Determinants of the digital divide (Case study: Rafsanjan citizens)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Prof., Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Prof., Faculty of Administrative Science and Economics, Vali-e-asr University, Rafsanjan, Iran

3 MSc. Student in Public Administration, Faculty of Administrative Science and Economics, Vali-e-asr University, Rafsanjan, Iran

Abstract

In the last two decades, digital divide, defined as the gap between the people who can access PCs and internet and those who cannot, has been proposed as one of the biggest challenges of digital age. Considering that the economic, cultural, social, and political by-products of such a gap are viewed by many scholars to be more damaging than traditional gaps, the present research strives to detect the factors affecting this gap in Rafsanjan city. The present paper  is correlational in terms of nature, and applied in terms of objective, using descriptive-survey method for data collection. Using cluster sampling, the situation of 501 citizens, selected randomly, was analyzed using structural equation modelling. The results indicate that economic and infrastructural factors affect the gap directly, while culture acts as a mediator that affects the gap via motivational access. Comparing different factors reveal that the cultural factor is more significant than economic and infrastructural factors. All the investigated variables can explain 55.3 percent of the physical access variation.

Keywords

Main Subjects


Akca, H., Sayili, M. & Esengun, K. (2007). Challenge of rural people to reduce digital divide in the globalized world: Theory and practice. Government Information Quarterly, 24(2): 404-413.
 
Archibugi, D. & Coco, A. (2004). A new indicator of technological capabilities for developed and developing countries (ArCo). World Development, 32(4): 629-654.
 
Anderson, J. C. & Gerbing, D. W. (1988). Structural equation modeling in practice: A review and recommended two-step approach. Psychological Bulletin, 103: 411-423.
 
Battisti, G., Hollenstein, H., Stoneman, P. & Woerter, M. (2007). Inter- and intrafirm diffusion of ICT in the United Kingdom (UK) and Switzerland (CH): An internationally comparative study on firm-level data. Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 16(8): 669-687.
 
Baron, R. M. & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator distinction in social psychological research: conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Personality andSocial Psychology, 51: 1173-82.
 
Behmardi, A. (2011). Roots of culture term in intermediate Period. IBNA. It’s online at: http://www.ibna.ir/vdcir5azut1arr2.cbct.html. (In Persian)
 
Billon, M., Marco, R. & Lera-Lopez, F. (2009). Disparities in ICT adoption: A multidimensional approach to study the cross-country digital divide. Telecommunications Policy, 33(10,11): 596-610.
 
Bindé, J. (2005). Towards knowledge societies: UNESCO World Report. Paris: UNESCO Publishing.
 
Brosnan, M. J. (1998). The impact of computer anxiety and self-efficacy upon performance. Computer Assisted Learning, 14: 223-234.
 
Byrne, B. M. (2001). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
 
Carvalho, D., et al. (2012). New interaction paradigms to fight the digital divide: A pilot case study regarding multi-touch technology. Procedia Computer Science, 14: 128–137.
 
Chen, W. & Wellman, B. (2004). The global digital divide — Within and between countries. IT & Society, 1(7): 39-45.
 
Chua, S. L., Chen, D. T. & Wong, A. F. L. (1999). Computer anxiety and its correlates: A metaanalysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 15: 609-623.
 
Compaine, B. M. (2001). The digital divide: Facing a crisis or creating a myth? (illustrated ed.). The MIT Press.
 
Cilan, C. A., Bolat, B. A. & Coşkun, A. E. (2009).Analyzing digital divide within & between member and candidate countries of European Union. Government Information Quarterly, 26(1): 98-105.
 
Crenshaw, E. M. & Robison, K. K. (2006). Globalization and the digital divide: The roles of structural conduciveness and global connection in internet diffusion. Social Science Quarterly, 87: 190-207.
 
Cuervo, M. R. V. & Menendez, A. J. L. (2006). A multivariate framework for the analysis of the digital divide: evidence for the European Union. Information & Management, 43(6):756-766.
 
Dewan, S., Ganley, D. & Kraemer, L. K. (2005). Across the digital divide: A cross-country multi‐technology analysis of the determinants of IT penetration. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 6(12): 409-432.
 
Dragulanescu, N. G. (2002). Social impact of the digital divide in a central – Eastern European. The International Information & Library Review, 34(2): 139-151.
 
Fathi, S., Ansari, M. E. & Mohammadi, M. (2012). Designing the model of factors affecting business process reengineering acceptance in government organizations: The case of Isfahan Jihad Agriculture Organization. Quarterly Journal of Public Administration, 3(8): 135-150. (In Persian)
 
Erumban, A. A. & Jong, B. S. (2006). Cross country differences in ICT adoption: A consequence of culture? Journal of World Business, 41(4): 302-314.
 
Ferro, E., Helbig, C. N. & Gil-Garcia, J. R. (2011). The role of IT literacy in defining digital divide policy needs. Government Information Quarterly, 28(1): 3-10.
 
Fuchs, C. (2009). The role of income inequality in a multivariate crossnational analysis of the digital divide. Social Science Computer Review, 27: 41-58.
 
Galperin, H. (2010). Goodbye digital divide, hello digital confusion? A critical embrace of the emerging ICT4D consensus. Information Technologies and International Development, 6 Special edition, 53-55.
 
Gauld, R., Goldfinch, S. & Horsburgh, S. (2010). Do they want it? do they use it? The demand-side of e-government in Australia and New Zealand. Government Information Quarterly, 27(2): 177-186.
Gibbs, J. & Kraemer, K. L. (2004). A cross-country investigation of the determinants of scope of ecommerce use: An institutional approach. Electronic Markets, 14: 124-137.
 
Gomes, E. (2002). Exclusao digital: um problema tecnologico ou social? Rio dejaneiro: Trablaho e Sociedade, Especial 2002 Conhecimento e Desigualdade, 8.
 
Gyabak, k. (2009). Bridging the digital divide infusing digital storytelling to improve literacy instruction among students in rural Bhutan. The university of Texas at El paso.
 
Hanafizadeh, M. R., Saghaei, A. & Hanafizadeh, P. (2009). An index for cross-country analysis of ICT infrastructure and access. Telecommunications Policy, 33(7): 385-405. (In Persian)
 
Harman, D. (1967). A single factor test of common method variance. Journal of Psychology, 35: 359-378.
 
Harrington, D. (2009). Confirmatory factor analysis. Oxford: Oxford University, 50-78.
 
Jafar Khani, E. (2009).Information society tool for globalization and development. It’s online at: http://www.mgtsolution.com/olib/722252824.aspx. (In Persian)
 
James, J. (2009). From the relative to the absolute digital divide in developing countries. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 76(8): 1124-1129.
 
Jung, J. Y., Kim, Y. C., Lin, W. Y. & Cheong, P. H. (2005). The influence of social environment on internet connectedness of adolescents in Seoul, Singapore and Taipei. New Media & Society, 7(1): 64-88.
 
Keniston, K. (2004). Introduction: The four digital divides. In Keniston, K. & Kumar, D. (Eds.), IT experience in India: Bridging the digital divide. 11-36. Sage Publications. New Delhi.
 
Kyriakidou ,V., Michalakelis, C. & Sphicopoulos, T. (2011). Digital divide gap convergence in Europe.Technology in Society, 33: 265-270.
 
Li, Y. & Ranieri, M. (2013). Educational and social correlates of the digital divide for rural and urban children: A study on primary school students in a provincial city of China. Computers & Education, 60: 197-209.
 
Martin, H. (2011). The end justifies the definition: The manifold outlooks on the digital divide and their practical usefulness for policy making. Telecommunications Policy, 35(8): 715-736.
Mehra, B., Merkel, C. & Bishop, A. P. (2004). The internet for empowerment of minority and marginalized users. New Media & Society, 6(6): 781-802.
 
Nargesian, A. & Ayatollah Zade Shirazi, M. (2013). Study of its relationship with public participation, public accountability and transparency in 3’s region of city of Tehran, Quarterly Journal of Public Administration, 5(2): 143-168. (In Persian)
 
Norris, P. (2001). Digital divide: Civic engagement, information poverty, and the Internet worldwide. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK.
 
OECD, (2001). Understanding the digital divide. Paris, OECD.
 
Petrović, M., Bojković, N., Anić b, I. & Petrović, D. (2012).Benchmarking the digital divide using a multi-level outranking framework: Evidence from EBRD countries of operation. Government Information Quarterly, 29: 597-607.
 
Pick, J. B., Nishida, T. (2014). Digital divides in the world and its regions: A spatial and multivariate analysis of technological utilization, /Technological Forecasting & Social Change, It’s online at:
            http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore. 2013.12.026.
 
Pirannejad, A., Gholipour, A. (2013).The study of citizens’ Political Empowerment Under ICT penetration. Quarterly Journal of Public Administration, 5(2): 19-36. (In Persian)
 
Rallet, A. & Rochelandet, F. (2004). La fracture numerique: une faille sans fondement? Reseaux, 127-128, 21-54.
 
Ranieri, M. (2010). Cyberspace’s ethical and social challenges in knowledge society. In S. Dasgupta (Ed.), Social computing: Concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications, Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global, 1697-1705.
 
Roshandel Arbatani,T., Razi, H. & Labafi, S. (2012). Pathological study of the policy making process in the Islamic Republic of Iran broadcasting (IRIB). Quarterly Journal of Public Administration 4(10): 79-100. (In Persian)
 
Schaffer, A. & Siegele, J. (2008). Regionale potentiale - Bedeutung und Nutzung von Potential faktoren in den NUTS 3 Regionen Deutschlands und Ȍsterreichs. Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, 28: 109-132.
 
Schleife, K. (2010). What really matters: Regional versus individual determinants of the digital divide in Germany, Research Policy, 39: 173-185.
 
Sciadas, G. (2004). International bench marking for the information society. ITU-KADO digital bridges symposium. Busan. Republic of Korea. InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU) It’s online ate: http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/ni/digitalbridges/docs/background/BB-intl-indices.pdf (Retrieved in June, 2010)).
 
Shomaker, R. & Lomax, R. E. (2004). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling. Psychology Press.UK.
 
Van den Berg, R. J. & Lance, C. E. (2000). A review and synthesis of the measurement invariance literature: Suggestions, practices, and recommendations for organizational research. Organizational Research Methods, 2: 4-69.
 
Van Dijk, J. (2006). Digital divide research, achievements and shortcomings. Poetics, 34(4/5): 221-235.
 
Van Dijk, J. (2008). The digital divide in Europe, The Handbook of Internet Politics, Routledge, London and New York.
 
Vicente, M. R. & Lopez, A. J. (2010). What drives broadband diffusion? Evidence from Eastern Europe. Applied Economics Letters, 17(1): 51-54.
 
Warschauer, M. (2004). Technology and social inclusion: Rethinking the digital divide. (New edition). The MIT Press.
 
Wengsheng, W. (2001). Bridging the digital divide inside China, Report of the Digital Opportunity Task Force.
 
Wijers, G. D. M. (2010). Determinants of the digital divide: A study on IT development in Cambodia. Technology in Society, 32: 336-341.
 
Wilson, E. J. & Wong, K. (2003). African information revolution: A balance sheet. Telecommunications Policy, 27: 155-177.
 
Wong, P. K. (2002). ICT production and diffusion in Asia: Digital dividends or digital divide? Information Economics and Policy, 14: 167-187.
 
Zhao, H., Kim, S., Suh, T. & Du, J. (2007). Social institutional explanations of global internet diffusion: A cross-country analysis. Journal of Global Information Management, 15: 28-55.