Ramifications of Digital Divide Digital Citizenship - PoE

SOCIAL CAPITAL DEFINED Social capital refers to the way in which people build networks and communicate with each other., in order to be able to achieve a common goal. In order to achieve this, it is important to build trustworthy relationships that will enable a person to be open to relationship building. According to Anon (n.d.), “For the sake of simplicity, however, we can think of social capital as the links, shared values and understandings in society that enable individuals and groups to trust each other and so work together.”

KNOWLEDGE CAPITAL DEFINED Knowledge capital is basically the intellectual capacity of the human capital within an organisation. This intellectual capacity can be managed through knowledge management, which is basically the process of documenting all ideas generated by the people working for a particular firm. According to Strassmann (1998), “Productivity comes from knowledge capital aggregated in the employee's head in the form of useful training and company-relevant experience.”

HUMAN CAPITAL DEFINED As mentioned above, human capital is closely linked with knowledge capital. According to Becker (2008), “Schooling, a computer training course, expenditures on medical care, and lectures on the virtues of punctuality and honesty are also capital. That is because they raise earnings, improve health, or add to a person’s good habits over much of his lifetime. Therefore, economists regard expenditures on education, training, medical care, and so on as investments in human capital. They are called human capital because people cannot be separated from their knowledge, skills, health, or values in the way they can be separated from their financial and physical assets. Education, training, and health are the most important investments in human capital.”

DIGITAL DIVIDE DEFINED The digital divide basically refers to the gap between those who have access to the internet and those who do not have access. Having access to the internet means access to a wide number of information, such as the news, technological developments and research. These all contribute to a person’s intellectual capacity and enables them to grow their skills for a particular job. The aim is to close this gap so that more people can contribute to economic development.

DIGITAL DIVIDE RAMIFICATIONS There are many issues surrounding the digital divide. As mentioned above, it is important to try and close the digital divide, in order to enable economic development. The first issue is a socio-economic divide, which basically refers to a need for a growth in internet access. Without this, those who are less fortunate will continue to miss out on important information and opportunities. The second issue is a divide in infrastructure. This is a major issue, especially in developing countries where there are issues related to lack of electricity and unstable network signal. This makes it difficult to have access to the internet and it also makes it a tedious and costly process. Many people have to travel long distances just to be able to make a phone call or send an email.

DIGITAL DIVIDE RAMIFICATIONS CONTINUED… The third issue is a divide in content. The issue discussed here is that English is the most used language on the internet. This is an issue because it is a form of discrimination. Those who can not read and understand English are then excluded from that information. Google and some websites do have a translation option where one can translate a particular page into a language that they prefer. The issue with this is that there are still only a few languages that you can translate to; and sometimes some parts are not correctly translated. Although this is a step in the right direction, there are still many improvements that need to be made.

DIGITAL DIVIDE RAMIFICATIONS CONTINUED… The fourth issue is a divide in gender. Although this gap is slowly closing, there are still some countries that prohibit women from internet access and education. Women are believed to have to cook, clean and bear children whilst men are allowed the privilege to an education and work. The fifth issue is a divide in skills. A large number of people are unable to use a computer, due to not having access to one. In addition to this, they lack the skills to be able to identify important vs. irrelevant content provided on the internet. This closes doors for many people looking for jobs. The sixth issue is the universal access divide. This refers to those who suffer from some kind of disability. An example of this would be that a blind person can not read an average book unless it is in brail. This is expensive for organisations to implement. Even though the blind person can not read a normal book, they will be excluded from some jobs, even if they are smart and have the skills.

ASSISTING THE GOVERNMENT The government can be assisted by outreach programmes where university students can go to schools in rural areas and teach basic computer skills. People can also assist by making donations (in the form of computers or money) to contribute to education and training. Private firms can also assist with this, as part of their corporate social responsibility. Teachers who teach a particular language can gather regularly to help improve the language options available for translation online. Mobile service providers, such as MTN, can go to rural areas and provide infrastructure for improved signal. Companies can set funds aside to compensate for those who have a disability. They can also provide internships that allow those with a disability to apply. Large companies can go to less developed countries to educate them on gender discrimination and the importance of allowing women access to education and work.

REFERENCES Anon, (n.d.). [Online]. oecd.org. Available at: < https://www.oecd.org/insights/37966934.pdf > [Accessed 17 January 2017]. Strassmann, P. (1998). The Value of Knowledge Capital. [Online]. Strassmann.com. Available at:< http://www.strassmann.com/pubs/valuekc/ > [Accessed 17 January 2017]. Becker, G. (2008). Human Capital: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics | Library of Economics and Liberty. [Online] Econlib.org. Available at: < http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/HumanCapital.html > [Accessed 17 January 2017].