ satisfaction, trust, and perceived usefulness of the texts generated by the prompts. We also collected their demographic and social media data to identify their digital literacy. The result suggested that older users have lower satisfaction, trust, and perceived usefulness of LLMs than younger users. What's more, older users need more guidance and feedback when using LLMs, especially when they encounter errors or unexpected outputs. Moreover, we found that digital literacy moderated the effects of prompts on older users’ satisfaction and trust. These findings suggest that there is a new type of digital bias in the use of AI LLM prompts among older users, and that prompt design should consider the needs and characteristics of this group. We discuss the implications and limitations of our study and provide suggestions for future research.

ABSTRACT. This paper offers a critical analysis of existing and emerging challenges for digital inclusion in light of the rise and spread of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems. In the first part, the paper critically reviews the meaning of, barriers to, and significance of digital inclusion, while it identifies new areas of research focus such as digital inclusion in the world of Internet-of-Things and algorithms. Then, it touches upon the continuous calls for policy solutions to digital inequalities, and it stresses the temporality, multi-sidedness and inherent contradictions in current and planned policies in this area. In the second part, the paper views the above discussion within the context of the rapid spread of AI systems and the critiques of such systems in the context of digital inclusion. The paper asks a series of urgent questions about the role of AI systems in digital inclusion which require exploration, such as: are digital inclusion barriers such as low literacy and restricted accessibility exacerbated by AI systems and models of the kind of ChatGPT? Should we pledge for diverse voices and agents participating in the AI development process, similarly to the long-standing pledge for tailored-to-user technology design? Or should we acknowledge the existence of new necessities in the development of AI systems, esp. having in mind long-term digitally excluded and broadly vulnerable or marginalized communities? Is there a need for an AI Code of Practice that will enhance digital inclusion and, if so, what values such a code must adopt so that it represents the values, interests, and priorities of different contexts and users? The paper acknowledges that these are questions not easy to answer in a simple and quick way, which definitely incorporate other questions concerning the ethical and responsible development and deployment of AI systems for the purpose of socio-digital equality and empowerment of the lay user. In this regard, the paper also flags up the need for more attention to the feasibility of the aspiration for all technical systems to suit and address the needs and characteristics of each and every one of us, at all times, so as to accomplish universal digital inclusion.

ABSTRACT. Financial inclusion is a crucial issue in developing countries such as India, where a substantial proportion of the population lacks access to formal financial services. The Unified Payment Interface (UPI) is a digital payment system that has gained significant popularity in India since its launch in 2016. UPI enables users to make instant and secure payments directly from their bank accounts using a mobile device. UPI's widespread adoption in India is due to its convenience, accessibility, and low transaction costs. According to the National Payments Corporation of India's (NPCI) latest data, the number of banks live on UPI had increased to 390 in February 2023, indicating a steady rise in the platform's popularity. UPI has witnessed a surge in both the volume and value of transactions in recent years, with transaction volume standing at 7,534.76 million in February 2023 and the value of transactions recorded at INR 1,235,846.2 million. The data also reveals that the number of banks live on UPI has been steadily increasing over time. This study aims to examine the role of UPI in promoting financial inclusion in India. It employs a critical sociological perspective aligned with social capital theory and political economy theory to analyse the impact of UPI on financial inclusion in India. The paper adopts a qualitative approach to explore the potential of UPI in promoting financial inclusion in India by providing a convenient and low-cost means to access financial services. The study aims to open up avenues for further research leading to inquiries related to challenges for promoting financial inclusion through UPI, which requires addressing digital literacy, infrastructure, and social inequality.

ABSTRACT. Access to good quality connectivity is now an essential part of consumers' lives, yet in August 2022 Which? Analysis of Ofcom data found nearly six million households are struggling to afford essential telecom services, including broadband. There is a chronic and ongoing need for financial support to enable digital inclusion which is why helping consumers access the internet affordably has always been a key pillar of Which?’s Cost Of Living Campaign.

The current solution to this affordability problem is social tariffs - discounted tariffs for those in receipt of benefits. However, in April 2023 only 5% of eligible households were on a social tariff, up from 3% in August 2022. This is in spite of now 50% of eligible consumers being aware of social tariffs and a period of double-digit inflation. Our autumn 2022 work found that broadband social tariff take-up is low partly as a result of concerns about download speeds and consumers already being tied into a contract, but increasingly we believe the current model of financial support (social tariffs) is not fit for purpose.

However, there isn't a clear understanding of what a more effective model for affordable connectivity would look like. Which? is therefore conducting research to explore how we could most effectively support struggling consumers with access to broadband in the cost of living crisis and beyond.

Our research will conclude in August 2023 and our conference presentation will give fresh insight into the following questions: How are struggling households currently using the internet? How are they getting connected? What are the weaknesses of the social tariff approach? What alternatives might better serve the needs of households struggling to afford to get online?

ABSTRACT. The growing reliance on digital information and communication technologies (ICTs) and their ubiquitous use in different socioeconomic facets have stirred changes in the way organizations in the humanitarian sector approach their work. Recognizing both the skyrocketed global population of refugees and the promise of emerging technologies in streamlining operational processes, bureaucratic organizations in the migration management ecosystem have moved toward incorporating digital alternatives to facilitate humanitarian operations in refugee camps and settlements. This paper focuses on the case study of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) programs to examine ways efforts to digitalize the delivery of aid to communities affected by humanitarian crises intersect with existing global digital inequalities. Given that mobile networks and digital infrastructures are not equally developed across different regions of the world, I ask: how do organizations in the humanitarian sector navigate ICT barriers in their implementations of CVA in low-income refugee host countries? Despite evidence around administrative barriers (such as hurdles to register a SIM card, access to mobile money and banking services) that some recipients of cash assistance have been encountering, humanitarian actors credit CVA for offering a ‘more dignified’ and ‘cost-effective’ approach to meet the needs of forcibly displaced people, as well as promoting their financial inclusion. I then ask, how does the digitalization of humanitarian aid delivery help diminish – or further exacerbate – existing digital inequalities among refugees? Drawing on media studies, international political sociology, and digital inequality research, this paper helps to illuminate ways in which digital transformations in the humanitarian sector, especially in providing for and meeting the needs of vulnerable populations like refugees, are intertwined with digital inequalities and efforts to alleviate them.

ABSTRACT. The challenge of digital exclusion is too widespread for a single organisation or sector to tackle. In this presentation we share our practical experiences of collaboration to improve digital inclusion in Derbyshire.

Both the pandemic and cost of living crisis have raised awareness of the digital divide. Now more than ever, being excluded from the digital world creates barriers to residents and communities thrive. In Spring 2022, Citizens Online (CO), and Rural Action Derbyshire (RAD) began digital inclusion work separately in Derbyshire. The projects had two different commissioners, but we have found common ground and collaborated to avoid duplication and bolster impact. Our case study sets out good practice and learning opportunities for inclusive, community wide digital inclusion work, from initial research to implementation.

ABSTRACT. The explosion of digital technologies continues to cause massive ripples in the ways we “do life”. The advancement of generative artificial intelligence (e.g., ChatGPT), the proliferation of social media platforms and the resultant information overload manifest the revolutionizing force of the internet in the global village – at least as Marshall McLuhan had envisioned. This digital utopian lens threatens to overshadow critical research on the impact of these technologies on social relations, especially in contexts that are academically underserved. Uncritical celebrations of advanced technologies and the institutionalization of technological fetishism threaten to obscure the forces of inclusion and exclusion that are constitutive of our experiences online and offline.

This paper seeks to disturb a technological fetish, by critically examining the digital communication ecosystem in selected countries of sub-Saharan Africa, that are facing an influx of digital hardware and software products from transnational corporations from America’s Silicon Valley and Asian countries (led by China and India). I argue that the dominance and monopoly of these companies have profound implications on the integrity of the information space in sub-Saharan countries. A lot is at stake. Understanding these imbalances goes beyond the “haves and have nots” paradigm. A critique of the digital access paradigm also questions the “leapfrogging” narratives that center western modernity while propping up a system of dependency and subservience.

I develop a reticulated framework that dissects strategies by transnational corporations to “connect the unconnected” using a typology of four Es: exclusion, experimentation, extraction, and exploitation with the accumulation of capital as the main goal. These four Es are placed at the nexus of a digital media-industrial complex that thrives on commodification, monopolization, vertical and horizontal integration, and authoritarian governance of the internet – all of which have implications on marginalized communities based on class, education, gender, urban/rural divide, nationality and even age.

ABSTRACT. Global pay-TV coverage (both analog and digital) stood at 57.8 per cent at the end of 2015 and will increased to 63.4 per cent by 2021. At the end of 2021, pay TV coverage varied widely by region, with the highest being 80.3% in North America and the lowest being 24.2% in the Middle East and North Africa. The presence of digital television partly still reflects the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world. However, in recent years, there are also many foreign enterprises aiming at the Red Sea of African digital TV. For example, China's Startimes Company began to expand the African market in 2002, and began to invest in Africa in 2007. Up to now, it has preliminarily built three network platforms: Program relay platform, live satellite platform, digital terrestrial television transmission platform. Their signal covers more than 90 percent of the African countries’ population.

Through digital TV, companies like Startimes use their digital TV platforms and streaming platforms to provide African users with a range of cultural products, including Chinese films and TV series, shows, and locally produced content based on African characteristics. How do these cultural products change the cultural identity of African audiences? And how does the export of these cultural products affect the cultural exchanges between Africa and other regions? This paper hopes to study the influence of digital TV products on African audiences' cultural identity and cultural communication by exploring the imported cultural products of African digital TV platforms.

ABSTRACT. Hear about the current digital inclusion work from Simeon Yates at the University of Liverpool, including the Minimum Digital Living Standards Project, work with the Modern Slavery Policy and Evidence Centre, and other projects focusing on policy and different populations across the UK.

ABSTRACT. Ofcom commissioned 13 organisations to deliver media literacy initiatives from Norfolk to Northern Ireland and from the Highlands to Tower Hamlets. The projects use a range of delivery approaches to work with a broad spread of participants until March 2024. This presentation will share the successes and learnings so far, drawing on wider Ofcom research and outlining implications for the media literacy sector