Bridging the Global Digital Divide

The Internet has been described as having thepotential to ameliorate social and economicdisparities among countries and to lead to greaterdemocratization throughout the contemporary world.However, despite references to it as the "World WideWeb," a vast technological gap is apparent betweendeveloped and developing countries in accessing andusing the Internet. In fact, bridging this "digitaldivide" has become a central objective of severalnational and international policy initiatives.These initiatives have typically stressed greaterdemocratic liberties, enhanced economic conditions,privatized telecommunications bodies, advancedtelecommunications infrastructures, and investmentin human capital as the requisite conditions thatmust be present to facilitate Internet diffusion,and have featured them in generalized prescriptionsfor developing countries. Findings, however,suggest that Internet diffusion efforts incountries at different levels of development wouldbe better served by approaches that explicitly takeinto account prevailing social, political, andeconomic differences.

Autorentext

Dr. Mohammad AL-Fahad is an assistance professor at the College of Business Administration in Kuwait University. He holds an MPA in Human Resources Management from the University of West Florida, and a Ph.D degree in Public Policy from Gearge Mason University Fairfax, Virginia.

Klappentext
The Internet has been described as having the potential to ameliorate social and economic disparities among countries and to lead to greater democratization throughout the contemporary world. However, despite references to it as the "World Wide Web," a vast technological gap is apparent between developed and developing countries in accessing and using the Internet. In fact, bridging this "digital divide" has become a central objective of several national and international policy initiatives. These initiatives have typically stressed greater democratic liberties, enhanced economic conditions, privatized telecommunications bodies, advanced telecommunications infrastructures, and investment in human capital as the requisite conditions that must be present to facilitate Internet diffusion, and have featured them in generalized prescriptions for developing countries. Findings, however, suggest that Internet diffusion efforts in countries at different levels of development would be better served by approaches that explicitly take into account prevailing social, political, and economic differences.