As digital access and education have become increasingly widespread, rural Appalachia, a historically marginalized region of the eastern United States, remains heavily impacted by the digital divide, with lower levels of digital access and use than average rates throughout the US. The digital divide is well-established from a rural-urban…

This case study was an exploration into the digital distraction occurring in a 1:1 integrated American high school. Twenty-first century education allows students and teachers to navigate learning using digital resources (internet, social media, academic databases) via school-issued and student-owned mobile digital technology (laptops, tablets,…

This dissertation offers a critical analysis of software practices within the university and the ways they contribute to a broader status quo of software use, development, and imagination. Through analyzing the history of software practices used in the production and circulation of student and scholarly writing, I argue that this overarching…

Through colonialism, external forces can alter and shift social structures and practices. It causes trans-generational, often normalized, invisible, and profound marginalization of the collective identities of local and indigenous populations. Decolonization is the resisting and undoing of colonial impacts. It's the process of reforming a…

Through econometric analysis of data from multiple surveys, this study explores factors that affect ICT adoption and evaluates the extent to which ICT in schools affect the ICT adoption of surrounding communities, in order to provide a perspective that can help narrow the gap of digital divide. Understanding factors affecting ICT adoption may…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how the computer is utilized in the daily lives of seven African American male youth in the southeastern region of the United States. Critical pedagogy was selected as the theoretical framework using Paulo Freire ideas of problem-posing education to promote awareness towards using the computer…

This research attempted to reveal the existence of digital divides, their relationships to users' socio-demographics, and the Internet adoption and usage patterns. It was a longitudinal investigation targeted to the adults eighteen years or older in the household setting from the nation-wide surveys conducted in the United States between 2000…

Home computer ownership and Internet access have become essential to education, job security and economic opportunity. The digital divide, the gap between those who can afford and can use computer technologies remains greatest for ethnic/racial groups placing them at a disadvantage for economic and educational opportunities. The purpose of the…

The purpose of this research project was to understand, explore and describe the digital divide and the relationship between technology utilization and health outcomes. Diabetes and diabetic eye disease was used as the real-life context for understanding change and exploring the digital divide. As an investigational framework, a telemedicine…

It is hoped that implementing educational technology (ET) into academic curriculums will close the achievement gap among ethnically and socioeconomically (SES) diverse students. California public schools have arranged for instructional classrooms to be stored with information communication technology (ICT) resources. Even so, there is inequity in…

Despite efforts to introduce information and communication technologies to women, internet access rates for women and the benefits they can draw from using ICTs still are not on par with men. This dissertation examines why the gender digital divide persists in America, who are the women at the lower end of the digital divide, and why they are…

The objective of this dissertation is to explore the socio-cultural contextualization of the digital divide in Japanese society. I undertake this task by developing a theoretical and methodological framework based on the notion of "culture as models," while explicating the cultural dimensions of the digital divide and the dynamics of…

This dissertation explores the use of formal and informal networks through cyber- and traditional communication methods in the college search and selection process by native and immigrant students to examine various postulates and propositions of social capital theory. In addition, the analysis of cybernetworks used by disadvantaged, college bound…