Inclusion of population in digital space: global trends and inequality of Russian regions

Автор: Gruzdeva Maria A.

Журнал: Economic and Social Changes: Facts, Trends, Forecast @volnc-esc-en

Рубрика: Regional economy

Статья в выпуске: 5 т.13, 2020 года.

Бесплатный доступ

The issue of digital inequality and development of a methodology for measuring it has been at the center of attention of researchers, members of public administration, companies directly involved in the provision of Internet communication services, and other interested parties for more than twenty years. This issue became relevant with the increase of the rate of the Internet spread in certain parts of the world, and, accordingly, the lag of other countries behind them in the late 90s and early 21st century. The sphere of information and communication technologies is one of the most rapidly changing ones, which is probably why the theoretical and methodological foundations of the study of digital inequality are still not clearly defined, which actualizes research in this area and the importance of monitoring trends in the world and individual states. The purpose of our work is the usage of the three-level model of digital inequality for assessing first-level differences among population of Third World countries and Russian regions. It is assumed that the research results will create prerequisites for continuing study on other levels of digital asymmetry among Russian population, which will allow revealing not just the fact of its inclusion in digital space but the level of digital competencies and opportunities provide by the usage of modern information technologies. We use a set of scientific methods; for measuring inequality, the author resorts to the calculation of the variation coefficient, grouping of countries or regions based on levels of Internet connectivity. Conclusions are drawn about the existence of the first-level digital inequality in the world, despite a significant decrease of the differentiation of countries by Internet connectivity. It is revealed that Russia, in comparison with other countries, shows a significant increase of the share of Internet users, and there are elements of digital divide within Russian regions even with the decrease of variation coefficients. The scientific novelty of the study is the assessment of the scale and dynamics of the first-level digital inequality among population at the country and regional levels, grouping of countries, and Russian regions by the share of Internet users and the usage of mobile devices to access the network.

Еще

Information and communication technologies, territorial digital inequality, internet connectivity, levels of digital inequality, technological and economic factors of digital inequality, Russia

Короткий адрес: https://sciup.org/147225497

IDR: 147225497   |   DOI: 10.15838/esc.2020.5.71.5

Список литературы Inclusion of population in digital space: global trends and inequality of Russian regions

  • Ganichev N.A., Koshovets O.B. Quantifying the Digital Economy: Between Reality and Design. EKO=ECO, 2020, no. 2, pp. 8–36. DOI: 10.30680/ECO0131-7652-2020-2-8-36 (in Russian).
  • Dubinina M.G. Unequal development of the digital economy in federal districts of Russia. Upravlenie naukoi i naukometriya=Science Governance and Scientometrics, 2019, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 368–399. DOI: 10.33873/2686-6706.2019.14-3.368-399 (in Russian).
  • Volchenko O.V. Dynamics of digital inequality in Russia. Monitoring obshchestvennogo mneniya: ekonomicheskie i sotsial’nye peremeny=Monitoring of Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes, 2016, no. 5, pp. 163–182. DOI: 10.14515/monitoring.2016.5.10 (in Russian).
  • Gladkova A.A., Garifullin V.Z., Ragnedda M. Model of Three Levels of the Digital Divide: Current Advantages and Limitations (Exemplified by the Republic of Tatarstan). Vestnik Moskovskogo universitet. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika=Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriya 10. Zhurnalistika, 2019, no. 4, pp. 41–72 (in Russian).
  • Nieminen H. Digital divide and beyond: What do we know of information and communications technology’s long-term social effects? Some uncomfortable questions. European Journal of Communication, 2016, vol. 31(1), pp.19–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0267323115614198
  • Ragnedda M. Conceptualizing digital capital. Telematics and Informatics, 2018, vol. 35, pp. 2366–2375. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.10.006
  • Ragnedda M., Kreitem H. The three levels of digital divide in East EU countries. World of Media. Journal of Russian Media and Journalism Studies, 2018, vol. 4, pp. 5–27. DOI: 10.30547/worldofmedia.4.2018.1
  • Plaksin S., Abdrakhmanova G., Kovaleva G. Approaches to defining and measuring Russia’s internet economy. Foresight and STI Governance, 2017, vol. 11, pp. 55–65. DOI: 10.17323/2500-2597.2017.1.55.65
  • Arkhipova M.Yu., Sirotin V.P., Sukhareva N.A. Development of a composite indicator for measuring the value and dynamics of digital inequality in Russia. Voprosy statistiki=Voprosy statistiki, 2018, no. 25(4), pp. 75–87 (in Russian).
  • Norris P. The Digital Divide: Civic Engagement, Information Poverty, and the Internet Worldwide. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 320 p. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139164887
  • Attewell P. The first and second digital divides. Sociology of Education, 2001, vol. 74 (3), pp. 252–259.
  • Hargittai E. Second-level digital divide: mapping differences in people’s online skills. In: 29th TPRC Conference, 2001. Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/cs/0109068
  • DiMaggio P., Hargittai E. From the «digital divide» to «digital inequality»: Studying Internet use as penetration increases. Working Papers from Princeton University, 2001, no. 47.
  • Vartanova E.L. Conceptualization of digital divide: Major stages. MediaAl’manakh=MediaAlmanah, 2018, no. 5, pp. 8–12. DOI: 10.30547/mediaalmanah. 5.2018.812 (in Russian).
  • Polozhikhina M.A. Information and digital inequality as a new type of socio-economic differentiation of society. Ekonomicheskie i sotsial’nye problemy Rossii=Economic and Social Problems of Russia, 2017, no. 2, pp. 119–141 (in Russian).
  • Alam S.S., Abdullah Z., Ahsan N. Cyber café usage in Malaysia: An exploratory study. Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, 2009, vol. 14 (1), pp. 1–13.
  • Avila A. Underdeveloped ICT areas in Sub-Saharan Africa. Informatica Economica, 2009, vol. 13 (2), pp. 136–146.
  • Shinyaeva O.V., Slepova O.M. Information Digital Inequality of Population: Risk and Anti-Risk Factors. Izvestiya Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaya seriya. Seriya: Sotsiologiya. Politologiya=Izv. Saratov Univ. (N. S.), Ser. Sociology. Politology, 2019, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 53–61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18500/1818-9601-2019-19-1-53-61 (in Russian).
  • Israelashvili M., Kim T., Bukobz G. Adolescents’ over-use of the cyber world – Internet addiction or identity exploration? Journal of Adolescence, 2012, no. 35 (2), pp. 417–424.
  • Davaki K. The Underlying Causes of the Digital Gender Gap and Possible Solutions for Enhanced Digital Inclusion of Women and Girls. 2018. 53 p. Available at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2018/604940/IPOL_STU(2018)604940_EN.pdf
  • Ragnedda M. The Third Digital Divide: A Weberian Approach to Digital Inequalities. UK Routledge. 2017. 128 p.
  • Ragnedda M. Conceptualizing digital capital. Telematics and Informatics, 2018, no. 35, pp. 2366–2375. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2018.10.006
  • Shinyaeva O.V., Poletaeva O.V., Slepova O.M. Information and digital inequality: searching for effective population adaptation practices. Monitoring obshchestvennogo mneniya: Ekonomicheskie i sotsial’nye peremeny=Monitoring Public Opinion: Economic and Social Changes, 2019, no. 4, pp. 68–85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2019.4.04 (in Russian).
Еще
Статья научная