Comparing digital divides: internet access and social inequality in Canada and the United States
What is the best way to measure and track the digital divide, in a comparative manner, over time? What impact have differing policy interventions had on the digital divide in Canada and the United States? We offer a way of benchmarking equality in Internet access using Gini coefficients and demonstr...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal article |
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Canadian Journal of Communication Corporation
2010
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| _version_ | 1797063753669279744 |
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| author | Howard, P Busch, L Sheets, P |
| author_facet | Howard, P Busch, L Sheets, P |
| author_sort | Howard, P |
| collection | OXFORD |
| description | What is the best way to measure and track the digital divide, in a comparative manner, over time? What impact have differing policy interventions had on the digital divide in Canada and the United States? We offer a way of benchmarking equality in Internet access using Gini coefficients and demonstrate that overall the digital divide has been closing in both countries. We find that in terms of income, the digital divide in Canada has closed most dramatically, and that in terms of education, the digital divide remains most pronounced in the United States. We suggest that Canada has been more successful in reducing the concentration of Internet access among wealthy educated populations, in part due to the active role of the state in supporting the production of culturally relevant digital content. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:04:25Z |
| format | Journal article |
| id | oxford-uuid:3bf7fbe9-417d-4fb6-9372-29f04e052814 |
| institution | University of Oxford |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-06T21:04:25Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | Canadian Journal of Communication Corporation |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | oxford-uuid:3bf7fbe9-417d-4fb6-9372-29f04e0528142022-03-26T14:10:46ZComparing digital divides: internet access and social inequality in Canada and the United StatesJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:3bf7fbe9-417d-4fb6-9372-29f04e052814Symplectic Elements at OxfordCanadian Journal of Communication Corporation2010Howard, PBusch, LSheets, PWhat is the best way to measure and track the digital divide, in a comparative manner, over time? What impact have differing policy interventions had on the digital divide in Canada and the United States? We offer a way of benchmarking equality in Internet access using Gini coefficients and demonstrate that overall the digital divide has been closing in both countries. We find that in terms of income, the digital divide in Canada has closed most dramatically, and that in terms of education, the digital divide remains most pronounced in the United States. We suggest that Canada has been more successful in reducing the concentration of Internet access among wealthy educated populations, in part due to the active role of the state in supporting the production of culturally relevant digital content. |
| spellingShingle | Howard, P Busch, L Sheets, P Comparing digital divides: internet access and social inequality in Canada and the United States |
| title | Comparing digital divides: internet access and social inequality in Canada and the United States |
| title_full | Comparing digital divides: internet access and social inequality in Canada and the United States |
| title_fullStr | Comparing digital divides: internet access and social inequality in Canada and the United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparing digital divides: internet access and social inequality in Canada and the United States |
| title_short | Comparing digital divides: internet access and social inequality in Canada and the United States |
| title_sort | comparing digital divides internet access and social inequality in canada and the united states |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT howardp comparingdigitaldividesinternetaccessandsocialinequalityincanadaandtheunitedstates AT buschl comparingdigitaldividesinternetaccessandsocialinequalityincanadaandtheunitedstates AT sheetsp comparingdigitaldividesinternetaccessandsocialinequalityincanadaandtheunitedstates |