Digital Divide
SELECTED REFERENCES ON THE "DIGITAL DIVIDE"
Digital Divide Issues Related Expressly to HBCUs
April 2001 - Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund: A new report says that historically black public colleges and universities will need about $700-million to meet their information-technology goals for the next five years. The report entitled "Historically Black Public Colleges and Universities: An Assessment of Current Information Technology Usage," is based on a survey of 46 campuses represented by the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund (TMSF)of New York. Copies of the report can be ordered calling (917) 663-2221.
September 2000 - NAFEO: A study funded by NTIA's Technology Opportunities Program (TOP), "Historically Black Colleges and Universities: An Assessment of Networking and Connectivity" conducted by NAFEO assesses 80 of the 118 Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States. (Click here: Report ).
February 2001: The United Negro College Fund (UNCF) E-commerce site "is aimed at strengthening the technology capacities of UNCF member colleges and universities to better prepare students for the technologically driven global economy of the 21st century ... by providing specially priced hardware and software to students, staff, and faculty."
A presentation entitled "The Digital Divide, African Americans, and HBCUs - the problem, the challenge, the solution respectively" Click here to View PowerPoint Presentation on the Web.
An introspective examination of technology in the classrooms at HBCUs as conducted by HBCU presidents, chancellors, administrators, faculty staff and students is documented in the Proceedings of the First TSU-AOL Time Warner HBCU Digital Divide Conference, Atlanta, October 29 - 30, 2000
National Digital Divide Studies
August 2000: The latest in the series of studies by the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) of the Department of Commerce is entitled Falling Through the Net, Toward Digital Inclusion measures the extent of digital inclusion by looking at households and individuals that have a computer and an Internet connection. Earlier studies in this series include "Falling Through the Net II: New Data on the Digital Divide" (1998) and "Falling Through the Net: Defining the Digital Divide" (1999) confirm the existence of a "digital divide" in this country among ethnic or racial groups. These studies are based on national surveys by the Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics) of about 50,000 US households.
Another study by Vanderbilt University in 1998 is entitled "Bridging the Digital Divide: The Impact of Race on Computer Access and Internet Use". This study was based on a random telephone digit survey of nearly 9000 US households. Another is The Evolution of the Digital Divide: Examining the Relationship of Race to Internet Access and Usage Over Time, which explores the history of disparate technology deployment by race.
Relevant Paper and Presentation
A technical paper, which is based on the NTIA studies and related Bureau of Census data, examines the development of analytical forecast models for the metrics used to define the digital divide is provided at "Why and How Fast is the Digital Divide Widening Among Minorities in this Country?
References on "Digital Opportunities"
"Closing the Digital Divide" this website is devoted exclusively to the digital divide by the Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA)
From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity addresses the Administration's initiatives toward creating new opportunities for all Americans.
The Importance of Closing the Digital Divide and Creating Digital Opportunities for All Americans states the Administration's policies on the digital divide
Digital Divide Widening at Lower Incomes addresses the increasing disparity of Internet use by income level.
The Digital Divide Network is devoted to both government and private efforts to bridge the divide.
Addressing the Demand for Information Age Workforce examines the explosive growth of jobs in the information and technology sector but without sufficient human capital to fill them.
High Technology and Low-Income Communities: Prospects for the Positive Use of Advanced Information Technology examines impacts of information technology on cities, communities, employment and education for low-income populations.
Losing Ground Bit by Bit: Low-Income Communities in the Information Age looks at the barriers to the spread of new technology in low-income communities.
Online Content for Low-Income and Underserved Americans: The Digital Divide’s New Frontier examines informational needs of the low-income and other traditionally underserved Americans.
"Research Foundations on Successful Participation of Underrepresented Minorities in Information Technology: A Cyberconference" sponsored by the National Science Foundation includes the responses from a diverse audience. Several responses from HBCU principals are included with attribution.
Occupational Outlook, Bureau of Labor Statistics, (Professional and Technical). This web provides both summary and detailed statistics on employment projections in each of the catalogued occupations through 2008..