Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

Babb, Annalee C

2003 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/14779960380000227

For the 15 member states of the Caribbean Community Caricom to join and to introduce a measure of equity to the emergent global information society, they must be able to manage and exploit digital communication networks, technologies, products and services in ways that nurture and advance Caribbean knowledge, culture and development. This requires a type of digital access to the new telecommunication infrastructures these small developing countries as yet have been unable to attain. As a consequence, this paper develops a sixlayered model of societal access that includes physical, financial, cognitive, secure, administrative and operational components, and argues that in the absence of all of these layers functioning together, less advanced economies like those in the Caricom grouping cannot begin to build local innovation, foster knowledge creation and advocate increased equity in the evolving networked society.

Martyris, Daryl

2003 Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/14779960380000228

Every year thousands of computers deemed obsolete by companies upgrading to newer models are kept out of landfills by organizations like World Computer Exchange WCE1 which recycle them to schools in developing countries. It is possible to set up at a very low cost, clusters of recycled PCs, using Linux software to substantially reduce the cost of establishing schoolbased community Internet centers. In the case of such an implementation in Goa, India by a WCE partnerNGO the key to its success has been collaboration between the NGO and the private sector to encourage the growth of local Linux support skills and with the government sector the Goa State Education Department to ensure the acceptance of Linux in the curriculum, and the provision of teacher training. The Goa Schools Computers project GSCP2 project provides an example of how low initial costs of infrastructure and linkages between different stakeholders can result in cost savings of up to 60 over a conventional community Internet center therebyincreasing their chances for financial viability.

Bowman, Warigia; Khandwalla, Arifa

2003 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/14779960380000229

This essay surveys and synthesizes the academic literature, archival sources and interviews with key policy makers regarding the emergence of community technology centers in the US. Community Technology Centers CTCs came to the fore in the late 1990s through an activist nonprofit sector combined with federal government and private sector funding. Federal data indicates that CTCs now represent the most important access points to information communications technology for the poor in the US. This essay reviews the latest arguments for and against continued investment in CTCs and public access in general. In addition to providing access, which is often used beneficially for employment and education related purposes, CTCs appear to contribute to social capital as they become social gathering points. This paper concludes, that both government and nonprofits play a vital role in ensuring public access for the poor and that continued investment in CTCs is warranted.

Tavani, Herman T

2003 Journal of Information Communication and Ethics in Society

doi: 10.1108/14779960380000230

During the past decade, a fairly extensive literature on the digital divide has emerged. Many reports and studies have provided statistical data Digital Divide Network, 2002 NTIA, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000 pertaining to sociological aspects of the divide, while some studies have examined policy issues involving universal service Camp and Tsong, 2001 and universal access Brewer and Chuter, 2002.Other studies have suggested ways in which the digital divide could be better understood if it were reconceptualized in terms of an alternative metaphor, e.g. a divide having to do with literacy Warschauer, 2002, power Moss, 2002, content Carvin, 2000, or the information environment Floridi, 2001. However, with the exception of Johnson 2001 and Koehler 2002, authors have tended not to question at least not directly whether the digital divide is, at bottom, an ethical issue. Many authors seem to assume that because disparities involving access to computing technology exist, issues underlying the digital divide are necessarily moral in nature. Many further assume that because this particular divide has to do with something that is digital or technological in nature, it is best understood as a computer ethical issue. The present study, which examines both assumptions, considers four questions 1 What exactly is the digital divide 2 Is this divide ultimately an ethical issue 3 Assuming that the answer to 2 is yes, is the digital divide necessarily an issue for computer ethics 4 If the answer to 3 is yes,what canshould computer professionals do bridge the digital divide