Bridging the digital divide: the role of universities in getting South Africa closer to the global information society

Abstract

Contents 1. Introduction 2. What is the global information society? 3. Benefits of the global information society 4. Challenges for the global information society 5. Digital divide 6. Factors that contribute to the digital divide 7. Digital divide in South Africa 8. Digital divide in a South African tertiary institution 9. Possible solutions to bridging the digital divide 10. Conclusions 11. References top Disclaimer

Assistive Technologies in a Workplace Environment: Barriers for the Employment of People with Disabilities

“…These include a vast array of products, most of which are customisable to some degree, and are either common sense (pagers) or cutting edge solutions, including voice recognition software, eye-movement tracking devices, screen readers which 'read' text on a screen through speakers, Braille attachments, special keyboards, speech synthesisers and many others (Wagner, 1992;Schneider, 1999;Brett, 2000;Conlin, 2000;Hignite, 2000;Ohlhorst, 2000; Vol 22, No.2, 2011; doi 10.5463/DCID.v22i2.32 Whiting, 2001;Beals, 2002;Morrison & McKenna, 2002;Agocs, 2002;Singh, 2002;Stead, 2002;Minkel, 2003). To clarify, while AT does include non-technological solutions (including wheelchairs and physical ergonomics), this study will be looking specifically at those that are technological in nature.…”

“…This fact should generally make assistive technologies easier (Schneider, 1999). This is "levelling the playing field" (Ohlhorst, 2000) for persons with disabilities, allowing them to step out of the stereotype seen so often in employment (Singh, 2002).…”

Applying game-based learning at the South African Military Academy: an experimental study

“…The "digital divide" describes a disparity in the use of Information Technology and the Internet, by those who have access to digital technology and the Internet and those who do not (Singh, 2004, p. 4). Singh (2004) state that the term digital divide "refers to the inequalities between individuals, households, businesses, or geographic areas" (p. 5).…”

Towards bridging the digital divide in post-apartheid South Africa: a case of a historically disadvantaged university in Cape Town

“…The relative supremacy of English in global discourse poses its own challenges to the emancipatory potential of technology implementation in South Africa, as it does elsewhere. Factors that contribute to the digital divide include lack of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure, lack of or low internet connections, lack of skills, and high levels of poverty (Singh 2004, Brooks, Donavan & Rumble 2005, Tapfumaneyi & Rupande 2013. The inclusion of skills deficits and poverty in this list reinforces the statement that ICT is but one factor that must be addressed if we are to tackle the digital divide constructively.…”