A Longitudinal Study of Website Accessibility: Have Social Work Education Websites Become More Accessible?

This study (N = 45 schools) sought to determine the accessibility of baccalaureate social work program websites in 2003 and 2008 using Priority 1 checkpoints from the World Wide Web Consortium 1.0 guidelines. Paired t-test results indicate that the mean accessibility scores of five of the nine items (plus the website accessibility scale as a whole) was statistically higher after five years. However, 75.6% of programs still had one or more Priority 1 accessibility barriers in 2008 and thus did not meet the lowest W3C accessibility guidelines. This highlights the need for more education about barriers to accessibility and methods for making websites more accessible.     

数字技术使用对农户共同富裕的影响：“鸿沟”还是“桥梁”？

基于2019年中国社会状况综合调查（CSS）7031个农户样本的实证分析发现：数字技术使用发挥了促进农户共同富裕的“桥梁”作用。数字技术使用会提高农户迈入共同富裕队列的可能性,该结论对不同数字技术使用目的及使用频率的农户均成立。采用替换被解释变量与模型等方式进行再估计,研究结论仍然稳健。进一步地,在考虑数字技术接入地区、受访者职业特征和性别类型等差异后,数字技术使用在农户实现共同富裕中仍发挥显著的“桥梁”作用,但该作用在受访者阶层认同和学历层次两方面存在差异性。数字技术使用对阶层认同为“中”“上”和较高人力资本组受访者的共同富裕实现均具有显著的“桥梁”作用,但对于阶层认同为“下”和较低人力资本组受访者,数字技术使用的影响效应未通过显著性检验。由此认为“能力鸿沟”是制约数字技术发挥促进共同富裕“桥梁”效应的关键,并进一步提出实施“农村居民数字强能赋能行动”,助力农户通过数字技术使用促进共同富裕的启示。     

中国数字鸿沟与贫困问题研究

运用向量自回归(VAR)和格兰杰因果关系检验了中国数字鸿沟导致经济发展落后地区贫困固化问题,进一步揭示出在信息社会,数字鸿沟与贫困形成了一条因果链,因此有必要把消除数字鸿沟作为脱贫的首要措施。此外,在借鉴国外经验的基础上,提出了消除我国数字鸿沟的宏观对策思路。     

论平等就业权的法律保护

平等就业权是一项基本的劳动权,也是当代人权概念的重要构成内容。与国外关于平等就业权立法的相对完善状况相比,我国的相关法律领域还存在着极大的漏洞与不足,特别是近年来在就业领域中日益显现的“基因歧视”与“数字鸿沟”等问题,都在不同程度地阻碍着平等就业权的实现。要在进一步完善现有法律体系的同时,通过专门立法和引入平权行为政策等措施,给平等就业权以切实保护。     

'Reconnecting' the Unemployed

This paper discusses the potential uses of the Internet and other forms of information and communication technology (ICT) as a tool for delivering information services for unemployed people, comparing the experiences and attitudes of jobseekers in peri-urban and remote rural labour markets. The analysis is based upon research carried out in two areas: the first combining a remote rural town with a much larger, more sparsely populated, rural 'travel-to-work area'; the second, a centrally located peri-urban labour market. Survey research undertaken in the study areas gathered responses from 490 unemployed jobseekers. Emerging issues were then followed up during twelve focus groups. The study found that the use of ICT for job seeking remained a marginal activity for most unemployed people, but was much more important in remote rural communities. In these areas, jobseekers were more likely to use the Internet as a search tool and were particularly dependent on telephone helplines provided by the public employment service (PES). However, the study also found that a 'digital divide' was evident within the unemployed client group. Those with low educational attainment, the long-term unemployed, young people and those perceiving their ICT skills to be 'poor' were less likely to use the Internet. Although respondents in rural areas were more likely to use ICT to look for work, they also pointed to the overriding importance of informal, social networks as a means of sharing job information in remote communities. We conclude that ICT may have a future role in the delivery of services for jobseekers, especially in rural areas. However, policies are required to ensure that information provided through ICT-based services is locally relevant, and disadvantaged groups have access to the facilities and training they require.     

TESTING THE LEAP-FROG HYPOTHESIS: The impact of existing infrastructure and telecommunications policy on the global digital divide

This paper tests the 'leap-frog' hypothesis by modeling the impact of existing telecommunications infrastructure, controlling for economic, political and demographic factors, on changes in information communication technology (ICT) access for over 200 countries between 1995 and 2005. This study has significantly greater coverage than previous research, in terms of both time frame and country cases. First, the analysis demonstrates that in the first decade of the information society successful leap-frog countries are few and far between. Second, the relative distribution of personal computers, internet hosts and secure servers among the nations of the world has barely improved over the last decade. Third, contrary to received wisdom, most of the countries that might qualify as successful leap-frog countries are actually among the wealthiest in the world. Finally, while policy reform in the telecommunications sector can sometimes speed the diffusion of digital communication tools, the record of market reforms is mixed, and the overall effect of economic wealth is still paramount. In sum, a few poor countries have leapt ahead in the development of a few aspects of ICT infrastructure and use, but these relatively rare successes are more likely to be due to economic productivity than to privatization, regulatory separation and depoliticization, or market liberalization in the telecommunications sector.     

对我国“电子政府”建设的再思考

信息时代的到来对原有的政府运作方式提出了新的要求.几乎所有国家都力图运用信息技术,尤其是网络技术重塑一个更有效率的政府.我国"政府上网"工程已经实施近五年了,已经取得了一定成果,但我国电子政府建设仍面临来自国内外各方面的许多问题和挑战.文章提出和分析了我国电子政府建设所面临的问题和挑战,并提出了一些有针对性的解决思路.     

论数字鸿沟与农村沟通网络的重构

城乡地区数字鸿沟的出现,进一步影响农村管理结构诸如沟通网络。信息是影响数字鸿沟的重要因素,数字鸿沟与沟通过程有着多重交互性,因经济条件对媒介接触的差异而产生数字鸿沟,已有相关实证。数字鸿沟对农村沟通网络产生了很大影响,因此应找出重构农村沟通网络的关键点。即在沟通网络中树立信息把关人,提升农民信息素养,建立信息管理的科学模式,构建因人而异灵活的沟通网络。     

纳米鸿沟的伦理反思

由于纳米技术在新技术革命中的基础性作用,它的突破有望引导下一次产业革命。然而,各个国家和地区不同的经济实力和技术基础,决定了它们在纳米技术发展过程中存在明显的起点差距。现有的知识产权保护制度和财富分配制度可能会加大起点差距,从而形成类似于“数字鸿沟”那样的“纳米鸿沟”。“纳米鸿沟”蕴含并强化了发展起点不公平、代价与收益不公平、教育与发展机会不公平等伦理问题。     

Migration to London and the development of the north–south divide, 1851–1911

This article uses census data for England and Wales covering the period 1851–1911 to provide new insights into patterns of migration to London. It examines several related themes including the role migration played in London’s growth during this period, age and gender differentials and distance travelled. Calculating net migration rates, the article demonstrates that after age 30, of those born outside of London, more left the Capital than came, yet over time an increasing proportion of the migrant population was retained. The proportion of family migrants fluctuated over the period, yet compared to others tended to travel shorter distances, a feature which increased over time with suburbanization. Turning to the geographical origins of migrants, London drew migrants from across the entirety of England and Wales. However, the data suggest that the migrant sex ratio became more homogeneous over time, with distinct pockets of male dominated migration that were visible in 1851 disappearing by 1911. Lastly, the article investigates migration from the perspective of place of departure rather than destination, as is traditionally the case. This reveals a distinct regional geography, suggesting that the present-day north–south divide was already evident in 1851, and became increasingly distinct over time.