Opening Doors in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

Abstract

This paper considers the opportunities for effective humanitarian collaboration in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). It brings together perspectives from three individuals with extensive lived experience working in the DPRK. Collectively, these authors have worked in various sectors of international humanitarian aid and other areas of engagement such as emergency response and preparedness, education, social enterprise and tourism. The paper draws from these experiences to present lessons on overcoming obstacles and harnessing opportunities in the DPRK.

The relationship among age, gender, computer use, and adult learners’ problem‐solving skills in a digital environment

“…The results of a PIAAC survey administrated by OECD revealed differences in adults’ problem–solving levels in a TRE (OECD, 2013, 2019). The OECD report indicated that the amount of access to advanced technologies is a basic component that advances digital equity.…”

“…Work–related and life–related factors also affected problem–solving skills in a digital environment. Reder (2015) investigated the digital inequity in the United States in terms of digital access, digital readiness, and digital literacy using the 2012 PIAAC data (OECD, 2013). He analyzed the responses of 5010 US participants to identify digital inequity–based ethnicity, gender, national origin, and education level and found that the overall research findings were consistent with previous research about digital inequity: younger age, higher education level, and current employment were predictors of a higher level of digital literacy.…”

“…Computer use can be examined in two different settings: at work and for life. In PIAAC results (OECD, 2013), the frequency of computer use for completing the following seven tasks was analyzed: (1) email, (2) Internet search, (3) conducting transactions using the Internet, (4) spreadsheets, (5) words/text, (6) programming languages, and (7) real–time discussions.…”

“…We humans spend an increasing amount of time online in digital environments experiencing nearly all aspects of life in new ways, such as making new friends through Facebook, clicking buttons to order groceries, working from home, attending meetings online via Skype or Zoom, and taking courses online. Problem–solving skills in technology–rich environments (TREs) are defined as “the ability to use digital technology, communication tools and networks to acquire and evaluate information, communicate with others and perform practical tasks” (OECD, 2013, p. 59). In this highly digitized and interconnected social, economic, and educational world, spatial and temporal distance no longer limits our lives and continue to be extended novel ways (Lee, 2019).…”

“…(2) What factor has the strongest relationship to the problem–solving skills of adults in a digital environment in Korea? To empirically examine our research questions, this study analyzed the assessment results of problem–solving skills in a digital environment as measured by the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) (OECD, 2013), which represents the most recent publicly available data. In particular, this study examines the relationships between age, gender, education level, computer use, and problem–solving skills in a digital environment using PIAAC data.…”