(2003) Is there a Place in Cyberspace: The Uses and Users of Public Internet Terminals (original) (raw)

The interplay of public and private spaces in internet access

Information, Communication & Society, 2006

The creation of public internet access facilities is one of the principal policy instruments adopted by governments in addressing 'digital divide' issues. The lack of plans for ongoing funding, in North America at least, suggests that this mode is regarded mainly as transitional, with private, home-based access being perceived as superior. The assumption apparently is that as domestic internet penetration rates rise, public access facilities will no longer be needed. Central to this issue are the varied characteristics of publicly provided and privately owned access sites and their implications for non-employment internet activities. What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of these two access modes? More fundamentally, how do people conceptualize public and private spaces and how does this perception influence their online activities? Finally, why do people choose one over the other, and how do they navigate between the two? This article attempts to answer these questions by drawing on data generated within the Everyday Internet Project, a 'neighborhood ethnography' of internet usage. It argues that the conventional view of private and public access facilities as immiscible, fixed alternatives is inadequate. Rather than 'pure' types, they are better understood as offering hybrid spaces whose identity and character are fluid, perceived differently by individuals in light of the activities being performed, life experiences, infrastructure and architecture. The picture emerging from our study is one where public and private access modes intertwine with each other in a variety of ways, their combination offering significant additional value for many users. From a public policy perspective, these findings suggest that if universal access is to be achieved, there is a continuing need for publicly supported broadspectrum facilities with integrated technical support and learning opportunities, even if domestic penetration rates approach that of the telephone.

Internet Access as an Essential Social Good

The New Common

During the coronavirus crisis, educational activities and nearly all social contact with friends and family were conducted via online communication tools. Such tools can only be used effectively if an individual has suitable internet access. Thankfully, the Netherlands is one of the EU leaders when it comes to Next Generation Access (NGA) coverage, with 98% of Dutch households having access to these high-speed connections; this is well above the USA (94%) and EU (87%) averages. However, this still means that nearly 344,000 individuals living in the Netherlands lack a strong internet connection. Here, we contend that the coronavirus crisis, and especially the associated lockdown wherein individuals were strongly encouraged to not leave their homes, has made it clear that high-speed internet access is a necessary good for modern social living.

Should the Internet Be Everywhere? Perspectives on Ubiquitous Internet Access

explores experienced internet users' opinions and attitudes about the value of the internet, demonstrating that despite its widely recognized benefits, many people embrace the internet somewhat reluctantly. The paper identifies four types of internet users who dynamically engage with the technology in different ways. Each type of user bears a set of distinguishing characteristics, which are drawn from analysis of internet users' discussions about their activities on the internet, and their attitudes toward it. This paper considers how (or whether) ubiquitous internet access could be of benefit to each type of user, concluding that ubiquitous internet access is not yet expected to be in great demand by all types of internet users.

Delving deeper into access: Marginal Internet usage in a local community

HOIT (Home Oriented …, 2003

The Internet serves a wide range of citizens but in various ways -so much so that the practical distinctions between those people we label "online" and "non-users" begin to lose their significance as the Internet becomes more and more integrated into our lives, communities, and culture. Access to the Internet does not serve all residents of a community equally. Similarly, a lack of access may not inhibit all non-users equally. Our knowledge, values, and social networks influence how we can and will use the Internet. A great deal of attention has been devoted to the study of who is "online" and who is not, but more needs to be done to explain the nuances of how the Internet gets incorporated in different ways into our diverse lives.

Public internet access revisited

Telecommunications Policy, 2004

In recent years the Australian government has dedicated considerable project funds to establish public Internet access points in rural and regional communities. Drawing on data from a major Australian study of the social and economic impact of new technologies on rural areas, this paper explores some of the difficulties rural communities have faced in setting up public access points and sustaining them beyond their project funding. Of particular concern is the way that economic sustainability has been positioned as a measure of the success of such ventures. Government funding has been allocated on the basis of these rural public access points becoming economically self-sustaining. This is problematic on a number of counts. It is therefore argued that these public access points should be reconceptualised as essential community infrastructure like schools and libraries, rather than potential economic enterprises.

THE USE OF AN INTERNET CAFÉ AND SOCIAL CAPITAL IN A LOCAL COMMUNITY

2001

REFERENCES 353 APPENDICES 379 a) Description of the Study in Easterhouse, b-c) Questions and Frequencies for the Local Net and the Internet Café Studies, d) List of Publications. ABSTRACT This dissertation is concerned with the extent to which the use of information and communication technology can (re-)create social capital and local community in an urban environment. Will the new technologies lead to new forms of social inclusion or to the creation of a digital divide? How have social networks, social support, trust and sense of community been affected by the rapid development of the Internet? In the literature there is disagreement between writers who see the technology as a new basis for social inclusion, social capital and community (e.g. Wellman, 1997; Rheingold, 2000; Lin, 2001) and others who see it as a threat, leading to new forms of exclusion and a decline in face-to-face contacts (e.g. .

Going online without easy access: A tale of three cities

Journal of Urban Affairs, 2008

Building on a national study that showed that concentrated poverty matters for the “digital divide,” this research compares the influence of the neighborhood-level context in three cities that vary in racial composition and income. We use a 2005 random digit-dialed survey of respondents in Northeast Ohio communities, and find unexpectedly that residents in areas of concentrated poverty demonstrate efforts to go online despite lacking home or work access. We analyze the results using regression models that include contextual “buffers” that create a unique geography for each respondent within a half-kilometer radius. Respondents who live in areas with a high percentage of African Americans or college graduates are more likely to go online even if they lack convenient Internet access, although the percentage of college graduates has a greater effect. At the neighborhood level, race and education influence the context for technology use.

Using Internet Cafes As An Alternative Means of Combatting The Digital Divide

… of Inequality and Exclusion, organized by …, 2003

Bridging the digital divide by providing Internet access to all citizens is an important public policy objective in many countries today. To this end, each country first needs to justify facilitating Internet access for its citizens given the resource constraints, and then make a series of strategic decisions to find the most feasible way(s) to make access possible. This paper considers using Internet cafés as an alternative public policy tool to increase Internet access. The objective of this study is to uncover the legal, administrative and technical problems Internet café industry and its regulators in the government (police officers) are facing, and offer a more efficient regulatory structure based on empirical data.

Who uses ICT at Public Access Centers?

2009

Libraries, telecentres and cybercafés are key points of public access to information around the world. In this first study of its kind, named the Public Access Landscape Study, a global research team led by the University of Washington's Center for Information & Society (CIS) researched public access venues (libraries, telecentres, cybercafés) in 25 countries around the world. The goal of the project was to better understand the needs and opportunities to strengthen institutions that offer public access to information and communication, especially to underserved communities, and with a particular emphasis on the use of information and communication technology (ICT). This paper reports findings from this study, particularly in relation to the users of the different types of venues. Given that most public access venues are located in urban areas, and given the strong prevalence of cybercafés as the most common public access venues in the majority of the countries studied, a strong urban bias was confirmed. An age divide was by far the most significant characteristic of the surveyed population, with youth (15-35 year-olds) accounting for the vast majority of users of these venues. Also significant was that most users were highschool educated, and most were lower to middle-income. Older individuals, those with high or low education levels, and those with higher-incomes did not frequent public access venues nearly as much as younger, poorer, and more modestly-educated individuals. However, contrary to current literature on this topic, gender may not be as strong a differentiator of use of public access venue as other studies report. With few exceptions, women and men participated almost equally in most of the public access venues