The government’s efforts on providing internet access across the country over the years make the digital divide no longer a big challenge thus paving the way for the government to create more digital opportunities, Sung Yu-hsieh, Deputy Minister of Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC) told FutureGov Asia Pacific Magazine.
To promote internet usage in the country, RDEC has deployed 535 laptops to 16 public libraries and elementary schools around Taiwan including Chiayi, Nantou, Pintung, Yilan and Yunlin counties.
“It does not mean that people cannot afford computers,” says Sung.
“But the goal is that if your computer is broken or you are somewhere without bringing your computer, you can always go to the nearest library to borrow a laptop for your current information needs, ” he added.
The key objective is to make the people continuously connected to the government through the internet, he stressed.
The laptops that has been delivered carried 35 government-published e-books that could access National Taichung Library’s more than 10,000 catalogues. RDEC statistics reveal that 7,132 individuals used the service for an average rate of 89 per cent.
“Increased access to the Internet in these areas is raising the profile of e-government services and improving local residents’ computer skills,” said RDEC Minister Chu Chin-peng.
Chu said the initiative is also playing a vital role in reviving and improving the value of public libraries through dramatically increased visit numbers.
“The commission will continue working with other agencies to bridge the digital divide,” said Chu. Echoing the minister’s remarks, Chiayi County Magistrate Chang Hwa-kuan said a broad spectrum of residents, from school children to the elderly, are now seizing the opportunity to go online and experience the internet.
Reference: http://www.futuregov.asia/articles/2011/may/11/taiwan-creates-more-digital-opportunities/
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Nine million British adults have never been online, ONS says - Telegraph UK - 28 Aug 2010
More than nine million British adults have never used the internet despite Government efforts to encourage elderly people to go online, official figures have shown.
The elderly, the widowed and people on lower incomes were the least likely to have connected to the internet, according to the survey.
While a million extra “silver surfers” have logged on in the last year, concerns have been raised that those who are still not using the internet are being excluded from key discounts and services.
More than 38 million British adults are now online, with 30 million logging on every day, the figures showed.
But the elderly, the widowed and people on lower incomes are least likely ever to have connected to the internet, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Adults who do not use the internet miss out on the opportunity to save money on a range of products and services, such as cars, holidays and insurance, through price comparison websites.
The new figures for 2010 showed that 31 million people have bought goods or services on the internet in the past 12 months.
Martha Lane Fox, the founder of Lastminute.com, was reappointed by Coalition in June to continue in her role as UK Digital Champion. She has been tasked with getting every adult in Britain connected to the internet.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said: "In the internet age, we need to ensure that people aren't being left behind as more and more services and business move online."
But fears have been raise that the drive is not moving quickly enough. Charities and campaigners warned that Britain faces being split by a “digital divide” if more progress is not made to get the nine million adults who have never used the internet online.
Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director at Age UK, said: “While many older people are embracing the benefits of getting online such as keeping up with friends and family more easily and making savings online, many people in later life are still missing out.
“It is essential that government, business and the third sector work together to provide older people with bespoke training and support to help them get online. Otherwise the digital divide will continue to deepen."
As well as elderly people, people on lower incomes and those with no formal qualifications were least likely to be connected to the internet, the ONS figures showed.
Almost a third of those who earn less than £10,399 said they went online, compared with just two per cent of those with an income of over £41,600.
Only 45 per cent of adults without any formal qualifications had used the Internet, compared with 97 per cent of those with a degree.
Mark Williams from the Office for National Statistics said: Since 2006 we have seen a significant increase in the number of people using the Internet, with the number of adults accessing the Internet ever day almost doubling to just over 30 million, though the UK is some way off from being completely online.
“Usage is closely linked with a number of socio-economic and demographic indicators with those less educated and on lower incomes less likely to access the web.”
Other findings in the survey showed that just over 17 million adults watched television or listened to the radio over the Internet.
The charity Age UK has appointed six pensioners to act as “internet champions” in a bid to inspire other elderly people to log on.
Lucy Berry, 80, who took on the new role in February, said: “Instead of nodding off in a chair watching the TV in the afternoon, I am busy sending and receiving emails, online grocery shopping, talking and seeing my son and his wife and l8 month old grandson on Skype.”
She added: “I would recommend anyone who is elderly and alone to try to learn to use the computer.”
The elderly, the widowed and people on lower incomes were the least likely to have connected to the internet, according to the survey.
While a million extra “silver surfers” have logged on in the last year, concerns have been raised that those who are still not using the internet are being excluded from key discounts and services.
More than 38 million British adults are now online, with 30 million logging on every day, the figures showed.
But the elderly, the widowed and people on lower incomes are least likely ever to have connected to the internet, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Adults who do not use the internet miss out on the opportunity to save money on a range of products and services, such as cars, holidays and insurance, through price comparison websites.
The new figures for 2010 showed that 31 million people have bought goods or services on the internet in the past 12 months.
Martha Lane Fox, the founder of Lastminute.com, was reappointed by Coalition in June to continue in her role as UK Digital Champion. She has been tasked with getting every adult in Britain connected to the internet.
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said: "In the internet age, we need to ensure that people aren't being left behind as more and more services and business move online."
But fears have been raise that the drive is not moving quickly enough. Charities and campaigners warned that Britain faces being split by a “digital divide” if more progress is not made to get the nine million adults who have never used the internet online.
Michelle Mitchell, Charity Director at Age UK, said: “While many older people are embracing the benefits of getting online such as keeping up with friends and family more easily and making savings online, many people in later life are still missing out.
“It is essential that government, business and the third sector work together to provide older people with bespoke training and support to help them get online. Otherwise the digital divide will continue to deepen."
As well as elderly people, people on lower incomes and those with no formal qualifications were least likely to be connected to the internet, the ONS figures showed.
Almost a third of those who earn less than £10,399 said they went online, compared with just two per cent of those with an income of over £41,600.
Only 45 per cent of adults without any formal qualifications had used the Internet, compared with 97 per cent of those with a degree.
Mark Williams from the Office for National Statistics said: Since 2006 we have seen a significant increase in the number of people using the Internet, with the number of adults accessing the Internet ever day almost doubling to just over 30 million, though the UK is some way off from being completely online.
“Usage is closely linked with a number of socio-economic and demographic indicators with those less educated and on lower incomes less likely to access the web.”
Other findings in the survey showed that just over 17 million adults watched television or listened to the radio over the Internet.
The charity Age UK has appointed six pensioners to act as “internet champions” in a bid to inspire other elderly people to log on.
Lucy Berry, 80, who took on the new role in February, said: “Instead of nodding off in a chair watching the TV in the afternoon, I am busy sending and receiving emails, online grocery shopping, talking and seeing my son and his wife and l8 month old grandson on Skype.”
She added: “I would recommend anyone who is elderly and alone to try to learn to use the computer.”
Mobile Web Use and the Digital Divide - NYTimes - 7 July 2010
By JOSHUA BRUSTEIN
The image of the affluent and white cellphone owner as the prototypical mobile Web user seems to be a mistaken one, according to a report published Wednesday by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Center.
The study found that African-Americans and Hispanics continue to be more likely to own cellphones than whites and more likely to use their phones for a greater range of activities.
This increase in mobile Web use, first noticed in a similar study by the Pew Center last summer, is driven both by age and economics, according to Aaron W. Smith of the Pew Center.
Younger people and people living in households making less than $30,000 a year are increasing their mobile Web use at particularly fast rates, he said, and the African-American and Hispanic populations are younger and poorer relative to the white population.
Because mobile Web use has grown among groups that have traditionally lagged behind in Web access, it has been cited as evidence that the distinction between the digital haves and have-nots is eroding.
But the mobile Web means different things to different people. For more affluent populations, it generally means wireless access with a laptop computer. For poorer people it means a cellphone, which is not a perfect replacement for other forms of online access, said Mr. Smith and several others who study social issues related to technology.
There is a difference between accessing the Internet on a smartphone and a regular “feature phone” cellphone. The Pew report did not reflect this distinction.
Americans in general are accessing the Internet through mobile devices in increasing numbers, according to the Pew report, with 59 percent of those surveyed saying they accessed the mobile Web, compared with 51 percent a year earlier.
Notably, rates of laptop ownership among African-Americans have risen to 51 percent from 34 percent in 2009, according to the study, a survey of 2,252 adults aged 18 and older.
But 18 percent of African-Americans use a cellphone as their only form of Internet access, compared with 10 percent of whites. People with low incomes and low levels of education were also much more likely to access the Internet solely through their cellphones.
Shireen Mitchell, the founder of Digital Sisters and a consultant on social media campaigns focused on women and minorities, said that the way in which people access the Internet should remain a part of the conversation about the digital divide.
“The quality of what is available through cell only is limited access,” she said. “We are moving in a positive direction about true cellphone usage and it’s relevant to online access, but there are still some challenges ahead.”
Ms. Mitchell said organizations or government agencies that are eager to move everything online should consider that some cellphones might not be able to take full advantage of the Web.
The image of the affluent and white cellphone owner as the prototypical mobile Web user seems to be a mistaken one, according to a report published Wednesday by the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Center.
The study found that African-Americans and Hispanics continue to be more likely to own cellphones than whites and more likely to use their phones for a greater range of activities.
This increase in mobile Web use, first noticed in a similar study by the Pew Center last summer, is driven both by age and economics, according to Aaron W. Smith of the Pew Center.
Younger people and people living in households making less than $30,000 a year are increasing their mobile Web use at particularly fast rates, he said, and the African-American and Hispanic populations are younger and poorer relative to the white population.
Because mobile Web use has grown among groups that have traditionally lagged behind in Web access, it has been cited as evidence that the distinction between the digital haves and have-nots is eroding.
But the mobile Web means different things to different people. For more affluent populations, it generally means wireless access with a laptop computer. For poorer people it means a cellphone, which is not a perfect replacement for other forms of online access, said Mr. Smith and several others who study social issues related to technology.
There is a difference between accessing the Internet on a smartphone and a regular “feature phone” cellphone. The Pew report did not reflect this distinction.
Americans in general are accessing the Internet through mobile devices in increasing numbers, according to the Pew report, with 59 percent of those surveyed saying they accessed the mobile Web, compared with 51 percent a year earlier.
Notably, rates of laptop ownership among African-Americans have risen to 51 percent from 34 percent in 2009, according to the study, a survey of 2,252 adults aged 18 and older.
But 18 percent of African-Americans use a cellphone as their only form of Internet access, compared with 10 percent of whites. People with low incomes and low levels of education were also much more likely to access the Internet solely through their cellphones.
Shireen Mitchell, the founder of Digital Sisters and a consultant on social media campaigns focused on women and minorities, said that the way in which people access the Internet should remain a part of the conversation about the digital divide.
“The quality of what is available through cell only is limited access,” she said. “We are moving in a positive direction about true cellphone usage and it’s relevant to online access, but there are still some challenges ahead.”
Ms. Mitchell said organizations or government agencies that are eager to move everything online should consider that some cellphones might not be able to take full advantage of the Web.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Indonesia reveals plans to bridge digital divide
In an interview with FutureGov, the Indonesian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (BRTI) has shared its plans to connect half of Asia’s third largest population to the internet by 2015.
An estimated 40 million Indonesians use the internet, according to the Indonesian Internet Service Provider Association (APJII). But while web use has grown from just two million people in the year 2000 - an increase of 2000 per cent - internet penetration is still relatively low at 17 per cent.Heru Sutadi, the BRTI’s Commissioner, said that while mobile phone coverage of Indonesia’s 17,000 islands has reached 90 per cent, providing more of the archipelago’s 234 million people with access to the internet, particularly in remote areas, has proved more challenging.
“There is still a considerable digital divide in Indonesia, particularly in the east and west parts of the country, and between the big cities and rural villages. We have some big infrastructural issues to overcome. For example, we lack a comprehensive fiber optic network to serve as backbone for services,” said Sutadi.
This year, the Indonesian government has spent US$38 million on efforts to connect the country’s 72,000 villages through broadband internet, and more will be invested with the help of funding from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Telecommunications and Information Working Group (APEC TEL) and the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS).
Public sector revenue was the sole source of funding in the early stages of IT infrastructure development in Indonesia, and it has proved difficult to attract private sector support for development projects in remote areas. However, the Palapa Ring project, which aims to bridge the divide between the country’s east and western regions, will see more private sector involvement, Sutadi noted.
Sutadi identified raising capital as a key challenge for the Authority this year, and infrastructure sharing could be a means to reduce cost, he said. Improving internet service quality, security and revising the Telecommunication Act to include broadcasting and content will also figure among his priorities this year.
“We are revising the Telecommunication Act to face up to the digital convergence era. Our existing Telecommunication and Broadcasting Acts increasingly overlap, and this will become more of an issue when we come to adopt IPTV.”
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
US debates its broadband future - BBC News - 11 June 2010
By Maggie Shiels
lans for the future of the internet in the US are "under seige" by powerful interests, warns the Federal Communications Commission.
The warning was given by Commissioner Michael Copps as the agency prepares for a vote on its plans for the development of broadband in the US.
The plan followed a court decision that the FCC had no authority to stop ISPs slowing traffic to some users
The ruling was a blow to a central tenet of the agency's broadband plan.
That plan aims to to provide every American in the country with high speed internet access by 2020.
Enshrined in the FCC plan is strong backing for so-called "net neutrality" principles. This means that all web data is treated equally and stops ISPs favouring some traffic in preference to others.
'The third way'
The court decision put a question mark over the FCC's ability to enforce these principles and put the broadband plan in legal limbo.
In response, the FCC decided to reclassify internet services from an information service to a telecommunications service. Under present rules broadband providers like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon are lightly regulated.
Reclassification gives the Commission greater authority and it has drawn up a so-called "third way" to help assuage opponents and perhaps stave off a long legal fight.
Under this approach, the agency has said it will set aside moves to regulate rates charged by telephone and cable companies for internet services, as well as that of internet content, services, applications or electronic commerce sites.
Mr Copps warned that the proposal was not guaranteed to be approved.
"If the Commission fails to reassert its authority, then the days of the open internet will be succeeded by the age of the gatekeepers," said Commissioner Copps.
"Make no mistake about it. This is not going to be an easy fight. The big telephone and cable companies are doing everything they can to prevent the reclassification of internet access services. They have redeployed their troops at the FCC, throughout Washington and in the blogosphere."
Education
Mr Copps' comments came during a visit to Silicon Valley in which he visited Google and Apple to discuss support for the broadband plan.
As the Commission's longest serving member, Mr Copps said he wanted to publicise the issue because he was worried that telecoms and other well funded lobbying groups would drown out the voices of the ordinary citizen.
He said it needed to be more than an issue debated only in Washington among politicians and advisors.
"People need to realise that meeting the broadband challenge is something really important in their lives and for their futures," he told the BBC. "And they need to understand that a competitive nation cannot tolerate digital divides between haves and have nots."
'Rules of the road'
A week ahead of the FCC's vote on reclassification, the nation's biggest broadband providers and a number of hi-tech firms created a group to draw up voluntary guidelines in a bid to appease regulators pushing for stronger internet access rules.
The Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group, formed by AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Google, Intel and Microsoft, will "develop consensus on broadband network management practices or other related technical issues that can affect users' internet experience".
"This or any other voluntary effort is not a substitute for the government setting basic rules of the road for the internet, said Chris Riley, policy counsel at Free Press a Washington based advocacy group.
"Allowing industry to set its own rules is like allowing BP to regulate its drilling."
More information - US National Broadband Plan
lans for the future of the internet in the US are "under seige" by powerful interests, warns the Federal Communications Commission.
The warning was given by Commissioner Michael Copps as the agency prepares for a vote on its plans for the development of broadband in the US.
The plan followed a court decision that the FCC had no authority to stop ISPs slowing traffic to some users
The ruling was a blow to a central tenet of the agency's broadband plan.
That plan aims to to provide every American in the country with high speed internet access by 2020.
Enshrined in the FCC plan is strong backing for so-called "net neutrality" principles. This means that all web data is treated equally and stops ISPs favouring some traffic in preference to others.
'The third way'
The court decision put a question mark over the FCC's ability to enforce these principles and put the broadband plan in legal limbo.
In response, the FCC decided to reclassify internet services from an information service to a telecommunications service. Under present rules broadband providers like Comcast, AT&T and Verizon are lightly regulated.
Reclassification gives the Commission greater authority and it has drawn up a so-called "third way" to help assuage opponents and perhaps stave off a long legal fight.
Under this approach, the agency has said it will set aside moves to regulate rates charged by telephone and cable companies for internet services, as well as that of internet content, services, applications or electronic commerce sites.
Mr Copps warned that the proposal was not guaranteed to be approved.
"If the Commission fails to reassert its authority, then the days of the open internet will be succeeded by the age of the gatekeepers," said Commissioner Copps.
"Make no mistake about it. This is not going to be an easy fight. The big telephone and cable companies are doing everything they can to prevent the reclassification of internet access services. They have redeployed their troops at the FCC, throughout Washington and in the blogosphere."
Education
Mr Copps' comments came during a visit to Silicon Valley in which he visited Google and Apple to discuss support for the broadband plan.
As the Commission's longest serving member, Mr Copps said he wanted to publicise the issue because he was worried that telecoms and other well funded lobbying groups would drown out the voices of the ordinary citizen.
He said it needed to be more than an issue debated only in Washington among politicians and advisors.
"People need to realise that meeting the broadband challenge is something really important in their lives and for their futures," he told the BBC. "And they need to understand that a competitive nation cannot tolerate digital divides between haves and have nots."
'Rules of the road'
A week ahead of the FCC's vote on reclassification, the nation's biggest broadband providers and a number of hi-tech firms created a group to draw up voluntary guidelines in a bid to appease regulators pushing for stronger internet access rules.
The Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group, formed by AT&T, Verizon, Comcast, Google, Intel and Microsoft, will "develop consensus on broadband network management practices or other related technical issues that can affect users' internet experience".
"This or any other voluntary effort is not a substitute for the government setting basic rules of the road for the internet, said Chris Riley, policy counsel at Free Press a Washington based advocacy group.
"Allowing industry to set its own rules is like allowing BP to regulate its drilling."
More information - US National Broadband Plan
Monday, June 14, 2010
Take exams at leisure - ST Online - 9 June 2010
By REUTERS
LONDON - BRITISH students might soon have the chance to take college exams in their own bedrooms at any time of the day or night - without being able to cheat.
US firm Software Secure has developed a programme which is designed to make sure students stay honest while taking the exam by keeping them under surveillance and cutting off any access to cribbing material.
The software firstly locks down the use of all files and the internet, other than those specifically needed for the exam.
It then asks for a fingerprint test to ensure the candidate is the correct person and uses audio and video recording to ensure that the student is under exam conditions during the whole period.
The firm says on its website that it 'brings the exam room into the computer age, making exam time less stressful for students, faculty and administrators.'
At least one college in Britain, the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, is experimenting with the system and others may follow suit. Several universities in the United States already have the system in place.
LONDON - BRITISH students might soon have the chance to take college exams in their own bedrooms at any time of the day or night - without being able to cheat.
US firm Software Secure has developed a programme which is designed to make sure students stay honest while taking the exam by keeping them under surveillance and cutting off any access to cribbing material.
The software firstly locks down the use of all files and the internet, other than those specifically needed for the exam.
It then asks for a fingerprint test to ensure the candidate is the correct person and uses audio and video recording to ensure that the student is under exam conditions during the whole period.
The firm says on its website that it 'brings the exam room into the computer age, making exam time less stressful for students, faculty and administrators.'
At least one college in Britain, the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, is experimenting with the system and others may follow suit. Several universities in the United States already have the system in place.
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