[Commlist] CFP - Special Issue - 'What do digital inclusion and data literacy mean today?' Internet Policy Review Journal

*/CFP - Special issue of Internet Policy Review on/*

*/What do digital inclusion and data literacy mean today?/*


    Topic and relevance

As more of our everyday lives become digital, from paying bills, reading 
news, to contacting companies and services, keeping in touch with your 
friends and family, and even voting - it has become crucial to include 
everyone in the online world. But the meaning of digital inclusion keeps 
on changing and with it also the set of skills that are necessary to be 
‘digital’ (Jaeger et al., 2012). What type of skills do people need to 
‘be digital’ today? Is access to the internet enough, or do people need 
to understand how the internet works as well? Which kind of training 
programmes should be developed? Should there be one type of skills and 
training programme or different ones who cater to people from different 
backgrounds and needs (ableism, age, education, gender, race, religion)? 
With the automation of many jobs, how can we foresee what skills will be 
needed for future work? These questions have been occupying the private 
sector and policy makers, and as more tasks become automated and 
digitalised, addressing them becomes ever more crucial.


Discussions of inequality in the use of digital media and systems have 
predominantly focused on issues measured by access to the internet and 
skills such as checking emails, finding information and downloading 
music (van Dijk and Hacker, 2003, van Dijk, 2005). These topics have 
been key issues for policymakers (Yates et al., 2014; 2015a; 2015b) and 
are central to the development of many governmental digital strategies 
in Europe, the UK, and the USA (Mawson, 2001). Recent academic work on 
issues of digital inclusion and inequalities has shifted the focused 
from quantitative indicators and looks at issues of digital skills in 
relation to the social support networks people receive (Helsper & Van 
Deursen, 2017). As such research shows, there is strong evidence that 
the quality of support people have access to is unequally distributed 
and replicate existing inequalities. Evidence shows that inequalities in 
access to and use of digital media have measurable impacts on the life 
chances, health and economic wellbeing of citizens. In other words, it 
is not only a matter of skills but also the context and communities 
people live in that influences people’s inclusion in the ‘digital’.


    Scope of the special issue

Since the introduction and widespread use of machine learning and 
artificial intelligence in different decision making processes relating 
to citizens’ life (health, justice, policing) and onto entertainment 
(e.g., Netflix and Spotify) and news, research on digital skills has 
shifted. This is because inequalities now involve more complex issues of 
how these technologies work and what they can influence and manipulate. 
In addition, as ‘fake news’ and misinformation have become common 
practices by various entities, new avenues in the types of digital 
literacies citizens need have been introduced. These include digital 
understanding of how the internet works (Doteveryone, 2018), how to 
engage with online news (e.g., fact checking), how digital advertising / 
adtech works (ICO, 2019) and how to use different tools to be able to 
control and manage the type of information shared with other parties. 
This shift has become central to some governmental digital strategies, 
such as those of the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 
(DCMS) (2019) and their equivalents around the globe, in countries such 
as Brazil, India, and the USA, or the Norwegian Ombudsman 
(Forbrukerrådet, 2018). After the Cambridge Analytica scandal, 
governments have realised the power of technology giants like Facebook, 
Google, Amazon and Microsoft, to shape and influence people’s behaviour. 
Consequently, many aim to regulate and force them to change how they are 
designed and the way they present information (from content to 
advertisements).


This special issue draws on over two decades of research, policy, and 
practice. Over this time digital inequalities, digital inclusion and 
digital literacies have changed in response to developments in digital 
technologies and media. Key themes have remained, such as: material and 
financial access to technological devices and services; skills and 
digital literacy; effective use by citizens and communities to 
participate in political and civic discussions and activities; the 
impact of socio-economic factors; motivation and attitudes; and, more 
recently socio-economic and socio-cultural variations in patterns of 
usage. Digital inequalities therefore have become an important part of 
broader persistent issues of social equity and justice.


    Focus of the papers

The primary aim of this special issue is to link up international policy 
efforts to address contemporary and future digital inequalities, access 
and skills with the outcomes of research from around the globe. The 
intention is on sharing best practice and research insights, while 
acknowledging that these problems are not the same in different parts of 
the world and so there are no universal solutions. We invite authors to 
submit papers that cover empirical research as well as policy and 
practice interventions, such as:

● Data analysis of levels of digital inclusion / exclusion and engagement

● Studies on the link between misinformation and data literacies

● Studies of the impacts of digital exclusion

● Policy interventions

● Case studies of initiatives and programmes

● Case studies of community impact


    Special issue editors

*Dr Elinor Carmi* ((Elinor.Carmi /at/ liverpool.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(Elinor.Carmi /at/ liverpool.ac.uk)>)

Postdoc Research Associate - Digital Media & Society,
Department of Communication and Media,
Faculty of the Humanities and Social Sciences,
School of the Arts, Liverpool University, UK.


*Professor Simeon Yates*
Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor
Research Environment and Postgraduate Research
Liverpool University, UK.


    Important dates


Release of the call for papers

	

April 2019

Deadline for full text submissions / All details on text submissions can 
be found under http://policyreview.info/authors 
<http://policyreview.info/authors>

	

25 August 2019

Comprehensive peer review feedback by

	

October 2019

Deadline for submission of revised papers

	

November 2019

Preparation for publication

	

April 2020

Publication of the special issue

	

May 2020


    References

DCMS (2019). Disinformation and ‘fake news’: Final Report. Available at: 
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcumeds/1791/1791.pdf

Doteveryone (2018). People, Power and Technology: The 2018 Digital 
Understanding Report. Available at: http://understanding.doteveryone.org.uk/

Forbrukerrådet. (2018). Deceived by Design: How tech companies use dark 
patterns to discourage us from exercising our rights to privacy. 
Available at: 
https://fil.forbrukerradet.no/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/2018-06-27-deceived-by-design-final.pd f

GoodThings Foundation (2018). The economic impact of Digital Inclusion 
in the UK. Available at: 
https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/sites/default/files/research-publications/the_economic_im pact_of_digital_inclusion_in_the_uk_final_submission_stc_0.pdf

Helsper, E.J. and Van Deursen, A.J. (2017). Do the rich get digitally 
richer? Quantity and quality of support for digital engagement. 
/Information, Communication & Society, 20/(5), pp.700-714.

ICO (2019). Internet users' experience of online advertising. Available 
at: 
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/internet-and-on-demand-research/internet-use-and-attitudes/internet-users-experience-online-advertising

Jaeger, P. T., Bertot, J. C., Thompson, K. M., Katz, S. M., & DeCoster, 
E. J., 2012. The intersection of public policy and public access: 
Digital divides, digital literacy, digital inclusion, and public 
libraries. /Public Library Quarterly, 31/(1), 1-20.

Mawson, J. (2001) ‘The end of social exclusion? On information 
technology policy as a key to social inclusion in large European 
cities’, /Regional Studies Journal, 3/5(9), 861–877.

Van Dijk, J., & Hacker, K. (2003). The digital divide as a complex and 
dynamic phenomenon. /The information society, 19/(4), 315-326.

Van Dijk, J. A. (2005). /The Deepening Divide: Inequality in the 
Information Society/. Sage Publications.

Yates, S., Kirby, J., & Lockley, E. (2014). /Supporting digital 
engagement: final report to Sheffield City Council/. Supporting Digital 
Engagement: Final Report to Sheffield City Council.

Yates, S., Kirby, J., & Lockley, E. (2015a). Digital media use: 
Differences and inequalities in relation to class and age. /Sociological 
Research Online, 20/(4), 12.

Yates, S. J., Kirby, J., & Lockley, E. (2015b). ‘Digital-by-default’: 
reinforcing exclusion through technology. /IN DEFENCE OF WELFARE 2/, 158.


---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ vub.ac.be)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------