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Technology and Social Inclusion: Rethinking the
Digital Divide
by Mark Warschauer --- Available
from MIT Press
Table of Contents:
Introduction
1. Economy, Society, and Technology: Analyzing the Shifting Terrains
2. Models of Access: Devices, Conduits, and Literacy
3. Physical Resources: Computers and Connectivity
4. Digital Resources: Content and Language
5. Human Resources: Literacy and Education
6. Social Resources: Communities and Institution
7. Conclusion: The Social Embeddedness of Technology
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Much of the discussion of new technologies and social equality has focused on
the oversimplified notion of a bipolar "digital divide." This book moves
beyond one-dimensional discussion of "haves" and "have-nots"
to analyze in-depth the nuanced forms of access to information and communication
technologies and the ways that differential access contributes to social and economic
stratification or inclusion. Technology and Social Inclusion is remarkable both
for its conceptual breadth-drawing on theory from political science, economics,
sociology, communications, psychology, linguistics, and education-and for its
global scope, presenting case studies from the author's field research in a range
of developed and developing countries, including Brazil, China, Egypt, India,
and the United States. The book is a must read for scholars, university students,
policy-makers, educators, and community leaders who want to go beyond simple head
counts of who is on- or off-line to better understand the complex intertwining
of technology and social transformation.
"An impassioned, thoughtful, and unique analysis of the digital divide
that incorporates evidence from affluent and poor nations. Warschauer shows
that social context, far more than hardware, shapes access to new technologies."
Larry Cuban, School of Education, Stanford University
"The modern belief that new technologies hold the key to human progress
seems to be sacrosanct. Mark Warschauer's compelling critique of technophilia
offers a welcome corrective to this view. He emphasizes that new technologies
are neither causes nor cures, shifting the emphasis to the social context in
which such technologies appear. In so doing, he provides renewed energy for
a reevaluation of the relation between technology and social inequality."
Michael Cole, University Professor of Communication, Psychology, and Human Development,
University of California, San Diego